For some of us, 3/27/16 will be Chocolate Candy Egg Overdose Day. For others, it’s Easter. But, like every Sunday, it’s also #BNoirDetour. And we wouldn’t dream of disappointing you. In fact, @SatMatTweet (aka MovieMovieBlogBlog) put our heads together to plan a fabulous double live tweet bill…

FIRST FEATURE:

THE OUTER LIMITS, “O.B.I.T.” (Season 1, Episode 7; 1963)

9pm ET / Hashtag #BNoirDetour

Available to screen or download at:

https://archive.org/details/TheOuterLimits-Tos-1×07-O.b.i.t.avi_90

O.B.I.T., the Outer Band Individuated Teletracer, is hidden in the U.S. Defense Department’s Cypress Hills Research Center. It can track and monitor anyone, anywhere. When one of its operators turns up dead, slumped over the control panel with the bones in his neck crushed, the machine and the military base come under the scrutiny of congress. Why does no one seem to know who built O.B.I.T. and what is its ultimate purpose?

The Outer Limits is more science fiction than thriller, but several of its episodes — especially this one — feature ample visual and thematic noir elements. In an atmosphere of distrust and likely corruption, we have a murder and a dark secret that must be uncovered. The episode’s director is German emigre Gerd Oswald, whose first two films were 1950s noirs (A Kiss Before Dying, 1956, and Crime of Passion, 1957). Even more strikingly, the cinematographer is three-time Academy Award-winner Conrad Hill, who uses heavy shadows, chiaroscuro effects, and dutch angle and other mood-evoking shots to create a dark, claustrophobic effect. Paranoia is a centerpiece of The Outer Limits, never more so than in this episode that resonates from its Cold War origins to today’s N.S.A. concerns and the case of Edward Snowden.

. . .

SECOND FEATURE:

MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN

10pm ET / Hashtag #SatMat

Available to screen at:

Ok, so it’s not noir. It’s not even noirish. But it’s a must-riff on Easter! Many thanks to @SatMatTweet for hosting. Check out all the details for the #SatMat weekend of live tweets here.