The most explosive and zeitgeisty televised force of nature since the birth of MTV, Morton Downey Jr. forever altered the American broadcast landscape in a blast of cigarette smoke, fistfights, in-your-face populist ranting, nasty epithets and good, old-fashioned showmanship. Billed as “3-D television” and “rock and roll without the music”, The Morton Downey, Jr. Show was the most addictive talk show of its kind to ever hit the airwaves, with its maniacally whirlwind host oozing attitude while his rabid, droogish studio audience throbbed in the background. Predating today’s omnipresent tsunami of trash TV, this late-’80s phlegmatic wonder tore up the tube, fashioning the “discussion” of crazy current events (phone sex, heavy metal, the Rev. Al Sharpton) into a giddy, unforgettable gladiator pit. Tonight, we toast the host-with-the-most with a tightly-wound mix of MDJ Show high-/lowlights, and the Los Angeles premiere of Évocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie — the brand-new feature documentary dissecting the mind and motivation of television’s most notorious agitator. Évocateur co-director Jeremy Newberger in person for Q&A after the film!

The next installment of Doug Benson’s Movie Interruption, where Doug and his friends (who, in the past, have included everyone from Brian Posehn to Sarah Silverman and Zach Galifianakis) chill on the front row couches, mics in hand, and say whatever hilarious thing pops into their heads while a movie of their choosing unfolds on the screen.

Dir. Brad Anderson, 2013, 35mm, 94 min.

Cynthia Carr and Jennifer Doyle explore the work of the artist David Wojnarowicz from historical, literary, and queer perspectives. Carr is the author of Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz; Doyle is the author of Hold It Against Me: Difficulty and Emotion in Contemporary Art. A screening of Wojnarowicz’s collaboration with Ben Neill, ITSOFOMO (In the Shadow of Forward Motion), will follow the discussion.

Our series dedicated to the memory of Roger Ebert features another one of his favorites, Alfred Hitchcock's classic tale of suspense VERTIGO.

Revisit Orson Welles' masterpiece - or see it for the first time! - as part of an ongoing series that honors the memory of one of the Cinematheque's favorite movie critics, Roger Ebert - who said of the film, "Its surface is as much fun as any movie ever made. Its depths surpass understanding."

This sweeping epic of Arab infighting and British colonialism is as timely as ever, and as beautiful - especially in this new 4k restoration!