The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

We've gotten so used to the sci-fi marathon not announcing any titles until about 3 weeks before the event and a complete line up about 3 days before the marathon that it gives us a lot of time to daydream about what titles will play and get into little flame wars with each other. Bruce and Joe are so on top of things when not shackled to the Drexel that now we already know most of the titles so there's not a lot of griping and moaning to do... Let's liven this board up! What movies have never played that you would skip your brother's wedding for?

_________________
"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

Well, if you want an honest, non-snarky response, here goes.

Which movies would I miss my brother's wedding for? Well, none. The marathons for me are an all or nothing proposition. Maybe I have a different mindset being thousands of miles away, because it is a considerable investment for me to have a good time. But the fact of the matter is, when I'm at the Marathon, I'm at the Marathon. I know I'm in the minority because of all the stories I hear about folks arriving late or leaving for a bit due to previous commitments. I also hear talk of planning naps or "dinner breaks."

For me, none of this is in the spirit of the event. In this day and age, if I wanted to just sit around and watch old movies on my own schedule, that is very easily done. At least ninety percent of the appeal of the Marathon for me is the sense of being "trapped," so to speak, in the theater. That's why they call it a "marathon." And though I argue, make suggestions, and question certain booking trends from time to time, I would not have it any other way. Some of my fondest Marathon memories are of movies I didn't think I would like or was at best indifferent about going in. But, in the spirit of the event, I was "forced" to watch them at the whim of those involved.

Now, I know that "life happens," and timing and circumstance force us to miss certain opportunities. And if I still lived in Ohio and something really important like a wedding was happening and all I could get was half of a Marathon, then so be it. Who am I kidding? These things are so deep in my blood now, nothing would keep me away from experiencing as much of the event as I could. But it would be a considerable bummer to not go all in.

I have shifted my allegiance the past two years to the Horror side of things because I believe Joe and the Grandview are on the same page when it comes to capturing the "spirit" (no pun intended) of the way the Ohio Marathons have traditionally been and the way they should be going forward. This is not to besmirch the hard work that Bruce Bartoo continues to do year after year. There are other factors involved with the Drexel, and he does the best he can do with what he has to work with.

As for specifics with this year's lineup, I would have a very difficult time planning any sort of a "break" if I were that type of person. I supposed if I had to choose one movie that I could do without it would be SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

What this means of course is that it will probably be one of the main highlights of the event when I reflect back on it.

_________________
Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

If "Jaws 3-D" or "Friday the 13th part 3 in 3-D" played at the marathon I would skip my own wedding to attend.

_________________
Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

Terrific statement by Jacks!

I understand that every Marathoner is different, but, why attend if you go in with totally pre-conceived notions? Before I became involved with the planning of the Boston event, it was the curveballs that inevitably were the most fun. The film you hadn't seen. The juxtaposition of two movies that weren't alike at all, but somehow worked as a coincidental double-feature. The film you had no desire to sit through that turned into something cool. And, of course, the reason to attend most of all: The Audience.

As one who helps put together the Boston SF Marathon and organizes the running order, it mystifies me when I hear folks saying that such and such a movie scheduled in the wee hours will "put me to sleep", "kill me" or worst of all: "There's no way I'm gonna make it through that!" This all before the FIRST movie of the Marathon has even started.

A couple of years ago, I personally helped locate a print of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 THE MOVIE. It had been on the Marathon's wish list for a decade or more. The studio told us years ago that they had "destroyed" all 35mm prints. Many Marathoners clamoured for the MST3K film. We found it. We booked it. I made the "mistake" of scheduling it at the "dinner hour". Marathoners fled the cinema in droves, individually and in groups. It seemed like whole ROWS of the theater ran for the exits like the place was on fire. The screening went OK, but, having a half-empty theater ruined the experience of a full house laughing at/with the MST3K troop. I understand the imperative to eat at some point, but, do you have to be such a slave that you look at your watch and say, "time to eat!", no matter what is showing at the Marathon? It's one of the reasons I have never worn a watch to the event - I want to get lost in the community as much as possible. I joked a few months back that you could show a World Premiere sneak preview of Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT at dinnertime and some folks would still skip out to grab a greasy burger. "World Premiere? Whatever. I'm hungry...."

Have fun folks. Wish I could be there. Have fun and let the event take it's course - Don't try to overly Pre-Plan your body's rhythms and your mental state. Let it rock 'n roll.

_________________
Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Thank you! Now I can sleep tonight...

_________________
Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

The marathons for me is all or nonthing. If I can't be there at noon I don't buy the ticket. I rarely care what films are book at the Horror or the Science Fiction Marathons. Of course there are exceptions. See last year.

Trying to track down 35mm prints where more theaters are converting their projection systems to 2 or 4k systems are getting harder to book. Warner Bros is sending a optical disc of The Devils due to no legit 35mm print is available. The local Wexner is going digital. Side note I've have to wait for PTA's The Master to get release onto Blu Ray so I'll be able to watch it in its orginial 2.20:1 aspect ratio. Due to the film shot on 70mm regular film stock.

I like this year's lineup. I'm glad that Something Wicked got booked. Disney, IMO, proves that it can make a good horror film. Plus booking it will alow parents to take thier children.

Back to booking films. I do like 35mm. I do realise that 35mm film stock is going away. If studios are only willing to send out a film via the current digital formats so be it. 4k digital projection looks great. Battle Royale look fantastic digitally projected at this year Science Fiction Marathon. If the original Willard is available only in digital then I don't mind.

It seems it is dark enough to watch my copy of Friday the 13 3D. Yes the recient DVD relase is in 3D. Just have to black out the windows, wash the glasses. I do have a LG Blu Ray Player using a HDMI cable connected to a Samsung 40 inch LED 1080p HDTV. It is the best possible way to playback Friday 13 3D in the home.

