Elaine May and the Road to Ishtar

On Thursday, March 31 we were lucky enough to welcome legendary comedian, actress, writer, and filmmaker Elaine May, who rarely makes public appearances, to the Burns for a screening of her hilarious and grossly misunderstood film Ishtar. Our audience loved the film and savored the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear from and interact with the quick-witted May. Richard Brody, film critic for The New Yorker, was in the audience that night and had some wonderful things to say about Ishtar, Elaine May, and her other directing credits.

There’s a level of invention, a depth of reflection, and a tangle of emotions in “Ishtar” which are reached by few films and few filmmakers. May’s four films are among the treasures of the cinema over all. Chatting before the screening, a young critic and I marvelled at the tone that May struck in her third film, “Mikey and Nicky,” from 1976, and its distinction from her other three films. I added that it seems like an exception only because of her grievously truncated career—and that, had May directed the dozen or more features that she could have made in the past forty years, she’d doubtless have displayed many other tones and registers.

Read the full article on The New Yorker website.

Don’t miss Elaine May’s three other films, all screening at the Burns this month:

April 5, 7:00: The Heartbreak Kid and Q&A with actor Charles Grodin and JBFC Board President Janet Maslin.

April 14, 7:15: Mikey and Nicky and introduction by Kent Jones. Don’t miss your chance to see this rarely-seen film on the big screen! Get your tickets today!

April 20, 7:30: A New Leaf, starring and directed by Elaine May. This is May’s directorial debut! Tickets are on sale now!