The pulsating sounds of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” sound out over the New York City skyline. In a flurry of images, we see the iconography traditionally associated with the city – its brimstone buildings, its towering skyscrapers, its citizens marching on through the bustling, damp and snow-covered streets – as a neurotic, disembodied voice begins to speak, apparently trying to figure out the right words to start his new novel. Read more...

Photo: (United Artists) Woody Allen’s 1979 masterpiece “Manhattan” stars Allen as Isaac Davis, a television comedy writer who falls in love with his best friend’s mistress while dealing with the antics of his mischievous ex-wife. The film will be screening Friday at The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue.

Orson Welles’ “Touch of Evil” opens with an explosion of sight and sound: the loud jazz of jukeboxes, honking cars and near the scene’s conclusion, a literal explosion – a car goes up in flames after a bomb detonates. Read more...

Photo: “Touch of Evil” stars Charlton Heston as Mexican officer Mike Vargas alongside Orson Welles, who both directs and stars in the film. One of Welles’ most acclaimed pieces, “Touch of Evil” will be showing at the Million Dollar Theatre near Venice Beach on Saturday. (Universal Pictures)