View Thread
 Print Thread
WET GECKO REWATCH CLUB - INAUGURAL VIEWING
Cygnus Bazza
Edit: Let's give it a lash. See what happens.

This is now the Weimar-Era Teutonic/German Experimental Cinema (Kino) Official (WET GECKO) Rewatch Club. 'Watching Weird Stuff From The Weimar Period'. So that's 1919-33, of course. Explanation below. Dress appropriately. Entry fee (for non-members): 5 billion Reichsmarks. Taking hyperinflation into account, that's probably about 15p.

Starting with the brilliant Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Proper link a few posts down.

I suggest 7.45pm (BST) 25th June 2025, but this can be lifted and shifted and dropped in elsewhere if a more convenient date needs to be found. To us WET GECKO members, however, it'll always be 1924.


Original post:

MEMBERS ONLY. IN EVERY SENSE.

High time to elevate the proceedings of the Horizon Forum through the medium of some proper arty stuff - with a B7 twist, natürlich. And arty with a capital F, of course.

What Are We Watching? Das Cabinet des Dr Cally-gari. Yes, the legendary Expressionist movie that, upon original release back in 1920, almost immediately had those who couldn’t pronounce German properly saying “Why, Ma?”

When? 1928. So technically you’ve missed it. But there’ll be another rewatch at 7.45pm on Wednesday 11th June 2025 for those of you who weren't, like our esteemed quasi-leader M1, around in the 1920s, and for all of you who don’t want to watch Die Wespenfrau (The Wasp Woman) or whatever M1 shoehorns into its vespine place.

Synopsis: It’s a salutary and oblique tale of a telepathic hypnotist who brainwashes a passing somnambulist into sleepwalking their way through a 52-part low-budget sci-fi series, along with most of the rest of the cast. Yes, this cutting-edge piece of cutting-edge cinema has a real cutting edge! I give it a ten! Schön!

Link: I’ve found a version with subtitles, albeit in Esperanto so you’ll need to brush up a bit: www.youtube.com/watch?b=Oll-iX

Prepare to have attitudes confronted! See you there, spheksophobics*!

* Look it up. You've got the internet in front of you FFS.
Edited by Cygnus Bazza on 08-06-2025 08:08
 
OneSparePart
The cabinet of dr cagneyandlacey... heard of it but never seen it. I will investigate...
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza

OneSparePart wrote:

The cabinet of dr cagneyandlacey... heard of it but never seen it. I will investigate...

Joshing apart, the actual link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky32t...y32ti4M9Ls

I'd definitely be in rewatch mode if you or some other lost soul is genuinely up for it. Much better than all that Crud crud. Don't think M1 would be interested. But she's no fun anymore.

Smiley face. I mean the emoji, not M1. Obvs.
 
M1795537OCVirn
Interested to know when the M1 was ever fun. Asking for a friend.
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
Cygnus Bazza
Thoughts...

If there's any appetite for watching/rewatching this kind of classic material (genuinely landmark stuff like Caligari, Nosferatu, M, Metropolis etc etc), we might perhaps dovetail this with Crud Club. One month Crud, next month... Well, what would we call this? Any ideas? How about the Weimar-Era Teutonic/German Experimental Cinema (Kino) Official Rewatch Club. Abbreviated to the WET GECKO Rewatch Club. Which has a (not inapt) surreal/Dada whiff about it.

Does any of this sound remotely sane?

Edit/afterthought... WET GECKO's Dennis Waterman-free theme tune could be Nena's excellent 'Kino', or maybe The Passions' 'I'm in Love with a German Film Star'.
Edited by Cygnus Bazza on 07-06-2025 08:06
 
Paula
I might have seen this flick years ago. I'm always up for a rewatch- no matter what we watch. Perhaps the next Crud Club after Wasp Woman next week?
Resist the Host




 
Cygnus Bazza
Just a quick bump for this thread, as we're talking 'must-see TV'...
 
M1795537OCVirn
OK, I'm ready. How scary is this thing?
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
OneSparePart

M1795537OCVirn wrote:

OK, I'm ready. How scary is this thing?

Where's the clucking chicken emoji when you need it....
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
So, Maschinenmenschen, some low-hanging fruit to feed a potential WET GECKO watchlist, post-Doc. Thoughts welcome but not necessarily expected...

Phantom
The Eccentric (silent comedy)
Slums of Berlin
The Golem: How He Came into the World
The Blue Angel
Metropolis (not least for the score; could do this as 2-parter)
Variety (but a bit depressing)
Nosferatu a bit too obvious, so personally not bothered
 
OneSparePart

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

So, Maschinenmenschen, some low-hanging fruit to feed a potential WET GECKO watchlist, post-Doc. Thoughts welcome but not necessarily expected...

Phantom
The Eccentric (silent comedy)
Slums of Berlin
The Golem: How He Came into the World
The Blue Angel
Metropolis (not least for the score; could do this as 2-parter)
Variety (but a bit depressing)
Nosferatu a bit too obvious, so personally not bothered

What about the Willem Dafoe film called er..something to do with Max Schrek.
And does Carnival of Souls count?
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza

OneSparePart wrote:

What about the Willem Dafoe film called er..something to do with Max Schrek. And does Carnival of Souls count?

Shadow of the Vampire? Ich bin happy with that. Wir Weimar types lieben a left-field suggestion.

Carnival of Souls doesn’t qualify because it’s a KISS album. M1 would throw a massive wobbler. Smile
 
Cygnus Bazza
Reports coming in on the wires of French troops in the demilitarised Rhineland raiding a WET GECKO meeting in Mainz. Overnight dispatches from correspondents on the spot indicate not a sausage was taken. Maybe something else was, though.

