Anthology Film Archives

Film Screenings / Programs / Retrospectives

WILD AT HEART: WILLEM DAFOE

February 7 – February 26

WILLEM DAFOE IN PERSON!

This (necessarily) expansive film series pays tribute to Willem Dafoe, who is unquestionably one of the finest, freest, and most fearless actors in contemporary American cinema. Over the past fifty years, he has demonstrated a radical commitment to each and every character he’s played, and an unparalleled openness to roles of every imaginable kind, in films experimental and mainstream, high and low, and spanning practically every known genre.

Dafoe’s craft was nurtured and developed during his time as a core member of the avant-garde theater company, The Wooster Group. One of the most important, uncompromising, and genuinely radical groups in postwar global theater, The Wooster Group was (and is) distinguished by a wild yet disciplined approach to acting (and stagecraft) that transcends conventional psychological realism in favor of Brechtian distancing effects, vertiginous swings in tone, an embrace of technology, and a mash-up of texts from the realms of theater, literature, and pop culture.

Dafoe joined the Group within the first four years of its existence, and remained a key member into the early 2000s, long after launching a movie career that began with Kathryn Bigelow’s debut feature, THE LOVELESS (1981), and quickly resulted in roles in major Hollywood films such as Walter Hill’s STREETS OF FIRE (1984), William Friedkin’s TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985), and Oliver Stone’s PLATOON (1986). That Dafoe was gracing multiplexes throughout the 1980s and 90s, while simultaneously appearing in seminal Wooster Group productions like “The Hairy Ape” (1996), “The Emperor Jones” (1998), and “To You, the Birdie! (Phèdre)” (2002), goes a long way towards capturing the breadth and depth of his creativity.

Dafoe departed The Wooster Group not long after the turn of the millennium, but the range and eclecticism of his work have continued unabated: during the course of his career, he’s worked with filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, James Benning, Paul Schrader, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, John Waters, Wim Wenders, David Cronenberg, Sam Raimi, Wes Anderson, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog, Sean Baker, Robert Eggers, Yorgos Lanthimos, and others, many of whom – above all Abel Ferrara – he’s collaborated with across multiple films and over many years.

Dafoe’s roots in experimental theater and film inform even his most mainstream roles: however conventional and “well-behaved” his performances might seem, a quality of wildness and a hint of a more stylized, expressionistic approach bubbles under the surface, opening the films themselves to deeper realms of invention and inspiration. Though he’s certainly demonstrated the mutability of a shape-shifter, his performances are all unified by this uniquely unbridled quality: Dafoe is less an actor who disappears into a role as he is one whose innate energy, psychological and emotional daring, and exploratory intelligence animates each character. These qualities manifest in myriad ways from film to film, but they’re at the core of each performance.

Dafoe’s filmography is exceptionally rich and continues to expand with near-supernova-like velocity, which makes it impossible to fully capture his career through even as substantial a series as this one. While representing only the tip of the iceberg, our selection showcases some of his most extraordinary performances, privileges those filmmakers he’s worked with most regularly, and – true to our own roots here at Anthology – demonstrates his commitment to the more experimental and daring frontiers of narrative filmmaking.

Willem Dafoe will be here in person to present selected screenings. Stay tuned for more details!

Special thanks to Willem Dafoe; Abel Ferrara; Julian Schnabel; Bret Berg (AGFA); Chris Chouinard (Park Circus); Rebecca Cleman & Karl McCool (Electronic Arts Intermix); Michael DiCerto (Sony Pictures Classics); Liat Even (Lionsgate); Tatiana Faris (IFC Films); Clay Hapaz (Wooster Group); Patrick Hillman (Julian Schnabel Studio); Jack Jackowski (Universal); Tomas Kærup (Zentropa Entertainments); Jonathan Lynch-Staunton (Rocket Science); Edda Manriquez (Academy Film Archive); Lola Schnabel; George Schmalz (Kino Lorber); and The Wooster Group.

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