The Grand Illusion

FREE SCREENING! NEW RESTORATION! THE MOVIE ORGY is a legendary five-hour triumph from Joe Dante—one of genre cinema's most significant masterminds. In 1968, the future director of GREMLINS and INNERSPACE took an apartment’s worth of 16mm prints and, with the help of producer Jon Davison (ROBOCOP), meticulously fashioned them into what is quite possibly the world's first found footage megamix. Comprised of commercials, news reels, clips from feature films, TV bloopers, and much more, THE MOVIE ORGY is both a fascinating cultural artifact and a wild vortex of mashed-up magnificence. Rarely screened and never available on home video, the film has been preserved from the original 16mm reels by AGFA in partnership with Joe Dante and Jon Davison.

From Brian, Volunteer (2003-2023), Lead Programmer (2012-2016), and Manager (2010-2022): After 20 years as a volunteer at the Grand Illusion, I’m “retiring” in early 2023. One of my crowning achievements as lead programmer was showing Joe Dante’s epic mashup THE MOVIE ORGY for our 9th anniversary as a non-profit. So I’m beyond happy to share it with you all again, this time in a new restoration from our friends at the American Genre Film Archive!

Reserve your free tickets (max two per order) starting Wednesday Jan. 4! ** If you’re not at the cinema by showtime we reserve the right to let someone take your seat! **

SHOW ADDED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND! See it on Wednesday, Jan. 18, too!