Opens Oct. 18!
HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS Exclusively at the Nuart in Los Angeles. Coming soon to a city near you!

DVD/Video Releases

Currently Available on VHS and DVD: Outlaw Japanese Masters Series: BLACK TIGHT KILLERS; FEMALE CONVICT SCORPIAN, ECSTASY OF THE ANGELS, GO, GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN.

AUDITION

EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER

Theatrical Releases

AUDITION

BUNDY

EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER

QUADROPHENIA

VAMPIRE HUNTER D

WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP

WONDERWALL

About Vitagraph Films

Japanese Outlaw Masters Series Available at the Egyptian Theatre. See below for mail order prices.

DVD = $25
VIDEO (NTSC only) = $20
POSTERS = $10
AUDITION
CITY OF LOST SOULS
JAPON
HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS
TATTOO
WONDERWALL

Mail Order:

Unit Cost plus shipping and handling charge of $4.50 per unit.

DVD= $29.50 VIDEO=$24.50
POSTER=$14.50

Send check, money order, credit card # (mastercard or visa) to:

David Shultz, American Cinematheque, 1800 N. Highland Ave., Suite 717, LA, CA  90028  USA

or fax

323.461.9737

All orders must include title, # of units of each title, format (DVD or video), your full name and mailing address, your phone number and if you use a credit card, you must indicate the expiration date and how your name appears on the card. Thank You.

For more information e-mail: vitagraph@earthlink.net

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EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Some of the rare films we have screened over the years at the American Cinematheque will be available on DVD and home video for the first time. Others will be booked around the country (USA only) in local theaters for limited engagements. Watch for information about new releases on this site. Vitagraph is our distribution arm.

The American Cinematheque, Vitagraph Films and Image Entertainment are proud to announce the video and DVD release of the first of four titles in the "American Cinematheque Presents..." collection entitled Japanese Outlaw Masters: BLACK TIGHT KILLERS and FEMALE CONVICT SCORPIAN - JAILHOUSE 41 (1972). In BLACK TIGHT KILLERS, girl assassins kill their prey will 45-rpm records in this action/spy spoof. FEMALE CONVICT is a surrealist-cum-exploitation picture, the second in a series about Matsu, a volatile woman who is wrongly sent to jail by a betraying boyfriend. NOW AVAILABLE!: ECSTASY OF THE ANGELS and GO, GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN.

Theatrical Dates:

AUDITION - On DVD & Video Spring 2002!

SYNOPSIS: AUDITION (1999, Cinematheque Presents/Vitagraph Films,115 min.) has proven to be a box office and critical success in New York, the first US city where it has opened. The New York Times just called it one of the best films of the year. The story concerns a lonely, middle-aged widower (Ryo Ishibashi) who lost his wife to cancer seven years prior. A friend convinces him to use his video production company to hold mock auditions for a nonexistent film project in an effort to meet women. The decent Aoyoma is initially reluctant to engage in such a deception, but finally he agrees and subsequently, meets a beautiful former ballerina (Eihi Shiina) with a mysterious past. The two begin a romance. While on the surface, Asami seems like an innocent and submissive woman, her nature changes when Aoyoma mentions his deceased wife. In the blink of an eye, a tender romance morphs into a shocking, gothic psycho-thriller. In Japanese with English subtitles.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:

"UNFORGETTABLE! A GREAT, sick rush with a kicker on the level of THE VANISHING!" -- Elvis Mitchell, NY Times

"The kinkiest, creepiest, most pungently sexual horror film in recent memory!" -- The Guardian (London)

"Japan’s hottest director!" -- A. Musetto, NY Post

"ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST FILMS! Dazzling. razor-sharp wit....what it must have been like to see PSYCHO’s shower scene back in 1960. BRILLIANT, UNFORGETTABLE!" -- Mike D’Angelo, Time Out New York

RELEASE SCHEDULE:

AUDITION is currently being booked at theatres nationwide. To date, bookings include:

