January 2024 Calendar for My Imaginary Repertory Cinema
This list is just meant as a fun exercise. Basically, what if I were the curator or head programmer of a repertory cinema? Which movies would I pick to fill a whole month of programming? Since I had so much fun in making a list for December I wanted to make one for January too.
For me, January (a.k.a. Japanuary) is all about Japanese cinema. I also want to celebrate Nicolas Cage's 60th birthday and pay tribute to some master filmmakers (Sergio Leone, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Takeshi Kitano, David Lynch & Jim Jarmusch) who were born in January.
program:
1–30: evening shows
32–34: Friday matinees (Yakuza film)
36–38: Friday midnight shows (J-horror)
40–42: Saturday midnight shows (Erotica)
45–47: Saturday & Sunday family matinees (Ghibli)
special events:
January 5, 6 & 7: Nicolas Cage 60th birthday celebration (film #6, 31, 35, 39, 43 & 44)
January 29: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 60th anniversary screening
past calendars: December 2023 Calendar
For me, January (a.k.a. Japanuary) is all about Japanese cinema. I also want to celebrate Nicolas Cage's 60th birthday and pay tribute to some master filmmakers (Sergio Leone, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Takeshi Kitano, David Lynch & Jim Jarmusch) who were born in January.
program:
1–30: evening shows
32–34: Friday matinees (Yakuza film)
36–38: Friday midnight shows (J-horror)
40–42: Saturday midnight shows (Erotica)
45–47: Saturday & Sunday family matinees (Ghibli)
special events:
January 5, 6 & 7: Nicolas Cage 60th birthday celebration (film #6, 31, 35, 39, 43 & 44)
January 29: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 60th anniversary screening
past calendars: December 2023 Calendar
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- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKichiemon NakamuraNobuko OtowaKei SatôTwo women are raped and killed by samurai soldiers. Soon they reappear as vengeful ghosts who seduce and brutally murder the passing samurai.January 1 & 2 (evening show)
Kaidan double feature - DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShiho FujimuraAkira IshihamaMachiko HasegawaThe lives of a master sculptor and his young apprentice are changed forever when they meet an evil witch during a snow storm.January 1 & 2 (evening show)
Kaidan double feature - DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.January 3 (evening show)
Sergio Leone tribute - DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.January 4 (evening show)
90s anime double feature - DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.January 4 (evening show)
90s anime double feature - DirectorKristoffer BorgliStarsLily BirdNicolas CageJulianne NicholsonAn ordinary family man finds his life turned upside down when strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.January 5, 6 & 7 (evening show)
Happy birthday Nicolas Cage! - DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsMeiko KajiRie YokoyamaYayoi WatanabeAfter being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.January 8 (evening show)
Meiko Kaji double feature - DirectorToshiya FujitaStarsMeiko KajiToshio KurosawaMasaaki DaimonA strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.January 8 (evening show)
Meiko Kaji double feature - DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.January 9 (evening show)
Nobuhiko Obayashi tribute (double feature) - DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKiwako HaradaNoriko WatanabeRiki TakeuchiAfter a failed romance, a temperamental young biker meets a carefree rural girl while riding through her island hometown and gets her obsessed about riding a motorcycle.January 9 (evening show)
Nobuhiko Obayashi tribute (double feature) - DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.January 10 & 11 (evening show)
New Hollywood double feature - DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.January 10 & 11 (evening show)
New Hollywood double feature - DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHidetoshi NishijimaTôko MiuraReika KirishimaA renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.January 12, 13 & 14 (evening show)
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsBae DoonaAki MaedaYû KashiiA music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.January 15 (evening show)
Music double feature - DirectorKenji IwaisawaStarsShintarô SakamotoRen KomaiTomoya MaenoA trio of delinquent schoolkids form a music band.January 15 (evening show)
Music double feature - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.January 16 & 17 (evening show)
double feature (paired with Under the Flag of the Rising Sun) - DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTetsurô TanbaSachiko HidariShinjirô EbaraOne woman's search to find the truth about her husband's death in World War II.January 16 & 17 (evening show)
double feature (paired with Rashomon) - DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsClaude MakiHiroko ÔshimaSabu KawaharaThe lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.January 18 (evening show)
Happy birthday Takeshi Kitano! (double feature) - DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.January 18 (evening show)
