Facets Multimedia
1517 W. Fullerton Ave.
Chicago IL 60614
1517 W. Fullerton Ave.
Chicago IL 60614
FACETS NIGHT SCHOOL
An off-shoot of Facets' long-running, popular film school program, Facets Night School digs into cinema's wild side with special Saturday night midnight lectures on cult favorites led by Facets' expert staff, followed by screenings of the films and post-screening discussions. It's a schooling in Midnight Movies that you won't find anywhere else!
Horror greats, sci-fi wonders, action and kung-fu whirlwinds, exploitation favorites, classic and contemporary oddities, black comedies, rock 'n' roll docs, crazy animation and much more all go under the microscope at the hands of Facets' movie obsessives! And priced at only $5 per class, Facets Night School is a mind-blowing bargain!
Each student receives an educational packet for the films full of notes, essays, articles, a bibliography for further reading and more with admission. DVD give-aways and pre-class grindhouse trailers round out the night!
Advance tickets are available through
Facets Night School is FREE for Patron Circle Members
All classes are held at Facets Cinémathèque, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago IL
Session Four runs from February 6 - March 27, and it's stocked with a variety of features from cinema's outer-reaches and all points in-between.
Saturday, February 6
Lady Terminator and the Golden Age
of Indonesian Exploitation Films
Lew Ojeda's examination of the weird Terminator rip-off:
Lady Terminator
Directed by H. Tjut Djalil, 1989"Too lurid, repulsive and psychologically warped for audiences to laugh"
-New York Times
"A real guilty pleasure"
-Village Voice
The film starts when the powerful South Sea Queen, a spirit whose sexual wiles are too much for virtually any man, is overcome by a handsome stranger who steals her sexual prowess (in the form of a snake-turned-sword) and vows revenge in 100 years time on her great-granddaughter. Many years later, a female anthropologist is impregnated by the vengeful spirit and turns into an indestructible fighting machine capable of killing men during sex and set Jakarta ablaze with fear. Yes, it's a ripoff of The Terminator, but a good and entertaining one.
Lew Ojeda digs into the South Sea Island mysticism, high-octane explosions and killer sex of this wild slab of cinema, while also examining the unique cultural and political conditions that led to the island nation's incredibly prolific 20-year indulgence in outrageous cinema.
Lew Ojeda is a Facets Personal Video Consultant and Catalog Writer. His film reviews have been published in Shock Cinema and The Empty Closet. Lew has also produced and directed local TV programs in Rochester, New York. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include Regurgitating a Cult Classic: The Hidden Feasts of Eat the Rich, and Ha, Ha, Ha, Thud!: What's So Funny About the Violence in Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky.
YouTube trailer
Saturday, February 13
Strap Your Hands 'cross My Engines: Driving Thunder Road
Susan Doll's look at the overlooked Robert Mitchum classic:
Thunder Road
Directed by Arthur Ripley, 1958
"Mitchum was a great actor, and there is a cool intelligence at work in Thunder Road, both behind and in front of the camera"
-Senses of Cinema
Robert Mitchum wrote, produced, and stars in the story of a legendary bootlegger who runs moonshine from the mountains to the city while revenue agents do their best to catch him. Susan Doll will examine this overlooked independent feature from the '50s, its underrated star and its quintessentially American elements such as its maverick protagonist and imagery of the road.
-Senses of Cinema
Robert Mitchum wrote, produced, and stars in the story of a legendary bootlegger who runs moonshine from the mountains to the city while revenue agents do their best to catch him. Susan Doll will examine this overlooked independent feature from the '50s, its underrated star and its quintessentially American elements such as its maverick protagonist and imagery of the road.
Susan Doll is the writer/researcher for the Facets Video label. She holds a PhD in film studies from Northwestern University and is the author of Elvis for Dummies, Florida on Film, The Films of Elvis Presley, Best of Elvis, Elvis Album, Elvis: Forever in the Groove, and more. Susan also writes for Turner Classic Movie's blog, MovieMorlocks.com. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include Night of the Hunter: A Fractured Fairy Tale, Elvis 101: How to Appreciate an Elvis Movie, a look at Viva Las Vegas, and In the Beginning There Was Universal:The Establishment of the Hollywood Horror Genre.
