Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Alamo Guide: Oct-Dec 2000
Alamo Guide: Oct-Dec 2000
has
established itself as the premiere spot for Dolby Surround Sound. This year we have
a
HO]IG KO]IG
swing at Hons Kons Sundays are now in the X,lamo" Drafthouse Cinema. The first Sundav of every monih should be circled on
watching UT Longhorn football.in Austin' We feature all games on our movle screen ln bigg6r sound system, a brand new silver
Austin! AIso, look for great prize giveaways from 101X and the Alamo Drafthouse
Cinema every week!
"I've been wanting to start a Children's Fih:: Series like the one that I grew up with herin Austin... Called THE SATURD-{l MORNING FILM CLLIB. They'd show filn' ltke The lungle Book with Sabu, Klng Koi:: (1933), The Adoentures of Robin Hood, Set'er;::: Vovasc of Sinbad, etc..' Kids would makt oaLei aiiplanes and throw them. There u-ert irdcontests Lrased on the films we saw. Stor'' contests. People told us how things rvere done, and read behind the scenes stuff out oi Famous Monsters of Filmland. So'.. Tim anc
'of every true Hong Kongthe ca'lendars action fan. We wjll be'bringing the best of the best, from brand new films to the old
suard classics. Featured thus far in the series fias been Heroic Trio, A Bctter Tomorrow Parf 2'
Holv Weapon, God of Cookery, High Risk' Drison us. Necdles of Dcath, Snake Fist us Drofron. Snakc in Lagic's Shndow and Chinese
Ghost StorY.
stadium, the A1amo Drafihouse Cinema is the oerfeci spot for the serious football fan' Alleves in the auditorium are locused on the ,.r""r-t, where the action on the field
decided to make the entire event (ButrNumb-A-Thon, December 9-10 see storr- in this calendar) be about raising funds for tht Children's Film Series." - Harry Knor'r'les
Aint-It-Cool-News
than lifel
Hong Kong Sundays aiso feature a special e,siai-them"ed menu to compliment the onscreen Hong Kong Action. The regular Alamo kitchin shut"s down for this one night a month and is reborn in Hong Kong style' Ireai vourself to Tofu with Chinese Broccoli, Chick'en Curry, Mu Shu Pork, Pot Stickers, Hot and Sour"Soup and more! Also, for the trulv adventurou6, we will be featuring a rotaline exotic beverage of the orient every monthl Last monihiselection was White Fungus Bird's Nest Soda, next month" '?
Hong Kong Cinema and Cuisine nights are a big iuccessl so please arrive early to ensure a seat. This quareter teatures comlc genlus Stephen Choinr in Forbiddett Citll Cop and ihe
and post-season game, and ADMISSION IS FREE TO ALL GAMES, we will have great
beer specials, and as always, our kitchen
will
will
and
$5000"in admission and pledges, enough tc fund this series for at least a year. The evenl' are for kids and for adults who want to brir,q their kids to see the greatest movies of al time. The fiim screenings are 100% free for lids and adults with kids (you can thank thc Btttt-Ntrmb-A-Thon survivois for thatl). t[,r ou are over 15 years old and you aren't bringrng
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a kid to the movies, well, you probablr won't get in and if we are not packed;nd you dd get it, you will have io pay. I-hrbvent
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We feature u
,p..iut kids menu, hold a raft-le with prizes before every film and feature
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'of the best vintage iartoons and shorts played along with every months feature' This calendir features Jody Foster and
leg'endary flying-sex-fight-in-the-woods
rjovie
Chinese TorLure Chanber Storyt'
PABTY!
Barbara Harris in the classic Disneradventure Freaky Friday on October 28; Robert Wagner ad swash6uckling hero Prirri Valiant ori November 26 and a personal favorite, the high spirited Asian action
masterpiece Inframan on December 30.
20s
OPTru ONIIY
479-8377 G0NGRESS AVENUE 512 10-6, FBEE PABKING BEHIND THE STORE
dream-come-true for each and every fan who shows up: A chance to be caught in bed with not one, but a1l SIX Satan's Cheerleaders! Yes, you heard us right: the girls are offering their bodies up for charity, and tixi's even bringing her own bed so that YOU can have your picture taken between the sheets with the most desirable satanistic squad of hard-hitters this side of
free giveaways and prtzesl. Also, live music, special guests, and the ultimate
hell!
Proceeds from this once-in-a-lifetime photo-op go to the girls' favorite charity. And, as if that all weren't quite enough,
AKA
'leras tr Tffis $Af4$l$ "$ffiH$$effiBEn$ T
Al8lin,
Squad
688,.
14 local cheerleader squads to face them on stage for late-night debauchery and total insanity on each night of the camp! Will these 14 squads have the guts to shed their squeaky-clean status quo and descend into hell with The Satan's Cheerleaders? WiII YOU have the stamina to survive all this malicious, estrogen-powered megaphone mayhem? Be here on November 9th, 10th, and 11th for the answer--but come prepared, folks! This might just be the
On December 9th, at High Noon.... We will be seated inside our perilous vessel... the Alamo Drafthouse. We will strap ourselves in for 24 hours of.... FILM. What sorts of films you ask? The entire gamut. You may
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homecoming weekend
straight to HELL!
dance numbers, movies that are mindblowingly good and mind-numbingly bad,
plus along the way, you will see at least one, probably more, world premiere sneaks of some of the coolest movies coming out in 2001, celebrity guests and a few surprises that even cinema spy Harry Knowles doesn't even know about.
see classics,
Dust off your book of shadows and steel your heart against all things pure for a weekend of school spirit, bouncy babes and absolute SIN! If you thought the hipand-trendy shout-it-out shenanigans of Bring It On even began to scratch the surface of what cheerleading is all about, you ain't even gonna believe what we
If
encourage you
CHEERLEADER CAMP WEEKEND!!!! Don't believe the hyp", folks! Cheerleaders aren't a bunch of squeaky' clean pep-rally princesses--they're EVIL INCARNATE, and we've got the flagship nypmphets of the universe for three days in a row to put your through your paces! Join Trixi Stix, Vixxin Nixxen, Lucky Dukes, Priss E. Bitch, and Katnip as they
CHEERLEADER'S
scrap the cheerleader movies altogether and switch over to some good old {ashioned Gore. Every night, pick up your red, white and blue campaign posters at
the door, Gore supporters on the left, Bush
will
This is an experience made only strong. The type of event that you shot at. Harry Knowles will be Moriarty will be there.... Robogeek doze and for those that
for will
the
be
get one
there....
midnight each night, the Satan's Cheerleaders will lead the audience in a
democratic cheer: BUSH vs. GORE! The Ioudest group decides the entertainment fate of the evening: Texas-proud, Bushlovin, Cheerleader exploitation movies or Blood and Guts Gore flicks. Cast your exploitation showdown!
supporters on the
there.... Massage Therapists will be there.... There will be a rude surprise for those who
break out their bloody pom-poms to celebrate the golden era of cheerleader
Armed off duty police officers armed with a big rubber stamp for your forehead with a scarlet "L" for LOSER.... It is only 910 to get in ($15 for a comfy couch seat), but more to get out. A11 proceeds will be going to fund the Saturday Morning Fun Club for children, a monthly free cinema series for kids. With your ticket, you also receive a pledge card,
where your friends and neighbors can pledge dollars for every hour your butt stays planted in your seat. You must get at least $24 in pledges ($1/hour) to get your goodies: a tin of Penguin Caffeinated Peppermints, movie gear and more. Plus if you make it all
try to
escape....
movies: The 1970'5! Believe us when we tell you: the girls have got the goods! A mind-blowing seiection of cinematic mayhem depicting the most freewheeling, foul-mouthed and asskicking superbabes ever to be caught in a non-PG-13 plotline! We'l1 have live cheering during the movie, a super-crazy "halftime show" and tons of
cool
commemorative T-Shirt. Advance tickets go on sale at noon on November 6 and will be available online! All ages welcome.
