Bookending the 1970s are a pair of decidedly different feature films by the celebrated actor, writer, and director Paul Mazursky that today stand as emblematic of that decade: the wife-swapping “Me Generation” satire Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and the feminist classic An Unmarried Woman (1978). A four-time Oscar®-nominated screenwriter, Mazursky himself is representative of the generation of filmmakers who made wonderfully personal films within the 1970s Hollywood studio system.

In between these two films, Mazursky made four others including the perhaps most directly autobiographical Next Stop, Greenwich Village(1976). This portrait of a young actor (Lenny Baker) making his way through an affectionately remembered Bohemian landscape of 1950s New York is easily one of the very best films of the ‘70s. Featuring the late Shelley Winters in one of her finest performances (as the hero’s overbearing mother), the cast of mostly then-unknowns includes Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, and even, very briefly, Bill Murray.

Mazursky’s acting career was launched when he was cast as one of Glenn Ford’s incorrigible students along with other newcomers Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, and Jamie Farr in the classic Blackboard Jungle (1955). But before that landmark film, Mazursky made his movie debut in the first feature of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, Fear and Desire (1953). He continues today to work steadily as an actor, both in smaller roles in his own movies and for such directors as Mel Brooks, John Landis, and Bob Rafelson. He also appears on television shows including HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Sopranos. As a director, Mazursky has explored diverse subjects including the immigrant experience, New York vs. Southern California living, and, most importantly, the state of contemporary marriage. His other acclaimed films include Harry and Tonto (1974), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Enemies: A Love Story (1989), and Winchell (1998).

In the Museum’s Dryden Theatre at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 3, Paul Mazursky introduces a rare screening of Fear and Desire, and at 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 4, he presents Next Stop, Greenwich Village. After both screenings, he will discuss his career in filmmaking and answer audience questions. Tickets for each event are $10, $8 members and students. Advance tickets available at the Dryden Theatre box office, the museum’s admission desk or by clicking on the link below.