FILM SNEAK PEEK FESTIVAL SALUTES MALCOLM MCDOWELL.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

Malcolm McDowell, filmdom's definitive British punk, is being paid tribute this weekend in an American Cinematheque retrospective that includes his screen debut and his most recent release.

Tonight's program begins at 7 with ``Gangster No. 1,'' released last year, a flashback tale in which McDowell's Gangster 55 recalls his rise to underworld leadership in the '60s. It is followed by ``Cat People,'' director Paul Schrader's stylish thriller with Nastassja Kinski as the virginal sister of McDowell's repressed minister character.

Saturday at 5 p.m., it's ``If...,'' McDowell's 1968 screen debut as a rebel among boarding school students who are plotting revolution, followed by ``Britannia Hospital,'' in which McDowell plays a documentarian making a film on the crumbling title institution.

Sunday's 5 p.m. feature is ``Time After Time,'' with McDowell playing H.G. Wells as he travels in time to 1979 San Francisco in pursuit of Jack the Ripper. At 7:45 p.m. is the long-awaited U.S. premiere of the 1991 British/Russian co-production ``The Assassin of the Tsar.'' McDowell stars as a mental patient who is convinced he killed Tsar Alexander in 1881 as well as the Romanov family in 1918.

McDowell is slated to hold discussions following the first feature each evening.

The screenings are held at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Tickets are $8 for general admission, $6 for American Cinematheque members, $7 for seniors and students. Information: [phone] or www.egyptiantheatre.com.

'CHINATOWN' PLAYS CHINATOWN: Roman Polanski's 1974 mystery, ``Chinatown,'' kicks off the Chinese Film Festival this weekend in - where else? - Chinatown.

The Jack Nicholson/Faye Dunaway drama plays at 8 p.m. Saturday in an outdoor screening at the Bamboo Plaza, 988 N. Hill St. Admission is free, as are the popcorn and Asian treats.

The next four Saturdays the festival will be dedicated to films by director Ang Lee: ``Pushing Hands'' (June 30), ``The Wedding Banquet'' (July 7), ``Eat Drink Man Woman'' (July 14) and his most popular movie, ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (July 21). All are screened outdoors with free admission.

For venues and other information, call [phone] or go to www.chinatownla.com on the Web.

'SNOW' IN SANTA MONICA: ``Let It Snow,'' a romantic comedy from brothers Adam and Kipp Marcus, opens today at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica.

The film, previously titled ``Snow Days,'' won awards for Kipp's writing and Joe Klotz's editing at the AFI Fest in 1999. Kipp Marcus stars as James, a young man who hopes to turn around his lifeless romance and disprove his grandmother's theory about a family curse: ``We're doomed in love. The men leave and the women go crazy.''

``Let It Snow'' was directed by Adam Marcus and also stars Alice Dylan, Henry Simmons and Bernadette Peters.

The Monica 4-Plex is at 1332 Second St. Information: [phone] or www.laemmle.com.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Angelus Awards is doubling its payoff this year for the best student film prize to $10,000.

Submissions for the awards, to be presented Oct. 27 at the Directors Guild of America, must be postmarked by July 1. College and university students are invited to send in 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch videos of films that ``explore the complexity of the human condition with creativity, compassion and respect,'' in the form of drama, comedy, animation, documentary or narrative. Information: [phone] or www.angelus.org on the Web.

For filmmakers who view the human condition with anything but compassion and respect, the Third Nihilist Film Festival might be the ticket. Top prize there: $100. Festival producer Elisha Shapiro (maybe you've caught his ``Nihilist's Corner'' show on cable) is looking for films of less than 30 minutes in length submitted on videocassette by Sept. 15. Information: e-mail Nihilistxx(at)aol.com or see the Web site, http://members.aol.com/nihilist01.

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Malcolm McDowell's gentle portrayal of H.G. Wells in ``Time After Time'' went against type; the film is part of an American Cinematheque retrospective celebrating the actor's career.