Saturday, February 20
Zombies, Humanity and George Romero's Third Zombie Classic
Patrick Ogle's reappraisal of the underappreciated undead favorite:
Day of the Dead
Directed by George Romero, 1985
"A fitting conclusion to a remarkably astute series, a landmark in the horror genre"
-TimeOut London
In the third and final installment in George A. Romero's Dead trilogy (preceded by Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead), the walking dead have taken over the world. Only a small band of scientists and soldiers remain and have taken refuge in an underground missile silo, where a borderline mad scientist attempts to control the hordes of zombies by experimenting on them.
-TimeOut London
In the third and final installment in George A. Romero's Dead trilogy (preceded by Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead), the walking dead have taken over the world. Only a small band of scientists and soldiers remain and have taken refuge in an underground missile silo, where a borderline mad scientist attempts to control the hordes of zombies by experimenting on them.
Fueled by fear, claustrophobia and a power struggle between the soldiers and scientists, all hell breaks loose and the remaining human survivors must engage in a horrific last ditch battle for life with thousands of the walking dead. Patrick Ogle will examine this zombie great and its relationship to the wave of undead cinema that followed.
Patrick Ogle is Facets' Media Relations Coordinator, and a PR person, promoter, recording artist and writer. A humor, business and travel writer for the Miami Herald for 6 years, Ogle is a native of Florida which is positively awash in zombies. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include Cemetery Man: The Last of the Great Italian Knock-Offs and Fulci's Zombie: Brains or Entrails?
YouTube trailer
TimeOut London
Patrick Ogle is Facets' Media Relations Coordinator, and a PR person, promoter, recording artist and writer. A humor, business and travel writer for the Miami Herald for 6 years, Ogle is a native of Florida which is positively awash in zombies. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include Cemetery Man: The Last of the Great Italian Knock-Offs and Fulci's Zombie: Brains or Entrails?
Saturday, February 27
Korean Cult Craziness:
The Mind-Blowing Genre Hybrid of Save the Green Planet
Michael Smith's dissection of:
Save the Green Planet
Directed by Jang Joon-Hwan, 2003"Snazzy, playful, some-what gory, often hilarious, and generally unpredictable"
-Village Voice
"Alternately heartbreaking, suspenseful, and darkly funny"
-Chicago Reader
One of the quintessential films of the South Korean New Wave, Jang Joon-Hwan's Save the Green Planet has earned an ever-expanding worldwide cult following wherever it has screened since its premiere in 2003. The story of a blue-collar worker convinced that his former boss is an alien intent on destroying the human race, this outrageous and provocative black comedy reflects political anxieties dating back to South Korea's pro-democracy protests in the 1980s while also serving as a prescient ecological fable on a more universal scale. Winner of the Korean Grand Bell Award for Best New Director, the colorful Jang has stated that his concept for the film stemmed from an impulse to make movie audiences identify with a torturer (rather than his victim) combined with crackpot alien conspiracy theories that he gleaned from surfing anti-Leonardo DiCaprio websites. Michael Smith plays guide to a mind-blowing film in which every conceivable movie genre (from the serial killer thriller to sci-fi to kung fu and beyond) combines to produce a highly original work of art that explodes the bottle.
Michael Smith is an independent filmmaker and film history/aesthetics teacher at Oakton Community College. After receiving an MA in Film Production from Humboldt State University in 2004, Michael embarked on production of his debut feature The Minx, a self-financed effort that was shot on location in Chicago and Hong Kong. The movie was released on DVD by Echelon Entertainment in 2007. In addition to teaching at Oakton, Michael has taught courses at Facets Film School in Chicago on the South Korean New Wave and directors as diverse as Takashi Miike, Wong Kar-Wai and John Ford. Michael's most recent work, the short film At Last, Okemah!, is currently playing the festival circuit.
