DECODER
Dir. Muscha, 1984.
West Germany. 87 min.
In German, English, and Portuguese.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7 - 5 PM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 - 10 PM
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12 - 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 - 7:30 PM

The early 80s of West Berlin was accessible to David Bowie and Nick Cave, however it remained a secluded scene unto itself, a fallen city shared between the French, the Brits, and the Americans. Much of the architecture was unchanged from the war, and a post-war generation of musicians and artists were able to live cheap, work little, squat housing, and stay out all night. Muscha’s DECODER is a Spectacle favorite making a return appearance. This is a must-see on a bigger screen with a bigger sound.

DECODER is a quiet bureaucratic surveillance drama, but then it’s a color-soaked, Benjamin-tinged struggle over information and control. It stars Bill Rice (who you know from Andrew Horn’s DOOMED LOVE), a man impeccably sensitive and equally expressive under vibrant colored lights. There are fast food joints, great tunes, Genesis P-Orridge, Christiane F, and the true answer to whether music recorded from frogs in distress can incite revolution.

“Information is like a bank – some of us are rich, and some of us are poor. ALL OF US CAN BE RICH.”

Special thanks to Vinegar Syndrome and the American Genre Film Archive.

On 2/5 and 2/12 DECODER will be playing with:

MUZAK
Dir. Rhody Streeter and Tony Ganz, 1972.
United States. 6 min.
In English.

Premiere of new 16mm restoration print.