RL Cinema Series

Presented by movie aficionado Alex Motter

Series XIII: Barbra Streisand, the original multi-hyphenate

The next series of the Roosevelt Library Cinema Series will focus not on a group of actresses like my first series did but instead on a singular actress, arguably the most singular actress in modern Hollywood: Barbra Streisand. The original multi-hyphenate, Barbra continued to enchant generations with not only her on-screen presence but also her innate talent as a director and producer. The selected films showcase Barbra's prowess in all three arenas and span a quarter century of her illustrious career. For those who have read or are considering tackling Barbra's tome of a memoir My Name is Barbra, each film selected for this series is a chapter in the book, allowing for a unique pairing experience. The highlights from the memoir's section on the film as well as supplementary research will be presented before each screening to provide context to Barbra's career at that time.

6:30PM Reception - 6:45PM Discussion - 7:15PM Screening

Popcorn followed by a Three Course Dinner with Open Bar

Limited to 18

Screening 1: What's Up Doc?

We began the Barbra Streisand series talking about one of my personal favorite Barbra performances, the alluring Judy Maxwell in "What's Up Doc?" We discussed the selection process for this series (including the dramatic decision to exclude Funny Girl from the lineup), Bogdonavich's run of films in the early 70s, and Barbra's real life romance with Ryan O'Neal.

Alex Recommends: 

From Bogdanovich’s filmography: Paper Moon the year after What’s Up Doc ruined Ryan O’Neal with Peter Bogdonavich. Ryan stars alongside his real-life daughter Tatum as a pair of grifters roaming through the desolate countryside during the Great Depression. The ambiguous parental role O’Neal occupies along with the metatextual connection to his own fraught history as a parent adds a fascinating layer to an already fantastic film. The cherry on top is a dynamite follow-up performance from Madeline Kahn as an “exotic dancer” named Trixie in a stark contrast that foretold the variety and depth of her filmography to come. [Library, VOD]

Featuring Madeline Kahn: Blazing Saddles the year after marks another iconic Madeline Kahn performance and the beginning of her creatively fertile relationship with Mel Brooks. Portraying a German burlesque performer (a clear mimicry of Marlene Dietrich in the bizarre 1939 western Destry Rides Again), Brooks told the story of her audition for the film in which he asked her to show her legs. “I explained that I was a happily married man and that I needed someone who could straddle a chair with her legs like Marlene” he replied, to which she lifted her skirt and said, “'no touching.” This perfect collaboration is palpable on screen and contributes to one of the greatest satirical films in modern cinematic history. [Roku TV, VOD]

Screwball Comedies: Arsenic and Old Lace was considered by Carey Grant to be one of his worst performances and would cause him to visibly cringe whenever it was brought up in conversation. I’d argue however it is a perfect encapsulation of the screwball comedy genre (fast dialogue, odd couple pairings, hijinks and physical-oriented comedy) and much funnier than its star would lead you to believe. The director Frank Capra also directed the quintessential screwball comedy It Happened One Night and the holidays classic It’s a Wonderful Life [Library, VOD]

Screening 2: The Way We Were

For the second film in the series, released only a year after What's Up Doc?, we discussed the collaborative process between Barbra and director Sydney Pollack, the political climate the film was made in/simultaneously critiquing, and the pop culture legacy of The Way We Were.

Alex Recommends:

From Pollack’s filmography: They Shoot Horses Don’t They? for almost 60 years has held the Oscar for the most nominations without a Best Picture nomination at 9. An incredible feat of direction, Pollack captures the desperation of Great Depression era youth competing in a dance marathon as a desperate ploy to escape their challenging financial circumstances. Its criticism of the American Dream narrative remains as accurate as it was in the 60s, and incredibly the film (including a magnificent performance by Jane Fonda) can be viewed ad-free on Youtube in its totality! [Youtube]

Featuring Robert Redford: Between the uptick in true crime content and process-oriented journalism films such as Spotlight and (heavily indebted to this film) Zodiac, standing out in either space remains a tall order. All The President’s Men exists as a perfect film of both genres without the slightest element of sensationalism. Other than a brief depiction of the break-in over the opening credits the entire film takes place in an office or interview setting. Hoffman and Redford’s performance, the shadowy specter of government conspiracy, and the incessant pounding of a typewriter work in perfect harmony to form a timeless masterpiece. Just magnetizing and re-watchable almost half a century after its release and one of my personal favorites. [VOD]

Romantic Classics: The Apartment has been having a resurgence, something very pleasing to me as a long-time fan. Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Shirely MacLaine, what more do you need to sell a movie? A gorgeous black and white satire of “three martini lunch” era office culture and oozing with genuine chemistry between its leads, The Apartment has the added bonus of also being a New Year’s Eve film in its dynamic ending. [Tubi, Pluto]

Screening 3: A Star Is Born 

For the final non-Barbra directed film in the series, we talked about her adaptation of A Star Is Born. Mired in re-writes, directorial conflicts, and clashes on set, this film ultimately produced an Emmy and Oscar winning hit as well as one of the most iconic songs of the 70s, “Evergreen”. We also discussed Barbra’s unorthodox final cut as a producer, the parallels of real life and filmic reality present throughout, and how this version stacks up to the other iterations.

