Now Playing at the East Van VODVILLE

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.

Models Week
Holy moly, it’s already been 12 months since we first installed the Vodville in the wall of The Vancouver Hackspace, and what a journey it’s been so far!
Dozens of shows, hundreds of movie clips, over 19,000 in-person views, a series of fabulous collaborators, and so much love from the community.
Thank you for all your support, for suggesting shows, showing your own work, for surprising your friends, for hitting the button (especially in the wee hours to let a nocturnal hackspacer know they aren’t alone), or just admiring it from afar if it’s a sensory day. You’re a wonderful audience, keep being the best version of yourselves you can.
And most importantly,
Spread love, not fear.

We’re going to take a bit of a summer staycation this July and keep this show going a little longer than usual, but check back weekly, because we’ll be adding a handful of new shows each week.
If you have ideas/requests for model shots, email them to us

It’s only a model.

This week, to celebrate our one year anniversary we would like to present a subject near and dear to our hearts. Scale Models (ours is 1:55).
Here are a collection of movie miniatures, starting at the early spectacle films such as Le voyage dans la lune, moving forward through early hollywood throwing everything at the wall, the rise of the studios (and consummate loss of insanity and innuendo), the 60’s experimental phase, and finally, spurred by the success of space operas like Star Trek and Wars, miniatures took over until CG largely replaced them in the mid 1990’s.
They are experiencing a modern renaissance with marquee directors like Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, and Canada’s own Denis Villeneuve making extensive use of practical miniatures to augment their effects.
Here at the vaudeville, we are big fans of small scale wonders, hope you enjoy the show.

• “It’s only a model!” The inspiration for this show, iconic Camelot scene from 1974’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail features a brief fourth wall catapulting appearance by (probably) a model castle… we could not find hard confirmation that it was a model shot, but we also couldn’t find a filming location for the castle exterior, and such an absence of information about a key scene in a core nerd movie is as close as it’s possible to come to proving a negative, ergo model it is, until proven otherwise. [1:28]
• George Meile’s 1902 masterpiece Trip to the Moon, is considered one of the first science fiction films. Its heavily stylized effects were influential on filmmakers like Karel Zeman. Here we present a highlight reel of the film, condensed to fit into a theatre. In keeping with the early film tradition of the music and sound being the responsibility of the exhibitors (which used live bands, or narrators filling in the story), we have selected some music that we felt was appropriate. [3:49]
• A movie that correctly predicted the horrors of World War II’s aerial bombing campaigns as well as the zombie plague of the 1960’s. Things to Come also had this fantastic sequence of model shots, examining the cost of progress, not bad for 1936. Check out the whole film; the production design is on point, with simple yet elegant in-camera tricks to bring the strange and distant world of 2036 to life.
• The Czech director and animator Karel Zeman was cited as an inspiration to Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, and Ray Harryhausen. Here we look at a submarine scene from his 1958 masterpiece Invention for Destruction. Watch out for some exquisite glass paintings, use of miniature and cardboard sets, all art directed to a perfect Doré-esque glory. [2:07]
• Another clip from our very first Vodville Show! The Mysterious Island 1929, featuring huge miniatures and an amazing performance by a cephalopod, whose name we were not able to confirm before press time. [3:19]
• It’s the Tempest, in SPAAAAACE! The pioneering film Forbidden Planet was the first with a fully electronic score, and in addition to the stunning model work features a bitching robot (no tin man here), who has no problem correcting people when they get misgendered. Did we mention this came out in 1956? Oh, and surely you’ll recognize Canada’s own Leslie Neilson in his serious era. [3:41]
• After 9pm only! - 1989’s The Abyss by James Cameron features an insane collection of underwater shots, miniatures and puppets all choreographed to perfection, here we check out the storm sequence. God it’s so good. [3:51]
  For more information on the miniatures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceoCbo3yiyU
• NEW THIS WEEK After 9 pm only! - Here we have Ripley taking charge and taking off in this classic miniature rescue extraction from 1986’s Alien sequel, Aliens. Directed by James Cameron, who got his start doing some really nice visual effects on Roger Corman B movies, including a knockoff of the original Alien.
• The management would like to apologise for the previous lack of Wes Anderson in the models show. Please accept this 1:1 cutaway model ship from 2004’s The Life Aquatic.
• Mr. Salad Dressing returns to the Vodville in the classic 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno, and the only thing higher than the flames is the camp. Truly, what problem can’t be solved with several pounds of plastic explosives? [2:54]
• Swan Lake in SPAAAAACE! Its the docking sequence from 2001 A Space Odyssey, featuring Pan Am Airways (remember them?) featuring Pan Am Airways (remember them?) Shot with large models and motion control cameras, it’s bananas. The standout feature is a masterclass on maintaining optical clarity. Most effects shots need some degree of compositing of different elements. Often this results in a grainy/fuzziness that increases the more elements are added on. But not here, through meticulous attention to every detail of the filming process and the use of motion controlled camera rigs Kuprick was able to maintain a sharpness in 1968’s that still holds up to this day. [2:46]
  Filming 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Ahh the wonderful pairing of Mel Brooks, and special effects legend John Dykstra (responsible for the ships in Star Wars). It’s 1987’s Spaceballs, with the Mega Maid sequence. Incidentally the Eagle 5 winnebago with wings is still one of my favorite ships, I think it’s the fact that it still has the air conditioners up top. [3:56]
• Thunderbirds - End of the road, 1965 We love every bit of this show, beautiful effects, beautiful models. Here we find out the many ways a rocket plane is useful for search and rescue and rockfall mitigation. [3:38] The American Society of Cinematographers | Behind the Scenes…
• NEW THIS WEEK Live action proto WALL-E, with models! It’s the exterior reveal shot from 1972’s environmental call to action Silent Running. Incidentally the director, Douglas Trumbull, has a heck of a resume, including creating memorable visual effect sequences for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Blade Runner, but not Star Wars, he was already booked to work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
• This model train scene from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) is pure gothic Mood. [1:54]
• Last seen on our Train Week autism special, it’s the train dream sequence in 1936’s Ub Works delirium fest, Play Safe. Featuring some absolutely beautiful shots combining animation and life action miniatures. [3:10]
• The titular Labyrinth of Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy epic and Muppet-driven David Bowie vehicle is a clever mix of foreground model and background matte painting. [1:46]
• Space Truckers. The title says it all, here we see the gang loading up on some contraband and putting the hammer down. The producers hired the top-notch model building team of Brian Johnson and Paul Gentry, then cut most of their work in favour of hot new CGI that has aged… poorly.
• Set in Burquitlam and shot in White Rock and Steveston by a couple former SFU students, 1982’s Big Meat Eater punches way above its budget. It opened to rave reviews, and had line ups around the block in England, as well as locally at the now closed Vancouver East Cinema. Not bad for a movie featuring effects that were mostly made of things purchased from the local thrift store. We look forward to showing more of this movie in future shows. [2:30] Big Meat Eater brings high-grade balonium to the Cinematheque | Georgia Straight Vancouver’s source for arts, culture, and events
• Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice is packed full of amazing miniatures, here we check out the eponymous ghoul in his natural setting. [2:30]
• After 9 pm only! We go to 1982’s Blade Runner, for Decker’s arrest scene. The jaw dropping cityscapes that continue to influence the style and feel of every cyberpunk film since, were shot in camera, by doing multiple passes with a motion controlled camera. Each element, ie: lights, buildings, billboards was shot separately on the same roll of film. To achieve this, the film was carefully rolled back to the exact start frame for each take and the camera motion was exactly repeated, the result? Beautifully composited effects that still look stunning 43 years on. [3:46]
• Break out your Corgis, it’s none other than QEII’s favorite movie! We are proud to present the camp masterpiece with psychedelic visuals, 1980’s Flash Gordon. Here we watch the hawkmen scene. The whole rest of the movie is equally as insane and well worth a watch. Oh and the soundtrack is by Queen. [3:42]
• From the 1976, Space Warp episode of Space 1999, we bring you some absolutely glorious miniature destruction courtesy of British effects legend Brian Johnson, and model maker Martin Bower. [3:20]
• There were so many excellent miniatures and bigatures to choose from in 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts, but we couldn’t resist the epic mixed frame rate + actual dude in a merman costume effect in the Clashing Rocks scene. There’s no mystery about how it was done, but man, you have to appreciate how hard they went for it. [2:35]
• Buckle up your swashes and timber up your shivers for 1935’s Captain Blood, starring Errol Flynn in his first leading role, and three 18-foot-long wooden ship models in their last.
• You can also scale models upward. In this clip from 1936’s Everything is Rhythm, filmed a mere 3 years after the invention of Acrylic plastic, we check out a clearly awesome band. Watch out for the solo number by the tiny pianist. [3:24]
• Back to Spaceballs, here we show off the 17 foot long Spaceball one, which just keeps going. Eat your heart out George Lucas. [2:17] Spaceball One Large Size Original Model | ScienceFictionArchives.com
• Ahh Metropolis the 1927, German expressionist sci-fi masterpiece. They invented a new technique for this film, the Schüfftan process, that used mirrors with holes cut out to superimpose live actors into miniature models. In this way the whole effect was captured in camera, and there was no quality loss from multiple exposures or optical printing. [1:26]
• Jumping back to Space 1999, this time the Breakaway episode it turns out that using the moon as a nuclear waste dump comes with consequences. Mostly they involve the FX department getting to blow up a lot of stuff. [3:18]
• NEW THIS WEEK The best thing about moon bases? Moon buggies. Here are some gorgeous model shots from Duncan Jones’s love letter to 70’s sci-fi, Moon, released in 2009.
• Independence Day released in 1996, right at the cusp of the digital dark ages, this movie featured some of the largest miniatures ever exploded. The highlight, the explosion of a 15’ wide and 5’ high model of the whitehouse was performed live in front of an invited press corps. As is tradition, The Special Effects Department only found out about the press on the shoot day, when the bleachers were being set up. Also, the exploding city filmed while tilted at an angle. Neat trick! [1:12]
  'Independence Day' Visual Effects Supervisor on Making the Original
• NEW THIS WEEK Vworp! Vworp! Vworp! Oh no! We’ve landed in 1986 Essex and we haven’t paid our TV Licence! We can’t watch for long, but check out the opening model shot of Dr Who - Season 23, Trial of a Time Lord, Episode 1 - The Mysterious Planet.

