L.A. is the greatest place on earth to watch movies. Here are this week’s best picks.
1) Stranger Than Paradise/Dead Man at the Egyptian (FRIDAY 3/29, 7:30PM)
Gorge yourself on beautiful black and white images with this stunning double feature at the Egyptian in Hollywood. Two Jim Jarmusch movies are on display, the first the American indie classic Stranger Than Paradise (recently featured on The Penny-Pinching Cinephile) and the trippy acid Western, Dead Man. Both films fit the theme of On The Road: Cinematic Journeys which has been running all month at the American Cinematheque. They’re both non-traditional road movies: the first skips across the United States, from New York to Cincinnati to Florida, following the meanderings of a trio of aimless hipsters through the vagaries of their existence. The second, Dead Man, charts the coming West of a young man (Johnny Depp) for a job in the one-horse town of Machine. What follows is a trip through purgatory, a surreal Western hellscape filled with idiosyncratic madmen, bounty hunters and Native Americans. Buy your tickets here.
2) The Smiling Lieutenant/Roxanne at the New Beverly (SATURDAY 3/30, 7:30)
This great comedy double bill is presented by the UCLA Student Chapter of the Association of Moving Image Archivists as part of their long-running “Something Old, Something New” series. The goal of the series is to pair newly restored classics with more contemporary fare to promote awareness of film preservation and present a night of entertaining cinema. The first flick is an Ernst Lubitsch classic, a joyful musical starring Claudette Colbert and Maurice Chevalier. The second is the Steve Martin-starrer Roxanne, based on the play “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Both films are hilarious and heartfelt romantic comedies. It’s a date night opportunity not to be missed! Buy your tickets here.
3) Solaris at the LACMA (SATURDAY 3/30, 7:30)
If romantic comedy’s not your style, Saturday in L.A. is also serving up some top-shelf sci-fi in the form of Andrei Tarvoksky’s classic Solaris. Sort of an anti-2001: A Space Odyssey, Tarkovsky is far more interested in the psychological effects of technology and space exploration on man’s psyche than he is on the technology itself. Focusing on natural phenomenon like leaves, pools of water and rain, Tarkovsky’s Solaris is an atypical science fiction film, but one that is deeply resonant and immersive. Buy your tickets here.
4) Duck Soup/It’s A Gift/Horse Feathers at the New Beverly (MONDAY 4/1, 7:30)
Come celebrate April Fool’s Day with three classic comedies at the New Beverly! The Marx Bros. are at the top of their game in Duck Soup, the anti-war satire that’s perhaps the funniest movie ever made. I have to resist the urge to quote the whole thing in this column right now (“Go, and never darken my towels again!”). Next up is the W.C. Fields classic It’s A Gift, followed by another Marx Bros. film, the collegiate football-themed Horse Feathers. Heck, a whole night of classic comedies and it’s only $8 for three movies?! What are you waiting for, buy your tickets here!
5) Two-Lane Blacktop at the Cinefamily (WEDNESDAY 4/3 MIDNIGHT)
One of the coolest-named films ever made, Two-Lane Blacktop is perfectly suited to the midnight time slot: it’s hip, it’s dangerous, it’s cult-cool and hot rod chic. Monte Hellman’s picture about a cross-country drag race is the definitive picture on the subject, influencing a whole generation of filmmakers, including cats like Quentin Tarantino. Inducted into the Criterion Collection and just recently selected for the National Film Registry, Two-Lane Blacktop perfectly encapsulated a certain early ’70s disregard for rules and authority, a restless spirit and urge for freedom. Much like Easy Rider redefined the motorcycle picture, Hellman’s film helped redefine the road race picture. Co-starring the king of ’70s cool, Warren Oates. Buy your tickets here.
If you make it out to any of these screenings, let us know how it went in the comments section. Happy viewing, Los Angeles!
