Buckle up for TRIGGER HAPPY: Hit Men with a Punchline, a wild ride through the world's deadliest assassins, where sharp wit meets sharper aim.
In Richard Linklater’s upcoming Hit Man, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) draws inspiration for his real job as a fake hit man by thinking back on a lifetime of watching movies about hired assassins. In TRIGGER HAPPY, we’ll catch you up on all the hit man classics you may have missed.
35mm highlights
Fri May 10 • 13 Assassins, directed by Takashi Miike • 35mm
Fri May 10 & Sat May 11 • Bullitt, directed by Peter Yates • 35mm ***
Sat May 11 & Thu May 16 • Collateral, directed by Michael Mann • 35mm
Fri May 17, Mon May 20, Tue May 21 & Thu May 23 • Killer Joe, directed by William Friedkin • Rare theatrical screening
Sat May 18 & Sun May 19 • Grosse Pointe Blank, directed by George Armitage • Archival 35mm ***
Sat May 18 & Mon May 20 • The Mechanic, directed by Michael Winner • 35mm ***
Sun May 19 & Mon May 20 • Prizzi’s Honor, directed by John Huston • Archival 35mm ***
*** These four titles have not screened in 35mm in NYC in at least the past six years
Each screening in the TRIGGER HAPPY series will be preceded by an exclusive, recorded introduction by Hit Man director, co-screenwriter and producer, Richard Linklater, who muses on the history of hit men in world cinema.
This killer collection brings you iconic films that define the hit man genre. From the Yakuza antiheroes of Branded to Kill to the uniquely sardonic comedy of Grosse Pointe Blank, this series brings you iconic films where killers crack wise and bullets fly.
None other than Martin Scorsese called Murder by Contract, “the film that has influenced me most,” while Killer Joe marks a collaboration between two icons, director William Friedkin, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Tracy Letts, who based his screenplay on the script of his first play.
Sometimes the darkest corners of the human spirit are most clearly outlined in this clinical intersection of commerce and crime. Is Anton Chigurh, in No Country for Old Men, the personification of evil? Is there any betrayal more sinister than one between husband and wife, as in Dial M for Murder?
In spite of the constant mayhem, TRIGGER HAPPY finds its moments of levity. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson grapple humorously with existential dread in a picturesque Belgian town, in In Bruges, while gangland is the setting for romance, with some complications, in Prizzi's Honor.
Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels paints a quirky portrait of love and loss in the Hong Kong underworld, while the traditions of the American mafia, Japanese Yakuza and fedora-ed French Samourai are combined in Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Looking for a ruthless dose of action? We've got the heart-stopping car chase in Bullitt and the epic gunslinger showdown in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly while The Mechanic pits a disillusioned veteran against a vengeful protégé. This Gun for Hire throws a cynical gunman into a morally murky job, while the Luc Besson’s The Professional (Leon) uncomfortably juxtaposes traditions of the genre as Jean Reno schools 12-year old Nathalie Portman to face off against Gary Oldman.
From samurai swords in Takashi Miike's feudal Japan (13 Assassins) to the high-octane chases of Michael Mann's Los Angeles freeways (Collateral), hired guns across the globe have captivated audiences like few other outlaws. So, whether you crave classic action, suspenseful chills, or a dash of dark humor, TRIGGER HAPPY: Hit Men with a Punchline returns back to the eternal question - in the immortal words of Gary Johnson - “Who is your Hit Man?”