What’s Screening: May 27 – June 2

~ Lincoln Spector

Silent hobos, professional killers, rock stars, and two festivals open this week in Bay Area screenings.

Festivals

Promising events

Almost Famous, Wednesday, 6:30

I haven’t seen Cameron Crowe’s tale of a teenage reporter traveling with a rock band in years (it was based on Crowe’s own experiences). But I liked it when I saw it.

Recommended revivals

A- Beggars of Life, Castro, Thursday, 7:00

This late silent almost vibrates with romantic realism. Louise Brooks glows as a young orphan on the run after killing her would-be rapist. Richard Arlen plays her main squeeze, and Wallace Beery steals the movie as a charismatic king of tramps. One could accuse director William Wellman of romanticizing the homeless life, but he doesn’t shy away from at least some of its ugliness. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival‘s opening night show will have musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

B Branded to Kill, Pacific Film Archive, Friday, 8:45

This slick, commercial, but strange crime thriller follows the career ups and downs of a talented professional killer (a chipmunk-faced Jo Shishido). He shoots lesser killers down by the hundreds. He has wild and violent sex with his wife in all sorts of places. And he indulges in his greatest weakness: sniffing boiling rice. Branded to Kill works better in individual scenes than as a whole. Part of the series The Films of Seijun Suzuki.

Lebowskies (frequently-revived classics)

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Published by Lincoln Spector

Lincoln Spector writes about cinema, technology, and cinema technology. From 1986 through 2008, he wrote Gigglebytes, the first technology-oriented humor column. From 1977 through 2016, he wrote PC World's Answer Line column and blog.