Jul 6, 2017
SFFILM
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — SFFILM and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announce the third season of Modern Cinema, the collaborative film series that explores the dynamic relationships between the past and present of cinema as one of the modern era’s essential art forms. Season three, entitled Johnnie To: Cops and Robbers, starts July 20, and is dedicated to the cross-genre work of Hong Kong master Johnnie To and its impact on world cinema, particularly the modern crime film. Johnnie To will attend the final weekend of the program, August 3-6. All screenings and talks take place in the Phyllis Wattis Theater at SFMOMA.
“Johnnie To’s meticulous deconstruction and unique re-imagining of the crime film places him among the most important artists of the late twentieth century in any genre,” said SFFILM Executive Director Noah Cowan. “Seeing his films in context with other masters of the craft will both be a fascinating look at this beloved cinema genre and a rip-roaring good time for all.”
“No one tells the global gangster narrative like Johnnie To,” said Frank Smigel, Associate Curator, Performance and Film for SFMOMA. “His exquisitely choreographed gunfights, painterly shot composition, and the almost musical rhythms of his films’ action sequences make the crime genre read like high art, and introduce viewers to Hong Kong not just as a setting but as a character in its own right.”
Modern Cinema seeks to highlight the ongoing dialogue between the critically acclaimed filmmakers of today-particularly those showcased in contemporary visual culture-and the great masters of cinema’s past, in an attempt to shine a light on the historical continuity and ongoing impact of this modern art form.
Hong Kong film director and producer Johnnie To is a master of the contemporary crime film, fusing elements of minimalist French noir (especially the films of Jean-Pierre Melville), the complex narrative structure of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy, and the B-movie panache of Seijun Suzuki. Restless and prolific, he has made more than 70 films and has applied his signature style to other genres, including a musical (Johnnie To’s Office). He has shown six films at the Cannes Film Festival and received countless other nominations and awards. His films embody the sociopolitical life, criminal codes, and law enforcement conduct of Hong Kong (and now mainland China), while simultaneously resonating with the greatest films in the genre, many of which are included in this season of Modern Cinema.
The films by other directors presented alongside To’s work illuminate his cinematic inspirations and his impact on crime films made all over the world. From Japan (Akira Kurosawa, Seijun Suzuki), to France (Jean-Pierre Melville, Henri Vernueil), to the United States (Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah, Stanley Kubrick), master filmmakers have explored criminal underworlds and the universal struggle between criminality and law enforcement with a similar style and spirit one finds in To’s Hong Kong masterpieces.
WEEK ONE
THURSDAY, JULY 20
6:00 pm – Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1949, 122 min)
8:45 pm – Drug War (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2012, 107 min)
FRIDAY, JULY 21
6:00 pm – Fulltime Killer (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2001, 101 min)
8:30 pm – Bound (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, USA, 1996, 107 min)
SATURDAY JULY 22
2:00 pm – Lifeline (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 1997, 108 min)
4:30 pm – Heat (Michael Mann, USA, 1995, 170 min)
8:30 pm – Running Out of Time (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 1999, 93 min)
SUNDAY JULY 23
2:30 pm – Where a Good Man Goes (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 1999, 90 min)
5:00 pm – The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, USA, 1956, 85 min)
7:30 pm – Three (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2016, 90 min)
WEEK TWO
THURSDAY JULY 27
6:00 pm – Two Men in Manhattan (Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1959, 84 min)
8:15 pm – Vengeance (Johnnie To, Hong Kong/France, 2009, 108 min)
FRIDAY JULY 28
6:00 pm – Branded to Kill (Seijun Suzuki, Japan, 1967, 91 min)
8:30 pm – Blind Detective (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2013, 129 min)
SATURDAY JULY 29
3:00 pm – A Hero Never Dies (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 1998, 86 min)
5:30 pm – The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972, 120 min)
8:30 pm – PTU (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2003, 85 min)
SUNDAY JULY 30
4:00 pm – Johnnie To’s Office (Johnnie To, China/Hong Kong, 2015, 120 min)
7:00 pm – The Sicilian Clan (Henri Vernueil, France, 1969, 124 min)
WEEK THREE
THURSDAY AUGUST 3
7:30 pm – An Evening with Johnnie To
FRIDAY AUGUST 4
6:00 pm – Election (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2005, 100 min)
8:45 pm – Triad Election (a.k.a. Election 2) (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2006, 92 min)
SATURDAY AUGUST 5
2:00 pm – The Mission (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 1999, 81 min)
4:30 pm – The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1972, 175 min)
8:30 pm – Exiled (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2006, 110 min)
SUNDAY AUGUST 6
2:30 pm – Breaking News (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2004, 90 min)
5:00 pm – The Wild Bunch (Director’s Cut) (Sam Peckinpah, USA, 1969, 145 min)
8:15 pm – Life Without Principle (Johnnie To, Hong Kong, 2011, 107 min)
Tickets & Information
SFFILM and SFMOMA member tickets are $10; general public tickets are $12. Tickets are available online or onsite at SFMOMA during regular business hours. Modern Cinema tickets do not include admission to SFMOMA galleries. Ticketholders for Modern Cinema should enter through the museum’s Joyce and Larry Stupski Entrance on Minna Street (between Third and New Montgomery Streets). For up-to-date program information and tickets, visit sfmoma.org/modern-cinema.
About the Phyllis Wattis Theater at SFMOMA
As part of the opening of the new and expanded SFMOMA in May 2016, the Phyllis Wattis Theater also received a major renovation and system update creating one of the most enjoyable places to see film in the Bay Area. A new, state-of-the-art NEC digital projector offers Modern Cinema the ability to present films on a 24 x 12-foot screen with the capacity to show aspect ratios of 1:37, 1:66, 1:85, and 2:39. The Wattis Theater can also screen films via new Kinoton projectors in 16 and 35mm formats. Because sound is integral to the cinematic experience, a new Meyer Sound Cinema Surround System enhances the nuance and precision intended by the filmmaker. Comfortable new seating with cup holders round out the Wattis Theater experience.
Supporters
This season of Modern Cinema is sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco.
Modern Cinema’s Founding Supporters are Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. Generous support is provided by Nion T. McEvoy and the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Fund. Additional support is provided by Becky Draper.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art SFMOMA is dedicated to making the art for our time a vital and meaningful part of public life. Founded in 1935 as the first West Coast museum devoted to modern and contemporary art, a thoroughly transformed SFMOMA, with triple the gallery space, an enhanced education center and new public galleries, opened to the public on May 14, 2016. www.sfmoma.org