Jason and the Argonauts

Posted on May 15, 2026

Our Art House for Families series is headed to Ancient Greece (pretty timely, no?) for Jason and the Argonauts! Before CGI armies and digital creatures, movie monsters were crafted by hand, and few artists ever did it better than Ray Harryhausen.

Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.

More than sixty years later, Jason and the Argonauts still delivers the kind of tactile cinematic wonder that inspired generations of filmmakers, from blockbuster directors to lifelong fantasy fans discovering these creatures for the very first time.

Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

Posted on May 15, 2026

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen is up next in our Art House for Families series!

Director Karel Zeman conjures a story that follows the adventures of the legendary, boastful baron, whose whirlwind exploits take him from the moon to eighteenth-century Turkey to the belly of a whale and beyond.

A rainbow-esque marvel that blends live action with techniques including stop-motion, cutout collage, puppetry, painted backdrops, and antique tinting, Zeman’s film is an exhilarating visual delight and a warmhearted whirl through a bygone age too entrancing to have existed.

This film is presented in its original Czech language, with English subtitles.

The Black Cauldron: Presented by Cinematic Void

Posted on April 15, 2026

Hidden by darkness. Guarded by witches. Discovered by a boy. Stolen by a king. Whoever owns it will rule the world. Or destroy it!

Cinematic Void is back at The Frida Cinema to present a slightly-late 40th anniversary screening of Disney’s rarely-screened gem The Black Cauldron!

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.

This event is co-presented by both Cinematic Void and The American Cinematheque! Member discounts do apply!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad: Hosted by Arnold Leibovit

Posted on April 13, 2026

From the Land Beyond Beyond…From The World Past Hope and Fear…The Frida Cinema is proud to present a brand new 4K restoration of the most influential fantasy adventures ever made: Ray Harryhausen’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad! See it the way audiences did in 1958, larger than life on the big screen! This special event includes a rare on-screen video appearance by child star Richard Eyer, along with two additional George Pal Academy Award®-winning Puppetoons, celebrating the golden age of fantasy filmmaking.

In this landmark stop-motion adventure, the legendary sailor Sinbad journeys to the mysterious Island of Colossa to save Princess Parisa, his fiancée, who has been magically shrunken by the evil sorcerer Sokurah. Along the way Sinbad confronts a towering Cyclops, battles a sword-wielding animated skeleton in one of the most famous duels in motion picture history, faces a giant two-headed Roc, and ultimately fights a fire-breathing dragon in a spectacular fantasy climax–adventure, monsters, and magic Featuring groundbreaking Dynamation effects by Ray Harryhausen and a thunderous, unforgettable score by Bernard Herrmann!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad became one of the top-grossing films of 1958 and helped redefine fantasy filmmaking for generations to come–a giant-screen fantasy experience that launched a thousand filmmakers. Its influence can be seen in the work of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Rick Baker and many others.

Hosted by producer-director Arnold Leibovit, who was inspired by the film as a child, later met and directed Ray Harryhausen in The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, and stayed in touch with him for over 30 years. Leibovit also had the opportunity to meet George Pal and correspond with him for more than a year, and became a longtime friend of Pal’s widow, Mrs. Zsoka Pal. For decades, he has worked to restore and preserve the Puppetoons and carry forward the legacy of classic fantasy filmmaking. In 2008, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and hailed as one of the finest fantasy films ever made, noted for its stunning color photography, imaginative creatures, and Bernard Herrmann’s thrilling score.

Doors open at 6:00PM and the show starts at 7:00PM! Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply.

The African Queen

Posted on March 25, 2026

The greatest adventure a man ever lived…with a woman!

The penultimate film on our Bogie Fest series sees everybody’s favorite Hollywood tough guy taking on his greatest opponent ever…Katharine Hepburn! It’s John Huston’s The African Queen, the movie that finally landed Mr. Bogart his first and only Oscar!

