<<< August 7-27, 2003 >>>

From the greatest ape of all, Kong, to the King of Lizards, Godzilla … from the nightmarish future-visions of H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE to the tongue-in-cheek heroics of "Battlestar Galactica" … the Cinematheque’s 4^th Annual Festival of all things secret, sinister and space-age is back with a vengeance!! This year’s series kicks off with a 50^th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion Screening of one of the greatest American science fiction films, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, followed by a mini-tribute to acclaimed producer/director George Pal (1908 – 1980), who thrilled audiences with dazzling Technicolor marvels such as WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, THE TIME MACHINE and CONQUEST OF SPACE. Premieres of brand-new films include director Eli Roth’s flesh-eating chiller CABIN FEVER; GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS and GODZILLA, MOTHRA & KING GHIDORAH; a hilarious collection of new and classic cartoon shorts, "The Animation Show" organized by "Beavis & Butthead’s" Mike Judge and animator Don Hertzfeldt; Stuart (RE-ANIMATOR) Gordon’s terrifying crime drama KING OF THE ANTS; Robert Parigi’s sex-doll thriller LOVE OBJECT; and much more. And be sure not to miss our 70^th Anniversary Screening of the original, unsurpassed KING KONG, and our 25^th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion of the much-loved TV series "BATTLESTAR GALACTICA," along with such rarely-seen treasures as director Harry Kümel’s dreamlike MALPERTUIS: HISTORY OF A CURSED HOUSE, with Orson Welles; and Lars von Trier’s early, experimental thriller EPIDEMIC.

We’re very pleased to welcome as in-person guests for this year’s series, actors Ann Robinson, Gene Barry, Les Tremayne and Robert Cornthwaite (THE WAR OF THE WORLDS); Alan Young (THE TIME MACHINE); Richard Hatch (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and John Saxon (ENTER THE DRAGON); directors Eli Roth (CABIN FEVER), Stuart Gordon (KING OF THE ANTS), Tobe Hoooper (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), Robert Parigi (LOVE OBJECT), Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt ("The Animation Show"), Paul Verhoeven (ROBOCOP) and Ib Melchior (THE TIME TRAVELERS); producer Max Rosenberg of Amicus Films (THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD); and series creator Glen Larson and composer Stu Phillips (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA); composer Lalo Schifrin (ENTER THE DRAGON); and sci-fi/fantasy legend Forrest Ackerman, creator of "Famous Monsters" magazine!

Czech Fantasy, Horror and Suspense Showcase

The surrealistic animation of Jan Švankmajer, the brilliant puppetry of Jirí Barta, the noirish mise-en-scène of Karel Kachyna, the expressionistic set design of Zbynek Brynych, and the Gothic excess of Juraj Herz are among the treasures found lurking in the shadowy corners of Czech cinema. And while the utterly unique visions present in these films may at first seem to have little in common besides a focus on irrational minds and the undesirable consequences of desperate actions, watching them in the context of this series reveals a surprising unity. An injection of black humor often makes itself felt in these transgressive tales of moral and physical violation, and the horrors are typically handled with subtlety and inventiveness. Guest curator Steven Jay Schneider of Harvard University and the Czech Center in New York organized this traveling series of rarely-seen Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense films. The precious film prints for this series were kindly provided by National Film Archive in Prague, Slovak Film Institute, Prague Film Academy and Zlín Film School.

Thursday, August 7 – 7:30 PM

Special 50^th Anniversary Screening:

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, 1953, Paramount, 85 min. Dir. Byron Haskin. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson battle invading Martian war machines in this still amazingly visceral, comic book-style feast of apocalyptic images – one of the defining science-fiction films of the past 50 years, seen here in a beautiful new 35 mm. print courtesy of Paramount Pictures! Produced by George Pal, based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells. Plus, rare outtakes of the Martian war machines (approx. 5 min.), and excerpts from the pilot for George Pal’s unproduced "War Of The Worlds" TV series (1964, approx. 10 min.). Discussion following with actress Ann Robinson, actors Gene Barry, Les Tremayne and Robert Cornthwaite and art director Al Nozaki (schedules permitting).