In light of these dramatic developments, I suggest our inaugural meeting on Wednesday takes extra precautions. Bring false papers and fake identities. M1, you can pretend to be in charge of Horizon. Cover sorted.
 
Paula
You are going to have to manage without me this time, I just realized I have a dental appointment at the same time! Sorry!
Resist the Host




 
Cygnus Bazza
Anyone planning to roll along for this? Otherwise we can pull the plug and get on with our lives. Don't really want to be hanging around and then no-one show up.

If it doesn't happen, I'd still recommend you get to watch this film at some point. It's genuinely marvellous.

Better link (i.e. better soundtrack) is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn49...mp;t=3747s (Starts at 0:59)
 
M1795537OCVirn

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Anyone planning to roll along for this? Otherwise we can pull the plug and get on with our lives. Don't really want to be hanging around and then no-one show up.

If it doesn't happen, I'd still recommend you get to watch this film at some point. It's genuinely marvellous.

Better link (i.e. better soundtrack) is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn49...mp;t=3747s (Starts at 0:59)


Maybe postpone it for a week? Wouldn't want Paula to miss out!
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
OneSparePart

M1795537OCVirn wrote:

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Anyone planning to roll along for this? Otherwise we can pull the plug and get on with our lives. Don't really want to be hanging around and then no-one show up.

If it doesn't happen, I'd still recommend you get to watch this film at some point. It's genuinely marvellous.

Better link (i.e. better soundtrack) is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn49...mp;t=3747s (Starts at 0:59)


Maybe postpone it for a week? Wouldn't want Paula to miss out!

Please, yes, postpone. I have had an absolutely horrendous day at work trying to help a severely disabled person. My head is spinning. I really want to watch this with you good people but tonight is not the night for me.
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
Well, the film's 105 years old so waiting another week or two shouldn't pose a problem.Smile
 
M1795537OCVirn
Shucks, I wasn't expecting that. OK, we'll try for next week then? Thanks for your patience CB (have to admit I wasn't sure you had any, but ...)
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
Cygnus Bazza

M1795537OCVirn wrote:

Shucks, I wasn't expecting that. OK, we'll try for next week then? Thanks for your patience CB (have to admit I wasn't sure you had any, but ...)

Next Wednesday - alles gut as far as I'm concerned.
 
OneSparePart
Dr Cagneyandlacey rides again!
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
Assuming everyone's back from a brush with Weimar depravity in their local Bierkeller, we'll kick off at 20:45 Central European Time. (That's a quarter to acht, Britisher time, M1.) It's the 1920s, so Wei-Fi reception may not be wunderbar. Despite the extremely liberal dress code, don't take liberties. Forget the monocle, OSP - it's ein trifle scary. Keep Luftballoons handy - preferably red and as close to a hundred as you can rustle up at short notice.

Best link is this one (film starts at 0:59) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn49...p;t=3747s)
 
M1795537OCVirn
I only have a white meteorology ballon. Does that count?
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
OneSparePart
Nearly time for Mary Beth and Chris!
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
Well, this is all terribly exciting. Don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have my attitudes confronted.
 
Cygnus Bazza
Welcome one, welcome all. Much like Munich Cathedral, here at WET GECKO we're a broad church.
 
OneSparePart

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Well, this is all terribly exciting. Don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have my attitudes confronted.

Could they be aff-ronted too?
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza

OneSparePart wrote:

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Well, this is all terribly exciting. Don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have my attitudes confronted.

Could they be aff-ronted too?

Hope so. You made it! I'd heard you were on a paramilitary march, but it was probably just a bourgeois rumour.
 
OneSparePart
I have you know, CB, that I have ceased watching Encounter at Farpoint to join this rewatch. You'd better be kind to me.
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
There's a minute of guff at the start of the link. Don't forget to skip on. I guess we're waiting on M1...
 
OneSparePart

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

OneSparePart wrote:

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Well, this is all terribly exciting. Don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have my attitudes confronted.

Could they be aff-ronted too?

Hope so. You made it! I'd heard you were on a paramilitary march, but it was probably just a bourgeois rumour.

Marching? Steady on, I haven't been in a gym since 1983.
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza

OneSparePart wrote:

I have you know, CB, that I have ceased watching Encounter at Farpoint to join this rewatch. You'd better be kind to me.

That's commitment. Best behaviour. Which ain't that great, to be honest.
 
OneSparePart
Have you started?
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
M1795537OCVirn
Wait no more, I'm ready.
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
Cygnus Bazza

OneSparePart wrote:

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

OneSparePart wrote:

Cygnus Bazza wrote:

Well, this is all terribly exciting. Don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have my attitudes confronted.

Could they be aff-ronted too?

Hope so. You made it! I'd heard you were on a paramilitary march, but it was probably just a bourgeois rumour.

Marching? Steady on, I haven't been in a gym since 1983.

You could hitch a lift on an armoured personnel carrier.
 
Cygnus Bazza
Sind Sie fertig? Ready????
 
Cygnus Bazza
Started!
 
M1795537OCVirn
Where is she going to find an armoured personnel carrier in Stoke? This thing is in SIX acts?? They'd better be short ones.
"You're not sulking, I hope?"
 
OneSparePart
Je commence le film de 2 new york cops
Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!
 
Cygnus Bazza
The weird typeface is supposed to disorientate you, yet start to acclimatise you to the weirdness. People who live in the Stoke area, however, have already been softened up.
 
Jump to Forum