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The Walter Reade Theater salutes an exceptional British actor, whose acting career has spanned four decades: Malcolm McDowell. Vastly talented, with a seductive voice, mercurial personality and bold physicality, McDowell commands the screen as hero or villain. So full of ferocious energy that he often seems on the verge of bursting into song and dance like a Yorkshire Jimmy Cagney, he can be equally dynamic when he subsides into reflection, even serenity. In Time After Time he plays an unlikely romantic lead as H.G. Wells who is wooed by an American bank employee (charming Mary Steenburgen) through the medium of a time machine. In the powerful and previously unseen Soviet-made Assassin of the Tsar, which Vincent Canby of The New York Times called "a remarkable... meditation on regicide" he embodies a dual role brilliantly and looks entirely like a Russian out of a Dostoevsky novel. In Get Crazy he plays an egregiously narcissistic rocker named Reggie Wanker in a performance that demonstrates his gift for broad comic effect. Going into Lindsay Anderson's if.... McDowell was a 24-year-old unknown playing a 16-year-old rebel. He makes his entrance memorably in a black cape that covers most of his face, a canny self-dramatizer. The character of Mick Travis — brash, insolent, but innocent — recurred in Anderson's second film, O Lucky Man! Here, Mick embarks on a series of comic and horrific misadventures that form the core of a picaresque journey punctuated by an inspired musical score by Alan Price. In between, the Malcolm-persona is crystallized in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. As the Beethoven-worshipping droog Alex, he is mesmerizing, his enormous blue eyes staring insolently at us from beneath heavy lashes. No less riveting today in the soon to be released Gangster No. 1, he brings out the bitterness and braggadocio of a former London crime lord engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with his past. To get the full measure of McDowell's appeal, don't miss Harold Pinter's mordant domestic masterpiece, The Collection, starring Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates, Helen Mirren and McDowell. This 60-minute Granada TV production, directed by Michael Apted, will be preceded by a 20-minute video of McDowell career clips featuring films not shown in this series. Malcolm McDowell will appear in person at a number of public screenings. – Joanna Ney
New York Times Weekend
5/17/02
Moviecrazed 5/22/02
New York Guide 5/27/02
"Stanley Kubrick once said I could play a thug with intelligence. My school
headmaster said I was very naughty without being malicious. I've always felt
rather insolent - performing came easy. There was never any acting
involved."
NY Resident 6/10/02
Ticket stubs for
all showings
Walter Reade
Theater Box Office
Walter Reade Theater Front Doors
Lobby
articles display
Gangster
Number 1 US Poster
Painted by Philip Castle who painted the famous ACO Poster
Postcard front
Image was printed in reverse - whoops!
Malcolm and
Paul Bettany
Paul was laughing because Malcolm was busting on a photographer who asked them
to turn to the left again.
Candid shot of Malcolm before Assassin of the Tsar 5/24
Malcolm on
stage for ACO Q&A 5/26
Wed May 22
2:00 pm - Figures in a Landscape
4:00 pm - Time After Time
6:30 pm - if.... (Paul intro, followed by MM Q & A)
9:00 pm - The Collection (clips film, MM intro and Q & A)
Clips film includes excerpts from Little Red Riding Hood, Cross Creek,
My Life So Far, Blue Thunder, Tank
Girl, Just Visiting, Star Trek, Hugo Pool,
Pearl + Sunset (20 mins)
if.... Q & A
Clips Film Q & A
Malcolm's Collection Introduction
Collection Q&A
Paul Sutton introduced if.... and even wrote
a little 2pg summary which was available at the theater. His main point was that if you
haven't seen it before to just sit back and enjoy it. If you have seen it
before, then enjoy the beautiful new print. If you have seen it many, many times
then focus on Malcolm's great performance.
If you have never seen if.... in the theater then you really
haven't seen it. When the DVD comes out you will see what I mean. It is very
bright and colorful, which is lost on those 20 year old VHS tapes we are used to. It is
also much more profound when it switches between color and black and white film.
It had been many years since I had seen the film and was struck by how it was
almost like short stories instead of a film where you just follow main
character. For example - Chapter 3 is called 'Term Time', but no tests are
shown, just different characters adventures. It is a unique film in this sense. Another thing I really liked was how
long some of the shots were. When Johnny, Wallace and Mick are getting caned in
the gym, each takes their turn and it is one shot - from one angle. I don't know
how this art got lost. The Mtv style of jumping all over or the NYPD Blue home movie
camera style makes me literally sick watching it.
