FLARE

“Weirdsville 2: More Oddities from the Archives”.  Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rare, weird and some highly entertaining 16mm shorts, clips and trailers culled from the 50,000+ archive at Oddball Films. Highlights include “Porklips Now” (Color, 1980), an hilarious send-up of “Apocalypse Now”; “Comput-Her Baby”, (Color, 1968), early computer love!; “Frank Film” (Color, 1973), bizarre classic art/collage film; “Careers: Leisure Industries” (Color, 1970), groovy work; a clip from “Sex and the Professional” (Color, 1975), a twisted training film for doctors; “Free Fall” (b+w, 1964), more brilliant art/collage by genius Arthur Lipsett; and much more!
Date: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com

“Weirdsville 2”
More Bizarre, Offbeat, and Just Plain Kooky Films from the Archives

On Friday, May 8, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of the strange, the bizarre, and the sometimes baffling short films, clips and trailers from deep within the Oddball archive. These “found” films surface in the process of research for other programs: too good to languish on the shelves, they demand to be screened!  A companion program to the Strange Sinema series, this month’s program features several acknowledged classics of weird cinema. Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00.  Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Highlights Include:

“Porklips Now” (Color, 1980)
Hilarious by some accounts, incredibly stupid by others, this spot-on low budget spoof of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” features Billy Gray (of Father Knows Best fame) as Dullard, who is sent on a journey to Chinatown by two butchers to meet with a business rival and “take care of business”.  San Francisco locations.

“Comput-Her Baby” (Color, 1968)
An ode to computers and computer dating.  Sweet and strangely prescient.

“Frank Film” (Color, 1973)
Brilliant art film by Frank Mouris featuring rapid animation collage of magazine clip art with “competing” narration.  Winner of the 1974 Academy Award for short film.

“Careers: Leisure Industries” (Color, 1970)
This one must of went over well with high school career counselors.  Especially as it could only highlight how dull their own careers were.

“Free Fall” (b+w, 1964)
By the brilliant but troubled avant-garde filmmaker Arthur Lipsett (who committed suicide in 1986), “Free Fall” is, in the words of Lipsett himself, an “attempt to express in filmic terms an intensive flow of life – a vision of a world in the throes of creativity – the transformation of physical phenomena into psychological ones – a visual bubbling of picture and sound operating to create a new continuity of experience – a reality in seeing and hearing which would continually overwhelm the conscious state – penetration of outward appearances – suddenly the continuity is broken – it is as if all clocks ceased to tick – summoned by a big close-up or fragment of a diffuse nature – strange shapes shine forth from the abyss of timelessness.”

“Elliot 60-16 Optical Addresser” (Color, 1966)
Learn the ins and outs of a completely obsolete piece of office equipment (a punch-card chewing mail addresser) for a nearly obsolete service (direct mail marketing).

PLUS! much more including a twisted doctor’s training film “Sex and The Professional”, a tacky clip from “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” featuring Jane Russell & Jean Crain in a cannibal’s stew pot (singing “Ain’t Misbehavin”) & trailers straight out of Weirdsville!

Event: “The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of 16mm film from perhaps the weirdest, most self-indulgent decade ever- the 1970’s.  Swept in with the hippies and out with the punks, the Me Decade, like herpes, just won’t quite go away.  Films and clips include “Mister Mike’s M*nd* Video” (Color, b&w, 1979), a purposely tasteless, hilarious and offensive spoof of the 60’s shock documentary which neatly wraps up the end of the decade, “Trends: The 70s” (Color, 1979), a documentary overview of the decade before it could be filtered through years of revisionism, “Drugs: Use Or Abuse” (Color, 1971), a drug-scare film that is more comedy than deterrent. Plus lots of wild, weird clips, promos, commercials, trailers and a few surprises- all from the custom van, polyester, swinging roller-disco decade!
Date: Friday, May 1, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s”
At Oddball Films

