About Town
He seems less concerned with portraying these people as fallible, vulnerable, pockmarked human beings than he is with capturing their image in a single shot-which he does brilliantly. (Interestingly, his recent portraits of Debbie Harry and Bowie reveal that they seem to be morphing into one another.)
In-between, he has done some unconventional fashion photography and even veered occasionally into Richard Kern territory. If you're a glam fan, this latest retrospective (they pop up around town every few years) is a must. The Gallery at the SoHo Grand, 310 W. B'way (at 6th Ave.); 212-519-6695; free.
25th Annual John Lennon's Dead Tribute
Fri., December 9 & Sat., December 10
Haven't yet figured out a way to properly exploit or celebrate the murder of John Lennon? This year marks the 25th anniversary, and that calls for something big. Why not do what these people are doing? Throw together a little variety show with some "up-and-coming" singers, a modern-dance troupe and members of a theater workshop to do a few skits-then slap Lennon's name on it so it looks like it all means something. People'll eat that up. The Theatre Within Workshop has been doing this for quite some time. This year's offering finds singers Jen Chapin, Cliff Eberhardt and Anais Mitchell together with the Wendy Osserman Dance Company and members of their own troupe.
All proceeds from the show will go to benefit an education and theater program for homeless children. I'm not sure what any of that has to do with shooting John Lennon, but hey-it's still gotta be better than that Broadway show, right? Lincoln Center's Clark Studio Theater, 212-352-3101; 7:30, $37.50, for more information go to ActorsTheatreWorkshop.com.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
With director Tommy Lee Jones
Mon., December 12
Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut sounds like a prequel to The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, but it's not as much fun. Instead, it's one of those "moving," "emotionally powerful" pictures about the contrast between evil modern civilization and the purity of the old cowboy ways. Jones plays a ranch hand whose best friend is shot and buried in the west Texas desert. When someone finds the body, they rebury it in a nearby small-town cemetery. But Jones, see, had promised his friend that he'd make sure he was properly buried in his Mexican hometown. So Jones tracks down the man who shot him, digs up his pal, straps him to a donkey and the two (well, three) of them head off for Mexico. (Wasn't there a movie about modern Native Americans just like this?)
If you ask me, a Western just isn't a Western unless it's got Dub Taylor, Jack Elam and Strother Martin in it. But since they're all dead, Jones settled for Dwight Yoakam and had the guy who wrote 21 Grams pen the "moving" screenplay.
This'll be the film's New York debut after winning best director and best screenplay awards at Cannes, so Tommy Lee Jones is sure to be a very proud man. Just for fun, when it comes time for questions afterward, pester him about Jackson County Jail and Smash-up on Interstate 5. Presented by The Museum of the Moving Image, Paris Theater, 4 W. 58th St. (at 5th Ave.), 718-784-4520; 6:30, $15.
The Essential Hitchcock
Through January 12
Over the next five weeks, and in no discernible order, Film Forum will be screening the 30 Hitchcock films they (or someone) consider essential to any basic Hitchcock education. That, in itself, is a wonderful thing-you can't get too much Hitchcock, I always say-and if they're 35mm prints being shown on a reasonably sized screen, all the better. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen them, you can always watch them one more time. But if you want to pick a few nits here, I have to wonder about that "essential" business. Sure, all the basic-basics are here: Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Lodger, Psycho, Rear Window, both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Spellbound, Rope-and on and on. I was going to complain that Torn Curtain and The 39 Steps weren't part of the series, but then I looked at the list again. But what about Stage Fright? Where's that, hmm? "Essential," my ass!
When you get right down to it, my problem is with applying the term "essential" to films like Downhill, The Ring and I Confess. I think it's just a way of making movie geeks like me feel inadequate. Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (betw. 6th Ave. & Varick St.), 212-727-8110; call for showtimes or go to filmforum.org.