Tivoli Theatre Continues Tradition of Midnight Movies

There is something awesome and wonderful about seeing a movie at midnight with your friends and sharing in the communal excitement of movie theater. This is the reason why midnight movie screenings have become such a phenomenon across the country. In many cities midnight screenings have become an annual tradition eagerly awaited by cinephiles of all ages. 

University City plays host to St. Louis’ longest running midnight film series, Reel Late, the Tivoli Theatre’s midnight film series. Each year the Tivoli staff undertakes a painstaking selection process, consulting customers, staff and local critics in an effort to bring reel joy and happiness to film buffs of all ages. This process is a difficult one but inevitably, after lots of back and forth banter and lobbying, a broad selection of cult classics, fan favorites and obscure gems that have long since left theaters are selected.

 Reel Late gives these films a new life on the silver screen. Each film screens on Friday and Saturday night at midnight beginning on April 29th. With the exception of the super bad The Room, each film will play for two weekends through Halloween.

 The first eight films in the series have been announced.

JURASSIC PARK
Dinosaurs have never been scarier! Stars Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum take a seat to a stunning array of dinosaurs. Despite being made in 1993, the effects do not seem dated. April 29-30 and May 6-7                

THE FIGHT CLUB
A cult classic from 1999! Ed Norton and Brad Pitt duke it out in this amazing adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel. The first rule of Fight Club is to never talk about Fight Club.” May 6-7 and May 13-14                

THE ROOM
It has been hailed as a masterpiece of awful cinema, the Citizen Kane of bad movies. The film, made for about for six million dollars, revolves around a love triangle between two friends and one woman. How bad is this film? Really bad. In fact it is horrible! However it still has become one of the most sought after midnight movies in the country, selling out shows in the USA, Canada and even Denmark. This one of those films that just so ghastly that it has to be seen to be believed. The Room screens over two separate weekends, May 13-14  & June 10-11                                                                              

FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Johnny Depp goes manic in this frenetic film adaptation Hunter S. Thompson’s book. Terry Gilliam directs Depp and Benicio De Toro who are a terrific tandem onscreen. Gilliam captures the drugged out, frantic pace of the book with a quickly paced film with ferociously fast edits and rapid-fire dialogue. Since it’s release in 1998 it has become a cult classic and must see for Thompson fans. May 20-21 and May 27-28           

LABYRINTH
A film with David Bowie and Muppets can’t be anything but a beloved classic. Released in 1986, Jim Henson’s last feature film remains a visual treat. The plot centers on a young girl named Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) who must find a way through a massive and dangerous maze in order to rescue her brother from Jareth the Goblin King (Bowie). The screenplay was co-written by Terry Jones of Monty Python. The film was also produced by some guy named George Lucas. Despite all of the geniuses involved, the film was only a lukewarm box office hit. It has endured for over two decades as an overlooked cinematic gem that in many ways was ahead of its time. May 27-28 and June 3 & 4.

SERENITY
There is always a shindig when Browncoats get together. Browncoats are the legions of fans devoted to Firefly, the TV series that Serenity is based on. This gritty western in about the captain and crew of a cargo ship, Serenity picks up where Joss Whedon’s TV series left off. These petty thieves have their lives turned upside down after they allow safe passage to a mysterious psychic passenger. The movies’ charm lay in its pitch perfect blend of humor, swashbuckling and science fiction. At the time of its release Serenity won several awards for it’s writing and was a science fiction film favorite for 2005. Nathan Fillion’s (who now stars in ABC’s Castle) performance is hilariously charming.  Additional programming for this film TBA. June 3-4 and June 10-11               

BACK TO THE FUTURE
There is not much more that can be said about Back To The Future that has not been said. It remains one of most iconic films of the 1980s and offers classic performances form Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover.  St. Louisan Bob Gale co-produced and co-wrote the film. The movie is a classic because of its wonderful script, great characters and stunning visual effects.  It also took the classic Hollywood sci-fi pretext for a time travel movie and stood it on its ear. Back to The Future is one of those flicks that you can watch over and over again without reservation. June 17-18 and June 24-25

The Tivoli Theatre is located at 6350 Delmar Blvd. in the University City Loop.