Thursday, May 12, 2011
Live-Blogging My Own Reaction To The Bryant Park Movie Lineup Announcement
Last year I did a lot of guessing beforehand, thinking a lot of just-turned 30-years old films would be in. But none of those were in anyway, so I guess it's just a crapshoot. (I ended up not going to any of the 2010 movies anyway, terribly.) So this year I'll get straight to looking at this year's list, announced on Bryant Park's blog today. Hopefully I can work an NYC trip around a Monday this year and see one of these...
Here we go. Leadoff movie, June 20th.... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Okay, here's another one I've never seen but know I'd like. Terrible job by me for still never having seen it. I could see myself going to this opener.
June 27th...The 39 Steps. I love HItchcock...and this is one of his I've never seen. Another good candidate...but, still waiting for the one that makes me mark the calendar.
July 4th...Easy Rider! I saw this at Providence's outdoor movie fest last year! This would be really really sweet to see on the 4th of July. Hmmmm, we might wanna make this happen.
July 11th....Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I'm a gentleman who does not prefer blondes and who thinks Marilyn Monroe is completely unappealing. Next.
July 18th... In the Heat of the Night. Not familiar but it looks good. Don't know how much the "serious" films work in this setting.
July 25th....The Lady Eve. Uhhh...again, I don't really know this one, but they call this 1941 film one of the greatest comedies.
August 1st....come on, something Bill Murray-related.....Cool Hand Luke. Another one I know I'm supposed to like but have never seen.
August 8th....oh baby! Airplane!! Holy crap, I thought that might be a little too wacky for Bryant's tastes. Good for them! This would be awesome to see outside with a huge crowd of fellow Airplane-style humor nerds. I feel like this is the one. Or one of the ones, hopefully. (And since there's that 30-year cutoff and it came out in '80, it made it on only its second year on the ballot!
August 15th...High Sierra. Tan Sierra, tan Sierra! Ha, Fargo's what I'd like to see instead of this Bogart film I know nothing about.
Okay, the finale...August 22nd....don't even see a 2011 theme but I'll take a guess....maybe some 60s movie with a famous male lead...that's my guess....here we go.....Dirty Harry. I was close, as it came out in '71. Not into that stuff. Yet. Maybe one day I'll be a huge Dirty Harry fan who also enjoys jazz and a bunch of other stuff I don't care about. But don't hold your breath.
Final thoughts: Okay, Easy Rider being on July 4th and Airplane at any time is a great thing. I'm very happy knowing I've got those two solid options. We'll see what happens when bodies start slappin'.
Also note, they've changed the setup there. It used to be where everyone waited around the lawn and at a certain time, they'd let everyone loose and it would be a free-for-all to get spots. It was really fun. (Overhead shot of this here. Ground view here.) Now I guess everyone enters the lawn through one spot. [Edit, I was wrong about this, see comments section.] But, whatever. It can't not be fun. And I look forward to the other fests, too. Maybe I'll live blog the Providence one too.
Vids I've shot at Bryant Park movies: Superman theme; that old HBO theme thing that everyone jumps up and down for, rightfully (I got 4,000 views on that one!)
Pics from it: Jaws '05; Rocky '06; Superman '08. And I saw Harold & Maude there in '09 but I guess I never posted pics! I'll have to do something about that.
And now for the traditional closing line/prayer: Ghostbusters in 2014!
Here we go. Leadoff movie, June 20th.... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Okay, here's another one I've never seen but know I'd like. Terrible job by me for still never having seen it. I could see myself going to this opener.
June 27th...The 39 Steps. I love HItchcock...and this is one of his I've never seen. Another good candidate...but, still waiting for the one that makes me mark the calendar.
July 4th...Easy Rider! I saw this at Providence's outdoor movie fest last year! This would be really really sweet to see on the 4th of July. Hmmmm, we might wanna make this happen.
