Afa AnoaŹ»i 1942 - 2024 A true legend passed away yesterday at the age of 81. I've met a lot of professional wrestlers in my 40+ years of being a fan, and the vast majority of them have been very cool people, but none of them were as kind as this man was to me. Rest in peace Pops, and thank you.
The Last Picture Show is another one of those movies that I have only ever been vaguely aware of prior to the announcement that it would be shown at the Mahoning, and even that is an overstatement. I had heard the title before, but I don't think I even realized that it was a movie, let alone who was in it or what it was about.
I've been going to see just about everything this season so I had every intention of coming out to this show too. If I was on the fence about it, Rob's comment that it was the best movie on the Mahoning calendar this season would have swayed me to come out to see it. He and I don't have the exact same taste, but he knows a hell of a lot about movies and he doesn't heap praise on a film lightly. Additionally, he spoke in a similar way about Night Of The Hunter a couple of years ago. That was another movie I had never heard of prior to seeing at the Mahoning, and seeing it for the first time on the lot ended up being one of my favorite movie-going experiences in recent memory.
In the weeks leading up to this screening, I deliberately avoided this movie. I didn't want to know who was in it or what it was about, or any other details about the film. Movies are best when you let it speak for itself. Get comfortable in your seat, turn out the lights, turn off all distractions, and let the film tell you a story.
Chuck Workman's short film, Precious Images, was shown in place of trailers prior to The Last Picture Show. It features nearly 500 movie clips which span the history of cinema. They have been compiled and edited and set to music in such a way to make the experience feel like you're reading a love letter to Hollywood. It's also a reminder to the audience of just how special of an experience that it is to go see a movie.
The original 1986 cut of Precious Images won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. It was updated ten years later to include clips of more recent films as a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of films. This later 1996 cut was the version that we got to see screened on 35mm on Thursday night, and it was an incredible and moving experience. FT Depot has uploaded it to YouTube, and it you like movies at all, I highly recommend clicking play on the video above to see it.
I am rarely alone when watching a movie at the Mahoning. My wife comes with me to most screenings, but even when she doesn't, there's almost always a friend on the lot who brings their chair up to join me for the night. While I enjoy their company, I'm not the kind of person who needs to have other people around to enjoy an experience. I'd never want to live a life in which I had no choice other than solitude, but having moments and experiences that you enjoy alone can be a very enjoyable and relaxing experience, and that's what this screening was for me.
The Last Picture Show is a gut punch about small town life in the United States. It strips away the mirage of a wholesome 1950's America that only ever really existed on television and shows our culture, and the human species in genera, for what it really is. We are hostile, fragile, and confused, and we're all just trying to carve out a piece of happiness as best we can, and we sometimes cut others in the process. Sometimes those cuts are deliberate, and sometimes they're not, but we've all been cut and we have all cut others... even the folks who are clever or lucky enough to keep enough of themselves private to be looked upon as a "good person". That's my takeaway from the film anyway. You may disagree and walk away from this picture with a completely different idea, and that's ok. In fact, it's great. That's what makes cinema so special in the first place.
I'm not going to say anything else about the movie because if you're like me and you've never heard of this movie, I don't want to be the reason why you don't have the opportunity to experience it for the first time as a clean slate. It's not available as a part of any streaming subscription that I'm aware of, but it is absolutely worth going out of your way to see.
My least favorite of the three was Freedom Fusion (white). It wasn't terrible or anything, but it kind of just tasted like a more lemony version of Mountain Dew. I couldn't detect anything that tasted like peach at all. The runner up for me was Star Spangled Splash (red), which tasted like Mountain Dew mixed with cherry Kool-Aid. It was good, but my favorite of the three was Liberty Chill (blue), which reminded me of a melted blue popsicle that has been carbonated.
None of the three flavors were bad, but I found them all to be too sweet. I would buy the red or blue ones again if they were to make either of them in a Zero Sugar version, but none of them are the the kind of thing that I'd stock up on before the availability window closes. They're definitely worth trying though.
With the Darth Vader Cake Bites and these limited edition Oreo Cookies, the battle between the Jedi and the Sith has been well represented in the snack aisle this summer.
When you buy a pack of Star Wars Oreo Cookies, the whole package will be either The Light Side, represented with blue cream and images of Jedi and members of the Rebel Alliance, or The Dark Side, represented with red cream and with images of the Sith and the Imperials. Naturally, I got the Dark Side.
The Crow premiered in theaters in the spring of 1994. I didn't catch it in theaters during its initial run, but I rented it when it was still on the new release wall and I became obsessed, both with the movie and its incredible soundtrack. I finally got to see it in a theater for the first time earlier this year when our local Regal Cinema had a 30th anniversary screening.
