Closely Watched Films: Frank Pierson, Director and Screenwriter
November 16, 2006 - November 19, 2006
Who can ever forget Paul Newman as the ornery inmate "cool hand" Luke saying to the sadistic warden, "Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n"? Or a hyped-up Al Pacino, fist held high, yelling "Attica, Attica" to the crowd gathered in front of the bank he's just robbed? After two earlier nominations, Frank Pierson, the screenwriter of the above films, won an Oscar for the riveting and nuanced heist film Dog Day Afternoon (1975). This award acknowledged a fast-maturing talent who has penned Cat Ballou (1965), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Presumed Innocent (1990), and many others since. Pierson's scripts are notable for idiosyncratic characters struggling heartily against weighty predicaments. Pierson's preoccupation with authentic and vital social milieu has also led him to direct such engaged films as King of the Gypsies (1978), Citizen Cohn (1992), and Conspiracy (2001).
Former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frank Pierson will be PFA's inaugural guest for an occasional series, Closely Watched Films, in which notable film artists delve deeply into one of their most masterful movies. The series is based upon Roger Ebert's model, what he calls a "shot-by-shot workshop." The analysis unfolds as a combination of the filmmaker's personal insights and the audience's copious questions, leading to what some have dubbed "democracy in the dark." In Pierson's particular case, we'll begin with a screening of Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, then return the following day for an hours-long shot-by-shot exploration of this rousing film. Join us as well for the mini-retrospective that follows with screenings of Cool Hand Luke, Cat Ballou, and King of the Gypsies.
Steve Seid
Video Curator
Thursday, November 16, 2006
7:00 p.m. Dog Day Afternoon
Frank Pierson in Person. Al Pacino sizzles as a Brooklyn loser whose inept bank heist attempt turns into a citywide crisis and media circus. Masterfully scripted by Pierson and directed by Sidney Lumet, it's the film that made Pacino a star.
Friday, November 17, 2006
7:00 p.m. Dog Day Afternoon: Shot-by-Shot
Frank Pierson in Person. Join the Oscar-winning writer of Dog Day Afternoon as he breaks the film down, offering insider anecdotes and answering all your questions. A rare chance to go behind the scenes of a '70s classic.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
6:30 p.m. Cool Hand Luke
Frank Pierson in Person. "What we have here is a failure to communicate": just one of the choice moments in Pierson's pointed script. Paul Newman stars as a loner convict on a Southern chain gang.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
9:15 p.m. Cat Ballou
Frank Pierson in Person. Jane Fonda plays a schoolmarm turned outlaw in this lusty send-up of the all-American Western, with Lee Marvin in a dual role as a drunken gunman and his violent twin.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
5:30 p.m. The King of the Gypsies
Frank Pierson in Person. A Gypsy leader's retirement leads to a ruthless battle for succession in this powerhouse crime saga. Pierson directs Sterling Hayden, Judd Hirsch, Shelley Winters, and Eric Roberts, with photography by Sven Nykvist.
Closely Watched Films is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to AMPAS President and BAM/PFA Trustee Sid Ganis and to Richard Herskowitz of the Virginia Film Festival for their help with this series. Thanks as well to Barry Allen, Paramount Pictures, and Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures, for access to their fine 35mm prints, and to Marilyn Fabe for lending the title of her most recent book.
