Oddball Films presents Beyond Reason - Dada and Surrealist Cinema, an evening of nonsensical experimental film from Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Luis Buñuel, Rene Clair and more all screened from 16mm prints from Oddball's massive archive. Realism is overrated and this program explores the magnitude of creative expression when freed from the constraints of rational and linear structures. Helmut Herbst’s An Alphabet of German DADAism (1968) is a mind-bending and comprehensive A-Z examination of dadaists shot in true dadaist style with the cooperation of Hans Richter and Richard Hulsenbeck,… Read more
Oddball Films and curator Kat Shuchter bring you Classic Cartoon Cavalcade , an evening of some of our very favorite classic cartoons hand-picked from the San Francisco Media Archive's massive collection. From the 1930s-1950s, from the silly to the sexy with a little Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies (including works by Robert Clampett, Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones), UPA, Fleischer Brothers, Walt Di$ney and imitators, just to name a few with tons of new discoveries and Oddball Premieres. We've got a triple dose of that darn fool duck Daffy as he dreams of being " Duck Twacy, Famous Detective" and… Read more
Oddball Films presents Altered Realities - Inside the Mind's Eye, a night of 16mm films from a variety of genres including animation, documentary and scare films that document and induce alternate states of consciousness. From past life hypnotherapy to a 60s LSD trip to the melting mind of a schizophrenic ; this is one night that will have you out of your mind . Go under hypnosis and seek out your past lives with The Bloxham Tapes (1978). These actual recordings (and the re-imagined reenactments) of the hypnosis sessions of Arnall Bloxham reveal the kind of uncanny details that lend to the… Read more
Oddball Films presents Mysteries of the Mind - Past Lives, Psi Phenomena and Telekinesis, a thought-provoking program of exceptionally rare films that seek to shed light on these extra-sensory and seemingly otherworldly phenomena. Whether fraud or bonafide supernatural events, these compelling documentaries offer a glimpse into another world beyond the normal reach of the human brain. Go under hypnosis and seek out your past lives with The Bloxham Tapes (1978). These actual recordings (and the reimagined reenactments) of the hypnosis sessions of Arnall Bloxham reveal the kind of uncanny… Read more
Oddball Films presents Strange Sinema 91 , a monthly screening of new finds, old gems and offbeat oddities from Oddball Films’ vast collection of 16mm film prints. Drawing on his archive of over 50,000 films, Oddball Films director Stephen Parr has complied his 91st program of classic, strange, and unusual films. For Strange Sinema 91: Oddball’s Strangest Hits!, a surreal and sometimes stupefying selection of some of the strangest films in the Strange Sinema series . Drawn from a wealth of genres - including educational, mental hygiene, pop psychology, quack science and even smut - this… Read more
Oddball Films presents The Untrained Eye: Primitive, Folk and Outsider Artists. This unique program of 16mm documentaries from the 1950s-1980s features untrained artists who simply create out of a love for creating, and who, without formal schooling, possess an innocence and unique perspective not found in trained artists. Visit the Mojave Desert and the "Bird Cage Theater" of life-sized dolls made by Calvin Black in Possum Trot (1977). At 80 years old, Harry Lieberman found his true calling - painting - and at 102, with several one man gallery shows behind him, he credits art with saving his… Read more
Oddball Films presents Learn your Lesson from Herk Harvey - 1950s Mental Hygiene Master, the 29th in a monthly series of programs highlighting the most ridiculous, insane and camptastic educational films, mental hygiene primers and TV specials of the collection. This month, we salute Harold "Herk" Harvey (1924-1996), a director of over 400 mental hygiene and educational films and one feature; the cult horror film Carnival of Souls. This program will delve into his early work of 1950s social guidance films on sex, drinking and driving, snobbery, griping, prejudice, good manners and more! These… Read more
Oddball Films presents Antique Animal Antics!, a program of vintage films full of adorable, hilarious and anthropomorphic animals from the 1930s-1970s. Decades before youtube, CGI, and the Buddies franchise, these furry film stars were doing tricks, solving crimes, talking, singing and drinking at the local pub! A crime-solving, canoeing pooch tracks down a thief in the Yukon in highlights from The Test (1935) starring wondermutt Rin Tin Tin Jr. Fall in love with Squeak the Squirrel (1957), a little ground squirrel in search of a nut and willing to perform any number of tricks for those sweet… Read more
Oddball Films presents London Calling: A Vintage Cinetour, a program of 16mm films shot in mid-century London. From wartime propaganda, to art, documentary, music, ephemera and more, this is a one of a kind trip to another time and place. See the determination of Londoners in the face of the destruction of their historic city during the Blitzkrieg in London Can Take It! (1940) the propaganda short that helped change American sentiment towards entering WWII. Get a look at the art scene with A Lichtenstein in London (1968), a tour de force on site doc of the American pop artist’s famous Tate… Read more