For the first time during the retrospective Malcolm came on
stage for his Q&A. Joanna Ney, the director, stayed up with him asking
questions she wanted to know and repeating ones from the audience in case people
couldn't hear. Most of the questions were pretty standard like "Why the B/W
and color scenes?", "why the title if...?" "the reaction to
the film", etc.
The clips film was fun because you got to see his best scenes
from some films that aren't worth watching except to see those scenes. The
Little Red Riding Hood scene is where he is at his campfire talking about
getting some real food. The Cross Creek scene was the first half of his only
scene as Max Perkins when he arrives at cross Cross Creek. The scene from My
Life So Far was when he returned to the house and is talking to his mother.
Edward and his kids are going swimming and Morris is upset because Edward
rehired a worker he had fired. The Blue Thunder clip is right after the first
helicopter test and Cochrane isn't happy and is even less happy when Murphy
shows up as part of the project. The scene from Tank Girl is the best scene in
the film from the Water and Power headquarters when Kesslee smashes the glass
maps, makes the captain take off his shoes and walk across the broken glass to
him. Then only to kill him and drain him of his water. Lovely! The clip from
Just Visiting is when the Wizard comes to the castle pretending to be a priest.
He whips up his potion to send The Count and André back in time and then
realizes he forgot the last acorn. From Star Trek, of course it is the
"They say time is the fire in which we burn" scene - an all-time
favorite. From Hugo Pool it is one of Malcolm's best scenes - the one with the
puppet under the tree. When I was talking to Malcolm after he said he included
the clip because I mentioned it to him last time we spoke! How cool is that!?
The clip from Pearl was his introductory scene which includes the great
"What is an intellectual?" speech. It was the first time I had seen it
since it first aired and reminded me how great he was on that lousy show.
Finally the clip from Sunset, the one film I wouldn't have included in the reel,
was when Alfie does his Charlie Chaplain routine in the club.
Malcolm came up again and talked a little about the scenes
from Riding Hood, My Life So Far and Tank Girl. What he said about Tank Girl
sums up exactly what I have been saying for years about it. Thankfully he didn't
talk about Sunset, one of my least favorite of his films.
He then introduced The Collection explaining how hard it was
for them to get the print and how during a recent Pinter retrospective it wasn't
even shown. For almost everyone this would be their first time seeing it. I had
seen it on video many years ago and didn't think too much of it. On the big
screen it was much more fun.
Malcolm came back up after the film for the Q&A, but
didn't answer to many questions as he told some stories and there isn't too much
you can really ask about the short film since he covered most of it.
After the Q&A he came down and hung out so people could
talk to him and get things signed. Since I got his signature last time I was
more interested in showing him things he hadn't seen. I had an 8x10 of his 1960
Rugby Team photo made and brought that. People were handing him the usual ACO
things to sign and I just handed him that. He was totally shocked. "That's
my Rugby team school photo!?" He pointed out to colleagues which one he was
and couldn't believe I had it. "Where did you get it?" I told him
Duncan Nielson had sent it to me and once again he was surprised to hear his old
schoolmate was the one and shook my hand in thanks. I was heading out when I ran
into Paul. It was the first time we met in person after many months of emailing
about if.., Lindsay and Malcolm.
Outside the theater I showed the Rugby picture to his wife
Kelley and asked if she had seen it before. She was also surprised to see the
blowup, but admitted they had the picture on the wall of their bathroom!
She then took it and said, "Let me get him to sign it for you." And
then brought it over to him and he signed it. That was very cool of her to do
for me. He then told me, "I hope you won't be bored by hearing my stories
as I know you have heard them all before." I said I wouldn't miss it and
was there to support him. He again shook my hand and thanked me for coming and
said he would see me later.
It was certainly a perfect ending for a great first day.
Seeing two films in the theater for the first time, meeting Malcolm again,
hearing his stories, meeting his wife, getting the picture signed, getting to
meet Paul and just hanging out with everyone and talking. Much thanks to
everyone who put the show together including Joanna, Mike Kaplan and everyone at
the theater. I couldn't have had a better time.
