a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
fri. apr. 1 cool ghouls @ echo notfilm @ spielberg @ egyptian to kill a mockingbird, the stalking moon @ aero tom carter, tara jane o'neil @ laca the shining 7:15 PM @ great horror movie nights @ old zoo bleached FREE (5:00) @ amoeba the jerk, the nutty professor (1963) @ egyptian sat. apr. 2 cool ghouls @ hi hat notfilm @ aero the burbs 11 PM @ silent movie theater more films from 1911 @ retroformat @ spielberg @ egyptian news from home 3 PM, i don't belong anywhere @ silent movie theater sun. apr. 3 post-life @ bootleg hockney 7 PM @ ucla film archive what ever happened to baby jane? 1 PM @ hangover matinees @ silent movie theater the bad news bears, the taking of pelham one two three @ silent movie theater tom carter & michael hentz duo @ the wulf taxi driver, the killing of a chinese bookie @ egyptian the new world, to the wonder @ aero mon. apr. 4 chantal akerman: portraits of the artist as a young girl 8:30 PM @ redcat tue. apr. 5 endless boogie @ bootleg lafms, brad laner, etc FREE @ la cita notfilm (w/ q&a) @ laemmle playhouse motorcycle gang, dragstrip girl @ new beverly wed. apr. 6 male gaze, gal pals @ all star lanes notfilm (w/ q&a) 7:15 PM @ laemmle fine arts kamikazee, the smashing of the reich @ new beverly saute ma ville, hotel monterey @ silent movie theater thu. apr. 7 the tree of life FREE 7 PM @ csun armer tim hecker, john wiese @ union straight outta compton 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban kamikazee, the smashing of the reich @ new beverly a space program 7:30 10:00 PM @ silent movie theater fri. apr. 8 inherent vice MIDNIGHT @ nuart triptides @ hi hat notfilm (w/ q&a) @ spielberg @ egyptian carol 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban dolemite @ egyptian before sunrise, before sunset, before midnight @ aero raiders of the lost ark, invisible agent @ new beverly show & tell: a curated night of industrial films @ silent movie theater a space program 10 PM @ silent movie theater sat. apr. 9 notfilm (w/ q&a) @ spielberg @ egyptian the complete metropolis 1 PM @ the silent treatment @ silent movie theater tangerine 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban the renderers @ seaworthy house robocop, the terminator, r.o.t.o.r. @ egyptian raiders of the lost ark, invisible agent @ new beverly golden eighties 4:15 PM @ silent movie theater a space program 7 PM @ silent movie theater sun. apr. 10 i knew her well 2 PM @ hangover matinees @ silent movie theater the renderers @ basic flowers the guns of navarone @ egyptian the lady eve @ aero a space program 5:00 7:00 PM @ silent movie theater les rendez-vous d'anna 9 PM @ silent movie theater a boy and his samurai FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi mon. apr. 11 a space program 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater tue. apr. 12 everything we do is music: music from black mountain college FREE @ hammer casablanca 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban measuring change @ art share la telecaves @ circus of books a space program 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater wed. apr. 13 edwin parker FREE @ hammer hail the conquering hero, hold that blonde! @ new beverly histoires d'amerique @ silent movie theater a space program 10 PM @ silent movie theater saccharine trust @ echo thu. apr. 14 antichrist FREE 7 PM @ csun armer blade runner 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban rush to war @ aero hail the conquering hero, hold that blonde! @ new beverly chantal akerman by chantal akerman 7 PM @ fahrenheit a space program 5 PM @ silent movie theater fri. apr. 15 midnight cowboy MIDNIGHT @ nuart suburbia @ underground usa @ silent movie theater the big lebowski 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban the bitter stems, riffraff @ noir fest @ egyptian the producers (1968) @ aero forbidden zone 10 PM @ silent movie theater the day the earth stood still (1951) @ laemmle fine arts sat. apr. 16 the decline of western civilization part ii 7 PM @ underground usa @ silent movie theater pulp fiction 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban dark star FREE 7 PM @ safe crackers @ 356 mission all my sons, take one false step @ noir fest @ egyptian roman holiday, designing woman @ aero one day pina asked 4 PM @ silent movie theater the thing from another world 2:30 PM @ laemmle fine arts when worlds collide 5 PM @ laemmle fine arts invasion of the body snatchers (1956) @ laemmle fine arts sun. apr. 17 flesh and fantasy, destiny @ noir fest @ egyptian upset @ non plus ultra ana-ta-han 6:30 PM, the king steps out @ new beverly from the east 4 PM @ silent movie theater repo man @ silent movie theater forbidden planet 2:30 PM @ laemmle fine arts fantastic voyage 5 PM @ laemmle fine arts mon. apr. 18 radical intimacies: the 8mm cinema of saul levine 8:30 PM @ redcat paydirt @ underground usa @ silent movie theater repo man @ silent movie theater side street, dr. broadway @ noir fest @ egyptian ana-ta-han, the king steps out @ new beverly tue. apr. 19 cage tudor and the visual language of indeterminacy (lecture & performance) FREE @ hammer flesh and fury, outside the wall @ noir fest @ egyptian snake in the monkey's shadow, snake in the eagle's shadow @ new beverly la chambre, je tu il elle @ silent movie theater wed. apr. 20 meet danny wilson, young man with a horn @ noir fest @ egyptian thu. apr. 21 uncle boonmee who can recall his past lives FREE 7 PM @ csun armer ex hex @ echo upset, post life @ hi hat back to the future 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban deep valley @ noir fest @ egyptian shark toys, flat worms, bent shapes @ bootleg telecaves @ coaxial fri. apr. 22 the thing MIDNIGHT @ nuart susan @ hm157 key witness 9:15 PM @ noir fest @ egyptian cool hand luke, the human factor @ aero river of grass @ silent movie theater wild in the streets: l.a. punk rarities @ non plus ultra sat. apr. 23 deception, hollow triumph @ noir fest @ egyptian airport, airport 1975, airport '77 @ aero river of grass 2:00 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater nothing but a man @ redcat sun. apr. 24 on the waterfront 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 neil hamburger @ satellite too late for tears 5 PM @ noir fest @ egyptian the captive city, buy me that town @ noir fest @ egyptian fantastic mr. fox 3 PM @ aero fantastic voyage @ aero the chant of jimmie blacksmith 6:30 PM, utu @ new beverly river of grass 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater mon. apr. 25 textures of life: film and the art of tacita dean 8:30 PM @ redcat the chant of jimmie blacksmith, utu @ new beverly tue. apr. 26 clueless 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban rock all night, ski troop attack @ new beverly aliens (w/ q&a) 7:45 PM @ ace hotel theatre wed. apr. 27 on the waterfront 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 cinema paradiso 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban big star's "third" live @ alex theatre black sea, corners @ blindspot project thu. apr. 28 meek's cutoff FREE 7 PM @ csun armer the 7th voyage of sinbad @ alex theatre tcm classic film festival (schedule tba) thunderbolt and lightfoot, the eiger sanction @ aero scorpio rising 8 PM, rebel without a cause @ epfc fri. apr. 29 combat shock MIDNIGHT @ underground usa @ silent movie theater the goonies 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban tcm classic film festival (schedule tba) the dirty dozen, earthquake @ aero earth @ echoplex telecaves, rococo jet @ hm157 susan, flat worms @ 356 mission walter @ non plus ultra sat. apr. 30 sunset boulevard 8 PM @ rooftop film club @ montalban infinite body, david scott stone, media jeweler, alexander noice sextet @ pehrspace tcm classic film festival (schedule tba) the naked gun trilogy @ aero sun. may 1 tcm classic film festival (schedule tba) dead meadow @ alex's bar (LB) come and see FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi mon. may 2 fantasia of color in early cinema 8:30 PM @ redcat wed. may 4 real genius (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ usc stark thu. may 5 the turin horse FREE 7 PM @ csun armer bleached @ teragram boogarins @ echoplex fri. may 6 sunn0))) @ regent another nice mess: the restored laurel and hardy, the flying deuces @ egyptian sat. may 7 terry riley & george brooks (7:30) @ lacma melvins, napalm death, melt banana @ troubadour another nice mess: the restored laurel and hardy volume two 4 PM @ aero bonnie scotland, the devil's brother @ aero sun. may 8 melvins, napalm death, melt banana @ troubadour another nice mess: the restored laurel and hardy volume three 5 PM, way out west @ aero saccharine trust (4:20), spokenest (2:50), mike watt & the secondmen (2:00) @ grand star mon. may 9 melvins, napalm death @ troubadour winter @ pehrspace drinking flowers @ echo thu. may 12 leviathan (2014) FREE 7 PM @ csun armer fri. may 13 charles bradley @ ace hotel nashville ramblers, rosalyns, diddley daddies @ redwood sat. may 14 nashville ramblers, rosalyns, diddley daddies @ casbah (SD) fast times at ridgemont high @ cinespia @ hollywood forever sun. may 15 ferris bueller's day off 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 mon. may 16 peter brotzmann quartet @ echoplex wed. may 18 ferris bueller's day off 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 thu. may 19 the woggles, barrence whitfield & the savages @ regent thermals @ teragram fri. may 20 mind meld, king gizzard and the lizard wizard @ teragram against the grain FREE 7 PM @ wccw sat. may 21 len lye retrospective @ fahrenheit silence of the lambs @ cinespia @ hollywood forever sun. may 22 upset @ hi hat tue. may 24 pentagram, king woman @ echoplex fri. may 27 upsilon acrux, ahleuchatistas @ smell sun. may 29 brian jonestown massacre, mystic braves @ teragram neil hamburger @ satellite mon. may 30 brian jonestown massacre @ teragram black sea, drinking flowers @ echo tue. may 31 brian jonestown massacre @ teragram fri. jun. 3 nick waterhouse @ teragram chevalier (w/ q&a) 7:20 PM @ nuart sat. jun. 4 chevalier (w/ q&a) 7:20 9:50 PM @ nuart sun. jun. 5 colleen green @ bootleg sat. jun. 11 upset @ viper room to catch a thief @ cinespia @ hollywood forever sat. jun. 18 john carpenter @ orpheum goodfellas @ cinespia @ hollywood forever wed. jun. 22 holy wave @ echo double indemnity 8 PM @ last remaining seats @ ace hotel theatre sat. jun. 25 raising arizona @ cinespia @ hollywood forever mon. jun. 27 king khan & the shrines @ echoplex wed. jun. 29 stephen steinbrink @ bootleg fri. jul. 1 purple rain MIDNIGHT @ nuart sat. jul. 2 purple rain @ cinespia @ hollywood forever fri. jul. 8 royal headache @ echo sat. jul. 9 jump with joey @ roxy sun. jul. 10 pet sounds w/ brian wilson @ hollywood bowl sat. jul. 23 autolux @ el rey sat. jul. 30 woods @ echoplex WHAT IT IS: AGAINST THE GRAIN Selection of experimental films by Polish women artists, 1970’s - present, from the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art’s Filmoteka archive. Employing the medium of film as a tool for self expression and experimentation, polish women artists working during the 1970s established a fruitful ground for diverse ideas within artistic practices. Often times approaching film from the perspective of a sculptor, painter or photographer, and collapsing various visual mediums with happenings, performance and public interventions, they sought to challenge the false reality represented in film and critique its subjective communication while developing their own language in structural cinema. The screening does not present a comprehensive view of a dynamic period, but rather features women artists whose work represents a particular momentum in the experimental and independent art film making in Poland. The films offer a delightful insight into the shifting ideologies, structures and methods of working and communicating within, but not limited to, early Polish feminism, its revival in the 1990’s, conceptualism and the structural cinema model. Against the Grain will feature works by Zofia Kulik, of group KwieKulik, Natalia LL, Jolanta Marcolla, Ewa Partum and Jadwiga Singer as well as contemporary filmmakers, Zuzanna Janin, Katarzyna Kozyra and Agnieszka Polska. An informal, reflective discussion will follow with scholars dr. Aniko Imre, dr. Eve Oishi and artist Kim Schoen. ALL MY SONS 1948, Universal, 94 min, Dir: Irving Reis Edward G. Robinson gives one of his most affecting performances as successful businessman Joe Keller, grappling with guilt over having framed his business partner for a crime he committed. When his son (Burt Lancaster) becomes engaged to the convicted man’s daughter, the sins of the past come hurtling back. Reis and writer-producer Chester Erskine - aided by the noir-stained cinematography of Russell Metty - create a powerful (and inexplicably rare) version of Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning play. Introduction by Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation. Brand New 35mm Print! ANA-TA-HAN Twelve Japanese seamen are stranded on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan for seven tense years of internal strife. Dir. Josef von Sternberg, 1953, 92 mins. Another Nice Mess: The Restored Laurel and Hardy Join us for an evening of shorts and a feature starring legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, all photochemically and digitally restored from the original 35mm elements! Program includes: * “Helpmates” (1932, 20 min. Dir. James Parrott) Hung-over Ollie asks Stan to help him clean up after a wild party before his wife returns; their housecleaning efforts fail in spectacular fashion. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. * “Their First Mistake” (1932, 21 min. Dir. George Marshall) When his wife becomes angry about all the time he spends with Stan, Ollie adopts a baby to smooth things over. * “County Hospital” (1932, 19 min. Dir. James Parrott) With nothing else to do, Stan pays banged-up Ollie a visit in the hospital, bringing a gift of some hard-boiled eggs and nuts, which he proceeds to eat himself. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive * “The Music Box” (1932, 29 min. Dir. James Parrott) In this Best Comedy Short Oscar winner, The Laurel & Hardy Moving Co. struggle mightily to push a piano up a huge flight of stairs. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive Another Nice Mess: The Restored Laurel and Hardy, Volume Two Join us for a matinee of shorts featuring legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, all photochemically and digitally restored from the original 35mm elements! Program includes: * “Busy Bodies” (1933, 19 min. Dir. Lloyd French) Laurel and Hardy are at their slapstick best here playing safety-challenged workers at a sawmill. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive * “Scram!” (1932, 20 min. Dir. Ray McCarey) A drunk invites Stan and Ollie to his mansion, but leads them to the wrong house. