This March and April, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s Time Capsules retrospective journeys back to the Gen X-iverse of 1994 with more than thirty films returning to the big screen, including culturally redefining features like Pulp Fiction, Chungking Express, and Clerks as well as landmarks like The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump and Interview with the Vampire. Beginning with the 1994 series, Alamo Drafthouse is also introducing a new collection of collectible pint glasses, as well as a special menu with items inspired by the films of 1994.
“With repertory films accounting for over ten percent of Alamo Drafthouse’s box office revenue so far in 2024, Alamo Time Capsules has been a massive success so far,” says John Smith, Alamo Drafthouse senior film programmer. “It’s also been a boon to our Season Pass subscribers. For example, in a given week they can see Jim Carrey’s The Mask, Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master II, Tori Spelling’s Death of a Cheerleader, and Krzysztof Kielowski’s White all in the same week.”
Announced in early January, Alamo Time Capsules is a yearlong trek back through time that revisits both beloved blockbusters and forgotten favorites spanning six landmark cinema years – 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, and 1974. The retrospective – the largest and most comprehensive in the company’s history – runs throughout 2024 and includes nearly 150 different selections.
The 1994 wave includes the premiere of the limited edition Alamo Time Capsules pint glass collection. Each glass boasts designs by Chris Bilheimer, the acclaimed designer behind iconic ‘90s album covers for Neutral Milk Hotel, R.E.M., and Green Day. “This was such a fun project, getting to relive so many films I remember seeing in the theater as well as getting to research films that I missed back then,” says Bilheimer.
For more than twenty-five years, Alamo Drafthouse has paired special menu items with classic cinema. That continues in the upcoming Alamo Time Capsule 1994 menu available to guests at all Alamo Drafthouse screenings from March 14th through April 30th.
To make Time Capsule 1994 programming possible in each of its forty locations, Alamo Drafthouse programmers have spent the past year collaborating with exhibition partners like Warner Bros. and Park Circus to create new digital cinema packages for Clifford, Above the Rim, Interview with the Vampire, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. These films will now be more readily available for any theatres to screen.
“Everyone who works in repertory film at a studio level is so passionate and phenomenal to work with,” says Alamo Drafthouse film programmer Jenny Nulf. “DCP creation is vital for theatrical film preservation, and it’s encouraging to see so many studios use their resources to bring these films to audiences who value the theatrical experience.”
Though the series will cover films that audiences will have seen numerous times, it’ll also offer the opportunity for rediscovery. A particular highlight is Clifford. Critically savaged at the time of its release, the film is a cult favorite starring Martin Short and Charles Grodin.
“Clifford was one of those movies that I loved immeasurably and had no idea if anyone else had even heard of it,” says indie and specialty film programmer Jake Isgar. “A local Blockbuster allowed me to buy it from them after the VHS went out of print, likely due to the fact that I was its sole renter in a multi-year period. Between finding other obsessives on social media, delighting in references on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, or the work of fellow fans like Hollywood Entertainment and their reunion events, it’s a thrill to be able to share this mania with our audience.“
Though Alamo Time Capsule programming will generally run in two-month cycles through the year, occasionally the order will shift. Two upcoming exceptions include the top-grossing film of 1999, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which is returning to theatres for its 25th anniversary, and George Romero’s brilliant zombie epic Dawn of the Dead, which screens this April forty-five years to the month after its United States premiere.