Join the Film Noir Foundation on Wednesday, December 18, 7:30pm at San Francisco's Castro Theatre for the annual Noir City Xmas. It will be a special evening of yule cruelty with a presentation of the dark Mexican holiday classic, La Otra (1946). The entire schedule for NOIR CITY INTERNATIONAL II, a program of noir from around the globe coming January 24-February 2, 2020, will also be revealed that night. Both events will be hosted by Eddie Muller, the Film Noir Foundation’s founder and president, as well as the host of TCM’s Noir Alley.

Dolores del Rio, one of the most beautiful actresses of all time, stars in the noir-laden thriller La Otra as identical twins: Maria, a manicurist who lives in near-poverty, and her sister Magdalena, who married the wealthy man Maria once loved. When the estranged sisters reunite at the funeral of Magdalena's husband, Maria can't help but imagine how different life would be if she could only trade places with her sister. Uh-oh. Take a guess where this is headed. Co-starring Jose Baviera, Agustin Irusta, and Victor Junco, with extraordinary cinematography by the great Alex Phillips. Del Rio enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s before she returned to her native Mexico in the 1940s to claim her place as one of the nation's most renowned stars. La Otra is the first feature made under her own production banner, Mercurio. The film was also the initial collaboration between director Roberto Gavaldon and writer-activist Jose Revueltas, who would make eleven more films together becoming arguably the preeminent filmmaking team in Mexico.

Deck the halls with weirdo cinema this December as Amoeba Music joins Alamo Drafthouse New Mission in San Francisco for another month of Weird Wednesdays! Take a deep dive with us into these untraditional cult classics...

WHITE STAR (1983)
Wednesday, December 4. 10pm.
In the lost years between Out of the Blue and Blue Velvet, an unhinged Dennis Hopper starred in this wildly-unknown downfall tale. Hopper gives a terrifying, coke-infused, and heavily improvised performance as seedy concert promoter Ken Barlow, whose claim to fame is being The Rolling Stones’ tour manager. Barlow aims to get his new synth-punk protege Moody to the top of the charts by any means necessary. Set in the musical underground of West Berlin, Roland Klick’s White Star paints the divided city awash with subcultural dwellers - punks, squatters, musicians, and late-night revellers. Never released theatrically in the US. Check out this new digital restoration.

BLACK SAMURAI (1977)
Wednesday, December 11. 10pm.
Based on the popular series of adventure novels by Marc Olden, this low-budget karate crowd-pleaser stars Jim Kelly of Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones, and Three The Hard Way fame as Robert Sand, secret agent for D.R.A.G.O.N. (Defense Reserve Agency – Guardian of Nations). When a coven of kung fu Satanists led by the evil warlock Janicot kidnaps his girlfriend, Sand (code name Black Samurai) springs into action with sword, feet, and fists-a-flying! Directed by cult filmmaker Al Adamson, Black Samurai was a box-office hit that played theaters all over the world for over a decade before achieving further success on late-night television and home video during the 1980s and ‘90s. Not seen on the big screen in over 30 years, don’t miss the opportunity to see the restored, uncut R-rated version!

By Kai Wada Roath
Ambassador of Confusion Hill and host of the Super Shangri-La Show

In these modern times where audience snapping is the new clapping, where it is normal to have your cat get a reiki healing for depression, and where "Oriental" has been replaced by "Soy Sauce" flavor on Top Ramen packages, I offer you a non-controversial read about instrumental music somewhat from the Orient.

When one closes their eyes and thinks of the word "Orient," they may dream of a bustling Persian marketplace with spice traders and fakirs gathering crowds, a Shambala-ish temple garden with mewing peacocks, or perhaps a rickshaw ride through a mysterious dark alley in old Hong Kong. But when you open your eyes and see the "Orient," it is usually on a party supply catalog full of plastic junk for Saint Patrick's Day, a fancy-pants hotel in Waikiki that you cannot afford to stay in but maybe steal some beach towels from, or perhaps even that amazing Vladimir Tretchikoff painting (as shown above) that your friend scored at a thrift store in Fresno that's still sitting in the trunk of their rusty Valiant. When it comes to music "from" the Orient, you may drift to thoughts of such exotica tunes as Tak Shindo's "Port of Trinkitat" or Martin Denny's "Hypnotique." I hope to open some new doors for you.

Amoeba San Francisco is partnering with the SF-Marin Food Bank this holiday season. Please join us and make a difference!

Donate non-perishable food items to the SF-Marin Food Bank at Amoeba SF December 2nd through December 16th and receive a coupon for $5 off your purchase of $30 or more in store and 10% off on Amoeba.com! Please bring your donations to the Info Counter at the center of the SF store to receive your coupon.

The most-needed food items are nut butters, tuna, chicken & canned meat, and low-sodium chili & stews. No glass containers, pet food, or perishable items, please.

Celebrate the holiday season in style with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's annual A DAY OF SILENTS on Saturday, December 7th! This all-day live-cinema event takes place at SF’s historic movie palace Castro Theatre and features five programs with live musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Donald Sosin, and Berklee Silent Film Orchestra. This day of stunning silent cinema and thrilling live music is not to be missed! Get your individual film tickets HERE or an All Day Pass!

Here's what's on the bill for December 7th:

FATTY + BUSTER
11:00am | $17 general / $15 member
Live Music by Donald Sosin
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle discovered Buster Keaton and these three sparkling shorts demonstrate the striking chemistry between the two geniuses. The program includes THE COOK (1918), GOOD NIGHT, NURSE (1918), and THE GARAGE (1919).