I split the discussion of the concept of a 36 Hour marathon into this, it's own thread - admin


Yeah, but has Cleveland showed NIAGRAVATION, SPLIT! or BREAKFAST OF ALIENS amongst many other obscurities we've shown?? Not to mention one of the rarest films on earth - HU-MAN?



pogo wrote on Dec 15^th, 2012 at 4:49pm:

LA said: "Actually, BLACK HOLE has NEVER played at the Marathon! (though prints exist). SOLARIS (either version) is missing from you list of never played at the Marathon. Nor has ESCAPE FROM NY (ditto), WESTWORLD (tritto), ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF APES (quaitto), ROLLERBALL (quinitto), PREDATOR (sexitto), AVATAR (septemitto), GHOST IN THE SHELL (octoitto) and E.T. (novemitto). DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS has not only played - but, twice. All in the first Three years of the event (they must have loved 'em their schlock back in the earliest days!)." Interestingly, my real Marathon affiliation, Cleveland/CWRU, (27 years vs. 1 year for Boston) has played each and every one of the films you listed - excepting Avatar.. The difference is not one of quality, but of duration. CWRU is a 36 hour affair. Any thoughts of expanding Boston?

Jealous????

pogo wrote on Dec 15^th, 2012 at 4:49pm:

LA said: "Actually, BLACK HOLE has NEVER played at the Marathon! (though prints exist). SOLARIS (either version) is missing from you list of never played at the Marathon. Nor has ESCAPE FROM NY (ditto), WESTWORLD (tritto), ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF APES (quaitto), ROLLERBALL (quinitto), PREDATOR (sexitto), AVATAR (septemitto), GHOST IN THE SHELL (octoitto) and E.T. (novemitto). DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS has not only played - but, twice. All in the first Three years of the event (they must have loved 'em their schlock back in the earliest days!)." Interestingly, my real Marathon affiliation, Cleveland/CWRU, (27 years vs. 1 year for Boston) has played each and every one of the films you listed - excepting Avatar.. The difference is not one of quality, but of duration. CWRU is a 36 hour affair. Any thoughts of expanding Boston?

Yeah but it's also a pay as you go marathon, you can buy a ticket for just part of the 36 hrs. I made it through SF10 the 36 hr marathon.

Black Hole okay if we can get  70mm print, Solaris, NO DON'T SHOW EITHER VERSION, EVEN IT'S FANS SAY ITS DULL. Escape from NY SHOULD BE SHOWn,, ITS A GOOD ACTION PIC. Westworld needs to be shown  before some Hollywood hack decides to remake it with the brilliant idea of making all the robots black and mexican. Escape from the Planet of the Apes is pretty good, it also has lots of clues about the recent remake. Rollerball deserves a shot, the game scenes are excellent, trouble is the film has to restart after every one. Predator and ET deserve a shot too.

Bunnyman said,
"Yeah but it's also a pay as you go marathon, you can buy a ticket for just part of the 36 hrs. I made it through SF10 the 36 hr marathon."

The pay as you go option is a recent innovation in Cleveland. I would assume that it's an attempt to foster sagging attendance. Seems a good idea, particularly since the event is held on a college campus.
Strosacker has a seating capacity of 580. Add people lying on the stage and you get about 600. What's Somerville? About 800?

For true believers the dynamic is different. I have met only one person who claimed to have stayed awake and in attendance through an entire 36 hour marathons. He claimed to have done it twice.
Choices to go out & eat or socialize make more sense with half again as many films, some almost have to  be of little interest.
Perhaps Boston is too hectic to expect people to take off for what really comprises two days. And it certainly would  put strain on already overworked planners in Boston who have an additional week of shows to plan.
But for the hard core fans, a 36 hour event is a gas.

RE: 36 hour marathon
For the "hard core" - that's why God gave us cable, DVDs and big screen TVs - or portable DVD players....
For the rest of us - 24 hours is fun.  36 hours is just an endurance test and I don't have that much to prove to anyone.  (I lasted for nearly 24 of the 36-hour SF10.)
In the meantime, I really, really enjoy the marathon every year and have since 1977. :)
(If only they hadn't started giving away the best seats in the house to "volunteers" before anyone else gets in - even those who try to pay for the priviledge of early entry.  >:( )

There was a bit of talk around SF/25 about re-visiting the notion of a 36 hour marathon. The one and only 36 hour Boston event was the 10th. I survived. I didn't sleep. But, I didn't enjoy it as much as most other years.

Plus, the Festival is now the "extended" version of the Marathon.

pogo wrote on Dec 17^th, 2012 at 1:58pm:

Strosacker has a seating capacity of 580. Add people lying on the stage and you get about 600. What's Somerville? About 800?

     900, sucker.  ;D


Quote:

Perhaps Boston is too hectic to expect people to take off for what really comprises two days.

