Cheap Movies

A documentary program about the difficulties of finding distribution for low-budget independent movies.

00:12Copy video clip URL Footage from Adolfas Mekas’s film Hallelujah the Hills (1963). The narrator introduces it with “You’ve almost certainly never seen this film. And you’ve probably never even HEARD of this movie.” Footage from other independent films as the narrator discusses American art films and their difficulties finding distribution, including Eraserhead (1977) and The Brig (1964). 

02:40Copy video clip URL Interview with a studio executive about major distributors “not being equipped” to work with “specialty films” – ie foreign films, independent films, and art films that don’t fit into the model for mass marketing. 

03:30Copy video clip URL Discussion of Halloween (1978). Screenwriter and producer Debra Hill discusses the film’s production and reception. The narrator mentions other successful independent horror movies, including Night of the Living Dead (1968) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). 

04:30Copy video clip URL Joe Dante, Allan Arkush, and Allan Holzman talk about Roger Corman and the history of American International Pictures. Discussion of Corman’s film The Intruder (1962), a personal film that was bold and challenging but was much less successful than Corman’s low-budget genre films. Dante: “It was the first film that he’d ever made that didn’t return on investment. And so he made his choice. He decided that that was gonna be his statement and from now on he was gonna be safe and continue to make commercial pictures. Which he always has.” Footage from the film. 

06:41Copy video clip URL Dante and Arkush talk about Corman changing the title of The Intruder to “I Hate Your Guts” in order to “make a couple bucks.” 

06:47Copy video clip URL The studio executive discusses art films “[not having] a mass enough market” to ensure profitability. 

07:08Copy video clip URL Footage from Gal Young ‘Un (1979). Discussion of independent filmmakers either going straight into mainstream Hollywood production, as with Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich, or making microbudget films like Gal Young ‘Un that distributors are reluctant to  buy. Filmmaker Victor Nunez discusses independent filmmakers often needing to distribute the film themselves. 

08:21Copy video clip URL Filmmaker John Waters talks about driving his film prints around the country looking for theaters to screen his early films. 

08:45Copy video clip URL Discussion of Jim McBride, Shirley Clarke, Yvonne Rainer, Mark Rappaport, Amoe Poe, Eagle Pennell being a challenge to distributors. 

09:30Copy video clip URL Waters talks about selling Pink Flamingos (1972) to then-small distributor New Line Cinema. Footage from Polyester (1981).

10:07Copy video clip URL Footage from On the Nickel (1980), a project supported by the Independent Feature Project.

10:37Copy video clip URL Co-director of The Dozens (1981) Randall Conrad discusses independent films trying to appeal to both specific niche audiences and a larger audience. Footage from The Dozens and discussion of IFP’s showcase screenings. 

11:57Copy video clip URL Footage from The Curse of Fred Astaire (1981), which debuted at an IFP screening. 

12:21Copy video clip URL Footage from The Dark End of the Street (1981), which was distributed by small filmmaker-run co-op First Run Features.

13:56Copy video clip URL Fran Spielman discusses her work with First Run Features. Footage from Northern Lights (1979), The Scenic Route (1978), and Gal Young ‘Un, all of which First Run distributed. 

15:57Copy video clip URL A Dallas theater owner talks about dealing with independent distributors actually loving movies and that making a difference as they try to find ways to promote and sell smaller movies. He discusses Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979) and working directly with filmmaker John Sayles to promote his film in person.

17:08Copy video clip URL John Sayles discusses the need for bespoke promotion. The theater owner discusses marketing. 

17:57Copy video clip URL United Artists Classics, a new division created to distribute art films. Interview with Sam Kitt. Footage from Cutter’s Way (1981), the company’s most successful film thus far. Bernard is asked about specific independent filmmakers, none of whom he knows about. He talks about the success of UA Classics. 

20:30Copy video clip URL End of video.