Join us for a special presentation of this Black horror groundbreaker, featuring an extended video introduction from film scholar Maya S. Cade. Flirting with the conventions of Blaxploitation and horror, Bill Gunn’s revolutionary independent film GANJA & HESS is a highly stylized and utterly original treatise on sex, religion, and African-American identity. Duane Jones (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) stars as anthropologist Hess Green, who is stabbed with an ancient ceremonial dagger by his unstable assistant (director Bill Gunn), bestowing upon him the blessing of immortality… and the curse of an unquenchable thirst for blood. When the assistant’s beautiful and outspoken wife Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes searching for her missing husband, she and Hess form an unexpected partnership. Together, they explore just how much power blood holds. (Later recut and released in an inferior version, this edition represents the original release, restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from The Film Foundation, and mastered in HD from a 35mm negative.) “A sensual, scholarly, magic-realist exploration of Black history and Black desire.” – New York Times
Rfor some bloody violence.
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Rfor scenes of strong graphic violence, and for language
Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl, is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. Léon and Mathilda form an unusual relationship, as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
The night before Halloween, colloquially known as “Corn Night”, will be celebrated at Central Cinema with mini-live score performances from A Certain Zone (with scrambled scenes from The Thing, 20m), Joseph Allred ("Suite For Several Sunsets" on electric guitar with video feedback, 25m) and Glad I Didn't Get My Stupid Wish (scoring Wishmaster at 3x speed, 30m)!
PG-13for violence and images of destruction
Anime Expo Cinema Nights Presents: Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis, where it's man against machine in this film based on the classic manga (comic) by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese anime and manga. In the late 1940s, long before Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the legendary illustrator created the classic manga Metropolis. Set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi search for a rebel scientist, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young girl. But when they locate him, Shunsaku quickly realizes that the eccentric genius is protected by a powerful man and beyond their reach. A retro-futuristic cautionary tale, Metropolis is spectacularly rendered, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
NR
A fictional Alfred Hitchcock narrates an explanation of some of the lesser known cinematic techniques he used in his movies, richly illustrated with clips from his entire 50-year career.
PG
Charlotte "Charlie" Newton is bored with her quiet life at home with her parents and her younger sister. She wishes something exciting would happen and knows exactly what they need: a visit from her sophisticated and much travelled Uncle Charlie Oakley, her mother's younger brother. Imagine her delight when, out of the blue, they receive a telegram from Uncle Charlie announcing that he is coming to visit them for awhile. Charlie Oakley creates quite a stir and charms the ladies' club, as well as the bank President where his brother-in-law works. Young Charlie begins to notice some odd behavior on his part, such as cutting out a story in the local paper about a man who marries and then murders rich widows. When two strangers appear asking questions about him, she begins to imagine the worst about her dearly beloved Uncle Charlie.
R
"The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
R
50 years ago, five youths on a weekend getaway in the Texas countryside fell prey to a butcher in a mask made of human skin and his cannibalistic family, and horror cinema would never be the same. Violent, confrontational, and shockingly realistic, director Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE terrified audiences in a way never thought possible when it was unleashed on a politically and socially tumultuous America in 1974. Facing a storm of controversy, censorship, and outcry throughout its troubled release, this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone. Newly Restored in 4K. “The most purely horrifying horror movie ever made.” – Empire Magazine
PG-13for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality
Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob -- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.
PG
This screening will be presented on 16mm film. An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that he is not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.