“Rialto Pictures is the gold standard of reissue distributors.” —Los Angeles Times/NPR film critic Kenneth Turan
Founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein, repertory programmer for New York’s Film Forum, Rialto Pictures celebrated its 10th Anniversary last year, and what a glorious ten years it has been, for exhibitors and viewers alike. “Taking care to release fresh, and often restored, 35mm prints with new English subtitles, Rialto has given a new generation of film-goers the opportunity to experience the works of masters such as Robert Bresson, Luis Buñuel, Jules Dassin, Federico Fellini, and Carol Reed—to name a few—as they were meant to be seen, while inviting those who saw these films years ago to revisit them.” (AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center)
In 1999, Rialto received a special Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics, and in 2000 received a special award from the New York Film Critic’s Circle, presented to Goldstein and partner Adrienne Halpern by Jeanne Moreau. The two co-presidents have each received the French Order of Chevalier of Arts and Letters.
Over the years Cornell Cinema has had the pleasure of screening almost all of the films released by Rialto: Gillo Pontecorvo’s groundbreaking The Battle of Algiers; Jean-Luc Godard’s amazing films from the ‘60s; Jean-Pierre Melville’s Bob le Flambeur, Le Cercle Rouge and Army of Shadows; and so many more.
In this calendar, we once again pay tribute to this amazing company with a series of films that includes return engagements for three titles: Alberto Lattuada’s Mafioso, a dark comedy from 1962 starring Alberto Sordi, which was a highlight of the 2006 New York Film Festival and Cornell Cinema’s Summer 2007 calendar; Melville’s 1969 epic masterpiece Army of Shadows, which became the most critically acclaimed film of last year, topping many Ten Best lists, including those in the New York Times and Premiere, and was named Best Foreign Film of 2006 by the New York Film Critics’ Circle, in addition to receiving special awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics and National Film Critics associations; and Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D, screening for our good friend Michael Roman. The series also includes two new re-releases: Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jean-Jacques Beineix's "second wave" thriller Diva.
Rialto is currently enjoying a phenomenal success with Alain Resnais’s 1962 arthouse classic Last Year at Marienbad, which is creating the same kind of buzz it had over 45 years ago. Cornell Cinema is looking forward to showing this as soon as we can get our hands on a print! Thanks, Rialto. Keep up the good work. For more information, visit rialtopictures.com