Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #701: Night of the Blood Beast (with short, Once Upon a Honeymoon).
Original airdates: November 23, 1995 (Turkey Day marathon version); February 3, 1996 (standard version).
Available as part of the sixteenth MST3K collection here.
The first episode of the very short seventh season of MST3K sees the permanent arrival of Mary Jo Pehl as Pearl Forrester, the bad Doctor's mother. She would become the primary antagonist of Mike Nelson and his robot pals following the move from Comedy Central to Sci-Fi in 1997, but for the moment, she's here to turn Clayton Deborah Susan Forrester back into the true mama's boy he always was, now that there's no longer a TV's Frank to kick around.
In Once Upon a Honeymoon, a guardian angel named Wilbur is sent from Heaven to Earth to aid a young couple. The male has to complete a Broadway show tune in 24 hours; otherwise, there's not going to be a honeymoon...or a show, for that matter. His wife sings about the dream kitchen she always wanted, which Wilbur makes possible with liberal doses of magic dust. Phones also play a major role in the short, as the husband and wife stumble upon the smash Broadway hit song by accident after she dials a number on a rotary phone. Everyone lives happily ever after, I think...
The main feature opens with a rocket crash, and the pilot is dead, but somehow, his body is in perfect condition. It turns out that the pilot, named Steve, is alive, but he's been impregnated somehow by a stowaway alien. Steve's potential offspring all look like large shrimp. There's a lot of sitting around in labratories talking along with appearances from the Blood Beast, which is just another actor in a bad rubber costume. Eventually, the Blood Beast rationally explains his actions for killing an elderly doctor and impregnating Steve, which gets him bombarded with Motolov cocktails. Ah, good old Roger Corman.
Crow and Tom Servo are fearful of their safety on the SOL, so they end up tasing and macing Mike Nelson after he makes a very slight gesture. Down in Deep 13, Mother Forrester would like her son Dr. F to play a recital on the trombone. Clay performs horribly, drawing the ire of his mother. Up in space, Crow plays effortless renditions of "Getting Sentimental Over You" and "Hold That Tiger". After the short, Mike and the 'Bots parody it, complete with lots of plastic phones and appliances, Tom Servo dropping tons of magic dust from the air, and Mike playing a toy piano. Later on, Pearl interrupts Mike and Servo's arm wrestling match to inform them that Dr. Forrester has to confess something to them. After listing off several embarrassing high school incidents, Dr. F loses it and pulls a knife on his mother. Pearl calmly takes out a pistol and shoots her son. Crow later announces that he's pregnant, showing old shrimp fastened to a fake fluoroscope. Mike, Gypsy and Servo all see through this lie, so Crow goes on a long rant, demanding the same attention and courtesies he thinks are extended to pregnant women everywhere. Crow's anger extends into the last second, as he's now ranting about babies "getting a free ride" while Mike desperately tries reading a viewer letter. Downstairs, Pearl is cradling Dr. Forrester like a baby, and insisting that he still is one. Wow.
Recommended episode. The Shout! Factory DVD release also includes the Turkey Day marathon version, with totally different host segments with a Thanksgiving theme. This rendition only aired a handful of times on Comedy Central.
Friday, July 15, 2011
MST3K #622: Angels' Revenge
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #622: Angels' Revenge.
Original Comedy Central airdate: March 11, 1995.
Part of the second MST3K collection, currently out of print.
This episode holds the distinction of being the last one shown on Comedy Central in December of 1996 before it moved to Sci-Fi Channel the following year. No, I didn't tape it. Why do you ask?
A very blatant rip-off of Charlie's Angels. Six different women and their teenage sidekick Trish (Liza Greer) come together to crack a drug ring after the brother of one of them, singer Michelle Wilson (Susan Kiger), get assaulted by one of the pushers. After much preparation and training, the Angels storm and destroy a backwoods drug processing plant, leading to one of them, schoolteacher April, being kidnapped later. Trish ends up leading the Angels to the drug kingpin's (Peter Lawford, probably drunk out of his mind) hideout, where the obligatory rescue scenes take place. This turkey also features Jim Backus, Jack Palance, Alan Hale, Pat Buttram and Arthur Godfrey in small roles, all on the downswing of their careers, especially Lawford, who sure fell fast after Sinatra kicked him out of the Rat Pack. The Angels never really became big stars, either, aside from Liza and older sister Robin Greer, co-authors of You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again. Embarrassingly bad movie, folks!
On the bridge of the Satellite of Love, Crow is in a panic, claiming he's suffering from amnesia. After a blow to the head to cure it, he realizes he's suffering from Ambrosia, and then, Eric Carmen. Down in Deep 13, the Mads have dressed up as their favorite 1970s relief pitchers: Dr. Forrester is Rollie Fingers (complete with fake handlebar mustache); TV's Frank is Tug "You gotta believe!" McGraw. It seems that Mike and the 'bots are suffering from bad ratings, so Dr. F. turns them into the cast of Renegade. This works...kind of. Next, Crow hosts a reading of his new blaxploitation screenplay Chocolate Jones and the Temple of Funk, which is probably his magnum opus Earth vs. Soup rewritten with "jive" names and language. Mike later comes out dressed as the Fonz, which gets him blown up real good by Crow and Tom Servo. A little later, Aaron Spelling's house passes by the SOL, and...that's all. Afterwards, Mike, Servo and Crow unveil their Shame-o-Meter, which measures things in kiloLawfords, megaLawfords and gigaLawfords. The Mads, now dressed up as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, break the Shame-o-Meter.
Not the best episode of MST3K ever made, largely thanks to the host segments, which seemed like everyone was phoning it in for this one. Best Brains was also completing production on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie at the time this episode was produced, so their attention was understandably divided. This episode was also the first one in which Bill Corbett, the future voice of Crow, contributed jokes. Still, there were many good jokes during the movie, so this one is recommended, but not my first choice to watch or to introduce a newcomer to the show. Watch the movie, skip the host segments.
Original Comedy Central airdate: March 11, 1995.
Part of the second MST3K collection, currently out of print.
This episode holds the distinction of being the last one shown on Comedy Central in December of 1996 before it moved to Sci-Fi Channel the following year. No, I didn't tape it. Why do you ask?
A very blatant rip-off of Charlie's Angels. Six different women and their teenage sidekick Trish (Liza Greer) come together to crack a drug ring after the brother of one of them, singer Michelle Wilson (Susan Kiger), get assaulted by one of the pushers. After much preparation and training, the Angels storm and destroy a backwoods drug processing plant, leading to one of them, schoolteacher April, being kidnapped later. Trish ends up leading the Angels to the drug kingpin's (Peter Lawford, probably drunk out of his mind) hideout, where the obligatory rescue scenes take place. This turkey also features Jim Backus, Jack Palance, Alan Hale, Pat Buttram and Arthur Godfrey in small roles, all on the downswing of their careers, especially Lawford, who sure fell fast after Sinatra kicked him out of the Rat Pack. The Angels never really became big stars, either, aside from Liza and older sister Robin Greer, co-authors of You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again. Embarrassingly bad movie, folks!
On the bridge of the Satellite of Love, Crow is in a panic, claiming he's suffering from amnesia. After a blow to the head to cure it, he realizes he's suffering from Ambrosia, and then, Eric Carmen. Down in Deep 13, the Mads have dressed up as their favorite 1970s relief pitchers: Dr. Forrester is Rollie Fingers (complete with fake handlebar mustache); TV's Frank is Tug "You gotta believe!" McGraw. It seems that Mike and the 'bots are suffering from bad ratings, so Dr. F. turns them into the cast of Renegade. This works...kind of. Next, Crow hosts a reading of his new blaxploitation screenplay Chocolate Jones and the Temple of Funk, which is probably his magnum opus Earth vs. Soup rewritten with "jive" names and language. Mike later comes out dressed as the Fonz, which gets him blown up real good by Crow and Tom Servo. A little later, Aaron Spelling's house passes by the SOL, and...that's all. Afterwards, Mike, Servo and Crow unveil their Shame-o-Meter, which measures things in kiloLawfords, megaLawfords and gigaLawfords. The Mads, now dressed up as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, break the Shame-o-Meter.
Not the best episode of MST3K ever made, largely thanks to the host segments, which seemed like everyone was phoning it in for this one. Best Brains was also completing production on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie at the time this episode was produced, so their attention was understandably divided. This episode was also the first one in which Bill Corbett, the future voice of Crow, contributed jokes. Still, there were many good jokes during the movie, so this one is recommended, but not my first choice to watch or to introduce a newcomer to the show. Watch the movie, skip the host segments.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Black Sunday
Black Sunday.
1977 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Bekim Fehmiu, William Daniels
Director: John Frankenheimer
Buy Black Sunday at Amazon.
John Frankenheimer filmed Black Sunday partially on location at Super Bowl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami in 1976 (Pittsburgh defeated Dallas, 21-17) with unprecedented cooperation from the NFL, and a lot of help from CBS. Many of the CBS crew knew Frankenheimer from his time at the network, and they help arrange his film cameras around their television equipment as to not distract the crowd viewing the game live, or later, to audiences at theaters viewing the movie. Frankenheimer also worked out a deal with Goodyear to use their iconic blimp in the movie. The only condition was, the onscreen pilot of the Goodyear Blimp be specified as a freelance one, not a Goodyear employee, and that the blimp itself actually not kill anyone with its propellers or other working parts. Black Sunday was also adopted from the novel of the same name written by Thomas Harris. The book was a moderate success, but Harris created the character of Hannibal Lecter for his next project, and the rest is history.
Michael Lander (Dern) is a pilot of the Goodyear Blimp, providing aerial coverage of NFL games. He's also a Vietnam vet, unhinged from years of torture as a POW, a court martial after returning to America, and his failed marriage. Lander is suicidal, and wishes to take out as many civilians as he can see from his blimp every Sunday afternoon as possible. He teams up with Dahlia Iyad (Keller), a member of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization. They plan to launch a suicide attack with a plastique bomb and 250,000 steel darts concealed on the underside of the Goodyear Blimp, which they will detonate over the Orange Bowl and Super Bowl X. Black September intends to use the attack as a wake-up call for the Americans to call attention to the plight of the Palestinians.
While Lander and Iyad carry out their mad scheme, a Mossad agent named David Kabakov (Shaw) and the FBI agent Sam Corley (Weaver) follow their every move and race to prevent the attack, leading to a spectacular chase involving the Goodyear Blimp and police helicopters.
Recommended suspense film, with Bruce Dern turning in a stellar performance as the deranged Michael Lander.
1977 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Bekim Fehmiu, William Daniels
Director: John Frankenheimer
Buy Black Sunday at Amazon.
John Frankenheimer filmed Black Sunday partially on location at Super Bowl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami in 1976 (Pittsburgh defeated Dallas, 21-17) with unprecedented cooperation from the NFL, and a lot of help from CBS. Many of the CBS crew knew Frankenheimer from his time at the network, and they help arrange his film cameras around their television equipment as to not distract the crowd viewing the game live, or later, to audiences at theaters viewing the movie. Frankenheimer also worked out a deal with Goodyear to use their iconic blimp in the movie. The only condition was, the onscreen pilot of the Goodyear Blimp be specified as a freelance one, not a Goodyear employee, and that the blimp itself actually not kill anyone with its propellers or other working parts. Black Sunday was also adopted from the novel of the same name written by Thomas Harris. The book was a moderate success, but Harris created the character of Hannibal Lecter for his next project, and the rest is history.
Michael Lander (Dern) is a pilot of the Goodyear Blimp, providing aerial coverage of NFL games. He's also a Vietnam vet, unhinged from years of torture as a POW, a court martial after returning to America, and his failed marriage. Lander is suicidal, and wishes to take out as many civilians as he can see from his blimp every Sunday afternoon as possible. He teams up with Dahlia Iyad (Keller), a member of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization. They plan to launch a suicide attack with a plastique bomb and 250,000 steel darts concealed on the underside of the Goodyear Blimp, which they will detonate over the Orange Bowl and Super Bowl X. Black September intends to use the attack as a wake-up call for the Americans to call attention to the plight of the Palestinians.
While Lander and Iyad carry out their mad scheme, a Mossad agent named David Kabakov (Shaw) and the FBI agent Sam Corley (Weaver) follow their every move and race to prevent the attack, leading to a spectacular chase involving the Goodyear Blimp and police helicopters.
Recommended suspense film, with Bruce Dern turning in a stellar performance as the deranged Michael Lander.
Sawdust and Tinsel
Sawdust and Tinsel [Gycklarnas afton] (Criterion #412).
1953 Janus Films.
Starring: Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost, Annika Tretow, Erik Strandmark, Gunnar Björnstrand, Curt Löwgren
Written and Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Buy Sawdust and Tinsel at Amazon.
The continuing adventures of a traveling circus led by ringmaster Albert (Grönberg), who has not seen his wife Agda (Tretow) in three years. Agda prefered to remain at home as a shopkeeper while her husband led his circus from town to town over the past three years, sleeping with his mistress Anne (Andersson). After Albert is reminded of a situation where his clown Frost (Ek) discovered his wife Alma (Brost) swimming nude before a crowd of cheering soldiers, he decides to go home to visit his wife. Albert does not know what to expect upon his return home.
Anne is deeply upset by Albert's decision to see his wife, so she meets and seduces a young actor named Frans (Ekman). Upon Albert's return to the circus, a drunken Frost tells him about Anne's fling with the actor. Albert is enraged enough to try picking a fight with Frans during a performance at their most recent stop, but Frans manages to thwart Albert's blows, and delivers a beating to the ringmaster. A humiliated Albert contemplates suicide, but decides instead to punish Anne by killing the company's bear, which she was very fond of. Afterwards, Albert orders his circus to pack up and move to the next stop.
A classic Bergman film with a great, depressing ending. Ingmar Bergman himself said that this thirteenth film was the first good one he made, despite a cool reception from critics and moviegoers alike. Highly recommended.
Happy birthday, Ingmar!
1953 Janus Films.
Starring: Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost, Annika Tretow, Erik Strandmark, Gunnar Björnstrand, Curt Löwgren
Written and Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Buy Sawdust and Tinsel at Amazon.
The continuing adventures of a traveling circus led by ringmaster Albert (Grönberg), who has not seen his wife Agda (Tretow) in three years. Agda prefered to remain at home as a shopkeeper while her husband led his circus from town to town over the past three years, sleeping with his mistress Anne (Andersson). After Albert is reminded of a situation where his clown Frost (Ek) discovered his wife Alma (Brost) swimming nude before a crowd of cheering soldiers, he decides to go home to visit his wife. Albert does not know what to expect upon his return home.
Anne is deeply upset by Albert's decision to see his wife, so she meets and seduces a young actor named Frans (Ekman). Upon Albert's return to the circus, a drunken Frost tells him about Anne's fling with the actor. Albert is enraged enough to try picking a fight with Frans during a performance at their most recent stop, but Frans manages to thwart Albert's blows, and delivers a beating to the ringmaster. A humiliated Albert contemplates suicide, but decides instead to punish Anne by killing the company's bear, which she was very fond of. Afterwards, Albert orders his circus to pack up and move to the next stop.
A classic Bergman film with a great, depressing ending. Ingmar Bergman himself said that this thirteenth film was the first good one he made, despite a cool reception from critics and moviegoers alike. Highly recommended.
Happy birthday, Ingmar!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
MST3K #621: The Beast of Yucca Flats
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #621: The Beast of Yucca Flats (with shorts, Money Talks and Progress Island U.S.A.)
Original Comedy Central airdate: January 21, 1995.
Available from Amazon on the 18th MST3K collection.
Money Talks: A young man wonders how he can go to the dance this Friday, but he doesn't have enough money to get in. Benjamin Franklin drops by to show our young friend how to budget his money better, among other helpful tips. This kid only earns seven dollars a week. How does he live on so little?!
Progress Island U.S.A.: A fast paced and exciting 1973 film designed to persuade investors into pouring some money into the crown jewel of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico. In 1973, Puerto Rico had everything! Music! Gambling! Rum! Nothing you couldn't find anywhere in the big cities here in the United States! I've lost sleep on many nights wondering if this short film really accomplished its purpose.
The Beast of Yucca Flats: The third part of the Coleman Francis trilogy, this one manages to be as inept and unintentionally hilarious as the other two movies. Following an edited scene where a nude woman is strangled by an unidentified man, Joseph Javorsky (Tor Johnson), noted Soviet scientist, defects to America, choosing to come to the Yucca Flat. He has a briefcase stuffed full of military secrets. Javorsky is attacked instantly by a pair of KGB assassins. He manages to outwalk them deep into the desert, where he wanders too close to an American nuclear test, which transforms him into a mindless, homicidal beast who presumably has little interest in protecting Soviet secrets, preferring to stumble around aimlessly. Javorsky kills a young couple, and is pursued by two cops. Meanwhile, two young sons get separated from their parents on vacation, and end up running into Javorsky. The movie ends like any true Coleman Francis classic does: someone gets shot to death by law enforcement. This one also features the usual Francis talent, like Tony Cardoza, Eric "I like coffee!" Tomlin, and Conrad Brooks.
Coleman Francis filmed this turkey without a soundtrack, so any narration, dialogue, and sound effects were added on later, leading to characters only speaking while offscreen, or when their faces aren't totally visable onscreen. Also, any gunplay is featured with the muzzle of the gun out of the shot. Basically, any film student could make a better movie than this! Bah!
