As a critic in Dallas 30 years ago, I saw Mr. Saturday night with the reels projected out of order. I still disliked the movie but I admired the unusual, non-chronological storytelling. I couldn’t believe that Billy Crystal would try something like that. 1/

Later I told my girlfriend “it’s actually kind of interesting how it moves around in time. At one point mom dies and then a few minutes later she’s alive again and they’ve gone back in time.” I was thinking “has Billy Crystal been watching Nicolas Roeg?” 2.

The next day the phone rang at my desk. It was the publicist. She told me they had projected the movie out of order. She asked me if I wanted to see it again in proper sequence before i wrote my review. I said “that’s not necessary, I think I can figure it out.” 3/

Sometimes I think about Billy Crystal watching that screening with an open mind and thinking “this is actually way more interesting“ and going on to have a fascinating directorial career. 4/

Incredibly, I later found out that the Abbas Kiarostami classic “Close-Up” jumps around in time for the same reason: a projectionist mixed up the reels at a festival screening. Rather than storm the booth, Kiarostami watched it all, then re-edited the movie in that style. 5/

[Enter the ghost of Miles Davis, cast as the stage manager of this Twitter account] “ I bet you didn’t think this thread was going to end up with Billy Crystal and Abbas Kiarostami in the same sentence. But that’s why you follow this motherfucker.” [Solos] 6/6