Chatting With The Creators Of Cinema Overdrive Part 2 of 4

As I reported in part one of this rambling but wonderful conversation, tomorrow night a new repertory series starts at the Colony Theater in North Raleigh. “Cinema Overdrive” which is billed as the best in high-octane cult/horror/exploitation/drive-in and forgotten films that are waiting to find an audience.”

This is the second of a 4 part talk with a couple of the creators of the series – Denver Hill and Matt Pennachi. I hope to speak another co-creator, Adam Hulin, in the near future as what Pennachi calls “a social experiment” progresses into fall and beyond. The main topic was tomorrow’s premiere feature DEATH RACE 2000 but we also chatted about future showings like VICE SQUAD and PIECES. Hope you enjoy:

Dan: So DEATH RACE 2000 kicks off “Cinema Overdrive”. What made you decide on that for the first one?

Denver: Well, we picked it the day before David Carradine died.

Matt: He died the next day!

Denver: It was very bizarre.

Matt: Why did we pick that? Because it’s something that we had in the collection that has the “Cinema Overdrive” flavor, but it’s also the type of film that enough people will have heard about it but never seen.

Dan: That’s just me! I heard about it, I worked in a video store and I remember the cover of the VHS box – it was one that nobody ever rented. People would pick it up and joke about it but put it back down.

Matt: (laughs) It’s a lot of fun. This particular print has Swedish subtitles on the bottom because I got it from a collector in Sweden.

Dan: (laughs) Well, I think that might add something to it!

Matt: It does actually. DEATH RACE 2000 has the right flavor to kick off the series because a film like VICE SQUAD is a great high energy movie but you can’t lead off with it – not enough people have heard of it.

Denver: We want to pull people in, and then gradually get crazier, more obscure with films.

Matt: We want to create a community.

Denver: VICE SQUAD, though, is one film buffs go crazy over. It’s like total kick ass non-stop…

Matt: Yeah, it’s pretty much as soon as the opening credits start they step on the gas and don’t let up ‘til the end credits; it’s very full throttle. It’s kind of mean in parts. Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood gets beat up by her pimp in the movie!

Dan: Well, you sold me!

Matt: (laughs) Exactly! Have you seen PIECES?

Dan: I’m ashamed to say that’s another I’ve never seen.

Matt: PIECES is insane!

Dan: I don’t think I’ve even seen a second of it …oh wait, there was that trailer you put up on Facebook.

Matt: It was a TV spot. (click here to see it) They never made a trailer because that one was of the very last films that FVI (Film Venture International) released before their President, Edward L. Montoro, embezzled a million dollars from the company and was never seen again. The rumor is that he either fled to South America or is in the trunk of a car somewhere so they never got around to making the trailer. I like to give a little back story, like on THE DEVIL’S RAIN years ago, I didn’t even plan this but I was up onstage and I said: “When this movie starts you’re going to see the logo for Bryanston Entertainment – is anybody familiar with what Bryanston Entertainment is?” They were like “uh no” I went on: “They released THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and they released Andy Warhol’s FRANKENSTEIN. They were owned by the mafia. The mafia created this company because they made so much money off of DEEP THROAT, they needed a legitimate company to fence it through. Here’s Bryanston Entertainment.

Denver: I don’t want to put Matt on the spot but that’s another draw of “Cinema Overdrive” – he’s like a walking encyclopedia of cult film knowledge.

Matt: I mean, I like art but I love trash! (laughs) I love art too. I mean, my favorite cinematic experience of all time is still 2001. I just find it very moving, but that being said, there are other shared social experiences that are really…fun and energetic. This summer, going to the movies, like with a lot of first run movies…how often is it fun? Maybe one or two times out of ten? That’s why I get excited about a film like UP or ANVIL that actually hits on all cylinders and they really did a good job with it. So many things are so half-assed productions. With “Cinema Overdrive” though, granted I’m not foolish – I know what people think about these films in the grand scheme of things. That being said I don’t feel irreverently about them. I enjoy them for what they are. A lot of times regardless of where they fall in the scheme of art, these films work awfully hard to entertain you. Awfully hard. There’s something to be said for that… because the great rule of exploitation film making is shoot whatever you want, just don’t be boring!

