This week, we've got a show offering two very different versions of one of vampiredom's original gangstas. Unlike the many generations of movie vampires since, the bloodsucking freak in F.W. Murnau's 1922 masterpiece Nosferatu is no suave brooder with good bone structure and a fancy line of talk for the ladies. As unforgettably personified by Max Schreck beneath some undoubtedly painful and very itchy prototypical effects makeup, Count Orlock looks like the Id made flesh; He's a pointy-clawed, bald headed, rat-faced creeper who'd send Lestat and all his ilk runnin' home to their undead mamas. Yikes! It screens with Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, an artier, grungier version of the same story starring kinky Klaus Kinski as the vamp, here renamed (thanks to a fortuitously timed copyright lapse) Count Dracula. There will be live musical accompaniment by those groovy ghoulies, Between Ravens and Crows . . . so don't forget your plastic fangs! If you miss this show and you still have a hankering for re-animated corpses, you can always catch Army of Darkness in a few days. Seriously, what's with all the horror movies that've been turning up lately here in Special Screeningsland? Did everybody decide to skip ahead and begin their Halloween celebrations seven months early? (Hey, I'm cool with that.) Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, 117 N. Sycamore St., Santa Ana, (714) 667-1517. Fri., 8 p.m. Free.
Army of Darkness. Bruce Campbell returns as Ash in this (relatively) big-budgeted, third entry in Sam Raimi's campily hilarious, frenetic horror-spoof series. An evil magic book whisks Ash back to the 14th Century, where he encounters bad-ass Dark Age knights, chesty maidens and legions of skeleton warriors who bounce back from a hacked-off limb like it was nothin'. Edwards Rancho Santa Margarita, 30632 Santa Margarita Pkwy., Rancho Santa Margarita, (949) 888-3358. Tues., 8 p.m. $6; Edwards South Coast Village, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, (800) 326-3264. Wed., 8 p.m. $6.
The Cider House Rules. Michael Caine took home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a kindly abortionist in this 1999 drama based on a John Irving story. Mission Viejo Library, 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo, (949) 830-7100, ext. 4019; www.cmvl.org. Sat., 6:30 p.m. Free.
Everything Blue. Jesse Acevedo's exploration of Brazilian samba music features performances by Caetano Velososo and takes us through the shanty towns of Rio. A Q&A discussion with Acevedo follows. It's the next entry in the Landscape Projections Film Series. Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 949. 75901122. Thurs., April 13, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Gone With the Wind. The myth of the noble Confederacy stubbornly refuses to die. Our culture still gets swoony over the romance of it all: genteel, wasp-waisted belles in fancy gowns; handsome rebels in smart uniforms fighting for a doomed cause; etc. Never mind that the background players in this Harlequin Romance were enslaved human beings, taken from their homeland, whipped and raped, or that the doomed cause the handsome rebels were fighting for was the continued enslavement of said human beings. It was sad enough that people were still swallowing candied horseshit like this movie in 1939; that Gone With the Wind is still hailed as a “classic” today is nothing short of heartbreaking. Bay Theatre, 340 Main St., Seal Beach, (562) 431-9988. Sun., 4:30 p.m.; Mon., 6 p.m. $6-$8.
Jerusalem: Sacred N Profane. The GeoCinema Festival 2006 presents this travel doc from Rick Ray (10 Questions for the Dalai Lama), with Ray appearing in person. Regency Lido, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, (760) 617-1448. Sat., 10:30 a.m. $8.
The Motorcycle Diaries. A movie that chronicles the nightmare scenario for every uptight, conservative dad: your young son goes on a road trip with his buddy, comes home a commie and eventually becomes a hero of the revolution. Based on the true story of Ernesto “Che” Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), this 2004 biopic won an Oscar. The screening is hosted by Michael Berlin, an assistant professor of screenwriting at Cal State Long Beach and a director and producer in his own right. Bowers Museum, Flour Gallery, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 567-3679. Sun., 1:30 p.m. $8-$10.
My Mother, the Mermaid. Heung-Sik Park's 2004 fantasy picture follows a young postal worker whose search for her missing father eventually takes her back in time, where she witnesses the courtship of her young parents. In Korean with English subtitles. UCI Film and Video Center, Humanities Instruction Bldg., Room 100, Campus N W. Peltason drs., Irvine, (949) 824-7418; www.humanities.uci.edu/fvc. Thurs., April 6, 7 p.m. Free.
Spike N Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. If you're keen to see such fare as Horned Grandma and The Zit, get your black little soul to this show without delay; this is the last screening in the area for this year. Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach, (562) 438-5435. Fri., midnight. $8.50.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Orange Coast College's Barbara Stanwyck Mini-Series continues with this twisty noir about a woman (Stanwyck) psychologically enslaved to her brute of a husband (Kirk Douglas, in his screen debut) thanks to a youthful crime. Locally based film authority Dr. H. Arthur Taussig hosts what is sure to be a lively discussion. Orange Coast College, Fine Arts Building, Room 119, 2701 Fairview Rd., Costa Mesa, (714) 432-0202. Fri., 6:30 p.m. $5-6.
The Venetian Dilemma.Carole and Richard Rifkind's documentary examines today's Venice, where annual tourist traffic outnumbers the resident population by more than 200 to 1. It's the latest entry in the Landscape Projections Film Series. Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 949. 759-1122. Thurs., April 6, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Mail your press releases (and a videotape, if available) to Special Screenings,OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701-7417. Or send e-mail to gr*******@ea*******.net. All materials must be received at least two weeks before the screening.