     Or perhaps the projectionist who runs the marathon and works twenty-eight hours straight might complain (loudly) about working forty.  And perhaps the theatre's schedule cant handle it (and it cant).  And perhaps even the audience members, most of whom cant even make it through 24 hours -- I see them splayed out sleeping everywhere, when theyre not off getting food or talking in the lobby -- would find it overwhelming to make it through 36.  What is the point of this?  It wont be enjoyable for anyone.


Quote:

But for the hard core fans, a 36 hour event is a gas.

     For hard core idiots, you mean.  The attendees would have to load my tip jar with gold to get me to do it.
     Honestly, do you have even the foggiest notion how much work it takes just to run the regular marathon?

da_Bunnyman wrote on Dec 17^th, 2012 at 12:32am:

Black Hole okay if we can get 70mm print

     Hallelujah!


Quote:

Solaris, NO DON'T SHOW EITHER VERSION, EVEN IT'S FANS SAY ITS DULL.

     "Dull" hardly describes its glacial, molasses-like turgidity!


Quote:

Escape from NY SHOULD BE SHOWN

     If you can overlook the fact that it was shot in St Louis, & looks nothing like New York!


Quote:

ITS A GOOD ACTION PIC.

     Thats a debatable assertion.


Quote:

Westworld needs to be shown

     I totally agree (for once)!  Westworld is a terrifically fun flick!


Quote:

Escape from the Planet of the Apes is pretty good

     Good Jerry Goldsmith score.  "Because I loathe bananas!"


Quote:

Rollerball deserves a shot

     That movie is dull, dull, dull.  And I know someone who owns a print of it.  It's red, of course.


Quote:

Predator

     Yes!  "Get to da choppa!"


Quote:

and ET deserve a shot too.

     NO!  Keep that treacly, sappy, over-ripe pile of crap away from me!  Do you know how many times Ive been forced to run this?????  ET, GO HOME!  (And stay there!) :P :P :P :P

David the P,
As usual you present a unique perspective. No, I hadn't considered what a 36 hour thon would do to you.  And I would cross your palm with silver for the extra work (can't afford gold - but I did contribute to your jar last year.)
Have you considered acolytes/groupies to aid you in your efforts? My impression, reading your prose,  is that you are too much of a perfectionist to allow any other damn dirty ape hands on the controls.
And I respectfully disagree about extending the event would not be enjoyable. Been doing it for almost 30 years. 36 hours lets you make choices to ignore the films not on your personal agenda. You do have to sleep some, but you have the slots to do so - and enjoy the best of the product  presented without crashing involuntarily.

L.A.
Good point that the Festival provides more for those who just can't get enough. Doesn't speak to me as I can only visit Boston for a few days a year & spend most of it with the offspring. Good for Bostonians & those who can be there for an extended period.
You hated your sole 36 hr. event. I hated my first few. But experience allows you to pace, choose sleep when appropriate & enjoy the rest to it's acme.
And the old hand Cleveland attendees who I have attempted to talk into coming to Boston have wondered if it's worth it for 24. They've adapted to & learned how to enjoy 36.

"The attendees would have to load my tip jar with gold ..."

The projectionist has a tip jar?!? :o

First of all, I don't sleep. So, that makes it a long slog for 36 hours. And, even those who can cat nap a bit, are going to feel mighty uncomfortable by the end. Of course, if you live nearby or rent a hotel room, you can get a real stretch of sleep, shower etc.. But, that's really no longer a "Marathon" at that point. It's more a Day and half festival or convention with folks coming and going at will.

Like I said, we now have a week-long pre-Marathon fest that should sate most folks' need for Sci-Fi in February.



pogo wrote on Dec 18^th, 2012 at 1:18pm:

And I respectfully disagree about extending the event would not be enjoyable. Been doing it for almost 30 years. 36 hours lets you make choices to ignore the films not on your personal agenda. You do have to sleep some, but you have the slots to do so - and enjoy the best of the product  presented without crashing involuntarily. L.A. Good point that the Festival provides more for those who just can't get enough. Doesn't speak to me as I can only visit Boston for a few days a year & spend most of it with the offspring. Good for Bostonians & those who can be there for an extended period. You hated your sole 36 hr. event. I hated my first few. But experience allows you to pace, choose sleep when appropriate & enjoy the rest to it's acme. And the old hand Cleveland attendees who I have attempted to talk into coming to Boston have wondered if it's worth it for 24. They've adapted to & learned how to enjoy 36.

