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Sean Baker, John Malkovich, and lots of Halloween horror

The BSR October 2024 repertory movie roundup

In
5 minute read
Portrait photo of Bostwick. Arms crossed, smiling at camera. Wears all black, with gray hair. Blue backdrop
Barry Bostwick will be in attendance at a Rocky Horror screening this month. (Photo courtesy of Ensemble Arts Philly.)

It’s October, which means many horror movies—including Rocky Horror—leading up to Halloween. But also, leading into the Philadelphia Film Festival is a retrospective of one of today’s leading indie filmmakers. Then, Bryn Mawr Film Institute will analyze a modern classic on its 25th anniversary.

The highlights

Sean Baker retrospective
Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street
Film Society Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street

The local premiere of Anora, Sean Baker’s much-acclaimed new film that won the Cannes Film Festival, has already been announced this October as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival. The Philadelphia Film Society has announced a retrospective of Baker’s other films, several of which played at PFF in previous years. It’s a tour of stories from the American underbelly, from Hollywood to the outskirts of Walt Disney World to small-town Texas, mostly told through the eyes of beleaguered sex workers.

Prince of Broadway
Wednesday, October 2, 4pm and 7pm
Film Society Bourse

Starlet
Thursday, October 3, 4pm and 7pm
Film Society Bourse

Tangerine
Saturday, October 5, 8pm
Film Society Center

The Florida Project
Sunday, October 6, 6pm
Film Society Center

Red Rocket
Thursday, October 10, 7:30pm
Film Society Center

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The 49th Anniversary Spectacular Tour
Tuesday, October 29, 7:30pm
The Miller Theatre, 250 South Broad St, Philadelphia

Rocky Horror gets shown locally quite often, but not usually in a Broadway-style theater on South Broad Street. But the 1975 cult classic will be shown at the Miller Theatre two days before Halloween, complete with an appearance by Brad himself, Barry Bostwick, and shadowcasting by Transylvanian Nipple Productions.

Additionally, the usual Rocky Horror showings are set to take place at Ritz Five on October 11 and 18, both at 10pm.

Being John Malkovich, Cinema Classics Seminar
Thursday, October 24, 6:30pm
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr

It’s one of the weirdest, most wonderful movies of the 1990s, featuring director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman making an instant classic out of an absurd premise: A struggling puppeteer (John Cusack) figures out a way to temporarily get into the mind of actor John Malkovich. The week of the film’s 25th anniversary, Amy Corbin of Muhlenberg College hosts a Cinema Classics Seminar, no mind portals included.

More cinema showings

Chungking Express
Tuesday, October 1
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Wednesday, October 2
Ritz Five

Friday, October 4
Film Society Center

Cleo From 5 to 7
Wednesday, October 2
Ambler Theater

The Bloody Lady
Wednesday, October 2
PhilaMOCA

Mean Girls (2004)
Thursday, October 3

Sunday, October 6
Fathom Events (various theaters)

Purple Rain
Friday, October 4
Wednesday, October 9
Sunday, October 13
Wednesday, October 16
Film Society Center

The Silence of the Lambs
Friday, October 4
Saturday, October 5
Thursday, October 10
Sunday, October 13
Film Society Center

Malcolm X
Saturday, October 5
Sunday, October 6
Saturday, October 12
Film Society Center

The Muppet Movie
Saturday, October 5
Saturday, October 19
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Dracula (1931)
Sunday, October 6
The Colonial Theater

Happy Together
Tuesday, October 8
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Deep Blue Sea
Wednesday, October 9
Ritz Five

Nosferatu (1922, with Not So Silent Cinema)
Thursday, October 10
Ambler Theater

Sunday, October 27
The Colonial Theater

Eraserhead
Friday, October 11
Saturday, October 12
Thursday, October 31
Film Society Center

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Friday, October 11
Wednesday, October 30
Film Society Center

Army of Darkness
Friday, October 11
Saturday, October 12
Ritz Five

In the Mood For Love
Tuesday, October 15 (Cinema Classics Seminar)
Sunday, October 20

Blade
Wednesday, October 16
Ritz Five

Election
Thursday, October 17 (Cinema Classics Seminar)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

The Shining
Friday, October 18
Saturday, October 19
Ritz Five

Back to the Future, Part II
Saturday, October 19
Monday, October 21
Fathom Events (various theaters)

Gremlins
Wednesday, October 23
Ritz Five

Jennifer’s Body
Thursday, October 24
Ambler Theater

Brainscan
Monday, October 28
PhilaMOCA

Audition (Presented by Viva Video)
Wednesday, October 30
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Trick’r Treat
Wednesday, October 30
Ritz Five

The Sixth Sense
Wednesday, October 30
Ambler Theater

Carrie
Thursday, October 31
Ambler Theater

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