Ah, great memories of my maiden voyages aboard the Starship Coolidge.  Let's see:

*After years of endorsement from your former host organism Bruce Bartoo, my cohorts and I finally made it out to Boston for SF24.  1999 was somewhat of a turning point for the Columbus Marathons.  After nine years at the dear, departed, 800-seat Drexel North (R.I.P.), the Sci-Fi Marathons had resided at the mammoth Capitol Theatre in downtown Columbus.  But a somewhat schizophrenic lead time for promotions (a flaw that would become more evident as the years passed), coupled with the venue's prohibition on food or drink in the screening room (yikes!) dealt quite the blow to attendance.  To wit, in the span of those three years, we went from 600+ to just around 350; since then, Columbus has never again seen quite so many for an SF Marathon.  So to come to Boston in 1999 and experience a large, enthusiastic crowd in a large, historic theater was quite the treat.

And ya know, looking back now, this was a pretty great and eccentric lineup.  DREAMSCAPE holds a special place in my heart for the gleefully evil David Patrick Kelly performance alone.  CITY OF LOST CHILDREN is a film that keeps getting better with age, X-THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES was a treat on 35mm and INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS an absolute hoot.  My only complaint?  This was the second of three straight Marathons I attended (counting Columbus and Boston) in which DARK CITY was scheduled in a sleep-inducing time slot.  It remains one of the more audaciously designed films of the era, so I'd love to see it again at a future Marathon, preferably earlier in the lineup.

*At the time, I remember being a bit disappointed in the SF25 lineup.  I had read about the stacked SF20 slate, so I was expecting another anniversary Marathon to have a similar tone.  But if I ignore the significance of the year, this is actually a pretty good mix of films.  In particular, IRON GIANT was tremendous to see with this crowd.  As L.A. mentioned, TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN is probably one of the best premieres I've seen at a Sci-Fi Marathon.  And any Marathon that features the legendary INFRA-MAN is cool by me.

This was also a special time for me personally, as the Columbus contingent managed to haul out a record ten attendees (a picture of whom can be found here), including Bruce's first trip back in over a decade.  We've never had as large a contingent since, so I'll always have find memories of this gathering.

*For me, SF26 is one of the weaker lineups I've sat through.  It was still enjoyable, but a bit too reliant on B-fare.  And yes, Frank and L.A. are correct: BATTLEFIELD EARTH was met with boredom and befuddlement.  I stood in the back of the Coolidge, reading a book, for the entirety of its running time, so I vividly remember the non-reaction it elicited.

the orson welles years are a blur. it was so many years ago. from midnight to noon there were 3 screens running simultaneously. the emphasis was on 50's and 60's classics and 70's B movies. i was like a kid in a candy store.

Mutants R Us so of course we had to show X-Men. Iceman was interesting and started a catch phrase with the caveman's language. Omega Man was better than I remembered but really showed it's age in the look of the costumes. Lost World was fun as almost all the silents we show are, much better than the remake. These Are The Damned went over much better this time. Terminal Man was so dull we encouraged ANY action that looked like it might happen. Light Years Trilogy we are still not sure actually exists.  The Independent was an example of thinking outside the box in marathon movie choices. I liked it and the crowd seemed to too.

i loved the minimalist t-shirt that year. i'd pay for a remake of that one. i really mean it. i got a lot of compliments.

R_F_Fineman wrote on Mar 9^th, 2013 at 11:13am:



NOW, RF has gone too damned far! Carpenter's VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is soooooooo damned bad, it makes the pretty rotten ESCAPE FROM L.A. an equal to ESCAPE TO NY by comparison! It's doubly sad because it not only soiled the memory of the original, it also was the last film Christopher REEVE made before his eventually fatal accident.

No, damned way!

Note: Edited. I guess I had the "Chris Lee" at the Marathon controversy on my mind........

Quote:


Quote:

Quote:


(not really memorabilia related)

It looks like one of those damned thread jacks...



-maybe they should find their own damned thread!

SF27 program remains a fave re; text.  I recall that the repeating of that phrase, "...and then things go terribly wrong," just tickled my funny bone at the time.  In retrospect, it's still amusing.  Thanks for the memory!