Sorcerer

In person: writer and director Michael Mann

Fresh out of prison and wanting to lay low, Corky (Gina Gershon), takes a job fixing up an old apartment only to be seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilly), the high-femme girl next door. As their secret affair heats up, they devise a plan to steal $2 million from Violet’s mobster boyfriend. In the Wachowskis’ feature-film directorial debut, they subvert traditional gender roles and genre convention, allowing Corky and Violet to be deeply human as they navigate the boxes society creates for them and take down the oppressive men in their lives. After the Wachowskis refused studio suggestions of changing Corky to a man, they secured financing from Dino De Laurentiis, who supported their original vision and added feminist writer Susie Bright as a lesbian sex consultant to create what has now become a cult classic in queer cinema.

Director William Friedkin helped usher in a new era of gritty police dramas with this fact-based thriller about an unscrupulous New York cop (Gene Hackman, in a star-making, Best Actor-winning performance) and his sidekick (Roy Scheider) who face an international drug ring. A winner of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Directing, The French Connection set a high bar for documentary-inspired realism in commercial cinema while featuring one of the most exciting car-chase scenes of all time.

A witness to a political assassination on Seattle’s Space Needle asks investigative journalist Joe Frady (Warren Beatty) to help protect her, but the reporter soon finds himself endangered by vast and terrifying conspiracy. The second film in director Alan J. Pakula’s unofficial paranoia trilogy (following Klute, 1971 and preceding All the President’s Men, 1976) is a classic of 1970s suspense cinema, aided greatly by Michael Small’s unsettling score and the meticulous widescreen cinematography of Gordon Willis (The Godfather, 1972).

The “reshaping of the human body by modern technology,” in the words of one character, takes center stage in David Cronenberg’s 1996 cult classic Crash, based on the J. G. Ballard novel of the same name. Film producer James Ballard (James Spader) is drawn into an underground community of car-crash fetishists after experiencing a near-fatal collision with one of its members. As Ballard and his wife, Catherine (Deborah Unger), grow more absorbed in this erotic hobby, they will stop at nothing, including death, to reach their next climax. Highly controversial upon release, this cold and clinical exploration of machinery as an extension of the human body, and how destruction begets creation, culminates in one of Cronenberg’s most polarizing films, and what writer-director Bernardo Bertolucci has described as a “religious masterpiece.”

Director Ida Lupino submerges her viewer in the true story of serial killer Billy Cook, who murdered six people over a three-week period in the early 1950s. In Lupino’s fictionalized adaptation, co-written by her career and life partner, Collier Young, the threat of death looms over two friends who are kidnapped by a psychotic wanderer during their fishing vacation. As the duo is forced to ferry the criminal across the US-Mexico border, Lupino maintains a dense air of tension that ratchets ever skyward during the picture’s swift runtime. Considered by some to be the first noir helmed by a female filmmaker, The Hitch-Hiker is also a standout within Lupino’s filmography, fitting in right alongside other gritty thrillers of the era

Seijun Suzuki takes a deep dive into a delirious world of yakuza, centering around a killer named Tetsuya, fresh out of prison, who gets pulled into a gang war despite his wish to stay out of it. Suzuki’s visual orchestration is unhinged, with its infinite flow of vivid, stimulating colors clashing with the anticipated, coherent style of the narrative. It’s a liberated departure from the conventional structure of storytelling—more similar to experimental film work. An unusual portrayal of yakuza drama, this thriller offers surreal, sensational signifiers through the exuberance of its highly stylized set design, its bizarrely choreographed blocking, and offbeat pacing of its cuts.

A pair of drifters emerges from the Southern California ocean and hitches a ride to the well-appointed neighborhood of Beverly Hills, where the twosome squats in an abandoned home. Next door, a sex-deprived housewife struggles to resist the duo’s mysterious magnetism, prompting psychological turmoil, guilt, and a host of quandaries about female agency. Made on a shoestring budget independent from a major studio, Leslie Stevens’s disquieting debut prompted the condemnation of the Catholic Legion of Decency, while the MPAA denied the film its stamp of approval.  

Joe Turner (Robert Redford) is part of a team analyzing printed media for the CIA, but when his seemingly harmless job turns unexpectedly deadly, he finds himself on the run from both his own government and forces unknown. The fourth of seven collaborations between Robert Redford and director Sydney Pollack, this classic of 70s paranoid cinema, based on James Grady’s novel Six Days of the Condor, benefits from a stellar cast (including Faye Dunaway as Redford’s unwitting hostage and Max von Sydow as a surprisingly reasonable assassin), Owen Roizman’s moody cinematography, and the Oscar-nominated editing of Fredric Steinkamp and Don Guidice.

Pulitzer Prize winner James Agee adapted the 1953 novel by Davis Grubb for this stylish and evocative suspense drama, which was the only feature directed by Oscar -winning actor Charles Laughton (The Private Life of Henry VIII, 1933). Robert Mitchum is Harry Powell, a remorseless murderer who travels the countryside in the guise of a preacher. He sets his sights on the widow (Shelley Winters) and children of a former cellmate, who may hold the key to a hidden fortune. Working in black-and-white with cinematographer Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942), Laughton creates a dream-like world of danger for the children, anchored by the performance of screen legend Lillian Gish as their potential savior.