NEW YORK: (Village East – thru 9/12); Eastman House, Rochester (TBA 2002)

N. CALIFORNIA: (9/14) San Jose (Cinema 3); Berkeley (ACT); The Castro (San Francisco); Sacramento (tent) Tower Theatre (12/14)

MASS.: Cambridge (Oct. – The Brattle)

NEVADA: 12/7 Las Vegas (12/14-12/21) Village Square

NEW MEXICO: Santa Fe (11/12) The Screen

MARYLAND: Baltimore - Charles Theatre 12/7

HAWAII: Wallace Theatres, 1 Restaurant Row (Oahu) 12/7

N. CAROLINA: Mid Dec. Chapel Hill, NC - Chelsea Theatre

FLORIDA: Regal Theatre, Sarasota (TBA 2002); South Beach 18, Miami Beach (2/8/2002)

MINNESOTA: Heights Theatre, Minneapolis (TBA 2002)

COLORADO: Denver (TBA 2002)

KANSAS: Fine Arts Theatre, Mission, Kansas City (Jan. 19 - 26, 2002)

Sarsota FL- 3/1/02

Raleigh Durham - March 2002

Kansas City- Fine Arts Theatre - Feb. 2002

Indianapolis- Key Cinema - March 8, 2002

BUNDY

Los Angeles Showtimes

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:

"…one of the most visually accomplished and emotionally provocative films in the dramatic competition at Sundance…" Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter.

"Dogma '95 and THE CELEBRATION finally have their first American Challenger:
 a searing character drama shot entirely on digital video that leaves you
 emotionally spent. ...Mitchell is nothing short of a revelation." - Paul
 Cullum, LA Weekly

"The power and intelligence of EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER is of such quality and intensity that it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the movie." Rebecca Yeldham (Sundance Film Festival)

"Radha Mitchell, who’s rapidly maturing into a terrifically accomplished actress, renders a staggering performance…" Emanuel Levy, Daily Variety

Angie (Australian actress RADHA MITCHELL (HIGH ART, PITCH BLACK) in an unflinchingly honest performance) and Russ (JUSTIN LOUIS), a young, well-off, loving, suburban couple, eagerly await the birth of their first child. Angie’s friends (Catherine Lloyd Burns of "Malcolm in the Middle" and Megan Mullally of "Will and Grace") are also pregnant and together their worlds revolve around babies, husbands and the rituals of family life. When an unexpected tragedy befalls Angie and Russ, the community that they were once integrally involved in begins to disappear. Their fair-weather friends, unable to find a way to console, or share the couple’s grief, simply withdraw. As Angie’s grief begins to drive her to act out in strange and frightening ways, the film echoes the terror of Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY. It is also reminiscent of Todd Haynes’ SAFE in its depiction of an alienated woman adrift in a hostile, suffocating suburban environment, that once offered a bounty of security and comfort. "Roberto Schaefer’s cinematography is a masterwork of telling compositions: His framings, some askew and some straight on, point us to the fullest story dimensions and character depths." (Hollywood Reporter) This amazing, complex film is packed with human emotion – something so absent in films today. Shot on Digital Video, the film will be projected in a 35mm print. Produced by Sean Furst. Written by Adam Forgash, Catherine Lloyd Burns and Mark Forster. Director/Co-Writer Mark Forster Forester (LOUNGERS, Winner of the Audience Award at the 1996 Slamdance Film Festival).

EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER has been lauded by critics since it debuted in January 2000 as an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. In March 2001 director Marc Forester won the prestigious Independent Spirit Award for "New Director to Watch," not to mention the Sony/AFI DV-Cam award for best fiction feature.

EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER's unique look takes the concept of digital video photography to a whole new perspective on what digital photography can be. It has been hailed as the first American film to rival Dogma 95, putting it in league with the highly praised and celebrated work of Danish master directors Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. Interview magazine's Graham Fuller put EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER on his list of the ten best unreleased films.

