The American Cinematheque at the Aero and Egyptian Theatres presents a two-week retrospective of the work of director Otto Preminger, January 17 through 31, featuring several rarely seen films not yet available on DVD.

Preminger, who died an octogenarian in 1986, was a controversial, polarizing figure throughout his life — Hollywood’s first truly independent producer/director. He was famous as a flamboyant, outspoken personality (arguably no filmmaker other than Alfred Hitchcock had a more recognizable public persona) and a self-promoter whose frequent on-set tantrums were widely reported upon. Preminger also achieved fame on screen (via Stalag 17), and as Mr. Freeze opposite Adam West on television’s Batman.

One of the great masters of American film, Preminger worked in a remarkable variety of forms, and it’s this diversity that is honored here: musicals (Porgy and Bess), film noir (Laura, Angel Face, The Thirteenth Letter, Bunny Lake Is Missing), romantic comedy (The Moon Is Blue), courtroom drama (Anatomy of a Murder), political exposé (Advise and Consent) and otherwise epic drama (Exodus, Hurry Sundown). Though his relations with them may often have been tempestuous, many actors did some of their finest work under Preminger’s direction, and in-person guests for this retrospective include Carol Lynley (Bunny Lake Is Missing), John Phillip Law and Robert Hooks (Hurry Sundown), Don Murray (Advise and Consent) and Eva Marie Saint (Exodus). Author Foster Hirsch will also be selling and signing his new biography, Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King, on most nights of the series.

The Aero Theatre is located at 1328 Montana Avenue in Santa Monica; the historic Egyptian Theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, between Highland and Las Palmas, in Hollywood. Tickets for both venues are available through Fandango, but for 24-hour recorded information on tickets, directions and each site’s upcoming schedule, phone (323) 466-FILM, or visit the Cinematheque’s eponymous Web site by clicking here.