July 11th....Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I'm a gentleman who does not prefer blondes and who thinks Marilyn Monroe is completely unappealing. Next.
July 18th... In the Heat of the Night. Not familiar but it looks good. Don't know how much the "serious" films work in this setting.
July 25th....The Lady Eve. Uhhh...again, I don't really know this one, but they call this 1941 film one of the greatest comedies.
August 1st....come on, something Bill Murray-related.....Cool Hand Luke. Another one I know I'm supposed to like but have never seen.
August 8th....oh baby! Airplane!! Holy crap, I thought that might be a little too wacky for Bryant's tastes. Good for them! This would be awesome to see outside with a huge crowd of fellow Airplane-style humor nerds. I feel like this is the one. Or one of the ones, hopefully. (And since there's that 30-year cutoff and it came out in '80, it made it on only its second year on the ballot!
August 15th...High Sierra. Tan Sierra, tan Sierra! Ha, Fargo's what I'd like to see instead of this Bogart film I know nothing about.
Okay, the finale...August 22nd....don't even see a 2011 theme but I'll take a guess....maybe some 60s movie with a famous male lead...that's my guess....here we go.....Dirty Harry. I was close, as it came out in '71. Not into that stuff. Yet. Maybe one day I'll be a huge Dirty Harry fan who also enjoys jazz and a bunch of other stuff I don't care about. But don't hold your breath.
Final thoughts: Okay, Easy Rider being on July 4th and Airplane at any time is a great thing. I'm very happy knowing I've got those two solid options. We'll see what happens when bodies start slappin'.
Also note, they've changed the setup there. It used to be where everyone waited around the lawn and at a certain time, they'd let everyone loose and it would be a free-for-all to get spots. It was really fun. (Overhead shot of this here. Ground view here.) Now I guess everyone enters the lawn through one spot. [Edit, I was wrong about this, see comments section.] But, whatever. It can't not be fun. And I look forward to the other fests, too. Maybe I'll live blog the Providence one too.
Vids I've shot at Bryant Park movies: Superman theme; that old HBO theme thing that everyone jumps up and down for, rightfully (I got 4,000 views on that one!)
Pics from it: Jaws '05; Rocky '06; Superman '08. And I saw Harold & Maude there in '09 but I guess I never posted pics! I'll have to do something about that.
And now for the traditional closing line/prayer: Ghostbusters in 2014!
Comments:
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I remember reading your commentary last year! Thanks for visiting the Bryant Park Blog and entering our contest. Glad we have your approval on 2 out of 10 films ;)
I wanted to clarify your comment about the lawn opening for the films: we do require people to enter the "lawn area" (lawn and gravel surrounding the lawn) through two bag check points, but we open the check points before the lawn opens at 5pm. People still have the chance to line up around the lawn and race to claim a spot when the lawn opens. It's one of our favorite traditions!
I wanted to clarify your comment about the lawn opening for the films: we do require people to enter the "lawn area" (lawn and gravel surrounding the lawn) through two bag check points, but we open the check points before the lawn opens at 5pm. People still have the chance to line up around the lawn and race to claim a spot when the lawn opens. It's one of our favorite traditions!
Thanks Katie! Okay, I see what you man about "lawn" meaning the area around the lawn--that's what was confusing me. I guess. Glad to see the tradition is intact!
And since I've only seen 2 of these, I can't truly say I disapprove of any of the other 8. But honestly, being there is what it's all about--you could show a blank screen for two hours and I'd still go!
And since I've only seen 2 of these, I can't truly say I disapprove of any of the other 8. But honestly, being there is what it's all about--you could show a blank screen for two hours and I'd still go!
"Cool Hand Luke" is an excellent film, Jere. One of my faves from Paul Newman. He's on a Georgia chain gang with a cast of excellent actors who went on to bigger things (Harry Dean Stanton, Wayne Rogers, Dennis Hopper, etc.) Worth the trip to come down and see it on the big screen. I might even come in for it!
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