'The Green Slime' Invades the Laputa Asagaya in 35mm!

Signage for The Green Slime screening at the Laputa Asagaya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Monday, February 20), I had the privilege of seeing The Green Slime (1968) in 35mm. I'd seen the movie projected twice before -- once in an old-timey theater way back in March 1996, and the other time in November 2009 at an L.A.-area convention. As far as I know, both screenings were from the same 16mm print owned by a private collector.

Interestingly, though, I didn't sit through the entire film either time. In 1996, I wasn't all that interested in the movie (to be perfectly honest), so I would occasionally leave my seat to check out the videos on sale in the theater lobby. In 2009, I assisted Luciana Paluzzi at her autograph table and only caught about the first third or so of the movie.

Publicity material for The Green Slime in the theater lobby. Photo by Brett Homenick.

So this screening promised to be much different, and it would be presented in the far superior 35mm format. The only drawback was that it was the inferior Japanese cut of the film, which edits out as much of the drama as possible. The runtime for this version is only 77 minutes, so you can get an idea of how much got left on the cutting room floor.

Out and about in Asagaya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The print itself was in good condition, and none of the typical imperfection one normally gets with such prints was that distracting. It did seem to my eye, however, that the first few minutes were a bit faded, but after that the print looked great to me. 

Naturally, I enjoyed the film, and it was especially fun seeing so many people I've interviewed over the years in the movie. I finally got to get a good look at the late Tom Korzeniowski (billed here as Tom Conrad) in the film, which was the icing on the cake. I also have to give the three leads a lot of credit for giving it their all in what must have seemed like a rather silly film.

It's quite amusing to think that, just three years after The Green Slime, Richard Jaeckel would appear in the Paul Newman-directed drama Sometimes a Great Notion (1971), which would earn him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. The Green Slime helped pave the way to the Academy Awards ceremony!

All in all, it was another fun evening at the Laputa Asagaya for the theater's Science Fiction Film Festival program. Hard to believe there are only two films left before it ends. I'm really glad I finally got to see The Green Slime properly in 35mm. It's just too bad it wasn't the American version! Can't win 'em all, though.