The Sprocket Society
@sprocketsociety.bsky.social
Presenting analog film screenings in Seattle, WA since 2008. https://sprocketsociety.org/
Many of us of a certain age prolly remember director Ivan Dixon as “Kinch” on “Hogan’s Heroes.” Well, there’s a lot more to his career than that. Dig it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Di...
Ivan Dixon - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 19, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Many of us of a certain age prolly remember director Ivan Dixon as “Kinch” on “Hogan’s Heroes.” Well, there’s a lot more to his career than that. Dig it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Di...
A good piece about a great, thought provoking movie (suppressed in part by the FBI) that you must see. You must also militate for someone solid to release the new 4K restoration on blu. (The only DVD release was 26 years ago!)
New today on the site:
“Ivan Dixon’s THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973) is a pipe bomb on the video store shelf, a gasoline-filled wine bottle in your DVD cabinet, a vicious bit of malware streamed through hijacked plutocrat satellites.”
- Bryan Miller
“Ivan Dixon’s THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973) is a pipe bomb on the video store shelf, a gasoline-filled wine bottle in your DVD cabinet, a vicious bit of malware streamed through hijacked plutocrat satellites.”
- Bryan Miller
The Spook Who Sat By the Door (1973): Weaponized Expectations
Ivan Dixon's The Spook Who Sat By the Door is a pipe bomb on the video store shelf, a gasoline-filled wine bottle in your DVD cabinet.
www.brightwalldarkroom.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:11 AM
A good piece about a great, thought provoking movie (suppressed in part by the FBI) that you must see. You must also militate for someone solid to release the new 4K restoration on blu. (The only DVD release was 26 years ago!)
Great movie. The world desperately needs a blu-ray release of the new restoration.
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Great movie. The world desperately needs a blu-ray release of the new restoration.
Same
November 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Same
Reposted by The Sprocket Society
We’re showing IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE for our 55th annual engagement, Dec. 18, 20, 21, 23 & 24 at @nwfilmforum.bsky.social! Mark your calendar or buy tickets right now!
grandillusioncinema.org/film/its-a-w...
grandillusioncinema.org/film/its-a-w...
November 11, 2025 at 11:39 PM
We’re showing IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE for our 55th annual engagement, Dec. 18, 20, 21, 23 & 24 at @nwfilmforum.bsky.social! Mark your calendar or buy tickets right now!
grandillusioncinema.org/film/its-a-w...
grandillusioncinema.org/film/its-a-w...
Reposted by The Sprocket Society
Pixar designed Toy Story to be printed on physical film. The Disney renaissance movies were the same.
Today, it's hard to see them as they were meant to be seen. The versions on streaming and home media aren't quite the same films that ruled the '90s:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-toy-st...
Today, it's hard to see them as they were meant to be seen. The versions on streaming and home media aren't quite the same films that ruled the '90s:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-toy-st...
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Pixar designed Toy Story to be printed on physical film. The Disney renaissance movies were the same.
Today, it's hard to see them as they were meant to be seen. The versions on streaming and home media aren't quite the same films that ruled the '90s:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-toy-st...
Today, it's hard to see them as they were meant to be seen. The versions on streaming and home media aren't quite the same films that ruled the '90s:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-toy-st...
Tonight! Me and Seattle treasure Lori Goldston are doing a multi-projector + live cello improv film jam, as part of the 10th anniv celebration of @common-area.bsky.social at their “annex” space Common Objects (2601 1st Ave). Doors at 7pm. It’s free! RSVP now at www.tixtree.com/e/cam-10th-a...
October 31, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Tonight! Me and Seattle treasure Lori Goldston are doing a multi-projector + live cello improv film jam, as part of the 10th anniv celebration of @common-area.bsky.social at their “annex” space Common Objects (2601 1st Ave). Doors at 7pm. It’s free! RSVP now at www.tixtree.com/e/cam-10th-a...
Reposted by The Sprocket Society
The Engauge Experimental Film Festival returns to Northwest Film Forum NEXT WEEK for its 8th year! The festival celebrates sprocket-driven, artist-made experimental film, presenting six programs of shorts at NWFF’s cinema in Capitol Hill. All work featured in the festival originates on film stock.
October 30, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The Engauge Experimental Film Festival returns to Northwest Film Forum NEXT WEEK for its 8th year! The festival celebrates sprocket-driven, artist-made experimental film, presenting six programs of shorts at NWFF’s cinema in Capitol Hill. All work featured in the festival originates on film stock.
