When the American Film Institute announced its list of the "greatest 100 American films of all time" last month, a collective cry went up: Great, but where can we see them on screen rather than video?

Luckily, Baltimore has one of the country's few remaining revival houses dedicated to preserving our cinematic heritage by showing vintage films in an intimate theatrical setting. The Orpheum is running two of AFI's greatest films starting Monday: "On the Waterfront" (No. 8), Elia Kazan's brilliant 1954 drama starring Marlon Brando as a boxer battling union corruption; and Billy Wilder's incomparable "Sunset Boulevard" (No. 12), a classic tale of Hollywood's corrupt heart starring Gloria Swanson as a faded star and William Holden as the young screenwriter who wants to cash in on her comeback. A great double feature at a grand Baltimore institution.

Pub Date: 7/05/98