This blog has frequently plugged vintage film screenings over its 14 year run - and this blogger has been feeling as diminished (or half-diminished) as a Joe Pass guitar chord since lockdown began and fun nights “at the movies” stopped.
While this is definitely a First World problem, the loss of movie fun with friends is just one of a myriad of reasons why 2020-2021 has been a very difficult couple of years. It would be an understatement to note that the guy who writes this blog, having curated DIY film shows and schlepped 16mm projectors and boxes of reels to various venues his entire semi-adult life, misses running movies for an audience more than he could ever express.
Now, at long last, it looks - knock on wood - like actual film screenings with actual audiences are starting to return. There will be an excellent matinee of classic cartoons at New York City's Metrograph on Saturday, while other classic movie programs are re-emerging ever so tentatively around the country.
The 2021 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, CA, curated by author, showman, scholar and film historian Alan K. Rode, returned with its customary terrific cinematic lineup a few weeks ago. This gives this noirista hope for a Noir City Film Festival at San Francisco's Castro Theatre sometime in 2022.
Accompanist and ambassador for silent movies Ben Model is back doing silent film screenings and Steve Massa, his collaborator in The Silent Comedy Watch Party (nothing less than a beacon and absolutely indispensable throughout those many months of lockdown) will be shortly as well. This is great news for silent film aficionados. For more info, see Ben’s website and the Silent Comedy Watch Party shows on YouTube.
Silent Comedy Watch Party logo by Marlene Weisman
As far as animation goes, we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog feel strongly that any post which mentions cartoonologists Tommy José Stathes, Steve Stanchfield, Mark Kausler, Jerry Beck, Greg Ford, Keith Scott and Michael Barrier is all right by us! All are on the short list of historians who made outstanding contributions to film and animation history.
So, it pleases us that Tommy will be back on Saturday with a program of classic 1920's and 1930s cartoons, rare 16mm prints of early animated films from his collection.
The 60 minute program shall be followed by a Q&A.
The show, Metrograph on 7 Ludlow Street in NYC. Showtime is noon.
Space is limited. Since the October animation screening at Metrograph sold out darn near immediately after tickets first went on sale,move quickly and buy advance tickets if you plan to attend Saturday's matinee.
My cohorts in the KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival would agree that it’s all about the audience and the laughter, and hearing an SRO crowd have a blast from the past.
Do we wish we had a Star Trek teleportation device so it would be possible to watch cartoons and hang out with Tommy and the East Coast animation dudes and dudettes - and also time-travel to Palm Springs four weeks ago and take in a delicious double dose of film noir? Absolutely.
And, if one can't be at NYC and sing “I’ll Take Manhattan” with the likes of Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, Popeye, Porky Pig, and Koko the Clown on Saturday afternoon, there will be online events presented by the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum this weekend.
Let us hope that there will NOT be a forthcoming coronavirus variant 5.0 that sends us back into lockdown indefinitely. The celluloid-crazed at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog miss going to such incredible movie palace venues as the Castro Theatre and the Stanford Theatre for big screen fun - and really miss doing 16mm Psychotronix Film Festival extravaganzas at Foothill College tremendously.
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