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Films
Updated: December 18, 2009
Friday Afternoon
Surrogates: 4:00pm
Much as in Asimov's Solaria, the world of Surrogates is one where humans live in isolation only communicating with other people in the form of robotic surrogates. Bruce Willis stars as a detective who investigates a crime using his own surrogate until its destruction brings him out of his own home for the first time in many years.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 28 min.
The President's Analyst: 6:00pm
The president has a lot of things on his mind, and the pressure is crushing him, so a psychologist is brought in. The problem is, once everyone realizes Dr. Sydney Schaefer (played by James Coburn) knows all of America's secrets, spies from all corners begin coming after him. In the end, he's brought down by a secret plot on the part of a national monopoly. This is a comedy from 1967, and it's dated in a few ways but that just makes it that much more funny. Anyone who is in any way involved with the telecom industry must see this film. Lauren Weinstein says that it, "in retrospect shows a prescience that takes dark humor to an utterly brilliant level of both insanity and genuine creepiness."
In 16mm Cinemascope. Color by Technicolor, 1 hr. 43 min.
Gigantor: Freezer Ray: 8:00pm
Fred Ladd's American adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go, this is probably the first piece of Anime to make it onto American television screens in the early 1960s. In spite of being described as "loud, violent and tasteless" by Variety, Gigantor became phenomenally popular and had a huge effect on a generation of children. It's become instilled so tightly into our culture that the theme song has now become standard repetoire for punk rock bands and a life-size statue of him is right now being installed in Kobe, Japan. Gigantor is a huge iron robot in the Year 2001, controlled by 12-year-old Jimmy Sparks who uses it as a great guardian of peace. He is not intelligent, and whoever has the remote control can operate him.
In 16mm. 22 minutes. B&W (Ferrania)
Twilight Zone: Caesar and Me: 8:30pm
In this episode of the classic Rod Serling show, Jackie Cooper plays an out of work ventriloquist who lets his dummy get the better of him.
In 16mm. 26 min. B&W
Sleep Dealer: 9:00pm
In the distant future, the US/Mexican border is totally blocked, but Mexicans with "nodes' installed in their brain can get jobs in sweatshops where they remotely teleoperate robots and machinery north of the border. This is the story of Memo, who leaves his small farming town after a gunship attack, and Luz, a freelance writer who sells his story and pays his entry into the world of virtual sweatshop labor. It extrapolates the labor situation of the current day into a frightening future world, and does so in a shockingly realistic way.
In 35mm. 1 hr. 30 min.
Preceded by: The Paper Monster
In this Terrytoons production, the Junkman builds a monster, and the Mighty Heroes (Strongman, Cuckoo man, Ropeman, Tornadoman, and Diaperman) are called out to save the world.
Approx 15 min, 16mm, Color by Ektachrome Commercial Process (ie. red)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: 11:15 pm
Some think this is one of those movies that art students like, and people today can't relate to it. That's wrong. This movie is scary. It's 90 years old this spring, and it's still scary. Gary McGath's elegant keyboard playing makes it scarier. A travelling magician and his prophetic assistant arrive in a town at the same time as a number of savage killings. The magician turns out to be an asylum director who is secretly hypnotizing his charge to re-enact murders. It's all very clear until you get to the last reel and then something happens that you'll have to see to understand.
In 16mm. 60 min. Silent.
Preceded By: Home Movies from Anticipation
Once again we went to Worldcon with a hand-cranked newsreel camera and filmed the things you didn't get to see. Watch actual fans like Jon Singer in their native habitat! See Neil Gaiman introducing a movie! See actual published authors like Jody Lynn Nye signing things. See dealers selling things and fans buying them. Acrobats! People at Tim Horton's! Fun for the whole family.
In 16mm. 8 min. In Kludgecolor
Saturday Morning Cereal and Serials
Journey to the Center of the Earth: 7:00am
This is NOT the Filmation version that you may remember from Saturday mornings on ABC. This is instead the version produced by Air Programs International in Australia and first shown in November 1977 on CBS. This one is actually very close to the Jules Verne original. IMDB calls it "The best of the animated versions of the Verne novel with far greater artistic merit than many of its live action counterparts" and we must concur.
In 16mm. 55 min.
Rocky And Friends: 8:00am
One hour of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and other added segments like Peabody's Improbable History. Jay Ward's classic cartoon is a delight for adults and kids alike and contains more puns per square foot than any other known television program.
