The Grand Illusion

ELECTRIC LADY STUDIOS: A JIMI HENDRIX VISION is a new feature-length documentary film chronicling the creation of Electric Lady Studios, rising from the rubble of a bankrupt, Greenwich Village nightclub to the state of the art recording facility inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s vision and becoming the first ever, artist-owned commercial recording studio. Produced by Janie Hendrix, George Scott and John McDermott and directed by McDermott, the film features exclusive interviews with Steve Winwood, Experience bassist Billy Cox, and original Electric Lady staff members who helped Hendrix realize his dream. The documentary includes never-before-seen footage and photos as well as track breakdowns of Hendrix classics such as “Freedom", "Angel” and “Dolly Dagger” by recording engineer Eddie Kramer.

“One of the strengths of John McDermott’s film is that it breaks the rock-doc mold by not relying on a starry roster of talking heads… [and] more than makes up for its lower glamour quotient with a compelling story.” Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

FANTASY A GETS A MATTRESS returns to help us close out the summer season once again, exactly one year after its very first showings at the Grand Illusion!

Fantasy A, real-life autistic Seattle rapper, suffers trials and tribulations from total creeps as he attempts to become a superstar. After being kicked out of his group home onto the grim summer streets, Fantasy A sets off on an odyssey to achieve fame and find a good mattress to sleep on in this ensemble comedy filmed entirely on location in Seattle.

The legend himself, Fantasy A, will be present to introduce the screenings, and he and the filmmakers will also take part in post-show Q&As!

FANTASY A GETS A MATTRESS captures Seattle like no other movie before it. With its bright, vivid colors and glorious cinematography, you can practically feel the city’s summer sun simmering from the screen.

“…a truly original Seattle story overflowing with homegrown creativity and humor… the history of Seattle film has a new chapter that, while still being written, begins and ends with Fantasy A.” Chase Hutchinson, The Seattle Times

40th anniversary! New 4K restoration by The Academy Film Archive of the original theatrical cut!

Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director, Milos Forman’s lush, rollickingly entertaining drama explores the mysteries of creativity and divinely-bestowed genius, as well as jealousy, addiction, and disapproving dads. In a remote asylum, elderly composer Antonio Salieri (a riveting, Oscar-winning F. Murray Abraham) regales a priest with the story of his long-ago frenemyship with the legendary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Oscar nominee Tom Hulce). Flashing back to 18th-century Vienna, the pious and pompous Salieri eagerly anticipates meeting Europe’s greatest musical genius—only to discover that Mozart is also crass, immature, and deeply annoying. Knowing that the talent of a “dirty-minded little creature” far surpasses his own drives Salieri to teeth-grinding aggravation and, ultimately, an obsession to destroy his rival.

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“Amadeus is a magnificent film, full and tender and funny and charming.” Roger Ebert

“A grand, sprawling entertainment… Mozart sings the music of God, Salieri schemes and screams in tragic register, and the film keeps humming merrily along with them both.” Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

“With Mozart’s magical music swirling around them, Hulce and Abraham share a dual triumph in a film that stands as a provocative and prodigious achievement.” Peter Travers, People Magazine

In this A24 release from acclaimed documentarian Lana Wilson, a group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing.

Crystal balls, neon signs leading into candle-lit rooms, ladies in caftans: these images of psychics fill the popular imagination. But throughout New York City, in minimalist and homey settings, a community of sensitive, tuned-in individuals, with their own stories of loss and love, offer bridges to the beyond for sincere seekers. Director Lana Wilson (AFTER TILLER, MISS AMERICANA) turns her eye for intimacy and revelation on sessions between psychics and clients: a doctor wants assurance about the young girl who died in her care; an adopted young woman inquires about her birth parents; a pet medium channels an anxious dog’s concerns. Equally absorbing are the questions the psychics ask themselves: Am I really helping people? Do I have a true gift? Does it matter?

Please note: The showing on Saturday, September 28th, will be presented with open captions.

“Wilson doesn’t solve the mysteries of the universe, but she does do something remarkable: unveiling the very human desires and drives that motivate us to reach out for something bigger than ourselves.” Alejandra Martinez, TheWrap

“With a cozy but respectful camera, a considerate tone and a profound understanding of urban alienation, Wilson puts forth something that will make every New Yorker—or anyone who’s ever sat with unprocessed grief and suffering—feel a little less alone.” Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar

SLEEP follows newlyweds Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun, PARASITE) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi), whose domestic bliss is disrupted when Hyun-su begins speaking in his sleep, ominously stating, “Someone’s inside.” From that night on, whenever he falls asleep, Hyun-su transforms into someone else, with no recollection of what happened the night before. Overwhelmed with anxiety that he may hurt himself or their young family, Soo-jin can barely sleep because of this irrational fear. Despite treatment, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking only intensifies, and Soo-jin begins to feel that her unborn child may be in danger.

In Korean with English subtitles.

