When it comes to interactive cinema experiences, nobody does it better than the folks at the Alamo Drafthouse. For years, the theater’s creative directors have been consistently breaking the fourth wall by creating new and innovative ways for audiences to interact with the the films they watch. Whether by equipping their audience with cap guns to help assist Ash at a screening of Army of Darkness, or providing a full range of wine sampling for a showing of Sideways, there is nothing the Alamo crew won’t do in order to amp up the movie going experience.
This year Alamo has chosen to up their game with a clever reworking of their popular Rolling Roadshow event. For those not familiar with the Drafthouse, the Rolling Roadshow is a sort of mobile movie festival that works its way throughout different cities offering up an eclectic selection of film screenings. If you live in a city like Chicago, this may not seem like such a big deal. After all, they show movies down in Grant Park all summer long. However, unlike their peers, Alamo isn’t just throwing up your every day DVD scan of a film. Roadshow organizers want to make sure their audiences get the best experience possible and are bringing with them 35mm prints of every film on the bill! That means, you get to experience the movie the way it was meant to be. In glorious Cinescope!! Well… maybe not Cinescope.. but 35mm is still the creme de la creme if you ask me.
This year’s Roadshow is also taking on an interesting aspect that has yet to be explored. All of the 10 unique screenings are scheduled to take place in either an actual filming location, or at least a thematically relevant spot. For instance, as if Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn’t creepy enough, audiences in Kingsland Texas were able watch the film inside the actual house where the movie was filmed! Can you imagine the terror that would accompany such a sordid setting? Members of the original cast in crew were also in attendance and oh, did I mention that it was FREE!?
Other locations include the Farmers & Merchant’s Bank Building from Bonnie & Clyde, a hotel that boarded Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean for Giant, and the beautiful Royal Theater that served as inspiration for The Last Picture Show. As if this wasn’t enough, Alamo Drafthouse has also paired up with Oakland, CA artist Jason Munn to create fabulous new poster designs for each film in the series. The posters themselves showcase Munn’s signature technique which manages to create magnificent images within a very minimal approach.
All 10 screenings take place in various cities throughout the state of Texas and continues on through the 1st of July. For more details, dates and times, be sure to visit the Rolling Roadshow website. If you’re like me, and need to remember what some of these films were about, Alamo has teamed up with Apple to create a place where you can do that (located here). Finally, if you decide that you now have an insatiable love for artist Jason Munn, feel free to run over to his website and show him some love! I’ve also included Munn’s fabulous poster designs below for your viewing pleasure!
The Searchers:
June 3 – Fort Park, TX
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
June 4 – Kingsland, TX
Blood Simple:
June 5 – Austin, TX
HUD
June 11 – Claude, TX
Red River:
June 17 – Forth Worth, TX
Bonnie and Clyde:
June 18 – Pilot Point, TX
Tender Mercies:
June 19 – Waxahachie, TX
No Country For Old Men:
June 24 – Marfa, TX
Giant:
June 25 – Marfa, TX
The Last Picture Show:
July 1 – Archer City, TX
