Category Archives: Feature

Blimey! It’s the Union South British Invasion Film Series, guv’na!

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First off, I just want to apologize to every British person everywhere for that headline. But I couldn’t help but go a little overboard with the news that the Union South Marquee Theatre will finish out the semester with a free British Invasion series of films running Wednesday through Sunday.

All screenings take place at the Marquee, 1208 W. Dayton Ave., and are free. Visit union.wisc.edu/film for more details.

“The Italian Job” (7 p.m. Wednesday) — Not he Mark Wahlberg remake, but the swingin’ 60s classic heist film, with Michael Caine leading an eccentric team and three Mini Coopers on a caper to shut down traffic in Torino and steal some gold.

“Tommy” (6:45 p.m. Thursday) — The Who’s phantasmagorical 1975 musical about the kid who plays a mean pinball, featuring an all-star cast of ’70s rockers.

“Gimme Shelter” (6:30 p.m. Friday) — The landmark tour documentary follows the Rolling Stones on tour in the late ’60s, up to the notorious Altamont concert where a fan was stabbed to death by a Hell’s Angels member working as a security guard.

“Trainspotting” (8:30 p.m. Friday) — Danny Boyle’s breakthrough film about some likable heroin addicts in Edinburgh.

“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (midnight Friday) — Shall I quote this movie verbatim for you? The British comedy troupe’s hilarious take on the King Arthur legend had that kind of effect on generations of comedy nerds.

“Billy Elliot” (3 p.m. Sunday) — Amid the turmoil of a coal miners’ strike, a young Welsh boy pursues his dream of becoming a ballet dancer.

“Iron Man 3,” and why all superhero movies should visit rural Tennessee

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Note: This article contains spoilers. Don’t read it if you haven’t seen “Iron Man 3,” especially since the film has more surprises than your average superhero movie.

The first half-hour or so of “Iron Man 3” is fine. Certainly better than the sloppy “Iron Man 2,” but just fine. It’s familiar in its set-ups, giving us backstory, the introduction of a cut-and-dried villain in The Mandarin, the start of a dramatic arc for Tony Stark in his post-“Avengers” anxiety attacks. When Tony’s seaside home is destroyed, it’s the typical summer movie end-of-Act-I visual effects sequence that we expect to see in a modern blockbuster.

It’s fine. At that point I thought “Iron Man 3” was going to be a decent but unnecessary third installment

And then director and co-writer Shane Black throws the first big switchback of the film, and lets us know “Iron Man 3” is going to be a little different than what we expect from superhero movies. For example, big-budget action movies all take place in major cities, right? Batman cruises Gotham, and The Avengers fought the aliens in the heart of Manhattan because — it’s Manhattan.

Welcome to Rose Hill, Tennessee.

Following a lead, Tony Stark crash-lands in the small town, where he spends the next half-hour of the movie, his suit useless (that shot of him dragging it behind him in the show, like a kid with his sled, is classic), his defenses down. The only costume he has is a plaid vest and a camo cap.

And it’s awesome. It’s exactly what this movie, and what most superhero movies need — some grounding. After the spectacle of the first act, it takes some confidence in a filmmaker to pull back like that when the conventional wisdom is to keep piling spectacle on top of spectacle. But he doesn’t.

Instead, the Tennessee section focuses on humor — the scene with Adam Pally of “Happy Endings” as a superfan (“A Hispanic Scott Baio?” — a callback to “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” maybe?) is a riot, and the back-and-forth with the kid who takes him in is great.

It’s great because it’s funny, but also because the kid is not just some cute tyke, but in many ways a young Tony Stark. Note how he describes his parents: “My mom just left for the diner, and my dad went out for scratchers. He must have won, because it’s been six years.” The way that line is written and delivered is classic Tony Stark, right? Sardonic humor masking pain. Stark immediately recognizes a kindred spirit (similar to his affectionate teasing of Bruce Banner in “The Avengers”) and responds in affably caustic style. It’s a strong relationship — despite the joke, they really are “connected.”

