Attend this film event: An Evening With Robert Downey Sr. @ the Brattle

Before there was Iron Man, there was Robert Downey Sr., the father of the actor and one of the iconic figures of '60s independent filmmaking. His Putney Swope (1969; screens Thursday, May 17 at 7:30 pm), a savage satire of American materialism, greed, and racial acrimony, is even more timely now than when it came out. The Brattle Theatre celebrates this overlooked auteur in a retrospective beginning with An Evening With Robert Downey Sr., on Wednesday, May 16 in which the director introduces and discusses his fanciful short documentary No More Excuses (1968). It's an analysis of the New York dating scene that includes time-traveling Civil War veterans and a petition to clothe naked animals.

The Brattle is at 40 Brattle St, Cambridge | 7:30 pm | $11; $9 students, seniors | 617.876.6837 or brattlefilm.org.