Jon wrote on Dec 18^th, 2012 at 1:25pm:

"The attendees would have to load my tip jar with gold ..." The projectionist has a tip jar?!? :o

     He does indeed.  It was on a stool under the Somerville Theatre sign in the lobby, and it will be there again.
     Your spontaneous generosity would be appreciated.  You have no notion how woefully underpaid I am for the work I do for this thing....
     It is, though, my one big challenge of the year.  Each time, I try to get through all 24 hours with no technical glitches or mistakes of any kind.  Hasnt happened yet, but I always get to try again!   ;D ;D ;D

pogo wrote on Dec 18^th, 2012 at 1:18pm:

David the P, As usual you present a unique perspective.

     Yeah, thats me!  "Unique!"  And with film in its death throes, getting "uniquer" by the day!


Quote:

No, I hadn't considered what a 36 hour thon would do to you.

     No one ever does.  *Sigh*   :'(


Quote:

And I would cross your palm with silver for the extra work (can't afford gold - but I did contribute to your jar last year.)

     Your humble operator thanks you kindly!


Quote:

Have you considered acolytes/groupies to aid you in your efforts? My impression, reading your prose,  is that you are too much of a perfectionist to allow any other damn dirty ape hands on the controls.

     There are only a handful of other people still working who could deal with my machines & my system.  Then there are the demands of the marathon itself, with its ever-shifting formats & print handling strictures.
     As for apprentices, what for?  It's a dying craft!  Theres no future in it at all!  Why go through months (or years) of training so you can master something that no one will need?
     I know people in this business who have never done a changeover, & who have no idea how to do a cement splice.  They dont know the difference between Dolby A & SR, dont know how to compensate for a variable density soundtrack, cant tell one AR from another, & have never run a mono print!  Into their tender mercies you would go!  It would be (following on your quote) a madhouse!  A maaaaaaadhouse!!
     No thanks!


Quote:

And I respectfully disagree about extending the event would not be enjoyable. Been doing it for almost 30 years. 36 hours lets you make choices to ignore the films not on your personal agenda. You do have to sleep some, but you have the slots to do so - and enjoy the best of the product  presented without crashing involuntarily.

     Yeah, but youre not sitting through a marathon!  That would be like running in the Boston marathon, but being able to stop at sidewalk cafes along the route, while you amble your way toward the finish line!
     And your being able to take breaks wouldnt mean that I could!  Show must go on & all that, dontcha know...


Quote:

And the old hand Cleveland attendees who I have attempted to talk into coming to Boston have wondered if it's worth it for 24. They've adapted to & learned how to enjoy 36.

     You can tell them that I'll bet my presentation is better!  :D

L.A. Connection wrote on Dec 19^th, 2012 at 2:35am:

First of all, I don't sleep. So, that makes it a long slog for 36 hours. And, even those who can cat nap a bit, are going to feel mighty uncomfortable by the end. Of course, if you live nearby or rent a hotel room, you can get a real stretch of sleep, shower etc.. But, that's really no longer a "Marathon" at that point. It's more a Day and half festival or convention with folks coming and going at will.

     Mark your calendars, folks!  Tony & I agree on something!  :o

i saw solaris at the harvard film archive about 5 years ago. the theater was packed and the response was very positive.
okay i did fall asleep but i still think it's a good marathon choice.

Saw Solaris at the CWRU Fest. Actually I didn't really SEE it. Tried to watch it, but it was so soporific that it became my classic example of a film "Not on my agenda."  Have a memory of waking momentarily several times - and every time the screen had a shot of waving reeds - quickly returned me to the arms of Morpheus.

LA,
Your analogy to a running marathon is  less than accurate. The similarity of the name does not require a similarity of experience. My 36 hour experiences have included showings of Battlefield Earth and Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Without the 36 hour option, I doubt that the scheduler would have dared to program such cheese. But some wanted to see them. And some (me) used them as an occasion to sleep and be chipper for other films. Including foreign and classic films that were of more interest to me than to the somewhat more pop oriented audience in Cleveland.
And I do like a lot of cheese. Would you ever have dared to schedule Howard The Duck? Cleveland did, and I was glad to watch it. Could you have ever devoted more than two hours, of 24, to this epic??? ::)
My point is not that Boston should go 36. It's just that there are advantages to the format that you don't see. And I might not if I felt compelled to stay awake for the entire duration of the experience. As David the P. points out, many do not have your fortitude to stay alert even for a full 24. I almost made it in Boston, but conked out during Folklore.
Sleep does have it's advantages.

pogo wrote on Dec 19^th, 2012 at 6:10pm:

Saw Solaris at the CWRU Fest. Actually I didn't really SEE it. Tried to watch it, but it was so soporific that it became my classic example of a film "Not on my agenda."  Have a memory of waking momentarily several times - and every time the screen had a shot of waving reeds - quickly returned me to the arms of Morpheus.

     Thats because the movie blows chunks.  Well, actually, if it did do that, it wouldnt be so bloody boring!
     The same thing would happen if we were stupid enough to book that hideous 2045 here: no one would survive!


