SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our UNSUNG GEMS Series, Thursday, May 18, 2023
LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021
*Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the building. Make a right on Wilson Street, then a right behind the building. We’re the first set of black steps after the big gate.
7:30pm THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980, dir. David Lynch, Paramount, UK, 123mns, 35mm)
10pm THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999, dir. David Lynch, Disney, USA, 112mns, 35mm)
David Lynch has made so many unique and unsettling masterpieces of the subconscious that it’s sometimes unfairly easy to forget that he has also directed two of the most heartfelt character studies of the last fifty years.
Although it might seem a little too cute to call 1980’s The Elephant Man, an unsung gem, since it was a decent hit upon release, and the movie that launched Lynch to the next level, it is still often passed over in favor of Lynch’s more stubbornly idiosyncratic works.
But The Elephant Man, which tells the real life story of John Merrick who had such a deformed body that he was abandoned by his parents and could only find work in a circus freak show, is one of the most profoundly humanistic American movies in decades.
Lynch, who only had Eraserhead to his credit at the time (but what a credit), was hired by none other than Mel Brooks (who produced), to co-write and direct this strange real life tale. Anthony Hopkins brings ballast as the ultimately caring Dr. Treves who takes Merrick (played in a career best performance by John Hurt) out of the freak show and into the care of hospital professionals.
Lynch still imbues the movie with dream like subconscious imagery. Yet Lynch shows here (as he will again in The Straight Story) that he fully understands the importance of knowing the tone of the story one is telling.
A heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting work, The Elephant Man, like many of Lynch’s masterpieces, takes us through hell before we surprisingly get to a kind of heaven.
We follow this up with Lynch’s wildly overlooked Disney movie (that’s right) The Straight Story. Co-written and edited by Mary Sweeney (who joined us for a Q&A for Lost Highway last year), The Straight Story tells another narrative based on real life facts about elderly Alvin Straight (a stunning Richard Farnsworth) who, because he can no longer drive, decides to use his riding lawnmower to travel 240 miles to visit his ailing brother Lyle (Lynch regular, the beloved Harry Dean Stanton).
The Straight Story is true to its title in that Lynch refuses (rightly) to wink or look down upon the decisions and motivations of his main character. Where others might have seen an opportunity at a too quirky by half comedy, Lynch understood the story told a truth about the struggles and profundities about aging. This story is something to be celebrated and felt in the heart.
Lynch, along with his amazing performers (including Sissy Spacek) and collaborators, takes us on a cross country trip into the psyche of the aging American.
Lynch plays it straight. And in doing so, makes one of the most singular movies of his career. And that’s saying something.
Come experience both of these. On 35mm!
Best always,
Craig Hammill
Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer
*Please note that though we strive to always show titles on 35mm film if advertised, we may have to screen digitally if the print we receive is in such bad shape or if we don't receive the print in time because of a shipping delay. We will do our best to alert the audience. When this does occur, we will offer each ticket holder who chooses not to attend a complimentary ticket to a future event in exchange. (Disclaimer: Good for 90 days – Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REFUNDS:
We can offer refunds up to 24 hours before showtime. Please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process ASAP. After that, no refunds. Sorry.
However if something last minute comes up and you can’t make the screening, for whatever reason, just write to us before showtime: community@secretmovieclub.com and we’ll offer you complimentary tickets to a future screening, good for 90 days. (Disclaimer: Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
HELPFUL SECRET MOVIE CLUB (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, LA, CA 90021) THEATER PARKING TIPS:
We recommend that you park just outside our theater. Remember our theater is actually in a beautiful street art alleyway in the back of the 1917 Bay Street building. You get to our entrance by taking a right on Wilson, then a right behind the building. We are the first set of black steps on the right after the big gate.
There is also a parking lot at the corner of Mateo and Violet Street, just 2 blocks from our theater, which costs $7 per car.
HOW CAN WE STAY ON TOP OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED 35MM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, ETC?
You can follow us on Instagram/Twitter: @secretmovieclub or Facebook: @secretmovieclub35mm
You can also subscribe to our weekly email newsletter at secretmovieclub.com or by writing to us at community@secretmovieclub.com and using the header “SUBSCRIBE ME TO NEWSLETTER”.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
You can always email us at community@secretmovieclub.com with any other questions, concerns, thoughts, recommendations.