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Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Fri, Apr 19, 2024

Rush's Cinema Strangiato hits theaters worldwide TONIGHT

Wed, Aug 21, 2019@11:01AM | comments

UPDATE - 8/26@5:23PM: ALJ Innovations just posted to Facebook that they are planning on some encore showings. No details yet, but stay tuned to cinemastrangiato.com for showtimes.

UPDATE - 8/22@10:47AM: Just before the end credits they played some soundcheck footage of the band messing around on a "new" Rush song with Alex improvising on vocals, talking about a giant Tarantula spider that he found in his room in Arizona that he named Snider the Spider (I have it on good authority that this is a true story). Someone was lucky enough to capture this on video and you can watch it below or on YouTube. The final words shown in the credits were, See you next year, which caused some fans to think that meant the band would reunite next year. No such luck unfortunately. This just referred to the fact that Cinema Strangiato will be an annual thing, and they are already planning next year's event. I also have it on good authority that there is no DVD/BD release planned for the film, due to it mostly just containing material that was already released on the R40 Live video.

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UPDATE - 8/21@11:14PM: A pre-show advert indicated the release of a Geddy Lee My Favorite Headache vinyl box set this Christmas, in addition to the already-announced Clockwork Angels Tour vinyl box set. Another advert confirmed the release of a Permanent Waves 40th anniversary box set at some point next year, presumably for the 2020 Christmas season; Anthem's Andy Curran first mentioned this in an interview from October of last year.

The first annual Cinema Strangiato theatrical film experience hits movie theaters worldwide TONIGHT for one night only. The film will bring Rush fans together for a special look into Rush's R40 Live tour, with new backstage footage, special guests, and performances. Tickets are still available at cinemastrangiato.com but are going fast, so get yours now. Several clips from the film have been made available over the past few weeks including this short, 30-second trailer that was released Monday afternoon. The film will open with an extended, 10-minute sequence about Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass titled Geddy Lee: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole, with a preview clip from that sequence available to watch at this location. You can also watch the original, 1-minute trailer for the film on YouTube at this location, along with a preview of the band performing Distant Early Warning from the R40 Live tour (the same version included on the R40 Live bonus disc). The latest issue of Classic Rock magazine has a short review of the film where they give it an 8/10:

Cinema Strangiato is a two-hour-20 feature (in selected cinemas worldwide, August 21 only) supported by Falling Down The Rabbit Hole - 10-minutes of Geddy Lee on his Big Beautiful Book Of Bass. Figuring you've seen the R40 Live DVD, the main film eschews its complete-show format and pairs its best bits (including those hilarious interlude videos) with extras, beginning with soundcheck footage of Jacob's Ladder. Roll The Bones is preceded by a new clip of Trailer Park Boys. There's Losing It in Newark, featuring violinist Johnny Dinklage. Producer Nick Raskulinecz and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins speak up before YYZ. Tom and Denise Morello detail their other shared love. Then, after candid backstage footage of Neil Peart, Billy Corgan nails it by highlighting Rush's generosity.

Here are some further details about the film from a recent Billboard article/interview with Adam Jones of Nashville's ALJ Innovations, who edited the film:

... Weighing in at just over two and a half hours, Cinema Strangiato is a mongrel of sorts, blending 16 songs from the R40 Live film (from Rush's final and 40th anniversary tour in 2015) along with material and outtakes from the documentary Rush: Time Stand Still. It includes special video content Rush created for the tour as well as behind-the-scenes footage and a sound check sequence of "Jacob's Ladder" from the Los Angeles Forum that splices in a montage of other performances of the song from the tour. ... Cinema Strangiato opens with an extended sequence about Lee's bass collection, promoting Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass, which came out in December. Another highlight includes a performance of "Losing It" in Newark, N.J., with Jonathan Dinklage, a violinist from the 2012 Clockwork Angels Tour, while other rockers such as Tom Morello and his wife Denise, Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and producer Nick Raskulinecz tout Rush's virtues and influence in interview clips. ... Jones, a Rush fan himself who worked at Rounder Records while the band was signed there, is hoping Cinema Strangiato will be just the first of many "posthumous" film projects culled from Rush's vaults. "After this we'll go back and see what we've got and assess for the next (possibility)," he says. "This is a good start, and I hope the fans enjoy what we've done and want more so we can look forward to the next years of this." ...

If you are going to the film tonight, let us know and give us your opinion in the comments. Enjoy the movie everyone!