After 55 years…The Devils are finally unleashed!
Censored. Controversial. Practically impossible to see in its intended form. Now, Ken Russell’s The Devils is back. And this time, it’s in a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, referencing the edit he privately constructed in 2004.
Based on the infamous true story of 17th-century French priest Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed), The Devils follows a charismatic priest whose defiance of church and state makes him the target of a political conspiracy. When a sexually repressed nun (Vanessa Redgrave) accuses Grandier of witchcraft, an entire convent becomes consumed by an eruption of violence that threatens to tear the town apart.
This 1971 masterpiece is one of the most audacious films ever made and became one of the most notoriously censored films in British cinema. Don’t miss this extremely rare treat on the big screen!
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We’re screening the brand new 4K restoration of František Vláčil’s Marketa Lazarová starting on October 1st!
In its native land, the film has been hailed as the greatest Czech film ever made; for many U.S. viewers, it will be a revelation. Based on a novel by Vladislav Vančura, this stirring and poetic depiction of a feud between two rival medieval clans is a fierce, epic, and meticulously designed evocation of the clashes between Christianity and paganism, humankind and nature, love and violence.
Vláčil’s approach was to re-create the textures and mentalities of a long-ago way of life, rather than to make a conventional historical drama, and the result is dazzling. With its inventive widescreen cinematography, editing, and sound design, Marketa Lazarová is an experimental action film.
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Every man fights his own war.
Frida Cinema Film Club members are invited to very exclusive screenings of a new 4K restoration of Terrence Malick’s 1998 wartime masterpiece The Thin Red Line!
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
Featuring Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Adrien Brody, Nick Nolte, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Elias Koteas, and John Travolta, The Thin Red Line is an incredible mix of visceral combat photography and Malick’s signature eye for nature. Hans Zimmer’s haunting score tops everything off, making it a transcendent meditation on humanity and violence that goes way beyond the “war movie” genre.
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Paris Is Burning is coming back to The Frida Cinema as part of our Nu-Classics series, hosted by Maggie Mae Fish! And this month, her guest is Kat Blaque! Stick around after the film for a conversation between the two of them!
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag ball scene. Made over seven years, Paris Is Burning offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies, to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia and transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty.
Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women, including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza, Paris Is Burning brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.
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It’s a million dollars worth of adventure!
Our Classic Movie Nights series sets sail with the swashbuckling Errol Flynn classic Captain Blood!
Peter Blood, a wrongfully convicted Irish physician, is sentenced to slavery in the Caribbean after being accused of treason. But when he is purchased by the beautiful Arabella Bishop, Blood escapes captivity, takes command of a pirate ship, and sets out on a life of adventure on the high seas.
Captain Blood is the film that transformed Errol Flynn into an international movie star, launching one of the great screen careers of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, White Christmas), this rousing 1935 adventure is a landmark of the classic Hollywood swashbuckler. Sword fights, romance, pirates…it’s got it all!
Please make sure to get to this showtime early, as our beloved Marketing Director, Bekah, will be doing a pre-screening presentation on the film!
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Our Spielberg Summer series turns its attention to one of the most powerful and influential war films ever made with Saving Private Ryan, a landmark achievement that forever changed how combat is portrayed on screen.
In the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad are assigned an extraordinary mission: locate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose brothers have all been killed in action, and bring him home. As the soldiers journey deeper into war-torn France, the mission forces each man to confront difficult questions about the value of a single life amid unimaginable loss.
Famous for its visceral opening depiction of Omaha Beach, Saving Private Ryan goes far beyond just technical brilliance. Spielberg combines staggering realism with his signature humanism, creating a film that honors both the chaos of war and the ordinary people “asked” to endure it.
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Our Spielberg Summer series takes a more sobering turn with Empire of the Sun, a sweeping coming-of-age epic full of chaos and loss of wartime innocence.
Based on J.G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows young Jim “Jamie” Graham, a privileged British boy living in Shanghai whose life is shattered when World War II erupts and he is separated from his parents. Alone in an occupied city, he survives in a brutal internment camp while clinging to the fading grandeur of his former life.
One of Spielberg’s most ambitious and emotionally complex works, Empire of the Sun transforms war into a surreal landscape of endurance and disillusionment. Anchored by a remarkable early performance from a young Christian Bale, the film reveals Spielberg expanding his visual language to capture not just wonder, but its disappearance. Rarely shown theatrically, this 80s gem demands to be seen big and loud!
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Flickrhappy returns to The Frida Cinema for a special FREE screening of the beloved 1972 film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, 1776!
A musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence may not sound like a crowd-pleaser on paper, but 1776 pulls off the impossible, transforming one of the most consequential moments in American history into a surprisingly moving political drama. Featuring a tour-de-force performance by William Daniels as the fiery John Adams, the film brings the Founding Fathers vividly to life as they clash over the birth of a nation.
Decades before Hamilton, 1776 proved that history could sing. In fact, Lin-Manuel Miranda has cited the musical as one of the inspirations behind his groundbreaking hit. When 1776 premiered on Broadway and later arrived on screen in 1972, it achieved something remarkable: it made the nation’s founding dramatically accessible while remaining deeply entertaining and profoundly human. Audiences across the political spectrum embraced its celebration of the imperfect process of democracy. Rather than portraying the Founding Fathers as untouchable legends, the musical presents them as passionate, flawed individuals struggling to create something greater than themselves.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience 1776 on the big screen, for free, thanks to our friends at Flickrhappy!
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Celebrate Pride Month with a signature themed cocktail and 30th anniversary FREE screening of The Celluloid Closet, a documentary adaptation of Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book and lecture series exploring LGBTQ+ representation in film.
The Celluloid Closet is an epic story, by turns surprising, hilarious, and disturbing. Academy Award-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman assemble clips from over 100 Hollywood movies and interviews with many of the filmmakers and actors who created them (including Tom Hanks, Shirley MacLaine, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, and Gore Vidal).
“Thoroughly enjoyable…a colorful overview with the popular appeal of a ‘That’s Entertainment’…sheer fun.” – The New York Times
“TWO THUMBS UP…terrific” – Siskel and Ebert
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Our documentary pick for our Art House for Families series is For All Mankind, Al Reinert’s thrilling portrait about the twenty-four men who went to the moon!
Constructed entirely from restored NASA footage and accompanied by a hypnotic score from Brian Eno, the film immerses audiences in the experience of the Apollo missions, transforming historic events into something deeply human. Rather than focusing on technical milestones or political history, For All Mankind captures the surreal beauty of space travel itself.
Few documentaries evoke the scale of discovery quite like this one. Projected on the big screen, its images of Earth floating silently in darkness still inspire the same awe they did more than fifty years ago.
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.
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