The Incredibly Strange Film Show

The Incredibly Strange Film Show is a series of documentaries presented by Jonathan Ross focusing on the world of "psychotronic" or B movies.

The Incredibly Strange Film Show
Title card of the Show
Created byChannel X Productions
StarringJonathan Ross
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time40 minutes
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Original release5 August 1988 (1988-08-05) –
27 October 1989 (1989-10-27)

Each episode was focused on the lives of filmmakers like Herschell Gordon Lewis, Sam Raimi, Doris Wishman, Ed Wood Jr, Jackie Chan and many other notable filmmakers who had their own unique style of filmmaking and have made contributions to the world of cinema. Various movie genres, including such outré types as Mexican wrestling and Hong Kong horror films, were also examined.

The series' first episode featured interviews filmed at the Senator Theater,[1] in Baltimore, during the premiere of Hairspray, including an interview with John Waters and one of the last recorded interviews with Divine.[2]

The show was originally aired on 5 August 1988 on Channel 4.[3] A second series, entitled Son of The Incredibly Strange Film Show, aired the following year.[4] Both series aired in the US on the Discovery Channel in the early 1990s.[3] The show was followed by Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only, which featured filmmakers including Alejandro Jodorowski and David Lynch.[5]

Episodes

Season 1: The Incredibly Strange Film Show
EpisodeFeatured FilmmakerAir Date
1John Waters5 August 1988
2Ray Dennis Steckler12 August 1988
3Herschell Gordon Lewis19 August 1988
4Ted V. Mikels[6]26 August 1988
5Russ Meyer[7][8]2 September 1988
6Sam Raimi9 September 1988

Season 2: Son of The Incredibly Strange Film Show
EpisodeFeatured FilmmakerAir Date
1Jackie Chan[9]22 September 1989
2Fred Olen Ray & Doris Wishman29 September 1989
3The Legend of El Santo6 October 1989
4Ed Wood Jr.13 October 1989
5Tsui Hark[10] & Stuart Gordon20 October 1989
6George A. Romero & Tom Savini27 October 1989

Reception and legacy

Film studies academic Dean DeFino described the show as "highly regarded".[7] The Baltimore Sun called it "strangely engaging".[11]

Director Edgar Wright claimed that the episode on Sam Raimi inspired him to become a filmmaker.[12]

Book

The Incredibly Strange Film Book,[13] a spin-off written by Ross, was published in 1993.

References
  1. "'Strange Film' series begins with apt subject: A John Waters interview". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  2. "Episode 36: Maverick Heart". www.soapboxoffice.com. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  3. "The Pulsing Cinema - The Incredibly Strange Film Show Episode Guide". pulsingcinema.com. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. SON OF INCREDIBLY STRANGE FILM SHOW|Channel X
  5. JONATHAN ROSS PRESENTS FOR ONE WEEK ONLY|Channel X
  6. Curry, Christopher Wayne (2007). Film Alchemy: The Independent Cinema of Ted V. Mikels. McFarland. ISBN 9781476603018.
  7. DeFino, Dean (2014). Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Columbia UP.
  8. Russ Meyer on "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" - The Criterion Channel
  9. Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show - The Criterion Channel
  10. Morton, Lisa (2001). The Cinema of Tsui Hark. Macfarland. p. 222. ISBN 9780786409907.
  11. McKerrow, Steve (2 February 1991). "'Strange Film' series begins with apt subject: A John Waters interview". Baltimore Sun.
  12. Wright, Edgar (8 July 2013). "Hero Worship: Sam Raimi". The Skinny. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  13. Ross, Jonathan (1993). The incredibly strange film book. London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671712969.
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