If you are anywhere near the Triangle area tomorrow night – try and make it out for DEATH RACE 2000 at the Colony Theater @ 8:00 PM. Matt promises a slew of jaw dropping vintage trailers to accompany it and for $5.00 it’s a deal you can’t pass up!

More later…

Chatting With The Creators Of Cinema Overdrive Part 1 of 4

Next week a new series starts at the Colony Theater in North Raleigh, NC (Yes, this is another local-centric post) entitled “Cinema Overdrive”. As readers should well know, I’ve been a huge fan of the theater’s ongoing series “Cool Classics @ The Colony” which has long provided area movie goers with special showings of 35 Millimeter prints of long loved cult movies like ERASERHEAD, LABYRINTH, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and PURPLE RAIN. “Cinema Overdrive” however, goes much further. As the description on their website says they present “the best in high-octane cult/horror/exploitation/drive-in and forgotten films that are waiting to find an audience.”

The series kicks off next Wednesday (August 12th at 8:00 PM) with DEATH RACE 2000. Future showings will be of SHOGUN ASSASSIN, VICE SQUAD, PIECES, and LADY TERMINATOR (see the picture montage above). I had a cool chat with a couple of the creators (the other being Adam Hulin who I hope to talk to soon) of this exciting new series: Denver Hill and Matt Pennachi. Both are 35 MM film collectors and fellow film fanatics so it was an engrossing conversation I’m anxious to share. In this first part we discuss just what “Cinema Overdrive” is about, what was wrong with the movie GRINDHOUSE, and why everybody should make it out to SHOGUN ASSASSIN in September.

Dan: How did “Cinema Overdrive” come together? What was the impetus for it?

Denver: Well, Matt and I have been friends for a couple of years. We both collect 35 millimeter, and I’ve always been a fan of “Retrofantasma” (Pennachi’s former series at the Carolina Theater in Durham, NC). That actually inspired the “Cool Classics” and we had the opportunity, I just said “hey, do you want to try this in Raleigh?”

Matt: Yeah, well one thing I’ll say about “Cinema Overdrive”, there’s other repertory series in the area including “Cool Classics”, but with ours we’re bringing a little danger back to movie going. All the others are kind of safe, this one – the faint of heart may not necessarily need to apply. If you have even the worry that it may not be politically correct enough for you, you shouldn’t buy a ticket. The 70’s weren’t very politically correct.

Denver: But that’s what we want though – we want to challenge. Like with “Cool Classics” it’s like maybe one of your favorite movies but you never saw it in the theater, but with “Cinema Overdrive” it’s probably a movie you’ve never seen before. It maybe offend or shock or just make you go “Oh my God!” you know, but we just want to bring the excitement back.

Matt: I think we have the opportunity because I have enough respect and faith in film fans in the Triangle – I think there’s a lot of really savvy film people in this area.

Dan: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Matt: I mean if your idea of being a real film nerd is having an in depth conversation about Tim Burton, we’re probably not for you. But I mean if you really love…you know, we’re everything that Quentin Tarantino’s GRINDHOUSE was supposed to be.

Dan: What did you think of that film? That’s a movie that comes up when I think of the idea behind “Cinema Overdrive”. Was it too much that it was fake “Grindhouse”? I had a friend who said that “if only Tarantino and Rodriquez worked with real Grindhouse budgets”, you know?

Matt: I feel the same way. My major problem was when I first saw it I was like well, it’s relatively entertaining…but my main problem is when I heard it was that it was a 72 million dollar film I was like wouldn’t it have been more interesting if they said we’re going to try to recreate 1974 and put it on a inflation adjusted dollar and that means, okay Jack Hill would’ve made that for $800,000 – inflation adjusted that’s 3.4 million so meaning if we can’t get Kurt Russell and have to make the movie with Ken Wahl from Wiseguy, somebody call up and find Ken Wahl. That would’ve been a more interesting experiment to me. And the thing is, I think particularly with Rodriquez’s segment, he brought the poster to life more than the actual film. There were no “Grindhouse” movies that had people jumping on motorcycles with monstrous town-size explosions – they never could afford it.

Denver: Well, I didn’t like all the fake scratches and fake splices.

Dan: The “missing reels”?

Matt: First of all, the “missing reel” thing is something that never ever existed in a “Grindhouse” cinema. You know why? Because if you were in a shit-hole cinema and there was a reel missing there’s no way on earth they were going to let you know. Never.

