‘Reservoir Dogs’ Anniversary Screening and a Grateful Dead Documentary Added to Sundance
Sundance isn’t always about the new stuff. Every year, the Sundance Institute picks a few films to screen as special events, and this year, among the choices are Amir Bar-Lev’s Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip and Quentin Tarantino’s classic Reservoir Dogs.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reservoir Dogs and Donna Deitch’s Desert Hearts are returning to the festival from out of UCLA’s Sundance Institute Collection: Desert Hearts premiered at the festival in 1986 and Reservoir Dogs did the same in 1992. The 25th anniversary screening of Tarantino’s film will be followed by a Q&A with the man himself and producer Lawrence Bender. With these come two new premiere additions to the festival: Bending the Arc, about the doctors who saved lives in Haiti 30 years ago and sparked a global health movement, and Long Strange Trip, a doc about the formation and journey of a band you might’ve heard of called The Grateful Dead. Apparently, it features never-before-seen footage of the band, so all you deadheads out there had better hurry up and make plans to vacation in Park City this January.
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
Bending the Arc / U.S.A. (Directors: Kief Davidson, Pedro Kos, Screenwriter: Cori Shepherd Stern) — This powerful epic is about the extraordinary doctors and activists—including Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, and Ophelia Dahl—whose work 30 years ago to save lives in a rural Haitian village grew into a global battle in the halls of power for the right to health for all. World Premiere
Long Strange Trip / U.S.A. (Director: Amir Bar-Lev) — The tale of The Grateful Dead is inspiring, complicated, and downright messy. A tribe of contrarians, they made art out of open-ended chaos and inadvertently achieved success on their own terms. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer this unprecedented and unvarnished look at the life of the Dead. World Premiere
FROM THE COLLECTION
Desert Hearts / U.S.A. (Director: Donna Deitch, Screenwriter: Natalie Cooper) — Nevada, 1959: Vivian Bell arrives to get a divorce and finds herself increasingly drawn to Cay Rivvers, a self-assured lesbian. The emotions released by their developing intimacy combined with Vivian's insecurities are played out against a backdrop of rocky landscapes and country and western songs. The Festival will screen a new digitally restored version by the Criterion Collection and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute and Outfest UCLA Legacy Project. Cast: Andra Akers, Dean Butler, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley, Helen Shaver, Glen Welles.
Reservoir Dogs / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Quentin Tarantino) — They were perfect strangers, assembled to pull off the perfect crime. Then their simple robbery explodes into a bloody ambush and the ruthless killers realize one of them is a police informant. But which one? Miramax provided a brand-new 35mm print for this special 25th anniversary screening, which will be followed by an extended Q&A with Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender. Cast: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen.
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19-29.