If memory serves me correctly, 1985 was a pretty lousy year for me, but I did get to see Runaway Train at the movies and that made up for a lot. This surprise hit about two convicts who bust out of a maximum security prison in the middle of a massive winter storm and wind up aboard the titular transport chased by a very determined warden, manged to nab Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations for John Voight and Eric Roberts respectively.
Director Andrei Konchalovsky, adapting a never-produced screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, made a powerful action movie that was thought-provoking, intensely striking in every aspect and still a wild ride of a viewing experience. You’ll truly feel the freezing cold environment presented in the film from beginning to end, so break out a nice warm blanket and curl up on the couch – it’s going to be a hell of a ride…
OK, I’ll admit to not being so sure Peter Jackson could turn the clock back and make this upcoming film be as “special” as the trilogy, as often, a few too many years between epics this large means there’s a lot lost. Of course, it seems I’m wrong again (and that’s always good when that happens). That said, I’m probably going to wait until the inevitable home video release hits, as this will be yet another film to hunker down with and watch in its entirety once both parts are all done and there are director’s cuts floating around. Hey, I finally got around to watching all the Harry Potter movies one after the other a few months back (I wasn’t a fan of the books, so the films were a really hard sell for me until about six flicks in).
This crazy, low budget 1973 indie horror flick was a big part of my childhood because it seemed to always be on WOR here in New York as one of the late-night horror movies they showed on Saturday nights, and for some reason (even despite it freaking me out all the time), I’d sit through it fascinated by the insanity taking place. In fact, the film takes places at a mental institution gone way off the rails thanks to its rather unorthodox means of treatment. You get two murders right off the bat, a pretty but rather dopey new nurse arriving on the scene who’s a bit slow on the uptake as to what’s going on, a bunch of patients with some rather unusual quirks and it all wraps up with a nicely gory finale and probably the most disturbing end credit sequences you’ll see in a genre flick.
Is it a great movie? Nope, and in fact, it hardly scrapes above lousy in every aspect, I’d say. What works in its favor however, is the general tone of unease and creepiness that hits you over the head right from the start. You know something bad is going to happen right away and other than a few boring patches, the film delivers on much of what its opening moments promise. These days it’s a public domain film, so yup, you can watch it in its entirety above. I’d doubt this will ever reach the remake status some cult genre classics have gotten, but even as raw and weird as it is, it still manages to be freaky enough where it counts. OK, then – that’s a really short and simple movie post this for week, as I’m working on a bunch of other stuff. But it’s all good, as now you can go make a big bowl of popcorn, grab a beverage and watch yourself a pretty silly but scary slice of the 70’s…
Addendum: Oops – it looks as if someone may remake this after all at some point Oh well, i still think the original will be better just because it has its crude charms working for it, warts and all…
…Or nightmare, to be more precise. Usually, these modern freaky kid horror movies do nothing for me at all except make me not want to be anywhere near someone’s children for a few weeks. But I like most of Guillermo Del Toro’s work in that even if it fails in one way or another, he knows how to leave some memorable imagery taped to your eyeballs for a while. MAMA looks to be one of those “under the seat” flicks where you’ll leave the theater walking backwards and calling the babysitter to take the damn kids home with her for the night. Of course, I’d bet the man himself wouldn’t have it any other way…
1947 seems to have been a year for some interesting (albeit not entirely successful) experiments by Hollywood movie makers using a subjective camera (or first-person viewpoint) to tell a story. Movie audiences got a pair of dramas in the form of actor-turned-director Robert Montgomery’s Lady in the Lake, (shot a year earlier, but released in ’47) based on the popular Raymond Chandler novel and Dark Passage, Delmer Daves’ adaptation of a terminally so-so David Goodis novel. I was going to do this column on the former film at first, but a coin toss brings you Bogie and Bacall in the more interesting, but tremendously flawed film. Don’t get me wrong here – both movies have their issues, but both are worth viewing for a few reasons including their unique use of POV storytelling. That and you have to go with a film that doesn’t show the face of its lead for about an hour, but works in some lovely shots of a San Francisco that’s long gone thanks to “progress” in transportation and probably even earthquake proofing…
OK, I’m more than ancient enough to grasp the whole timeless lifespan physio-psychobabble thing going on here, so I wasn’t too knocked for a loop by the first trailer like many were in their confusion. I m glad however, that some sort of plot is becoming clearer here and yes, I still predict this will be a film that does even better on home video because it will demand repeated viewings to fully understand.
