a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
sun. may 1 tcm classic film festival (schedule tba) dead meadow @ alex's bar (LB) come and see FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi the big heat, gilda @ aero avanti! 6:30 PM, fedora 9:20 PM @ new beverly invention for destruction 2 PM @ silent movie theater the stolen airship 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater show & tell: daniel johnston 7:15 @ silent movie theater jonathan demme presents: made in texas 9:30 PM @ silent movie theater mon. may 2 fantasia of color in early cinema 8:30 PM @ redcat avanti!, fedora @ new beverly time to love @ ucla film archive tue. may 3 rush to war @ aero the delta force, lone wolf mcquade @ new beverly purple rain 10:15 PM @ silent movie theater wed. may 4 real genius (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ usc stark mind meld @ echo purple rain 4 PM @ silent movie theater the falls @ silent movie theater thu. may 5 the turin horse FREE 7 PM @ csun armer bleached @ teragram boogarins @ echoplex pele: birth of a legend @ egyptian band of outsiders @ silent movie theater purple rain 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater shark toys FREE @ harvard & stone fri. may 6 sunn0))) @ regent another nice mess: the restored laurel and hardy, the flying deuces @ egyptian chimes at midnight, f for fake @ aero purple rain 4 PM @ silent movie theater slacker @ silent movie theater band of outsiders 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater the man who became a horse @ ucla film archive 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 savage streets @ cinematic void @ spielberg @ egyptian mad monster party 2 PM @ new beverly band of outsiders 7 PM @ silent movie theater purple rain 9:15 11:59 PM @ silent movie theater sea lions, shark toys FREE @ permanent hp 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 badlands (early show) @ gal palace rosemary's baby, the brood @ egyptian mad monster party 2 PM @ new beverly barbarella 1 PM @ silent movie theater purple rain 3:45 10:00 PM @ silent movie theater band of outsiders 7 PM @ silent movie theater mon. may 9 melvins, napalm death @ troubadour winter (10:15) @ pehrspace drinking flowers FREE @ echo tue. may 10 the ultimate thrill, night of the juggler @ new beverly band of outsiders 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater dead dawn @ echo dogtooth FREE 8 PM @ the frog wed. may 11 this changes everything FREE 6 PM @ aero caravan to vaccares, fear is the key @ new beverly band of outsiders 7:30 10:00 PM @ silent movie theater thu. may 12 leviathan (2014) FREE 7 PM @ csun armer molochs @ echo caravan to vaccares, fear is the key @ new beverly band of outsiders 10:00 PM @ silent movie theater fri. may 13 charles bradley @ ace hotel nashville ramblers, rosalyns, diddley daddies @ redwood together and alone, cold ones @ spielberg @ egyptian blade runner (final cut) @ egyptian no home movie @ silent movie theater the cow @ ucla film archive sat. may 14 nashville ramblers, rosalyns, diddley daddies @ casbah (SD) fast times at ridgemont high @ cinespia @ hollywood forever sparrows, the black pirate @ egyptian indiana jones and the temple of doom 2 PM @ new beverly sally of the sawdust 1 PM @ the silent treatment @ silent movie theater the story of temple drake, call her savage @ ucla film archive the french connection 7 PM, the french connection ii @ new beverly sun. may 15 ferris bueller's day off 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 indiana jones and the temple of doom 2 PM @ new beverly robinson crusoe on mars 1 PM @ silent movie theater no home movie 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater daniel bachman (7:30, 9:30) @ museum of jurassic technology daughter of shanghai, madame du barry @ ucla film archive mon. may 16 peter brotzmann quartet @ echoplex drinking flowers FREE @ echo tue. may 17 11 minutes @ aero five corners @ silent movie theater no home movie 10 PM @ silent movie theater hollywood boulevard, hollywood man @ new beverly wed. may 18 ferris bueller's day off 2:00 7:00 PM @ fathom events @ l.a. cinemark 18, burbank 16, north hollywood 8 no home movie @ silent movie theater thu. may 19 thermals @ teragram taxi driver, the killing of a chinese bookie @ egyptian no home movie 10 PM @ silent movie theater fri. may 20 mind meld, king gizzard and the lizard wizard @ teragram against the grain FREE 7 PM @ wccw susan @ hi hat john carpenter @ bootleg the godfather, the godfather part ii @ aero wreckless eric @ punky reggae party @ la cita sorcerer (4-track mag print) @ new beverly pickpocket @ silent movie theater sat. may 21 len lye retrospective @ fahrenheit silence of the lambs @ cinespia @ hollywood forever wild and wooly @ retroformat @ spielberg @ egyptian killer joe MIDNIGHT @ new beverly who's minding the mint? 2 PM @ new beverly sorcerer (4-track mag print) @ new beverly sun. may 22 upset @ hi hat who's minding the mint? 2 PM @ new beverly sorcerer (4-track mag print) 6:30 PM @ new beverly forbidden planet 1 PM @ silent movie theater haxan: witchcraft through the ages (w/ live score by white magic) @ silent movie theater mon. may 23 drinking flowers FREE @ echo sorcerer (4-track mag print) @ new beverly tue. may 24 pentagram, king woman @ echoplex telecaves, body/head @ echo touchez pas au grisbi @ greg proops film club @ silent movie theater amuck!, the blood spattered bride @ new beverly chinatown 7:25 PM @ arclight sherman oaks wed. may 25 bigger than life @ silent movie theater eyes of fire 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater casablanca @ arclight culver city thu. may 26 kind hearts and coronets, the lavender hill mob @ aero fri. may 27 upsilon acrux, ahleuchatistas @ smell jon brion @ largo post life @ timewarp records the fearless vampire killers, scream of fear, circus of horrors @ egyptian north by northwest, to catch a thief @ aero a touch of zen 7 PM @ silent movie theater blue velvet 11 PM @ silent movie theater bug, killer joe @ new beverly young lovers @ pehrspace sat. may 28 raiders of the lost ark, indiana jones and the temple of doom, indiana jones and the last crusade @ egyptian rear window, psycho @ aero a touch of zen 4 PM @ silent movie theater blue velvet 8:15 PM @ silent movie theater bug, killer joe @ new beverly sun. may 29 brian jonestown massacre, mystic braves @ teragram neil hamburger @ satellite lawrence of arabia (70mm) @ egyptian dial m for murder (3-D) @ aero the green slime 1 PM @ silent movie theater a touch of zen 4 PM @ silent movie theater blue velvet 8:30 PM @ silent movie theater red sun FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi mon. may 30 brian jonestown massacre, mystic braves @ teragram black sea, drinking flowers FREE @ echo blue velvet 10 PM @ silent movie theater tue. may 31 brian jonestown massacre, asteroid #4 @ teragram blue velvet 7:30 10:15 PM @ silent movie theater gal pals FREE @ harvard & stone wed. jun. 1 blue velvet 10:15 PM @ silent movie theater rebecca @ ampas samuel goldwyn thu. jun. 2 viy @ silent movie theater blue velvet 10 PM @ silent movie theater chinatown 7 PM @ arclight santa monica fri. jun. 3 nick waterhouse @ teragram chevalier (w/ q&a) 7:20 PM @ nuart matinee @ ucla film archive black sunday MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theater sat. jun. 4 chevalier (w/ q&a) 7:20 9:50 PM @ nuart winter @ teragram the purple rose of cairo, escape from liberty cinema @ ucla film archive sun. jun. 5 colleen green @ bootleg the squid and the whale @ silent movie theater mon. jun. 6 splendor @ ucla film archive casablanca @ arclight pasadena tue. jun. 7 haxan: witchcraft through the ages (w/ live score by white magic) @ silent movie theater thu. jun. 9 triptides @ hi hat radio on (w/ ted leo live) @ silent movie theater fri. jun. 10 harlan county usa @ silent movie theater sat. jun. 11 upset @ viper room to catch a thief @ cinespia @ hollywood forever the love witch 4 PM @ aero qui @ echo miss sharon jones @ silent movie theater the devils 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater sun. jun. 12 the war of the worlds (1953) 1 PM @ silent movie theater rosemary's baby 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater raiders of the lost ark: the adaptation, raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made @ silent movie theater mon. jun. 13 the devils @ silent movie theater rosemary's baby 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater tue. jun. 14 the devils @ silent movie theater rosemary's baby 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater wed. jun. 15 globelamp, tashaki miyaki @ bootleg a useful life, the seats of the alcazar @ ucla film archive fri. jun. 17 upset @ bootleg raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made 10 PM @ silent movie theater sat. jun. 18 john carpenter @ orpheum goodfellas @ cinespia @ hollywood forever raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made 5:00 8:00 PM @ silent movie theater sun. jun. 19 goodbye dragon inn 7 PM, fantasma @ ucla film archive bell book and candle 1 PM @ silent movie theater raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made 4:45 PM @ silent movie theater tue. jun. 21 raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made 10 PM @ silent movie theater wed. jun. 22 holy wave @ echo double indemnity 8 PM @ last remaining seats @ ace hotel theatre raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made 10 PM @ silent movie theater thu. jun. 23 raiders!: the story of the greatest fan film ever made @ silent movie theater the hitcher (w/ live score) 10 PM @ videosonics @ silent movie theater fri. jun. 24 sex stains @ troubadour blank tapes @ resident demons, anguish @ ucla film archive suspiria MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theater sat. jun. 25 raising arizona @ cinespia @ hollywood forever sun. jun. 26 cinema paradiso 7 PM @ ucla film archive mon. jun. 27 king khan & the shrines @ echoplex wed. jun. 29 stephen steinbrink @ bootleg thu. jun. 30 black girl @ silent movie theater season of the witch 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater fri. jul. 1 purple rain MIDNIGHT @ nuart dead meadow @ satellite inferno 10 PM @ silent movie theater sat. jul. 2 purple rain @ cinespia @ hollywood forever umberto (live performance), burial ground @ cinematic void fri. jul. 8 royal headache @ echo sat. jul. 9 jump with joey @ roxy sun. jul. 10 pet sounds w/ brian wilson @ hollywood bowl wed. jul. 13 deerhoof @ teragram thu. jul. 14 gories, ty segall & mikal cronin, etc @ in the red fest @ echo/plex fri. jul. 15 oblivions, hunches, wand, urinals, etc @ in the red fest @ echo/plex tue. jul. 19 dalek @ complex fri. jul. 22 autolux @ constellation room sat. jul. 23 autolux @ el rey sun. jul. 24 jon brion @ largo fri. jul. 29 jon brion @ largo sat. jul. 30 woods @ echoplex sun. jul. 31 neil hamburger @ satellite thu. aug. 11 thee oh sees @ teragram fri. aug. 26 earth @ regent 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. AMUCK! A young American girl arrives on an island near Venice to begin her new job as secretary to famous novelist Richard Stuart. However, it turns out that her predecessor disappeared without a trace... Dir. Silvio Amadio, 1972, 98 mins. Anguish (Spain/U.S., 1987) Spanish writer-director Bigas Luna deploys the movie-within-a-movie device as an unsettling sensory assault on cinematic voyeurism in this mind-tripping horror “double feature.” As Anguish opens, a killer stalks the city, psychically controlled by his psychotic mother, but when the camera pulls back, that movie’s onscreen effects seem to have mentally ensnared an unstable moviegoer who also can’t resist the murderous mother’s commands. 35mm, color, in Spanish with English subtitles, 89 min. 