YouTube trailer
Village Voice
Onion AV Club
Michael Smith is an independent filmmaker and film history/aesthetics teacher at Oakton Community College. After receiving an MA in Film Production from Humboldt State University in 2004, Michael embarked on production of his debut feature The Minx, a self-financed effort that was shot on location in Chicago and Hong Kong. The movie was released on DVD by Echelon Entertainment in 2007. In addition to teaching at Oakton, Michael has taught courses at Facets Film School in Chicago on the South Korean New Wave and directors as diverse as Takashi Miike, Wong Kar-Wai and John Ford. Michael's most recent work, the short film At Last, Okemah!, is currently playing the festival circuit.
Saturday, March 6
The Comedy of Terror
Chris Damen's look at the serious funny-business of:
Team America: World Police
Directed by Trey Parker, 2004
"Team America delivers both spot-on movie deconstruction and gleeful destruction"
-TimeOut NY
"Team America is at once grandiose and tacky, elaborate and deflationary"
-Village Voice
"Gleefully profane, excessively violent, and refreshingly lewd"
-Film Threat
-TimeOut NY
"Team America is at once grandiose and tacky, elaborate and deflationary"
-Village Voice
"Gleefully profane, excessively violent, and refreshingly lewd"
-Film Threat
"Much as it may pretend otherwise, the movie has an argument, but if you try to argue back, the joke's on you"
-New York Times
Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) take hilarious swipes at American triumphalism, Hollywood grandstanding, and the Jerry Bruckheimer school of filmmaking in this scathing satire featuring a team of Thunderbirds-esque marionettes. As their band of heroic figures travels the globe to destroy world heritage sites, close down a phony North Korean peace conference, pull celebrities off their political soapboxes, and engage in various sexual improprieties, they find something to offend just about everybody. Chris Damen digs into Team America's sharply funny intricacies and jabs, as well as the recent surge of American comedies that attempt to make sense of the current "war on terror."
Chris Damen is a Facets' Personal Video Consultant. When not traveling to far-off locales, he can be found behind the desk at the Videotheque.
YouTube trailer
Official site
TimeOut NY
Village Voice
New York Times
-New York Times
Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) take hilarious swipes at American triumphalism, Hollywood grandstanding, and the Jerry Bruckheimer school of filmmaking in this scathing satire featuring a team of Thunderbirds-esque marionettes. As their band of heroic figures travels the globe to destroy world heritage sites, close down a phony North Korean peace conference, pull celebrities off their political soapboxes, and engage in various sexual improprieties, they find something to offend just about everybody. Chris Damen digs into Team America's sharply funny intricacies and jabs, as well as the recent surge of American comedies that attempt to make sense of the current "war on terror."
Chris Damen is a Facets' Personal Video Consultant. When not traveling to far-off locales, he can be found behind the desk at the Videotheque.
Saturday, March 13
Anti-Heroes, Heroin and High School
Lauren Whalen's explanation of the neo-noir of:
Brick
Directed by Rian Johnson, 2006 |
WINNER Special Jury Prize Sundance Film Fest |
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WINNER Most Promising Director Chicago Film Critics Association |
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"The plot is as chewy as the [noir] genre demands... consistently engaging"
-TimeOut NY
"It's rare to see a debut as witty and assured as this"
-Los Angeles Times
-Roger Ebert"[A] tightly coiled plot, well-realized characters, and novel take on rapacious teen culture"
-Chicago Reader
Rian Johnson's dazzling, original debut is the rare film that manages to deliver nuanced feeling using a quirky, postmodern conceit. Set at a contemporary California high school, the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin) as a resourceful teen determined to solve his girlfriend's murder. Shot in a moody daylight noir style, and featuring cryptic, hardboiled dialogue, the film follows its protagonist -- a modern-day Continental Op -- as he wades through a peer network as complex and insidious as the corrupt gangs in Red Harvest. Lauren Whalen will examine this impressive sleeper, spotlighting its place within the teen noir subgenre.
Lauren Whalen is Facets Development Coordinator and Assistant to the Executive Director. She studied theatre and law but keeps coming back to film. Lauren holds degrees from Loyola University Chicago and Northern Illinois University College of Law. When not at Facets, Lauren writes for TheFilmYap.com and her own site, The Unprofessional Critic. She discovered Brick in her final year of law school and immediately identified with the fast-talking, jaded and morally ambiguous world of Brendan Frye. Lauren is much happier now, but her love of the film remains.
