Kick off November at The Frida with a 4K restoration of Carol Reed’s The Third Man, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, and Orson Welles!

Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives in a bombed-out, post-war Vienna at the invitation of his childhood friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) only to find him dead. Martins develops the ultimate conspiracy theory after learning of a “third man” present at the time of Harry’s death, butting up against interference from British police officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), and falling head-over-heels for Harry’s grief-stricken lover Anna (Alida Valli).

Not just a great Film Noir, but one of the most revered films in cinema history, The Third Man is frequently discussed alongside Casablanca as one of the definitive films about postwar Europe, and its reputation rests on the rare combination of a terrific mystery, extraordinary visual style, and one of cinema’s most iconic villain performances.

On every street in every city in this country, there’s a nobody who dreams of being somebody. He’s a lonely forgotten man desperate to prove that he’s alive.

Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver returns to The Frida Cinema to celebrate its 50th anniversary!

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is a lonely, insomniac Vietnam veteran who takes a job driving a cab through the seedy streets of 1970s New York City. As he becomes increasingly disgusted with the world around him, Travis spirals into an obsessive crusade to cleanse the city of its perceived corruption. But as Travis’s grip on reality begins to unravel, his fantasy of becoming a hero threatens to explode into horrifying violence.

Featuring one of De Niro’s most iconic performances, Paul Schrader’s razor-sharp screenplay, and Bernard Herrmann’s unforgettable, jazz-inflected score, Taxi Driver remains one of the defining achievements of American cinema. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival, Scorsese’s feverish portrait of urban alienation helped shape the modern psychological thriller and gave us one of cinema’s most unsettling antiheroes. 

“Get the funk up!” Our Unsung 80’s Soundtracks series continues with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman – or what happens when a movie studio also owns the recording contract of a pop superstar!

One of the defining films of its decade, Batman stars Michael Keaton as billionaire Bruce Wayne, who secretly spends his nights stalking the streets of Gotham City as the costumed vigilante Batman.  As Batman closes in on dastardly villain Joker (Jack Nicholson, oozing charismatic menace), he also finds himself drawn to photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger). With Burton’s gothic visual style, Danny Elfman’s soaring score, and Oscar-winning Art Direction-Set Decoration by Anton Furst and Peter Young, Batman proved that a comic-book movie could be dark, stylish, and strange, while also humorous and wildly entertaining.

Batman is something of an unusual entry in the soundtrack canon, with two very different albums coming out of the film. Danny Elfman’s orchestral score became one of the most recognizable superhero themes ever written, while Prince was brought in to create a separate album of songs inspired by the film. The resulting Batman soundtrack became a massive commercial success, spending six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and spawning hits including “Batdance,” “Partyman,” and “Scandalous.” The album was conceived around the Joker and Vicki Vale, with Burton reportedly giving Prince a rough cut of the film to inspire the songs. Elfman’s score and Prince’s album rarely appear together in the film, but both became essential parts of the movie’s identity, making Batman one of the biggest soundtrack phenomena of the 1980s.

The Scout, the new dramedy from director Paula Gonzalez-Nasser is coming to The Frida Cinema!

Sofia works as a location scout for a TV pilot filming in New York City. It’s her job to find the homes, businesses, and exteriors where the show will be filmed. Driving around the city’s different neighborhoods, she enters the private spaces of strangers to photograph their cozy apartments and eclectic shops, stepping into the fabric of their lives while trying to satisfy the demands of her erratic employers. Over a day filled with these encounters, Sofia witnesses moments of curiosity, vulnerability, and quiet tension until her work takes a sudden, personal turn.

Just added: Helena Odeh, daughter of Alex Odeh, will be joining us before the 8:30PM screening on 11/5 to introduce the film! 

Who Killed Alex Odeh?, the powerful new documentary from directors Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, is coming to The Frida Cinema for a limited run on November 5th-10th.

In October 1985, Santa Ana, California was shaken by a brazen act of political violence when Palestinian American Alex Odeh, a beloved teacher and community leader, was killed by a tripwire bomb planted in his office. Despite substantial evidence and identified suspects, the case was never solved. Who Killed Alex Odeh? reopens the mystery, tracking a renewed investigation in real time as new leads emerge, long-buried records come to light, and the forces behind a political assassination are finally confronted.

Alex Odeh was a Palestinian-born American citizen, a father of three, a teacher, a poet, and an advocate for Arab American civil rights and peaceful coexistence.

According to Carnegie Mellon University and Grand Central Art Center, the statue of Alex that sits outside of the Santa Ana Public Library (just a ten minute walk from The Frida Cinema) is the only public monument to an Arab American in the United States.