Starring: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Diahnne Abbott
Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is a failure in life but a celebrity in his own mind, hosting an imaginary talk show in his mother’s basement. When he meets actual talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), he’s convinced it will provide his big break, but Langford isn’t interested in the would-be comedian. Undaunted, Pupkin effectively stalks Langford — and when that doesn’t work, he kidnaps him, offering his release in exchange for a guest spot on Langford’s show.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin
On the verge of failing their most heinous oral history exam, Bill (Keanu Reeves) and Ted (Alex Winter) find themselves on a most excellent adventure…traveling through history in a telephone booth with a guide named Rufus (George Carlin). On their journey they meet the likes of Billy the Kid, Socrates, Joan of Arc, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, and Freud and then bring them back for their test. They must also find a way to stay together in the present because the future depends on it.
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast
Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre is the most hauntingly beautiful film to ever tackle the Bram Stoker legend of Dracula. As the story goes, Jonathan Harker travels to meet this elusive Count Dracula (played to a stunningly sick effect by Klaus Kinski) in order to secure land deeds in Wismar, Harker’s home town. Dracula follows him, bringing a wave of plague and destruction along with him, as he searches to steal the heart of Harker’s wife, Lucy. Perfectly paced, hazily dreary, and set to the most evocative score, Herzog’s Nosferatu elegantly intertwines death and love. Newly restored, its cinematic magic.
The unconventional relationship in Hal Ashby’s HAROLD AND MAUDE shows that life is truly worth living.
Harold is a wealthy young man of twenty who, suicidal and obsessed with death, meets the kooky eighty year old Maude (played by the eternally stunning Ruth Gordon) at a funeral. Although in opposite phases of life, Harold’s is beginning while Maude’s is ending, they find genuine love and affection for each other. Shifting from black comedy to anti-establishment, Ashby’s Harold and Maude wasn’t exactly an box office but its tone of acceptance and untraditional love has managed to live long after its release.
Part of Nitehawk’s A REASONABLE LENGTH August brunch series.
This month, THE DEUCE takes a trip downtown for a Twin Towers tribute with a rare screening of producer Dino De Laurentiis’ 1976 big budget flop-buster KING KONG!
Plus: The famous ‘DEUCE Raffle,’ Gaffel Kolsch at the after-party, and music by DJ BONES! Hosted and presented by THE DEUCE JOCKEYS: Jeff, Andy, and Joe.
Jessica Lange makes her silver screen debut caught in the giant (1,650 pound, iron hydraulic) grasp of cinema’s most terrifying monster: KING KONG! In Paramount’s mid-70s, huge budgeted re-boot of the 1933 classic, oil tycoon Charles Grodin travels (with stowaway primate paleontologist Jeff Bridges) to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean in search of petrol on a hitherto undiscovered island. What they find however, is much bigger than they could have ever imagined. So it’s off to the Big Apple with their new discovery, of course!
Legendary producer Dino de Laurentis and director John Guillermin’s disaster epic of over-sized proportions resulted in equally catastrophic reviews, but wound up the 7th highest grossing film of 1977, raking in over three times its budget. Featuring spectacular special and makeup effects by masters Carlo Rambaldi (E.T. and Alien) and Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Michael Jackson’s Thriller), including a king-sized climax atop the financial district’s newly erected Twin Towers, King Kong is presented by the Deuce Jockeys in a gorgeous, rarely screened 35mm print!!
Nitehawk presents a special screening of ROCKY with director John G. Avildsen in person for a Q&A!
Life’s not about how hard of a hit you can give… it’s about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward.
Rocky Balboa is an American icon of the underdog who works hard to achieve his goals and get the girl! Written and starring Sylvester Stallone, Rocky is about a slightly dimwitted boxer who, after working sleazy jobs as a loan shark and club fighter, gets picked at random to fight Apollo Creed for the heavyweight championship. With the rare chance to prove his worth, Rocky trains to win the title and everyone’s respect.
Watch Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Unicron battle it out in the 1986 animated movie TRANSFORMERS. A 35mm presentation!
Beyond good. Beyond evil. Beyond your wildest imagination. Years before Michael Bay entered into the transforming robot arena, this animated film based on the animated television program delighted (and maybe even scared) a generation of kids. And, set to a synth and metal based soundtrack, Transformers: The Movie has a decidedly dark tone. It’s the year 2005 and there’s a battle raging between the two warring factions of the planet Cybertron: heroic Autobots (led by Optimus Prime) and the evil Decepticons (led by Megatron). While the Autobots try to save their planet from an evil entity that consumes planets hole, Unicron, they’re also defending themselves again the Decepticon’s attack.
Part of Nitehawk’s April MIDNITE MARAUDERS midnite series.
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan
The second in the Lucas/Spielberg Indiana Jones films is a little darker fare, taking place about a year before Raiders of the Lost Ark as our handsome adventurer Indiana sets out to retrieve a special gem and kidnapped boys from a remote East Indian Village. But nothing is ever straight forward for our sarcastic hero so Indiana Jones is joined by a prissy nightclub singer and a wise twelve year old. Temple of Doom has it all… a rollercoaster ride through a mineshaft, ritual sacrifice rescues, killer alligator traps, and monkey brain eating!
Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley
A battle between good and evil plays out when a reluctant farmer protects a special baby girl from a tyrannical queen in the American fantasy film Willow.
With its stunning special effects and dazzling action, Willow has become one of our most loved fantasy films. The story begins when a young farmer and magician Willow Ufgood finds an abandoned baby during a time in which all pregnant women are banned by the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda. Since this child is Elora Danan (the one destined to end the Queen’s reign of evil), Willow and his allies swordsman Madmartigan, sorceress Fin Razel and the Brownies Franjean and Rool are thrust into a sweeping adventure where they must battle the forces of darkness that threaten them.