Denver: You know, the Triangle is one of the top 5 growing areas in the country. We have people from all of the country moving here so there’s definitely a demand for all these types of movies that we’re showing.

Matt: Even though I don’t make it out because I have kids basically and my wife works in the evening, I love the concept of “Cool Classics”. It’s a lot of movies you know but it’s not fixated to one genre. There might be something mega-famous and safe like LABYRINTH and then there also might be something that’s famous in the sense that a lot of people know what ERASERHEAD is but haven’t necessarily seen it. (To Denver) Oh, Phil Blankenship, I told him about your PURPLE RAIN show, and he said PURPLE RAIN is just a home run ball – we did it out here in LA and it was the same thing. Patton Oswalt came! It’s like I said, ‘I wouldn’t have guessed it’, he was like “I wouldn’t have either but PURPLE RAIN is still huge!”

Denver: Yeah, we need to show that one again.

Matt: I’ll be honest I’ve never that movie. I’ve always meant to.

Dan: Last summer was the first time I’d seen it all the way through.

Matt: Did you like it?

Dan: Oh, I liked it a lot. There’s a huge cheese factor to it, but that’s what makes it great. The live sequences at 1st Avenue and the Morris Day whatnot, all of that is crowd pleasing stuff. In fact, not long ago on “Sound Opinions”, you know that show? NPR?

Matt: That’s a great show!

Dan: Yeah, they were doing one of their “album dissections” on “Purple Rain”, because it’s the 25th anniversary. One of them, Jim I think, was saying “You see it once and you don’t ever have to see ‘Purple Rain’ again”, and I was like ‘are you crazy? There’s a high re-watchability factor!

Matt: Maybe they haven’t watched it enough to know that.

Dan: Yeah, that’s the thing I was wondering, have they really re-watched it lately?

Matt: It’s like there’s millions of people that went out and saw KILL BILL: VOL. 2, right? Well at the end there’s that touching scene where the Bride and her daughter watch SHOGUN ASSASSIN. Well, how many people have seen SHOGUN ASSASSIN? If they come here in September we’ll show them SHOGUN ASSASSIN.

Dan: I’ve never seen it. There are so many films, that as a “film guy” I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never seen.

Matt: Oh my God! That movie is amazing theatrically. It’s just jaw dropping. I feel so ebullient when I run the print. I love this movie.

Denver: We joked about it at first but I think we really are trying to educate people about film.

Matt: It’s not like “Mystery Science 3000”, it’s like going to church. You go to have a social experience but you also go to learn about something that you have great faith in!

Next week: Part 2 of my chat with Denver and Matt. We’ll discuss their premiere showing of DEATH RACE 2000 and go off on more crazy tangents surrounding “Cinema Overdrive” and other obsessive film fodder. Please stay tuned.

More later…

Stomaching The Provocative Doc FOOD INC.

FOOD INC. (Dir. Robert Kenner, 2008)

I was sad to miss this film at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival earlier this year so I’m glad to see it get distribution and play in my area. As an examination in three parts of American agricultural food production, it’s an eye opening and insightful look into the disturbing conditions under which animals are bred by factories while genetically engineered produce is the grocery store norm. Much of this material is familiar; Richard Linklater’s FAST FOOD NATION (2006), a comedy drama featuring Greg Kinnear and based on Eric Schlosser’s best selling 2000 book, covered the dark side of the fast food industry with a number of the same bullet points made. Schlosser produces and co-narrates FOOD INC. with author and activist Michael Pollan and they give us a much fuller picture than FAST FOOD NATION with the direct concise expert breakdown this subject requires.

Despite many disgusting shots with nauseating descriptions of inhuman practices, this film isn’t about grossing you out. Many folks will avoid it with that fear, but FOOD INC. is overwhelmingly concerned with the politics behind our food choices. Schlosser states: “When you go through the supermarket there is a illusion of diversity. So much of our industrial food turns out to be rearrangements of corn.” That’s just one of many valuable lessons to be found as we see hidden camera footage that was shot by actual employees at the world’s largest slaughterhouse and see cows being fed corn while standing in their own manure at the biggest cattle yards in the country.

