Hitchens v Galloway - the report from our man in Brooklyn

Tom Gilmore reports on the debate between Christopher Hitchens and George Galloway.

"I was sitting front row in the balcony and had a pretty good bird's
eye view of what they called 'The Grapple in the Apple.'

It was very lively, as I think everyone expected it would be. The
crowd seemed very evenly split in who they supported and, as things
like this go, nobody was there to have their mind changed. Rather,
they were there to see their side supported by the most colorful and
passionate mouth-piece for their views. Strong points from both men
were always greeted with a chorus of cheers and boos. I even thought
some of the crowd was moving close to blows at certain points. I think
New York has quite a few Hitchen types - pro-war liberals, or socially
liberal conservatives, whichever works for you, because they're
ultimately the same - more seem to reside here than I expected. Unless
of course they were all in attendance last night.

Galloway's jabs were more immediate -- and let's face it, who didn't
go for the jabs? -- and he seemed like the more seasoned debater. Even
Oona King, whom Galloway defeated in the last election, conceded that
Galloway won the debate in terms of oratory skills. Galloway accused
Hitchens of doing the impossible -- turning from a butterfly into
slug, and this was probably the best of the night.

Hitchens' on the other hand seems to work better on paper - and his
style of attack was occasionally lost in front of the audience.
Galloway seemed more comfortable and much smoother, whereas Hitchens
was sweating madly before the thing even started and his hands were
visibly shaking. At first I thought he must be nervous but then he's
always speaking in front of people so, no, it couldn't be nerves, it
had to be the drink. He kept trying to steady one hand with the other,
but then they'd both start shaking. Galloway's style was direct and
aggressive and you could understand everything he said despite the
thick Scottish accent. Hitchens on the other hand mumbled and his
pitch varied and you sometimes had to strain to follow his point. I've
seen him do the same thing on television - it's almost like he's
making a point he thinks should be obvious to everyone thus the
cocksure delivery.

Galloway said you shouldn't be surprised by 9/11 or 7/7 when you
consider the US's murderous history in the Middle East. Hitchens told
him he'd picked the wrong city and the wrong month to make that point,
to which he received a mighty round of boos.

I think Hitchens' biggest error was in continually returning to what I
think is an obscure point and it seemed largely lost on the crowd --
Galloway's supposed involvement in the Oil for Food scandal. Not many
people have followed the small details nor are they intimately aware
of Galloway's alleged connections. But Hitchens thought if he could he
paint Galloway as friendly w/ dictators it would follow that he could
easily discredit the rest of his argument. Hitchens' supporters take
it as an article of faith that Galloway is guilty as charged by
Hitchens (although Hitchens is the only one who has charged him) and
the net is already buzzing with people mimicking Hitchens' accusations
-- Galloway is "the piggy eyes of fascism" says Hitchens; yes, he is,
say his supporters with their arms in the air. Yet the Bush
administration, Hitchens' heros of the moment, are known to be close
with Uzbekistan's dictator Karimov and I have yet to hear Hitchens
address this, to name but one example. What he accusses Galloway of
he'll excuse in Bush and the neo-cons.

Towards the end Galloway hinted at physically assaulting Hitchens, to
which Hitchens welcomed the threat. Galloway called him a popinjay
once again, to which Hitchens said, That is true, I am a popinjay
according to the original Websters definition of the word. The insult
was funnier the first time, and Hitchens' retort was less funny still.

For one of the last questions, Amy Goodman asked Hitchens if he found
himself treated with more kindness by the media now that he'd become
pro-war. He flat-out refused to answer the question -- he even said he
thought it was a dumb question and he didn't want to answer it --
presumably because it makes him uncomfortable. Look at him though --
he's on every single network all the time, and this surely wasn't
happening before his conversion. He's become a celebrity from his
pro-war stance and he's enjoying the attention.