Brian De Palma wrote and directed this mystery about a movie sound technician (John Travolta) who inadvertently records the assassination of a politician. Stylish and unexpectedly emotional, Blow Out has become one of De Palma’s most acclaimed films over the last four decades, and his script cleverly incorporates filmmaking techniques into its storyline. In collaboration with sound mixer Dick Vorisek and sound editor Dan Sable, as well as such De Palma regulars as cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, film editor Paul Hirsch, and composer Pino Donaggio, the director creates a worthy successor to the great conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s.

Louis Malle’s directorial debut at age 24 is one of the most significant contributions to the French New Wave. The sensational and eloquently mesmerizing Jeanne Moreau stars as Florence, whose hopeless adoration of a secret lover, Julien (Maurice Ronet), jeopardizes her freedom. The couple plans a high-stakes murder of Florence’s husband, and Julien successfully executes the plot—until he gets trapped in an elevator. A series of ironic incidents ensue against the backdrop of a modernized landscape of Paris, while the cinematography is beautifully paired with a magical musical performance by the great Miles Davis. It all comes together to amplify Florence’s deep emotional state in the deep night of a desolate, apathetic city.

The directorial debut of Ernest R. Dickerson, who previously lensed Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), trains its sights on four Black teenagers in Harlem. While Q (Omar Epps) is obsessed with becoming a DJ and the “juice” it would bring to his reputation, ringleader Raheem (Khalil Kain) has bigger scores in mind. When a seemingly low-stakes bodega robbery goes awry, bullied Bishop (Tupac Shakur) allows the allure of power and violence get to his head. Dickerson’s confident crime film is steeped in neorealism and noir traditions and fuels its narrative with ‘90s hip-hop—Too $hort, Salt-N-Pepa, Fabulous Five Inc., Cypress Hill—buoyed by an electric performance from Tupac Shakur.

In person: director Katt Shea

A form most popular in the early 20th century, a film serial is a story told over a sequence of short episodes, with each piece intended to be viewed before a feature-length film. These bite-size programs were presented weekly in chronological order, adding entertainment and value to a program, and were a common component of the filmgoing experience through the 1940s. A gripping crime thriller showcasing stunning visual compositions and production design, Fantômas is a five-part episodic serial based on the novel of the same name by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre. Set in Paris, the series follows a manhunt by Inspector Juve (Edmund Breon) for Fantômas (René Navarre), an infamous criminal who is also a master of disguise, completely his victims and the authorities.

The schedule of breaks will be posted closer to showtime.

Master of French crime thrillers Jean-Pierre Melville landed this gangster epic toward the end of his filmography, before his sudden death at 55. Dense, atmospheric components of neo noir amplify a stoic persona elegantly delivered by Alain Delon in his portrayal of master thief Corey. Along with infamous prison escapee Vogel and troubled ex-cop Jansen, he plans a jewelry heist so risky as to assume the three are doomed, perhaps even to death. Eventually compassion and friendship bloom —the epitome of balance.

Based on the 1957 novel The Executioners and produced by Gergory Peck’s Melville Productions, J. Lee Thompson’s Cape Fear broke new ground with audiences and pushed the limits of on-screen terror. Criminal attorney Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) becomes the target of the unhinged Max Cady (Robert Mitchum), a recently released criminal who blames Bowden for his imprisonment. Bowden’s worst fears come true when Cady begins to harass and threaten Bowden’s wife and daughter, forcing him to take matters into his own hands in a pulse-pounding climax backed by a Bernard Herrmann score.

In Martin Scorsese’s remake of the 1962 film, violent ex-con Max Cady (Robert De Niro) uses his menacing presence paired with his knowledge of the law to harass former defense attorney Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) and his family. Legal hurdles prevent Bowden from putting a stop to the torment, so he goes to desperate measures to protect his wife and daughter. Juliette Lewis’s portrayal of Bowden’s innocent teen daughter, Dani, garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Actor at the 64th Academy Awards.

Considered by many historians to be the first feature-length talkie out of Britain, this seminal thriller from the Master of Suspense cemented Alfred Hitchcock “as the most admired British director of all time” (Mark Duguid, BFI Screenonline). Shot on location in the London Underground, at the Tea House at Piccadilly Circus, and atop the British Museum, Blackmail succeeds not just in its compelling mystery, but also in capturing the richness of life in 1920s London. A picture that could have been a simple police procedural transcends its roots in the theater to become an exemplar of cinematic formalism and a high watermark of Hitchcock’s early years, with well-timed sonic emphases that could unnerve even the steeliest of dispositions.

Ivan Passer (Intimate Lighting, 1966) directed this low-key mystery, based on Newton Thornberg’s novel Cutter and Bone. John Heard is Cutter, a disabled, hard-drinking Vietnam veteran, and Jeff Bridges is Bone, his easygoing best friend. When Cutter becomes convinced that Bone is the witness to a young woman’s murder, the resulting obsession challenges their friendship and threatens their lives. With its Santa Barbara setting, evocative cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth (Blade Runner, 1982), and a dreamy score by Jack Nitzsche (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975), Cutter’s Way is a one-of-a-kind cross between a 70s-style character study and a paranoid thriller.