We open on the S.O.L. with Mike Nelson putting up rows of mismatched wallpaper, while Tom Servo and Crow offer absolutely no practical assistance. Down in Deep 13, Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank unveil "Proposition Deep 13", complete with balloons and catchphrases. Mike and the 'Bots issue their own rebuttal, and they seem very confident of their victory until informed that this week's experiment is a Coleman Francis film. After that, they're like "NO RLY, OMFG!!" After the shorts, a loud party next door gets the attention of Mike, Servo, and Crow on the bridge, and Crow sneaks over to marvel at the Rick Wakeman record on hand. Apparently, our heroes don't really throw outrageous parties. Next, it's almost lunchtime, and Crow keeps asking Mike if it's 11:30 yet. And keeps asking. Later on, Crow introduces his new organization, the Film Anti-Preservation Society (FAPS), which is dedicated to allowing the deterioration of all horrible films such as this one. Mike comes on to halt Crow's speech. After the movie's done, Mike gives his victory speech, while the Mads concede defeat, leading to TV's Frank getting slapped in the face exactly 24 times.
Highly recommended episode containing a horrible movie, and two hysterical shorts.
...what?
Oh yes, I neglected to mention the best line:
"Flag on the moon...how did it get there?"
Original Comedy Central airdate: January 21, 1995.
Available from Amazon on the 18th MST3K collection.
Money Talks: A young man wonders how he can go to the dance this Friday, but he doesn't have enough money to get in. Benjamin Franklin drops by to show our young friend how to budget his money better, among other helpful tips. This kid only earns seven dollars a week. How does he live on so little?!
Progress Island U.S.A.: A fast paced and exciting 1973 film designed to persuade investors into pouring some money into the crown jewel of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico. In 1973, Puerto Rico had everything! Music! Gambling! Rum! Nothing you couldn't find anywhere in the big cities here in the United States! I've lost sleep on many nights wondering if this short film really accomplished its purpose.
The Beast of Yucca Flats: The third part of the Coleman Francis trilogy, this one manages to be as inept and unintentionally hilarious as the other two movies. Following an edited scene where a nude woman is strangled by an unidentified man, Joseph Javorsky (Tor Johnson), noted Soviet scientist, defects to America, choosing to come to the Yucca Flat. He has a briefcase stuffed full of military secrets. Javorsky is attacked instantly by a pair of KGB assassins. He manages to outwalk them deep into the desert, where he wanders too close to an American nuclear test, which transforms him into a mindless, homicidal beast who presumably has little interest in protecting Soviet secrets, preferring to stumble around aimlessly. Javorsky kills a young couple, and is pursued by two cops. Meanwhile, two young sons get separated from their parents on vacation, and end up running into Javorsky. The movie ends like any true Coleman Francis classic does: someone gets shot to death by law enforcement. This one also features the usual Francis talent, like Tony Cardoza, Eric "I like coffee!" Tomlin, and Conrad Brooks.
Coleman Francis filmed this turkey without a soundtrack, so any narration, dialogue, and sound effects were added on later, leading to characters only speaking while offscreen, or when their faces aren't totally visable onscreen. Also, any gunplay is featured with the muzzle of the gun out of the shot. Basically, any film student could make a better movie than this! Bah!
We open on the S.O.L. with Mike Nelson putting up rows of mismatched wallpaper, while Tom Servo and Crow offer absolutely no practical assistance. Down in Deep 13, Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank unveil "Proposition Deep 13", complete with balloons and catchphrases. Mike and the 'Bots issue their own rebuttal, and they seem very confident of their victory until informed that this week's experiment is a Coleman Francis film. After that, they're like "NO RLY, OMFG!!" After the shorts, a loud party next door gets the attention of Mike, Servo, and Crow on the bridge, and Crow sneaks over to marvel at the Rick Wakeman record on hand. Apparently, our heroes don't really throw outrageous parties. Next, it's almost lunchtime, and Crow keeps asking Mike if it's 11:30 yet. And keeps asking. Later on, Crow introduces his new organization, the Film Anti-Preservation Society (FAPS), which is dedicated to allowing the deterioration of all horrible films such as this one. Mike comes on to halt Crow's speech. After the movie's done, Mike gives his victory speech, while the Mads concede defeat, leading to TV's Frank getting slapped in the face exactly 24 times.
Highly recommended episode containing a horrible movie, and two hysterical shorts.
...what?
Oh yes, I neglected to mention the best line:
"Flag on the moon...how did it get there?"
MST3K #514: Teen-Age Strangler
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #514: Teen-Age Strangler (with short, Is This Love?)
Original Comedy Central airdate: November 7, 1993.
Part of the MST3K Collection, Volume 10.2. An un-MSTed version from Something Weird Video is also available.
Short! In an unidentified college, we focus on two engaged couples. One is taking it slowly, the other (the main characters) want to get married right away. Despite the doubts expressed by the sensible couple, and the not-so-sensible daughter's parents, they run off to get married. Don't worry, I'm sure the man's professional football aspirations will ensure a long and happy marriage.
Movie! In the greatest feature film ever filmed on location in Huntington, West Virginia, someone is going around strangling teenage victims. Suspicion quickly falls on the local street gang called the Fastbacks, specifically, a young man named Jimmy, whose family relocated to West Virginia because he was blamed for stealing bikes in another community. It was actually Jimmy's little nerd of a brother Mikey (played by the excellent John Humphreys) who stole the bikes that forced the Walton family to pack up and flee to Huntington. With help from his girlfriend Betty, as well as a large group of their peers (including the other Fastbacks), Jimmy manages to find out the identity of the real teenage strangler: the high school janitor. But, first, everyone at the local malt shop has time to sing and dance to a local hit called "Yipe Stripes". Lady Gaga is making plans to remake the song at some point, or at least she should!
Oh, and apparently, the actor who played the teenage Jimmy was reportedly 47 years old at time of production?
We open the show with newcomer Mike Nelson on the Satellite of Love, utilizing a handful of calling cards to call his Grandma back on Earth...but he only gets her answering machine...which disconnects before he can finish telling his grandmother about his plight! The invention exchange sees Dr. Forrester strapping TV's Frank into the "Frank-N-Forcer", a large bouncing harness suspended over a bed of nails designed to keep him out of trouble. Mike and the 'Bots introduce the Waiter Baiter, a large mechanical arm designed to get the attention of those busy waiters. Inspired by the short, Mike and company discuss Hollywood romances, but Tom Servo bursts into tears when Nelson mentions Burt and Loni. Mike, who is also down with what's happening with today's youth, keep Crow and Tom from rumbling by "rapping" with them. Later, Crow and Servo trick Mike into transfroming into Mikey from the film with a special contraption they set up. He didn't steal no bicycle, neither! At the end, Mike sings his rendition of "Yipe Stripes", and Frank gets sick from bouncing around too much.
Highly recommended episode.
Original Comedy Central airdate: November 7, 1993.
Part of the MST3K Collection, Volume 10.2. An un-MSTed version from Something Weird Video is also available.
Short! In an unidentified college, we focus on two engaged couples. One is taking it slowly, the other (the main characters) want to get married right away. Despite the doubts expressed by the sensible couple, and the not-so-sensible daughter's parents, they run off to get married. Don't worry, I'm sure the man's professional football aspirations will ensure a long and happy marriage.
Movie! In the greatest feature film ever filmed on location in Huntington, West Virginia, someone is going around strangling teenage victims. Suspicion quickly falls on the local street gang called the Fastbacks, specifically, a young man named Jimmy, whose family relocated to West Virginia because he was blamed for stealing bikes in another community. It was actually Jimmy's little nerd of a brother Mikey (played by the excellent John Humphreys) who stole the bikes that forced the Walton family to pack up and flee to Huntington. With help from his girlfriend Betty, as well as a large group of their peers (including the other Fastbacks), Jimmy manages to find out the identity of the real teenage strangler: the high school janitor. But, first, everyone at the local malt shop has time to sing and dance to a local hit called "Yipe Stripes". Lady Gaga is making plans to remake the song at some point, or at least she should!
Oh, and apparently, the actor who played the teenage Jimmy was reportedly 47 years old at time of production?
We open the show with newcomer Mike Nelson on the Satellite of Love, utilizing a handful of calling cards to call his Grandma back on Earth...but he only gets her answering machine...which disconnects before he can finish telling his grandmother about his plight! The invention exchange sees Dr. Forrester strapping TV's Frank into the "Frank-N-Forcer", a large bouncing harness suspended over a bed of nails designed to keep him out of trouble. Mike and the 'Bots introduce the Waiter Baiter, a large mechanical arm designed to get the attention of those busy waiters. Inspired by the short, Mike and company discuss Hollywood romances, but Tom Servo bursts into tears when Nelson mentions Burt and Loni. Mike, who is also down with what's happening with today's youth, keep Crow and Tom from rumbling by "rapping" with them. Later, Crow and Servo trick Mike into transfroming into Mikey from the film with a special contraption they set up. He didn't steal no bicycle, neither! At the end, Mike sings his rendition of "Yipe Stripes", and Frank gets sick from bouncing around too much.
Highly recommended episode.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
La Bête Humaine
La Bête Humaine [The Human Beast or Judas Was a Woman] (Criterion #324).
1938 Paris Film and Janus Films
Starring: Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Fernand Ledoux, Blanchette Brunoy, Jacques Berlioz
Director: Jean Renoir
Currently available at Amazon.
Jean Renoir directed this 1938 adaptation of the Emile Zola novel of the same name, while taking a small acting role in the production. Renoir hadn't even read the book for over twenty years when he began working on the screenplay, and most of Simone Simon's dialogue was copied almost word-for-word from the book.
Jean Gabin is locomotive engineer Jacques Lantier, a troubled man with a history of violent incidents committed against women, which he blames on the alcoholism of his forefathers, giving him "poisoned blood". Still, Lantier feels the best when he's driving the locomotive. A faulty axle ends up sidelining Lantier and his train in the city of La Harve for a few days, where he meets and falls for the wife of his coworker Roubald (Ledoux), the beautiful Severine (Simon).
Roubald is privy to his wife's long-term affair with her wealthy godfather Grandmorin (Berlioz), so the two of them plot to murder him on a train trip. They succeed, and an innocent passenger is convicted for the crime, while Lantier, the only witness, keeps quiet. Lantier and Severine begin an affair, partially instigated by Severine to keep the only witness quiet. Pretty soon, Severine is urging Lantier to murder Roubald, but unfortunately, she is unaware of Lantier's history of attacking beautiful women who fall in love with him, and it proves fatal for her.
A beautifully shot film with some stunning footage taken aboard a speeding train. The Criterion DVD presents a decent transfer for the most part, with a few scenes showing minor damage. Recommended film.
1938 Paris Film and Janus Films
Starring: Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Fernand Ledoux, Blanchette Brunoy, Jacques Berlioz
Director: Jean Renoir
Currently available at Amazon.
Jean Renoir directed this 1938 adaptation of the Emile Zola novel of the same name, while taking a small acting role in the production. Renoir hadn't even read the book for over twenty years when he began working on the screenplay, and most of Simone Simon's dialogue was copied almost word-for-word from the book.
Jean Gabin is locomotive engineer Jacques Lantier, a troubled man with a history of violent incidents committed against women, which he blames on the alcoholism of his forefathers, giving him "poisoned blood". Still, Lantier feels the best when he's driving the locomotive. A faulty axle ends up sidelining Lantier and his train in the city of La Harve for a few days, where he meets and falls for the wife of his coworker Roubald (Ledoux), the beautiful Severine (Simon).
Roubald is privy to his wife's long-term affair with her wealthy godfather Grandmorin (Berlioz), so the two of them plot to murder him on a train trip. They succeed, and an innocent passenger is convicted for the crime, while Lantier, the only witness, keeps quiet. Lantier and Severine begin an affair, partially instigated by Severine to keep the only witness quiet. Pretty soon, Severine is urging Lantier to murder Roubald, but unfortunately, she is unaware of Lantier's history of attacking beautiful women who fall in love with him, and it proves fatal for her.
A beautifully shot film with some stunning footage taken aboard a speeding train. The Criterion DVD presents a decent transfer for the most part, with a few scenes showing minor damage. Recommended film.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Night of the Iguana
The Night of the Iguana.
1964 Seven Arts Productions and MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon, James Ward, Grayson Hall, Cyril Delevanti
Director: John Huston
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Tennessee Williams Film Collection.
Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in this low budget horror film about giant mutant iguanas terrorizing a small village in Mexico, and...
No, that's not right.
Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in an excellent film adaptation of the 1961 play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1964, and Grayson Hall received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Two years after his nervous breakdown following his role in an inappropriate relationship with a "very young Sunday school teacher", the former Reverend Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) now works for a cheap Texas tour company called Blake Tours as a tour guide. He's along for the ride as a large group of Baptist School teachers led by Miss Judith Fellowes (Hall) take a trip down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Miss Judith's 17-year-old nieceLolitaCharlotte (Lyon) attempts to seduce Shannon. After a fight with Judith, Shannon sabotages the bus and strands the group at a cheap Costa Verde Hotel in Mismaloya. This facility is run by the widow of one of Shannon's old friends named Fred, the widow Maxine Faulk (Gardner). Maxine's interests turn to Shannon from her two cabana boys.
Shannon also meets Hannah Jelkes (Kerr), a painter from Nantucket along with her elderly poet granddad Nonno (Delevanti). They're both broke, and Shannon convinces Maxine to let them stay. Still, over a long night, Charlotte continues to make advances to Shannon, and the stress of everything else in addition to that triggers another breakdown. The cabana boys tie Shannon up in a hammock, and Hannah tries to talk him down, using poppy-seed tea and blunt spiritual talk.
From there, Nonno finally finishes his last poem before dying, while Shannon and Maxine reconcile and decide to run the hotel together.
Highly recommended movie.
1964 Seven Arts Productions and MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon, James Ward, Grayson Hall, Cyril Delevanti
Director: John Huston
Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or part of the Tennessee Williams Film Collection.
Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in this low budget horror film about giant mutant iguanas terrorizing a small village in Mexico, and...
No, that's not right.
Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in an excellent film adaptation of the 1961 play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1964, and Grayson Hall received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Two years after his nervous breakdown following his role in an inappropriate relationship with a "very young Sunday school teacher", the former Reverend Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) now works for a cheap Texas tour company called Blake Tours as a tour guide. He's along for the ride as a large group of Baptist School teachers led by Miss Judith Fellowes (Hall) take a trip down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Miss Judith's 17-year-old niece
Shannon also meets Hannah Jelkes (Kerr), a painter from Nantucket along with her elderly poet granddad Nonno (Delevanti). They're both broke, and Shannon convinces Maxine to let them stay. Still, over a long night, Charlotte continues to make advances to Shannon, and the stress of everything else in addition to that triggers another breakdown. The cabana boys tie Shannon up in a hammock, and Hannah tries to talk him down, using poppy-seed tea and blunt spiritual talk.
From there, Nonno finally finishes his last poem before dying, while Shannon and Maxine reconcile and decide to run the hotel together.
Highly recommended movie.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Ikiru
Ikiru [To Live] (Criterion #221).
1952 Toho Studios and Janus Films.
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Ikiru is available from Amazon in the following links:
Criterion two-disc edition.
Single disc of Janus Films' Essential Art House line.
As part of the Essential Art House, Volume 2 set.
Part of Criterion's box set AK 100: 25 Films of Akira Kurosawa for only $318.49 as of this writing.
Part of the Janus Films box set Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films for the low price of $772.49.
Roger Ebert's personal favorite Kurosawa film. Yes, he liked it even more than Seven Samurai.
Takashi Shimura is Kanji Watanabe, an employee for the government. He's worked in the same position for thirty years, and he is also a widower. His son and daughter-in-law live with him, but they are no more than roommates; the young couple are more interested in Kanji's pension, and their future inheritance. Kanji's coworkers are really no more than strangers to him.
Watanabe is diagnosed with stomach cancer and given less than a year to live. After deciding not to inform his son about his bad news, Kanji decides to go out and drink himself to death instead, but gives up after one night when he realizes it's not the answer. Still, he asks a piano player to perform "Gondola no Uta" in a pivotal scene.
The next day, Watanabe runs into one of his former coworkers, Kimura (Himori), and is attracted to her outgoing nature and love of life. Kanji confesses to her that he wants just one day to live like she does: totally carefree. Kimura's new gig is making toys, which makes her feel like she's playing with all of the children in Japan. Inspired, Kanji dedicates himself to leaving behind a positive legacy, and works tirelessly to help transform a cesspool (a community eyesore which numerous residents complain about in the opening of the film) into a playground for children.
At Kanji's wake, his former coworkers question why he changed so much in the last months of his life, and slowly realize that he must have known his time was limited. Over the course of many drinks, Kanji's surviving coworkers vow to live the same way he did, with the same dedication and passion. Back in the office, though, they find themselves unable to follow through on their new vow.
Highly recommended film.
1952 Toho Studios and Janus Films.
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Ikiru is available from Amazon in the following links:
Criterion two-disc edition.
Single disc of Janus Films' Essential Art House line.
As part of the Essential Art House, Volume 2 set.
Part of Criterion's box set AK 100: 25 Films of Akira Kurosawa for only $318.49 as of this writing.
Part of the Janus Films box set Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films for the low price of $772.49.
Roger Ebert's personal favorite Kurosawa film. Yes, he liked it even more than Seven Samurai.
Takashi Shimura is Kanji Watanabe, an employee for the government. He's worked in the same position for thirty years, and he is also a widower. His son and daughter-in-law live with him, but they are no more than roommates; the young couple are more interested in Kanji's pension, and their future inheritance. Kanji's coworkers are really no more than strangers to him.
Watanabe is diagnosed with stomach cancer and given less than a year to live. After deciding not to inform his son about his bad news, Kanji decides to go out and drink himself to death instead, but gives up after one night when he realizes it's not the answer. Still, he asks a piano player to perform "Gondola no Uta" in a pivotal scene.
The next day, Watanabe runs into one of his former coworkers, Kimura (Himori), and is attracted to her outgoing nature and love of life. Kanji confesses to her that he wants just one day to live like she does: totally carefree. Kimura's new gig is making toys, which makes her feel like she's playing with all of the children in Japan. Inspired, Kanji dedicates himself to leaving behind a positive legacy, and works tirelessly to help transform a cesspool (a community eyesore which numerous residents complain about in the opening of the film) into a playground for children.