Thurs May 23
8:00 pm - Gangster No. 1 (MM intro and Q & A)
Malcolm's Introduction
Q&A with Malcolm and Paul
Today was a much shorter day than the first
night since there was only one film. When we arrived at the theater there was a
sign that said it was sold out. I found that hard to believe on a Thursday
night. We went in and saw Malcolm there and my wife told him we needed tickets
and he said not to worry about it and he talked to Joanna the director and she
got us free tickets which was great of both of them.
There was more reason to hang out as there was a cocktail
party an hour before hand since it was the NY premiere of the film. When one
walked into the lobby on the left there was a the new US poster for the film
which is much cooler than the UK version. This one has the text "Malcolm McDowell
+ Paul Bettany = Gangster Number" then underneath facing left is a painting
of Malcolm and facing right is a painting of Paul and they are separated by a
large "1". Even cooler is the fact that Philip Castle painted it, his
first poster for a Malcolm movie since ACO! It is great to see a painted poster
since it is fast becoming a lost art as most posters from the last 10 years or
more just use stills from the film. Next to that display was some recent
articles about the retrospective from The Daily News, The Village Voice and four
others. There was also some 8x10s from Cat People and O Lucky Man! After
entering the second door and turning to the right was where the lobby where the
party was. On the walls was a large blowup of the Insolent Angel press release
and a half dozen more Gangster posters. In between those there were Time After
Time, Cat People and a 3 sheet ACO poster. In front of that area was where the
wine bar was set up. On the far wall was a collection of rare foreign posters
including a Japanese if.... and Time After Time; Polish if...., Aces High,
Raging Moon and O Lucky Man!; Plus a UK if.... quad and a vintage Caligula.
In front of this wall was where the food was located. The
food was very upscale with wrapped meats and cold chicken on a stick with a type
of pecan sauce that was like nothing I'd ever tasted. After eating the chicken
you put the stick in a lemon. There was also vegetables and chocolates.
Malcolm and Paul Bettany were on hand for the gathering and
Paul was dressed almost like the Gangster from the film. He had a dark navy blue
pin stripe suit with spiky hair and light beard. It is funny to see Paul
standing next to Malcolm as he is around 6ft 2" tall and Malcolm is 5 ft
10". One then realizes that in person it is quite a stretch for them to
play the same character. The only characteristic they share is the
striking blue eyes.
They took time for a photo shoot from many different sides
and as photographers came over they had to turn back they way they just faced
and Malcolm was saying how silly it was. Then Paul left and they took shots of
just Malcolm. I wonder why these photographers are even there as they don't even
know who the people are. One photographer was saying to Malcolm, "Paul
could you turn this way." It was pretty pathetic. There wasn't anyone else
there from the film, but there were a couple other actors. One older woman who I
completely didn't recognize was the one who played the prostitute in Midnight
Cowboy. I have no idea why they were fawning over her. She was wearing a really
cheesy outfit, something a teenager might wear - a hat and suspenders with
silver glitter with words like "superstar" on them. The whole outfit
just screamed "Look at me!"
Malcolm and Paul were talking and I went over and said hello
to Malcolm and that was when he told me about including the Hugo Pool clip
because of me, which was very cool and surprising. I had brought the playbill
for Twelfth Night, the one he was doing when he got the call for if.... Malcolm
was quite surprised to see it and Paul got a real kick out of it. I showed him
where there was a little drawing of him as he was telling Paul it was the worst
play that Shakespeare ever wrote. Paul looked through it and I got a picture of
him holding it. I showed them where the cast list was and Malcolm said,
"See how low down I am, that tells you something." And laughed about
it. I got my picture taken with both of them and asked about the Going
Mad in Hollywood project. Malcolm asked me if I was looking forward to the
film and I said of course, but I have had it on DVD for a while. He was
surprised to hear that and the fact I came out to see it anyway. I told him it
was such a great film and I wanted to see it on the big screen. Paul then went
outside to smoke.
A woman came over to ask Malcolm if he wanted a drink and he
said sure. She went to get it and a man from Entertainment Weekly came over to
ask him about Gangster. Most of the questions were extremely typical like,
"why do you play so many villain roles?" Do these people do any
homework at all? How many times must he have been asked that lame question?
Malcolm was pretty gracious about it though. He could've just said "Do me a
favor!" and blown him off.
