A beautiful mix of visuals shot in 16mm, Super 8 and video melds with sync and non-sync soundtracks by the legendary Washington D.C. band Fugazi in the stunning documentary, Instrument. Wholly original, you wouldn’t expect Fugazi to do anything traditional and their documentary is no exception. Covering a ten year period, from 1987-1997, Instrument provides access to stage shows, rehearsals, recording sessions and interviews with fans (and some who aren’t). It extends beyond a portrait of a band and bleeds into a specific time period in music that is so close to many hearts. Named after one of the songs on their 1993 album In On the Kill Taker, the documentary also spawned one of the best soundtracks in history.

Starring: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King

Adapted from a 1975 musical of the same name, The Wiz is an urban retelling of Dorothy’s journey to the wonderful world of Oz. In this re-imagining, Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) is a young schoolteacher in Harlem who find herself in Oz after becoming swept away in a magical snowstorm. Cue all the familiar characters but on a different bent: graffiti taggers, the Scarecrow played by Michael Jackson, the flying monkeys motorcycle gang. There’s also a lot of New York references here (New York Public Library, The World Trade Center, Harlem) and the songs, well, you’ll be clicking your heels…

Starring: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan

A poem, a film, and Kublai Khan are all points of inspiration for the 1980 romantic musical fantasy film, Xanadu (you might also recognize the name as the mansion in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane). As a frustrated artist who paints large versions of album covers, Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) yearns for something more in life. In a fateful encounter he is kissed by one of nine muses (Olivia Newton-John) who are dancing in the street. From that moment on he is determined to open his much desired roller-skating rink (named Xandu) and to be with his love from another world. We’ll admit it, aside from the neon and roller-skating, it’s the ELO song “Xanadu” that fills our hearts with joy and inspired us to make it happen!

This incredible disco-rock musical will take you back to a futuristic 1994! Hosted by ‘NYC’s APPLE Super Fan’ (of course) with prizes and pre-screening disco courtesy of DJ BOOGALOW!

The future is music and music is the future! Low budget but high entertainment, The Apple tells the psychedelic tale of two young Canadians, Alphie (George Gilmour) and Bibi (Catherine Mary Stewart) who travel to America to participate in the 1994 Worldvision Song Festival. Although they lose the competition, they get signed to a major label and subsequently enter into the darker side of the music industry as it rules the world! Orwellian in its religious allegories, conformity versus rebellion, and glittery debauchery meet in this cult classic futuristic disco musical. Come on, take a bite!

Part of Nitehawk’s midnite THE DISCO MUSICAL program.

Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Shelley Thompson, Toby Froud

Jim Henson’s slightly darker Muppets star in the one of the most magical adventure films of, well, ever made. Jennifer Connelly is Sarah, a fifteen year old who resents her little brother so much that she wishes him to just disappear which he actually does when evil goblins kidnap him. Feeling guilty, she sets out to rescue him from the Goblin King (David Bowie!) but first she must successfully navigate a fantastical labyrinth in the center of this other-world full of puzzles and strange creatures. Seeing Labyrinth is a right of passage for any young adult and ripe for a revisit.

Starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Dave Goelz

One of Jim Henson’s darker muppet tales, The Dark Crystal takes us to another planet from the very distant past where two races were born from the crack of a magical crystal: the tyrannical, reptilian Skeksis and the hunchbacked wizards called the Mystics. In this story, an elflike “Gelfling” named Jen (an orphan raised by the Mystics) is on an incredible quest to return a missing shard to the mysterious “Dark Crystal” and, thus, restore order back onto the world by taking away the Skeksis’ power. The animatronics used in this film were considered groundbreaking at the time and they will surely continue to amaze today!

Close encounters of a muppet kind!

Muppets From Space is first film following the death of creator Jim Henson to have a Muppets-focused plot and what a fantastic out-of-this-world adventure it is! Our beloved Gonzo tries to find his place in this world only to believe that he’s from another planet. And while his Muppet friends may start to think he’s crazy, after he’s abducted they set out to bring him home. Expect all the humor, songs, movie references and Miss Piggy quips you  love in a Muppets movie (and Ray Liotta) only this time in space!

Part of Nitehawk’s March brunch MUPPETS/POST MUPPETS program.

Nitehawk Cinema proudly presents our 3rd Annual ULTRA MEGA OSCARS on March 2nd!

What could be more glamorous than watching all the drama, tears, and glory of Hollywood’s biggest night on the big screen with tableside food and beverage? Who will win? Who will be outraged? Our celebration of all things movies from the previous year includes fun games and, of course, tableside food and beverage during the event. We will also have select food and drink specials inspired by the nominees. Our $25 food and beverage voucher saves your seat, so you won’t miss a second of all the glitz and drama.

In relation to the February release of the major motion picture Monuments Men, ART SEEN presents a screening of the incredible documentary that documents their efforts and the role art played in WWII, The Rape of Europa. Screening before the film is frieze video: Divine Violence. 

Based on a book of the same name, The Rape of Europa tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War. In a journey through seven countries, the film takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But young art professionals as well as ordinary heroes, from truck drivers to department store clerks, fought back with an extraordinary effort to safeguard, rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.

The documentary begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now the most expensive painting ever sold. Today, more than sixty years later, the legacy of this tragic history continues to play out as families of looted collectors recover major works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking chronicle about the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture.

About the frieze video: Divine Violence: Deutsche Börse prize-winners Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin discuss their new publication, ‘Holy Bible’.

ART SEEN is in partnership with

Sponsored by

Starring: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt

Do you feel the need, the need for speed? Thinking about Tony Scott’s Top Gun stirs up very fond memories from our youth: Tom Cruise in a leather jacket, Val Kilmer’s icy stare, and that fabulous 1980s soundtrack. Centering around cocky pilot Maverick (Cruise), a school group of elite Navy pilots called “Top Gun Naval Flying School” learn as much about life as they do flying fighter jets. Top Gun shows all the competition, romance, and high-flying involved with being the best of the best!