Friday, August 8 – 7:00 PM

Sneak Preview Screening – Director Eli Roth In Person:

CABIN FEVER, 2003, Lions Gate, 94 min. Dir. Eli Roth. A smash hit at the Toronto Film Festival, CABIN FEVER follows friends Jeff (Joey Kern), Karen (Jordan Ladd), Paul (Rider Strong), Marcy (Cerina Vincent) and Bert (James DeBello) as they embark on a vacation deep into the mountains as a last hurrah following college graduation. With the top down and the music up, they drive to a remote cabin to enjoy their last days of decadence before entering the working world. But, when Karen mysteriously contracts a virulent flesh-eating disease, the group dynamic devolves into survival of the fittest. What began as a struggle against the disease soon turns into a battle against friends, as the fear of contagion drives them to turn on each other. The kids confront the terror of having to kill anyone who comes near them, even their closest friend, while trying to find help before they're all dead. Based on skin-curdling tales of the real life "flesh eating virus" Necrotising Fasciitis, CABIN FEVER blends the elements of classic horror films of the 60's, 70's and 80's with modern day medical terror. Discussion following with director Eli Roth and other cast & crew (schedules permitting).

Friday, August 8 – 9:30 PM

L.A. Premiere:

KING OF THE ANTS, 2003, The Asylum, 102 min. A stunning change of pace for genre master Stuart Gordon (RE-ANIMATOR, DAGON), KING OF THE ANTS is a dark, unnerving crime drama about the banal, almost everyday existence of evil in our lives, and how it seduces, nearly destroys and finally transfigures one individual. Chris McKenna gives a fine performance as a likable young handyman who is hired by construction boss Daniel Baldwin and partner George Wendt to spy on, and then later murder, an innocent accountant. When McKenna refuses to disappear after the killing, his former "friends" decide to brutally beat him into submission. But they don’t realize that they’re creating a very real and human monster out of the young man. With Kari Wuhrer. Discussion following with director Stuart Gordon and other cast & crew (schedules permitting).

Saturday, August 9 – 5:00 PM

A Salute to George Pal:

THE TIME MACHINE, 1960, Warner Bros., 103 min. Dir. George Pal. Victorian inventor Rod Taylor is convinced that the world of the future will have solved all of the industrial age’s problems – until he journeys there in his gorgeous, kaleidoscopic Time Machine, to find a race of peaceful, cattle-like humans lorded over by subterranean Morlocks. Brilliantly adapted from H.G. Wells novel by producer/director George Pal. With Yvette Mimieux, Alan Young. Discussion following with actor Alan Young, composer Russell Garcia and visual effects artist Gene Warren Jr. (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY), son of THE TIME MACHINE visual effects artist Gene Warren.

Saturday, August 9 – 8:00 PM

Director Tobe Hooper In Person -- New 35 mm. Print:

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, 1974, WPA, 83 min. One of the best American horror films from the 1970’s and certainly one of the scariest movies ever made, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE works so well because the unknown actors and real-life locations burn themselves into your memory, assuming a nightmarishly twisted reality that lingers long after you’ve left the theatre. After hearing of a cemetery desecration, Marilyn Burns and friends go on a jaunt in the broiling Texas countryside to make sure her grandparents’ graves are okay, only to become stranded at the rural home of a family of inbred cannibals. Director Tobe Hooper expertly escalates the horror until you can’t stand it anymore…then goes one step further. With Gunnar Hansen, Ed Neal. Discussion following with director/writer Tobe Hooper (schedule permitting).

Sunday, August 10 – 5:00 PM

U.S. Premiere:

GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS, 2000, Sony Pictures, 105 min. Dir. Masaaki Tezuka. Jam-packed with bug-crushing, city-stomping, radioactive monster action, GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRAS is set in an alternate universe where the capitol of Japan has been moved to Osaka and the country has converted to clean energy, because the Big G keeps devouring nuclear power plants. When Godzilla rears his ugly head again, a team of scientists invent a device that shoots Black Holes (!) to destroy him – but not before an enormous mutant insect named "Megaguiras" shows up to do battle with our favorite monster. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Sunday, August 10 – 7:00 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, August 10 – 7:30 PM

Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense Showcase:

WHO KILLED JESSIE?, 1966, 80 min. Dir. Václav Vorlícek. A surrealistic sci-fi comedy about an unhappily married scientist couple. While the henpecked husband fantasizes about the voluptuous Jessie from a comic strip, his domineering wife tries her new experiment on him: a serum that dispels the unpleasant parts of dreams. But there's a side-effect … whatever escapes the dreamer's mind becomes reality. Shot in beautiful b&w Cinemascope, with an anarchistic, almost slapstick atmosphere.

