Landmark revives two classic films not on AFI Top 100

Tommy Wiseau will not be on hand to introduce, nor will there be a live RiffTrax commentary track to help make guests feel even more superior to the slop on screen than they already do. Landmark’s Ken Cinema instead provides first-cabin accommodations for sparkling 4K restorations of two acclaimed European masterworks, Alain Resnais’s feature debut Hiroshima, Mon Amour and Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist.

At least I remember both being masterworks. Ashamed as I am to admit it, my first screening of Hiroshima — a scratchy 16mm print shown in a college film history class — turned out to be my last. It’s also been a couple of decades since I sat down and watched The Conformist from beginning to end. Nothing can beat the initial batch of dye-transfer Technicolor release prints Paramount commissioned of the latter in 1970. It’s certain that several shades of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro’s warm hues will be lost in the digitized translation, but it sure beats the alternative.

DVD screeners were made available, but it seemed more respectful to wait. I’m as eager to see them on a big screen as I hope you are.

Separate admission is required for both pictures. In this case, you get what you pay for. See you there!