In celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, among the most profoundly influential works in genre film history, MoMA presents the recently restored film in a special weeklong run. Though it was initially shunned for its violence and banned in some markets, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was honored by MoMA’s Department of Film at the time of its original release in 1974, when it also entered the Museum’s collection. In subsequent years the film has garnered near universal acclaim, and it is now widely recognized to reflect the disillusionment of Vietnam War–era politics and the loosening bonds of family and gender. Director Tobe Hooper (1943–2017) and screenwriter Kim Henkel’s modestly budgeted independent feature opens on a road trip through a sunny, vaguely sinister heartland—and quickly, jarringly descends into a tale of abduction by a cult of cannibalistic entrepreneurs. The film’s nightmarish vision and gruesome satire of American values has earned it generations of fans and the appreciation of scholars, and it has had an unexpected influence on artists such as Cindy Sherman.
This weeklong presentation opens on August 8, when members of the film’s creative team, including screenwriter Kim Henkel, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, actress Teri McMinn, and production manager Ron Bozman, will join curator Ron Magliozzi and Caryn Coleman, founder of The Future of Film Is Female, to discuss The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s production and legacy.
Organized by Ron Magliozzi, Curator, and Sean Egan, Senior Producer, Department of Film.
Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL.
Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by Debra and Leon D. Black, with major contributions from the Triad Foundation, Inc., The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), The Young Patrons Council of The Museum of Modern Art, and by Karen and Gary Winnick.