The woman came back with the drink and had to wait for him to
finish with the EW guy before giving it to him. I asked her what she did and she
explained she was the US promoter for the film. We talked about the movie and
how I had seen it and she said then you know it is a great film. She couldn't
understand why it took two years to convince IFC to finally release it in the
US. She was the one who told me about Philip Castle doing the poster artwork,
though she had been trying all night to remember his name. I gave her my card
and wrote his name on it. She was quite happy because no one she asked knew his
name. I went and looked at the poster closely and saw the Castle name on the
side and was quite pleased to know he was still painting movie posters. She said
she could get me any promotional materials from the film, but that I probably
had it all anyway. I said I needed one of those posters and she said no problem.
Around this time they opened the theater for seating and we
went in to get close seats. Each film I picked the same seat on the left in the
third row because that is where Malcolm came down before he went on stage. As
soon as I got the seats I went back to get my last shot of food for the night.
Malcolm came up and introduced the film and also introduced
Paul Bettany and Robert Altman to the crowd. It is even more fun when you find
out Malcolm and Paul would be watching the film with us. I was thinking that if
people hadn't seen the film, then they might not even know who Paul was. Malcolm
said he was very happy to finally introduce a film where he actually looks like
he does today. Usually he introduces films from 30 years ago and he barely
recognizes himself.
The film is amazing. Even though I had seen it before, it had
been around a year, so it wasn't totally fresh in my mind. The soundtrack is
quite loud and I really love the visual style. The split screen, the cracking
glass effects and the repeating of scenes from different angles. It isn't the
typical way films are done today. It was also the uncut version with the full
Lennie Taylor killing scene and even a bit of the Maxie battery torture shown.
Certainly one of Malcolm's best and the ultimate proof that he's still got it
and we can look forward to many more cool performances from him.
Afterwards for the Q&A Malcolm almost had to twist Paul's
arm to come up and join him. I thought that was cool because after all it was
Malcolm's night. I guess Paul thought the same thing, but I also found out he
doesn't really like talking about how he works because he "feels like an
ass" when he does. I'll transcribe what they said later, but the most
bizarre event of the whole week happened then. It was when Alan from the theater
started going off on how the film had no point and then left. No one could
understand what his problem was and he was rambling on about the war in Bosnia
and how the film did nothing for society and how Gangster killed Freddie to get
to the top. I guess he didn't see the same film since Freddie didn't die. Joanna
tried to deflect that the actors play the parts and the vision is that of the
director and he wasn't here. After they left the stage Malcolm was saying what
was Alan's problem and they couldn't understand where he was coming from and how
disturbing it was that he acted that way.
Another great and also late night by the time we got home. It
was such a thrill to hangout with Paul and Malcolm and talk about the film and
see it in the theater for the first time. For anyone who hasn't seen it it opens
June 14 in NY and July in LA. Make sure you go out and see it as it doesn't
disappoint.
Fri May 24
1:30 pm - Long Ago Tomorrow
3:45 pm - Cat People
6:30 pm - Assassin of the Tsar (MM intro and Q & A)
9:30 pm - Long Ago Tomorrow (MM intro)
Today was also a one film night for me. The
traffic getting up there was the worst day of the whole event because of the
start of the Memorial Day weekend. No big deal. I was very interested in seeing Assassin
since I had only seen it on a grainy VHS copy as it has never been released in
the US even after 10 years.
Malcolm spoke about the film in length because it was the
first time for almost everyone in the audience seeing it. He is very proud of
the film and it is one of his all-time favorites that he has made. It was his first
experience in Russia and he was also the first English actor in a Russian
production. He told most of the stories he revealed for the first time on the
Tom Snyder show in 1998. About how he got the part - the director's mother was a
big fan of Caligula! The story of how they died his hair - using toothbrushes and
carbon copy! And how it looked better than most Hollywood jobs anyway.
The print was from the UK, so there still isn't a US release
print. Hopefully this year or next the film will finally see a US release. It
certainly is a great film, one of the best I've ever seen. Malcolm really shines
and it is easily his signature film of the 1990s and really a shame that it
hasn't been shown more. People who think of him as this actor who does only B
movie type villain roles need to see this film to shut them up.
