It’s hard to think of two film directors more unlike than John Ford and Michael Haneke, except to say that both their films need to be seen on the big screen.
Ford’s movies, especially westerns like “The Searchers” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” need to be seen in a theater to fully appreciate the widescreen splendor of their visuals. Haneke’s films need to be seen in the theater, on the other hand, because they’re so disturbing that if you were watching at home, you might turn them off.
Bringing a venerated classic American director and a controversial modern German director together is business as usual for the UW-Cinematheque program, the free on-campus film series that features foreign, classic and independent films. Even in the age of Netflix, many of the films that Cinematheque shows simply aren’t available on DVD.