Though Boston may not be the place to catch the trendiest, most recent alternative films in the country, it certainly is a place to catch a great deal of excellent classic films that may have been missed by most viewers. If you’re at all interested in film as art, which I know many people are, you should check out the Harvard Film Archive. With daily screenings including Louis Malle’s Human, Too Human, and Frtiz Lang’s Metropolis with live piano accompaniment by Martin Marks:

The greatest science-fiction film of the silent cinema, Metropolis was made by Lang at Berlin’s Ufa studio with an unprecedented budget for its huge sets, inspired by the New York skyline. Set in the twenty-first century, the story is derived partly from medieval legends, partly from the dystopic vision of a future of intensified conflict between capital and labor. Photographed in Expressionist style and designed to display powerful geometric symmetries, many of the film’s sequences are unforgettable, especially the dramatic laboratory creation of the robot-woman. more info here

Additionally, the Somerville Theatre, while keeping a busy live performance schedule, also plays host to late night showings of classic and cult classic films like Dr. Strangelove, and Fight Club. It is also one of the homes for the Boston Underground Film Festival held in April, and one of my personal favorite theatres.