Thurs., March 15

The end of the world appears to be on quite a few minds tonight. The Egyptian is screening Steve De Jarnatt's apocalyptic Miracle Mile and Cherry 2000, with Jarnatt in attendance for a Q&A. And LACMA is presenting Wizards (about … wizards, battling it out in a postapocalyptic world), with its director, animation titan Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, The Lord of the Rings), present for a Q&A.

For those looking for ever so slightly cheerier fare there's Chantal Akerman's 3½-hour minimalist masterpiece Jeanne Dielman. And Charles Laughton's only directorial effort, The Night of the Hunter, is playing over at the Aero.

Fri., March 16

The recent death of the inimitable Ben Gazzara has spurred the New Beverly to program Otto Preminger's taboo-breaking (explicit language, rape) Anatomy of a Murder, featuring a very young and handsome Gazzara on trial for the murder of a bartender. (Also Sat.)

Meanwhile, the Aero is having some fun this evening with a selection of silent comedy shorts, including work by Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields and Georges Méliès.

Sat., March 17

Malcolm McDowell will be present for a Q&A tonight at the Aero for a double bill of If … and Evilenko. It's part of the American Cinematheque's weekend tribute to the actor, who also will attend screenings Friday at the Egyptian and Sunday at the Aero.

Sun., March 18

It's one of the last nights of the UCLA Film and Television Archive's Spencer Tracy retrospective, and the World War II pairing of Fred Zinnemann's The Seventh Cross and John Sturges' Bad Day at Black Rock is not to be missed. Or, there's a Cameron Crowe double feature — Say Anything and Almost Famous, one of the greatest films of the '00s — at the New Beverly. (Also Mon.) —Veronika Ferdman

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.