“On one side, thick walls, bars, soldiers, weapons. On the other, one lone man, unarmed, doomed from the start.”

In minimalist Robert Bresson’s 1956 film, a French Resistance fighter attempts escape from a German military prison against impossible odds. While the title of the film seems to say it all, it belies the film’s gripping tension and near-silent sequences of harrowing engineering feats, unbelievable patience, and human resilience, all performed with placid determination by François Leterrier as he embodies lieutenant Fontaine, a proxy for André Devigny, whose life Bresson loosely adapted for the screen from his 1956 memoir.

Jane Campion’s gritty erotic thriller stars Meg Ryan as Frannie Avery, a seemingly apathetic writer and English teacher who finds solace in her daydream of language and literature. At a bar near her apartment, Frannie accidentally witnesses a sexual encounter between a woman and a man whose face she cannot recall. The woman is later found dismembered, spurring a visit from a detective who quickly becomes Frannie’s infatuation. Paralleling the desolate ambience of the urban landscape is Frannie’s facade, until her suppressed emotions trigger outbursts that may lead her straight into the path of a serial killer of women.

Hardboiled San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is assigned to the case of a murdered rock star and gets in over his head when he meets the victim’s lover, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). A crime novelist whose latest work mirrors Curran’s case, and past relationships with violent people, Catherine becomes the prime suspect. Confronted by Tramell’s smoldering sensuality and mysterious past, Curran struggles to maintain his professionalism and not give into his carnal instincts.

Paul Verhoeven’s erotic thriller made a huge impact, serving as a pop-culture reference for many years and defining the genre for the 1990s. The recipient of Academy Award nominations for editing (Frank J. Urioste) and Jerry Goldsmith’s original score, Basic Instinct, originally edited for sexual and violent content, has been restored in 4K and is now available in Verhoeven’s original, uncut version.

In person: Academy Governor Howard A. Rodman

In Paul Verhoeven’s stylish, psychological-erotic thriller, author Gerard (Jeroen Krabbé), begins a romantic affair with Christine (Renée Soutendijk), an enigmatic widow from literary society, only to become obsessed with her lover, Herman (Thom Hoffman). While continuing the affair in hopes of getting closer to Herman, Gerard is plagued by ominous visions, fueling paranoid thoughts about Christine plotting murder. Based on the novel by celebrated Dutch author Gerard Reve, The 4th Man was Verhoeven’s final film shot in Dutch before directing English-language and Hollywood productions. It was the Netherlands’ official submission for International Feature Film at the 56th Academy Awards, and, upon its release in the US, gave American audiences a taste of Verhoeven’s unabashed take on sex, violence, and religion.

One of the most important auteurs of the 20th century cinema, Otto Preminger is known for his bold exploration of themes challenging the societal norms of his era. Carol Lynley, in an exceptional performance, portrays Ann Lake, a mother recently moved to London from New York with her 4-year-old daughter, Bunny. When Bunny vanishes without a trace, as if she never existed in the first place, Superintendent Newhouse excavates disturbing truths behind a family’s refined façade. Preminger finesses a subtle construction of atmospheric tension, amplified with a crisp, black-and-white cinematography that articulates Ann’s psychological isolation and creates an eerie, claustrophobic ambience.

Michèle (Isabelle Huppert), the head of a popular video game company, is attacked in her home by a masked assailant. Unaware of her attacker’s identity and suspicious of the men in her life, she begins to track down the criminal herself, stepping into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Based on the award-winning novel Oh... by Philippe Djian and propelled by Huppert’s Oscar-nominated performance, Paul Verhoeven’s first French-language film was France’s official submission for International Feature Film for the 89th Academy Awards.

Two illusionists compete at the turn of the 20th century to create history’s greatest magic trick in this time-fracturing thriller from director/co-writer Christopher Nolan. Based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest, the film earned Oscar nominations for its cinematography (Wally Pfister) and art direction (Nathan Crowley, Julie Ochipinti), which cleverly used surviving Los Angeles picture palaces as key locations. The stellar cast includes Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as the rivals, Michael Caine as their mentor, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall as the women in their lives, and a memorable cameo from David Bowie as the inventor Nikola Tesla.

In person: director Adrian Lyne

In person: director Adrian Lyne

In person: director Yeon Sang-ho

In person: director Yeon Sang-ho and actor Park Jeong-min

Rinko Tatsumi (Asuka Kurosawa) is a suicide hotline worker resigned to a life of unhappiness until she receives a package from a blackmailer. Through the increasingly vulgar acts of exhibitionism her blackmailer forces upon her, she learns to shed the social restrictions and repression dominating her life. Shot on black-and-white film and tinted a monochromatic blue, Shinya Tsukamoto’s A Snake of June is a visual feast. Filled with shaky, hand-held camerawork, voyeuristic close-ups, and near-constant rain, Tsukamoto creates a damp and cold erotic thriller that explores sexual dynamics, transformation, and releasing one's inner desires.