Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.

Director:

Stuart Samuels

Writers:

Victor Kushmaniuk (additional writer), Stuart Samuels

Stars:

John Waters, Ben Barenholtz, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Waters	...	Himself
Ben Barenholtz	...	Himself
Alejandro Jodorowsky	...	Himself (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)
Alan Douglas	...	Himself
J. Hoberman	...	Himself
Robert Shaye	...	Himself (as Bob Shaye)
George A. Romero	...	Himself (as George Romero)
Jonathan Rosenbaum	...	Himself
Bill Quigley	...	Himself
Larry Jackson	...	Himself
Seth Willenson	...	Himself
Chuck Zlatkin	...	Himself
Perry Henzell	...	Himself
Richard O'Brien	...	Himself
Jim Sharman	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream tells the hidden history of these landmark films, El Topo (1970), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Harder They Come (1973), Pink Flamingos (1972), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and Eraserhead (1977). The documentary includes in-depth interviews with the directors, producers, writers and actors who were part of these low-budget, yet monumental productions, the exhibitors and distributors who played them, and the audiences who viewed them.

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | interview | night | audience | independent film making | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kultfilmens mestre

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 671,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stuart Samuels Productions, Independent Film Channel (IFC) Canada, Movie Central Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

John Waters: [about Pink Flamingos] I was high when I wrote it. I was not high when I made it.

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Connections

References Heathers (1988)

User Reviews

an interesting piece of history

The collection of films gathered in this documentary is centered around the cult of the midnight movies, a series of films in the 70s which were not only experimental in form and shocking in content, but also presented a different type of viewing experience in the decade between the flower power 60s and the electronic explosion of the 80s. All these films became cult objects and enjoyed success which was not necessarily, or not only commercial, but also focused on a type of non-mainstream audience. The films themselves were very unequal judged on the art scale, with three of the six being important films, to be remembered in any history of the moving pictures art, and the other three closer to the trash pan. It is however interesting to see the authors of the movies looking back to the time of the making and the critics trying to put them in perspective. At the end it is not so much the documentary material that stays with the viewer but the reflection process that makes us think about the relationship between art, viewing conditions, experiment and success.