Come Sunday night, we'll finally know what's the best movie of 2022…if you agree with the members of the Academy. I'm not even sure if I'll be watching the show. But if you prefer older films to new ones, Bay Area theaters will be screening quite a few classics this week. Festivals & Series The … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 25 – 31
Tag: Francis Coppola
What’s Screening: March 18 – 24
Four of the greatest films ever made are playing in Bay Area movie theaters this week - one of them through the whole week. The other three movies are pretty good, too. Plus three film festivals. Festivals & Series The East Bay Jewish Film Festival continues through this week and beyond Noir City opens Thursday, … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 18 – 24
What’s Screening: February 25 – March 3
As a 50-year-old masterpiece gets back into theaters, last year's best film finally comes to big screens! It's an offer you can't refuse. You can also see movies by Barry Jenkins, Nicolas Roeg, F. W. Murnau, and Samuel Fuller. But if you're tired of great auteurs, you can watch MST3K on the big screen for … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 25 – March 3
What’s Screening: February 18 – 24
This is a great week for silent movie lovers. Bay Area theaters are screening three shows this week with live musical accompaniment, from such masters of the art as Murnau, Méliès, and Chaplin. But if you prefer talking in your movies, local cinemas will screen works from Truffaut, Coppola, and Hitchcock. But no festivals. The … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 18 – 24
What’s Screening: February 4 – 10
We've got two worthwhile new documentaries about race and gender in theaters this week. And for vintage cinema, you can go to a movie theater and see classics from Hitchcock, Coppola, Miyazaki, Poitier, Bogdanovich, and Van Peebles. I've added a new section: Films of historical interest. These pictures aren't all that good, but are worth … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 4 – 10
What’s Screening: January 21 – 27
The bad news: The Castro Theater is no longer a movie theater. The good news: Other Bay Area theaters are showing plenty of vintage movies. Theaters closings The end of the Castro For decades, the Castro Theatre has been the perfect movie palace for opening a film festival or just for watching vintage cinema. And … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 21 – 27
What’s Screening: January 14 – 20
I have stopped going to movie theaters because of Omicron. I just don't think it's safe - even though I wear a mask and have all the right shots. I'm not the only one who thinks that way. The Film Noir Foundation has postponed this year's Noir City festival. And the New Parkway has gone … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 14 – 20
What’s Screening: December 17 – 23
With Christmas around the corner, plenty of the vintage movies screening this week have a Yuletide theme. For instance, there's that seasonal movie where our hero climbs into a building to separate the naughty and nice. But don't despair, Die Hard isn't the only holiday movie on the big screen this week. But, as usual … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 17 – 23
What’s happening at BAMPFA: December thru April
From early December through late April, here's what will happen cinematically at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). As I write this, the museum's theater is currently the only cinema in the Bay Area that focuses specifically on old films. They're offering a lot of good movies, and at least two stinkers. BAMPFA arranges … Continue reading What’s happening at BAMPFA: December thru April
Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
Over the last weekend I watched two interesting films at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Both presentations involved actual live people along with moving pictures. My Grandmother Friday night, my wife and I attended a screening of the 1929 silent Soviet comedy, My Grandmother, with musical accompaniment by a little-known jazz duet called … Continue reading Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
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