“A phenomenal debut, a movie that rises to an incredible climax that should have people talking.” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“Jason Yu crafts a twisty delight that leaves you doubting what you’re seeing and wondering what to believe right till the last moment.” Alissa Wilkinson, Vox

“The smartest debut film I’ve seen in ten years.” Bong Joon-Ho

A pastor takes a young gay teen to a cabin to perform conversion therapy. When the pastor's harsh tactics bully the teen into taking his own life, the ghosts of the conversion camp's many victims return for vengeance.

Writer/director Quinn Armstrong scheduled to be in attendance for a post-show Q&A!

“The Exorcism of Saint Patrick relies on real-life terror to exact its timely messaging, and it’s so uncomfortable (and infuriating) to watch, you’ll no doubt squirm in your seat.” Bee Delores, Horrorverse

“A thought-provoking and chilling social horror film about society’s most frightening monsters: those who wear the mask of piety and morality.” Louisa Moore, Screen Zealots

100th anniversary!

One of the crowning achievements of the German expressionist movement, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s THE LAST LAUGH (Der letzte Mann) stars Emil Jannings as an aging doorman whose happiness crumbles when he is relieved of the duties and uniform which had for years been the foundation of his happiness and pride. Through Jannings’s colossal performance, THE LAST LAUGH becomes more than the plight of a single doorman, but a mournful dramatization of the frustration and anguish of the universal working class.

Presented in celebration of National Silent Movie Day and part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“[A] highly artistic film masterpiece.” Mordaunt Hall, The New York Times

“One of the most famous of silent films, and one of the most truly silent, because it does not even use printed intertitles. Silent directors were proud of their ability to tell a story through pantomime and the language of the camera, but no one before Murnau had ever entirely done away with all written words on the screen (except for one sardonic comment [towards the end]). He tells his story through shots, angles, moves, facial expressions and easily read visual cues.” Roger Ebert

YOU ARE WHO YOU EAT

25th anniversary! Directed by Antonia Bird, RAVENOUS compares American colonialism and capitalism to the insatiable bloodlust of cannibalism. When Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) investigates reports of missing persons at Fort Spencer in 1840s California, he finds frostbitten survivor Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle)—but can Colqhoun's mad story about a bloodthirsty Colonel Ives be trusted? Co-starring Joseph Runningfox and Sheila Tousey, and remixing vampire tropes alongside stories of the Donner Party, "Colorado Cannibal" Alferd Packer, and the Algonquian Wendigo, RAVENOUS is a smart and bloody good cult classic in its own class, featuring a delectable score by Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn.

“In an age of fast-food horror films, Ravenous is that rare and well-seasoned meal that leaves you hungry for more. Eat it up.” Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly

“A gourmet dish for midnight movie ghouls.” Geoff Andrew, Time Out

“It’s one crazy-ass movie…” Paul Tatara, CNN.com

In 1975, Curt McDowell and writer/actor George Kuchar created the exceptionally perverse and utterly brilliant THUNDERCRACK!, a film not recommended for those with tender sensibilities.

Witness if you dare… THUNDERCRACK!… the world’s only underground kinky art adult horror film, complete with four men, three women and rampaging circus animals. With the initial setup of an atmospheric gothic tale — a dark and stormy night breakdown featuring a creepy old house on the hill — it quickly turns into an eerie orgy of graphic humor, horror and sex. A tour de force of underground filmmaking with a plot beyond description, this film fully exposes itself with amazing dialogue and trash-noir lighting through which to peer at the pickles, the puke and the polymorphs.

*No one under 18 admitted.*

“The cult classic of weirdo hardcore, an irresistibly infuriating bad taste whip of raunch and skewed melodrama, like a very horny Soap, that quite literally leaves you unsure of whether you’re coming or going.” Time Out

“This is a full-blown, near-perfect parody which cobbles together a cast of Irwin Allenesque characters, and then steeps them in hardcore sex and disturbing imagery, until it becomes a twisted, Old Dark House-style soap opera… Without question, Thundercrack! is one of the great underground sleaze epics, and a touchstone for all independent filmmakers to come!” Steven Puchalski, Shock Cinema Magazine

30th anniversary! New 35mm print with director Shu Lea Cheang in attendance!

FRESH KILL is a highly stylized and satirical attack on neo-liberal reality. The child of a young lesbian couple living on Staten Island mysteriously vanishes after consuming radiated fish. The battle to find the missing child and the culprits responsible for the disappearance is joined by a group of cyber-warriors. Everyone finds themselves ensnared in a vast conspiracy involving a ghost ship of nuclear refuse, ominous media messages, and deadly cat food!

This presentation is part of a 20-city road trip across America in which Shu Lea Cheang is traveling with a new 35mm print of her film, accompanied by two young filmmakers, Los Angeles-based Jean-Paul Jones and New Orleans-based Jazz Franklin. Read more about this 30th anniversary tour, the movie, the print, and the filmmakers in the official press release here.

Named one of “The 100 Greatest New York City Artworks” – Alex Greenberger, ARTnews

“Fresh Kill, a celebration of multicultural diversity with as much humor as seriousness, suggests that love may be the only defense in a world whose existence is endangered by conglomerates, ever expanding and polluting the mind as well as the planet.” Kevin Thomas, The Los Angeles Times