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Vulcan Video - www.vulcanvideo.com
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IJPCOMI
are proud to offer up
In addition to the special eaents on the back side of this These are hand picked by the Alamo for your en for your enjoyment. Check uuww.
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review by Edward Guthmann, San f r nncisco Chronicle When Betty's husband is murdered by two hit men, slie doesn't react the way we'think she will. A few tears, briefly, bui once the police arrive she's chipper jnd bubbly and ieady to hit the road. "Thanks for stopping by!"'she tells the cops/ as if they'd dropped in for coffee and Twinkies. begins Nttrse Betty, a wonderfully twisted comedy from Neil LaBute. Starring Renee Zellweger as Betty Sizemore, a Kansas
So
a
]AMllUS
is a bizarre mixture of science fiction and serial murders, mind games and pop psychologl, wild images and hauniinI special effects. lt's a thriller and a
The CeIl
BTITY
defines it. lt's in the generational blood. Every joy or pang of frowing up has an accoinoahvine sound track. And decades later, car-ladi"o playings of specific songs, good or bad, can be as acute a prod to sweet 5r rueful memorv as Proust's tea cake. For
Cameron Crowe,'the pastry was named Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Poco. And
fantasy, a police movie and a venture into the mind of a killer so perverse he could see Hannibal Lecter and raise him. For all of its visual pyrotechnics, it's also a story lt here we care about the characters; there's
a lot at stake at the end, and we're involved. I know people who hate it, finding it pretentious or unrestrained; I
think ii's one of the best films of the year.
Jennifer Lopez stars as Catherine Deane,
Crbinre
He
interviewed them.
Almost Famous has a lot of smart lines, but the best are in Patrick Fugit's face. Fugit,
who olavs the teen Crbwe character, William 'Miller, has a baby face, creased with dimples and given to grins, but it is stuck on' a tall, fawky body. Then he
speaks, and he souids sb much older than he looks it's as if his voice had been dubbed
social woiker who has a knack for establishing rapport with troubled clients. She is recruiteil for a project in which experimental technology is used to
fug,ue
by the adult he would become--the adult who became Crowe. Watchful and open,
establish a link between her mind and that of others. lnitially used for psychoiherapy, Catherine is drawn into a much more frightening use for the mind link when the f B-I caotures a serial killer who drowns his captivi's and then makes them up to look like dolls, a vile man named Carl Stargher
following her husband's murder, this is the most original, unexpected film of the year.
embodv both the'child and the man, the bov wfro went on the trip and the writer wlio would remember it and shape it into
comic drama.
The typical boy-to-man fable is one of eropini in the dark 'r child L.eset bv
especially surprising coming from LaBute, ihe Utah-reared director whose [irst Iwo films, In the Company of Men and Your Friends I Neig'hbors, were so bitter and scabrous that one would never guess he had the capacity (Vincent D'Onofrio). To get him to reveal for a sweet, lighthearted fable. Nurse Betty where his latest captive is hidden, the FBI wasn't written by LaBute but by John C. turns to Catherine Deane and the scientists Richards and Janies Flamberg, who shared in charge (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dylan the screenplay award at this year's Canles Baker, Pruitt Taylor Vince), who warn that Film Fesiii,al.' Part satire, pari road movie, she risks psychic harm by ven[uring into part cops-and-robbers yarri, it's also a fairy Sta rgher's unwholesome subconscious. late about a womdn who disassociates from \,Iark Protoser ich's screenr.l.rr is itr.qenic.us re,rlrtr arr.d ta.kes I1:izarr-e jottr-r.er- -- flr fr,.m
After a summer of brain-numbing junk, Nurse Betty seems like a reprieve. It's
clues. He is sttamped in advice: from hi! musical mentor, the'rebel criLic Lester Bangs (another off-kilter, on-target tour de force by Philip Seymour Hoffman); from his muse,
ficLion about virtual reality, complete with the ominous observation that if your mind thinks it's real, then it is real, and it could
the kno#ine sroupie Pennv Lane (Kate Hudson, *'1tn" tn'" soft, turly haired charisma of a Woodstock Botticelti); from
in who be(ter to conlure the prairie gingham and pigtails than Renee Zellweger?
to Dorothv in
TIrc
Stillwater's lead guitarist, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup, who has finally found the movie role tb fit his questing intelligence and almost-too-hunky
,pu.dt of Siargher' and Deane dre ljndscapes by Juhg out of Dali, with a
touch cjf the-tarot-deck, plus light-andsound trips remjniscent of 200-l: A Spoce
Od11sset1.
leatures); and from his protective mom (fierce, nattering Frances McDormancl). William's task is-to sift all this good, or at least olausible, advice and make his own
choicds. On the fly, on the road, he's forced
into maturity.
On the ihird level, the movie is a race Jgainst iime, in which a viciim struggles for her life while the FBI desoelatelv oieces tosether clues; these ,."i"s ret-tiit-r'.,1"d me if Tre Silence of fhc Lambs. The intercutting is so well done that at the end there is tension from all
three directions, and r,vhat's at stake is not simplv the life of ihe next victim, but also
plays) have a score to settle. When parents hre- deoicted as idiots, ieachers as tvrants and. clissmates as sadists, you can bet the revenge on the people who made his
vears miserable.
Iets
and a parallel plot involving the hit meh erpertly played by Morgan Freeman and
Crowe carries no such grudge. He has warm feelings for all the characters. Crowe *rockers,
Walking into the screening of Thc Cell, I knew absolutely nothing about the plot or premise, but a TV producer in New York hade a poini of telling me how much she
hated it, and various onljne correspondents helpfully told me how bad they thought it was. Did we see the same movii'l ejects weekly remakes of dependable plots,
to
likes the
the groupies,
the
We live
good
in the emotional
debate charmiig and compelling, creating fictional pe.ople who breathe in a story with an orgamc hte.
So Almost Famous is
almost fabulous. Oh, all right. The movie's so clever and endearing, you can forget the almost.
confuse the dullest audience member. The new studio guidelines prefer PG-13 cuts from directors, so now we get movies like CoVote Llgly that start out with no brains and now don't have any sex, either. Into this wilclerness comes a movie like The Cell, which is challenging, wildly ambitious and just overloads'the circuits for some people.
The A1amo Drafthouse Cinema proudly pre-qents the most unique Christmas Party idea of t,he season.
In 1998, the hit television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 called it quits. Now in the year 20b0, the Alamo Draflhouse is cariying on the tradition of miringbad movies with lood humor only this time it's live! MR SINUS THEATER 3000 is the name of this new monihly show that features three Austin comedians (Jerm Pollet, Owen Egerton, and John Erlersee biographies on attached page) seated front row with mic"rophones, commenting on thelilms as they
play.
