a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
mon. sept. 29
patton oswalt, brian posehn @ largo
declaritive mode FREE, blonde cobra, marie menken shorts @ ucla film archive @ james bridges theatre
tue. sept. 30
cornered 1 PM @ lacma
spirit of '68 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
savage streets, TBA @ new beverly theatre
chicago 10 @ egyptian theatre
bob odenkirk @ comedy death ray @ ucb theatre
greg proops, kevin nealon @ largo
beach house @ spaceland
thrones @ the smell
wed. oct. 1
my bloody valentine @ santa monica civic center
wait until dark, experiment in terror @ new beverly theatre
thu. oct. 2
my bloody valentine @ santa monica civic center
wait until dark, experiment in terror @ new beverly theatre
lou reed and ulrich krieger @ redcat
return of the living dead 8 PM, night of the creeps @ silent movie theatre
darker my love FREE 7 PM @ amoeba records
fri. oct. 3
black lips, miko mika @ detroit bar
the shining MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
yojimbo @ ampas linwood dunn theater
black sabbath 9 PM @ steve allen theatre drive-in series
jon brion @ largo
lou reed and ulrich krieger @ redcat
happy-go-lucky (preview screening) @ lacma
gremlins 8 PM @ cinespace
ugetsu @ silent movie theatre
night of the living dead 10 PM, day of the dead @ silent movie theatre
the taking of pelham one two three, charley varrick @ new beverly theatre
the treasure of the sierra madre, fat city @ aero theatre
deerhoof @ the avalon
no age, the urinals @ the smell
sat. oct. 4
dersu uzala @ ampas linwood dunn theater
cat people @ silent movie theatre
mondo kinder-carnage 10 PM @ silent movie theatre
dead meadow @ que sera (long beach)
rasputin and the empress 7 PM @ starlight studios
the taking of pelham one two three, charley varrick @ new beverly theatre
radar bros, mika miko, upsilon acrux, the antarcticans, abe vigoda, le switch, crystal antlers FREE @ eagle rock music festival
mika miko, nodzzz @ pehrspace
sonic boom DJ set 7-11 PM @ meltdown comics
sun. oct. 5
the masque of the red death 8 PM, the premature burial @ silent movie theatre
six organs of admittance 2 PM FREE @ family
six organs of admittance FREE @ little joy
the lineup, blast of silence @ new beverly theatre
sky saxon & the seeds @ redwood bar & grill
mon. oct. 6
the lineup, blast of silence @ new beverly theatre
tue. oct. 7
ashes of time redux @ lacma
evilspeak 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
the lineup, blast of silence @ new beverly theatre
wed. oct. 8
my name is julia ross, dark past @ ucla film archive
the unholy three 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
crazed fruit 7 PM @ royal/t
the plastic people of the universe @ safari sam's
american movie, cars iii @ new beverly theatre
thu. oct. 9
messiah of evil 8 PM, shock waves @ silent movie theatre
american movie, cars iii @ new beverly theatre
ramonas @ house of blues
abe vigoda FREE 7 PM @ amoeba records
fri. oct. 10
sunn O))) @ safari sam's
altered states 9 PM @ steve allen theatre drive-in series
kuroneko @ silent movie theatre
jon brion @ largo
season of the witch 10 PM, the crazies @ silent movie theatre
quintron & miss pussycat @ echoplex
something wicked this way comes @ egyptian theatre
sat. oct. 11
taipei story @ lacma
earthless, wooden shjips, greg ashley, etc @ thee parkside (SF)
the ghost ship 7 PM, i walked with a zombie @ silent movie theatre
the brood 10:15 PM @ silent movie theatre
office space @ angel city drive-in
maya rudolph & fred armisen @ largo
grand hotel 7 PM @ starlight studios
moby dick, the beast from 20,000 fathoms @ egyptian theatre
sun. oct. 12
one girl's confession 7 PM, over-exposed @ ucla film archive
freaks 2 PM @ silent movie theatre
2001: a space odyssey 6 PM @ edison theatre
the deadly spawn 8 PM, the blob @ silent movie theatre
the foot fist way, the blade @ new beverly theatre
los angeles plays itself 8 PM @ egyptian theatre
mon. oct. 13
the foot fist way, the blade @ new beverly theatre
love affair FREE @ ucla film archive @ james bridges theatre
tue. oct. 14
once a thief 1 PM @ lacma
the fine art of fear 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
wire @ echoplex
nova-kino: the history of cinematic agit-prop 7 PM @ hammer museum
the foot fist way, the blade @ new beverly theatre
wed. oct. 15
the unknown 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
chrome @ knitting factory
john c. reilly @ largo
branded to kill 7 PM @ royal/t
night of the demon, faust @ new beverly theatre
thu. oct. 16
versus 8 PM, we're going to eat you @ silent movie theatre
chinese stars, bad dudes @ the smell
night of the demon, faust @ new beverly theatre
fri. oct. 17
dangerous blondes, the killer that stalked new york @ ucla film archive
the devil rides out 9 PM @ steve allen theatre drive-in series
the round up @ lacma
silence and cry 9:15 @ lacma
jon brion @ largo
retribution @ silent movie theatre
monkey shines 10 PM, the dark half @ silent movie theatre
salo @ egyptian theatre
sat. oct. 18
creepers, the house on sorority row, zombie, piranha ii: the spawning, teenage mother, the power, raw force, etc @ all night horror show @ new beverly theatre
brightblack morning light @ brookdale lodge, santa cruz
girls under 21, island of doomed men @ ucla film archive
the muslims @ pehrspace
a brighter summer day @ lacma
the body snatcher 6:30 PM, isle of the dead @ silent movie theatre
devil times five 10 PM @ silent movie theatre
the barretts of wimpole street 7 PM @ starlight studios
sun. oct. 19
the hidden 8 PM, alone in the dark @ silent movie theatre
here's johnny, the great communist bank robbery @ aero theatre
high dials @ spaceland
tue. oct. 21
brightblack morning light @ detroit bar
choke (sneak preview) @ aero theatre
jerry beck's animated spooktacular 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
an evening with michel gondry 7 PM @ hammer museum
grindhouse film fest @ new beverly theatre
wed. oct. 22
the hunchback of notre dame 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
i'm a stranger here myself 8 PM @ 7 dudley cinema
john c. reilly @ largo
the face of another 7 PM @ royal/t
homicidal, strait-jacket @ new beverly theatre
pete seeger the power of song FREE 8:30 @ ampas linwood dunn theatre
thu. oct. 23
stereolab, monade @ henry fonda
the etruscan kills again 8 PM, tombs of the blind dead @ silent movie theatre
homicidal, strait-jacket @ new beverly theatre
stranglers of bombay 8 PM @ echo park film center
sunburned hand of the man, peter kolovos @ the smell
fri. oct. 24
the red and the white @ lacma
red psalm 9:15 PM @ lacma
nosferatu MIDNIGHT @ fairfax regency theatre
jon brion @ largo
suspiria 9 PM @ steve allen theatre drive-in series
kwaidan @ silent movie theatre
martin 10:30 PM @ silent movie theatre
cheech & chong's up in smoke MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
the leopard @ aero theatre
sat. oct. 25
curse of the cat people 7 PM, the leopard man @ silent movie theatre
the children 10:15 PM @ silent movie theatre
the mountain goats @ the troubadour
dead alive @ angel city drive-in
king kong (1933) 2 PM, 8 PM @ historic alex theatre
the wraith MIDNIGHT @ new beverly theatre
bon voyage charlie brown 4 PM @ aero theatre
carrie 7 PM @ cinespia @ hollywood forever cemetery
sun. oct. 26
the mountain goats @ the troubadour
neil hamburger @ spaceland
mon. oct. 27
the people under the stairs 8 PM, the serpent and the rainbow @ silent movie theatre
colossal yes @ the smell
tue. oct. 28
the picture of dorian gray 1 PM @ lacma
tv tuesday halloween edition 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
ted leo & the pharmacists @ the wiltern
larry ochs sax & drumming core 7 PM @ hammer museum
wed. oct. 29
the phantom of the opera 8 PM @ silent movie theatre
john c. reilly @ largo
kwaidan 7 PM @ royal/t
thu. oct. 30
lucio fulci triple feature: zombie, gates of hell, the beyond @ silent movie theatre
horror of dracula, the brides of dracula @ egyptian theatre
secret machines @ key club
fri. oct. 31
roky erickson, the black angels @ el rey theatre
blood sucking freaks 9 PM, alien @ steve allen theatre drive-in series
the tingler 8 PM, cinefamily halloween party @ silent movie theatre
shaun of the dead, riki-oh the story of ricky @ new beverly theatre
the cabinet of dr. caligari MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
helmet @ viper room
the most dangerous game, white zombie @ ucla film archive
abbott and costello meet frankenstein, abbott and costello meet the killer boris karloff @ aero theatre
santa sangre, scream... and die!, atom age vampire, night of the bloody apes, burial ground @ dusk-to-dawn horrorthon @ egyptian theatre
my sex life...or how i got into an argument @ lacma
severed head horror film festival noon-midnight @ downtown independent
secret machines @ spaceland
darker my love @ natural history museum
night of the living dead 8 PM @ million dollar theatre
sat. nov. 1
mutiny on the bounty 7 PM @ starlight studios
the curse of the werewolf, the gorgon @ egyptian theatre
shaun of the dead, riki-oh the story of ricky @ new beverly theatre
the black cat, the seventh victim @ ucla film archive
night of the creeps, texas chainsaw massacre part 2, dead alive, let's scare jessica to death, demons, deathdream @ dusk-to-dawn horrorthon @ aero theatre
kings and queen @ lacma
sam mcpheeters @ the smell
the ghastly ones @ satisfaction @ the bordello
thee cormans @ redwood bar & grill
re-animator 8 PM @ million dollar theatre
sun. nov. 2
dr. jekyll & mr. hyde (1941), dr. jekyll & mr. hyde (1931) @ egyptian theatre
the beast with five fingers 7 PM, the spiral staircase @ ucla film archive
wed. nov. 5
dirtbombs @ detroit bar
thu. nov. 6
ramonas @ house of blues
fri. nov. 7
harold & maude MIDNIGHT @ fairfax regency theatre
sat. nov. 8
china seas 7 PM @ starlight studios
mon. nov. 10
moving figures: the animated world of robert breer @ redcat
fri. nov. 14
chinatown MIDNIGHT @ fairfax regency theatre
sat. nov. 15
streets of fire @ angel city drive-in
tue. nov. 18
lynda barry & matt groening 7 PM @ hammer museum
abe vigoda, vivian girls @ the smell
wed. nov. 19
foot village, bipolar bear @ the smell
fri. nov. 21
bless the beasts & children MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
labyrinth MIDNIGHT @ fairfax regency theatre
sat. nov. 22
mike watt and the secondmen @ mr. t's bowl
the maltese falcon 7 PM @ warner grand theatre
fri. nov. 28
big trouble in little china MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
melvins @ troubadour
sat. nov. 29
melvins @ troubadour
three stooges stooge-fest 2 PM, 8 PM @ alex theatre
wed. dec. 3
the sea and cake @ troubadour
thu. dec. 4
the sea and cake @ troubadour
fri. dec. 5
creepshow MIDNIGHT @ nuart theatre
fri. dec. 19
army of darkness MIDNIGHT @ fairfax regency theatre
WHAT IT IS:
A Brighter Summer Day (Gulingjie Shaonian Sharen Shijian)
1991/color/240 min. / Scr/dir: Edward Yang; w/ Lisa Yang, Zhang Zhen
With more than one hundred speaking parts and a cast rehearsed over half a decade, Yang's ambitious third feature will be screened in its full, four-hour director's cut. Western rock 'n' roll scores Yang's tale of street gangs and teen romance set against 1949's mass immigration from mainland China as the Communists take power. "Triumph… something like a Michelangelo Antonioni remake of West Side Story." -J. Hoberman, Village Voice.
