Off Beat Cinema
Encyclopedia
Off Beat Cinema is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout North America
late at night and features "the Good, the Bad, the Foreign..." but mostly cult movies like Night of the Living Dead
, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
and even more art house fare like The Third Man
in a format not unlike the Creature Double Feature
of the 1970s and 1980s. It originates from WKBW-TV
in Buffalo, New York
.
On occasion, a clip show
will air featuring episodes of public domain
shorts and sitcom episodes (an example of this was a Christmas episode aired in 2007 that featured a Metro Goldwyn Mayer short, a 1963 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies
, and an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
).
/Toronto
area on WKBW-TV in Buffalo. On the show's official site, he states, "Off Beat Cinema was created to provide a forum for films that are not regularly shown on television – and in many cases – are not readily available, even on DVD
. There is an enormous cache of films out there that an entire generation grew up watching that are otherwise unavailable. We wanted to create a program reminiscent of the hosted late night film shows of the 1960s and 1970s – the kind of show that made you beg your parents to let you stay up late to watch. Where else can you watch Teenagers from Outer Space
and a week later watch Bergman’s The Seventh Seal
in its original language version?"
The show's producer John DiScuillo says on the official site that "Off Beat Cinema was originally a reaction to the insidious spread of infomercials and the void of late night television. The program really struck a chord with viewers." Off Beat Cinema has its own slate of advertisers, usually targeting alternative crowds. Poster Art, Terrapin Station (a Grateful Dead
inspired head shop
in Buffalo, named after the album of the same name
), and Mighty Taco
, among many other area restaurants, are among the show's numerous sponsors.
Award winning writer and independent producer Sarah JM Kolberg is the show's Public Relations Director. She is quoted on the show's website: "The fan mail we get is such a barometer of our viewers’ love for the show. We have our regulars who write all the time – suggesting possible movies and commenting on recent selections – and then there’s all the first time writers. It’s always amazing to me that we’ll receive these glowing letters from viewers after only a few weeks in a new market and even sometimes after we’ve left a market, writing to say how much they miss the show – that’s very rewarding."
buddy Bird (Tony Billoni), the painter
, and Zelda (actress Constance McEwen Caldwell) as they discuss the movies they show in an irreverent style with significant amounts of coffee at the Hungry Ear Coffeehouse. Each week they're often joined by guest stars like Emo Philips
, Lauren Bacall
and Keanu Reeves
, and music acts like the Barenaked Ladies, and the Tragically Hip
. Interstitial segments are shot in black and white.
affiliates, as well as on Tampa, Florida
's WTSP-TV, the Vision Communications stations (WYDC
/Corning, New York
and WBGT-CA
/Rochester, New York
) and Buffalo's ABC flagship station, WKBW. It was formerly shown on KBWB-WB 20, San Francisco, California
(now KOFY-TV), WICU-TV
in Erie, Pennsylvania
, and KXTX-TV
in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
late at night and features "the Good, the Bad, the Foreign..." but mostly cult movies like Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 science fiction film that regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made. It is regularly featured in the "bottom 100" list on the Internet Movie Database, and was also featured in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film...
and even more art house fare like The Third Man
The Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
in a format not unlike the Creature Double Feature
Creature Double Feature
Creature Double Feature was a syndicated horror show, broadcast in the Boston and Philadelphia area during the 1970s and 1980s. It sometimes also aired under names like Sci-Fi Flix and Creature Feature...
of the 1970s and 1980s. It originates from WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
On occasion, a clip show
Clip show
A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
will air featuring episodes of public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
shorts and sitcom episodes (an example of this was a Christmas episode aired in 2007 that featured a Metro Goldwyn Mayer short, a 1963 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, and an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
).