On Friday, May 1st, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present “The Me Decade: Flashback to the 70’s”, a program of over the top, self-indulgent film from 1970’s.  In retrospect, so much of the imagery, expression and attitude of the times seems drug influenced and channeled: the early part of the decade was still clearly under the influence of psychedelics, whilst the end seems rambling and aggressively cocaine-fueled.  Sad, actually, but fun to watch from the smugly informed and enlightened present!
Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00.  Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Mister Mike’s M*nd* Video” (Color & b&w, 1979, 60 mins.)
Conceived by SNL writer Michael O’Donohue as a spoof on 1960’s shock documentaries and intended to air on television, it was deemed too over-the-top and offensive by network executives.  Dada-inspired bizarre vignettes of swimming cats, laser shooting bras, cult of Jack Lord churches and more weirdness, anti-comedy and subversion feature SNL staples Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner.  Cameos include Debbie Harry, Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder, Teri Garr and more. Eventually released as short feature film where it became a midnight-movie staple, the origin of this print is a mystery and contains slugs for commercials.  Could this be the original program intended for late night TV in 1979?

“Trends: The 1970’s” (Color, 1979, 30 mins.)
This 1979 documentary takes a look back at the major trends of the decade, including the hippie scene, drugs, streaking, the war in Vietnam, the gas crisis and more.  Documents the rise of punk but strangely has barely a mention of disco…

“Drugs: Use Or Abuse” (Color, 1971)
If you missed the recent program “Scared Straight: Drug-Scare Films”, here’s your chance for a little taste: this 1971 short covers the “gateway” drugs from huffing glue to reefer and pills.

Plus- Super-rare clips from an amazing early 70’s TV show of psychedelic pop bands (with some mind-bending visuals), one-of-a-kind footage of roller-disco and skateboard action in mid-70’s San Francisco, TV show promos (The Richard Pryor Show, Man From Atlantis), film trailers, commercials and more!

Event: “Style Wars & Electric Boogie” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present the cult Hip Hop documentaries “Style Wars” (Color and b&w, 1982) and “Electric Boogie” (Color, 1983).  Focused on the emerging subculture of Hip Hop with an emphasis on graffiti, “Style Wars” was one of the earliest and best (winner of the Grand Prize for best documentary at the 1984 Sundance film festival).  The rarely screened and virtually unavailable “Electric Boogie” (Color, 1983) follows four friends around the South Bronx as they break dance their butts off, culminating in a competition at a local disco.  Plus, Carson Davidson’s short film “3rd Ave El” (Color, 1954).
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“Style Wars” and “Electric Boogie”
Screen at Oddball Films

On Saturday, April 25, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present two cult documentaries focused on the emerging Hip Hop culture in New York. “Style Wars” (1982) has reached near legendary status for its documentation of the exploding sub culture of Hip Hop, and it’s a great film to boot- winning the Grand Prize for best documentary at the 1984 Sundance Film Festival.  “Electric Boogie” (1983) is the rarely screened and virtually unavailable film about four young friends who break dance their way through the South Bronx.  Plus, the short film “3rd Ave El” (1954), documenting a lost,  pre-graffiti cityscape.

Showtime is 8:00PM and admission is $10.00.  Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Style Wars” (Color & b&w, 1982, 60 mins.)

Known as the original Hip Hop documentary, this modern classic directed by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant focuses on the emerging/exploding Hip Hop subculture in New York in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.  The main focus is on graffiti, but rapping and break dancing are also featured.  This is the original 60 minute version which first aired on television in 1984  (it has since seen a DVD “restoration” adding 9 minutes of footage).

