The epic Noir City film festival, lost to coronavirus lockdown in 2021, was slated to a new venue, Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre earlier this year, on January 29. Then along came, sadly, not Betty or Jones, but That Darn Omicron. Happily for fans of hard-boiled thrillers and cinema chiaroscuro, Noir City 19 has been rescheduled and will begin next Thursday.
To quote the official press release: 2022's edition, subtitled "They Tried to Warn Us!", showcases 12 movies from mid-20th century Hollywood sure to resonate with contemporary viewers. Included are shockingly prescient films focusing on megalomaniacal politicians, corrupt businessmen, neo-Nazis, racism, anti-Semitism, sexual predators, serial killers, police brutality — even a viral epidemic!
This NOIR CITY program could not be more timely or topical.
As far as the 2020's go, that description sounds about right - and Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog would add "grifters," "grafters," "poseurs," "rat bastards", "sleazy oligarchs," "filthy rich dirtbags" and "craven cowards."
Films scheduled for the 2022 lineup include All The King's Men, The Argyle Secrets, Crossfire, Open Secret, The Accused, The Killer That Stalked New York, No Way Out, The Sniper, On Dangerous Ground, The Prowler, Odds Against Tomorrow and Force Of Evil.
The press release adds:NOIR CITY 19: The Bay Area Film Noir Festival, will open with a double bill. First up, All the King's Men (1949), the noir-stained 1950 Best Picture Oscar winner, starring Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark, an ambitious Southern politician who doesn't let ethics interfere with his meteoric political rise. Crawford won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance.
It's paired with the world premiere of the FNF's latest 35mm restoration — The Argyle Secrets, a 1948 B-picture directed by Cy Endfield, returned to circulation this year through the partnership of the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA Film & Television Archive. The film's mystery centers around "The Argyle Album" containing the names of U.S. politicians and industrialists who abetted the Nazis in World War II.
Weeknight shows will be presented as double bills, with one $15 admission price for two movies. Saturday and Sunday shows will have separate admissions ($12.50) for each screening. All-Access Passports, granting admission to all 12 films, are available for $100, a $30 savings over the purchase price of individual tickets. FNF proceeds from the NOIR CITY festival benefit the foundation's efforts to rescue and restore noir films in danger of being permanently lost or damaged.
The full schedule, Passports (all-access passes), individual tickets, and program notes are available at NoirCity.com.
Sadly for the tough talkin' hard-boiled noirista-filled gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, we will not be able to attend the 2022 festival. Sincerely hope we will be back watching classic noir in big screen glory in 2023. . . We shall miss all our friends who we enjoyed hanging out with at past Noir City events at San Francisco's Castro Theatre.
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