Again, a lot of folks want to be the dark about where their food comes from so an audience may be hard to come by for this fierce film. Sure ignorance may be bliss, but an education on the politics of the food we eat that should not be ignored. It’s not an anti-meat movie either – the end credits are filled, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH-style, with suggestions for better healthy eating and “become a vegetarian” isn’t one of the tips so rest assured carnivores! Maybe the question isn’t of an audience, but the ‘right’ audience for this film – a special showing at the Colony Theater last weekend raised over $2,250 for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle which will bring wholesome food and essential kitchen equipment to needy families in the area. As it continues its theatrical run with other fundraisers and events planned to promote it, it’s sure to build the right audience. And that audience probably won’t be buying a large, buttered popcorn to go with it.

More later…

Hey, I Finally Saw…LABYRINTH!

I would never have guessed that of all the Cool Classics @ The Colony I’ve attended, Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy LABYRINTH would have the biggest turn-out. A large crowd of moviegoers of all ages packed into the North Raleigh theater and cheered when David Bowie’s name hit the screen. They also applauded Henson and Monty Python alum Terry Jones who co-wrote but booed producer George Lucas’s funnily enough. I think I was one of the few that had never seen the film before. Not sure how I missed this film over the years – I was a Muppets kid and always loved Bowie but somehow this slipped through the cracks. To catch up by seeing a 35 MM print with a full audience is truly ideal as I found out Wednesday night.

Maybe it wasn’t ideal to everybody in attendance though as a friend on Facebook wote this as his status shortly after the showing:

“While you win points for the booing of Lucas and the cheering of Henson… those points quickly slipped away at the consistent and childish giggles each time the Glass Spider appeared in tights. I mean, you would think that if you are going out to see it at a theater the laughs would come at all the classic lines…”

Well said, but the laughter and much singing didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. The overall vibe was fun and full of life. It’s very amusing that a film that flopped big time back in the day has become such a crowd pleaser 23 years later. The story is simple, a 15 year old Jennifer Connelly wishes away her baby half-brother away: “I wish the goblins would come and take you away…right now” and is challenged by Jareth, the King of the Goblins (David Bowie in tights and with gigantic teased hair) to solve the enormous maze of the title in order to get the kid back.

It was easy to see why this film is so beloved – the 80’s are alive in every inch of LABYRINTH. The soundtrack is catchy even if it’s hardly in the realm of Bowie’s finest work and each set piece is filled with invention – especially the Escher inspired sets. It might be a bit too long and yes there is a heavy cheese factor but I think most in the audience that night would agree that its flaws are just as endearing as its strengths. I have a feeling that had I seen it as a kid I may have been bored by it – probably prefering TIME BANDITS for my childhood fantasy needs but then, I dunno – I may have just as easily fallen for it too.

The Colony Theater appears to be building a faithful following with the showing of these cult films. A “bicycle contingent” is always present as many folks ride their bicycles to the shows. The theater has indoor bike parking in the area in front of the screen. That’s just one of many comforting sights on the nights of these screenings. Others are the marquee, the original one sheet poster of the film presented, and, of course, there are the vintage trailers.

Not surprisingly the trailers (of SHOGUN ASSASSIN, THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKOROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION, and MONSTER SQUAD) that were shown before LABYRINTH were greeted with much enthusiasm. They are films coming soon in the next few months as the Colony is starting a new series to run alongside Cool Classics: “Cinema Overdrive”. As their website states: “CINEMA OVERDRIVE (from the creator of the popular Retrofantasma) showcases the best in high-octane cult/horror/exploitation/drive-in and forgotten films that are waiting to find an audience.” Their first film in the series: DEATH RACE 2000 (starring David Carradine) is on Wednesday August 14th. Hope to see you there.

More later…

Classic Films On The Big Screen In The Triangle Area

Prenote: This post is extremely localized about theaters in my area that show old movies so it might not appeal to some of my readers. However, I think it’s possible that out-of-towners will find some interest and may be inspired to comment about revival showings at theaters near them.

The summer season is overflowing with movie choices, but many in the Triangle may not know that there is a welcome antidote to the mind numbing “event movies” arriving weekly at the multiplexes. Favorite films from years past, both classic and cult, are being shown at a number of theaters and venues in the area alongside current releases. These screenings give moviegoers a chance to see on the big screen films they’ve loved before on television or DVD, or heard about but never seen, in all their 35 millimeter glory. Plus, they’re typically not as expensive as first run films.

