Facets

[What A Disgrace]

I believe the Artificial Eye version is still non-anamorphic. Bring on the 16x9 Criterion Blu-ray.

[domino harvey]

One more reason to hate Facets: after purchasing their port of the Blaq Out disc of Les trois couronnes du matelot six years ago from DD, I was stunned to unwrap it and discover it was a fucking DVD-R

[pistolwink]

Does anyone have any idea how this place stays in business and what it does these days? They certainly don't seem to release videos anymore, as witness the nearly complete absence of discussion on this thread since the early Obama years(!). For a long time the video-rental memberships kept the theater afloat, but I can't imagine that's been true for many years. I can't tell if they still do mail-order rentals or just local.

I checked their calendar and they seem to be mostly doing second-run films (including some Oscar nominees) and various "cult" items, a far cry from the days when they would have retrospectives of contemporary Eastern and Central European filmmakers, revivals of obscure French films of the 1940s, etc. Their founder, Milos Stehlik, died a number of years ago, but their programmer, Charles Coleman, has been there for decades. Even in their glory days Facets was always a shoestring operation and notably dysfunctional, so I'm always astonished that they have survived, somehow.

[Boosmahn]

I've lived a stone's throw away from them for over a year now and have only gone a couple of times, though I'm planning to try their rental service out, which I believe does take mail orders. They have some rare films I can't find anywhere else (officially).

Mid-January, I saw Anatomy of a Fall there, and the theater was almost full. They screened Night of the Comet with a virtual Q&A in October 2022 and it was about half full, I think.

Their Anime Club seems to draw a crowd, and I'm sure CICFF also gives them some exposure. I remember one of their Halloween vendor pop-ups being quite busy as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they're only just making it by, though.

[MichaelB]

Only one of my Facets discs - And Give My Love to the Swallows - hasn’t been superseded by something unrecognisably better. And I have a fair number, dating from that time two decades ago when it was either Facets or nothing.

[zedz]

Only one of my Facets discs - And Give My Love to the Swallows - hasn’t been superseded by something unrecognisably better. And I have a fair number, dating from that time two decades ago when it was either Facets or nothing.

Is there a better version of The End of August at the Hotel Ozone somewhere?

[TechnicolorAcid]

If only…

[hearthesilence]

FWIW, I saw Facets post something this morning regarding a cancelled screening of Bring The Family Home that led to accusations of antisemitism on social media, but they've since removed their post. I had no idea what they were referring to beforehand, but the posts are definitely out there (as well as people sharing Facets' deleted response in order to respond to it).

[Boosmahn]

This is a mess. FACETS should put out another statement, but that probably won't satisfy the people (ridiculously) accusing them of being Nazis.

[MichaelB]

Speaking from experience it's a case of people grasping the wrong end of the stick and overreacting, it's usually better for the company not to say anything, as an independent defence from others will most likely carry more weight.

I can think of more than one controversy that I've been peripherally involved with where the official company policy was not to comment, and in all cases I think that was correct.

[spectre]

Classic case where they probably should have just said no to begin with – seems like a garbage documentary made about some z-grade celebrity who, going by the trailer, goes around doing gotcha interviews with pro-Palestinian protesters – but in agreeing to the screening and then backflipping they both massively boost this film’s profile and also get to step on a massive rake in the process. There’s a lesson here about having strong principles and sticking to them so that, if you ever do come under fire, you are able to defend your actions; but a lot of cultural organisations seem to fail that test from the outset, sadly.

[pistolwink]

I get the sense that they were just renting the screening room to this guy rather than programming it themselves? (Which is something Facets increasingly seems to be relying on to keep the lights on.)

[beamish14]

I get the sense that they were just renting the screening room to this guy rather than programming it themselves? (Which is something Facets increasingly seems to be relying on to keep the lights on.)

All this controversy over a 60ish minute “work in progress” of a jackass trolling college students exercising their right to protest a genocide. Insane. Nobody showed up for that bullshit IDF propaganda film in Los Angeles, and they won’t buy tickets for this crap, either

[pistolwink]

Now, to be fair, this jackass also made an absolutely unlistenable rap song.

[spectre]

"Unlistenable" is putting it nicely, given these charming lyrics:

'Cause every click make a little money off the hype
Roger Waters suck my dick for the rest of your life […]

Mia Khalifa, I hope you choke on dead terrorist dick

Given the reports of rampant sexual violence against POWs and genocide supporters' constant fantasising about LGBT protesters being murdered in Gaza, it's hard to ignore the disturbingly specific focus on violent sexual degradation here.

All of this would be whatever – just hate speech from a nobody looking for the same "clicks" he's denouncing – except for the fact that a movie theatre was being attacked for not platforming this guy. While I appreciate we're all living in a climate where it's increasingly difficult to stand up to bullies, I hope cinemas like this will be smarter and braver in future; it's a real shame they caved in to the pressure.

Also, frustrating that reports like this keep comparing this "film" to the genuinely brave and important No Other Land, as if they're two sides of the one coin. Basel Adra is living under constant threat of actual violence – a considerably more fraught situation than that faced by a New Jersey subway rapper – yet we never hear him expressing such vituperative sentiments towards his oppressors and their cheerleaders. No Other Land is hardly agit-prop. It's an insult to that film to put it in this category, or to suggest that we need "documentaries" like this for balance.

[beamish14]

"Unlistenable" is putting it nicely, given these charming lyrics:

'Cause every click make a little money off the hype
Roger Waters suck my dick for the rest of your life […]

Mia Khalifa, I hope you choke on dead terrorist dick

Given the reports of rampant sexual violence against POWs and genocide supporters' constant fantasising about LGBT protesters being murdered in Gaza, it's hard to ignore the disturbingly specific focus on violent sexual degradation here.

All of this would be whatever – just hate speech from a nobody looking for the same "clicks" he's denouncing – except for the fact that a movie theatre was being attacked for not platforming this guy. While I appreciate we're all living in a climate where it's increasingly difficult to stand up to bullies, I hope cinemas like this will be smarter and braver in future; it's a real shame they caved in to the pressure.

Facets should put an ad in the trades or a local paper proudly proclaiming whatever pittance it grosses from his friends and family

[Boosmahn]

FACETS is in talks to reschedule the screening.