Philadelphia Weekly

Ambler Theater
$4.50-$8. 108 E. Butler Ave. 215.345.7855. www.amblertheater.com

The 400 Blows
(1959) (Shown on film): As the story goes, Harvey Weinstein went to see Fran �ois Truffaut's seminal debut and French New Wave catalyst at an impressionable age, but not because he knew the title referred to a French colloquialism meaning "to raise hell." A- Thurs., Oct. 4, 7pm.

Bryn Mawr Film Institute
$4.50-$9.25 (unless otherwise noted). 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr. 610.527.9898. www.brynmawrfilm.org

The 400 Blows
(1959) (Shown on film): See Ambler Theater. A- Wed., Oct. 3, 7pm.

The Hidden Fortress
(1957) (Shown on film): Best known for heavily inspiring Star Wars--a feisty princess, two bickering peasants/droids, a rascally interloper, a war-torn landscape, etc.--Akira Kurosawa's samurai actioneer is one of his few pure-genre outings, with few pretensions beyond entertainment. But in its sneaky way, it's at least as affecting as Ikiru or Seven Samurai. A- Wed., Oct. 10, 7pm.

Chestnut Hill Film Group
Free, donations accepted. Screening room at the Chestnut Hill Branch of the Free Library, 8711 Germantown Ave. 215.248.0977. www.armcinema25.com

Song of the South
(1946) (Shown on film): The CHFG commences its fall season with the black sheep, so to speak, in the Disney canon --though it's not so reviled that they didn't give it a souped-up theatrical rerelease in the mid-'80s. No doubt Disney--which has never released the film on video in America--is steamed that one of their most indelible songs "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" originates from the Uncle Tom-ish outing, which adapts stories by author Joel Chandler Harris, who eavesdropped on slave yarns and then published them. (The first white co-option of black culture?) But it's not as if this is Birth of a Nation with cute cartoon segments and infectiously upbeat songs. It's more an unholy combination of well-meaning progressiveness and the kind of casual racism that's oh-so-mid-'40s. In the former category you have James Baskett, who became the first black star of a mainstream Hollywood film. (Walt aggressively campaigned to get him an Oscar and had to settle with a special "Honorary Award.") In the latter you have the kind of thoughtless bigotry demonstrated these days by certain right-wing pundits who think they're sending a positive message by exclaiming how a restaurant run by black people can somehow function and that its clientele can somehow order iced tea without dropping the MF-bomb. And though it's often assumed that the unfailingly chipper plantation setting is circa the Civil War, that it's actually not long after makes it only slightly less offensive. With cinematography from Citizen Kane's Gregg Toland, if you must know. (Not reviewed.) Tues., Oct. 9, 6pm and 7:45pm.

Colonial Theatre
$4-$7. 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville. 610.917.0223. www.thecolonialtheatre.com

The Black Cat
(1934) (Shown on film): Before he became the master of grade-Z cinema, Edgar G. Ulmer (Detour) briefly courted the mainstream with this Universal horror "suggested" by the Poe story. Bela Lugosi plays the mysterious ham who lures honeymooners David Manners and Julie Bishop to the art deco Hungarian castle of Boris Karloff. There the two stars, paired for the first of eight times, engage in an increasingly bizarre battle of wits, which culminates in the film's legendary chiaroscuro skinning scene. In truth, the battle's nearly a draw, with Karloff as imperious as ever and Lugosi surprisingly tragic and tender. A protege of F.W. Murnau, Ulmer makes the most of his budget, even while keeping things as resourceful as ever--the film is awash in deep shadows and unreal sets, designed by Ulmer himself. The film became Universal's biggest hit of the season, proving Ulmer could've become a mainstream filmmaker, if only he wanted to. A- Sun., Oct. 7, 2pm.

County Theater
$4.50-$8.50. 20 E. State St., Doylestown. 215.345.6789. www.countytheater.com

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