A perfect svnthesis of live comedy and an evening out at the movies, MR SINUS TH'EATER j000 has been plaving to sold out audienc?s at the Alamo, and now with the hotidav season. the comedv-tri6 has cooked up the MST3K Christmas Variety Show.
Oweni John and Jerm tac'kle short subject hbliday films such as A Howd! Doody Christtnns, A Ptrnch and Judrl Christntas, lq50's Chriitmas Teen Dramas, ham-handed Southern Christmas Pagearits, and more! Plus there is an intermission with the a bouncine ball Sine-A-Lo"ns and milk and cookies served at Vour seatl Never before has there be"en a hotiilay entErtainment package so unique, sb distinctly Austin and so wildly entertaining.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is booking Holiday parties now; space is limited, so scheduled screinings of the Christmas Variety Show, or large groups can have private screenings that are Closed to the public.
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5HffV
The Mr Sinus Theater 3000 Christmas Variety show is suitable for all audiences. For more information about the Aiamo Drafthouse Cinema, Mr. Sinus Theater or other partv/meeting options, please contact Tim or Karrie at the Alamo (476-1320) or e-mail 'own'er@drafth"onie.co.tr.' Additional information is also available on our website at www.drafthouse.com.
alendar, the Alamo also features the best in current release ment. All of the moaies roe shozo, we haae seen ourselaes afthouse.com or the Austin Chronicle for weekly listings.
FILnfls
0r srrur
review by filmcritic.com The word 'Tao" has many meanings, one of -of which is, "The art or skill doing s6mething in harmonv with the essential nature of the thing." Thc Tno of Steuc is a story is about a guy named Dex (Donal Logue), an unlikely h?rb living in Santa Fe r.r7ho has graftea this ancient Chinese philosophy with the superMcQueen, Steve McGarret, and Steve Austin (though not "Stone Cold'). This mutation of philosophies has become a foolproof theory on dating that Der and his buddies refer to as The Tao of Steue. ln other words, it's the art of scoring with women while being in harmony with the essentjal nature of all thlngs cool.
Back in his college days, Dex was the big man on campus. The consummate "player." his
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BT]ITAIH
Review by Bob Graham, San F raicisco Chronicle
IHT GU]I
Review by efilmcritic.com
Harrison Ford has taken the plunge, and it's about time. Ford's summef blockbuster is called What Lies Benenth, and the titie is a brilUant one, workinq on several levels. The deepest meaning wiil not be revealed until this thriller's eerily satisfying climar.
filmihit I love to see. The'tolsh s.rVlbtt gun/loud bullets/twisty pl6t " jenrel Tarantino's early work liki Resleruoir does &
of
True Romance'qua)ifies. So does Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects which won an
S[er e
in
departure for ihe acior, for director Robert Zemeckis and Michelle Pfeiffer.
unexpected ways, both subtle and largF, that are good for him and the movie. lt G a big
Oscar for Christopher McQuarrie's screenplay. McQuarrie is now behind the cdmera (as well as the script) and he's
created one helluva [un ride.
The film opens with one of those pre-credit sequences that has nothing to do-with the
who is all too aware of his standing in the community and how it easily could be ruined, Pfeiffer is, variously, skittish, prone
to hallucinations, paranoid, imnesiac aid, as if that weren't enciugh, possessed by another
which is tough, violent ;ind wickedly funny. We meet Mr. Parker & Mr. Longbaugh lthe
real names of Bulch Cassidrt and lhe Sindance Kld), two lowlifes who have 'stepped olf the path' because society has no placi for them. Overhearing, the tale of a suirogate mother selling her baby for a million dollars, thev
conquests in the realm of the opposite sex were the stuff of legends - at least back then. But ten vears and about a hundred oounds later, De( has become sort of the insidd joke at his college reunion. While trying to pick up a
personalitv
-- of a lip-nipoind. thish-
TA'ey
a a
motorcycle-riding beauty who seems immune to Dex's magical powers of the Tao. Through a series of circumstances. Syd and Der ale thrown together. and he soorr find. himself cuestr,--1-:r-: l-:. t:el::i r. .:11 ':i:r-:: S,-:-.: .--..:
Claire, however, are haunted -- he bv the memory of his illustrious father and she bv an apparition she starts glimpsing in watery
ref
'a
bathroom
lections. When Pfeif ler en ters the of their comfortable lakeside l'.,--'-:.: r:- \ e:::'l:ri tf '. i.:t: tt .:.\ ti tl.e g!.....i
The less one grabs from the trailers and reviews of this film, the better. To reveal too much ol the film's set-up is alreadv sivinp
.. J . .- -, :. r .. l : , _j .- _-. 1.,._,
away hall the bag of triclis. Part of t6e"iov oY f/r,' l\'nu o{ tltc Ctnr is the manner in r. [rich
Donal Logue, best known as the "naughty vampire god" sidekick in the movie Blade.
received the Special Jury Award at the 2000 Sundance Filni Festival for his performance.
oersohalitv'o[ co-writer Duncari North -was funni, believable and very well-done. The film is filled with a cast of first-timers and Greer Goodman -- also making her film
Shooting in New Mexico didn't hurt this oicture either. and ihe locations used are impressive and filled with color, which help to ireate a sense of liveliness within the film.
The Tao of Steue is
the
and, most unavoidably, Pstlcho.lt must be too tempting, l guess, for-a director shooting a murder scene anywhere
Vuligo
iir tlls
so
ii
picture'echdes of
near a shower to make allusions to Pst1cho, and it's no accident Ford is called Norman. But Zemeckis has something else up his
sleeve.
tiUed with enough exposition to drive a screenwriting teacher nuts, it's the kind oi revealed inJormation where everyihing, ret nothing is said and you best be paying attention otherwise vou mav be lost to the motivation involved'witn eain cha racter.
character) as a true "survivor" who could kill you just by looking at you. Taye Diggs and
debut -- does a good iob of both co-writing and acting in this [un Iittle romantic comedy.
He is known for ratcheting the special effects up a notch in each of his productions, from
Who Framed Roger Rabbil through the morphing in the Meryl Streep comedy Dealh Bccomes Her to ihe legless wonder of Cary
in Forrest Gump
What Lies Beneath goes Hitchcock one better
bodyguards. Juliette Lewis comes off as both innocent and manipulative. Benicio Del Toro is a pleasure to watch in anything, especially when playing a brand of clueless tough guy. Even Ryan Philippe is watchabie here, even if he speaks with an accent that sounds like a
romp through a philosophy that most people can associate with, eventually settling into a basic love story. And while Jenniphr Coodman's (not a typo) direction is pretty basic, it doesn't distract from this being a ind6oendent filmmaker who is free to make a filin not based around demographics or seasonal box office appeal, but on the value of the story being 1old. This is the way
cinema was intended.
