UCLA concludes their spectacular series pairing silent and early sound Japanese and American films. On Friday they have Yasujiro Shimazu’s First Steps Ashore (1932, 35mm) alongside Josef von Sternberg’s life-changing The Docks of New York (1928, 35mm). Then on Sunday, they shine a spotlight on cinematographer/director Henry Kotani with fragments of two films he shot – Told in the Hills (1919, 35mm) and Johnny Get Your Gun (1919, 35mm), as well as the short feature Light of Sympathy(1926, 35mm). The films are preceded by a lecture by film historian Daisuke Miyao, who curated the series.
You might as well camp out at the Egyptian Saturday, as they pay tribute to forgotten Hal Roach comedians in the afternoon with a two-hour program before turning the evening over to Andre de Toth, including a new restoration of his early Hungarian comedy Two Girls on the Street(1939, 35mm), followed by his American film noir Pitfall (1948, 35mm). Things hardly get less exciting there on Sunday as they debut a new restoration of the German sci-fi film Algol(1920, DCP) alongside the always-great The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919, DCP).
On Thursday, they present a rare screening of Orson Welles Solo, a one-man show of recitations and, one would have to assume, magic, followed by a new restoration of The Trial (1962, DCP), which I here and there consider his finest film (that, Ambersons, and Chimes at Midnight sort of trade places depending on my mood).
The New Beverly showcases Richard Linklater’s best studio films – Dazed and Confused(1993, 35mm) and School of Rock (2003, 35mm) – on Friday and Saturday, before returning to their more familiar oddities. On Sunday and Monday, it’s Summer of ‘42(1971, 35mm) and its sequel, Class of ‘42 (1973, 35mm), both of which play on IB Technicolor prints. Then on Tuesday, it’s a Martin Sheen double bill with a western – Eagle’s Wing(1979, 35mm) – and a crime caper – Loophole (1981, 35mm) – that sounds like a splendid evening.
Cinefamily has a very interesting program going on Sunday evening, paying tribute to abstract animator Mary Ellen Bute with a 70-minute program of her work (mixed formats, some 16mm promised). On Friday, they continue their Fight the Power series with Jean-Luc Godard’s Rolling Stones documentary Sympathy for the Devil(1968, DCP).
LACMA’s Tuesday matinee is Flying Down to Rio(1933, 35mm), the first film to team Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – albeit as supporting players – and quite a hoot in its own right. You find me another film that climaxes with showgirls sitting atop flying airplanes.