THE PIED PIPER, 1986, 55 min. Acclaimed animator Jirí Barta was inspired by a German legend to create this expressionistic visual metaphor for the fall of a materialistic society. The medieval drama unfolds through an assortment of techniques, including wooden puppets, oil paintings, and footage of live rats. One of the most ambitious projects in Czech animation history. (Both films in Czech with English subtitles.)

Tuesday, August 12 – 7:00 PM

A Tribute to Max Rosenberg and Amicus Films:

THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, 1970, Rearguard Prod., 101 min. Dir. Peter Duffell. Delightfully wicked, four-part horror film about the evil goings-on in an English country house, from Amicus Films’ co-founders Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. Peter Cushing stars as a lonely widower who becomes obsessed with a female waxworks figure, followed by Christopher Lee as a father terrified that his sweet daughter is actually a witch, and "Dr. Who’s" Jon Pertwee as a melodramatic horror star who inherits the real Dracula’s cape. With Ingrid Pitt, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland.

HORROR HOTEL (aka CITY OF THE DEAD), 1960, 76 min. Dir. John Moxey. "Ring for Doom Service!" was the legendary tagline created by co-producer Max Rosenberg for this atmospheric Gothic thriller. The lovely Patricia Jessel stars as an unsuspecting college student who goes to Whitewood, Massachusetts to research the history of witchcraft in the area – only to find it still very much alive, thanks to professor Christopher Lee and his followers. Discussion between films with producer Max Rosenberg (schedule permitting).

Wednesday, August 13 – 7:00 PM

Los Angeles Premiere:

LOVE OBJECT, 2003, Pressman Films/Content Films, 90 min. The debut feature from writer/director Robert Parigi, LOVE OBJECT is a genuinely creepy little erotic thriller about a writer of astoundingly-dull instruction manuals, Kenneth (Desmond Harrington) and his Plastic Fantastic Lover, a silicone sex doll named Nikki – who bears a disturbing resemblance to Kenneth’s real-life co-worker, Lisa (the irresistible Melissa Sagemiller). When the love doll starts objecting to Kenneth and Lisa’s budding romance, the movie kicks into wicked high gear. With Rip Torn, Udo Kier. A selection of the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. "As disturbing and frightening as anything seen on screen in recent years." – Fangoria. Discussion following with director Robert Parigi and cast & crew (schedules permitting).

Wednesday, August 13 – 9:30 PM

Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense Shorts Program [113 min. total]:

"The Castle Of Otranto," 1977, 20 min. Dir. Jan Švankmajer. An amateur archeologist devotes his life to uncovering the truth behind a legendary tale, in one of Švankmajer's most organic early blends of live action and animation.

"The Fall Of The House Of Usher," 1980, 15 min. Dir. Jan Švankmajer. Poe's classic tale of terror, envisioned with stones, trees, furniture, and other objects in place of humans, is a remarkable example of tactile animation.

"Down To The Cellar," 1983, 15 min. Dir. Jan Švankmajer. A little girl heads to the cellar to fetch potatoes, and encounters all manner of disturbing and threatening obstacles.

"The Pit, The Pendulum, And Hope," 1983, 15 min. Dir. Jan Švankmajer. This homage to Poe is seen entirely through the eyes of an Inquisition prisoner who awakens to find himself strapped to a table beneath a sweeping pendulum.

"The Last Theft," 1987, 21 min. Dir. Jirí Barta. A jewel thief breaks into a crypt and finds a group of vampires who lure him into a dangerous game. Mixing animation, live-action, and puppetry techniques, Barta combines scary and comic moments in an otherwise serious parable.

"Little Cousins," 1988, 8 min. Dir. Václav Mergl. This sarcastic animated horror tale about two cousins -- one beautiful, one ugly -- proves that all that glitters is not gold.

"Defector," 1998, 9 min. Dir. Václav Kadrnka "Beyond the shores of evil lies the vast, unmapped kingdom of the darkest sides of the human soul. It is the realm of an unnamed demon...We call him Defector."

"Till Early Morning," 1999, 5 min. Dir. Marie Kubátová. A short narration about the last night of one dumb vampire.

"The Raven," 2000, 5 min. Dir. Lucie Šimková-Sunková. What could have inspired Edgar Allen Poe to write the poem "The Raven?" (All shorts in Czech with English subtitles).

