Hard to believe it's already the next weekend. Again, thank you to all the folks who helped put on the event, attended and said hello during that crazy 25 hours!
Pre-show Julian Baptiste - a film marathon isn't the best place for a folk guitarist to put on a show, but he was game.
Trailers I and II - Bruce is a Marathon god. I just wish we had more 'free' time in the schedule to have put on more trailer shows!
MOON - The film holds up and even improves on 2nd viewing. I still think the film gives away too much too soon, but the acting and screenplay more than compensate.
COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT - It's time for SF fans to stop calling COLOSSUS "an underrated gem", and declare it an out and out Classic. I've seen the film 3 times at the Marathon, and hadn't seen it since it had played some 22 years back, but it holds up beautifully. Sure the tech isn't up to date, but the themes are what are important here (much like Orwell's 1984). In many ways the film works even better now than it did at the time of its release, which can be clearly seen in the poster that Frank displayed in the lobby - where it's sold as a Bond-like spy thriller. It might not be up to the level of 2001, BLADE RUNNER, FORBIDDEN PLANET, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL etc., but COLOSSUS is certainly in the next tier in the genre.
9 - About what I expected. It has some nice set pieces, the animation is beautiful to look at, but it becomes repetitive even at 79 minutes. The WIZARD OF OZ sequence was quite touching.
THE GIANT GILA MONSTER - I haven't had a chance to call Don Sullivan yet. But, when I do, I can honestly say the audience sang along and had fun with it!
It played better than I anticipated, and it really does have a certain oddball charm.
Tin Foil Hat Contest - If this is to continue, we need to do a FAR better job of advertising it in advance. Still, there were a couple of decent entries.
LABYRINTH - Hadn't seen it since I saw a preview screening back in '86. Terry Jones' Python humour helps out the more creaky parts of this fantasy. Creepy, not creaky, is David Bowie's leching after 16 year old Jennifer Connelly (already uncommonly attractive), not to mention his 'costume'.
Trivia Contest - Mistake notwithstanding, always an enjoyable event
Frank Dan Coolio: Paranormal Drug Dealer - Mildly amusing, but the filmmakers think they are cooler than they really can deliver
Conlang - Entertaining short which hits the right notes. Interesting that languages including Esperanto are it's theme for the next film was all about one of the early adopters of Esperanto - Forry J!!
FAMOUS MONSTER: FORREST J ACKERMAN - Touching affectionate look at the man who certainly inspired many Marathoners along the way. I got a chance to meet Ackerman numerous times, visited the Ackermansion and even attended a number of films in his presence (THE OLD DARK HOUSE, INVISIBLE MAN, FREAKS etc.). And, like Ackerman himself with his blurbs and puns, the film was brief and enjoyably light-hearted.
DISTRICT 9 - Dinner break! I watched the opening and returned for the conclusion. Nothing I saw changed my view that this was the most disappointing SF film of the year. I did enjoy some suffering succotash at Redbones, though!
Alien Mating Cry contest - I'd say 'shoot it', but since it's already dead, is it worth the bullet?
Black Cat Burlesque - Appropriateness aside, this was just ok. It's been done at these events before, so time for other live events.
THE THING - Now, I'm the heretic. I saw the film 3 times upon it's initial release (plus, saw the show reel a couple of times AND interviewed Producer David Foster) including at SF/8. I didn't particularly care for it then. I may have seen bits and pieces of it over the years, but this was the first time I'd seen the whole thing in 27 years....and it simply hasn't gotten any better. Sure, the effects still are groundbreaking for the time. Yes, it's a decently mounted production with some good sequences (particularly the blood test). And, yes, it does hew closer to the novella than the Hawks classic original, but this is one case where fidelity to the story does not necessarily equate with a finer film. Large sequences seem slack in their pacing, Carpenter's direction is prosaic and Kurt Russell is frankly dull in the lead.
Life Support - Well animated, well intentioned, but meandering short
LATHE OF HEAVEN - I have an official DVD release, and, yes, this is how the movie looks - a tape transfer. Of course, at home, you are watching it on a 50 inch screen, not a 50 FOOT+ one. Add, a glitch in the DVD that was shown, and it was tough sledding. Too bad, for this does hold up as quite a good and unsettling adaptation of the Le Guin story. The moment where the lead character (Bruce Davison) conjectures that maybe reality is being changed every minute because everybody has the power to be a dream-changer is a mind blower that few SF films contain. The film does get muddled towards the end, and the discount production values and special effects don't help matters (recall, that the average TV set in 1980 was 19 to 25 inches!!), but this remains an important work in the genre.
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS - Unlike Blamire and their ilk, Dekker comes at the genre not from a stance of disdain for the genre, but of affection. Still, outside of the prologue and the last 20 minutes or so, Dekker isn't a good enough filmmaker to sustain the narrative. Goofy fun nonetheless, some middle of the night T & A (and Jill Whitlow was tres cute), killer dogs, slugs, and the Detective's lines are classic, "I got good news and bad news, girls. The good news is your dates are here. Sorority Sister: "What's the bad news?" Detective: "They're dead!"
RABID - Certainly not as transgressive as it must have been in 1977, Cronenberg's film still manages to pack in a porn star, nudity, gross-out gore, a Santa slaying, a baby killing, a highly phallic plastic surgery appendage and more in an hour and a half. And, as jaded as some Marathoners are, I sensed some genuine discomfort during the finger-biting surgery sequence.
The Package - Only 3 minutes long, but it leads up to a punchline that was old hat in 1984
The Kirkie - No great shakes, but certainly right up the alley for this audience
A Conversation with Ray Bradbury - Nice PSA. And, totally appropriate to show on the same bill as the Ackerman documentary. The last time I saw Bradbury, it was at the San Diego Comic Con. Bradbury shared the stage WITH Ackerman AND Ray Harryhausen!! Talk about a fanboy's dream come true!
DAY THE SKY EXPLODED - As noted, I have a certain fondness for European SF cinema. I enjoyed the world co-operation angle (could you imagine all the alcohol toasting between Soviet and Western scientists in a U.S. film of the period??). As noted, too many static looking at monitors scenes and stock footage, but I was glad I got to see this one-of-a-kind rare print courtesy of Tom Holland.
NIGHT OF THE COMET - Although I had fond memories of seeing this a couple of times back in the 80s, this still surprised me for how enjoyable it was. Valley Girls vs. Zombies! The hair! The Step-mom decking her step-daughter! The 'Girls Wanna have fun' shopping spree! Another Santa reference!
SLEEP DEALER - Too bad the distributor wouldn't send a 35mm print, for it robs what is a fine film of much of its visual power. For a high tech thriller, this has a decidedly human touch that is a welcome relief from all the Action movies disguised as SF films that so predominate the genre nowadays. Perhaps more should have been done to expand on the Sleep workers plot, but it's emphasis on the characters is worth the trade off.
That was it. Nearly 25 hours of cinematic excess!
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I've talked to Bruce about the 36 hour marathon and I don't think it will every happen again.