Westerns that had a big influence
BUDD Boetticher’s westerns flew under the radar in the 1950s. Considered B movies, they were relegated to drive-ins. It didn’t help that Boetticher’s star was lanky Randolph Scott, whose best days were behind him. But between 1956 and 1960, they created a string of sparse movies that would influence filmmakers to come, including Clint Eastwood and Taylor Hackford. The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre is celebrating Boetticher’s legacy this weekend with six films, five of which have yet to hit DVD.
Kicking off the tribute Friday is a new, restored 35-millimeter print of his 1951 non-western “The Bullfighter and the Lady,” starring Robert Stack and Gilbert Roland. The taut 1958 sagebrush saga “Buchanan Rides Alone,” starring Scott as a former mercenary, rides shotgun.
Screening Saturday are the recently restored 1956 masterpiece “Seven Men From Now,” starring Scott as a taciturn sheriff hunting down the men who killed his wife, and 1957’s “The Tall T,” with Scott as a rancher who is kidnapped by a killer.
On tap for Sunday are 1959’s “Ride Lonesome,” which casts Scott as a sheriff-turned-bounty hunter, and 1960’s “Comanche Station,” the last collaboration between director and star.
The Aero will be commemorating the 63rd anniversary of D-day on Wednesday with Stuart Cooper’s 1975 drama “Overlord.” Using documentary footage and more from England’s Imperial War Museum, Cooper traces a young soldier (Brian Stirner) from his induction to the Allied invasion of Normandy. Cooper will be on hand to discuss.
On Sunday, the UCLA Film and Television Archive presents “Women of Vision: 18 Histories in Feminist Film & Video,” a 1998 documentary by Alexandra Juhasz chronicling the history of feminist filmmaking as told by the artists -- several of them will be on hand.
The latest offering in UCLA’s First Monday series is “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema,” directed by Sophie Fiennes, sister of Ralph and Joseph. Psychoanalyst and philosopher Slavoj Zizek re- and deconstructs classic and obscure films.
The Dance Camera West Film Festival kicks off Friday and Saturday at REDCAT with “Screendance: A New Visual Language,” consisting of three programs featuring 21 experiments between “movement-based art and audiovisual media” from nine countries.
Opening Tuesday is the eighth annual Hollywood Black Film Festival. The six-day program, which takes place at various locations in Beverly Hills through June 10, will screen 122 features, shorts and documentaries. “Universal Remote,” a comedy starring Charlie Murphy -- Eddie’s brother -- and Robert Hays, starts the festivities Tuesday at the Fine Arts Theatre.
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Screenings
Aero Theatre
* “The Bullfighter and the Lady” and “Buchanan Rides Alone”: 7:30 p.m. Friday
* “Seven Men From Now” and “The Tall T”: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
* “Ride Lonesome” and “Comanche Station”: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
* “Overlord”: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica
Info: (323) 466-FILM, www.aerotheatre.com
UCLA programming
* “Women of Vision”: 7 p.m. Sunday
* “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema”: 7:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.
Info: (310) 206-FILM, www.cinema.ucla.edu
Dance Camera West
* “Screendance”: 8 p.m. Friday, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A.
Info: (213) 237-2800, dancecamerawest.org
Hollywood Black Film Festival
“Universal Remote”: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
Info: (310) 407-3596, hbff.org
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