Harold Lloyd, festivals and special events highlight the week

By Susan King

April 18, 2013 12 AM PT

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art celebrates the 90th anniversary of the classic Harold Lloyd comedy “Safety Last!” on Thursday evening at the Leo S. Bing Theater. One of the most popular of Lloyd’s comedies, “Safety Last!” offers a fascinating look at Los Angeles in 1923 and features his iconic stunt hanging from the side of a downtown building.

The presentation features a new digital restoration. The comic’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, will discuss the film and her granddad.

On Saturday and Sunday, LACMA presents another special 24-hour screening of Christian Marclay’s “The Clock.” The film begins at noon Saturday.

The 27th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, kicks off Thursday evening at the Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills with the West Coast premiere of “The Ballard of the Weeping Spring.” Martin Landau, Sherry Lansing and Israeli actor Uri Gavriel will be honored opening night.

The festival will continue through May 2 at the Laemmle Music Hall and Laemmle Town Center 5, with special events at the Saban Theater. There will be more than 30 features, documentaries, animated and student shorts. Among the other films set for the festival are “Poli’s Last Sketch,” “God’s Neighbors” and “Rock the Casbah.”

UCLA Film & Television Archive kicks off its “Cinema According to Nelson Pereira dos Santos” retrospective Saturday at the Billy Wilder Theater with the Brazilian filmmaker’s first feature, 1956’s “Rio, 100 Degrees.” The director will appear in person. He will also appear Sunday for a screening of his 2012 movie, “Music According to Tom Jobim.” The festival will continue through May 12

In conjunction with the exhibition, “Japan’s Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto,” the Getty Center is presenting a film series that illustrates the Showa Era (1926-89) of Japan.

The film series, “In Tokyo,” begins late Saturday afternoon at the Harold M. Williamson Auditorium with Hiroshi Shimizu’s 1936 film, “Mr. Thank You,” followed that evening with Akira Kurosaw’s 1948 drama “Drunken Angel.” Sunday’s afternoon offering is Yasjuiro Ozu’s 1953 classic “Tokyo Story.” The series continues the following weekend. The films are free, but reservations are required.

“What is a Western?” film series at the Autry kicks off Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Theater with Andre De Toth’s 1947 sagebrush noir “Ramrod,” with Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Prior to the screening, James D’Arc, the curator of the Motion Picture Archive at Brigham Young University and author of “When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah,” will discuss the film’s production in that state. The series’ organizer, Jeffrey Richard, the museum’s curator of Western history, popular culture and firearms, will also talk about the film’s history.

The Studio City Neighborhood Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee and the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library presents a free program and screening Saturday afternoon of “Mack Sennett and the Birth of Studio City” at the Studio City Library. The event honors the 85th opening of the Mack Sennett Studio, now the CBS Studio Center.

AFI Night at the Movies on Wednesday evening at the ArcLight Hollywood features 13 classic films introduced by their stars. Among the films being screened are 1990’s “Misery,” introduced by Kathy Bates; 1967’s “In the Heat of the Night,” introduced by Sidney Poitier, and “Blade Runner: The Final Cut,” introduced by Harrison Ford.

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