Music Box of Horrors :: 10/13

One of my favorite days in Chicago is almost here! It involves staying up too long, staying inside, and eating too much popcorn. This Saturday, October 13th is the Music Box of Horrors, a 24 hour horror movie marathon at the Music Box! I went last year on a whim unprepared – showed up 15 minutes before showtime with no ticket, but easily made it from noon to midnight, coming out with a new favorite movie, The Abominable Dr. Phibes (Vincent Price). This year, with a little preparation (think: comforter, pillow, sandwiches, candy, sleeping in), 24 hours can be accomplished. There's no way I'm going to miss Blood Diner at 7:30am...

Find the film lineup, synopses, ticket info, etc. here.

David Rakoff's Gracious "Hobbies"

Wanted to share this tumblr that archives the personal gifts that the essayist, journalist, and actor David Rakoff generously made and gave to his friends. David Rakoff passed away last week. It's an incredible archive of his "hobbies" that are far more amazing than anything I could hope to do with my life efforts. While you're thinking about David Rakoff, take a listen to his hilarious segment "Christmas Freud" from This American Life, of which he was a frequent contributor.

Speaking of This American Life. The film "Sleepwalk With Me" by Mike Birbiglia, produced by some of the folks at TAL, will be at Chicago's Music Box Theatre on August 31 & September 1 (7 & 9:30 showings).

Kitten sad re: Radiolab Live prices

Speaking of podcasts showing up live in Chicago – Radiolab will be doing a live show at the Chicago Theatre on September 28. While I would love to hear Jab Abumrad and Robert Krulwich IRL, they're popular and, as it goes, pricey. Regardless, it is sure to be entertaining if you want to shell out the minimum $28 + $15 of service fees.

Crispin Hellion Glover Returns to Music Box Theatre

You thought it would never happen again. I guess with David Letterman bookings not happening, maybe the chances weren't so slim.

The Music Box Theatre has two nights of Crispin, January 13-14.

Crispin Hellion Glover performs a live dramatic narration of his books, with the illustrations projected behind him.A screening of his films follows each presentation and concludes with a Q & A.

What is It? tells of the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe and how to get home as tormented by an hubristic racist inner psyche. Preceded by Big Slide Show Part 1.

Steven C. Stewart stars in It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE, a semi-autobiographical, psycho-sexual tale about a man with severe cerebral palsy and a fetish for girls with long hair. Preceded by Big Slide Show Part 2.

More details and tickets available from The Music Box Theatre website!

Dr. Caligari at Music Box Saturday

I love the Music Box Theatre. They only have a few more of their Silent Cinema Saturday screenings left. Tomorrow, Saturday September 10, at Noon, they are screening The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. "A plunge into the mind of insanity!" The screening will be accompanied by the awesome Music Box house organist Dennis Scott!

One of the best examples of German expressionism, THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI is a plunge into the mind of insanity; a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetuate a series of murders in a small community. (Robert Wiene, 1919, 75m)

Read more about this cool film here and go see it tomorrow! See you there. I'll be the guy with the largest popcorn they sell.

Music Box Theater Massacre 6 and Psycho

Every year the beloved Music Box puts on a weekend of awesome horror fun, including movies (Theatre of Blood, original Phantom of the Opera, special cinematic guests, live music on top of the regular, awesome, weekend organ music by Dennis Scott, vintage trailers, and horror genre merch dealers. Short of a seance, what better way to celebrate the spooky season than some fold old fashioned cinematic blood letting?

To top it off, they are also screening Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho all week as well! Too young to know better? Here's the trailer of the scariest movie ever made (not named The Exorcist).

Music Box Sci-Fi Spectacular

Tomorrow, Saturday April 10 ALL DAY!
Pay once and come and go as you please. Scheduled chronologically for your convenience.

Them! (Gordon Douglas 1954)
Planet of the Vampires (Mario Bava 1965)
Dark Star (John Carpenter 1974)
Flash Gordon (hooray 80's!) (Mike Hodges 1980)
Q: The Winged Serpent (Larry Cohen 1982)
Lifeforce (Tobe Hooper 1985)
They Live (John Carpenter 1988)

Died Young, Stayed Pretty

Updated:

Captivating artifact of an era. — Ward Sutton, Village Voice

A new movie by young and engaging filmmaker Eileen Yaghoobian about the underground poster culture in North America. If you've ever ripped an awesome poster off the wall of your favorite rock dump and guarded it with your life until you could safely deposit it back at your apartment, then this movie is for you.

Bonus CTR points for music by the talented Mark Greenberg of The Coctails.



Wednesday September 30, 7:20pm with an appearance by the director—and probably Mark.


Music Box Theatre
3733 N. Southport
773-871-6604
More details are finally up and they gave the flic its own page on the MB site. Be warned this is a one night showing only, so this is your shot to see this on the big screen with excellent popcorn, just as the Good Lord intended!

ALIEN: The Director's Cut @ The Music Box in Chicago

ALIEN: The Director's Cut

New 35mm Print! DTS Sound!
Edit 9/16: NOT! This is a bad print and we had to leave early because of it!
The first part is horribly scarred, and it never came into focus no matter how hard they tried. I got motion sickness from it and we had to leave right about the time the little baby Jesus was born. They did give us passes for a future show.
Rent it!
"4 STARS! Still vibrates with a dark and frightening intensity.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Director Ridley Scott's breakthough film, an immensely successful blend of horror and science fiction, is a classic in both genres and spawned a host of sequels and imitators. Starring Sigourney Weaver as warrant officer Ellen Ripley, ALIEN focuses on the crew of the space cargo ship Nostromo, which lands on a moribund planet in response to a faint SOS.