City Beat kicks off its first Movie Night at the Birch North Park Theater tonight with the 80s animated cult classic "Heavy Metal."
Back in 1981, this is how the studio decided to promote "Heavy Metal:" "Columbia Pictures takes you beyond the future into a universe you've never seen before...... A universe of mystery. A universe of magic. A universe of sexual fantasies. A universe of awesome good. A universe of terrifying evil."
Well that covers just about everything! And while "Heavy Metal" is by no means a great work of art, it captures something of the era in which it was made and provides loads of fun. City beat promises that the movie "will be presented with several shorts and plenty of drinks."
The film was inspired by a European sci-fi magazine/comic called "Metal Hurlant." The animated American film serves up a series of six episodes loosely tied together. When "Heavy Metal" came out it was one of the very few animated films aimed at an adult audience. Ralph Bakshi of course is the one in the U.S. who paved the way for adult animation with the X-rated "Fritz the Cat" (1972). So naturally, "Heavy Metal," with it's potent mix of sex, violence, and rock and roll quickly found a cult audience on the midnight movie circuit. But it is probably best enjoyed by those with the taste of an adolescent male. I'm just saying.
So take an acid flashback and enjoy.
