Giallo Fever! Some Italian movies in New York

FLORENCE, ITALY – The term Giallo, literally “yellow” in Italian, originally referred to a series of crime novels with trademark yellow covers. Giallo, as a film genre of Italian thrillers that grew out of these pulp fictions starting in the mid 60s, became wildly popular in the 70s, then faded away in the early 80s.

Giallo left a legacy of films often overlooked but widely influential on filmmakers such as Brian De Palma, Quentin Tarantino, and Darren Aronofsky. Apart from the signature blend of style and kitsch aesthetics, the genre features some of the most innovative scores ever created, by the likes of Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, and Goblin.

While these films have enjoyed a revival of interest due to DVD releases of several titles, they have yet to receive the 35mm treatment they absolutely deserve in a city like New York.

Programmed by Alessio Giorgetti, Alessio Grana, and Yunsun Chae (Malastrana Film Series) at the Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue at 2nd St. New York, NY 10003 USA) from September 20, 2012 to September 30, 2012. You can read the entire calendar here.

Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.

Founded in 1969 by Jonas Mekas, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, and Stan Brakhage, Anthology in its original conception was a showcase for the Essential Cinema Repertory collection. An ambitious attempt to define the art of cinema by means of a selection of films which would screen continuously, the Essential Cinema collection was intended to encourage the study of the medium’s masterworks as works of art rather than disposable entertainment, making Anthology the first museum devoted to film as an art form. The project was never completed, but even in its unfinished state it represented an uncompromising critical overview of cinema’s history, and remains a crucial part of Anthology’s exhibition program.

In the decades since its founding, Anthology has grown far beyond its original concept to encompass film preservation; the formation of a reference library containing the world’s largest collection of books, periodicals, stills, and other paper materials related to avant-garde cinema; and a remarkably innovative and eclectic film exhibition program. Anthology screens more than 900 programs annually, preserves an average of 25 films per year (with 800 works preserved to date), publishes books and DVDs, and hosts numerous scholars and researchers.

Fueled by the conviction that the index of a culture’s health and vibrancy lies largely in its margins, in those works of art that are created outside the commercial mainstream, Anthology strives to advance the cause and protect the heritage of a kind of cinema that is in particular danger of being lost, overlooked, or ignored.