Based on the book by Stuart Samuels, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a documentary film that is about the culture of the midnight movies in the 1970s as it played to an audience needing an escape from the turmoil that had emerged in the late 1960s. Directed by Stuart Samuels and written by Samuels and Victor Kushmaniak, the film explore the six films that would define the midnight movie culture in that decade as well as what it did for the film industry before the emergence of home video and the blockbuster period in films. The result is a fascinating and exciting film from Stuart Samuels.
In the 1970s following a tumultuous period that saw political unrest, culture wars, assassinations, and other things that defined the late 1960s. Audiences wanting an escape from that turmoil as well as mainstream culture where screenings of low-budget films that were outside of the mainstream suddenly became cultural phenomenon. Among them were Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come, Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. These films that didn’t play by the rules nor were they created or funded by studios, with the exception of Rocky Horror, were films that became successful through midnight screenings in theaters around America based on word of mouth.
With interviews from filmmakers in Alejandro Jodorwsky, John Waters, George A. Romero, David Lynch, and Perry Henzell as well as Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien and that film’s producer Lou Adler plus film critics Roger Ebert, J. Hoberman, and Jonathan Rosenbaum. They all talk about the impact of the midnight movie culture where many believe the man responsible for making it happen is Ben Barenholtz who opened the Elgin Cinema in 1968 in New York City and was the one who showed El Topo in 1970 as a midnight movie knowing that it wasn’t some conventional film. For six months at the Elgin Cinema, the film played to sell-out audiences as it started this culture of the midnight movies. The films that were played at Elgin as well as other theatres around the U.S. would play these different kind of films that definitely appealed to an audience that didn’t want to the mainstream films of the times.
Other films such as Tod Browning’s Freaks and Louis J. Gasnier’s Reefer Madness were also part of the midnight movie circuits as they were films from the 1930s that were never well-received as they found new life. Largely because they were films that played to an audience that wanted to see films that weren’t about ordinary people or those that are larger than life. Stuart Samuels’ direction is straightforward as he shoots many of the interviews with the filmmakers and critics talking at the camera with either a film clip or a poster in the background with the aid of cinematographer Richard Fox. With the aid of editors Michael Bembenek, Robert J. Coleman, John Dowding, Lorenzo Massa, and Kevin Rollins as well as the sound work of Euan Hunter, Samuels’ usage of film clips plus newspaper clippings and reports showcase the phenomenon that these films had as well as what it did to the film industry.
Its decline and end definitely doesn’t just attribute to the rise of the home video market but also the blockbuster films such as Jaws and Star Wars where it appealed to a wide audience and were financially profitable. Filmmakers and film critics believe that decline definitely saw audiences interact less and not bother discovering films that don’t play by the rules. Samuels’ direction would play into that decline but also that sense of interest towards those films but also the idea of the midnight movie screening. The film’s music by Eric Cadesky and Nick Dyer is wonderful as it’s mainly low-key in its electronic setting to play into the different type of films that is featured in the documentary.
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a marvelous film from Stuart Samuels. It’s not only a compelling documentary that explores the brief but immense popularity of the midnight films but also a look into the filmmakers and films that definitely gave audiences a fitting alternative from the mainstream as well as something that would become phenomenon in their own way. In the end, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream is a remarkable film from Stuart Samuels.
Related: Freaks - Night of the Living Dead - El Topo - Pink Flamingos - The Harder They Come - (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) - Eraserhead
© thevoid99 2016
Based on the memoir Life Itself: A Memoir, Life Itself is a documentary about the life and works one of the most revered film critics of the 20th Century in Roger Ebert. Directed by Steve James, the film looks into Ebert’s career as a film critic that included his notable partnership with fellow critic Gene Siskel. The film also looks into the final months of Ebert’s life as he succumbed to the effects of thyroid cancer that eventually claimed him on April 4, 2013. Featuring appearances from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Ramin Bahrani, and many others including Ebert’s widow Chaz. The result is one of the most moving and exhilarating portraits of one of cinema’s great voices.
There is probably no film critic, aside from Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, who made a major impact for film criticism and film writing better than Roger Ebert in the second half of the 20th Century and in the early stages of the 21st Century. Yet, this film is about Ebert’s life not just a critic who championed films and filmmakers that a wide audience might’ve not known or heard of. It’s a film about the man himself who struggled with alcoholism until embracing sobriety in 1979 and the loving husband to his soul mate Chaz who would be there for him until the day he died. The film would move back and forth into Ebert’s life as a man and as a film critic but also in the final five months of his life as he was trying to recover from cancer that he had been battling for years as it would rob him of his voice and lower jaw.