Saturday, March 20
Argentine Fire:
Fuego and the Erotic Cinema of Armando Bo
Lew Ojeda's introduction to the steamy world of:
Fuego
Directed by Armando Bo, 1969
Armando Bo has been referred to as "the Argentine Russ Meyer" for his numerous erotic South American features, many starring his wife, former Miss Argentina Isabel Sarli. Fuefo is one of the most famous of Sarli's many films for Bo, who also co-stars as the wealthy head of an engineering firm, who falls for a faithless, sexually insatiable woman. Lew Ojeda will look at Bo and the image of womanhood by Sarli, the director's use of outdoor composition, and the different approaches Bo had as opposed to American sexploitation filmmakers.
Lew Ojeda is a Facets Personal Video Consultant and Catalog Writer. His film reviews have been published in Shock Cinema and The Empty Closet. Lew has also produced and directed local TV programs in Rochester, New York. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include Regurgitating a Cult Classic: The Hidden Feasts of Eat the Rich, and Ha, Ha, Ha, Thud!: What's So Funny About the Violence in Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky.
YouTube trailer
Saturday, March 27
I Am Not an Animal!
The Real Story Behind The Elephant Man
Phil Morehart's investigation of David Lynch's:
The Elephant Man
Directed by David Lynch, 1980 |
NOMINATED 8 awards incl. Best Picture Academy Awards |
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WINNER Best Film, Best Actor Best Production Design British Academy Awards |
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Critics' Pick "A handsome, eerie, disturbing movie"
-New York Times
"Eerily compelling"
-Variety
"Marvellous"
-TimeOut London
David Lynch's most classical film is based on the true story of John Merrick, who suffered from a rare, physically distorting disease and was rescued from a life as a circus freak by a courageous doctor. It's a moving film with fine, turn-of-the-century London detail and superb black and white cinematography by Freddie Francis, but it doesn't tell the whole story of Merrick. Phil Morehart will examine details behind both Merrick's life and his life on screen, the film's production, reception and its place within the world of "freak" cinema.
Phil Morehart is Facets' Editor. Prior to joining Facets, Phil was a programmer for the Cincinnati Film Society. He also writes on film, theater, music and visual arts for Chicago Journal Newspaper and Cincinnati CityBeat Newspaper, and is a contributor to the upcoming book, The Armchair Reader Guide Goes Hollywood. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include There's No More Room in Hell, So Let's Go Shopping, a Look at George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead; Cheap Tricks and Suburban Kicks: Re-Discovering a Lost Teen Classic, a look at Jonathan Kaplan's Over the Edge and Hammer Time: Inside Britain's House of Horror, a look at Curse of Frankenstein.
YouTube trailer
Official site
Variety
TimeOut London
New York Times
-TimeOut London
David Lynch's most classical film is based on the true story of John Merrick, who suffered from a rare, physically distorting disease and was rescued from a life as a circus freak by a courageous doctor. It's a moving film with fine, turn-of-the-century London detail and superb black and white cinematography by Freddie Francis, but it doesn't tell the whole story of Merrick. Phil Morehart will examine details behind both Merrick's life and his life on screen, the film's production, reception and its place within the world of "freak" cinema.
Phil Morehart is Facets' Editor. Prior to joining Facets, Phil was a programmer for the Cincinnati Film Society. He also writes on film, theater, music and visual arts for Chicago Journal Newspaper and Cincinnati CityBeat Newspaper, and is a contributor to the upcoming book, The Armchair Reader Guide Goes Hollywood. Previous Facets Night School classes taught include There's No More Room in Hell, So Let's Go Shopping, a Look at George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead; Cheap Tricks and Suburban Kicks: Re-Discovering a Lost Teen Classic, a look at Jonathan Kaplan's Over the Edge and Hammer Time: Inside Britain's House of Horror, a look at Curse of Frankenstein.
For all inquiries about Facets Night School, contact Phil Morehart at 800.331.6197 or philm@facets.org.