Built in 1926, The Carolina Theater in Durham has a great reputation for revival shows with their popular weekend series of horror movies: “Retrofantasma” and a summer series that this year includes double features of Robert De Niro (“Taxi Driver”, “The Untouchables”), Alfred Hitchcock (“Rear Window” and “Vertigo”, Steven Spielberg (“Jaws and “Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom”)and John Belushi (“Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers”) features. “Retrofantasma”, billed as “a joyful jolt of terror and nostalgia”, has a dedicated audience for a roster ranging from “Silent Night, Bloody Night” to the tongue in cheek “Clue”. They may be scratchy old prints for the most part, but there’s no denying the thrill of seeing famous film history writ large.

Located in North Raleigh, The Colony Theater caters to the cult crowd; the kids who grew up on Lucas and Spielberg but leaned towards Tarentino and Lynch as they matured. “Cool Classics @ The Colony” has showcased a multitude of films with fanatic followings such as “Purple Rain”, “Eraserhead”, “Pulp Fiction” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. After 3 successful years they are starting a new series: “Cinema Overdrive” which will feature far out and obscure oddities like “Death Race 2000” (starring the recently deceased David Carradine) and Frank Zappa’s “200 Motels”.

Colony Theater General Manager Denver Hill, a film buff and 35 MM film collector, said that the “Cool Classics” often “do a lot better than the usual films” as it’s been “slow for indie films lately.” Hill, who has worked for the theater since 2002, also remarked that he expected the June 16th and 17th showings of the late 90’s Coen Brothers cult classic “The Big Lebowski” to make more money than the current well reviewed Broadway documentary “Every Little Step.” “Lebowski”, is a repeat performance as Hill explains: “90% of the films have been customer requests.”

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh offerings may be a bit more highbrow, but they are just as crowd pleasing. Over the fast few decades there have been many film festival of such icons as Woody Allen and such noted genres as “film noir”. It should be noted that they could benefit from having more than one screening in the winter when movies are shown in their auditorium; multiple times when I tried to attend showings they were sold out or only single seats remained. This is a non-issue in the summer season as they have outdoor screenings that can accommodate more people (of course, those can get rained out). This year the highlights will be a Watergate revisited weekend with “All The President’s Men” and “Frost/Nixon”, a tribute to Paul Newman with a showing of “The Sting”, and at the end of August a 70th anniversary showing of “Gone With The Wind” with an accompanying documentary “The Making Of A Legend.”

The Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, in their “Movies By Mooonlight” Summer series shows mostly movies from the last year (“Twilight”, “Kug Fu Panda”, “Iron Man”, etc.) but does offer a few older titles: “Moonstruck” and “Wait Until Dark” are showing this Summer. Be forewarned: Koka booth rarely shows 35 MM prints (the last one was 3 years ago: the legendary “The Creature From The Black Lagoon”) – the films are projected from a DVD. Still, it’s a beautiful venue and a fine evening be had with the right companion, lawn-chairs and beverages.

The Galaxy Theater in Cary often screens older films, in the last year they’ve presented an overlooked beautifully restored Charlie Chaplin film – “Monsieur Verdoux” as well as “Lawrence Of Arabia” and “Double Indemnity.” The theater, which is something of an art-house multiplex, has several popular series such as the “Undiscovered Gem Series”, the “Silver Screen Spring Series”, and like a number of local theaters, a “Kids Summer Movie Series” that runs on weekday mornings.

And for almost 20 years there’s been the Friday midnight showing of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” * at The Rialto. Via email, Ambassador Entertainment owner Bill Peeples said that “attendance is high and consistent” for the long running late show that has played “every Friday at midnight since December, 1989.” Peeples, who with the Rialto owns the Colony, Six Forks, and Mission Valley Theaters hosts “Cinema, Inc”, billed as Raleigh’s oldest and finest non-profit film society offering classic film presentations once a month on Sunday night.

With the possible closing of the Varsity and Chelsea Theaters in Chapel Hill, one might wonder if more revival screenings might have changed their fate. This spring at the Chelsea, a retrospective of director Mark Rydell (including “On Golden Pond” and “The Rose”) drew respectable crowds so it shows that there is definitely an audience for vintage cinema in this area. If the historic Varsity and Chelsea theaters are to continue operation I hope they embrace the past as they look to the future.

Post note: For more information like show-times and directions and please click on the theater’s names in the article.

