Around the world and through film history in one day

Going to the movies in New York can often be a real pain—complete with sold-out shows, $13 tickets, and long taxi rides home. But though the city might be a hassle for checking out G.I. Joe or Julie & Julia, the number of theaters that screen classic cinema every weekend make the Big Apple a paradise for cinephiles. One could truly get an entire history of cinema in one day, something I tried to attempt last Saturday.

The day began with an 11 a.m. screening of Tokyo Story at the IFC Center, a theater in the West Village sponsored by IFC Films that screens both new and classic movies throughout the weekend. The 1953 film, directed by Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu, is a subdued portrayal of old age and generational gaps, with camerawork so subtle its beauty is truly astonishing.

From there, I headed up to the Museum of Arts and Design for Agnès Varda’s Le Bonheur. The film is part of a weekend retrospective by the Museum of the Moving Image examining the 50th anniversary of the French new wave. Varda was the single female filmmaker of the movement, and Le Bonheur is a film of wondrously flirtatious color.

After a quick lunch, I walked over a couple blocks to the Museum of Modern Art for John Huston’s 1948 American epic The Treasure of Sierra Madre. The MoMA, best known for its works of art, plays daily films at their theaters, always choosing a variety of great flicks. Part of a look back at the favorite films of the New York Film Critics Circle, the film is an insane search for gold, with superstar Humphrey Bogart giving one of his most manic performances.

After a quick cab ride downtown, I made it to Film Forum in the West Village for a double feature of British thrillers from the 1940s. Film Forum often premieres the most unique current independent films, but holds many retrospectives as well. The two films of the night, John Boulting’s Brighton Rock and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol, are both based on novels from Graham Greene and include lush cinematography and thrilling stories.

After a nice dinner, the last stop on my journey was back at the IFC Center for a midnight nightcap, where the theater has been holding a retrospective on the Coen brothers. The night’s feature is No Country for Old Men, their award-winning 2007 feature with Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem, a thrilling modern Western that’s darkly funny and thoroughly gripping.

So after one day, I was able to see six films, each from different time periods and countries, and all for under $40 (less than half the cost of a Broadway play). And this one trip is just the beginning—there are a number of other classic theaters, and each week, last week’s classics are replaced with others. New York City is the gateway to a movie-lover’s dream—here, a lesson in film history doesn’t have to come from in the classroom, but at the theater just off the 1 train.

The IFC Center is located at 323 Sixth Ave. at West Third Street. The Museum of Arts and Design is located at 2 Columbus Circle. The MoMA is located at 11 W. 53rd St. between 5th and 6th avenues. Film Forum is located at 209 W. Houston St. at Varick Street.