Commentary by Gregg Rickman (greggr1@mindspring.com). Times compiled from information available Tuesday; it's always advisable to call for confirmation. Price given is standard adult admission; discounts often apply for students, seniors, and members.
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ACT ONE/TWO
2128 Center (at Shattuck), Berkeley, (510) 843-FILM, www.landmarktheatres.com. $6. This duplex offers a midnight movie series (plus "drawings for valuable and coveted prizes") on Saturdays. For additional screenings, see our Showtimes page.
SATURDAY (March 22): The 3-D X-rated Lollipop Girls (Norm DePlume, 1977) midnight.
ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE
345 Bush (at Polk), 775-7755, www.afsf.com. French-language films shown on projected video. $5 donation.
WEDNESDAY (March 19): A Swiss comedy, Attention aux chiens (Christophe Marzal, 1999), a tale of a drug-addicted private eye 7 p.m.
SATURDAY (March 22): After the death of their daughter, a couple takes a road trip to Spain in Pleure pas Germaine (Alain de Halleux, France, 2000) 2 p.m.
ARTISTS' TELEVISION ACCESS
992 Valencia (at 21st Street), 824-3890, www.atasite.org for most programs, www.othercinema.com for Saturday evening programs. $5 save as noted. This venue offers all manner of strange and unusual video and film.
THURSDAY (March 20): Lourdes Portillo's Missing Young Woman (2002) addresses the disappearance of over 300 women in Juarez, Mexico, since 1993 8 p.m.
FRIDAY (March 21): A benefit for "What They Shoulda Taught Free School" (aka the Do-It-Herself-Skillshare-Collective), designed "to help fund future skill shares and workshops that help fight oppression," screens "a German documentary on sex work, politics, women and queers in San Francisco" in addition to live performances, "frippery and fancy scandalous surprises." For more info, contact 920-8970 8 p.m.
SATURDAY (March 22): A program of home movies curated from garage and estate sales by Scott Stark, plus some of Stark's own manipulations of this footage 8:30 p.m.
CASTRO
429 Castro (near Market), 621-6120, www.thecastrotheatre.com. $8. Short-run rep in a spectacular 1922 Greco-Roman-themed palace designed by Timothy L. Pflueger. Evening intermissions feature David Hegarty or Bill McCoy on the Mighty Wurlitzer.
WEDNESDAY: "The Big Picture," a three-week series marking the 50th anniversary of CinemaScope, continues with David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), with Sarah Miles torn between a petulant lover (Chris Jones) and her nice husband, Robert Mitchum. Most viewers thought there was no contest! noon, 4, 8 p.m.
THURSDAY: "The Big Picture" -- Two Southern Gothics with a young and more or less virile Paul Newman, The Long Hot Summer (Martin Ritt, 1958; 7 p.m.) and Sweet Bird of Youth (Richard Brooks, 1962; 9:20 p.m.), drawn from Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, respectively.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: "The Big Picture" -- Two melancholy NYC romances, The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960; 9 p.m.; also Sat 4:30 p.m.) and Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979; 7 p.m.; also Sat 2:30 p.m.), show what can be accomplished with a good cast, good dialogue, and good black-and-white cinematography: comic dramas in subtle shades of gray.
SUNDAY & MONDAY: "The Big Picture" -- Two neo-noirs, in beautifully modulated color, of deceptive love: Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974; 7 p.m.; also Sun 2 p.m.) and François Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid (France, 1969; 9:30 p.m.; also Sun 4:30 p.m.).
TUESDAY: "The Big Picture" -- Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau strip by night and make revolution by day in Louis Malle's Viva Maria! (1965; 7 p.m.), while John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven (1960; 9:20 p.m.) is a pleasing, full-bodied western.
CLAY
2261 Fillmore (at Clay), 352-0810, www.landmarktheatres.com. "Laugh Riot," an eight-week midnight series of comedies, starts this weekend. For the rest of the Clay's schedule, see our Showtimes page. $5.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY (March 21 & 22): Bowling for the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998) midnight.
FOREIGN CINEMA
2534 Mission (between 21st and 22nd streets), 648-7600, www.foreigncinema.com. Free with meal. This restaurant screens foreign films, usually in 35mm, on the back wall of its outdoor patio, with drive-in speakers available for the tables of those who want to watch while they dine.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY: Terry Gilliam's retro futurescape Brazil (1985) 6:30, 8:45, 11 p.m.
MONDAY: Closed.
STARTS TUESDAY: Pass the butter -- Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, France, 1973) screens today through April 13 7, 9:15 p.m.
