1982 is now a year that’s being hailed as one of the best in genre cinema history. Now to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that great genre year, Geek Monthly and The American Cinematheque will be showcasing “A Salute to Geek Greatness!,” from June 15-17 at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, CA.
On Friday June 15 at 7:30 is a double feature of John Carpenter’s The Thing, which after its initial critical drubbing is finally getting its due, and Paul Schrader’s remake of Cat People. There will also be a Q&A with The Thing’s director of photography Dean Cundey, Cundey’s long time camera-operator Ray Stella, and Visual effects supervisor Tom Burman (Cundey and Stella, who also shot Carpenter’s Halloween, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, will be featured in an exclusive TwitchGuru interview coming soon).
On Saturday, June 16 at 3:00 P.M. is a family matinee of Jim Henson’s under-rated fantasy The Dark Crystal. Then at 7:30 is a double bill of Poltergeist, and the George A. Romero / Stephen King collaboration Creepshow.
Then on Sunday June 17 at 5:00 P.M. is a genre geek’s ultimate fantasy come to life with a double bill of Tron, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Not only will the Aero be showing a brand new 70mm print of Tron (!), but also onboard for Q&A’s will be Tron writer / director Steve Lisberger, Tron visual effects supervisors Harrison Ellenshaw and Richard Taylor, and Star Trek II writer / director Nicholas Meyer (did we mention they’re showing the director’s cut of Khan?).
Having been to a number of American Cinematheque screenings over the years, I can attest its great fun to see the classic revivals they program with an audience full of fans, and the filmmakers taking questions from the crowd. Plus for $10 admission, you’re really getting your money’s worth.
For more info:
www.americancinematheque.com
www.myspace.com/americancinematheque
And you can order tickets online at: www.fandango.com
Comments (1)
Re-running these films is a breath of fresh air..a general returning to the field at a time when troop moral is at an all-time low. Modern films are generally dull and unoriginal by comparison despite the advances in CGI and production.
Your average viewer today who has never seen these films, will either love them or hate them. If they hate them it is probably because like everything else today, anything slightly old is not fashionable; it's mundane, old-hat, old-fogey. It's to be banished forever never to return to our consiense just in case we realise that the films we are watching today are like our sense of adventure: fake.
Those who love these films will most likely remember 1982 and all the great things that were going on at the same time, during this decade. They will remember the excitement and the anticipation..the preperation..involved in a night out at the cinema and the feeling that watch you're watching really is something special. That you are part of that feeling instead of passively standing by the sideline as your local cinema seems more interested in ripping you off with expensive snacks, or substituting personal space and cleanliness with maximum profit.
Today's cinema sucks..at least it does in Northern Europe where I live. The cost and the inconvenience of sitting in a plastic building surrounded by plastic people is infuriating for anyone who ever had even a remote sense of imagination. It's a fallacy, resting upon entertaining that is either politically orientated or designed to appeal to a mind set that does not care what you put in front of it.
On rare occasions you get a glimpse of what real films are..go see The Thing and Tron, go see them on a big screen in their analogue glory. Try substituting CGI and politics for script and originality.
You may just realise that there is more to life than the self-absorbed rubbish you watch today, that yesterday does have originality and content. You'll just have to wean yourself off expensive food and plastic morals to get there.
Posted by William | June 10, 2007 4:16 PM
Posted on June 10, 2007 16:16