Fifty Shades of Grey had nothing, we repeat nothing, on Secretary in which two flawed people engage in a beautifully obsessive sado-masochistic relationship.

Thank you, Daddy. Let’s face it, nobody really does creepy-sexy like James Spader (think Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Crash) and he certainly hits the mark in Steven Shainberg’s quintessential S&M film, Secretary. As the demanding lawyer Mr. Grey, Spader meets his match after hiring a young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) as his new legal assistant. Newly out of the mental hospital with a host of conditions ranging from cutting to shyness, Ms. Lee Holloway not only learns to open up but also to express herself in the bizarre sexual play with her boss. Make no mistake, although this movie has its comedic moments, Secretary is 100% sincere in its accpeting portrayal of an unconventional love affair.

Angelo Badalamenti’s instrumental score to Secretary retains the moodiness he’s known for that is particularly effective in connoting Lee Holloway’s personal evolvement.

Part of Nitehawks series THE WORKS – ANGELO BADALMENTI.

Eli Roth’s flesh eating bacteria tale puts a whole new spin on the “cabin in the woods” genre.

You know the horror story: a group of friends leave the city, head towards the remote cabin of one of their relatives to partake in a weekend of drug-taking, fooling around, and relaxation. But while Cabin Fever is self-aware of its cinematic genre origins (there are the inbred hillbillies at the local gas station, police officers are bumbling idiots), writer/director Eli Roth (in his directorial debut) puts an interesting twist in the horror trope by making the killer an unrelenting bacteria strain. Of course the outcome is the same in that friends start to distrust each other, morality is questioned, and their deaths are so gruesome it borders on comedy but, fourteen years after its release, Cabin Fever remains a surprisingly refreshing horror flick perfect for midnight revivals. Plus, Roth’s cameo and that shaving scene (!!) make the whole movie.

Angelo Badalamenti’s score to Cabin Fever seems like an unlikely match but his mesmerizing score that oscillates between powerful punches and screeching symphonies breathes new life into a horror film score.

Part of Nitehawks series THE WORKS – ANGELO BADALMENTI.

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanna Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley

NOTE: This is a live music event creating a new film score for Mad Max. The film will be shown with subtitles and no audio track.

Revenge, murder, automobiles. The post-apocalyptic future depicted in Mad Max hearkens back to a more medieval, violent existence. Set in a dystopic Australia, a policeman (Max played by a young Mel Gibson) sets out to avenge the deaths of his partner, wife, and child who were murdered by a motorcycle gang in retaliation for the death of their leader. Following our anti-hero through his undoing into madness, Mad Max takes audiences on a wild ride through this strange, yet recognizable, future.

Orson Welles adapts William Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy, MACBETH, for the March screening of VICE Presents: The Film Foundation Screening Series at Nitehawk Cinema.

Something wicked this way comes…Moody and atmospheric, Macbeth tells the story of a doomed Scottish General (Macbeth, played by Welles) who murders his way to the throne to become the King of Scotland. This devious action, foretold by a trio of witches that get more prominently featured in the film, was spurred on by his conniving wife (Lady Macbeth, played by Jeanette Nolan) and sets the course of a lifetime of guilt and paranoia. As a tyrannical ruler, Macbeth commits numerous murders to retain his power while the resulting civil war takes his family into the realms of madness and death.

Shot for little more than three weeks and on B-movie sets, Orson Welles underscores the darkness of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth in film by usage of shadowing and unique camera angle work. A few adjustments were made for the big screen; most notably the inclusion of the prophetic three witches casting a spell on Macbeth in the beginning and their return at the end. 

MACBETH (Orson Welles, 1948)
Preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with Paramount Pictures with funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Film Foundation.

Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

For One Nite Only, Nitehawk Cinema and Peter Oasis of LiveNDirect present a 60 minute “Best Of” Videograf screening featuring New York’s top bombers from the 1980s and 90s. Post screening Q&A with Carl Weston (Director) moderated by Sacha Jenkins (Ego Trip, Mass Appeal)

Videograf Productions was the first group to produce a recurring video series on the graffiti scene. Most films on graffiti up to this point were traditional documentaries. Videograf Productions used a video magazine format to profile graffiti artist and graffiti bombers. At the time, most people documenting urban culture tended to be from outside the culture so what made The Videograf series unique was that it was produced by active and former graffiti writers.

