Among film obsessives, few traditions are as beloved as the annual observance of Noirvember, that celebration of hard-drinking gumshoes, steely eyed femmes fatales and dramatic, shadow-drenched mood lighting. This year, The Brattle Theatre has opted to focus its Noirvember programming on the 1950s. The ’50s were arguably the zenith of film noir, a time when atom-age paranoia had moviegoers on edge and the loosening of Hollywood’s notorious Hays production code meant filmmakers could take their doomed protagonists to greater depths of depravity. The series’ first week kicks off Friday with a double feature of John Huston’s “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950) and a new 4K restoration of Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), the latter of which screens again a la carte on Saturday. Sunday brings a double feature of “Cry Danger” (1951) and “The Prowler” (1951), both on newly restored 35 mm prints courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation. Then, on Wednesday, you can catch one of the most nightmarishly dark films of the 1950s, and arguably of all time: Charles Laughton’s suspense classic “The Night of the Hunter” (1955). These are only a few highlights of the program; for full lineup and showtimes, check out the Brattle’s website.
Falling further still down the classic Hollywood rabbit hole, the Harvard Film Archive continues its celebration of Columbia Pictures’ centennial with a new series titled “Columbia 101: The Rarities.” True to its title, this series resurfaces nearly two dozen rarely screened titles from the studio’s vault, many projected on 35 mm. There’s no shortage of noir on display here as well, including the Hitchcockian “Let Us Live” (1939), starring Henry Fonda, on Friday, and a double feature of lost delinquent classics, “Under Age” (1941) and “Girls Under 21” (1940) on Sunday. But there are also some remarkable political statements, including “Washington Merry-Go-Round” (1932, screening Friday), which prefigures the strident populism of the later “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” and “Address Unknown” (1944, screening Saturday), which shines a light on the horrors unfolding in Germany while the Nazis were in power. The series continues through mid-December, with countless more gems to come.
The Boston Jewish Film Festival returns this month, with a trio of screenings here in Cambridge at The Brattle. Thursday brings the festival’s 15th annual FreshFlix Short Film Competition, collecting six short subjects by next-generation Jewish filmmakers from around the world. The festival continues Saturday with two very different takes on the Jewish tradition of comedy: “31 Candles” (2025), a charming new rom-com from writer-director-star Jonah Feingold, and “Coexistence, My Ass!” (2025), a documentary following Israeli Sephardi comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she attempts to navigate her career between Israeli and Palestinian spaces. The festival continues in person at various Boston-area venues through Nov. 16, and virtually from Nov. 17 through Nov. 19.
Calling all kaiju fans: on Saturday, the Somerville Theatre, in association with The Boston SciFi Film Festival, presents Godzillathon, a self-explanatory 12-hour marathon of everyone’s favorite Japanese city-stomper. The marathon kicks off at 2 p.m. with director Ishiro Honda’s original “Godzilla” (1954), which, radioactive dinosaur-monster aside, remains one of the most powerful nuclear allegories of the decade following World War II. The mood lightens a bit as the marathon travels through some of the Big G’s most colorful sequels of the original Showa Era – “Mothra vs. Godzilla” (1964), “Invasion of the Astro Monster” (1965), “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) and “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” (1974) – which saw their leading lizard slowly evolve into a sort of colossal superhero. The day’s festivities come to a close at 2 a.m. with 2016’s “Shin Godzilla,” which returns the monster to its political roots, this time as a metaphor for the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. It’s a fittingly sprawling celebration of a star whose charisma can barely fit on the screen – in more ways than one.
This Tuesday sees the publication of “Insomnia,” the long-awaited posthumous memoir Band guitarist Robbie Robertson about his decadeslong friendship and working relationship with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. To celebrate, the Somerville Theatre screens two of the pair’s most enduring collaborations. “Raging Bull” (1980), coming in a new 4K restoration on Tuesday, has as strong a claim as any film of being Scorsese’s best, thanks in no small part to the painstakingly curated soundtrack of vintage 78s the director compiled with Robertson. Robertson also produced the soundtrack to Scorsese’s 1982 cult classic “The King of Comedy,” which screens Wednesday, and contributed some (uncredited) original cues himself. For those inspired to learn more about the legendary friendship between Robertson and Scorsese, copies of “Insomnia” will be available for sale in the lobby courtesy of Porter Square Books.
Amid the crush of end-of-year releases, this week sees the local debuts of a couple of smaller independent films worth keeping on your radar. On Saturday, The Brattle presents the premiere screening of Raymond Telles’ “American Agitators” (2025), a documentary about community organizer Fred Ross Sr., who worked alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and founded the Community Service Organization. Equally inspiring is Brian Truglio’s “Running Home” (2024), which makes its New England premiere at the Somerville on Tuesday, about dedicated cross-country runner Michael Wardian. Both screenings will have the directors present for postfilm Q&As, with Truglio joined onstage by Wardian.
Oscar Goff is a writer and film critic based in Somerville. He is film editor and senior critic for the Boston Hassle and his work has appeared in the monthly Boston Compass newspaper and publications such as WBUR’s The ARTery and iHeartNoise. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society.
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