Bernardo Bertolucci feted at the American Cinematheque

The influential, Oscar-winning Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci is being feted by the American Cinematheque and UCLA Film & Television Archive with “Bernardo Bertolucci: A Retrospective,” which features rare 35-millimeter prints from Italy.

The festival begins Thursday at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica with “The Conformist,” the 1970 film that put Bertolucci on the international map. Jean-Louis Trintignant headlines this tale about a weak-willed Italian who becomes a pawn for the Fascists.

Screening Friday evening is the 25th anniversary celebration of “The Last Emperor.” On tap for Saturday is his controversial — initially it was rated X — epic “1900,” starring Gerard Depardieu and Robert De Niro. Scheduled for Sunday are 1990’s “The Sheltering Sky,” with Debra Winger and John Malkovich, and the 1998 romantic drama “Besieged.” www.americancinematheque.com

Film Independent at LACMA presents Barry Avrich’s 2011 documentary, “Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project,” on Thursday evening at the Leo S. Bing Theater. Avrich will also participate in a discussion of the film about the co-founder of the Weinstein Co. and Miramax.

The 8th annual Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival kicks off at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Friday with the 20th anniversary of the hockey comedy “The Mighty Ducks.” More than 100 films from around the world — full length, short, animated and documentary, for toddlers to teens — screen Saturday and Sunday morning.

LACMA’s Tuesday matinee spotlights two gritty westerns from director Budd Boetticher starring Randolph Scott: 1957’s “Decision at Sundown” and 1958’s “Buchanan Rides Alone.” www.lacma.org

With Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, “The Master,” being discussed as a possible Oscar contender, the New Beverly is celebrating the independent auteur with a retrospective of his films, beginning Friday with his first feature, 1996’s “Hard Eight,” and the 1997 “Boogie Nights,” with Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore (the latter two earned Oscar nominations). On tap for Sunday and Monday is his 1999 ensemble drama, “Magnolia,” with Tom Cruise, who was Oscar nominated, Jason Robards and Alfred Molina. Screening Tuesday and Wednesday are the 2002 comedy drama “Punch-Drunk Love,” with a subdued Adam Sandler, and his 2007 award-winning epic, “There Will Be Blood,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis in his Oscar-winning turn.

The American Cinematheque’s “Halloween at the Cinematheque” begins Saturday at the Spielberg Theatre in Hollywood with “Ghosts,” the 1915 version of Henrik Ibsen’s famous play. The film, which is being presented by the RetroFormat Films on 8mm programming franchise, was directed by George Nichols, a protege of D.W. Griffith, and Erich Von Stroheim did the set decoration and appears briefly. Henry Walthall of “Birth of a Nation” stars.

The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood presents two recent German film releases Sunday evening: 2011’s “Summer Window” and 2012’s “This Ain’t California.” Director Martin Persiel and producer Ronald Vietz of “California” will be on hand to discuss the film.

The recently discovered 1933 social drama, “Laughter in Hell,” with Pat O’Brien, screens Wednesday at the Egyptian. The film was based on a book by novelist Jim Tully. Authors Mark Dawidziak and Paul Bauer will be on hand to autograph copies of their book, “Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler,” and introduce the screening. www.americancinematheque.com

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Universal horror film festival continues at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Monday with a screening of the 1928 silent “The Man Who Laughs,” with the 1941 “The Wolf Man” and 1981’s “An American Werewolf in London” on tap for Tuesday. Guests Tuesday include “American Werewolf” director John Landis, the film’s star, David Naughton, and the Oscar-winning special-effects makeup artist Rick Baker. www.oscars.org

UCLA Film & Television Archive’s Laurel and Hardy Restoration Project — a major initiative to restore all surviving negatives of the features and shorts of the beloved comedy team — is the focus of the archive’s “Out of the Past: Film Restoration Today” series Monday evening at the Billy Wilder Theater. Archive film preservationist Scott McQueen will screen a preserved copy of 1933’s “Busy Bodies” and a rare nitrate print of its 1946 reissue, plus an excerpt from the 1929 film “The Hoose-Gow.” www.cinema.ucla.edu

The Skirball Cultural Center’s free Tuesday matinee screens the delightfully dark 1955 British comedy “The Ladykillers,” with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. www.skirball.org

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