At one point Galloway seemed so bored by Hitchens that he started to
shine his shoes. Similarly, Hitchens took a cigarette and lighter out
and acted like he couldn't wait for Galloway to shut-up so he could go
outside and smoke. It's this small detail that almost encapsulates the
night; it was a show as much as anything. But behind this is of course
a very serious issue -- the most serious on the table at the moment,
which is the one thing both sides will agree on. The striking
difference between the sides, I think, is this: The pro-war people
have won, they're still winning, and they'll continue to win for as
long as we can tell. Does anyone really think the troops are coming
home anytime soon? So why are they so defensive? A handful of people
are loudly making the case against the war right now and the pro-war
crowd, in reaction, acts like they've been backed up against the wall.
I suspect they're so defensive because they know, as everyone does,
that things are going horribly in Iraq. And they also know that public
support for the war is in decline. It comes down to this - the pro-war
crowd doesn't have to spend their time doing anything other than
attacking anyone who speaks against the war. No, their work has been
done for them by the 2 most powerful nations.

Who won? Like I said, I think Galloway relishes the public debate and
seemed more at home. But Hitchens' supporters will obviously tell you
Hitchens won. They're both characters - clown-like at times - but I
also think both are dead serious about their positions, and about each
other. I don't think Galloway is the perfect spokesman for the
anti-war movement, but right about now he's the making the case
against war louder than just about anyone else. And I'll take his
position over the respectable but cautious anti-war Democrats who say,
"Well, maybe we should start bringing the troops home around October
2006," a date we know from experience will soon be January 07 and on."

Thanks again to Tom Gilmore for the report.

Robert Wise passed away - age 91

I first learned about the scope and diversity of his work while reading about his early days at RKO, where he directed and edited some films Val Lewton produced. An excellent book about this period is: "Fearing the Dark" The Val Lewton Career
by Edmund G. Bansak Foreword by Robert Wise
ISBN 0-7864-1709-9
53 photographs, bibliography, index
581pp. softcover 2003 [1995]
more information about this book is at:
http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?isbn=0-7864-1709-9


from the Guardian Unlimited:
Robert Wise, Hollywood legend, dies at 91

Xan Brooks
Thursday September 15, 2005

Guardian Unlimited
Robert Wise, director of The Sound of Music, died yesterday at the age of 91. The four-time Oscar-winner was reported to have suffered heart failure and passed away at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles.

Wise's Hollywood career spanned seven decades. The youngest son of an Indiana meatpacker, Wise came to Hollywood as a teenager and took a job as a message boy at RKO studios. In the 1930s he worked as a sound effects editor on the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee. In 1941 he edited Orson Welles's landmark Citizen Kane and collaborated with Welles again on the 1942 drama The Magnificent Ambersons.

Wise made his directing debut with the cult 1943 horror film Curse of the Cat People and worked in various genres throughout his career. However, he remains most closely associated with the musical. He won an Oscar for co-directing West Side Story alongside Jerome Robbins and picked up another for his 1965 blockbuster The Sound of Music.

His last major film was 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, after which he slipped into semi-retirement. He was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the American Film Institute in 1998, and directed a TV-movie, A Storm in Summer, in 2000.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
http://film.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5286192-3156,00.html

broadcast 27 - Katrina's Wake

Yes, that's me in the role of the Conspiracy Theorist in the most recent broadcast of the Theory of Everything. (link can be found to the right of the screen) The unfortunate thing is most of what I say really has already been said by various websites on the internet.

Enjoy!

plans for le weekend

Still recovering from a busy week. It looks like the coming weekend won't be a picnic either. I hope to check out the Harvard yard sale tomorrow and possibly catch a film later in the day. Sunday night is my friend Vin's birthday, which may entail a visit to River Gods for various festivities. This week's edition of the Montreal Mirror has Brazilian Actor/Musician Seu Jorge on the cover, I believe he is due to play a the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston soon. Also, Nouvelle Vague are on tour. It may be a good idea to catch them this time round because the will perform a number of covers to be on a forthcoming release (Blondie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, New Order and Bauhaus and the Smiths). It would appear that Bossa Nova covers are definately in style. I also want to check out the Degas exhibit at the Sackler museum. That reminds me, the Harvard Film Archive's new calendar starts tonight. They'll be doing a retrospective of Louis Malle's work for most of this month. I'll put together a 'highlights' of the schedule shortly. Also of note: the lastest issue of the New Left Review has a book review by Jonathan Rosenbaum of a new compilation of French Film Critic Serge Daney's work. I must get a hold of that shortly.

I'll be on the air tonight playing mostly older material. The new Goldfrapp "Supernature" disc is already out in Europe to stellar reviews. Hopefully the disc will be released here shortly.

Bonne chance!

George Galloway, MP US TOUR - starting in Boston!

