Widescreen: See a rare David Bowie performance on the big screen
A rarely seen David Bowie film from the '80s closes out a World War II film series just after Memorial Day at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," a 1983 drama set in Japan, stars the iconic pop star as a British major who shakes things up at a prisoner of war camp - a far cry from Jareth the Goblin King and Ziggy Stardust. One of Bowie's co-stars is Takeshi Kitano, a favorite among fans of cult cinema as both an actor ("Battle Royale") and director ("Sonatine).
Directed by Nagisa Oshima, who made the infamously steamy "In The Realm of the Senses" a decade earlier, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is the final feature in a series presented by DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts called "Visions of 'The Good War' - Time, Space & Memory in WWII." The series' intention is to "examine the blurred lines that separate enemy from ally, friend from foe, and narrative from history," according to the Music Box's website.
The screening is free for Music Box members and costs $11 for all others, and will be followed by a discussion led by a member of the DePaul faculty. Reserve tickets for the 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, screening online at musicboxtheatre.com.
If going into the city isn't an option, you can watch the film at home if you subscribe to The Criterion Channel, and it's also available via DVD and Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection - but "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is not available for digital rental or streaming from traditional platforms.
Holiday weekend movies
In your downtime away from remembrances and family get-togethers this weekend, you'll have plenty of great movies to watch on cable.
• Most fittingly, AMC will air "Saving Private Ryan" twice, at 5 and 9 p.m., on Memorial Day.
• TNT will be showing the first eight "Star Wars" movies - from "A New Hope" to "Rogue One," chronologically - all weekend, including a nonstop marathon from 10:28 a.m. Sunday to 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
• It's a Disney fest on Freeform throughout the weekend, beginning at 4:55 p.m. Saturday with a "Moana"/"Zootopia"/"Tarzan" triple feature.
• Follow Sean on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.