Eraserhead in 35mm preceded by Asparagus in 35mm Mon, Apr 15 | 7:30pm | DGT Eraserhead
The film that J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum call a “nightmare sitcom of the urban soul” carries the torch as the first film to intentionally hold its world premiere in a midnight slot at the boundary-pushing Los Angeles–based festival Filmex in 1977. Yet even this audacious statement couldn’t save David Lynch’s astonishing, surreal debut from the misinterpretation of mainstream critics. Thankfully, the ever-intrepid Ben Barenholtz, who lays claim to inventing the midnight movie, opened the film in New York City at several theaters, where it ran at midnight for close to three years; here in Los Angeles, Eraserhead ran at midnight at the Nuart Theatre for nearly four years straight. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: David Lynch. WITH: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates. 1977. 89 min. USA. B&W. English. 35mm. Asparagus Acquired by Ben Barenholtz in 1978 for the explicit purpose of whetting the audience’s appetite before screenings of Eraserhead , Suzan Pitt’s singular animated hallucination played before David Lynch’s feature for two years at both the Waverly in New York and Los Angeles’s Nuart Theatre. You can see more of Pitt’s vibrant body of work in our Available Space program So Dreamy, So Sinister: Animation by Suzan Pitt on May 16. DIRECTED BY: Suzan Pitt. 1979. 19 min. USA. Color. 35mm. Restored by the Academy Film Archive.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Night of the Living Dead Mon, Apr 8 | 7:30pm | DGT
Filmed in rural Pennsylvania on a low six-figure budget by first-time 28-year-old filmmaker George Romero, this now-definitive zombie flick was effectively dead- on-arrival when it first premiered in cinemas at the end of 1968. Too frightening for family matinees and too raw for general audiences, Night of the Living Dead first found its diehard fans at a Washington, DC revival house in 1971, followed shortly by a near-continuous midnight run from 1971 through 1973 in New York City at both the Waverly (now IFC Center) and the now- shuttered Olympia and Bijou theaters. DIRECTED BY: George A. Romero. WRITTEN BY: George A. Romero, John Russo. WITH: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman. 1968. 96 min. USA. B&W. English. DCP.
The Harder They Come Fri, Apr 12 | 7:30pm | DGT
Following its major success in Jamaica, Roger Corman’s New World Pictures acquired United States distribution rights and released The Harder They Come across the US in 1973. Initially failing to find an audience, the film did very well with midnight showings, bringing in a slightly older audience interested in seeing the first feature from Jamaica. Aided by the release of its soundtrack, which features songs by the star Jimmy Cliff and helped popularize reggae music in the US, the fandom grew rapidly. At the Elgin Theater in New York City, the film ran consistently from late 1974 through early 1977 in its midnight timeslot. DIRECTED BY: Perry Henzell. WRITTEN BY: Perry Henzell, Trevor D. Rhone. WITH: Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw, The Maytals. 1972. 103 min. Jamaica. Color. English. Rated R. DCP.
UP IN SMOKE
Up in Smoke Sat, Apr 20 | 7:30pm | DGT
After building up a dedicated following in the stand- up comedy scene and releasing comedy albums throughout the ’70s, Cheech and Chong took their act to the big screen, with huge success. Directed by Lou Adler, who produced their records, the film was not embraced by many critics, but became immediately popular with stoners and outsider young adults. First earning impressive sales in pre-release screenings, it became extremely profitable through its run. The following year the film had two midnight screenings at the Cannes Film Festival and quickly became a mainstay of midnight movies, establishing itself as a cult classic and the archetypal stoner film. DIRECTED BY: Lou Adler. WRITTEN BY: Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin. WITH: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Stacy Keach. 1978. 86 min. USA. Color. English. Rated R. DCP.
ERASERHEAD
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