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive * “Me and My Pal” (1933, 20 min. Dir. Charley Rogers) Ollie is about to get married to an oil heiress when he and best man Stan get distracted on the way to the wedding. * “One Good Turn” (1931, 20 min. Dir. James W. Horne) Depression-hit Stan and Ollie mistakenly think an old woman who gives them a meal is poor herself. Screening format: DCP | 80 min. Another Nice Mess: The Restored Laurel and Hardy, Volume Three Join us for an evening of films starring legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, all photochemically and digitally restored from the original 35mm elements! Program includes: * “Come Clean” (1931, 20 min. Dir. James W. Horne) On their way out for ice cream, Stan and Ollie pull a woman out of a river who proves nothing but trouble to them. * “Twice Two” (1933, 20 min. Dir. James Parrott) Stan and Ollie play dual roles as themselves and their twin sisters – each married to the other man. * “The Midnight Patrol” (1933, 20 min. Dir. Lloyd French) Stan and Ollie are rookie policemen who attempt to capture a burglar. Photochemically preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive * “Towed in a Hole” (1932, 21 min. Dir. George Marshall) Fish sellers Stan and Ollie decide to buy a boat and catch their wares themselves. THE BITTER STEMS (LOS TALLOS AMARGOS) 1956, 90 min, Dir: Fernando Ayala This brilliant noir was lauded in its native country upon release, winning Argentina’s Silver Condor Award as the best film of the year, yet it remains unknown in the rest of the world. This is a crime, because LOS TALLOS AMARGOS is one of the best noir-drenched crime films of the 1950s - maybe ever. A deep-seated inferiority complex leads a Buenos Aires newspaper reporter (Carlos Cores) into a seemingly innocent correspondence-school scam with a clever Hungarian expat (Vassili Lambrinos). As the money flows in, so do rising suspicions about the Hungarian’s true motives. One man is driven to commit the perfect crime - with stunning and tragic results. Lauded by American Cinematographer as #49 of the “100 Best Photographed Films of All Time” (DP Ricardo Younis) and featuring an inventive score by Astor Piazzolla, the greatest Argentine musician of the 20th century. 35mm Restoration! Not on DVD! Introduction by Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. A reception with an Argentine flavor for all ticket buyers will take place between the films. BONNIE SCOTLAND 1935, Warner Bros., 80 min, USA, Dir: James W. Horne When Laurel learns an inheritance awaits him in Scotland, he and Hardy stow away on a boat to claim it. But there was no fortune awaiting Stan, so he and his friend wind up enlisting in the British Army, and are promptly shipped off to a dangerous mission in India (under the command of the redoubtable James Finlayson). Ollie’s epic confrontation with a snuff box will have you in stitches! A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI Yashiro Nakamura's delicious time travel comedy chronicles the adventures of a samurai who accidentally travels through time from Edo-era Japan to present day Japan where he meets a single working mother and her son. He soon finds he has a gift that will allow him to thrive in the modern world... as a pastry chef! BUY ME THAT TOWN 1941, Universal, 70 min, Dir: Eugene Forde This Runyonesque rarity tells the tale of a gaggle of New York gangsters (led by the redoubtable Lloyd Nolan) who, after getting popped for speeding through a small Connecticut town, hatch a plan to turn the sleepy burg into a resort for rusticating racketeers. Not noir by a long shot, but the script is more prescient than its writers could ever have imagined (did Bugsy Siegel see this movie?). DP Theodor Sparkuhl lends his always evocative camerawork to this rambunctious B gem, enlivened by the marvelous mugs of Albert Dekker, Sheldon Leonard and Edward Brophy. Brand New 35mm Print! Not on DVD! THE CAPTIVE CITY 1952, Park Circus/MGM, 91 min, Dir: Robert Wise John Director Robert Wise and director of photography Lee Garmes capture the essence of Senator Estes Kefauver’s national crusade (he narrates the film’s epilogue) against organized crime in authentic “docu-noir” style. John Forsythe stars as a crusading newspaper editor who uncovers a sinister gambling syndicate whose corrupting influence renders the entire city helpless. Screenwriter Alvin Josephy based his script on his own experiences as a reporter uncovering organized crime in Santa Monica after World War II. 35mm Archival Print! Introduction by Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. CHANTAL AKERMAN BY CHANTAL AKERMAN Presented as part of the citywide retrospective in memory of renowned Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (1950-2015), Fahrenheit is pleased to screen the filmmaker’s 62-minute self-portrait from 1997 Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman. Aided by critics Emmanuel Burdeau and Jean Narboni and filmmaker Luc Moullet, Akerman turns the camera on herself to discuss her art and career—alongside selections of scenes from her wide-ranging filmography. The result is a candid, enlightening, and often funny survey of her remarkable body of work. “This thoroughly charming self-portrait makes the perfect introduction to Akerman’s life and work. Created for the venerable French television series Cinéma de notre temps, it is made up of two parts. The first features Akerman speaking and reading to the camera, delivering a monologue about the making of the film, Akerman’s family and her childhood. The second part of the film consists of dozens of clips highlighting both the dizzying variety of Akerman’s work as well as the images and themes that recur. The two parts constitute an autobiography that is thoughtful and thought-provoking, confessional and disarmingly funny.” – UCLA Film & Television Archive. Followed by a panel discussion with film/video curator Bérénice Reynaud (REDCAT, San Sebastian, Viennale), Janet Bergstrom (UCLA), filmmaker Robert Fenz and artist Erika Vogt CHANTAL AKERMAN: PORTRAITS OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG GIRL Presented as part of the citywide retrospective in memory of the late Chantal Akerman, this trio of rarely screened films focuses on the cinema icon’s whimsical, humorous and achingly intimate view of youthful femininity. Saute ma ville (1968) introduces Akerman, then only 18, as a female Charlie Chaplin who cheerily mistreats the appliances in her tiny kitchen before committing an act of radical rebellion. In I Am Hungry, I Am Cold (1984), a pair of runaways scamper across Paris, practice kissing, sing for their supper, and nonchalantly cast aside desiring men. The third, longer work, Portrait of a Young Girl from the Late Sixties in Brussels (1993), follows Akerman’s teen double as she sublimates a secret crush for her heterosexual classmate into a surprise gift, conveying the generous violence of female desire. THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH The true story of a part aboriginal man who finds the pressure of adapting to white culture intolerable, and as a result snaps in a violent and horrific manner. Dir. Fred Schepisi, 1978, 113 mins. COMBAT SHOCK A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle. Dir. Buddy Giovinazzo, 1984, 16mm Director’s Cut, 96 min. approx. Buddy Giovinazzo in person! THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS A time-honored, pioneering portrait of an Expressionist Tomorrowland, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis