The Rep-port is a weekly series highlighting the best and most compelling repertory screenings in the city.
So the best news this week is that the most exciting event won’t cost you a cent. At USC’s Outside the Box [Office] series, none other than film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi, and Iranian director Anahita Ghazvinizadeh take the stage to pay tribute to the late Abba Kiarostami and screen his landmark film Taste of Cherry (1997; format unlisted, but my guess is 35mm). As mentioned, the event is free, but RSVP is required.
October is upon us, and for the serious moviegoer, the commitment to rep programming becomes more tenuous as the multiplex fills with fewer curiosities and more must-sees. Even Cinefamily seems to know this – their week is loaded with preview screenings and a weeklong new release run. Their annual Spectrefest programming with an emphasis on contemporary films, but look too in the nooks and crannies for Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999, 35mm), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983, 16mm), and Freaks (1932, 16mm). For less startling cinematic journeys, their Frederick Wiseman series continues with Juvenile Court (1973, 16mm) on Saturday at 4:00.
As one might expect, The New Beverly is also in full horror mode for October, starting with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, 35mm) and Torso(1973, 35mm) on Friday night. This writer has shamefully never seen Texas Chain Saw, and greatly looks forward to remedying that. For more kid-friendly delights, Mad Monster Party? (1967, 16mm) is their weekend matinee, and while I find it almost unwatchable, I know it holds a special place for many. Most intriguing is their Tuesday twofer, Paranoia (1969, 35mm) and A Quiet Place to Kill (1970, 35mm), but alas, I’ll be at the theatre and unable to attend.
The American Cinematheque’s annual Beyond Fest really truly has too many great screenings to list here, so do check out their offerings, but I would be remiss not to spotlight an increasingly-rare opportunity to see 2001: A Space Odyssey in 70mm (sold out, but try for standby!) and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin with a live score by RZA. For a different kind of thrill, their four-night tribute to French noir looks like a blast. Films by Clouzot, Clement, and more fill the weekend, about half of which are 35mm, the other half DCP.
LACMA’s Tuesday matinee also gets French and freaky (it’s just that time of year) with Georges Franju’s landmark Eyes Without a Face(1960, 35mm).
And be sure to pack yourself into the Echo Park Film Center next Thursday for “Gems From the Archives”, wherein film collector Russell Harnden dives into his massive collection of canisters to screen “wonderful educational, industrial and ephemeral films from the 1940s through the 1980s”.
Can’t thank you enough for the heads up on the Taste of Cherry screening, will try to make it