The Best Old Movies on a Big Screen This Week: NYC Repertory Cinema Picks, May 18-24
Uncle Sam (1996)
Directed by William Lustig
A soldier fighting in the Gulf War returns to small town USA in a casket. The soldier’s pre-adolescent nephew builds his uncle—Uncle Sam to be exact—up to be the hero par excellence. This couldn’t be farther from the truth; based on accounts from his wife and sister, he was a raging alcoholic. He was a piece of work. Inexplicably, he leaves his pine box. Back from the dead, he dons an Uncle Sam costume and slaughters those who are unpatriotic, who aren’t making America great again, at a 4th of July parade. Released on video, Uncle Sam was, as of now, the last feature Lustig directed. He reteams with Larry Cohen, who, as with Maniac Cop (1988), writes the film’s script. Uncle Sam finds the pair making a horror satire about blind heroism and patriotism. Call it their Maniac Soldier. Tanner Tafelski (May 21, 24, 10pm; May 29, 7:30pm at Spectacle’s “Children on Fire 2: Children on Firer”)