had it all (according to its original press release): “8 stars, 25,000 men, 11,000 women, 1,100 bald people, 250 children, 3,500 pairs of special shoes, 50 cars.” What it also contained was a brilliant distillation of the Germany’s unconscious Zeitgeist energies, as that country lurched toward fascism in the Thirties—not to mention a peerless batch of indelible images. After the film’s 1927 premiere in Berlin, it was savagely cut down to a much shorter version for American release, down from fourteen reels to seven, totally transforming the story. Lost bits and pieces surfaced over the years, but large portions of the film remained lost—until 2008, when curator Paula Felix-Didier and archivist Fernando Pena found a 16mm safety reduction negative of the uncut Metropolis in the archives of the Museo Del Cine, in Buenos Aires. Containing almost all of the missing material, this discovery—the film historian’s Dead Sea Scrolls or Rosetta Stone—served as a blueprint for a multinational restoration team. The result is a historic filmic event, and the closest you’ll ever get to seeing the Metropolis, just as Lang intended. Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927, DCP Restoration, 149 min. DARK STAR A low-budget, sci-fi satire that focuses on a group of scientists whose mission is to destroy unstable planets. 20 years into their mission, they have battle their alien mascot, that resembles a beach ball, as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence. dir. John Carpenter, 1974, 83 min DECEPTION 1946, Warner Bros., 115 min, Dir: Irving Rapper Aspiring pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) is reunited with her lover, cellist Karel Novak (Paul Henreid), whom she feared had died in a Nazi concentration camp. Unfortunately, she’s now the mistress of renowned composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains), who is as creative manipulating human emotions as he is conducting an orchestra. Featuring a soaring score by the legendary Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Lovers of classical music will be swept away by the rapturous music; lovers of classic Hollywood will relish the arch tête-a-tête between Bette Davis and, at his vitriolic best, the incomparable Claude Rains. 70th Anniversary! 35mm! Introduction by Paul Henreid’s daughter, Monika Henreid, and Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation. DEEP VALLEY 1947, Warner Bros., 104 min, Dir: Jean Negulesco A shy girl (Ida Lupino) raised on a remote coastal farm by unloving parents (Henry Hull and Fay Bainter) has her world turned upside down when she falls in love with an escaped convict (Dane Clark) being hunted by a posse. One of Lupino’s most sensitive performances is bolstered by a nuanced screenplay by Salka Viertel and assured direction by Negulesco. Also starring Wayne Morris. Filmed on location at Palos Verdes and Big Bear Lake. 35 mm! Introduction by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. DESTINY 1944, Universal, 65 min, Dir: Julien Duvivier, Reginald Le Borg Originally intended to be the opening tale of FLESH AND FANTASY, Universal elected to turn this segment into a 65-minute stand-alone feature, its added passages directed by Reginald Le Borg. A pair of robbers (Alan Curtis and Frank Craven) hide out in rural Paradise Valley, where the townsfolk are so pleasant and trusting that the crooks eagerly map out a plan to rob them blind. But a farmer’s daughter (Gloria Jean), who really is blind, has a big surprise in store for one of them. 35mm Archival Print! Not on DVD! THE DEVIL’S BROTHER 1933, Warner Bros., 90 min, USA, Dir: Hal Roach, Charley Rogers Northern Italy was rife with bandits in the early 1700s, none more notorious than singing bandit Fra Diavolo (Dennis King), who enlists “Stanlio” Laurel and “Ollio” Hardy to help him rob a Lord (James Finlayson) and romance the man’s Lady (Thelma Todd). This adaptation of the Daniel Auber operetta is filled with hilarious sequences, including Stan’s "Kneesy-Earsy-Nosey" game. DR. BROADWAY 1942, Universal, 68 min, Dir: Anthony Mann In one of his first B assignments, Anthony Mann already displays the visual panache that would make him one of Hollywood’s premier directors. Macdonald Carey plays Timothy Kane, aka “Dr. Broadway,” a savvy New York sawbones who knows where all the bodies are buried. With the help of feisty receptionist Connie (Jean Phillips), Kane navigates through a tide of colorful crooks on the Great White Way to bestow an inheritance on the daughter of a felon he sent upriver. Tremendous noir atmospherics courtesy of great German cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl. 35mm Archival Print! Not on DVD! Edwin Parker The British artist Tacita Dean directed this film on painter and Black Mountain College student Cy Twombly and titled it with the latter’s given name, an act that “implies intimacy, an encounter with the man behind the myth” (Guardian). Following the screening, David Breslin, chief curator at the Menil Drawing Institute, offers insights on Black Mountain College’s pivotal interconnection with the New York art scenes of the 1950s and 1960s. (2011, dir. Tacita Dean, color, 29 min.) FANTASIA OF COLOR IN EARLY CINEMA Attention, lovers of the celluloid image: here is an opportunity to travel back in time by way of a ravishing treasure trove of hand-colored cinematic visions and wonders from more than a century ago. Beautiful restorations of these rare films are showcased in the new book Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema, the revelatory, lavishly illustrated exploration of the first-ever uses of applied color in movies. Accompanied by live music, superb digital transfers of restored work from the archives of EYE Film Institute Netherlands can now take viewers to when colored moving images truly opened a portal into otherworldly magic and the uncanny—and yet could also heighten realism. Two of the book’s authors, film scholar Tom Gunning, of the University of Chicago, and painter, illustrator and animator Jonathon Rosen, of the School of Visual Arts, introduce this delightful cinematic phantasmagoria. In person: Tom Gunning, Jonathon Rosen FLESH AND FANTASY 1943, Universal, 94 min, Dir: Julien Duvivier Considered one of the greatest French directors (his PEPÉ LE MOKO is the virtual template for the “poetic realism” that informed film noir), Duvivier escaped the war years at home by bringing his incredible style to several offbeat Hollywood films of the early 1940s. This anthology of slightly supernatural tales - a proto-“Twilight Zone,” if you will - features a dazzling cast of stars (Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Boyer, Betty Field, Robert Cummings, Thomas Mitchell) and exceptional camerawork by Stanley Cortez and Paul Ivano. 