At Kanji's wake, his former coworkers question why he changed so much in the last months of his life, and slowly realize that he must have known his time was limited. Over the course of many drinks, Kanji's surviving coworkers vow to live the same way he did, with the same dedication and passion. Back in the office, though, they find themselves unable to follow through on their new vow.
Highly recommended film.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Big Jim McLain
Big Jim McLain. 1952 Warner Bros. Pictures.
Starring: John Wayne, James Arness, Nancy Olson, Alan Napier, Veda Ann Borg
Director: Edward Ludwig
Available at Amazon as a single DVD, or one-sixth of the John Wayne Film Collection.
Big Jim McLain was released to DVD in 2007 as part of the Warner Bros. box set The John Wayne Film Collection, which were six of John Wayne's lesser movies, and in some cases, vehicles for another actor with Wayne added to the picture to lure more people to the theaters. Also, in some European markets, the movie was retitled as Marijuana, and the original plot of HUAC investigators looking for communists in Hawaii was changed to Wayne and James Arness tracking down drug dealers. I think a version of Marijuana would've been an ideal extra for the Big Jim McLain DVD. Instead, we're getting a Joe McDoakes comedy short, and a Daffy Duck cartoon called The Super Snooper.
John Wayne is the title character, traveling to the Hawaiian Islands with his fellow HUAC agent Mal Baxter (Arness) to look for Communist Party activity. The HUAC in this film has no problem with going into private homes without a search warrant, wiretapping illegally, and occasionally, beating up a suspect. There isn't too much thrilling action, apart from McLain triggering a brawl at the end of the movie, just a lot of scenes of walking around and narrated sequences to advance the plot along.
By the way, at the time of the film's production, being a member of the Communist Party was not illegal in the United States.
Big Jim McLain is not the best John Wayne movie, and many people feel it's a lousy film in general. Personally, I felt it was an enjoyable, if slight film, not to be taken too seriously. Recommended unintentional comedy.
Starring: John Wayne, James Arness, Nancy Olson, Alan Napier, Veda Ann Borg
Director: Edward Ludwig
Available at Amazon as a single DVD, or one-sixth of the John Wayne Film Collection.
Big Jim McLain was released to DVD in 2007 as part of the Warner Bros. box set The John Wayne Film Collection, which were six of John Wayne's lesser movies, and in some cases, vehicles for another actor with Wayne added to the picture to lure more people to the theaters. Also, in some European markets, the movie was retitled as Marijuana, and the original plot of HUAC investigators looking for communists in Hawaii was changed to Wayne and James Arness tracking down drug dealers. I think a version of Marijuana would've been an ideal extra for the Big Jim McLain DVD. Instead, we're getting a Joe McDoakes comedy short, and a Daffy Duck cartoon called The Super Snooper.
John Wayne is the title character, traveling to the Hawaiian Islands with his fellow HUAC agent Mal Baxter (Arness) to look for Communist Party activity. The HUAC in this film has no problem with going into private homes without a search warrant, wiretapping illegally, and occasionally, beating up a suspect. There isn't too much thrilling action, apart from McLain triggering a brawl at the end of the movie, just a lot of scenes of walking around and narrated sequences to advance the plot along.
By the way, at the time of the film's production, being a member of the Communist Party was not illegal in the United States.
Big Jim McLain is not the best John Wayne movie, and many people feel it's a lousy film in general. Personally, I felt it was an enjoyable, if slight film, not to be taken too seriously. Recommended unintentional comedy.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Port of Shadows
Port of Shadows [Les Quai des Brumes] (Criterion #245).
1938 Osso Films, Janus Films and StudioCanal.
Starring: Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan, Pierre Brasseur, Edouard Delmont
Director: Marcel Carné
Amazon.com listing (only a few copies left).
An example of French "poetic realism", where characters often had a negative view of life and were either working class stiffs or criminals. Usually, these people got a last chance of love, but something would always go wrong, and the film would end in either disillusionment or death. Think of it as a nostaglic bitterness. Port of Shadows is a fine example of this genre, and it's a story of a man and his dog.
Jean (Gabin) drifts into a French port city called Le Havre, having deserted the army and seeking to escape France completely. He falls in with a loose knit group of misfits and outcasts who largely congregate at Panama's (Delmont) bar, just to hear Panama's stories about traveling the world. Among the group is Nelly (Morgan), a beautiful woman, and her godfather Zabel (Simon). Zabel is being stalked by a small-time hood named Lucien (Brasseur) because the gangster believes Zabel knows something about another crook named Maurice Brevin. Jean also has a dog following him throughout the film, who he saved at the beginning from being hit by a truck.
Jean acquires a fake passport, intending to leave for Venezuela, but he also falls in love with Nelly. In addition to that obstacle, Jean later finds himself at odds with Lucien!
Port of Shadows came out in 1938, just months before World War II erupted on the European continent. Surprisingly, even if the main character had deserted the military, there is no hint through the film of the imminent bloody conflict. Director Carné also had some problems producing the film, as the studio, Germany's UFA, had fallen under control of the Third Reich's propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, who had already driven off the other major German directors and talents, including Fritz Lang. In the booklet that comes with the Criterion disc, an excerpt from Carné's autobiography goes into detail about finding a reasonable producer for the film, and how the French largely disliked the movie, since it wasn't an upbeat one, and it was linked to a Nazi-run film studio.
Recommended film.
1938 Osso Films, Janus Films and StudioCanal.
Starring: Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan, Pierre Brasseur, Edouard Delmont
Director: Marcel Carné
Amazon.com listing (only a few copies left).
An example of French "poetic realism", where characters often had a negative view of life and were either working class stiffs or criminals. Usually, these people got a last chance of love, but something would always go wrong, and the film would end in either disillusionment or death. Think of it as a nostaglic bitterness. Port of Shadows is a fine example of this genre, and it's a story of a man and his dog.
Jean (Gabin) drifts into a French port city called Le Havre, having deserted the army and seeking to escape France completely. He falls in with a loose knit group of misfits and outcasts who largely congregate at Panama's (Delmont) bar, just to hear Panama's stories about traveling the world. Among the group is Nelly (Morgan), a beautiful woman, and her godfather Zabel (Simon). Zabel is being stalked by a small-time hood named Lucien (Brasseur) because the gangster believes Zabel knows something about another crook named Maurice Brevin. Jean also has a dog following him throughout the film, who he saved at the beginning from being hit by a truck.
Jean acquires a fake passport, intending to leave for Venezuela, but he also falls in love with Nelly. In addition to that obstacle, Jean later finds himself at odds with Lucien!
Port of Shadows came out in 1938, just months before World War II erupted on the European continent. Surprisingly, even if the main character had deserted the military, there is no hint through the film of the imminent bloody conflict. Director Carné also had some problems producing the film, as the studio, Germany's UFA, had fallen under control of the Third Reich's propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, who had already driven off the other major German directors and talents, including Fritz Lang. In the booklet that comes with the Criterion disc, an excerpt from Carné's autobiography goes into detail about finding a reasonable producer for the film, and how the French largely disliked the movie, since it wasn't an upbeat one, and it was linked to a Nazi-run film studio.
Recommended film.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Getting Straight
Getting Straight. 1970 Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, Robert F. Lyons, Jeff Corey, Max Julien, Gregory Sierra, Harrison Ford
Director: Richard Rush
Available from Amazon.
Another entry from Sony's Martini Movies line.
Harry Bailey (Gould) is a returning college student, having already served in Vietnam, and in dogged pursuit of his Master's Degree. His goal is to become a teacher. Even if Harry is a few years older than his peers, he is still caught in the middle between the "establishment" and the youth culture preaching revolution and demanding change. As such, many of the younger rebellious students will often defer to Harry for his take on whatever hot button issue that's bugging them at the moment. Harry will often dismiss any radical idea as unrealistic, even though deep down, he identifies much more with the youth culture than the older generation he's also trying to appeal to with his teaching ambitions. Harry's girlfriend Jan (Bergen) is also caught up in a similar trap: she is eager to join in on any campus protests, but she also has no issue with "selling out" and resigning herself to a conventional life in the suburbs.
In the meantime, Harry begins teaching an English course at the recommendation of one of his professors, Dr. Wilhunt (Corey), while trying to scheme with a stoner friend Nick (Lyons) so he doesn't get drafted and sent to Vietnam. Towards the end of the movie, Nick finally cracks up under the pressure and "goes straight". i.e., trying to sabotage the activities of his counterculture friends while claiming he's doing the right thing now.
Harry knows that he cannot play both sides of the fence for long, and he will have to pick a side: the establishment, or the campus rebels, and it takes a riot on campus to prompt this decision once and for all. Will Harry finally get "straight"?
Getting Straight doesn't really have a definitive message: it goes back and forth between sympathizing with the youth culture and the older generation, but it's still an entertaining film. Recommended.
Starring: Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, Robert F. Lyons, Jeff Corey, Max Julien, Gregory Sierra, Harrison Ford
Director: Richard Rush
Available from Amazon.
Another entry from Sony's Martini Movies line.
Harry Bailey (Gould) is a returning college student, having already served in Vietnam, and in dogged pursuit of his Master's Degree. His goal is to become a teacher. Even if Harry is a few years older than his peers, he is still caught in the middle between the "establishment" and the youth culture preaching revolution and demanding change. As such, many of the younger rebellious students will often defer to Harry for his take on whatever hot button issue that's bugging them at the moment. Harry will often dismiss any radical idea as unrealistic, even though deep down, he identifies much more with the youth culture than the older generation he's also trying to appeal to with his teaching ambitions. Harry's girlfriend Jan (Bergen) is also caught up in a similar trap: she is eager to join in on any campus protests, but she also has no issue with "selling out" and resigning herself to a conventional life in the suburbs.
In the meantime, Harry begins teaching an English course at the recommendation of one of his professors, Dr. Wilhunt (Corey), while trying to scheme with a stoner friend Nick (Lyons) so he doesn't get drafted and sent to Vietnam. Towards the end of the movie, Nick finally cracks up under the pressure and "goes straight". i.e., trying to sabotage the activities of his counterculture friends while claiming he's doing the right thing now.
Harry knows that he cannot play both sides of the fence for long, and he will have to pick a side: the establishment, or the campus rebels, and it takes a riot on campus to prompt this decision once and for all. Will Harry finally get "straight"?
Getting Straight doesn't really have a definitive message: it goes back and forth between sympathizing with the youth culture and the older generation, but it's still an entertaining film. Recommended.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Another Thin Man
Another Thin Man.
1939 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Shemp Howard (uncredited)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Part of the Complete Thin Man Collection, available at Amazon.
Nick and Nora Charles (Powell, Loy) return, and this time, the eight month old baby Nicky Junior is along for the ride. Oh, and we can't neglect to mention Asta.
A Long Island munitions manufacturer Colonel MacFay (Smith) invites the Charles family to his Long Island spread for a weekend. The Colonel is convinced that an old business associate Phil Church (Leonard) is seeking to kill him. MacFay does turn up murdered, and Church is the obvious suspect, but Nick Charles is skeptical. Our good Colonel has had several relatives and acquaintances that may have an interest in MacFay's demise. Nick Charles, with help from Nora and his many reformed underworld buddies like Dum-Dum and Creeps, is on the case, trusty drink in hand, and the murderer may be someone no one would ever expect.
Another Thin Man is a delightful adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "The Farewell Murder", and probably the funniest of The Thin Man series so far. Recommended movie.
1939 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Shemp Howard (uncredited)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Part of the Complete Thin Man Collection, available at Amazon.
Nick and Nora Charles (Powell, Loy) return, and this time, the eight month old baby Nicky Junior is along for the ride. Oh, and we can't neglect to mention Asta.
A Long Island munitions manufacturer Colonel MacFay (Smith) invites the Charles family to his Long Island spread for a weekend. The Colonel is convinced that an old business associate Phil Church (Leonard) is seeking to kill him. MacFay does turn up murdered, and Church is the obvious suspect, but Nick Charles is skeptical. Our good Colonel has had several relatives and acquaintances that may have an interest in MacFay's demise. Nick Charles, with help from Nora and his many reformed underworld buddies like Dum-Dum and Creeps, is on the case, trusty drink in hand, and the murderer may be someone no one would ever expect.
Another Thin Man is a delightful adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "The Farewell Murder", and probably the funniest of The Thin Man series so far. Recommended movie.
Monday, July 4, 2011
3 Women
3 Women (Criterion #230).
1977 20th Century Fox.
Starring: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson, John Cromwell, Sierra Pecheur, Craig Richard Nelson
Director: Robert Altman
Buy 3 Women from Amazon. Blu-ray edition hits stores on September 30th.
Robert Altman once had a dream which he did not completely understand, but he still adapted it into a film treatment with the intent of not using an actual script. 20th Century Fox greenlit the idea regardless.
Out in the California desert, newcomer Pinky Rose (Spacek) gets a job at a senior care center as a therapist. Another employee, Millie (Duvall), is told to help train Pinky. Millie fancies herself a social butterfly, and seems oblivious to the fact that everyone who knows her is making fun of her. Pinky sees Millie differently, and eventually they become roommates at an apartment complex co-owned by the third woman in our story, Willie (Rule). Willie is pregnant and married to a man named Edgar (Fortier). She also constantly paints elaborate and surreal murals with violent and sexual imagery at the apartment complex (including one at the bottom of the complex's swimming pool) and the bar that she and Edgar run. Edgar also sees nothing wrong with cheating on his pregnant wife; he sleeps with both Millie and Pinky behind Willie's back.
Pinky admires Millie enough that she seems to be attempting to become Millie, even reading aloud passages from Millie's diary. In return, Millie treats Pinky horribly, attacking her for the most mundane social faux pas. After an argument one night, Pinky leaves the apartment and takes a spill from a balcony into the swimming pool. Pinky is comatose for a time, and Millie brings in Pinky's parents from Texas.
Just after Pinky emerges from her coma, she becomes a completely new woman: the outgoing, aggressive and confident woman that Millie so desperately tries to portray in public. Millie, meanwhile, finds herself turning into what Pinky used to be prior to her accident; meek, passive, awkward. Later, Edgar abandons Willie, and both Pinky and Millie find themselves trying to deliver her baby themselves...with tragic consequences. The ordeal of Willie's child being stillborn further transforms all three women into what seems to be a very odd and curious situation: the three women now live together, Pinky refers to Millie as her "mother", and talks to Willie just like a sister. Edgar's fate is unclear, though.
Highly recommended film, although it does take a while to really get going. It's worth the wait, though, with excellent performances from Duvall and Spacek.
1977 20th Century Fox.
Starring: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson, John Cromwell, Sierra Pecheur, Craig Richard Nelson
Director: Robert Altman
Buy 3 Women from Amazon. Blu-ray edition hits stores on September 30th.
Robert Altman once had a dream which he did not completely understand, but he still adapted it into a film treatment with the intent of not using an actual script. 20th Century Fox greenlit the idea regardless.
Out in the California desert, newcomer Pinky Rose (Spacek) gets a job at a senior care center as a therapist. Another employee, Millie (Duvall), is told to help train Pinky. Millie fancies herself a social butterfly, and seems oblivious to the fact that everyone who knows her is making fun of her. Pinky sees Millie differently, and eventually they become roommates at an apartment complex co-owned by the third woman in our story, Willie (Rule). Willie is pregnant and married to a man named Edgar (Fortier). She also constantly paints elaborate and surreal murals with violent and sexual imagery at the apartment complex (including one at the bottom of the complex's swimming pool) and the bar that she and Edgar run. Edgar also sees nothing wrong with cheating on his pregnant wife; he sleeps with both Millie and Pinky behind Willie's back.
Pinky admires Millie enough that she seems to be attempting to become Millie, even reading aloud passages from Millie's diary. In return, Millie treats Pinky horribly, attacking her for the most mundane social faux pas. After an argument one night, Pinky leaves the apartment and takes a spill from a balcony into the swimming pool. Pinky is comatose for a time, and Millie brings in Pinky's parents from Texas.
Just after Pinky emerges from her coma, she becomes a completely new woman: the outgoing, aggressive and confident woman that Millie so desperately tries to portray in public. Millie, meanwhile, finds herself turning into what Pinky used to be prior to her accident; meek, passive, awkward. Later, Edgar abandons Willie, and both Pinky and Millie find themselves trying to deliver her baby themselves...with tragic consequences. The ordeal of Willie's child being stillborn further transforms all three women into what seems to be a very odd and curious situation: the three women now live together, Pinky refers to Millie as her "mother", and talks to Willie just like a sister. Edgar's fate is unclear, though.
Highly recommended film, although it does take a while to really get going. It's worth the wait, though, with excellent performances from Duvall and Spacek.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Summertree
Summertree. 1971 Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Michael Douglas, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Brenda Vaccaro, Barbara Bel Geddes
Produced by Kirk Douglas
Director: Anthony Newley
Buy Summertree from Amazon.
A fairly obscure number released as part of Sony's Martini Movies line. In addition to the film, I also got a nice recipe on how to make a champagne martini. Or was it a chocolate martini? I can't remember, and I'm not removing the disc from my player to look. Summertree was directed by a British actor and musician named Anthony Newley, whose prior film project to this one is B-Fest favorite Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?. I've never seen that one, but maybe I will at a future B-Fest. Moving on...
20 year old Jerry (Douglas) comes home to tell his parents Herb (Warden) and Ruth (Bel Geddes) that he's dropped out of college to "find himself", spending time in the "summertree" in the family backyard. Not only are his parents concerned about the wasted tuition money, but Jerry has also lost his draft deferral. But Jerry is confident enough about his guitar playing that he is planning to enter a music conservatorium. In the meantime, Jerry volunteers to become a Big Brother for an African American youth named Marvis. After a mishap with Marvis, they go to a hospital where Jerry meets an older nurse named Vanetta (Vaccaro). They quickly fall in love despite the age difference...and the fact that Vanetta is separated from her Marine husband Tony.