Sinese
mouthful of accent lessons. Who you root for here is really a flip of the coin.
the
"modern westerns" that could have been filmed in the 60s by Sergio Leone or Sam
What really matters in Zemeckis' thriller is that it works. His high-tech touches are just
that, e>.quisite touching up. They do not call undue attention to themselves but enhance
here are the goosebumps.
bookended by some high-energy unlimited bullet shootouts. Creat shootouts too. The initial kidnapping is a wonderfully executed piece oI action resulting in even bringing some fresh air to your standard chase scene.
the show's success with a new and fantastic iwist that will leave the faithful screaming for more and everyone else shocked out of their
minds! Scouring the globe for Fulci's finest, Romano has come back with a super-rare vintage 35
basement/haunted house horror ciassic that is considered by many to be the directors' finest film, Ioaded with atmosphere/ creepy-
crawlies and flamboyant special effects GUARANTEED to blow the most jaded
will
horror lover's mind a1l over the back wall of the theatre! Also, don't miss Zombie, the undead masterpiece which was the hit of last year's show, and we will also be showing a
within
reach
ol most any budget. From the simple addition of a pair of speakers and processor to a complete Dolby Digital surround system with a projection television, we can bring ET home, reveal the Matrix or put Lyle Lovett in your living room. Visit us on the internet: www.audiosystems.com
to
AIso returning from last year will be THE FLAMETRICK SUBS and THE SATAN'S
CHEERLEADERS,
whose
high-octane
tribute to LUCIO FULCI, one of Italian horror's most beloved cinematic badboys,
theatrics and hellish sex appeal brought the house down in honor of Fulci the first time around, and will continue to shock our audiences for years to come!
ll02
W.
l{oenlg 451'5?36
with three-nights of over-the-top midnight movie madness showcasing the director's most famous and outrageous films! If you
were there, you remember a theatre packed
And, starting this year, we'll be honoring the horror genre's finest competitors to Fulci's
splattering across the big screen for the first time ever in Austin since its drive-in circuit
release
screaming-insane horror fans, many of whom were discovering Fulci for the first time, and a livewire energy level that crackled through the room with the
innovators, imitators and sleazemiesters who've made the dark side of cinema so
other
in197l.
Halloween's epic SPLATTERBOWL, we bring Lucio head-to-head with a true visionary in the genre-none other than HERSCHEL
heads. Our "Be A Zombie" contest brought in dozens of ghoulish entries, and our closing night "Live Zombie Massacre" brought the house down with a super-surprise bang that
Plus we have lots of free cool stuff for everybody who shows up and dirt cheap souvenirs, like bumper stickers, lighters, comic books, buttons, and really cool Tshirts! We've got a "be a zombie" costume
Now it's that time of year again . . . and Tim League of the Alamo and horror writer
Stephen Romano are determined to repeat
provided the gruesome blueprint for five decades of gore in the movies. Ruthlessly campy, relentlessly gory and always fun, H.G.'s raving-bonkers study in hyper-
contest, with giveaways to anyone who enters, and a grand prize that will knock any horror fan's socks right off!!! The festival
stylized 1970's kitsch The Wizard of Gore wlll bow on the second night of the fest,
LOVE VIDEO, VULCAN VIDEO, and is presented by local underground author and
dedicated Fulciphile Stephen Rom
I0At tVtl'lT5!
oGT
prankish as Satan's kid brother, Keaton brings a sprinkling of brimstone to the bucolic Connecticut setting where the Maitlands have been lovingly
renovating their cozy farmhouse. The characters were conjured up by writers Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren. Theirs is a diffuse, unstructured screenplay that doesn't even follow the rules of its own universe. It's strong on lines and situations, but absolutely, happily preposterous. And the moral is a fairy-tale bromide played for laughs: You can't escape your problems. Suicides are forced to become civil servants in the afterlife, and you can't leave your house for 125 years anyhow. Not since Glnstbusters have the spirits been so
5-ltrg 2A 200ll
ost
HE11RAISEB lil|lllllcHl
oGT0BER 5-7
"I have seen the future of the horror genre, and his name is Clive Barker." - Stephen King
sAT,
d. Clive Barker, R, 94 min., 18 and up, $4) Having made his reputation as one of the most prolific and gifted horror writers of his generation, Clive Barker made a natural transition to movies with this audacious directorial debut from 1987. Not only did Barker serue up a chilling tale of devilish originality, he also introduced new icons of horror that since have become as popular
(1987,
as
Frankensiein's monster and the Wolfman were to older generations. Foremost among these frightful sadomasochistic demon visions affectionately named Pinhead (so named because his pale, bald head is a geometric pincushion and a symbol of eternal pain). Pinhead is the leader of ,the Cenobites, agents of evil who appear only when someone successfully "solves" the exotic puzzle box called the Lamoni Configuration--a mysierious device that opens the door to Hell. Hellraiser was a breath of fresh air in the 1980's
is the
Euro-horror. Sergio Stivaletti (Phenomena, Cemetery Man, The Stendhal Syndrome) provides the film s numerous and impressive gore FX: r'iewers are treated to a barrage of demon bites, slashings, stabbings, bite wounds, a guy who gets his eyes popped out, demon transformations (fu1l of exploding lesions full of green pus), and more. Gore fans love this film for this alone: it delivers the goods en masse. Glam rock fans lo-,,e it for the clothes, hair and double-barrel soundtrack; it's a
heavy metal horror show!
presents a video screening of one of their latest manga titles: a double feature of Samurai X films. The story centers around Rurouni Kenshin, a young assassin employed by the Choshu Clan in the early 1860's to eliminate the strongest of the
Gear up early for the horror season with one of the finest, freshest horror films of the modern age, a beautiful, pristine 35mm print of Clive Barker's
Hellraiser.
OGTOBER 79.-22
Rare films. Breakout films. Mutant films. Small films too big for your computer. Too brave for the
lorrirls to be rrs>t:l.
of the most beautiful, provocative, conventionshattering, eye-opening short films from around the world. In just four years, an amazing slate of competition films, one-of-a-kind curated programs, and retrospectives have made Cinematexas "the premiere short film festival in the Southwest and one of the majors worldwide" (The Independent). Cinematexas5 at the Alamo
PAFT
ott
nggn
(1994 &. 1997, d. Lars von Trier, & 565 min., 18 and up, $5 per night, $12 4 night pass,
tibute
in free!) The world isbuzzing about modem auteur Lars von Trier's latest masterwork Dancer in the Dlrk. You may want to check out a rare screening o{ his Danish television epic series The Kingdom Part 1(1994) and The Kingdom Paft 2 (1997),10 hours of the most compelling fantasy drama you are likely to ever see. The project originally ran as a Danish
Cinematexas passholders get
legendary photographer/filmmaker
The Texas Documentary Tour
and
srltG rAsrER
The Stagehands Ring Cycle
WEll, OGIOBEB 117:30 a S:30 d. jon E1se, 60 min, N& all ages, $6, $4 AFS/Student) Cataclysmic destruction of the
(1999,
Goetterdoemmerung...Valhalla is in flames,..and what art the mortals doing? They are balancing checkbooks, watching a ball game, knitting or just sitting around killing time wishing the divas would "sing faster." This is definitely an unusual treatment of Wagner's Ring Cycle (indeed where
chronicler of the Beat generation. The Founder Effect, or The Trouble lYith Asinns: From Angry Little Asian Girls to queer musings on the nature of X to the cyberpunk wanderings of a headless warrior and back again,12 new films from AsianAmerican/Canadian underground. The Short Films of Abbas Kiarostami: Banned in his native Iran, these short films by the winner of the 1999 Palme d'Or at Cannes (The Taste of Cherry) willbe presented for the first time ever in America with English subtitles, with commentary by New York Press critic Godfrey Cheshire. For schedule information and showtimes, check our website:
www.drafthouse.com.
television miniseries, chroniciing the bizarre host of characters that inhabit a haunted hospital; somewhat unequal parts MASH, ER and Twin Peaks, heavy on the Twin Peaks. We are breaking
it up into roughly 2.5 hours per night in a four night stretch, tickets are available at the door for
are
"surprising marriage between Wagner's Norse Mythology and the sensibilities of working
ffi,u'ero
ffiIoyftr'-
ffi"ffii-a
lilult
IGHT
BEIIlEIUIGE I2.I4
OGTOBER
$pffittil[
oGT0BEB 26-28
out of their minds!
