The ‘Mod’ proposal: Keep passion of ‘60s

THE American Cinematheque’s “Mods & Rockers” film festival was born in 1999 as a “rear guard reaction” to the looming 21st century.

“We had this horrible fear that all of our cherished memories from the 1960s were going to be washed away with this horrible tide of futurism and that everyone would turn their back on the 1960s,” says Martin Lewis, who created the festival with then-Cinematheque programming manager Dennis Bartok.

“We thought, ‘Let’s put on some of those great films [of the era],’ ” says Lewis. “We thought mainly it was going to appeal to baby boomers and maybe a bit younger audiences who have a sense of the 1960s.”

But what floored Lewis and Bartok was that there was much more interest in the festival from younger generations “who were being turned on to the ‘60s and not just by the ‘Austin Powers’ movies. It was almost you succeed by other people’s failures,” Lewis says.

In this case, he says kids were tuning in and turning on to the 1960s because of the “failure to have something positive, exuberant and enjoyable in contemporary music and films. I think that young people got fed up with that attitude. They got fed up with the lack of passions. Here we were presenting films that had music and attitude that were positive and exuberant. I spent a long time chatting with young people who were coming to watch ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ and I found they were coming because of a vacuum in present-day culture.”

The seventh edition of “Mods & Rockers,” which kicks off Thursday at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and Friday at the Aero in Santa Monica, has expanded to six weeks and features 60 movies.

In addition, says Lewis, there will be a free live concert Saturday in the Egyptian courtyard, some spoken-word events, a ‘60s-style tiki party and the California theatrical premiere of Martin Scorsese’s “American Masters” documentary “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.”

Lewis has included numerous films that have yet to be released on DVD. Lewis loves DVDs -- he’s produced several himself -- and he realizes that audiences have become accustomed to renting or buying film.

“They don’t go out and they miss a wonderful experience,” he says. “We have picked a lot of films that haven’t even been on VHS, let alone DVD. So you actually have to do this oldfashioned thing -- go to a movie theater.”

Rarities in the festival not on DVD include the 1969 Richard Lester film “The Bed Sitting Room”; Peter Watkins’ 1967 cautionary tale “Privilege”; the lighthearted 1966 thriller “A Man Could Get Killed” with James Garner; the bizarre “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die” with a pre-”Mannix” Mike Connors; the 1968 international caper film “Duffy,” with James Coburn; and the charming 1967 caper film “The Jokers” with Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed.

Musical movies in the festival include such classics as “Performance,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Don’t Look Back,” “Beach Party,” “Woodstock” and “Monterey Pop,” mixed in with more obscure titles such as 1998’s “Still Crazy” -- the film’s star, Bill Nighy, will be on hand for the screening -- “The Apple” and “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains.”

The festival will also pay tribute to Elvis Presley with a week of the King of Rock’s most successful films, including his screen debut in 1956’s “Love Me Tender” as well as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Viva Las Vegas” and “King Creole.”

Lewis decided to expand the festival to include contemporary films such as Stewart Copeland’s new documentary “Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out” because of his experience for the past 18 months as a disc jockey on Steven Van Zandt’s satellite radio channel show, “Underground Garage.” Van Zandt is sponsoring “Mods & Rockers” by promoting it on his radio show.

“Steven started changing my thinking of the festival,” says Lewis. “He has this philosophy that music, and particularly rock ‘n’ roll, is too important to be segregated by decades. Rock ‘n’ roll is a continuum. It shouldn’t be about when it was made. It should be about what it is. So I started thinking that maybe we should take a leaf from that book and apply it to the festival.”

Still, all the films in the festival, have a “ ‘60s heart.” “This is not just a baby boomer waxing lyrical,” says Lewis. “The 1960s was a renaissance, and it inspired a lot of great music, and it’s still inspiring things.”

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‘Mods & Rockers 2006’

Where: American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica

When: Thursday through Aug. 31

Price: $6 to $9

Contact: (323) 466-3456 or www.modsandrockers.com

Schedule through July

Egyptian

Thursday: “Bedazzled,” “The Bed Sitting Room,” 7:30 p.m.; Friday: “Easy Rider,” “The Trip,” 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: “Privilege,” “Stardust,” 7:30 p.m.; Next Sunday: “A Man Could Get Killed,” “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die,” 7:30 p.m; July 21: “The Knack ... And How To Get It,” “Work Is a 4-Letter Word,” 7:30 p.m.; July 22: “Duffy,” “The Jokers, 7:30 p.m.; July 23: ‘60s-Style Tiki Party with “Enchanted Island,” 4 p.m.; “Blue Hawaii,” 7:30 p.m.; July 27: “Having a Wild Weekend,” “Wonderwall,” 7:30 p.m.; July 28: “Still Crazy,” “The Commitments,” 7:30 p.m.; July 29: “Wild in the Streets,” “Three in the Attic,” 7:30 p.m.; July 30: “Casino Royale,” “What’s New Pussycat?,” 7:30 p.m.

Aero

Friday: “Performance,” 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: “A Hard Day’s Night,” 7:30 p.m.; Next Sunday: “Barbarella,” “Danger Diaboli,” 7:30 p.m.; July 19: “Privilege,” 7:30 p.m.; July 20: “The Apple,” 7:30 p.m.; July 21: “Tommy,” 7:30 p.m.; July 22: “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Hair,” 7:30 p.m.; July 26: “Flashdance,” 7:30 p.m.; July 29: “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,” 7:30 p.m.