Nitehawk Cinema Presents
FILM FEASTS: TRUE ROMANCE
Sponsored by Lagunitas

The crazy little love story of Clarence and Alabama.

Spend a romantic dinner at Nitehawk with Alabama, Clarence, and the mob for our special Valentine’s Day Film Feasts presentation of TRUE ROMANCE. As always, the screening includes delicious beverage and food menu pairings related to the film. The best part? You’ll be served each course during the specific moments that inspired the film so you can experience edible sensations while watching the action unfold on-screen!

The Quentin Tarantino penned True Romance certainly isn’t your run-of-the-mill love story but the passion (borderline obsession) between Clarence and his reformed hooker wife Alabama sure is palpable. A modern day Bonnie and Clyde, they meet, fall in love, and then proceed to steal a whole lot of drugs from her pimp. As with most things in love and life, things are never easy (there’s murders and mobsters) but the one thing that remains true is their romance. The film includes stellar performances by Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt (as a total pothead), and James Gandolfini. Even “Elvis” makes a cameo.

MENU ($75)

Movie Theater Popcorn
popcorn, goobers, raisinets
Drink Pairing: Lagunitas Pils

Detroit Egg Roll – The Hani
fried chicken, citrus ranch, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, wonton wrapper, tomato relish
Drink Pairing: Lagunitas IPA

You’re an Eggplant
prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin with moorish spices, sicilian eggplant caponata, and saffron sauce
Drink Pairing: Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Read my lips…NO!
powdered sugar doughnuts with pomegranate and blood orange jam
Drink Pairing: Lagunitas Sucks

Talking with the King
Oddfellows Elvis Shake
Drink Pairing: Lagunitas Kronik

Sponsored by…

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Neo-Tokyo is about to explode! A 35mm presentation of the original theatrical release of AKIRA by Streamline Pictures.

Thirty years after a devastating explosion engulfed all of Tokyo, a new monster looms in its place. Neo-Tokyo, a mega-city inhabited by street thugs and drug pushers; a city in the pocket of corrupt politicians and capitalists. The lifeblood of the city, though, are the bike gangs that crash through its arterial streets, waging a violent war against the the system and each other. Caught up in an everyday turf war with a rival gang, two kids, Kaneda and Tetsuo, fall on the wrong side of the law; but while Kaneda gets churned out by the courts, Tetsuo catches the eye of a group of scientists who awaken in Tetsuo an incredible untapped psychic power. As this power grows, Tetsuo goes rogue and lashes out a society that abused him, all while Kaneda and a group of rebels begin uncovering a secret that could tear Neo-Tokyo apart.

Gorgeously animated — without computers, mind you — Akira is an absolutely essential piece of science fiction. Cool, complex, and epic, Akira is a film that demands attention. An early cross-over success for anime in America, and as genre defining to cyber-punk as Blade Runner and William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer.

Part of Nitehawk’s November ANIME AFTER DARK 2 midnite series.

Starring: Patrick Swayze, Ben Gazzara, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott

Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is the go-to man to clean up dirty bars when they get a little too, well, crazy. Let’s just say that he’s the bouncer’s bouncer. But when he rolls into the Double Deuce for his latest gig, he encounters way more trouble than usual. Besides the lazy and incompetent staff, he notices violence runs throughout the town because of town bully, the rich Brad Wesley (stellar character by Ben Gazzara). As he engages in a battle of principle he also falls in love with nurse (Kelly Lynch). The fight, the love, and the Thai Chi scenes in Road House are pretty much the best things ever.

FINAL WEEKS: playing at Nitehawk until March 27!

A son of Texas, Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy. In 1985, he is well into an unexamined existence with a devil-may-care lifestyle. Suddenly, Ron is blindsided by being diagnosed as H.I.V.-positive and given 30 days to live. Yet he will not, and does not, accept a death sentence. His crash course of research reveals a lack of approved treatments and medications in the U.S., so Ron crosses the border into Mexico. With a growing community of friends and clients, Ron fights for dignity, education, and acceptance. In the years following his diagnosis, the embattled Lone Star loner lives life to the fullest like never before.

FINAL WEEKS: playing at Nitehawk until March 20! An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska.

After receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail, a cantankerous father (Bruce Dern) thinks he’s struck it rich, and wrangles his son (Will Forte) into taking a road trip to claim the fortune. Shot in black and white across four states, Nebraska tells the stories of family life in the heartland of America.