SoCal classic movies, April 3-10: UCLA Festival of Preservation, ‘Le Samouraï’ and more
Classic films, film festivals, event screenings, restorations and revivals
Welcome to the latest edition of TV or Not TV’s curated guide to classic movies, events and revivals, film festivals and more screening in LA and OC this week. I’m Matt Cooper, former listings coordinator for the Los Angeles Times’ Calendar.
Roll ’em!
‘Being There’ Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded gardener who inadvertently finds himself hobnobbing with the D.C. elite in director Hal Ashby and writer Jerzy Kosinski’s 1979 adaptation of Kosinski’s 1970 novel. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘The Crying Game’ He met her in a club down in old Soho where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola in writer-director Neil Jordan’s sensitive LGBTQ-themed 1992 romantic thriller starring Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker and Jaye Davidson. Presented in 35mm. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘The Pianist’ Oscar winner Adrien Brody portrays Jewish concert pianist and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman in a new 4K restoration of Oscar winner Roman Polanski’s shattering 2002 historical drama. In English, Russian and German with English subtitles. Laemmle Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino and Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, thru April 4. $7-$16. laemmle.com
‘Rumble in the Bronx’ Jackie Chan kicks butt in the Big Apple in director Stanley Tong’s stunt-filled 1995 martial-arts comedy. The Frida Cinema, Calle Cuatro Plaza, 305 E. 4th St., Santa Ana. 6 and 8:15 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, April 3-4. $12. thefridacinema.org
2024 Pasadena International Film Festival This week-long showcase spotlights features, shorts, documentaries, music videos, etc. from around the world. Laemmle NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Various showtimes, April 4 thru 11. $17; passes, $35-$300. pasadenafilmfestival.org
‘El Topo’ The new film series “In the Midnight Hour: A History of Late-Night Movies” kicks off with the mother of all midnight movies, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s hallucinogenic 1970 western fable. Academy Museum, Ted Mann Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 5. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘Le Samouraï’ Alain Delon is the titular hitman in filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville’s sleek and stylish 1967 gangster flick. In French with English subtitles. Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., and Laemmle Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Ave., Glendale. Various times, April 5 thru 11. $8-$16. laemmle.com
‘Mean Streets’ Wise guys, eh? Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel star in Martin Scorsese’s gritty 1973 crime drama. Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 5. $10. (310) 473-8530. landmarktheatres.com
‘Possession’ Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill play a married couple whose relationship takes a dark turn — and then an even darker turn — in Andrzej Żuławski’s disturbing 1981 horror fable. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 3:45 p.m. Friday, April 5. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
UCLA Festival of Preservation A new edition of the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s annual showcase for lovingly restored films from decades past includes a silent-era take on “Shakespeare’s’ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from Germany, a Richard Pryor comedy special from 1977, classic newsreels and much, much more. Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Various times, April 5-7. Free; no advance reservations; first come, first served. cinema.ucla.edu
‘Blade Runner: The Final Cut’ Harrison Ford is a hard-boiled android hunter plying his trade in a dystopian Los Angeles in Ridley Scott’s 2007 updated version of his 1982 sci-fi classic based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. With Rutger Hauer and Sean Young. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 7 p.m. Saturday, April 6. $10-$15. americancinematheque.com
‘Borderline’ The Autry’s “What is a Western?” series continues with this 1980 drama starring Charles Bronson as a Border Patrol agent who goes undercover as a migrant worker to bust a human trafficking ring. Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, L.A. 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6. Included with museum admission ($6-$14); reservations recommended. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org
‘Sideways’ The “Searchlight Saturdays” series continues with Alexander Payne’s 2004 comedy starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as two 40-something pals on a road trip to Santa Barbara. Co-star Virginia Madsen will be on hand for a Q&A. El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6. $25. (800) 347-6396. elcapitantheatre.com
‘Gone With the Wind’ Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh burn up the screen in 85th anniversary screenings of Victor Fleming’s epic 1939 historical romance set before, during and after the Civil War and based on Margaret Mitchell’s bestseller. Fathom Events, various local theaters (see website). 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7; 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, April 8 and 10. $18, $20. fathomevents.com
‘The Hands of Orlac’ A concert pianist (Conrad Veidt) who lost his hands in a horrific accident receives a transplant from a murderer in Robert Wiene’s silent-era horror fable. The Art Theatre of Long Beach, 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7. $9-$12. (562) 438-5435. arttheatrelongbeach.org
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ “Stella!” A month-long salute to two-time Oscar winner Marlon Brando kicks off with Elia Kazan’s 1951 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ classic stage play about a faded Southern belle and her brutish brother-in-law. With Karl Malden, Kim Hunter and the aforementioned Vivien Leigh. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘Tampopo’ The laughs come with a heaping helping of ramen noodles in Juzo Itami’s delectable 1985 comedy drama. With Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. Brain Dead Studios at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Sunday, April 7. $12. studios.wearebraindead.com
‘Touch of Evil’ Mexican prosecutor Charlton Heston crosses paths with corrupt American cop Orson Welles in writer-director Welles’ gripping 1958 border noir. Janet Leigh also stars. Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7. $10, $12. (310) 322-2592. oldtownmusichall.org
‘One Hand Don’t Clap’ The roots of soca, a mix of soul, pop and calypso popularized in the Caribbean in the 1970s, are traced in a restored version of Kavey Kaul’s 1999 documentary. Various theaters. 7 p.m. Monday, April 8; 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 9. $13, $16. laemmle.com
‘John Cleese and the Holy Grail’ The British comedy legend shares stories from his life and career and participates in an audience Q&A, followed by a screening of the 1975 Arthurian spoof “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” City National Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 10. $53 and up. citynationalgroveofanaheim.com