GOLDEN GATE 303
303 Columbus (at Broadway), 955-9080. Free with meal. This venue now offers "Dinner and a Movie" with a James Bond series this March, plus weekend shows. Sound played over loudspeakers.
WEDNESDAY: James Bond learns Diamonds Are Forever (Guy Hamilton, 1971) 7, 9 p.m.
THURSDAY: James Bond gives Goldfinger (Hamilton, 1964) 7, 9 p.m.
FRIDAY: James Bond tells Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962) 7, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY: "Hitchcock Sunday" -- Vertigo (1958) 7, 9:15 p.m.
MONDAY: James Bond's got mail From Russia With Love (Young, 1963) 7, 9 p.m.
TUESDAY: James Bond rides the Thunderball (Young, 1965) 7, 9:15 p.m.
MIDNIGHT SHOW (Saturday): The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975).
JEZEBEL'S JOINT
510 Larkin (at Turk), 820-3907, www.sfindie.com; and 345-9832 and www.microcinema.com for information on the UnAmerican Film Festival, here Wednesday through Friday. This "Rock 'n' Roll DJ Bar" offers an "S.F. IndieFest MicroCinema" Monday through Friday (most weeks). Screenings are followed by DJ music at 10 p.m. All programs are free; donations welcome for the UnAmerican Film Festival.
WEDNESDAY: The UnAmerican Film Festival, out to screen films and videos that "question the government and social norms," opens with The NEA Tapes, a look at the culture wars among Robert Mapplethorpe, Karen Finley, Rudy Giuliani, and the Christian Action Network 8 p.m.
THURSDAY: UnAmerican Film Fest -- So it's true you may have to sell your soul to the devil to win office in California, as we see as a Satanist minister performs Unspeakable rituals for the powers that be 8 p.m.
FRIDAY: UnAmerican Film Fest -- A program of shorts, including an "Anti-War Update" from Ohmsmedia.org; S-11 Redux by the Guerrilla News Network; Flag TV (Susie Lee); A Message to Bin Laden, Monroe Bardot's pledge to destroy him; Roger Beebe's Composition in Red and Yellow, about the "one symbol that truly shows what Americans are all about, the Golden Arches"; Race Juice: An Elixir for the Soul (Narcel Reedus); The Hidden Life of Garbage (Heather Rogers), on recycling; and N.EW Y.ORK C.ASINO (Kyle Henry). "The voices of Times Square demand consumption" 8 p.m.
MONDAY: "MicroCinema" resumes with its weekly silent, Sergei Eisenstein's rapid-fire Battleship Potemkin (U.S.S.R., 1926) 8 p.m.
TUESDAY: A genius computer causes problems in Demon Seed (Donald Cammell, 1977) 8 p.m.
KQED
2601 Mariposa (at Bryant), 552-FILM and www.filmarts.org for this program only. Separate admissions listed below; $20 for all. KQED hosts public screenings of "The Best of INPUT 2002," three programs of documentaries from around the world. Filmmakers in person with discussion to follow each program.
FRIDAY (March 21): Offspring (Barry Stevens, Canada), about a prolific and anonymous sperm donor, and Paper Airplane (Zhao Liang, Fen Junyi, China), about the restless generation born in the 1970s. $10 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY (March 22): The Himba tribe opposes a dam in Ochre and Water (Craig Matthews, Joelle Chesselet, South Africa); a whale swims upriver in The Tale of the White Whale (Stephan Koester, Germany); and Papua New Guinea is trendy for Westerners in Them and Me (Stephane Breton, France). $12 10 a.m. Reporters report in Live From Palestine (Rashid Masharawi, Patrice Barrat, Palestine) and Stringers (Eduard Dzhafarov, Russia); a woman visits her jailed son in Mother V (Sharur Rozen, Israel). $12 2 p.m.
MECHANICS' INSTITUTE LIBRARY
57 Post (near Market), 393-0100 and www.milibrary.org for information; phone or e-mail rsvp@milibrary.org for reservations. $5. This cultural asset of long standing offers a March series of courtroom dramas on projected video, with salon-style discussions to follow.
FRIDAY (March 21): Paul Newman's a failed lawyer who gets a second chance in Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982) 6:30 p.m.
OPERA PLAZA
601 Van Ness (at Golden Gate), 352-0810, www.landmarktheatres.com. This multiplex is only partly a "calendar house" rep theater. For the rest of the Opera Plaza's schedule, see our Showtimes page. $8.75.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Im Kwon-Taek's Chihwaseon (Painted Fire, Korea, 2000); see Ongoing for more. Call for times.
