Revival Cinema
Welcome to revival cinema, devoted to virtual and in-theater screenings of films that are outside of a current release. Revival cinemas (or repertory houses as they are also called) had their heyday in the 1960s and 70s before the rise of VHS, DVD, and TCM. James Wolcott, cultural critic for Vanity Fair says it best, “Revival houses were where epiphany-seeking cinephiles and less exalted film junkies could dip into the dark for a few hours and cut their Dracula fangs on Hollywood golden oldies, the latest foreign craze, avant-garde provocations, and camp treasures with cult followings.”
There are still many of these celebrated revival cinemas in existence today (think Film Forum in New York) and the occasional new one opening up (Metrograph in New York). Now through our virtual cinema platform we can provide you an opportunity to catch some of these exclusive restorations and re-releases. Films will be updated regularly so bookmark this page!
The Power of Kangwon Province (South Korea, 1998)
In only his second film, Hong Sangsoo was conducting stunning structural experiments. In the film’s first part, Jisook, recently free of a relationship with a married man, joins two girlfriends for a vacation in Kangwon, a mountainous region near Seoul in South Korea’s northeast, and quickly starts to make the same mistakes all over again, tumbling into bed with a married policeman after a sloppy drinking party. In the latter section, we catch up with Jisook’s ex-, Sangwon, who happens to be visiting Kangwon at the same time, threatening to cross Jisook’s path.
Rent Now2 Films from Maya Da-Rin
Margin (Brazil, 2007)
Run Time: 54 min. Rating: Not Rated
Large boats navigate the Amazon River daily, transporting people, animals and goods. This film portrays one of these trips, starting at the border of Brazil and Colombia to the Peruvian city Iquitos. During two days and three nights, passengers of different nationalities share their impressions of a varied territory which is in constant transformation. Margin reveals the intertwining cultures present in this unique triple border region as time slowly goes by.
Lands (Brazil, 2009)
Run Time: 75 min. Rating: Not Rated
On the triple frontier between Brazil, Colombia and Peru, the twin towns of Letícia and Tabating a form an urban island surrounded by the Amazon rain-forest. Following the ordinary events and the constant come and go of people along the border,Lands portrays the presence and the influence of the frontier on the lives of its inhabitants.
Brooklyn Castle (US, 2012)
Run Time: 101 min. Rating: PG
Before there was THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT there was BROOKLYN CASTLE, the story about five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school. In 2012, the team won more national championships – middle school and high school than any other high school in the country… what can’t they do? The film follows the challenges these kids faced in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation of their victories. Ironically, the biggest obstacle thrust upon them arose not from other competitors but from recessionary budget cuts to all the extracurricular activities at their school.
A Screaming Man (Chad, 2010)
Run Time: 102 min. Rating: Not rated
Adam, a 60-something former swimming champion, is a pool attendant at a hotel in Chad. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son, Abdel, leaving Adam humiliated and resentful. Meanwhile the country is in the throes of civil war. Rebel forces attack the government while the authorities demand the population to contribute to the “war effort,” with money or volunteers old enough to fight. The District Chief constantly harasses Adam for his contribution. But Adam is penniless; he only has his son. In a moment of weakness, Adam makes a decision that he will forever regret.
Bamako (Mali, 2006)
Run Time: 117 min. Rating: Not rated
Remastered in HD!
An extraordinary trial is taking place in a residential courtyard in Bamako, the capital city of Mali. African citizens have taken proceedings against such international financial institutions as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whom civil society blames for perpetuating Africa’s debt crisis, at the heart of so many of the continent’s woes. As numerous trial witnesses (schoolteachers, farmers, writers, etc.) air bracing indictments against the global economic machinery that haunts them, life in the courtyard presses forward. Melé, a lounge singer, and her unemployed husband Chaka are on the verge of breaking up; a security guard’s gun goes missing; a young man lies ill; a wedding procession passes through; and women keep everything rolling – dyeing fabric, minding children, spinning cotton, and speaking their minds.
What Happened Was (United States, 1994)
Run Time: 91 min. Rating: R
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Screenwriting Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, WHAT HAPPENED WAS… is Tom Noonan’s directorial debut; a darkly humorous take on dating dread. Featuring powerhouse performances by Noonan and Karen Sillas as two lonely hearts spending one claustrophobic Friday night together in an imposing apartment, the film exposes with startling clarity the ways in which people struggle to connect. As relevant now as ever, O-Scope undertook a brand new 4K restoration from the film’s original 35mm negative and is making this pristine version widely available for the first time since the 90s.
Billy the Kid (US, 2007)
Run Time: 84 min. Rating: PG-13
A provocative coming-of-age story, Jennifer Venditti’s debut film, BILLY THE KID (2007), is an acclaimed odyssey into the soul of an American teenager. Venditti follows Billy as he navigates small town Maine, grappling with isolation and first-time love, and traversing the frustrating gap between imagination and reality. Exhilarating and heartfelt, the film grants an intimate, empathetic view of an expressive and seemingly fearless outsider and provides an unvarnished and unique snapshot into what it’s like to grow up in America.
Watch a very special q&a a/perture hosted with Billy the Kid (Billy Price), director Jennifer Venditti and producer Chiemi Karasawa on October 12. Click here to access
Beyond the description, trailer and quoted reviews on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb. We encourage you to research our films at your own informational interest level via the internet.
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Previously Screened – In Theater
The Shining (USA, 1980)
From the master of modern horror, Stephen King, and the master of modern filmmaking, Stanley Kubrick, comes a thrilling masterpiece of terror. Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within.
The Exorcist (USA, 1973)
Still considered one of the scariest movies ever made, The Exorcist shocked audiences in 1973 and continues to do so to this day. 12-year-old Regan MacNeil begins to adapt an explicit new personality as strange events befall the local area of Georgetown. Her mother becomes torn between science and superstition in a desperate bid to save her daughter, and ultimately turns to her last hope: Father Damien Karras, a troubled priest who is struggling with his own faith.
Blacula (USA, 1972)
A bloodsucker deadlier than Dracula! Warm young bodies will feed his hunger and hot, fresh blood his awful thirst! An 18th-century African prince, portrayed in an immortal performance by William Marshall, is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles, and meets Tina, a woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (USA, 1975)
It’s just a jump to the left, a step to the right, with your hands on your hips, and knees pulled in tight. Do the Time Warp again with a/perture cinema this October! Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named Rocky.
Possession (France, 1981)
Banned upon its original release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other. Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani, in a role that earned her Best Actress at Cannes) insistent on a divorce. As Anna’s frenzied behavior becomes ever more alarming, Mark discovers a truth far more sinister than his wildest suspicions. With its pulsating score, visceral imagery, and some of the most haunting performances ever captured on screen, Possession is cinematic delirium at its most intoxicating.