Classic Art House films return

“Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films” Films Directed by: Francois Truffaut, Ingmar… “Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films” Films Directed by: Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa Sept. 21 – Oct. 4 Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Theaters 412-682-4111

With the loss of two of cinema’s greatest directors, Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, on the same day last month, many critics and film lovers are asking: What is the future of art house cinema?

Before DVDs, before even VCRs and VHS were available, the only way to see a new or independent movie was to go to the cinema and watch it on the screen.

To celebrate those days, Pittsburgh Filmmakers is hosting the series, “Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films,” a 14-day event that will showcase 16 films from around the globe that epitomize the spirit of art cinema.

Janus Films was founded in 1956 by New York playhouse owners Bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey Jr., who screened and nationally distributed foreign film in the United States.

The company was later sold, but by bringing important art house directors such as Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard and Ingmar Bergman to this country, Janus has achieved an unwavering status as an essential film distribution company.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, a foreign film’s release in the United States was an event,” Gary Kaboly, Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s Director of Exhibition, said. “Since the theater was, at that time, considered the only way in which people would ever see these films, they would line up around the corner for them.”

For Kaboly, the screening of these 16 new and restored films evokes a sense of nostalgia for the near-religious tradition of going to films at that time.

Indeed, the first image that accompanied all of Janus’ films was a title card of the company’s namesake: a coin with the two-headed face of Janus. A Roman god, Janus symbolized open doors, transitions and the coming of the Golden Age.

Many of the films showing at all three of Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s theaters over 14 days have come to represent what is now considered the Golden Age of art house cinema.

Several of the early films came out of a time when the filmmakers worked in highly censored countries. “Ballad of a Soldier” (1959) was one of only a few films to make it to the states when Russia was a communist nation, and “Death of a Cyclist” (1955) was made in Spain under the reign of Franco.

But the art house didn’t make a splash in America’s culture until directors like Kurosawa and Bergman took the stage. One a tale of feudal Japan’s samurai and the other a meditative and surreal journey of an aging professor, “Seven Samurai” (1954) and “Wild Strawberries” (1957), respectively, have been hailed as two of the best films ever made.

Later the world of art house became conscious of itself and film history with French New Wave gems such as “Cleo from 5 to 7” (1961) and Francois Truffaut’s “Jules and Jim” (1962) – both part of “Essential Art House.”

“People don’t get a chance to see classic films from good prints on the big screen anymore . . . It’s completely unlike a living room experience,” Kaboly pointed out. “There is something to seeing a film with a group of people that can’t be replicated.”

Along with nostalgia for a bygone era, Kaboly also sees an importance in showcasing these classics to a new and younger audience.

“Though the editing style and pacing may be different from today’s films, if the audience is willing to make that leap of disbelief, then these films still have the same capabilities of capturing the audience’s imagination like they did [when they were released],” Kaboly said.

He also pointed out that many of the films being screened have directly influenced today’s most innovative and popular filmmakers.

Quentin Tarantino has frequently cited French New Wave directors like Francois Truffaut and Japanese auteur Kurosawa as major influences in his work.

Likewise, the influences of Bergman and Luis Bunel, whose “Viridiana” (1961) is part of the series, are visually apparent in the work of David Lynch.

“Everything is derivative of something else,” Kaboly said. “These films [showing in ‘Essential Art House’] are now icons for filmmakers who often borrow from them.”

Though most all of the films on display are now part of Janus Films’ partner company, The Criterion Collection on DVD, Kaboly remains true to the spirit of the cinema: “If you really want to experience these films, then go and see them with a big group of people.” The films will be showing at Harris Theater downtown (809 Liberty Ave.), Regent Square Theater (1035 S. Braddock Ave.) and Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (477 Melwood Ave.).

For a complete schedule of each film’s theater and schedule, visit Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s website at www.pghfilmmakers.org.