The Best Old Movies on a Big Screen This Week: NYC Repertory Cinema Picks, March 30-April 5
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Perhaps the ultimate case where an auteur’s ostensibly least characteristic work also happens to be their best. The Clock is as insular as Minnelli’s musicals, but its comparatively stripped-down aesthetic makes it the most interesting case study for the usually bombastic director. As always, Minnelli’s control on an absolutely perfectly flowing mise-en-scène is perennially felt, employing the most stunning long takes seen in Classic Hollywood outside of Ophüls. Robert Walker, as a soldier on leave, and Judy Garland, as the girl he falls for, are at their career-best as well, both delivering an utterly convincing innocence underscored by a peculiar fervor. The Clock’s New York (recreated on a soundstage, naturally) is hermetically sealed, site to some of the most surreal non-set pieces seen in the 40s, all taking place within Walker and Garland’s inclusive bubble, which we should only be so lucky to be witness to. Eric Barroso (April 5, 4:30pm, 9:30pm at the Metrograph’s “Metrograph A-Z”)