A&E

For those new to the Bay Area and looking for a quintessentially San Franciscan way to spend an evening before the Berkeley bubble descends, the Castro Theatre is showing Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” this Friday (Aug. 31). The film will be screened in gorgeous 70mm Technicolor, meaning the tripped-out sequences of James Stewart’s disembodied head floating through space will be the most visceral SF experience you can have without contacting a dealer.

If you’re looking for something a bit closer to home, the Pacific Film Archive is wrapping up several of its wonderful summer film programs. “Bellissima,” a series focusing on the leading ladies of Italian cinema, concludes this week with Ettore Scola’s “Drama of Jealousy.” It will screen at the PFA theater and Maureen Gosling, the decorated editor of “Dreams,” will be in attendance. A bit of advice to freshmen and those not in the know: A one-semester pass to the PFA is only $35. The PFA student pass gives you admission to every PFA screening for free, compared to $5.50 a ticket for Cal students. It’s a jolly good investment.

Thomas Coughlan is the lead film critic.

School has started, but that doesn’t mean you have to get bogged down with work just yet. There are concerts to be seen and CDs to be listened to! Singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette and rock/hip-hop group Flobots have albums coming out this week. The new supergroup Divine Fits comes out with their debut album this week as well.

The hip-hop/indie rock band Why? will be performing at the Great American Music Hall this Thursday. Led by Berkeley-bred frontman Jonathan “Yoni” Wolf, the group just released their new EP Sod in the Seed and have a new studio album in the works as well. With a sound somewhere between Flobots and Cake, Why? is one of the most cult-revered bands in the Bay Area. If you missed Sublime with Rome at The Greek Theatre and still need to get your fix of chill rap/rock/reggae music, 311, Slightly Stoopid and SOJA will be headlining the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View this Friday. If you have the ticket money and transportation to splurge on, then go and enjoy one last shard of the summer sun.

If there was ever a time to ignore school and head to the theater, this week would be it. On Aug. 29, the renowned Berkeley Repertory Theatre will premiere “Chinglish.” Written by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, the play follows an Ohio businessman’s attempt to seal a critical contract for his family’s firm amid a slew of comedic and provocative cultural misunderstandings.

Right next door to Berkeley Rep, on Aug. 30, “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” will open at the Aurora Theatre. Who is Chad Deity? And why is his entrance so particularly elaborate? Well, Chad Deity is a wrestling star, and playwright Kristoffer Diaz’s piece examines the sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic world of pro wrestling. However, if cultural comedy and the politics of pro-wrestling aren’t your bag, what about a sex farce? With sea creatures? That’s how the Impact Theatre is advertising its newest production — “The Fisherman’s Wife” — which manages to incorporate sexual frustration, fishing and a “ravenously horny giant squid” all into one play.