Even seeing it on the big screen with years to think about
it, I'm still not sure of how Timofeyev knows what he does. I even asked Malcolm
about that later, but he admitted he didn't know either! Maybe the director will
get a chance to explain when it is released in the US. Even though the film was
made on almost no budget, it looks as good as any big budget US film. Everyone
involved should be proud of what was accomplished with this film.
The Q&A was lengthy and interesting since it is probably
the first time he has ever gotten a chance to do one and not just repeat answers
he has been giving for the last 30 years on other films. Audience response was
overwhelmingly positive and a few people called the film
"hypnotizing." I was happy that people enjoyed it as it is a very
complex film that tells a story in a way that hasn't been done before. Most
people had never even seen a Russian film before and wanted to know more about
the setting and the films from there. Malcolm also told a very funny story of
going through customs at the end. Hopefully word will spread and the film will
make its long overdue US release and everyone who never had the chance to see it
will finally be able to do so.
I hung around for Malcolm's introduction to Long Ago
Tomorrow. There was only around 40 or so people in the theater and Malcolm said
he could throw a cow into the crowd and not hit anyone. After the intro he
wanted to stay for a few minutes until he saw Nanette on screen again.
Afterwards I got to talk to Malcolm for a bit as he was
heading out for dinner. I showed him some more obscure item I had like a Caligula
letter opener, original unused ACO movie ticket and pictures of the Blue Thunder
today. He can't understand where I get them as he isn't into the Internet. While he was getting ready I got to talk to his wife
Kelley all the way to the restaurant. She is so sweet and I had fun talking with
her. It is just like talking to another big Malcolm fan. She ask me if I had
seen certain films she hadn't been able to find and what they are like. I was
telling her I just saw The Passage and she was so
jealous as they have been trying to track the film down for years. Even Malcolm
can't get a hold of his own films! I gave her my card and told her I could send
her a copy and she was thrilled. We said goodnight as Paul Sutton and I headed
off to hangout somewhere and get a drink.
We went across the street to a large Barnes & Noble on
Broadway, but the upstairs coffee bar was jam packed. So we wound up going
around the corner to a Starbucks type place and he told me about his interview
with Malcolm he conducted earlier in the day. We talked for a while, but I had
to cut it somewhat short because of my long trip back home. All in all another
fun filled night.
Sat May 25
1:30 pm - The Collection (MM
intro and Q & A)
4:00 pm - O Lucky Man! (Paul/MM intro and Q & A)
8:00 pm - A Clockwork Orange (MM intro and Q & A)
Malcolm's OLM! Intro
Q&A for O Lucky Man!
This day was the most work for Malcolm -
three films with intros and Q&As. First up was a repeat of The Collection
which I skipped as I had seen it on the first night. Basically I was coming for
the new, uncut O Lucky Man! print. Traffic into the city was amazingly light and
I made it to the theater in record time. This gave me a chance to make copies of
the recent retrospective articles in the New York papers that I will post down
the road. It was also good that I arrived early because I was able to interview
Malcolm some more. I also who ran into Paul who was recruited to do an intro for
OLM! and wasn't totally prepared for the task. He hadn't seen the film in two
years and had to think about it a bit. I gave him ideas of which he used some
and expanded on a few.
For his intro he said the film was about a man with the
perfect smile who loses it along the way and at the end struggles to recover it.
I thought that was a good trick to summarize a 3 hour film in one sentence! He
gave the British perspective on the film that no one in the audience save
Malcolm would have, so it was interesting. He also talked about how it was
the first and probably only film that covered all areas of England and not just
the London area as most British films do. He mentioned the gentleman's clubs in
North England and how it was the only type of entertainment available there. He
highly complimented Malcolm's performance and the entire cast in general. Then
he mentioned about the known fact that everyone in the film played multiple
roles. The reason was to save money, not because of some grand scheme. He
recalled how he only recently noticed that Arthur Lowe who played the mayor in the
beginning also played Dr. Munda near the end. This is funny because Arthur is a white
man and Munda is black! This provided laughs every time Munda came on screen
which would've been lost if he hadn't spoken of it, so it was a great thing for
him to mention. Afterwards he asked me how he did, was it really OK? and I told
him it went good. I don't think he believed me, so Paul - you did well! ;-)
In the original program, the wasn't going to be ANY
introduction to the film. So it was even more of a surprise when Malcolm stepped down
and said, "Since I am here I might as well speak." He said since Paul
had covered all the basics, he wanted to thank everyone for coming and especially
pay tribute to the great man - Lindsay Anderson. He told of how he got involved
with Lindsay and how they remained friends throughout his life and told stories
of Lindsay especially at Cannes where if.... won the Palm (best picture). Malcolm said that was Lindsay
thrilled beyond belief and it was his happiest moment, which he couldn't
understand. This is when Malcolm approached Lindsay to do another film and
Lindsay told him if he wanted to work with him again he better write a script
and that is what he did.