Unlike something like Speed Racer, which too one viewing to grasp that it was a pure nuts idea for a live-action film. OK, OK, I saw it three times on cable just to pick out the in-jokes and because some stuff actually made me laugh. Just keep that between you and me and we’re all good, OK? Damn internet is too yakky….
Outland was and is one of those films that never quite got the recognition it deserved and yes, still deserves. “Was” in terms of its at the time quietly groundbreaking visual effects and initially successful (but eventually disappointing) run at the box office back in 1981, and “Is” for the fact that it’s suffered through some pretty lousy transitions to home video over the years.
The recent (and thankfully, mostly excellent) Blu-Ray release makes up for the terrible DVDs from 1997 and the much better (but still not quite perfect) 2007 DVD reissue from a few years back, but for some reason, the “making of” feature found on the DVD is missing in action on the Blu-Ray version. OK, “Who didn’t want to pay whom for what and why?” I have to ask (nicely, though… nicely).
It’s almost as if Warner Bros. Home Video is just getting the film out as a bare minimum budget release with as little bells and whistles as possible (and a terribly misleading tagline on the cover art) just to get it out of the way and move on. Granted, the film isn’t as “important” to the sci-fi genre as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner was (a film that’s gotten a few major VHS and disc releases over the yers including some impressive collector’s editions). But it sure deserves a hell of a lot better preservation job than to be dumped into stores with zero fanfare and no other special features than a trailer and director’s commentary.
Hell, I remember the film getting a pretty rousing reception when it was introduced at the comic book and sci-fi convention I went to here in NYC over 30 years ago…
As far as war movies go, Robert Aldrich’s 1956 film, Attack! isn’t the predictable, lavishly produced jingoistic, rubber-stamped by the military rah-rah fest glorifying World War II as a unifying fight against the Axis where everyone on our side is perfectly portrayed as a sterling citizen soldier of upstanding moral fiber with one or two likable quirks. Instead, it’s a gripping slice of drama that pulls no punches as it details the breakdown in command of a whittled down unit of soldiers under the command of a cowardly captain (portrayed perfectly by Eddie Albert) and how another officer tries to bring a moral center back to the men before it’s too late.
According to a few sources, Aldrich didn’t get the usual assistance from the Department of Defense when making the film and in fact, had to make do with shooting the entire thing in just over a month using borrowed, bought or rented military gear including two tanks (that military purists will note were badly disguised as German Panzers). Despite this, it’s a powerful, must-see film that’s on par with Sam Fuller’s The Steel Helmet, or Kubrick’s Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket as one of the best films in the genre.
Despite its super low budget, eager cast of hokey actors and rather brief running time, this 1957 mix of sci-fi and comedy manages to work quite well thanks to a solid sense of humor and effectively scary use of special effects in one memorable sequence. That the film purports to be “A true story of a flying saucer” right at the beginning is the first in a long string of eyeball-rolling chuckles it hits you with.
After a teen couple out on a late night make-out session run over an alien with their car, they’re soon caught up as murder suspects once the remaining big-headed, bug-eyed, and short of stature creatures replace the body of their comrade with a human they’ve eliminated. Given that the aliens kill with finger needles that inject pure alcohol into their victims (ouch, *hic!*), it’s initially easy to see the couple’s alibi easily shot down by the cops.
“What a cast!”, was my first reaction and given that this film is by the same director who brought us the wonderfully dark In Bruges (go rent it if you haven’t seen it yet!), you can expect all sorts of excellent craziness of the controlled and uncontrolled varieties. It’s looking almost like a modern day Ealing Studios comedy directed by Quentin Tarantino. Which means it’ll be weird and good, I say. I have the feeling that this will be one of those films that might not blow the doors off at the box office, but once it hits home video and cable, people will be glued to it multiple times and quoting lines like they thought them up themselves…
If memory serves me correctly, 1985 was a pretty lousy year for me, but I did get to see Runaway Train at the movies and that made up for a lot. This surprise hit about two convicts who bust out of a maximum security prison in the middle of a massive winter storm and wind up aboard the titular transport chased by a very determined warden, manged to nab Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations for John Voight and Eric Roberts respectively. 
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