film ahead
Cult classics are in session
The Harvard Film Archive is officially back in full swing following a long summer off, and with it comes another round of fascinating retrospectives and repertory series you’re unlikely to see anywhere else. On Friday, the HFA kicks off another tribute to a cinematic hero in a series titled “João César Monteiro, Poet-Provacateur.” Though often […]
Graham Greene honors and mid-century sci-fi continue, retro series kicks off
Starting Friday, local moviegoers will have their pick of two brand new restorations of occasionally overlooked classics. Jane Campion’s Palme d’Or-winning “The Piano” (1993), which screens Friday through Monday at the Brattle Theatre, is a landmark of ’90s arthouse cinema, featuring timeless performances by Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin (both of whom took home Oscars) […]
Harvard Film Archive re-opens
The students aren’t the only ones returning to Harvard this week. Following a three-month closure for much-needed restorations, the Harvard Film Archive reopens its doors Friday for a brand-new season of rare screenings and expert curation. The first series out of the gate is the wonderfully titled “The Cold Heart Is More Precious than Diamonds: […]
Flying turtles, ‘Broadcast News’ and pulp fusion
This weekend, the Brattle Theatre presents new restorations of two films about one of the most fascinating art scenes of the 20th century. Mary Harron’s “I Shot Andy Warhol” (1996), which screens Friday through Monday, stars Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas, the militant feminist who gained notoriety both for her radical “SCUM Manifesto” (which called […]
West Side Story, extraterrestrial epics, French new wave and more
On Friday, the Brattle Theatre reopens its doors following a week-long closure and a much-needed facelift, and its programmers are coming out with guns blazing. Following a Friday matinee of the original “West Side Story” (1961) on 35mm are two weekend-long premiere runs, one a new restoration of an old favorite, one a new feature […]
Cambridge, Somerville documentary makers make their marquee
Next Wednesday sees screenings from a pair of local documentary filmmakers, one in our backyard, the other a quick car (or bike, or 66 bus) ride away. At the Somerville Museum, filmmaker Anne Continelli debuts her new documentary short “A Matter of Light” (2026), about the artist collective at Somerville’s legendary Vernon Street Studios and […]
More Stanton Rule roles, Channel Zero and puppet adventures
Among local movie programmers, the good folks at Channel Zero stand alone, digging up nigh-unstreamable obscurities and projecting them on the big screen where they belong. On Friday, Channel Zero returns to the Somerville Theatre MicroCinema with “Flight for Freedom” (1943), a rarely screened gem of wartime propaganda cinema. Rosalind Russell plays Tonie Carter, a […]
Martial arts movies, Somerville Film Fest and the Stanton Rule lead the week
Among the great artists who’ve called Boston home is the martial arts master Bow-sim Mark, who in 1976 founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute, one of the first tai chi schools in the United States. Sifu Mark remains active to this day from her home in Newton. One of her sons is international movie star […]