The Heights Theatre along with Take-Up Productions is proudly presenting the British noir classic Peeping Tom from famed director Michael Powell. The film is now known for killing Powell’s illustrious career due to its graphic and disturbing images of a serial killer who films his victims as he kills them. The film was so reviled by critics, that Alfred Hitchcock decided not to screen Psycho for them because he was so worried his film would receive the same treatment and kill any chances it would have to find box office success.
Some time ago I reviewed this now legendary film, and while I found it fascinating, the film is harmed by the fact that nearly every thriller has blatantly cribbed from this rather impressive source material, neutering the film to some degree compared to its modern counterparts, yet the film still is unquestionably a must see film for those who appreciate thrillers. Tickets are just $8 and there will only be one showing this upcoming Monday so make sure to make the time to see this fascinating film.
Peeping Tom
The Heights Theatre
January 25th
7:30 pm | $8
One of the real pleasures of running this site is it provides an easy excuse for me to continue searching out Ozploitation films. Ozploitation (a shorter, cooler term for the huge amount of films that fall under the umbrella of Australian exploitation cinema) is unique among exploitation film making for two primary reasons. The first is the sheer length of time in which Ozploitation were popular.
Starting in 1971, when Australia first introduced the R ratings, Ozploitation films quickly caught on and were made well into the 80’s. And while the “genre” took a brief rest during the 90’s, in recent years Ozploitation has once again reared its stylistic head to become one of the driving forces behind current Australian film making. While exploitation cinema was big for a time in the 70’s in the US, and various countries have dipped in the New Wave pool, that Australia has produced nearly two and a half decades of exploitation cinema is impressive to say the least. But what might be even more impressive, and surprising considering the quality, is that barely anyone has noticed. Which brings me to my second point.
Barely anyone knows anything about these films. Oh sure everyone and their mother knows Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson and Nicole Kidman, all three of which got their careers jump started by Ozploitation films. Directors like Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford have dabbled in the American mainstream with success, but outside of that small lot the exposure of Australian film making is surprisingly light. Let alone heralded.
Oh sure the occasional Mad Max film would catch the general publics eye, but compared to the now iconic look of blaxploitation films, Ozploitation isn’t even given a first thought, let alone a second. The same can be said when Ozploitation is compared to other 70’s exploitation genres like women revenge flicks, or women in prison flicks, or Nazi women prison revenge flicks. Or heaven forbid these Australian films had to go up against Mexican midget wrestling pictures. They simply weren’t even a blip on the public’s radar, which is a low down dirty shame.
As I’ve been researching Ozploitation films I frequently ran across the usual band of lauded suspects; George Miller, Philippe Mora and Brian Trenchard-Smith are all frequently mentioned as the best known filmmakers operating within the genre. But time and again I ran across a name who, despite his relative lack of notoriety, was routinely referred to as the best filmmaker in the genre. This man was considered so talented that he was even frequently compared to his more “artistic” contemporaries like Weir and Fred Schepisi. He is even referred to as the Australian Alfred Hitchcock, due in no small part to this director’s obsession with Hitchcock films, though for the purpose of this review I shall call him a poor man’s Alfred Hitchcock. The director’s name? Richard Franklin.
The Amazing Double Interlocking Polaroid System 3D Film Festival
Starts March 6 Parkway Theater
There’s nothing quite like those red-and-blue goggles that make those pictures pop onscreen. Well get ready for two weeks of jaw-dropping, mind-bending 1950s 3-D at the Parkway Theater. Six classics of the heyday of 3-D – including Hitchock’s Dial M for Murder and Vincent Price classics The Mad Magician and House of Wax – will be shown in double interlocking Polaroid 3D projection. Individual tickets are $10, and a full festival pass is $50. For a complete listing of films and show times, visit www.theparkwaytheater.com.
