FILM SNEAK PEEK A NEW JACKIE CHAN MOVIE? A 'MIRACLE'!

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

For serious Jackie Chan fans, the place to be this weekend is the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, where American Cinematheque is giving the U.S. premiere of ``Miracles,'' the 1989 action comedy that is Chan's personal favorite among all his films.

The screenings, tonight through Monday, mark the first time a classic Jackie Chan movie has been shown in a U.S. theater in its original form - no cuts, no dubbing, no revised music.

``Miracles,'' based loosely on Frank Capra's final film, ``Pocketful of Miracles,'' is set in 1930s Hong Kong, which is said in this case to look a lot like 1930s Chicago. Chan plays a naive country boy who becomes a mob boss and gets suckered into a deception scheme while fending off a rival gang and a corrupt cop.

Chan also directed, choreographed the fights and co-wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang. A new print features newly translated subtitles and English credits.

The Egyptian Theatre is at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Tickets are $8 general admission, $7 for seniors and students, $6 for American Cinematheque members. For show times and other information, call [phone] or go to www.egyptiantheatre.com on the Web.

IRANIAN SERIES: A lot of credit for the current interest in Iranian cinema goes to Abbas Kiarostami, hailed by film critics and programmers as one of the most important filmmakers of the '90s.

A series of the writer-director's work - humanist blends of fiction and nonfiction influenced by Italian neorealists and the French New Wave - is playing through April 28 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Tonight's program focuses on Kiarostami's work for and about children, with a shorts program and his documentary ``Homework,'' which compiles a series of interviews with schoolchildren.

On Saturday is the 1987 feature ``Where Is My Friend's House?,'' about a boy who tries to return a notebook to his school chum, only to find out he has no idea where his friend lives. It is followed by the 1992 documentary ``And Life Goes On,'' in which Kiarostami returns to the region where he shot ``Friend's House'' two years after a devastating earthquake, seeking the young stars of the earlier film and examining the tragedy.

Upcoming titles include the 1990 comedy ``Close-Up'' and his award- winning 1994 film ``Through the Olive Trees.''

Tickets are $7 for general admission, $5 for museum and AFI members, seniors and students. LACMA is at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Information: [phone].

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE: Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer are getting set to act together again, this time in a live telecast of ``On Golden Pond'' on CBS. But no matter how that turns out, Alex Film Society is offering an occasion to remember them at their finest.

``The Sound of Music,'' the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that claimed the 1965 best picture, director and score adaptation Oscars, will be shown at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

The theater will be using a pristine studio archive print for these screenings, part of its tribute to 20th Century Fox.

Tickets are $8.50 for general admission, $7 for the matinee and $6 for Alex Film Society members. They are on sale at the Alex Theatre box office, 216 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale, or through TeleCharge at [phone]. Information: [phone].

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``The Sound of Music,'' starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, screens Saturday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.