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

Director:

Stuart Samuels

Writers:

Stuart Samuels
Victor Kushmaniuk (additional writer)

Release Date:

5 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Interview | Night | Audience | Independent Film Making

Cast

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)
Lou Adler	...	Himself
Mick Rock	...	Himself
Peter Suschitzky	...	Himself
Sal Piro	...	Himself
David Lynch	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dan Aykroyd	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeanne Bates	...	Herself (archive footage)
John Belushi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Barry Bostwick	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Bowie	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jimmy Cliff	...	Himself (archive footage)
Elizabeth Coffey	...	Herself (archive footage)
Charles Craig	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tim Curry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Matt Damon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Julián de Meriche	...	Himself (archive footage)
Divine	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marilyn Eastman	...	Herself (archive footage)
Roger Ebert	...	Himself
Britt Ekland	...	Herself (archive footage)
Peter Fonda	...	Himself (archive footage)
S. William Hinzman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dustin Hoffman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Herself (archive footage)
Steve Hutsko	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brontis Jodorowsky	...	Himself (archive footage)
Duane Jones	...	Himself (archive footage)
Allen Joseph	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Allen Klein	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Kosana	...	Himself (archive footage)
José Legarreta	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Lennon	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Lochary	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mara Lorenzio	...	Herself (archive footage)
Charles Manson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ignacio Martínez España	...	Himself (archive footage)
Edith Massey	...	Herself (archive footage)
Meat Loaf	...	Himself (archive footage)
Danny Mills	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Nance	...	Himself (archive footage)
Laurel Near	...	Herself (archive footage)
Judith O'Dea	...	Herself (archive footage)
Yoko Ono	...	Herself (archive footage)
Al Pacino	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Herself (archive footage)
Vincent Price	...	Himself (archive footage)
Patricia Quinn	...	Herself (archive footage)
Judith Ridley	...	Herself (archive footage)
Paula Romo	...	Herself (archive footage)
Winona Ryder	...	Herself (archive footage)
Susan Sarandon	...	Herself (archive footage)
Eliseo Gardea Saucedo	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kyra Schon	...	Herself (archive footage)
Peter Sellers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Christian Slater	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charlotte Stewart	...	Herself (archive footage)
Mink Stole	...	Herself (archive footage)
Russell Streiner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Vincent D. Survinski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Swift	...	Himself (archive footage)
Uma Thurman	...	Herself (archive footage)
John Travolta	...	Himself (archive footage)
Andy Warhol	...	Himself (archive footage)
Keith Wayne	...	Himself (archive footage)
Orson Welles	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Stuart Samuels

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Victor Kushmaniuk		additional writer
Stuart Samuels

Produced by
Ian Dimerman	....	executive producer
David M. Fox	....	executive producer
Victor Kushmaniuk	....	associate producer
Stuart Samuels	....	producer
Stephan Shelanski	....	executive producer
Andrea Stewart	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Eric Cadesky
Nick Dyer

Cinematography by
Richard Fox

Film Editing by
Michael Bembenek
Robert J. Coleman
John Dowding
Lorenzo Massa
Kevin Rollins

Production Management
Christopher Black	....	executive in charge of production (international version)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Victor Kushmaniuk	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michael McDougall	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Euan Hunter	....	sound
Terry Wedel	....	sound re-recording mixer

Editorial Department
Mary Luz Mejia	....	post-production coordinator
Alex Olegnowicz	....	post-production

Music Department
Euan Hunter	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Steven Belgard	....	publicist
Karen Shatzkin	....	legal services
Joshua Watson	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Stuart Samuels Productions
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) Canada
• Movie Central Network
• Movie Network, The (TMN)
• Mpix
• Starz Entertainment

Distributors

• MFA Filmdistribution (2006) (Germany) (all media)
• Cafe Groove (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Mozinet (2006) (Hungary) (theatrical) (Hungary)
• Pretty Pictures (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Tornado Film (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Danmarks Radio (DR) (2006) (Denmark) (TV)
• King Record Co. (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• VO2 Mix  audio post-production facility

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Canada:88 min | USA:86 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company:

Stuart Samuels Productions

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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.