[SteveRoy]

@dbynoe

Thunderbirds - End of the road, 1965 We love every bit of this show, beautiful effects, beautiful models. Here we find out the many ways a rocket plane is useful for search and rescue and rockfall mitigation

Without giving away my age… I used to watch Thunderbirds as a child/pre-teen and loved the show. Amazingly well done show for the era. Diecast models of the Thunderbirds from that era are quite collectable these days.

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.

Do you love musicals? Do you hate musicals? Do we have the show for you!

We all know that the whole concept of a musical is slightly at right angles to reality to begin with; this August, we’re celebrating the ones that went full send.

Come with us to stare into the void at the bleeding edge of musical films…. that special place where the already amorphous line between genius and insanity blurs into something magical.

We’re going to continue our summer staycation format through August and keep this show going a little longer than usual, but check back weekly, because we’ll be adding a handful of new clips each week.

If you have ideas/requests for some fantastic deranged musical numbers that we and the community need to see, we’d love to add them to this show email suggestions and requests to us at:

vodvilleEV@gmail.com

A note about the family-friendliness of our films

There’s a simple rule for what we show on the Vodville: we have to feel OK with kids seeing anything we show before 9 pm. That said, this only applies to the clips we show; the rest of a film might not be age appropriate, viewer discretion is advised, sometimes very strongly advised.

Please also be advised that after 9pm, we do venture into 14a territory with saltier language and more adult themes (taxes, bill payments, etc). These films are noted below as “after 9pm only”

If you feel that our judgement is in error, you can press the play button to skip to the next film, and/or send us a note at vodvilleEV@gmail.com explaining your feelings. We appreciate feedback.