Alone in the Dark
Sholder's debut film which overflows with character actor nuttiness. The plot has escaped mental patients tracking down the psychiatrists who done them wrong during a city-wide blackout, but the real reason d'etre here is perfectly summed up by one reviewer on DVDTalk.com: "C'mon, how often will you get to see Martin Landau and Jack Palance as murderous psychos--and Donald Pleasence as the normal person?" Dir. Jack Sholder, 1982, 35mm, 92 min.
ALTERED STATES
"Paddy Chayevsky's magic mushroom movie," as director Ken Russell describes it. William Hurt makes a dazzling debut as a research scientist on an incredible journey into the inner space of the mind. With Blair Brown and spectacular special effects by Bran Ferren.
American Movie
Hilarious and oddly heartwarming, Chris Smith's extremely entertaining documentary follows struggling Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he pursues his dream of completing a personal film, drawn from his own life, called Northwestern. To that end, he decides to first finish a short horror film called Coven, intended for the direct-to-video market, in an effort to raise funds. Borchardt's hard-partying personal life, strained family relations and friendship with lovable guitarist and recovering substance abuser Mike Schank also figure prominently in the film. Borchardt's efforts at times seem completely absurd, but his sheer determination to get the job done is somehow inspiring. Winner, Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival.
Ashes of Time Redux
1994/2008/color and b&w/93 min. | Scr/dir: Wong Kar Wai; w/ Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Waui, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Brigitte Lin, Carina Lau.
Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai has digitally restored and recut his all-star 1994 martial arts epic, long unavailable, adding a new score with cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma. A highlight of this year's Cannes, this dreamlike adventure of lone swordsmen and unrequited love is set in the Gobi desert. "Drenched in shocking color-the desert shifts from egg-yolk yellow to burnt orange under a cerulean sky-the film is Wong's most abstract endeavor, a bold excursion into the realm of pure cinema. It also now seems like one of his most important." -Manohla Dargis, The New York Times.
Atom Age Vampire
A mad scientist uses weird, glandular transplants to restore beauty to the horribly scarred face of Jeanette, a stripper he's fallen in love with. When the treatment begins to fail, he undergoes radioactive treatment which turns him into a hideous monster who commits a number of murders in order to help Jeanette. A '60s drive-in staple. With Susanne Loret and Alberto Lupo.
THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET
Sidney Franklin drama w/ Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Charles Laughton (1934 M-G-M)
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, 1953, Warner Bros., 80 min. Dir. Eugene Lourie. A giant prehistoric creature called a rhedosaurus is awakened from his icy slumber by nuclear testing and travels to New York City, where he takes his bad temper out on the stunned population. Based on a short story by longtime Ray Harryhausen pal Ray Bradbury (they met years earlier as members of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, along with Forrest Ackerman!). Starring Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Kenneth Tobey. Introduction to the films by writer Ray Bradbury.
THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS
(1946) Directed by Robert Florey
If the severed body part out for revenge doesn't unsettle you, the blurred lines between reality and hallucination, as captured in the fevered eyes of Peter Lorre, will. Lorre steals the show in this disarmingly weird story written by horror master Curt Siodmak and directed by Robert Florey as a disgruntled personal secretary left out of a tyrannical pianist's inheritance.
Screenplay: Curt Siodmak. Cast: Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre. 35mm, 90 min.
THE BLACK CAT
(1934) Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
Modern architecture and Satan worship collide--along with horror legends Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in their first on screen pairing-- in director Edgar G. Ulmer's incomparably creepy Universal horror classic. When their bus has an accident, a pair of newlyweds find themselves witnesses to a bizarre vendetta between Karloff and Lugosi's Hungarian war veterans as it plays out in a futuristic mansion built on the graves of a thousand dead soldiers. A basement museum of suspended corpses, satanic rituals and gruesome torture round-out the film's intense, atmospheric chills.
Producer: Edgar G. Ulmer. Screenplay: Peter Ruric. Cinematographer: John J. Mescall. Editor: Ray Curtiss. Cast: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Jacqueline Wells. 35mm, 65 min.
BLACK SABBATH
Boris Karloff serves as host of Mario Bava's great horror anthology and stars in the last of the three segments as a vampire who feeds on the blood of his loved ones. In the other segments, a woman is terrorized by a former lover who breaks out of prison and telephones her with death threats, and a nurse is haunted after she steals a ring from the finger of a corpse.
The Blade
Chiu Man-Cheuk is "Iron Head," a swordfighter in love with his sifu's daughter--as is his best friend. The story heats up when Chiu loses an arm in an ill-advised act of vengeance and must learn a new, one-armed stance. The story harks back to Jimmy Wang Yu's One-Armed Swordsman, but the cinematography is in the latest music video style, all snappy camera pans and zooms. Austin Wai Tin-Chi and Valerie Chow Kar-Ling co-star.
Blast of Silence
"Nothing short of a revelation...a rare B-movie by-product of Fuller, Melville, and Cassavetes," writes Rob Nelson (City Pages) of this low-budget first feature from actor-writer-director Allen Baron. He plays lonely hitman Frank Bono, who prowls the Manhattan streets for days as his loathing for his mobster target intensifies. Hardboiled narration (spoken by Lionel Stander) glides with viewers through energetically choreographed and edited sequences captured with handheld cameras on location in New York City. These more poetic passages stand in contrast to Blast of Silence's adherence to brutal noir conventions. Written by Waldo Salt (Serpico).
Bless the Beasts and Children
Six teenage boys at summer camp attempt to save a herd of buffalo from slaughter at a national preserve. Based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout. With Billy Mumy, Barty Robins, Miles Chapin, Darel Glaser, Bob Kramer, Ken Swofford, and Jesse White. The title song was nominated for an Oscar.
The Blob
1988's remake of The Blob transforms the slow, harmless-looking puddle from the original '50s camp classic into a fleshy and fast-moving force of pure appetite that’s impossible to escape from—even pulling a victim through a kitchen sink in one of the film’s best-remembered moments. Grisly, witty, and incredibly fast-paced, this is one of the great unsung B-movie gems of its time. Dir. Chuck Russell, 1988, 35mm, 95 min.
BLONDE COBRA
Directed by Ken Jacobs
Blonde Cobra is Ken Jacob’s meditation on life on New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1960s and one of the masterpieces of New American Cinema. 35mm, 1959-63, 35 min.
BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS
One of the most notorious gore films of all time, Bloodsucking Freaks is excessive to either the point of comedy or merely to the point of repulsion, depending on your sensibility. Sadomasochistic necrophiles try to put on a ballet...now that's a plot synopsis! Along the way, midgets attack with hacksaws, someone's brain is sucked out, and there are more kinds of torture than you'd like to think a person could imagine.
The Body Snatcher
At the end of his RKO career, Lewton teamed up with Boris Karloff and made these two excellent period pieces. In The Body Snatcher, Karloff is a conniving graverobber who enters into a Faustian deal with a med school anatomy professor who needs fresh lab materials. Karloff shines supreme as an unscrupulous, sadistic leech in a Lewton film uncharacteristically driven more by plot than by atmospherics. Dir. Robert Wise, 1945, 35mm, 73 min.
BON VOYAGE CHARLIE BROWN, 1980, Paramount, 75 min. Dirs. Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. Charlie Brown and his friends travel to France and find romance and mystery--as well as adults who actually speak audible words (a rarity in PEANUTS cartoons)! Highlights of the film include Snoopy playing tennis at Wimbledon, driving, and taking on his persona as a World War I "flying ace."
BRANDED TO KILL
Branded to Kill, the wildly perverse story of the yakuza's rice-sniffing "No. 3 Killer," is Seijun Suzuki at his delirious best. From a cookie-cutter studio script, Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece and was promptly fired. Director: Seijyun Suzuki. 1967, 91 minutes, Black and White
The Brides of Dracula
A Hammer Studio film about a beautiful, naive, young French woman who liberates an imprisoned baron. The baron wakes the undead to carry out his perverse agenda, and now the young woman and the indefatigable Dr. Helsing (Peter Cushing) must restore order.
The Brood
The hooded gaggle running amok in The Brood are the physical result of "psychoplasmics", a ficitious blend of anger management and hypnotism that could only come from the mind of David Cronenberg. Frank has placed his unstable wife Nola into the confinement and care of Dr. Raglan (Oliver Reed), a psychiatrist whose progressive techniques enable his patients to expunge their hang-ups through a physical manifestation of pent-up rage. When Frank's small daughter comes home with bruises and welts after visiting mom, and when Nola's parents are murdered by a deformed child-like creature, Frank begins to suspect that there's a connection between it all and Raglan's unorthodox methods. Leonard Maltin panned the film with only two lines, but it sounds like heaven to us: "[Samantha] Eggar eats her own afterbirth while midget clones beat grandparents and lovely young schoolteachers to death with mallets. It's a big, wide, wonderful world we live in!"
Dir. David Cronenberg, 1979, 35mm, 92 min.
Burial Ground
When a professor opens an underground crypt in an ancient burial ground, he unwittingly unleashes a curse of unspeakable horror. Flesh-eating zombies rise from the desecrated graveyard and their first stop is the weekend retreat of a group of decadent socialites. This is a gore film in the tradition of the work of Lucio Fulci. AKA Night of Terror and Zombie Horror.
