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16mm DOUBLE FEATURE NIGHT May 3rd – POSEIDON ADVENTURE and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS
Join us for some old-school 16mm Movie Madness! – It’s our monthly 16MM DOUBLE FEATURE NIGHT at The Way Out Club (2525 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis) ! Join We Are Movie Geeks‘ Tom Stockman and Roger from “Roger’s Reels’ for a double feature of two complete films projected on 16mm film. The show is Tuesday May 3rd and starts at 8pm. Admission is FREE though we will be setting out a jar to take donations for the National Children’s Cancer Society.
First up is THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)
THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE is the breathtaking story of a cruise ship capsized by a tidal wave, the result of an undersea earthquake. At the time of the disaster, many of the ship’s passengers are celebrating New Year’s Eve in the Grand Ballroom of the ocean liner. The film then details the trials of ten survivors as they desperately make their way to the ship’s hull, which is now their only hope for escape, something they must do before the ship sinks to the ocean floor. Along the way, lives are lost, relationships are formed and subplots are as layered as the levels of the Titanic. Our hero, Reverend Scott, played by Gene Hackman, leads this band of stereotypes with an undying spirit; nothing will stand in his way. It’s Hackman’s energy and determination that carries the film and pulls us in. We feel like we’re trying to escape as well, and we’d follow him anywhere. The supporting cast is also quite effective, featuring standout performances from Oscar nominated Shelley Winters as a Jewish grandmother on a journey to see her grandchildren for the first time, Ernest Borgnine as a New York cop recently married to ex-hooker Stella Stevens, and Red Buttons as a lonely haberdasher searching for companionship which he finds in Carol Lynley, a frightened lounge singer. Rounding out the cast of survivors are Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea as parent-less siblings, Jack Albertson as Winters’ husband and Roddy McDowall as a steward along for the ride.
Next is JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963)
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is usually cited as the high-water mark of stop-motion legend Ray Harryhausen’s career and there is so much to justify that call. The climactic skeleton battle is the most celebrated sequence, but for sheer awe, there’s nothing like the encounter with the 200-foot-tall bronze colossus Talos. After landing on the island of Bronze, the goddess Hera, in masthead form, instructs Jason (played by St. Louis native Todd Armstrong) to have his men collect food and water and nothing else. Naturally, when Hercules and Hylas take one souvenir from a giant trove of gold treasures, they wake the colossal bronze statue who’s been perched on his pedestal for thousands of years guarding it. From the dramatic moment it slowly turns to look down at Hercules to Jason’s discovery of its literal Achilles’ heel, the battle with the titan Talos is one of Harryhausen’s finest moments. His facial expression barely changes but his cold blank stare is chilling and he walks with a rusty, arthritic gait that highlights Harryhausen’s amazing ability to instill in all his animated creations a sense of personality that is lacking in much of today’s computer-generated sludge. Clearly inspired by the legendary ‘Colossus of Rhodes’, Talos truly feels like one of the Seven Wonders of the World come to life. Unfortunately Columbia’s publicity machine couldn’t distinguish Jason in the movie marketplace from the plethora of Italian Hercules-inspired fantasy product in 1963, and the film failed initially to find an audience. One of those rare films with real appeal for viewers of all ages, JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is a thrilling adventure ride that rarely slackens its pace. It rewards repeat viewing and those fearsome skeletons will thrill you again and again.
There will be movie trivia with prizes and of course The Way Out Club will have a full bar and Way Out Pizzas for sale. Don’t miss it!
A Afcebook invite for this event can be found HERE
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