Stand Up and Be Counted: No to War and Occupation
The George Galloway US Tour
September 13-24: Boston, New York, Toronto, Madison, Chicago,
Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.

All the details are here:
http://www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com/

BOSTON: September 13, Faneuil Hall, 6:30pm
Tickets available at Ticketmaster for $10
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/event/EventListings?orgId=10553
Ticketmaster by Phone - 1-866-468-7619 ask for the George Galloway,
MP Tour

Seating is limited to first 900!

on Tuesday Galloway heads to New York City for a debate with Christopher Hitchens.
My friend Tom Gilmore will be there to cover the scene.

George Galloway is Respect party Member of Parliament for Bethnal
Green and Bow in East London. He recently electrified the United
States with his appearance at a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations hearing on May 17, when he turned the proceedings into
a condemnation of the war in Iraq. CNN's Wolf Blitzer described
Galloway's speech in the Senate as "a blistering attack on US
senators rarely heard" in Washington.

Galloway's new book is Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington (The New
Press) and will be published and timed for national release in
bookstores in conjunction with the tour.

National Tour sponsored by: The New Press, International Socialist
Review, Center for Economic Research and Social Change, the National
Council of Arab Americans

Boston Co-Sponsors: Traprock Peace Center

THE BEAST (LA BETE) coming to Coolidge Corner

An upcoming midnight screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts is The Beast (La Bete) directed by Walerian Borowczyk.

I first saw this film at the Harvard Film Archive a few years ago. Having seen a brief clip on UK television regarding Jarvis Cocker of the band Pulp, describing this as the first Erotic film he'd ever seen in a proper seedy cinema. Jarvis recalls how it was the first time he'd seen a woman's breasts in motion, 'reacting to gravity'. This film is definately a cut above a lot of what's out there, despite its dubious history. It is also one of the funniest films I've ever seen.

Saturday, September 17, 2005.

Check:

http://coolidge.org

from the distributor, cult epics, website:

http://www.cultepics.com/ce_erotica04.html

"Once upon a time in the 18th century a beast lived in the woods of an aristocratic estate. And this beast, possessed of a giant phallus and an insatiable lust, set upon the beautiful young lady of the house. Two centuries later, the tale of the beast would return in the dreams of an American heiress contracted to carry the male descendant of the same crumbling aristocratic family and their secret.
Controversial rework of The Beauty And The Beast, which was forbidden for 25 years."

Articles about Hurricane Katrina

The best I've read so far:

We are on our own
by Darryl Pinckney
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1561997,00.html

the latest:

Team Bush's Bad Day in Wyoming
by Peter Preston
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1562733,00.html

Left to sink or swim
by Gary Younge
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1562649,00.html

The Guardian Unimited's Special Report on Hurricane Katrina:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/0,16441,1560620,00.html

And a prescient word from Mike Davis:
from September 24, 2004
Poor, Black and Left Behind
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0924-02.htm

Hurricane Katrina & The Arts

here is a repost from the ArtsJournal:

Hurricane Katrina & The Arts

Some Ways You Can Help

I am writing from Swine Palace, the professional theatre company affiliated with the Louisiana State University Department of Theatre in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I am hoping you can pass on to your readers information regarding an arts-related unified disaster relief effort. As the reports from New Orleans continue to come in, it is clear that South Louisiana faces a dire situation as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Here in Baton Rouge, we are expecting our population to double in the next few days as more evacuees and displaced citizens are relocated here.

Currently, Swine Palace is working on a number of ways to service the many evacuees in Baton Rouge and further participate in the disaster relief efforts. As such, we would like to appeal to our fellow arts organizations across the country to participate in what we are calling the Arts United for Hurricane Relief program. We are asking that organizations consider ways to solicit hurricane relief donations. Some of the ways that they might participate is by placing a donation jar in the their lobby, including an insert or ad in the program, including a link on their website or possibly donating the proceeds of a special performance. There are a variety of funds to which the proceeds can be donated including the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), The Hurricane Katrina Displaced Residents Fund or the Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Recovery Fund both of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (www.braf.org) or the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund of the LSU Foundation. We are certainly not asking that any organization jeopardize their own funding efforts, but any assistance would be greatly appreciated. We are currently setting-up a link on our website (www.swinepalace.org) which will provide additional information, links and downloads as well as a list of all the organizations that participate. In the meantime, organizations who would like to participate can contact me at 225-578-9274 or ksosno1@lsu.edu

Thank you for your assistance.