CARS III
Cars III is having its world premiere at The New Beverly on Wednesday, October 8th. Portland-based no-budget filmmaker Bobby Hacker’s been steadily building a love/hate cult following on YouTube. This is his first feature – a cautionary tale of a used car salesman who rolls the dice with damnation to sell one more car
Cat People
Lewton's first film for RKO, and the first to set his signature "less is more" tone (a solution to his problem of meager budgets) was the wildly successful Cat People. The ravishing Simone Simon plays Irena, a young artist infatuated with drawing panthers at the local zoo, who by chance meets naval architect Oliver (Kent Smith). The two form a fast enraptured bond, then marry. He quickly casts doubts on the whole affair, though, when Irena reveals she's descended from an ancient devil-worshipping tribe, and might transform into a deadly panther when sexually awakened-- threatening the future of their amorous efforts. Whether Irena is mentally disturbed or is in fact a cat woman is in constant question, as the film's murderous attacks happen in luxurious shadow, and we never see the cat or a transformation. An amazing milestone in film horror, Cat People was only the beginning of Lewton's legacy.
Dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1942, 35mm, 73 min.
Charley Varrick
Walter Matthau stars as a successful bank robber who runs into some uncharacteristic bad luck. He just hit a bank where the mob launders money. Joe Don Baker is on him, determined to make the hit he has been ordered to make. Suspense builds as these two test each other's wits and nerves.
CHICAGO 10, 2007, Roadside Attractions, 110 min. Mixing animation with archival footage and using the voices of Nick Nolte, Roy Scheider, Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo and others, director Brett Morgen explores the build-up to and unraveling the 1968 Chicago Conspiracy Trial. A parable of hope, courage and challenge as it portrays the struggle of young Americans speaking out and taking a stand in the face of an oppressive and armed government during the Vietnam War.
The Children
On the trails of the Village of The Damned and The China Syndrome came this nuke panic/killer kid hybrid in which the children of the town of Ravensback are exposed to deadly gas an turned into toxic tykes with black fingernails who vaporize their victims with one harmful hug ("Mommy! Mommy!")--and the only way to kill them is by hacking off both their cute little hands. While this sounds too convoluted to cohere, director Max Kalmanowicz holds it together, and keeps the train rolling with some clever surprises, like normal kids turning deadly without warning, some truly creepy children-lurking-in-the-dark scenes, and best of all, having the adults realize it's their own children they have to kill to survive! If you got too scared to go back into the ocean after Jaws, this one might make you think twice about touching a child ever again--much less having one.
Dir. Max Kalmanowicz, 1980 35mm, 93 min.
CHINA SEAS
Tay Garnett adventure w/ Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Wallace Beery (1935 M-G-M)
CHOKE, 2008, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 89 min. Based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel, Clark Gregg's directorial debut is a dark comedy of sexual compulsion, filial bonds and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks. Sam Rockwell is a dropout, struggling to afford special care for his deranged mother, Anjelica Huston. A historical re-enactor by day, at night he scams upscale restaurant patrons by feigning choking in order to bond with his wealthy "saviors." When his father’s identity surfaces, he must act or lose his divine parentage forever. Discussion following with actor/director Clark Gregg.
Cornered
1945/b&w/103 min. | Scr: John Paxton; dir: Edward Dmytryk; w/ Dick Powell, Luther Adler, Walter Slezak, Morris Carnovsky.
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.
CRAZED FRUIT
Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking, in this seminal Sun Tribe (taiyozoku) film from director Ko Nakahira. Adapted from the controversial novel by Shintaro Ishihara, and critically savaged for its lurid portrayal of the postwar sexual revolution among Japan's young and privileged, Crazed Fruit is an anarchic outcry against tradition and the older generation. Director: Ko Nakahira. 1956, 86 minutes, Black and White
The Crazies
Romero turns his eye towards mass hysteria as a government-engineered virus called Trixie accidentally turns a small Pennsylvania town into The Crazies, with society itself breaking down in the process. Even more unnerving in today's political and economic climate, this sweat-inducing look at the miltiary's capacity to demolish everyday life is the perfect movie to watch in a Presidential campaign year. Don't miss your chance to catch these two ultra-rare slices of Romero in bona fide 35mm prints. Dir. George Romero, 1973, 35mm, 103 min.
CREEPERS
The rarely screened Creepers (the US theatrical cut of Phenomena!) is one of the most bizarre and memorable films from Italian horror maestro Dario Argento. Jennifer Connelly stars as a young girl with a telepathic connection to insects who is sent to a Swiss boarding school for girls where the students are falling prey to a killer. Crossing the elements of a supernatural fairy tale with a harrowing thriller, Argento creates a truly strange world where maggots, mutants and magic converge. The cast includes Donald Pleasence and Patrick Bauchau (La Collectionneuse, The State of Things). Music is provided by Rolling Stones' bassist Bill Wyman, metal bands Iron Maiden and Motorhead and others.
Curse of the Cat People
When assigned a quickie Cat People sequel, Lewton characteristically sidestepped RKO's intentions and crafted a continuation of the story in name only, instead crafting a satisfying and charming melodrama centered around the ambitious imagination of a lonely six-year-old girl. First-time director Robert Wise's delicate fairy tale touches perfectly suit the child's visions of her imaginary friend, making Curse of the Cat People a miniature, dreamy classic. Dir. Robert Wise, 1944, 35mm, 70 min.
Curse of the Werewolf
A Hammer Film Production, starring Oliver Reed as the blood-thirsty man-beast who is gentle and loving by day and kills by night.
DANGEROUS BLONDES
(1943) Directed by Leigh Jason
Though best remembered as Scarlett O'Hara's sister in Gone With the Wind, Evelyn Keyes enjoyed a brief period of popularity while under contract to Columbia Pictures. Dangerous Blondes was made midway between two of her (and Columbia's) biggest hits of the 1940s --Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and The Jolson Story (1946). A lightly comic murder mystery, the film strives to be its own version of The Thin Man. Though they never quite match Nick and Nora's sparkle and polish, sleuthing couple, Harry (Allyn Joslyn) and Jane Craig (Keyes), hold their own with style and wit.
Producer: Samuel Bischoff. Screenplay: Richard Flournoy, Jack Henley. Cinematographer: Philip Tannura, John Stumar. Editor: Jerome Thoms. Cast: Allyn Joslyn, Evelyn Keyes, Edmund Lowe, John Hubbard, Anita Louise. 35mm, 81 min.
The Dark Half
In another film about a man's id manifesting itself physically, we're showing The Dark Half. Romero's second Stephen King adaptation (his first being Creepshow), The Dark Half is one of Romero's personal favorites. Tim Hutton is fantastic in the dual roles of a novelist who "kills off" his pseudonymn in a mock ceremony, and the vengeful incarnation of this "dark half" hellbent on revenge. Don't miss the photographer character being killed with his own artificial leg! Dir. George Romero, 1993, 35mm, 122 min.
DARK PAST
(1949) Directed by Rudolph Maté
After garnering a Columbia contract at the age of 19, Nina Foch was more or less under utilized by the studio who cast her in relatively modest fare. The film noir Dark Past was one of many B-movies in which the Dutch-born Foch furnished a striking performance in spite of the film's low production values. As Betty, the girlfriend of escaped killer Al Walker (Holden), Foch provides crucial insight into her lover's troubled childhood to one of his hostages, psychiatrist Dr. Collins (Cobb), who seeks to treat the criminal instead of sending him back to jail. By doing so, Betty and the doctor advocate the use of psychoanalysis to unlock the secrets of Walker's past, believing that his self-discovery and understanding of his mental afflictions will prevent him from future killings. A replacement for Veronica Lake, Foch made the most of her gangster moll supporting role and steals many scenes from Holden and Cobb.
Producer: Buddy Adler. Screenplay: Michael Blankford. Cast: William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb, Adele Jergens, Stephen Dunner. 35mm, 75 min.
Day of the Dead
1985's Day Of The Dead, whose real star is arguably makeup effects wizard Tom Savini's showstopping gore taking a front seat, as zombie hordes attack the few remaining humans holed up in a military bunker. The way that they claw their way through living flesh is a crimson marvel, so visceral and spectacular that you'll stand up and cheer for the undead to cannibalize every last living character pronto! Dir. George Romero, 1985, 35mm, 102 min.
Dead Alive
The ultimate splatter comedy, Peter Jackson's Dead Alive takes gross-out cinema to new, delirious heights. A strange creature, the Sumatran rat monkey, has bitten an old woman and thereby transformed her into a ghoulish, dead monster who sucks the life out of the living. Her son tries to live a normal life, but mom's victims keep on multiplying and soon a crowd of flesh-hungry monsters is menacing a once-peaceful small town. Also known as Brain Dead.
The Deadly Spawn
The Deadly Spawn, a rare case where the monster in the movie is actually as amazing as the one depicted in its VHS cover art. This low-budget wonder easily delivers the goods, giving us an unforgettable horde of slimy man-chomping menaces (with entire heads made of super-sharp teeth) who land near a farmhouse and proceed to shred everyone in sight. Made by and for true gorehounds, The Deadly Spawn is amateur splatter at its best. Dir. Douglas McKeown, 1983, 35mm, 78 min.
DECLARITIVE MODE
(1976) Directed by Paul Sharits
Produced with a grant from the NEA to celebrate America’s bicentennial, Declarative Mode is Paul Sharits’ intense reflection on Thomas Jefferson and the state of the union. This double-screen version was performed on occasion by Sharits and offers a breathtaking variation on one of his most transcendent films. 16mm, 39 min.
DERSU UZALA (1975)
Premiering a new print
Dersu Uzala, a hunter living alone in the taiga forests of Eastern Siberia, becomes a friend and mentor to a Russian Army engineer. 35mm. 144 mins.
Academy Award winner: Foreign Language Film (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
Based on the classic novel by Dennis Wheatley. The Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) discovers a devil cult that is taking control of innocent people through hypnotic spells and demonic ceremonies. Good Hammer horror offering with a great climax. With Charles Gray and Sarah Lawson.
Devil Times Five
On their way to being hauled off to the asylum, five psychotic children (including a pint-sized Leif Garrett) escape into the winter wilderness when their bus skids out and flips over. After seeking refuge in a remote ski lodge, the murderous moppets devise plenty of kickass ways to dispatch with the skeezy mustachioed adults who've let them wander in. Each of the five tykes has their own peccadilloes, and uses their obsessions (army men, fish, even nunnery!) to fuel their kills. We're not given much of a reason for the kids' killing urge--all the better, for would you really care about their motivations anyway? Like BlackHorrorMovies.com sez: "Any one of these kids could grow up to star in their own slasher movie, but that would remove the perverse joy of seeing 10-year-olds drag a naked, bloody woman through the snow."
Dir. Sean MacGregor & David Sheldon, 1974, DigiBeta, 88 min.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Wally Westmore created the transformation make-up for this taut and exciting story of the battle of good and evil in the single body of a man of science. With Miriam Hopkins as Ivy, the prostitute, and Holmes Herbert and Rose Hobart.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
The third screen version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel is the most popular due to Spencer Tracy's performance as Dr. Harry Jekyll, whose experiments bring out the sexually frustrated Mr. Hyde. With Lana Turner, Ingrid Bergman.