Delightfully Deranged Musical Numbers

• 1953’s The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T this was written by Dr Seuss himself, and it did so badly at the time that nobody ever let him make a feature-length non-documentary film again. We feel this was a tremendous injustice. We are proud to present the dressing room song from the utterly deranged musical that inspired this whole collection. [2:44}
• New Aug 26: Bowie. Muppets. Stunt work with small children. What’s not to love? It’s Dance Magic from 1986’s Labyrinth. [2:45]
• New Aug 17: (after 9 pm only!) What happens when a surrealist street theatre troupe calling itself The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo decides to make a feature film? You get the delightfully deranged 1982 film Forbidden Zone. Directed by Richard Elfman, and with the first music credit for his brother Danny. Here we have the whiskey-voiced Susan Tyrrell playing Queen Doris of the Sixth Dimension singing about the problems of finding love as an arch-villainess. [2:33]
• New Aug 26: (after 9 pm only) The Apple commits the original Hollywood sin of trying really, really hard to be an instant cult classic. An unholy hybrid of disco-era Faust myth and drive-by Chick Tract, the vigorous dance pieces are the only redeeming part of this 1980 disasterpiece. [3:09]
• Muppet Treasure Island Tumblr user Sephiramy says “The reason Michael Caine and Tim Curry are so good in their respective muppet movies is that Michael Caine treats the muppets as fellow actors, and Tim Curry treats himself as a fellow muppet”. Discuss. [3:14]
• New Aug 17: Lotte Lenya is mesmerizing in this mid-1960s staged-for-television performance of “Pirate Jenny” from Brecht and Weill’s The Three Penny Opera. The original 1931 German language version is very much worth a watch, but didn’t work as well with our format. [4:47]
• Here is 1948’s The Pirate, which, despite featuring some of the biggest stars and greatest talents of the era, never quite fully lands, but man, did they go for it. This number, “Be a Clown” was later reworked into the much better known, “Make em laugh” for 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain. Shout out to all the friends of Dorothy this Vancouver Pride week, we love Judy too. [3:09]
• New Aug 26: The short The Crimson Permanent Assurance from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life certainly makes chartering an accountant look like fun. Now, bring me that horizon. [2:06]
• New Aug 17: (extended cut available after 9 pm!) Good news everyone! We’ve found something by John Waters that we can show on the Vodville! It’s the Please Mr Jailer song from 1990’s “Grease, but in glorious bad taste”, Cry Baby. [3:38, 4:37]
• Hellzapoppin’ 1941 - Let’s introduce The Big Mouth herself, Martha Raye to perform this lovely ragtime number is about the racing paddle steamer (technically a sidewheeler), and as a heads up, this performance is being sabotaged using every classic Vaudeville physical comedy bit known (for reasons of romantic comedy). [3:13]
• New Aug 26: The 1986 musical remake Little Shop of Horrors (by way of Off-Broadway) is full of delightfully deranged musical numbers. Here Rick Moranis performs a heartfelt duet (filmed at half speed and then sped back up in post) with a giant houseplant voiced by blues singer Levi Stubbs, and puppeteered by a large gang of Henson Creature Shop hair farmers. (As many as 60 puppeteers in the plant’s largest version.) [2:51]
• We go to the locally produced midnight classic 1982’s Big Meat Eater for a quick lesson on the many uses of chemicals in the modern world. [2:48]
• Put on your tiara and sequined baking gown and get ready to sing your way to a cake as Jacques Demy (of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) takes a crack at the 1695 Charles Perrault fairy tale in 1970’s Donkey Skin. [3:42]
• New Aug 26: Miss Piggy dreams of Esther Williams in The Great Muppet Caper. 1981. [4:28]
• Do you want to build a snowman? Here we present the snowman song from 1993’s Cannibal! The Musical. Based on the sordid tale Alferd Packer, who is alleged to have survived the wilderness by eating his companions. This was the first feature film by a young Trey Parker, and his friend Matt Stone, both better known for creating South Park. [2:30]
• New Aug 17: We bring you a jaunty meditation on perseverance from the 2001 horror /comedy/musical/animation/glorious insanity fest, The Happiness of the Katakuris, here performed by the management of the White Lover’s Inn and their recently departed guests. [2:17]
• Jumping back to Big Meat Eater; which was set in a Burquitlam Butcher shop, starring Edmonton jazz fixture Clarence Horatius “Big” Miller, (who incidentally was a model railroad fan), and directed by SFU film students freshly inspired by late 70’s midnight movies. The foley artist was ready for this moment. Squelchy noise warning, hit play to skip if you need to. [2:48]
• (after 9 pm only!) Here we have Frank “Fozzie Bear” Oz’s 1986 musical classic Little Shop of Horrors, with a song that explains most of the dentists I encountered in my childhood. [2:46]
• New Aug 26: In a total inversion of the Hollywood standard, the musical numbers in Death to Smoochy are arguably the least deranged parts of the film. Parents with small kids… despite appearances in this clip, this movie is not for the littles. Also, we’d like to slip Smoochy’s mom a copy of Lundy Bancroft’s Why Does He Do That? [1:23]
• New Aug 17: What would a musical show be without a dream ballet? For the haters, the play button also skips, but if you do that you’d miss the marvelously mad Seussian instrument dungeon sequence from the 1953 classic, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. [3:03]
• (after 9 pm only!) Let us now present the flamboyant British insanity of Ken Russel’s 1975’s film Lisztomania.. It’s a rock opera debauchery-fest biopic of the 19th century composer, and pop culture phenomenon, Franz Liszt. We join our composer vs. vampire fight already in progress. [3:32]
• We have the Commendatore scene from Don Giovanni in 1984’s pop superstar biopic, Amadeus. We especially enjoy the vintage practical effects and chorus of sith dragging him down to hell. Shoutout for shooting in the Estates Theatre in Prague, where Don Giovanni was first premiered two centuries before. [1:30]
• New Aug 26: There’s so much sequin Bayhem in this scene from The Apple that we didn’t even notice the casual firebreathing until the third watch-through. [3:21]
• New Aug 17: Going hard on both “delightful” and “deranged” this slapstick number from Guillermo Del Toro’s blisteringly anti-fascist 2022 stop-motion masterpiece is not your Disney’s Pinocchio. [3:07]
• Next we jump to 2023’s The Invisible Fight, set in the 1970’s Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, a young metal head finds purpose in an underground society of Eastern Orthodox Kung Fu monks. Here he learns a lesson about car repair and the importance of giving back to the community. [2:03]
• New Aug 26: Arguably more delightful than deranged, but still pretty deranged, Sweet Charity’s Shirley MacLaine shows us what musicals are really all about… “When you’re too emotional to speak you sing and when you’re too emotional to sing you dance”. 1969. [3:25]
• All That Jazz is a 1979 semi autobiographical fantasy directed by and about the life of the dance virtuoso Bob Fosse (the inventor of Jazz Hands!). We join our mid-surgery life realization hallucination already in progress. [3:41]
• New Aug 26: We would love to know which deranged creative decided to base an extensive dolphin-based musical number on Douglas Adams’ iconic line “So long, and thanks for all the fish” for the opening credits of 2005’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. This film is otherwise NOT a musical, although there is fan debate about whether it should have been. [1:50]
• New Aug 17: (extended cut available after 9 pm!) More from Forbidden Zone. Here we check out the classroom scene and hear about Frenchie’s European vacation.[1:51, 3:09]
• New Aug 17: (after 9 pm only!) What can we say about 1974’s The Phantom of the Paradise other than why has it taken us over a year to put some of it on the Vodville? Here we have some well done Beef when he is forced to defy the Phanom’s threats and perform a song anyway. Shout out to Winnipeg for being ahead of the rest of the world in recognizing this film’s genius. [3:39].
• New Aug 26: A chilling portrait of a dystopian future ruled by totally-not-the-Eurovision Song Contest. It’s The Apple again. We’re sorry. [2:33]
• Let’s check out 1984’s Voyage of the Rock Aliens, which revolves around aliens coming to earth to search for the source of rock and roll. Notably starring the mind blowing Pia Zadora, who you may remember as Girmar from 1964’s beloved seasonal classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, which we absolutely need to find for this December. [3:21]
• New Aug 17: In 1958 (Under the stage name David Seville) Ross Bagdasarian was messing around with a tape deck speed control, and the result was the novelty song “Witch Doctor”, and eventually, the cartoon novelty band The Chipmunks. In 1987, his son Ross Jr and daughter-in-law Janice Karman self-produced the hit movie The Chipmunk Adventure, featuring the “The Girls of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. If the animation seems suspiciously good for a family-made indie, that’s because Disney’s The Black Cauldron had recently flopped at the box office, and some of their top animators were looking for work. [3:03]
• New Aug 26: We watch terrible movies so that you don’t have to. The live-action Popeye is another 1980 disasterpiece, but Bluto’s villain song stands out as a catalogue of every breakaway prop gag in the book, plus a few. [1:41]
• 1980’s Xanadu - Gene Kelly in his final film role, keeping up with the kids while being utterly charming, oh and Electric Light Orchestra did the soundtrack? Perfection, no notes. [3:20]

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.
Now playing at the East Van VODVILLE

In honour of Car-Free Day on The Drive

Here’s a bunch of car-free chase scenes!

From light aircraft to submarines, bicycles to wheelchairs, rollerblades to bare feet, hovercraft to cello cases, if you can put a human on it, some filmmaker somewhere has filmed a chase on it.
(And not just in Bond films)