So, if you want be degraded by fiendish and diabolical doings, don’t miss our all-16mm film show tomorrow night! More info + advance tickets at sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
Coming Soon
What's coming next from The Sprocket Society.
sprocketsociety.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:56 PM
So, if you want be degraded by fiendish and diabolical doings, don’t miss our all-16mm film show tomorrow night! More info + advance tickets at sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
Our SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT show tomorrow 10/28 includes a secret feature that alarmed censors at the time. A sign with this “WARNING!” was displayed in some Canadian theaters. Ontario banned it outright b/c it was “Full of fiendish & diabolical doings.” Holland, too, b/c its “degrading effect.”
October 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Our SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT show tomorrow 10/28 includes a secret feature that alarmed censors at the time. A sign with this “WARNING!” was displayed in some Canadian theaters. Ontario banned it outright b/c it was “Full of fiendish & diabolical doings.” Holland, too, b/c its “degrading effect.”
Correction: the Shock! package was issued in 1957, not 1958. Apologies for the brain fart. (Sure wish Bluesky let you edit your stuff after posting, like everyone else does.)
October 27, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Correction: the Shock! package was issued in 1957, not 1958. Apologies for the brain fart. (Sure wish Bluesky let you edit your stuff after posting, like everyone else does.)
Shock! (aka Shock Theater) was a package of horror, thriller, and mystery features syndicated on 16mm to local stations across the US in 1958. It kickstarted the TV horror host fad, which quickly spread nationwide. Nearly 70 years later folks like Svengoolie still keep the tradition alive.
October 27, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Shock! (aka Shock Theater) was a package of horror, thriller, and mystery features syndicated on 16mm to local stations across the US in 1958. It kickstarted the TV horror host fad, which quickly spread nationwide. Nearly 70 years later folks like Svengoolie still keep the tradition alive.
Our all-16mm SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT is this Tues Oct 28 @ 7pm at NW Film Forum. We’re showing a bonkers secret mid-‘30s horror feature + a bunch of spooky shorts. Our feature’s an orig “SHOCK!” TV print. Here’s some pgs from the series’ 1958 pressbook. Tix & info: sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
October 27, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Our all-16mm SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT is this Tues Oct 28 @ 7pm at NW Film Forum. We’re showing a bonkers secret mid-‘30s horror feature + a bunch of spooky shorts. Our feature’s an orig “SHOCK!” TV print. Here’s some pgs from the series’ 1958 pressbook. Tix & info: sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
One week from tonight! 10/28 at NW Film Forum, our all-16mm show SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT w/ a secret 1930s horror feature + spooky shorts, including the “complete” Frankenstein saga via Castle Films digests. Also a 3-D short & more! Info & tix via sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
October 21, 2025 at 11:32 PM
One week from tonight! 10/28 at NW Film Forum, our all-16mm show SECRET VAULT OF TORMENT w/ a secret 1930s horror feature + spooky shorts, including the “complete” Frankenstein saga via Castle Films digests. Also a 3-D short & more! Info & tix via sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/
With a soundtrack by local weirdos, Climax Golden Twins
October 19, 2025 at 7:15 PM
With a soundtrack by local weirdos, Climax Golden Twins
“…nevertheless, no more in danger than a star in the jaws of the clouds.”
October 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
“…nevertheless, no more in danger than a star in the jaws of the clouds.”
“Will the future ever appear? Should we continue to look upwards? Is the light we can see in the sky one of those which will presently be extinguished? The ideal is terrifying to behold... brilliant but threatened on all sides by the dark forces that surround it…” - Victor Hugo, “Les Misérables”
October 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
“Will the future ever appear? Should we continue to look upwards? Is the light we can see in the sky one of those which will presently be extinguished? The ideal is terrifying to behold... brilliant but threatened on all sides by the dark forces that surround it…” - Victor Hugo, “Les Misérables”
Speaking of authors at Pordenone, Richard Abel’s new book is available as a free PDF/EPUB download (or HB for purchase). “The Exhibitor as Producer: Stage Prologues in American Movie Theatres, 1917-1926” is heavily illustrated and short (179 pgs + cites & index). link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
The Exhibitor as Producer
This open access book seeks answers to a series of questions about the subject of prologues or theatrical presentations in American movie theaters
link.springer.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Speaking of authors at Pordenone, Richard Abel’s new book is available as a free PDF/EPUB download (or HB for purchase). “The Exhibitor as Producer: Stage Prologues in American Movie Theatres, 1917-1926” is heavily illustrated and short (179 pgs + cites & index). link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
The Pordenone silent film festival includes presentations with authors and scholars. These are freely available on the fest’s YouTube channel. Click the “Live” tab to find them. Also check out the shorter chats with program curators. See youtube.com/@giornatecin...
