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Bruce Goldstein, 55, has been programming Film Forum’s repertory and revival calendar since subway fare and pizza slices cost a dollar. But after 22 years on the job, how does the longtime cinephile keep old movies fresh? By mixing it up, he says, combining the highfalutin (an upcoming Jean-Luc Godard series) with the cultish and offbeat. For instance, as part of a tribute to 1950s entertainment gimmicks in 1988, he wired the seats to vibrate for Vincent Price’s The Tingler; and on Saturday 5, he’s holding another sing-along of the 1964 James Bond classic, Goldfinger, for which he had karaoke-style subtitles made. (“I grew up loving that Shirley Bassey song,” he admits.)
Goldstein may be accused of redundancy (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and Sweet Smell of Success have screened repeatedly over the last several years). But, he argues, “Classics, and some not-so-classics, have to be revived constantly, in fresh prints, for new audiences. That’s the whole point.”
His programming has also matured. “You’ll see that the festivals are tighter, more selective,” he says. Earlier in his tenure, he’d include every work for a major director’s retrospective (in a 1991 Billy Wilder series, he screened 41 films; in 2006, only 22). Now, he offers, “It does the person you’re honoring no good to show their crap.”
And if some of his programs don’t click with the wider public, Goldstein doesn’t mind. “We’re not out to make every festival or film a blockbuster,” he says. “You’re always going to make somebody happy.”
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