Toni Collette stars in a heart-warming family drama from writer/director Elissa Down. Thomas is just trying to fit into a new town. His mother is pregnant, so he has been put in charge of his older autistic brother Charlie. With the help of his new girlfriend, Thomas is able to face his feelings about his brother and himself. Also starring Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson, and Gemma Ward.
German filmmaker Doris Dörrie (How to Cook Your Life) takes viewers on a tender and profound journey through the strength of marital love. When Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) discovers that her husband Rudi (Elmar Wepper) is terminally ill, she decides to keep it from him and show him the beautiful things in life. She tells Rudi to visit their son in Japan, where a cherry blossom festival is taking place. Winner of the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film at the Seattle International Film Festival. Cherry Blossoms premieres at the Lagoon Cinema for a one-week run.
The Last Dragon
Saturday, March 7 at midnight Uptown Theater
The awesome 80s burst back onto the big screen, thanks to Midnight Madness at the Uptown. The Last Dragon, executive produced by Berry Gordy, tells the story of a young man (Taimak) who’s searching for his martial arts master while fighting the odds and protecting a beautiful young nightclub hostess (Vanity.) Gospel Gossip performs live before the screening, which will make you long for the days of the 80s – or be glad they’re long gone.
Universal Noir: The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key
Monday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. Heights Theater
Take Up Productions and Heights Theatre’s Universal Noir series continues with an Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake double feature. In The Blue Dahlia, three buddies return home to Hollywood from the war – but they’re in for a rude homecoming. The Glass Key tells of a crooked politician who decides to give up his past ways and team with an honest candidate for an ongoing election. An $8.00 ticket is good for both films, and tickets can be purchased online at www.heightstheater.com.
After decades of waiting, fans of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons masterpiece can finally be the ones watching the Watchmen. Set in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, Watchmen follows a group of complicated costumed heroes spurned by the people they’ve sworn to protect. When one of their kind is murdered, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) uncovers a plot to eliminate all superheroes. He reconnects with his former colleagues – including the beautiful Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), the impotent Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), and the genuinely powerful Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) – he catches onto a vast conspiracy that could lead to disaster. Directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300.)
I did not have cable when I was growing up, a pop cultural slight that I have now come to believe should be labeled a crime against humanity, so I had to find other ways to watch Transformers, GI Joe and anything else that might be showing only on the USA Cartoon Express. Thus, I had many an over night at my various friend’s houses where I would watch Nick at Night, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Godzilla marathons until the sun would rise.
Now I never really understood Godzilla films at the time, all I knew was that they had giant monsters, giant robots and it also was a pretty cool Saturday morning cartoon which starred an even gianter monster who was at the beck and call of American scientists. They also also blew up stuff in the movies, which is always pretty cool.
I like to think Godzilla, and those nights spent watching him destroy, and defend, Tokyo, were some of the first planted seeds that would eventually blossom into my love of film. As such I’ve always had a bit of a nostalgic kick for men dressed in monster suits stomping on model cities. It is just good clean family fun. Until Mighty Morphin Power Rangers went and crapped all over it.
I bet you think running this site is all fun and games. Oh sure, I have an unhealthy addiction for Mahjong that I have been trying to pass off on Anna, but that is besides the point. I don’t get to just lay around all day, watching whatever I want whenever I want. I have, like, a system. A rigorous, temperamental system.
When I first started this column it was meant to be an excuse for me to finally watch certain films I had always wanted to watch when I was younger, but for whatever reason, had simply never gotten around to doing so. But while that selfishly worked well as an initial idea, that wasn’t going to be enough to fuel a column, let alone an entire site. So thus my initial idea inevitably began to expand.
Soon I began to look for films that would push me out of my comfort zone, as well as those that would have appealed to me when I was a youth. From there it was just a hop, skip and a jump to include reviews of true independent films and hard to find foreign films as well. Finally, I began to track down movies that were out of print or simply never released in the US. And as I added on each new group of films, the list of movies I planned to watch and review grew increasingly larger and more daunting.
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