August 10th: THE 'BURBS (Joe Dante,1989)

NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.

A suburban family man's "staycation" turns into an elaborate investigation of his neighbors' strange behavior.

Joe Dante had one of the most distinct voices of 1980s Hollywood, with his sardonic infusions of humor into the horror and science fiction genres, with notable titles such as Gremlins, Innerspace, Explorers, The Howling, and a segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Tom Hanks heads an impressive cast that includes Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Corey Feldman, stand-up comedian Rick Ducommun, Gale Gordon (TV's I Love Lucy), Henry Gibson (Nashville), and monologuist Brother Theodore.

The film was written by Dana Olsen (John Carpenter's Memoirs of an Invisible Man), based on his own observations of suburban life, combined with a fascination for odd local crime stories and a conceit similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.

The entire film was shot entirely on the Universal Studios backlot, on existing neighborhood sets used for various television shows. The story's action is confined to a cul-de-sac where the various neighbors reside. 

Due to the Writer's Guild strike occurring while the film was in production, Olsen was unable to work on rewrites or additional material during the shoot, and the actors (particularly Hanks, Ducommin, and Dern) were encouraged to improvise lines and bits while on set.

The film was released to mixed reviews,  but was #1 at the box office its first week of release, and finished as a moderate financial success. It has gone on to become a cult classic and one of Hanks's last broader comedies before his migration to more serious roles in the 1990s.

Running time is approx. 100 minutes.