JULY 4TH LONG WEEKEND CULT MOVIE HAPPENINGS
Summer is in full swing in the U.S, so pack your sunscreen, grab your popcorn, and head to your nearest indie theater this long weekend as we dive into the picks of timeless films. Whether you're an ardent cinephile or simply looking for a nostalgic trip, our round up promises plenty of silver screen treats.
All Weekend from 6pm: GODZILLA-PALOOZA RAIDS AGAIN! comes to The Mahoning Drive In! A legendary lineup of giant monster Battle Royale’s, all in gargantuan 35mm! Friday, June 30th: TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975) + MOTHRA (1961) + GODZILLA 2000 (1999) / Saturday, July 1st KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1963) + RODAN (1956) + GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH : GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001) / Sunday, July 2nd: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968). More info HERE.
Ongoing: Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman star in the grittiest of gritty NYC movies that Vanity Fair describe as a spellbinding glimpse, etched in acid, of how we lived then that bears comparison to the work of great documentary still photographers. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) screens at Film Forum, New York City. More info HERE.
Ongoing: This major retrospective of Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli and its star filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata brings beloved animated classics back to the big screen for STUDIO GHIBLI SUMMER at IFC Center, New York City. More info HERE.
Fri 6/30th & Sat 7/1st 11:30pm: One of the most gargantuan sci-fi hits of the 90s as aliens arrive on earth to obliterate landmarks and wipe the planet clean of humans in the highly entertaining and wonderfully cheesy INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) screening at IFC Center, New York City. More info HERE.
Fri 6/30th & Sat 7/1st Midnight: Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz headline the swashbuckling desert adventure of THE MUMMY (1999) screening at The Music box Theatre, Chicago. More info HERE.
Fri 6/30th 9pm: A hilariously written day in the life of newly unemployed Craig (Ice Cube) and his stoner friend Smokey (Chris Tucker) as two South Central residents scrambling to settle a $200 debt with their drug dealer. FRIDAY (1995) screens at Film at Lincoln Center, New York City / Outdoors at Damrosch Park. More info HERE.
Sat 7/2nd 7:35pm: A dazzling multiplicity of plots collide in one story centered around an ensemble of damaged souls. Paul Thomas Anderson’s MAGNOLIA (1999 / 35mm Print) screens at The Prince Charles Cinema, London. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 7:30pm: A Gulf War veteran rises from the dead to wreak vengeance upon unpatriotic residents of his hometown in UNCLE SAM (1996) Rare 35mm Print screens at The Roxy Cinema, New York City. Features William Smith, Issac Hayes and Robert Forster. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st Midnight: A who’s who of 80s teen heart throbs including Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Alex Winter and Corey Feldman star in the now iconic teen horror fave THE LOST BOYS (1987) screening at The Nitehawk Cinema, New York City. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 7:15pm: Take a cartoonish cross-country joyride with help of Tim Burton. PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985) screens with a program of DJs and July 4th Fireworks at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st & Sun 7/2nd 12:30pm: Ernest P. Worrell, America’s lanky, lovable know-it-all stars as the hero of the summer camp classic ERNEST GOES TO CAMP (1985 / 35mm Print) screening at The Belcourt Theatre, Nashville. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 7:30pm: Two of Russ Meyer’s greatest movies back to back in 35mm! Ass kicking, no shits given Tura Santana heads up FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (1965) followed by late 60’s sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle in BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970). Screening at Secret Movie Club, Los Angeles. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 7:30pm: Showgirls is back, baby! and now we got number 2 next in line to push it down the rhinestone stairs. Special guests, glitz, glamour, sweat and weird pool sex all included. Showgirls (1995 / 35mm) + Showgirls 2: Pennies From Heaven (2011) w/ comedian John Early & Showgirls co-star Rina Riffel at Braindead Studios, Los Angeles. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 4:20pm: From the creator of Astor Boy and the writer of Akira, Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis (2001) is all stunning imagery and cutting edge animation. Screening at The Roxie Cinema, San Francisco. More info HERE.
Fri 7/30th & Sat 7/1st 7:30pm, Sun 7/2nd 2:30pm: Mad Max is left with no car and nothing to lose, becoming a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society founded and ruled by Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985) screens at The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana. More info HERE.
Sat 7/1st 11pm: The (surprising, but warranted) benchmark of modern American action movies! Fight through the night at the JOHN WICK MARATHON, watching all four chapters of for the ultimate big screen Baba Yaga experience! Screens at The Coolidge Corner Theatre, Massachusetts. More info HERE.
Sun 7/2nd 4pm: The pivotal 1950s monster movie that influenced generations of genre films, including the Godzilla franchise, with its tremendous stop-motion special effects created by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953 / 35mm Print) screens at Museum For The Moving Image, New York City. More info HERE.
Sun 7/2nd 7:30pm: Based on the daring campaigns of real-life British military figure T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole, in his first feature) during WWI, this sweeping epic of Arab infighting and British colonialism won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) screens in majestic 70mm at American Cinematheque x Aero Theatre. More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 7pm: Before un-creative Hollywood executives started wanting film ‘franchises’ (puke), James Cameron upped the stakes and creativity with the long awaited continuation of his indie hit. One of the best sequels ever made, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991) screens at The Coolidge Corner Theatre, Massachusetts. More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 8:45pm: The original (and still the best) big screen putting of the comic book turned kid friendly cartoon phenomenon, surprised many by opting to adapt it’s original dark adult source material for the screen, over the colorful animated series at the time, becoming the most successful independent movie of all time for almost a decade. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990) screens at The Music Box Theatre, Chicago. More info HERE.
Ongoing: Although the current CEO seems intent on destroying it, Warner still has one of the most legendary archives of cinema. The WARNER BROS CENTENNIAL PART ONE continues this long weekend at The AFI Silver, Maryland including ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944), THE BIG SLEEP (1946) and STAGE FRIGHT (1950). More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 4:15pm & 6:45pm: An American couple (James Stewart, Doris Day) on vacation in Morocco have a chance encounter that leads to their involvement in an international assassination plot that they must keep secret at all costs. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956 / 35mm Print) at The Brattle Theatre, Massachusetts. More info HERE.
All Weekend: Fourteen masterpieces arrive on the big screen this summer for the annual festival of RECENT RESTORATIONS at BAM Cinematheque, New York City. Including the THREE COLORS TRILOGY, PARIS TEXAS and SUZHOU RIVER. More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 8pm: Sci-fi B Movie bliss with action star Billy Banks in a race to save the Earth's atmosphere from nuclear destruction and a cybernetic killing machine! TC 2000 (1993) screens at The Hollywood Theatre, Portland. More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 7:30pm: When a pack of pint-sized, piranha-teethed alien fur-balls land in small town Grover’s Bend, they’ll mischievously munch through everything they can! Cath a Double Feature of CRITTERS (1986) + CRITTERS 2 (1988), both in 35mm at The New Beverly Cinema, Los Angeles. More info HERE.
Mon 7/3rd 9:15pm: Long before the superhero movie boom there was FLASH GORDON (1980), who travel to planet Mongo to do battle with Emperor Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow). Screens in 35mm at The Metrograph Theatre, New York City. More info HERE.