THEATER

THEME:

THE DAY AFTER

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes (Jason Robards) maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein (Steve Guttenberg) is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.

Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi
Release date: November 20, 1983 (USA) TV-PG
Trivia: This remains the most-watched TV movie in U.S. history. Estimates put the viewership at over 100 million Americans, with a Nielsen share of 62 percent.

WAKE IN FRIGHT

After finishing up the school term in a remote outback town, teacher John Grant (Gary Bond) looks forward to spending his holiday with his girlfriend in Sydney. But John gets waylaid in a mining town where a gambling spree leaves him completely broke. He quickly falls in with the hard-drinking locals, who constantly ply him with alcohol and force him to participate in a gruesome kangaroo hunt. Disgusted, John tries to hitchhike out of town and, when that fails, begins to contemplate suicide.

Genres: Drama, Thriller
Release date:October 9, 1971 (Australia) R
Trivia:The novel's author, Kenneth Cook, based the fictional town of Bundanyabba on Broken Hill in New South Wales, where much of the movie was filmed on location. The train is seen arriving at "Bundanyabba Sulphide St" station, and Sulphide Street is a genuine station in Broken Hill. Broken Hill is one of the most isolated inland towns in Australia.

SMOKE EM IF YOU GOT EM

When a nuclear war hits Melbourne, Australia, we find that there's more than one way to survive in the fallout - why sit around wasting what air's left when there's time now to get loose and dance?

The world is a blazing atomic hell. Civilisation is dying in agony... What do you do? ...THROW A PARTY!

Genres: Comedy
Release date:September 11, 1988 (Australia)

One Night Stand

As nuclear war breaks out, they've got one night to live the rest of their lives. In Australia, four teenagers in a Sydney theater are astounded to hear the news that a nuclear war has broken out in Eastern Europe. They try to figure out the best way they can survive the coming conflagration.

Genres: Comedy, Drama
Release date:April 4th, 1984 (AUS, CA)
Trivia:Footage of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil was taken from their Midnight Oil Show concert staged in Sydney and filmed and recorded on 18th September 1983.

THE NOAH

After a nuclear attack kills everyone, the last man on earth, going mad from loneliness and isolation, creates a companion in his mind. He soon finds himself living a lie when his imaginary world builds up into something complex.

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Release date: April 11, 1975 (USA)
Trivia:Shot in 1968, but not released until April 11, 1975 with weekend midnight showings at the Waverly theatre in Manhattan. It only had four showings, with considerably increased audience, when a lawyer confiscated the print with a court judgment for an alleged production debt - thus ending its run.

For the first film selection in the theater what better than films pertaining to my special specfic interest, nuclear bombs and the australian outback.

Ok... so maybe Wake In Fright is sorta an outlier here (spoilers:theres no bomb) but look I think everyone should see it and its free on YOUTUBE!!! Come on!

The Day After is imo better than Threads (1984), maybe it's because I'm American but seeing a middle of no-where farm town get nuked sends real shivers down my spine.

Smoke Em If You Got Em is one of my favorites of ALL TIME. If you only have 40 minutes to kill, please give it a go. Cult in every meaning of the term.

NEW!!! - One Night StandI can't stop thinking about this film! A group of teens and the end of the world. Takes place inside the Sydney Opera house. Particuarly enjoy this one for the atmosphere and the ending.

And finally The Noah More people should see this one, truly it is an underrated gem. Just a phenomnal concept, and Robert Strauss' gives a fantastic final performance. He died before it was released.

THEME:

Space Truckers

A space trucker and his cute fiancee are on their way from a space station to Earth with an unknown cargo. When space pirates hijack them, 5000 disintegrator robots are found in the cargo.

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Release date: October 1996
Trivia: The biomechanical warriors were designed by Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayama, known for his precisely detailed, erotic hand painted portrayals of women and feminine robots.

Arena

A human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species.

Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Sport
Release date: March 29, 1989

MOON ZERO TWO

A space salvage expert and his partner become involved with a group of criminals intent on hijacking a small asteroid made of sapphire and crashing it into the moon.

Genres: Crime, Sci-fi, Western
Release date: October 26, 1969 (UK)
Trivia: This is the only Hammer film set in the future.

First Men In The Moon

When a contemporary spaceship lands on the moon, it's hailed as a new accomplishment before it becomes clear that a Victorian party completed the trek in 1899. This leads investigators to the earlier mission's last surviving crew member.

Genres: Adventure, Sci-fi
Release date: August 6, 1964 (UK)
Trivia: Ray Harryhausen used NASA blueprints as inspiration for the UN's lunar lander when he was designing the film's sets.

Inquest of Pilot Pirx

Humanlike robots replace humans on space missions. Test flight with robots and human crew, including commander Pirx unaware of robots' identities, evaluates robot performance/interactions. UN organizes mission to assess robot capabilities.

Genres: GENRES: Drama, Sci-fi
Release date: May 25, 1979 (Poland)
Trivia: The lift-off scene of the spaceship was an archive footage of one of the Apollo Saturn V launches including the scene when Apollo astronauts ride in the lift before entering their capsule.

Thought it was about time I added a new selection in this "theater" o'mine. Another one of my favorite things is Space (I know this is a shock). So I have gathered here but a MEAGER sliver of the bounty that is weird and wacky space movies. The general current through them all is set design and practical effects, good visual food.

Space Truckers If you know Re-animator and Robot Jox from the beautiful mind of Stuart Gordon, then I think you should know Space Truckers. This to me is like Fifth Elements' weird cousin in terms of vibe. I am a BIG fan of road trips... and this is one IN SPACE!!! Watch it!! Truck stops, gas stations, killer bots oh my!

Arena I can best describe this as Rocky in Space. A man in an arena fighting... aliens! This may be a reoccurring plotline in *your favorite space opera here*, but do they not always slap? Exactly. Loved the bar setting in this, and the creature designs. Has DS9s' Marc Alaimo and Armin Shimerman!!! WORTH a gander.

Moon Zero Two MOOOOOOON ZERO TWOOO, get ready for THE ear worm of all time. Look... I am deeply obsessed with this film. The miniatures, sets, costumes, animations!! Ugh. I love it. It is like a sorta iffy 007 space western. And if you've read a lot of classic sci-fi you might know exactly what I mean by that an roll your eyes but shhhh.... The actual plot of the movie doesn't matter, this is VIBES. And you need to at least watch the intro for me. Thanks.

First Men In The Moon I think this one perfectly captures the H.G Wells vibe. Victorians in space. It is so charming, and fun, and weird. I love it. Ray Harryhausen does all the effects, that should sell you on it. So good.

Inquest of Pilot Pirx This is a recent addition to my film canon but holy crap!!!!!!!!!! I cannot BELIEVEEEEE this isn't talked about more. Poland just knows how to make a damn movie. I am a BIG fan of THIS. Ok? Awesome. This is based off a collection of short stories from Stanislaw Lem (guy who also did Solaris if that helps ring a bell). So obviously... it explores what it means to be human and conscious in that cerebral sort of way. The soundtrack is like INSANELY ahead of its time. So awesome. Go. Now.