42nd Street Forever

 

Let's take a break from works of art, and explore the other side of cinema. The trashy, campy, downright insane films. The ones that provide entertainment or shock to the general public and the ones that are forgotten only a few days later. These films are not works of art, nor do they have redeeming value; but what they lack in class they make up for in kicking ass.

The 42nd Street Forever series is the brain child behind the ladies and gentlemen of The Alamo Drafthouse and Synapse Films. This series aims to take old exploitation movie trailers who haven't seen the light of day seen they were made, and release them into the general public. The results are hilarious, historical, and very interesting. The 5 volumes pack a range of trailers from every exploitation genre you can think of. From Charleton Heston talking about the MPAA ratings to Pinnochio's Birthday Party. The genius of this series is to show the amount of freedom many filmmakers had at the time, and just how far they were willing to go(or not go) to execute them. No matter how bad they were. Through this ride you discover just how many movies have never really seen the light of day, and some that have the same premises of films today. Some of the trailers are entertaining and actually look good, which you must give many directors credit for. They take an idea and execute it on a limited budget. No matter how bad it may look, it deserves respect.

The Title says it all.

Overall, if you like exploitation cinema, if you are a film history buff, or you just want to have a good time. This series is highly recommended. 42nd Street Forever provides us with a rare & interesting viewpoint of the possibilities of filmmaking at that time. As well as bringing unseen films to a new audience.