Things end up going downhill. Marvis rejects Jerry as his Big Brother after his biological older brother is killed in Vietnam, and Jerry's draft notice comes. Unwilling to go to 'Nam, Jerry ends up buying a car, planning to go to Canada, but never gets there thanks to mixed reactions from his father Herb, who is now opposed to America's involvement in Vietnam, but he still inadvertently sends his son overseas to die.
Kirk Douglas bought the film rights to Ron Cowen's play of the same name after son Michael was replaced by David Birney when Summertree was on Broadway. Recommended movie.
Starring: Michael Douglas, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Brenda Vaccaro, Barbara Bel Geddes
Produced by Kirk Douglas
Director: Anthony Newley
Buy Summertree from Amazon.
A fairly obscure number released as part of Sony's Martini Movies line. In addition to the film, I also got a nice recipe on how to make a champagne martini. Or was it a chocolate martini? I can't remember, and I'm not removing the disc from my player to look. Summertree was directed by a British actor and musician named Anthony Newley, whose prior film project to this one is B-Fest favorite Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?. I've never seen that one, but maybe I will at a future B-Fest. Moving on...
20 year old Jerry (Douglas) comes home to tell his parents Herb (Warden) and Ruth (Bel Geddes) that he's dropped out of college to "find himself", spending time in the "summertree" in the family backyard. Not only are his parents concerned about the wasted tuition money, but Jerry has also lost his draft deferral. But Jerry is confident enough about his guitar playing that he is planning to enter a music conservatorium. In the meantime, Jerry volunteers to become a Big Brother for an African American youth named Marvis. After a mishap with Marvis, they go to a hospital where Jerry meets an older nurse named Vanetta (Vaccaro). They quickly fall in love despite the age difference...and the fact that Vanetta is separated from her Marine husband Tony.
Things end up going downhill. Marvis rejects Jerry as his Big Brother after his biological older brother is killed in Vietnam, and Jerry's draft notice comes. Unwilling to go to 'Nam, Jerry ends up buying a car, planning to go to Canada, but never gets there thanks to mixed reactions from his father Herb, who is now opposed to America's involvement in Vietnam, but he still inadvertently sends his son overseas to die.
Kirk Douglas bought the film rights to Ron Cowen's play of the same name after son Michael was replaced by David Birney when Summertree was on Broadway. Recommended movie.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Road to Singapore
Road to Singapore.
1940 Paramount Pictures, owned and distributed to home video by Universal Pictures.
Starring: Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Colonna
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Part of the On the Road with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Collection, available at Amazon.
The first of the "Road to..." movies starring Hope, Crosby and Lamour.
Best friends Josh (Crosby) and Ace (Hope) have returned to the U.S. after being away at sea for a long time. After witnessing their fellow sailors being treated like dirt by their wives and girlfriends, Josh and Ace vow never to get involved with women again. This promise is tested immediately, after Ace is nearly dragged off by the family of a former flame who are demanding that he marry the girl. Also, Josh finds himself at odds with his fiancee Gloria (Barrett) and his father's (Coburn) wishes that he take over the family business.
Josh and Ace are late to an engagement party (they were busy fishing), and Gloria's brother starts a drunken fistfight with a news reporter present. After news of the brawl hits the papers, Josh and Ace jump a ship headed towards Hawaii, intending to travel to Singapore. The boys only make it as far as the island of Kaigoon before they run out of money, and they rescue Mima (Lamour) from her dance partner Caesar (Quinn). Before long, Mima is running Josh and Ace's lives, and they try several different schemes to make some quick money.
And before long, both Josh and Ace realize they're both in love with Mima...although she only truly loves Josh. Also, Josh's father and Gloria are enroute to Kaigoon to bring Josh back to America so he can face his responsibilities. And Caesar is out to get even with the boys in any way he can!
Recommended film.
1940 Paramount Pictures, owned and distributed to home video by Universal Pictures.
Starring: Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Colonna
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Part of the On the Road with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Collection, available at Amazon.
The first of the "Road to..." movies starring Hope, Crosby and Lamour.
Best friends Josh (Crosby) and Ace (Hope) have returned to the U.S. after being away at sea for a long time. After witnessing their fellow sailors being treated like dirt by their wives and girlfriends, Josh and Ace vow never to get involved with women again. This promise is tested immediately, after Ace is nearly dragged off by the family of a former flame who are demanding that he marry the girl. Also, Josh finds himself at odds with his fiancee Gloria (Barrett) and his father's (Coburn) wishes that he take over the family business.
Josh and Ace are late to an engagement party (they were busy fishing), and Gloria's brother starts a drunken fistfight with a news reporter present. After news of the brawl hits the papers, Josh and Ace jump a ship headed towards Hawaii, intending to travel to Singapore. The boys only make it as far as the island of Kaigoon before they run out of money, and they rescue Mima (Lamour) from her dance partner Caesar (Quinn). Before long, Mima is running Josh and Ace's lives, and they try several different schemes to make some quick money.
And before long, both Josh and Ace realize they're both in love with Mima...although she only truly loves Josh. Also, Josh's father and Gloria are enroute to Kaigoon to bring Josh back to America so he can face his responsibilities. And Caesar is out to get even with the boys in any way he can!
Recommended film.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
How to Murder Your Wife
How to Murder Your Wife.
1965 United Artists; distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, Terry-Thomas, Claire Trevor, Sidnely Blackmer, Max Showalter
Director: Richard Quine
Available at Amazon as a single DVD or as part of the Jack Lemmon Star Collection with Some Like it Hot, Avanti and The Apartment.
Jack Lemmon is cartoonist and swinging bachelor Stanley Ford, who lives in a luxurious townhouse with his valet, Charles Firbank (Terry-Thomas). Ford is the creator of the comic strip Bash Brannigan, a secret agent vehicle with a surprising amount of realism in it, as Ford never depicts the lead character doing anything physically impossible or using far-out gadgets. Instead, Ford will hire actors and set up future storylines, playing Brannigan himself while Charles takes photographs.
One night, at a bachelor party for his friend Tobey Rawlins (Showalter), Stanley gets plasters and proposes to the bikini-clad Italian girl (Lisi) who emerges from the cake. An equally inebriated judge (Blackmer) performs a wedding ceremony. The next morning, Stanley wakes up with the woman in his bed, and they are legally married. What's worse, during a visit to a lawyer named Harold Lampson (Eddie Mayehoff), Stanley is told that getting a divorce would be impossible without any legal justification. Stanley's new bride, billed simply as Mrs. Ford, doesn't speak English, but she catches on by spending time with Harold's wife Edna (Trevor), and watching a lot of television, which is left on all night to Stanley's chagrin.
Charles takes a job with Rawlins, since he refuses to work for a married couple. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ford informs Stanley that her mother will be moving in with them. However, Stanley tries to adjust to married life, even changing his comic strip drastically: it's now lighthearted comedy and Bash Brannigan is now a bumbling idiot. Mrs. Ford still intrudes on Stanley's lifestyle, and after he's kicked out of an all-male health club when she shows up one day, Stanley needs an outlet to vent his frustration. He kills off Mrs. Brannigan in the comic strip, depicting her drugged on "goofballs" and buries her in wet cement. Stanley also re-enacts this in real life with a mannequin. Unfortunately, this storyline in the comics gets Stanley in huge trouble: first, Mrs. Ford runs off, convinced she isn't wanted. Secondly, Stanley is arrested and put on trial for murder after the police read the comics in the papers and conclude that Stanley really murdered Mrs. Ford!
Can Stanley Ford beat the rap and prove that life didn't imitate art?
Recommended comedy. Jack Lemmon won a Golden Laurel for Male Comedy Performance for his role at the 1965 Laurel Awards. He earned it, folks.
1965 United Artists; distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, Terry-Thomas, Claire Trevor, Sidnely Blackmer, Max Showalter
Director: Richard Quine
Available at Amazon as a single DVD or as part of the Jack Lemmon Star Collection with Some Like it Hot, Avanti and The Apartment.
Jack Lemmon is cartoonist and swinging bachelor Stanley Ford, who lives in a luxurious townhouse with his valet, Charles Firbank (Terry-Thomas). Ford is the creator of the comic strip Bash Brannigan, a secret agent vehicle with a surprising amount of realism in it, as Ford never depicts the lead character doing anything physically impossible or using far-out gadgets. Instead, Ford will hire actors and set up future storylines, playing Brannigan himself while Charles takes photographs.
One night, at a bachelor party for his friend Tobey Rawlins (Showalter), Stanley gets plasters and proposes to the bikini-clad Italian girl (Lisi) who emerges from the cake. An equally inebriated judge (Blackmer) performs a wedding ceremony. The next morning, Stanley wakes up with the woman in his bed, and they are legally married. What's worse, during a visit to a lawyer named Harold Lampson (Eddie Mayehoff), Stanley is told that getting a divorce would be impossible without any legal justification. Stanley's new bride, billed simply as Mrs. Ford, doesn't speak English, but she catches on by spending time with Harold's wife Edna (Trevor), and watching a lot of television, which is left on all night to Stanley's chagrin.
Charles takes a job with Rawlins, since he refuses to work for a married couple. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ford informs Stanley that her mother will be moving in with them. However, Stanley tries to adjust to married life, even changing his comic strip drastically: it's now lighthearted comedy and Bash Brannigan is now a bumbling idiot. Mrs. Ford still intrudes on Stanley's lifestyle, and after he's kicked out of an all-male health club when she shows up one day, Stanley needs an outlet to vent his frustration. He kills off Mrs. Brannigan in the comic strip, depicting her drugged on "goofballs" and buries her in wet cement. Stanley also re-enacts this in real life with a mannequin. Unfortunately, this storyline in the comics gets Stanley in huge trouble: first, Mrs. Ford runs off, convinced she isn't wanted. Secondly, Stanley is arrested and put on trial for murder after the police read the comics in the papers and conclude that Stanley really murdered Mrs. Ford!
Can Stanley Ford beat the rap and prove that life didn't imitate art?
Recommended comedy. Jack Lemmon won a Golden Laurel for Male Comedy Performance for his role at the 1965 Laurel Awards. He earned it, folks.
Roadie
Roadie.
1980 Alive Enterprises and United Artists; distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Meat Loaf, Kaki Hunter, Art Carney, Gailard Sartain, Rhonda Bates, Joe Spano, Don Cornelius, Hamilton Camp
Also appearing: Alice Cooper, Blondie, Asleep at the Wheel, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., etc.
Director: Alan Rudolph
Available from Amazon for under four bucks right now...
Meat Loaf stars as a good ol' boy from rural Texas named Travis Redfish, who lives with his disabled father Corpus (Carney) while working as a beer truck driver. During a run with his pal B.B. (Sartain), they stop to fix a stalled tour bus, and Travis is smitten by a groupie along for the ride named Lola (Hunter), who is looking to bed Alice Cooper. Travis ends up joining Lola on the road, traveling the country as an exceptional roadie with a knack for restoring electronic equipment. He meets Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Asleep at the Wheel, and Blondie during his misadventures, all the while trying to prove his love for Lola.
Eventually, Lola does get to meet her idol Alice Cooper, but mainly at the insistance of Travis, who is so fed up with the groupie stringing him along that he literally drags Lola to New York City where Cooper is playing, and storms into the arena during the sound check. Cooper asks them both to dinner, but Lola insists he appear in full stage costume, complete with the boa constrictor. In exchange for a bus ticket back home, Travis fixes Cooper's sound system before the big show.
Roadie has its moments, but it was an underwhelming film as a whole. Not recommended.
1980 Alive Enterprises and United Artists; distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Meat Loaf, Kaki Hunter, Art Carney, Gailard Sartain, Rhonda Bates, Joe Spano, Don Cornelius, Hamilton Camp
Also appearing: Alice Cooper, Blondie, Asleep at the Wheel, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., etc.
Director: Alan Rudolph
Available from Amazon for under four bucks right now...
Meat Loaf stars as a good ol' boy from rural Texas named Travis Redfish, who lives with his disabled father Corpus (Carney) while working as a beer truck driver. During a run with his pal B.B. (Sartain), they stop to fix a stalled tour bus, and Travis is smitten by a groupie along for the ride named Lola (Hunter), who is looking to bed Alice Cooper. Travis ends up joining Lola on the road, traveling the country as an exceptional roadie with a knack for restoring electronic equipment. He meets Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Asleep at the Wheel, and Blondie during his misadventures, all the while trying to prove his love for Lola.
Eventually, Lola does get to meet her idol Alice Cooper, but mainly at the insistance of Travis, who is so fed up with the groupie stringing him along that he literally drags Lola to New York City where Cooper is playing, and storms into the arena during the sound check. Cooper asks them both to dinner, but Lola insists he appear in full stage costume, complete with the boa constrictor. In exchange for a bus ticket back home, Travis fixes Cooper's sound system before the big show.
Roadie has its moments, but it was an underwhelming film as a whole. Not recommended.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
MST3K #505: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #505: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad.
Original Comedy Central airdate: August 14, 1993.
One-fourth of the 20th MST3K set, available from Amazon.
A Russian film originally entitled Sadko, Roger Corman's Filmgroup released it in America with a new dubbed soundtrack and the title "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad"...even if there's absolutely nothing remotely Arabian depicted in the film. Regardless, Sinbad promises the citizens of his hometown wealth and happiness, only to get mocked publicly. With some assistance from Neptune's daughter, Sinbad catches a golden fish, which doesn't exactly set his town alight with happiness. So, Sinbad recruits a crew of locals to travel to India to seek out and bring back the Bluebird of Happiness. They do find what they're looking for, but Sinbad has an epiphany enroute: there is no better land than where you were born, and one doesn't have to travel far in search of happiness.
It's the S.O.L.tie Awards, and Crow T. Robot wins an award that Tom Servo (and Joel!) feel like they were more worthy of. The prize involved an incident involving Servo's out-of-control hoverskirt, so there may have been some fixing going on behind the scenes. The Mads introduce "Chin-derwear" for your chin; up in space, Joel and his robots come up with the Rat Pack Chess Set, which would probably sell millions if it were a real game. Ol' Blue Eyes also delays movie sign until he says it's okay. Soon after, the meeting of the Junior Jester Club is called off due to exhaustion after much fooling around. A city council meeting follows, where Joel and the 'bots don ridiculous beards and debate the ongoing Sinbad issue. Later, Crow abandons the experiment to embark on an epic quest like Sinbad, shooting himself out an air lock. It goes horribly. After the movie, Crow and Tom are impressed by Joel's Channel Cat puppet...and TV's Frank gets slugged by a different puppet named "Fisty". HEE!
A truly funny episode here. Highly, highly recommended.
Original Comedy Central airdate: August 14, 1993.
One-fourth of the 20th MST3K set, available from Amazon.
A Russian film originally entitled Sadko, Roger Corman's Filmgroup released it in America with a new dubbed soundtrack and the title "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad"...even if there's absolutely nothing remotely Arabian depicted in the film. Regardless, Sinbad promises the citizens of his hometown wealth and happiness, only to get mocked publicly. With some assistance from Neptune's daughter, Sinbad catches a golden fish, which doesn't exactly set his town alight with happiness. So, Sinbad recruits a crew of locals to travel to India to seek out and bring back the Bluebird of Happiness. They do find what they're looking for, but Sinbad has an epiphany enroute: there is no better land than where you were born, and one doesn't have to travel far in search of happiness.
It's the S.O.L.tie Awards, and Crow T. Robot wins an award that Tom Servo (and Joel!) feel like they were more worthy of. The prize involved an incident involving Servo's out-of-control hoverskirt, so there may have been some fixing going on behind the scenes. The Mads introduce "Chin-derwear" for your chin; up in space, Joel and his robots come up with the Rat Pack Chess Set, which would probably sell millions if it were a real game. Ol' Blue Eyes also delays movie sign until he says it's okay. Soon after, the meeting of the Junior Jester Club is called off due to exhaustion after much fooling around. A city council meeting follows, where Joel and the 'bots don ridiculous beards and debate the ongoing Sinbad issue. Later, Crow abandons the experiment to embark on an epic quest like Sinbad, shooting himself out an air lock. It goes horribly. After the movie, Crow and Tom are impressed by Joel's Channel Cat puppet...and TV's Frank gets slugged by a different puppet named "Fisty". HEE!
A truly funny episode here. Highly, highly recommended.
MST3K #501: Warrior of the Lost World
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #501: Warrior of the Lost World.
Original Comedy Central airdate: July 24, 1993.
Available on the sixteenth MST3K set from Shout! Factory. Maybe if you're lucky, you can get one with the limited edition Tom Servo figurine.
A particularly crummy post-acopalyptic film from the 1980 starring Robert "the Paper Chase guy" Ginty as a nameless motorcycle rider with an advanced, but very annoying motorcycle called Einstein. The Paper Chase guy is picked to lead a rebellion against the Omega government led by Prossor, who is played by Donald Pleasence. The bike rider also meets Nastasia (Persis Khambatta), who urges him to rescue her captured father, McWayne, alias Jimmy Carter. The rescue is successful, but Nastasia is accidentally left behind, and Prossor brainwashes her. It's up to the Paper Chase guy, Einstein, Jimmy Carter, and their lovable band of Outsiders to strike back against Omega and reintroduce the "New Way": freedom, equality, justice. Fred Williamson also stars, as does the real breakout talent of the movie: Megaweapon.
Up on the Satellite of Love, Tom Servo gets his dream opportunity: a formal opening to the show that gets disrupted by Crow, who is then forced to eat Servo's prepared speech. Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank introduce the Square Master as part of the invention exchange, a simple piece of exercise equipment that takes advantage of nature's own gravity. Joel and the robots introduce Bittersweet Hearts, with such touching messages as "Get Out", "My Needs", and "Still Mad". Inspired by the movie's first chase scene, Joel outfits Tom and Crow with slot cars. Crow has a blast on the track, but Servo can't seem to get moving, and when he finally does, he wrecks. Next, Servo (as Steve Allen) introduces a sketch where Joel plays the Paper Chase guy had he not had his drivers' license when the apocalypse hit. The skit kind of runs out of steam just in time for movie sign. Later on, Joel and the 'bots discuss fun things you could do in the event of an apocalypse, like playing stickball on an interstate, among other things. Just be sure to have a spare pair of eyeglasses. After the movie, Joel and the robots call up Megaweapon, who is now living in Tampa with his sister; down in Deep 13, the Mads enjoy an active lifestyle.
