Cemetery screenings that don’t scare
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the programmers of the Coolidge Corner Theatre cross the river for the latest installment of Cemetery Cinema, an annual series of double features projected on the beautiful grounds of Mt. Auburn Cemetery. While graveyard screenings are often associated with horror movies, the folks at the Coolidge take a more thoughtful approach, focusing on classics which ponder the reality of death and mortality. This year’s double feature kicks off with David Lynch’s atypically gentle “The Straight Story” (1999), in which an elderly man (an Oscar-nominated Richard Farnsworth) travels across the country on his ride-on lawnmower to visit his dying brother (the great Harry Dean Stanton). It’s paired with Wim Wenders’ gorgeously existential “Wings of Desire” (1987), starring Bruno Ganz as an angel who travels to earth to listen in on the innermost thoughts of mortals. (Note: in the event of inclement weather, these screenings will be held inside the cemetery chapels).
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Speaking of the great hereafter, the world of film continues to mourn the loss of actor Sam Neill, who passed in July at the age of 78. While the New Zealand native was an accomplished theater actor who received acclaim for such highbrow fare as “My Brilliant Career” (1979) and “The Piano” (1994), many of his greatest films tend toward the fantastical and bizarre. To that end, the Brattle Theatre has programmed a week-long salute appropriately titled The Weird Wild World of Sam Neill. The series begins Friday with Neill’s breakout role in the chillingly prescient political thriller “Sleeping Dogs” (1977). Saturday’s late show is Andrzej Żuławski’s art-horror landmark “Possession” (1981), in which Neill more than holds his own against Isabelle Adjani’s legendarily feral performance. We return to thriller territory Tuesday with “Dead Calm” (1989), in which Neill and a young Nicole Kidman play a husband and wife terrorized by a psychotic Billy Zane on the high seas. The series closes Wednesday with a double dose of cosmic horror in Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Event Horizon” (1997) and John Carpenter’s Lovecraft homage, “In the Mouth of Madness” (1995). And for those looking for arguably Neill’s most beloved performance, don’t worry: “Jurassic Park” (1993) screens Saturday and Sunday, the latter in a double feature with Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (2016).
Following its summer off, the Harvard Film Archive is officially back in full force. Its Sofia Coppola miniseries begins Friday with “The Virgin Suicides” (1999) and “The Bling Ring” (2013), and its ongoing tributes to Graham Greene and João César Monteiro continue (the former with 1949’s “The Third Man” and 1972’s “Travels with My Aunt” on Saturday, the latter with 2000’s “Snow White” Sunday and 1986’s “Hovering Over the Water” Monday). In addition, the HFA kicks off on Saturday with the latest installment of its annual Student Cinematheque series of matinees curated by current Harvard undergrads. This year’s program is self-explanatorily titled Nostalgia, exploring the seductive, and at times illusory, call of the past. The series’ first selection is “Cabaret” (1972), Bob Fosse’s eye-popping adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical. The film’s story, in which the blissful decadence of 1930s Germany gives way to creeping fascism under its protagonists’ noses, feels alarmingly relevant in today’s political climate. But it also remains an irresistible slice of pop filmmaking, thanks to Fosse’s choreography and iconic performances from Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey (all three won Oscars). This is nostalgia in a nutshell: undeniably appealing, yet containing the toughest of truths.
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As if all that weren’t enough, the Somerville Theatre’s crack repertory team is working overtime this week as well. The centerpiece is a rare 70mm print of Tim Burton’s era-defining blockbuster “Batman” (1989) screening Friday through Sunday, the rare superhero film which, unlike many of today’s cape flicks, bears the unmistakable personal imprint of its director. On Sunday, organist Jeff Rapsis returns for the ongoing series Silents, Please, performing a live score to a 35mm print of the Harold Lloyd comedy “For Heaven’s Sake” (1926). Monday marks the return of the theater’s ever-popular F**k the Nazis series with Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), in which Indiana Jones bullwhips the title artifact out of the hands of the Third Reich. Finally, this week’s installment of Cult Cinema Tuesdays brings the ever-quotable “Monty Python & the Holy Grail” (1975)– shrubbery not included.
On the independent new release front, moviegoers can catch a pair of musical adventures from very different parts of the globe. The Taiwan Film Festival Boston concludes Monday at the Brattle with Chiang Jui-chih’s “Marching Boys” (2025), about a straight-A student who rebels against his strict parents’ wishes by joining a marching band, followed by an in-person Q&A with the filmmakers. Then, on Thursday, the Kendall Square Cinema presents a one-night-only screening of “Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore?” (2026), a concert film chronicling the legendary Britpop band’s most recent tour interspersed with rare archival footage. The latter film will also be available on boutique streaming service Mubi the following day, but if there’s one thing we hope readers of this column know by now, it’s that musical films –and films in general– are best enjoyed on the big screen with the energy of a crowd.
