RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE “Rajneeshpuram” episode of The Oregon Experience (2012)

Let’s just say that we’re big fans of both OPB and OHS, especially the original programming of the former and the film and media archives that are housed by the latter. And we’re always excited to watch the content that both of these great #OregonMade organizations create. And, yes, we’ve binged on Netflix’s Wild Wild Country but the roots of that incredible documentary are grown from several deep journalistic roots here in the state that should always be recognized.

The first is the incredible 20 part story from Les Zaitz in The Oregonian. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE “Rajneeshpuram” episode of The Oregon Experience (2012)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Praying Mantis (James Keach, 1993)

Be excited avid RotLA readers as we are finally finding our way to that most prolific and talented of TV actresses Jane Seymour, and, yes, her time spent here in Oregon. We’re sure there have been many of you waiting but there’s a bonus for your patience – “Rocky Horror” and “Spin City” star Barry Bostwick. It really does not get any better than that intrepid readers, and, so without further delay, Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes you into 1993’s thriller…

It’s time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a neglected Portland-set, #OregonMade movie that’s all about an insane woman who kills her lovers as they’re just about to make love. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Praying Mantis (James Keach, 1993)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Body of Evidence (Uli Edel, 1993)

Fair warning intrepid Archivists – this one is adult-themed and, well, (retro)(un)sexy. Be warned.

This week we pay a visit to a lightning bolt of 80’s and 90’s love/hate iconography; that vamp and Diva, strike-a-pose devotress: Madonna. For those of us who lived through the days of trying to determine if the aluminum clad, coffee table, button-pusher “Sex” was (self)exploitation or art, we know that any and all Madonna movies are to be taken with their own particular grain of salt(iness), and this week’s Raid to the Oregon Film vaults is no exception. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Body of Evidence (Uli Edel, 1993)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Tandem Hearts (Jon Garcia, 2012)

This week our intrepid Archivist takes us into the heart and soul of Portland indie filmmaking with a recent classic, made on a proverbial shoestring, from prolific filmmaker Jon Garcia. If you don’t know Jon’s work, it’s worth starting with this one and then taking in his “The Falls” trilogy – making a day/night of it (see links below).

And if that’s not enough, Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim leaves us with a timeless classic quote from Abbey Road (which immediately precedes “Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say…”). Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Tandem Hearts (Jon Garcia, 2012)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Kansas City Bomber (Jerrold Freedman, 1972)

This week our Raider/Contributor skates back to the 70’s to that highest of high times for that uber-niche genre of Roller Derby films. Whether you just barely remember Rollerball (the original) or your obsessed with Unholy Rollers, or you are more of a Roller Derby Modernist and rely on Rollerball (the remake) and Whip It, you must acknowledge that the Godmother of them all is Kansas City Bomber. But did you know that KC was actually happiest Portland? Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us under the laces and beneath the helmet(less)s of the 1972 Raquel Welch classic…

Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE Kansas City Bomber (Jerrold Freedman, 1972)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE #Blockbuster&Chill: Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers (Chip Mabry, 2010)

The New Year (literally) rolls in with a vengeance this week as our intrepid Raider/Contributor takes us behind the scenes of Portland’s much beloved Rose City Rollers. There’s language to be wary of below and in the film itself, so if that kind of thing isn’t your proverbial cup’o’tea then stop here; but if that doesn’t daunt you, then paste on your Cadillac tattoo, strap on your helmet, lace-up your skates and bring your best James Caan and Raquel Welch impersonations because this week, we’re embracing Brutal Beauty. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE #Blockbuster&Chill: Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers (Chip Mabry, 2010)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Requiem for a Video Store

This week we make a literal visit to Sandy to say goodbye to a institution that not only changed our expectation deadlines (kind of establishing the mid-point between the “wait for it…” past and the “I want it now!” present) but also changed the world. Who recalls walking out of a Blockbuster video not just holding a stack of 4 or 5 movies (half of which you’d probably never watch)  but also carrying a blue plastic encased VHS player/rental? Those were the days: tuning the TV to channel 2, making a few video tracking adjustments, and then settling in for some hi-impact-lo-resolution images on 1/2″ tape. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Requiem for a Video Store”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Snowtime Serenade (1949; originally released as Jingle Belles, 1941)

It’s not often The Shining meets Tony the Tiger meets The Grinch meets hipster drum solos, but this week, they all do meet up for a delicious hot cocoa and a rockin’ sing-along around the fire at a 1940’s Timberline Lodge.

And, that, my friends, is where Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes over…

Picture the Timberline Lodge in December, with its famous drifting snowbank reaching up to the second story windows. 

The Timberline Lodge, 1941
Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Snowtime Serenade (1949; originally released as Jingle Belles, 1941)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Apple Dumpling Gang (Norman Tokar, 1975)

It’s a trip back to a time of Saturday Matinees and large groups of kids in the back of Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagons for Gen X-ers who remember when Television Stars made movies – long before the time of Movie Stars making television. For those of us who made those journeys – The Apple Dumpling Gang was right up there with Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit and, even, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. If you don’t remember it, maybe it’s time to check out the comic abilities of two icons: Don Knotts and Tim Conway, two bonafide TV Stars who took a trip into the Deschutes National Forest and came out with what can only be called an Apple Dumpling Franchise…with cheese. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Apple Dumpling Gang (Norman Tokar, 1975)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Mara of the Wilderness (Frank McDonald, 1966)

Oregon doubles for Alaska in this week’s RotLA edition and it brings some (early) Batman-esque Romp! Danger! and Romance! to the fore in the process. Yes, Adam West is this week’s featured artist in a Deschutes National Forest set feature which predates Mr. West’s glorious days as the first caped crusader to appear on our screens and sends him into the woods to find unexpected love with a Nature Child and danger from rogue hunters in the form of Petticoat Junction’s Lori Sanders and Theo Marcuse, respectively. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Mara of the Wilderness (Frank McDonald, 1966)”