Hear ye, hear ye, LA 35mm film screenings list is here! (Includes some digital screenings.)
This is just what's on my personal radar. You
can browse the LA Film Calendars links on my side bar to find even more! → → →
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Sometimes these choices are tonight, FYI, and
not necessarily listed first.
NuArt Theatre
A Clockwork Orange (1972, Stanley Kubrick)
Fri. (tonight) 11:59 pm
My excuse for not mentioning
this in advance last week was I didn’t know it was 35mm, but guess what, it’s
35mm!! Go see a landmark classic, it’s a bit strong stuff, very edgy, but
well-worth seeing if you like your mind expanded and open to testing ideas and
challenging things. A creative burst of dark energy akin to Taxi Driver a bit I would say. Really hard
to describe an iconic movie like this that is just really a must-see. I recall
renting it on VHS from a college library the first time while in school, and that’s kind
of the zone it works best in, young misguided youths I guess connect with this best
(which is probably not good?!). But it’s just great Kubrick. Check it out!
UCLA Film & TV Archive
María
Candelaria (1943, Emilio Fernández)
and
Cita
en la frontera (1940, Mario Soffici)
Sat. Dec. 9 3:00 pm
The first film was
the Cannes Palme D’Or winner..! Well, technically it was so long ago it was
called the Grand Prix back then. Showing in 35mm, this is not something you get
to see every day. It’s a Mexican film that concerns the creation of a
controversial painting. The second film is from Argentina and is about two
middle-aged brothers who fall in love with a tango singer, a psychological
drama unfolds as things go wrong. Both films 35mm!
UCLA Film & TV Archive
El
Vampiro (1957, Fernando Méndez)
and
Sombra
verde (1954, Roberto Gavaldón
Sat. Dec. 9 7:30 pm
While this played
Downtown Independent last month, it’s back for a second helping at UCLA, as
with many of the screenings in this extensive Latin American Cinema in Los
Angeles retrospective. The first is a said to be a classic of midcentury
Mexican horror, but that’s not a thing on my radar, what is that?! Anyway, it’s
two people stranded at a train station at night, and boom, a carriage offers to
give them a ride and things will get bitey. Sounds like that Coppola Dracula. In the second film, we have
Ricardo Montalbán returning to Mexico to make a film, whilst already a major
star in the US. It’s a bit of an erotic jungle adventure film, but sounds
interesting. (First film 35mm, second film DCP.)
New Beverly
The
Great Escape (1963, John Sturges)
Sat. Dec 9 7:30 pm
This is the ultimate
’60s all-star cast, fun action film, with a catchy as hell jaunty main theme.
This one really delivers on the popcorn entertainment angle with a dash of respectability
due to solid acting from the likes of Steve McQueen, along with James Garner,
Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance and James Coburn. In
35mm!
New Beverly
Get
Mean (1975, Ferdinando Baldi)
Sat. Dec. 9 11:59 pm.
Gosh, I don’t know
if this is good, but it sounds rare and fun. Especially at midnight! New Bev’s
description: “Hung by his heels… barbecued… shot with a cannon. Now it’s his
turn to Get Mean! Tony Anthony reprises his role as the Stranger in
Ferdinando Baldi’s wildly offbeat Spaghetti Western, playing an American cowboy
escorting a princess back to her home in Spain.” In 35mm.
New Beverly
Skin
Game (1971, Paul Bogart)
and
Maverick
(1994, Richard Donner)
Wed. Dec. 13 7:30 pm/9:50 pm
Thur. Dec. 14 7:30 pm/9:50 pm
I haven’t seen Maverick in ages and remember it as a
rollicking, fun star-driven ride (Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, James Garner). The
first film sounds like it was an influence on Tarantino and stars James Garner
and Louis Gossett Jr. running a fake slave trader scheme where they split the
profits. The combination of the two totally different filmmaking eras seems
like a really fun double feature outing. Both in 35mm.
Aero Theatre
Some
Like it Hot (1959, Billy Wilder)
and
The
Seven Year Itch (1955, Billy Wilder)
Fri. (tonight) Dec. 8 7:30 pm.
Albeit both
screening in DCP, this is good stuff to see on the big screen at the Aero,
especially if you live on the West side. Some
Like it Hot is of course a broad comedy with some light caper elements
moving the plot along. The Seven Year
Itch I continue to go every seven years still without seeing it!
Aero Theatre
Double
Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder)
and
The
Lost Weekend (1945, Billy Wilder)
Sat. Dec. 9 7:30 pm
Finally, some Billy
Wilder films with a little more edge than the other ones in the series. This is
again DCP. Double Indemnity is from
the James M. Cain novel, but the screenplay is punched up here by Raymond
Chandler. It’s the fastest-talking slick film noir gruesome nail-biter of a
Hollywood film ever, and Barbara Stanwyck is at her height in this film. Not
that she isn’t in every film, but this is near the pinnacle. Plus, plus you’ve
got the wonderful Edward G. Robinson doing frankly for me his most memorable
role, eclipsing Little Caesar. The Lost Weekend is Ray Milland
struggling to get over his alcoholism.