Like most people this was the first time I had seen the film
in the theater and I was stunned. The new print was perfect! It was even better
than the Assassin of the Tsar print made 20 years later - it was that good. We might as well have
been watching a projection of the DVD (if there was a DVD - after that print I can
easily wait for one!) I have always been a huge fan of if... and hadn't seen OLM
in over 12 years when I watched an old double video tape. I had been holding out for a DVD
release before watching it again as I had felt the film was a bit too British
for me the first time I saw it. Not so this time! Granted the entire cast, crew
and setting is British, but it really is an epic everyman story. Who of us
hasn't just been going along as we always do when something totally unexpected
comes along and changes everything? Whether it is an accident or a chance
meeting or whatever. From then on we are totally changed and this is what I got
from the film. One day Mick is training to sell coffee and the next day he
running the North East, then Scotland. If he hadn't been trying to escape from
the hospital on his bike he never would've almost gotten hit by Alan's bus and
never would met Patricia. One event leads into another. But I'll talk about the
film in depth later.
The other exciting part was this showing was the first time
the film had ever been played in the US with the missing reel. After getting out
of prison, Mick has an encounter with the Salvation Army. The next reel was
removed to shorten the film by 10 minutes to ensure an American release at the
time. Mick sees all this activity - people are in the streets in the stairs of a
building shouting and men are trying to climb up to an apartment with a ladder.
They come up short and are mocked. Mick asks what is going on and is told a
woman, Mrs. Richards, is going to kill herself. Mick is deeply troubled by this
and sets out to stop her. The door is locked and he can't get in so he climbs
out on a ledge and over to the window which he is able to open a crack. He can't
get in, but can see the woman with her two children and talk to her. She is
cleaning the floor and he asks why. She says she doesn't want to be accused of
leaving a mess behind. He tries to comfort her with passages from the book the
warden gave him. It doesn't work, she is fed up and has made up her mind. They
go back and forth a bit and then she goes into the next room to finish the job.
He scrambles to climb across to the next ledge to stay with her and grabs onto a
drain pipe. Soon after the pipe starts to come loose and he falls into the
garbage below, knocking himself out. When he awakes it is nighttime and a
policeman finds him. He then finds out he hadn't been able to stop her. It was
such a great scene and a very special treat to see it for the first time - like finding a lost
treasure.
Malcolm came down for the Q&A and talked briefly and
answered eight questions. There were no big revelations, but he did talk about
pushing for a DVD release. One person was talking about European-African
political connotations that seemed more relevant today that it did then.
Afterwards I went up to the top row where there was a long
bench to sit and was talking with Paul as we decided to wait to hear Malcolm's
intro to ACO. Malcolm came up and was talking to us about OLM. It was the first
time he had seen it in 25 years! What an unforgettable experience to be able to
watch the film anew with the man himself watching along with us! After talking a
bit he had to run back down to do his intro. His intro was the usual things he
says about the film which can be found in the ACO
quotes section, but it was still great to be able to hear the stories in
person.
After he finished he was back up where I was and Joanna
announced she had a surprise for him and he said "oh, no." I sat right
next to him when it ran. She played a clip from 1972 of William K. Everson and I
knew at once what it was. I told Malcolm this was an interview he had done with
Anthony Burgess and he said "really??" he had no idea what it was.