Car Chases

• This rollerblade chase in 1995’s Hackers may not start out car free, but it gets there in the end. Hack the Planet! [1:57]
• Supermarket shenanigans from Juzo Itami’s 1996 Supermarket Woman - Look out for Chekov’s fruit stand in the first act.. [4:03]
• Featuring a charity driven corporate tie in and an extensive marketing campaign, but very little script. It’s the other film about a child helping an alien keep away from government officials, 1988’s, Mac and Me. Incidentally actor Jade Calegory, a wheelchair user, did a number of his own stunts. [3:19]
• Mel Brooks’ 1976 Silent Movie featuring the Charity Condiment King here narrowly escaping from some rabid producers. [2:40]
• Behold the popular birthplace of the holy music that is the Yackety Sax. The Benny Hill Show began using it for their closing credits in 1969. Here we feature a chase between a dog walker with the power of healing and some irate nurses. Its episode 54 of the show, Cagney and Lacey which originally aired on April 16, 1986 [2:49]
• After 9 PM only: This man is about to die in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life 1983 [1:44).
• After 9 PM only: Widely considered to be one of the greatest films to come out of Canada, we bring you the foot chase from Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Stunning vistas abound. 2001 [4:29]
• The Time that Remains If you’re one of the folks who wished that 2025’s The Phonecian Scheme had been more willing to engage with current events, we recommend 2009’s The Time That Remains. [1:57]
• The miniature ski chase scene from Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014 {1:55]
• A classic 007 ski chase from For Your Eyes Only features a funky disco soundtrack, 1981 [3:53]
• Another hearty serving of Albert R. Broccoli, with a side of cello. The Living Daylights, 1987 [1:39].
• After 9 PM only 2002’s Die Another Day Is your hovercraft full of eels? Not after a trip through an exploding forest, it’s not. [1:49]
• After 9 PM only This freerunning sequence takes the James Bond high-collateral damage chase to another level in Casino Royale, 2006 [4:32]
• More free running, with less collateral damage but more personal stakes, in Omar, 2013. [1:03]
• The charming 2014 stop-motion animation Boxtrolls teaches a timely lesson. [1:33]
• Gromit’s working on the railroad in this clip from 1993’s Wallace and Gromit Wrong Trousers rain chase [2:54]
• Watch out for locomotives, they can appear out of nowhere in Wrongfully Accused, 1998 [3:46]
• 1926’s The General - Keaton’s railroad Artillery experiment [3:25]
• 1922’s Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood featuring Robin and a few of his fabulously merry men. [2:05]
• We have Shubha Khote (national women’s cycling champion 1952-1955) making her film debut in the 1955 Bollywood classic Seema. [3:27]
• 1927’s Wings was right on the cusp between silent and talkie; while it didn’t have fully synched sound, but it did have a recorded music sound track. [1:46]
• The sheer spectacular lack of airmanship on display in 1986’s Iron Eagle is a testament to that golden era when general aviation was still somewhat financially accessible to teenagers, and also suggests the influence of leaded avgas.[5:00]
• After 9 PM only Sean Connery is a steel-eyed torpedo man in The Hunt for Red October, 1990. [3:04]
• After 9 PM only The opening chase sequence from 1999’s The Matrix signaled a stylistic sea change for action filmmaking. [2:22]
• After 9 PM only 1997’s Men In Black artfully blends stunt free running with otherworldly wirework [2:28]
• 1999’s Galaxy Quest is the finest Star Trek movie ever made. Discuss. [2:18]
• 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit - This is not the dame you’re looking for. The IP licensing negotiations that brought this scene to life are the stuff of Hollywood legend [3:07]
• 1986’s Mr Vampire II - The dangers of posing with vampires for the gram. [1:54]
• 1987’s Mr Vampire III - Eagle-zombie hijinks ensue [2:35]
• Shoutout to the random guy who stopped his car to ask some Vodville goers what was playing, and reminded me that Spaceballs, 1987 exists. {3:23]
• Here we have a cross country bike race between Kevin Bacon (Bacon number of 0) and Laurence Fishburne (Bacon number of 1). Kevin’s choice of a single speed with only a rear coaster brake was a bold one for the hills of San Francisco. Its 1986’s Quicksilver [3:53]

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Check here for the latest show.

The night is dark, and the veil is thin. Join us as we explore things that go AIEEEEEE in the night.
This year we also want to salute the Toronto based Nelvana Limited. Founded in 1971 they went on to produce many of the TV shows of my childhood, including Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, The Magic School Bus, Babar, and many more. On September 2, 2025. Corus Entertainment, who bought Nelvana in 2000, announced a shutdown of all current and future productions at Nelvana, bringing their 54 year run to an end. The future of the organization is uncertain.
We’re also bringing back some old favourites from last year that you might have missed… last year’s Halloween show was the send-off for the old purple prototype Vodville.

Spooky Season 2 - Return of the rise of the Spooky Movie

• First up we bring you a homage to late night broadcast TV and the low budget horror movies beamed into the homes of insomniac kids everywhere. From the 1978 classic sketch comedy show, SCTV, its Monster Chiller Horror Theatre: The House of Cats . (4:03)

• This scene from Tim Burton’s 1994 Ed Wood really captures the glamour of monster filmmaking. (3:16)

• Need a quick pick me up? Try a song from the heart, its 1978’s The Devil and Daniel Mouse, the second television special produced by the Toronto animation house Nelvana. (3:33)

• (play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) This. Is. HALLOWEEN! Henry Selick, Danny Elfman, Tim Burton and an elite horde of sculptors, model makers, animators, and more bring us the opening scene from 1993’s cross-seasonal masterpiece, The Nightmare Before Christmas. (3:18)

• Eartha Kit gives a standout performance as a misunderstood artist in 1991’s Ernest Scared Stupid. (2:10)

• In the time before the internet, families would gather around a cathode ray tube and tune in at a specific time on a specific day to one of a spare handful of channels to watch a movie. From this cursed soil came the horror that is 1986’s Mr Boogity. I think I am still working out some of its psychological scars with my counsellor. (3:55)

• Dennis Hopper goes shopping for chainsaws in 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. (3:06)

• We learn about bats while Arnold shares a valuable lesson about taking action to manage his sensory sensitivities in this clip from the Nelvana produced 1995 tv show The Magic School Bus. (2:59)

• (play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) From pre Velvet Revolution/post Czech New Wave Czechoslovakia, Saxana the student witch wreaks havoc in Dívka na koštěti (The Girl on the Broomstick). (1:20)

• Our favorite part of The Magic School Bus was the fact check segment at the end where a caller politely corrects the producer on all the liberties taken during production. Here are some bat facts from 1995’s Going Batty. (2:17)

• (play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) Next up, it’s our hands-down favourite non-Bowie scene from 1986’s Muppet-tastic Labyrinth. (1:04)

• What 1991’s Ernest Scared Stupid lacks in writing and sanity, it more than makes up for with some amazing and terrifying creature effects courtesy of the Chiodo Brothers. (3:16)

• First off, if you dislike spiders, the play button also works as a skip button. But if you do that you will miss the most amazing bus transformation yet, Spider Bus. From Nelvana’s 1996 The Magic School Bus. (3:57)

• new! October 26 We’ve had spider buses, and bat buses, but how about a spider bat? It’s 1959’s The Angry Red Planet, written and directed by Ib Melchior (writer of The Racer (adapted into Death Race 2000), and Space Family Robinson (arguably the inspiration for Lost in Space). (3:17)

• (extended cut after 9pm) Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr Oizo) is more known for his flat beats, but here we have his film about a sentient tire, with the power to kill with its mind! It’s 2010’s brilliantly insane Rubber. (2:18, 2:52)

• play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) Canadian Content goes old-school with Paul Donovan’s utterly charming spooky comedy George’s Island, 1989. Come for the pirate ghosts, stay for the bad-ass disability-positive halloween costuming, and biting satire of the Mulroney-era foster system. (2:30)

• Gremlins go to the theatre in 1984’s classic creature feature. (4:09)

• (play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) We return to George’s Island to bring the stop-motion skeleton action full circle. (0:46)

• You may remember Rankin/Bass from their many stop motion holiday specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, but did you also know they made a special about a mad scientist that invents the secret to total destruction? It’s 1967’s Mad Monster Party? featuring an atomic bomb in a tube and one swinging soundtrack. (2:39)

• (play it again, Sam! Re-run alert.) With a remarkable 0.00 seconds of screen time, Harry Belafonte stars in 1989’s Beetlejuice. (2:55)

• A pie fight from 1988’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space with some great monster make up by the Chiodo Brothers. (1:52)

• More Mad Monster Party? party chaos featuring all the great monsters, and some cream pies. (3:07)

Science Fiction Undecuple Feature new! October 26

Can’t get the opening number from The Rocky Horror Picture show out of your head since seeing it at the Rio? Been meaning to look up the eleven films it mentions, but not sure if you want to sit through ~16 hours of plodding B-movie exposition? We’ve got you covered.

