February 17 - 23

The Trouble With Harry

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
1955, USA / Color / 99min / 35mm

The Grand Illusion is proud to present a double helping of laughs and intrigue with two comedy-thrillers from the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. First off we start with this twisted little tale about one Harry Worp. The trouble is that Harry is dead and a small, quiet New England town erupts into chaos when his body is found in the woods. Unfortunately almost everyone in town thinks that they had something to do with his death.

February 24 & 25 - Late Night!

Frankenhooker

Dir: Frank Henenlotter
1990, USA / Color / 85min / 35mm - Brand New 35mm Print!

After years of searching we've finally uncovered a 35mm print of Frank (Basket Case) Henenlotter's trashy cult classic and it's brand new to boot! A medical school dropout loses his fiancee in a tragic lawnmower incident, and decides to bring her back. Unfortunately, he was only able to save her head, so he lures prostitutes to harvest their parts to make his girlfriend whole again.

"If you see one movie this year, it should be Frankenhooker." - Bill Murray, 1990

February 24 - March 1

The Lady Vanishes

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
1938, UK / B&W / 96min / 35mm

Next up in our mini Hitchcock series is this wicked little classic of murder and intrigue on a trans-European train. When bad weather forces the train to stop for a night, the passengers find themselves crammed into a small village hotel where socialite Iris Henderson meets an old governess named Miss Froy. Shortly after their journey by train gets back underway Iris realizes that Miss Froy seems to have disappeared.

"A pleasure." The Guardian

February 25 - March 24

Sci-fi Saturday Secret Matinee

Dir: Various directors
Various years / B&W and Color / 120 min. / 16mm

Good old-fashioned Saturday matinees return again to the Grand Illusion! Each week you'll see a cliffhanger episode of the original Buck Rogers serial from 1939 (12 episodes, complete), paired with a secret sci-fi feature—favorites, rarities, and cult classics from 1919-1974. Plus! A special Leap Year Time Travel Show, with mind- bending shorts and a chronosynclastic featurette!

February: STEAMPUNK ADVENTURES! Retrofuturist worlds of wonder...
March: BEASTS FROM BEYOND! Strange creatures and monsters...

Monthly pass:
$24 general / $15 members $18 seniors, students, children

March 2 - 8

Better Than Something: Jay Reatard

Dir: Alex Hammond, Ian Markiewicz
2011, USA / Color / 89min / Blu-ray

Better Than Something is a feature documentary about the controversial and prolific garage rock icon Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr, better known to the world as Jay Reatard. Captured just months before his untimely passing, brings us incredibly close to Jay's complicated punk-rock world in Memphis, Tennessee through candid interviews with Jay and never-before-seen live footage.

"…the best rock documentary I've seen since Dig!" - AV Club

Co-presented by:

March 2 & 10 - Late Night!

Raw Force

Dir: Edward D. Murphy
1982, USA-Philippines / Color / 86min / 35mm

A group of martial arts students are en route to a remote island that is supposedly home to the ghosts of martial artists who have lost their honor. It turns out that a Hitler look-alike and his gang are running a female slavery operation on the island as well. Soon, the two groups meet and all sorts of crazy things start happening: cannibal monks, piranhas, zombies and more weirdness! Raw Force will be screened from a super-rare 35mm print. Don't miss it!

Come out on March 2nd and wish board member Spenser "Leap Year Baby" Hoyt a happy 11th birthday!

March 3

Portland Grindhouse Film Festival's
Kung-Fu Madness
Double Feature

Hong Kong / Color / 190min / 35mm

$12 general, $9 student/sr, $7 member, No passes.

The Grand Illusion is proud to once again host our good friend Dan Halsted from the Portland Grindhouse Film Festival and Hollywood Theater as he brings a one-two punch of super rare Kung-Fu on glorious 35mm:

Fist of the White Locus (1980)
Gordon Liu is out to avenge the destruction of the Shaolin Temple and Lo Lieh is at his trash-talking, beard-stroking, kung fu annihilating best as the villain. He'll even fight while he's naked. But watch out for his kung fu crotch! The opening credit sequence alone is worth the price of admission. With fight scenes choreographed by Lau Kar Leung (director of 36th Chamber of Shaolin).

The Bastard Swordsman (1983)
Every ten years, the Wu Tang Clan has a duel with their rival clan. The chief of the Wu Tang has devoted his life to learning "The Silkworm Technique" of sword fighting, but failed to master it. At the same time, an orphan in the clan is refused in his requests to learn martial arts until a masked stranger begins training him. Before long, all roads converge in high-flying sword fighting excitement and surreal special effects. Prepare for your mind to melt out of your skull when the Bastard unleashes his Silkworm Style!

Buy tickets here

March 9 - 15

House of Pleasures - Seattle Premiere!

Dir: Bertrand Bonello
2011, France / Color / 122min / 35mm

A highly cinematic and atmospheric look at the final days of a turn of the century brothel, when much of the Parisian sex trade was confined to grand maisons, populated by elegant madams and vetted clientele (including French filmmakers Jaques Nolot (Before I Forget) and Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men). Using a bag of cinematic techniques which include split screen, time shifts and a modern soundtrack, Bonello has made a provocative and beautiful film not only on the world's oldest profession, but also a commentary on history as remembered by art and literature. In French with English subtitles.

"Visually ravishing, troublingly seductive." - LA Weekly

March 9 -- Hollow Earth Radio Magma Fest!

Magma Fest's
Queer Variety Show

The Grand Illusion Cinema is proud to host a Queer Variety Show for Hollow Earth Radio's annual Magma Fest. Featuring music by Dave End, Theo Hilton, films by Clyde Peterson, and Emceed by Jordan O'Jordan. All tickets sales will benefit Hollow Earth Radio in their mission to support underrepresented music, sounds and perspectives. More details about this show and the rest of the festival can be found here.

March 31 -- Our 9th Anniversary Party

The Movie Orgy

Dir: Joe Dante
1968, USA / 280 min / DVCAM

For our 9th anniversary as our own independent non-profit cinema, we're proud to present a rare screening of Joe Dante's (The Howling, Gremlins) grandaddy of mash-ups, The Movie Orgy. Edited together from commercials, B-movie trailers, mental hygiene films and way more, it's an exhilarating and demented artifact of pop culture from the baby boom era. Originally screened on 16mm film in an 8-hour version (on a tour sponsored by Schlitz Beer!), Dante transferred his creation to digital video and trimmed it to a mere 4.5 hours in order to warp countless generations to come!

We will be selling beer and wine (and perhaps extra snacks!) for this very special occasion. This event is free, but you must RSVP to movieorgy [at] grandillusioncinema [dot] org.

Sponsored by: