Nathaniel BellFriday, Jan. 12
The American Cinematheque celebrates the 20th anniversary of the formation of Rialto Pictures, the illustrious distribution company responsible for re-releasing some of cinema's greatest treasures. On Friday, the Aero will screen Peeping Tom, the controversial psychodrama that fatally wounded director Michael Powell's career in 1960 — the year of Hitchcock's Psycho. This will be followed by Diva, Jean-Jacques Beineix's ultra-stylish thriller, which ignited the “cinema du look” movement in France in the early 1980s. Both are presented in pristine DCPs. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Fri., Jan. 12, 7:30 p.m.; $12. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
Michael Curtiz's Doctor X; Credit: Warner Bros.
Saturday, Jan. 13
UCLA continues its celebration of Michael Curtiz, prompted by the release of Alan K. Rode's new biography, with a triple feature. The evening kicks off with Doctor X, a wonderfully ripe thriller shot in two-strip Technicolor, featuring a “moon killer” festooned with outlandish Max Factor makeup. Classic movie buffs will recognize the second feature, Mystery of the Wax Museum (also shot in the short-lived two-strip color process), as the precursor to the Vincent Price vehicle House of Wax, though some may prefer this 1933 version to the belated remake. Third on the bill is The Kennel Murder Case, generally regarded as one of the finest detective yarns of the 1930s, featuring a charismatic performance by William Powell as Philo Vance. Rode will be on hand to sign copies of his book and introduce each picture. UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; Sat., Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m.; $10. (310) 206-8013, cinema.ucla.edu.
Sunday, Jan. 14
Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky, looking hale and hearty at 88, will visit the Egyptian Theatre to discuss his eccentric body of work, which is by no means confined to the cinema. The Holy Mountain will open the evening, and those unfamiliar with this psychedelic dream-quest may be blown away by its aggressive symbolism and riotous color. Viewers may have to gird themselves for the second feature, Santa Sangre, Jodorowsky's phantasmagoric tribute to the circus, which features, among other surreal sights, an armless mother who compels her son to commit murder. Jodorowsky will sign copies of a selection of his books starting at 6:30 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Sun., Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m.; $25. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
Craig's Wife, directed by Dorothy Arzner; Credit: TCM
Tuesday, Jan. 16
LACMA's tribute to Dorothy Arzner — the lone female director in Hollywood in the 1930s — continues with a rare screening of Craig's Wife. Rosalind Russell stars as an upwardly mobile woman who pours her soul into maintaining her home, to the neglect of her family. Based on a hit Broadway play, the film was refashioned in 1950 as a Joan Crawford vehicle. This 1936 version is superior, full of felicitous touches that bespeak a keen awareness of the social issues of its era. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Tue., Jan. 16, 1 p.m.; $4. (323) 857-6000, lacma.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 17
Laemmle Theatres launches its Anniversary Classics Abroad program with a screening of 8½. Federico Fellini's 1963 masterpiece plunges into the psyche of a movie director (Marcello Mastroianni) with creative block, resulting in a film whose complex visual strategies expanded the borders of cinema during one of its most crucial decades. A must-see movie of the first order, its influence should never be taken for granted. Laemmle Royal (also at the Playhouse 7 and Town Center 5), 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., Wed., Jan. 17, 7 p.m.; $13. (310) 478-3836, laemmle.com. —Nathaniel Bell
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