Kristin Sosnowsky
Managing Director
Swine Palace Productions
Reilly Theatre
Tower Dr. - LSU
Baton Rouge, LA 70803

---------------
Also of note, at Mass MoCA all the proceeds from the Sept. 4th concert will go to Hurricane Relief.
Sun September 4 7:30pm
Dance Party

New Orleans R & B
Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Mixing up funk, soul, and blues with the classic Big Easy R&B sound, Walter "Wolfman" Washington storms into town to raise the roof and lower inhibitions at a dance party not to be missed.

"A mess of straight-up soul music the way they used to do it. Sweaty funk grooves, a busy brass section huffing and puffing, late-night love songs, and heartfelt vocals that follow no script because the Wolfman is just feeling it too much." -Boston Phoenix

Courtyard C or Hunter Center $14 in advance/$17 day of show
check:
www.massmoca.org

The Hotel Venus

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?ff20040407a2.htm

Japan Times article above.

Interesting Japanese film directed by Hirota Takahashi, with Korean dialogue and set in Vladivostok.

IS this touring any festivals in the U.S.A.?

Factory Records DVD Box Set

Finally checked Liberation's website for the first time in a while.

It led me to the article below and this discovery. Must investigate further.

http://www.nuloop.com/details_cd.php?arti=35774

http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=308043
Musique. Le label compile l'imagerie rock des années 80.
La chaîne du froid de la Factory
Par Philippe AZOURY
vendredi 01 juillet 2005 (Liberation - 06:00)
Umbrellas in the Sun
Crepuscule/Factory Benelux DVD 1979-1987. LTM. 1 DVD, 24 €.
Factory Records DVD Box Fac 429.
Double DVD, 24 €.

The films that got away by Scott Foundas

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/40/features-foundas.php

Good article by Scott Foundas on the film distribution nightmare.

Article on The Plague in America

Excellent comment from Mark Morford this week:

Bring out your dead -- the plague is already here
By Mark Morford at the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/17/DDGI2E8C6C1.DTL

"[A] misguided, lost and carnal individual... filled with vexation and ignorance of God [who will] gladly cheer the anti-christ."
-- Christian Resource Network

Morford writes like a man possessed by demented angels. His twice-weekly column routinely features jaw-dropping, unflinchingly liberal prose so biting and sweet and innovative it amazes us that a mainstream daily would keep this guy on the payroll.
-- Detroit Metro Times

About the Author:

Mark Morford is a columnist for sfgate.com. He is also a yoga teacher and fiction writer and an outstanding parallel parker and fervent wine devotee and former smoker and former LA rock-god wannabe and careful insinuator and occasional unfair mudslinger and frequent skeptic and sporadic true believer and paradoxical contrarian and tattooed love-monkey and vehement non-conservative and casual coffee drinker and ardent dog lover and medium sleeper and comparison shopper and funky subtle prurient neo-pagan gleaner of screaming delicious naked nuances.

more Brainstorm tonight (River Gods Central Sq. Cambridge)

I'm doing the early set from 8-10pm. Expect to hear the New Music and lots of older goodies, "Ascent" by Martial Canterel next to "XOYO" from The Passage. Be sure to stick around for James Kraus and Benjamen.

Onwards!

Yann Tiersen - Montreal in November

1/11/2005 YANN TIERSEN MONTREAL (Québec) - La Tulipe

2/11/2005 YANN TIERSEN MONTREAL (Québec) - La Tulipe

Two mid-week shows. Its doubtful that I'll make it up North for the concerts. One never knows, though as my birthday is also in early November.

And that review is still forthcoming...