Egyptian Theatre
Kiss
Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Shane Black) Shane Black in
person!
and
The
Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, Renny Harlin)
Sun. Dec. 10 7:30 pm
Both in 35mm! Not
maybe the highest echelon of art cinema, but I find Long Kiss Goodnight funny in its extremely over-the-top way. I
haven’t seen the first one, but some people are fans of it.
Aero Theatre
The
Apartment (1960, Billy Wilder)
and
One,
Two, Three (1961, Billy Wilder)
Sun. Dec. 10 7:30 pm
Yet more Billy
Wilder. If you hadn’t familiarized yourself and done a career retrospective of
his yet, then this week at the Aero has been served up with a bow for you for
the holidays. Big stars, prime Classic Hollywood, with scads of Billy Wilder’s cutting
humor. One, Two, Three features James
Cagney as the head of the Coca-Cola branch in West Berlin who gets annoyed by
some Communist infiltrations, played for laughs. The Apartment is an Oscar winner for best picture, so it might be
okay. Also One, Two, Three is in
35mm! (The Apartment is DCP.)
UCLA FILM & TV ARCHIVE
Enamorada (1946, Emilio Fernández)
and
Allá
en el rancho grande (Out on the Big Ranch)
(1936, Fernando de Fuentes)
Sun. Dec. 10 7:00 pm
A return engagement
for both these films, now at UCLA after previously playing the Downtown
Independent, here featuring very early films from Mexico in 35mm, with this
pretty famous (and I think very entertaining?) one, starring María Félix in
35mm!
LACMA
Nocturne
(1946, Edwin L. Marin)
Tue. Dec. 12 1:00 pm
Some more buried
treasure film noir screenings in 35mm at LACMA’s Tuesday 1:00 pm matinees.
Well, I haven’t seen this one, so I don’t know, but it is a noir starring
George Raft, Lynn Bari, and Virginia Huston. Their description says: “In 1940s
Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest
concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne is not so sure.”
35mm, only $4, or even cheaper if you’re a member.
Downtown Independent
How
Heavy This Hammer (2015, Kazik Radwanski)
and
Werewolf
(2016, Ashley McKenzie)
Tue. Dec. 12 7:30 pm
This is presented by
Acropolis Cinema, and I really dug that they screened the
new Hong Sang-soo in November, and they also mentioned this upcoming screening.
Since they had the good taste to bring the Hong Sang-soo film, I’d give
anything presented by Acropolis a look-see. These are two brand-new Canadian
films, and Acropolis recommends these as two examples of the resurgence in a
new cutting-edge Canadian cinema. So see if they’re right. Also, FYI, these are Los
Angeles premieres. (Presumably both shot and screened digitally.)
Coming Next Week
New Beverly
The
Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
and
The
Black Bird (1975, David Giler)
Sun. Dec. 17 6:30 pm/8:40pm
Mon Dec. 18 7:30 pm/9:40pm
The Maltese Falcon is a perfect movie to me. Bogie at his
best, a unexpectedly deep twist in the knife of the heart in what is
not at all your average film noir, from the novel by the greatest hard-boiled
writer Dashiell Hammett. Mary Astor will melt you, plus Peter
Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr. will blow you away with simply the best character-actor performances ever! Plus you get to
see the spoof The Black Bird with
George Segal and awesome French star Stéphane Audran (and Elisha Cook Jr.
again) by just staying in your seat after the first film, no extra charge. Both
35mm!
Egyptian Theatre
Lawrence
of Arabia (1962, David Lean) in 70mm!
Fri. Dec. 15 7:30 pm
Sat. Dec. 16 7:30 pm
Sat. Dec. 16 7:30 pm
Sun. Dec. 17 7:30 pm
As actual film gets harder
to see projected, it really should still be a treat to see this in 70mm if you haven’t already
seen it like 10 times before..! Which some may have. Do it justice and see this
film that was shot in 70mm projected on 70mm in a brand-new print on one of the
biggest, best screens in LA. It’s a wide sweeping tale with ramifications about
politics and the formation of governments that should intrigue even today. This
will also show Dec. 28, 29, and 30 at 7:30 pm.
Egyptian Theatre
It’s
a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)
Thur. Dec. 21 7:30 pm
Fri. Dec. 22 7:30 pm
It’s the biggest,
best screen you can see this essential classic, heartwarming film on. Albeit
DCP, this is a worthy outing. This is such a sublime example of filmmaking that
even exceeds the wonderful trappings of classic Hollywood cinema to become
something even more iconic and enduring – and it's moving on first viewing, you don't even have to view it as "classic," it’s just that good!