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (March 21-27): O Fantasma (João Pedro Rodriguez, Portugal, 2000); see Opening for review. Call for times.
PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE
2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch), Berkeley, (510) 642-1124, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. $8, second show $2. The East Bay mecca for film scholars, part of UC's Berkeley Art Museum, thrives at its on-campus location, up the steps on Bancroft between Telegraph Avenue and the Hearst Gym.
WEDNESDAY: Vincente Minnelli's ode to mid-American life in 1903, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) 3 p.m. "The Angry Breed" promises post-Sept. 11, pre-Gulf War II videos from Norman Cowie (Scenes From an Endless War), Paul Chan, and François Bucher 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY: "Dialogues," documentaries from UCB's Graduate School of Journalism, includes Yvonne Kennedy's Celestial Real Estate (2003), on the selling of cemetery plots 7 p.m.
FRIDAY: A "New Japanese Cinema" series continues with two by Sogo Ishii, Crazy Thunder Road (1980; 7 p.m.), a post-apocalyptic biker film that established Ishii's career, and a science-fictional teen love story, August in the Water (1995; 9:20 p.m.). Director in person.
SATURDAY: "New Japanese Cinema" -- Ishii's Labyrinth of Dreams (1997; 7 p.m.), perversion and serial killings on a rural bus line; and a short film, Shuffle (1981), screening with a comic book-like tale of two battling men-machines, Electric Dragon 80,000 V (2001), both at 9:20 p.m. Director in person.
SUNDAY: "New Japanese Cinema" -- Shinji Aoyama's Eureka (2000) was tentatively scheduled, with a note that it might not be available. At press time a "Surprise Screening" was being offered 5:30 p.m.
MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (March 24-27): Theater closed.
PARAMOUNT
2025 Broadway (at 20th Street), Oakland, (510) 465-6400, www.paramounttheatre.com. $5. This beautifully restored picture palace's ongoing "Movie Classics Series" regularly includes a feature plus a newsreel, cartoon, previews, and a few spins of the Dec-O-Win prize wheel.
FRIDAY (March 21): Alfred Hitchcock's Gothic melodrama Rebecca (1940), with Laurence Olivier as Mr. DeWinter and Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. 8 p.m.
SUNDAY (March 23): Donna Sachet hosts "The Academy Gala Benefit," offering a live screening of the Oscars, with a Red Carpet entrance to a buffet dinner, a live production number, and prizes. $75, proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more info, call (510) 267-9699. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.
PARKWAY
1834 Park (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, (510) 814-2400, www.picturepubpizza.com. $5 save as noted. Pizza, beer, and movies on two screens. Call theater for programs, booked a week in advance. The Parkway also offers occasional scheduled special programs.
THURSDAY (March 20): A small-time dealer gets in trouble with his boss in Desmond Gumbs' independent feature Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don (2002) 9:15 p.m.
MIDNIGHT SHOW (Saturday): The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), with live performance by Barely Legal. $6.
RAFAEL FILM CENTER
1118 Fourth St. (at A Street), San Rafael, 454-1222, www.finc.org. $8.50 save as noted. This three-screen repertory theater is operated by the California Film Institute. Programs are complex; check carefully and call for confirmation.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark (Russia, 2002) 6:30, 8:30 p.m. Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, Australia, 2002) 6:45 p.m.; also Wed 9 p.m. Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary (André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer, Austria, 2002) 8:45 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: The American Film Theatre series of filmed plays screens Alan Bates' turn as a bisexual teacher in Simon Gray's Butley (Harold Pinter, U.K., 1974) 7 p.m.
THURSDAY: The Rafael's AFT series concludes with Jean Genet's tale of two murderous servants, based on a true incident, The Maids (Christopher Miles, 1975), with Glenda Jackson and Susannah York 7, 9 p.m.
STARTS FRIDAY: Mark Moskowitz's Stone Reader (2002), about a fan's search for a favorite author. See Page 62 for full review. Call for times and other films.
RED VIC
1727 Haight (at Cole), 668-3994, www.redvicmoviehouse.com. $6.50 save as noted. There's a spot on the couch for you at this collectively owned rep house.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk are up to speed in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity (2002) 7:15, 9:25 p.m.; also Wed 2 p.m.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: Candy is dandy but Eminem's quicker in 8 Mile (Curtis Hanson, 2002), after the atomic meltdown of the same name 7:15, 9:35 p.m.; also Sat 2, 4:15 p.m.
SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY (March 23-26): Noam Chomsky expresses his ever-more-mainstream views about Sept. 11 in Power and Terror (John Junkerman, 2002) 7:15, 9:15 p.m.; also Sun 2, 4 p.m., Wed 2 p.m.
ROXIE
3117 16th St. (at Valencia), 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $8. Short-run repertory in one of the most adventurously programmed theaters in the U.S.A.
DAILY: Academy Award-nominated documentary Daughter From Danang (Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco, 2002; Wed & Sat 4, 8 p.m.; Thurs, Fri, Mon, & Tues 8 p.m.; Sun 4 p.m.) screens with Randall Wright's documentary David Hockney: Secret Knowledge (U.K., 2002; Wed & Sat 2, 6:30, 9:30 p.m.; Thurs, Fri, Mon, & Tues 6:30, 9:30 p.m.; Sun 2 p.m.). Danang filmmakers in person Friday evening. See Ongoing for reviews.
SUNDAY (March 23): The Roxie's 11th annual "Up the Oscars" bash, featuring a live screening of this year's Academy Awards. $15. Doors open 4:40 p.m.
SHATTUCK
2230 Shattuck (at Kittredge), Berkeley, (510) 843-3456, www.landmarktheatres.com. $9. This venerable theater assigns one of its eight screens to repertory programming. For the rest of the Shattuck's schedule, see our Showtimes page.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Im Kwon-Taek's Chihwaseon (Painted Fire, Korea, 2000); see Ongoing for more. Call for times.
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (March 21-27): Lee Hirsch's Amandla! (South Africa, 2002). See Ongoing for review. Call for times.
STANFORD
221 University (at Emerson), Palo Alto, (650) 324-3700, www.stanfordtheatre.org. $6. This handsomely restored neighborhood palace usually screens pre-1960 Hollywood fare in the best available prints, with excellent projection and a courteous staff.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: The still-potent (as it were) The Story of Temple Drake (Stephen Roberts, 1933; 7:30 p.m.) was the Pre-Code equivalent to Irréversible, and still might raise hackles among the Stanford's family audience. Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, and Bette Davis are Three on a Match (Mervyn LeRoy, 1932; 6:15, 8:55 p.m.) in a good women's drama -- then as now, men are no damn good. Look for a Lifetime remake soon!
FRIDAY: An original nitrate print of one of the original films noirs, The Glass Key (Frank Tuttle, 1942; 7:30 p.m.), starring the short-and-shorter team of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, screens with the excellent domestic noir Pitfall (Andre de Toth, 1948; 5:50, 9:10 p.m.), the period equivalent to Fatal Attraction.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Two classic films noirs, John Huston's fatalistic (of course) The Asphalt Jungle (1950; 7:30 p.m.; also Sun 4:05 p.m.), and the so fatalistic it's nihilistic Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945; 6:10, 9:35 p.m.) -- the Citizen Kane of movies shot in a week (if that).
MONDAY & TUESDAY: Theater closed.
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
701 Mission (at Third Street, in Yerba Buena Gardens), 978-2787, www.YerbaBuenaArts.org. $6 save as noted. This venue's Screening Room is a home for film and video programs of all sorts. Closed Mondays.
DAILY: Continuous loop screenings by Swedish video artists through April 13 -- On Wednesdays, Annika Ström's The Artist Live; on Thursdays, Ström's Ten New Love Songs; on Fridays, Anneè Olofsson's Ricochet and The Thrill Is Gone; on Saturdays, Annika Larsson's Cigar; on Sundays, Larsson's 40-15; on Tuesdays, Olofsson's You Need Her and You Want Her Golden Hair. Free with gallery admission 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY (March 19): Six hobos ride the rails in the documentary Long Gone (Jack Cahill and David Eberhardt, 2003). Original music by Tom Waits and Charlie Musselwhite. $7 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY (March 20): The S.F. Cinematheque screens Ramon Gieling's The Prisoners of Buñuel (2002), about contemporary reactions by villagers to Luis Buñuel's documentary Land Without Bread (Spain, 1932), which presented their region as hellish and their folk as stunted. The U.S.-release version of Buñuel's film will also screen as well as his still-famed surrealist short Un Chien Andalou (1929). Filmmakers in person. $7 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY (March 21): "Dirty Poole," a series of films by gay adult movie director Wakefield Poole, concludes with an experimental docudrama, Take One (1977) 7, 9 p.m.
