Jan.24th/Saturday/7PM

(Re)Taking

of

Pelham 1,2,3(x3)

We are excited to have Mark Street back at The Picture Show with his wild installation, (Re)Taking of Pelham 1,2,3(x3).

Live score performance from Bradford Reed and Geoff Gersh.

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Saturday, January 24th, 2015 / 7 PM

This live performance involves the side by side projection of three narrative films of the same title (made in 1974, 1998 and 2009). During the performance the sound will be mixed from each of the three films so that details are brought to the fore from each of the narratives. Live musicians improvise to the film(s) and mixed sound.

As remakes go, these adaptations of Morton Freedgood’s novel are similar. The incident(s) take place on the subway, the hero(es) are confined to the control room, the villain(s) both sly and vengeful. However, when compared in real time, these thrillers reflect varying sorts of cultural anxieties, and views of the city. Walter Matthau’s (1974) hero is long suffering and wry in the face of a city covered in graffiti, while Denzel Washington (2009) inhabits a slick and sanitized metropolis.

At times, the three films converse in a purely visual way: subway shots mirror each other to create a visually arresting tableau. At others the plot points prod and tease each other, allowing taut moments to be refracted in triplicate. The train hijackers seem like uncanny copies of each other, the three heroes trade moments of sang froid and exasperation.

In the 1974 version the hijackers demand $1 million, in 1998 their counterparts want $5 million and by 2009 it’s up to $10 million. Other things are inflated over time, too; technology explodes, surveillance is increased, and police presence becomes more martial.

Projection and Concept: Mark Street
Pencilina: Bradford Reed
Guitar: Geoff Gersh

Mark Street is an experimental filmmaker who works in the tradition of urban street photography, just like his name suggests. He has made films in Dakar, Senegal; Hanoi, Vietnam, Montevideo, Uruguay and New York City www.markstreetfilms.com

Bradford Reed is a Brooklyn based composer, performer and producer who fights and tames the idiosyncrasies of the pencilina, an original instrument of his own design.
www.pencilina.com

Geoff Gersh is a guitarist/composer who works with filmmakers, choreographers and other visual artists. He performs monthly at the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg accompanying silent films.
www.geoffgersh.com