The Business of Books by André Schiffrin

I have finally got round to reading André Schiffrin's excellent book on the impact business practices have had on publishing in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. This book is required reading for anyone who cares how knowledge is disseminated to the public. Market Censorship and Focus Groups effectively kill any ideas that appear fresh and new. It is only through independent publishing houses and booksellers that unique ideas and different perspectives on life are allowed the time of day. From my perspective, of working in college radio for 11+ years, the public needs access to varied arenas to nurture alternate views. Too often, people assume the only kind of music that's out there is played on the larger commerical stations. This kind of mass marketing of ideas and sounds crushes public taste by 'dumbing it down' and not allowing it to develop. People need to have the opportunity to gravitate towards sounds and ideas they prefer. It should be a fundamentally organic process, not something which is force fed to people. How can one determine what appeals to himself or herself if he or she does not have access to a variety of choices? People are effectively crippled if they cannot discuss matters sensibly. How can a person make an informed decision if he or she is denied information? André Schiffrin's book deals with all of these ideas by his personal journey through contemporary publishing. He has produced an essential text for studying the way the culture industry works.

********************
from the Verso website (www.versobooks.com)

The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read
André Schiffrin

Postwar American publishing has been ruthlessly transformed since André Schiffrin joined its ranks in 1956. Gone is a plethora of small but prestigious houses that often put ideas before prof it in their publishing decisions, sometimes even deliberately. Now six behemoths share 80% of the market and profit margin is all.

André Schiffrin can write about these changes with authority because he witnessed them from inside a conglomerate, as head of Pantheon, co-founded by his father bought (and sold) by Random House. And he can write about them with candor because he is no longer on the inside, having quit corporate publishing in disgust to setup a flourishing independent house, the New Press. Schiffrin's evident affection for his authors sparkles throughout a story woven around publishing the work of those such as Studs Terkel, Noam Chomsky, Gunnar Myrdal, George Kennan, Juliet Mitchell, R.D.Laing, Eric Hobsbawm and E.P. Thompson.

Part-memoir, part-history, here is an account of the collapsing standards of contemporary publishing that is irascible, acute and passionate. An engaging counterpoint to recent, celebratory memoirs of the industry written by those with more stock options and fewer scruples than Schiffrin, The Business of Books warns of the danger to adventurous, intelligent publishing in the bullring of today's marketplace.

"It is at once a riveting chronicle of the qualitataive rise and fall of the American reader and a very personal book." – Village Voice

"Andre Schiffrin is an old-fashioned New York publisher, the sort that loves and believes in books. Not just best-sellers, but little books with big ideas." – The Times

"André Schiffrin presents a sombre portrait of American publishing where the pursuit of profit has strangled alI creativity." – Nouvel Observateur

André Schiffrin was, for thirty years, Publisher at Pantheon. He is the Director of the New Press, which he founded in 1993. He contributes a regular column on publishing to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

re: Go-Kart Mozart review --

Thanks for the correction, I should have said that Manfred Mann covered "Blinded By the Light" in the 70s.

"Mann formed a new jazz-rock group called 'Manfred Mann Chapter Three'. The latter quickly evolved into 'Manfred Mann's Earth Band', a synth-driven rock 'n' roll band which scored a U.S. No. 1 hit in the 1970s with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light," popularizing the then unknown singer-songwriter." -- off a Manfred Mann website.

Go Kart Mozart - Tearing Up the Album Charts

Go Kart Mozart
Tearing Up The Album Charts
BRUM2CD

Go Kart Mozart makes music in the style of brit-pop. The band hails from Birmingham and was founded by Lawrence Hayward. Their name comes from a line from the lyrics of Blinded by the Light, a song by Manfred Mann. Lawrence is primarily known for his work in the band Felt from the ‘80s. After the Felt years, he formed a pop band that lasted for three albums called Denim. His latest, Go Kart Mozart, has just released its second album “Tearing Up the Album Charts”. Lawrence is a bit of a cult figure in the UK music scene, having been referenced and praised by the likes of Pulp, Belle and Sebastian and St. Etienne, among other bands. He still remains kind of a misfit and a recluse.

“Tearing Up the Album Charts” captures his love of suburbia and pop music in an uncanny way. It is a clear homage to glam music of the ‘70s and carries on in a DIY appropriation of that style—all catchy guitar riffs and keyboard solos. One song on the album, 'Fuzzy Duck' is a litany of '60s and '70s obscure band names taking in Bacon Fat, Plastic Penny and Ultimate Spinach. This should ground the listener in the appreciation of trash culture that Lawrence revels in. He explores the jaded and empty spaces of suburbia through short pop songs that rarely exceed two minutes. The entire album lasts precisely 33 minutes, which is perfectly respectable for a pop disc. Most of the songs come from Lawrence’s personal experience as mediated through the prism of popular culture. That said, most of these songs deal with being unemployed and going out getting wasted on drugs. Crystal Meth abuse is the subject of “At the DDU”, while “Donna and The Dopefiends” has to do with the relationship he has with his female drug dealer. The interview at the bottom of this review mentions that the song “Transgressions” is about a trend for spraying Lynx body lotion on to your tongue for a cheap high. Lawrence also discusses ‘70s pop ephemera, the song, “Listening to Marmalade” regards the ‘70s band “Marmalade” in a fond light. An album like this is a nostalgic speed freak’s trip through the underside of decadent nowhere towns in the UK.

