RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Gravity Falls (2012-2013, 2014-2016)

This week we shift gears in the RotLA world and it takes us down a path that isn’t necessarily #OregonMade, as we would always prefer, but #OregonSET. There’s many a great project that is set here in Oregon but has not brought itself to actually produce its content in this great state – Springfield-set The Simpsons comes to mind but the much-anticipated I, Tonya also rounds out that particular out-of-state-produced-but-set-in-Oregon pack. Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim makes the compelling argument that even those projects that do not exist as so-called brick-and-mortar operations here in Oregon, have a lasting impact on our state (and read to the very end for some great connected places to visit here in Oregon). Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Gravity Falls (2012-2013, 2014-2016)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Cold Weather (Aaron Katz, 2010)

After a shortened week last week RotLA returns today with the final installment of its Noirvember sub-series. This time, it’s a moody and realistic dive into Portland’s not-too-distant but oh-so-different past featuring understated performances, quietly iconic locations and an it-sneaks-up-on-you tension – passing by not only RotLA’s humble narrator’s own Hollywood neighborhood but also The (great) Laurelhurst Theatre in the process finally culminating under the Morrison Bridge outside (where else?) City Liquidators.

One of the great things to celebrate about Oregon’s film history is its direct connection to Indie Directorial Voices and how they have influenced the mood, style and substance of many of the nation’s great cinematic trends; James Blue, James Ivory, Gus Van Zant, a transplanted Alex Cox and many of those highlighted by our Raider/Contributor in past posts – not to mention the pioneering animators and illustrators who literally changed the face of both commercial and experimental animation on all levels. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Cold Weather (Aaron Katz, 2010)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Portland Exposé (Harold Schuster, 1957)

This week, continuing in the Noirvember theme, our world takes on a distinctly darker tone and embraces illegal pinball machines the corrupted Portland that found its way into hearing rooms in D.C. before the likes of  J. Edgar Hoover and Bobby Kennedy (under the aegis of the McClellan Committee). This is decades before The Polybius Conspiracy took hold of the local gaming world and with much more visceral and evil intents. Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us behind the dark and dirty veil of Portland Exposé. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Portland Exposé (Harold Schuster, 1957)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Darkest Corner of Paradise (Henry Weintraub, 2010)

This week our intrepid Raider moves us into Noirvember and coins another term for calendar-based genre. Thi

s time we embrace true micro-budget filmmaking and the creative genius of necessity coming out of Eugene. Oregon’s cinematic history is long but its Eugene chapter is deep and varied – Five Easy Pieces, Animal House and, with the Kesey Connection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion happening not too far afield.

This time Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim takes us into the more opaque nooks and crannies with…. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Darkest Corner of Paradise (Henry Weintraub, 2010)”

Raiders of the Lost Archive: Movie Madness – SAVED! But there’s more work to be done …

This week we go to the most local, most extensive VHS/DVD archive we have (although if you ever have a chance to look into the film and video archives that the Oregon Historical Society has, that’s just as great, but in a uniquely different way) – Portland’s own Movie Madness. As some of you may know, The Hollywood Theatre is currently in the midst of a Kickstarter Campaign to “save” Movie Madness – but they’ve blown past the “saving” and are now looking to “enhance.” Continue reading... “Raiders of the Lost Archive: Movie Madness – SAVED! But there’s more work to be done …”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Halloweentown (Duwayne Dunham 1998)

This week’s Hooray for Horregon RotLA edition comes with two truly great ingredients: Debbie Reynolds and St. Helens. If you haven’t seen HBO’s Emmy nominated “Bright Lights” (full disclosure, it was produced and directed by friend, former business partner and Astoria-filmed “Short Circuit” actor Fisher Stevens and his life-partner baby[ies]-mama Lexy Bloom), and, if you haven’t visited St. Helens (at Halloween or, as a seasonal alternative, by boat to the town dock in August for a riverside lunch and a beer), you need to do both. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Halloweentown (Duwayne Dunham 1998)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE
: Dr. Giggles (Manny Coto, 1992)

This week’s Horrregon Edition of our Raiders of the Lost Archive series rightly celebrates an icon of Oregon’s rich cartoon and comic history: Dark Horse Comics and Mike Richardson. It’s easy to argue that Mike is one of, if not the most successful and lucrative film producers here in the state, and we’re proud of that. Our RotLA post this week takes us back to the very first film Mike produced which twists the proverbial knife into many iconic Portland locations in a fun, unique and ultimately horrific fashion (and you may never look at Franklin High in the same way again). Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE
: Dr. Giggles (Manny Coto, 1992)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Unhinged (Don Gronquist, 1982)

Continuing on under the sub-heading “Hooray for Horregon,” our intrepid Raider/Contributor leads us up to the top of the SW Hills over Portland to celebrate an #OregonMade Filmmaker who the Willamette Week called “Portland’s most important forgotten filmmaker:” Don Gonquist.

The trailer pretty much sets the tone from there. “It began as an idyllic outing….”

On a clear day you can see for miles, or on the darkest night you can encounter Hitchcock-esque dysfuntionality in a true 80’s fashion. Scream-like slasher rules apply. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Unhinged (Don Gronquist, 1982)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Cthulhu (Daniel Gildark, 2007)

Under the sub-heading of “Hooray for Horregon!” Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim descends into the historical depths of the genre and unearths H.P. Lovecraftian tales featuring the haunting and often horrific Oregon Coast where none-other-than Tori Spelling emerges as a seductress from the sea to summon the all-powerful Cthulhu to River Mouth (nee Astoria) shores.

Diminutive armies of rotting zombies, blood-thirsty vampires, Wonder Women, Harley Quinns, Pikachus, and fairy princess are preparing to storm the sidewalks, assault our homes, and demand we relinquish our candy corn and Swedish Fish or suffer the consequences. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: Cthulhu (Daniel Gildark, 2007)”

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Possessed (Jerry Thorpe, 1977)

This week’s trek into Oregon’s dark and eclectic cinematic woods marks a (literal) transition from “Back to School” to a month of horror themed posts leading up to Halloween. Raider/Contributor Phil Oppenheim is calling this slashy little sub-series “Horregon.” In this installment, we find ourselves with not only a pre-Star Wars (post-American Graffiti) Harrison Ford but also a pre-Stripes (post-Carrie) PJ Soles skulking around a dimly lit (and therefore mostly unidentified) Reed College campus trying to soak up some of the devil’s blood left behind in the boffo box office red wake of The Exorcist. Continue reading... “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE: The Possessed (Jerry Thorpe, 1977)”