FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
A PASSAGE TO INDIA India turns out to be quite the erotic jolt for proper English ladies in David Lean's lengthy but not all that overblown adaptation of the E.M Forster novel. (1984, 163 min) (Also Aug. 31 & Sept. 1) 3 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
DEATH NOTE Adapted from a manga series, this live-action film is about a human, Light Yagami, who finds the gods's book of death. While the mischievous god who deliberately mislaid the tome hoped for chaos, Light uses the book's power to eliminate criminals. (2006, 126 min) 6:30 pm, Japanese Information and Culture Center, 1155 21st St NW. Free; reservations required. RSVP to jiccrsvpspring08@embjapan.org
ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK Bill Haley and His Comets lead the cast of this low-budget musical, one of Hollywood's first attempts to channel rock'n'roll. (1956, 72 min) Shown with THAT'LL BE THE DAY, a tale of Britain's early rock'n'roll years that boasts a strong soundtrack and sharp performances from David Essex and (yes, really) Ringo Starr. (1973, 90 min) 6:30 pm, 7 pm, Mary Pickford Theater, Library of Congress Madison Building, Third Floor, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free; call 202-707-5677 for reservations.
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE The most boring of the Indys — well, of the first three — this flick highlights Petra, a zeppelin, and the filmmakers's realization that if you're going to blithely butcher lots of characters, you should first dress them in Nazi uniforms. 7 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
RADIO STAR Korean superstar Ahn Sung Ki plays a washed-up rocker who's offered a job as a radio DJ in director Lee Jun-ik's drama. (2006, 115 min) Ahn Sung Ki will appear to discuss the film and his work. 7 pm, Freer/Sackler Galleries, 12th & Constitution Ave SW. Free; tickets distributed one hour before screening.
NEAR DARK This rustic vampire movie is one of the better-loved efforts of Kathryn Bigelow, one of the few women to almost make it as a mainstream Hollywood director. (1987, 94 min) (Also Aug. 30 & 31) midnight, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
HENSON OPEN CINEMA These three TV programs celebrate the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock. (1966-89) (Also Aug. 30 & Sept. 6) 10 am-2 pm, S. Dillon Ripley Center, Room 3111, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. Free.
REDS Warren Beatty's epic-scale Commie romance, based in part on John Reed's Ten Days That Shook the World, ended the Cold War almost a decade before Ronald Reagan supposedly did. (1981, 194 min) (Also Sept. 2) 12:30 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME This is another of the Makhmalbaf clan's riffs on unsupervised children and the difficulties of getting an education in Afghanistan. Hana Makhmalbaf's feature debut is not as striking as sister Samira's Blackboards or stepmother Marziyeh Meshkini's Stray Dogs, but it's worthy nonetheless. The title refers to the film's location, the inhabited caves of Bamyan, site of the massive Buddha sculptures that were dynamited by the Taliban. The story follows Baktay, who struggles to buy a notebook and then find her way to the correct tented classroom. (Neighbor Abbas attends a school, but that one's only for boys.) Along the way, Baktay tumbles into over-obvious allegory when she's detained by young boys playing Taliban, who insist that "girls don't go to school!" (2007, 81 min) (Also Aug. 31) 2 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
REPETITION This film restages 1971's Stanford Prison Experiment, but the presence of cameras changes the result. (2005, 75 min) Shown with THE BATTLE OF ORGREAVE, a reenactment of a 1984 clash between striking British miners and police and a consideration of how televised images of the strike affected public opinion. (2001, 63 min) 3 & 4:45 pm, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through Sept. 6, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 7th St & Independence Ave SW. Free.
DIVINE COMEDY Dante is the least of it in Manoel de Oliveira's film, set in an asylum where every patient plays the role of a noted historical or literary figure. (1991, 140 min) 4:30 pm, 2 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
ALIENS James Cameron takes up the Ripley-vs.-the-evil-mother franchise in this slow-building but ultimately frenzied sequel. (1986, 137 min) (Also Aug. 30 & 31, Sept. 3 & 4) 9:30 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
AMOR DE PERDICAO Adapted from a 19th-century novel about doomed romance, this made-for-TV Manoel de Oliveira film attempts to unite theater and cinema, while retaining much of the book's language. (1978, 265 min) 2 pm, 2 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
AMADEUS Mozart was a genius, but crude, according to Milos Forman's lavishly appointed, but glib, adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play. (1984, 160 min) 4:15 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $9.75
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
A GLIMPSE OF DE KOONING In this short, the painter discusses his style with cohort Franz Kline and critic Harold Rosenberg. (1968, 20 min) noon, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
THE GO-BETWEEN A 12-year-old boy is enlisted to carry notes between adulterous lovers (Julie Christie and Alan Bates) in director Joseph Losey's film of L.P. Hartley's novel, scripted by Harold Pinter. (1970, 118 min) 7 pm, Mary Pickford Theater, Library of Congress Madison Building, Third Floor, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free; call 202-707-5677 for reservations.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
KEEPING THE FAITH Ben Stiller is the rabbi and director Edward Norton is the Catholic priest in this romantic farce, in which both the guys pursue a woman (Jenna Elfman) they cannot marry for religious reasons. (2000, 128 min) 7:30 pm, Washington DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street NW. $10.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Marlon Brando prove themselves capable of rising to the screechy pitch of Tennessee Williams's play in this adaptation, directed by Elia Kazan. (1951, 122 min) 6 pm, Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium, 8th & G Sts NW. Free.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES Marilyn Monroe's — and Madonna's — persona was established by this Howard Hawks's musical, which features Jane Russell and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." (1953, 91 min) Shown with DUCK AMUCK, a Chuck Jones cartoon in which Daffy bites the hand that animates him. (1953, 7 min) 7 pm, Mary Pickford Theater, Library of Congress Madison Building, Third Floor, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free; call 202-707-5677 for reservations.