“Some call it tagging, some call it writing, still others call it bombing–it’s all graffiti. Whether it’s art or not is another matter, but it’s undeniably illegal. Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant’s historic PBS documentary Style Wars tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the peak of its popularity, graffiti was as much a part of B-boy culture as rapping, scratching, and breaking. The filmmakers present a sympathetic, but well-rounded portrait of their subject through extensive interviews with taggers–notably Seen, Kase, and Dondi–art collectors, transit authorities, and even Mayor Ed Koch, who would eventually put the hammer down. Along the way, they documented the burgeoning break-dance scene, with a focus on the world-famous Rock Steady Crew. The soundtrack features selections from Grandmaster Flash, the Treacherous Three, and other tagger-approved icons of old-school hip-hop.” –Kathleen C. Fennessy

“Electric Boogie” (Color, 1983, 30 mins.)
This 1983 documentary by Tana Ross and Freke Vuijst follows four teenagers, two Black and two Puerto Rican, as they break-dance their way through the South Bronx.  These teenagers perform anytime, anywhere transcending the harsh realities of their environment, and dissipating the race barriers in this impromptu troupe. A portrait of break dancing as a vital expression of life in a dehumanizing urban landscape.

“3rd Ave El” (Color, 1954, 11 mins.)
By the great Carson Davidson (director of the Oddball Films favorite “Help, My Snowman’s Burning Down”), this impressionistic picture of a ride on the elevated 3rd Ave. train (long since torn down) shows a lost cityscape that is free of graffiti- a tagger’s blank slate.

Event: “Scared Straight: Vintage Drug-Scare Films” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of drug-scare films from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. Aimed at school-age kids, these films were produced to be shown in schools or on TV- whether they kept anyone away from drugs is debatable; that they are hilarious today is not. Featured films include: the all-time classic “Narcotics: Pit of Despair” (1967), “The Perfect Drug Film” (1971) with Beau Bridges, “Dope Is For Dopes” (1972) with Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Marijuana, Driving and You” (1980), “Stoned” (1980) with Scott Baio and more!
Date: Friday, April 17, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“Scared Straight”
Vintage Drug-Scare Films at Oddball Films

On Friday, April 17, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of vintage drug-scare films for your amusement. Aimed squarely (no pun intended) at school age kids and designed to “educate” them about the perils of drug use, these films (like the drunk driving films that preceded them) were really meant to scare the hell out the kids. Nonetheless, the laughable but still eerie freak out scenes reveal some experience and perhaps a somewhat subversive intent by the filmmakers. The films aimed at younger kids (Dope is For Dopes and Stoned) are a bit more humor driven, but like a nervous laugh the subtext is fear.
Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Narcotics: Pit of Despair” (Color, 1967)
The all-time classic of the genre, a real howler! Super-square kid is lured into the world of illicit drugs and other pleasures by the scheming drug dealer and his wanton woman. Sample voiceover: “Take a trip from Squaresville, get with the countdown, shake this square world and blast off to Kicksville!” Sounds good to me!!

“The Perfect Drug Film” (Color, 1971)

Hosted by obvious stoner Beau Bridges, this film has a very educational history of drug use (starting with, and illustrated by cavemen!) and covers all the basic territory: freak outs, wrestling with lions, running into traffic and jumping off cliffs. Hilarious!

“Dope is For Dopes” (Color, 1972)
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids learn a valuable lesson about the evils of the pusher-man. Starring Bill plus Fat Albert, Rudy, Mushmouth, Dumb Donald, Bill, Mudfoot, Russell, Bucky, Weird Harold, Frainey Bates as the connection and his older brother Muggles as the dope dealer.

“Marijuana, Driving and You” (Color, 1980)
The perils of driving stoned.

“Stoned” (Color, 1980)
ABC After School Special (ASS) starring that loveable rascal Scott Baio. Here he is lured into stonersville by a skateboard-riding dope dealer. The munchies and problems at school ensue, climaxing with the near death of his older brother when the stoned Biao clobbers him with a boat paddle.
Lesson learned, nuff said.

PLUS: Drug and alcohol television PSA’s and more TBA!!