That’s the other value of the Tennessee section, focusing on character. Without the distractions of his usual toys, we really get to see Stark up close, out of his usual franchise cocoon, interacting with strangers, whether it’s the kid or the grieving mom at the bar. How do you make a movie about a man in an invincible suit interesting? Take him out of the suit, and leave him out for as long as possible. (That’s what helps make that one action scene in Rose Hill so effective — out of the suit, Stark seems unusually vulnerable.) And Black knows to ease him slowly back into the suit — even when he goes to Miami, he’s got a bunch of jury-rigged gadgets, and has to fight a big battle with only an Iron Man glove and one boot. It’s smart filmmaking — rather than make the villains bigger and bigger, make the hero smaller.

Which brings me to the third important part of the Tennessee section — it alerts the audience not to rely too comfortably on its expectations, paving the way for the surprisingly fun third-act reveals. (Ah, Trevor, we can’t help but love you!) As a result, the third act for me is a lot more fun than the first, with unexpectedly funny lines (“Seriously, I just work here. These people are so weird!”) and plot turns I never saw coming. Because plot turns aren’t supposed to be part of superhero movies. You set up the hero, you set up the villain, and you send them into epic battle. Black gets there, with that oil rig battle at the end (back to the familiar) but the path he takes is much more idiosyncratic and satisfying. Because it goes through a small town in Tennessee.

Can a movie have too many famous actors in it?

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When Brendan Gleeson shows up about two-thirds of the way through Robert Redford’s “The Company You Keep,” I actually burst out laughing at his dour Irish mug. Not that there’s anything funny about Gleeson’s performance in a small role. It’s just that the film had been such a cavalcade of veteran actors that it was like “Well, who else can we fit into this movie?”

I mean, in addition to Redford, “Company” has Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper, Julie Christie, Sam Elliott, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Stephen Root and Terrence Howard, not to mention Shia LaBeouf, Brit Marling, Anna Kendrick and “American Idol” fave Jackie Evancho representing the younger generations. I called it the “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” of political thrillers in my review, and joked on my Facebook page that any actor you can think of over 50 has a decent shot of being in the movie. (My friends helpfully pointed out that Abe Vigoda and Emmanuelle Riva were not among the cast.)

Now, it would seem self-evident that a filmmaker would want the best cast possible for his movie, and Redford obviously has the clout to get who he wants for his movie. (His last movie, “The Conspirator,” had a similarly heavyweight cast.) Recognizable actors not only attract audiences in theaters, but in the pre-production phase can attract financial backers and studio distributors.

But there is such a thing as a tipping point, and I think “Company” is one of those films that tips over. It’s just so loaded with familiar faces in every part large and small that it keeps throwing you out of the film, making you think “Hey, there’s so-and-so” rather than sinking into the story and identifiying the characters. I think that’s why Gleeson’s presence made me laugh. The other problem is having a great actor in a small part and not giving them anything to do with it — Gleeson largely exists to further the plot along, and while Sarandon and Christie each get a couple of nice scenes, Nolte and Elliott are largely wasted.

An “all-star” cast has been a hallmark of Hollywood movie advertising back to the Golden Age. Think of something like the 1962 D-Day drama “The Longest Day,” which had Richard Burton, Henry Fonda and John Wayne among a cast too numerous to mention. Or “How the West Was Won,” which had Fonda again, plus Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck and many more. Or all those Irwin Allen disaster movies of the ’70s, like “The Towering Inferno,” with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Fred Astaire and O.J. Simpson, among others. Their names looked great together on a poster. But can anybody say any of them did their best work in those films?

Woody Allen is another one who seems to like top-heavy casts. When a film of his connects, I don’t notice it as much; “Midnight in Paris” has a pretty strong cast that includes Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates and Rachel McAdams, but each one of them seems perfectly cast in their role. Meanwhile, last year’s ungainly “To Rome with Love” got kind of exhausting with its big cast, including Alec Baldwin, Diane Keaton, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody himself, I think largely because most of them didn’t have that much interesting to do besides look good in Italian cafes.

