After 50 years as a big-screen actor, in more than 90 feature film performances, and with 7 Oscar nominations and 2 wins, Robert De Niro is unequivocally one of Hollywood’s most well-loved and admired actors. In recognition of De Niro’s long and illustrious career, Cahiers du Cinema is releasing a study of De Niro’s most iconic roles as part of its innovative Anatomy of an Actor series. Written by film-critic Glenn Kenny, the book is divided into ten chapters, each one dedicated to a specific role, and is fully documented with film stills, set photographs, and film sequences.

On Thursday, July 31st Mr. Kenny will join us at Videology to present and discuss clips from each of these roles. Mr. Kenny’s multimedia presentation will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. The event is free and open to the public. (Seating is very limited: please RSVP in advance for preferred seating.) Register now.

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If cinephiles speak about Moroccan-born, French filmmaker José Bénazéraf today, he’s remembered mostly for his prolific direct-to-video, increasingly hardcore output from the 1970s and 1980s. Not a terrible legacy, but few people remember that Bénazéraf started out on the fringes of the French New Wave: a cameo in Breathless is one of his first screen credits. This July, Spectacle is proud to present two under-appreciated 1960s crime films from Bénazéraf that straddle the line between French New Wave and sexploitation: NIGHT OF LUST and JOË CALIGULA.

Less salty than its title might suggest, NIGHT OF LUST is a New Wave noir set at a string of Parisian strip clubs. Hans Verner and Jean-Pierre Kalfon star as two rival gang leaders, both fighting to rule the Parisian drug trade. Laboratory assistant Nora (Yvonne Monlaur) comes between the two gangs, and pays the price by getting kidnapped and held as a hostage in the war. The stakes are high, and the consequences become higher and higher until tragedy cannot be avoided.

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7TH ANNUAL FILMS ON THE GREEN FESTIVAL: July 25 – 8:30 pm

Films on the Green, a free outdoor French film festival, will be presenting the action-comedy Le Magnifique, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a mystery author, tonight in Transmitter Park in Greenpoint.

Films on the Green is a free outdoor French film festival produced annually in New York City parks by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, FACE and NYC Parks. Since its inception in 2008, the festival has expanded the reach of French film and brought classic and contemporary movies to local communities.

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You don’t have to be a tubercular, lovelorn poet to appreciate the beauty of local literature straight off the vine, paired with wine, cocktails, friends, and good tunes.

Tonight, at Brooklyn Oenology, fresh local literature meets wine and cocktail pairings in a revamp of the classic reading series. Come to hear the latest works-in-progress from the city’s rising generation of writers, while savoring drinks inspired by the words you’re hearing. With an emphasis on raw unpublished work, this evening promises to yield bold new fruit, no matter what your poison.

Hosted by Nathaniel Kressen, author of Concrete Fever and co-founder of Second Skin Books.

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Tonight’s SummerScreen in McCarren Park features 26 year old Johnny Depp in John Water’s Cry-Baby, with music before the film provided courtesy of Trans-Pecos: Man Forever (Kid Millions of Oneida + drummers), White Suns.

6pm free // byob is ok + there’s a bar // food trux // kid friendly

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