Today marks six years since I first started Anomalous Cinema. It’s quite an achievement as I have created somewhat similar websites in the past that rarely lasted more than one year. Part of what keeps me going is that I honestly believe that I am inspiring a small audience to watch better movies. I still hear friends talking about watching garbage, which is a damn shame. Hopefully you, I’ll just go ahead and say it… smarter people, have enjoyed some of my recommendations over the years.
Anyway, earlier this week my partner Suzie and I went to see a showcase of Holiday themed 16mm films called “The Psychotronic After School Christmas Special” at Portland’s historic Hollywood Theatre. It was pretty amazing. I had completely forgotten about the above linked A Cosmic Christmas, which was shown on TV during my childhood. This HD version of the film looks much sharper than what we saw, so enjoy the holiday spiced cheese if you dare.
Let me tell you about the highlight of the screening: a 1969 short film called The Season. The Episcopal Church funded this crazy excoriation of the consumer aspects of the holidays that ended with bulldozers crushing multi-colored Christmas trees in the dump. I would have avoided that spoiler, but you cannot find this film online. It’s not on IMDb, and there’s hardly a mention of it on the internet aside from the Nyback Film Archive website (maintained by Greg Hamilton who put on this event). My point is, if you are able to see rare film screenings, do it. It is an exceptional feeling to know you’re seeing something special, and better yet, away from your usual TV and phone screen.
I want to close with a shout out to my friend Joe McDonald, who made the only recent donation to this site. He also wisely suggested making a list of all the films here. I will be adding an alphabetical / linked list very soon!
Happy Holidays. -Jonathan
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