• We go to The Day the Earth Stood Still with Michael Rennie giving a very 1951 perspective on using AI to enforce the state’s monopoly on violence. (3:43)

• Next, how about some 1954 Flash Gordon adventure serials? There is silver underwear, but sadly not on Flash, but hey it does have Androids fighting. (if anyone knows of an instance where Flash did wear silver underwear in the early serials, drop us a line, we looked and this was the closest we found). (4:14)

• Claude Raines does a disappearing act in 1933’s The Invisible Man. Watch out for a stand out performance by the OG scream queen, Una O’Connor. (3:23)

• Baring any hiccups we would like to show off the 1933, King Kong vs T-Rex fight. Animated by the great Willis H. O’Brien, and featuring Fay Wray doing what she does best, looking fabulous and screaming her head off. (3:27)

• Brace yourself for the deadly pace of 1953’s It Came from Outer Space. (2:58)

• Next, we go to the pre-code 1932 horror film Doctor X, to witness the Moon Killer’s transformation. Presented in gorgeous early two strip technicolor. (3:57)

• With apologies, we are skipping Anne Francis, to bring you the Monster from the Id from 1953’s Forbidden Planet. Look out for Regina’s own Leslie Nielsen as the commander. (2:04)

• Spider warning, Leo G. Carroll learns an important lesson about the dangers of animal experimentation in 1955’s Tarantula. (3:59)

• Janette Scott flees from the terrifying triffid terror in 1963’s The Day of the Triffids. We would like to mention that when boarding up doors and windows, putting the nails in at a roughly 30 degree angle will greatly increase their resistance to impacts from sentient vegetation. (3:04).

• Everybody’s giving each other the runes in Night of the Demon’s spooky game of demonic hot potato, where the skillfulness of one’s sleight of hand can mean the difference between life and grim death! No dehydrated stone-fruits were harmed, or even filmed, in the making of this picture. 1957 (1:36)

• When Worlds Collide, the miniatures department gets to spend an abnormally outsized portion of the film’s budget. 1951. (2:53)

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Check here for the latest show.
**
Now playing at the East Van VODVILLE**

Noirvember

November. Dark as a dame’s intentions, and wet as the inside of a two bit rainslicker. It’s that time of year when even the most aggressively un-cynical theatre you know figures it’s time to tango with the darker side of the celluloid dream in…NOIRVEMBER

Coming on November 16th,
Eastside Culture Crawl Moving Art 2025.

We’ll be back to the noirs on November 24th..

It’s dark out… let’s watch some cathartically dark movies.

• Dragging Harrison Ford out of retirement, it’s the 1983 neon-noir film Blade Runner. [3:46]

• Oh sure the DA says to lay off, but Marlow has a hunch, see? The Big Sleep 1946. [2:05]

• Are they aliens or the 1%? Let’s skewer the corrupt underbelly of Reaganomics in 1988’s John Carpenter meme fest They Live. [3:33]

• Preparing for the big heist with gritty, Hays Code unapproved realism in this scene from 1955s Rififi. (France) [4:31]

• Dick Tracy finds himself in a tight spot after getting pinched by Big Boy and his goons in this 1990 adaptation of the 1930s comic books. [3:56]

• Bruce Lee (!) demonstrates why it’s not a good idea to splash out on an expensive office if you are a private eye, in this scene from 1969’s Marlowe. [3:17]

• Sometimes you just gotta hide a wrongfully accused rabbit from the cops. Who Framed Roger Rabbit Robert Zemeckis, 1988. Also, while you are here, check out all the physical objects being interacted with by cartoons, all practical. It’s bananas. [3:41]

• If you like your monologs and dialogs extra hard boiled, look no further than this narrative exposition from 1945’s Detour. [2:13]

• Speaking of German Expressionism, check out this introduction from 1998’s Dark city. Don’t worry kids, they are all just napping. [1:28]

• Occupied Czechoslovakia with a man on the run, in Hangmen Also Die! 1943. This film was written by Berthold Brecht and directed by Fritz Lang after both fled Nazi Germany. [2:05]

• Screwball dialog and a daring exit in 1931’s proto-noir The Front Page. [2:22]

• Clash of the warrior codes when aging mafiosos pick a fight with an avid Samurai enthusiast, in Jim Jarmusch’s 1999’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. The film was heavily influenced by Le Samouraï and Branded to Kill which appear elsewhere in our program. [2:21]

• After the surprise passing of a beloved civic leader, his wife (played by Katharine Hepburn) is left to deal with the skeletons in the closet. Keeper of the Flame, 1942. [4:07]

• Sometimes the most effective threat is a friendly question, Dick Tracy, 1990. [1:26]

• Top notch verbal jousting between Bacall and Bogart in The Big Sleep 1946. [1:39]

• The Shawshank-famous hairflip, plus covert sparring between ex-lovers. 1946’s Gilda. [3:22]

• She’s not bad, she’s just drawn that way. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988. [3:24]

• (extended cut after 8pm) Vocabulary word: Rififi explained through song, dance and illustrative shadow puppets. [1:16-3:32]

• The Big Sleep bookstores and their employees are sexy, discuss. [2:32]

• (after 8pm) Madonna femme-fataleing it up in 1990’s Dick Tracy. [2:42]

• The cabbies in noirs can be several kinds of deadly. The Big Sleep, 1946. [1:03]

• Self driving cabs: flouting traffic laws for 80+ years. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988. [2:52]

• (after 8pm) We go to Japanese B-Movie auteur Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill for a nice quiet bodyguard ride through the country. [2:52]

• The spiritual godfather of the French New Wave, Jean-Pierre Melville, strips noir down to precise action and glances in this clip from 1967’s, Le Samouraï. [3:49]

• (after 8pm) Seijun Suzuki’s 1966 Tokyo Drifter brings neo-noir back to its minimalist expressionist roots, and definitively proves that gunfights are the dream ballets of action movies. Discuss. [2:52]

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.

**
Moving Art 2025 - Unity**

12th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl Film and Video Exhibition

Alone we are thread, together we are cloth.”

Unity explores the beauty of connection – between people, ideas, and the natural world. From the intimate act of braiding hair to the intricate weaving of textiles, these works trace the ways in which individuality intertwines into collective creation. Artists this year draw together disparate strands: nature and a human voice, community and solitude, digital signal with analogue process.

Each piece reminds us that unity is not uniformity, but the rhythm of many parts moving as one. Together, these works assemble a vision from fragments of memory and perspective, a liminal cloak that once opened reveals our togetherness in grief, our oneness with nature, and our mutual love for the buildings that hold our history. Even the great cat distribution system reveals its hand – evidence that harmony exists in the most mysterious networks of all.

Threads meet. Worlds overlap. The tree becomes greater than its rings.

• Critical Points of Contact 2022-2025 by Debra Gloeckler

• Eroded Origins: Speak for Me! by Garrett Andrew Chong

• The Thread that Binds Us by Fatima Maria Travassos

• The Reincarnation of Puke Pixie by Cheree Lang

• Ghostly Spaces by Isaac Forsland

• Hair Braiding by Rashi Sethi

• echo / corpus by Nisha Platzer

• BROOMANCE by Ethan White

Curated by Kate MacDonald, Sierra MacTavish and Esther Rausenberg

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Check here for the latest show.

Guest Curator Sara Bynoe Presents:

Teen Angst

25 years ago I made a website with my brother: TeenAngstPoetry.com. I created and found the content and he made the code and design. My dream was to have an online archive of funny, bad, and cringeworthy poetry from people’s teen years. I thought it was silly and hilarious. I also wrote a lot of bad poetry during adolescence and I had to do something with it, right?

To launch that website I had an event where I got a bunch of people together to read from our teenage poetry books and diaries. That night we laughed so hard that some people literally peed themselves.

