Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

88% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(2,453 ratings)

Stuart Samuels's popular documentary Midnight Movies: From Margin to Mainstream grounds itself in the thesis that six revolutionary American motion pictures - Night of the Living Dead (1968), El Topo (1970), Pink Flamingoes (1972), The Harder they Come (1972), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)… More Stuart Samuels's popular documentary Midnight Movies: From Margin to Mainstream grounds itself in the thesis that six revolutionary American motion pictures - Night of the Living Dead (1968), El Topo (1970), Pink Flamingoes (1972), The Harder they Come (1972), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Eraserhead (1976) - invented the concept of "midnight movies" and thus permanently reshaped the American film industry per se and the composition of the average U.S. film audience, creating a new "brand" of viewer. Samuels and his team tell the story of this odd subgenre as it evolved, peaked in popularity, and then faded gradually from view. The bulk of the picture consists of a myriad of interviews with the directors of these films per se (John Waters, Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, Perry Henzel, George Romero - Jim Sharman appears in archive footage only), cast members, theater owners who found their business reinvigorated by this trend, critics such as Roger Ebert who reflect on the era, and of course the films' fans. The documentary also features extended clips from the movies and period news footage about the rise in popularity of the said titles. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Egbert Van Hees, Stuart Samuels
Genres: Documentary, Television, Special Interest

In Theaters: Aug 5, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Nov 13, 2007

Critic Reviews

Robert Koehler, Variety
Samuels' own enjoyment for midnighters comes through in his funky visual design -- visually spunky for a clips-and-talking-heads film -- and in the energetic editing.
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
In this affectionate glimpse into those countercultural times, filmmaker Stuart Samuels has compiled an engaging distillation of those nocturnal filmic emissions.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
An extremely interesting film.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Enjoyable, if blandly celebratory.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
Originally made for cable, Stuart Samuels' documentary surveys the six landmark films that defined the midnight movie culture...
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
For any movie nut who craves their exhibition history, this is a must see documentary.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
Samuels' film both contextualises and celebrates these strange slices of subversive counter-culture
Ben Walters, Time Out
It's a celebration of cinema-going as a 'ritual experience or trip', a communal adventure with no real equivalent in the exquisitely atomised YouTubeverse.
, BBC
A documentary about challenging and outrageous films should offer something more provocative than counter-culture filmmakers congratulating themselves on a job well done.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

A well rounded documentary about the birth of cult movies in the 70's but to be honest, if you've got the movies on DVD, you'll have all this and more in the extras. Good for people who are totally new to midnight movies but not so much for existing fans, who already… More
A well rounded documentary about the birth of cult movies in the 70's but to be honest, if you've got the movies on DVD, you'll have all this and more in the extras. Good for people who are totally new to midnight movies but not so much for existing fans, who already know all the storeys etc.
Stella D

a fun doc about the birth of cult film in the 70's. focusing on 6 influential 'midnight' movies including 2 of my all time faves, night of the living dead and rocky horror, it shows how the phenomenon changed film and helped bring about our ironic post-modern culture.… More
a fun doc about the birth of cult film in the 70's. focusing on 6 influential 'midnight' movies including 2 of my all time faves, night of the living dead and rocky horror, it shows how the phenomenon changed film and helped bring about our ironic post-modern culture. makes u wish you'd been there at the start *sniff* i've yet to see the infamous pink flamingos and jodorowsky's mystical 'eastern,' el topo, but i'm sure i will just to say i did lol
Tim S

Superb documentary. A great taste of sleaze & underground cinema.
Michael G

I saw this many months back and remember liking it. It offered great insight into a period of moviemaking that we'll never see the likes of again. It made me happy and sad all at the same time.
Patrick D

It's really informative, and you can tell there's a high appreciation for these films behind the camera. It's great to see some of the movies I think are among the all time greats getting some attention.
Leo L

Great!
Kevin M

Not a bad documentary that chronicles significant midnight film culture from '70 to '77. John Waters is a filthy director. Ewww.