The Joy Of Midnight Movies

When I was a young movie goer I was often drawn to movies because they offered intrigue and a societal subversion. I wanted to see how the other side lived. Dark thoughts from dark minds were compelling and at the same time educational. In the dark I was exposed to ideas and concepts that opened my eyes and allowed me to have a more rounded perspective of the world. At one time cinema often offered liberation and diversity.? While I was passionate about mainstream cinema, I was intrigued by those voices on the fringes.

?Names like Ralph Bakshi, Alejandro Jadworsky, Roger Corman, Lina Wertmuller, Agnes Varda, and John Waters whispered from the edge of this art that I was falling in love with. Usually movies by these fine folks would be screened at a wonderful local arthouse. Small and a bit decrepit, but full of history, it is here that I really got a taste of how expansive the cinematic world was. Movies from Italy and France authored by directors with odd last names like Rosselini, Truffaut, Godard, and Bunuel were screened on a regular basis. The 35 foot screen opened a portal to a dynamic and different world. These movies, with the exception of Corman's, would rarely be exhibited in a mainstream theater. There was a form of cinematic segregation going on.

?When you arrived at one of these theaters there usually was a short line filled with excited patrons who were anxious to walk into this alternative universe. The floors were sticky with spilled Coke products and the chairs initially installed in 1946, were at times a tad snug. Prior to the movie without fail, the song “The Weight” by The Band was played. The screen opened, the auditorium went dark and we as a collective audience became engaged with the movie.

?When the movie finished, the audience got up and departed, all the while talking about what they just saw. I would say 60 percent of the audience retreated to the neighboring watering hole to ponder what they just experienced. In some ways the audience was firmly integrated into the movie. They provided the scope and the tonality of the movie experience. The cult movies/midnight movies in many ways laid the foundation for the independent film movement.

?To cut to the chase, a big decision making for screening these movies was the simple fact it was often cheaper to book them in comparison to the traditional Hollywood release. Theater owners usually used the lower prices to facilitate screenings at alternative times. It became common place, during the 1950s and 60s, to begin showing these films at midnight, when audience attendance was lower, and sensibilities often less discriminating.

?The first bona fide midnight movie was Jadworsky’s “El Topo”. This purposefully upsetting movie was by any measure a deep success and paved a path forward for other “different movies” to obtain some form of market. Soon it became known that if a movie screened at midnight, then there was a likelihood it had some element of the bizarre attached to it. John Waters, that renegade out of Baltimore, would define the boundary of that world by his release of the movie “Pink Flamingos” starring Divine.

The film stars the often controversial Divine as a criminal living under the name of Babs Johnson, who proclaims herself to be the "the filthiest person alive". While living in a Baltimore trailer park with a very odd cast of characters she is confronted by a couple of criminals who for some reason are envious of her reputation and try to outdo her in being disgusting. The movie's 1997 release saw it gain the NC-17 rating “for a wide range of perversions in explicit detail". All of John Waters' movies eventually became foundations of the midnight movie circuit, with movies like Polyester (1981) and Hairspray (1988).

?The movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show” was released by Twentieth century Fox in 1975 and was a dismal failure. No one knew what to make of it and it languished in obscurity until the Waverly Theater decided to screen it as part of its midnight series. The movie exploded in the New York counter culture scene. From there it gained an ongoing audience and is still screened today.

?Its budget was $1.2 million and would eventually enjoy a cumulative box office of $246 million. In 2021 it ranked in 15th place…..not bad some 41 years later.

?This illustrates that theaters, if they are to be dynamic and culturally expansive portals for moviegoing, must look at the lessons of the past and find a way to present diverse productions to an increasingly diverse world. You must take a look at your community and program to meet their aspirations.

?While theater owners rightfully should rejoice at the box office of Top Gun :Maverick and Elvis, the weak performance of “Lightyear” shows the erosion of the next generation of movie audiences. Coupled with Disney ‘s shoddy marketing campaign, the buzz on Buzz was a same sex kiss as opposed to a fun and engaging plotline.

?“Top Gun” is a huge hit that has made a whopping billion dollars at the box office despite being denied China as a market, odd because some of the movie’s budget came from China, the world’s largest film market. “Elvis’” $32 million opening weekend is equally impressive. Foundationally these numbers came from attracting older audiences back to the movies. The nostalgia factor in both Top Gun and Elvis was the prime marketing force.

?This shows that if movies are to regain their vigor they must appeal to a wider market then they are now. Hollywood, as of late, is leaving a ton of money on the table.