In 16mm. 55 min.
Saturday Afternoon
NASA Documentaries: 6:00pm
Journey Through Space is a short animated film showing the concept of scale from the atom to the galaxy. It was in some ways the inspiration for the Eames documentary, Powers of Ten. Produced with the help of Dr. Harlow Shapley, director of the Harvard College Observatory.
Moon: 9:00pm
Sam Bell is the only person at a distant lunar mining outpost, until he finds near the end of his tour that he's somehow accompanied by another copy of himself. In some ways this is a mystery film, in some ways it's a psychological thriller, but the magnificent photography makes it better no matter how you look at it. This is the first movie that I have ever seen which makes me feel like I'm seeing the moon's surface. This film got limited distribution on the art house show circuit and your chances of being able to see it anywhere else on the big screen are not good.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 37 min.
Preceded by: Made For TV. This early work by stop-motion animator and long-time fan Mark Frizzell explores what happens when television programming becomes a little too realistic.
In 16mm. 7 min. In Eastman Reversal Color.
The Electric Grandmother: 10:00pm
This short film is adapted from the story "I sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury. After their mother dies, a father purchases an electric grandmother for his children, and she becomes part of the family. The story explores deeply what it is to be human even if one is a robot.
In 16mm. 49 min.
Special Extra-Bad Film: Reptilicus: 11:00pm
Special Extra-Bad Film: Reptilicus American International Pictures was famous for taking Japanese monster movies and re-editing them for the American audience, often destroying them in the process. In 1961, they did the same thing with a Danish monster movie. Miners in Lapland recover a piece of a prehistoric animal, which regenerates into the whole monster and proceeds to eat Copenhagen. This film is presented in partnership with the Institute for Very Bad Cinema. It is presented in William Castle's patented EMERGO process. You must come and see this movie to understand just how bad it is, and to laugh at it with us.
In 16mm, 1 hr. 22 min.
Sunday Afternoon
Trailer Park: 6:00 pm
Everybody's favorite event! Two hours of trailers for movies you love, movies you hate, and movies you've never heard of! Due to special request we're going to run a number of the trailers we ran last year, and we're going to run some others as well, and we're going to run at least one that you'll never see anywhere else. Yes, we will run the Macintosh commercial.
2 hr., In damn near every format made
Stardust: 8:00pm
In the 19th century, a clumsy teenager crosses a magic wall on his way to find a fallen star, winding up in a fantasy kingdom. But the star turns out to be a girl, and he's not the only one looking for her. This is one of those fantasy films that seems a little silly at first but soon turns into a magnificently photographed film that will leave you feeling good afterward. Robert De Niro as the lightning fisherman is worth the while show, too. Oh yes, and it's written by Neil Gaiman so how can you go wrong?
In 35mm Cinemascope, 2 hrs. 7 min.
Preceded by EPM.
If the Mayberry Police Department got a low budget Terminator knockoff from China, it would be like this.
In 16mm Eastmancolor Reversal. 6 min.
Zombieland: 10:15pm
This comedy shows that with a little determination and a duffle bag full of guns, you can accomplish anything even in a world that is overrun by brain-eating zombies. Even if what you want to accomplish is to obtain the last twinkie on earth.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 28 min.
Preceded by The Dreaded Beard
Bob is afraid of beards. It's a valid fear, since they really are out to get him in this dryly humorous short.
In 35mm B&W. 7 min.
Fritz the Cat: 12:00 midnight
This Ralph Bakshi film was the first animated feature to receive an X rating, and is in many ways a satire on the whole culture of the 1960s. Fritz is your typical sex-obsessed tomcat, trying to find himself in a complicated world with a lot of drugs and carefully-animated sex. "Ever made it with an aardvark before? It's a rare opportunity... we're scarce."
You must be 18 years or older and have identification available when the doors open.
In 16mm, 78 minutes. Rated X.
Monday Morning
Audience Choice: 9:00 am
We will run any of the films listed for this weekend. You must arrive at 9 AM in order to cast your vote. Film will begin promptly at 9:15 after setup and preparation.
Much as in Asimov's Solaria, the world of Surrogates is one where humans live in isolation only communicating with other people in the form of robotic surrogates. Bruce Willis stars as a detective who investigates a crime using his own surrogate until its destruction brings him out of his own home for the first time in many years.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 28 min.
