DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN

12:30   4:30   8:30

(1985, Susan Seidelman) “Mired in suburban wedlock, Roberta (Roseanna Arquette) turns to the personal ads for vicarious romance, with unexpected results. Seidelman brings a hip ‘80s SoHo sensibility to this emancipated screwball comedy… Madonna has never found a better fit than the role of Susan, a thrift-store free spirit – and even then Arquette gives as good as she gets with a deliciously kooky comic turn. Followers of independent American cinema should keep an eye out for John Turturro, Richard Edson, John Lurie, Giancarlo Esposito, Anne Carlisle, Victor Argo, Richard Hell and Rockets Redglare, among others.” – Tom Charity, Time Out (London). 35mm. Approx. 104 min.

AFTER HOURS

2:35   6:35

(1985, Martin Scorsese) “Different rules apply when it gets this late…” explains waiter Dick Miller to word processor Griffin Dunne, whose search for a “nice girl” (Rosanna Arquette) turns into a surreal New York City nightmare. Played out in the streets, lofts, clubs and bars of mid-’80s SoHo, Dunne encounters an eclectic cast of wackos including Teri Garr, Cheech & Chong, neighborhood vigilante Catherine O’Hara and S&M-loving sculptor Linda Fiorentino. 35mm. Approx. 97 min.

REVIEWS

“The tensest comedy I can remember, building its nightmare situation step by insidious step. (This) film is so original, so particular, that we are uncertain from moment to moment exactly how to respond to it… For New Yorkers, parts of the film will no doubt play as a documentary. In what other city is everyday life such an unremitting challenge?”
– Roger Ebert