Nathaniel BellSunday, Oct. 21
Getting into the Halloween spirit, UCLA and the Hammer Museum screen a 35mm print of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, in which Bud and Lou confront several Universal Studios cash cows: Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), The Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the bolt-necked eponymous monster (Glenn Strange). Part of the perpetual Family Flicks series, the program costs nothing no matter how old you are. UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; Sun., Oct. 21, 11 a.m.; free. (310) 206-8013, cinema.ucla.edu.
The Autry's annual Home Movie Day (presented by the Center for Home Movies) offers a fresh concept: Drop off your old 16mm, 8mm and Super 8 reels in the morning, watch them on the big screen in the afternoon. Professional film archivists will examine your prints and provide light repair work for exhibition. At the top of each hour, home movies of a Western vintage will be exhumed and shown, including looks behind the scenes of The Painted Desert (1938) and Oklahoma! (1955). The Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park; Sun., Oct. 21, noon; free with museum admission. (323) 667-2000, theautry.org.
The Exorcist; Credit: Warner Bros.
Monday, Oct. 22
Forty-five years ago, William Friedkin's The Exorcist scared the pea soup out of audiences by depicting evil as it had never been seen before. William Peter Blatty's lurid story of a 12-year-old girl (Linda Blair) possessed by a violent demon became a genuine phenomenon, breaking box office records and garnering 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture — a first for a horror film). For its anniversary, AMPAS has invited Friedkin and Ellen Burstyn onto the Samuel Goldwyn stage for a discussion. Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Mon., Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.; $5. (310) 247-3000, www.oscars.org/events.
The Crucible; Credit: 20th Century Fox
Tuesday, Oct. 23
LACMA's Tuesday Matinees series will screen The Crucible, Nicholas Hytner's faithful 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller's classic American play. A 17th-century tale of mass hysteria in New England that reverberates with references to McCarthyism, the film's paranoid themes are malleable enough to fit any timeframe. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Tue., Oct. 23, 1 p.m.; $4. (323) 857-6000, lacma.org.
Burning; Credit: Well Go USA Entertainment
Thursday, Oct. 25
Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong's newest film will appear at the Aero for a special screening. Burning is a 2½-hour portrait of an alienated young man whose two newest friends trigger furious emotions that play out tragically in a shocking conclusion. The film won the FIPRESCI international critics prize at Cannes earlier this year. Lee, one of the finest melodramatists in contemporary world cinema, will appear after the screening in conversation with critic Justin Chang. The second feature, the highly praised 2007 feature Secret Sunshine, will bring the program to a close. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Thu., Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.; $12. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
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