35mm Archival Print! Not on DVD! Introduction by Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation. FLESH AND FURY 1952, Universal, 83 min, Dir: Joe Pevney Tony Curtis delivers a knockout performance as a deaf boxer who looks to be easy pickings for a mercenary blonde (Jan Sterling) while a compassionate reporter (Mona Freeman) tries to prevent him from being counted out for good. Bernard Gordon’s crisp script and a solid supporting cast (including the debut of Harry Guardino) bolsters Curtis’ early starring turn. Brand New 35mm Print! Not on DVD! Introduction by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. THE FLYING DEUCES 1939, 70 min, USA, Dir: A. Edward Sutherland Following in the footsteps of their earlier short “Beau Hunks,” the boys get into another nice mess when Ollie’s heart is broken by a Paris innkeeper’s daughter. To forget her, he and Stan join the French Foreign Legion, where the two tackle a mountain of dirty laundry, soft-shoe through “Shine On, Harvest Moon” and commandeer an airplane. Among Laurel and Hardy’s most enjoyable features, and now fully restored from 35mm elements. Screening format: DCP FORBIDDEN ZONE A plot synopsis really can’t quite capture the delirious experience of watching Forbidden Zone, a key early-80’s classic, with freaky star turns by Susan Tyrrell—whose scene-stealing roles in films like Fat City and Cry Baby easily cemented her as one of the all-time queens of cult cinema—and Herve Villechaize, plus a frogman in a tuxedo, a human chandelier over the royal table, a catchy, frantic clutch of Oingo Boingo songs, two bald henchmen in jockstraps, and Danny Elfman as a singing and dancing Satan with a chorus line of ghouls! Post show after-party Richard will be grilling a cedar planked whole salmon, to be served with a lemon/herb aioli and pork tenderloin in a balsamic glaze. (Small donation. Proceeds to benefit Cinefamily.) Dir. Richard Elfman, 1980, Digital Presentation (Colorized Version), 76 min. Richard Elfman in wild live pre-show! FROM THE EAST Traveling and documenting “everything that touched her,” from East Germany to Russia, immediately after the fall of the Soviet Bloc, Chantal Akerman paints a portrait of city streets, changing seasons, and the muffled footsteps of people traversing a landscape “no longer monolithically impersonal” (Francette Pacteau)—a landscape taking its first melancholic breaths as it emerges from the rubble. Akerman keeps people nameless and music minimal, allowing spaces to come alive of their own accord, patiently and hauntingly forming a true cinematic dirge for the people, places, and stories of Eastern Europe. “Taking her relentless cameras from East Germany to Russia, Akerman delivers an impressionistic report from the new front. Displaying her distinctive visual style, influenced by structuralism and minimalism, her journal unfolds as a procession of postcards …Akerman captures the essence, if not the historical particulars, of a region on the move.”—Emanuel Levy, Variety. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1993, 16mm, 107 min. GOLDEN EIGHTIES As opposed to the somber and quiet world of Jeanne Dielman, Golden Eighties joyously wears its melodramatic heart on its sleeve, as it follows the ups and downs of three women vying for the same boy. Set in a candy-colored shopping mall, and written by an absurd dream team—Jean Gruault (Jules and Jim, Paris Belongs to Us), Leora Barish (Desperately Seeking Susan), Cahiers du Cinéma critic Pascal Bonitzer, Henry Bean (A Couch in New York), and Akerman herself—Eighties is a celebration like none we’ve ever seen. Absolutely bursting with catchy songs full of pithy wit and fire (written by Akerman & Marc Hérouet), and exacting performances from Delphine Seyrig & French pop icon Lio, Eighties is Akerman’s loving (and slyly critical) tribute to Hollywood Musicals, and inarguable proof that flawless silliness belongs in the filmmaking lexicon. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1986, 35mm (Courtesy of Paradise Films/Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 96 min. HISTOIRES D'AMERIQUE Flipping the final image from News From Home (a slowly-shrinking Manhattan), Histoires instead approaches Manhattan, and with it a subject that informs every film Akerman touched: her Jewish identity. A group of first and second generation Eastern European Jewish immigrants—some professional actors, many non-actors, and a slew of comedians—tell a fragmented cornucopia of stories, along with sketches and jokes (and no shortage of deafening silences), in an informal history of Jewish culture (subtitled Food, Family and Philosophy) of the last hundred years. Chantal’s camera stalks New York, compiling an expressive history not merely with her subjects, but also the city’s exteriors. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1989, DCP (Courtesy of Mallia Films), 92 min. Hockney (UK, 2014) “A wealth of intimate home-movie footage and an affinity for his subject invigorate Randall Wright's unashamedly affectionate portrait of a British icon.” – The Guardian. Randall Wright’s penetrating documentary renders a complex and colorful portrait of celebrated multimedia artist David Hockney, the British expatriate and longtime Angeleno whose images of his adopted city have profoundly impacted perceptions of Los Angeles in the public imagination. Enjoying unprecedented access to his subject’s private collection of images and films, Wright offers a multifaceted appraisal, reflecting on Hockney’s biography, creative process and personal life. DCP, color, 113 min. Director: Randall Wright. HOLLOW TRIUMPH 1948, Eagle-Lion, 83 min, Dir: Steve Sekely Fugitive crook Johnny Muller (Paul Henreid) finds the perfect hiding place - in the guise of a psychiatrist who is his identical twin … almost. One of the sublime examples of noir fatalism, with a clever script that will keep you guessing - and the added attraction of an amazingly evocative look at 1940s Los Angeles, photographed by the great John Alton. This was the first film produced by romantic leading man Henreid, who like many actors in the late 1940s turned to crime dramas to revitalize their careers. Costarring Joan Bennett at her snarly best. Restored 35mm Print! Hotel Monterey Hotel Monterey is a residence hotel in New York on which Akerman and art house cinematographer Babette Mangolte situate their gaze. The result, less a film than an arcane out-of-body experience, transforms this run-down Manhattan hotel into a hypnotic netherworld. The lobby is clean with granite floors. Men wear hats. Paint peels. People enter and exit an elevator. Chantal has a preternatural knack for drawing the eye to what it rarely sees: the negative spaces between rooms and furniture, moments of routine frozen outside of time. By capturing everyday life through mirrors and inhuman angles, and magnifying obscure urban signposts into cryptic hieroglyphs, Chantal transforms the regular events of a single-room-occupancy hotel into dystopian science-fiction. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1972, DCP (Restoration by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 65 min. THE HUMAN FACTOR 1975, 95 min, Dir: Edward Dmytryk After NATO computer expert John Kinsdale (George Kennedy) comes home from work to discover that his family has been killed, he puts his skills to use hunting down the terrorists responsible. John Mills, Rita Tushingham and Raf Vallone costar in veteran director Edward Dmytryk's final film. I Don’t Belong Anywhere A solid primer for the uninitiated and a welcome review for the most devoted of viewers, I Don’t Belong Anywhere is an impressionistic tour of Chantal Akerman’s varied yet consistently astounding body of work (comprised of 40+ films!), which—despite constant topical and geographical shifts—consistently lingers on the same essential themes, brought to the fore in candid interviews with Chantal and her long-time editor Claire Atherton. Shy and humble, but also clearly a force to be reckoned with, Chantal emerges as her film language does, each bit of her process suggesting an additional layer of precision to her work. Dir. Marianne Lambert, 2015, DCP (Courtesy of Icarus Films), 68 min. I KNEW HER WELL Adriana, a young woman from the provinces, moves to Rome in order to become a celebrity. Dir. Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965, DCP Restoration, 99 min. Ivan’s Childhood (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962), 95 mins. The debut feature by the great Andrei Tarkovsky, Ivan’s Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky’s film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children. Je tu il Elle Following Akerman’s wildly formative New York years (where she was drawn to Anthology Film Archives and the films of Michael Snow, Yvonne Rainer, and Jonas Mekas) she returned to Belgium and crafted two of her greatest works: Jeanne Dielman & Je Tu Il Elle. Freed from the confines of narrative filmmaking, Je Tu Il Elle sees Akerman beginning to explore the themes that would come to fruition in Jeanne Dielman. Julie (played by Akerman)’s intimate routine is broken by two sexual encounters, each shot with keen attunement to the viewer’s inherent voyeurism; “like her earlier movies, it was about estrangement, only this time depicted not through the absence of the physical and the sexual, faces and bodies, but through an emphasis on them” (Michael Koresky). Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1974, DCP (Restoration by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 86 min. KEY WITNESS 1947, Sony Repertory, 67 min, Dir: Ross Lederman After winning a bundle at the track, inventor Milton Higby (John Beal) throws a party; when one of the guests is discovered dead the next morning, he doesn’t stick around to explain. As Higby tries to stay one step ahead of the cops, he stumbles upon another murder victim and assumes the man’s identity. 35 mm! Introduction by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. La Chambre The experience of watching La Chambre—with uneasiness, a flood of contradictory thoughts, meditation, daydreaming—becomes its subject, as the camera silently roams Akerman’s apartment in a moving still life, in spirit more like a piece of music than a fragment of narrative film. It’s suspenseful—you might be surprised to find yourself anxiously awaiting the moment when Chantal finally eats the apple or when the camera gently stops and pans in the opposite direction. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1972, DCP (Restoration by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 11 min. LEN LYE RETROSPECTIVE A pioneer of direct-animation and experimental filmmaking, Len Lye (1901-1980) was also a highly innovative painter, photographer and poet, as well as an important figure in kinetic sculpture. Inspired by the primitive imagery of South Sea island art and film’s power to present dance ritual and music, Lye’s camera-less techniques appear until today experimental – and often revolutionary. The film program presents a selection of Lye’s short films from the 1920s through the 1970s. Program: * Tusalava (1929) 10 min, 35 mm – 16 frames/sec transferred to digital video, b&w, silent * A Colour Box (1935) 4 min, 35mm transferred to digital video, Dufaycolour, sound * Kaleidoscope (1935) 4 min, 16mm transferred to digital video, color, sound * Rainbow Dance (1936) 5 min, 35mm transferred to digital video, Gasparcolour, sound * Trade Tattoo (1937) 5 min, 35mm transferred to digital video, Technicolor, sound * N. or N.W. (1937) 7 min, 35mm transferred to digital video, b&w, sound * Swinging the Lambeth Walk (1939) 4 min, 35mm transferred to digital video, Dufaycolour, sound * Color Cry (1952-3) 3 min, 16mm transferred to digital video, Kodachrome, sound * Rhythm (1957) 1 min, 16mm transferred to digital video, b&w, sound * Particles in Space (1957) 4 min, 16 mm transferred to digital video, b&w, sound * Free Radicals (1979) 4 min, 16mm transferred to digital video, b&w, sound LES RENDEZ-VOUS D'ANNA In a series of ethereal urban tableaux, a young filmmaker named Anna glides by strangers, lovers, and friends with commensurate aloofness as she travels with her new film through Western Europe. Like Akerman, Anna seems to belong nowhere, equally out of place at home and abroad, amongst domestic women of past generations, and with the ambivalent, disaffected men of the new one. Her meetings reveal a diaspora of Europeans still coming to uneasy terms with the war and the modern era, as well as layers of her own peculiar estrangement – from her sexuality, her heritage, and her modernity as a woman. Anna feels like the personification of Akerman’s camera: elegant, sort of alien, and obsessed with basic quotidian detail (when asked “how was Germany,” Anna answers: “There were curtains on all the windows, tulips on every table, and it was full of Germans”). Anna’s ghostly, geometric worldview is so distinct and persuasive that it is likely to follow you out of the theater. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1978, 35mm(Restored by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 120 min. MEASURING CHANGE Towards the end of 2015, James Benning made one of his occasional expeditions to Utah, to the place where Robert Smithson's colossal land-sculpture Spiral Jetty (1970) extends out into the Great Salt Lake. The water-level was low, leaving the vast bulk of the Jetty exposed in the crisp air. His film measuring change captures two thirty-minute periods of that particular day, in the unblinking, unmoving takes that have become his trademark––beginning at 8:57am and 3:12pm respectively. A belated digital companion piece to his 16mm masterpiece casting a glance (2007), this new film hypnotically contemplates Smithson's art-work in relation to its wider environment and to the humans who walk on and around its gargantuan coils. James Benning in conversation with film critic Neil Young (The Hollywood Reporter) following the screening! MEET DANNY WILSON 1952, Universal, 86 min, Dir: Joseph Pevney Frank Sinatra stars as a hot-tempered singer (imagine that!) who is kept afloat by his buddy-pianist (Alex Nicol) and a heart-of-gold chanteuse (Shelley Winters). Complications ensue when gangster Raymond Burr enters the picture with an eye for both Shelley and Sinatra’s salary. Produced after Frank’s bobby-soxer era fame faded and prior to his mega-stardom in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953), this noir-stained musical is one of “Ol’ Blue Eyes’” most overlooked and underappreciated movies. A NOIR CITY nod to Sinatra’s centenary. 35mm Archival Print! Not on DVD! Introduction by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. More Films From 1911 Our outstanding series of amazing shorts by the legendary D.W. Griffith continues, with Mabel Normand in “A Squaw's Love,” Blanche Sweet in “Love in the Hills,” Dorothy West in “The Revenue Man and his Girl,” “The Adventures of Billy” starring Edna Foster, “A Woman Scorned” starring Claire McDowell, and more. With live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick. Screening format: 8mm | 120 min. News From Home “Why don’t you send us a photo?” asks Chantal Akerman’s mother in one of the love-anxiety lettres she sends her 21 year old daughter, newly relocated from Belgium to New York City. Mother longs for a picture of her daughter—a visual reassurance—and perhaps she gets one, but the audience will not. News From Home, a beautiful meditation on New York, alienation, and intimacy, passes without a glimpse of Akerman, despite her acute presence. Instead, Akerman shares her persistent, thoughtful gaze with the viewer, her contemplative lense affixing itself to the movements of New York City, with the non-diegetic voice of her mother’s letters laid over the images. Akerman steps back, letting the viewer stand in her place. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1977, DCP (Restoration by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 85 min. NOTFILM 2015, Milestone Films, 128 min, Dir: Ross Lipman Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett’s only screenplay was for a visionary 1965 short starring Buster Keaton; while working to restore it, archivist-filmmaker Ross Lipman discovered missing footage and fell under the spell of this cinematic curiosity. The resulting kino-essay exploring the making and meaning of “Film” includes outtakes, previously unreleased audio of production meetings and other rare archival elements, along with numerous interviews. Program also includes “Film” (1965, 20 min. Dir. Alan Schneider). Buster Keaton stars as a man trying to escape from perception of all kinds in this near-silent avant-garde short penned by Samuel Beckett. Discussion following the feature with actor Jimmy Karen, moderated by Adam Hyman of Los Angeles Filmforum. ONE DAY PINA ASKED An encounter between two of the most remarkable female artists of the 20th century, One Day Pina Asked… is a look by Chantal Akerman at the work of choreographer Pina Bausch and her Wuppertal, Germany-based dance company. “This film is more than a documentary on Pina Bausch,” a narrator announces at the outset, “it is a journey through her world, through her unwavering quest for love.” Capturing the company’s striking dances and elaborate stagings over a five-week European tour, Akerman uses “lengthy takes and exacting compositions (two of her stylistic signatures), encouraging us to reflect on how the dancers’ bodies give form to Bausch’s ideas” (Chicago Reader). The company members describe the development of various dances, and the way that Bausch calls upon them to supply autobiographical details as performances are developed. Akerman also shows us excerpts from performances of Bausch dances, including Komm Tanz Mit Mir (Come Dance with Me) (1977), Nelken (Carnations) (1982), Walzer (1982), and 1980 (1980), all recorded with Akerman’s singular visual touch. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1983, Digibeta (Courtesy of Icarus Films), 57 min. OUTSIDE THE WALL 1950, Universal, 80 min, Dir: Crane Wilbur Pardoned after serving 15 years in prison for a boyhood murder, Larry Nelson (Richard Basehart) discovers he cannot escape his past when he encounters a crook (John Hoyt), an opportunistic nurse (Marilyn Maxwell), Hoyt’s greedy ex-wife (Signe Hasso) and a motley crew of miscreants (Lloyd Gough, Joe Pevney, Mickey Knox and Harry Morgan). Written and directed by crime maestro Crane Wilbur and filmed on location in downtown Philadelphia and Eastern State Penitentiary. New 35mm Print! Not on DVD! RADICAL INTIMACIES: THE 8MM CINEMA OF SAUL LEVINE Practically synonymous with personal small-gauge filmmaking, Saul Levine has created more than 100 largely improvisational films in a half-century of remarkable, uninterrupted activity. His painstakingly crafted, exquisitely kinetic work deals with people and episodes from his life, but derives universal poetic meaning from its urgency, tactile presence, and range of themes, from the most personal to the political. In his key series—Notes, Portrayals, and Light Licks—Levine uses combinations of black-and-white and color, multiple images, accidents of exposure, and hand-carved collaging to expand upon his already rich, expressive cinematography. The Boston-based legend, a mentor to scores of avant-garde filmmakers throughout his teaching tenure at MassArt, brings a selection of work that includes entries from Light Licks, early 8mm Portrayals, and several Super 8mm sound films. In person: Saul Levine RIFFRAFF 1947, Warner Bros., 80 min, Dir: Ted Tetzlaff Former Hitchcock lenser Ted Tetzlaff (THE WINDOW) expertly helms this slam-bang murder mystery about international intrigue, a missing map and murder. Pat O’Brien and Anne Jeffreys volley the snappy dialogue back and forth while the sinister bulk of Walter Slezak ominously hovers. The RKO lot effectively doubles as Central America with Percy Kilbride as a wiseacre Panama City hack driver. Don’t miss the astounding opening sequence! 35 mm! Introduction by Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation. A reception with an Argentine flavor for all ticket buyers will take place between the films. RIVER OF GRASS A mischievous, dark comedy, Kelly Reichardt’s feature debut — not succeeded by a sophomore feature until a decade later — established her as an auteur right out of the gate. Grass, presented in a new DCP restoration, follows disinterested housewife Cozy (Lisa Bowman), her barroom encounter with Lee Ray (indie stalwart & co-editor Larry Fessenden), and their subsequent plan to take to the road when they believe they’ve committed a murder. Alas, the titular river of grass acts as a sudoric, undefeatable foe determined to keep the couple right where they are. Named for the Everglades in Florida, Grass initially borrows liberally from Malick’s Days of Heaven; as the film unfolds, Reichardt reveals her unique obsession with subverted expectations and her knack for an immaculate use of location. Dir. Kelly Reichardt, 1994, DCP Restoration, 76 min. ROCK ALL NIGHT Cloud Nine, the local teen hangout, has been taken over by a pair of escaped killers, who hold the local teens hostage. The bartender realizes it's up to him to save the kids. Dir. Roger Corman, 1957, 62 mins. RUSH TO WAR 2004, 61 min, Dir: Robert Taicher Subtitled “Between Iraq and a hard place,” this documentary directed by Robert Taicher (THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, ENDLESS POETRY) is a scathing indictment of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent years of conflict that cost thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Featuring interviews with such experts as former CentCom commander Anthony Zinni, former chief U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Sen. George McGovern and others, this powerful film illuminates a “war of choice” whose consequences are still felt today. “A powerful film, frightening in what it says about the U.S. under Bush, the war in Iraq and the ‘war on terror.’” – Howard Zinn. Discussion following with director Robert Taicher. Saute ma ville A young woman cheerfully locks herself into her apartment—lets her cat out the window, seals the door and window with masking tape, washes the floor and walls with chemicals, eats spaghetti, dances in front of her mirror, turns up the gas on her stove—and turns her room into a pipe bomb. At eighteen years old, Chantal Akerman has already found her lifelong fixation on defining the modern condition through its banal material circumstances, her gleeful absurdity belying a graveness beyond her years. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1968, DCP (Restoration by Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique), 13 min. SHOW & TELL: A CURATED NIGHT OF INDUSTRIAL FILMS Cinefamily Show & Tell invites artists, filmmakers, musicians and other cultural heroes to divulge their deepest, darkest media obsessions by opening their closets, digging through their attic and plundering their garages to curate an evening of… whatever they want to share! From thrift store finds to late-night Tivo, from foreign film bootlegs to home movies, from the popular to the perverse –- all media will be presented live by the honored guests, as they take us on a personal tour of the audio, video and other ephemera that has inspired them, delighted them, or just plain freaked them out. For this installment, Tom Sachs and Van Neistat present a curated selection of industrial films, drawn from the ’30s to the present. Highlights will include the Eames Office’s 1972 16mm film introducing the SX-70 polaroid camera, as well as some of Sachs and Neistat’s industrial film-inspired collaborative shorts! SIDE STREET 1949, Warner Bros., 93 min, Dir: Anthony Mann Naive postman Joe Norson (Farley Granger) takes a dangerous shortcut to securing a nest egg for his pregnant wife (Cathy O’Donnell) - stealing thirty grand from the office of a shady shyster. When Joe tries to give himself up he only gets in deeper, careening for his life through the treacherous streets of Manhattan, pursued by cops and crooks at every deadly turn. Boehm’s script is a much more noir version of Naked City, and Anthony Mann pulls out all the stops, directing this headlong thriller with incredible punch, abetted by Joe Ruttenberg’s stunning cinematography (with an opening sequence shot from a blimp over Manhattan). A top-tier noir, featuring favorites Jean Hagen, Paul Kelly, James Craig and Charles McGraw. 35 mm! Introduction by Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation. SKI TROOP ATTACK An American patrol has to cross behind enemy lines by skis in order to blow up an important railroad bridge. The task is made harder by conflicts between the platoon's veteran sergeant and its inexperienced lieutenant and by constant attacks by pursuing German troops. Dir. Roger Corman, 1960, 63 mins. A SPACE PROGRAM Internationally acclaimed artist Tom Sachs takes us on an intricately handmade journey to the red planet, providing audiences with an intimate, first person look into his studio and methods. Both a piece of art in its own right and a recording of Sachs’ historic piece, Space Program 2.0: MARS, which opened at New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2012, A Space Program is a captivating introduction to Sachs’ work for the uninitiated and required viewing for his longtime fans. Documenting Sachs and his team as they build an entire space program from scratch, ultimately sending two female astronauts to Mars in search of the answer to humankind’s ultimate question… are we alone? Dir. Van Neistat, 2015, DCP, 72 min. THE STALKING MOON 1968, Warner Brothers, 109 min, Dir: Robert Mulligan Gregory Peck reunites with his TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD director Robert Mulligan for this highly underrated Western thriller. U.S. Army soldiers encounter a group of Indians that includes a white woman and her half-Indian son; the woman (Eva Marie Saint) is desperate for cavalry scout Sam Varner (Gregory Peck) to take her and the child to Varner’s New Mexico ranch. The reason for her concern is soon clear – the boy’s father is a fearsome warrior who will stop at nothing to take him back. TAKE ONE FALSE STEP 1949, Universal, 94 min, Dir: Chester Erskine William Powell makes his only foray into ’40s film noir as a married college professor whose reacquaintance with a wartime fling (Shelley Winters) takes a bad turn when she disappears under suspicious circumstances. Marsha Hunt plays the gal-pal who tries to help Powell - the prime suspect - solve the crime and salvage his reputation. There’s more comedy than usually found in noir - as audiences still expected from the man who embodied the legendary Nick Charles. James Gleason and Sheldon Leonard are the cops pursuing Powell through Los Angeles locations lensed by the great Franz Planer (CRISS CROSS). Brand New 35mm Print! Not on DVD! TEXTURES OF LIFE: FILM AND THE ART OF TACITA DEAN British artist Tacita Dean’s extraordinary body of art embraces many mediums; she works with paint, found objects, photography, prints and writing, but it is her films that make the most indelible contribution. For Dean, film emulsion is a living tissue that can engender unsurpassed, vibrant experiences of light and rhythm, and she has been a passionate champion of the endangered medium. Working with a deeply contemplative aesthetic, her portrayals of artists and phenomena extend the literal into poetic dimensions. The youngest artist ever to be given a solo show at Tate Britain in 2001, Dean has exhibited at museums throughout the world, including the Hammer Museum two years ago, and she has produced over 50 films. For tonight’s program, Dean presents a rare selection of 16mm films that are not normally presented theatrically and that have not shown in Los Angeles before. In person: Tacita Dean TOO LATE FOR TEARS 1949, 99 min, USA, Dir: Byron Haskin A ruthless housewife is determined to keep an ill-gotten satchel of cash, even if it means murder. One of the great noirs of the classic era, long thought lost but now returned to the big screen! Starring Lizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy. Screening format: 35mm. UTU In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Maori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile... Dir. Geoff Murphy, 1984, 118 mins. WAY OUT WEST 1937, Sonar Entertainment, 65 min, USA, Dir: James W. Horne In what half of their fans consider their best feature, Stan and Ollie arrive in Brushwood Gulch to deliver the deed to a gold mine that was bequeathed to a prospector’s daughter. After being tricked out of it by nefarious saloon-keeper Jimmie Finlayson (the man who taught Homer Simpson to say “Doh!”), the two tenderheels must retrieve the deed and rescue the rightful heiress. Endlessly entertaining, with Rosina Lawrence, Sharon Lynne, Stanley Fields, and the boys’ legendary soft-shoe to "At the Ball, That’s All" and duet of "Trail of the Lonesome Pine." Both Laurel and Hardy cited this film as their personal favorite! WILD IN THE STREETS: L.A. PUNK RARITIES Alamo L.A.’s first foray into the underground DIY space: a feature-length mix of blistering, ultra-rare old-school L.A. punk footage. Performance clips, documentary footage, interviews, silly TV news segments, even sillier music videos and more! DOORS - 7:30pm. SHOW - 8:30pm-ish. Enter through the long, narrow alleyway on Burns. NOTE: this is a standing-room-only show. Band for band, note for note, Southern California was home to some of the coolest punk and hardcore bands that will ever exist. It's tough to imagine now, when viewed through the meat grinder of 21st-century perspective, but when punk first came into being it scared the living shit out of people. Its raw power, obstinate attitude and three-chord rhumba formed a slap heard 'round the world -- and just as soon as it was codified, it splintered into a thousand different scenes and subcultures. The evening’s program covers the broad spectrum of local weirdos, junkies, outlaws and more weirdos that wove the tapestry of our collective bugout. It never gets old, no matter how old it gets. YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN 1950, Warner Bros., 112 min, USA, Dir: Michael Curtiz Dorothy Baker’s novel, inspired by the life of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, gets the full-blown Hollywood treatment. Star-crossed jazzman Kirk Douglas (musically dubbed by Harry James) hits the high and low notes, with a formidable Lauren Bacall and empathetic Doris Day as the women in his orbit. A daring Carl Foreman script complements memorable supporting performances by Hoagy Carmichael and Juano Hernandez, with dazzling direction by Michael Curtiz. 35 mm!