British DP Tony Richmond talks ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth,’ ‘Don’t Look Now’ and more

The American Cinematheque presents “Do Look Now: The Cinematography of Tony Richmond” a four-film retrospective at the Aero this weekend. Richmond, best known for his work with director Nicolas Roeg in the 1970s, continues to work in television and film, including the upcoming “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.”

Working his way up through the British film industry in the 1960s as a messenger, clapper and focus puller, Richmond eventually shot commercials for John Schlesinger, Tony Scott and others, before establishing himself as a director of photography in features. He won a BAFTA for Roeg’s 1973 film “Don’t Look Now,” starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland.

The series starts Friday with Roeg’s 1976 David Bowie-starring “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” Following the screening, Richmond will discuss his work with filmmaker Bernard Rose. The 1992 horror classic “Candyman,” directed by Rose and shot by Richmond, screens Saturday with “Don’t Look Now.” Roeg’s “Walkabout,” for which Richmond is credited with “special photography,” closes the series on Sunday.

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“Do Look Now: The Cinematography of Tony Richmond,” American Cinematheque, Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m., Friday-Sunday. (310) 260-1528, www.americancinemathequecalendar.com

“An Affair to Remember,” one of the most romantic films of all time — it ranked fifth on AFI’s 2012 list of cinema’s greatest love stories — returns to theaters as the February entry in the TCM Big Screen Classics series. Starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as a star-crossed couple, the film was a remake of director Leo McCarey’s 1939 “Love Affair,” with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.

Grant and Kerr meet on a transatlantic cruise, fall in love and vow to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months, once they’ve ended their current relationships and begun new lives. However, fate intervenes, tears ensue and love is deferred.

The movie was remade again as “Love Affair” in 1994 with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, but lives on most memorably as the inspiration for Nora Ephron’s 1993 “Sleepless in Seattle,” in which Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks romantically play out the Empire State Building rendezvous.

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“An Affair to Remember,” TCM Big Screen Classics, AMC, Cinemark, Edwards, Regal and other theaters. 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 15. www.fathomevents.com

Ephron and Ryan, of course, first worked together in the 1989 romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally …,” co-starring Billy Crystal and directed by Rob Reiner. “WHMS” screens Thursday as part of the Laemmle NoHo 7’s Throwback Thursday “Fall in February” series.

With the death of Carrie Fisher and the passing of Ephron in 2012 and actor Bruno Kirby in 2006, the movie now takes on an unexpected poignancy. As the best friends of the title characters, Fisher and Kirby succinctly reject Harry and Sally as romantic partners and marry each other.

The series continues with Audrey Tautou in “Amélie” (2001) on Feb. 16 and the Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze existentialist comedy “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004) on Feb. 23.

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“When Harry Met Sally …,” Laemmle NoHo 7, North Hollywood, 5240 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, 7:30 p.m. Thursday. (310) 478-3836 www.laemmle.com

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