When Malcolm comes on he has the longest hair he ever had, down to his shoulders
and Malcolm yelled in fright! I asked if that was his Mick Jagger look and he
laughed. On the tape the first thing he says is, "I don't know why
people say it is so hard to work with Kubrick." And Malcolm yelled
"Liar!" When Everson says something about Kubrick and to tell him if
that was correct Malcolm says, "I'll have to correct you because you are
wrong." Malcolm and everyone in the theater was laughing. Before he
answered he took a big drag on his cigarette which got laughs. I leaned over to
Malcolm and said, "Weren't you tool cool?" He replied, "I must've
been really nervous." Then the clip ended soon after. Kelley said to me she
hadn't ever seen an interview of him so young and I was surprised to hear she
hadn't seen it. I told her it is around 30 minutes long and she said, "is
there anything you haven't seen?" I explained them how Anthony Burgess sat next
to Malcolm and Malcolm said, "Acting like the headmaster I suppose?" I
said it was a very special tape because it is the only one with him and Malcolm
together. For me it would be the highlight of the week and something
totally surreal - to see Malcolm on the screen 30 years ago and talk to him
about it as it happened while he was right next to me watching it for the first
time!!
Sun May 26
1:00 pm - Assassin of the Tsar
3:30 pm - A Clockwork Orange (Q &
A)
7:00 pm - Get Crazy (MM intro and Q & A)
9:15 pm - Cat People
Malcolm's ACO Intro
Q&A for ACO
Malcolm's Get Crazy Intro
Get Crazy Q&A
The final day! Once again traffic was light
going into the city and you realize just how heinous rush hour traffic is during
the week. You can literally not move for 30 minutes at the tunnels. The whole
way in I didn't even have to stop once - beautiful. For the fifth day in a row I
parked the car in the garage under the Lincoln center on 66th street. The first
day was weird because a man stops you before you even get into the garage. He
makes you open the trunk and peers around. The only thing I could figure was he
was looking for bombs or some such terrorist nonsense. At the garage on 65th I
saw the guy go around the back of the car with a mirror underneath. It all seems
excessive because what if you had a bomb under the drivers seat? They would
never know.
Malcolm wasn't around before the show this time so we just
went in and sat in the usual seats. Joanna announced that Malcolm was running late
because of his daughter's graduation and wouldn't make the introduction, but he
is hoping to make it back for the Q&A. Now I
was absolutely thrilled I had hung around for his intro the night before, not
only because I got to hang out with him a little longer, but if I didn't I
would've completely missed it! I wouldn't have been happy to have missed his ACO
intro both days.
When they started the film the title card came up from the
UK. I realized the event I had waited over a dozen years for was finally coming
to pass - a new 35mm print! The last two times I had seen the print in the
theater is was a dirty old one that had been kicking around since 1972. The
second time the print actually broke the film was through.
What a massive difference it makes when there is a fantastic
print like this one. It was even better than the DVD because it was bigger and
brighter and I was able to see things even I hadn't seen before. Since I know
the film by heart I was watching all sides and corners checking for details and
images I had never seen before. Little things like the number to Alex's Jail
cell was 23 - something even at home with the DVD would be hard to spot. It was
also a chance for Joanna to relax as she sat behind us to take in most of the
film. She did leave early to go and try to track down Malcolm though. The subtleties of
the droogs attire which I cover in the costume section are very apparent in this
print. The yellow around Georgie's eye, the blue and red around Pete's eye. These
are things you can't even see on the old video tapes. It was the first time I
had seen it the film in four years and the first time I had seen it completely in almost
eight years. I treasure the film so much that to watch it repeatedly would
diminish it's impact. It is burned on my soul forever.
Thankfully Malcolm did return in time for the Q&A
session. Of course for his most well-known film he spoke the longest. He
answered seventeen questions and even took ones not directly related to the
film. Most of the standard questions were asked and I really had to marvel at
how he can handle hearing and answering them for so many years. Someone had
emailed me the night before about how he met Malcolm after a Q&A in 1983 and I
was thinking "Christ! Here I am 20 years later and he is still talking
about these same films!" One of the most interesting stories for me was
when he talked in detail about the very first scene he shot for the film. It is
where he gets the injection in the Ludovico center. What a place to start! This
was one story I hadn't heard before and it was quite funny. Malcolm has
certainly perfected the role of the storyteller. Someone should hire him to read
books on tape - I would buy them all! Near the end we were given the option for more
questions or for him to stop and sign things. I am quite pleased to say everyone
was in agreement about hearing more stories.
It was time for a break, if you know what I mean. I was in
the lobby and Joanna was explaining how she had never seen Get Crazy before and
had to review it to see if it was worthy of inclusion in the program. She was
trying to explain what it was like and I said it was camp. It is a rock and roll
send up - totally silly.
