Anthology Film Archives

VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE 2016

February 11 – February 14

ALL ON 35MM!

Anthology continues our cherished tradition of celeb(/denig)rating Valentine’s Day by presenting a toxic yet sublime pairing of two radically anti-romantic (and save for their tone, virtually identical) films: Maurice Pialat’s grueling, autobiographical study of a dysfunctional off-and-on relationship, WE WON’T GROW OLD TOGETHER, and Albert Brooks’s hilarious yet no less painful MODERN ROMANCE, along with a gut-punch chaser of Andrzej Zulawski’s POSSESSION, a batshit crazy depiction of an imploding marriage that’s perhaps the masterpiece of dysfunctional relationship films.

Last year we threw a fourth film into the mix, and this year we’re devoting this pinch-hitter slot to Elaine May’s THE HEARTBREAK KID, which in the spirit of Valentine’s Day Massacre is at once a hilariously funny and bitterly corrosive depiction of male/female relations. In our humble opinion, Elaine May and Albert Brooks represent the Queen & King of mercilessly dark 1970s comedy, and it’s high time their respective masterpieces were paired.

For all the bitter, resentful cynics out there, what better way to spend Valentine’s than with the strong medicine of a Pialat/Brooks/Zulawski triple-feature (with a HEARTBREAK KID chaser)? And for those couples who want to put their relationship to the ultimate test, here’s your chance – if you spend this weekend at Anthology and your relationship survives, you’ve truly found your life partner.

Thanks to Brian Block (Bleeding Light Film Group), Paul Ginsburg (Universal), Michael Horne & Christopher Lane (Sony), and Jacob Perlin (The Film Desk).

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