Friday, August 15 – 7:00 PM

Los Angeles Premiere:

THE ANIMATION SHOW, 2003, 100 min. approx. Finally, there's an animation festival with the artists themselves at the helm! Kicking off in the fall of 2003 with its first North American tour, "The Animation Show" is a collection of some of the best animated short films from around the world, personally programmed by co-producers Mike Judge ("Beavis and Butt-Head," OFFICE SPACE) and Academy Award nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt ("Rejected.") This year's line-up spans eight countries and features everything from forgotten classics to the very latest in computer animation, plus a trilogy of brand new cartoons by Don produced exclusively for the show, never-before-seen rare animation by Mike, seven Academy Award nominees, and plenty of surprises. Films include: Cordell Barker's "Strange Invaders" (Canada, 2001, 9 min.); Koji Yamamura's "Mt. Head," (Japan, 2002, 10 min.); Corky Quakenbush's "Ricardo Shorts" (USA, 3 min.); Ward Kimball's "Mars And Beyond" (USA, 1957, 5 min.); Richard Goleszowski's "Ident" (UK, 1989, 5 min.); Ruairi Robinson's "50% Grey" (Ireland, 2001, 3 min.); Bill Plympton's "Parking" (USA, 2002, 5 min.); Don Hertzfeldt's "Billy's Balloon" (USA, 1998, 6 min.) and "Rejected" (USA, 2000, 9 min.); Mike Judge's "Mike Judge Pencil Test" (USA, 7 min.); Pjotr Sapegin's "Aria" (Russia, 2001, 11 min.); George Schwizgebel's "La Couse a L'Abime" (Switzerland, 1992, 4 min.); and Chris Stenner, Arvid Uibel and Heidi Wittlinger's "Das Rad" (Germany, 2001, 9 min.) Discussion following with directors Don Hertzfeldt and Mike Judge (schedules permitting).

Friday, August 15 – 9:30 PM

A Salute to George Pal:

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, 1951, Paramount, 83 min. Dir. Rudolph Mate. Despite its age, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE still remains far superior to all the other "giant-asteroid-on-a-collision-course-with-Earth" films that followed. Scientist Richard Derr tries to convince skeptical colleagues and world leaders about the Earth’s imminent demise; when they fail to listen, a dedicated band of pioneers construct a Noah’s Ark-like rocketship to save a few brave souls from annihilation. With Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen. Winner of the 1951 Special Effects Oscar (wait till you see the sinking of Manhattan!). Plus, rare outtakes from the production of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (approx. 5 min.).

CONQUEST OF SPACE, 1955, Paramount, 81 min. After THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE NAKED JUNGLE, director Byron Haskin and producer George Pal re-teamed for this surprisingly realistic story of the first manned mission to Mars. With its beautiful wheeled space station (years before 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) and gleaming silver star-ships, CONQUEST captures a sense of childlike amazement at mankind’s voyage into the unknown. With Eric Fleming, William Hopper. Discussion in between films with actresses Barbara Rush, Rachel Ames and actor Peter Hansen (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE) (schedule permitting).

Saturday, August 16 – 5:00 PM

Special 70^th Anniversary Screening:

KING KONG, 1933, Warner Bros., 100 min. Dir. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. 70 years after it first premiered, KING KONG remains the 8^th Wonder of the World, a marvelous, mysterious blend of awesome prehistoric monsters and new-fangled technology (including airplanes, subway trains and the Empire State Building). Fay Wray lights up the screen as the Beauty who drives the Beast to distraction, with support from Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot and the astounding visual effects work of Willis O’Brien. Introduction to screening by sci-fi/fantasy legend Forrest Ackerman, creator of "Famous Monsters" magazine.

Saturday, August 16 – 7:30 PM

Paul Verhoeven In Person Tribute:

ROBOCOP, 1987, MGM/UA, 102 min. Peter Weller stars as a murdered Detroit police officer who is brought back to life as an unstoppable cyborg cop, in director Paul Verhoeven’s savage, action-packed satire of the future of corporate America. With terrific supporting cast including Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, and a brilliantly amoral Miguel Ferrer as the head honcho behind the RoboCop program.

TOTAL RECALL, 1990, Columbia, 113 min. Future-time 2084: construction worker Arnold Schwarzenegger tries to escape his nightmares by taking a mind-vacation to Mars – trouble is, he’s already been there, in director Paul Verhoeven’s brutally surreal, wickedly funny adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." Sharon Stone literally kicks out the jams as Arnold’s murderously sexy "wife," with help from über-villain Michael Ironside. Discussion between films with director Paul Verhoeven and writer/co-producer Ed Neumeier (ROBOCOP).