Ever since then I’ve been hosting “Teen Angst Nights” where people read from their teenage notebooks - not just old poetry. There are 3 rules for the show:
1 - You must have written what you share.
2 - It must have been created by you between the ages of 10-19 years old.
3 - You cannot be proud of what you share. It should be embarrassing. It’s a comedy night, afterall.

For the East Van Vodville, I have collected a bunch of retro TV and movie clips that feel teen angsty to me. Me, an elder millennial. So enjoy the nostalgia, Gen X’ers and Millennials! Gen Z and Alpha, gaze upon a world pre iPhones.

If Teen Angst Night has taught me anything it’s that these feelings of despair, loneliness, hurt, and “no one understands my pain” are universal, it’s just the pop culture references that change.

• Sara Bynoe

10 Things I Hate About You 1999

It’s Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew but set in the late 90s. In this clip, Kat reads a poem to the class.

Directed by: Gil Junger Written by: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith Edited by: O. Nicholas Brown

Anne of Green Gables 1985

It’s the 1880s in PEI; Anne is an orphan with red hair and Gilbert, a boy in her class, called her “carrots” and hurt her feelings.

Directed by: Kevin Sullivan Written by: Kevin Sullivan and Joe Wiesenfeld Edited by: James Lahti, Mairin Wilkinson

Bend It Like Beckham 2002

A young football (better known as soccer in Canada) player is a girl and her family disapproves, until her father speaks up for her.

Directed by: Gurinder Chadha Written by: Gurinder Chadha; Guljit Bindra; Paul Mayeda Berges Edited by: Justin Krish

Booksmart - (after 8pm only) 2019

This is the only modern movie on this list. It’s a great film about teenagers, so I had to include it. In this scene a girl overhears people talking about her in the bathroom.

Directed by: Olivia Wilde Written by: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, Katie Silberman Edited by: Jamie Gross,Brent White

But I’m a Cheerleader 1999

This is a legendary satiric coming-of-age movie about queer kids. In this scene a cheerleader arrives at “True-directions” and is confronted about her feelings for other girls.

Directed by: Jamie Babbit Written by: Brian Peterson, Jamie Babbit Edited by: Cecily Rhett

Can’t Hardly Wait 1998

Two high school students from different cliques find themselves locked in a bathroom during a high school house party.

Directed by: Harry Elfont; Deborah Kaplan Written by: Deborah Kaplan; Harry Elfont Edited by: Michael Jablow

Clueless 1995

This is the best movie of all time. You should watch the whole thing. In this scene Cher, the lead of the movie, has to do a high school debate.

Directed by: Amy Heckerling Written by: Amy Heckerling Edited by: Debra Chiate

Dazed and Confused 1993 - (after 8pm only)

It’s 1976 and junior high kids are being hazed by senior high school students. Side note: If Dazed and Confused were made today, it would be set in 2008.

Directed by: Richard Linklater Written by: Richard Linklater Edited by: Sandra Adair

Dead Poets Society 1989

A teacher makes a student write a poem.

Directed by: Peter Weir Written by: Tom Schulman Edited by: William M. Anderson

School’s Out! (Degrassi) 1992***- (after 8pm only)***

If there’s one scene people I know still talk about from Degrassi Jr. High it’s the one with the line “You were F-ing Tessa Campanelli.” This Canadian show is a classic.

Directed by: Kit Hood Written by: Yan Moore Edited by: Robert de Lint

A New Start (Degrassi High) 1989 - (after 8pm only)

Degrassi covered so many issues that teenagers sometimes have to deal with. Like unplanned pregnancies. Good thing Spike is around to talk about this.

Directed by: Kit Hood Written by: Yan Moore Edited by: Robert de Lint

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986

A kid skips school and takes his friends on a joyfilled day around Chicago. One catch, he makes his best friend take out his father’s sports car. This is the scene after their joyride adventure has ended.

Directed by: John Hughes Written by: John Hughes Edited by: Paul Hirsch

Fresh Prince of Bell-Air 1994

Fresh Prince was such a fun show. This is probably the saddest and most emotional scene from the series.

Directed by: Shelley Jensen Written by: Benny Medina, Jeff Pollack, Bill Boulware Edited by: Jesse Hoke

Mean Girls 2004

It’s like Clueless only different. This is the scene when everyone finds out about the Burn Book.

Directed by: Mark Waters Written by: Tina Fey Edited by: Wendy Greene Bricmont

Pretty in Pink 1986

A love story about two high school kids from different cliques. She works in a record store. He is a preppy rich guy whose friends think she’s beneath them.

Directed by: Howard Deutch Written by: John Hughes Edited by: Richard Marks

Saved By The Bell - Jessie’s Song 1990

Sometimes over achievers need a little pep. “I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so… scared.”

Directed by: Don Barnhart Written by:Tom TenowichPeter Engel Edited by: Sheila Hall, Dick King

Say Anything 1989

If you want to woo a Gen X woman do what this guy does in the clip. Or not, it might be a little creepy.

Directed by: Cameron Crowe Written by: Cameron Crowe Edited by: Richard Marks

She’s All That 1999

He has a bet to turn one of the “freaks” into the prom queen. So he goes to her performance art venue to try to gain her trust and ends up having to perform some art. Hack-e-sack!

Directed by: Robert Iscove Written by: R. Lee Fleming Jr. Edited by: Casey O. Rohrs

The Breakfast Club 1985

There have been a lot of serious clips in this curation. This one is just a fun dance scene because teens, even ones from different groups, can have fun together.

Directed by: John Hughes Written by: John Hughes Edited by: Dede Allen

The Craft 1996

“We are the weirdos, mister.” What is it about teenage girls and witchcraft? It just feels right, right?

Directed by: Andrew Fleming Written by: Peter Filardi, Andrew Fleming Edited by: Jeff Freeman

Find out more about Teen Angst Night:

Instagram: @YellowNotebookProductions.
SaraBynoe.com

Upcoming Teen Angst Poetry comedy shows:

Saturday, November 29 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret

Friday, January 9 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret

Friday, February 20 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret - part of Just For Laughs VANCOUVER, Best of the West presented by Sirius XM

Saturday, March 14 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret

Friday, April 17 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret

Friday, May 8 | 8 PM | Fox Cabaret

All shows are 19+

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.**
Now playing at the East Van VODVILLE**

Holiday Pre-Game with special guest

‘Tis the Season TV

Runs till January 1

We will be adding in our Holiday Spectacular on December 15th.

‘Tis the Season TV

The 1960s was the golden age of Christmas animation on television. However, the two decades following inspired animators to produce unforgettable Christmas entertainment that is often overlooked and undervalued. Here are five examples from the 1970s-80s of underappreciated Christmas animation.

My name is Joanna Wilson and I curated this list. I’m a TV and film historian, specializing in Christmas entertainment, and the author of the book “Tis the Season TV: The Encyclopedia of Christmas Episodes, Specials and Movies,” 2nd edition—coming in 2026 by 1701 Press.
Instagram: @TistheSeasonTV.

christmastvhistory.com

[she has some neat books here, and we’re not being paid to say this!! -EVV]
The Snowman (1982)

Adapted from the book by Raymond Briggs, this British-made story about a snowman that comes to life has charmed viewers around the world. The subtle pastel colors and charming characters are accompanied by a haunting melody “Walking in the Air,” performed by choirboy Peter Auty and the Sinfonia of London.

George and the Christmas Star (1985)

Academy award-nominated creator Gerald Potterton both wrote and directed this sciencefiction tale. The adorable story is about George who builds himself a rocket ship to go into space in pursuit of the perfect star for the top of his Christmas tree. Potterton’s distinctive imagery and imaginative storytelling raises this Christmas TV special above most others.

