Before The Matrix and the modern Star Wars films, cinematic sci-fi was relatively primitive and visually inventive to compensate for the lack of big Hollywood budget special effects. The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theater in Jersey City will reintroduce three classic sci-fi flicks to the minds of moviegoers this month.
The movies will include the 1927 newly restored version of Metropolis, scheduled for May 30 at 8 p.m. This late silent-era film made in Germany is set in the post-2000 years and it depicts a super rich techno-autocracy living lavishly in skyscrapers while the masses are enslaved far below. Metropolis is also visually stunning even by the standards of today’s special effects.
On May 31 at 4 p.m., the 1953 classic The War of the Worlds will be shown. Worlds, based on the story by H.G. Welles, helped revolutionize the sci-fi genre and it was also one of several films that marked the acceptance of science fiction as a serious, big-budget subject by movie studios. Also on May 31 at 8 p.m., the 1979 Alien will be shown, starring Sigourney Weaver. The movie spawned not just several sequels but a new sub-genre of film – the fusion of science fiction and horror. Very notably, the film departed from the typical formula for both sci-fi and horror in which women are typically helpless victims.
Tickets for the shows are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors. The theater is located at 54 Journal Sq. in Jersey City. For information call (201) 798-6055 or visit www.loewsjersey.org. – E. Mulero