SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 GONE WITH THE WIND 2:00, 7:00
Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland. Directed by Victor Fleming. (1939, 226 min, 35mm)
MONDAY FEBRUARY 8 & TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9THEATRE CLOSED
THE PARALLEL DIMENSIONS OF TERRY GILLIAM
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10 DOUBLE FEATURE THE FISHER KING 2:00, 7:00
Sixteen years after Monty Python sought the Holy Grail, Gilliam directed an updated Arthurian legend in present-day New York City as street person Robin Williams revives shock jock Jeff Bridges out of an alcoholic haze and into the quest. This remains Gilliam’s most acclaimed film with four Oscar noms plus a win for Mercedes Ruehl as Bridges’ enabler girlfriend. (1991, 137 min, 35mm)
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS 4:35, 9:35
After decades in development, Gilliam took on the challenge of bringing Hunter S. Thompson’s notorious tome to the screen. He successfully captured the chaotic, hallucinatory nature of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo’s crazed decent on Vegas, with Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro delivering dead on characterizations of the terrible two. (1998, 118 min, 35mm ‘Scope)
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11 DOUBLE FEATURE A SERIOUS MAN 7:00 Academy Award Nominee for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay
In suburban Minnesota during the summer of 1967, a Jewish physics professor trapped in misery is unwillingly pushed into making difficult decisions about his life. If you missed the Coen Brothers’ pitch black comedy last fall, take this chance to see Michael Stuhlbarg’s amazing performance in his episodic ride along the razor’s edge of despair! (2009, 105 min, Digital)
THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS 9:05
Investigating a mass homicide in the post-Katrina landscape, drugged-up detective Nicolas Cage hedges his bets at every turn while burning the candle at both ends. Cage and director Werner Herzog follow their instincts and pull out the stops to create the strangest police procedural of our time. Eva Mendez, Xzibit, Brad Dourif and Val Kilmer co-star. (2009, 122 min, 35mm)
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12 & SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13
MiDNiTES FOR MANiACS presents "A Valentine's Tribute Weekend to John Hughes" Hosted By Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
Tickets are only $10 per day!
This seven-film, two-day film festival celebrates John Hughes (R.I.P.) on what would have been his 60th birthday this month. Spanning his whole career from his first screenplays for National Lampoon to his heartbreaking teen classics. Hughes was always interested in exploring class differences and teen angst not to mention making Molly Ringwald one of the 1980’s most a-typical female stars. Don't miss seeing these decade-defining films (many of which are Rated R!!) with the people who genuinely love them. Tickets are only $10 per day and are available online at www.ticketweb.com or at the Castro Theatre box office.
FRIDAY 7:30 SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987)
Scr: John Hughes; Dir: Howard Deutch; Containing: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer, Elias Koteas. Kicking off the 7-film fest is John Hughes’ most underrated and uncompromised teen classic! Don't miss Mary Stuart Masterson in one of the most baadasssss performances of the 80s screened from this brand new 35mm print. (It's been unavailable to screen theatrically for years!) 95min. Preceded by trailers for other Hughes classics!
9:30 FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)
Scr/Dir: John Hughes; Containing: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey. You haven’t experienced this seminal high school gem if you haven't seen it on a big screen surrounded by people who genuinely love it. Come save Ferris on the big screen! Brand new 35mm ‘Scope print. 103min. Preceded by trailers for upcoming MiDNiTES FOR MANiACS screenings.
11:45 NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (1983)
Scr: John Hughes; Dir: Harold Ramis; Containing: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid. Long before VAN WILDER, National Lampoon made spectacularly sleazy romps, this being the crème de la crème! Stay up late with the Griswald family and watch this uncut R-rated 35mm print! 98min. Preceded by trailers of other sleazy 80s treasures!
SATURDAY
2:00 SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984)
Scr/Dir: John Hughes; Containing: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, John Cusack & the legendary Gedde Watanabe. The film that changed teen films forever! Come out and admire girls panties, headgear and the almighty Long Duk Dong! 35mm print. 93min. Preceded by trailers of John Hughes classics.
4:15 THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)
Scr/Dir: John Hughes; Containing: Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilo Estevez, Molly Ringwald & Anthony Michael Hall. For all of you that have grown up watching this champion of 80s teen classics on the TV you most definitely don't want to miss seeing this on the big screen for one major reason: We are screening the original R-rated version from a brand new 35mm print! Sex, Drugs and Dandruff! 97min. Preceded by trailers for the new Castro film series: MATiNEES FOR MANiACS.
6:30 PRETTY IN PINK (1986)
Scr: John Hughes; Dir: Howard Deutch; Containing: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, Andrew Dice Clay, Annie Potts. There's no better movie to watch on Valentine's Day weekend than this New Wave heartbreaker! All hail to the Duckman. 35mm print. 96min. Preceded by trailers for other Jon Cryer classics!
