Retro Cocktail Hour Movie Night Starring El Santo

The Rathaus loves camp! (Okay, so maybe some of them just like it a little. But I, Tricia, cannot get enough.) And you don’t get much campier than the Mexican Luchador films starring El Santo. To my delight, KPR‘s Retro Cocktail Hour has teamed up with the Mexican Consulate in Kansas City and Liberty Hall in Lawrence to present a double feature showing two films staring the legendary El Santo this Friday, May 29th at 7:30pm.

Read on for a more in-depth explanation from the folks at the Retro Cocktail Hour:
Mexico’s popular tradition of masked wrestlers (“luchadores”) spawned a number of colorful – if low budget – horror, science fiction and spy movies from the 1960s through the ’80s. By far the busiest of the cinema luchadores was El Santo, the most famous and iconic of all the luchadores. Santo’s film career began in 1958 with The Evil Brain and lasted until The Fury of the Karate Experts in 1982 (El Santo died in 1984). For our first-ever RCH movie night, we’ll screen an El Santo double feature, including El Santo and Blue Demon Vs. The Monsters (co-starring Mexico’s second greatest luchador, Blue Demon) in which the heroes tangle with Dracula, the Wolf Man AND the Frankenstein Monster. The second half of our double bill spotlights Santo Vs. The She Wolves, wherein El Santo defends a rural village from a gang of female werewolves! Our night of “cinema con queso” begins at 7:30pm at Liberty Hall. Tickets will be on sale at the door on Friday, May 29. Liberty Hall is located at 642 Massachusetts in Lawrence.

posted by: Tricia Rock

Cinema Style: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

Victorian necklines, lace, gloves, sheer layers, and an endless supply of white cotton dresses. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a 1970 surreal horror/fantasy film out of the Czech Republic, takes you on a dreamy adventure and a fashion showcase. Although director Jaromil Jires does not allow the costuming to become a character of its own, the timelessness of the film’s fashion blends seamlessly to draw the viewer into Valerie’s burgeoning mind and body.

As we follow Valerie through her fantastical world in which nothing is ever what it seems, we are reminded of the collections of Fall 2008. Givenchy, Prada, and Stella McCartney to name a few. However, deriving from the Czech New Wave, Valerie’s whirlwind adventure captures not only ageless fashion but an artistic desire for freedom very indicative of its time and place.

by: Tricia Rock

Dystopian Installment .01 : FILM

An interest in the apocalypse seems to be intensifying, with huge pop culture successes such as the Left Behind Series, The Matrix, and even an entire week dedicated to the Armageddon on the History Channel. Amateurs and professionals alike add fuel to the fire. The theories of the the Mayan calender and the Earth’s shifting magnetic poles are all the rage right now and astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson informs us that a giant asteroid impact will most likely bring civilization’s end. We may not be the first generation aware of the ever approaching end of times but we sure know how to make the most of it. Mass anxiety over impending doom is seemingly timeless, but an obsessive fixation on the end can also be used as an inspiration for art, products, and films that force us to question the sustainability of our modern societies. The popularity of the dystopian aesthetic sheds light on our morbid fascination with the fall of civilization. Dystopia is characterized by its bleak and often post-cataclysmic conditions. The tradition of the dystopian aesthetic is rich with both innovation and appropriation, and has made its place within our culture as the foreboding prophet of the consequences of our actions and our ignorances.

For the first in a series of posts exploring the dystopian aesthetic in various mediums, The Rathaus presents Scott Starrett’s Dystopian Installment .01 : FILM.

-

The Rathaus’ 5 dystopian films made in the last 25 years that you should see

-

Brazil 1985 Terry Gilliam

Brazil, written and directed by Terry Gilliam, is arguably one of the most revered films in the dystopian genre. With its elaborate sets, full of industrial equipment excessively adorned by wires, tubes, cogs, and gears Brazil revised the tone of dystopian fantasy. Fascination with the aesthetic of Brazil has influenced numerous films since and played a major role in sparking the steampunk industrial design movement.

-

The City of Lost Children 1995 Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet

In The City of Lost Children, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (director of the critically acclaimed Amélie) blend pre-industrial age gadgetry, medieval Europe, and futuristic sciences to create a nightmarish fairy tale and a dystopian masterpiece. In the tradition of appropriation and homage within the dystopian genre, The City of Lost Children imitates as well as modifies Brazil’s excessive use of gadgetry and machinery. Although similar, Caro and Jeunet’s mechanisms also include wood paneling and brass hardware, a method later adopted by the steampunk movement. The City of Lost Children is a timeless fantasy that raises philosophical questions about the schism between human purity and technological advancement.

-

Twelve Monkeys 1995 Terry Gilliam

Ten years after the release of Brazil, Gilliam revisits the dystopian genre with Twelve Monkeys. Original, epic, and deservedly mentioned among our dystopian films, Twelve Monkeys has a fascinating story to accompany it as well. With Twelve Monkeys Gilliam may have taken the tradition of dystopian appropriation and homage a bit too far. When visionary and architectural polemicist Lebbeus Woods watched Gilliam’s film, he was surprised to see that the chair used to levitate Bruce Willis was in fact an exact replica of his drawing “Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber.” Woods sued the producers of the film and was awarded a six-figure compensation for illegal use of his work. Woods did, however, allow the film’s distribution, as well as the dystopian tradition of appropriation, to continue.