Everyone came back to regroup for the film soon after as the
ACO discussion had gone long. Malcolm was sticking around to watch the film and
Kelley asked me about my site and we got to talking and I told her how many
younger girls are into him. She was very surprised at what I had to say as she
see first hand the type of things people tell me.
Malcolm did the intro and was pretty honest about it not
being a major milestone in the history of cinema. It was fun to hear him talk
about it as the only thing I knew was some small interviews that he gave 20
years ago. He explained how he got the role. He didn't even want it and tried to
pass on it, but the person originally cast as Reggie didn't work out. He started
another story, but then stopped because it was his best story and he wanted to
have something to say after.
I hadn't seen the film in around four years when I did the
write up for the site. I was pretty familiar with it, so it was just another
chance to see something obscure on the big screen. Another great print for an
older film, there were no scratches or any blemishes. This is the kind of film
you can watch every few years as it is just pure 80s fun and nothing heavy.
Malcolm totally steals the show as the over-the-top rock star he says was
modeled after Rod the Bod. It is a great time capsule of the period and should
be a cult midnight film to see on New Year's Eve which is the setting of the
film.
The audience really enjoyed Malcolm's performance, but he was
understandably pretty worn out from the week and only answered seven questions.
Out of those there were only a couple that were about the film. Since his part
was small, there isn't much he could say about it anyway. There was one guy in
my row who just told him it was one of his all-time favorite film. He didn't
have a question and just wanted to say he even quotes the film to this day!?
Malcolm took it in stride and just sort of shook his head and we all laughed. He
thanked everyone for coming as it was his last appearance and told them to
support the Lincoln Center and left the stage.
He went back to where his group was and I brought another
thing to show him. I just went up and handed him the 45rpm of his song from the
film "Hot Shot". His mouth dropped and he was stunned, he admitted he
didn't even know there was a such thing. Because he made such a big deal all
these people wanted to see it and even Kelley said to me she can't believe I
have all this great stuff and she hadn't known it existed. Malcolm asked again,
"Where do you get all this stuff?" I told him I get almost all
of it online and he just shook his head about it. It was really a treat for me
to get to show him all these things related to his career he didn't even know
about.
We got into the lobby and I pulled out a book that I have
signed by Anthony Burgess and asked him to sign it too. I figure this is the
closest I can get to having a multi-signed ACO related piece as so many people
involved with the film have passed away. Malcolm was so cool because he couldn't
believe I wanted his name with Burgess and wouldn't even sign it on the same
page! I insisted he could sign his name under the master and that would be fine
and he obliged. We talked a little bit more and he thanked me and shook my hand
because he had to go.
This was my Woodstock and I was happy to take the time to do
it and chose the week for my vacation. This was the second time I had met and
hung out with Malcolm and I just have to tell everyone in case you didn't know
that he is one of the nicest people you can ever hope to meet. I had no idea I
would ever meet him when I started this site and it is a great feeling to know
that he is such a remarkable person on and off screen. It would be tough to
continue this site if he was a real jerk in person or totally blew me off. He
was very complimentary and amazed at what I have done with the site and thankful
for the outlet I provide as he even took time to mention his Internet fans
during one talk after we were talking about things. The fact that he included the
Hugo Pool clip because of me talking to him about it last time shows he
remembers and values his fans. I can't thank him, Kelley, Joanna, Mike and
everyone involved enough for putting this event together. Also thanks to Paul
for hanging out and his company in general. I am sorry to everyone who couldn't
attend as you missed such a special time. I hope I did it all justice for you
with my behind the scenes observances into the event and my experiences.
Mon May 27
1pm - if....
3:30 pm - Figures in a Landscape
5:30 pm - Time After Time
8:00 pm - Caligula (20th Anniversary)
Tue May 28
1:00 pm - Gangster No. 1
9:00 pm - Britannia Hospital
Wed May 29
2:00 pm - Get Crazy
4:00 pm - A Clockwork Orange
7:00 pm - O Lucky Man!
Thurs May 30
1:00 pm - Britannia Hospital
3:30 pm - if....
9:00 pm - A Clockwork Orange
The Film Society of Lincoln Center
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New York, NY 10023-6595
(212) 875-5600
Press Release © 2002 Joanna Ney
Everything Else © 2002-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net