Director Mark Forster’s latest film, MONSTERS BALL, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Wes Bentley and Halle Berry, is slated for release by Lion’s Gate in December 2001. Actress Radha Mitchell will be seen in Joel Shumacher's PHONE BOOTH starring opposite Collin Ferrell, also due to be released late this year.

RELEASE SCHEDULE: EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER is currently being booked at theatres nationwide. More dates to be announced as they are confirmed. To date, bookings include:

2002:

Dallas- The Highland Theatre- March 2002

Minneapolis- The Heights Theatre- end Feb-March 2002

Cleveland - Cleveland Cinematheque - March 2002

2001:

Exclusive Engagement! Opens Nov. 2, 2001
 
 Laemmle Monica, 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica
 
 Showtimes: 1:00 PM; 3:15 PM; 5:30 PM; 7:45 PM; 10:00 PM
 
 Opens at the Egyptian's Spielberg Theatre on Nov. 16!
 Showtimes:
 Friday, November 16: 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Saturday, November 17: 5: 30 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Sunday, November 18: 5: 30 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 *Monday, November 19: 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Tuesday, November 20: 5: 30 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Friday, November 23: 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Saturday, November 24: 5: 30 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 Sunday, November 25: 5: 30 PM, 7:30 PM, 9:30 PM
 *Director Marc Forster & Producer Sean Furst will appear for discussion
 following the 7:30 PM screening and will introduce the 9:30 PM screening.
 

NYC Cinema Village (11/9)

Opens November 30!

Clinton Street Theater
2522 SE Clinton Street
Portland, OR  97202
info:  503-238-8899
7:00 PM, 9:00 PM nightly plus (2:00) Sunday

Seattle Grand Illusion; Boston/Cambridge (Dec.); San Francisco (Jan. 14); Minneapolis (Jan. 14).

www.everythingputtogether.com

VAMPIRE HUNTER D - BLOODLUST

VAMPIRE HUNTER D – BLOODLUST, 2001, Urban Vision, 102 min. Set in a supernatural world that’s equal parts Sergio Leone and BLADE, this astonishing, adrenaline-stoked animated film follows the enigmatic "D" as he slices and dices his way through snake-headed bloodsuckers, shadow creatures, bigoted humans and more, while attempting to stop the Romeo and Juliet romance of a beautiful young woman and a dashing vampire count. English language.

December 21 - 27         (Spielberg Theatre)
5:30; 7:30; 9:30 pm
This title is out on DVD & Video from Urbanvision.

WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP

"Wisconsin Death Trip" begins a limited theatrical run this Fall in selected theaters this weekend in San Francisco, CA.

The schedule is as follows (and more theaters will be added in the coming weeks):

2001:

October 21-22: Castro Theatre, San Francisco, CA
October 26-November 1:   Grand Illusion Theater, Seattle, WA
Early November:  Clinton St. Theater, Portland, OR
November 30-December 5:   Facets Cinematheque, Chicago, IL
December 14-15:  Cleveland Cinematheque,Cleveland, OH

Jan. 2-8
Castro Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Jan. 11-17
Fine Arts Theater, Berkley, CA  AND
Heights Theater, Minneapolis, MN

Feb. 9-14
Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA | Feb. 11

Feb. 17,18
Red Vic Movie House
San Francisco, CA

Feb. 21 only
Alamo Draft House Cinema
Austin, TX

2002:

Cleveland Cinematheque- End of Feb 2002

Los Angeles - March 19-21, 2002 - Nuart Theatre, W. LA & March 22&23 at the Egyptian, Hollywood.

