Your weekly 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.
New Beverly
The
Meyerowitz Stories (2017, Noah Baumbach)
Begins Fri. Dec. 1, through Dec. 7 various
showtimes
I love me some
Baumbach, haven’t actually seen his recent films, but loved Kicking and Screaming (1995). This film
was shot on Super 16mm Kodak (according to IMDB at least), which is a superb
format that translates to 35mm extremely well as the modernization of film
stocks took a leap forward about a decade or so ago (or maybe just five years
ago). I’ve seen many films shot Super 16mm and blown up. The Walking Dead, on TV, is another notable example (it’s
definitely 16mm, and I’m guessing Super 16). Super 16 is still 16mm, it’s just
the way you expose it to favor the aspect ratio, and actually you expose a
larger surface area by eliminating one side of sprockets, making the blow-up
great. Okay, lot of babbling there, long story short, this should look
amazing! Go help support a modern filmmaker shooting on film and projecting
on film, yay!
NEW BEVERLY MAIN CALENDAR (Browse their full calendar for
multiple showtimes.)
UCLA Film & TV Archive
Contra
la corriente (1936, Ramón Novarro)
and
La
virgin que forjó una patria (1942, Julio
Bracho)
Sun. Dec. 3 7:00 pm
It’s a Ramón Novarro
Spanish-language double feature. He was a major Hollywood silent film
star (Ben-Hur [1925], Scaramouche [1924], The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse [1921]), so this is quite intriguing for fans of his. The first is a U.S.
production he directed, a romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, but in Spanish!
The second film is extra intriguing (to me at least) because of its historical
scope, religious subject (portrays the witness to Our Lady of Guadalupe) and
being billed here as a mega-production, ’cause I kind of love large-scale
history films. It navigates the history of Mexico from 1531 to the nation’s
fight for freedom in 1810. While this is screening in 16mm, it sounds rare,
plus that would match the correct aspect ratio anyway. And the first film is
35mm.
NuArt Theatre
The
Other Side of Hope (2017, Aki Kaurismäki)
Starting Fri. Dec. 1, showing all week
The new film from
Aki Kaurismäki (The Man Without a Past,
Le Havre, Leningrad Cowboys Go America), generally worth a look in a
theater, as he is kind of a well-known auteur. In this one a Finnish traveling
salesman and a Syrian refugee cross paths. Be prepared, though, as this
director makes Wes Anderson look like he doesn’t know what deadpan even is.
(Presumably shot and screened digitally.)
LACMA
Phantom
Lady (1944, Robert Siodmak)
Tue. Dec. 5 1:00 pm
I feel fairly sure I
saw this a long time ago and it was good! While I guess a vague memory is not
much to solidly recommend a film, it is 35mm, a film noir, and has a stellar
cast! Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, plus character actors extraordinaire Elisha
Cook Jr. and Thomas Gomez. For only $4 at this matinee screening in 35mm!
Aero Theatre
Sunset
Boulevard (1950, Billy Wilder)
Thur. Dec. 7 7:30 pm
Albeit DCP, this is
quite the classic to see on the big screen, especially convenient if you live
on the West side. A fading silent film star played by Gloria Swanson (who was a
silent film star) gets involved in a film noir murder mystery. This is quite
the tale.
Echo Park Film Center
Il
Viadante – The Wayfarer (Jean-Marie
Straub, Danièle Huillet, 2001, 5 min)
The
Rabbit Hunters (Pedro Costa, 2007, 23 min.)
The
Amazing Transparent Man (Edgar Ulmer,
1960, 58 min.)
Fri. (tonight) Dec. 1 8:00 pm
Presented by Kino
Slang, here is an excellent selection of rarely screened items. Straub-Huillet
films are always difficult to see, this one is just a short. I always adore
Edgar Ulmer, so it’s great to see in a theater. Ulmer was the genius of
bringing artistry to B-movie pictures and especially a deceptive look of high
production values while operating on a woeful budget. He was a true talent.
This film center is a bit like a classroom with couches, so make sure you’re up
for that type of vibe. One other short is showing: The Singing Street (The Teachers of Norton Park School, Edinburgh,
1951,17 min) which sounds very interesting too. (Screening format of films not
indicated.)
Arclight Hollywood
Die
Hard (1988, John McTiernan)
Tue. Dec. 5 8:30 pm
Some people live to
see this in a theater, so this is a pretty good opportunity. It’s an exciting
action film starring Bruce Willis, duh. (This screening DCP.)
Egyptian Theatre
National
Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, Jeremiah
S. Chechik)
and
Scrooged
(1988, Richard Donner)
Fri. (tonight) Dec. 1 8:00 pm
Just ’cause it’s
Christmas, maybe you’ll want to see these. Could be fun!
(This screening DCP)
Arclight Hollywood
Planes,
Trains and Automobiles (1987, John
Hughes)
Mon. Dec. 4 8:15 pm
Some people like to
see this one in a theater, so this is a pretty good opportunity at the
holidays. (This screening DCP.)
Arclight Pasadena/Santa Monica
Love
Actually (2003, Richard Curtis)
Tue. Dec. 5 7:00 pm (Pasadena)/ 7:15 pm (Santa
Monica)
What, you don’t cry
during this?! Who are you!? I like British stuff, sue me. (This screening DCP.)
Arclight Sherman Oaks
Scrooged
(1988, Richard Donner)
Tue. Dec. 5 7:00 pm
Also playing this
week at the Egyptian (see above), here’s one more opportunity to see this in a
theater. (This screening also DCP.)
Coming Next Week
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. 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.
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