Ever have the urge to shout at the movie screen when a favorite character does something stupid?
Thanks to the Bijou Art Cinemas, moviegoers will be allowed to succumb to these hollering and howling temptations all they want without the guilt. Best of all, no one will whisper “Shhhh!” for breaking movie theater etiquette.
After a winter break hiatus, the late night series is back at the Bijou. The series, which kicked off last week, has been a tradition of the theater since it opened, according to Bijou manager Louise Thomas.
The late night series once featured second-run films, but couldn’t compete when Cinemark Movies 12 at the Gateway Mall in Springfield started showing second-run movies exclusively. Late nights debuted at the Bijou with cult films in 2002. This year films will include 3-D, rave music videos, classic rock ‘n’ roll films, 1980s concert films and animated features.
Films will be shown after 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the theater, housed in an 80-year-old Spanish Mission-style building. Thomas and Bijou owner Michael
Lamont wanted to show obscure films – obscure even for the Bijou.
“We’re just trying stuff out that’s rare and won’t necessarily be easy to see anywhere else,” Thomas said.
The theater will be showcasing concert and music films including “The Old Grey Whistle Test,” an influential British Broadcasting
Corporation show that ran from 1971 to 1987. The Bijou will show 28 acts from the TV show, including music greats such as Alice Cooper, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Elton John, Tom Petty, U2, R.E.M. and John Lennon.
The theater will also show “ABBA: Super Troupers” this week. Thomas is also planning to show a rave music film – “not for dancing or drug-taking, but for the psychedelic music and visuals,” she said.
Late nights will also feature animation, local and 3-D films.
“The other category we’re in love with is 3-D.” She admitted some 3-D films can be bad, but “at least they’re in 3-D.”
Thomas would like to keep the spirit of the series going with a fun atmosphere as if moviegoers were watching a DVD at home. She describes the setting as more festive than regular showings, with a party-like atmosphere.
“I just want people to feel comfortable to yell at the screen if they want to. It’s a different environment than our (daytime) calm audience. I don’t want people to throw stuff at the screen or mess the place up, but (I want customers) to feel like it’s happening,” Thomas said. “(We) turn it up loud so it’s really fun.”
Organizers hope to attract several University students.
“We’re shooting for maybe half University students and half regular Eugene late-night folks,” Thomas said. She had students in mind when organizing the late night series.
“(Students’) hours might be a little different than other folks. I know students plan not to go to class until noon,” Thomas said.
The Bijou is also looking into showing more local films if area filmmakers come forward. Thomas, who said she feels passionate about showing local films, would consider putting more on the late night calendar.
“(The Bijou) offers a great opportunity for filmmakers to show their films. This is a great way to be part of the community.” The theater is currently showing “Raising Flagg” by local director/producer/writer Neal Miller.
The late night series will feature 15 local films from the second-annual OpenLens Film Festival, held in mid-January by the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts.
The Bijou late night series includes:
“ABBA: Super Troupers”: Feb. 3, 4, 5: Documentary featuring live television performances and interviews with the group.
OpenLens: Feb. 10, 11, 12: Showcasing short films by filmmakers from Douglas, Lane, Linn, Benton and Deschutes counties.
“M 3-D The Movie”: Feb. 17, 18, 19: According to the Bijou late night calendar, the movie is “70s style campy erotica” and “nonsensical comedy.” (3-D glasses provided.)
“Say Hello Wave Goodbye”: Feb. 24, 25, 26: 80s rock film
“Rock and Rule”: March, 3, 4, 5: Animated science fiction and fantasy rock opera in which the only survivors on a futuristic planet are rats, cats and dogs that have mutated into humans.
“Glastonbury Anthems”: March 10, 11, 12: Clips from the Glastonbury Festival featuring Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Blur, Travis, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay and others.
“Exotic Robotics: Pleasure Mix 14IX”: March 17, 18, 19: According to the Bijou Web site, this film is made up of “ten cutting-edge trance-electronic tracks.”
“The Old Grey Whistle Test”: March 24, 25, 26: BBC television show with some big name music acts.
Admission to the late night series is $4. A full schedule is available at no cost in the Bijou lobby. The theater is located at 492 E. 13th Ave. in Eugene.
[email protected]
Rare films: a weekend norm at the Bijou Art Cinemas
Daily Emerald
February 1, 2006
0
More to Discover