MIII]IIGHT
Beetlejuice
is
It's that time of year again . . . and Tim League of the Alamo and horror writer Stephen Romano are determined to repeat last years success with a new and fantastic twist that will leave the faithful screaming for more and everyone else shocked
hereafter's relationship with the here and now. It's a cartoon view of the afterlife landscape, where the living haunt the dead and death's no escape from life's little irritants iike waiting rooms and elevator
at the
has continued
to grow in
a1l
content and in
of the performances sold This October marks the two year anniversary
Nosferatu, and to commemorate, the Alamo will be premiering the video release of the film with a complete digitally mastered soundtrack of Brown
THE SATAN,S CHEERLEADERS, whose high-octane trainwreck of psychobilly rock n'ro11 theatrics and hellish sex appeal brought the house down in honor of Fulci the first time around, and will continue to shock our audiences for years to come! Plus we have lots of free cool stuff for everybody who shows
and THE
will be
up and dirt
will
be
a
Geena Davis and Alec ' Baldwin, playing the Maitlands, a couple of flummoxed young newly deads rid their house of its new obnoxious live tenants.
exorcist hired
to help
special bag of spooky treats including an audio CD of selected tracks from the soundtrack.
monsters, outer-space horrors and dismembered arms that come back for revenge in the ultimate horror traiier round-up, featuring some truly rare finds that are IVIOSSIBLE To SEE ANYWHERE ELSE: Body Parts, Therl Came From Within, Dresseil Io Kill, The Entity. Final Exan, Craueryarrt Shift, Dend Heat, The Lawnmouer Mnn. The tiland of br. Moreau, Deadly Friend, The lsland, The Bevond, Walchcr in the Woods, Mind,uarp, lhe Thini, Thc
Black Hole.
Morlrnry,and more!
Shown here for the first time el'er in Austin, this is reigning SPLATTERBOWL champion Lucio Fulci's masterpiece of dark atmodphere and grueling violence that critics have called "Fulci at his most flamboyant. The fans agree: This one is the real deall An unsuspecting fahily moves into a haunted house occupied by the shambling remains of the eviI Doctor Freudstein, who MUST HAVE BLOOD!l! Facing the damn-near impossible task of topping the excesses he mastered in his earlier films, Fuici ladles on the horror with both hands, and provides a brillianilv lyrical narrative style that ciimaxes in a surrejl blurring of reality and the spirit world! This is a rare chance to see this stuff, so don't miss itlM
THT AUSTI]I
]IlM
SOGIETV PRESEilTS
WEll,ll0ul, l:30
& 9:80
MIIIIIIGHI
(1979, d. Lucio Fu1ci, R, 91 min., 910,4 day pass 930, 18 and up) lhe wettest, most gdngrenous zombies march
who shot him. Through her erplorabion bf de tragic incident and its aftermith, Barrei reflects on the pow"er of media representations.
Barret looks at the death of O'Connor and lhe motivation> of Hobart lson, lhe irate propertv owner
shockfset ever made for 300 thousanddollars! Watch out for live zombies in the theatre during the screening, and come in undead duds for a nifty door prize!
their initial run in theatres, here is a collection of original 35mm movie trailers that offers a rarely-seen
mini-history of the mo>t in-bred and bastardized [orm of horror erploitation: I HF SEQL ELI Halloueen 2, f ridnv lhe L3th 2, Dnnien Onen 2. Etorcist 2, Amitquille 2, Psucho ), Plnntnsnt 2. Poltrrgeist 2. Alienq, Returl of the Liuing l1a.d, Dry of tJrc Dead, Saturn 3, Hnllotueen 3, friday tlle !Qt!-3. Psycho 3, Phantasm 3, Night of the Liuing Dend L990, Phase 4, Psycho 4, Friday the 73th 4 and morel-
surce
The
Austin Chronicle, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Humancode and Ain't It Cool News present
rilT
F$
SATURDAY MOR]II]IG
]IlM
GIUB
ss*x
l\lll1l\lilt\l;rot{til
1i
free
URBA]I GllWBllY
1{0u 2-4
tC, l8 and up, gB, $b Student) Filmed just 21ears after Cretse and h'is 'earh career' peak of fame, Ui'bnn Cowboy was a risLy projeit
for Travolta. Still a gangly New yorker
hddn'l quite shaken lhe Vinnie Babarino rap, lravolta admirably nails the suburban, white-trash, shit-kicker ethos. He doe5n't quite naii the Texas accent, but the nife beatLng, misogyny, racjsm, sexism and stupidity are spot on. Those who aren't from Texas may view Urban Cowboy as a mere genre erploiration trifl'e. We do not expect you to understand. But if Texas is in your blood and you see Travoita slip his thumbs into his belt straps to effortle>sly meld disco and honLvlonk, well, it's a nirvana stite that i: unparalleled ir cinema. fhe evenings performances will {eature a ''mechanical' bull jn the lobby, boatloads of cheau L^ne (i.rr and all the srrat 'ir e ho.tl\ -ion| rrelorjiJ.
Mtltltrcflr
liiio ,tiil
silffilRnilgl
tr{ffiffirffiffii-a
wacky day, they get to experience first hand exactiy h6w eisv" the other's Iife realli is. Remaikablv, this i> one body-switchinp, fiovje t no--ihlv i]'e onlr onel) rr here rhe ac'iing i:
','ffitffi(
(1970, d. Herschell Gordon Lewis, R, 96 min., 910, 4 day pass $30, 18 and up) Another fusillade of classic horror previews to grease the way for an evening of shock and camp beyond your wildest nightmaresl Tonight, the theme is monslers, maniacs and Satan at the drive int Trick or Treat, Fade to Black, Carniaal of Blood, Cur;r of the Heldlrcs Horscman, Denthship. Dcnd End Driu Inn. The Anily,tiile Horror, Loue at lirst Bitc. Chrisline. Csrrie. Wrird Sciettre, The Incredible Melting
UT
Man, Lnst Days of Man on Earth, The Toun Thst Dreadetl Sttndown, It's Aliae!, Jacob's Ladder, To the Deail A Daughter, Black Christmss, The Company of Woloes and more!