The Etruscan Kills Again
The giallo-like The Etruscan Kills Again has amateur archaeologists Samantha Eggar and Alex Cord investigating the appearance of the god Tuchulcha, whose victims' bodies are arranged in the traditions of ancient rites. The film's labyrinthine plot frequently rises to the level of pure hysteria, matched by an unglued performance by John Marley (The Godfather's horse's head victim), who chews the scenery into tiny shreds. Dir. Armando Crispino, 1972, 35mm.
An Evening with Michel Gondry
Creator of influential music videos and feature films, French Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michel Gondry discusses his own technical and conceptual process and his new book, You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It: The Be Kind Rewind Protocol. He presents clips from his own films and homemade films from visitors to his DIY interactive installation Be Kind Rewind at Deitch Projects. Gondry has collaborated with such luminaries as Björk, The Chemical Brothers, and The White Stripes. His feature films include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, and Be Kind Rewind.
Evilspeak
Horror movies about teens with supernatural powers have been with us for a long time, but Evilspeak adds juicy novelty, thanks to: a) the Wargames-era presence of a bulky home computer as a gateway to Satan; b) a military school setting where sadism is already encouraged; and, c) rampaging, bloodthirsty devil pigs. All of this mayhem is orchestrated by put-upon cadet Stanley (Clint Howard), a kid so unbearably schlubby even the teachers don't like him. When they finally push him too far, the ruling elite get theirs thanks to a flying, demon-eyed Howard (who's discovered the school was founded by a lord of darkness) and some of the decade's tastiest gore scenes, including a show-stopping sword impalement. Complete with that unmistakable early '80s aura and the nastiest treatment of a cute puppy in cinema history, this is the kind of tasteless, utterly watchable celluloid gold they just don't make anymore. Director Eric Weston and star Clint Howard will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A!
Dir. Eric Weston, 1981, 35mm, 89 min.
EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
In this thriller from Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany's), Glenn Ford plays an F.B.I. agent assigned to protect two sisters (Lee Remick and Stephanie Powers) menaced by an asthmatic psychopath, creepily played by Ross Martin. Ford plans an elaborate set-up to capture the heavy-breathing fiend, but it goes awry, resulting in the film's memorable climax in San Francisco's crowded Candlestick Park.
THE FACE OF ANOTHER
A staggering work of existential science fiction, The Face of Another dissects identity with the sure hand of a surgeon. Okuyama (Yojimbo's Tatsuya Nakadai), after being burned and disfigured in an industrial accident and estranged from his family and friends, agrees to his psychiatrist's radical new experiment: a face transplant, created from the mold of a stranger. As Okuyama is thus further alienated from the strange world around him, he finds himself giving in to his darker temptations. With unforgettable imagery, Teshigahara's film explores both the limits and freedom in acquiring a new persona, and questions the notion of individuality itself. Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara. 1966, 124 minutes, Black and White.
Faust
Murnau's last German production before going to Hollywood is a lavish one, based on Goethe's play and inspired by Romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich. Gosta Ekman is the elderly professor who sells his soul to the devil. Emil Jannings plays Mephistopholes and Camilla Horn is Marguerite. "No director ever succeeded in conjuring up the supernatural as masterfully as this" (Lotte Eisner, The Haunted Screen).
The Fine Art of Fear
Co-presented by Provocateur Pictures
As if by some irresistible compulsion to witness the mortification of the flesh, "The Fine Art of Fear" perversely unearths a celluloid sarcophagus of horrible, horrible beauty...a phantasmagoria of the uncanny, the dreadful, and the macabre...a pathological delirium of witchcraft, phantoms, and the undead. Using visionary cinematography and a masterful montage of rare film artifacts, these amoral auteurs probe every dark corner of the human psyche, with morbid curiousity and in lurid detail! This shocking program of experimental films explodes the genre of the horror film, profoundly expanding the cinematic language of fear. Including the legendary Outer Space by Peter Tscherkassky on 35mm, Stan Brakhage's Wedlock House, Takeshi Murata's Monster Movie, and more!
Freaks
A whole generation of midnight moviegoers and cult film fans were weaned on this most disturbing of visions, and the true feather in the horror hat of Tod Browning (director of Dracula). Browning employed real "sideshow professionals" to tell this tale of betrayal and murder in the world of carnival freakshows. Here the freaks take center stage, and the result is startling, provocative and wholly sympathetic to its titular creatures. From cavorting microcephalic "pinheads" to a limbless human torso slithering under a carnival wagon en route to a murder, Freaks packs a wallop that still holds up even in our cynical, seen-it-all times. Our screening is hosted by legendary comic artist Art Spiegelman, and after the show, join us and Art as we head down the street to Family Books, where Art will be signing copies of "Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as A Young %@&*!".
The Ghost Ship
Unseen for a period of almost fifty years due to litigation, The Ghost Ship is unique among horror films-- it's a deeply affecting psychological study on the effects of fear in close quarters. Third-mate Merriam (Russell Wade), initially befriended by Captain Stone (a superb Richard Dix), calls to the crew's attention that Stone's deteriorating mental health is a danger to them all--or is it merely a danger to Merriam? Dir. Mark Robson, 1943, 35mm, 69 min.
GIRLS UNDER 21
(1940) Directed by Max Nosseck
Preaching the dangers of the fast life to wayward girls, this teenaged morality tale stars Rochelle Hudson as Frances White, a former gangster's moll trying to make good. Leaving her husband, the notorious Smiley Ryan (Bruce Cabot), after his incarceration, Frances returns to the tenements of her youth, only to become an unwilling role model to a group of delinquent girls. Seduced by the extravagance of her former life, the girls reject Frances's appeals to reform. When their escalating misconduct leads to tragedy, she is forced into an act of self-sacrifice, making amends for her own mistakes by paying for theirs.
Producer: Ralph Cohn. Screenplay: Jay Dratler. Cinematographer: Barney McGill. Editor: Charles Nelson. Cast: Bruce Cabot, Rochelle Hudson, Paul Kelly, Tina Thayer, Roberta Smith. 35mm, 64 min.
THE GORGON
Hammer legends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing battle the curse of a creature literally turning onlookers into stone in The Gorgon (Terence Fisher, Great Britain, 1964, 83 mins.).
GRAND HOTEL
Edmund Goulding drama w/ Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt (1932 M-G-M)
THE GREAT COMMUNIST BANK ROBBERY, 2004, Romania/France, 70 min. Dir. Alexandru Solomon. A 1959 robbery of the Romanian National Bank in Bucharest became a chilling piece of proto-reality television -- Stalinist style. Authorities arrested six suspects – all high-ranking members of the nomenklatura – who agreed to re-enact their confessed crimes in a filmed "docudrama." Despite possible expectations of a pardon, the robbers were executed. Alexandru Solomon's film is both a bizarre re-creation of a crime in which the motive is still difficult to fathom and an astonishing evocation of a lost world of Romanian Stalinism.
Happy-Go-Lucky
2008/color/118 min. | Scr/dir: Mike Leigh; w/ Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman.
This effervescent comedy from British writer/director Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies ) focuses on Poppy, an unmarried school teacher in London, who greets every situation she encounters, good and bad, with unsinkable optimism. Featuring a star-making performance by Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky is by turns hilarious, moving, and serious about that most mysterious and elusive of all human goals: happiness.
In person: Mike Leigh & Sally Hawkins (Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress)
The Hidden
Two outstanding early efforts from horror/sci-fi craftsman Jack Sholder. First up is The Hidden, a police procedural that starts taking a bevy of twists and turns from its first frame, as an extraterrestrial shapeshifting serial killer continually leaps into different host bodies across Los Angeles, in order to dodge the two lawmen (Michael Nouri and Kyle MacLachlan, in a precursor to his iconic role as Agent Dale Cooper on Twin Peaks) hot on his trail. Dir. Jack Sholder, 1987, 35mm, 96 min.
Homicidal
William Castle's answer to Psycho was this thriller about a murderous woman on the loose who goes into hiding as the nurse for a mute, wheelchair-bound old woman. The paralyzed woman's niece thinks something is strange about this nurse, but she doesn't know the half of it! When originally shown in theaters, Homicidal included a "Fright Break," to allow terrified patrons to leave before the big scares started.
Horror of Dracula
This Hammer film is said to be one of the best vampire movies ever made. Based on the Bram Stoker classic novel, it stars Christopher Lee as the Count and Peter Cushing as his arch foe, Von Helsing.
The House on Sorority Row
A sorority graduation party goes terribly wrong and the "house mother" ends up dead. The girls decide to cover up their accidental murder, but someone who knows their secret is out to make them pay...with their lives! Textbook '80s slasher fare with a few shocks, a little T&A, and a whole lot of blood.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Even after Chaney became a name actor following the success of his 1919 film The Miracle Man, it took three years of lobbying before he managed to convince producer Irving Thalberg to get behind an adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel "Notre Dame De Paris". In Chaney's reimagined version, the novel's tragic side figure Quasimodo would become the star, and even after 85 years, his portrayal of the hunchback remains the definitive one. A shocking grotesquerie with impeccable character design by Chaney himself, the performance easily stands out amongst the grandeur of an epic production filled with lavish sets, gazillions of extras and sumptuous costumes. The now-familiar medieval story revolves around dancer Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and her dalliances with different men, but it's Chaney's athletic, physically eloquent turn as the sympathetic hero that will keep you riveted.
Dir. Wallace Worsley, 1923, 16mm.
I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF
('74, 58m) Myron Meisel's (in person) probing documentary about Nic Ray's last film We Can't Go Home Again, his radical independent feature with hippie and student collaborators. Sterling Hayden's tag line in Johnny Guitar, "I'm a stranger here myself," eventually became Ray's motto. Film critic Dave Kehr's review of In a Lonely Place stated "The film's subject is the attractiveness of instability, and Ray's self-examination is both narcissistic and sharply critical, in fascinating combination .
ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN
(1940) Directed by Charles Barton
Once again paying the penance for an easy life made by ill-gotten gain, Hudson plays the glamour-puss wife, Lorraine, of fascist megalomaniac Stephen Danel (Peter Lorre). Marrying Danel to escape working as a showgirl, Lorraine finds herself trapped on a remote island, indulging her husband's proclivity for the finer things while forced to silently witness the illicit dealings that finance them. When a secret service operative arrives to investigate Danel's use of slave labor, Lorraine must work covertly to aid in her husband's undoing. Ironically, two years after the making of Island of Doomed Men, Hudson was involved in real-life espionage, taking a temporary leave from acting to work undercover in Mexico for U.S. Naval Intelligence throughout World War II.
