Films

Arisia'16 will be the last year of a dedicated room showing 35mm films (actual celluloid). We're planning on going out with a bang. If you have questions or suggestions please contact films@arisia.org.

A Boy And His Dog 1hr 31min Fri 4:00 PM

A boy and his telepathic dog seek food and sex in a post-apocalyptic desert until they encounter an underground society where the ways of Middle America are kept in a strange and distorted fashion. Based on a Harlan Ellison story, this was one of Don Johnson's first starring roles. In 16mm. 1975, R.

Film Room Backstage Tour 45min Fri 5:45 PM

Arisia is the last con left in the country still running 35mm film, and possibly the only event of any kind running 35mm outside of a theatre environment. Come backstage and see sausage being made and the many hundreds of hours of preparation and presentation work that go into every Arisia program. This is your last chance!

High Treason 1hr 30min Fri 6:30 PM

This 1929 film predicts the beginning of the second world war in the futuristic world of 1950. A minor border crossing incident is enlarged by televisor propaganda into a conflict even the World League of Peace with their vast network of dirigibles and skyscrapers cannot prevent. This film is the British answer to Metropolis and was a minor special effects miracle of its day. Beautiful new restored 35mm print from the Library of Congress.

The Critic 4min Fri 8:00 PM

An abstract avant-garde animated short with hilarious narration by Mel Brooks. Presented in 16mm. 1963, NR.

Jupiter Ascending 2hr 7min Fri 8:05 PM

An earthwoman in a dead-end job has a secret that not even she knows, which leads to an extraordinary inheritance and a vast adventure in space. Sure, the plot was cobbled together from the ancient Greeks, but this is a good retelling and it's visually beautiful. 2015, PG-13.

Films from NaSFiC 2min Fri 10:30 PM

This sarcastic and somewhat offensive film details all the wonders of the NaSFiC convention that you could have attended. In 16mm.

Silent Movie: Wings 2hr Fri 10:35 PM

On the eve of World War I, two young men in love with the same woman both become fighter pilots in the same unit. This film was the first ever made to show aerial combat and was an enormous technological advance when it came out, being the Star Wars of its day. This film interested a tremendous number of young kids in flying and was one of the greatest influences in recruiting for the Air Corps years later. Even today the flying scenes are impressive. In 16mm with live organ accompaniment.

Three Days of the Condor 1hr 57min Sat 9:00 AM

A CIA researcher does computer analysis of literature until suddenly his entire department is gunned down, leaving him out on the streets and on the run. Robert Redford stars in this spy story predicated on a future technology that has today in great part come to pass in the era of "Big Data." Make sure to see the beginning to see the PDP-8e minicomputer reading books.
Presented in 16mm Cinemascope. 1975, R.

Invaders 1hr Sat 11:00 AM

In this classic 1968 television series, David Vincent carries on a fight against a covert alien invasion. We don't know which episode we will be running but we promise it will be a good one.
Original 16mm network print.

Outer Limits: The Mutant 1hr Sat 12:00 PM

Do not adjust your set. Landing at an experimental colony on a distant planet, an investigator finds that one of the members of the team has developed unusual powers but little sense of reponsibility. "I'm not a madman, doctor. I'm a mutant." We control the horizontal. We control the vertical.
Original B&W 16mm network print. 1964, PG.

Get Smart 22min Sat 1:00 PM

Secret agent Maxwell Smart battles the evil KAOS organization with bumbling incompetence but always seems to come out on top anyway. We will present a random episode from Buck Henry's brilliant television comedy show, in 16mm.

Koseidon (in Japanese) 22min Sat 1:30 PM

We're going to be picking an episode of Dinosaur Corps Koseidon, a Japanese tokusatsu TV series telling the story of a superhero who has collected a band to help him fight against aliens who have altered the course of time. We are showing this in Japanese, with no benshi, no translation, no subtitles. We don't know Japanese so we don't know what episode we'll have or anything about it, but that's part of the fun! Presented in 16mm. 1978, NR.

Fail-Safe 1hr 52min Sat 2:00 PM

In this classic cold-war suspense film, a stuck relay sends American bombers on an attack mission over Russia and it is up to the president (Henry Fonda) to decide how to handle the situation. This is a straight adaptation of the same book that was satirized in Doctor Strangelove, and you need to see this film just to view the serious approach. Beautiful new 35mm print. 1964, NR.

Jonny Quest: Werewolf of the Timberland 22min Sat 4:30 PM

In this classic animated film, Dr. Quest and his family go on a vacation, camping in the remote Canadian forests where they inadvertently encounter some very bad people, and also the dreaded "Loup-Garou." An original syndication print, without the censoring present in the modern release, presented in 16mm. 1965, NR.

A Boy And His Dog 1hr 31min Sat 5:00 PM

A boy and his telepathic dog seek food and sex in a post-apocalyptic desert until they encounter an underground society where the ways of Middle America are kept in a strange and distorted fashion. Based on a Harlan Ellison story, this was one of Don Johnson's first starring roles. In 16mm. 1975, R.

Mad Max: Fury Road 2hr Sat 6:45 PM

Escapees from a tyrannical ruler in post-apocalypse Australia go on a dramatic road trip. On the big screen, in 35mm Cinemascope. 2015, R.

K-Pax 2hr Sat 9:00 PM

Prot, a patient in a mental institution, claims to be from another planet, and the more his doctor looks into it, the more it looks like he actually is. Starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, Prot's view of earth is enlightening and he sees humans from a different and better viewpoint. This quiet and understated film will make you think about what it is to be an alien and what it is to be human. Presented in full 35mm Cinemascope. 2001, PG-13.

Bad Film: They Saved Hitler's Brain 1hr 31min Sat 11:00 PM

This is an early 1960s feature with an espionage film made in the 1970s edited into it. The thin plot revolves around Nazis preserving Hitler's head on a tropical island after the war, kidnapping a top scientist to have him keep Hitler alive. Undoubtedly one of the worst films ever made, MST3K commentary is encouraged. This 16mm film is sponsored by the Institute For the Promotion of Bad Cinema and the Instituto Cinemalo d'Italia. 1968, NR.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2hr 17min Sun 9:00 AM

In Spielberg's first great epic, people from across the world are drawn to a spot in the Wyoming wilderness where they sense something is about to happen. This is a film that awakens a sense of wonder, something we all need, and a great way to begin your morning at the con. "One of the most ambitious films made" says Ron Rosenbaum in this month's Smithsonian magazine. Presented in 16mm. 1977, PG.

NASA Documentary Films 1hr Sun 11:30 AM

This year's batch of films comes from the archives of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and begins with the 1967 JPL orientation film for new employees, then Mission For Mariner, an overview on early solar system exploration. We conclude with a theatrical newsreel on Gemini 8 and Luna 6.
Presented all in 16mm.

8th Man: Armored Man 21min Sun 12:30 PM

In Japan's earliest cyborg anime, detective Tobor has a second life as the 8th Man, a robot superhero that fights crime. This episode explores the hazards of performing experiments on unconsenting humans.
In 16mm B&W (Ferrania print)

Fantastic Four 22min Sun 1:00 PM

Your kids have seen the movie, now take them to see this episode of the animated television series by Hanna-Barbera, the one you grew up with. A team of four, made into superheroes by exposure to cosmic radiation, use their super abilities to protect mankind.
Original 16mm television print with all the cartoon violence that your parents objected to in the sixties. 1978, NR.

ST:TOS: Spock's Brain 55min Sun 1:30 PM

In memory of the recently deceased Leonard Nimoy we are running what is possibly the best Star Trek episode of all time, certainly one of the best ones he is featured in. Brain and brain, what is brain? Come see an original 16mm network print with your friends whether they are morg or eyemorg. 1968, NR.

Night of the Comet 1hr 15min Sun 2:30 PM

The earth passes through the tail of Halley's Comet, turning the unprotected population into shambling zombies, leaving two valley girls to fight against the invasion and the secret underground government taking advantage of the situation. A horror film with a sense of humor, this zombie classic is not to be missed. Beautiful 35mm print! 1984, PG-13.

Quest 30min Sun 4:15 PM

Roughly based on a Ray Bradbury story, this short subject about a child in a world where people have only a short eight-day lifespan won a special award at Fantafestival in 1984. Visually stunning work from Saul Bass.

Classic Trailer Park 1hr 30min Sun 5:00 PM

Everybody's favorite event! Ninety minutes of trailers for movies you love, movies you hate, and movies you've never heard of! Once again we reach into the dumpsters behind the movie theatre for the finest trailers possible, old and new. This is our last year and we're going to be reshowing some of the ones we screened the first time we did this decades ago.

Jupiter Ascending (second showing) 2hr 7min Sun 6:30 PM

An earthwoman in a dead-end job has a secret that not even she knows, which leads to an extraordinary inheritance and a vast adventure in space. Sure, the plot was cobbled together from the ancient Greeks, but this is a good retelling and it's visually beautiful.
Presented in 35mm Cinemascope. 2015, PG-13.

K-Pax (second showing) 2hr Sun 8:45 PM

Prot, a patient in a mental institution, claims to be from another planet, and the more his doctor looks into it, the more it looks like he actually is. Starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, Prot's view of earth is enlightening and he sees humans from a different and better viewpoint. This quiet and understated film will make you think about what it is to be an alien and what it is to be human.
Presented in full 35mm Cinemascope. 2001, PG-13.

Dirty Movie: Girls of the Night 1hr 20min Sun 11:00 PM

This timeless political suspense porno film stars Harry Reems as a senator being audited by the IRS, who needs escape from the press and the kind of cheering up that only a party with call girls can provide. Assisted by a captain of industry and the press corps, of course. The thinly-veiled plot is convoluted and silly but the film is mentioned in a Chip Delaney book so there's a science fiction connection!
18 and older please, ID must be shown at the door.

Audience Choice Film 2hr Mon 9:00 AM

We will run any of the films listed for this weekend. You must arrive at 9 AM in order to cast your vote. Film will begin promptly at 9:15 after setup and preparation.