8:45 PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987) Scr/Dir: John Hughes; Containing: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Kevin Bacon. This R-rated laugh-riot is not only Steve Martin's favorite film of his career but delivers a comedic duo that rivals any ever put to celluloid. Beware: The film packs a poignant punch to boot! 35mm print. 93min. Preceded by more trailers of John Hughes’ inspired career!We will always love you, Mr. Hughes.
ONE NIGHT ONLYSunday, Feb 14 (Valentine's Day) 8:15 pm
MONDAY FEBRUARY 15 BROKEN EMBRACES (1:30), 4:15, 7:00, 9:30
Pedro Almodóvar re-teams with Penélope Cruz for this complex tale of scandal and revenge in the world of filmmaking. Working on a canvas much broader than those of his previous works, Almodóvar utilizes a tricky structure laden with flashbacks to both comment on and explain the events of the present, interweaving a noirish sensibility throughout. Lluís Homar stars along with Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez & Rubén Ochandiano. (2009, 127 min, in Spanish w/ English subtitles)
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16THEATRE CLOSED
THE PARALLEL DIMENSIONS OF TERRY GILLIAM
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17DOUBLE FEATURE MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE
2:25,
7:00 Without a doubt the most tasteless of the Python feature films, but also one of the funniest as life's questions are "answered" in a series of outrageous vignettes. This was the last film to feature the full Python cast. Directed by Terry Jones, preceded by Gilliam’s tangential short The Crimson Permanent Assurance, a satire on globalization. (1983, 107 min, 35mm)
THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN 4:30, 9:05
Gilliam followed up Brazil with this epic tall tale starring John Neville as the fabled 18th Century adventurer and liar who travels time with young Sarah Polley and his superhuman colleagues. Memorably bizarre incidents permeate this consistently imaginative spectacle, with vivid support from Oliver Reed, Eric Idle, Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce and Robin Williams. (1988, 126 min, 35mm)
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 18 A SINGLE MAN (2:30), 4:35, 7:00, 9:05 Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor, Colin Firth Set in Los Angeles circa 1962, Colin Firth plays a middle-aged British college professor struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner. The film follows him through a single day as he is consoled by friend Julianne Moore and stalked by student Nicholas Hoult. Based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel, Tom Ford directed this romantic tale of love interrupted, isolation and the importance of the smaller moments in life. (2009, 99 min, 35mm)
FRIDAY FEBRAURY 19-THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25 David Lynch Presents A Werner Herzog Film MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE
"A surreal descent into a twilight zone created by the twisted sensibilities of two cinematic geniuses." - V.A. Musetto, New York Post
"Herzog has gone beyond Good and Evil to reinvent himself as a candidate for the wiggiest director of comedy in America today." - J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
“Ostriches, matricide and unhinged lunacy abound in this cop-procedural follow up to Mr. Herzog's still-in-theaters masterpiece The Bad Lieutenant. This time, Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon fills Nic Cage's crazy shoes and the whole thing's actually based on a true story. A young man drives a sword though his mother, killing her, then holes up with a couple of hostages while detective Willem Dafoe pieces together the decent into madness from stories by the killer's girlfriend (Chloë Sevigny) and the always menacing Udo Kier.” – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (2009, 91 min, 35mm)
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26 FIGHT CLUB 7:00
Based on Chuck Palahniuk's novel, this cerebral comedy concerns former upwardly mobile urban professional Edward Norton who teams with raw, amoral Brad Pitt to form an anarchist movement, of sorts. Shot in a convulsive, stream-of-unconsciousness style, director David Fincher pushes the cinematic envelope in what now stands as one of the last great films of the 20th Century. (1999, 139 min 35mm ‘Scope)
DONNIE DARKO 9:40 Writer/director Richard Kelly’s crazily ambitious sci-fi mind-bender/Reagan-era satire depicts the adventures of the titular character as he seeks the meaning and significance behind his troubling Doomsday-related visions. Barely seeing the light of a projector bulb in a very limited release post-9/11, the film has since amassed a devoted cult following. Jake Gyllenhaal stars with Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the great Patrick Swayze. (2001, 113 min, 35mm ‘Scope) We will be screening the original cut.
GLORIA GAYNOR HAS BEEN CANCELED on FEB 27
Saturday February 27
Up in 3D (2:00), 4:30, 7:00, 9:15 5 Academy Award Nominations including Best Picture, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay Carl Fredericksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to the fullest. But by age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. Up takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures. Featuring the voices of Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo and Christopher Plummer. Directed by Pete Docter. (2009, 96 min, Digital 3D)
GERMAN GEMSSunday February 28,
Castro Theatre in San Francisco From noon to midnight, a one-day German film event brought to you by the creator of San Francisco’s Berlin & Beyond Film Festival. Camp out at the Castro for the day. Come and meet the filmmakers, mingle with film buffs, and improve your German.