Producer: Wallace MacDonald. Screenplay: Robert D. Andrews. Cinematographer: Benjamin Kline. Editor: James Sweeney. Cast: Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, Robert Wilcox, Don Beddoe, George E. Stone. 35mm, 68 min.
Isle of the Dead
A morbid mood does indeed dominate Isle of the Dead. This time Karloff is a harsh-tempered General stuck in an island quarantine, while the local villagers slowly succumb to what is either plague or the work of a vampiric spirit. Death is routinely invoked throughout the film, as each character works through their own fear of mortality, including an increasingly freaked-out Karloff who lies in wait for his visit from the monster. Dir. Mark Robson, 1945, 35mm, 72 min.
I Walked With a Zombie
I Walked With A Zombie is the most hallucinatory work made under Lewton's watch, loosely based on (what else?) "Jane Eyre". The film's elegant, haunting depiction of West Indian voodoo rites, along with its hypnotic pulse-laden score and a Lynchian refusal to give easy explanations, make for a pleasantly unsettling experience. Dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1943, 35mm, 69 min.
Jerry Beck's Animated Spooktacular
Animation historian Jerry Beck returns to the Cinefamily with a special show of the horrific characters, monsterous motifs and the creepiest concepts in classic animated cartoons from the 1930s to the 1960s. Frankenstein’s Cat, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Milton the Monster join forces with the groovy ghoulies, screaming skulls and bloody best of animation’s past. Beck will also present several brand new “monsterrific” cartoons and special guest animators to discuss their ghastly influences. Rare 16mm and 35mm prints will be screamed… err, screened.
THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK
(1950) Directed by Earl McEvoy
In an interesting spin on noir's familiar femme fatale, Keyes stars as Sheila Bennet, a diamond smuggler and Cold War incarnation of Typhoid Mary (only this time spreading smallpox amongst the hysterical masses). Keyes gives an impassioned performance while doubly on the run from federal agents and New York's entire medical community, doggedly persevering even as she deteriorates. Inspired by New York's real-life smallpox scare in 1946, The Killer That Stalked New York, is part-documentary, part-noir. Shot largely on location, the film acutely depicted America's looming postwar anxiety and paranoia over forces unknown. It was one of Keyes' last films with Columbia before scouting around for roles outside the studio.
Producer: Robert Cohn. Screenplay: Harry Essex. Cinematographer: Joseph Biroc. Editor: Jerome Thoms. Cast: Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright. 35mm, 79 min.
Kuroneko
Stories about nekomata (ghost cats) were among the most popular genres of Japanese horror in the 50s and 60s, and after completing the classic Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo directed Kuroneko, the creepy and emotionally-charged nekomata tale set in feudal Japan. Kuroneko is loosely based on The Cat's Return, a Japanese folktale about two peasant women who, after being raped and killed by a band of samurai, seek revenge as cat-like spirits who lure soldiers in with sex, then pounce and maul them to death. After several of his men have fallen, the local samurai lord seeks revenge, not knowing he shares a previous special connection to the two apparitions. Painting a bleak, realistic portrait of a "noble" soldier class, mixing it with a heartwrenching tale of fate and wrapping it all up in an evocative black-and-white package, Shindo's Kuroneko is a stark horror classic steeped in its nation's chilling history.
Dir. Kaneto Shindo, 1968, 35mm, 95 min.
Kwaidan
One of the most internationally revered Japanese films, Kwaidan is that rare creature, a horror film capable of functioning as a work of art regardless of genre. This quartet of ghost stories caused a sensation when released, racking up awards at Cannes and, along with Onibaba and Ugetsu, introducing English-speaking viewers to an entirely different kind of cinematic terror. Kwaidan is a sensually amazing experience--every frame of the film is perfectly composed and a wondrous feat of color lighting; you could literally freeze-frame at any point and have a painting on the screen. Director Masaki Kobayashi (The Human Condition) displays a remarkable command of the medium here, and the vibrant, unnatural backdrops have influenced several generations of filmmakers both in the East and West. Imagine The Twilight Zone with the scope of Coppola and Fellini's visual flair, and that might convey some of the tone of this unique masterpiece.
Dir. Masaki Kobayashi, 1964, 35mm, 183 min.
THE LEOPARD (IL GATTOPARDO), 1963, 20th Century Fox, 185 min.
When director Luchino Visconti’s sumptuous historical epic set in mid-19th-century Sicily was initially released in America, it was shorn of over 20 minutes and received lukewarm reviews. In the 1980s, cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno spearheaded restoration efforts, but it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the film became widely available in the current uncut version. It is now commonly acknowledged as Visconti’s most superlative achievement. Adapting Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s literary masterwork, Visconti focuses on philosophical, melancholic Prince Salina (Burt Lancaster), a Sicilian nobleman well aware that the violent Garibaldi-led upheavals then occurring in his country are inevitable. He is determined to see his family survive, in whatever form, and he watches approvingly as his nephew Tancredi (Alain Delon) becomes engaged to the smolderingly beautiful and sweet-natured Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), the daughter of a wealthy, wily merchant. With a sublime score by the incomparable Nino Rota. If you have never seen it in a theatre, now is your chance – it’s wonderful that it is on DVD, but the truly gorgeous production design and epic scope of the film need to be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. "…One of Visconti's achievements is to make that rare thing, a great film of a great book…The cinema at its best can give us the illusion of living another life, and that's what happens here…miraculous and emotionally devastating…" – Robert Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times. Restored Version!
The Leopard Man
Jacques Tourneur teamed up again with Lewton for another feline menace, The Leopard Man. Someone is offing folks in a small town, and everyone thinks the killer is a leopard that's escaped its keepers--but the deaths are too strange to have been committed by a cat, AND they continue once the leopard's remains are also found. A simply and expertly executed visceral proto-slasher film. Dir. Jacuqes Tourneur, 1943, 35mm, 66 min.
THE LINEUP
(from IMDB)
Lots of films have been shot in San Francisco, but few present as many views of the City By the Bay as this one. Here's what we see: Pier 41 and the Embarcadero, Coit Tower, The Ferry Building, The Cliff House, Sutro's Baths (after the closure of the swimming baths in 1954, but during the heyday of the skating rink that took one of the bath's place until 1966--this is probably the only motion picture featuring this rare sight), lots of neighbourhoods, and--to top it all off--a car chase on the then under construction Embarcadero Freeway (since torn down due to earthquake hazard)! Add in a truly exciting and relatively believable story of drug smuggling--certainly cutting edge stuff in 1958--and you have a great little film. Of particular note is Robert Keith (the sheriff in 1954's The Wild One) as one of the twisted criminals. Whenever co-villain Eli Wallach kills someone, Keith writes down the victim's 'final words' in his little black book.
LOVE AFFAIR
(1932) Directed by Thornton Freeland
Humphrey Bogart plays an aviator/inventor trying to build a new type of plane engine, who falls in love with a socialite, whose financial advisor is sleeping with the aviator’s sister, who is simultaneously trying to keep her pimp happy. The plot only gets more complicated. This racy pre-Code Columbia melodrama also features some amazing stunt flying.
Based on the short story by Ursula Parrott. Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Humphrey Bogart. 35mm, 68 min.
Lucio Fulci Triple Feature: Zombie/Gates of Hell/The Beyond
Even though he worked in many genres, Lucio Fulci will forever be known as a splatter master. Starting in the late '70s, Fulci upped the gore quotient in all his films, leaving the plots to fall through the paper shredder, in order to concentrate on innovative grossout moments and a plethora of juicy kills. His undead "trilogy" (Zombie, Gates of Hell and The Beyond), made at the height of his popularity, are legendarily nutty, grotesque and awesome. Eyes gouged out on sharp things! Pretty girls literally vomiting their guts out! Maggot sandstorms! Power drills through the skull! A zombie punching a shark in the face, man!!!! For real, not some CGI bullshit--a real live actor clocking a motherfucking shark on the head in a water tank! Any horror fan not into this should be sent to the gulag.
Zombie Dir. Lucio Fulci, 1979, 35mm, 91 min.
Gates of Hell Dir. Lucio Fulci, 1980, 35mm, 93 min.
The Beyond Dir. Lucio Fulci, 1981, 35mm, 87 min.
Martin
"Don't worry, I'm always careful with the needles," advises the troubled Martin to a female victim as he injects her with a sedative. In a dim train car, he embraces her unconscious body and uses a razor blade to open her veins and drink her blood. With this unforgettable opening, Romero reveals the same precision found in his previous studies of zombies, though Martin finds him taking vampire lore into devastating waters. The teenage Martin (John Amplas) lives with his stern uncle, who claims that Martin is actually an ancient, traditional vampire who stalks the streets at night; the viewer is never completely sure about the true nature of Martin's identity, with eerie gothic flashbacks reinforcing the uneasy coexistence between past and present in his family. The kind of film that horror buffs adore, Martin is Romero's true masterpiece, a perfect example of his personal expression as a filmmaker, and very rarely screened--so don't miss it.
Dir. George Romero, 1978, 35mm, 95 min.
The Masque of the Red Death
Producer icon Roger Corman's most personally beloved work is the series of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations he himself directed in the 1960s. We’re celebrating this work with a double feature, featuring plenty of trippy dream sequences, bizarre twists, and scream queen Hazel Court in low-cut dresses. First up, evil Vincent Price and his rich pals try to hide from a medieval plague by terrorizing nearby villagers and throwing a swanky party, the Masque Of The Red Death. But a Seventh Seal-inspired Death has other plans. Dir. Roger Corman, 1964, 35mm, 89 min.
Messiah of Evil
Messiah Of Evil is one of the great lost films. Made by screenwriting team Willard Hyuck and Gloria Katz right before their breakout success writing American Graffiti, it details the unsettling relationship between a girl, her mysterious painter father, and a Northern California town full of bloodthirsty catatonic everyday people. There are standout zombie attacks in a supermarket and a movie theatre (one of the best ever), as well as an appearance by '70s gay film icon Michael Greer (Fortune and Men's Eyes, The Gay Deceivers), make the film an off-kilter killer. Dir. Willard Hyuck & Gloria Katz, 1973, 35mm, 85 min.
MOBY DICK, 1956, MGM Repertory, 116 min. Gregory Peck stars as bitter Captain Ahab, driven to find the giant white whale in director John Huston’s screen version of Herman Melville’s masterpiece, aided by a powerful adaptation by screenwriter Ray Bradbury. The film captures the epic sweep and near-biblical tone of the novel, has a superb cast, including Richard Basehart, and features an astonishing cameo by Orson Welles as Father Mapple. Ray Bradbury In-Person!
Mondo Kinder-Carnage!
