Double Feature

Targets

In his directorial debut, Peter Bogdanovich weaves two disparate story lines in a terrifying moment of confrontation. In seemingly unrelated events, aging horror film star Orlok (Boris Karloff) announces his retirement, and an apparently average you man (Tim O’Kelly) accumulates an arsenal of rifles and handguns. As the pace quickens, O’Kelly turns into a murderous sniper, showing up at a drive-in theater where Orlok is making his final personal appearance. (Paramount)

Saint Jack

Ben Gazzara (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie) gave one of his most happy-go-lucky turns in Peter Bogdanovich’s Saint Jack, the tale of an American hustler whose chaotic business it is to “satisfy the needs” of visiting businessmen in Vietnam War-era Singapore.  “Saint Jack” Flowers’ philosophy: “people make love for so many crazy reasons, why shouldn’t money be one of them?” Gazzara plays Flowers as a breezy Fitzcarraldo type, a man preternaturally driven towards delivering the classiest brothel and the absolute best in carnal pleasures to GIs, ex-pats and other wayward souls lost amongst southeast Asia. Based upon the novel by Paul Theroux, Saint Jack marked the first of several critical comebacks for Bogdanovich. In a humanist return to form matching The Last Picture Show, the filmmaker gives Gazzara room to ride the line between savvy, charismatic huckster and moralistic citizen of the world. (American Genre Film Archive)

Screening from a rare original US release 35mm print that has warming color.