The Great Profile. The Man of a Thousand Faces. The Great Lover — and the Latin Lover. The King of Hollywood. Bogie, Coop and The Duke. The men who rose to stardom during Hollywood’s Golden Age had larger-than-life personalities, recognizable qualities that they brought to each screen role, a certain style and recognizable shading even at their most chameleonic. Many were most at home playing urban sophisticates in romantic comedies; others were raw-boned, rangy men of action who specialized in adventure; some habitually disappeared into disguise to shock or surprise the audience, the performer plumbing, too, the depths of his own identity. The 1950s would bring new stars and the Method, the New Hollywood era made possible careers previously unthinkable, but the stars of the Golden Age shine brighter today than many who have ascended since.

This selection of signature films featuring more than 20 Golden Age actors follows 2015’s Leading Ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Don’t see your favorite star here, or the great silent comedians like Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd? Fear not — further plans to screen films from this era are in store for this year and beyond.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

“We never talk enough about art directors in films. Critics have finally got around to talking about the authors of the script, but I haven’t noticed any big movement in favor of the art director. He’s an unsung hero. Underpaid, undervalued and in the case of William Cameron Menzies, a man impossible to over-praise." –Orson Welles.

William Cameron Menzies’ more than one hundred screen credits include a multiplicity of roles, from art director (winning the very first Oscar^® for Best Art Direction, awarded jointly for 1927’s THE DOVE and 1928’s TEMPEST) to special effects to screenwriter to producer and director. But his contribution to the movies is immeasurable. A trained artist, talented draftsman, visionary designer and tireless innovator, Menzies transformed the way movies were conceived and produced. His practice of not merely sketching set concepts but storyboarding entire sequences has with time become standard industry practice. Menzies’ combination of creative vision and practical planning played a crucial role in helping the studios navigate the difficult transition from silent to sound filmmaking, and over the years he lent his gifts to both low-budget larks and the biggest of blockbusters — including the one that birthed the title “production designer," now standard industry terminology.

"Menzies may turn out to be one of the most valuable factors in properly producing this picture…his work on this picture, as I see it, will be a lot greater in scope than is normally associated with the term 'art direction.' Accordingly, I would probably give him some such credit as 'Production Designed by William Cameron Menzies.'" –David O. Selznick, on GONE WITH THE WIND.

This series follows the recent publication of this influential filmmaker’s first-ever biography, “William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come" by James Curtis.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

With the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art undergoing renovation, this edition of the Freer’s annual Iranian Film Festival will take place at the National Gallery of Art and AFI Silver. This festival is co-sponsored by the ILEX Foundation and curated by Tom Vick of the Freer|Sackler; Carter Long of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Marian Luntz of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

For screenings taking place at the NGA, visit NGA.gov; for a comprehensive schedule visit asia.si.edu.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

The outpouring of emotion and heartfelt tributes that have followed the death of David Bowie (1947–2016) speak to the immense influence and importance of his life, legacy and art to people the world over. His groundbreaking music long ago secured his place in the popular music pantheon. But his image-conscious (in the best-sense of the term) performances, and the variety of fictional personae he invented and inhabited over the course of his music career, combined with his occasional forays into screen acting, leave a lasting legacy to cinema art as well.

"His career, so conscientiously self-wrought, was more akin to that of a movie star than to that of a rocker, and it also suggested that he grasped the force of the moving image, and its fragile half-life, more acutely than many of those who bestride the dramatic profession. 'What do you think I’m like,' he asked Dick Cavett, who was interviewing him in 1974. 'A working actor,' Cavett said. 'That’s very good,' his guest, who had yet to appear in a feature film, replied." –Anthony Lane, The New Yorker.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

Screenings taking place at AFI Silver Theatre are listed below. Click on a film's title for more information and to purchase tickets directly from the Washington Jewish Film Festival.

Per the Washington Jewish Film Festival: Ticket sales begin in late January, and continue through the festival. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets online. In addition to $13 single tickets, WJFF offers full festival passes for $150 and All-Access VIP Passes for $250. Full festival passes for patrons 30 years of age or younger are available for $30. More information is available at www.wjff.org.

No AFI passes accepted.

AFI Silver is proud to host the 12th annual New African Film Festival, co-presented by AFI, Africa World Now Project and afrikafé. This year’s festival showcases the vibrancy of African filmmaking from all corners of the continent.

No passes accepted.

AFI Silver is proud to host screenings in the 2016 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital. Since launching in 1993, the festival has pioneered a movement to advance environmental understanding through the power of film, and now serves as a model for environmental film festivals across the country and around the world.

This year's selection of films screening at AFI Silver includes a retrospective of the films of American independent filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, including a new restoration of her 1994 debut feature RIVER OF GRASS.

No passes accepted.

A towering figure in 20th-century American music, Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975) has long been pigeon-holed as a “Hollywood composer." Though he is often considered the supreme American composer for film (CITIZEN KANE, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, etc.), his concert output remains virtually unknown. Working closely with the young Orson Welles and later with the influential radio- and screenwriter Norman Corwin, he was also America’s foremost radio composer, and conductor of a radio orchestra — William Paley’s visionary CBS Symphony — that boldly promoted new and unfamiliar music.

Produced by PostClassical Ensemble in collaboration with the AFI Silver Theatre, National Gallery of Art and Georgetown University, “Bernard Herrmann: Screen, Stage and Radio" is the first festival ever to celebrate Herrmann “in the round" as one of the most important and influential American musical personalities of his generation. Herrmann’s music for film, television, radio and the concert hall will be featured in a large and varied selection of screenings and performances.

These programs have been made possible through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne; and the Estate of Norman Corwin. WAMU is the media sponsor.

For screenings and concerts taking place at National Gallery of Art, visit NGA.gov. For a comprehensive list of all events in the series, visit postclassical.com/herrmannfestival.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.