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San Francisco's Strand Theater
Our Grindhouse
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
I never got to go to any actual Grindhouse theaters. There weren't any
such theaters in my small town, and my interest in movies came about
just as the Grindhouse era was coming to a close. The most famous
Grindhouses were located on 42nd Street on New York City, but San
Francisco used to have a pretty good one, too, the Strand, located on
Market Street between 7th and 8th Streets. Since I moved here in the
late 1980s, the Strand has opened and closed, turned into a porn theater
and back into a straight theater several times before finally closing
its doors.
I'm sad I never actually worked up the courage to go into this seedy
palace, but I did grab one of their flyers from February, March and
April of 1994, which I saved. It advertises a "fully remodeled" theater
with Dolby Stereo Surround, and a free refill on large popcorn and large
drink. Triple features cost only 99 cents if you came before 2 p.m. and
$2 after that. Some of the triple features ventured into the mainstream,
but the general tone of them is still vintage Grindhouse.
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DATE
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TRIPLE BILL
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February 25-26, 1994
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Armour of God II: Operation Condor (1991, Jackie Chan)
Demolition Man (1993, Marco Brambilla)
Heavy Metal (1981, Gerald Potterton/Jimmy T. Murakami)
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February 27-28, 1994
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Geronimo: An American Legend (1993, Walter Hill)
In the Line of Fire (1993, Wolfgang Petersen)
Army of Darkness (1993, Sam Raimi)
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March 1-3, 1994
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The Living End (1992, Gregg Araki)
Chain of Desire (1992, Temístocles López)
Being at Home with Claude (1992, Jean Beaudin)
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March 4-5, 1994
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Hard-Boiled (1992, John Woo)
A Perfect World (1993, Clint Eastwood)
Repo Man (1984, Alex Cox)
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March 6-7, 1994
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Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, Jack Arnold)
Destroyer (1988, Robert Kirk)
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March 8-10, 1994
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Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch)
Wild at Heart (1990, David Lynch)
Near Dark (1987, Kathryn Bigelow)
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March 11-12, 1994
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Peking Opera Blues (1986, Tsui Hark)
Heaven & Earth (1993, Oliver Stone)
Point of No Return (1993, John Badham)
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March 13-14, 1994
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The Fugitive (1993, Andrew Davis)
Malice (1993, Harold Becker)
Manhunter (1986, Michael Mann)
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March 15-17, 1994
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Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970, Russ Meyer)
The Gang's All Here (1943, Busby Berkeley)
Paris Is Burning (1991, Jennie Livingston)
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March 18-19, 1994
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Once Upon a Time in China (1991, Tsui Hark)
A Bronx Tale (1993, Robert De Niro)
My Own Private Idaho (1991, Gus Van Sant)
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March 20-21, 1994
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Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993, Bill Duke)
The Beverly Hillbillies (1993, Penelope Spheeris)
The Bodyguard (1992, Mick Jackson)
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March 22-24, 1994
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Tokyo Decadence (1992, Ryu Murakami)
Cafe Flesh (1982, Rinse Dream)
Caligula (1979, Tinto Brass)
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March 25-26, 1994
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A Chinese Ghost Story (1987, Ching Siu-tung)
Dead-Alive (1992, Peter Jackson)
Hercules in the Haunted World (1961, Mario Bava)
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March 27-28, 1994
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The Abyss (1989, James Cameron)
Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron)
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March 29-31, 1994
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Eraserhead (1977, David Lynch)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, Francis Ford Coppola)
The Lair of the White Worm (1988, Ken Russell)
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April 1-2, 1994
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Dragon Inn (1992, Tsui Hark/Raymond Lee)
Addams Family Values (1993, Barry Sonnenfeld)
Cliffhanger (1993, Renny Harlin)
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April 3-4, 1994
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Wayne's World 2 (1993, Stephen Surjik)
Saturday Night Fever (1977, John Badham)
Grease (1978, Randal Kleiser)
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April 5-7, 1994
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Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese)
True Romance (1993, Tony Scott)
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