Highly recommended episode, and the DVD contains an interview with the movie's director, David Worth, who is a self-professed MST3K fan, and he enjoyed the treatment his film got on the show.
Original Comedy Central airdate: July 24, 1993.
Available on the sixteenth MST3K set from Shout! Factory. Maybe if you're lucky, you can get one with the limited edition Tom Servo figurine.
A particularly crummy post-acopalyptic film from the 1980 starring Robert "the Paper Chase guy" Ginty as a nameless motorcycle rider with an advanced, but very annoying motorcycle called Einstein. The Paper Chase guy is picked to lead a rebellion against the Omega government led by Prossor, who is played by Donald Pleasence. The bike rider also meets Nastasia (Persis Khambatta), who urges him to rescue her captured father, McWayne, alias Jimmy Carter. The rescue is successful, but Nastasia is accidentally left behind, and Prossor brainwashes her. It's up to the Paper Chase guy, Einstein, Jimmy Carter, and their lovable band of Outsiders to strike back against Omega and reintroduce the "New Way": freedom, equality, justice. Fred Williamson also stars, as does the real breakout talent of the movie: Megaweapon.
Up on the Satellite of Love, Tom Servo gets his dream opportunity: a formal opening to the show that gets disrupted by Crow, who is then forced to eat Servo's prepared speech. Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank introduce the Square Master as part of the invention exchange, a simple piece of exercise equipment that takes advantage of nature's own gravity. Joel and the robots introduce Bittersweet Hearts, with such touching messages as "Get Out", "My Needs", and "Still Mad". Inspired by the movie's first chase scene, Joel outfits Tom and Crow with slot cars. Crow has a blast on the track, but Servo can't seem to get moving, and when he finally does, he wrecks. Next, Servo (as Steve Allen) introduces a sketch where Joel plays the Paper Chase guy had he not had his drivers' license when the apocalypse hit. The skit kind of runs out of steam just in time for movie sign. Later on, Joel and the 'bots discuss fun things you could do in the event of an apocalypse, like playing stickball on an interstate, among other things. Just be sure to have a spare pair of eyeglasses. After the movie, Joel and the robots call up Megaweapon, who is now living in Tampa with his sister; down in Deep 13, the Mads enjoy an active lifestyle.
Highly recommended episode, and the DVD contains an interview with the movie's director, David Worth, who is a self-professed MST3K fan, and he enjoyed the treatment his film got on the show.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Some Kind of Monster
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
2004 IFC Films; distributed to DVD by Paramount Pictures.
Metallica: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich
Leaves Metallica: Jason Newsted
Joins Metallica: Robert Trujillo
Also appearing: Bob Rock, Phil Towle, Dave Mustaine, Torben Ulrich, Danny Lohner, Jeordie White (as Twiggy Ramirez), Pepper Keenan, Scott Reeder, Chris Wyse, Eric Avery, Joel Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky (last two uncredited)
Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Available from Amazon.
In 1996, directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky released the documentary Paradise Lost about the West Memphis Three. Metallica allowed their music to be used for the film, a first for the band. A few years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky began work on this documentary. By then, Metallica itself was in a state of crisis. Jason Newsted left the group after fourteen years. He was unhappy with the direction Metallica was going, and proposed a year-long break where he'd focus on his side project Echobrain. The rest of the band, particularly James Hetfield, objected, so Newsted departed. A "performance enhancing" coach named Phil Towle is brought in to moderate therapy sessions to help the remaining members of Metallica understand one another. After rehearsals for the next record go nowhere, Hetfield walks out and checks himself into a rehabilitation center, leaving Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Bob Rock in limbo for the next several months. Well, they get a lot of talking to Towle done...
After Hetfield returns, sessions for what become the 2003 Metallica album St. Anger resume, although Hetfield can only work four hours a day as part of rehabilitation, so he can continue to repair his relationship with his wife and children. This four hour window annoys Ulrich, who sees it as another example of Hetfield needing to control everything, along with his lengthy absence tying up the rest of the band. Ulrich and Hetfield have been best friends and bandmates for twenty years at that point, but they really don't know one another that well...unless they're obliterated on alcohol.
In the meantime, Towle oversees frequent sessions with the group, and it appears that he starts believing that he's a member of Metallica; he even tries contributing lyrics at one point. Eventually, the group decides to inform Towle that his services will no longer be required; Towle disagrees, claiming that there are some "trust issues" that needed to be sorted out. But, while Towle was still being paid by the band, he brought in former Metallica guitarist and Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine to talk to Ulrich about the time he was kicked out of the group for drinking too much. After all of this time, and for all of the success he attained with Megadeth, Mustaine is still resentful that he was fired without ever being given a chance to redeem himself with a stint in rehab, not to mention that he still gets Metallica fans ridiculing him on the street. There were a few more years of bickering in the press between Mustaine and Ulrich, but all parties involved have completely settled their differences.
As St. Anger nears completion, Metallica auditions new bass players (producer Bob Rock handled bass duties in the studio). Robert Trujillo, of Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's backing band, is hired as the new bass player, just in time for an MTV tribute special. Earlier, rumors circulated that Newsted expressed interest in returning, but he denied this, saying that he definitely does not regret leaving Metallica to concentrate on Echobrain and a little later, Voivod.
Some Kind of Monster is an interesting and compelling documentary that is also unintentionally funny at times, such as the scene where Lars Ulrich sells his art collection for millions of dollars, along with some of the really bad lyrics that ended up getting used on St. Anger. Oh, and the whole idea that a group of multimillionaire heavy metal musicians heavily utilizing a therapist to understand themselves better, and to express their feelings and emotions for their bandmates does seem hilarious, but hey, whatever works for Metallica. Recommended.
2004 IFC Films; distributed to DVD by Paramount Pictures.
Metallica: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich
Leaves Metallica: Jason Newsted
Joins Metallica: Robert Trujillo
Also appearing: Bob Rock, Phil Towle, Dave Mustaine, Torben Ulrich, Danny Lohner, Jeordie White (as Twiggy Ramirez), Pepper Keenan, Scott Reeder, Chris Wyse, Eric Avery, Joel Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky (last two uncredited)
Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Available from Amazon.
In 1996, directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky released the documentary Paradise Lost about the West Memphis Three. Metallica allowed their music to be used for the film, a first for the band. A few years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky began work on this documentary. By then, Metallica itself was in a state of crisis. Jason Newsted left the group after fourteen years. He was unhappy with the direction Metallica was going, and proposed a year-long break where he'd focus on his side project Echobrain. The rest of the band, particularly James Hetfield, objected, so Newsted departed. A "performance enhancing" coach named Phil Towle is brought in to moderate therapy sessions to help the remaining members of Metallica understand one another. After rehearsals for the next record go nowhere, Hetfield walks out and checks himself into a rehabilitation center, leaving Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Bob Rock in limbo for the next several months. Well, they get a lot of talking to Towle done...
After Hetfield returns, sessions for what become the 2003 Metallica album St. Anger resume, although Hetfield can only work four hours a day as part of rehabilitation, so he can continue to repair his relationship with his wife and children. This four hour window annoys Ulrich, who sees it as another example of Hetfield needing to control everything, along with his lengthy absence tying up the rest of the band. Ulrich and Hetfield have been best friends and bandmates for twenty years at that point, but they really don't know one another that well...unless they're obliterated on alcohol.
In the meantime, Towle oversees frequent sessions with the group, and it appears that he starts believing that he's a member of Metallica; he even tries contributing lyrics at one point. Eventually, the group decides to inform Towle that his services will no longer be required; Towle disagrees, claiming that there are some "trust issues" that needed to be sorted out. But, while Towle was still being paid by the band, he brought in former Metallica guitarist and Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine to talk to Ulrich about the time he was kicked out of the group for drinking too much. After all of this time, and for all of the success he attained with Megadeth, Mustaine is still resentful that he was fired without ever being given a chance to redeem himself with a stint in rehab, not to mention that he still gets Metallica fans ridiculing him on the street. There were a few more years of bickering in the press between Mustaine and Ulrich, but all parties involved have completely settled their differences.
As St. Anger nears completion, Metallica auditions new bass players (producer Bob Rock handled bass duties in the studio). Robert Trujillo, of Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's backing band, is hired as the new bass player, just in time for an MTV tribute special. Earlier, rumors circulated that Newsted expressed interest in returning, but he denied this, saying that he definitely does not regret leaving Metallica to concentrate on Echobrain and a little later, Voivod.
Some Kind of Monster is an interesting and compelling documentary that is also unintentionally funny at times, such as the scene where Lars Ulrich sells his art collection for millions of dollars, along with some of the really bad lyrics that ended up getting used on St. Anger. Oh, and the whole idea that a group of multimillionaire heavy metal musicians heavily utilizing a therapist to understand themselves better, and to express their feelings and emotions for their bandmates does seem hilarious, but hey, whatever works for Metallica. Recommended.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Pink Floyd: The Wall
Pink Floyd: The Wall.
1982 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; distributed to DVD by Sony.
Starring: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, Eleanor David, Alex McAvoy, Bob Hoskins, Michael Ensign
Written by Roger Waters
Director: Alan Parker
Buy the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition from Amazon.
Oh, and feel free to peruse this fine site.
Pink Floyd's The Wall (the album, of course) was conceived as a concept by Roger Waters after the final date of the "In the Flesh" tour in Montreal in July of 1977. Waters spat in the face of a young fan, after singling him out as part of a particularly rowdy but small crowd near the stage. Horrified by his behavior onstage, and increasingly disillusioned by playing concerts in enormous football stadiums, Waters came up with the idea of constructing a wall across the stage, between the audience and the performers. The band always intended to produce a feature film about The Wall, in addition to the record. Alan Parker was tapped as director, and Roger Waters originally planned to play the lead role of Pink, before screen tests showed that he was better off not trying to act on top of his other duties producing the film. Also, the band intended to incorporate live concert material into the film, but this plan was shelved once Waters gave up any role appearing onscreen. Bob Geldof was cast as Pink, even after he expressed his contempt for Pink Floyd and their music.
Alienation, and the construction of a metaphorical wall, is the driving theme of the film. Pink, the central character and rock star, had it tough growing up. His father died in World War II, and he always longed for a father figure in his life. His mother is overprotective, and Pink is also humiliated in school one day when his teacher halts the class to read some lyrics that Pink is writing (the lyrics to "Money"). He does get married, but retreats into a life of material possessions and groupies when he learns that his wife is having an affair while he's on tour. But, when Pink snaps and destroys his hotel suite, he slowly goes off the deep end. Later on, after having shaved his entire body, Pink's manager (Hoskins) and the hotel manager (Ensign) discover him, and he's injected with drugs to help him perform. Pink, lost in a cloud of drugs, fantasizes he is a neo-Nazi dictator and his concert is a rally. His followers riot and attack minorities.
After a second rally, Pink screams "Stop!" and hides in a restroom, where he recites poetry and puts himself on trial, where the judge orders that his wall be torn down. Pink's fate is unclear, but it's implied that the cycle he was on will repeat itself for a different small child.
The Wall employs fantastic animation, surreal and sometimes frightening images, and of course, the music of Pink Floyd to produce one of the great rock and roll films. Highly recommended.
1982 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; distributed to DVD by Sony.
Starring: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, Eleanor David, Alex McAvoy, Bob Hoskins, Michael Ensign
Written by Roger Waters
Director: Alan Parker
Buy the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition from Amazon.
Oh, and feel free to peruse this fine site.
Pink Floyd's The Wall (the album, of course) was conceived as a concept by Roger Waters after the final date of the "In the Flesh" tour in Montreal in July of 1977. Waters spat in the face of a young fan, after singling him out as part of a particularly rowdy but small crowd near the stage. Horrified by his behavior onstage, and increasingly disillusioned by playing concerts in enormous football stadiums, Waters came up with the idea of constructing a wall across the stage, between the audience and the performers. The band always intended to produce a feature film about The Wall, in addition to the record. Alan Parker was tapped as director, and Roger Waters originally planned to play the lead role of Pink, before screen tests showed that he was better off not trying to act on top of his other duties producing the film. Also, the band intended to incorporate live concert material into the film, but this plan was shelved once Waters gave up any role appearing onscreen. Bob Geldof was cast as Pink, even after he expressed his contempt for Pink Floyd and their music.
Alienation, and the construction of a metaphorical wall, is the driving theme of the film. Pink, the central character and rock star, had it tough growing up. His father died in World War II, and he always longed for a father figure in his life. His mother is overprotective, and Pink is also humiliated in school one day when his teacher halts the class to read some lyrics that Pink is writing (the lyrics to "Money"). He does get married, but retreats into a life of material possessions and groupies when he learns that his wife is having an affair while he's on tour. But, when Pink snaps and destroys his hotel suite, he slowly goes off the deep end. Later on, after having shaved his entire body, Pink's manager (Hoskins) and the hotel manager (Ensign) discover him, and he's injected with drugs to help him perform. Pink, lost in a cloud of drugs, fantasizes he is a neo-Nazi dictator and his concert is a rally. His followers riot and attack minorities.
After a second rally, Pink screams "Stop!" and hides in a restroom, where he recites poetry and puts himself on trial, where the judge orders that his wall be torn down. Pink's fate is unclear, but it's implied that the cycle he was on will repeat itself for a different small child.
The Wall employs fantastic animation, surreal and sometimes frightening images, and of course, the music of Pink Floyd to produce one of the great rock and roll films. Highly recommended.
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
2006 Sony Pictures Classics.
Starring: Daniel Johnston
Also featuring: The Johnston Family (Bill, Mabel, Dick and Margie), David Fair, Jad Fair, Matt Groening, Gibby Haynes, Thurston Moore, Laurie Allen
Director: Jeff Feuerzieg
Available at Amazon.
Visit the official site.
If you remember seeing Kurt Cobain in the early 1990s wearing a white T-shirt with an odd looking cartoon character on it saying "Hi, how are you?", that shirt was designed by Daniel Johnston, a gifted singer, songwriter, and visual artist, and he's also the subject of this 2006 documentary.
Johnston has suffered all of his life from manic depression, and his first attack may have occured in junior high school, when his mother Mabel described Daniel as "losing all of his wonderful confidence". This might have been caused by his parents trying to force him to live a strict, religious upbringing, and suggesting that he place God above everything else (Daniel has had many religious-triggered incidents in his life, usually where he rants nonstop about the Devil). However, this didn't halt him from pursuing his passions of playing the piano, filming home movies, and drawing constantly, despite the disapproval of his mother, who Daniel recorded yelling at him to add to his first home recorded albums like Songs of Pain and Don't Be Scared. (Note: Daniel constantly recorded his thoughts to cassette tape, and we get to hear many of his thoughts as he struggles to cope with his mental condition.)
After a failed stint at Abilene Christian University, Daniel enrolled at the East Liverpool branch of Kent State to study art, where he met the love of his life, Laurie Allen. While Laurie did seem to enjoy Daniel's attention from the home video that he recorded of her, Laurie married an undertaker, fueling Daniel's passion for her and giving him a reason to focus his pain and confusion into his music. The DVD includes a reunion of Laurie and Daniel as an extra, and as heart warming as it is, Laurie still turns down Daniel's marriage proposal. Poor guy...someday, he'll get the girl (or not).
Relocating to Austin, Texas, Daniel gets a job at a local McDonald's, where he passes out copies of his homemade albums, and appears on an episode of MTV's The Cutting Edge that highlighted local Austin musicians. This, and an appearance at the 1985 Woodshock music festival gives him increased attention. Daniel also starts smoking marijuana, and drops acid at a Butthole Surfers concert (which were already weird enough without the aid of chemical enhancement). Things go downhill from there. Daniel is institutionalized after a violent incident with his family at Christmas, goes on medication, and spends a year in bed. Afterwards, Daniel takes a trip to New York City as the guest of members of Sonic Youth, where his problems escalate, but he refuses to go home or acknowledge anything may be wrong.
Even after Daniel causes his father's plane to crash (still a very emotional topic for his father Bill), and is put back in a mental hospital again, major record labels start trying to sign him. Elektra Records offers Daniel the most beneficial, one-sided contact for eight records, including a clause that he can't be dropped from the label due to poor record sales, but he turns it down because Metallica is also on the label, and he's afraid that they'll come after him and kill him. Well, maybe not, but Metallica might have sued him for what have you... (Kidding) Instead, Daniel signs with another company, who drops him after his only major label release Fun sells less than 10,000 copies.
Regardless, with the help of his parents, Daniel stabilizes the best he can, living with them in a small Texas town, where he continues to write and record music, draw nonstop, and perform live. Daniel usually stops using his medications before a performance, because he feels that it will make the show "better". Still, there's always a few in every audience who try goading Daniel into a meltdown onstage.
Recommended documentary, but Daniel Johnston's music isn't for everyone, of course.
2006 Sony Pictures Classics.
Starring: Daniel Johnston
Also featuring: The Johnston Family (Bill, Mabel, Dick and Margie), David Fair, Jad Fair, Matt Groening, Gibby Haynes, Thurston Moore, Laurie Allen
Director: Jeff Feuerzieg
Available at Amazon.
Visit the official site.
If you remember seeing Kurt Cobain in the early 1990s wearing a white T-shirt with an odd looking cartoon character on it saying "Hi, how are you?", that shirt was designed by Daniel Johnston, a gifted singer, songwriter, and visual artist, and he's also the subject of this 2006 documentary.
