Maniac Getting a Theatrical Release for Its 30th Anniversary
Heather Buckley
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In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Bill Lustig’s infamous flick Maniac, Grindhouse Releasing has a struck a new 35mm print, and it’s coming to a North American theater near you!
Maniac earned instant notoriety in 1980 as the most graphic and disturbing of all slasher films, thanks to the gruesome special effects wizardry of Tom Savini. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert called for their audience to boycott Maniac, feminists protested the film’s brutal violence, and other critics simply reviled the film as “sick” and “dirty.” The poster alone, in which the Maniac wields a bloody knife and freshly-removed woman’s scalp, sparked public outrage.
The new release of Maniac begins October 29 and 30, 2010, at the Egyptian Theatre in Seattle, Washington, continuing into next year. Mr. Lustig will be on hand to introduce screenings in Los Angeles (November 5, Nuart Theatre) and New York (Landmark’s Sunshine, November 19 and 20.)
For Joe Spinell fans (and I am certainly one of them), this is the film. I can’t think of a better experience than seeing his pockmarked face and weird doe-eyes projected in living (dying?) color at your local indie theater. I am so very excited just thinking about it — the brutality, the blood, the Caroline Munro. The infamous shotgun scene! Mannequins with scalps placed gingerly on their plastic heads! This is the kind of quality, hand-made sickness you just don’t get anymore. AND this is the movie that inspired Michael Sembello to write the ’80s aerobic anthem “Maniac” from Flashdance. No, I’m not joking.
Lustig, after all these years still praises his star Spinnell. “Maniac’s longevity is a tribute to the extraordinary talent of Joe Spinell, whose compelling performance has resonated with worldwide audiences since the film’s release 30 years ago.”
The following dates are confirmed, and new ones are being added every day:
Oct. 29–30 – Egyptian (Seattle)
Nov. 5 – Nuart (LA) – Bill Lustig in person
Nov. 12–12 – Esquire (Denver)
Nov. 12–13 – River Oaks (Houston)
Nov. 19–20 – Sunshine (NY) – Bill Lustig in person
Nov. 19–20 – Inwood (Dallas)
Nov. 26–27 – Hi-Pointe (St. Louis)
Dec. 2 & 9 – Nickelodeon (Portland, Maine)
Dec. 3–4 – Uptown (Minneapolis)
Dec. 3–4 – E Street (DC)
Dec. 10–11 – Castro (San Francisco)
Dec. 17–18 – Oaks (Pittsburgh)
Jan. 15 – Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR)
Jan. 28–29 – Loft Cinema (Tucson, AZ)
Jan. 28–29 – Music Box Theatre (Chicago)– Bill Lustig in person
March 5 – Cedar Lee (Cleveland)
For more information, visit the official Grindhouse Releasing website.
– Heather Buckley
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