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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > April > 23 > Entry
How to spend 24 hours in a movie theater
When you become lucky enough to make movie-watching part of your job, as I have, the prospect of spending 24 hours straight in a movie theater must seem like a dream come true.
Well, that dream has come true for me now several times, thanks to the annual 24-Hour Science Fiction Marathon in Columbus. Often, the dream is heavenly. Other times, it can turn into a hellish nightmare. And sometimes even that’s fun.
What on earth am I talking about? Well, let me take you through what happened at last weekend’s thon, as those of us who are too lazy (or tired) call it.
With my best friend, I arrived at the Drexel East theater about an hour and a half before the noon launch. In addition to playing about 10 movies, the ‘thon always treats us to a number of trailers, cartoons and other short subjects. One of the first we see is the traditional Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, that loony toon that has Daffy Duck tangling with Marvin the Martian. Everyone delights in shouting out the title along with Daffy, although personally, I think it’s more fun to do lines by Marvin or Porky Pig.
And then, a surprise: One of the shorts is a clip from the title number of the timeless Singin’ in the Rain - played, so we’re told, because it was supposed to rain, but I’m sure the fact that the tune figures prominently in A Clockwork Orange, one of the scheduled movies, was also a factor.
Then, it’s off to the movies:
Battlestar Galactica: This was the theatrical cut of what was basically TV’s answer to Star Wars. The fun came more from nostalgic flashbacks than anything in the movie itself.
Sputnik Mania: An intriguing if somewhat dry documentary about the hysteria that accompanied the launch of the Russian satellite. Might have been a little too PBS for this event.
The Day the Earth Stood Still/Patricia Neal: It was still fun to watch one of the four or five best sci-fi movies ever made, even with a beat-up print. The real treat, however, was the live-in-person appearance of Patricia Neal, who speaks the immortal “Klaatu Barada Nikto” line. I could devote a whole post to her, but highlights included her saying how silly The Day the Earth Stood Still seemed at the time, and her naming the great A Face in the Crowd as her favorite film she made. She struggled to remember some things, but as she so memorably put it, “I’m still here, baby!” She was delightful.
Journey to the Seventh Planet: The first of our “so bad its fun” entries, this was a Danish movie about a trip to Uranus. Many crude jokes followed; I like to think I nodded off here to avoid listening to them.
The Andromeda Strain: Our second film directed by Robert Wise, who also made The Day the Earth Stood Still. I saw this letterboxed on TV a few years ago and was disappointed, but it plays much better on the big screen. The film’s still a little too sterile for its own good, but some striking visuals make it work.
Big Man Japan: Every ‘thon has to have at least one movie of some giant thing destroying stuff. This year’s entry was this odd little story about a Japanese schlub who can grow 30 stories tall, but he’s not much of a hero then either. Offbeat idea, but it moved too slowly in the beginning for me to stay with it. I slept through the second half.
Lady Terminator: Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like - a rip-off of the James Cameron classic with a female killer - only it’s even worse than advertised. This piece of junk had the gall not only to steal the “Come with me if you want to live” line, but also to copy the scene where the terminator cuts its eye out of its head - never mind that Lady Terminator, um - isn’t a robot. But hey - she IS an anthropologist. It’s that kind of movie.
1984: I’d really like to see this adaptation of George Orwell’s novel sometime, but I slept almost all the way through it. The shift from the silliness of Lady Terminator to this was too much for me to process. Besides, it’s about 3 in the morning zzzzz …
Pitch Black: I wake up in time to catch one of the few movies where Vin Diesel doesn’t annoy me. This is a well-executed thriller that shows a lot of style, even with a fairly low budget. By contrast, the bloated sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, had fives times the budget, but not even one quarter of the fun.
Stranger From Venus: Our second Patricia Neal film is a bit of an oddity. It’s basically the same premise as The Day the Earth Stood Still, only without anything fancy like a robot or a spaceship. It’s a curio, but, I’m sorry to say, a very dull one.
A Clockwork Orange: I’ve always been intrigued that this film is considered sci-fi, and I suppose that fits, since it’s set in some future that never was (they still use cassettes!) and it explores the morality of mind control. It’s a great film, but a bit out of tone with most of the ‘thon, and it’s strange to close with a movie that really messes with your mind, no matter how many times you see it.
And so, with the strains of “Singin’ in the Rain” playing in my head, I step into - the blinding sunlight.
And that, folks, is how you spend 24 hours in a movie theater. I know most of you aren’t crazy enough to try it, but I would like to hear some comments. Tell me your favorite sci-fi movies, and which you’d especially like to see in a theater.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Moviegoing
Comments
By Kim
April 24, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
Well that sounds like big fun - I have never done anything like that. I’m sure that I would be nodding off too - lol! I tried to watch plays all day with my daughter as a chaperone as her State Thespian conference, and she had to nudge me awake when I started snoring at one of them - ha! The closet I’ve come is the Lord of The Rings marathon - which was regretably in my own living room rather than the theater - where I watched all three movies back to back. That took me over 9 hours, because at least I did have the luxury of being able to pause them for breaks!By Derwood
April 24, 2008 2:07 AM | Link to this
I grew up in Oakland, CA which is not far from Berkeley. The UC Theater in Berkeley always had festivals of one kind or another. One that stands out was the Star Trek festival, which was Star Trek movies 1,2 and 3 (Thats all that was out at the time), The Space Seed, The Trouble With Tribbles, Star Trek on Saturday Night Live, and bloopers and outtakes from the series and movies. That one was about 12 hours long. The other one I remember seeing there was the Kurosawa festival, which included Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Kagemusha, Throne of Blood, and a long preview of Ran. Yet, didn’t include Hidden Fortress. I think either one of those, just updated to add a few more movies would be great.By SRCputt
April 23, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this
You forgot to mention in Lady Terminator that when she states she is an anthropologist, she’s wearing a see-through blouse at the time. Also, the prints of Battlestar Gallactica and The Andromeda Strain were in absolute mint condition, yet another reason to love this event.