The city’s repertory scene is offering a wide array of screenings this weekend, from large museum retrospectives to intimate theater runs. If you care about experiencing films on original formats, you’ll find plenty of 35mm prints and carefully curated programs. The lineups include restored editions, director retrospectives, double bills, and continuing series that highlight both well-known and underseen works. For readers who value the texture of analog projection or the context of a themed series, this weekend’s slate provides multiple reasons to visit the city’s cinemas.
Across museums and arthouse theaters you’ll encounter programs that range from singular auteurs to genre mixes. Several institutions emphasize the retrospective format—an approach that collects a director’s or theme’s works for deeper appreciation—while others present single titles in high-quality prints or new restorations. Here is a venue-by-venue guide to what to watch and why these presentations matter for lovers of film history and immersive screenings.
Standout programs by venue
Major museums and cultural institutions
The Museum of the Moving Image is presenting a sizeable retrospective devoted to cinema from 2001, offering 35mm prints of films such as What Time Is It There?, Waking Life, and The Lady and the Duke. Alongside that centerpiece, the museum is also screening Donnie Darko and That Old Dream That Moves. Nearby, the Japan Society closes out a focused look at the legendary actress Meiko Kaji, giving audiences a last chance to see her work collected in one place. These museum presentations combine archival formats with curator notes, making them ideal for viewers seeking context and historically informed projection.
Repertory cinemas and specialty houses
The IFC Center continues a varied slate: a double feature of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Serpent’s Path—noted as newly restored in 4K—paired with Chime, and a mini-series titled Best in Show: The Films of Catherine O’Hara that includes After Hours, Beetlejuice, and three films by Christopher Guest. The theater is also scheduling late-night screenings of titles like 2001, Blue Velvet, Naked Lunch, No Country for Old Men, Suspiria, and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, Her Lover. Over at Film Forum, Jerry Schatzberg’s Reunion begins a run while Satyajit Ray’s Days and Nights in the Forest continues; the theater also programs Beetlejuice on Sunday.
Archives and alternative screens
Anthology Film Archives launches a series called The Cinema of Gender Transgression, while another program, Revelations of the Middle Ages, includes selections from directors such as Paul Verhoeven, John Boorman, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Michael Curtiz. The Essential Cinema series at Anthology is showing Erich Von Stroheim’s Greed. At the Roxy Cinema, Frederick Wiseman’s Central Park plays alongside Antonioni’s La Notte, and the theater is also showcasing 35mm print presentations of Final Fantasy and River’s Edge. These venues focus on challenging programming and archival presentation values.
Metrograph, MoMA, and downtown highlights
Metrograph maintains a robust 35mm lineup that includes films like Zodiac, The Outfit, The Matrix, The Seventh Seal, The Holy Mountain, Bountiful Summer, and The Wrestler and the Clown. New series begin there as well: a Krzysztof Kieślowski focus, a tribute to Tahar Cheriaa, the environmental program Fables for a Fragile Earth, and a Czech Animation series. Ongoing Metrograph features include Empress Li, After the Case, a Boris Barnet retrospective, a Juliette Binoche series, and What Price Hollywood. Meanwhile, the Museum of Modern Art screens Ken Jacobs’ Star Spangled to Death on weekend days, with a 35mm program called A View from the Vaults: The 1980s presenting works by Ingmar Bergman, Steven Spielberg, and Brian De Palma.
Why these screenings matter and what to prioritize
Seeing a film in a curated context or on an original projection format can change perception; the texture of grain, the color timing of an archival print, and program notes all inform the viewing. If you’re deciding where to go first, consider whether you want a thematic retrospective, a restored presentation labeled newly restored in 4K, or a single-title screening on 35mm. For genre thrills, the IFC Center’s late-night options and Metrograph’s varied 35mm runs are strong bets. For deep historical context, the museum retrospectives and Anthology’s thematic series are indispensable. Whatever you choose, this weekend in NYC offers a rare opportunity to see important films presented with care and archival attention.