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. AVANTI! A successful businessman goes to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon-father's body only to discover dad died with his mistress of long standing. Dir. Billy Wilder, 1972, 140 mins. BIGGER THAN LIFE New York Times best-selling author and MacArthur fellow Jonathan Lethem joins us to present Nicholas Ray’s Bigger Than Life. A family drama with a Hitchcockian streak, Bigger Than Life is an Eisenhower-era paranoia-laden CinemaScope masterpiece, based on a piece in the New Yorker authored by medical writer Berton Roueché. Careening between melodrama, sci-fi, and horror — Lethem calls the film “Douglas Sirk meets Oliver Sacks” — this poignant and precise vision of ‘50s American life and the fantasy/nightmare of the nuclear family plays like speculative fiction, with medical experiments acting as a harbinger for wild fears of fascism, state power, and class shame. Ray expertly teases out the precariousness inherent in the explicit conventionality of James Mason, Barbara Rush, and Walter Matthau’s characters — a school teacher, his wife, and his best friend, respectively. The group who, as Lethem notes, “rest uneasily on their bed of normality,” feel their quotidian lives violently upended in a Shining-esque trip down a post-WWII Americana rabbit hole. The film will be followed by a conversation with Lethem. Dir. Nicholas Ray, 1956, DCP, 95 min. BLACK GIRL The historic first feature film made in Africa by a black African director, Ousmane Sembčne’s Black Girl may be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year, but it’s no less trenchant and eloquent than it was upon its 1966 arrival. A sharp character study in the vein of Italian neorealism, and an incisive portrait of French-Senegalese postcolonial relations, Black Girl follows a young girl named Diouana’s move from Dakar to the French Riviera with the bourgeois white family who has hired her. Sembčne, who got his start as an author and labor organizer, locates political gestures at their very seeds; in personal moments of impulse and morality, he tracks the gradual shift of Diouana’s temperament’s from optimistic to quietly defiant. Courtesy of a gorgeous new restoration from Janus, cinematographer Christian Lacoste’s stark frames deliver all of their original unmistakable symbolism, under the blindingly white sun of Antibes. Dir Ousmane Sembčne, 1966, DCP, 65 min. Black Girl will be preceded by Sembčne’s first short film, Borom Sarret, about the trials of an unlucky wagoner, also newly restored. Dir Ousmane Sembčne, 1963, DCP, 20 min. THE BLACK PIRATE 1926, 88 min, USA, Dir: Albert Parker Shot in two-strip Technicolor, THE BLACK PIRATE stars Douglas Fairbanks in the title role as a nobleman who vows revenge on the brigands who killed his father, and joins their crew to exact it. Damsel in distress Billie Dove might distract him from his mission, but Fairbanks is in his element as a buccaneer – the sequence in which he singlehandedly captures a ship will leave you in awe. BLACK SUNDAY The first official film by Italian horror maestro Mario Bava, Black Sunday remains one of the cornerstones of both Italian and Gothic horror, more than 50 years after its 1960 release. Considered wildly graphic for its day, the stylish and deeply unsettling film concerns the curse of a centuries old witch (played with voluptuous intensity in an icon-defining performance from Barbara Steele) who returns from the grave to wreak vengeance on the family whose ancestors burnt her at the stake hundreds of years prior. Dripping with atmosphere, Bava imbues every frame with an artistry that set the high standard for Italian horror, the spark fanned into flames by future genre masters like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. More visually impressive and shocking than many of its classic horror contemporaries, Black Sunday is a vital film that demands to be seen on the big screen. Dir. Mario Bava, 1960, 35mm, 87 min. 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! BURIAL GROUND 1981, Severin Films, 85 minutes Dir: Andrea Bianchi A professor accidentally fulfills the prophecy of the black spider and unleashes the SLOWEST zombies to every shamble along in cinematic history. Armed with lawn tools and more brains then their human victims, the undead trudge along in one of the most bizarre entries in Italian zombie horror. Gore-soaked lunacy anchored by Peter Bark’s star-making performance as Michael: the lovable boy with a major Oedipus complex. The film will be preceded by a performance by UMBERTO (Not Not Fun Records / Death Waltz Recording Company.) Call Her Savage (1932) The screen adaptation of Tiffany Thayer’s best-selling novel, Call Her Savage marked Clara Bow’s first film after she suffered a nervous breakdown after a series of very public scandals and Paramount cancelled her contract in 1931. This experience galvanized the actress to work on a freelance basis to take ownership over her career, and Bow capitalized on her infamous reputation by personally selecting this project for her comeback at Fox. She played the fiery Texas heiress Nasa Springer in this salacious film that portrayed an array of taboo subjects even for pre-Code Hollywood, including interracial love, incest, promiscuity, sadism, lesbianism, single motherhood and sexually transmitted disease. Additionally, Bow had costar and director approval, and this creative control showcased her dramatic acting skills alongside her sex appeal. 35mm, b/w, 88 min. CARAVAN TO VACCARES American Neil Bowman is traveling through France when he meets British photographer Lila. They are hired by French land owner Duc de Croyter to escort a Hungarian scientist to New York. But they soon realize that the job is not a cushy number, and have to deal with a gang of kidnappers who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the scientist. Dir. Geoffrey Reeve, 1974, 98 mins. CIRCUS OF HORRORS 1960, 88 min, UK, Dir: Sidney Hayers In this lurid British shocker, plastic surgeon Anton Diffring botches a job and flees for France, where he operates successfully on circus owner Donald Pleasence’s daughter. The doctor transforms several disfigured women into beauties to work as circus performers – but when any of them want to leave him, they suffer fatal accidents. COLD ONES 2007, Leo Films, 94 min, USA, Dir: Garrett Clancy Every stranger has a secret in writer-director Garrett Clancy’s indie drama, also released as DEAD LETTERS. Ten years after his first novel went down in flames, the hard knocks just won’t stop for K.C. Corcoran (C. Thomas Howell) - his girlfriend’s just thrown him out. K.C. hopes to get his life back on track by writing another book, and heads to a remote mountain cabin to work on it … but the locals prove more hazardous