Sunday, August 17 – 4:00 PM

Ultra-Rare Screening:

Sponsored by the Government of Flanders

MALPERTUIS: HISTORY OF A CURSED HOUSE (MALPERTUIS: HISTOIRE D’UNE MAISON MAUDITE), 1971, 125 min. Director Harry Kümel’s surrealist cult classic has been more talked about than seen since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972, when it was shown in a hastily shortened English-language version which distributors subsequently hacked down even further. Now the Belgium Cinémathèque Royale have worked with Kümel (best known for the lesbian vampire classic DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS) to produce a definitive "director’s cut," Flemish-language version of over two hours – longer than has ever been seen before, and giving its labyrinthine story far greater clarity and depth. Of course, to "explain" MALPERTUIS or to reveal its final twist (for there are constant surprises in store at the conclusion) would be to spoil the fun. Based on the famous fantasy novel by Belgian writer Jean Ray, most celebrated for his Harry Dickson detective stories, the film (written by Kümel and Jean Ferry) follows the handsome young sailor Yann (Mathieu Carrière) on his return home to the family mansion of Malpertuis where his dying Uncle Cassavius – Orson Welles in ripe form – has summoned his relatives for the reading of his will. Once inside Malpertuis, a haunted house of endless corridors and hidden chambers, Yann finds it impossible to escape, and he is entranced by three young women there: his cynical sister Nancy, the lubricious Alice and the exotic Eurvale, all of whom are played by an unexpected, sensuous Susan Hampshire. Filmed in luscious color by Gerry Fisher and a with a haunting Georges Delerue score, MALPERTUIS is a dream film unlike any other, and can now be seen in its full glory. With Sylvie Vartan, Johnny Halliday. (Notes by David Thompson, courtesy of B.F.I.) (In Flemish with English subtitles.)

Sunday, August 17 – 6:45 PM

Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense Showcase:

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS, 1970, 77 min. Dir. Jaromil Jireš. When a 13-year-old girl crosses the threshold into womanhood, her life unfolds as a baroque, gothic saga of vampires, witchcraft, and mysticism. Rich in imagination, color, and sensual textures, this remarkable celluloid poem has been described as "a Jodorowsky/Bergman co-production of a Grimm's fairytale."

INVISIBLE aka THE DAMNED HOUSE OF HAJN, 1988, 107 min. Dir. Jirí Svoboda. In his fanciful reinvention of the "lunatic-in-the-attic" tale tradition that dates back to "The Cat and the Canary", Svoboda blends narrative and stylistic elements that invoke Roman Polanski, Billy Wilder, Maya Deren, and Dario Argento. (Both films in Czech with English subtitles.)

Friday, August 22 – 7:00 PM

U.S. Premiere:

GODZILLA, MOTHRA & KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK, 2001, Sony Pictures, 105 min. Already acclaimed by fans as the most exciting Godzilla film since the heyday of the 1960’s, "GMK" features a terrific, redesigned Big G (hint: he’s leaner, meaner and packs a nasty bite), bent on destroying Japan as vengeance for the restless souls of WWII victims. Standing in his way are the "Guardian Deities" – i.e. Mothra, King Ghidorah and Baragon. Director Shusuke Kaneko helmed the astounding trio of GAMERA films for Daiei in the mid-1990’s – here, he’s practically reinvented the Godzilla series for the 21^st century. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Friday, August 22 – 9:15 PM

Los Angeles Premiere:

ALIVE, 2002, The Klockworx Co., 119 min. Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura. Bad boy Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (VERSUS) makes a big leap forward with this visually stunning, thought-provoking sci-fi film about a death row inmate (Hideo Sakaki) who’s granted a last minute pardon, if he’ll agree to participate in a bizarre government experiment. He’s locked in a cell with a hilariously bad-tempered serial killer (Tetta Sugimoto), and together the two criminals are exposed to a mutating alien life form called an "isomer" with spectacular results. Based on Tsutomu Takahashi’s acclaimed manga comic. (In Japanese with English subtitles.)

