When
Wed 21 Jun 2023
Bogdanovich’s directorial debut is an unconventional horror film starring Boris Karloff as an ageing actor tired of playing ghoulish roles. Loosely based on the 1966 Charles Whitman murder spree, it cleverly explores the ethics of violence by counterposing Karloff’s screen monster against the young sociopath. Bogdanovich also makes an appearance as a director working for a hack producer (paralleling his relationship with Roger Corman), who, at one point, watches Hawks’ The Criminal Code – featuring a psychopathic Karloff – on TV! This moody critique of American society is brilliantly shot by László Kovács.
Also screening on Wed 21 June
Program
Everyone has their reasons: The films of Peter Bogdanovich
Targets (1968) – Wed 21 Jun, 7pm
The Last Picture Show (1971) – Wed 21 Jun, 8.50pm
What's Up, Doc? (1972) – Wed 28 Jun, 7pm
Squirrels to the Nuts (2014/2022) – Wed 28 Jun, 8.50pm
Saint Jack (1979) – Wed 5 Jul, 7pm
At Long Last Love (1975) – Wed 5 Jul, 9.05pm
About the program
Born in upstate New York to immigrants who had fled the Nazis, Peter Bogdanovich (1939–2022) will always be remembered as the notable American auteur who took the French path from criticism to filmmaking...
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