-

Dark City (suggested: director’s cut) 1998 Alex Proyas

Although Dark City combines a heady mix of psychological thriller and science fiction, neither aspect overwhelms the other. The film is an intricate mesh of interwoven time periods and constantly shifting aesthetic elements. The visual complexity of the film is relative to the plot, and the result is captivating and challenging. Mention has been made considering the similarities between the philosophical quandaries in Dark City and the 1999 Wachowski Brother’s film, The Matrix. Although little to no discussion of The City of Lost Children’s influence on The Matrix could be found by The Rathaus, the parallels are uncanny.

-

Children of Men 2006 Alfonso Cuarón

Children of Men is a distinct distopian film due to its convincing plausibility and not entirely futuristic aesthetic. While most films in the genre show a world deep in the clutches of ruin, Children of Men takes place on the brink of a disaster, showing a modern world where humans are witness to a sudden and disparaging phenomenon that precursors the dystopian society. The inability of humans to reproduce has brought civilization to its knees in this bleak but eerily believable, cautionary tale.

-

These films can be found on Snarkarati’s Top 50 Dystopian Films. The site utilizes IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes user ratings to rank each film.

by: Scott Starrett

Cinema Style: The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 film The Last Emperor is regarded as a visual masterpiece. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, the film swept all categories including Best Picture and Best Director, Best Cinematography for Vittorio Straro, and Best Costume Design for James Acheson. The Last Emperor follows the true life story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty, from his takeover of power in 1908 at age three till his death in 1967. Told through a series of flashbacks, Pu Yi is shown in his childhood restricted to the Forbidden City, living a “westernized” lifestyle in Tientsin, Japan after being stripped of power, ruling the puppet state of Manchukuo with the support of the Japanese, imprisoned as a war criminal by the People’s Republic of China, and eventually in the last stage of his life as a gardener in a Maoist society. For Bertolucci, The Last Emperor came after six years spent in a self-imposed exile from filmmaking and represents one of his greatest artistic achievements.

Bertolucci on set with actor John Lone

After becoming the first production authorized by the Chinese government to film in the Forbidden City, Bertolucci allotted a $25 million budget to recreate the sets and costumes that would pay tribute to the history and culture. In conjunction with the cinematography, costuming within the Forbidden City is bold and bright, using reds, yellows, and oranges to accentuate the traditional dress and lavish lifestyle of the young emperor. Contrarily, the prison camp scenes of Pu Yi’s later life make use of blue tones and very simple, uniform clothing. However, the section of the film following Piyu’s expulsion from the Forbidden City interestingly combines these two techniques.

While living in Japan and embracing westernization, the characters are dressed in richly colored western styles of the 1920′s. However, the overall composition of the scenes are dull and shadowy, using the blue tones of the prison camp scenes to allude to the fact that Pu Yi is losing control. This combination is then flipped during Pu Yi’s reign of Manchukuo. While the cinematography again captures the brightness of the scenery, the 1920′s western costumes have become much darker and more subdued.

Though the cinema style of The Last Emperor may not easily translate to the here and now, the beauty of the film itself is a great inspiration. Due to a lack of available photos, The Rathaus was unable to include many pictures of the costuming during the time of Pu Yi’s 1920′s westernization. For a snapshot of these scenes please enjoy the following video.

Fun fact from Wikipedia: The Buddhist lamas who appear in the film could not be touched by women, so extra male wardrobe helpers were hired to dress them.

by: Tricia Rock

Spooky Cinema Style: House of 1000 Corpses

When considering fashion in film, horror is not the first genre that comes to mind. A damsel in distress slowly shedding her tank top and jeans rarely constitutes a fashionable film. However, in the spirit of Halloween, horror has become the genre of choice here at The Rathaus. And while viewing some of the most terrifying films ever made we managed to find some great fashion.

Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses is a distinctly stylistic film in every aspect, including the costuming. With its clothing, the film chooses not to box itself into the trends of its time but instead uses unique pieces and combinations to create a sense of timelessness. The incorporation of bold yet muted colors, layering, sequins, and detailed jackets help draw the viewer into a world brimming with surreal violence. This is best exemplified with the character of Denise Willis who after being captured is costumed in a baby doll dress complete with knee high socks and doll-like makeup. As Willis struggles her way through the the House of 1000 Corpses she brings with her a childlike innocence that is further emphasized by the clothes she wears.

With House of 1000 Corpses Rob Zombie used fashion, cinematography, set design, and quick cuts drawn from retro-horror kitsch and his own celebrity persona to establish himself an auteurist. For the fashionably minded looking for a great film and a good scare this week leading up to Halloween, House of 1000 Corpses is one twisted carny ride you do not want to miss.

by: Tricia Rock