(LA SIRÈNE DU MISSISSIPPI, François Truffaut, France 1969, 123 min., French/subtitles)

The unsurpassable duo of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve are teamed for this suspenseful and oddly romantic story of a tobacco farmer and the mail-order bride who is not quite what her correspondence made her out to be. For this homage to his mentor, Alfred Hitchcock, Truffaut adapted a double-cross-filled story by American writer Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window).

(Martin Scorsese, US 1983, 109 min.)

In his fifth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, a would-be stand-up comedian who believes success will come with an appearance on the late-night television show of Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Rebuffed by Langford, Rupert hatches a plan with the demented stalker Masha (Sandra Bernhard) to kidnap the TV host and ransom him for the shot at glory. The most overlooked of the DeNiro/Scorsese pairings, The King of Comedy is a devastatingly funny dark comedy with observations on fame that place it way ahead of its time.

(Robert Wise, US 1949, 72 min.)

then at 8:30 p.m. CROSSFIRE

(Edward Dmytryk, US 1947, 86 min.)

The lean and tough Robert Ryan stars in two classic films noir made under his contract at RKO Pictures. First, The Set-Up casts Ryan as a punchy but noble boxer who refuses to take a dive … even at his own peril. Then, in the controversial Crossfire, Ryan plays a psychotic soldier investigated for an anti-Semitic murder. Robert Mitchum and Robert Young co-star. Two films for one admission price.

(Martin Scorsese, US 1977, 164 min.)

Scorsese’s homage to such musical melodramas as A Star is Born tells of the stormy romance of hotheaded jazz saxophonist and bandleader Jimmy Doyle (Robert DeNiro) and pop singer Francine Evans. As Francine’s star ascends, the lovers’ relationship begins a downward spiral. Combining big-budget production numbers and elaborate set design with DeNiro and Scorsese’s trademarked improvisatory style, New York, New York is a singularly striking artistic achievement. The uncut version, complete with the “Happy Endings” musical number, will be shown.

(Henry Hathaway, US 1947, 98 min.)

Richard Widmark makes an indelible impression in his big-screen debut as Tommy Udo, a giggling paroled sociopath out for revenge. Featuring a script by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, one of Hollywood’s best screenwriting teams, Kiss of Death, starring Victor Mature, remains a chilling and no-holds-barred portrait of crime, vengeance, and redemption in the heart of the big city.