Images Cinema Celebrates Practical FX in Films
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Images Cinema announced its first slate of repertory programming for 2024, a celebration of special effects pre-CGI, also known as practical FX.
These special effects include puppets, animatronics, stop motion, and hand-drawn animation integrated seamlessly with live action performances.
Executive director Dan Hudson said, "Special effects of the 80s and 90s are some of the best effects of all time. There is a reason these films still hold up, and we're stoked to celebrate them with you on the big screen here at Images."
The CINEMA REDUX series features work of Phil Tippett, Stan Winston, and Lyle Conway, some of the finest special effects artists of the 20th century. These masters were working at the height of their crafts, with the massive resources available to them to create the legendary animatronics, stop motion, and puppetry of "Little Shop of Horrors" (Wednesday, January 3 at 7:30pm), "Robocop" (Wednesday, February 7 at 7:30pm), "Jurassic Park" (Wednesday, March 6 at 7:30pm), and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (Wednesday, April 3 at 7:30pm).
For YOUNG@HEART, it's all-in on peak Jim Henson. The first three Muppet movies will be shown in chronological order — "The Muppet Movie" (Saturday January 6 and Sunday, January 7 at 11am), "The Great Muppet Caper" (Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4 at 11am), and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (Saturday, March 2 and Sunday March 3 at 11am) — topped off with "The Dark Crystal" (Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 at 11am). "With Little Shop of Horrors" over in CINEMA REDUX, there is plenty to keep Frank Oz fans satisfied.
There will be a special evening screenings of "The Great Muppet Caper" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" with post-film discussions with screenwriter Jay Tarses. "The Great Muppet Caper" with Jay Tarses is Monday, February 5 at 7:30pm. "The Muppets Take Manhattan" with Jay Tarses is Monday, March 4 at 7:30pm.
While the 80s and 90s were the pinnacle of puppet movies, filmmakers were also pushing the craft of animation integrated with live action to new heights. In the ANIMATION CELEBRATION series two films will be presented that explore the integration of hand-drawn animated characters with live action in "Space Jam" (Saturday, January 13 at 2:30pm and Sunday, January 14 at 7:30pm) and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." (Saturday, February 10 at 2pm and Sunday, Februkary 11 at 7:30pm). Two films that combine live action and stop motion animation will also be presented, Henry Selick's "James and the Giant Peach" (Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 at 2pm) and Jan Švankmajer's "Alice" (Saturday, April 13 at 2pm and Sunday, April 14 at 7:30pm).
Images's late night genre series NIGHTMARE ON SPRING STREET showcases some of the best horror movies ever made, the best available digital restorations of "The Thing" (Friday, January 19 and Saturday, January 20 at 9:45pm), "Alien" (Friday, February 16 and Saturday, February 17 at 9:30pm), "The Fly" (Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 at 9:30pm), and "Evil Dead 2" (Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20 at 9:30pm) will be presented.
Find full details for films at https://www.imagescinema.org/events.
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