All films are in German with English subtitles
NOON: TENDER PARASITES Zarte Parasiten (Germany 2009, 87’)
By Christian Becker and Oliver Schwabe
ZARTE PARASITEN tells the story of Manu and Jakob, two young people who developed their own specific survival strategies. Without a permanent home or steady job, they live in a self-made camp in the woods. Always short on cash, they make a living as providers of human services to old and lonely people. They satisfy their employers’ desires. They give them, what they need or what they lack. When Jakob befriends a married couple and cunningly but gently takes over the role of their deceased son he grows apart from Manu, and their lives begin to derail.
A touching love story that establishes the filmmakers as a sensitive new voice in the world of cinema. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, 2009, and has since been invited to numerous international festivals.
2 PM: MISS STINNES Fräulein Stinnes fährt um die Welt (Germany 2009, 90’) Director Erica von Moeller will attend the screening.
One of the most unusual adventure stories of the 20th century: a woman circumnavigates the world by car. Clärenore Stinnes, daughter of a wealthy industrialist, began the journey in Berlin in 1927 in an Adler with two mechanics and a Swedish cameraman, Miss Stinnes survived the two-year-long journey and so did the Adler, the cameraman and all of the footage documenting the insane adventure which became the basis of this docu-drama.
4.15PM: BEING MR KOTSCHIE Mensch Kotschie (Germany 2009, 96’)
Director Norbert Baumgarten will attend the screening.
When his 50th birthday approaches Jürgen Kotschie has everything a man can ask for: house, wife, son, success, money, and admiring colleagues. But suddenly all this seems suspect to him. Tormented by sleepless nights and confusion his career and family life begins to derail and the banalities of every-day-life become almost surreal. A mid-life crisis unfolding in fantastic images to a-capella Barock music. An insightful real treat.
The film was awarded with Best Production, Kinofest Lünen 2009. Norbert Baumgarten’s LIBERATED ZONE was shown at Berlin & Beyond in 2004.
7 PM: VISION Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Germany 2009, 111 ‘)
By Margarethe von Trotta
Hildegard of Bingen - a woman ahead of her time, deserving of sainthood that has never been granted, yet her popularity and teachings have spanned the ages. Her musical, literary and philosophical works are still loved today and her influence in holistic medicine is growing. The first woman composer and the first to write about female sexuality, her works inspired not just Dante and Leonardo da Vinci several centuries later, but were responsible for bringing medieval Europe out of the darkness into the modern era of science and enlightenment. Margarethe von Trotta, one of Germany’s most important female directors teamed up with Barbara Sukowa, one of Germany’s most fascinating actresses, to create this powerful portrait of Hildegard von Bingen.
9.15 PM: THE BONE MAN Der Knochenmann (Austria 2009, 121’)
By Wolfgang Murnberger
Private Investigator Brenner (Josef Hader) is handling a case at the grill-station "Löschenkohl". There he finds – besides grilled chicken, the specialty of the house - another kind of meat...that doesn't belong in a good meal. Director Wolfgang Murnberger teamed up again with actor Josef Hader and writer Wolf Haas to create another irresistible dark comedy in the same vein as their earlier collaboration SILENTIUM (shown at Berlin & Beyond 2006). Be prepared for “harte Kost” a hard diet!
The program will be shown in part on Saturday, March 6, in Point Arena, Mendocino County
For more information go to germangems.com
Advance tickets at brownpapertickets.com
Tickets at the Castro on the day of the screening
$10 general, $8 seniors/students
$40 day pass
Reminder - Parking is very limited
around the Castro District. Street parking is available
along with two small parking lots. Please leave yourself
extra travel time for parking for prompt arrival at
the theatre. San Francisco city residents are advised
to use public transportation available from all points
of the city to the Castro District.
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
This seven-film, two-day film festival celebrates John Hughes (R.I.P.) on what would have been his 60th birthday this month. Spanning his whole career from his first screenplays for National Lampoon to his heartbreaking teen classics. Hughes was always interested in exploring class differences and teen angst not to mention making Molly Ringwald one of the 1980’s most a-typical female stars. Don't miss seeing these decade-defining films (many of which are Rated R!!) with the people who genuinely love them. Tickets are only $10 per day and are available online at 
7:30 
9:30 
11:45 
SATURDAY
4:15 
6:30 
Scr/Dir: John Hughes; Containing: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Kevin Bacon. This R-rated laugh-riot is not only Steve Martin's favorite film of his career but delivers a comedic duo that rivals any ever put to celluloid. Beware: The film packs a poignant punch to boot! 35mm print. 93min. 
FIGHT CLUB 
Director Erica von Moeller will attend the screening.
