Willy Wonka goes Wilder in 50th-annual screening

Above : A 50th-annual screening of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” will be held on Sunday and Wednesday. (Photo/Paramount Pictures)

When trying to write about the 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” I could begin by stressing any number of points.

I could, for example, talk about Road Dahl , the author of mainly macabre children’s stories that provided the movie’s source material through his 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

(Quick note: My favorite Dahl work is “James and the Giant Peach,” which was adapted into a 1996 Disney animated musical that I didn’t like near as much.)

I could talk about Gene Wilder , the comic actor whose many performances, from “The Producers” to “Blazing Saddles” to “Young Frankenstein,” have showcased his unique talents.

(A second quick note: One of my favorite Wilder performances is in the 1970 film “Start the Revolution Without Me,” in which he co-starred with Donald Sutherland).

Or, I could talk about Tim Burton’s unfortunate 2005 remake , bearing the book’s original title and starring Johnny Depp as Wonka. I say unfortunate because the role of the mysterious candy-factory owner is a difficult one, existing as it does between seeming cruelty and quirkily self-assured generosity.

(Final side note: As entertaining is Depp is as Captain Jack Sparrow, he’s just plain weird as both Wonka and as the Mad Hatter in Burton’s 2010 “Alice in Wonderland” adaptation.)

So, I’ll just settle on announcing that a 50th-annual screening of the 1971 original , directed by Mel Stuart and starring Wilder, will be held on Sunday and the following Wednesday at two area Regal Cinemas theaters, Northtown Mall and Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone Stadium .

Sunday’s screenings will be at 3 and 7 p.m., Wednesday’s at 7 only.

If you go, make sure to buy some chocolate. Better yet, sneak in an Everlasting Gobstopper.