Charles Theatre was a huge contributer to the development of underground film. Like CBGB with the underground punk scene, Charles Theatre catered to offbeat films. Mekas organized the screenings. Once a month they allowed open screenings, where anybody could come in and pay a little bit to screen their movies. After months of these screenings, the Charles Theatre developed a filmmakers festival. The Charles Theatre was a place for anybody to come and show their work and get reviews, from critics and from regular people. It was a freehouse for underground film, and nurtured the rising filmmakers.
In 1964 Flaming Creatures, Scorpio Rising and Un Chand d Amour all had legal problems. They were accused of being to obscene and were banned from being shown in theatres.
1 comment:
Good analogy with Punk (we'll come back to that later in the semester.) Note that Mekas was involved with the Charles Open Screenings.
Be sure to note who got in trouble for showing the films--the exhibitors not the filmmakers. Also worth noting why 1964 was significant in NYC (World's Fair).
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