Ahhh, fall. It’s finally here. The leaves are dropping, pumpkin spice is in the air (and everyone’s coffee), and the holidays are close enough where we’re all either rushing to get our work done before the end of the year or starting to wind down in hopes that people will soon stop bothering us. It’s a magical time, especially with new awards contenders like “Anora” and “Conclave” finally releasing to wide audiences, but let’s not forget that older films deserve some love too. Especially around Thanksgiving, a holiday specifically designed for reflection. What better way to celebrate than looking back on some classics of cinema, both the widely seen and the obscure.
While October may have provided the spooks in New York and Los Angeles repertory theaters, November aims to calm things down with light offerings for youngsters like “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” as well as Charlie Chaplin‘s “Modern Times.” As an added bonus to these months selections, IndieWire also highlights a few options from Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, Washington. The Grand Illusion is Seattle’s oldest continuously running movie theater and has been open since 1970. It is currently seeking donations to find a new home, as its lease ends in February 2025 and it was denied a new one. Keep reading below for November’s repertory offerings.
NEW YORK
Anthology Film Archives
Founded in 1970 by Jonas Mekas, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, and Stan Brakhage, Anthology Film Archives serves as an international hub for cinema’s preservation, study, and exhibition, putting a specific lens on independent, experimental, and avant-garde work. November sees it host two unique series of particular note, the first of which is hosted by American filmmaker Lizzie Borden. Known for films such as “Born in Flames” and “Working Girls,” Borden will curate a four-film series entitled “Unraveling Women” that runs from November 15-20 and features the work of other female independent filmmakers, with a particular emphasis on rage-filled women. Selections include Sheila McLaughlin & Lynne Tillman’s “Committed,” which recounts actress Frances Farmer’s experience with institutionalization, Mary Harron’s “I Shot Andy Warhol,” starring Jared Harris as Warhol and covering his relationship with radical feminist Valerie Solanis, Ana Lily Amirpour’s Persian-language vampire flick “A Girl Walks Home at Night,” and Diablo Cody and Karyn Kusama’s cult classic horror comedy “Jennifer’s Body.”
Another series playing Anthology earlier in November is the Sergei Parajanov Centennial. Parajanov was born and raised in (then-Soviet) Georgia to ethnic Armenian parents, but built his career in Ukraine and spent his later years in Armenia. While in Ukraine, he was involved in the nationalism movement of the 1960s. This, paired with his open bisexuality, brought him to the attention of the KGB and CCCP, getting him arrested in 1973 and sentenced to five years at a hard labour camp. After serving four of those years, Parajanov returned to filmmaking with pieces such as “The Legend of Suram Fortress” and “Ashik Karab,” both of which screen as part of Anthology’s celebration in honor of his 100th birthday. Also showing is perhaps most famous film, “The Color of Pomegranates” (aka “Sayat-Nova”), which serves as a nuanced biography of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. The series begins on November 8 and ends on November 17.
Film Forum
Not one of his more well-known films, Michelangelo Antonioni’s Italian drama “Il Grido” starring American actors Stephen Cochrane and Betsy Blair is getting a much-deserved reappraisal with a 4K re-release courtesy of Janus Films. The film follows a lovelorn factory worker looking for romance in all the wrong the places. Funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and restored by The Film Foundation and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with Compass Film, the 4K restoration screens at Film Forum from November 8 to November 14.
At the start of the month, Film Forum will also be celebrating the work of documentarian Bruce Weber with screenings of the 4K restoration of his Chet Baker piece, “Let’s Get Lost,” as well as 35mm showings of “Chop Suey,” Broken Noses,” and “A Letter to True.” The series will also mark the New York theatrical premiere of Weber’s documentary on actor Robert Mitchum, “Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast.” These films will be showing from November 1 to November 7.
LOS ANGELES
Academy Museum
There’s nothing quite like a Paul Newman performance and John Huston’s “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” may just have one of his best. Starring as the eponymous judge, Newman helps weave a classic tale of the old west, but with a fresh, anarchic style to match the time in which it was made. It screens on 35mm at the Academy Museum on November 10. If that’s not enough western for you, the museum will also be screening a 35mm print of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-winning epic of greed and oil starring Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood,” a week later on November 17.
Celebrating the work of Italian screen legend Sophia Loren, the Academy Museum will showcase 11 of her films, including her most recent film, “The Life Ahead,” and “Two Women,” for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1960. Loren and her son, filmmaker Edoardo Ponti, will be in attendance for both screenings on November 7 and November 8.
Old Town Music Hall
While not exactly in L.A. proper, Old Town Music Hall has been entertaining patrons in El Segundo, California since 1968 and is home to one of the last functioning Wurlitzer pipe organs housed in a movie theater. All silent films shown there are accompanied by live performances on the organ, but our focus for November’s offerings are mostly talkies. Kicking off the month, on November 9, they’ll showing a double feature of two of Charlie Chaplin’s most beloved creations, “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator,” both of which will be introduced by film archivist Stan Taffel. “Modern Times” follows the Tramp as he acclimates to factory life and befriends a young orphaned girl played by Chaplin’s then wife, Paulette Goddard. Revolving around a fictionalized version of fascist tyrant Adolf Hitler, “The Great Dictator” is one of Chaplin’s riskiest and most acclaimed pictures, serving as both satire and a call to arms for all those unsure whether they should stand up and fight for the rights of others.
Towards the end of the month, Old Town Music Hall will be showcasing John Hughes’ Thanksgiving favorite, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” featuring two hilarious and heartfelt performances from comedy legends Steve Martin and John Candy. Following an advertising exec (Martin) who gets sidetracked by an annoying shower curtain salesman (Candy) while on his journey from New York City to Chicago, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is a staple within the road-trip genre and has spawned many reinventions since its debut in 1987. The film screens twice on Saturday, November 23.
The Grand Illusion — Seattle, Washington
Finally, a special shout out to a theater facing hard times. Seattle’s Grand Illusion Cinema opened in 1970, converted from a dentist’s office into a one-screen movie theater dedicated to arthouse, foreign films, and revival cinema. It has been operating as an independent arts nonprofit since 2004 and under the care of longtime volunteers and supporters, but in 2023, the building that houses the theater was sold and the new owners refuse to offer Grand Illusion a lease past February 2025. The organization is currently in the process of seeking a new home, but is looking for donations to make that possible.
In the meantime, Grand Illusion is still in operation, screening work on film and in 4K DCP. In November, it plans on hosting the theatrical release of the 2004 cult horror comedy “The Birthday,” which Jordan Peele calls a “cinematic marvel.” Starring grown up ’80s child star Corey Feldman, the film follows his character Norman Forrester as he attend the glitzy birthday party of his girlfriend’s father only to discover a secret evil lurking within the hotel where the function is being hosted. The film premiered at the 2004 Sitges International Film Festival, but never received a wide release until now. Screenings of the film at Grand Illusion Cinema take place November 2, 3, 5, and 7.