FantasticRealm Film Series: “Batman Returns” and “Army of Darkness”
The Museum of Durham History is partnering with the Carolina Theatre’s FantasticRealm Film Series to bring our supporters showings of Batman Returns and Army of Darkness. Come enjoy a day full of thrilling adventure! FantasticRealm takes place over the weekend of January 12th, with each movie in the series playing at least twice. The Museum will have a marketing table open for the Batman Returns showing on January 13th at 4:40, and the Army of Darkness showing on the same day at 9:20.
These are the movie memories of your childhood. They once fired your imagination, made you laugh and cheer, and provided clear-as-glass heroes and villains. The iconic imagery in these movies—subconsciously or not—became the stuff of your daydreams. They are nostalgic, and joyous, and meant to be shared with your family and friends. The Retro Film Series invites you—and those you love—back to the realm of your favorite, most-cherished movie memories.
The 2023 Retro Film Series is a part of the programming for the Fall 2023-Spring 2024 exhibit, Stranger Times, an exploration of the contemporary and the nostalgic. For these events, we are excited to partner with the Carolina Theatre to show and promote the films. If you are attending the Retro Film Series events, the Museum will have a marketing booth set up. Stop by to learn all about the new exhibit and its themes. Stay tuned for more installation announcements.
Sam Raimi’s ARMY OF DARKNESS (R, 1993, 81 min)
By the time they reached middle school, the [Duffer] brothers had branched into comedies. Eventually, though, they began to develop a fascination with darker storytelling, which led them to the novels of Stephen King and classic horror cinema. The 1996 Wes Craven hit Scream, which carefully walked the line between horror and comedy as it referenced various genre landmarks, sparked in the Duffers a strong desire to revisit not only Craven’s earlier films, but also movies made by such visionaries as John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and Sam Raimi.
Stranger Things: The Official Behind-The-Scenes Companion (2018)
Tim Burton’s BATMAN RETURNS (PG-13, 1992, 129 min)
When we started to see TV commercials for Tim Burton’s Batman, it looked like the most mind-blowing thing I’d ever seen, Matt Duffer says. But we weren’t allowed to see it—it was [rated] PG-13. About a year after it had come out, once it was on VHS, we were so annoying to our parents that we finally got to see this movie. It lived up to our expectations and then some. That was really the first time we realized what a movie director was—Tim Burton’s style was just so distinct. Then we started to watch all of his films. His visual style, his art direction, the music in those films really had a very personal stamp on them.
Stranger Things: The Official Behind-The-Scenes Companion (2018)