I'm sure all of you are well aware of my newfound dedication to repertory cinema: seeking out older films, either well-known (but probably as yet unseen by me) or rare/as-yet-unavailable on DVD. It's seriously come to the point where I've long resigned myself to falling behind on newer releases just to get my repertory-cinema fix. Just a few weeks ago, though, with a friend of mine back in New Jersey, I was talking (or, rather, "talking"; this was conducted through Twitter direct messages) about how overwhelming the sheer amount of choice was for people as tuned into the alternative-cinema scene in New York as I am. So many theaters playing all sorts of these older treasures, some of them offering this kind of programming every single night...how to keep track of them all? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a website that made that task oh-so-easy?
Well, thanks to Paul Brunick, a good friend and bright young film critic in his own right, there is now an easy way for people like me to keep tabs on what films are playing in repertory every night in New York. Yesterday, his site Alt Screen went live, and right off the bat, the site proved its usefulness by alerting me to two screenings of Peter Bogdanovich's 1972 comedy What's Up, Doc? that I hadn't even heard about, playing at a venue—the Clearview's Chelsea Cinemas—that had never really figured into my moviegoing plans in the past. (Not that I could make either one; I was too busy being dazzled by Charles Burnett's rare 1990 film To Sleep With Anger at the Museum of Modern Art, as part of their just-begun retrospective of the director.) Already I have a new venue to check up on and new cinematic revelations to look forward to!
For repertory-cinema fiends like myself, this site is a godsend—and better, it's actually quite a beautifully designed site to boot! And it features Editor's Picks and extra blog commentary/criticism! Hats off to Paul and the rest of his crew for a job well done! And, of course, go explore the site for yourself, because it's very much worth your time, if you're interested in discovering everything New York has to offer film-wise.
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