The President's Analyst: 6:00pm
The president has a lot of things on his mind, and the pressure is crushing him, so a psychologist is brought in. The problem is, once everyone realizes Dr. Sydney Schaefer (played by James Coburn) knows all of America's secrets, spies from all corners begin coming after him. In the end, he's brought down by a secret plot on the part of a national monopoly. This is a comedy from 1967, and it's dated in a few ways but that just makes it that much more funny. Anyone who is in any way involved with the telecom industry must see this film. Lauren Weinstein says that it, "in retrospect shows a prescience that takes dark humor to an utterly brilliant level of both insanity and genuine creepiness."
In 16mm Cinemascope. Color by Technicolor, 1 hr. 43 min.
Gigantor: Freezer Ray: 8:00pm
Fred Ladd's American adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go, this is probably the first piece of Anime to make it onto American television screens in the early 1960s. In spite of being described as "loud, violent and tasteless" by Variety, Gigantor became phenomenally popular and had a huge effect on a generation of children. It's become instilled so tightly into our culture that the theme song has now become standard repetoire for punk rock bands and a life-size statue of him is right now being installed in Kobe, Japan. Gigantor is a huge iron robot in the Year 2001, controlled by 12-year-old Jimmy Sparks who uses it as a great guardian of peace. He is not intelligent, and whoever has the remote control can operate him.
In 16mm. 22 minutes. B&W (Ferrania)
Twilight Zone: Caesar and Me: 8:30pm
In this episode of the classic Rod Serling show, Jackie Cooper plays an out of work ventriloquist who lets his dummy get the better of him.
In 16mm. 26 min. B&W
Sleep Dealer: 9:00pm
In the distant future, the US/Mexican border is totally blocked, but Mexicans with "nodes' installed in their brain can get jobs in sweatshops where they remotely teleoperate robots and machinery north of the border. This is the story of Memo, who leaves his small farming town after a gunship attack, and Luz, a freelance writer who sells his story and pays his entry into the world of virtual sweatshop labor. It extrapolates the labor situation of the current day into a frightening future world, and does so in a shockingly realistic way.
In 35mm. 1 hr. 30 min.
Preceded by: The Paper Monster
In this Terrytoons production, the Junkman builds a monster, and the Mighty Heroes (Strongman, Cuckoo man, Ropeman, Tornadoman, and Diaperman) are called out to save the world.
Approx 15 min, 16mm, Color by Ektachrome Commercial Process (ie. red)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: 11:15 pm
Some think this is one of those movies that art students like, and people today can't relate to it. That's wrong. This movie is scary. It's 90 years old this spring, and it's still scary. Gary McGath's elegant keyboard playing makes it scarier. A travelling magician and his prophetic assistant arrive in a town at the same time as a number of savage killings. The magician turns out to be an asylum director who is secretly hypnotizing his charge to re-enact murders. It's all very clear until you get to the last reel and then something happens that you'll have to see to understand.
In 16mm. 60 min. Silent.
Preceded By: Home Movies from Anticipation
Once again we went to Worldcon with a hand-cranked newsreel camera and filmed the things you didn't get to see. Watch actual fans like Jon Singer in their native habitat! See Neil Gaiman introducing a movie! See actual published authors like Jody Lynn Nye signing things. See dealers selling things and fans buying them. Acrobats! People at Tim Horton's! Fun for the whole family.
In 16mm. 8 min. In Kludgecolor
Journey to the Center of the Earth: 7:00am
This is NOT the Filmation version that you may remember from Saturday mornings on ABC. This is instead the version produced by Air Programs International in Australia and first shown in November 1977 on CBS. This one is actually very close to the Jules Verne original. IMDB calls it "The best of the animated versions of the Verne novel with far greater artistic merit than many of its live action counterparts" and we must concur.
In 16mm. 55 min.
Rocky And Friends: 8:00am
One hour of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and other added segments like Peabody's Improbable History. Jay Ward's classic cartoon is a delight for adults and kids alike and contains more puns per square foot than any other known television program.
In 16mm. 55 min.
Saturday Afternoon
NASA Documentaries: 6:00pm
Journey Through Space is a short animated film showing the concept of scale from the atom to the galaxy. It was in some ways the inspiration for the Eames documentary, Powers of Ten. Produced with the help of Dr. Harlow Shapley, director of the Harvard College Observatory.
