This week marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Norma Jeane Mortenson, better known to the world as Marilyn Monroe. More than 60 years after her death, Monroe remains one of the most famous people in the world, her name, face and iconography even more inescapable than during her too-short lifetime. Often overlooked in discussions of The Legend of Marilyn, however, is the fact that she was an excellent dramatic and comic actress, trained by method guru Lee Strasberg and seriously committed to her craft.
To bring Monroe’s life and work back to the big screen, the Brattle Theatre presents a series titled All About Marilyn: A Centennial Celebration. The series kicks off Saturday and Sunday with two of Monroe’s earliest films, “All About Eve” (1950), in which she makes a brief but memorable appearance at Bette Davis’s famous “bumpy night” of a party, and the oft-overlooked noir “Don’t Bother to Knock” (1952). Monday brings arguably Marilyn’s most beloved performance in Billy Wilder’s “Some Like It Hot” (1959), which receives an encore screening Thursday in a double feature with Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch” (1955). Tuesday’s double feature sees Marilyn at her most effervescent in Jean Negulesco’s “How to Marry a Millionaire” and Howard Hawks’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (both 1953). Last but not least, on Wednesday is Monroe’s final performance, in John Huston’s “The Misfits” (1961), which suggests the career she might have forged as a dramatic actress had her story not been tragically cut short. It’s one of cinema’s most tantalizing what-ifs to imagine what she might have accomplished given more time. As it stands, we still have some great movies to remember her by.
On Monday, the Somerville Theatre‘s ongoing tribute to Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster finds the one-time Disney child actors in arguably their most grown-up films to date. Foster won her first Oscar for “The Accused” (1988), in which she plays an assault victim looking to wring justice out of a chauvinistic legal system. (The film is loosely based on the case of New Bedford native Cheryl Araujo, which is credited in reshaping media coverage of sexual assault.) The “Kurt” half of this week’s double feature is Mike Nichols’ rarely screened classic “Silkwood” (1983), in which Russell plays the partner of Meryl Streep’s crusading title character. A great actor works just as well as part of an ensemble as in a lead role, and Russell’s nuanced supporting performance is among his most complex.
Also on Monday, the Brattle partners with the American Repertory Theater’s production of “Black Swan” for a double feature of dance-horror classics. In Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” (1977), Jessica Harper plays a young ballerina who enrolls in a prestigious German dance academy, only to find herself embroiled in the Satanic machinations of an ancient coven of witches. Though there are only a few actual scenes of dancing, “Suspiria” is one of the most visually and aurally arresting horror movies ever made, thanks to the eye-popping cinematography of Luciano Tovoli and the blasting soundtrack by Italian prog band Goblin. Dance takes center stage in Gaspar Noé’s “Climax” (2018), in which a troupe of lithe young dancers are driven to madness by LSD-spiked sangria in a snowbound retreat. With the exception of leading lady Sofia Boutella, all the actors in “Climax” are dancers first and foremost, and their opening dance routine, set to Cerrone’s disco classic “Supernature,” is nothing short of extraordinary. Together, the two make for an intoxicating (if at times harrowing) double feature, and may have you dancing in the aisles.
On Wednesday, the Somerville Cine-Club returns to the Somerville Public Library (West Branch) for the first of two planned LaserDisc screenings! For those too young to remember, LaserDisc was an early digital home video format — think DVDs the size of vinyl records. The screening, titled 2 by Demme, pairs two rare short films by the late, great Jonathan Demme that remain LaserDisc exclusives (the titles of the films remain a closely guarded secret until showtime, though the programmers have confirmed that one is a narrative and the other is a concert film). The films will be accompanied by a discussion with local author and Demme biographer David M. Stewart, making this a can’t-miss event for Demmeologists.
On the indie new- release front, adventurous moviegoers have their choice of two intriguing titles definitely not playing at an AMC near you. From Friday through Sunday, the Brattle hosts the local premiere run of “Kontinental ’25” (2025), the latest from Romanian provocateur Radu Jude (“Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”). On Sunday, the Somerville presents the fascinating documentary “Stolen Kingdom” (2026), about the culture of daredevils who risk jail time to explore— and steal from — the abandoned and off-limits regions of Disney theme parks. Both films are as punk as they come and are perfect examples of the wild frontiers of contemporary cinema.
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