To take your mind off Snowpocalypse 2011, I am proud to announce the films for the next session of Night School, Facets’ unique version of the midnight movie series. Session VII, which begins Saturday, February 19, is titled Heroine Addicts because every film in the series features a female protagonist. From the offbeat Japanese exploitation film Female Prisoner Scorpion #701: Beast Stable to the underrated Hollywood action flick The Long Kiss Goodnight to the camp classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the films in this series offer a provocative look at women on the big screen.
As with previous sessions, each film is introduced by knowledgeable staff member in an informative, entertaining lecture. Not only will you learn about a variety of films from different eras, the series will provoke you into thinking about the image of women in popular film. (continued)
Night School favorite Lew Ojeda kicks off Session VII with “Why Size Matters in The Boneyard" (1991). From impersonating a nun to jumping out of a cake, Lew is famous for surprising his audiences with something special, but he also offers well-researched, authoritative introductions. Lew’s specialty is rare or offbeat horror, exploitation, or non-mainstream movies, and this time around, he presents The Boneyard. Lew will focus on the film’s highly unusual female character—an overweight, depressed psychic who works with the police.
Also returning to Night School are Stephen Reginald and Michael Smith, who will present movies from Hollywood’s Golden Age, when women characters were at the mercy of strict censorship and rigid conventions. Stephen offers the Oscar-winning classic Johnny Belinda (1948) on February 26, which stars Jane Wyman in a sterling performance in which she doesn’t utter a word. On March 12, Michael introduces a film about a ballet dancer forced to appear in a girlie show. No it’s not Flashdance but Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), a musical directed by Dorothy Arzner, one of the few female directors in Golden Age Hollywood.
Contemporary Hollywood films are represented by everyone’s favorite dream fantasy, Mulholland Dr. (2001) by David Lynch, and the underappreciated action film The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) by Renny Harlin. Lauren Whalen offers a provocative interpretation of Lynch’s cinematic identity crisis on March 5, while Miguel Martinez compares The Long Kiss Goodnight to Hong Kong action films. Come prepared to talk when Miguel presents on March 19 because he’s going to introduce the film with a rousing discussion.
Wrapping up Session VII are Katherine Rife and Dominick Mayer. Katherine lives up to her reputation for unearthing the most offbeat films by introducing Female Prisoner Scorpion #701: Beast Stable (1973), a woman-in-prison flick in which the protagonist is an avenging angel for wronged women everywhere. The Female Prisoner Scorpion series is often cited as an influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Session VII ends with bang, not a whimper, when Dominick closes with Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), written by Chicago’s own Roger Ebert.
Whether you’re an incorrigible cinephile, an aficionado of cult films, or an incurable insomniac, Facets Night School offers something for everyone. (Some films or dates are subject to change. Check out the Facets website before attending any film for the latest information.) --Susan Doll
February 19, Lew Ojeda Presents “Why Size Matters in The Boneyard.”
February 26, Stephen Reginald Presents “Silence Is Golden: Johnny Belinda and Jane Wyman’s Academy Award-winning Performance.”
March 5, Lauren Whalen Presents “Mulholland Dr.: Love, Lesbians, and Losing Your Life in Los Angeles.”
March 12, Michael Smith Presents “Burlesque vs. Ballet: Having a Ball with Dance, Girl, Dance.”
March 19, Miguel Martinez Presents “A Girl and a Gun: Geena Davis Takes out the Bad Guys in The Long Kiss Goodnight.”
March 26, Michelle Zaladonis Presents "Hannie Caulder: Women in Westerns, Not All Damsels Are Distressed."
April 2, Katherine Rife Presents “Song of Vengeance: Art House Meets Grindhouse in the Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion Series."
April 9, Dominick Mayer Presents “Welcome to the Dolls’ House: Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”
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