Set against the chaos of World War I in East Africa, the film pairs two people who, on paper, should never work. Humphrey Bogart is Charlie Allnut, a scruffy, gin-soaked riverboat captain whose loyalties extend about as far as his next drink. Katharine Hepburn is Rose Sayer, a prim, devout missionary whose world has been defined by order, restraint, and moral certainty. Then…their world collapses. What begins as survival quickly becomes something else: a borderline absurd plan to take the boat downriver and attack a German warship.

Huston leans into the physicality of it all: the mud, the insects, the heat, the relentless push of the river. It’s not the ideal romantic backdrop, but with talent like Bogart and Hepburn on screen, they somehow make it all work.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Posted on March 25, 2026

The nearer they get to their treasure, the farther they get from the law.

Bogie Fest heads south of the border for one of the greatest adventure dramas ever put to film: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre! Directed by John Huston, this gripping tale of greed and survival unfolds in the rugged mountains of Mexico, where desperation and fortune are two sides to the same coin.

Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), a down-on-his-luck drifter, teams up with fellow American Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) and a seasoned old prospector, Howard (Walter Huston), to strike gold in the Sierra Madre. What begins as a hopeful quest for riches slowly unravels into a tense psychological battle, as paranoia and mistrust creep in and threaten to destroy everything they’ve worked for.

With its stark realism, iconic lines (“We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”), and one hell of a performance from our beloved Bogie, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre remains a towering achievement in classic cinema. Walter Huston’s colorful turn as the wise and weathered Howard earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while his son, John Huston, took home Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay!

Big Trouble in Little China

Posted on March 23, 2026

Jack Burton’s in for some serious trouble…and you’re in for some serious fun.

We’ve added a couple late night 40th anniversary encores of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell’s 1986 cult classic Big Trouble In Little China!

Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi’s green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.

This kind of Kung Fu-Western-Sci Fi-Action-Horror genre mashing is common now, but in the 1980s, it was unheard of. Big Trouble In Little China embraced the chaos then, and has become even more beloved as the years have worn on. Come see it on the big screen!

Labyrinth

Posted on March 19, 2026

Celebrate 40 years of Labyrinth magic as The Frida Cinema presents a limited run of the fantasy cult classic in a brand new restoration!

Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King. Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.

Starring a very young Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth has withstood the test of time due to its handmade aesthetic, groundbreaking practical effects, and David Bowie’s iconic role as Jareth the Goblin King! Don’t miss it on the big screen for this very special anniversary!

Up in Smoke: Presented by See It On 16MM

Posted on March 19, 2026

It will make you feel VERY funny!

Our 4/20 Weekend celebrating continues as our friends at See It On 16mm present the Cheech and Chong comedy classic Up In Smoke on glorious celluloid!

An unemployed pot-smoking slacker and amateur drummer, Anthony Stoner ditches his strict parents and hits the road, eventually meeting kindred spirit Pedro de Pacas. While the drug-ingesting duo is soon arrested for possession of marijuana, Anthony and Pedro get released on a technicality, allowing them to continue their many misadventures and ultimately compete in a rock band contest, where they perform the raucous tune “Earache My Eye.”

The Goonies

Posted on March 17, 2026

They call themselves “The Goonies.” The secret caves. The old lighthouse. The lost map. The treacherous traps. Join the adventure!

April’s Staff Pick comes from our beloved Eddie, who has chose Richard Donner’s 1985 classic The Goonies!

Young teen Mikey Walsh and his friends set off on a quest to find Pirate One-Eyed Willie’s treasure in hopes of saving their homes from demolition. However, on their quest to find the treasure, they run into a family of recently escaped criminals, determined to capture the kids and reach the treasure first.

A key touchstone of 1980s cinema, The Goonies has a legacy rooted in pure nostalgia and youthful imagination. Its simple premise has now turned into a defining blueprint for kid-led adventure stories for the rest of time!