One movie that I think did the big cast right was “Margin Call.” I remember seeing the premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and being agog at seeing Tucci, Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Dylan Baker, Paul Bettany and Demi Moore on one stage. But that film made it work because it broke the story down into a lot of two- and three-character scenes, giving everybody a turn to make an impression. It was a very egalitarian way to handle it.

Also successful, but in a completely different way, are the new “Ocean’s 11” movies. They handle their large casts because there’s a clear hierarchy to the cast, with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon at the top and the other eight (or nine, or 10) members of the team kind of orbiting around them, appearing and then disappearing. Carl Reiner is great in his role, but if he got as much screen time as Clooney it’d throw the balance of the film off.

For a sports team, there’s nothing like a deep bench. But the same doesn’t always hold true for movies — sometimes a Dream Team isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Mini_Indie Film Festival brings more indie goodness to Madison this weekend

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Well, you’ve had a week to recover from the cinematic splendors of the Wisconsin Film Festival. Time to refill the popcorn bucket and head back into the theater, because the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Mini_Indie Film Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at Union South’s Marquee Theater, 1208 W. Dayton St. The student-programmed festival brings a whole new raft of documentaries, foreign films and indies to the screen, all for free.

Here’s a day-by-day rundown of what to expect. Visit union.wisc.edu/film for more information.

Thursday

“God Loves Uganda” (7 p.m.) — This clear-eyed documentary looks at the impact of Christian missionaries in the Third World, both the good that they do and the potential harm, with a particular look at how homophobic philosophies have spread in Africa.

“Caesar Must Die” (9:30 p.m.) — Like a harsh opposite version of Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” this docu-drama brings Shakespeare into contemporary times with stunning black-and-white photography. Only this time, the actors are inmates at a maximum-security prison in Italy, incarcerated for murder, drug dealing and mob activity. For them, theater is not “therapeutic,” but a way for them to tap into their deepest, sometimes darkest currents in a way that blurs the distinction between real life and theater.

Friday

“Revolutionary Optimists” (5 p.m.) — This documentary looks at an organization that empowers and educates poor children in India, as well as focuses on a few children trying to rise above their dire circumstances.

“Searching For Sugar Man” (7 p.m.) — This Oscar-winning documentary, about a long-lost songwriter named Rodriguez and the fans who search for him decades later, is a true crowd-pleaser, both a mystery tale and an ode both to obscure musicians who toil for their craft, and the fans who love them. Plus the soundtrack is dynamite. Here’s my full review.

“Broken” (9:30 p.m.) — This British drama appears to follow in that country’s miserablist tradition, showing the hard and often unfair lives of middle-class Brits living on a suburban cul-de-sac. Impressive newcomer Eloise Lawrence plays 11-year-old Skunk, who observes some painful goings-on in the lives of the adults around her. She has a sweet relationship with her father (Tim Roth, nicely understated) and a friendship with a developmentally disabled boy across the street, as well as with her teacher (Cillian Murphy).

But a widower also leaving on the block, Mr. Oswald (Rory Kinnear) brings a note of chaos; in the opening scene, he brutally beats the disabled boy after one of his daughters falsely accuses him of molesting her. Everyone else on the block is too afraid to stand up to Oswald or his three bullying daughters, and the film starts to tilt towards tragedy. Kinnear, best known as Bill Tanner, the Basil Exposition of the recent James Bond movies, is unrecognizable and terrifying as the brutal Oswald, who uses his grief as an accelerant poured over his anger to verbally and physically attack any one he perceives as a threat.

Fortunately, director Rufus Norris tries to balance the encroaching darkness with lighter moments, especially in the warm relationship between Skunk and her father, and the film ends up being a more well-rounded portrait of suburban ennui than expected, with young Laurence more than capably carrying the film on her shoulders.

“John Dies at the End” (midnight) — Don Coscarelli is known for making gonzo horror movies, such as “Bubba Ho-Tep,” in which a geriatric Elvis battled an ancient mummy. But he may have topped himself with this one, spoilerrific title and all, about two teenagers defending humanity from a new drug.