There was a Punk Rock Flea Market with 40 different vendors doing business on the lot in the hours prior to sundown. If I'm being honest, I get a bit overwhelmed at the larger vendor markets. I love the vendor market at VHS Fest, and I'm glad to see a few vendor tables set up near the concession building at the occasional show, but a massive vendor presence at single feature Sunday that takes up the entire front of the lot is not my favorite experience to have on the lot.
What was a very pleasant experience is the fact that we got to meet actress Rochelle Davis, who plays Sarah in The Crow. Susan came to the show cosplaying as Sarah, and as soon as the actress laid eyes on her, she jumped up and gave her a hug, mentioning that people always come to events cosplaying as Eric Draven, but very few ever come as her. I rarely know what to say to the guests when they come out to the lot. Hell, I can barely figure out what to say to people I've been friends with for years, but she was very kind and I was glad to meet her.
Rochelle also signed my VHS copy of The Crow. I'd like to be able to say that this is the very same copy that I had when I was a teenager, but that one is long gone. I picked this one up on the lot a few weeks ago, but it looks identical to the one that I had back in the 90's, and it's one of my favorite autographs that I've ever gotten on the lot.
Thankfully, most of the vendors cleared out during the pre-show trailer reel, so we got to move up to our spot and enjoy The Crow on the big screen.
They weren't able to find a 35mm copy of The Crow that was in good enough condition to screen, so it was projected digitally. Personally, I didn't mind one bit. If all things are equal, I'd prefer 35mm, but I think that the importance of the picture and sound quality outweighs the cool factor of seeing it projected from film. I'm guessing that I'm not alone in this opinion, because this show sold out despite the fact that it was advertised as a digitally projected movie.
Grindhouse: Planet Terror and Death Proof Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA Since we've starting coming to the Mahoning, I've had kind of a personal rule to not come out to the lot to see the same movies two nights in a row, but all rules are made to be broken. Friday and Saturday night was dedicated to one of the coolest experiences that I've ever had at a first-run theater in my adult life. That, combined with the fact that some of my friends could only come out on Friday while others could only make it down on Saturday, led me to just say the hell with it, so I came out on both nights to see the Grindhouse double feature.
Grindhouse was a co-production of two of the greatest directors of our generation, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The idea was for each director to create an exploitation film that would be shown together in theaters as a double feature. Rodriguez made a horror movie called Planet Terror, and Tarantino made a road murder thriller called Death Proof. They also worked with other directors who shot trailers for horror and exploitation films that did not exist (at the time), which would be spliced in to play before in between both halves of the double feature.
The two movies and the collection of trailers was then intentionally damaged and the footage was heavily cut, in some cases with entire missing reels, which resulted in a 191 minute presentation that replicated what it was like to see a double feature at a grindhouse theater in the 70's.
We originally saw the Grindhouse double feature on April 12th, 2007 at RC Theaters Movies 14 in Wilkes-Barre (the ticket stub is wrecked from taping it inside a scrapbook, but you can just barely make out the date under the title). It bombed at the box office, but it was one of the most fun experiences that I've ever had going out to the movies. I think it would have done better if it was released in October, but I guess that audiences didn't really understand what this was supposed to be 17 years ago.
There have been a few awesome vehicles at the Mahoning in the years that we've been going, including screen-accurate replicas of Ecto-1 and the Batmobile, but this is the first time that I've been able to see the actual vehicle that was used in the movie itself.
Matt Delbaugh found and restored the actual car that was used in the filming of Death Proof. Just to be clear, I don't mean that he has a car that's the same make and model as the one in the movie, and that he made it look like it did on the screen. I mean that he owns the exact same 1970 Dodge Challenger a with a 440 engine and a white paint job that Tracie Thoms drove with Zoƫ Bell playing Ship's Mast on the hood (or "bonnet") when they were filming Death Proof.
Now I'm not a "car guy", but this is cool as hell!
We got another taste of the movie just before sundown, and that was a joint effort of two of my friends on the lot. The video above is a scene from Death Proof in which Quentin Tarantino (as Warren the bartender) pours a shot of Chartreuse for himself and a group at one of the tables in his bar. After they drink, he tells them that it's "the only liquor so good they named a color after it".
Chartreuse has been made in France by Carthusian Monks since 1737. The modern version, which the monks have been making since 1840, is produced from a blend of 130 herbs and other plants macerated in alcohol and steeped for about eight hours, followed by a last maceration of plants that gives the liquor its distinctive green color.