than he could have guessed. Geoffrey Lewis, Kim Darby and Duane Whitaker are among the fine ensemble cast. Discussion between films with actor-director Duane Whitaker. The Cow (Iran, 1969) Filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui’s timeless classic, the progenitor of the Iranian New Wave, is a parable of human frailty. When a rural farmer’s beloved cow dies, his neighbors dare not tell him the truth, fearing that the news will destroy him, but madness descends all the same. Rich with philosophical suggestion, the film has haunted Iranian cinema ever since, setting a tonal and metaphoric standard to which many have returned. Daughter of Shanghai (1937) Anna May Wong was the first Asian-American actress to achieve international fame, but her Hollywood career was a source of constant frustration. Consigned to freelancing, Wong never secured real creative control over her pictures and so was largely forced into stereotyped supporting roles in B films. The human trafficking thriller Daughter of Shanghai, however, was designed by Paramount as a starring vehicle for Wong and, notably, features her playing opposite an Asian-American lead actor (Philip Ahn). 35mm, b/w, 62 min. Demons (Italy, 1985) Berlin moviegoers looking for cheap horror thrills get more than they bargained for at the opening of the Metropol, a mysterious movie palace seemingly sprung up overnight, when the supernatural carnage on screen spills out into the audience. Italian giallo masters Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento deliver on the practical gore, scorching rock soundtrack and tongue-in-cheek heavy meta-commentary. 35mm, color, in Italian with English subtitles, 88 min. THE DEVILS Exploding at the seams with anti-puritanical flamboyance, Ken Russell’s assuredly-directed The Devils is like a darkly humorous journey into a mind on the brink of insanity. With sumptuous set design by Derek Jarman (Jubilee, Sebastiane), and celestial and melodramatic costuming by Shirley Russell, the film tells the tale of a 17th-century priest (Oliver Reed in his most arresting performance) accused of witchcraft by Sister Jeanne (a maddeningly creepy Vanessa Redgrave), a nun firmly in the grips of erotic hysteria. Dir. Ken Russell, 1971, 35mm , 112 min. 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. 11 MINUTES 2015, 81 min, Poland, Dir: Jerzy Skolimowski Following a five-year hiatus from filmmaking, renowned director Jerzy Skolimowski returns with 11 MINUTES, which was a Golden Lion nominee at the Venice Film Festival and Poland’s submission for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar. This fast-paced, high-energy look at modern-day Warsaw pieces together seemingly unrelated 11-minute vignettes - a filmmaker inviting an actress to audition in his house, a teen caught up in a failed heist, a pedophile hot dog vendor looking for drugs - to assemble a poetic puzzle of life. In Polish and English with English subtitles. Program begins with: Los Angeles Premiere! “Papa” (2015, Latvia, 25 min. Dir. Valerijs Olehno) Paternal love and responsibilities are put to the test when a father is released from prison and attempts to spend a night rekindling his relationship with his son. In Latvian with English subtitles. Escape from Liberty Cinema (Poland, 1990) After a decade-long hiatus, Polish writer-director Wojciech Marczewski returned to filmmaking with this sharp jab at official art that neatly carries the premise of The Purple Rose of Cairo into the realm of absurdist political satire. From poet, to critic, to censor, Rabkiewicz’s career trajectory has left him bitter and resigned to self-loathing until a character in a film he approved starts speaking his own mind from the screen. DCP, color, 92 min. EYES OF FIRE The woods of early American settlers were a territory of savage darkness:the home of the devil and mysteriously foreboding. Like the untamed American continent itself, the woods were an unknowable place,and still remain ripe for projections of fantasy and horror (see: The Witch). Surrealist photographer (and first time filmmaker) Avery Crounse’s Eyes of Fire seizes the psychology of these early settlers in this poor-man’s-punk take on the supernatural battle between good and evil, rife with impressively fantastical set pieces—from trees with faces and a mysterious naked forest-dwelling sect to rains of skulls and bones—all swung on a shoestring budget. ALL OF THEM WITCHES proudly resurrects this fierce, DIY horror flick, excavated from several realms beyond the consciousness of even the committed cult-film lover, for your late-night enjoyment. Dir. Avery Crounse, 1983, 35mm, 90 min. THE FALLS A mockumentary of epic proportions, The Falls is a bizarre universe unto itself: 92 people. 92 biographies in miniature. Every subject’s name beginning with “Fall,” all afflicted by the “Violent Unknown Event,” the symptoms of which include spontaneously speaking new languages and obsessing over birds. Within this cinematic encyclopedia, director Peter Greenaway (A Zed and Two Noughts, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover) combines found footage, pseudo-documentary, unlikely romance, Greek tragedy, science fiction, deadpan absurdist voiceover, and music from Michael Nyman and Brian Eno(!) for a sprawling compendium of ambitious ideas and tongue-in-cheek laughs. Standing apart from avant garde features and other unusually long experiments, The Falls is that rarest bird of all: It’s also very funny, filtered through a low-budget ethos and loaded with in-jokes as only a 5-year personal project could be. As The Falls’ intricate web of theories becomes increasingly surreal, Greenaway plays it straight as science fact, and the encyclopedic scope becomes nothing short of mind-boggling. Take flight with a rarely screened 16mm print! Plus a potluck! Since this is a long one, (the director has suggested taking breaks) we’re hosting a potluck on the Cinefamily patio. Bring your favorite poultry dish or family-style side for sharing and we’ll enjoy as many snacks are there are characters in The Falls. Dir. Peter Greenaway, 1980, 16mm (courtesy of Zeitgeist Films), 195 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 Fantasma (Argentina/France/Netherlands, 2006) In this hypnotic commentary on cinematic rituals and presence, the star of director Lisandro Alonso’s Los Muertos (2004), Argentino Vargas, wanders through the Teatro San Martin in Buenos Aires, looking for the theater where Los Muertos is scheduled to screen. Fantasma charts an existential journey through the hallways and lobbies of the cavernous theater and then continues beyond when Vargas confronts his own image on screen. 