Madames are made in MOONLIGHTING WIVES (1966)
Dir. Joseph W. Sarno
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 5/12/10, 11:59pm
As I noted a few weeks ago, famed sexploitation filmmaker Joe Sarno passed away on April 26. The Alamo and Weird Wednesday hosted a memorial screening for the director this week, showcasing one of his best loved films, Moonlighting Wives. Unfortunately, the mechanical and proletarian Iron [...]
Stephanie Rothman double post: STUDENT NURSES (1970) and GROUP MARRIAGE (1973)
This past week, we were very fortunate indeed to have exploitation auteur Stephanie Rothman visiting our fair cinema for a double feature of her two films, Student Nurses and Group Marriage. Rothman was witty, charming, and, pardon me for saying this, a stone cold fox. She was one of the most gracious guests [...]
THE THING (1982) in 4k digital and the nature of image quality
Since the beginning of the cinema, whenever we watched movies from the past they have always been in deteriorated forms.
In the earliest days of the medium, nitrate prints of old movies were hauled out of make-shift storage facilities for re-examination. This practice was occasionally done in the silent era, but really picked [...]
Philippe Mora double post: THE BEAST WITHIN (1982) and MAD DOG MORGAN (1976)
This past week, we were lucky enough to have been visited by directer Philippe Mora, who’s Howling 2 pleased both a Terror Thursday and Terror Tuesday audience. Mora is a hilarious storyteller, and the comments he made on the Ritz stage had both Tuesday and Wednesday night crowds in stitches. Zack and [...]
Ever made it with a chick in a trance before? Then you’ll love DELINQUENT SCHOOL GIRLS (1975)
Dir. Greg Corarito
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 2/24/10, 11:59pm
This week, we were lucky enough to experience one of the all-time great Weird Wednesday presentations. For those of you keeping track, our last trip to perfect exploitation was one month ago, the fabulous and madcap Lord Love a Duck. Well, ten years after that film, schlockmeisters [...]
I hope I don’t have to stay on TERMINAL ISLAND (1973)
Dir. Stephanie Rothman
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 2/17/10, 11:59pm
Stephanie Rothman is a lady director of exploitation. I don’t care for her as much as I do for the first lady of sex films, Doris Wishman, but I am beginning to see some value in her work. Of her seven film oeuvre, I have seen but [...]
Like The Godfather but want something a little less epic? Look no further than QUELLI CHE CONTANO (1974)
Dir. Andelchi and Andrea Bianchi
Alamo Ritz, 2/10/10, 11:59pm
From what I can tell, there comes a saturation point in the exploitation film fan’s exploration of the market when he develops a love for Italian cheapo films like Quelli che contano, advertised in the U.S. as Cry of a Prostitute. There is a sleazy-but-very-cool quality about [...]
Wear your large lapels tonight, it’s BLACK CAESAR (1973)
Dir. Larry Cohen
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 2/3/10, 11:59pm
Another week, another Weird Wednesday review. This go-round, we’ve got blaxploitation classic Black Caesar, a sort of hybrid between Super Fly and Public Enemy. Here, Tommy Gibbs is an aspiring mafioso, getting himself involved with the Italian mafia in order to rule Harlem, the South Bronx, and, [...]
Why bring lunch from home when you can get a hot meal at the LUNCH WAGON (1981)?
Dir. Ernest Pintoff
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 1/27/10, 11:59pm
I promise I will never compare another Weird Wednesday to Lord Love a Duck, the monumental WW to rule them all. It simply isn’t fair to the competition. That said, Lunch Wagon is obviously a let down from last week, but it is still a very strong [...]
I love, you’ll love, LORD LOVE A DUCK (1966)
Dir. George Axelrod
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 1/20/10, 11:59pm
Holy shit, everybody! If there was a plug-in that automatically placed a movie on the top of a reader’s Netflix queue the second they clicked on the link for that film’s review, I would use it for this post. Because I know that nothing I say here [...]
