Nitehawk's Art Seen Series Presents 'The Horse's Mouth'

Nitehawk Cinema has teamed up with Absolut to bring you another installment in the Art Seen series—the mission being to show the relationship between film and visual art by showcasing works that are most often screened in a gallery setting. This weekend they'll be showing The Horse's Mouth and the frieze video, Cocteau in Soho.

Contemporary artist John Baldessarihas said that "Art comes out of failure. You have to try things out. You can’t sit around, terrified of being incorrect, saying 'I won’t do anything until I do a masterpiece'." Gulley Jimson, the eccentric painter in The Horse’s Mouth, is pretty much the poster child for this statement. Totally ill mannered (he pranks calls wealthy collectors, crankily pushes away those who try to help him, and annoys everyone else in his path), Mr. Jimson embraces the messiness inherent in artistic practice and life in general. He has only one determining act: painting the perfect mural.

Based on a 1944 novel by Joyce Cary and deemed to be one of the best films about an artist, the filmic version was a project of love for Alec Guinness who wrote the screenplay and starred in the 1958 movie. Interestingly, The Horse’s Mouth features entirely original paintings rather than reproductions of well known works. The vibrant paintings were created by John Bratby who was a member of the English provincial realists known as the “Kitchen Sink” school. Directed by Ronald Neame, The Horse’s Mouth is a comedic British masterpiece and, though it may come as a surprise for those who best know him as Star Wars’ Obi Wan Kenobi, Guinness’ performance is strange, hilarious, and very touching. Don’t miss this opportunity to see him, as Samuel Beckett would say, fail again, fail better.

Nitehawk Cinema's Art Seen Screening
August 16th and 17th at Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY
12 PM 

Buy Tickets here.