Happy birthday Takeshi Kitano! (double feature) - DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.January 19, 20 & 21 (evening show)
Happy birthday David Lynch! - DirectorJim JarmuschStarsMasatoshi NagaseYûki KudôScreamin' Jay HawkinsThree stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.January 22 (evening show)
Happy birthday Jim Jarmusch! (double feature) - DirectorJim JarmuschStarsForest WhitakerHenry SilvaJohn TormeyAn African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.January 22 (evening show)
Happy birthday Jim Jarmusch! (double feature) - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.January 23 (evening show)
Toshiro Mifune & Tatsuya Nakadai double feature - DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaYûzô KayamaThrough his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.January 23 (evening show)
Toshiro Mifune & Tatsuya Nakadai double feature - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.January 24 & 25 (evening show)
Kaiju double feature - DirectorTakao OkawaraIshirô HondaKoji HashimotoStarsTakurô TatsumiYôko IshinoYasufumi HayashiThe aftermath of the Oxygen Destroyer brings forth Destoroyah, a beast intent on killing Godzilla, who is on the verge of a nuclear meltdown.January 24 & 25 (evening show)
Kaiju double feature - DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsMinami HamabeRyunosuke KamikiSakura AndôPost war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.January 26, 27 & 28 (evening show)
- 19641h 35mPG8.4 (519K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.January 29 (evening show)
60th anniversary screening - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.January 30 & 31 (evening show)
Splatter double feature - DirectorYoshihiro NishimuraStarsEihi ShiinaItsuji ItaoYukihide BennyIn future Tokyo, a young woman in the privatized police force tracks down her father's killer while battling against mutant rebels known as engineers.January 30 & 31 (evening show)
Splatter double feature - DirectorRobert BiermanStarsNicolas CageMaria Conchita AlonsoJennifer BealsAfter an encounter with a neck-biter, a publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire.January 5 (Friday matinee)
Nicolas Cage tribute - DirectorHideo GoshaStarsRumi AikiHideyo AmamotoNoboru AndôAfter going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, a gangster gets released early - only to find that his ex-gang has merged with the Kannos. But with bitter resentments lingering on both sides, bloodshed is bound to begin anew.January 12 (Friday matinee)
Yakuza film - DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoAya KokumaiTetsu WatanabeSeveral yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.January 19 (Friday matinee)
Yakuza film - DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraTatsuo UmemiyaHiroki MatsukataActing boss Hirotani of the Ohara gang uses his friendship with corrupt cop Kuno to usurp a staged land deal that rival yakuza gang Kawade had arranged through local politicians. Open warfare erupts between the two gangs.January 26 (Friday matinee)
Yakuza film - DirectorPanos CosmatosStarsNicolas CageAndrea RiseboroughLinus RoacheThe enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.January 5 (Friday midnight show)
Nicolas Cage tribute - DirectorHideo NakataStarsNanako MatsushimaMiki NakataniYûko TakeuchiA reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.January 12 (Friday midnight show)
J-horror - DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.January 19 (Friday midnight show)
J-horror - DirectorKôji ShiraishiStarsJin MurakiRio KannoTomono KugaA documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba."January 26 (Friday midnight show)
J-horror - DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.January 6 (Saturday midnight show)
Nicolas Cage tribute - DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsEiji FunakoshiMako MidoriNoriko SengokuA blind sculpter and his mother kidnap a young model.January 13 (Saturday midnight show)
Erotica - DirectorKôji WakamatsuStarsMimi KozakuraMichio AkiyamaYôko YamamotoAfter being raped in an unknown rooftop, seventeen year-old girl Poppo meets a mysterious boy, and both share their sexual traumas and fears, with fatal consequences.January 20 (Saturday midnight show)
Erotica - DirectorEiichi YamamotoStarsAiko NagayamaChinatsu NakayamaMasaya TakahashiAfter being raped by an evil feudal lord and subsequently getting banished from her village, a peasant girl makes a pact with the Devil to gain magical powers and take her revenge.January 27 (Saturday midnight show)
Erotica - DirectorJohn WooStarsJohn TravoltaNicolas CageJoan AllenTo foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.January 6 (Saturday matinee)
Nicolas Cage tribute - DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.January 7 (Sunday matinee)
Nicolas Cage tribute - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.January 13 & 14 (Saturday & Sunday family matinee)
Ghibli - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.January 20 & 21 (Saturday & Sunday family matinee)
Ghibli - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.January 27 & 28 (Saturday & Sunday family matinee)
Ghibli