We've got an overstimulated sugarbomb of a program featuring terrorist toddlers, reprobate ragamuffins, budding butchers, and cutthroat cubs hurling pure malice towards any adult in their path, ending with the psyche-shattering Child of Rage, the must-see TV movie featuring the most evil little-girl-not-literally-possessed-by-the-devil you've ever seen. This rarity is both hilariously shocking and shockingly hilarious, because all the scorching hate unleashed by the little girl is encased within the pasteurized skin of women's network filler. An insulated middle-class couple questions their adoption, when their little girl turns out to be pure psychopath: smothering her younger brother with a pillow while repeatedly punching his gut, hitting on her new grandpa, and hiding a knife in her teddy bear like a prisoner smuggling a shank. They actually cure the kid (using primal screaming brat therapy), but seriously, once you see her in action, you won't want her to ever be cured. It's just that good.
Monkey Shines
The bizarre Monkey Shines concerns a recent quadrapelegic who's supplied with Ella, a cute little helper monkey, to help him out around the house--a monkey who also belongs to a test group scientifically manipulated to become intelligent and responsive to human commands. The two bond a little too closely, and when the recipients of his mounting rage turn up dead, you can guess who's responsible. Dir. George Romero, 1988, 35mm, 113 min.
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
(1932) Directed by Ernest B. Shoedsack and Irving Pichel
The hunter becomes the hunted in Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack's deliciously demented thriller (with co-director Irving Pichel). Joel McCrea and Fay Wray star as shipwreck survivors turned hard targets of an insane Russian count who hunts humans for sport on his private jungle island. (The same island set also appears in King Kong, which Cooper, Shoesdack and Wray shot simultaneously with Dangerous Game). Tightly paced and overflowing with pre-Code menace--"Hunt first the enemy, then the woman" proclaims Leslie Bank's count--The Most Dangerous Game set the standard for the action horror genre.
Based on a short story by Richard Connell. Producer: Merian C. Cooper. Screenplay: James Ashmore Creelman. Cinematographer: Henry Gerrard. Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Leslie Banks, Noble Johnson. 35mm, 63 min.
Moving Figures: The Animated World of Robert Breer
"Breerworld is homey but tumultuous, filled with sudden shifts in color and scale, flash frame jolts, and a steady back-beat of good-natured apocalypse... he towers over a field where gimmicks are common currency and cuteness is as virulent as malaria in the tropics..." J. Hoberman, American Film
Robert Breer, one of America's foremost filmmakers for more than 50 years, pays a rare visit to Los Angeles to attend a multi-venue celebration of his work. A close colleague of Rauschenberg, Oldenburg and many other seminal artists of the '50s and '60s, Breer brought a comparably imaginative and rigorous appreciation for collage and pure form to the art of cinema. Throughout a body of more than 40 animated, and in ways "anti-animated," films, Breer celebrates cinema as a unique way of seeing, and the act of drawing as an endlessly expressive and unpredictable personal gesture. The program features 14 masterworks spanning four decades, gorgeously restored by Anthology Film Archives for the first time on 35mm: Recreation (1956), A Man And His Dog Out For Air (1957), Jamestown Baloos (1957), Eyewash (1959), Eyewash (Alternative Version, 1959), Blazes (1961), Fist Fight (1964), 66 (1966), 69 (1969), 70 (1970), Fuji (1974), 77 (1977), Swiss Army Knife With Rats And Pigeons (1981) and Bang! (1986). In person: Robert Breer
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
Frank Lloyd adventure w/ Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone (1935 M-G-M)
MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS
(1945) Directed by Joseph Lewis
My name is Julia Ross was Foch's first starring role for Columbia and it is arguably her best film. Teamed with director Joseph H. Lewis (known for his alluring compositions and off-beat style) and British actress Dame May Witty, Foch was in talented company in this shadowy film noir set in postwar London. As the film's down on her luck title character, Foch gratefully accepts a personal secretary job only to become an unknowing target of a duplicitous murder plot by her new employers, a perverse mother and son team. Instead of taking dictation, they expect her to play the role of the son's murdered wife in order to cover up their hand in the crime. As Julia gradually uncovers the bizarre and twisted plot, Foch turns in a breakthrough performance as a woman pushed to the brink of madness. Though Columbia intended to release Julia Ross as a "B" movie, the film's unexpected critical success prompted the studio to elevate the film to a main release.
Producer: Wallace MacDonald. Screenplay: Muriel Roy Bolton. Editor: Henry Batista. Cast: Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready, Roland Varnol, Anita Bolster. 35mm, 65 min.
Night of the Bloody Apes
This cheap, fun Mexican horror film is a remake of Cardona's Doctor of Doom (1962), spiced with nudity, medical footage, women wrestling, and cheap gore shots. A doctor transplants an ape's heart into his dying son's body and the son literally goes ape, killing and raping every woman he can find and tearing the faces off men. It's up to a woman wrestler and her policeman boyfriend to stop the simian madness. With Joes Elias Moreno, Armando Silvestre, and Norma Lazarendo.
Night of the Creeps
Fred Dekker's underrated campy campus comedy of terrors, where alien brain parasites freed from a college lab turn infected hosts into killer zombies. And guess what: the parasites just found out about that party full of hot sorority girls! Featuring characters named for famous directors, '50s retro self-aware humor, and a nimble balance of real laughs and real scares. Oh, and supposedly, George Clooney plays the janitor--if you see him, scream real loud. Dir. Fred Dekker, 1986, 35mm, 88 min.
NIGHT OF THE DEMON
Jacques Tourneur's horror masterpiece. Dana Andrews stars as an American scientist who comes to England to help a friend debunk a supposedly Satanic cult leader, only to discover that his dark powers are very real indeed. "Tourneur is attempting a rational apprehension of the irrational, examining not so much the supernatural itself but the insecurities it springs from and the uses it may be put to" (Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader). The British version (Night of the Demon) runs twelve minutes longer than the American release.
Night of the Living Dead
Romero's '68 masterpiece, elegant in its simplicity and stark in its depiction of an American populace sleepwalking through the Vietnam era, remains the template for the modern zombie film, even after all these years. Even if you think you know the film inside and out--when's the last time you actually sat down and watched it? In 35mm? Come give it another whirl with us, and rediscover its brutal beauty. Dir. George Romero, 1968, 35mm, 96 min.
Nova-Kino: The History of Cinematic Agit-Prop
Nova-Kino is an experimental cinematic movement with departure points from the Russian twenties, film noir, situationism, the classical avant-garde, and post-modern appropriationist theory. Experimental filmmaker Mark Boswell traces the roots of collage filmmaking to its origins in Futurism, Dadaism, and Constructivism up to the present. He co-founded the Alliance Film/Video Cooperative in Miami, and teaches in the Media Arts Department at the Pratt Institute of New York.
Once a Thief
1965/b&w/106 min./Panavision | Scr: Zekial Marko; dir: Ralph Nelson; w/ Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin, Jack Palance.
A young ex-con trying to go straight gets caught up in another criminal scheme.
ONE GIRL'S CONFESSION
(1953) Directed by Hugo Haas
Following the breakthrough success of Marilyn Monroe, Cleo Moore was one of many in the 1950s to garner fame using her golden locks and curvaceous figure. Moore became a cult icon for her roles as a B-movie "bad girl", most notably in the films by writer, director, producer and star, Hugo Haas. In the second of seven Haas films starring the buxom blonde, Moore plays Mary Adams, a waitress working at a waterfront diner formerly owned by her father. Tired of being used by her father's corrupt ex-business partner as eye candy to lure in customers, Mary steals his entire savings aiming to hide the cash, turn herself in and recover the loot after serving her sentence. Like all best laid plans, Mary's goes considerably awry and she plummets in a self-destructive wayward descent, proving herself to be the kind of girl every man wants, but should never dare marry.
Producer: Hugo Haas. Screenwriter: Hugo Haas. Cinematographer: Paul Ivano. Editor: Merrill G. White. Cast: Cleo Moore, Hugo Haas, Glenn Langan, Ellen Stansbury, Anthony Jochim. 35mm, 73 min.
OVER-EXPOSED
(1956) Directed by Lewis Seiler
This titillating bit of pulp sensationalism was the last in a string of "B" films that Cleo Moore starred in at Columbia. Moore plays Lila Crane, an ambitious career woman with flexible morals and a penchant for fast money. Formerly a clip-joint floozie under the name of Lily Krenshka, Lila undergoes a change in name and occupation, rapidly hustling her way to becoming New York's foremost commercial photographer. Moore stays steadfast to her "bad girl" personae--brassy and suspicious; conniving, yet sweet--in this smirky glimpse at the back-biting nastiness that accompanies wealth and glamour.
Producer: Lewis J. Rachmil. Story: Richard Sale, Mary Loos. Screenplay: James Gunn, Gil Orlovitz. Cinematographer: Henry Freulich. Cast: Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna, Isobel Elsom, Raymond Greenleaf, Shirley Thomas. 35mm, 79 min.
The People Under the Stairs
Never one to shy away from metaphor, Wes Craven explored the horrors of poverty in 1991's The People Under The Stairs. The film reunites Twin Peaks couple Everett McGill and Wendy Robie in a loopy combo performance (inspired by the Reagans) as the fiendish rich people who oppress an entire neighborhood of welfare cases, turning them into de-facto zombies buried in their expansive basement. But forget about the social commentary--the real draw is McGill going bat-shit crazy in a gimp suit while covered in blood. Dir. Wes Craven, 1991, 35mm, 102 min.
PETE SEEGER: THE POWER OF SONG
Directed by Jim Brown
Produced by Brown, Michael Cohl, William Eigen
With archival footage and clips from his own personal films, PETER SEEGER: THE POWER OF SONG documents the life of one of the greatest American singer-songwriters of the last century. 35mm. 93 mins.
The Phantom of the Opera
Even those who are intimately familiar with the story of The Phantom of The Opera will be awestruck by Lon Chaney's devastating portrayal of Erik, who sports The Man Of A Thousand Faces' most recognizable face. In one of the most physically tortured performances in all of silent film (made all the more impressive by makeup effects that included actually painting his eyeballs darker), a masked Chaney lurks in the shadows of the Paris Opera House while its new owners stage a production of "Faust". Rather than starring the diva Mme. Carlotta (Virginia Pearson), the Phantom demands that beautiful understudy Christine (Mary Philbin), whom the Phantom loves from afar, take the role, or else there will be grave consequences! The blend of Chaney's shocking visage, along with his emotive rendition of Erik's' tortured soul, made The Phantom the most iconic role of the actor's entire career.
Dir. Rupert Julian, 1925, 16mm, 92 min.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
1945/b&w and color/110 min. | Scr/dir: Albert Lewin; w/ George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury.
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
PIECES
(from IMDB)
Juan Piquer Simon's "Pieces" is one of the most hilarious slasher movies ever made.In the early 1940's a little boy is caught by his mother while he is assembling a puzzle with a naked lady on it.The boy gets mad when his mother takes his puzzle,so he kills her with an axe.40 years later somebody butchers random college chicks with a chainsaw."Pieces" is a highly entertaining gore trash filled with enough blood to satisfy horror fans.