A Very Merry Cricket (1973)

In this story, a cat and mouse recruit their friend Chester C. Cricket to make his special music to cut through the chaotic noise and distractions at Christmas time in the city. This TV special offers a challenge to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, a welcome solution of pleasant melodies from nature. This story is adapted from the book “A Cricket in Times Square” by George Selden and brought to life by master animator Chuck Jones, who also crafted the 1966 cartoon “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

The Gift of Winter (1974)

This animated program features a one-of-a-kind visual style and character design with an inspiring story. A group of townsfolk unhappy with the cold and wind of the season, organize their protest to the bureaucratic head, the Minister of Winter. The politician is so moved by their appeal, he begins to cry, creating snowflakes—a fun and acceptable addition to the wintry weather. This cult classic evokes the familiar 1970s zeitgeist of political movements and people coming together to work towards a solution to systemic problems.

A Cosmic Christmas (1977)

Another science-fiction story, this one sees a young boy Peter and his pet goose Lucy greet three aliens from another planet at the holidays. The visitors ask about the meaning of Christmas but Peter struggles to show them examples of love, peace, generosity, and goodwill in the city as he described them. This TV special was an early creation of Nelvana, the same company who created the animated segment in 1978’s infamous “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

Bonus Video: Jingle Bell Rocks (2013)

Vancouver documentary filmmaker Mitchell Kezin created a feature-length live-action movie about the joy of Christmas record collecting. Kezin’s seminal film includes interviews with celebrity collectors, like filmmaker John Waters and journalist/publicist Bill Adler, and also features artists who have created Christmas music, such as Wayne Coyne, of the band the Flaming Lips, and jazz musician Bob Dorough who worked with Miles Davis. More importantly, Kezin’s film drew Christmas music collectors together from around the world, including myself. Friend Mitchell Kezin passed away in 2024 and I wanted to share a brief clip from the beginning of his film of him shopping for Christmas records, engaged in the passion of collecting, an activity all Christmas record collectors know and enjoy. Rock on, Mitchell.

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Check here for the latest show.
**
From Soup to Nuts and Marxists to Marxes!**

On January 1, all films published 95 years ago lose their copyright restrictions and enter the public domain. This year, the crop of 1930can now be freely used to display, remix, and build upon.

In the USA.

Here in Canada, due to a legal Gordian Knot involving the Bern Convention, a series of treaties, and the “rule of the shorter term” possibly being exempted for works from the USA and Mexico… Public domain American films may still be copyrighted here, specifically if, (due to CUSMA, 2020) the “authors” (and it’s legally a bit vague who all this is for a motion picture) of the work died after 1971. It’s a mess.

Result: a 20 year public domain hiatus in Canada, with no new works entering public domain until 2042. So unless that changes, we at the Vodville look forward to celebrating a real public domain day in Canada with you then.

THAT SAID, we get around all this by exercising our rights as granted by the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act (1985). Here’s some non-substantial portions of possibly still copyrighted films presented non-commercially, and for educational and critical purposes. *jazz hands*

Public Domain* Day 2026: Films of 1930 * if you‘re American

• First up, some good ol’ fashioned Marxist propaganda from Animal Crackers, it’s the memorable numbers Hello, I Must be Going and Hurray for Captain Spaulding. [3:23]

• Some reflections on man’s mortality from Alexander Dovzhenko’ Earth. [2:56]

• *after 8 pm The aerial camera work by Winnipeg’s own Osmond Borradaile sets the dogfight scene from Hell’s Angels amid towering clouds, bringing the viewer directly into a landscape that’s usually only seen from a distance, far below. [2:24]

• Next we go to Just Imagine which looks 50 years into the future and imagines a 1980’s Dr Frankenstein. No one appears to have imagined a social safety net though. Fun fact, the electrical effects in this were by Kenneth Strickfaden, they entered the collective imagination of moviegoers a year later when they appeared in 1931’s Frankenstein. [3:28]

• Speaking of fever dreams of the imagination, check out this airship-borne ode to all things electricity from Cecil B. DeMille’s Madam Satan. [3:29]

• Rube Goldberg (of ‘Machine” fame) was a real guy, and he wrote a movie, and it’s amazing. Check out the burglar alarm from Soup to Nuts. [2:07]

• Scythes vs combine in Earth. This film was created in response to the collectivization of Ukraine and it was banned by Soviet authorities 8 days after its release. In the following years the Soviets extended government control over the film industry, strangling its creative output. In totally unrelated news, Hollywood’s Hays Code debuted in 1930, although it was un-enforced until ‘33. [2:55]

• Speaking of banned films, Luis Buñuel & Salvador Dalí’s surrealist masterpiece L’Âge d’Or managed to get banned from exhibition for 50 years, by the French no less. Here is a charming scene with a cow. [0:55]

• Back to Animal Crackers for a friendly card game with absolutely no tricks. [4:47]

• Ub Iwerks’ Fiddlesticks is his first animation after leaving Walt Disney’s Studio. Featuring Flip the Frog, and a suspiciously familiar looking cartoon mouse. [2:36]

• Animal Crackers again with a quick lesson on musician rates negotiations, gig workers take note. [2:56]

• Dizzy Dishes notable for the first appearance of Betty Boop. [1:37]

• Aside from it being the most whitewashed Jazz show I have ever seen, it does have some glorious two strip technicolor production pieces. Here is one from King of Jazz. [1:24]

• Back to the rigid airship party in Madam Satan, now with some cats on the catwalk, which seems like a recipe for static electricity and explosions. [2:22]

• That awkward moment when you get the government letter marrying you to your backup plan. 1980’s romance problems in Just Imagine. [3:15]

• *after 8 pm Director Howard Hughes himself was flying the camera plane for much of this aerial duel in Hell’s Angels. [3:43]

• Some Groucho asides on love and marriage from Animal Crackers. [3:30]

• You know the party is going to be good when there is a beer cart, L’Âge d’Or. [0:41]

• Some disembodied heads singing about lower extremities in King of Jazz. [0:43].

• More Rube Goldbergian genius from Soup to Nuts. [1:37]

• I love how pretty this movie is; Earth, with a series of scenes that will stir the heart of any child of the prairies, but chill the soul of any celiac. I’m conflicted. [1:52]

• Ever been so angry you just have to throw some things? This guy too, L’Âge d’Or. [1:43]

• Soup to Nuts is also known for being the first screen appearance of the Four Stooges (who, minus Ted, would go to work as a trio). Here they help out with a fire. [2:29]

• The perils of food service from Dizzy Dishes. [1:11]

• Coburg Ontario’s own Marie Dressler gives an oscar winning performance as dockside innkeeper in the film Min and Bill. Here is some yacht chaos. [3:34]

• 7 years before the Hindenburg, and 87 years before the Fyre festival, there was this disaster of a party from Madam Satan. [3:17]

• More zeppelin crashes! from Hell’s Angels. [1:28]

• More Four Stooges firefighter shenanigans from Soup to Nuts. [1:25]

• King of Jazz with a meditation on monarchy. Personally I feel that you shouldn’t expect to wield supreme executive power just because a chimpanzee hucked a coconut at your head. Also this was the first technicolor cartoon. [2:38]

• Animal Crackers Groucho Marx at his best, giving a pitch to an investor. [2:00]

• Everyone loves a good munitions dump explosion or 47. Hell’s Angels. [1:58]

• Just Imagine, launching on a mission to Mars. [1:46]

• A short animation to celebrate 2026 by local stop-motion animators Brongadoo productions.

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Click here for the latest show.

STUPID CO ANNOUNCES WEEKLONG THEATRICAL RELEASE OF SHORT FILM “FRENCH LESSONS”**

We’re excited to welcome these two delightful films from Stupid Co to our little big screen, and we very much look forward to collaborating with Off-Viff later this year.

