Cult Movies on the Big Screen with an Audience

[MysteryWho]

Awesome! I think I'm all in for Kaijuly also. I have to see War of the Gargantuas on the big screen and I have a friend who lives near the Carlton so I can go there to sleep it off
Btw, they just put recliners in my local downtown cinema Mikey!

[cjefferys]

Cool. It must be Colin Geddes. I remember going to a screening of the Master Killer/36 Chamber of the Shaolin he put on at the old porno theatre and Quentin Tarantino came, supposedly it was a rare print to find.

Ha, I think Ed (Samurainoir) was at that screening. He and his friends were too loud, and Tarantino (who was there with then-girlfriend Mira Sorvino) told them to shut the hell up.

[WannabeMego]

Ha, I think Ed (Samurainoir) was at that screening. He and his friends were too loud, and Tarantino (who was there with then-girlfriend Mira Sorvino) told them to shut the hell up.

I can definitely imagine that unfolding...without question or pause

[WannabeMego]

Hey Tom, do any of the old grindhouse theaters on 42nd street still exist in some form? The Lyric, the Victory, Rialto, anything? It would be awesome if someone restored one of them to their former (in)glory and showed stuff like they do at the Royal in Toronto. If I were a rich man, that's what I would do.

As Mentioned...They are ALL Gone...nothing remains from those days except the shells of those buildings turned into restaurants & tourist gift shops.

Midtown has been purged & cleansed.

[HardyGirl]

Hey Mikey, you'd love the Grand Lake Theatre here in Oakland. The main showroom has great architecture and an organ! I loved when the original Star Trek (or TNG movies) played there and there was an organist playing the theme song!

Are there any classic movie theatre's in existence that hasn't been altered into multi-theatre's ?.

Today, every theatre I went to as a kid is either gone or has been turned into a multi theatre.

Kid's nowadays (and even many adults) have never seen a movie on a real "big screen".

Also miss the chairs in old theatre's ... Plenty of room and one of my local theatre's had seats that reclined --- wouldn't see that nowadays

The ornate decorations, the huge chandeliers, sitting in the balcony .... I think I miss the theatre experience itself more than I miss actually watching a movie in them.

[MysteryWho]

Hey Mikey, you'd love the Grand Lake Theatre here in Oakland. The main showroom has great architecture and an organ! I loved when the original Star Trek (or TNG movies) played there and there was an organist playing the theme song!

Wow! I saw the fourth Star Trek movie at the old Tivoli theater here in Hamilton and it was very ornate but there wasn't an organist!
Also, I remember asking Colin (he worked at Suspect video back then) how his chat with Tarantino went. I wondered if he'd brought up the fact that he'd shown City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs back to back in order to give props to the original version. But he smartly didn't mention it. Tarantino has a temper as some of you experienced first hand!

[Blue Meanie]

Damn that's a big slice:



Reminds me of the slices you used to be able to get at Carusso's in Penn Station.

[cjefferys]

Excited to see "Snake Deadly Act" tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1058825650822462/

That was fun last night, very cool that your daughter wanted to come too (other than some unfortunate coming attaction reels, I felt your pain!)

As Mentioned...They are ALL Gone...nothing remains from those days except the shells of those buildings turned into restaurants & tourist gift shops.

Midtown has been purged & cleansed.

That is soooo sad to hear, for some reason, 70's-80's era Times Square fascinates me, especially the theaters that were there and the films they showed during that period.

BellaDonna of Sadness...WOW!!!

Technically speaking...I shouldn't have been watching that so young, but I would watch any Japanese Animation I could get me hands on back then...

That Movie was WAY TOO TRIPPY for me when I saw a Bootlegged VHS on a Small TV Screen...I couldn't ever imagine seeing this again, let alone on a BIG Screen...but...

Oh man, I had never heard of this film, but they played the trailer at the Royal last night. Trippy doesn't begin to describe it, wow!

[samurainoir]

Cool. It must be Colin Geddes. I remember going to a screening of the Master Killer/36 Chamber of the Shaolin he put on at the old porno theatre and Quentin Tarantino came, supposedly it was a rare print to find. I'd love to see more classic Shaw stuff on the big screen!