Saturday

“Deflowering of Eva Van End” (2 p.m.)  — This Dutch comedy has been compared to “Little Miss Sunshine,” telling the story of a dysfunctional family that is upended when a German boy comes to stay with them for an exchange program.

“An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” (4:30 p.m.) — Jay-Z is one of the executive producers on this drama, focusing on a couple whose relationship is teetering between friendship and romance, seen through the perspective of the man.

“Breakup at a Wedding” (7 p.m.) — Madison is getting an early look at this mockumentary comedy, which purports to be the wedding videos for the disastrous nuptuals between a couple who end up calling it quits before the ceremony even starts. But since the flowers are bought and everyone’s RSVPed, why not go through with it anyway?

This movie should be mandatory viewing for anyone stressing out about their own impending wedding, as mishap piles upon mishap, from the groom’s plans to switch his best man at the last minute, to the bride’s half-assing her personal vows, to a fight with a rival wedding party over free booze at the reception. Not all the jokes stick the landing, and I was pretty annoyed at the videographer’s voiceover explanations at the beginning (the last thing a movie that shows people acting ridiculous needs is a narrator saying “Aren’t these people acting ridiculous?”).

But the film is genuinely funny, from the OCD bride to the distracted groom, and manages to inject just enough sweetness among the cynicism about the outrageous expense and lavishness of modern weddings. Writer-producer Anne Martemucci will be at the screening and will talk about the film afterwards.

“Rust and Bone” (9:30 p.m.) — This searing romantic drama from Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet”) is a gritty look at a relationship between a street fighter (Matthieu Schoenarts) and a whale trailer who has lost her legs in a tragic accident (Marion Cotillard). It’s a film that avoids cliches and provides complex, not always likable characters with a shot at redeeming themselves. My full review is here.

“Sound City” (midnight) — Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl made this celebratory documentary about the legendary analog recording studio, the birthplace of many classic albums but a dinosaur in the age of digital recordings.

Sunday

Student Short Film Competition (2 p.m.) — The films of UW undergraduates and grad students will be shown.

“Laurence Anyways” (4 p.m.) — A French Canadian professor tells his girlfriend he wants a sex-change operation in this drama, which spans 10 years of their relationship.

 

 

Mumford and Sons coming to Madison! (In a movie. If you want.)

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Face facts, Mumford & Sons fans. Your favorite neo-folk band won’t be stopping in Madison this summer, most likely. They’ve grown too big for the likes of the Barrymore or the Orpheum — your best shot might be cramming down with the throngs at Lollapalooza this summer.

Unless you’d like to see them up close and personal — in movie form. A local fan is trying to arrange a Gathr screening of the documentary “Big Easy Express,” which chronicles a tour featuring Team Mumford along with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Old Crow Medicine Show. The tour was made by train, which became a rolling jam session as it went from town to town.

The screening is set for May 22, but the way Gathr works is that folks have to sign up ahead of time and pledge to attend. If enough people sign up, the screening happens. (It’s not unlike the Kickstarter model.) Gathr was used to bring the documentary “Girl Rising” to Madison for two sold-out showings earlier in the year.

So, if you’re interested, the link to the screening’s Gathr page is here. Hurry — they’ve got only another 15 days to make this happen, and unlike the song, Gathr won’t wait, Gathr won’t wait, for you.

Wisconsin Film Festival: Michael Murphy takes “Manhattan”

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I had not planned on going to all three of Michael Murphy’s events at the Wisconsin Film Festival. I thought I would hit “Phase IV” for sure, and then maybe “Brewster McCloud” just to hear the actor tell Robert Altman stories. But that was it. Certainly not Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” which I love but have seen plenty of times in my life.

And there I was, watching “Manhattan” at the Union South Marquee Theater. And loving it. Because it’s “Manhattan.” And it’s Michael Murphy.

Murphy is just such a great storyteller and such a gregarious guy (and, let’s face it, “Manhattan” is such a wonderful film) that I couldn’t pass up the chance. Festival director of programming Jim Healy said it was a new print of “Manhattan,” and the black-and-white shots of ’70s New York looked awesome on the big screen. I got chills during that final “Rhapsody in Blue” overture. And, after Allen’s spotty later years, it’s just such a pleasure to return to the sharp writing (with UW-Madison graduate Marshall Brickman) of his peak years.

