Vampires are, aptly, the most ageless of cinematic monsters; from Bela Lugosi to Michael B. Jordan, bloodsuckers remain the epitome of onscreen horror cool. This weekend, the Brattle Theatre presents brand new 4K restorations of two of the hippest vampire films of the 1990s. In Michael Almereyda’s “Nadja” (1995), Elina Löwensohn plays Dracula’s daughter as a chic Manhattan party girl, squaring off against a hippie burnout Van Helsing (Peter Fonda) to a soundtrack of shoegaze and indie rock. It runs concurrently to “Cronos” (1993), Guillermo del Toro’s directorial debut, in which a kindly antique dealer finds himself craving human blood after falling under the spell of a mysterious, beetle-like artifact. Both films run Friday through Tuesday, with plenty of after-dark screenings for all children of the night.
On Friday, the Harvard Film Archive kicks off a tribute to one of the most daring filmmakers of the Japanese New Wave. In Sixties Shinoda, the HFA focuses on a particularly fertile period for the late, iconoclastic director Masahiro Shinoda. The series begins on Friday with newly struck 35mm prints of “Pale Flower” (1964), about the relationship between a disaffected yakuza hitman and a self-destructive female gambler, and “Dry Lake (aka Youth in Fury)” (1960), a fiery look at youthful rebellion (the latter screening again Sunday). The series continues on Saturday with Shinoda’s stunning folktale “Double Suicide” (1969), along with the bleak, slow-burning “Punishment Island” (1966). The series continues through April with more from the maverick auteur.
New England cinematic institution Jeff Rapsis returns to the Somerville Theatre Sunday, providing live musical accompaniment to another silent-era classic, “The Cameraman” (1928), starring comedy legend Buster Keaton. Working in classic “stone face” mode, Keaton takes a job as a newsreel cameraman to win the affections of his sweetheart (Marceline Day). “Cameraman” was the first film Keaton made under contract at MGM and is widely considered the actor/director’s last true masterpiece before his struggles with the sound era, studio demands, and alcoholism. “The Cameraman” screens on 35mm film, which, combined with Rapsis’ live score and the picturesque art deco of the Somerville’s main house, makes this as close as you’re likely to get to the experience of seeing Keaton on screen a century ago.
Also on Sunday, the folks at RPM Fest return to the Brattle, this time showcasing experimental animator and collage artist Lewis Klahr. In “The Blue Rose of Forgetfulness,” RPM compiles half a dozen of his films. Klahr will be on hand following the screening for a live conversation and Q&A with RPM curator Robert Harris. As always, RPM opens the door to a world of film far removed from your local megaplex.
On Monday, the HFA’s Complete Stanley Kubrick retrospective reaches one of the director’s most misunderstood films, “Barry Lyndon” (1975). Adapted from the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, casts Ryan O’Neal as a raffish 18th-century opportunist who cons his way into high society, only to be undone by his own greed and arrogance. Despite being nominated for Best Picture, “Lyndon” was a commercial disappointment and received mixed reviews (Pauline Kael dismissed it as a “coffee-table movie”). However, time has been kind to the film, and new generations have embraced its staggering technical accomplishments (Kubrick obtained special lenses from NASA to shoot interior scenes by candlelight) and its often-hilarious social satire. (Note: at press time, Monday’s screening is sold out, but unclaimed tickets may be released at the door).
Wednesday is April Fool’s Day, and the Brattle celebrates with one of last year’s most proudly foolish films. In their reboot of “The Naked Gun”(2025), director Akiva Schaffer and star Liam Neeson pull out all the stops, sending up cop-movie cliches with a joke-a-second mix of puns, sight gags, and all-around buffoonery. To drive home the film’s gleeful dismemberment of the genre, the Brattle is pairing it in double features with two classic straight-faced police shoot-’em-ups: “Cobra” (1986) on Wednesday, starring Sylvester Stallone as the titular trigger-happy supercop, and “Dirty Harry” (1971) on Thursday, whose iconic Clint Eastwood performance struck the mold for “The Naked Gun”‘s Frank Drebin. Both double features represent the ideal mix of manslaughter and man’s laughter.
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