settima

bikers

The Leather Boys (Sidney J. Furie, 1964)

Jun

12

wedding buffet

The Leather Boys (1964)

Newlyweds Dot and Reggie and friends and family about to dig into the wedding buffet. DP: Gerald Gibbs.

“I'll be eating frankfurters and onions. Plenty of tomato ketchup. Chips with lots of vinegar. Few cockles and muscles. Jellied eels, Coca-Cola, beer, the old jukebox, lollipops, all the lot.”

– Pete

Space Coast (Ross McElwee + Michel Negroponte, 1979)

Jan

30

Space Coast (1979)

A woman and man eating at a wooden table. It's dark, there's one candle, and the guy wearing Ray-Bans® holding his #beer has got something to say.

Mit dem Motorrad über die Wolken [A Motorcycle Trip Among the Clouds] (Lothar Rübelt, 1926)

Jan

9

roadside picnic

Mit dem Motorrad über die Wolken (1926)

A man and woman (Signorina Hansi) in 1920s motorcycle outfits enjoy a cheese-and-wine picnic at the Waldsee. DP: Franz Sochor.

The Leather Boys (Sidney J. Furie, 1964)

Oct

17

National Motorcycle Ride Day

The Leather Boys (1964)

Pete (Dudley Sutton) in his black leather tiger jacket waiting for Reggie (Colin Campbell). He leans against a window pane while Reggie drives up. It's raining and Reg is merely a blur. DP: Gerald Gibbs.

Gimme Shelter (Albert + David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin, 1970)

Sep

13

Uncle Sam Day

Gimme Shelter (1970)

Mick Jagger seen from the back wearing an Uncle Sam top hat, in front of an unseen crowd. DPs: Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Gary Weis.

It's December 6, 1969 and just like that, the 60s were over. It started out great, the West Coast edition of Woodstock. Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a 300.000 strong crowd and, of course, The Rolling Stones on the final leg of their US tour. And, of course too, Hells Angels armed with motorcycle chains, sawed-off pool cues and $500 worth of beer, hired to stop fans from climbing the stage. And not in the least due to its proximity to Frisco, lots of bad drugs mixing with that crowd.

“Well, The Rolling Stones tour of the United States is over. It wounded up with a free concert at the Altamont Speedway for more than 300,000 people. There were four births, four deaths and an awful lot of scuffles reported.”

– Stefan Ponek, KSN Radio

Even before a single note had come out of Mick's mouth, someone had punched him in the head. More scuffles, Grace Slick begs the audience to keep their bodies off each other unless they intend love. The Grateful Dead, regular deployers of peaceful Angels security, wisely forfeit their performance. The Stones open their set, the final set of the day. By then, the Angels are far into their $500 beer bounty, and the audience far out of their mind. Meredith Hunter, high on drugs, had brought a gun. And the Angels did what they were ordered to: stop anyone from getting close.

The Damned [These Are the Damned] (Joseph Losey, 1962)

Mar

19

National Automatic Door Day

The Damned (1962)

An 11-year old boy, Henry (Kit Williams), opens a featureless door in a rock surface for a drenched King (Oliver Reed). DP: Arthur Grant.

An American tourist visiting Dorset is tricked by a prostitute, then falls victim to a youth gang controlled by volatile con King – a still very green Oliver Reed at his meanest. The trickster is King's sister, who confides in the American hoping to escape her brother's incestuous advances.

“I'm strange, all right! I'll show you just how strange I am!”

– King

The couple elopes to a nearby island, closely followed by King and his gang, where they find a group of #children, all contently living in an underground lab, with #AutomaticDoors only they can control.

 

They are the damned.

Space Coast (Ross McElwee + Michel Negroponte, 1979)

Jan

26

NASA Day Of Remembrance

Space Coast (1979)

Cape Canaveral space journalist Mary Bubb, 59, determined to never miss a launch – shows up at a rocket launch.

“I'll take you to the horses. I'll take you to the Moon.”

– former NASA employee talking to his granddaughter