Filmmaker Howard Alk isn’t widely known, despite having been an influential figure in sixties and seventies-era Chicago. He was one of the founders of Second City and through his short-lived Northside nightclub The Bear, became Bob Dylan’s friend and collaborator.

The retrospective of his work demonstrates his keen interest in Chicago’s African American community, and captures a sense of the turbulent times during which he worked. Eight Forty-Eight Film Critic Jonathan Miller has this review. “Howard Alk: A Life on the Edge” runs at the Gene Siskel Film Center and the Chicago Cultural Center through February 1. Tonight you can catch a screening of American Revolution II at 8 at the Siskel. The series is the work of the Chicago Film Archive.

Music Button: Frank Zappa, “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow”, from the CD Apostrophe, (Ryko records)