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Sunday, April 15, 2012

David Bowie and Jim Henson

So I went to the Astor Theater in St. Kilda, Melbourne last night. This is a way old and cool theater, kinda like the Naro in Norfolk, VA but about twice the size. The restrooms are called the "cloak room" and there is a "resident" theater cat. This place is just marvelous. They tend to show older classics (e.g. Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones...), and even B-movies. Last night I saw Jim Henson's 1986 film "Labrynith". Great film staring David Bowie (and his package a'la way-tight-pants). And yeah, he is an awesome actor, one word... "epic." Great flick, great theater! -Matt

2 comments:

  1. No way!

    I watched The Labyrinth three days ago, tucked up on my couch with a bag of chips. Yeah, Dave's package really borders on the obscene. All part of the coming of age sexual awakening you-are-powerless,-surrender-to-me motif that runs through the film.

    That aside (is it hot in here?), The Labyrinth serves as a showcase for Henson and Co's extraordinary puppetry and character imagination.

    The computer graphics and matte painting were ground-breaking at the time, but are now sadly dated. What makes movies like this still worth watching are compelling stories and endearing characters. I can't say much for the story here (hey, it's escapist schoolgirl fantasy, it doesn't have to be deep), but the characters are just fun.

    You've no doubt heard of the stage act "The Puppetry of the Penis". The combination of Bowie and Henson means this film can be called "The Puppetry *and* the Penis".

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  2. Ahh, I just read the Wikipedia article for Labyrinth. It says, "In 2012 the film was digitally remastered and rereleased at the famed The Astor Theatre in Melbourne, Australia".

    Lucky you!

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