Event: “Easter Hammer Horror”: Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Screens at Oddball Films. Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an Easter Weekend screening of the Hammer Films production of “Dracula Has Risen From the Grave”. This 1968 Technicolor production has a strong religious theme, a fair amount of gore for its time, a heavy dose of sexual tension, and stars the iconic Christopher Lee as Dracula.  In addition, the rarely screened “Monsters We Have Known and Loved” (b&w, 1964) from the short lived TV series “Hollywood and the Stars” will precede the feature.  Narrated by Joseph Cotten, this half program examines the famous and bizarre creatures that have graced the screen, including some rare out takes from films such as the original “Raven”, “Nosferatu”, “Frankenstein”, “The Black Cat” and many more.
Date: Friday, April 10, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“Easter Hammer Horror”
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave Screens at Oddball Films

On Friday, April 10, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an Easter weekend screening of “Dracula Has Risen From The Grave”, the atmospheric 1968 production from the legendary Hammer Film studios.  Also screening will be a rare 16mm television episode of “Hollywood and the Stars: Monsters We Have Known and Loved”, an overview of classic film monsters narrated by the great Joseph Cotten.  Plus monster movie trailers and a special Easter short.
Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00.  Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Dracula Has Risen From The Grave” (Color, 1968)
Directed by the great Freddie Francis (cinematographer on The Elephant Man, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and Scorcese’s Cape Fear), this is the third and best Hammer production to feature Christopher Lee as Count Dracula.  Extremely atmospheric and filled with haunting imagery, the religious theme was never stronger (though coupled with overt sexuality and rather explicit gore), as the blood of a priest resurrects The Count: Dracula returns to wreak havoc on the small Transylvania town.

The plot: “The fear of the vampire returns to a small village in Transylvania when the body of a young girl, with two fang marks in her neck, is found hanging in the church belfry. Some time later, a visiting monsignor finds that the terrified villagers have stopped attending church services and never venture near the castle of Count Dracula. Appalled, the monsignor forces the parish priest to accompany him while he performs an exorcism rite and hangs a crucifix on the castle door. The frightened priest flees and falls by the edge of a frozen stream. Beneath him lies the body of Dracula, who is revived by blood trickling from the wounded priest. Dracula arises, places the priest under his spell, and vows revenge on the monsignor. Upon arriving at the village where the monsignor lives with his sister-in-law Anna and her daughter Maria, the count initiates Zena, a tavern waitress, into the cult of the vampire and compels her to bring Maria to him. Zena obeys, but Maria’s boyfriend, Paul, an atheist, rescues the young girl. After killing Zena for failing him, Dracula gains entry to Maria’s bedroom. On his initial visit, he succeeds in leaving his fang marks on the girl’s throat; his second visit, however, is thwarted when the monsignor steps forward and drives him away with a crucifix. Although the monsignor is struck down by the priest and later dies, he gives Paul instructions to combat the vampire. Finding Dracula’s coffin, Paul tries to kill him but fails because he is unable to recite a Latin prayer. Then, Dracula returns for Maria and carries her off in his hearse. He orders her to remove the monsignor’s crucifix from the door of the castle and hurl it down to the rocks below. Paul arrives and, during a struggle, knocks the count over the mountain wall. As Dracula is impaled on the crucifix, the repentant priest intones the requisite prayer over the vampire’s body, while Paul embraces Maria and makes the sign of the cross.” (TCM)

Amazingly, the film was rated “G” by the newly formed MPAA Rating Board- some say it was the first film to receive a rating.  It probably wouldn’t make an “R” rating today, but the “G” rating is bizarre to say the least!  It has been suggested that as horror films in the day were aimed at the teenybopper set, the “G” rating was fitting.  See what YOU think…

“Hollywood and the Stars: Monsters We Have Known and Loved” (b&w, 1964)
Fantastic but short-lived TV series narrated by Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Shadow of a Doubt) exploring the wild and wonderful monsters that continue to scare and intrigue us.  From the famous (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman) to the cult (50 ft. Woman, the Golem), both classics and forgotten are presented.  Includes rare out takes and behind the scenes footage.

PLUS: Horror film trailers and an Easter short that will really scare the bajeeesuz out of you!

About Hammer Films:
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. First founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic “Hammer Horror” films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers and comedies – and in later years, television series. Hammer films had low budgets, but nonetheless appeared lavish, making use of quality British actors and cleverly designed sets. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Brothers. (Wikipedia)