Nathaniel BellFriday, Aug. 3
The American Cinematheque will celebrate 3-D — the film technique that came of age in the 1950s to lure viewers away from their TV sets — over the next two weekends at the Egyptian and the Aero. Friday night kicks off with Friday the 13th Part III, the slasher blockbuster that revived the craze for stereoscopy in the early 1980s. Larry Zerner, who plays Shelly (the character who owns the hockey mask that becomes Jason Voorhees' trademark), will appear after the screening. Occupying the bottom half of the double bill is the 1968 cult classic Frankenstein's Bloody Terror, notable for, among other things, its total lack of Frankenstein. Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy plays a werewolf seeking a cure who instead runs afoul of a vampire doctor and a female ghoul. Shot in 70mm and hard to find in 3-D, this deliciously overripe monster mash must be seen to be (dis)believed. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Fri., Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m.; $15. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
Charles Busch in Die, Mommie, Die!; Credit: Aviator Films
Documentarian Jeffrey Schwarz is guest curator for Friday night's showing of Die, Mommie, Die!, playing as part of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project Screening Series. He'll conduct a Q&A with Charles Busch, who stars in this adaptation of his stage play as a washed-up pop singer living off booze and pills in a Los Angeles mansion sometime in the late 1950s or early '60s. Director Mark Rucker sends up the psycho-biddy genre (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, etc.) with verve in this campy tribute. The feature will be preceded by Joan Crawford: Portrait of a Movie Star, Phillip R. Ford's dense 10-minute montage of vintage Crawford clips. UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; Fri., Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m.; $10. (310) 206-8013, cinema.ucla.edu.
Wanda; Credit: Janus Films
Saturday, Aug. 4
At long last, Barbara Loden's Wanda makes its way to Los Angeles before finding a home in the Criterion Collection library. For years, this groundbreaking independent American feature, shot on 16mm, was difficult to see in ideal conditions. Janus Films' detailed restoration replenishes the rough texture of this stark tour-de-force in all its gritty glory. Loden stars as a hapless drifter who wanders from one meaningless sexual encounter to another before being manipulated into participating in a bank robbery. It was her only feature as a director. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Sat., Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m.; $12. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
The Exiles; Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Ken Mackenzie's superb 1961 documentary The Exiles, a loosely narrative account of a group of American Indians living in the Bunker Hill district of L.A., will screen at the Autry's Wells Fargo Theater. After languishing in obscurity for decades, the film received revived interest after Thom Andersen featured it prominently in Los Angeles Plays Itself. The 35mm screening will be followed by the short film Legacy of Exiled NDNZ, along with a discussion with its director Pamela J. Peters. Wells Fargo Theater at Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park; Sat., Aug. 4, 2 p.m.; free with museum admission. (323) 667-2000, theautry.org.
Save the Green Planet; Credit: Koch Lorber Films
Thursday, Aug. 9
Ari Aster, the auteur behind the recent horror hit Hereditary, is LACMA's guest curator for Thursday evening's screening of Save the Green Planet, a 1988 Korean cult film that slaloms between wacky humor, stark terror and human drama. Says Aster, “It's one of the most brilliant dark comedies this side of Kind Hearts and Coronets, and a shining star among South Korea's teeming collection of genre-mashing gems.” LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Thu., Aug. 9, 1 p.m.; $7, $5 members. (323) 857-6000, lacma.org. —Nathaniel Bell
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