Egyptian Theatre to host best-films festival
You now have no excuse not to have seen some of the greatest classics of film. No more mumbling vague generalities in conversations with your cinéaste friends, then scrambling to catch up with the DVDs, because this weekend the American Cinematheque is throwing a 10th anniversary celebration of the reopening of the venerable Hollywood movie palace, the Egyptian Theatre, with its “Best in 10” series. The festival opens tonight with Billy Wilder’s 1950 tale of moviemaking, “Sunset Boulevard,” with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Costar Nancy Olson will introduce the film.
“Casablanca,” the ultra-romantic World War II drama starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (and the best-picture winner in 1944) pairs Friday with Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece, “Citizen Kane,” considered the greatest movie ever made. Akira Kurosawa’s most famous film, 1954’s “The Seven Samurai,” screens Saturday,and the newly restored version of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 Oscar-winning best picture, “The Godfather,” winds things up on Sunday.
Check out the Aero
A program of 18 vintage Warner Bros. cartoons includes the celebrated “What’s Opera Doc?” and “One Froggy Evening.”
The Aero also is paying tribute to actor Mickey Rourke (who is making a remarkable comeback in “The Wrestler”) Wednesday with a double bill of one of his earliest films, 1984’s “The Pope of Greenwich Village” with Eric Roberts, and his erotic 1986 blockbuster “9 1/2 Weeks” with Kim Basinger and a whole lot of strawberries. www.americancinematheque..
It’s ‘ Christmas’ time
The big holiday movie 54 years ago was the Irving Berlin musical “White Christmas,” starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney -- George’s aunt -- and Vera-Ellen. This Sunday, the Los Angeles Conservancy presents the Technicolor classic at a historic 1931 Broadway movie palace, the Los Angeles Theatre. www.laconservancy.org.
The ArcLight also dusts off arguably the most popular yuletide film, 1946’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” screening it Sunday morning at the chain’s theater in Sherman Oaks and Monday evening at the one in Hollywood. But keep Zuzu at home from the Hollywood program. It’s a 21+ screening. www.arclightcinemas.com.
King is a Times staff writer.
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