I've written about this ad nauseam, but missing out on most of the afternoon programming of my only two Nights of the Living Drexel (1993 and 1994) because I had to attend the same damn high school marching band contest each year (in Springfield fer chrissakes!) is still one of the great regrets of my Marathon life. Sure, the films weren't once in a lifetime screenings. But I still missed out on a sizeable chunk of the event. So yeah, if I could've missed those band contests, I'd have done it in a heartbeat.

Ironically enough, I have sister who's getting married this coming weekend, and a longtime friend who's tieing the knot the first weekend of November. Thankfully, I dodged a Marathon-related bullet in both cases. But I can easily think of two films that would cause me to give a second though to attending those weddings.

First is a film we're showing this year: THE DEVILS. If I was presented with the chance to see a nice, non-faded 35mm print, I'd most definitely find a way to skip out on an important family event. And if, by some chance, a local joint was able to secure that seemingly once in a lifetime digital restoration (uncut, complete with the infamous Rape of Christ segment) that London's East End Film Festival screened last year...well, yeah, I'd go pretty bonkers.

The other film is a gimme, seeing as how it was probably the most influential film of my younger days. If Richard Rubenstein magically relented and suddenly started allowing 35mm rentals of Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD, and if said relenting led to a nice print showing up at a local theater, I'd buy several seats just for the hell of it. I've seen DAWN in excess of 50 times, and somehow, none of those viewings has been on 35mm, so to have that one opportunity would be too good to pass up.

During the Nightmare @ Studio 35 era I did remember seeing a rare movie called Don't Look Back 2. Is it possible to have that as a backup if one of the films fall through?


Faded 35mm prints just bug me. The trailer for The Pit look better than the movie it self.

There's not many films (that haven't already played) that I'd actually skip a major family event for, but there's a few that I'd really love to see in glorious 35mm projection. If any or all of the following Argento films were available uncut, I'd delay surgery for them: Opera, Suspiria (I know the cut version has played a few times, but the uncut would be amazing), Phenomena, and Tenebrae. Martin would be amazing to see. The French import Inside is pretty amazing. I'd love to screen Audition sometime. An uncut Brain Damage paired with a faded and scratched 16mm print (for that real Grindhouse feel) of Basket Case would be awesome.

_________________
"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

Mr. Meat,

I have good news for you. All 35mm prints of Basket Case were assumed lost until now. I saw a print at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles at a private screening recently. The print was in excellent condition. Only a few scratches. Maybe ever so slightly faded, but pretty much better than most grindhouse prints that you might still find. The experience was incredible. They did not announce the title in advance. When the film started, the crowd went bananas! I personally had not seen the film in over 25 years. So it was a treat for me indeed!

Is the 35mm print of Basket Case come from a legit vendor?

Since 35mm projection is going away due to 20th Century Fox plans to do away with 35mm prints. The other major studios are likely following suit. The major movie theater chains are already doing digital projection for all non IMAX screens.

Now I would like to see Basket Case in 35mm. Now if the only legit way to screen Basket Case is to digital project the film so be it.

Just look at WB giving Joe a digital copy of The Devils.

The 35mm print was not from a vendor. It was a recently uncovered print from a private source. It was found along with a large collection of Drive-in movies which largely consisted of a lot of porn. What they do with the print, who knows. It may go into circulation....

What's all this "legit" nonsense. A print is a print. Whether it comes from someone's basement or a company. Still a print. I have a couple film prints in my closet,does that mean that because it is in my closet it is not "legit"? When I did my marathons I got most of my 35mm prints from an guy in NJ and my 16mm prints from local drive in club member,Paul. Does that mean they aren't "legit" cause they are actual people? People need to get out of that headset. Whatever works,right?! Better than paying the big monster companies out the nose,right?!

Uhm, in a word? No.

Having a print by whatever means you like is fine if you're screening it in your backyard or basement. But to screen it in a theatre that hopes to get any future films from a studio (which both the Grandview and the Drexel need to do)? That's just asking for trouble.

We could screen Star Wars at the Sci-Fi marathon. We have access to the films on Blu-Ray, and Blu-Ray projection is good enough for most of the audience. But to do that invites legal problems for the theatre from LucasFilm and Fox - serious enough legal problems that it could kill the festival and the theatre.

And it's the same issue (on a smaller scale) to screen an unlicensed print. If the organizers of the marathon got their hands on a print of Dawn of the Dead, it'd be awesome to screen it. But is it worth the legal hassles that would arise? Probably not.

You can get away with it for a one-shot screening someplace that doesn't typically deal with studios or for a private viewing. And those are great experiences. But to do it inside a theatre that expects to get prints from a studio in the future? It's a can of worms that Joe and Bruce probably don't want to open.

Infa-Kid, you keep ignoring or choose to ignore that in this country people will defend their ownership of their copyrighted works. It wouldn't surprise me that Basket Case is not in the public domain.

I have no doubt that Joe and Bruce want to show films that have never been screen at the two marathons. They have to navagate the proper channels to get prints and or digital copy of films. I would like to see an uncut print of The Devils in 35mm. The only way Joe was able to book The Devils was from the studio and on optical disc.

Joe and Bruce have to work within the system. The Drexel and The Grandview are small theaters. The Grandview profit margins are quite small. Speculating of course. They have a kickstarter page to get funding for theater upgrades. The owners can't afford suits from the major studios suing them just because they obtain a print from outside the system. No theater no marathon. The same goes for The Drexel.

I'm glad that they got a print of Phantom of the Oprea and Werewolves on Wheels. Wheels is a rare get and I'm glad that they got a print in anamorphic 35mm within the system.

They have to work within the system. Majority of films are still copyrighted.