THE FESTIVAL-LAUDED SATIRE OPENS THE EAST VAN VODVILLE CINEMA ON JANUARY 20TH AND KICKS OFF A PARTNERSHIP TO SUPPORT MORE SHORT FILM EXHIBITION AS PART OF OCTOBER’S OFF-VIFF 2026 FESTIVAL

STUPID CO, the artistic label from filmmaker/distributor duo Anna Maguire & Kyle Greenberg have announced their second co-directed short film, French Lessons (2025) will open theatrically in Vancouver at the East Van Vodville Cinema for a weeklong *qualifying run starting January 20, 2026 following a 2025 festival campaign with the likes of New/Next, The Downtown Festival, SXSW Sydney, OFF-VIFF and more.

The hybrid-documentary short follows Greenberg who fittingly plays a film distributor, secretly meeting with real-life director Arran Shearing (co-director of King Baby and co-founder of OFF-VIFF) to practice French ahead of going to the Cannes Film Festival. A satirical take on the industry vs. artistry divide, the weeklong theatrical announcement advances Stupid Co’s commitment to non-traditional releasing, with Greenberg & Maguire saying in a joint statement:

“As we work to circumvent the archaic pitfalls and/or gatekeepers of the independent film landscape and combat the perceived limitations of short films in the marketplace, this weeklong run of French Lessons and partnership with the EV Vodville Cinema is an exciting step forward to find another new and rare physical pathway for short exhibition. By finding a new physical space to exhibit our short for a week in Vancouver, we feel more than ‘qualified’ to ask for your consideration! Looking further ahead, we can’t wait to expand upon our festival OFF-VIFF, by working with EV Vodville to provide another key satellite location for short exhibition as well!”

​​Screening with French Lessons at the East Van Vodville Cinema will be Stupid Co’s first short, Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded (2024), a selection of the inaugural OFF-VIFF in addition to festivals such as Fantasia, SXSW Sydney, Chattanooga and more. On April 20th last year, Stupid Co released Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded as a “never-ending loop” on their own website hiyouarecurrentlybeingrecorded.com. Now, audiences who are not in Vancouver can also find another way to watch French Lessons online, as part of Stupid Co’s live-streamed loop (with French Lessons playing after Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded only at): hiyouarecurrentlylearningfrench.com

To submit a short film to OFF-VIFF 2026, visit FilmFreeway, but be aware… OFF-VIFF only accepts up to 50 short film and 25 feature submissions so time is of the essence! https://filmfreeway.com/OFF-VIFF

*The weeklong theatrical run of French Lessons is not actually a qualifying Academy run, nor is EV Vodville considered a real theater, nor is Vancouver considered a qualifying theatrical market as it pertains to the Academy, despite much of Hollywood shooting their studio films in Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver (and Academy winners or nominees such as Juno, Titanic, Five Easy Pieces, The Accused, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, First Blood, Godzilla (2014) and many more shot fully or partially in the city). French Lessons was not submitted to any awards by Stupid Co nor did it win any awards at a ‘Qualifying’ festival in order to ‘Qualify’ for any awards!

[dbynoe]

Previously at the East Van VODVILLE

Check here for the latest show.

My Funny Valentine

From the absurd to the sweet to the poignant to the maniacal…
Valentine’s Day is almost here, and with the physical and political temperature of the world right now, it seems like the best and highest purpose for this shoebox with a holesaw and a dream is a rom-com spectacular. But let it get a little weird.

With the news of Canadian comedy legend Catherine O’Hara’s passing on the day we finally clawed this show together, it seemed like a natural fit for a tribute. We have three pieces of her work in this show, grouped together.

We have a few clips from films produced by Danville, Quebec’s own Mack Sennett. Builder of the first fully enclosed film stage in 1912 (known as the Fun Factory). He quickly became known as the ‘King of Comedy’ after producing slapstick classics like the Keystone Cops. His style was one of manic chaos where the story made way for spectacle. Seems perfect for a rainy night. Incidentally if you have a library card a bunch of his films are available on Kanopy, and often are a great way to experience just how very far we have actually come with racial sensitivity over the last 100 years.

We are pleased to also present the charmingly weird short film Portraits of Tracy by local filmmaker Aurélien Rosset

• Some feelings can only be expressed through mass synchronised dance movements. It’s 2001’s The Happiness of the Katakuris. [2:24]

• Featuring silent film legend Snub Pollard as “Man Gene Kelly hands his umbrella to”, we feel that this love-struck dance number from 1952’s Singin in the Rain is best viewed whilst standing outdoors in an atmospheric river. [4:46]

• *rerun alert* Love is not always easy, especially when you are an international super criminal with feelings towards an operative of a secret clandestine military organization of highschool girls tasked with hunting you down, its Angela Robinson’s 2004 film D.E.B.S. [2:26]

• A year before dancing the Filibuster for the US Senate, James Stewart learned to dance the Big Apple with his sweetie in 1938’s You Can’t Take It with You. [2:15]

• Some very classical Vaudeville chaos featuring a bawdy parody of the magic flute from 1984’s Amadeus. Now that’s entertainment, and a pretty successful family date night [3:00].

• *rerun alert* Some amazing costumes and great atmosphere in this labyrinth scene from Sally Potter 1992’ film, Orlando. [2:47]

• Some rather acrobatic swingers in the 1933 Mack Sennett production Don’t Play Bridge with Your Wife. [2:16]

• *rerun alert* We cheer for loving who you love in the 1999 conversion camp comedy But I’m a Cheerleader by Jamie Babbit. [2:10]

• The charming Portraits of Tracy by local filmmaker Aurélien Rosset is a fantastical take that blurs the line between romance and art appreciation. [3:00]

• Mustachioed Ben Turpin parlayed his accident-derived crossed-eyes into a successful career in Vaudeville and film, he even had a large insurance policy from Lloyds payable if his eyes uncrossed. Here he stares down a double barrel of shotgun weddings in the 1927 Mack Sennett production The Pride of Pikeville. [3:39]

• If mustaches are your thing, look no further, these ones are worth a million. It’s the 1924 Mack Sennett produced Galloping Bungalows. [2:41]

• *rerun alert* Back by popular request, the dream sequence from Pierre Etaix’s 1969 film Le Grand Amour, where even if your dreams and your love are free, it’s still a good idea to comply with all relevant local traffic ordinances. [4:46]

• Keeping it as French as possible with the blue arrows scene from 2001’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.

• May you find somebody who looks at you the way Joe Pesci looks at Marissa Tomei in this scene from 1992’s My Cousin Vinny [4:51]

• Some underwater romance featuring Australian Vaudevillian Billy Bevan’s mustache in the 1926 Mack Sennett production A Sea Dog’s Tale. [2:04]

• Next we go to Buster Keaton’s 1924 film The Navigator featuring a damp deckhand with a soggy deck. [2:32]

• Here is a date loaded with red flags from 1993’s Groundhog Day. [3:48]

• Mme. Suzanne’s recipe for true love: “Take two regulars, mix them together and let them stew. It never fails.” Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain [2:18] extended cut after 9 pm.

• *rerun alert* Here is a double date in a bougie restaurant with a fantastic cameo from 2019’s Always Be My Maybe directed by Nahnatchka Khan. [3:28]

• The Taxidermist sketch from the 1977 season of SCTV features Catherine O’Hara and John Candy at their unhinged prime. [4:22]

• *rerun alert* We feel that this scene is best understood as an O’Hara - Belafonte duet, with some strong supporting performances. 1988’s Beetlejuice. [2:45]

• Others have observed that one of the stand-out qualities that O’Hara brought to her performances was a sincere sweetness, and we think her voice performance of Sally’s Song in 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a lovely example. [1:57]