Interview:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/homeentertainment/story/0,12830,1523239,00.html

Track Listing:

Glorious Chorus
Summer Is Here
Electric Rock & Roll
Listening To Marmalade
At The DDU
On A Building Site
Fuzzy Duck
Transgressions
Delta Echo Echo Beta Alpha Neon Kettle
Donna & The Dopefiends
England & Wales
City Centre

Tonight -at River Gods in Central Square (Cambridge)

Another night in -- I will DJ the late set tonight, from 11pm to 1am or so. DJ SO is starting the night off, with Brainstorm co-ordinator James Kraus doing the lynchpin set in the middle. Benji is in Beijing on Business. I hope he returns from China with more than a bootleg of an American 'Country' singer's album.

Cancelled - Jay-Jay Johanson

Unfortunately I receieved an e-mail last night saying the NYC show is cancelled. I don't know if he's still playing concerts in Canada or if the entire tour is due to be rescheduled. As things are now, my plans for Monday are in limbo.

Heart of the Festival - Cannes via agnes b. - French Film Festival in Boston

This DVD can be found in agnes b. stores and online. It is a 56 minute documentary accompanied by two shorter visual documents (slightly over 20 minutes in length each) compiled and arranged by Gilles Jacob, the president of the Cannes Film Festival. To my knowledge, this will be shown several times at the upcoming French Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. I don't know if agnes b. is one of the sponsors of the festival or not. However, considering that this film is on the schedule, it seems like a good fit to offer the DVD for purchase in the Museum Store. Agnes b's film production company, Love Streams, has produced a good stable of contemporary, independent films (Gaspar Noe's "Seul Contre Tous", Claire Denis' "Trouble Every Day", Patrice Chereau's "Son Frere" and Emilie Deleuze's "Mister V"). I intend to look investigate shortly.

The Boston French Film Festival starts this Thursday, July 7, 2005.
36 Quai des Orfèvres
8:00 PM
Opening Night Film
36 Quai des Orfèvres by Olivier Marchal (2004, France, 110 min.). A box-office hit in France, 36 Quai des Orfèvres pits Daniel Auteuil against Gérard Depardieu in a taut, atmospheric thriller set in the shadowy world of a Parisian police force fighting organized crime. When their superior tells them that his choice of a successor will be based on who can bring down a gang currently causing havoc, he sets off a brutal competition between the two division heads, Vrinks (Auteuil) and Klein (Depardieu). Each has his connections into the gang world, and doesn't hesitate to use them against the other. Beautifully photographed in rich, dark tones with slivers of silvery light, 36 Quai des Orfèvres is both an homage and an updating of France's strong tradition of crime films. In French with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Film Society at Lincoln Center.
Tickets: MFA members, seniors, and students $12; general admission $15.
check: www.mfa.org

The copy from the agnes b. website reads:

The "Heart of the Festival" DVD
This DVD is an anthology of the greatest moments of the Cannes Film Festival narrated by its president, Gilles Jacob who lifts the curtain on historical backstage secrets and events of The Cannes Film Festival in an exceptional compilation of three segments which, thanks to their star-studded cast, form a passionate and moving history of the Festival. Its myths and rites, its legendary participants, prizes and unexpected happenings are both touching and hilarious. Its evenings of elegance and glamour and its magical and surprising encounters are featured. This DVD offers a unique opportunity to enjoy and enjoy again, to witness unforgettable images of major stars and to hear the greatest moviemakers in the history of cinema discuss the secrets of their art. "I love movies; I say it from my heart! I am very happy to share my passion through this outstanding DVD collection," says agnes b. "The Heart of the Festival" DVD, part of the "I Love Movies" Collection of agnes b. Total running time is 160 minutes, format for all zones.

www.agnesb.com