* I just blogged about seeing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for the first time – read the post here.

More Later…

Revisiting RESERVOIR DOGS On The Big Screen – Thanks Again Cool Classics @ The Colony!

As a film geek/blogger it’s probably not surprising that one of my favorite pastimes is to see old movies, whether for the first time or hundredth, on the big screen. A 35 MM print, new or old, of a particular cult or could be cult movie really is most certainly my cup of tea. As I’ve blogged before, The Colony Theater in North Raleigh has been showing a regular round of what they call “Cool Classics”. Last Saturday night was right for a midnight show of arguably Quentin Tarantino’s best flick. Since my girlfriend and I have attended such previous pop culture staples as ERASERHEAD, PURPLE RAIN and most recently enjoyed re-seeing CITY OF LOST CHILDREN we were game to revisit:

RESERVOIR DOGS (Dir. Quentin Tarantino, 1992)

It was hugely fitting that the night before this late show, The Museum Of Art in Raleigh screened THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. Why you ask? Because Mr. Too Cool For Film School Tarantino lovingly lifted the use of colors as code names from that classic 70’s heist film – i.e. Mr. Blond, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue etc. Of course he snarkily threw in Mr. Pink just so Steve Buscemi could have something to hilariously complain about: “Yeah, Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. Pussy. Tell you what, let me be Mr. Purple.” He lifted lots more from other films here too but whether you consider it a rip-off or a homage, RESERVOIR DOGS, 17 years later, is still colossal cinema and one of the most daring breakthrough debuts of a director ever.

This was before independent films were the rage and award nominee regulars. Many notable auteurs had offered up dark crafty fare before but while filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch and Steven Soderbergh made cool indie films, Tarantino made indie films ultra cool. With RESERVOIR DOGS and its overwhelmingly influential follow-up PULP FICTION, the former video store clerk created a world of wise guys in suits with thin black ties, vintage cars with blood splashed interiors, 50’s styled diners, f-bombs and n-words dropped in nearly every line, endless pop culture reference riffing, and soundtracks full of 70’s funk/pop deep cuts. The opening credits slow motion shuffle to George Baker’s “Little Green bag” alone defines Tarantino’s savvy assured style.

Most of the action in RESERVOIR DOGS (nobody really knows what the title means – Tarantino himself won’t say) deals with a never seen heist gone wrong and takes place in a mostly empty warehouse. It has been said that for budgetary reasons most directors first films are essentially ‘filmed plays’. That said, seeing this film on the big screen for the first time enhanced the spare staging scenarios for me to an edgier level than I expected. The iconic shot, used on many posters and the go-to promotional picture, of Harvey Keitel with gun pointed at an on the floor Steve Buscemi is 10 times more effective here than on any TV viewing when it pulls back to reveal Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) coolly watching them in an over the shoulder viewpoint. Likewise the shot from the P.O.V. of the cop (Kirk Baltz) tied up in Mr. Blonde’s car trunk – I mean it’s obvious to say but it’s so nice to see this film like this how it was truly meant to be seen.

One flaw of many film folks’ first films is that the actors all talk like the writer/director (see Richard Linklater’s SLACKER). This is actually something that works well in Tarantino’s favor here despite all odds. I can practically hear Tarantino coaching Buscemi, Keitel, producer turned actor Lawrence Tierney,Tim Roth et al. through all of their lines but somehow that’s actually a plus in these punchy proceedings. Tarantino wisely kills off his own character (Mr. Brown) after his opening “Like A Virgin” breakdown speech presumably because he was aware his acting wasn’t up to the caliber of his co-stars – too bad he didn’t make the same decision in future films (especially PULP FICTION and DEATH PROOF).

In the low budget framing but the high formula re-thinking that defines Tarantino’s cut and paste career, RESERVOIR DOGS deserves future wave after wave of big screen audiences. Even if you own a special edition DVD or Blu-ray, consider seeing it on the big screen if a print comes to your area. Every detail from Steven Wright’s voice-over on the radio (“K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the Seventies” to be exact) to the sadly late Chris Penn’s scene steals as Nice Guy Eddie just screams for larger projection. One great moment – in a pivotal scene, Madsen spoke just as somebody in the audience made a distracting noise by dropping their drink. Keitel responded “excuse me?” as if he didn’t hear because of the offending interruption. Madsen had to repeat himself louder. Many at the Colony theater late show laughed – a communal sensation that can’t be recreated at home. Maybe that’s a disclaimer that should be on this film as well, especially the brutal cop’s ear slicing sequence: “These are trained professionals – don’t try this at home.”

