Scala!!! or, The Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits
Written and Directed by Ali Catterall, Jane Giles
Featuring John Waters, Mary Harron, Beeban Kidron, Ralph Brown, Peter Strickland, and others
Runtime 1 hour and 36 minutes
Unrated
Available December 3 on Blu-ray from Severin Films here

by “Doc” Hunter Bush, Staff Writer and Podcast Director

Synopsis:
From 1978 to 1993, the Scala Cinema was a haven for outcasts, weirdos, and members of all countercultures great and small. Scala!!! or, The Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits - the documentary in question, henceforth to be known only as Scala!!! - gives an insight into the historical, cultural, and cinematic impact that one simple picture palace can have.

From its inception, through a change of venue, at a tense and bitter time in London, and up until the (frankly ridiculous) events that lead to its final days, the Scala Cinema had an impact on the lives of uncountable folks who passed through its doors. Filmmakers Ali Catterall and Jane Giles (who is a former employee of the theater) allow dozens of these souls to share their recollections of the Scala - good, bad, and ugly.

With copious clips from the Scala back catalogue of films, and music of the era paired with interviews from employees, frequenters, and notable patrons - including John Waters (Pink Flamingos), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Beeban Kidron (To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar), Ralph Brown (Withnail and I), and Peter Strickland (In Fabric), among others - Scala!!! paints an engrossing picture of the famed London cinema across its rich history.

Features that make it special…

• Disc One

• Audio Commentary with Co-Directors Jane Giles And Ali Catterall

• Introduction From The UK Premiere at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival

• Introduction To Scala by Director Michael Clifford

• Scala (Michael Clifford, 1990)

• Scala Cinema (Ali Peck/Victor de Jesus, 1992)

• Director commentary for Scala Cinema

• Scala Programs 1978–1993

• Cabinet Of Curiosities – Inside The Scala Archive

• Extended Interviews

• Mary Harron outtakes

• Nick Kent outtakes

• Thurston Moore outtakes

• John Waters uttakes

• Cartoons by Davey Jones

• Osbert Parker's Scala!!! Animation Experiments and Outtakes

• Primatarium Animation

• Scala Programs Animation

• Tentacles Animation

• Trailer

• Disc Two

• Short Films

• Divide and Rule - Never! (Newsreel Collective, 1978)

• Dead Cat (David Lewis, 1989)

• David Lewis remembers Dead Cat

• The Mark of Lilith (Bruna Fionda/Polly Gladwin/Zachary Nataf, 1986)

• Relax (Chris Newby, 1991)

• Boobs A Lot (Aggy Read, 1968)

• Kama Sutra Rides Again (Bob Godfrey, 1971)

• Coping With Cupid (Viv Albertine, 1991)

• On Guard (Susan Lambert, 1984)

• Disc Three

• Documentaries

• The Art of The Calendar (Kier-La Janisse, 2024)

• Splatterfest Exhumed (Jasper Sharp, 2024)

• Short Films

• Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie (Buddy Giovinazzo, 1986)

• Audio commentary for Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie with Buddy Giovinazzo

• Horrorshow (Paul Hart-Wilden, 1990)

• Audio Commentary for Horrorshow with Director Paul Hart-Wilden

• Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter (Josh Becker, 1982) – Original Cut

• Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter (Josh Becker, 1982) – Producer's Cut

• Audio commentary for the Producer's Cut of Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter with Producer Scott Spiegel

• Mongolitos (Stéphane Ambiel, 1988)

• Audio commentary for Mongolitos with Director Stéphane Ambiel

• The Legendary H.G. Lewis Speaks – 1989 Scala Appearance by The Godfather of Gore

Why You Need to Add it to Your Library:
It might seem like a bit of a big ask, trying to explain why you should buy a 3-disc set exploring the history of a theater you may have no prior knowledge of, and I get that. But as the main documentary rolled along, I came to realize that I was familiar, in passing, with the Scala. I've read millions of words over the years on the history of punk, and the history of underground cinema, and the Scala is firmly intertwined in those legacies. Lou Reed and Iggy and The Stooges first shows in the U.K., the U.K. premier of Return of the Living Dead, among so much else - all happened in that building! 

Beyond that, the Scala was a place of great emotional and personal importance to the people who worked there or frequented it. I have been lucky enough to have had a few of those locations in my life, so seeing people attempt to explain why it felt like such a magical time and place rang as very familiar to me. A lot of us are outsiders, and found family is such an important, special and powerful thing to an outsider. My impression is that the Scala family were those people for each other, and that's just beautiful.

Scala!!! is a document of an important location, but more than that - a moment, in cinema for a whole bevy of budding filmmakers, artists and other creatives. It's important to document that these places existed so that we know it's possible - they can exist again, we just might have to make them. Without overtly meaning to, Scala!!! puts the impetus on us to be the change we want to see in the world. It doesn't always have to mean boots-in-the-street activism, it can mean carving out a space where folks can have their minds expanded, and a space where they can feel safe being themselves.

The disc set also comes with a replica Scala Cinema screening calendar and membership card (as pictured above). Plus, the 13 hours (!!!) of bonus features include enough short films to set up your own mini-Scala Cinema screenings in your living room, which is a good start.

Scala!!! is available on Blu-ray Dec. 3rd from Severin Film and available for purchase here