SoCal classic movies, July 24-31: ‘Metropolis,’ ‘The Terminator,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ 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!
‘Queer Rhapsody’ Film Series This super-sized, multi-venue showcase celebrating films by, for and about the LGBTQ+ community continues. Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater, 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, plus some free screenings, thru July 28. cinema.ucla.edu
‘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
LA Shorts International Film Festival This supersized showcase returns with hundreds of short films from over two dozen countries around the world. Regal Cinemas LA Live, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown L.A. Various times thru July 28. $18.50; passes, $400. lashortsfest.com
‘Santa Sangre’ A tortured former circus performer escapes from an asylum and takes up with a cult run by his arm-less 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’ Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris will 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
‘The Terminator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, just like he said he’d be and just in time for Art House Theater Day, in 40th anniversary screenings of James Cameron’s gritty 1984 sci-fi action thriller; Linda Hamilton also stars. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
Also at The Frida Cinema, 305 E. 4th St., Santa Ana. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25; 10 p.m. Saturday, July 27; and 7:45 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $12. thefridacinema.org
Also at Laemmle NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. 7 p.m. Thursday, July 25. $16. laemmle.com
‘Manhunter’ “Succession’s” Brian Cox — not Anthony Hopkins — plays incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecktor in a members-only screening of director Michael Mann’s personal 70mm print of his 1986 thriller; “CSI’s” William Petersen also stars. American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. $15. americancinematheque.com
‘Mulholland Drive’ An aspiring actress (Naomi Watts) forms an unlikely bond with an amnesiac woman (Laura Harring) in David Lynch’s dark and surreal 2001 Hollywood fable. Presented in 4K. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. $5-$10. academymuseum.org
‘Terezin’ Running through Aug. 22nd, Holocaust Museum LA’s annual Teicholz Film Series returns with Gabriele Dorelli’s 2023 drama about the romance between an Italian clarinetist and a Czech violinist who find themselves rounded up and shipped off to the titular Nazi concentration camp. AMC The Grove 14, 189 The Grove Drive, L.A. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. Free. RSVP at holocaustmuseumla.org
‘The Dark Knight’ The Batmobile lost its wheel and the Joker got away in the thrilling 2008 middle installment in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy based on the DC Comics. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Gary Oldman star. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 26-28. $13; advance tickets sold out; limited tickets available at the door; first come, first served. thenewbev.com
‘The Happiness of the Katakuris’ The family that plays together stays together in Takashi Miike’s absolutely bonkers 2001 musical horror comedy. In Japanese with English subtitles. Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 27. $10. (310) 473-8530. landmarktheatres.com
Latin & Spanish Film Roadshow This week-long mini-festival presented by Outsider Pictures showcases five recent Spanish-language films that earned accolades on the international festival circuit. Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica. Various times, July 26 thru Aug. 1. $10, $13; five-film pass, $40. laemmle.com
‘Smokey & the Bandit’ Burt Reynolds hits the highway in a black Trans Am, with runaway bride Sally Field along for the ride and lawman Jackie Gleason hot on their heels in Hal Needham’s action-packed 1977 comedy; Jerry Reed also stars. Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena. 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, July 26. $15. eventbrite.com
‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ If you only see one vampire thriller set in a small town in Iran — Iran, so far away — but filmed in nearby Kern County, let it be Ana Lily Amirpour’s atmospheric 2014 indie fable. In Farsi with English subtitles. Brain Dead Studios at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $12. studios.wearebraindead.com
‘A Hilarious Live Conversation with Mel Brooks’ The comedy legend talks about his storied career in this one-of-a-kind event that also features a 50th anniversary screening of his off-color 1974 Western comedy “Blazing Saddles” starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. Peacock Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court, downtown L.A. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $58 and up. peacocktheater.com
‘La Strada’ A naive young woman (Giulietta Masina) goes on the road with a brutish street performer (Anthony Quinn) in a restored version of Federico Fellini’s poignant black-and-white 1954 fable. In Italian with English subtitles. The Frida Cinema, 305 E. 4th St., Santa Ana. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27, 5 p.m. Sunday, July 28 and 8 p.m. Monday, July 29. $12. thefridacinema.org
‘Children of Divorce’ “It Girl” Clara Bow and Gary Cooper have the kind of chemistry you never learned about in high school science class in this silent 1927 melodrama presented with live musical accompaniment by organist Randy Woltz and an introduction by film scholar Randy Haberkamp. Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo. 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $10, $12. (310) 322-2592. oldtownmusichall.org
‘Metropolis’ The future’s not so bright in Fritz Lang’s visionary 1927 silent-era sci-fi fable, presented with live musical accompaniment by organist Russ Peck; part of the Silent Sundays Series. San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, 320 S. Mission Drive, San Gabriel. 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $12. missionplayhouse.org
‘The Red Shoes’ An up-and-coming ballerina (Moira Shearer) can’t stop dancing to save her life in Powell & Pressburger’s swoon-worthy 1948 fantasy inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Vidiots Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Highland Park. 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $9-$12. vidiotsfoundation.org
‘To Have and Have Not’ Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall had their first on-screen pairing in this 1944 thriller set on the French island of Martinique during WWII and directed by Howard Hawks; Walter Brennan also stars. American Cinematheque at the Los Feliz 3, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. $8, $13. 1 p.m. Sunday, July 28. americancinematheque.com
‘Red Desert’ An unhappy homemaker has an illicit affair with one of her factory-manager husband’s underlings in 60th anniversary of Michelangelo Antonioni’s acclaimed 1964 drama; Monica Vitti and Richard Harris star. In Italian with English subtitles. Laemmle Claremont 5, 450 W. 2nd St., Claremont; Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.; Laemmle Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Ave., Glendale; Laemmle Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino; Laemmle Newhall, 22500 Lyons Ave., Newhall.7 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. $10, $13. laemmle.com