We are also running a film of the 1961 symposium Life on Other
Worlds with
a panel including Harlow Shapley, Otto Struve, Arnold Toynbee, Walter
Cronkite
and other diverse experts in many fields. This is a beautiful little
gem that
has been lingering in the vaults down at Marshall for years.
In 16mm, 14 min. and 22 min.
Ray Bradbury Festival: 7:00pm
Ray Bradbury turns 80 years old this August and we are celebrating
his
birthday and his life with two hours of short films about him or
adapted
from his stories. This will include the fascinating "Story of a Writer"
documentary. Additional details TBA.
In 16mm, 2 hrs.
Moon: 9:00pm
Sam Bell is the only person at a distant lunar mining outpost, until he finds near the end of his tour that he's somehow accompanied by another copy of himself. In some ways this is a mystery film, in some ways it's a psychological thriller, but the magnificent photography makes it better no matter how you look at it. This is the first movie that I have ever seen which makes me feel like I'm seeing the moon's surface. This film got limited distribution on the art house show circuit and your chances of being able to see it anywhere else on the big screen are not good.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 37 min.
Preceded by: Made For TV. This early work by stop-motion animator and long-time fan Mark Frizzell explores what happens when television programming becomes a little too realistic.
In 16mm. 7 min. In Eastman Reversal Color.
The Electric Grandmother: 10:00pm
This short film is adapted from the story "I sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury. After their mother dies, a father purchases an electric grandmother for his children, and she becomes part of the family. The story explores deeply what it is to be human even if one is a robot.
In 16mm. 49 min.
Special Extra-Bad Film: Reptilicus: 11:00pm
Special Extra-Bad Film: Reptilicus American International Pictures was famous for taking Japanese monster movies and re-editing them for the American audience, often destroying them in the process. In 1961, they did the same thing with a Danish monster movie. Miners in Lapland recover a piece of a prehistoric animal, which regenerates into the whole monster and proceeds to eat Copenhagen. This film is presented in partnership with the Institute for Very Bad Cinema. It is presented in William Castle's patented EMERGO process. You must come and see this movie to understand just how bad it is, and to laugh at it with us.
In 16mm, 1 hr. 22 min.
Trailer Park: 6:00 pm
Everybody's favorite event! Two hours of trailers for movies you love, movies you hate, and movies you've never heard of! Due to special request we're going to run a number of the trailers we ran last year, and we're going to run some others as well, and we're going to run at least one that you'll never see anywhere else. Yes, we will run the Macintosh commercial.
2 hr., In damn near every format made
Stardust: 8:00pm
In the 19th century, a clumsy teenager crosses a magic wall on his way to find a fallen star, winding up in a fantasy kingdom. But the star turns out to be a girl, and he's not the only one looking for her. This is one of those fantasy films that seems a little silly at first but soon turns into a magnificently photographed film that will leave you feeling good afterward. Robert De Niro as the lightning fisherman is worth the while show, too. Oh yes, and it's written by Neil Gaiman so how can you go wrong?
In 35mm Cinemascope, 2 hrs. 7 min.
Preceded by EPM.
If the Mayberry Police Department got a low budget Terminator knockoff from China, it would be like this.
In 16mm Eastmancolor Reversal. 6 min.
Zombieland: 10:15pm
This comedy shows that with a little determination and a duffle bag full of guns, you can accomplish anything even in a world that is overrun by brain-eating zombies. Even if what you want to accomplish is to obtain the last twinkie on earth.
In 35mm Cinemascope, 1 hr. 28 min.
Preceded by The Dreaded Beard
Bob is afraid of beards. It's a valid fear, since they really are out to get him in this dryly humorous short.
In 35mm B&W. 7 min.
Fritz the Cat: 12:00 midnight
This Ralph Bakshi film was the first animated feature to receive an X rating, and is in many ways a satire on the whole culture of the 1960s. Fritz is your typical sex-obsessed tomcat, trying to find himself in a complicated world with a lot of drugs and carefully-animated sex. "Ever made it with an aardvark before? It's a rare opportunity... we're scarce."
You must be 18 years or older and have identification available when the doors open.
In 16mm, 78 minutes. Rated X.
Audience Choice: 9:00 am
We will run any of the films listed for this weekend. You must arrive at 9 AM in order to cast your vote. Film will begin promptly at 9:15 after setup and preparation.