Quote:

Without the 36 hour option, I doubt that the scheduler would have dared to program such cheese.

     I see the point youre trying to make, but must disagree.
     Sure, Garen cant program too many lousy movies, but he usually makes it a point to schedule one or two.  For instance, in 2010, we were all forced to suffer through The Giant Gila Monster AND The Day the Sky Exploded AND The Lathe of Heaven AND Night of the Comet AND Night of the Creeps.  Thats so much cheese that Wallace & Gromit were prepared to move into the theatre!


Quote:

Would you ever have dared to schedule Howard The Duck?

     First of all, that movie is so bad that the closest it comes to "cheese" is the mould that grows on it after it's been left out of the fridge for about three years.
     Why would anyone want to resurrect that corpse?  Let it rot in the ground where it belongs!


Quote:

Cleveland did, and I was glad to watch it.

     So, YOURE the one!  I'm surprised you havent died from ptomaine poisoning!


Quote:

Could you have ever devoted more than two hours, of 24, to this epic???

     Would we have wanted to?


Quote:

I almost made it in Boston, but conked out during Folklore.

     Folklore so successfully narcotized the audience that manufacturers of barbiturates are suing for patent infringement!
     But at least you didnt have to RUN the gall-blamed thing!

Quote:

Would you ever have dared to schedule Howard The Duck?

     First of all, that movie is so bad that the closest it comes to "cheese" is the mould that grows on it after it's been left out of the fridge for about three years.
     Why would anyone want to resurrect that corpse?  Let it rot in the ground where it belongs!


Quote:

Cleveland did, and I was glad to watch it.

     So, YOURE the one!  I'm surprised you havent died from ptomaine poisoning!



Quote:

Could you have ever devoted more than two hours, of 24, to this epic???

There's actually more of us out there. Don't you remember the Howard's tagline? FROM THE STREETS OF CLEVELAND!!!
8-)

pogo wrote on Dec 19^th, 2012 at 8:05pm:

There's actually more of us out there. Don't you remember the Howard's tagline? FROM THE STREETS OF CLEVELAND!!!

     I thought that was the banner of the Harvey Pekar's comic book, American Splendor.
     The problem with the Howard the Duck movie (besides the fact that it was god-awful, & contributing to its god-awfulness) was that it just ignored everything in the original comic that made the character popular in the first place.
     Howard the Duck was the creation of Steve Gerber (since deceased).  Gerber had been writing Man-Thing (a Swamp Thing knock-off), & Howard appeared in it one day, as part of a temporal dimensional shift of some sort.  The fans loved the cigar-chomping, short-tempered fowl, & Howard was spun off into a couple of back of the issue stories before getting his own title.  (The best of which was Hellcow, where a very thirsty vampire drinks the blood of a grazing cow, turning her into a vampire cow, who sprouts leathern wings & flies away crying, "HAHAHAHAHAMOOOOOOOOOOOOO.")
http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/440px-Hellcow.jpg
     For whatever reason, Howard lit a fire in Gerber's creativity, & he did the best work of his comic book career (he later went on to write children's TV cartoons, & in an interview he gave to The Comics Journal, poked so much fun at the rules governing what he could or could not write that Ive never forgotten what he said).  Over its tiny run, there was nothing going on the world at the time that Gerber wouldnt tackle & skewer.  He took aim at American politics (usually carefully avoided in all comic books, but especially at Marvel), at our culture, at (deliciously) the Reverend Sun-Yun Moon (also now deceased), with a Korean named the Reverend Joon-Moon Yuc (with his followers, the Yuccies), who, when Howard is mistaken for him ("Come with me, Mr Duck), shouts, "Yuc! Yuc!  I'M the second coming!  Hes just a stupid duck!!!"  Those comics were a hilarious breath of fresh air.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9qluvBlLr1qzoglfo1_1280.png
     None of what made the book work, NONE of it, was transferred to the movie, which is depressingly typical.
     So, Pogo, dont go defending the indefensible.  Walt Kelly would be annoyed.  "God is not dead, he is merely unemployed," indeed.  Deck the halls with Boston Charlie.
     Picked up volume 2 of the Fantagraphics Pogo reprint, BTW?

show solaris at 4 am and give a prize to anyone who can provide video evidence that they stayed awake throughout the movie.

Easy money. Provide the camera and we're on.

One of the great SF films. On the big screen with my favorite audience? A breeze....


http://www.musicman.com/10/sol7.gif


kirok wrote on Dec 20^th, 2012 at 12:48pm:

show solaris at 4 am and give a prize to anyone who can provide video evidence that they stayed awake throughout the movie.

Speaking of 36 hour Marathons, Cleveland is coming up, starting Jan 18.
I'll post the schedule here as soon as they announce it.
If anyone has any inclination to come to my fair city, I usually put up a few out-of-towners. PM me.