Review:

Title: Wisconsin Memento
Wisconsin Death Trip, playing Jan 2-9 at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, revives some troubling memories

In 1,000,000 movies, amnesiac characters try desperately to remember some urgent, forgotten matter. Most recently Kurt Russell in Vanilla Sky or Joe Pantoliano in Memento played figures trying to tease a reluctant memory awake.  The popularity of this kind of mystery echoes a national problem—we in the US have a chronic case of historical amnesia.
Michael Lesy’s fascinating 1973 book Wisconsin Death Trip chronicled the true-life crimes and mortality in the vicinity of the small town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, during the last two decades of the 1800s.
Reading this book, it seems the hamlet was built on a Hellmouth, a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Black River Falls may not have been average America, nor were there really average Americans living there. (Where do “average” Americans live, by the way?) Yet what was Black River Falls, if not the real America of dreaming, hard-working pioneers? The locals were recent immigrants, come to mine and farm in the newly opened territory. But the land was too scrubby to live off of, and the banks, railroads and mines were subject to sudden failure. Even by the standards of the Norwegian immigrants, the winters were cruel. The pressure crushed the settlers through hard work and bankruptcy. Thus the local history, recorded in a small weekly newspaper, is a record of depression, suicide, disease, and murder.
James Marsh’s film version of Wisconsin Death Trip (playing at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, Jan 2-9) is a 76 minute long condensation of the themes of the book. It’s a total success, in that Marsh captures the mood of the threatening wilderness. His bare-bones budget compliments the rawness of frontier life, which he studies with the velvety cinematic obsession of a David Lynch.   Here a non-professional cast re-enacts, silently, the old crimes. Marsh divides the film into seasons, and connects his almanac of doom with recurring characters. Wisconsin Death Trip finds a charismatic anti-heroine in Mary Sweeney (played fiercely by Jo Vukelich), a travelling madwoman who loved to snort coke and smash windows.  Here also is a parallel to the Susan Smith case, in the account of Mrs. Larson (Molly Anderson), who
drowned her three children. And there’s even a decadent celebrity:
Pauline L’Allemand (Marilyn White) a noted opera star who retreated to the wilds of Wisconsin, and then into madness. Actor Ian Holm, most recently seen as the ring-jonesing Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, narrates the casebook. Aside from his narration, Wisconsin Death Trip is mute, accompanied by a beautifully eclectic soundtrack from Debussy to Finnish
folk songs to Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave is Kept Clean.”

Marsh goes a step farther than the book by visiting Black River Falls today. He seems to wonder: how could a past this flamboyant be interred underneath the peaceful small town? He observes the high school home coming game and parade, children playing, the old people left in a retirement home. Naturally, some critics have accused Marsh of patronizing the town, through filming nursing home residents drowsing through a visiting glee-club’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
But isn’t this a perfect metaphor for how Black Rock Falls’ memory sleeps? And though the film doesn’t mention this, Black River Falls isn’t a backwater today; it’s touristed, visited in the summer by Chicagoland hikers and mountain bikers. (“Your quintessential Our Town type of community,” one tour book calls it.)  What we see today may look a little stodgy but it’s a triumph over a lurid, agonizing past. In its way, Wisconsin Death Trip is an optimistic film.  Today’s young people are supposed to be lost, addicted to drugs and television: so many nihilist lawbreakers, whose misdeeds testify to the lapse of family values. Wisconsin Death Trip, set in a time of thoroughly religious, strong families, is alive with murders, drug abuse and teen crime. By forgetting the trouble we once had, we exaggerate the trouble we have today.
---Richard Von Busack, San Francisco Chronicle

Since its premiere Wisconsin Death Trip has won the 2000 BBC2 Award for Most Innovative Documentary, The 2001 Royal Television Society's Best Arts Documentary Award and the 1999 Fipresci Special Mention Prize at the San Sebastien Film Festival in Spain.  It was also nominated for the Huw Wheldon Award for Specialised Programme at the 47th annual BAFTA Television Awards and the EMMY nomination for Best Lighting Design.

Hailed by critics since its theatrical debut over a year ago, the film has been praised by The Independent's film critic David Thomson with the headline "I doubt you will see a more important American film this year."

