Evento

Not on Netflix: The Devil's Sword

Nov 13

(Ratio Timoer, 1984, Indonesia, 90 min)

Not on Netflix is a series featuring the Greatest Movies You've Never Seen!
Straight from the Scarecrow Vault to your Eyeballs!
Presented by Seattle's film nerds and know-it-alls.

Friday, Nov 13 at 09:00PM
Brian Alter presents The Devil's Sword: A few years ago, the geniuses at Scarecrow Video created a new section in their massive library: Mondo Macabro. The shelves hold the unclassifiable, weird side of world cinema, much of which is cheaply made but full of more imagination and charm than most Hollywood productions. As a cinephile who holds far out experiences like Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo and The Shaw Brothers' The Boxer's Omen in high regard, I dove right in. Jodorowsky said, "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs." Somehow, I doubt the makers of The Devil's Sword had this in mind when they shot the only mystical-kung-fu-sci-fi epic from Indonesia. But what it lacks in philosophical depth it makes up for with excessive gore, goofy sexuality, a cool synthesizer score, and surreal visuals.

Brian Alter volunteers at Seattle's smallest and weirdest non-profit movie theater, the Grand Illusion Cinema, where he acts as a film programmer and manager. He is a board member of the Scarecrow Project and works as a video editor at a Seattle advertising agency that isn't evil.