So, of course, Murphy talked during the Q&A about how much Allen never liked “Manhattan,” so much that he wanted to take the print back from the studio and make them another film for free. Murphy said he agreed with actor Pat Healy, who was at the screening, that Allen might have been so uncomfortable with the film because it hit so close to home.

“This is as close to Woody as you’ll ever see,” Murphy said.

Murphy and Allen became friends while acting together on 1976’s “The Front,” and Murphy said what you see in “Manhattan” is pretty much their lives together (minus the adultery,etc.) “We had a million meals at that table in Elaine’s, some unbelievable conversations,” he said. “It was just like going out and having dinner with your friends.”

Murphy also told some funny stories about Allen’s notorious hypochondria, such as convincing himself that he had a brain tumor after listening to a lot of George Gershwin, who died of a brain tumor. Another time, Murphy remembered trying to convince Allen that he wouldn’t die young, noting that both his parents lived to be well into their 90s.

“Genetics will only get you so far, Murphy,” Allen reportedly responded.

Wisconsin Film Festival review: Michael Murphy revisits “Phase IV”

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“If I had been a tube of blue paint, he would have liked me more.”

That was actor Michael Murphy talking about Saul Bass, legendary designer and less-than-legendary filmmaker. In fact, although he designed iconic posters and opening-credits sequences for films like “Vertigo” and “The Man With the Golden Arm,” Bass made just one film as a director, the 1974 sci-fi thriller “Phase IV.”

Underseen for decades, “Phase IV” has resurfaced, and it played at the Wisconsin Film Festival on Saturday morning with a somewhat chagrinned-looking Murphy talking about it. “I heard some inappropriate laughter, dammit!” he joked to the audience after the film.

The foundation of the film is a rather silly sci-fi premise, that ants are starting to evolve and fight back against their predators, including humans. A pair of scientists (Murphy and Nigel Davenport) have come to a remote part of Arizona to study the phenomenon, and find themselves trapped in an escalating war of wits with the collective little buggers.

Universal Pictures sold the film to audiences as a horror movie in the vein of “Kingdom of the Spiders,” and there are some of those cheesy elements in there, to be sure. But Bass also brings a striking visual style to many scenes, including many close-up shots of the ants, and a gonzo original ending fully of trippy, baffling images that turned off test audiences.

After years working with improvisation-friendly director Robert Altman (such as on “Brewster McCloud,” which Murphy screened at the festival on Friday) Murphy wasn’t used to the strict hit-your-marks style of a director like Bass, and it showed. Bass and the studio constantly battled over the film, and Murphy said he was frustrated with several poor decisions, such as an intrusive introductory voiceover and terrible looped dialogue.

“It would have been a really interesting film if there was a little bit of attention paid to performances,” Murphy said. “Saul was a great artist, a good guy.”

Sean Savage of the Academy Film Archive, who found and restored the long-lost original ending, says he has a treasure trove of Bass material about “Phase IV” and other projects, and there have been some informal discussions about trying to release a restored Blu-ray edition at some point.

Murphy will be at the Union South Marquee Theater at 1:15 p.m. Sunday to introduce a film he’s much prouder of, Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.”

“Upstream Color” will lead off next round of Sundance Screening Room titles

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It may be hard for a movie fan in Madison to think past the Wisconsin Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday and brings over 150 movies to town. But the festival will end eventually, and the trick is to keep your hunger for offbeat and interesting films going after it does.

Luckily, there will be plenty of chances to do so — the Union South Marquee Theater will jump into its Mini Indie Film Festival in late April. And Sundance Cinemas will kick off its next Screening Room calendar on Friday, April 19, the day after the Wisconsin Film Festival ends.

I’m especially excited about the new Screening Room schedule, as I’ll be doing a pair of post-show chats about a couple of the films in Sundance’s new Overflow Bar, located on the first floor where the gift shop used to be. And the first one should be a doozy. Visit sundancecinemas.com for more information.