PIRANHA II: THE SPAWNING
(from IMDB)
A sunken US supply ship off a Caribbean island resort is the focus for a series of mysterious piranha attacks. Investigating the death of one of her son's companions after a scuba-diving trip, Anne Kimbrough breaks into the morgue with holidaymaker Tyler Sherman, only to discover that the fish have wings and can fly. But the hotel manager refuses to call off the annual fish fry on the beach, with inevitable consequences... Dir. James Cameron, 1981
THE POWER
(from IMDB)
A man comes into possession of an ancient Aztec doll. However, the doll is possessed by an evil spirit, which takes over his body.
The Premature Burial
Jittery nobleman Ray Milland copes with his fear of The Premature Burial by rigging an elaborate, gimmicky entombment system, only to find his worst fears eventually realized. Filled with stunning anamorphic imagery (Masque’s director of photography was Nic Roeg) and packed with vivid characters and color schemes, these gorgeous films show the real cineaste at the heart of America's most famous B-movie mogul. Dir. Roger Corman, 1962, 35mm, 81 min.
RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS
Richard Boleslavsky epic w/ Lionel Barrymore, John, Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore (1932-M-G-M)
RAW FORCE
(from IMDB)
A group of martial arts students are en route to an island that supposedly is home to the ghosts of martial artists who have lost their honor. A Hitler lookalike and his gang are running a female slavery operation on the island as well. Soon, the two groups meet and all sorts of crazy things happen which include cannibal monks, piranhas, zombies, and more!
The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonák)
1967/b&w/92 min./CinemaScope | Scr: Georgiy Mdivani, Gyula Hernádi, Miklós Jancsó; dir Miklós Jancsó; w/ József Madaras, Tibor Molnár, András Kozák.
Jancsó worked in the Soviet Union for this commission in honor of the October Revolution's fiftieth anniversary. As members of the defeated Hungarian army find themselves behind enemy lines at the close of World War I, they end up joining Bolshevik "Reds" in the struggle against Tsarist "Whites" in Russia's Civil War. "Great plastic beauty and a poisonous lyricism permeate this ballet of violence, its nameless men trapped in hypnotic, archaic rituals… this is a fully realized paraphrase of the human condition."—Amos Vogel.
Red Psalm (Még kér a nép)
1971/color/87 min. | Scr: Gyula Hernadi; dir: Miklós Jancsó; w/ József Madaras, Tibor Orbán, Tibor Molnár.
Jancsó received a Best Director prize at Cannes for this rhapsodic portrayal of a nineteenth-century peasant farmers' uprising. Staging maypole dances, folk chants, and other mass rites instead of tending to fields of grain, the strikers' processional ceremonies are tracked by Jancsó in twenty-six elegantly orchestrated shots and tensely observed by bailiffs, clergy, and eventually government troops. "Dazzling… Jancsó's awesome fusion of form with content and politics with poetry equals the exciting innovations of the French New Wave… it may well be the greatest Hungarian film of the sixties and seventies."—Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Retribution
The Cinefamily brings you one of the latest from the prolific David Lynch of J-horror, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure), and produced by Taka Ichise, the behind-the-scenes force responsible for the Ring and Ju-On franchises. Overworked cop Yoshioka investigates a seemingly motiveless murder, a Jane Doe case of a woman in a red dress drowned in a shallow pool of water. The only clues mysteriously point straight at Yoshioka himself, even though he has zero recollection of the crime. As more bodies and searing plot twists crop up, alongside a succession of minor earthquakes, Yoshioka's mind turns against him, and he swims through a waking nightmare of ghostly visitations, a disintegrating relationship with his girlfriend, and a post-industrial Tokyo landscape that would turn-on J.G. Ballard. Like the other directors in this series, Kurosawa gives us a bloodless horror, but a chilling and supremely effective one.
Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2006, 35mm, 104 min.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD
Years before 28 Days Later, writer/director Dan O'Bannon created the first "fast zombie" flick by successfully tweaked the zombie behavior template that had previously been held sacred: zombies don't just shuffle and eat--now they can talk, scheme, and get laid. Craggy heroes Clu Gulager and James Karen hold stage with sexpots Linnea Quigley and Jewel Shepherd while classic L.A. punk rock wails over the soundtrack. Dir. Dan O' Bannon, 1985, 35mm, 91 min.
The Round Up (Szegénylegények)
1965/b&w/94 min./CinemaScope | Scr: Gyula Hernádi; dir: Miklós Jancsó; w/ János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár, András Kozák.
Jancsó's breakout film is set amid the summary detention of entire villages as Hapsburg forces try to root out any remnants of Hungary's defeated nationalist guerillas that may still roam the country's sprawling plains. Confined to a wooden fort, peasants and herdsmen are subjected to a complex array of interrogations, traps, and ruses set by their Austrian keepers. "Jancsó exhibits portraits of an embryonic police state, set against a pitiless sky and a plain so vast that it seems to show the curvature of the earth. In his cold eye, war is an aleatory art in which values are as random as bullets... In his own deep-dimensioned, black and white montages, he seems a sculptor who scrapes his material from the soil of his native land and gives it a cast of permanence."-Time (1969).
Santa Sangre
A startling vision of passion and obsession from the creator of El Topo. Guy Stockwell stars as Orgo, a sadistic circus master who brutally disfigures his wife after she catches him with another woman. Witness to the horror is their young son, Fenix. Traumatized, he is committed to an asylum. Freed by his armless mother twelve years later, they forge an unholy alliance. He "gives" her his arms, she takes control of his mind. Together they feed a mounting obsession of desire and revenge. Directed and co-written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santa Sangre is a film of bold and bizarre images, delicately balanced between the theater of the absurd and a circus of horrors.
Savage Streets
When Linda Blair (The Exorcist) is armed with a crossbow, you know someone's got hell to pay. In this explosive actioner, she plays Brenda, a young woman minding her own business when she's nearly run over by a gang called the Scars. Brenda and her friends trash the leader's car, leading the gang to hunt down and gang-rape her mute-deaf sister (Linnea Quigley). Damn, that's low, and Brenda's out to show the bastards her badassed side as she hunts them down Bronson-style through the streets of 1980's Los Angeles.
Scream... and Die!
A young model and her petty thief boyfriend find their way through the English fog to a backwoods manor in hopes of looting it. What they find instead is murder, and when the model attempts to find the house again, her efforts come to naught.
Season of the Witch
After his first zombie classic, Romero produced these two atmospheric, endearing early-'70s experiments worthy of rediscovery. Season Of The Witch tried to find an audience under other titles (Jack's Wife and Hungry Wives), none of which capture the full surreal experience of this intense look at a housewife resorting to suburban witchcraft when her husbands and friends fail to provide any fulfillment. Dir. George Romero, 1973, 35mm, 89 min.
The Serpent and the Rainbow
Craven had already delved into zombie territory in The Serpent And The Rainbow, his 1988 tale of politics and voodoo run amok, starring Bill Pullman as a nosy white guy who sticks his nose into a Haitian community's affairs and gets buried alive for his trouble. Now that's what we call white man's guilt! Dir. Wes Craven, 1988, 35mm, 98 min.
THE SEVENTH VICTIM
(1943) Directed by Mark Robson
Mary Gibson comes to Manhattan in search of her lost sister Jacqueline. Her investigation leads her to a group of devil worshippers of which her sister was a cult member. Since Jacqueline (who is perhaps psychic) has endangered the secrecy of the cult, she is condemned to execution or suicide. The film is considered to be Lewton's crowning achievement and is certainly his most personal and radical production.
Producer: Val Lewton. Screenplay: Charles O'Neal, DeWitt Bodeen. Cinematographer: Nicholas Musuraca. Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, Evelyn Brent. 35mm, 71 min.
Shock Waves
No-budg underwater Nazi zombie flick that cares: Shock Waves. Brooke Adams is the survivor of an ill-fated vacation cruise, during which her ship runs aground on Peter Cushing's tropical SS hideaway. On the isle, Cushing breeds zombies from his deceased soldiers, who now lurk beneath the water, ready to drag the living to a watery death. The dreamlike setting plays like a cross between Fulci's Zombie and the haunted wastelands of Val Lewton, and coupled with a skin-crawling electronic score, makes for a unique and unsettling experience. Dir. Ken Wiederhorn, 1977, 35mm, 90 min.
Silence and Cry (Csend és kiáltás)
1968/b&w/73 min./CinemaScope | Scr: Gyula Hernadi, Miklós Jancsó; dir: Miklós Jancsó; w/ Andras Kozak, Zoltán Latinovits.
Amid the collapse of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919 and the merciless hunt for members of its defunct army, a Red soldier goes into hiding on a farm in the Hungarian prairies under the watch of a childhood friend, perhaps an estranged brother, who is now a commandant of the local government troops.
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, 1983, Disney, 95 min. Dir. Jack Clayton (THE INNOCENTS, OUR MOTHER’S HOUSE). A strange carnival comes to a small Illinois town on a windy October night, bringing with it Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce), a sinister impresario who will mystify young boys Will and Jim (Vidal Peterson and Shawn Carson) and bewitch many of the town’s inhabitants with apparent answers to their dreams. Or is it their nightmares? Jason Robards, the older single dad of Will and a reclusive librarian who has given up on life, suddenly finds himself challenged by the mysteriously seductive threat – he may be the one person who can save the town from Mr. Dark – and itself. Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay, adapting his own novel. With Pam Grier in an unusual role. Introduction to the film by writer Ray Bradbury.
THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE
(1946) Directed by Robert Siodmak
When a serial killer begins stalking women with physical impairments in small town, Helen (McGuire), a mute servant girl to a cranky dowager (Barrymore), suspects she's his next victim. Director Robert Siodmak and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca squeeze every last drop of paranoia and suspense from a masterful cast and Victorian shadows while taking us straight into the mind of the killer's twisted psyche.
Screenplay: Mel Dinelli. Cast: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore. 35mm, 83 min.
Spirit of '68: Protest Films For The Decade of Revolution
Curated by Jack Stevenson
The 1960s was clearly a landmark era in modern American history, enflamed by a spirit of activism and solidarity fondly recalled today as we mark the fortieth anniversary of that pivotal year – 1968 – in which so many decisive events took place. The short films in this program each describe a different aspect of this "decade of disillusion", from the brooding working-class existentialism of Assembly Line (1961) to the hyper-patriotism of a society in deep conflict with itself in America’s In Real Trouble (1968), the bloody riots of People’s Park (1969) to the social, political and pop culture turmoil captured in the impressionistic Love It/Leave It (1970). These are all in a sense "underground" films, loose, raw documents of the street that impart a feel for the attitudes and ambiguities of the times.
