SoCal classic movies, Aug. 14-21: ‘Caligula,’ ‘Army of Shadows,’ ‘Buckaroo Banzai’ and more
SoCal classic movies, Aug. 14-21: ‘Caligula,’ ‘Army of Shadows,’ ‘Buckaroo Banzai’ 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!
HollyShorts Film Festival The annual showcase for Oscar-qualifying short films from around the world continues with screenings, panel discussions and more. TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood; other area venues. Various days and times thru Aug. 17. $20 and up; daily pass, $60; all-access pass, $600; panels-only pass, $150. hollyshorts.com
‘Network’ TV news anchor Peter Finch is mad as hell and he’s not gonna take it anymore in Sidney Lumet’s Oscar-winning 1976 fable featuring a screenplay by the great Paddy Chayefsky. Faye Dunaway and William Holden also star. Brain Dead Studios at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. $12. studios.wearebraindead.com
‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension’ Peter Weller is just your average super-genius physicist/neurosurgeon/rock star in W.D. Richter’s bonkers 1984 sci-fi action comedy. John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Lloyd also star. The Frida Cinema, 305 E. 4th St., Santa Ana. 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 12:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16-18. $10, $13. thefridacinema.org
‘Army of Shadows’ Vive la résistance! Lino Ventura and Simone Signoret fight the good fight in Nazi-occupied France during WWII in this nail-biting 1969 thriller directed by influential French filmmaker and former Resistance fighter Jean-Pierre Melville. Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. 1, 4 and 7:10 p.m. Friday-next Thursday, Aug. 16-22. Also at Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino. 12:50, 4 and 7:10 p.m. Friday-next Thursday, Aug. 16-22. $7-$16. laemmle.com
‘Caligula — The Ultimate Cut’ When in Rome, don’t do as the Romans do in this completely rebuilt 2024 version of the notoriously X-rated 1979 historical epic starring Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole and Helen Mirren and bankrolled by former Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione. Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. 3:30 and 7 p.m. Friday and Sunday-Thursday, 2:50 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16-22 (with pre-show Q&As with producer Thomas Negovan at both Saturday screenings). $13.75-$18.50. (310) 473-8530. landmarktheatres.com
Also at Alamo Drafthouse, 700 W. 7th St., downtown L.A. Various showtimes, Aug. 15-21. $20. drafthouse.com
‘Lolita’ James Mason and Sue Lyon star in director Stanley Kubrick and screenwriter Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial 1962 adaptation of Nabokov’s controversial 1955 novel about a middle-aged man’s inappropriate erotic fixation on an underage girl. Peter Sellers and Shelley Winters also star. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16-18. $14.25; advance purchase recommended; limited tickets available at the door. thenewbev.com
‘Valley Girl’ Director Martha Coolidge will be on hand for a screening of her L.A.-set 1983 rom-com starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman as two teens from opposite sides of the proverbial tracks. Academy Museum, Ted Mann Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ The Autry’s “What is a Western?u” film series continues with the aforementioned Stanley Kubrick’s pitch-black 1964 comedy about the threat of nuclear annhilation. With Peter Sellers, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens and George C. Scott. Presented in 35mm. Autry Museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, L.A. 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. Included with museum admission ($6-$14); reservations recommended. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org
‘The Hustler’ Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman leave it all on the pool table in Robert Rossen’s classic 1961 drama. Piper Laurie and the aforementioned George C. Scott also star. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘JFK’ Something is rotten as regards the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and prosecutor Kevin Costner is trying to sniff it out in Oliver Stone’s star-studded 1991 political thriller. With Gary Oldman, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones. Presented in 35mm. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $10, $15. americancinematheque.com
‘The Kid’ Charlie Chaplin’s beloved Little Tramp character adopts a street urchin (Jackie Coogan) in this heartwarming 1921 silent melodrama presented with live organ accompaniment by Brett Valliant. Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. 2:30 and 7 p.m. $10, $12. (310) 322-2592. oldtownmusichall.org
‘Kirsten Dunst Slumber Party: Bring it On + The Virgin Suicides’ The actress is front and center in this double bill that pairs Peyton Reed’s fun-filled 2000 teen comedy with Sofia Coppola’s moody 1999 teen drama. Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Gates; 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17; movie, 8:30 p.m. $38. cinespia.org
‘Sister, Sister’ The UCLA Film & Television Archive screens a restored version of this made-for-TV 1982 drama, scripted by acclaimed poet Maya Angelou, about a middle-class Black family in North Carolina. With Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash and Irene Cara. UCLA Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. Free; no advance reservations; first come, first served. cinema.ucla.edu
‘Chinatown’ Something is rotten in 1930s Los Angeles and “nosy fellow” Jack Nicholson is trying to sniff it out in this noir-ish 1974 mystery drama scripted by Robert Towne and directed by Roman Polanski. With John Huston and the aforementioned Faye Dunaway. Presented in 4K. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. $5-$10. academymuseum.org