“Upstream Color” (opens April 19) — Nine years ago, writer-director-star Shane Carruth made one of the best time-travel movies ever, “Primer,” on a budget of just $7,000. Now he returns with a beautiful and just as confounding sci-fi tale involving true love, an ageless organism, and pigs. I’m doing a post-show chat after the Monday, April 22 early evening show — I’ll post more details closer to the event.

“Room 237” (April 26) — If you miss Rodney Ascher’s engrossing documentary about the various arcane film theories surrounding Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” it’s coming back.

“The Angel’s Share” (May 3) — Acclaimed director Ken Loach returns with another tale of working-class life in the United Kingdom, in this case a comedy about four young Scotsmen and a cask of rare whisky.

“Koch” and “West of Memphis” (May 10) — A double dose of documentaries. “Koch” has nothing to do with the notorious Koch brothers, but instead follows the career of former New York Mayor Ed Koch. “West of Memphis” is a follow-up look at the lives of the West Memphis 3, three teenagers wrongfully convicted of murder, and the case that remains unsolved.

“Lore” (May 17) — Another film festival sellout, this drama follows a group of children, left alone after their SS parents are arrested after World War II, who must traverse Germany, and see the results of their parents’ legacy along the way. I’ll be doing a post-show cat after the early evening show on Monday, May 20.

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (May 24) — A Pakistani immigrant working on Wall Street has his allegiances tested after 9/11 in this film from director Mira Nair.

UPDATED: 58 Wisconsin Film Festival sellouts; festival starts Thursday

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Obviously it would have been better for headline purposes if only 56 films had sold out, so I could have made a play on “56 Up” somehow. But you just weren’t satisfied, were you Wisconsin Film Festival fans?

As of Sunday night, 58 films at the festival had all or some screenings sold out in advance. Which still leaves a lot of films with advance tickets still up for sale (if you can see a movie on a weekday afternoon, you’re in the catbird’s seat). And every screening will have a limited number of rush tickets released at the door — get to the theater at minimum an hour early, bring something good to read while you wait in line, and you’ve got a pretty good shot.

Advance tickets will be on sale through Wednesday at wifilmfest.org and the festival box office on the first floor of Union South. After that — well, the festival starts Thursday, so they wouldn’t be advance tickets any more, would they? — you can buy them on the day of the show at the venue. Follow me at @r0bt77 — I’ll be live-tweeting the festival and linking to reviews I’ll be writing for both this blog and 77 Square.

Oh, and get some extra sleep between now and Thursday if you can.

“56 Up” — all three original screenings are sold out, but a fourth screening has been added at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at Union South, and advance tickets remain for that. One of the subjects of the doc, Nick Hitchon, will be speaking at the 6 p.m. Saturday screening only. (Note: the original version of this post said the fourth screening was at Sundance. That has been corrected.)

“7 Boxes” — The 5:15 p.m. Friday show and 9 p.m. Tuesday shows are both sold out.

“All the Light in the Sky” — 4:45 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“Augustine” — 7 p.m. Thursday (April 18) sold out, tickets remain for 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

“Beyond the Hills” — 5:45 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“Blancanieves” — both shows sold out.

“Breakfast with Curtis” — 11:30 a.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain the 12:15 p.m. Friday show.

“The Bronte Sisters” — 1 p.m. Wednesday is sold out, but tickets remain for 9:15 p.m. Monday.

“Citizen Koch” — 11 a.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 7:15 p.m. Saturday.

“Coming of Age” — 7 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“Computer Chess” — 6:15 p.m. Tuesday sold out, but tickets remain for 11:15 a.m. Sunday.

“Consuming Spirits” — 2:15 p.m. Saturday sold out.

“Dear Mr. Watterson” — Both screenings are sold out.

“Dragon Inn” — 11:45 a.m. Saturday sold out.

“Either Way” — both screenings sold out.

“The End of Time” — both screenings sold out.

“Father’s Birth” — both screenings sold out.

