vintage
Vintage geek content from the archives of the geek, comic, and entertainment collections.
Gratuitous Excess: Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby'
The greatest novel of the American dream (in my opinion) is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It's sad and sweet and gets read once a year as I sit on the shores of Long Island, beach chair in tow and getting roasted by the sun just to find out if it doesn't end the same way. (Spoiler--Gatsby still dies. I'd apologize for that, but if you haven't read it by now, shame on you).
By Marina Caitlin Watts9 years ago in Geeks
Nightmare on Elm Street Documentary Screams for Recognition of Gay Rights Struggle
To Roman Chimienti, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge thoroughly awoke his nascent horror movies undertone. So while the second installment slashed the shallow plot lines of the genre (and siblings such as Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers), this Freddy Krueger's depth had a lot to do with the film's real shock value. But there were still far more laying beneath - and only one thoroughly invested demographic picked up on the subversive gay rights subtext.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Geeks
The History of Anne Bonney and Mary Read
As closely as historians can determine, the story of Anne Bonney and Mary Read started in an English port town in the 1680s when a comely, "young and airy" sea wife gave birth to a robust baby girl. The mother's joy was marred by the somewhat glaring fact that her husband had been away at sea for more than two years. But she displayed a kind of ghoulish resourcefulness in dealing with the problem. Her legitimate baby son had recently died, and rather than report the death to kin, she dressed young Mary in the boy's clothes and hoped that no one would notice the deception.
By Frank White9 years ago in Geeks
Forgotten 'Toons
Cartoons have been a part of our collective lives in one form or another for hundreds of years. Even Leonardo da Vinci drew caricatures based on famous personalities of his day. The cartoon characters most of us are familiar with are the ones who have turned up on television or been made famous by regular appearances in newspapers and books. While it's safe to assume classic 'toon favorites like Charlie Brown, Garfield, and Mickey Mouse will always be with us, there are some once-popular cartoon characters who have since faded into obscurity -- at least in the minds of recent generations more obsessed with gadgets and social media trends than animated creations that aren't memes or GIFs.
By Kenneth Cox9 years ago in Geeks
'Batman: The Movie' Is the OG of the DC Brand
In 1966, Batman made his big-screen debut in the the comic-book genre, Batman: The Movie. But what special quality of the masked crusader endeared him to the American public? Taking a closer look at the film that helped make Adam West and Burt Ward pop-culture icons adds insight into one of the most popular heroes in the DC franchise.
By Stephen Hamilton9 years ago in Geeks
Audrey Hepburn Succumbs to Charade as the Age of Cary Grants' Movies Come to an End
In 2017, as Netflix or your DVD aligns its digits to the opening of "Charade," the 1963 film gives off a sense that the world is in the midst of an identity crisis that ties to the end of an era for Cary Grant Movies. Stuck between the social restrictions of the past and the tsunami of changes that are coming, Hollywood seems unsure of how to define "cool" in its presentation of this romantic comedy thriller. Lucky for them, Cary Grant transcends such considerations, and while he didn’t necessarily provide a bridge to the future, the past had to fade away because he was the only one left to – well – carry it.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Geeks
Woody Allen Finds Himself and the Roaring 20s in Zelig
Who else but Woody Allen himself could insert himself into Nazi archival footage, cause a ruckus to get the attention of a girl he loves and then get a laugh while Adolf Hitler rants on world domination and Aryan purity. The film is Zeliq – a 1983 roaring 20s mockumentary, starring the eclectic filmmaker and his then girlfriend, Mia Farrow.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Geeks
Rewatching... The Avengers: The Living Dead
Friday 24 February 1967 So this man walks into a pub… It’s a boozy old tramp, and he staggers out of the pub again into the adjacent graveyard. He clearly has a brilliant sense of humour as he laughs about absolutely everything, including when he falls over. There was a rather more hollow sounding ‘thud’ than expected at this point for a leafy cemetery. And his voice reverberates oddly for outdoors…and there’s not a hint of a breeze… Perhaps he’s laughing at the absurdity, but the smile is soon wiped off his face when the lid of a stone sarcophagus slides open and a ghostly man rises upright from within.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Geeks
Rewatching... The Avengers: The See-Through Man
Friday 3 February 1967 Mad inventors and nutty eccentrics seem to have become a staple ingredient of The Avengers. This week’s combines both with an eccentric inventor. He’s called Quilby and is played by Roy Kinnear, who I know from such things as comedy. The series has gone all HG Wells as Quilby claims to have invented an invisibility formula and has sold it to ‘the other side’ (a Russian agent called Major Vazim).
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Geeks