Alex Recommends: 

Read Frank Pierce’s article about the making of the film in New York magazine: https://web.archive.org/web/20150716005847/http://barbra-archives.com/bjs_library/70s/new_west_battles_barbra_jon.html

Featuring Kris Kristofferson: Blade of the many stylized vampire movies of the late 20th century (of which there are more than you would think) is this critic’s personal favorite. What separates Blade from its contemporaries is a sense of worldbuilding, with a notably brilliant shot of blood sprinklers at a vampiric rave in one of the early fight sequences. Wesley Snipes and Kristofferson are at their best in this populist hit.  [VOD]

Written by Frank Pierson: Dog Day Afternoon deservedly earned a place in the film canon with its brilliant depiction of a heist gone wrong. Directed by the great Sidney Lumet and based on a bizarre true story of a failed robbery, the film’s only Oscar is for its screenplay written by Pierson. While his contributions to ASIB may be dubious, his undeniable talent in putting this masterpiece together is worthy of recognition. [Paramount+]

Road Movies about Performers: Almost Famous has the documentary feel of watching a great rock band on tour that Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne tried to capture in their initial drafts. Cameron Crowe based the story off his experience working as a journalist at Rolling Stone, and this personal homage to the roadie experience and Crowe’s childhood is imbued with the affection only this kind of personal experience can bestow a story. [AMC+, VOD]

Screening 4: Yentl

We watched Barbra's directorial debut and the first film to be nominated for (and win) the coveted Golden Globe for Best Director for a female director. Critically decried as 'the ultimate vanity project', we discussed the source short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Barbra’s struggles in getting the film made, the impact her vicelike control had upon the project, and its ultimate place in the cultural zeitgeist today.

Alex Recommends:

The Hurt Locker - In every way this is a film that breaks convention. Bigelow was the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars, as well as the Director’s Guild of America (DGA). Hurt Locker won Best Picture, despite being the lowest grossing film to do so. This complex story of an army bomb squad in Iraq, and the conflict of methodicalness meets brazenness continues to be harrowing and engaging 15 years later. [Sling, VOD]

The Kids Are Alright - Lisa Cholodenko’s intimate, moving family ensemble comedy is one that holds a special place in my heart. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are a lesbian couple struggling to define modern familydom. This blended pastiche of their two children via surrogacy (brilliant child performances by Josh Hutcherson and Mia Mia Wasikowska) and their sperm donor played by Mark Ruffalo may be dysfunctional but find a way to reach a familial compromise. Impeccably acted, tender, and sweet. [VOD]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Rounding out this trio of female directed films, Portrait was the last film I saw before lockdown and has thus been canonized in my theatrical watching experiences. Celinne Sciamma is a tour de force writer/director, and her collaborations with her muse and former partner Adèle Haenel consistently amaze. Tackling desire, womanhood, and Greek mythology all with a swelling Vivaldi score, it’s no wonder it has been deemed a modern masterpiece by critics and audiences alike. [Disney+, Hulu] 

Screening 5: The Mirror Has Two Faces

Alex Recommends:

For the final set of recommendations I borrowed from the adage "something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new"

• Something old: A Matter of Life and Death is my personal favorite of Powell and Pressburger’s “The Archers” collaborations, which produced some of the greatest films of the golden age of British film. A moving and humanistic take on sci-fi, its protagonist must navigate the afterlife and brave a jury of supernatural peers to prove his love. They really don’t make movies like this one any more. [Youtube TV, VOD]

• Something new: The Beast spans genres and timelines (sensing the theme here?) in a startlingly original narrative foregrounding one of our up-and-coming talents in Léa Seydoux. You get no more context from me other than it’s my favorite movie from 2024 and I beg you to watch the trailer and then watch it!  [Criterion Channel]

• Something blue: Blue is the epitome of inscrutable cinema, the inaccessible arthouse film that film students love to put on to rankle feathers. What might appear on the surface to be needlessly experimental, a film whose entire visual imagery is a single shot of Yves blue canvas, belies a gut-wrenching journey of epic proportions. As his last act before dying of complications of AIDS, Derek Jarmusch, whose vision had been limited to this very shade of blue, created this film to document his diagnosis and eventual acceptance of his passing.   [Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-hmuUAmFHQ]

PARKING AT THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY

The Roosevelt Library has about 50 complimentary self-parking spaces available to guests. Street parking is often available. Vehicles are not to be left in the Roosevelt Library parking lot overnight. The Roosevelt Library will not be liable for theft or damages to vehicles or the contents of vehicles.

MAP TO THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY

HISTORY OF THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY

The First Carnegie Library of San Antonio opened in 1903. The original building at 210 W. Market Street was constructed with funding donated by Andrew Carnegie, on property donated by Caroline Kampann. On September 9, 1921, a storm event created from the remnants of a hurricane moved through Central Texas and produced over seven inches of rainfall in downtown San Antonio and the near west side of the city. The flooding forced the temporary closure of the Carnegie Library. It was razed in 1929 and the new main library was completed in August 1930 on the original site. The name changed from Carnegie Library to San Antonio Public Library.

In 1929 the Roosevelt Park Branch Library, San Antonio’s South side library, opened and in 1968 it closed. The building is located across from the Roosevelt Park which marks the beginning of the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project, an eight mile stretch of the San Antonio River that has received designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building’s architect was John Marriott who also designed the Carnegie Library in Delaware, Ohio. Leland Stone purchased the building in 2013. The building is the home of the Roosevelt Library Social Club.