35mm, color, in Spanish with English subtitles, 60 min. FEAR IS THE KEY After his family are killed in a plane crash, a man plots an elaborate revenge scheme on those responsible. He sets himself up as a criminal in order to get close to a tycoon who has been approached by the culprits to help them retrieve the cargo of the lost plane. Dir. Michael Tuchner, 1973, 103 mins. FEDORA An ambitious Hollywood hustler becomes involved with a reclusive female star whom he tries to lure out of retirement. Dir. Billy Wilder, 1978, 114 mins. FIVE CORNERS Indie raconteur and conversationalist par excellance Kevin Corrigan joins us to present one of his favorite films, Five Corners. Presciently cast (with Tim Robbins, John Turturro, and Jodie Foster) the film is a snapshot of a moment in New York, — 1964 in the Bronx, to be precise. What could be a slice of life film set amidst the youth-centricity that defined the civil rights movement era, Corners quickly takes a sharp turn towards the low-budget crime drama genre, unfolding in a frenzied 24-hour span. Dir. Tony Bill, 1987, 35mm, 90 min. 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 Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Taiwan, 2003) An old Taipei cinema is set to close. Its final denizens, a small and lonely group of strangers, settle into disparate corners and mental spaces, as King Hu’s Dragon Inn (1967) plays on screen for the last time. Tsai Ming-liang’s meditative feature masterfully demonstrates that such a place, haunted by stories and memories, is far greater than the sum of its parts. 35mm, color, in Mandarin and Min Nan with English subtitles, 82 min. THE GREEN SLIME “Nothing ever happens here,” moans a grumpy space technician. Suddenly, right on cue, an asteroid teeming with extraterrestrial green goo is on a collision course with Earth! What follows is a delectable smorgasbord of charmingly constructed space station miniatures, non-sequiturs delivered with the stiffest of lips, and special effects so cheap they wouldn’t even sell off of a clearance rack. In simpler terms: It’s B-movie heaven. Watch as crew members of Gamma 3 get picked off one-by-one, with each death more bizarrely gory than the next. Defying logic at every turn (why is sentient, chiseled jaw Commander Jack Rankin’s first battle instinct always to throw things at the aliens, including his laser gun?), The Green Slime is a delirious, self-serious, silly alien creature feature of the highest order. Come for the aliens with bloodshot, perma-stoned eyes; stay for the flubbed line readings and psych-rock theme song. Dir. Kinji Fukasaku, 1968, 35mm (Courtesy of BFI), 90 min. INFERNO Foregoing conventional logic for pure nightmare dreamscape, Inferno finds director Dario Argento at the top of his game, and is the second film in his “Three Mothers” trilogy (directly following Suspiria). An American college student in Rome (Leigh McCloskey) is called to New York to help his poet sister investigate the mysterious and supernatural history of her building. The threadbare plot serves as a springboard for some of Argento’s wildest set pieces (the underwater ballroom!), imaginative use of light and color, and continued exploration of visual alchemy propelled by a raging soundtrack (this time by Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s keyboard virtuoso Keith Emerson). With optical effects by Argento’s mentor, Italian grandmaster Mario Bava, Inferno is easily one of the most beautiful films in the Video Nasties canon — so don’t miss it loud ‘n large in 35mm! With an introduction by Leigh McCloskey, actor, author, and expert on the occult! Dir. Dario Argento, 1980, 35mm, 107 min. INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION aka THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE Jules Verne, novelist and chronicler of undersea fantasies, provides the subject material for what is not only Zeman’s most popular film but the most successful Czech film of all time, famously screened simultaneously in 96 theaters in New York City upon release, and recipient of the Grand Prix at Expo ‘58. Invention for Destruction AKA The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is based upon several of Verne’s works, especially Face au drapeau (Facing the Flag), a suspenseful and nautical adventure, which in Zemans hands also manages to act as a fairy-tale-like parable on the potential dangers of science (read: atomic energy). As usual, Zeman constructed an astoundingly inventive and immersive universe—on a shoestring—situating his actors firmly in Verne’s immense and beautiful world. Using a process dubbed “Mystimation”, a combination of live action, animated drawings and lithographs, the screen pops with stylized line-etched, living illustrations in a way unseen before or since. Visually jaw-dropping, poetic and bubbling with imagination, Invention is an incredible big screen experience—and this beautiful new restoration makes it one not to be missed! Dir. Karel Zeman, 1958, DCP, 83 min. JONATHAN DEMME PRESENTS: MADE IN TEXAS In the spring of 1981, Jonathan Demme visited Austin, Texas, where he ate BBQ, listened to punk rock, and looked at the work of a number of local independent filmmakers. Impressed by what he saw, Demme arranged for a program of Austin short films to be screened at the Collective for Living Cinema in New York City, a prestigious avant garde film collective of which he was a member. On October 10, 1981, the first Saturday evening after the Collective’s summer hiatus, Jonathan Demme Presents: Made in Texas – New Films From Austin was featured, including Speed of Light, Fair Sisters, Mask of Sarnath, Death of a Rock Star, Leonard Jr., and Invasion of the Aluminum