BAM "Indie '80s' film series: 'Decline II,' 'Spinal Tap,' 'River's Edge,' 'Let's Get Lost' & more
by Bill Pearis
Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. enjoying a smoke and a cocktail in ‘Decline II’
BAMcinématek will be presenting “Indie ’80s” from Jul 17–Aug 27 at BAM Rose Cinemas, featuring a wide variety of off-kilter American cinema classics from the Reagan Years. The series features a number of music-related films, including two on the opening night (7/18): Penelope Spheeris‘ hedonistic, highly entertaining documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years and Jim Jarmusch‘s Stranger Than Paradise which stars Lounge Lizard John Lurie (who did the score) and Richard Edson (Sonic Youth) and the omnipresent use of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins‘ “I Put A Spell On You.”
Other music-leaning films in the “Indie ’80s” series include: groundbreaking 1982 hip hop doc Wild Style (8/27); Beth B’s paranoid punk thriller Vortex starring Lydia Lunch (8/10); John Moritsugu‘s obscure 1989 punk satire My Degeneration (8/19); 1980’s Blank Generation starring Richard Hell and Andy Warhol (7/30); Bruce Weber’s 1989 Chet Baker documentary Let’s Get Lost (8/9), and highly-quotable mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (8/14).
There are loads of non-music films in the series, too, such as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, River’s Edge, Blue Velvet, Hollywood Shuffle, Ms. 45, My Dinner with Andre, Sex, Lies & Videotape, Sidewalk Stories, Trouble in Mind, and documentaries Sherman’s March, The Thin Blue Line, Roger & Me, Seventeen, Swimming to Cambodia. BAM’s “Indie ’80s” schedule and a few trailers are below. Tickets are on sale.
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BAM – Indie 80s Schedule (*Filmmaker in person)
Fri, Jul 17
2, 4:30, 7, 9:30pm: Hollywood Shuffle
Sat, Jul 18
2, 7pm: Stranger Than Paradise
4:30, 9:30pm: The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
Sun, Jul 19
2, 4:30pm*: Sidewalk Stories 7pm: Sherman’s March
Mon, Jul 20
5, 7:30pm*: Heat and Sunlight
Tue, Jul 21
5, 9:45pm: Poto and Cabengo
7pm*: Wildrose
Wed, Jul 22
5, 9:30pm: Gap-Toothed Women + In Heaven There Is No Beer?
7pm: Trouble in Mind
Thu, Jul 23
5, 7:30pm*: Smooth Talk
Fri, Jul 24
2, 7pm: River’s Edge
4:30, 9:30pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Sat, Jul 25
2, 7pm: Losing Ground
4:30, 9:30pm: Mala Noche
Sun, Jul 26
2, 6:30pm: Los Sures
4, 8:15pm: The Thin Blue Line
Mon, Jul 27
7:30pm*: Matewan
Tue, Jul 28
7, 9:30pm: Lightning Over Braddock
Wed, Jul 29
7pm: The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
9:30pm: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Thu, Jul 30
4:30, 9:30pm*: Vigilante
7pm: Blank Generation
Mon, Aug 3
7pm*: Will
9:30pm: Bell Diamond
Tue, Aug 4
7:30, 9:30pm: Parting Glances
Wed, Aug 5
4:30, 9:30pm: True Love
7pm: Paydirt
Thu, Aug 6
7, 9:30pm: Bless Their Little Hearts
Fri, Aug 7
2, 4:30, 10pm: Day of the Dead
7pm*: Seventeen
Sat, Aug 8
2, 7pm: Blood Simple
4:30, 9:30pm: Blue Velvet
Sun, Aug 9
2, 7pm: Swimming to Cambodia
4, 9pm: Let’s Get Lost
Mon, Aug 10
7pm*: Landlord Blues
9:30pm: Vortex
Tue, Aug 11
7:30pm: El Norte
Wed, Aug 12
7pm: Willie 9pm: Flash of Green
Thu, Aug 13
7, 9:30pm: My Brother’s Wedding
Fri, Aug 14
2, 7pm: sex, lies, and videotape
4:30, 9:30pm: This Is Spinal Tap
Sat, Aug 15
2, 6:30pm: The Unbelievable Truth
4:15, 9pm: Ms. 45
Sun, Aug 16
2, 9:15pm: The Cosmic Eye
4pm: Route One/USA
Mon, Aug 17
7:30, 9:30pm: Chan is Missing
Tue, Aug 18
7pm: The Ties That Bind
8:30pm: Ashes and Embers
Wed, Aug 19
7pm: My Degeneration
8:30pm: Who Killed Vincent Chin?
Fri, Aug 21
2, 4:30, 9:30pm: Evil Dead
7pm: Wild Style
Sat, Aug 22
2, 7pm: Roger and Me
4:30, 9:30pm: My Dinner with Andre
Sun, Aug 23
2, 7, 9:30pm: She’s Gotta Have It
4:30pm: St. Clair Bourne Program
Mon, Aug 24
7:30pm*: Personal Problems
Tue, Aug 25
4:30, 7pm: Say Amen Somebody
9:30pm: Patti Rocks
Wed, Aug 26
7pm*: Sleepwalk
9:30pm: Alphabet City
Thu, Aug 27
7pm: Chameleon Street