Sweet Briar College’s Weekend Film Series is, well, a sweet deal – free admission to the public, plus films that otherwise might not play in local theaters. It opens Friday with a two-night run of “Rent,” an adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s award-winning Broadway musical.

The movies are recent releases of both widely distributed and lesser-known titles that are culturally and thematically diverse. This semester’s series mixes up such fare as “Three Extremes,” a horror trilogy by three noted East Asian directors, and the latest on-screen version of “Pride and Prejudice.” Many critics – even those skeptical that the film based on Jane Austen’s novel could live up to its predecessors – hailed this 2005 iteration.

Another love story, “Brokeback Mountain,” will play April 21 and 22. From SBC director of film studies Eleanor Salotto’s description, it is worth the wait to see on a big screen. Salotto – who might view 10 movies in a month, time permitting – offered high praise for director Ang Lee’s wrenching portrayal of a complicated relationship between two cowboys. The film has sparked plenty of buzz, both for its Oscar potential and for its gay theme.

“The acting is phenomenal. Heath Ledger is definitely getting an acting award,” said Salotto, who watched “Brokeback Mountain” twice in packed theaters with nary a dry eye in the house. “The reception it’s getting is amazing. I had a student tell me that when she saw it, people in her row were passing tissues back to the rows behind them.”

“It is moving. And the scenery … it’s a gorgeous movie,” she said.

Sweet Briar will present the spring series beginning Friday, Jan. 20. All shows are 7:30 p.m. in Tyson Auditorium in the College’s Benedict Hall. Admission is free.

• Jan. 20-21: “Rent” – Based on Jonathan Larson’s award-winning Broadway musical, the film chronicles a group of New York artists struggling with identity and artistic integrity in an HIV-positive world. Roommates Roger and Mark, a songwriter and recovering addict and a guerilla filmmaker, respectively, must find a way to pay their former roommate-turned-landlord when he decides to renege on his promise to provide them with rent-free living. Rated PG-13


• Feb. 3-4: “Oliver Twist” – Following their Academy-Award winning film, “The Pianist,” director Roman Polanski and writer Ronald Harwood re-imagine Charles Dickens’ classic story of a young orphan boy who gets involved with a gang of pickpockets in 19th-century London. Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is forced to live in a workhouse lorded over by the awful Mr. Bumble, who cheats the boys of their meager rations. Desperate yet determined, Oliver makes his escape to the streets of London. Penniless and alone, he is lured into a world of crime by the sinister Fagin (Sir Ben Kingsley) – the mastermind of a gang of pint-sized pickpockets. Oliver’s rescue by the kindly Mr. Brownlow is only the beginning of a series of adventures that lead him to the promise of a better life. Rated PG-13


• Feb. 10-11: “Three Extremes” – Exploring the outer limits of the macabre, Lions Gate Films’ “Three Extremes” is a bracing triptych of horror stories uniting three of East Asia’s most compelling directors – Japanese cult figure Miike Takashi, Hong Kong’s Chan Fruit and Korea’s award-winning Chan-wook Park. Using distinctive cinematic styles that span dream-like minimalism, savage comedy and baroque horror, these cutting-edge directors penetrate the dark heart of desire, examining the ghastly urges that transform ordinary people into monsters. Stylish, twisted and laced with haunting imagery, “Three Extremes” breaks the bounds of genre cinema, confirming the visionary talent of three master directors. Rated R


• Feb. 24-25: “Pride and Prejudice” – The glorious world of Jane Austen is brought back to the big screen in all its romance, wit and emotional force in “Pride and Prejudice.” Faithful to the setting and period of the beloved novel and filmed entirely on location in the United Kingdom, this adaptation of the classic 19th-century novel is the story of the initial misunderstandings and later mutual attraction between the heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and the haughty Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen.) Rated PG


• March 24-25: “Howl’s Moving Castle” – The Japanese anime hit by Hayao Miyazaki is a love story centered on Zofî, an 18-year-old in an old woman’s body, and a magician named Hauru. The film is set in a fantasy world with elements of science fiction and war drama. Rated PG


• April 7-8: “Good Night and Good Luck” – Set in the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950s America, the film chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow and his dedicated staff – headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom – defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist “witch-hunts.” A public feud develops when the senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity proves historic and monumental. Rated PG


• April 21-22: “Brokeback Mountain” – From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee comes an epic American love story, based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx and adapted for the screen by the team of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film tells the story of two young men – a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy – who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love. Rated R


• May 5-6: “Match Point” – Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton star in “Match Point,” a dramatic thriller from writer/director Woody Allen. “Match Point” is a drama about ambition, the seduction of wealth, love and sexual passion. Perhaps most importantly, however, the story reveals the huge part luck plays in events, refuting the comforting misconception that more of life is under our control than really is. “Match Point” represents a departure for Allen, the majority of whose films lovingly depict New York and – not so lovingly – New Yorkers. Crossing the Atlantic for the first time in his film career, Allen set “Match Point” in London, where it was filmed. Rated R

For more information, please visit the SBC online calendar or contact Eleanor Salotto, SBC film studies director at (434) 381-6159.