Let’s face it—with a few notable exceptions (Arclight, Grove, Bridge, Landmark), movie theaters in Los Angeles sort of suck. The seats are often stiff and cramped; the over-priced food is no great shakes; and every feature is front-loaded with a solid ten to fifteen minutes of commercials. And this is coming from someone who loves going to the movies! I wallow through this crap two or three times a week! There has to be a better way, right? Dear reader, of course there is.

The only problem is that you have to go to a cemetery. Granted, some folks aren’t too high on commiserating with the dead after dark, but having been there myself I can assure you that the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is relatively free of class-five full-roaming vapors. What’s more, you can bring your own pillows and blankets, your own food and alcohol and parking is free.

This weekend there’s a rare double-bill. Sunday night you can see Alejandro Jodorowsky’s long out-of-print and legendary avant-garde film, The Holy Mountain. Trying to explain the plot of this surreal film is sort of an exercise in metaphysical futility, so I’ll just rely on a famous Jodorowsky quote to let you know what you’re in for, “I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.”

This is the movie that John Lennon saw and memorably said afterwards, “What the fuck? Oh! Right. No, I get it.” Actually, that isn’t true. Lennon was a huge fan of the work (he and Yoko helped finance its production). Until earlier this year, The Holy Mountain hadn’t been publicly screened for over thirty years so be sure to make it out this Sunday. You won’t be disappointed.

Saturday night offers another superb flick that you may have heard of before--Rebel Without a Cause. Come out and see what all the hubbub was about this James Dean character and catch Dennis Hopper in what was his first significant film role.

DJs will be spinning on both nights before and after the movies so come early and stay late. Tickets are $10 and are available at the gate. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. and movies unspool around 9 p.m. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Gower). Reservations for the screenings are not necessary but come early for the best seats.

Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid via Flickr