Johnston has suffered all of his life from manic depression, and his first attack may have occured in junior high school, when his mother Mabel described Daniel as "losing all of his wonderful confidence". This might have been caused by his parents trying to force him to live a strict, religious upbringing, and suggesting that he place God above everything else (Daniel has had many religious-triggered incidents in his life, usually where he rants nonstop about the Devil). However, this didn't halt him from pursuing his passions of playing the piano, filming home movies, and drawing constantly, despite the disapproval of his mother, who Daniel recorded yelling at him to add to his first home recorded albums like Songs of Pain and Don't Be Scared. (Note: Daniel constantly recorded his thoughts to cassette tape, and we get to hear many of his thoughts as he struggles to cope with his mental condition.)
After a failed stint at Abilene Christian University, Daniel enrolled at the East Liverpool branch of Kent State to study art, where he met the love of his life, Laurie Allen. While Laurie did seem to enjoy Daniel's attention from the home video that he recorded of her, Laurie married an undertaker, fueling Daniel's passion for her and giving him a reason to focus his pain and confusion into his music. The DVD includes a reunion of Laurie and Daniel as an extra, and as heart warming as it is, Laurie still turns down Daniel's marriage proposal. Poor guy...someday, he'll get the girl (or not).
Relocating to Austin, Texas, Daniel gets a job at a local McDonald's, where he passes out copies of his homemade albums, and appears on an episode of MTV's The Cutting Edge that highlighted local Austin musicians. This, and an appearance at the 1985 Woodshock music festival gives him increased attention. Daniel also starts smoking marijuana, and drops acid at a Butthole Surfers concert (which were already weird enough without the aid of chemical enhancement). Things go downhill from there. Daniel is institutionalized after a violent incident with his family at Christmas, goes on medication, and spends a year in bed. Afterwards, Daniel takes a trip to New York City as the guest of members of Sonic Youth, where his problems escalate, but he refuses to go home or acknowledge anything may be wrong.
Even after Daniel causes his father's plane to crash (still a very emotional topic for his father Bill), and is put back in a mental hospital again, major record labels start trying to sign him. Elektra Records offers Daniel the most beneficial, one-sided contact for eight records, including a clause that he can't be dropped from the label due to poor record sales, but he turns it down because Metallica is also on the label, and he's afraid that they'll come after him and kill him. Well, maybe not, but Metallica might have sued him for what have you... (Kidding) Instead, Daniel signs with another company, who drops him after his only major label release Fun sells less than 10,000 copies.
Regardless, with the help of his parents, Daniel stabilizes the best he can, living with them in a small Texas town, where he continues to write and record music, draw nonstop, and perform live. Daniel usually stops using his medications before a performance, because he feels that it will make the show "better". Still, there's always a few in every audience who try goading Daniel into a meltdown onstage.
Recommended documentary, but Daniel Johnston's music isn't for everyone, of course.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Song Remains the Same
The Song Remains the Same. 1976 Warner Bros. Pictures.
Featuring: Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant, Richard Cole
Directors: Peter Clifton and Joe Massot
Two disc special edition available from Amazon.
Re-released in 2007 to DVD with all fifteen live performances included, and containing a newly remixed and remastered soundtrack (among other goodies), Led Zeppelin's live concert slash fantasy film is still an exciting two hours and seventeen minutes, even if the members of the band have admitted that this performance was an "off night" for them. The live performances were filmed at Madison Square Garden on July 27th through the 29th in 1973, with further footage filmed at Shepperton Studios in August of 1974, after director Peter Clifton noticed there were gaps in the concert footage already completed. This caused a minor continuity problem, as John Paul Jones had cut his hair short in the period between filming (he simply wore a wig at Shepperton), and Robert Plant had undergone dental surgery since the MSG performance. Also included in the film is Zeppelin manager Peter Grant chewing out a concert promoter while using two of the seven words you can never say on television quite often. Warner Bros. agreed only to release the movie if this scene's dialogue was censored.
The fantasy sequences are interesting, but one can suppose that they probably could have been left out of the film in favor of more live concert scenes. Grant and Richard Cole (Led Zeppelin's tour manager) play two armed hitmen attacking a business meeting filled with "greedy millionaires". After a scene where he reads Jack and the Beanstalk to his children, and receives a message requesting his presence in America, John Paul Jones stars in a reinterpretation of Doctor Syn, where he plays a masked gentleman named The Scarecrow, who travels at night on horseback with three others before returning home to his life as an ordinary family man. Robert Plant is a sword-wielding knight who rescues a maiden while on a quest for the Holy Grail. Jimmy Page climbs a mountain on a night with a full moon to seek out the Hermit in a quest for self enlightenment. However, when he reaches the top, Page discovers that somehow, the Hermit is him! John Bonham's fantasy sequence is quite ordinary: he simply spends time at home with his family, plays a game of snooker, and goes drag racing.
Recommended movie capturing Led Zeppelin at the peak of their popularity, and a good example of the excesses of the music and show business industries during the time. But, if you want a superior Zeppelin concert DVD, by all means pick up 2003's Led Zeppelin DVD, which contains more footage from the 1973 MSG concert that wasn't used in the movie.
Featuring: Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant, Richard Cole
Directors: Peter Clifton and Joe Massot
Two disc special edition available from Amazon.
Re-released in 2007 to DVD with all fifteen live performances included, and containing a newly remixed and remastered soundtrack (among other goodies), Led Zeppelin's live concert slash fantasy film is still an exciting two hours and seventeen minutes, even if the members of the band have admitted that this performance was an "off night" for them. The live performances were filmed at Madison Square Garden on July 27th through the 29th in 1973, with further footage filmed at Shepperton Studios in August of 1974, after director Peter Clifton noticed there were gaps in the concert footage already completed. This caused a minor continuity problem, as John Paul Jones had cut his hair short in the period between filming (he simply wore a wig at Shepperton), and Robert Plant had undergone dental surgery since the MSG performance. Also included in the film is Zeppelin manager Peter Grant chewing out a concert promoter while using two of the seven words you can never say on television quite often. Warner Bros. agreed only to release the movie if this scene's dialogue was censored.
The fantasy sequences are interesting, but one can suppose that they probably could have been left out of the film in favor of more live concert scenes. Grant and Richard Cole (Led Zeppelin's tour manager) play two armed hitmen attacking a business meeting filled with "greedy millionaires". After a scene where he reads Jack and the Beanstalk to his children, and receives a message requesting his presence in America, John Paul Jones stars in a reinterpretation of Doctor Syn, where he plays a masked gentleman named The Scarecrow, who travels at night on horseback with three others before returning home to his life as an ordinary family man. Robert Plant is a sword-wielding knight who rescues a maiden while on a quest for the Holy Grail. Jimmy Page climbs a mountain on a night with a full moon to seek out the Hermit in a quest for self enlightenment. However, when he reaches the top, Page discovers that somehow, the Hermit is him! John Bonham's fantasy sequence is quite ordinary: he simply spends time at home with his family, plays a game of snooker, and goes drag racing.
Recommended movie capturing Led Zeppelin at the peak of their popularity, and a good example of the excesses of the music and show business industries during the time. But, if you want a superior Zeppelin concert DVD, by all means pick up 2003's Led Zeppelin DVD, which contains more footage from the 1973 MSG concert that wasn't used in the movie.
Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back.
1967 Leacock-Pennebaker Productions; distributed to DVD by Docurama.
Featuring: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez, Alan Price, Tito Burns, Donovan, Derroll Adams, Horace Freeland Judson, Marianne Faithfull, Allen Ginsberg, John Mayall (last three uncredited)
Director: D.A. Pennebaker
The 1965 Tour Deluxe Edition of this movie is available from Amazon.
D.A. Pennebaker follows Bob Dylan across the pond to England to cover his three week tour in 1965, where he made the transition from acoustic folk to rock music played with electric instruments. Opening with the now famous "Subterranean Homesick Blues" clip, we follow Dylan as he (among other things) plays several shows, including one at the Royal Albert Hall, picks on Time journalist Horace Freeland Judson, verbally jousts with student and future record mogul Terry Ellis, and befriends his British counterpart, Donovan. The film was also shot at the tail end of Dylan's relationship with Joan Baez, and even though they do collaborate on a song that came out in 1968, the tension between them is obvious.
The 2007 DVD release also includes the new documentary 65 Revisited, comprised of unused material shot in 1965, outtakes, and full song performances of seven tracks, including a duet with Baez.
Highly recommended film.
1967 Leacock-Pennebaker Productions; distributed to DVD by Docurama.
Featuring: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez, Alan Price, Tito Burns, Donovan, Derroll Adams, Horace Freeland Judson, Marianne Faithfull, Allen Ginsberg, John Mayall (last three uncredited)
Director: D.A. Pennebaker
The 1965 Tour Deluxe Edition of this movie is available from Amazon.
D.A. Pennebaker follows Bob Dylan across the pond to England to cover his three week tour in 1965, where he made the transition from acoustic folk to rock music played with electric instruments. Opening with the now famous "Subterranean Homesick Blues" clip, we follow Dylan as he (among other things) plays several shows, including one at the Royal Albert Hall, picks on Time journalist Horace Freeland Judson, verbally jousts with student and future record mogul Terry Ellis, and befriends his British counterpart, Donovan. The film was also shot at the tail end of Dylan's relationship with Joan Baez, and even though they do collaborate on a song that came out in 1968, the tension between them is obvious.
The 2007 DVD release also includes the new documentary 65 Revisited, comprised of unused material shot in 1965, outtakes, and full song performances of seven tracks, including a duet with Baez.
Highly recommended film.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
MST3K #423: Bride of the Monster
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #423: Bride of the Monster (with short, Hired!, Part One).
Original Comedy Central airdate: January 23, 1993.
This episode is available on the 19th MST3K collection at Amazon.
In part one of the Jam Handy Organization short made for Chevrolet in 1940, we see two new door-to-door salesmen named Jimmy and Henderson, and his frustrated supervisor, Mr. Warren, wondering why they're not panning out. Mr. Warren lives with his parents and complains to his elderly father (who sips lemonade when he isn't swatting at insects and having hankerchief-related "episodes") that the new generation doesn't work as hard as the older folks. Dad sets his son straight by reminding him that he wasn't always perfect and made mistakes as a younger salesman. Part two of Hired! opens MST3K episode 424, Manos.
It's an Ed Wood movie, folks. Bear with us. Bride of the Monster stars Bela Lugosi as mad scientist Dr. Eric Vornoff, who is experimenting with nuclear power with help from his lumbering mute assistant Lobo, played by Tor Johnson. Vornoff is looking to create an army of superhuman soldiers to conquer the world with, and he lives in a house guarded by a giant mutant octopus. The octopus has been responsible for a string of deaths in the region, and a reporter named Janet Lawton (Loretta King Hadler) investigates further into the situation, becoming a prisoner of Vornoff. There's giant rubber snakes, two-foot deep human traps, and stock footage of alligators, not to mention an official from Vornoff's home country demanding that he return home. Oh, and Ed Wood himself might have taken a cameo role as a female secretary in one scene. He loves him some angora.
Opening the episode, Joel utilizes Cambot to analyze Crow's dream. Things are all right until a horrified Tom Servo discovers that he's in the dream as a...candy-striper? Invention exchange: The Mads introduce and demonstrate the Tough Love Seat, equipped with metal studs and painful shocks of electricity. Joel introduces microwavable Faith Popcorn, which predicts upcoming pop culture trends, such as Jerry Reed getting elected to public office (Well, when you're hot, you're hot). Next, the Satellite of Love Community Theater presents the excellent Hired! The Musical which goes off without a hitch until commercial sign, when everyone finally gets annoyed. Later, Joel and the 'Bots discuss how lucky the monster octopus is because its victims literally fall into its grasp, and it segues into a discussion about which other food products could be used as a lame movie monster. Tom Servo next wishes for a world with no advertising, and Willy the Waffle (Crow) shows up to grant that wish. No springs? To end the show, Cambot re-edits the end of the film, Joel and the robots do their best Bela Lugosi evil look, and down in Deep 13, Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank are playing Bela and Tor.
Great episode. The riffing is spot on, and the host segments are great, especially Hired! The Musical. Highly recommended episode!
"He tampered in God's domain..."
Original Comedy Central airdate: January 23, 1993.
This episode is available on the 19th MST3K collection at Amazon.
In part one of the Jam Handy Organization short made for Chevrolet in 1940, we see two new door-to-door salesmen named Jimmy and Henderson, and his frustrated supervisor, Mr. Warren, wondering why they're not panning out. Mr. Warren lives with his parents and complains to his elderly father (who sips lemonade when he isn't swatting at insects and having hankerchief-related "episodes") that the new generation doesn't work as hard as the older folks. Dad sets his son straight by reminding him that he wasn't always perfect and made mistakes as a younger salesman. Part two of Hired! opens MST3K episode 424, Manos.
It's an Ed Wood movie, folks. Bear with us. Bride of the Monster stars Bela Lugosi as mad scientist Dr. Eric Vornoff, who is experimenting with nuclear power with help from his lumbering mute assistant Lobo, played by Tor Johnson. Vornoff is looking to create an army of superhuman soldiers to conquer the world with, and he lives in a house guarded by a giant mutant octopus. The octopus has been responsible for a string of deaths in the region, and a reporter named Janet Lawton (Loretta King Hadler) investigates further into the situation, becoming a prisoner of Vornoff. There's giant rubber snakes, two-foot deep human traps, and stock footage of alligators, not to mention an official from Vornoff's home country demanding that he return home. Oh, and Ed Wood himself might have taken a cameo role as a female secretary in one scene. He loves him some angora.
Opening the episode, Joel utilizes Cambot to analyze Crow's dream. Things are all right until a horrified Tom Servo discovers that he's in the dream as a...candy-striper? Invention exchange: The Mads introduce and demonstrate the Tough Love Seat, equipped with metal studs and painful shocks of electricity. Joel introduces microwavable Faith Popcorn, which predicts upcoming pop culture trends, such as Jerry Reed getting elected to public office (Well, when you're hot, you're hot). Next, the Satellite of Love Community Theater presents the excellent Hired! The Musical which goes off without a hitch until commercial sign, when everyone finally gets annoyed. Later, Joel and the 'Bots discuss how lucky the monster octopus is because its victims literally fall into its grasp, and it segues into a discussion about which other food products could be used as a lame movie monster. Tom Servo next wishes for a world with no advertising, and Willy the Waffle (Crow) shows up to grant that wish. No springs? To end the show, Cambot re-edits the end of the film, Joel and the robots do their best Bela Lugosi evil look, and down in Deep 13, Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank are playing Bela and Tor.
Great episode. The riffing is spot on, and the host segments are great, especially Hired! The Musical. Highly recommended episode!
"He tampered in God's domain..."
MST3K #417: Crash of the Moons
Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment #417: Crash of the Moons (with an old clip from General Hospital).
Original airdate: November 28, 1992.
Available on MST3K, Volume XVIII, on sale at Amazon.
In a clip from an ancient episode of General Hospital, ABC's last surviving soap opera, Cynthia and Phil argue about who Cynthia is in love with. Phil wants Cynthia to love him and not the poor schmuck she loves. Or something. Truth be told, I couldn't follow what was going on. It ends with Cynthia and Phil engaging in liplock in a car. The repercussions of this kiss are still being felt today on the show.
The main feature is pieced together from episodes of the old sci-fi series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. Here, Rock and his crew Winky, Professor Newton, Vena and a kid named Bobby are trying to evacuate the planet Ofecious before it collides with another planet. Queen Cleolanta of Ofecious would alternately rather die on her doomed planet, or at least try to destroy the rogue planet first. This second planet is the home of Kwotanda, Bwavarro, and their son, the Little Prince, who won't stop crying. In addition to many bad special effects of rocketships taking off and landing perfectly vertical, we also have John Banner of Hogan's Heroes fame in one of his more memorable roles. Boopie!
On the SOL, Tom Servo tries tackling macrame, and Crow sells Grit to keep kids like him off of the streets. Apparently, Crow has a history of ordering things in bulk that he keeps trying to sell to Joel, Servo and Gypsy. The invention exchange sees the Mads introduce Deep 13 Toothpaste, a sugary product that is great for teeth, I tell you! Meanwhile, Joel introduces the Rock 'n' Wreck Guitar for poor musicians who can wreck it and put it back together to their heart's content...and TV's Frank won't stop bogarting the toothpaste. Later on, introduced by Mr. Robinson, Crow and Tom serenade Gypsy with a song called "The Gypsy Moon", and leave it to Crow to ruin it by getting too dirty at the end. Next, Joel and the 'Bots introduce the Banner-gram in honor of John Banner, which you can send to anyone in the country, Denver in particular. Crow ends up sending a John Byner-gram and a David Mamet-gram by accident. Crow makes up for it next with his new sci-fi teleplay, with a ton of nonsensical, made-up words. Tom Servo isn't exactly impressed. After the movie, after Joel reads a letter, the Satellite receives a Banner-gram. Thinking quickly, Joel and the 'Bots send one down to Deep 13, and Dr. Forrester is not exactly appreciative.
A fun season four episode made even better by Trace Beaulieu's performance at the end of the show. Dr. F's freakout upon learning he's just been sent a Banner-gram is classic. I can't forget to mention Mike Nelson's hysterical John Banner, too. Highly recommended episode.
Original airdate: November 28, 1992.
Available on MST3K, Volume XVIII, on sale at Amazon.
In a clip from an ancient episode of General Hospital, ABC's last surviving soap opera, Cynthia and Phil argue about who Cynthia is in love with. Phil wants Cynthia to love him and not the poor schmuck she loves. Or something. Truth be told, I couldn't follow what was going on. It ends with Cynthia and Phil engaging in liplock in a car. The repercussions of this kiss are still being felt today on the show.