Aero Theatre
A
Star is Born (1954, George Cukor)
Fri. Dec. 15 7:30 pm
This is such a stunningly
beautiful film on a big screen. It’s DCP and I so wish it was on film, but it
should still look luminous. Especially if it’s in its correct super-wide 2.55:1
aspect ratio! It’s such a moving film as well. I used to rarely like musicals
that had little or no dancing until I saw this one, and it really tugs at the
emotions very effectively. I’m doing an awful job describing this film! It’s
been a while since I saw it, but it’s essential to me.
The Academy
Miracle
on 34th Street (1947, George
Seaton)
Tue. Dec. 19 7:00 pm
I don’t really think
I would like this movie, but it’s a new 35mm print, and that’s special. Am I a Grinch?
I guess so! But this is on one of the biggest, best screens in Los Angeles (the
Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater), for a bargain 5 bucks! And Maureen O’Hara,
John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn are no slouches as actors. Definitely
go if you like (or would like) this movie. Also enjoy holiday cookies and
pictures with Santa after the screening. Are you kidding?! Want an event!
Aero Theatre
The
Sound of Music (1965, Robert Wise)
Sat. Dec. 16 7:30 pm
This isn’t really on my radar, but it seems to draw an
audience always, so this is just a public service announcement that this famous Rodgers
and Hammerstein film is playing near you. Albeit on DCP. But a nice big screen.
Aero Theatre
White
Christmas (1954, Michael Curtiz)
and
Holiday
Inn (1942, Mark Sandrich)
Sun. Dec. 17 7:30 pm
The convenience of
DCP I guess makes this holiday treat possible. Treat or terror?! I don’t know
because I haven’t seen either of these. (Your friendly neighborhood cinephile
Grinch here.) But it should be a great way to see these heartwarming classics on
the big screen for the holidays if you choose to.
Aero Theatre
Bad
Santa (2003, Terry Zwigoff)
and
Trading
Places (1983, John Landis)
Thur. Dec. 21 7:30 pm
This double feature is far
more pleasing to your neighborhood cinephile Grinch! I’d watch these.
Again, they are DCP, but this is a nice, big screen and these are some fun
films. See Eddie Murphy at his best and there's a lot to love about the dark comedic edge of Bad Santa embodied by Billy Bob Thornton and excellent cast including the late Bernie Mac, Brett Kelly, and Tony Cox.
UCLA Film & TV Archive
Night
and the City (1950, Jules Dassin) Nitrate 35mm
print!
Sat. Dec. 16 7:30 pm
Jules Dassin is
awesome! My favorite of his is really Thieves’
Highway, but Criterion likes this one a lot, so check out this amazing
London-set film noir starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and more! This is a
nitrate 35mm film print, which is the highly flammable earlier iteration of film prints
(and why so many films are lost, they burned up!) but which looks sooo much
better, as the extra silver nitrate adds more sparkle to the luminous black
and white photography (here by Max Greene). Additionally, as if that wasn’t rare enough,
they are showing the British release version of the film which runs six minutes
longer than the U.S. release and features alternate opening and closing scenes
as well as different score by composer Benjamin Frankel. Plus there is a
nitrate newsreel “News of the Day” and a nitrate short.
LACMA
Ride
the Pink Horse (1947, Robert Montgomery)
Tue. Dec. 19 1:00 pm
The lovely rare
screenings of film noir 35mm prints at LACMA’s Tuesday matinees continues this
week with a fairly good one from Robert Montgomery. There is some stupendous
stuff in this one, including, pay attention, the opening shot is one of those
super-long unbroken takes! I didn’t notice the first time I saw it, because it
works so seamlessly with the action that transpires. So watch how long the opening shot takes to cut. There are some great
characterizations in this film by Montgomery especially, and also Wanda Hendrix, Andrea
King, and Thomas Gomez. I feel like it doesn’t coalesce into the tightest of
all film noirs in the end, but it’s pretty damn good. Definitely something to try to see
in a theater on the big screen.
New Beverly
Victor/Victoria
(1982, Blake Edwards)
and
Murphy’s
Romance (1985, Martin Ritt)
Fri. Dec. 15 6:30 pm/9:15 pm
Sat. Dec. 16 6:30 pm/9:15 pm
More James Garner
stuff, little mini-festival going on I guess..! This is purely on my radar
because I never saw these, and seeing stuff like this in 35mm on the big screen
at the New Bev is the best way to check out anything you previously overlooked.
Martin Ritt has directed great films elsewhere, not sure he holds the same
appeal into the ’80s, but I’d give it a look. The Victor/Victoria one sounds more fun, as a musical comedy of fake
female impersonation. I don’t know, it may still suck. These are the films that
were aimed at my parents when I was growing up, so not too sure!
New Beverly
Reservoir
Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
Fri. Dec. 15 11:59 pm
I know I rarely bother to
point out these Tarantino midnight screenings, since they are almost every week, but, hey, reminder, they are always
35mm, and this one especially is a superb film. It'll have 'em laughing in the aisles! Or was it that it would have audience members running for the exits with heart troubles? Can't remember! Better watch and find out.
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