Yup. I was there that night! I rarely missed a night of Kung Fu Friday back in the day (since I lived just down the street, and also very close to Suspect). 8)

I remember Colin telling me how he had personally sprayed and wiped down ALL the seats in that theatre before the screening.

I walked past the Metro Theatre on Bloor last week in Koreatown, and it's now converted into an urban climbing gym. It FINALLY closed down a year or two ago after teetering on the brink for close to a decade or more... I was just telling Chris this weekend that they still had the ridiculously faded poster of Insatiable 2 on display right up to the end (I remember it from the night I went and saw Master Killer back in the 90's).

metro1.jpg met2.jpg met3.jpg

Ha, I think Ed (Samurainoir) was at that screening. He and his friends were too loud, and Tarantino (who was there with then-girlfriend Mira Sorvino) told them to shut the hell up.

So back in the day, my friends and I would love to goof around at these cult movie screenings we always went to, and yes, we brought beers with us and were a bit too drunk and rowdy. At one point, the hero of the film had a heavy weight at the end of a ridiculously long pole that he was kind of jerking around to ring a gong as a training move, the old kung fu master says "Is your wrist strong?", and my friend Sean yells "Well ONE of them certainly is." That gets a laugh from the audience, but DIRECTLY BEHIND US, a voice that you could not mistake we hear "HEY TOM SERVO! CUT IT OUT, WITH THE JOKES, OKAY!"

We all turn around in astonishment, not realizing QUENTIN TARANTINO was in the theatre, sitting RIGHT BEHIND US. Not only that, but Mira Sorvino was sitting next to him. This was actually even worse, because I was working client services at the Post Production facility she went into every night after a day of filming on Mimic. SHE KNEW ME. So I immediately had to slink down into my chair and hope she didn't recognize me and say something when I saw her when I went into work next.

In retrospect, you can imagine why Tarantino would think it would be awesome to take his date to a porno theatre to see a Kung Fu films.. it's like a scene out of Taxi Driver or True Romance right?

[samurainoir]

Totally bummed I missed Lady Terminator tonight

https://www.facebook.com/events/129254737482352/

Friday's screening
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Colin gives out some pretty awesome prizes at every screening too. And his policy is, if you think the recipient is unworthy, you can challenge them after the show.
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They also have a pre-show where the screen a bunch of fun stuff, ads, old interviews, trailers etc. At the first one, there was a tour of Jackie Chan's house that was pretty funny.

Next month the are screening one of my favourites, Yes, Madame, with Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock. (I recently watched it on Youtube, but given the awesome fight scenes, I really want to see them on the Big Screen).

[MysteryWho]

"In retrospect, you can imagine why Tarantino would think it would be awesome to take his date to a porno theatre to see a Kung Fu films.. it's like a scene out of Taxi Driver or True Romance right?" Yep, and it likely had an effect on Sorvino similar to the one Travis' moves had on Betsy, I heard she seemed pretty bored and, well, I don't think that whole lasted long. I know a couple whose first date consisted partly of watching Carpenter's They Live and they've been together a long, long time. That sort of thing should be a test of longevity for relationships in general. A good friend always says, "Let the girl pick the movie."

[MysteryWho]

"Yes, Madam" looks pretty amazing and worth checking out. Did you ever catch any of the Trash Palace screenings? He's moved to Hamilton and set up in a bar.

[samurainoir]

Yep, and it likely had an effect on Sorvino similar to the one Travis' moves had on Betsy, I heard she seemed pretty bored and, well, I don't think that whole lasted long.

Yeah, she didn't look impressed at all, although I think it might have been due in part to the frat-boy jackasses sitting in front of her. Maybe it would have been different if the movie had been subbed instead of dubbed? Although I guess she speaks fluent mandarin, not cantonese.

Did you ever catch any of the Trash Palace screenings? He's moved to Hamilton and set up in a bar.

Trash Palace was screening for a while in my friend's co-op living space on Bathurst near king. She also had a skateboard ramp in the living room!

[samurainoir]

Doh! Looks like Kung Fu Friday's screen of Yes Madame is the same weekend as Mego Meet this year.

Anyone who does go, please tell me all about it!



and for folks who like this sort of thing, here's a pic of the Donnie Yen screening with him in attendance last month.