Saturday, August 23 – 5:00 PM

Special 25^th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion and Memorabilia Display:

This screening is co-presented with Cinefantastique Magazine

Sponsored by Universal Home Video

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (THE MOVIE), 1978, Universal, 125 min. Dirs. Richard A. Colla and Alan J. Levi. A resourceful team of space warriors, led by Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Maren Jensen, take on the evil Cylons (dig that moving red eyeball!) in this humorous and action-packed television series, screening here in the 1978 theatrical feature version. Often compared to a small screen STAR WARS (visual effects guru John Dykstra created superb F/X for both), "Battlestar Galactica" achieved its own unique charm through a winning cast and a refreshing, tongue-in-cheek approach to the sci-fi genre. [This screening is co-presented with Cinefantastique Magazine. Event sponsored by Universal Home Video, who will be releasing a deluxe "Battlestar Galactica" DVD boxed set in October.] Discussion following with series creator/writer/exec. producer Glen A. Larson, actors Richard Hatch (Apollo) & Noah Hathaway (Boxey), actress Laurette Spang (Casseopeia); composer Stu Phillips; Sound Editor Peter Berkos (created the Cylon voices) and visual effects expert Richard Edlund (special effects camera) (schedules permitting).

Saturday, August 23 – 8:00 PM

ENTER THE DRAGON, 1973, Warner Bros., 97 min. Dir. Robert Clouse. Widely hailed as the legendary Bruce Lee’s finest film, ENTER THE DRAGON also helped break down the doors of American mainstream culture for the martial arts genre. Spectacular non-stop kung fu action as Lee and co-stars John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Bolo Yeung and Robert Wall compete in a deadly martial arts tournament on the island fortress of drug overlord Han (the deliciously evil Kien Shih). With memorable dialogue – "Boards don’t hit back!" – by screenwriter Michael Allin, and a killer score by Lalo Schifrin ("Mission Impossible"). Discussion following with actor John Saxon and composer Lalo Schifrin (schedules permitting).

Sunday, August 24 – 5:00 PM

Sci-Fi Legend Ib Melchior In Person:

THE TIME TRAVELERS, 1964, MGM/UA, 82 min. Writer-director Ib Melchior (born 1917) is renowned for his work on some of the most imaginative science-fiction films of the 1950’s and 60’s, including THE ANGRY RED PLANET, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, REPTILICUS and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, along with "The Outer Limits" TV series. THE TIME TRAVELERS is one of his most ingenious concoctions, as a group of scientists (including Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders and John Hoyt) experimenting with a time portal are catapulted into a post-nuclear-apocalyptic future. This film was an obvious influence on Irwin Allen’s 1966 TV series "The Time Tunnel." Discussion following with director Ib Melchior and actor Steve Franken (schedule permitting).

Sunday, August 24 – 7:30 PM

Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense Showcase:

THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR, 1964, 98 min. Dir. Zbynek Brynych. After removing a bullet from a Resistance fighter, a Jewish physician begins a nightmarish search for morphine through the Prague streets. This intense and expressionistic Orwellian fable was first conceived as a depiction of Jewish life under Nazi rule. A classic of Kafka-esque cinema.

THE EAR, 1970, 94 min. Dir. Karel Kachyna. Finding their house bugged and their power and phone lines down, a couple worries about the Communist authorities in this chilling cross between "1984" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" The film was banned for nearly two decades in Czechoslovakia. (Both films in Czech with English subtitles.)

Wednesday, August 27 – 7:00 PM

Unseen Lars von Trier – L.A. Premiere:

EPIDEMIC, 1988, Home Vision, 106 min. Dir. Lars von Trier. After losing their hackneyed, 200+ page script "The Cop & The Whore," two struggling Danish screenwriters (played by Lars von Trier and frequent collaborator Niels Vorsel) dream up a Black Plague scenario, without realizing the dire consequences on the real world outside. In some ways a sketchbook for THE KINGDOM (Udo Kier appears here, and there’s a gothic, disturbing hospital sequence that’s a virtual run-through for the later TV series), EPIDEMIC triumphs on its own terms as a fascinating, black-and-white meditation on the bizarre and claustrophobic world of the creative mind. And be sure to keep an eye out for the Cinematheque’s major Lars von Trier Retrospective, coming in early 2004! (In Danish with English subtitles.)

Wednesday, August 27 – 9:15 PM

Czech Fantasy, Horror & Suspense Showcase:

THE CREMATOR, 1968, 87 min. In director Juraj Herz's blackly comic and brilliantly gothic horror tale set during the early stages of the planned Nazi occupation, the operator of a crematorium-cum-horror chamber becomes increasingly delusional and murderous.

MORGIANA, 1971, 99 min. Dir. Juraj Herz. The wicked Viktoria dispenses a slow-acting poison to her better-liked sister, Klára, sending her into an uncanny, hallucinatory existence. Based on a story by Aleksandr Grin, known as "Russia's Edgar Allen Poe." (Both films in Czech with English subtitles.)