People, six films that represent the punk rock and DIY aesthetic of Austin in the 1980s. The night it showed, the Collective was so crowded they had to turn people away and make the screening standing room only. This new restoration, made possible under the guidance of Austin Film Society and Production For Use’s Louis Black, is concerned with preserving the unique cultural moment of Austin in the late 70s and early 80s. Dir. Louis Black, Missy Boswell, Brian Hansen, Tom Huckabee, Ed Lowery & Lorrie Oschatz, 1981, DCP Restoration, 116 min. KILLER JOE A cop (Matthew McConaughey) who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer (Emile Hirsch) in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister (Juno Temple). Scr: Tracy Letts; dir: William Friedkin; w/ Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon. 2012/color/103 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 THE LOVE WITCH 2016, Anna Biller Productions, 120 min, USA, Dir: Anna Biller In this special presentation of director Anna Biller’s latest independent feature, beautiful young witch Elaine is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions to seduce men - but they work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the 1960s, THE LOVE WITCH explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism. 35 mm! Discussion following the feature with director Anna Biller, moderated by Alyse Wax. Madame Du Barry (1934) After achieving Hollywood stardom with What Price Glory in 1926, Mexican-born Dolores Del Rio sought contractual protections against playing certain types of stereotyped roles. Her freelance contract at Warner Bros., for instance, gave her the right to refuse “any native girl or south seas island” pictures. A salaciously witty, brocaded period piece in which Del Rio plays the titular French courtesan, Madame Du Barry was the first story she accepted when she arrived at the studio. 16mm, b/w, 79 min. The Man Who Became a Horse (Iran, 2015) This luminous feature introduces an elderly laborer and his adult daughter who live in spartan circumstances in a seaside community of day laborers. When circumstances change the community’s fortunes, the daughter sees the chance—or necessity—of breaking away, setting up a cataclysmic, intergenerational conflict. Spellbindingly beautiful, the film hearkens to the Iranian New Wave in its obliquely powerful and poetic treatment of societal schisms and inexorable change. DCP, color, 113 min. Director: Amir Hossein Saghafi. Based on the short story Grief by Anton Chekhov. Matinee (1993) A Key West movie theater becomes ground zero for the onscreen fusion of atomic age fears, intensely real and fantastically imagined, in director Joe Dante’s loving tribute to movie showmen. As the Cuban Missile Crisis heats up, B-movie barker Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman) rolls into town with his latest monster shocker, Mant!—filmed in both “Atomo-Vision” and “Rumble Rama”—to the delight of the local coming-of-age kids hoping for a little spectacular escapism from an adult world gone mad. 35mm, color, 99 min. Director Joe Dante in person! MISS SHARON JONES Sharon Jones is a true soul survivor. She’s been called “the female James Brown” for the energy she brings to the stage backed by her band The Dap-Kings. That energy is the fuel for a study of contrasts in Miss Sharon Jones!, as we follow her on an emotional journey as she goes through chemotherapy and struggles to mount a comeback show at New York’s Beacon Theater. This story finds its perfect match in director Barbara Kopple, another soulful talent and two-time Oscar winner for Harlan County, USA and American Dream, whose career also includes studies of performers in Wild Man Blues and Shut Up and Sing! Kopple’s supreme skill at observational filmmaking shines through as she captures the highs and lows of Jones’ efforts to battle cancer and keep her band together. We watch as the band completes its 2014 album Give the People What They Want. By the end of this film, what you’ll want is more Sharon Jones. Dir. Barbara Kopple, 2015, DCP, 93 min. NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER An ex New York cop is desperate to find his kidnapped daughter. With James Brolin. Dir. Robert Butler, 1980, 101 mins. NO HOME MOVIE The opening shot of No Home Movie, more turbulent than perhaps any other scene from Chantal Akerman’s body of work, is a tree struggling frame-left as it is violently whipped by an unrelenting, gale-force wind. Clocking in at just under four uncut minutes, this shot readies us for the patient pace of the Belgian auteur’s final masterpiece. We observe Akerman and her mother as they spend time together and apart, primarily within the context of domestic interiors in both Belgium and New York City. With deliberate frames and a calm unfolding of time, certain moments loan themselves to the sensation of gazing upon a large-scale Edward Hopper painting that suddenly and subtly begins to breath. Awash in some of the final documented interactions between the filmmaker and her adored mother, Akerman doesn’t ask you to understand this work — she just asks you to feel it. Rounding out our involvement in a city-wide retrospective of her work, No Home Movie is an essential experience for the Akerman completist. Dir. Chantal Akerman, 2015, DCP, 115 min. PELÉ: BIRTH OF A LEGEND 2016, IFC Films, 107 min, Dir: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist An icon in his native Brazil, Pelé is widely considered the greatest soccer player of all time, and this exciting biopic traces his rise from childhood poverty in Săo Paulo to the beginning of his career with the Santos team and first World Cup victory in 1958. Newcomers Leonardo Lima Carvalho and Kevin de Paula play the pre-teen and teenage Pelé, respectively, with Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro and Diego Boneta costarring. RADIO ON One of the only true English road movies, and definitely the hippest, the rarely seen Radio On is a highway film built around its eclectic yet ŕ la mode late ‘70s soundtrack, featuring the likes of Kraftwerk, David Bowie, and Robert Fripp. Shot in contrasty black and white by Martin Schäfer (assistant cameraman to Wim Wenders, who served as producer) the camera surveys the highway and Modernist architecture through the wide and cinematic windshield. In the words of Ted Leo, it’s “punk-noir mystery Candide through the lens of England’s political and social upheavals of the late 70s. Very in my lane.” Dir Christopher Petit, 1979, 35mm (courtesy of BFI), 104 min. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION In 1982, Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb and Chris Strompolos began filming a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. They were twelve years old. Six years later, the film was in the can. Twenty-four years later still, The Cinefamily brings you Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, along with co-directors Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos in person to tell the amazing story of this legendary movie. No other film experience will prepare you for this. This trio of filmmakers showed more tenacity, originality, heart, courage and skill than ten indie production teams put together, and all before puberty! We promise The Adaptation is like no other film you have ever seen — except, of course, Raiders of the Lost Ark! Dir. Eric Zala, 1989, Digital Presentation, 100 min. RAIDERS!: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE When three pre-teens set out to shoot a veracious remake of Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark one summer in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, they initiated their quest with the naivety of youthful ambition. Seven years and countless fights, growth spurts and voice changes later, the team had completed every scene except one: the iconic moment when Indiana fends off a buffed-out Nazi while dipping and dodging whirring airplane propellers. Featuring interviews with John Rhys-Davies (“Asps, very dangerous—you go first.”) and filmmaker Eli Roth, Raiders! is the Burden of Dreams for the Ain’t It Cool News set, proving that one group of inspired kids might unexpectedly become inspiration. Dir. Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen, 2015, DCP, 104 min. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and director Jeremy Coon in person! RED SUN A Japanese ambassador is traveling through the Wild West by train when a holdup by gangsters ends with them stealing an ancient Japanese sword. Toshiro Mifune is going to have none of that. Charles Bronson ensues. Directed by Terence Young 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. SALLY OF THE SAWDUST A rare comedy from the typically austere D.W. Griffith, Sally of the Sawdust is a delightful gem and the veritable kick off of W.C. Fields’s unmatched career. Based on the 1923 stage musical Poppy, Sally is rife with what we now know as trademark Fields — bumbling idiocy, juggling, dog-kicking — all in the midst of circus antics galore. Fields plays Prof. Eustace, a lovably notorious juggler who becomes the unlikely guardian of Sally after her mother (rejected by her affluent parents for marrying a lowly circus performer) dies in an accident. Eustace raises Sally in the circus and passes on all of his survival tricks, until one day their work leads them to the same town where Sally’s snooty grandparents live. Dir. D.W. Griffith, 1925, 35mm (Courtesy of L.O.C.), 104 min. Presented in 35mm courtesy of the Library of Congress. Feat. Live Accompaniment from Cliff Retallick! SAVAGE STREETS 1984, MPM, 93 min, USA, Dir: Danny Steinmann “There’s a time for revenge, and your time has come.” Linda Blair channels her inner Charles Bronson after a ruthless gang of drug-dealing dirtbags assaults her mute sister (played by scream queen Linnea Quigley) and murders her friend. Armed with crossbow, bear trap and a killer soundtrack, Blair seeks vengeance in this slice of ’80s cheese and sleaze. 35 mm! SCREAM OF FEAR 1961, Sony Repertory, 81 min, Dir: Seth Holt Director Seth Holt’s first Hammer Studios effort tracks wheelchair-bound Penny (Susan Strasberg), who returns to her family’s French Riviera estate after her mother’s untimely death. Handsome chauffeur Bob (Ronald Lewis) and sinister Dr. Gerrard (Christopher Lee) enter the mix, and someone seems bent on driving Penny over the edge into madness or, worse, death! SEASON OF THE WITCH After his first zombie classic, Romero produced this endearing and atmospheric early ’70s experiment, worthy of rediscovery. Season Of The Witch tried to find an audience under other titles (Jack’s Wife and Hungry Wives), neither of which captured this surreal portrait of a housewife who resorts to suburban witchcraft when her husband and friends fail to provide any excitement. Don’t miss your chance to catch this ultra-rare slice of Romero in a bona fide 35mm print. Dir. George A. Romero, 1972, 35mm, 104 min. The Seats of the Alcazar (France, 1989) The legendary feud between French film journals Cahiers du Cinéma and Positif is given a loving and masterfully droll send up—along with cinephilia itself—as only French writer-director Luc Moullet could. Cahiers critic Guy Moscardo (Olivier Maltinti) happily extols the virtues of his favorite theater, the Alcazar, until Jeanne (Elizabeth Moreau), a Positif critic, turns up during a Vittorio Cottafavi retrospective and he’s faced with a double bill of rivalry and potential romance. 