After the previews it's on with THE FLAMETRICK SUBS AND SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS! Strike up the band and bring on the bloody pom-poms as our far.orite psychobilly grungerock outfit iheers on the
challenger, mister H.G. Lewis, and THE WiZARD OF GORE! This is the outrageous cult horror classic revered by fans the world or.er! You'll see the famous woman-sawed-in-half tdck like vou've never seen it before, along wlth the .u..-popriur railroad-spike-to-
ihe-ear gag, the festive sword-swallon ing illusion, and e'"'erybody's favorite: the industrial-drill-pressthroughthe-torso routine!!! It's all done up right in a campy 1970's package that leaves guys like John Waters green with envy and everybody else laughing ihemselves sil1y and puking in the johnl Don't miss
this onel
Dragon's Lair Comics, Vulcan Video and the Austin Chronicle present:
H0lrG t(01{G
etlttMAAltD eutstltE
Stephen Chow is
I0RBllilrElt
SUll,
student) Chinese comic genius Stephen C6ow wrote directed and starred in ihis unbelievably entertaining
(1999, d. Stephen Chow,89 min, R, 18 and up, $6/$450
'Chow
playi
force,.
royil
alien autopsy hoax and disguising himself as a sirenesque prostifute. While the ploi moves quickly and keeps you enthralled. it is mereli a backb6ne for Chow's iovibly goofy comic performinces. Chow is a master of comedy, but his style is nothing like his
weslern counterparts. Those lucky enough to >ee lhe magnificent Cod of Cookery at the Alamo Jfew months ago will rfiderstand, but for the rest, hust us, Stephen Chor,r will literally have you rolling on the floor. As always with Hong Kong Sundays, the Alamo will be leaturing a complete Chinese menu, Chinese beer ard
the exotic rotating beverage of the orient!
humor are the order of the day in this special gory delight from the H.G. Lewis sleaze machine. it's a rare chance to see the drooling, bug-eyed Rodney Pringle in top form as he gouges and mutilates his way into the ranks of serlal killer legendary-all
special "sudden death" round of SPLATTERBOWL, you'Il see this classic follow-up to Blood Feast for the FIRST TIME EVER in Austin since 1968! For those of you who sit through a1l four films in our epic battle-of-the-masters, there's a trivia contest, and a chance to cast your vote for the "King Of Splatter"l Don't forget to pick up your barf bags in the lobby-this one's a real bruiserl And as a special added attraction, we have a sneak preview of our upcoming TRAILERTHON 2001 festival, a wild-
The Austin Film Society presents An Unfolding Horizon: The Films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien
SAT, OGTOBTR
28, MIIINIGHT
mutating
(1981, d. Lucio Fulci, PG,78 min., 18 and up, $10,4 day pass $30) We've saved the best for last and here it is: A
and-woo1y marathon event which will feature literally HUNDREDS of vintage movie previews
mind-blowing assembly of
you'11
PUPPTIilIA$IIR TUES,ll0U7,7:00
(1993, d. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, NR, 142 min) This second
installment of Hou's three-part history of Taiwan is based on the memoirs of 84-year o1d Li Tienlu, Taiwan's celebrated puppeteer and official "national treasure" who also appears in Hou's {ilms, A City of
Sadness and A Time to Liae ond A time to Die. In The I u ppcl n asl er, Li's captivating fir't-person recol lections
1t0u 9-1t
MiltlilGHr
If cheering flicks are not your bag, we encourage you to come an)-way for and take part in the political process that is: CAMPAIC\ 2000: BUSH VS. CORE. lf enough Core supporters show up. we will scrap the cheerleader
movies altogether and switch over to some good old fashioned Core. At the stroke of midnight eaih night, the Satan's Cheerleaders will lead the audience in a democratic cheer: BUSH vs. COREI The loudest qroup
decides the entertainment fate of the
evening. "
qJ; .4s
to0rB[u
III]RAMA]I
ffiryj
The Satan's Cheerleaders Present:
the
'*u
IIII!
An Unfolding Horizon:
swlrGrlrG
IIOU S,
(1974, d.Jack
way Taiwan, this is also a poignant story of young.love lost. th'e A teenaged couple moves to.the. city to. find work of because they are_too poor to_finish their high school fans of exploitation, he is the Orson Welies of his genre, education' They find work and pass the time_with their urcrtuD/ uuL d1c rrldil.y wrrerr tILe uo' a God of'the cinema of naughty cheerleaders, temale GOd Ol the Cmema Ot Cheefleadels, fEmale friends, but are finally.separated, when the boy is -btrPdrdtcuprisoners and no-jive, pimp+liyiirg vigilantes. Despite drafted. A heartbreaking film of profound humanity an unbelievably minimal $150,000 budget, Srulnglitg 'ffq..Unlike the others, however, Jack n&er clawed his out. Jack wallows in the fact that he never got chance to direct his Citizen Kane, but to thousinds
TUES' I|I|UEMBIR 14, 7:00 Hill, R, 91 min., $8/$6 Student/$4 dressed as cheerleader, 18 arid up) Like Ron Howard, Martin (1986, d. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, N& all fges, free admission) Filled with details of urban Taipei,.and depicting the Scorsese, Steven Speilberg, and many more, Jack Hill was a slave in tlie low"rent Rogei Corman stable. transition from rural to industrial life.in contemporary
iifr Tii'fr
tiilnn
It is impossible to approach lnt'raman as anything else but what it was meant to be - cheesv fun. This ainrt art, it's Entertainment, pure and simple. A lot of atiention
has been directed over the last few years at Hong Kong cinema, largelv (l believe) for just that reason - thel sti[l know how to have fun. (5 out of 5 stars)" -The Bnd Moaie
Report
the movie to see in the drive-in summer of 1974. It balances the perfect mix of hormonal arousal, suspense and intrigue: heavy on
Gheerleaders became
llAzHtAlilr
]IOUEMBTR 16.18 MIII]IIGHT
(1993, d. Richard Linklater, R, 103 min., 18 and up, $4) ought to be in a prominent place at the Library of Congress, next toThe Godt'ather, Aftrcrican
Dazed nnd Cont'used
G0lrrusED
ilr.
Crnlfili.
\n./rz Citi:en Knnr' and otl-er f.:-=:::,::' '.,. t:\. L:lr: .rr :L .i, !rr-.-i :::::...:r:::11,.
Humancode and Ain't It Cool News present THE SATUROAY MOBIIIIIG HlM E1UB
frtutilut uf illt
GHTER1EAIITRS f R|BAY, 1t0U 10, MllllllcHr
(1976, d. Richard Lerner, R, 88 min, 18 and up, $8/$6 student/$4 dressed as cheerleader) Reuenge headlined Pom Poms Gone Awry night at ihe second annual Quentin Tarantino Film Festival. "I saw this back in 7976 n a mall theater, I was too young to buy a ticket for it, so I bought a ticket for Bugsy Malone and snuck into this. I was stumed by it, because at that age this was like as close to porno as you could get, I called up my friends and told them about it, and they made their parents take them, the next day at school that was all we could talk about. i even drug my mom to this, and she had a Spanish boyfriend at the time and when he saw it he said, 'This is as bad as a Mexican movie.'" Then Tarantino said, "This is what I call an extremely enjoyable piece of shlt." Now folks I can not exPress enough hor'r' fun this movie was tonight. in the first reel we see David Hasslehoff emerge lrom a girls toilet stall after being screwed by a blonde cheerleader. After that the screening went insane, from big disco-breakdancing sequences with Hasslehoff and his basketball team to Hasslehoff being drugged during a b-ball game and being awakened from his stupor by lhe imell of a pair of his girlfriend's panlies to a Republic serial heroes to the rescue ending that resulted in 5-7 minutes of uncontrollable laughter from me. I couldn't
il,
f,llEtECI
{-r, irt!|f
historic document ol life during the smiley-face button era - when people wore wide-bottomed pants, listened to Edgar Wnter and (to paraphrase a Dazed ond Cont'used ad banned by the Motion Picture Association of America) actually inhaled when they smoked marijuana. Dazed ts not a call to smoke 'em if you got 'em; nor is it a civic-minded admonition about the evils o{ narcotics. It's about life during r,r,artime the wartime of high school, where the staff is crazy, the parents are clueless and the students are bizarre. Nothing makes sense. The times are so weird, it makes perfect sense to get through them on the drug - or selfdelusion - of your choice. If joints and six-packs aren't
appealing,
alienation. If you're appalled at the younger generation, you can always lose yourself in a purple haze of shock, bewilderment and sanctimony. Linklater, whose "Slacker" reaped similar culturally reflective success (the angst of young Americans with nothing political or life-threatening to fight {or), sums up an even yorLnger generation's absurdities, frustrations and joys. There's a knowing, sympathetic and witty spirit about the exercise that makes you laugh as you wince, whether you inhaled or not.
