VTIFF Program-Guide 2023 - Flipbook - Page 14
FILMS A TO Z
EILEEN
ENTER THE DRAGON
ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY
Directed by William Oldroyd
USA/UK | 2023 | Fiction | 98 min | English
Directed by Robert Clouse
Hong Kong / USA | 1973 | Fiction | 102 min | English,
Cantonese w/subtitles
Directed by Jean Carlomusto
Hong Kong / USA | 2023 | Documentary | 80 min | English
Film Source: Swank
Film Source: Film Movement
Sponsored by: Patricia Fontaine
SHOWTIMES
FRIDAY, OCT 27 | 9:15 PM | FH
SHOWTIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCT 25 | 7 PM | FH
Yes, the plot is lifted from Dr. No. Sure, the dialogue is a bit
stilted. But as it celebrates its 50th year, Enter the Dragon
remains one of the most influential, profitable and, thanks
to Bruce Lee, purely enjoyable films ever made. Fifty years
have done nothing to diminish Lee’s sheer magnetism and
star power. He’s the movie’s sole selling point, and that’s
more than enough. While the production was famously
troubled, there’s no denying the results. The fights (all
choreographed by Lee), particularly the hall-of-mirrors
finale, remain the best and most influential in the genre.
Budgeted at $850,000, the film has grossed more than
$400 million, making it one of the most profitable films
ever made. In 2004, the Library of Congress’ dubbed it a
“culturally significant film.” Sadly, Lee died of a cerebral
edema at age 32, weeks before the movie’s release. What
if…? ~SM
Cultural anthropologist and proud lesbian Esther Newton
was years ahead of her time when she studied Midwestern
drag shows in the 1960s. A pathbreaking cultural
anthropologist, dog-agility enthusiast, and iconic butch
lesbian, Esther Newton is now entering her eighth decade
writing about queer communities. Inspired by Margaret
Mead and Gertrude Stein, Newton forged a path for queer
studies in academia, her life’s work influencing generations
of activists and scholars. In a light and fluid style, the film
tells her story, of awakening to gay life in the 1950’s, the
women’s liberation movement and lesbian-feminism, drag
culture, and forging a butch identity which for her is now in
conversation with trans-masculinity. ~OY
Film Source: Neon
SHOWTIMES
SATURDAY, OCT 28 | 1:15 PM | FH
You cannot go far wrong with a star performance by Anne
Hathaway, cinematography by Ari Wegner, a score by
Richard Reed Parry and direction by William Oldroyd.
Eileen is an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel of the
same name. This 1960s Massachusetts-set film could be
interpreted as a tale of personal liberation of sly, socially
withdrawn Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) by high-heeled
blond prison psychologist Dr. Rebecca St. John
(Hathaway). But the film moves across several genres –
romantic melodrama to film noir into black-comedy horror,
and comes to rest somewhere in the realms of a Hitchcock
thriller. Note the opening credits – a direct pastiche of
Rear Window. This slow burning film, with a precise script
calculated to the smallest details, changes gear
dramatically in the second half with one single line of
dialogue, to become a sinister look at secrets people hold
within. ~OY
VENUES
14
FH: FILM HOUSE
BB: BLACK BOX THEATER
UVM RECITAL HALL
AT REDSTONE CAMPUS
All at Main Street Landing
Performing Arts Center, Burlington
384 South Prospect Street
Burlington
***Followed by an in-person talk with Debra Zimmerman
(See page 7 for brief bio), recipient of VTIFF’s Award for
Outstanding Contribution to American Cinema, sponsored
by CSE Holding Co.***
THE ESSEX RESORT & SPA
70 Essex Way
Essex
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023