Oddball Films presents Strange Sinema, a monthly screening of new finds, old gems and offbeat oddities from Oddball Films’ vast collection of 16mm film prints. Drawing on his archive of over 50,000 films, Oddball Films director Stephen Parr has complied his 90th program of classic, strange, and unusual films. For Strange Sinema 90: Psychosexual, Parr is collaborating with Austin filmmaker and archivist Scott Stark to curate explicit psychosexual rarities examining the underbelly of the sexual subconscious. From found films featuring subliminal messages like Fuck, Horray (sp.) to Stark’s… Read more
Oddball Films presents Futurama - A Visit to the 1964-1965 World's Fair, a program of vintage films about and commissioned for the New York World's Fair of 1964-1965. This international spectacle of architecture, commerce, culture, religion and art attracted millions of visitors from around the world. Countries, religions and corporations alike sought to dazzle visitors with glorifications of the past and promises of a brighter future. Tour the fair and witness all the exciting sights and sounds of the 1964 New York World's Fair in campy travelogue To the Fair (1964) including visits to the… Read more
Oddball Films and curator Kat Shuchter present Learn Your Lesson...About Puberty: A Hormonal Shockucation , the 28th in a monthly series of programs highlighting the most ridiculous, insane and camptastic educational films, mental hygiene primers and TV specials of the collection. This month, we're finally devoting a whole night to the horrible onslaught of puberty and all the awkward terror it encompasses! To start the evening, there's nothing better than Kotex and Di$ney's dreamily animated Story of Menstruation (1945). For the first time ever, we will be distributing copies of the… Read more
Oddball Films presents The Toys are Alive!, an imaginative, inspiring, and slightly creepy program of 16mm short films and animation full of antique playthings come to life. From the miniature circus of Alexander Calder to stop-motion animation and bizarre educational films, rediscover your early obsession with sentient toys. Marvel at the childlike wonder instilled in legendary artist Alexander Calder as he plays with his miniature kinetic sculptures in Calder’s Circus (1963). Grant Munro's anti-war short Toys (1966) brings to life your GI Joes , but as it turns out, that's not a good thing… Read more
Canadian women talk openly aboot the taboo subject of menstrual pain in the laughably menstrutaining film Cramps! (1982). Behold the wild go-go frenzy of the psychedelically animated The Drag (1965). This dog's bark is worse than his bite, especially after all the joints he's been smoking with the cops in the insane cartoon Caninabis: The Junky Dog (1979). The Canadians bring us a melodramatic account of Teenage Pregnancy (1971). The Drag (Color, 1965) Produced for the Canadian Department of Health and Welfare this jaw-dropping film montage depicts the difficulty of breaking the tobacco habit… Read more
The Magic Shop (Color, 1972) This is a modern version of the H.G. Wells short story, where a father and son pay a visit to a magic shop. As the son marvels at tricks he believes to be true magic, his skeptical father tries his best to ground the feats in logical thinking. The Bloxham Tapes (Color, 1978) A fascinating documentary focusing on the tape recordings of eminent hypnotherapist Arnall Bloxham who, over the course of more than 20 years, has hypnotized 400 people, recording what appear to be uncannily detailed descriptions of previous lives. The film considers the question of whether or… Read more
Oddball Films presents The Makings of Genius, featuring rare 16mm shorts films made early in the careers of such visionary filmmakers as Ken Russell, Roman Polanski, Orson Welles, Istvan Szabo, Jim Hens*n and Steven Spiel∂erg. The audacious Ken Russell (Tommy, Altered States) shows us his softer side with one of his very first short films, Amelia and the Angel (1957) about a little girl's quest for redemption through the streets of Post-War London. Oscar winning Hungarian director Istvan Szabo's You... (1963) is a new wave love letter to a beautiful girl and the city of Budapest. Amelia and… Read more
Oddball Films presents An Animated History of Everything in 10 Minutes or Less, a program of 16mm animation from around the world that offers an array of abridged histories on such varied subjects as art, cinema, leisure, communication, warfare, kitties and more! The Oscar-winning Australian short Leisure (1976) mixes cell-animation and pop-art collage to make you think differently about the way you spend those off hours. Ken Rudolph takes us through the history of art in 8 pulsing minutes in Gallery (1969). From England's Halas and Batchelor studio, there's the succinct and wryly witty The… Read more
Oddball Films presents Lady Sings the Blues, an evening of film rarities of female blues and jazz musicians from the archive (including several not to be found or seen elsewhere) featuring works with Bessie Smith, Lena Horne, Nellie Lutcher, Alberta Hunter, Elizabeth Cotten, Keely Smith and Ivie Anderson. From mini-musicals to personal and in-depth portrait documentaries to rare performances and Soundies; this is more than just a night of incredible music. One of the most haunting and important films of the collection, view Bessie Smith's only film appearance in the moody musical melodrama St… Read more
Busby Berkeley choreographs a dizzying display of hundreds of clones in a dazzling excerpt from Dames (1933) with other classic Hollywood musical numbers from Fred and Ginger dance into your heart in Top Hat (1935) and Alice Faye sings " Oh You Nasty Man " from George White's Scandals (1934). Make an ass of yourself, playing Donkey Baseball (1935) and bundle up with Duke Ellington in Bundle of Blues (1933). Red Noses (B+W, 1932) When Thelma Todd and Zazu Pitts go to a Turkish bath to get rid of their colds they are subjected to undressing, strange mechanical devices, an enormous treadmill,… Read more