Creation
Off Beat Cinema was created and is written by Paragon Advertising executive James Gillan. It originally started airing in 1993 in the BuffaloBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
/Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
area on WKBW-TV in Buffalo. On the show's official site, he states, "Off Beat Cinema was created to provide a forum for films that are not regularly shown on television – and in many cases – are not readily available, even on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. There is an enormous cache of films out there that an entire generation grew up watching that are otherwise unavailable. We wanted to create a program reminiscent of the hosted late night film shows of the 1960s and 1970s – the kind of show that made you beg your parents to let you stay up late to watch. Where else can you watch Teenagers from Outer Space
Teenagers from Outer Space
Teenagers from Outer Space is a 1959 science-fiction film about an extraterrestrial space ship landing on Earth to use it as a farm for its food supply. The crew of the ship includes teenagers, two of whom oppose each other in their activities. The independent film was originally distributed by...
and a week later watch Bergman’s The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
in its original language version?"
The show's producer John DiScuillo says on the official site that "Off Beat Cinema was originally a reaction to the insidious spread of infomercials and the void of late night television. The program really struck a chord with viewers." Off Beat Cinema has its own slate of advertisers, usually targeting alternative crowds. Poster Art, Terrapin Station (a Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
inspired head shop
Head shop
A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in drug paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis, other recreational drugs, legal highs, legal party powders and New Age herbs, as well as counterculture art, magazines, music, clothing, and home decor; some head shops also sell oddities, such as...
in Buffalo, named after the album of the same name
Terrapin Station
Terrapin Station is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, and was originally released on July 27, 1977.This album was the first time since Anthem of the Sun that the Grateful Dead used an outside producer...
), and Mighty Taco
Mighty Taco
Mighty Taco is a Mexican-style fast-food restaurant chain in the Buffalo, New York area. All Mighty Taco restaurants are owned and operated by Mighty Taco Inc., a privately owned corporation....
, among many other area restaurants, are among the show's numerous sponsors.
Award winning writer and independent producer Sarah JM Kolberg is the show's Public Relations Director. She is quoted on the show's website: "The fan mail we get is such a barometer of our viewers’ love for the show. We have our regulars who write all the time – suggesting possible movies and commenting on recent selections – and then there’s all the first time writers. It’s always amazing to me that we’ll receive these glowing letters from viewers after only a few weeks in a new market and even sometimes after we’ve left a market, writing to say how much they miss the show – that’s very rewarding."
Hosts and special guests
Each episode is hosted by Maxwell Truth (comedian "Airborne Eddy" Dobosiewicz), his beatnikBeatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
buddy Bird (Tony Billoni), the painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, and Zelda (actress Constance McEwen Caldwell) as they discuss the movies they show in an irreverent style with significant amounts of coffee at the Hungry Ear Coffeehouse. Each week they're often joined by guest stars like Emo Philips
Emo Philips
Emo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
, Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
, and music acts like the Barenaked Ladies, and the Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...
. Interstitial segments are shot in black and white.
Syndication
Off Beat Cinema can now be seen nationwide on most Retro Television NetworkRetro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
affiliates, as well as on Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
's WTSP-TV, the Vision Communications stations (WYDC
WYDC
WYDC is the Fox-affiliated television station for New York State's Central Southern Tier licensed to Corning. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter on Higman Hill in Corning. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 13 and in high...
/Corning, New York
Corning (city), New York
Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...
and WBGT-CA
WBGT-CA
WBGT-CA is the Class A MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Rochester, New York. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 40 from a transmitter in the city's Northwest Quadrant. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 18...
/Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
) and Buffalo's ABC flagship station, WKBW. It was formerly shown on KBWB-WB 20, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
(now KOFY-TV), WICU-TV
WICU-TV
WICU-TV, channel 12, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. WICU-TV is owned by SJL Broadcasting, which also operates CBS affiliate WSEE-TV and its CW subchannel through a local marketing agreement...
in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, and KXTX-TV
KXTX-TV
KXTX-TV, digital channel 40 , is the Telemundo owned-and-operated station in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Designated Market Area...
in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.