Steve James’ direction is quite simple as he captures the final months of Ebert’s life as he spends that time in a hospital and rehab center while using his computer to talk and such. Chaz is a prominent figure in the film as she would comment everything as well as glimpse of Ebert’s step-children and grandchildren who were a major part of his life. Along with appearances from filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese, Gregory Nava, Ramin Bahrani (who would visit Ebert at the hospital), and Errol Morris who talked about Ebert’s importance in their work. There’s also interviews with friends and colleagues like film critics A.O. Scott and Richard Corliss as well as Gene Siskel’s widow Marlene.
Ebert’s relationship with Gene Siskel was a unique one where the two had very different personalities yet loved films as it was one of the reasons why their show At the Movies became so important to film criticism. Even as it helped expose smaller films while bring a different appeal that allowed a wide audience to see what they had to say. Martin Scorsese talks about their infamous review of The Color of Money which still hurts him to this day. There’s also the story about Richard Corliss taking criticism over Siskel and Ebert’s show as Corliss talks about that little feud. With David E. Simpson aiding James in the editing, the film showcases a lot of footage of the show including outtakes where Siskel and Ebert take jabs at each other but do it with a lot of love.
With help from cinematographer Dana Krupper, the film has a very simple yet vibrant look into the way James captures Ebert’s final months as he struggles with his rehab and regaining the ability to walk. James knows how not to infuse a lot of sentimentality to the film as there’s this mixture of humor and drama as well as the moment when Ebert dies. The film’s music by Joshua Abrams doesn’t drown things out as it is mostly low-key in its jazz music setting while the soundtrack also features some jazz music from the artists that Ebert loves as well as a poignant Leonard Cohen song that really says a lot about Ebert’s relationship with Chaz. Overall, James crafts a very delightful yet heartfelt film about a guy who loved a woman named Chaz, a guy named Gene, and cinema.
Life Itself is a magnificent film from Steve James about the life and work of Roger Ebert. The film isn’t just a very touching and engaging documentary about an influential film critic but a man who loved life no matter how hard it was in the final years of his life. Even as he gets testimonials from those he championed as well as colleagues who think of him as a brother. In the end, Life Itself is an incredibly moving and wondrous film from Steve James.
© thevoid99 2014
April 4, 2013 is indeed a sad day in the world of cinema as one of its key figures in film criticism was finally laid to rest. Yet, Roger Ebert was more than just some film critic but a man who loved films and was willing to share that with the world. Whether it’s good films or bad films, Ebert was someone that can speak to the film buff as well as the common person. His passing now leaves a void in the world of cinema that will be unfulfilled but what he left behind is a legacy that no one will forget.
In the age of the Internet, there wouldn’t be blogging or modern-day film criticism if it wasn’t for him as we bloggers and film buffs look up to him as an example of what a film critic is and should be where he set standards on what to do and what not to do. He was also someone who can admit that he’s wrong and wasn’t afraid to do that. Through his writings and the now-defunct TV show At the Movies with the late Gene Siskel, he gave film buffs a chance to film criticism at its finest and most direct. There was never a dull moment with him and Siskel on that show whether they praised or film or just simply bashed it.
If it wasn’t for Ebert, some of us might have never heard of Werner Herzog or catch a film like Hoop Dreams. His role into exposing the world to this form of art made our world a little bit better. While there’s times when he was wrong yet he always know how back it up with his wit and passion for films. Yet, there was more to Ebert than his film criticism as his Great Films essays are an example of why he loves films as he has a list of favorites from La Dolce Vita, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Lost in Translation, This is Spinal Tap, Do the Right Thing, Gates of Heaven, and many others reveal not just into why he thinks they’re great but also what makes them so enduring.
His blog posts from his own website were also fun to read as it revealed a bit of the man himself as he states opinions and things that were beyond the world of film criticism. Some of which revealed his views on religion, life, his own struggles with alcoholism, and his long-standing battle with cancer that eventually took him to the end. At times, they were poignant and cerebral while there were also moments that were very light-hearted and funny such as his love for Steak N’ Shake. For anyone who goes to the drive-thru and see some of his quotes will know that the man loved that place.
It is with a heavy heart that for those of us who love his writing will never get the chance to read something from new him ever again. Even for new filmmakers who are to emerge will never get the chance to have one of their films seen by him. Still, he’s done more than enough to make a great contribution to cinema as well as give us bloggers the chance to say something with the same kind of passion that he is known for.
We will miss you Roger. Hope you and Gene get the chance to talk about films while eating Steak N’ Shake up there in Cinema Heaven.
© thevoid99 2013
