UW CINEMATHEQUE AND WUD FILM PRESENT MARQUEE MONDAYS: CANNON FODDER

In collaboration with the student-run WUD Film Committee, the Cinematheque proudly presents a quartet of gonzo exploitation features released in the 1980s by Cannon Films, co-founded by those legendary gurus of the grindhouse, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. No arthouse fare here (see “The Cannon Canon” series, also in this calendar), these Golan-Globus selections feature copious amounts of sex, violence, and breakdancing, plus space vampires, giggling street thugs, and an aerobics instructor possessed by a demonic ninja! Each of the four features, screened in the Marquee Theater at Union South, will be preceded by a mouth-watering trailer reel that tease other vintage Cannon goodies. Grab a beer in the Sett and join us for the fun!

  • Mon., Feb. 2 | 7:00 PM
    Marquee

Pop and lock ‘til you just can’t stop - the low-budget smash of ‘84 returns to the big screen! An aspiring dancer (Dickey) finds new inspiration when she meets Venice Beach breakdancers Ozone (Quinones) and Turbo (Chambers). The trio finds success at underground clubs and on the street, but will they be accepted by the “serious” dance establishment? Rushed into production by Cannon Films in a race to reach screens before the bigger-budgeted Beat Street, Breakin’ is a model of exploitation filmmaking that is remains fun entertainment 30 years later. A sequel, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo hit theaters only seven months later. Preceding the feature, 20 minutes of vintage Cannon trailers!

  • Mon., Mar. 9 | 7:00 PM
    Marquee

Released a month before The Terminator and five years before Warlock, Ninja III anticipates both of those films with this tale of Ninja possession that starts with a massacre on a golf course and only gets more gonzo from there. Featuring female aerobic instructor ninjas, a ninja hot tub attack, a ninja exorcism, and V8 as a sexual aid, this classic Cannon schlocktacular must be seen on the big screen to be believed. Preceding the feature, 20 minutes of vintage Cannon trailers! (BR)

  • Mon., May. 4 | 7:00 PM
    Marquee

Coffin-shaped spaceships can only mean one thing: Vampires from outer space, and indeed, Tobe Hooper’s loving ode to British Quartermass films and Mario Bava’s color palette is based on a novel entitled The Space Vampires. Gorgeously photographed in vivid widescreen, it features more decomposing vampire corpses and full frontal female nudity than you can shake a stick at, prompting one line of dialogue that will make 12 year old boys groan in disappointment for all eternity: “Now she has clothes”. (BR)

  • Mon., May. 4 | 9:00 PM
    Marquee

Bronson reprises his role as Paul Kersey in the most violent, and ridiculous, chapter of the five film vigilante saga. Kersey returns to the big city (London, unconvincingly doubling for NYC) to face a bunch of marauding punks with reverse mohawks. Encouraged by Balsam’s character to “Blow the scum away!”, Kersey brings out a literal arsenal, complete with machine guns and hand grenades, to battle the gang. Preceding the feature, 20 minutes of vintage Cannon trailers!