Seriously, if you don’t have plans tonight already, this is an epic evening for LA, cinematically speaking. One of the best things about our city is that you can pretty much catch anything on the big screen, and today is testimony to that. 

First, it’s the kick off night for the Egyptian’s 13th annual Noir City festival. As in the past, most of the stuff in the series isn’t available on DVD. There are 13 double features running tonight through 20 April. Tonight’s double bill, new prints of High Wall and Strangers in the Night, focuses on WWII vets who return home to a world plenty sinister and dangerous in its own right. It’s a lot easier to figure out who the enemy is when he’s wearing a scary uniform, you know?  Read the rest of this entry →

Fans of film noir have two great series opportunities coming up–the first at the Egyptian and the second at the Academy.

Starting Friday 2 April and running through Sunday the 18th, the Egyptian is collaborating with the Film Noir Foundation on the 12th Noir City festival. There are 25 films in the festival and none is available on DVD. Highlights include the noir classic New York Confidential (with Anne Bancroft–how is this not on DVD?!) and, for sheer novelty, the 2009 Eve’s Necklace, shot with a cast comprised entirely of mannequins. Daniel Erickson, the director (not a mannequin), will be present for a q&a after the screening of Eve’s Necklace.

For those who favor the genre’s classics, beginning 10 May, the Academy will be screening fifteen noir staples, all nominated for an Oscar in the writing category, most Monday nights running through 30 August. Because you can’t see Mildred Pierce or The Killers too many times can you? A “noir cartoon” and, beginning 24 May, an episode of the 1941 serial Adventures of Captain Marvel will precede each movie. And get this, you can get a pass for all fifteen screenings for $30. That’s some cheap culture people. I’ve got my pass.

Noirs-a-poppin’.