STEEL DAWN
Dir. Lance Hool, 1987.
USA, 101 min.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 – MIDNIGHT
Patrick Swayze (who is dead) wanders the shitty post-apotcalyptic wasteland with Brion James (also dead, Bladerunner) and Anthony Zerbe (not yet dead, Who’ll Stop the Rain, American Hustle) in this film directed by the producer of Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles)
FUTURE HUNTERS
Dir. Cirio H. Santiago, 1986.
USA, 96 min.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 – MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 7:30PM
Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) meets a visitor from the shitty future is this US/Philippines production co-starring Taiwanese fake martial arts star Bruce Li. From the director of Stryker.
STRYKER
Dir. Cirio H. Santiago, 1984.
Phillipines, 84 min.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 – MIDNIGHT
Steve Sandor (Bonnie’s Kids) navigates the shitty landscape of a fucked up future. From the director of Future Hunters.
THE MURDER OF SANTA CLAUS (L’ASSASSINAT DU PÈRE NOËL)
Dir. Christian-Jaque, 105 min.
France, 1941.
In French with English subtitles
SAT, DECEMBER 17 – MIDNIGHT
After the fall of France to Nazi forces in 1940, it took little time for the German government to end all film production except for a state-run production company. That company was Continental Films, established in October 1940, and its first film, released a year later, was L’Assassinat du père Noël, translated as The Murder Of Santa Claus. Based on the Pierre Very novel, the film is a kind of fairy tale that slowly turns both more magical and darker, a film at stark contrast to the circumstances of its creation, and yet deeply connected in ways which become stranger and more subversive as we reach the solving of the title’s riddle.
An old watchmaker, playing Santa Claus, is found dead, and on a primary level the film is a detective story led by the rules of the fantastic, as likely to drift into love story or fable as anything. Led by the great Harry Baur (THE GOLEM), who plays the watchmaker with charm to burn, the performances all bring a brio and mystery which ties perfectly with the astonishingly dreamlike setting. Director Christian-Jaque (A LOVER’S RETURN, FANFAN LA TULIPE), in one of his first films, works for the first time with actress Renée Faure, who would become not only his go-to star, but his wife as well. Anyone looking to avoid yuletide treacle should definitely investigate this rarely-seen gem.
Harry Baur, a year later, was arrested by the Gestapo after attempting to defend his wife; he was released in 1943 but died shortly thereafter under “mysterious circumstances”.
80 BLOCKS FROM TIFFANY’S (BEST OF SPECTACLE)
Dir. Gary Weis, 1979
USA, 67 min.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 – MIDNIGHT
Special thanks to Gary Weis
A legendary cult documentary equally infamous for its subject matter as well as its scarcity, director Gary Weis traveled uptown in 1979 to provide an unflinching, hilarious, and sometimes shocking depiction of the South Bronx neighborhood and, in particular, two African American and Puerto Rican gangs known as the “Savage Skulls” and the “Savage Nomads.”
Facing severe sociopolitical decay throughout the 70s, the South Bronx is portrayed as a crime-infested, all out no-man’s-land war zone where the battle lines are drawn between warring factions of youth street gangs.
Commonly referred to as the real life version of THE WARRIORS, the film is a brilliant snapshot of a bygone era and a stark reminder of the damage that had been wreaked on parts of New York throughout the 70s; the abandoned districts, burnt-out buildings and human waste serving as the end point for a decade of mismanagement and unaddressed social problems. Spectacle is proud to present this landmark work in a brand new remastered version.