Post note: I realize after re-reading this that I was addressing folks who’ve already seen this movie. If you haven’t seen it – by all means, screw waiting for a big screen opportunity, just rent the damn thing and complete the indie initiation of your film education – why doncha?

More later…

Revisiting PURPLE RAIN On The Big Screen (Thanks To Cool Classics @ The Colony)

As I reported a few posts back (“Hey I Finally Saw… ERASERHEAD!” 8/3/08) The Colony Theatre in North Raleigh has been showing a series of what they call “cool classics”. In the last few years they’ve shown 35 MM prints of modern movie milestones like THE BIG LEBOWSKI and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE as well as guilty pleasures such as THE GOONIES and GREASE. I was pleased as punch to see that Prince’s MTV inspired musical PURPLE RAIN was on the calender this month. I had seen the film before but on video a long time ago so the time is right to have a big screen re-appraisal and here it is:

PURPLE RAIN (Dir. Albert Magnoli, 1984)

Released almost 25 years ago, the theatrical debut of Minnesota’s funky wunderkind Prince defines “dated” – it’s washed in synthesizer sound, bathed in neon-lit smoke, and plods with drum machine timing. Like an Elvis or Tab Hunter vehicle reshaped for the 80’s, Prince plays “The Kid” a teased-haired guitar-strangling stage-hopping diva who one night playing at Minneapolis’ legendary 1st Avenue falls for a fresh off the bus, or more accurately fresh off running from paying a cabbie, sexy singing sensation named Apollonia. The Kid’s competitor Morris Day as himself (everybody but Prince it seems goes by their own name) also eyes Apollonia but she is taken for a ride literally by The Kid on his motorcycle across the countryside montage-style while “The Beautiful Ones” serenades them from one of the biggest selling soundtracks of all time. When on the verge of skinning dipping, Apollonia asks The Kid: “And you…what do you dream of?”, I quipped to my friend Jill that his answer should be – “better acting”.

This was the right way in which to view this movie with a plot so bare boned yet still extremely cliche ridden it’s ripe for ridicule. When the music isn’t blaring and the dance rhythms die down the players engage in melodrama with far from fleshed out conflicts. Prince’s, sorry The Kid’s parents (Clarence Williams III & Olga Karlotas) fight it out on the homefront as his audiences are dropping off at the club because of his risky experimentation (which makes for one of the soundtracks most excitably ambitious numbers “Computer Blue”). Apollonia seems to offer some sexy solace from The Kid’s stress but when she joins Morris’s band he goes ballistic and strikes her, which is crudely brushed off as part of his moody personality – and this is just after he gives him a lavish guitar as a gift! Moody and brooding seems to be the only notes Prince can or wants to play as an actor here. When The Kid steals Apollonia from a drunk Morris Day once again on his motorcycle in a dark alley, Day yells: “Motherfucker! You long–haired faggot! ”, my friend Jill chimed in with “that may be the best line of the whole movie…he sounded like he really meant it! ” I am inclined to agree though I think my favorite line was Day to Apollonia earlier in the film: “Your lips would make a lollipop too happy. ”

With this MST3K-like riffing on the film debut of the artist formerly known as Prince who became an unpronounceable symbol but now is known as Prince again we could best enjoy the so called plot elements between the music video and concert sequences that really are this movie’s calling cards. The charismatic and extremely amusing Morris Day, who got some enthusiastic shout-outs at the screening we attended, appears to be the most fully rounded character but thats most likely from what he brings to the role and not whats in the screenplay which if I found out that there was more than one draft of I’d be royally shocked.

Somehow despite the hackneyed storyline, the atrocious acting, and time-worn editing, PURPLE RAIN shines stronger than other so called cult classics of the same era largely because of its stellar soundtrack. The climatic unveiling of the title song, with a melody and backbeat written in the film (but not in real life) by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman of the Revolution, which annihilates the crowd at 1st Avenue as well as Day and his cronies is wondrous amped-up high gloss camp successfully disguised as devastating drama. To watch it and not smile seems as sinful as Prince’s usual song subject matter and just as naughty too.

More later…