16mm, color, in French with English subtitles, 54 min. SPARROWS 1926, 84 min, USA, Dir: William Beaudine In her final juvenile role, Mary Pickford shines as Molly, the eldest of a group of orphans held as virtual slaves by the nefarious Mr. Grimes (Gustav von Seyffertitz) on a farm deep in the bayou. With its German expressionist look and a thrilling chase through a swamp filled with hungry alligators, this is one of “America’s Sweetheart’s” most memorable silents. Splendor (Italy, 1989) The Archive and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles take the opportunity of this series to pay tribute to the late Italian maestro Ettore Scola with this special screening of his comic and moving ode to the bygone days of moviegoing in a small Italian town. Marcello Mastroianni delivers a pitch-perfect performance as the owner of the Splendor reflecting back on a life spent in the proverbial dark. 35mm, color, in Italian with English subtitles, 105 min. THE STOLEN AIRSHIP or TWO YEARS' VACATION Hallucinatory, satirical, and unexpectedly peppered with zany spy antics, The Stolen Airship is a brilliant synthesis of Karel Zeman’s career-spanning preoccupations — the scientific Voyages extraordinaires of Jules Verne, the high adventure of Boy’s Own-style children’s fiction, spunky updates of antique art styles, and of course eclectic combinations of far-flung special effects techniques — tinged with the rebellious and exuberant spirit that blossomed in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s. The film’s heroes are five boys stuck on a runaway airship soaring across the world as their small-minded parents and townsmen compete to transform their misfortune into a strategic opportunity for the yellow newspaper, shady capitalists, and government war-hawks. Art Nouveau influences mix with hyper-stylized pop art methodologies in dazzling composited images built with color-tinting, cut-out animations, hand-painted sets that look like Victorian engravings, newsprint, trick photography and stop-motion, juxtaposed eccentrically with wildlife footage and slapstick comedy. Dir. Karel Zeman, 1967, HD Digital Presentation, 1967 The Story of Temple Drake (1933) The screen adaptation of William Faulkner’s sensational novel Sanctuary, The Story of Temple Drake is a case study for how Hollywood adapted “sensitive” subjects to be permissible under the Production Code prior in the pre-Code era. Soon-to-be head of the Production Code Administration Joseph Breen pondered whether readers of the book would charge Paramount with “fraud,” given the tameness the screen version. The film was designed around Miriam Hopkins’ star persona, and she rivets the screen as Temple Drake, a Southern belle with a wild streak whose night out with bootleggers results in murder, rape and sexual captivity. The actress welcomed the controversy of the film’s content, preferring challenging roles like Temple, regardless of their moral implications and Hollywood censorship. 35mm, b/w, 70 min. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING 2015, Abramorama, 89 min, USA, Dir: Avi Lewis With the connection between environmental crisis and economic dislocation becoming ever clearer, this new documentary is more timely than ever. Inspired by Naomi Klein’s international nonfiction bestseller, the film visits seven communities on the climate-change frontlines, among them Beijing, the South Indian coast, Canada’s Alberta Tar Sands and Montana’s Powder River Basin. The empowering message of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING is that the changes needed to address global warming are also a golden opportunity to reshape the global economy into something humane and sustainable. Time to Love (Iran, 2014) In filmmaker Alireza Raissian’s timely drama, iconic actress Leila Hatami portrays Bita, a Tehran-based attorney specializing in the defense of women in divorce proceedings, who often emboldens as well as defends her typically oppressed clients. No favorite among ex-husbands, she suddenly finds herself entangled in an intrigue involving her own marriage, where the personal and the professional converge with calamitous results. DCP, color, 99 min. In-person: Alireza Raissian. TOGETHER AND ALONE 1998, 50th Street Films, 84 min, USA, Dir: Duane Whitaker Joe Unger gives the performance of a lifetime in this portrait of Los Angeles at night. Echoes of Robert Altman, but it's far from the world of THE PLAYER. These struggling artists are a lot further down the Hollywood food chain. Actor-writer Duane Whitaker (PULP FICTION) makes his directorial debut with this low-budget ensemble gem. Also starring Joe Estevez, John Bishop, Casey Siemaszko, Tim Thomerson and Mariah O'Brien. Discussion between films with actor-director Duane Whitaker. A TOUCH OF ZEN After a long run at Shaw Brothers studio on the mainland, King Hu left for Taiwan and crafted the masterpiece Dragon Inn, which led to the opportunity to tackle his most ambitious project by far: A Touch of Zen — a tale of a young artist who falls for a roving warrior committed to avenging the death of her father at the hands of the Imperial agents of the Ming dynasty. An oddity in the Wuxia canon, and considered to be the film that legitimized beloved martial arts-driven Chinese genre films as “art”, King Hu packs in visual experimentation — with balletic and quixotic battles sequences, transcendental nature scenes, and detective stories giving way to supernatural indulgence, pacifist monks ultimately kicking ass when it’s time to throw down, and loving homage to the westerns of Anthony Mann — in this astonishing 14th Century epic, finally given its due with a stunning 4K restoration. Dir. King Hu, 1971, DCP Restoration, 200 min. THE ULTIMATE THRILL At a Colorado ski resort, a jealous man's paranoia results in murder. With Britt Ekland. Dir. Robert Butler, 1974. A Useful Life (Uruguay, 2010) A middle-aged cinema manager in Montevideo must deal with the reality that his beloved cinema, and only workplace for a quarter-century, is on its last legs. But as dwindling audiences and disastrous finances signal the death of cinephilia as he has known it, a potential romance suggests there just might be life beyond the movies in this sweet and wistful human comedy. 35, b/w, in Spanish with English subtitles, 67 min. VIY A young priest is ordered to preside over the wake of witch in a small old wooden church of a remote village. This means spending three nights alone with the corpse with only his faith to protect him. Dir. Georgi Kropachyov, Konstantin Yershov, 1967, 35 mm, 78 min. 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 AND WOOLLY 1917, 72 min, USA, Dir: John Emerson In possibly his best pre-swashbuckling comedy, Douglas Fairbanks stars as a young New Yorker who longs for the excitement of the Old West. Energetically directed by John Emerson, with a witty script and wryly ironic intertitles by husband and wife Emerson and Anita Loos, and cinematography by Victor Fleming. With live accompaniment by Cliff Retallick. Plus several surprise shorts!