The main feature is pieced together from episodes of the old sci-fi series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. Here, Rock and his crew Winky, Professor Newton, Vena and a kid named Bobby are trying to evacuate the planet Ofecious before it collides with another planet. Queen Cleolanta of Ofecious would alternately rather die on her doomed planet, or at least try to destroy the rogue planet first. This second planet is the home of Kwotanda, Bwavarro, and their son, the Little Prince, who won't stop crying. In addition to many bad special effects of rocketships taking off and landing perfectly vertical, we also have John Banner of Hogan's Heroes fame in one of his more memorable roles. Boopie!
On the SOL, Tom Servo tries tackling macrame, and Crow sells Grit to keep kids like him off of the streets. Apparently, Crow has a history of ordering things in bulk that he keeps trying to sell to Joel, Servo and Gypsy. The invention exchange sees the Mads introduce Deep 13 Toothpaste, a sugary product that is great for teeth, I tell you! Meanwhile, Joel introduces the Rock 'n' Wreck Guitar for poor musicians who can wreck it and put it back together to their heart's content...and TV's Frank won't stop bogarting the toothpaste. Later on, introduced by Mr. Robinson, Crow and Tom serenade Gypsy with a song called "The Gypsy Moon", and leave it to Crow to ruin it by getting too dirty at the end. Next, Joel and the 'Bots introduce the Banner-gram in honor of John Banner, which you can send to anyone in the country, Denver in particular. Crow ends up sending a John Byner-gram and a David Mamet-gram by accident. Crow makes up for it next with his new sci-fi teleplay, with a ton of nonsensical, made-up words. Tom Servo isn't exactly impressed. After the movie, after Joel reads a letter, the Satellite receives a Banner-gram. Thinking quickly, Joel and the 'Bots send one down to Deep 13, and Dr. Forrester is not exactly appreciative.
A fun season four episode made even better by Trace Beaulieu's performance at the end of the show. Dr. F's freakout upon learning he's just been sent a Banner-gram is classic. I can't forget to mention Mike Nelson's hysterical John Banner, too. Highly recommended episode.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Jandek on Corwood
Jandek on Corwood. 2004 Unicorn Stencil.
Featured: John Trubee, Phil Milstein, Katy Vine, Dr. Demento, Gary Pig Gold, Richie Unterberger, Calvin Johnson, Douglas Wolk
Director: Chad Freidrichs
Available on Amazon.
Visit the official website.
Among the dozens of records released in the year 1978, one came out from an act calling itself "The Units" from Houston, Texas. That record, Ready for the House, is forty-four and a half minutes of uncomfortably out of tune acoustic guitar playing (except for the last track) accompanied by a haunting, wavering voice. This unusual album came out on a label called Corwood Industries, which anyone could contact by writing to its post office. Ready for the House turned out to be the only album released by The Units, as another New Wave band from San Francisco with claims to that name stopped the Texas musician from using that name. One thousand copies of the album were pressed, and initially, just two copies were sold.
Three years later, Six and Six came out on the Corwood label, and now the musician was known as Jandek. This name is a combination of the month of January, and a man named Decker, who the man from Corwood spoke to on the telephone. Jandek is generally assumed to be a man named Sterling Richard Smith, although this has never been confirmed, and anyone at Corwood Industries isn't telling.
Very little is known about Jandek, aside from what little information that Corwood shared in letters to WFMU disc jockey and music historian Irwin Chusid, and in a fifty minute interview with former Spin Magazine writer John Trubee (which is included on the DVD in its entirely as an extra)*. So, how does one make a 90 minute documentary about a subject who has revealed very little about himself to the public, but he did sanction and cooperate with director Chad Freidrichs?
Utilizing many, many interviews with people discussing their interpretation of Jandek and his music, as well as mixing images of Jandek album covers and other random photographs, Freidrichs manages to present the whole Jandek story in 88 minutes in a way that can easily be grasped and appreciated by any newcomers to one of the most willfully obscure and private musicians out there. Highlights include Dr. Demento (who will probably be the only person most of the world would even recognize in this documentary) discussing his interactions, or lack thereof with Corwood, and Texas Monthly reporter Katy Vine, who tracked down a man who looked like the one on several of Jandek's album covers one day in 1999 intending to interview him about the music. Vine and the Corwood representative enjoyed an afternoon at a nearby tavern, but the man made it clear he didn't wish to talk about Jandek or the music.
So, over the course of the film, you will find that it's very possible to create a film about a subject who keeps to himself most of the time.
At the time that Freidrichs completed Jandek on Corwood, Corwood has issued 32 records under the name Jandek, included a re-issued Ready for the House with any reference to The Units replaced. Five more albums were recorded and issued after the film's completion (a bonus feature highlights these five new records), and most surprisingly, Jandek made his first onstage appearance at a music festival in Glasgow in October of 2004. Billed as a "representative of Corwood Industries", the man (who is the same as the one on the album covers) played an hour of abstract and largely improvised music with two backing musicians. Over the next several years, Jandek has released another thirty albums, including several live recordings from his concerts, played several dozen more live shows, and Corwood Industries finally opened an official website in 2010. Even if Jandek is now willing to make live appearances, and occasionally socialize with fans after the gigs, the mystery still remains about exactly who he is...or why.
Recommended music documentary.
* In Trubee's interview, the Corwood representative admitted he worked as a machinist at the time, and among other things, admitted that his guitars were not in fact, detuned, but instead tuned to unique keys that sounded good to him. At the time, Jandek estimated that he had sold only 150 copies total.
Featured: John Trubee, Phil Milstein, Katy Vine, Dr. Demento, Gary Pig Gold, Richie Unterberger, Calvin Johnson, Douglas Wolk
Director: Chad Freidrichs
Available on Amazon.
Visit the official website.
Among the dozens of records released in the year 1978, one came out from an act calling itself "The Units" from Houston, Texas. That record, Ready for the House, is forty-four and a half minutes of uncomfortably out of tune acoustic guitar playing (except for the last track) accompanied by a haunting, wavering voice. This unusual album came out on a label called Corwood Industries, which anyone could contact by writing to its post office. Ready for the House turned out to be the only album released by The Units, as another New Wave band from San Francisco with claims to that name stopped the Texas musician from using that name. One thousand copies of the album were pressed, and initially, just two copies were sold.
Three years later, Six and Six came out on the Corwood label, and now the musician was known as Jandek. This name is a combination of the month of January, and a man named Decker, who the man from Corwood spoke to on the telephone. Jandek is generally assumed to be a man named Sterling Richard Smith, although this has never been confirmed, and anyone at Corwood Industries isn't telling.
Very little is known about Jandek, aside from what little information that Corwood shared in letters to WFMU disc jockey and music historian Irwin Chusid, and in a fifty minute interview with former Spin Magazine writer John Trubee (which is included on the DVD in its entirely as an extra)*. So, how does one make a 90 minute documentary about a subject who has revealed very little about himself to the public, but he did sanction and cooperate with director Chad Freidrichs?
Utilizing many, many interviews with people discussing their interpretation of Jandek and his music, as well as mixing images of Jandek album covers and other random photographs, Freidrichs manages to present the whole Jandek story in 88 minutes in a way that can easily be grasped and appreciated by any newcomers to one of the most willfully obscure and private musicians out there. Highlights include Dr. Demento (who will probably be the only person most of the world would even recognize in this documentary) discussing his interactions, or lack thereof with Corwood, and Texas Monthly reporter Katy Vine, who tracked down a man who looked like the one on several of Jandek's album covers one day in 1999 intending to interview him about the music. Vine and the Corwood representative enjoyed an afternoon at a nearby tavern, but the man made it clear he didn't wish to talk about Jandek or the music.
So, over the course of the film, you will find that it's very possible to create a film about a subject who keeps to himself most of the time.
At the time that Freidrichs completed Jandek on Corwood, Corwood has issued 32 records under the name Jandek, included a re-issued Ready for the House with any reference to The Units replaced. Five more albums were recorded and issued after the film's completion (a bonus feature highlights these five new records), and most surprisingly, Jandek made his first onstage appearance at a music festival in Glasgow in October of 2004. Billed as a "representative of Corwood Industries", the man (who is the same as the one on the album covers) played an hour of abstract and largely improvised music with two backing musicians. Over the next several years, Jandek has released another thirty albums, including several live recordings from his concerts, played several dozen more live shows, and Corwood Industries finally opened an official website in 2010. Even if Jandek is now willing to make live appearances, and occasionally socialize with fans after the gigs, the mystery still remains about exactly who he is...or why.
Recommended music documentary.
* In Trubee's interview, the Corwood representative admitted he worked as a machinist at the time, and among other things, admitted that his guitars were not in fact, detuned, but instead tuned to unique keys that sounded good to him. At the time, Jandek estimated that he had sold only 150 copies total.
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll.
1987 Universal Pictures and Delilah Films.
Featuring: Chuck Berry
The band: Keith Richards, Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Leavell, Bobby Keys, Joey Spampinato, Steve Jordan, Ingrid Berry
Guest musicians: Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Julian Lennon, Etta James, Joe Walsh (uncredited)
Also appearing: Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon (archival footage)
Director: Taylor Hackford
Available from Amazon as a two-disc edition, or as a four-disc box set.
One of the architects of rock and roll stars in a decent documentary slash concert film to celebrate his 60th birthday. The live concert footage was filmed at the Fox Theater in St. Louis on October 16, 1986, although only about half of the movie is live music. For the first hour, we see interview clips from some of Chuck Berry's contemporaries, footage of Keith Richards rehearsing the backing band (with an argument between Berry and Richards in the middle of it), and plenty of footage of the star of the show; whether he's visiting old St. Louis landmarks from earlier in his life, or embarking to Columbus, Ohio to play a concert during the production of his film. Taylor Hackford accompanied him on this trip, where we learn that Berry only travels with his guitar (which he checks at the gate), and a briefcase with just a few toiletries inside it.
The concert footage, as expected, is excellent, as Keith Richards put together a decent band for Berry to lead, although Richards ends up playing nearly every guitar solo while Chuck dances around on stage. Despite being somewhat difficult during the production of the film and at the rehearsals, Chuck Berry is clearly having the time of his life onstage. All of the guest musicians shined, particularly Eric Clapton and his rendition of "Wee Wee Hours", which was the only song performed that wasn't an uptempo one.
This is an easy recommendation from me, and if you have to ask, get the four disc set. As of now, it's on sale for Amazon for very cheap right now, and worth every penny. In addition to the main film, the set includes extra rehearsal footage with Berry, Richards, Clapton and others. Disc two has a feature called "The Reluctant Movie Star" where Hackford and his crew discuss some of the problems they had with Chuck during production, including a filmed phone call where Berry demands an immediate cash payment, or he's leaving the film. Disc three has "Witnesses to History", essentially an extended interview with Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard where they discuss the ups and downs of their careers in music. Also, the third disc features "The Burnt Scrapbook" with Berry and The Band's Robbie Robertson. Disc four contains "Witnesses to History, Part II", three and a half hours of interviews with nearly every surviving early rock and roller, including the ones who had been showcased in the main film.
Get this one!
1987 Universal Pictures and Delilah Films.
Featuring: Chuck Berry
The band: Keith Richards, Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Leavell, Bobby Keys, Joey Spampinato, Steve Jordan, Ingrid Berry
Guest musicians: Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Julian Lennon, Etta James, Joe Walsh (uncredited)
Also appearing: Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon (archival footage)
Director: Taylor Hackford
Available from Amazon as a two-disc edition, or as a four-disc box set.
One of the architects of rock and roll stars in a decent documentary slash concert film to celebrate his 60th birthday. The live concert footage was filmed at the Fox Theater in St. Louis on October 16, 1986, although only about half of the movie is live music. For the first hour, we see interview clips from some of Chuck Berry's contemporaries, footage of Keith Richards rehearsing the backing band (with an argument between Berry and Richards in the middle of it), and plenty of footage of the star of the show; whether he's visiting old St. Louis landmarks from earlier in his life, or embarking to Columbus, Ohio to play a concert during the production of his film. Taylor Hackford accompanied him on this trip, where we learn that Berry only travels with his guitar (which he checks at the gate), and a briefcase with just a few toiletries inside it.
The concert footage, as expected, is excellent, as Keith Richards put together a decent band for Berry to lead, although Richards ends up playing nearly every guitar solo while Chuck dances around on stage. Despite being somewhat difficult during the production of the film and at the rehearsals, Chuck Berry is clearly having the time of his life onstage. All of the guest musicians shined, particularly Eric Clapton and his rendition of "Wee Wee Hours", which was the only song performed that wasn't an uptempo one.
This is an easy recommendation from me, and if you have to ask, get the four disc set. As of now, it's on sale for Amazon for very cheap right now, and worth every penny. In addition to the main film, the set includes extra rehearsal footage with Berry, Richards, Clapton and others. Disc two has a feature called "The Reluctant Movie Star" where Hackford and his crew discuss some of the problems they had with Chuck during production, including a filmed phone call where Berry demands an immediate cash payment, or he's leaving the film. Disc three has "Witnesses to History", essentially an extended interview with Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard where they discuss the ups and downs of their careers in music. Also, the third disc features "The Burnt Scrapbook" with Berry and The Band's Robbie Robertson. Disc four contains "Witnesses to History, Part II", three and a half hours of interviews with nearly every surviving early rock and roller, including the ones who had been showcased in the main film.
Get this one!
Monday, June 20, 2011
It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud. 2008, 2009 Sony Pictures Classics.
Featuring: The Edge, Jimmy Page, Jack White
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Available from Amazon as a standard DVD or on Blu-ray.
Visit the official site.
Davis Guggenheim, who has directed such documentaries as An Inconveinient Truth and Waiting for "Superman", takes on a much less political topic here: the electric guitar. Highlighted here are The Edge from U2, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, and the uncredited session guitarist on numerous mid '60s pop records, and Jack White from The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. All three guitarists discuss extensively their history as a guitarist: Page talks about his background in a childhood skiffle band, falling in love with the blues, working extensively as a session guitarist in the '60s, his time in the Yardbirds, and most famously, Led Zeppelin. The Edge discusses putting together a guitar with his brother Dik and reminisces about forming U2 during a visit to Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin. Jack White remembers growing up in southwest Detroit with a bedroom so filled with musical equipment that he had to get rid of his bed to make room for more instruments. White also discusses how it was considered "uncool" to be seen playing any kind of instrument in his predominantly Latino neighborhood, since many of his peers preferred hip-hop and house music to Jack's preference of rock and roll and old blues records.
During the film, Jimmy Page visits Headley Grange, where he and Led Zeppelin recorded their fourth album, taking time to describe exactly how they got the legendary drum sound for "When the Levee Breaks". The Edge demonstrates his playing technique, where he makes use of elaborate echo and delay effects to make it sound like there's a second guitarist onstage and in the studio. Jack White admits that he deliberately sets up obstacles creatively to force himself to write and perform that much harder.
At "The Summit", Page, White and the Edge get together to talk shop, play their favorite records, and jam. The three guitarists also show each other how to play "I Will Follow", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", and "In My Time of Dying" before getting out their acoustic guitars to perform a cover of "The Weight" by The Band. During this session, Page sheepishly admits that he can't join in on the high vocal harmonies in the song's chorus.
There's a lot of interesting footage here, and you will get enough archive footage of old U2, White Stripes, Raconteurs and Zeppelin concerts to be completely satisfied. Two scenes I enjoyed were Jack White putting together a homemade guitar out of a glass bottle, wire, and pieces of wood; and the visit to Jimmy Page's music room, where he still gets a big kick out of playing "Rumble" by Link Wray. Page plays air guitar and can barely contain his enthusiasm for the song, nearly fifty years after it was first released.
Highly recommended film!
Featuring: The Edge, Jimmy Page, Jack White
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Available from Amazon as a standard DVD or on Blu-ray.
Visit the official site.
Davis Guggenheim, who has directed such documentaries as An Inconveinient Truth and Waiting for "Superman", takes on a much less political topic here: the electric guitar. Highlighted here are The Edge from U2, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, and the uncredited session guitarist on numerous mid '60s pop records, and Jack White from The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. All three guitarists discuss extensively their history as a guitarist: Page talks about his background in a childhood skiffle band, falling in love with the blues, working extensively as a session guitarist in the '60s, his time in the Yardbirds, and most famously, Led Zeppelin. The Edge discusses putting together a guitar with his brother Dik and reminisces about forming U2 during a visit to Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin. Jack White remembers growing up in southwest Detroit with a bedroom so filled with musical equipment that he had to get rid of his bed to make room for more instruments. White also discusses how it was considered "uncool" to be seen playing any kind of instrument in his predominantly Latino neighborhood, since many of his peers preferred hip-hop and house music to Jack's preference of rock and roll and old blues records.
During the film, Jimmy Page visits Headley Grange, where he and Led Zeppelin recorded their fourth album, taking time to describe exactly how they got the legendary drum sound for "When the Levee Breaks". The Edge demonstrates his playing technique, where he makes use of elaborate echo and delay effects to make it sound like there's a second guitarist onstage and in the studio. Jack White admits that he deliberately sets up obstacles creatively to force himself to write and perform that much harder.
At "The Summit", Page, White and the Edge get together to talk shop, play their favorite records, and jam. The three guitarists also show each other how to play "I Will Follow", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", and "In My Time of Dying" before getting out their acoustic guitars to perform a cover of "The Weight" by The Band. During this session, Page sheepishly admits that he can't join in on the high vocal harmonies in the song's chorus.
There's a lot of interesting footage here, and you will get enough archive footage of old U2, White Stripes, Raconteurs and Zeppelin concerts to be completely satisfied. Two scenes I enjoyed were Jack White putting together a homemade guitar out of a glass bottle, wire, and pieces of wood; and the visit to Jimmy Page's music room, where he still gets a big kick out of playing "Rumble" by Link Wray. Page plays air guitar and can barely contain his enthusiasm for the song, nearly fifty years after it was first released.
Highly recommended film!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
This is Elvis
This is Elvis. 1981 Warner Bros. Pictures.
Narrated by Ral Donner
Produced by David L. Wolper
Directed by Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt
Two-disc special edition of This is Elvis available from Amazon.
