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A favorite game of movie buffs is to program our own film festivals, or at least our own creative double features. It’s a bit like making a mix tape of your favorite songs, finding just the right ones that go together, either thematically, or just simply going by feel or mood. Or sometimes it’s fun to create a huge, crazy, opposite clash between two sensibilities. I have always dreamed of what kind of “summer movie” film festival I would program, using only movies that were released between May and August. I will be adding more throughout the summer, but this is my first double-bill.
When I started assembling my double features, the first movie that popped into my head was John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China](Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - Movie | Moviefone) (1986). It’s the quintessential summer movie, filled with fun, humor, chases, escapes, special effects, exotic locations, etc. In a nutshell, it’s the heartwarming story of a truck driver, Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), who winds up venturing into the unknown depths of Chinatown to help rescue a buddy’s fiancée from some ancient sorcerers and warlords. It’s fast and gorgeous and doesn’t take itself seriously. That’s a major qualification for me; a summer movie that takes itself too seriously just isn’t a summer movie. Its seriousness is a clear attempt to be “better” than the competition, which, conversely, also makes it a more self-conscious work, with far less risk.
Continue reading Double Features of Summer: ‘Hatari!’ and ‘Big Trouble in Little China’