Low budget = two of my favorite words.

Not to diss or discredit Dario Argento's genius and contribution to the world of slasher movies, I use those words to describe the genre in Italian films and literature in which Argento's films are categorized: giallo, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language, however, it is used in a broader meaning that is closer to the French fantastique genre, including elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for yellow and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers. Read more here on giallo and here on Argento.

Argento's L'Uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) -- his directorial debut -- is a masterpiece of suspense, as famous for its voluptuous and symbolic use of color and music as it is for its blend of surreal violence, mystery, and eroticism.

Il Gatto a nove code (The Cat o' Nine Tails) -- Argento's second feature -- is a tantalizing mind game whose purposefully convoluted plot, involving genetic research, espionage, and myriad false leads, gives the filmmaker an ideal opportunity to explore his obsession with the unreliability of the senses.

Both films are part of the sixth edition of To Save and Project, MoMA's annual film preservation festival that runs from 10.24 thru 11.16.08. Read more and get the showtimes here.

Other highlights: Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song; Marco Ferreri's Dillinger Is Dead (1969); Jacki Ochs's The Secret Agent (1983), a documentary about Agent Orange; Vilgot Sjoman's controversial look at 1960s counterculture, I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967); Michael Curtiz's Jimmy the Gent (1934) starring James Cagney and Bette Davis; and Rob Epstein's 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk.

Serious film lovers won't want to miss out on this. These rarely seen in theater films are only playing one or two times each, so plan ahead.