Quadrophenia:

July 20-26, 2001 Landmark’s Century Theatres, Chicago, IL

August 2, 2001 Egyptian Theatre Hollywood, CA

August 6-14, 2001 Prince Theater, Philadelphia, PA

August 24-30, 2001 Bridge Theater, Berkeley, CA

August 31-Sept. 6, 2001 Dobie Theatre, Austin, TX

August 31-Sept. 6, 2001 Varsity Landmark Theatre, Seattle, WA

September 14, 2001 Clinton Street Cinema, Portland, OR

This title is out on DVD & Video from Rhino Home Entertainment

FEMALE CONVICT SCORPIAN - JAILHOUSE 41: January 12-18, 2001 at the Roxy Cinema in San Francisco. 3117 16th Street (cross street Valencia), SF, CA  94103. Tel: 415.386.1087.

HALLOWEEN: Restored print of John Carpenter's 1978 classic horror film at the Pioneer in New York City Friday, October 27th! This title is out on DVD & Video from Anchor Bay.

The psychadelic WONDERWALL, made in Swinging '60s London, from SONG REMAINS THE SAME director Joe Massot opens around the country starting in September 2000. Check your local theaters for listings in New York (The Screening Room), Seattle, Portland, Chicago, the Cambridge, MA area and other cities.

This title is out on DVD & Video from Rhino.

WONDERWALL CONFIRMED PLAY DATES:

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Landmark's Egyptian Theatre 4978 805 E. Pine St Seattle, Washington, 98122.

Play dates; Friday and Saturday Midnights September 29 & 30.

NEW YORK CITY, The Screening Room, 54 Varick Street (just below Canal) New
York, Ny.10013. Call for reservations (212)334-2100 or on the Web at
www.THESCREENINGROOM.com New York City's SCREENING ROOM play dates for the month of OCTOBER:

Opening at the Pioneer Theatre Nov. 24th!

CMJ Special Screening OCTOBER 20 DGA Theatre  110 57th St., New York, New York 10019. CMJ (College Music Jam) admission is with credentials only. WONDERWALL will screen directly before Miramax's re-release of "Hard Days Night" at approximately 5:00 or 6:00pm (time has yet to be determined).
(646)485-6509 Fax (646)557-0010

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA. 02138 ph (617)739-2901 Fax (617)739-2901

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13 and SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 Regular matinee and evening schedule.

 
PORTLAND,OREGON: November 3-9 / HOLLYWOOD THEATRE, 4122 North East Sandy
Bl., Portland, Oregon 97212 (regular matinee and evening schedule) /ph (503)281-4215

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio 44106 November 3&4

Also coming to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio!


SAN FRANCISCO, CA:.Roxie Theatre,  3125 16th St. San Francisco, Ca 94103. Thursday, November 9 & Friday November 10 (matinee and evening schedule).

EUGENE, OREGON: BIJOU ART CINEMAS, 492 East 13th Ave.
Eugene, Oregon 97401 November 10-16 (matinee and evening schedule)

NASHVILLE, TN., GREEN HILLS 16, 3815 Green Hills Village Dr., Nashville, Tn. 37215.

November 3-9 (matinee & evening schedule)

LOS ANGELES:

Starts Dec. 1 at the Sunset Laemmle 5 on Sunset and Dec. 6 & 7 at the New Beverly (Beverly Blvd.) following BEATLEFEST (during the Thanksgiving holiday). Special screening 11/26 at Beatlefest in Los Angeles (11:30 AM).

A young successful London lawyer JUSTIN DAWSON, 26, mysteriously appears dead in the Thames River. His SORTED life, affairs and lust for the London Underground techno-rave scene come to the surface when his innocent small-town younger brother unsuspectingly ventures into the past uncovering startling facts of his life and death.

At the Egyptian Theatre:

Fri. Dec. 8: 12:30 PM; Dec. 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15: 10:30 AM

VITAGRAPH FILMS

For further information about Vitagraph Films please contact President, David Shultz at 323.461.2020, ext. 123.