Bill had the idea to get a bottle of Chartreuse so that we could all do a shot on the lot while the scene plays on the big screen. Unfortunately, the monks decided to drastically cut back on the production of their liquor during the pandemic and it has been extremely difficult to find ever since, especially in the United States. Over the past few months, he, Tom, Jen, Susan, Anthony, Mike, Kate, Angie, and myself have been searching for a bottle so that we could make this happen, but to no avail. We couldn't find it at any price... at least not from anyone who could ship it to the United States. At the last minute before showtime on Friday night, our friend Rick came up with a bottle and a stack of red cups. I don't know how the hell he found it, but he came through, and we got to have our shot of Chartreuse under the big screen at the Mahoning on Grindhouse night. It was a very cool experience that I am incredibly thankful to have had, but this is going to have to be my first and last time with this particular "tasty beverage". I've never drank Pine Sol before, but after trying Chartreuse, I feel like I have.
There was a pre-show trailer reel that Rob told me to pay special attention to because it tied into the film. The first trailer, which he drove over three hours to get from a collector just outside of Baltimore, was Wolf Creek, and the second trailer was Scary Movie 4. I didn't understand at first, but it became clear towards the end of Death Proof in the scene where Kurt Russell crashes through the Starlight Drive-In marquee.
In the years since Grindhouse premiered, Machete and Thanksgiving were turned into real movies, and it wouldn't surprise me too much to see the other two get a full-length feature at some point.
Planet Terror hit the big screen after the Machete trailer, and I cannot say enough good things about this movie. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that while I've watched Death Proof well over a dozen times in my life, I've only ever seen Planet Terror once - on April 12th, 2007 when we saw Grindhouse during its original theatrical run. As a result, I've forgotten how awesome this movie is. There are few movies that are more fun and more perfect for a night out at the drive-in as this!
After the fake intermission, we got to see the theatrical cut of Death Proof. For a split second at the start of the movie, a title card for "Quentin Tarantino's Thunder Bolt" appears on screen. It is quickly replaced generic looking "Death Proof" title card. This was done as an homage to exploitation films, which were often renamed and re-released in the hopes of squeezing a few more dollars out of it.
It's difficult to rank Quentin Tarantino movies in order of favorite to least favorite because I love them all. I'm not sure where this one would fall on the list, but it is absolutely one of my favorite car movies of all time, and I'm happy to say that I've now gotten to see the extended International Cut and the original Theatrical Cut on the big screen at the Mahoning Drive-In.
The third film on Friday night was the 1982 women-in-prison film, The Concrete Jungle. Susan and Anthony told me that they had already watched this at the Mahoning during a Patreon night, but it was one of their earlier shows from before I became a member, and I hadn't ever watched it at home before, so this was my first time seeing it. It was pretty good, and it definitely fit the tone of the weekend.
Saturday night's third film was the 1983 psychological thriller film, Olivia. This was also a film that screened during a Patreon night, but this one screened in April 2023 after I became a member. It was nearly 1:00 am and I was pretty tired, so I decided to call it an "early" night and hit the road. We'll be back tonight for one of my top ten favorite movies of all time: The Crow.
While there have been some hot and humid nights on the lot in 2024, we've gotten lucky this season when it comes to avoiding rain. In fact, I think this was the first time since Opening Weekend that I've had to watch the whole movie from inside of the car.
There was a video introduction by Tim Lucas prior to the start of the film. He is the editor of Video Watchdog and is the author of many books, audio commentaries, and podcasts relating to cult cinema, and he was invited by David Cronenberg to spend a few days on the set of Videodrome while it was being filmed.
I've got a love/hate relationship when it comes to these video introductions. Some of them are a lot of fun (Jon Gries intro to Joysticks immediately comes to mind). Others can feel long and tedious, and they're especially frustrating when they spoil a part of the plot when it's a movie that I'm seeing for the first time. This wasn't my first time seeing Videodrome, but I'm sorry to say that this intro was not of the short and fun variety. I'm sure there were plenty of folks on the lot who found what he had to say to be interesting, but I had to turn off the radio after the first few minutes of his introduction. This is just an opinion, but it might not be a bad idea to play these longer pre-taped discussions after the credits roll rather than before the start of the film.
Videodrome is another movie that I saw for the first time when I worked for Blowout Video when I was a teenager. I've only watched it two or three times in the years since, and I'd guess that it's been well over ten years since I last saw it. That is in no way a reflection of how much I enjoyed the film. I loved it the first time that I saw it, and my appreciation for it has only grown as I've gotten older. However, when I watch a movie at home that I've seen before, it's usually because I'm doing two or three other things at the same time, so I gravitate to comedies that I can enjoy without really having to keep my eyes on the screen at every minute. When I have no distractions and am able to give my full attention to what I'm watching, I tend to choose to watch something that I haven't seen before, so a lot of movies get lost in the shuffle.
