1 True Stories (Siskel, September 14, 18) David Byrne’s one-of-a-kind Chautauqua-comedy musical of small-town America may be one of cinema’s most tender WTFs ever. Byrne calls it “A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid newspapers. It’s like ‘60 Minutes’ on acid.” 35mm.
2 Bergman 100 (Siskel, through October 3) The epic centenary retrospective continues, highlighted by “Fanny and Alexander; the 320-minute television version on September 15 and the 188-minute theatrical version, in 35mm, on September 19. The long reviled, English-language Elliott Gould-starring “The Touch” arrives September 22 and 26 for reevaluations both wooly and wise.
3 The Last Movie (Siskel, September 28, 30, October 3, 4) A 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper’s legendary South American freak-out proves bold stuff decades after its 1971 depth-charge release.
5 The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (Siskel, opens Friday, September 28) A “lost” ninety-minute Jean-Luc Godard television movie from 1986, restored, with Jean-Pierre Léaud and a fistful of romantic flare-ups.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His multimedia history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” will be published soon. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram as Ghost Signs Chicago. More photography on Instagram.
Film Top 5: September 2020 Charlie Kaufman thinks, once more, as always, of ending it all; whimsitician Miranda July returns; Chicago Latino Film Festival goes virtual; Gerard Butler may or may not save the planet from a comet; and "Tenet" promises to time-invert over Labor Day in non-pandemic hotspot localities.