Le Giornate del Cinema Muto
Nate nel 1982 dalla collaborazione tra la Cineteca del Friuli di Gemona e Cinemazero di Pordenone, le Giornate del Cinema Muto si sono affermate come la principale manifestazione internazionale dedica...
youtube.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The Pordenone silent film festival includes presentations with authors and scholars. These are freely available on the fest’s YouTube channel. Click the “Live” tab to find them. Also check out the shorter chats with program curators. See youtube.com/@giornatecin...
Our next show! Tues. October 28 — a secret 1930s horror feature, Castle Films digests of the “complete” Frankenstein saga, plus more. All on 16mm film! More info + tix via sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/ Part of ALL MONSTERS ATTACK! from @grandillusioncinema.org
October 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Our next show! Tues. October 28 — a secret 1930s horror feature, Castle Films digests of the “complete” Frankenstein saga, plus more. All on 16mm film! More info + tix via sprocketsociety.org/coming-soon/ Part of ALL MONSTERS ATTACK! from @grandillusioncinema.org
The Italian streaming service hosting the series admittedly has some irritations, even after doing this for 5 years. (Has anyone told them about playlists?? Or how subtitles should be positioned onscreen, FFS?!?) But it’s still worth totally worth the ~US$35.
October 6, 2025 at 9:43 PM
The Italian streaming service hosting the series admittedly has some irritations, even after doing this for 5 years. (Has anyone told them about playlists?? Or how subtitles should be positioned onscreen, FFS?!?) But it’s still worth totally worth the ~US$35.
ICYMI the Pordenone silent film festival is underway, and folks like us who can’t teleport there can get in on their streaming edition. Films from day 2 are still online (for a bit), so if you carpe diem you’ll not have missed much. Recommended! www.mymovies.it/ondemand/gio...
Le giornate del cinema muto 2025 - Enjoy the silence!
In streaming su MYmovies. Scegli il tuo accredito
www.mymovies.it
October 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
ICYMI the Pordenone silent film festival is underway, and folks like us who can’t teleport there can get in on their streaming edition. Films from day 2 are still online (for a bit), so if you carpe diem you’ll not have missed much. Recommended! www.mymovies.it/ondemand/gio...
As the article says, this particular Seven Gables was in Seattle. See the link. (Not sure there ever was one in Portland, but maybe I’m mistaken.) Sorry you didn’t like King of Hearts as a child. I wouldn’t call it boring, but it’s not really a children’s movie. cinematreasures.org/theaters/12068
Seven Gables Cinema in Seattle, WA - Cinema Treasures
Built in 1925 as a American Foreign Legion dance hall. It become the eponymous flagship cinema of Seven Gables Cinema, when purchased from the AFL ...
cinematreasures.org
September 20, 2025 at 8:58 AM
As the article says, this particular Seven Gables was in Seattle. See the link. (Not sure there ever was one in Portland, but maybe I’m mistaken.) Sorry you didn’t like King of Hearts as a child. I wouldn’t call it boring, but it’s not really a children’s movie. cinematreasures.org/theaters/12068
Heil, heil right in Der Fuhrer’s face youtu.be/I1583adUqSg
"Der Fuehrer's Face" Performed by Spike Jones and His City Slickers
YouTube video by History Comes to Life
youtu.be
September 20, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Heil, heil right in Der Fuhrer’s face youtu.be/I1583adUqSg
Reposted by The Sprocket Society
RIP to local cinema legend Randy Finley. Before there was a Seven Gables theater chain in Seattle there was The Movie House at 1403 NE 50th St., also founded by Randy. He ran it until the late 70s when Paul Doyle took over and renamed it The Grand Illusion.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
www.seattletimes.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:07 PM
RIP to local cinema legend Randy Finley. Before there was a Seven Gables theater chain in Seattle there was The Movie House at 1403 NE 50th St., also founded by Randy. He ran it until the late 70s when Paul Doyle took over and renamed it The Grand Illusion.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...