THE NAKED CITY – THE REAL CINEMA VERITE

Sydney was once a city of cinemas – magic names like the Mayfair, the Paramount, the Forum, the Embassy, the Paris, the Barclay, the State, the Regent, the Savoy and Cinerama. All big single screens and all themed with their own unique style from the stucco run riot of the neo-classical Regent to the ‘70s grindhouse of the The Barclay with its earthshattering “sensurround”.  Today it’s all big soulless multiplexes with a handful of arthouses and the occasional suburban indie. Yet for those who still cherish the bargain of the Valhalla-style double feature, all is not lost.

The spirit of independent cinema lives on – in warehouses, pubs and a variety of other venues and while lacking in the luxuries that the multiplexes can offer, it’s attracted a strong and dedicated audience. More about that later but let’s flash back to some of the more notorious moments of Sydney cinema in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s where the picture theatre itself was very much part of the attraction, and the action of the big screen somewhat secondary.

The Roma in George Street was a small but adventurous indie, which in the ‘70s and ‘80s screened an eclectic selection of arthouse and cutting edge cinema. It was built right on top of the underground railway from Central to Town Hall and the constant rumble of trains beneath was just part of the experience. The other slightly more unnerving phenomenon were the rats, which ventured up from the subterranean tunnels and were often seen scurrying down the aisles in pursuit of some discarded candy bar treat. The Roma was also notable for a sizeable repair to part of its screen where legend has it a beer can was projected during a screening of The Great Rock & Roll Swindle.

Around the same time Sydney also hosted a dedicated sexploitation showcase in the somewhat seedy Town Cinema, near the corner of Pitt and Park. There was an almost non-stop roll around of soft core erotica and the added attraction of a brothel upstairs where patrons could reenact some of the scenarios they had just witnessed on screen.

Prior to its restoration in the mid ‘90s, the Capitol Theatre in Haymarket had definitely fallen on hard times with the occasional rock show and theatre production interspersed with years of dust-filled darkness. In the mid ‘70s it enjoyed a brief period as a B movie/sexploitation venue and during that time was the closest thing we’ve ever had to an American-style grindhouse. To conceal the crumbling Florentine décor (and no doubt save on electricity), the lights were almost permanently dimmed and a threadbare staff meant tickets were only casually checked. If you were a wino looking to sleep off a hangover or a couple of young lovers looking for somewhere quiet to cuddle up, the cavernous Capitol offered both anonymity and a never-ending cycle of double features – horror, sex and super cheesy sci-fi.

Perhaps it’s that whole old style theatre going experience that has inspired such current day institutions as the Annandale’s Cult Sinema and similar pub and warehouse screenings. Cult Sinema for example has run for an incredible eight years, virtually non-stop at the Annandale Hotel (now every Tuesday) and during that time screened 100s of rare and classic cult films. There’s lots of wisecracking from both the audience and the hosts and the opportunity to sink back in a comfy lounge chair with a schooner in hand.

Similar pub style screenings run at the Darlo Bar and The Beresford and a rooftop cinema is mooted for Oxford Street this summer. We could mention the plethora of outdoor cinemas that erupt in the summer months but their programme is essentially mainstream. If you do want to go outdoors then why not go guerrilla and when it comes to the side of a building or a government utility, then the world is your canvas. It’s a popular concept in Europe and the bigger US cities and Sydney is ripe for it this summer. All you need is a queen-size bed sheet and a projector. Please don’t mention a council permit!

With Miss Death, Jay Katz and Coffin Ed

THE HIT LIST:

• Freaks, Geeks & Almost X-Rated Peeks  –  Friday, September 18 – 7.30pm –Mu Meson Archives – Come and celebrate the end of the Sydney Underground Film Festival with a high speed tunnel through decades of obscure and lost media – some of the wildest and weirdest commercials, music clips, info breaks, television, trailers and educational films ever made.

• Para(noide) Politics in the Archives – Monday, September 28 – 7.30pm – Hollywood & The UFO – Mu Meson Archives – Since the late ‘40s the American Defence Department, especially the Air Force, has had an intimate and intriguing relationship with Hollywood. The Archives has painstakingly researched classic examples across cinema and television. Now for the first time you will witness the influence of the military industrial complex and its use of real and misinformation to muddy the public’s opinion on the subject matter.