SoCal classic movies, July 17-24: ‘Vertigo,‘ ‘Queer Rhapsody,’ ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ 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 arts & entertainment at the LA Times.
Roll ’em!
‘Seven Samurai’ Have sword, will travel: Toshiro Mifune stars in a new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s influential 1954 action drama set in feudal Japan. In Japanese with English subtitles. Various theaters, showtimes and prices. sevensamurai.film
‘Bringing Up Baby’ with ‘The Palm Beach Story’ Howard Hawks’ riotous 1938 romp starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn is paired with Preston Sturgis’ freewheeling 1942 farce starring Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallée and Joel McCrea. Presented in 35mm. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. 7:30 and and 9:40 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, July 17-18. $13; advance purchase recommended; limited tickets available at the door. thenewbev.com
‘Princess Mononoke’ A prince in medieval Japan meets a fierce young girl raised by wolves in Hayao Miyazaki’s visually stunning 1997 anime tale. Various theaters (see website for details). In Japanese with English subtitles: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. $20-$24. fathomevents.com
LA Shorts International Film Festival This supersized showcase returns with hundreds of short films from over two dozen countries around the world, organized into 61 distinct programs. Regal Cinemas LA Live, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown L.A. Various times, July 17 thru 28. Opening night, $30, $60; individual programs, $18.50; passes, $400. lashortsfest.com
‘Love and Anarchy’ Farmer meets prostitute, farmer and prostitute plot to assassinate Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Lina Wertmüller’s 1973 mix of comedy, drama, romance and intrigue. With Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. In Italian with English subtitles. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘Black Narcissus’ Get thee to a nunnery with a 35mm nitrate print of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Technicolor-infused 1947 tale about a convent of Anglican sisters tasked with establishing a hospital and school in an old palace high in the Himalayas. With Deborah Kerr and Sabu. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘Queer Rhapsody’ Film Series Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, this super-sized, multi-venue showcase celebrating features, documentaries, shorts, etc. by, for and about the LGBTQ+ community includes free screenings at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater, ticketed screenings at other locations across the city, plus filmmaker Q&As and more. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood (also at Vidiots’ Eagle Theatre, the Broad’s Oculus Hall and the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre and Los Feliz 3 Theatre). Various days, dates, times and prices, July 19 thru 28. cinema.ucla.edu
‘Vertigo’ James Stewart gets dizzy at the sight of Kim Novak in three members-only screenings of a new 70mm print of the 1996 restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s gripping 1958 psychological thriller set in San Francisco. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 19-21. $15. americancinematheque.com
‘Snowpiercer’ Everybody’s doing the locomotion in acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s post-apocalyptic 2013 action drama about class warfare aboard a nonstop train speeding through an endless frozen landscape. With Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Song Kang-ho and Tilda Swinton. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 19. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘Monkey Business’ The Marx Brothers set sail in this 1931 romp about four stowaways on an eventful transatlantic voyage. Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Blvd., Los Feliz. 10 a.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 20-21. $11. vistatheaterhollywood.com
‘The Graduate’ Dustin Hoffman is fresh out of college and having a fling with mother of all MILFs Anne Bancroft in Mike Nichols’ droll 1967 comedy-drama set to the songs of Simon & Garfunkel. Presented in 4K. The Art Theatre of Long Beach, 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach. 11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 20-21. $9-$12. (562) 438-5435. arttheatrelongbeach.org
See It on 16mm’s ‘24 Hour Horror-Exploitation-thon’ Shudder in fear over and over and over again with this butt-numbing marathon of B-movie titles to be announced, all presented in glorious 16mm. Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena. Noon Saturday, July 20. $81.88. eventbrite.com
‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ Double Feature Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris will be on hand for a Q&A at this screening of her 1981 documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization,” exploring L.A.’s vibrant punk rock scene, and its 1988 followup, “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.” Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘Jurassic Park’ Outdoor screening of Steven Spielberg’s dino-tastic 1993 adventure tale. Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum star. Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St., downtown L.A. Doors, 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20; band, 7 p.m.; movie, 8:30 p.m. $10-$27; advance purchase recommended. streetfoodcinema.com
‘Nosferatu’ Max Schreck is a Transylvanian vampire in London in F. W. Murnau’s eerie 1922 silent horror tale not-so-loosely based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Presented with live organ accompaniment by David Marsh. Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $10, $12. (310) 322-2592. oldtownmusichall.org
‘Barbie The Movie: In Concert’ The all-female Barbie Land Sinfonietta performs live-to-picture to accompany a screening of the 2023 fantasy comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 Highland Ave., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $18-$264. (323) 850-2000. hollywoodbowl.com
‘The Crimson Kimono’ A Japanese American LAPD detective and his white partner both fall for the same white woman while investigating a murder in Little Tokyo in Samuel Fuller’s groundbreaking 1959 film noir. Academy Museum, Ted Mann Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘The NeverEnding Story’ A shy young boy finds himself within the pages of a magical book and in the middle of a fight against the forces of darkness in 40th anniversary screenings of this beloved 1984 fantasy tale directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Various local theaters (see website). 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Monday, July 21-22. $20. fathomevents.com
‘The Thin Red Line’ The Art Directors Film Society hosts a screening of Terrence Malick’s epic 1988 WWII drama starring Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas and Ben Chaplin; includes a conversation with the film’s production designer, Jack Fisk. Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, L.A. 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July 21. Free; RSVP required. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org
‘Santa Sangre’ A tortured former circus performer escapes from an asylum and takes up with the cult run by his armless mother — and then things get weird — in Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surrealist 1989 horror fable set in Mexico. Brain Dead Studios at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. $12; advance purchase required. studios.wearebraindead.com
‘Suburbia’ The aforementioned Penelope Spheeris will also be on hand for a Q&A at a 40th anniversary screening of her gritty 1983 coming-of-age drama about runaway misfits who band together to survive on the mean streets of L.A. Laemmle NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. $13, $16. laemmle.com
‘The People’s Joker’ Writer, director and star Vera Drew’s satirical 2022 comedy about an aspiring clown in Gotham City returns for a special one-night-only event screening preceded by the new short film “The Wedding of Vera Drew and Joker.” Various area theaters. 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. Various prices. alteredinnocence.net