The full title of this documentary is Scala!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World’s Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits. That’s about as accurate a description of this film as you’re likely to find (even if it is a run-on sentence).
The Scala was a London repertory cinema located in a seedy (at the time) part of London. From 1978 to 1993, it specialized in films with significant appeal to the fringe crowd (for lack of a better word). Classics, cult classics, experimental cinema, B-movies, shorts, obscurities, porn, psychedelia and other films from a variety of genres all found a home on its screen.
But more importantly, as this film conveys very well, the Scala itself was an inclusive place that welcomed those who may have felt like pariahs everywhere else…punks, nerds, the gay community, etc. Scala!!! features dozens of interviews with people who operated the theater, regulars who frequented it and such notable directors as John Waters, Ben Wheatley and Mary Harron.
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| John Waters creates another uncomfortable silence. |
Interspersing clips from various films that used to play there (some repeatedly), Scalla!!! is well assembled by directors Jane Giles and Ali Catterall, who apply an overall aesthetic that reflects the era of the theater’s heyday, including some surreal animated sequences. And like the best pop culture documentaries, one doesn’t necessarily need to be a fan of fringe films to enjoy the rich history of the venue that showed them. It's the movie equivalent of unearthing a time capsule.
This three-disc set also includes an abundance of bonus material typical of the Scala’s programming, including a lot of really bizarre shorts. Additionally, there are a couple additional documentaries just as interesting as Scalla!!! itself.
EXTRA KIBBLES
SCALA CALENDAR REPLICA - This also serves as a guide to the content on Discs 2 & 3.
MEMBERSHIP CARD REPLICA
Disc 1
FEATURETTES - Scala Programs 1978-1993 is a discussion of 15 the venue’s famous monthly program schedules, highlighting one from each year; Cabinet of Curiosities: Inside the Scala Archive looks at some existing relics from the theater; Cartoons by Davey Jones features the artist discussing the illustrations he created that are featured in the film.
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS - Scala (1990); Scala Cinema (with optional commentary) (1992)
AUDIO COMMENTARY - By directors Jane Giles and Ali Catterall.
ANIMATION - Several short segments featuring some of the animation used in the film: Osbert Parker’s Scala!!! Animation Experiments and Outtakes, Primatarium Animation, Tentacles Animation, Scala!!! Program Animation.
EXTENDED INTERVIEWS
OUTTAKES - Individual outtakes featuring Mary Harron, John Waters, Nick Kent, Thurston Moore.
TRAILER
Disc 2
SHORTS - A collection of short films: Divide and Rule - Never!; Dead Cat; The Mark of Lilith; Relax; Boobs a Lot; Kama Sutra Rides Again; Coping with Cupid; On Guard.
DAVID LEWIS REMEMBERS DEAD CAT
Disc 3
DOCUMENTARIES - Splatterfest Exhumed is an excellent feature-length film about one young fan’s effort to put together a horror festival at the Scala. I actually enjoyed this one a little more than Scala!!! itself. The Art of the Calendar isn’t as lengthy, but still an extensive look at several operators of various repertory cinemas and the monthly calendars they produced.
SHORTS - Most of which were shown at Splatterfest: Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie (this was supposed to become a Maniac sequel, which was never made); Horrorshow; Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter (with a very young Bruce Campbell); Mongolitos. All shorts feature audio commentaries.
THE LEGENDARY H.G. LEWIS SPEAKS - The “Godfather of Gore” speaks at the Scala in 1989.
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