Directors Leo and Solt piece together an interesting Elvis Presley documentary utilizing a ton of film clips, television appearances, and quite a bit of authentic home movies of Elvis and friends. There are also some filmed reenactments, notably in the beginning of the picture, which opens with a segment where Elvis walks into Graceland on what will be the last night he was alive, and the following day in Portland, Maine where he was scheduled to perform on the day he was found dead. Honestly, the filmed reenactments do distract from the rest of the documentary, and they might have been better served as either cut from this project, or at least, saved for a fictional movie about Elvis. My opinion.
There are a plethora of highlights included here; notably Elvis appearing on Ed Sullivan, where the host gave him a warm sendoff; Steve Allen arranging for Presley to sing "Hound Dog" to an actual basset hound while dressed in a tux, the Welcome Home, Elvis special put together by Frank Sinatra in 1960 where Elvis interacts with the entire Rat Pack, and of course, quite a bit of footage from the 1968 comeback special. As the documentary reaches its conclusion, there's also enough filmed concert footage of an overweight and drugged out Elvis struggling through songs while performing in Las Vegas. His voice is still strong, but everything else is falling apart for the king of rock and roll. Leo and Solt do deserve credit for not sugarcoating anything, and presenting Elvis as he was in the end.
Recommended music documentary, except for the faked scenes.
Narrated by Ral Donner
Produced by David L. Wolper
Directed by Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt
Two-disc special edition of This is Elvis available from Amazon.
Directors Leo and Solt piece together an interesting Elvis Presley documentary utilizing a ton of film clips, television appearances, and quite a bit of authentic home movies of Elvis and friends. There are also some filmed reenactments, notably in the beginning of the picture, which opens with a segment where Elvis walks into Graceland on what will be the last night he was alive, and the following day in Portland, Maine where he was scheduled to perform on the day he was found dead. Honestly, the filmed reenactments do distract from the rest of the documentary, and they might have been better served as either cut from this project, or at least, saved for a fictional movie about Elvis. My opinion.
There are a plethora of highlights included here; notably Elvis appearing on Ed Sullivan, where the host gave him a warm sendoff; Steve Allen arranging for Presley to sing "Hound Dog" to an actual basset hound while dressed in a tux, the Welcome Home, Elvis special put together by Frank Sinatra in 1960 where Elvis interacts with the entire Rat Pack, and of course, quite a bit of footage from the 1968 comeback special. As the documentary reaches its conclusion, there's also enough filmed concert footage of an overweight and drugged out Elvis struggling through songs while performing in Las Vegas. His voice is still strong, but everything else is falling apart for the king of rock and roll. Leo and Solt do deserve credit for not sugarcoating anything, and presenting Elvis as he was in the end.
Recommended music documentary, except for the faked scenes.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
T.A.M.I. Show
T.A.M.I. Show (a.k.a. Teen Age Command Performance).
1964 Screencraft International & American International Pictures; distributed to DVD by Shout! Factory.
Featuring: The Barbarians, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown and the Famous Flames, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Jan and Dean, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Miracles, Rolling Stones, The Supremes
House Band: The Wrecking Crew (Jack Nitzsche, Hail Blaine, Jimmy Bond, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Aken, Glen Campbell, Lyle Ritz, Leon Russell, Plas Johnson, etc.)
Also appearing: Toni Basil, Teri Garr
Producer: Bill Sargent
Director: Steve Binder
Available at Amazon.
Released at the end of 1964, the T.A.M.I. Show (Teenage Awards Music International) is a groundbreaking concert film, and incredibly influential in the development of music videos. It's almost criminal that such an influential movie didn't receive an uncut release to home video until 2010. Rights issues saw the Beach Boys' performances cut from most prints of the film, but Shout! Factory restored the lost footage to the film for their definitive DVD release. As expected, since that segment was captured from another print and not the master, there is some minor film damage present, but seeing a rare Brian Wilson live performance with his legendary band more than makes up for it.
The concert lineup is nothing short of spectacular; only the Barbarians never had a Top 40 hit before or after the movie was first released, but they still did a fine live version of their first single, "Hey Little Bird", complete with their one-armed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton nearly stealing the show with his own frantic drumming. Chuck Berry trading licks and songs with Gerry & the Pacemakers to open the show was fun to watch, and there are stellar performances from the Motown representatives the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and of course, the Supremes.
And then, we have James Brown. Anything I write cannot even begin to describe just how over the top and magical his four songs were, especially "Please, Please, Please" and "Night Train". Everything is here: the energy, the inspired dancing, the passionate singing, and the gimmick with the cape. Producer Rick Rubin once said that Prince had Brown's T.A.M.I. Show performance running in a loop on a television in the lobby of his offices, and he called it the single greatest rock and roll performance ever captured on film. He's completely right. The Rolling Stones close the show, and while their performance is raw and energetic, it's not going to even approach what James Brown did onstage just a few minutes earlier. Keith Richards has admitted in interviews that going on after Brown was the biggest mistake the Stones ever made in their careers.
Get this one, folks. There are no better concert films out there.
1964 Screencraft International & American International Pictures; distributed to DVD by Shout! Factory.
Featuring: The Barbarians, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown and the Famous Flames, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Jan and Dean, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Miracles, Rolling Stones, The Supremes
House Band: The Wrecking Crew (Jack Nitzsche, Hail Blaine, Jimmy Bond, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Aken, Glen Campbell, Lyle Ritz, Leon Russell, Plas Johnson, etc.)
Also appearing: Toni Basil, Teri Garr
Producer: Bill Sargent
Director: Steve Binder
Available at Amazon.
Released at the end of 1964, the T.A.M.I. Show (Teenage Awards Music International) is a groundbreaking concert film, and incredibly influential in the development of music videos. It's almost criminal that such an influential movie didn't receive an uncut release to home video until 2010. Rights issues saw the Beach Boys' performances cut from most prints of the film, but Shout! Factory restored the lost footage to the film for their definitive DVD release. As expected, since that segment was captured from another print and not the master, there is some minor film damage present, but seeing a rare Brian Wilson live performance with his legendary band more than makes up for it.
The concert lineup is nothing short of spectacular; only the Barbarians never had a Top 40 hit before or after the movie was first released, but they still did a fine live version of their first single, "Hey Little Bird", complete with their one-armed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton nearly stealing the show with his own frantic drumming. Chuck Berry trading licks and songs with Gerry & the Pacemakers to open the show was fun to watch, and there are stellar performances from the Motown representatives the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and of course, the Supremes.
And then, we have James Brown. Anything I write cannot even begin to describe just how over the top and magical his four songs were, especially "Please, Please, Please" and "Night Train". Everything is here: the energy, the inspired dancing, the passionate singing, and the gimmick with the cape. Producer Rick Rubin once said that Prince had Brown's T.A.M.I. Show performance running in a loop on a television in the lobby of his offices, and he called it the single greatest rock and roll performance ever captured on film. He's completely right. The Rolling Stones close the show, and while their performance is raw and energetic, it's not going to even approach what James Brown did onstage just a few minutes earlier. Keith Richards has admitted in interviews that going on after Brown was the biggest mistake the Stones ever made in their careers.
Get this one, folks. There are no better concert films out there.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Amarcord
Amarcord [I Remember] (Criterion #4).
1973 Janus Films and F.C. Produzioni.
Starring: Magali Noel, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia
Director: Federico Fellini
Buy Amarcord from Amazon.
The winner of the Best Foreign Language Film at the 1974 Academy Awards (among other accolades), Fellini's Amarcord is a delightful coming of age film set in the late 1930s in Rimini, Italy. Largely set around a year in the life of the Biondi family, where the boys are out of control deliquents, mother is ill, father is unable to cope with all of the changes happening in his personal life; not to mention any Mussolini-related issues, and the grandfather is growing senile. Another uncle has been institutionalized, but is allowed to spend a day in the country with the rest of his family...where he climbs to the top of the only tree for miles around and bellows "I want a woman!" over and over.
Chaos, violence, and confusion lie just ahead in the near future, but the Biondi family and the rest of the townspeople have one year to establish some long-lasting memories, and they all make the most of it.
Highly recommended film.
1973 Janus Films and F.C. Produzioni.
Starring: Magali Noel, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia
Director: Federico Fellini
Buy Amarcord from Amazon.
The winner of the Best Foreign Language Film at the 1974 Academy Awards (among other accolades), Fellini's Amarcord is a delightful coming of age film set in the late 1930s in Rimini, Italy. Largely set around a year in the life of the Biondi family, where the boys are out of control deliquents, mother is ill, father is unable to cope with all of the changes happening in his personal life; not to mention any Mussolini-related issues, and the grandfather is growing senile. Another uncle has been institutionalized, but is allowed to spend a day in the country with the rest of his family...where he climbs to the top of the only tree for miles around and bellows "I want a woman!" over and over.
Chaos, violence, and confusion lie just ahead in the near future, but the Biondi family and the rest of the townspeople have one year to establish some long-lasting memories, and they all make the most of it.
Highly recommended film.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Last of the Red Hot Lovers. 1972 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss, Renee Taylor
Screenplay by Neil Simon
Director: Gene Saks
Available from Amazon.
A film adaptation of Neil Simon's stage play that first opened in 1969.
Barney Cashman (Arkin) is 45 years old, married, and he owns a restaurant in downtown Manhattan. One morning, he wakes up with the urge to stray, and have at least one great extramarital affair before he dies. After discovering that his mother's apartment will be empty one day a week, Barney decides to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, Barney simply isn't the kind of person who could engage in an affair, and he fails miserably in each of the three women he attempts to seduce: Elaine (Kellerman), who seems to be more interested in scoring a cigarette than actually scoring and who quickly grows annoyed at Barney's inexperience; Bobbi (Prentiss), an aspiring actress who might be more than a little bit crazy and who gets Barney to smoke a joint with her, and Jeanette (Taylor), the best friend of Barney's wife. By the time Jeanette comes over, Barney has acquired a new confidence after Jeanette made a pass at him at a social outing, but she reveals that she suffers from depression due to her husband's serial adultery, and spends most of the afternoon either crying or taking anti-depressants.
In the end, Barney has struck out three times, and realizes that he's not one to have an affair. So, he contacts his wife to come over to the apartment for a nice rendezvous.
Funny movie, with a decent performance from Alan Arkin, but Paula Prentiss definitely stole the show during her segment. Recommended.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss, Renee Taylor
Screenplay by Neil Simon
Director: Gene Saks
Available from Amazon.
A film adaptation of Neil Simon's stage play that first opened in 1969.
Barney Cashman (Arkin) is 45 years old, married, and he owns a restaurant in downtown Manhattan. One morning, he wakes up with the urge to stray, and have at least one great extramarital affair before he dies. After discovering that his mother's apartment will be empty one day a week, Barney decides to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, Barney simply isn't the kind of person who could engage in an affair, and he fails miserably in each of the three women he attempts to seduce: Elaine (Kellerman), who seems to be more interested in scoring a cigarette than actually scoring and who quickly grows annoyed at Barney's inexperience; Bobbi (Prentiss), an aspiring actress who might be more than a little bit crazy and who gets Barney to smoke a joint with her, and Jeanette (Taylor), the best friend of Barney's wife. By the time Jeanette comes over, Barney has acquired a new confidence after Jeanette made a pass at him at a social outing, but she reveals that she suffers from depression due to her husband's serial adultery, and spends most of the afternoon either crying or taking anti-depressants.
In the end, Barney has struck out three times, and realizes that he's not one to have an affair. So, he contacts his wife to come over to the apartment for a nice rendezvous.
Funny movie, with a decent performance from Alan Arkin, but Paula Prentiss definitely stole the show during her segment. Recommended.
A Safe Place
A Safe Place (Criterion #548).
1971 BBS Productions and Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Tuesday Weld, Orson Welles, Phil Proctor, Jack Nicholson, Dov Lawrence, Gwen Welles
Produced by Bert Schneider
Written and directed by Henry Jaglom
Available only as part of Criterion's America Lost and Found: The BBS Story box set. Amazon: Standard DVD. Blu-ray.
Henry Jaglom's first movie is a big screen adaptation of a stage play he wrote and produced in the 1960s starring Karen Black, and Tuesday Weld on occasion. BBS Productions gave Jaglom the opportunity to produce a film version, and Jack Nicholson appeared in it as a favor to the director (Jaglom appeared in Nicholson's Drive, He Said), only expecting a new color television set as compensation. When A Safe Place was shown at the 1971 New York Film Festival, audience reaction was so divided that a riot nearly broke out.
A Safe Place is a surreal and somewhat confusing film where Tuesday Weld portrays a hippie woman named either Susan or Noah, and she seems caught between adolescence and adulthood, which is why she frequently retreats (seemingly) into her imagination. She is dating a somewhat nerdish man named Fred (Proctor), when she isn't having an affair with a wealthy married man, Mitch (Nicholson). Also appearing frequently is an older magician (Welles), and we're unclear as to who he really is, if he isn't a figment of Susan's imagination. Phil knows that Susan is whacko, but he puts up with her stories and other nonsense. Ultimately, neither Phil nor Mitch can completely satisfy Susan.
This one rivals Head as the oddest BBS production (they also produced and released The Last Picture Show in 1971). Still, Tuesday Weld gave a decent performance, and she looked gorgeous in this one. You can also tell Orson Welles was happy, as he got to essentially portray himself as the magician. Henry Jaglom uses plenty of unrelated jump cuts and other bizarre imagery to create a truly unique film. Recommended, although do not expect to get it the first time. This one may require more than one viewing, folks.
1971 BBS Productions and Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Tuesday Weld, Orson Welles, Phil Proctor, Jack Nicholson, Dov Lawrence, Gwen Welles
Produced by Bert Schneider
Written and directed by Henry Jaglom
Available only as part of Criterion's America Lost and Found: The BBS Story box set. Amazon: Standard DVD. Blu-ray.
Henry Jaglom's first movie is a big screen adaptation of a stage play he wrote and produced in the 1960s starring Karen Black, and Tuesday Weld on occasion. BBS Productions gave Jaglom the opportunity to produce a film version, and Jack Nicholson appeared in it as a favor to the director (Jaglom appeared in Nicholson's Drive, He Said), only expecting a new color television set as compensation. When A Safe Place was shown at the 1971 New York Film Festival, audience reaction was so divided that a riot nearly broke out.
A Safe Place is a surreal and somewhat confusing film where Tuesday Weld portrays a hippie woman named either Susan or Noah, and she seems caught between adolescence and adulthood, which is why she frequently retreats (seemingly) into her imagination. She is dating a somewhat nerdish man named Fred (Proctor), when she isn't having an affair with a wealthy married man, Mitch (Nicholson). Also appearing frequently is an older magician (Welles), and we're unclear as to who he really is, if he isn't a figment of Susan's imagination. Phil knows that Susan is whacko, but he puts up with her stories and other nonsense. Ultimately, neither Phil nor Mitch can completely satisfy Susan.
This one rivals Head as the oddest BBS production (they also produced and released The Last Picture Show in 1971). Still, Tuesday Weld gave a decent performance, and she looked gorgeous in this one. You can also tell Orson Welles was happy, as he got to essentially portray himself as the magician. Henry Jaglom uses plenty of unrelated jump cuts and other bizarre imagery to create a truly unique film. Recommended, although do not expect to get it the first time. This one may require more than one viewing, folks.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger.
1959 Woodfall Film Productions, distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure, Edith Evans, Gary Raymond, Donald Pleasence
Director: Tony Richardson
Buy Look Back in Anger from Amazon.
This 1959 film adaptation of a John Osborne play is also Tony Richardson's directoral debut.
Richard Burton is Jimmy Porter, an aspiring, lower class musician who tries to support himself and his upper class wife Alison (Ure) by working as a street vendor. Jimmy is incredibly angry at everything, particularly the status gap between he and his wife, who he constantly berates verbally. Jimmy's partner Cliff and friend (Raymond) also lives with them, trying to portray the calm voice of reason whenever Jimmy starts to abuse his wife with words.
There's also a further complication: Alison is pregnant with Jimmy's baby, and she's waiting for the right time to tell him. In the meantime, Alison's friend Helena (Bloom) has showed up to help out. Unfortunately, Jimmy hates Helena for her upper class background, and she advises Alison to leave Jimmy temporarily and stay with her parents. This doesn't stop Jimmy from beginning an affair with Helena in Alison's absence.
Cliff eventually strikes out on his own, and Helena ends her affair with Jimmy after an unexpected run-in with Alison. But there's a happier surprise awaiting our man who's angry at the world.
Recommended film. Another fine example of the British kitchen sink drama with an outstanding performance from Richard Burton, who may have been a little too old to play Jimmy...
1959 Woodfall Film Productions, distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure, Edith Evans, Gary Raymond, Donald Pleasence
Director: Tony Richardson
Buy Look Back in Anger from Amazon.
This 1959 film adaptation of a John Osborne play is also Tony Richardson's directoral debut.
Richard Burton is Jimmy Porter, an aspiring, lower class musician who tries to support himself and his upper class wife Alison (Ure) by working as a street vendor. Jimmy is incredibly angry at everything, particularly the status gap between he and his wife, who he constantly berates verbally. Jimmy's partner Cliff and friend (Raymond) also lives with them, trying to portray the calm voice of reason whenever Jimmy starts to abuse his wife with words.
There's also a further complication: Alison is pregnant with Jimmy's baby, and she's waiting for the right time to tell him. In the meantime, Alison's friend Helena (Bloom) has showed up to help out. Unfortunately, Jimmy hates Helena for her upper class background, and she advises Alison to leave Jimmy temporarily and stay with her parents. This doesn't stop Jimmy from beginning an affair with Helena in Alison's absence.
Cliff eventually strikes out on his own, and Helena ends her affair with Jimmy after an unexpected run-in with Alison. But there's a happier surprise awaiting our man who's angry at the world.
Recommended film. Another fine example of the British kitchen sink drama with an outstanding performance from Richard Burton, who may have been a little too old to play Jimmy...
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