1961-70, 16mm, 85 min.
Strait-Jacket
Joan Crawford added a whole new dimension to her screen persona with her memorably high-strung performance as a demented axe-murderess in this William Castle chiller. Released from a mental institution 20 years after hacking her husband and his lover to death, Joan's character moves in with her daughter (Diane Baker) and the killings begin all over again. But is she responsible this time? Ever the master of hype, Castle had cardboard axes issued to audiences during the film's original release. The screenplay is by Robert Bloch (Psycho).
STRANGLERS FROM BOMBAY
A murderous religious cult is way-laying travellers and stealing goods in nineteenth century India. As the disappearances mount and trade becomes difficult, the British East India Company is forced to act. But they give the job to an upper-class officer completely out-of-touch with the country rather than the obvious candidate who has been in India for years and well understands the people and culture. Hammer Studios film from 1959.
Streets of Fire
Director Walter Hill followed up the massive success of 48 Hrs. with this underrated action film. Rock singer Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is taken hostage by a motorcycle gang during a concert, prompting her manager to hire a mercenary (Michael Pare) to find and rescue her. This unusual melding of 1950's rock and roll and futuristic sets features many familiar actors including Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, and Robert Townsend as a member of The Sorels.
SUSPIRIA
Perhaps the most frightening and visually garish of all Italian horror films, Suspiria stars Jessica Harper as Suzy Banyon, an American student who has enrolled in a German dance academy. On the very night she arrives, two of the students are brutally murdered. It soon becomes apparent that this is only the beginning of a terrifying nightmare.
Taipei Story (Qingmei Zhuma)
1985/color/117 min. | Scr: Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Zhu Tian-wen; dir: Edward Yang; w/ Tsai Chin, Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
In a rare acting role, Hou Hsiao-Hsien plays a former baseball star disillusioned with his job as a textile salesman and his sullen girlfriend, a high-level executive played by Yang's first wife, pop star Tsai Chin. "A film that helped to change the face of Taiwanese cinema…The moods it conjures up are potent and indelible." -Jonathan Rosenbaum.
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
A sharp thriller about a group of terrorists who commander a New York City subway car and threaten to kill the hostages unless the bankrupt city agrees to pay them $1 million in one hour. Walter Matthau plays a security transit cop tracking their moves. The cast includes Robert Shaw as the head villain, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Jerry Stiller.
TEENAGE MOTHER
(from IMDB)
A new health teacher in a high school is nearly raped by drug-dealing students and is blamed when a student turns up pregnant.
THREE STOOGES STOOGE-FEST
This year's event, PARDON MY AMNESIA, is a brand new collection of bona-fide Stooges Classics that we have somehow forgotten in our past screenings. This is a great line-up of guaranteed laffs, presented on the Alex Theatre’s Big Screen!
The titles chosen by our blue ribbon panel for 2008 are:
IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE (1941)
THREE LITTLE BEERS (1935)
PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
FRIGHT NIGHT (1947)
DISORDER IN THE COURT (1936)
We are excited that this year’s bonus features include a very rarely seen 1974 INTERVIEW WITH LARRY FINE, provided to us by his family. Larry talks about his early career, the Stooges vaudeville years and how the trio developed their film personalities and wacky brand of knock-about comedy. As we have each year, we’ll also present a clip from a “lost” Stooges short or feature film.
Fun? Soitenly! Running time approximately 2 hours.
THE TINGLER
What better location for a Halloween throwdown than at a place with serious Hollywood Gothic history (just Google our name plus "Laurence Austin"). First, we all sit down and watch The Tingler, William Castle's weirdo masterpiece of gimmickry about a lobster-shaped creature which feeds on terror within the human body! Aside from being the first film to utilize LSD as a plot device, the original theatrical run was presented in "Percepto," whereby theater patrons were given electric shocks in their seat to simulate the monster's attack. The result, of course, was giddy insanity as Price's voice urges patrons to "scream for your lives!" Best of all, The Tingler features a major subplot based on the Silent Movie Theatre itself and its original owners, the Hamptons (Castle even used our space for exteriors). Feel a tingle up your spine as you watch this scenes from this classic set in the location you're sitting in...and maybe a tingle on your tuchas when we shock you Castle-style with real wired seats! Dir. William Castle, 1959, 35mm, 82 min.
Tombs of the Blind Dead
Tombs Of The Blind Dead is the first Romero-influenced Spanish horror film, all about the Knights Templar using witchcraft to return centuries later as the blind undead on horseback--in gorgeous dreamlike slo-mo, backed by an amazing musique concrčte score. We were lucky enough to find the rare re-titled U.S. version, Revenge From Planet Ape, featuring a bizarro sci-fi Planet Of The Apes-inspired prologue! Dir. Amando de Ossorio,1971, 35mm.
TV Tuesday: Halloween Edition
Since Halloween is the favorite holiday of millions of Americans, and since advertisers love to flog the hell out of Halloween, there exists a bounty of creepy commercials, scary "special" episodes and terrifying TV movies all centered around the mischevious dark spirit that drives All Hallows' Eve. We promise a magical night where every flip of the channel lands you on lost eerie emissions you can't seem to look away from. We've got at least two great '70s horror TV movies, and a whole mess of stuff you can barely remember, or can't believe existed. Bring your favorite snacks, join our couch and snuggle up, 'cause it's TV Tuesday: The Halloween Edition!
Ugetsu
Frequently making appearances on critics' "best films of the 20th century" lists, Kenzi Mizoguchi's most famous film is both a subtle evocation of the supernatural and a testament to the perpetual odds by which men and women coexist in a world torn apart by war and injustice. Inspired by two 16th century ghost fables, Ugetsu explores the journey of two brothers who risk their lives to pursue their obsessions, despite the protests of their loving wives who only wish for a simple, happy life. With supremely beautiful and fluid camerawork, and through a dream-like web of symbolism and horror, Mizoguchi captures an incredible mixture of moods from poignancy to dread--just say aloud the rough translation of the title of this ghost story in English: "Tales of the Pale and Silvery Moon After the Rain", and see if you feel a shiver.
Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953, 35mm, 94 min.
The Unholy Three
Whereas Tod Browning's The Unknown was all about Chaney seeking refuge within the confines of the circus, The Unholy Three gives us a Chaney that wants out. In a loopy yet highly entertaining plot, ventriloquist Echo (Chaney), hungry for cash, leads a midget (Harry Earles) and a strongman (Victor McLaglen) in a serial robbery scheme involving selling parrots through a pet store front. When unsuspecting customers buy a bird, Echo (disguised as a grandmother!) uses his skills to throw its voice; when the bird doesn't talk in the customer's home, the Unholy Three arrive to refund the customer--and to case their house. In addition to the usual stellar turn by Chaney in yet another outrageous guise, Earles is particularly unsettling in the role of an adult posing as a baby in a carriage. This very successful picture was remade five years later, as Chaney's only talkie before his death in 1930.
Dir. Tod Browning, 1925, 35mm, 86 min.
The Unknown
Before macabre master Tod Browning turned in his masterpiece Freaks, he crafted another moody circus piece. The Unknown stars Chaney as a supposedly armless talent with a bravura knife-throwing act in which he uses only his feet! On the lam from the law, he bides his time in Zanzi's Circus, pretends not to have arms in order to hide his identity, and develops a serious crush on Nanon, Zanzi's daughter (Joan Crawford, in an early role). Nanon is a strange one, with a severe phobia of mens' hands, so things are looking up for Alonzo's romantic prospects. That is until he murders Zanzi in a rage, and, to throw off suspicion, bribes a doctor to amputate his arms for real. Through deftly-controlled pathos, Chaney manages to make his selfish, criminally-minded lead the object of our affection, right through to the film's startling, unpredictable finale.
Dir. Tod Browning, 1927, 35mm, 63 min.
Versus
Explaining the plot of the genre-bending Japanese instant classic Versus in a hundred words or less is virtually impossible, so we thought we'd let its IMDB keywords do the talking: samurai, splatter, forest, zombie with gun, immortality, yakuza, amnesia, exploding head, exploding body, escaped convict, man with no name, heart in hand, shot in the head, shot in the face, shot in the chest, shot in the back, shot in the arm...and yes, almost forgot: martial arts. Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura, 2000, 35mm, 119 min.
WAIT UNTIL DARK
Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman who is left alone in her apartment, terrorized by a psychotic (Alan Arkin) and a group of men looking for a heroin stash they are sure is in there. A tense thriller, based on Frederick Knott's Broadway play.
WARGAMES, 1983, MGM Repertory, 114 min. Gentlemen, please: no video-gaming in the war room. For Matthew Broderick's seminal teen computer hacker, coming of age, saving the world and getting Ally Sheedy means accidentally triggering World War III (and causing big headaches for the likes of Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin). Director John Badham's tale of a boy, his modem and Armageddon is as suspenseful -- and unnerving -- as ever. Both films scored by Arthur Rubinstein. Discussion in between films with director John Badham and film historian Eric Lichtenfeld.
We're Going to Eat You
One of Tsui Hark's earliest films, the cannibal kung fu crime comedy We're Going To Eat You, in which the fake blood flows like wine, the zombies flow like fake blood, all the characters scream and the soundtrack screams louder. Gory gory hallelujah! Dir. Tsui Hark, 1980, digital presentation, 90 min.
WHITE ZOMBIE
(1932) Directed by Victor Halperin
Though variously dismissed and championed by horror fans over its long, tortuous history, White Zombie simply can't be ignored or denied: It keeps coming back from the dead. An independent production that spawned a countless army of zombie films, it's still one of the eeriest entries in the genre. Bela Lugosi gives a hypnotic performance at the heart of the Halperin Brother's Haiti-set fever dream about a young couple who find their marriage plans waylaid by voodoo magic and a plantation owner's dark desire.
Producer: Edward Halperin. Screenplay: Garnett Weston. Cinematographer: Arthur Martinelli. Cast: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn, Robert Frazer. 35mm, 73 min.
THE WRAITH
Charlie Sheen returns from the dead with his supercool car and neo-dead accessories to avenge his murder and reclaim his girl (Sherilyn Fenn). He eliminates Nick Cassavetes and his gang of chemical-swillin' thugs by racing them on a deserted patch of Arizona highway...
YOJIMBO (1961)
In a village divided by rival factions, a samurai warrior who is courted by both sides devises his own plan to rid the community of its criminals. 35mm. 110 mins.
Academy Award nominee: Black-and-White Costume Design (Yoshiro Muraki)
Zombie
Made quickly to capitalize on the success of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, this film has built up a loyal, gore-hungry fan base over the years. Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, and a group of tourists travel to the wrong island, where a mad scientist's experiments have brought the dead back to life and looking for munchies. Definitely not for the squeamish, this one boasts some truly nauseating effects.