(195{, d. Henn'Hatharrar; G, ltltl min., kee admission for kids and accompanying adults) For those of you that have always skipped lhe Prince Valiant Sunday page in the newspaper funnies, well, you've missed an epic story about the coolest Viking prince. I've even met a ton of fe11ow swashbuckler lovers, but usually when I bring up the end fight scene between Prince Valiant and the Black Knight as being one of the greatest sword battles in film history... well they think I'm taking some sort of Slushee/M&M sugar rush that is causing me to lose control. BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T SEEN PRI /CE VALIANT. I have always felt Lucas watched this movie closely, the end fight scene between Val and the Black Knight mirrors the same fight scene between Vader and Luke in Jedi, except I think the sword baitle is far more powerful
here. The main thing is ihe sound... it's brllliant, a sword battle that is musical in that japanese steel pounding sort of way, you know like STOMP? ... This film is flat oui cool." - excerpted from Harry Knowles Ain't It Cool News review
stop. Neither could the people around me, high ener3,y.' Harry Knowle>, Ain l lt Coo/ Nerus FREE DAVID HASSELHOFF PRIZES TO THOSE WHO
AREWORTHY!
G00ll M[ll,
G00ltw0M[ll
=OO (1986, d. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, NR, all ages, free) The concluding film in Hou's trilogy on the modern history
Sndness
and
The
II!
ball rolling is Paul Glicker's 7972 classic, The Cheerleaderi. While many romp pictures in this
variety use comedy in ihe storyline but play the sex sequences straiSht and sery,' The Chetrleaders
in
borrows a page from the master, Russ Meyer, and keep the comedy going all the way through. You'11 see the cheerleading coach and one of her students riding naked on a stationary bike together, the football coach
narrative levels. "A film actress named Liang Ching (Annie Shizuka Inoh) starts receiving faxed pages of the diary she kept during her days as a barmaid, when she was the mistress of a gangster (Jack Kao). At the same time, she is preparing to play Chlang Bi-yu, an anti-Japanese resistance fighter from the 40's who returns to Taiwan in the 50's only to be imprisoned as a subversive during the ugly, paranoid days of the 'white terrol' Taiwan's more horrific equivalent of our red scare. So the film slips back and forth between the ordinary present, the actress's past with her lover in glowing, vibrant color, and the rich black and white past of the film-within-the film about Chiang, whose heroism puts contemporary life in sad relief. Hou's formal control in this film is stunning, and his vision of history through the lens of a spiritually depressed present is deeply moving." -Kent Jones
rltuAsr0lr0rilrr
Brr0nls
A.K. A, Gr ao ey ar d
Tr nmp s
$u11, lloutlilBEn 26, 9:30 & MlBlllTE (1973, d. Denis Sanders, & 18 & up, $8/$6 student) back again to give the MST3K treatment to this
Owen, Jerm and |ohn, the men of Mister Sinus, are
extremely bizzare tale of world domination .... by sex. "Ma1e research scientists are dying sexual exhaustion. A government man (Wi11iam Smith, biker movie veteran) discovers that a group of women have
continually blowing his whistle at one of the {emale students who's wearing nothing but shoulder pads, and Stephanie Fondue, the team virgin, trying to squeeze lnto her teddy bear's shirt. The plotline is simple as usually, the cheering squad must go the extra mile for the team by sexually exhausting the rival football squad. This movie, however, is founded not on p1ot, but simply the swingin', shag-carpetted, seethrough-waterbed rompin, beginningto-end ride! Before the fi1m, check out a film print of AII Eyes on You, a 20 min vintage cheering short produced by
Coca-Cola.
of
turned themselves into sterile but sexually driven "bees" who leave the men smiling - and dead. Anita
Ford (Brg Bird Cage) and Victoria Velri (When Dinosours Ruled the Enrth) are the queen bees who cover naked women recruits in stickl' white goop and turn on the radiation. Beautiful killers in dark sunglasses emerge" - Psychotronic (writer Nicholas Meyer went on to write Slar Trek2 andFatal Attraction)
F*
00
{1e86,
he abandon his signature stationary camera for Pari<, Ricky'and Rocky, and It's Later Than you t'hink. one that moves along with his restless characters, Filmmakei in attendance. but he leaves behind the city and the country, focusing here on Taiwan's sprawling suburban
luckless entrepreneurial plotting of Kao and his circle of cohorts whose ambitions to succeed are blunied by an aimlessness that seems nearly universal. Their various:chemes include a short-term gambling operation, a disco in Shanghai, and a kickback scheme involving the sale of thousands of pigs. In this unsentimental look at modern Taiwan, Hou poses the question: will his cell phone-addicted characters be able to keep up with the fast-growing island economy?
:lrj_^l']y, 1l?1 shiglg_o documentarian rom il:fi:'|:#:'iXijt;Jfi:J:,\fl:11l."ffif'y.y:1il: admission) G.oodbye 5o.Lfth, Coodbyc marks . i.i" ni, J.li_tr.'. lfi'rit.ipts to erplain whv oeoole radical stylistic departure for Hou. Not only does keep loming back for rot.loL.r rii.t;r. \,iriqrJri;
ruEs, ll0utMBER
THEATTR SOOI]
rree
HRI5T]VIA5
IIEGEMBIR 17, ?:00.9:45 and
(18 and up, $8.50/97 student)
t2:00
In 1998, the hit teler.ision series Mysterl Science Theater 3000 called in quits. Now in the lear 2000, the Alamo Drafthouie is carrying on the tradition of mixing bad movies with good humor onlv this time it's livel
MR SINUS THEMER 3000 is the name of this new monthly show that features three Austin comedians (Jerm Pollet, Owen Egerton, and John Lrlerl seated fronl row with mjcrophones, commenhng on the films
as they play.