Seeing Videodrome on 35mm on the big screen at the Mahoning is an experience that I won't forget. It still blows my mind today, so I can only imagine how audiences reacted to it over 40 years ago when they saw it for the first time.
We saw this huge Slim Jim holder featuring "Macho Man" Randy Savage by the registers at the Onvo Travel Plaza when we stopped at IHOP last weekend. Unfortunately, the display was not for sale. If it was, this would be sitting on my kitchen counter right now. I'm not sure what I'd fill it with, but damn it, I'd find something!
This song came up on my Instagram feed last night. It pretty much captures my view of life, the universe, and everything in a catchy little tune that has been stuck in my head since I first heard it.
Darth Vader Cakebites The Original Cakebites (2024) I'm really trying not to keep snack food around the house, but this company isn't making it easy. They last enticed me to try their product a few years ago when they came out with Cobra Kai themed snacks which cleverly avoided any of the official trademarks while still making it pretty obvious what inspired the flavor names and their packaging. This time, they went headfirst into the king of product licensees by creating Star Wars themed Cakebites. I tried the Darth Vader flavor, which is made of chocolate and vanilla cake with chocolate cream and a chocolate coating, and red Lightsaber sprinkles on top. Very tasty!
Sunday evening also featured one of the strangest pre-show games that I've ever taken part in. One of the stories that Mr. Gottfried told on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast involved actor Cesar Romero. According to the comedian, the original Joker liked to strip naked and have male stagehands throw orange or tangerine wedges at his rear end. This story was commemorated by our friend Gene Barretta in a piece of art that he gave to Mr. Gottfried several years ago, as well as this target that was set up on the photo op stage.
There were no prizes other than bragging rights, which is probably for the best. I'm not sure if it's possible to order a trophy of a bare ass with an orange wedge sticking out of it.
The mildly disturbing image of Cesar Romero wasn't the only artwork from Gene Barretta that was on the lot last night. Often times when we're hanging out with Gene and Ben on the lot, he will take out his sketch pad and draw someone or something. Last night, that someone or something was me.
This picture was a bit of an eye opener. I didn't realize that I looked this angry. I was very happy when he was drawing this, surrounded by my friends in my happy place waiting for the start of a fun movie, but evidentially my facial expression and my posture gave off a grouchy courtroom defendant vibe that I was unaware of.
The Barrettas made another contribution to the evening that we got to see on the big screen prior to the start of the first film. Gene shared this PSA with me when it was still a work-in-progress a few weeks ago, but it has since been completed and made its debut on the big screen at the Mahoning.
When the sun went down, the 1990 comedy Problem Child hit the screen. This is a movie that I've watched a few times when I was in middle school, but it occurred to me that this is probably the first time that I ever watched the theatrical cut. It aired on television quite a bit during the 90's (on the USA Network, I believe), and I'm pretty sure that those broadcasts were the only way that I had ever seen this movie before. I've never been a huge John Ritter fan, but his casting as the good-hearted but clueless father in this film is about as perfect as it gets. Amy Yasbeck is not only funny, but reminds me of an over-the-top version of my grandmother in her role. Michael Oliver is equally great as the adopted child who reeks havoc on everyone he comes into contact with, and Gilbert Gottfried and Michael Richards are hysterically funny and steal every scene that they're in.
Next up was a short documentary called The Hidden Talent Of Gilbert Gottfried. This was created last year by his 16 year old daughter Lily Gottfried as a tribute to her father's artistic talents. It's very interesting and a touching way to honor a very talented man. You can watch it for free on YouTube, and I highly recommend it. It's under ten minutes long and absolutely worth watching.
Next up was the world drive-in premier of the 2024 documentary Drew Friedman: Vermeer Of The Borscht Belt. Mr. Friedman is an illustrator whose art has appeared in Mad Magazine, National Lampoon, High Times, and countless other publications since the early 1980's. Gilbert Gottfried appeared in this documentary, and our friend Gene has a credit on it (though his name is misspelled as Eugene Barre). It was an interesting and funny insight into the life of an artist whose work I have seen many times, but never really knew where it came from.
There was a highlight reel of Gilbert Gottfried's performances that was shown on the big screen after the documentary ended, but it was getting pretty late and I had to wake up early for work this morning, so I only stayed for about the first ten minutes, through the end of his highlights from Hollywood Squares. The ticket sales for this event seemed pretty light, which is unfortunate, but it was a fun night with a lot of folks from our front row crew in attendance.