“The Final Member” — 9:15 p.m. Friday is sold out, but tickets remain for 10 p.m. Saturday.

“Flicker” — All three screenings are sold out.

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” — 2:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 1 p.m. Monday

“Grave of the Fireflies” — 2:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Thursday, April 18.

“A Hijacking” — 9:30 p.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for 3 p.m. Friday.

“I Am Divine” — Both screenings are sold out.

“In the Fog” — 4:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 2:30 p.m. Friday.

“The Institute” — 6:45 p.m. Thursday (April 11) is sold out, but tickets remain for 6:45 p.n, Tuesday.

“The Jeffrey Dahmer Files” — 8:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 9:15 p.m. Saturday.

“Kauwboy” — 2:15 p.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.

“Key of Life” –  both screenings sold out.

“Kon-Tiki” — 6:30 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Leviathan” — 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18 sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Friday.

“The Librarian and the Banjo” — 4:30 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Lore” — both screenings sold out

“Low & Clear” — 2:45 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Friday.

“M” — 7:30 p.m. Saturday sold out

“The Moo Man” — 1:45 p.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Monday.

“Much Ado About Nothing” — 9 p.m. Thursday sold out

“Mussels in Love” — 7:30 p.m. Friday sold out, but tickets remain for 7 p.m. Monday.

“Only the Young” — 7:45 p.m. Friday sold out, but tickets remain for 4 p.m. Sunday

“Ornette: Made in America” — 7:15 p.m. Thursday sold out, but tickets remain for 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

“The Painting” — both screenings sold out

“Phase IV” — 11:30 a.m. Saturday sold out

“Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy — 8:45 p.m. Monday is sold out, but tickets remain for 8:45 p.m. Sunday.

“Present Tense” — Both screenings sold out.

“Pretty Funny Stories” — 5 p.m. Saturday sold out

“Radio Unnameable” — Both screenings sold out.

“Renoir” — Both screenings sold out.

“Room 237” — 6:30 p.m. Wednesday sold out

“Shepard and Dark” — 6:30 p.m. Monday sold out, but tickets remain for 1:15 p.m. Tuesday

“Short Films From Wisconsin’s Own” — 2 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Source Tags and Codes” — 9:15 p.m. Thursday sold out

“Stories We Tell” — 6:45 p.m. Thursday sold out

“Street Pulse” — 4 p.m. Saturday screening sold out

“This is Martin Bonner” — 6:30 p.m. Saturday sold out, but tickets remain for 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Tiger Tail in Blue” — 7:15 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“A Touch of Zen” — 11 a.m. Sunday sold out.

“Unfinished Song” — 5 p.m. Saturday sold out.

“Winter Nomads” — 4:30 p.m. Thursday sold out, but tickets remain for 12:30 p.m. Friday

“The World Before Her” — 7:30 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday both sold out

UPDATED: 50 Wisconsin Film Festival sellouts; fourth screening for “56 Up” added

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If you were one of the many who couldn’t get tickets to see the documentary “56 Up” at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival, and you don’t mind getting up early on a Saturday morning, you’re in luck. Late last week, the festival added a special fourth screening for Michael Apted’s documentary at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, April 13 at Union South. Advance tickets are available at wifilmfest.org.

“56 Up” was one of the first sellouts of the festival; not only is the “Up” series, following a group of British people every seven years of their lives, immensely acclaimed, but one of the subjects is a Madison resident, UW professor Nick Hitchon. Hitchon will be at the 6 p.m. Saturday screening only.

In past years, films normally only got one or two screenings during the festival, but the longer eight-day festival this year has given programmers the space to book films three (and, in this case, four) times if the film’s distributor is amenable. Festival director of programming Jim Healy said there likely won’t be any more films that get last-minute bonus screenings like “56 Up.” For example, Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” which sold out in less than an hour, won’t get a second screening because the arrangement with the distributor, Roadside Attractions, only allows for one.