Howdy Doodl Christmas, A Pirnch and ludr Christmas, 1q50's Christmas Teen Dramas, hadhanded Southern Christmas Pageants, and morel plus there is an intermission with a-bouncins ball Sins-A-
A perfect slnthesis of live comedy and an evening out at the movies, MR SINUS THEATER 3000 has "been playing to sold out audiences at the Alamo, and now with the holiday season, the comedy trio has cooked up the VST3K Christmas Variety Show. Olren, JohLr and Jerm tackle short subject hoiiday films such as A
Long and milk and cookies serr ed at 1 oIr seatl NEr er before has there been a holiday entertiinment package
so- wildly
BUII-llU[UlB-[-ill0ll g
$AT,0EG
(i990, d. Joel Coen, R, 115min., 18 and up, $1) Miller's Crossing is brooding, dark and as ioldly
gleaming as gun metal. A gangster noir movie written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, it is grim classic to admire if not to love, a Dashiell Hammettstyle jigsaw of hard-boiled argot, dame troubles and
existential dread. As violent as streets of Washington, this Prohibition-era drama -- "a dirty town movie," the Coens call it - is more than a 1itt1e at home as a blood-and-pulp parable for these time:.
the
''I know, I krow - it is not possible for an entjre vear to har e passed since last year's Blti-Nrirr b-A-Thoit, your eyes dre still bleeding, your hemorrhoids are on the mend, your ears continue to echo the sounds of the bizarre, of course you've still got the taste of beer and pizza rn your mouth (but that's from last night), and you've sti1l got that smell in your nose. But fear not you're still got a little over tMo months to get that ass of yours in shapel On December 9, 2000,1he Alamo
will host the second annual Harrv Knowles' Butt-Nutnb-A-Thon: a twentV-four hour assault on the senses that will push you tcl the brink of
Drafthouse film-going sanity! Amidst b1-po1ar double features world premieres of both Pitch Black and Magnolia. A truly mind-shattering erperience that prdmjses to outdo last year's evenI with IiVe r.reb ieeds amons
Cabriel Byrne is lhe quintessential noir loner. a moralist who.e Bambi e1 es belie his tough gul s air.
Adhering to d twisted chivalric code, he Bogart by of Dublin, a rigid man of honor among t-hierei. And Millcr's Crossittg is verl much a story of honor among thieves. In its hard heart of hearts, it is a masterfully written and visually unsettling study in manlv love. Rita Kempley Washington Post
i,ra1
i!
such as Bakshi's X-rated Fritz the Cnt and Disnev's Grated_ Song 0f the Sluth, unveiled were the suiprise
rariou, other 5urprise>. So clear lour schedule ani prepare to strap one on - you ll nerer forget it." -lom Ioad, Aitit It Coo/ Nca's
T,9#;Pil.,.".1q|lTi::lii:'i.,'.*:Ti::.1:T:l:
anci dsigners. ,{-. I ner.er have this feelhg again. Nightmare Bet'ore Christmas is special. It is a film that I have always known I had to make. More important, it is a film I have always wanted to see. Now I can. It has been worth the wait. i think there are few projects like
talented
watch it,
I know I will
that in your life." -Tim Burton. This is THE holiday classic for the midnight movie generation, an epic stop-motion triumph that will still knock your socks
off.
Dragon's Lair Comics, Vulcan Video and the Austin Chronicle present:
rl0llltrns0r
(1986, d. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, NR, al1 ages,=OO free) Based on an 1894 novel by Han Ziyun, and starring Hong
SH[lIGHAI
U
Kong film and recording star Tony Leung, Hou's first film set outside of Taiwan takes place in the elegant
brothels
of late nineteenih-century
Shanghai,
student) When Little Cabbage is found next to her husband who has died from his geniialia exploding, foul play is suspected. The local authorities discover that her husband died of an aphrodislac or.erdose and Little Cabbage is taken to trial and forced to confess. What unravels from Cabbage is a storv full of sex, r.iolence, and behayal. From the first fer,r, minutes oi CTC, director Bosco Lam te11s us exactly l'here he's taking us- exploitation territory. CTC is Se.r nnd Zen's angry cousin, giving the vier,r'er everything you've come Jo expect from a category 3 fiim. Nubile young
concubines, severed extremities, superhuman "money shots," and a mindblowing kung-fu/sexual encounter truly unique HK cinema al1 culminate into experience that will leave you spent and asking {or more. As always, the Alamo will feature a fu1l Chinese menu to compllment the onscreen action.
hermetic world with its own highly rltualized codes of behavior. It traces ihe destinies of the beautiful "flower
girls," whose lives depended on their ability to win, and then hold, the affections of their wealthy callers. A
mesmerizing and seductive tale of sexual intrigue.
Humancode and Ain't It Cool News present THE SNTURDAY MOB]IIIIG [IlilI G1UB
I]ITRAMR]I 30,1t001{
sAT, DtG
(1975, d. Shan Hua 90 rnin, PG, free admission for kids
set, but the appeal even to that crowd was to the child still inside us all. For this reason, we tender this very same fiim
{or the Saturday Morning Film Club, the kids will absolutely LOVE this film; it's bright, wild, colorful
nonstop fun!
TROlI
the opening light burst, followed by electronic dots and lines multilayered into infinity, just caused a collective wave of drool from ihe mid-twenties to early thirties audience. A collective smile spread across the room. People leaned into their seats, their eyes glossed over. The music had me entranced. I was once again a 10 year
An Unfolding Horizon:
The Films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien
old understanding for the first time just how cool a computer is. How it will change everything, how it will
change me. As those lightcycles first streaked across the screen I was re-inlove. The 'vreeeeeeeeeeoin' sound they made, the right angle turns, the breathless speed. Yes, yes, I remember this. The Tank and the Recognizer, the
Blip, yes, everything, was stored perfectly. My mouth begins lipsyncing all the dialogue. Then the disc battle
between Tron and those four hapless schmucks. Boxleitner was holy in this film. Then there's Jeff
Bridges... absolutely perfect as FLYNN. Man, I can't say enough how cool it was to see this film big. I went to see it hvo more times at the Alamo. It was that good. The theater was sold out each time, and the audience was the same age. There were collective sighs, awwwwwws and giggles. This was every bit as intense as a full audience lor Grease. This film changed the paths of people's lives. They bought computers, learned to use them, all because of this film. In a more pompous world we could say we were all sons and daughters ol Tron, but thank god we live in a reasonable world where we can merely say the movie friggin' rocks!
and blowing up folks' heads in colorful liquid explosions. Dr Ruth (Secret Agent man Patrick
McGoohan) is a scientist with the ConSec Corporation, and has a vested interest in finding and controlling the mutant "scanners." Ruth sends a docile scanner to infiltrate the scanners' "terrorist urdergrourd," and to {ace his greatest enemy, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside,
the psychopath of Visiting Hours). The concluding scenes of telepaihic battle bene{it greatly from excruciating effects engineered by Dick (the Erorclst)
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our version of theater snacks: stone-baked pizzas, zesty salads, pastas, sandwiches, burgers, beer, wine, and coffee with desserts. Movies, however, are just the beginning at the Alamo.
screen, waiters serve
Austin.
The
screening room seats 220 people. A lounge area makes socializing easy. Hundreds of groups and companies have already discovered that the Alamo offers a great setting and
powerful audio-visual presentations. The Alamo is ideal for meetings, team building exercises, presentations, or just a fun night out for a group. It's a perfect site for parties of all sizes.
Banuuet Seruice
Our catering facilities are on-premise, and are equipped to satisfy every need and every budget, from buffet style hors d'oeuvres to full dinner service, or just movie snacks. Our bar serves beer and wine, a variety of sodas, Italian sodas and full espresso service. As an added bonus, the Alamo can offer a fun and unique way to unwind following the
business at hand: a private showing of a movie of your choice on the big screen, making