When TV arrived in the ’50s, movie theaters suffered a big drop in viewership. Why go out to see a film when you can stay at home and watch an ancient Western on your nine inch black and white TV? As Hollywood tried to guilt people back into the theaters, William Castle came up with amazing elements that made a people want to see a film in a theater with a bunch of people around them. While Matinee isn’t a biopic about Castle, Joe Dante (Gremlins) capture his spirit and showmanship in Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman). The film gets a major upgrade with fresh bonus features thanks to being part of the Shout Select series. I’m excited to see a chat with cinematographer John Hora since he was vary gracious with his time in the ’90s when I wanted to know more about the incoming digital video revolution. The new Blu-ray comes out on January 16th. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory:
“A delightful comedy and one of
the most charming movies
in a long time”– Roger Ebert
Matinee
Charming Atomic-Age Comedy Makes its
Blu-ray Debut January 16th, 2018
from Shout Select
A loving homage to the kitchy creature-features of the atomic age, the delightful comedy Matinee is a smart and sharp period comedy that captures of joy of growing up on cheesy b-movies. Making its Blu-ray debut January 16th, 2018 from Shout Select, Matinee comes loaded with bonus features, including a new interviews with director Joe Dante, actress Cathy Moriarty, actress Lisa Jakub, production designer Steven Legler, editor Marshall Harvey and director of photography John Hora, as well as the new featurette MANTastic! The Making of a Mant. Fans can pre-order their copies now at ShoutFactory.com
John Goodman is at his uproarious best as the William Castle-inspired movie promoter Lawrence Woolsey, who brings his unique brand of flashy showmanship to the unsuspecting residents of Key West, Florida.
It’s 1962, and fifteen-year-old fan Gene Loomis (Simone Fenton) can’t wait for the arrival of Woolsey, who is in town to promote his latest offering of atomic power gone berserk, Mant! But the absurd vision of Woolsey’s tale takes on a sudden urgency as the Cuban Missile Crises places the real threat of atomic horror just 90 miles off the coast. With the help of Woolsey’s leading lady, Ruth (Cathy Moriarty), the master showman gives Key West a premiere they’ll never forget. Anything can happen in the movies, and everything does in this hilarious tribute to a more innocent (and outrageous) time in American cinema.
Matinee Bonus Features
· NEW Master Of The Matinee – An interview with director Joe Dante
· NEW The Leading Lady – An interview with Cathy Moriarty
· NEW MANTastic! The Making Of A Mant
· NEW Out Of The Bunker – An interview with actress Lisa Jakub
· NEW Making A Monster Theatre – An interview with production designer
Steven Legler
· NEW The Monster Mix – An interview with editor Marshall Harvey
· NEW Lights! Camera! Reunion! – An interview with director of photography
John Hora
· Paranoia In Ant Vision – Joe Dante discusses the making of the film
· MANT! – The full length version of the film with introduction by Joe Dante
· Vintage making-of Matinee featurette
· Behind-the-scenes footage courtesy of Joe Dante
· Deleted and extended scenes sourced from Joe Dante’s workprint
· Still galleries
· Theatrical trailer