Otherwise, by my count, there are 50 movies at this year’s festival that have all or some of their screenings sold out. Here’s my updated list:

“56 Up” — all three original screenings are sold out, but a fourth screening has been added at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at Sundance, and advance tickets remain for that. One of the subjects of the doc, Nick Hitchon, will be speaking at the 6 p.m. Saturday screening only.

“7 Boxes” — The 5:15 p.m. Friday show and 9 p.m. Tuesday shows are both sold out.

“All the Light in the Sky” — 4:45 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“Augustine” — 7 p.m. Thursday (April 18) sold out, tickets remain for 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

“Beyond the Hills” — 5:45 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“Blancanieves” — 7:45 p.m. Friday sold out, but tickets remain for 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“Breakfast with Curtis” — 11:30 a.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain the 12:15 p.m. Friday show.

“The Bronte Sisters” — 1 p.m. Wednesday is sold out, but tickets remain for 9:15 p.m. Monday.

“Citizen Koch” — 11 a.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 7:15 p.m. Saturday.

“Computer Chess” — 6:15 p.m. Tuesday sold out, but tickets remain for 11:15 a.m. Sunday.

“Consuming Spirits” — 2:15 p.m. Saturday sold out.

“Dear Mr. Watterson” — Both screenings are sold out.

“Dragon Inn” — 11:45 a.m. Saturday sold out.

“Either Way” — both screenings sold out.

“The End of Time” — both screenings sold out.

“Flicker” — 7:45 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Monday are sold out, but tickets for 12:15 p.m. Friday remain.

“Grave of the Fireflies” — 2:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Thursday, April 18.

“A Hijacking” — 9:30 p.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for 3 p.m. Friday.

“I Am Divine” — Both screenings are sold out.

“In the Fog” — 4:30 p.m. Sunday is sold out, but tickets remain for 2:30 p.m. Friday.

“Kauwboy” — 2:15 p.m. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.

“Key of Life” –  7 p.m. Wednesday is sold out, but tickets for 1:30 p.m. Thursday remain.

“Kon-Tiki” — 6:30 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Leviathan” — 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18 sold out, but tickets remain for 4:45 p.m. Friday.

“The Librarian and the Banjo” — 4:30 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Lore” — both screenings sold out

“M” — 7:30 p.m. Saturday sold out

“Much Ado About Nothing” — 9 p.m. Thursday sold out

“Mussels in Love” — 7:30 p.m. Friday sold out, but tickets remain for 7 p.m. Monday.

“Only the Young” — 7:45 p.m. Friday sold out, but tickets remain for 4 p.m. Sunday

“Ornette: Made in America” — 7:15 p.m. Thursday sold out, but tickets remain for 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

“The Painting” — 11:15 a.m. Saturday sold out, but tickets remain for 11:45 a.m. Sunday.

“Phase IV” — 11:30 a.m. Saturday sold out

“Present Tense” — 6 p.m. Sunday sold out, but tickets remain for 1:30 p.m. Monday.

“Pretty Funny Stories” — 5 p.m. Saturday sold out

“Radio Unnameable” — Both screenings sold out.

“Renoir” — Both screenings sold out.

“Room 237” — 6:30 p.m. Wednesday sold out

“Shepard and Dark” — 6:30 p.m. Monday sold out, but tickets remain for 1:15 p.m. Tuesday

“Short Films From Wisconsin’s Own” — 2 p.m. Sunday sold out

“Stories We Tell” — 6:45 p.m. Thursday sold out

“Street Pulse” — 4 p.m. Saturday screening sold out

“This is Martin Bonner” — 6:30 p.m. Saturday sold out, but tickets remain for 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Tiger Tail in Blue” — 7:15 p.m. Sunday sold out.

“A Touch of Zen” — 11 a.m. Sunday sold out.

“Unfinished Song” — 5 p.m. Saturday sold out.

“The World Before Her” — 7:30 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday both sold out

“This is Martin Bonner” — 6:30 p.m. Saturday sold out, but tickets remain for 2 p.m. Sunday

“Unfinished Song” — 5 p.m. Saturday sold out

“Winter Nomads” — 4:30 p.m. Thursday sold out, but tickets remain for 12:30 p.m. Friday