posted
Yeah I watched Spacehunter for the very first time just a few months back and it is such a fun movie,I'm sure I read somewhere it might have been on here actually that it clashed with Return Of The Jedi at the box office so it was sort of doomed to failure which is a pity as you could have imagined a sequel or two had it been a success!
Really fun film as was Turbo Kid which worked wonders on what I'd imagine was a pretty miniscule budget!
Posts: 3243 | From: canterbury united kingdom | Registered: Mar 2011 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
Spacehunter was always strictly a B movie. It was marketed heavily for its 3D gimmick at the time. Cheap and cheerful.
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
| IP: Logged |
posted
i would have liked to have watched Spacehunter in theatres in 3D when it first came out but I think Friday The 13th part 3 3D would be my ultimate choice of an 80s 3D Theatre experience!
I would have loved to have watched that in all its 3D glory upon its original release!
Posts: 3243 | From: canterbury united kingdom | Registered: Mar 2011 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
I saw a whole mess of 3D movies when the "second wave" of 3D hit in the 80s. "Friday the 13th, Part 3" in 3D had that great effect of the eyeballs popping out into the audience. "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" had pretty crummy 3D. (If memory serves me, I read way back when that they didn't properly install the 3D lenses on the cameras.) "Comin' at Ya" was a cheapjack Tony Anthony (or as he was affectionately known in Italian cinema "Tony Tony") spaghetti western. "Treasure of the 3 Crowns" from Anthony and company had better 3D but was a duller affair. "Parasite" from Charles Band wasn't very good in 3D either, but it was notable for featuring a young Demi Moore. For really obscure 3D, Steve Guttenberg was in the abominable "The Man Who Wasn't There," which was only memorable because you saw Canadian actress Lisa Langlois in the buff in 3D. Wow! And for even dirtier shenanigans, the X-rated "The Stewardesses" in 3D from the 70s got a re-release. I'm going to ignore "Jaws 3D," which I spend money on, again, another wretched film.
But of all the 3D experiences from the old days of 3D, the most memorable were the double bill of Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space and later, the original House of Wax. I saw the double bill at an art theatre, I think Tiffany's, in San Francisco circa 1974. They got old analglyphic red/blue 3D prints. Let me tell you, those two black-and-white films looked fantastic in 3D.
My brother and I saw Vincent Price's House of Wax in Pittsburgh when they brought it back around 1983 during the 3D craze. It's in color, and the 3D used clear polarizing lenses in the glasses. It was another beautiful theatrical presentation of a very fine horror film.
A bunch of the 50s 3D films showed up on TV around that time, but most of the showings were very disappointing. You had to turn the brightness way up, and the image generally looked fuzzy, but hey, it was 3D in your home! I missed "Amityville 3-D" in theatres but caught it when it ran on the late, great Stardust Theatre satellite service. They ran it in 3D--which wasn't bad for a TV showing--and I may still have the VHS around in my collection if it hasn't turned to dust.
So, in summary, the only really good 3D movies that I saw from that era were the re-releases from the first era of 3D.
[ 03. May 2016, 18:40: Message edited by: Crash ]
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
quote:For really obscure 3D, Steve Guttenberg was in the abominable "The Man Who Wasn't There," which was only memorable because you saw Canadian actress Lisa Langlois in the buff in 3D. Wow!
I didn't realise that was in 3D. Nor that Lisa was in the buff in it!
quote:But of all the 3D experiences from the old days of 3D, the most memorable were the double bill of Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space and later, the original House of Wax. I saw the double bill at an art theatre, I think Tiffany's, in San Francisco circa 1974. They got old analglyphic red/blue 3D prints. Let me tell you, those two black-and-white films looked fantastic in 3D.
I too saw 'It Came' and 'Creature' in 3D on a double bill, but this was in the 90's. They played Creature first, and then halfway through they stopped the movie and the manager came out to tell us that the instructions on the glasses were wrong and we needed to fold them inside out. The 3D improved after that. Creature (the underwater scenes) was especially impressive. Something about these flms worked for 3D.
[ 04. May 2016, 09:55: Message edited by: Logan 5 ]
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now you can go check out The Man Who Wasn't There. What a terrible movie, but there are clips of the good parts on line.
Great to hear that your Creature/It double bill was good too. Old technology, but they knew how to use it.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
I thought the best replication of old-school 3D was done by Robert Rodriguez for "Spy Kids 3D." He didn't overdo the goofy stuff in your face, and the movie looked like a giant pop-up book, which made it fun.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oops! I meant to say they played 'It Came' first and then we had to change the glasses halfway through. 'Lagoon' we watched correctly throughout.
I used to work for a TV channel that would run lots of Universal movies, and they used to play Jaws 3 a lot. It looks mucho odd without the 3D glasses, the effects make no sense at all!
I think I have The Man Who Wasn't There on video somewhere...
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm watching The Man Who Wasn't There right now in glorious 2D and here are my play-by-play thoughts...
I love the way the titles come out at you - that would have been great in 3D! I love that generic 'family mystery thriller' type music they open with which feels like it's been used in a million movies. I genuinely do like the vibe it creates. Wish I could describe it better. Christ the picture quality on this video sucks. The colours are mega-washed out. I just sneezed twice in a row. I never do that. A white man is playing an Indian type guy. Remember when that was standard? Now they use actual Indians which kinda feels wrong to me. I recognise him... Return of the Living Dead. And the guy playing a punk has been in a million things... William Forsythe. And that guy... he ran the hotel in Ghostbusters; "I won't pay it". 10 minutes in and still waiting for the film to be entertaining. The picture quality is TERRIBLE. Jeffrey Tambor playing a Russian. Good accent not neccessary. 80's girls rock! Pink lipstick ftw! Japanese tourists with cameras. These effects are quite 'special'. 'Get it to Runkleman'. The film has begun! 20 minutes in... Mexican maid that doesn't speak English. Guttenberg sticks a silver ball into his undies - not that he needs it - right ladies? An A-list star. He was an A-list star. I guess in the post Burt Reynolds power vaccuum anything was possible. The baddies look like the Village People; one of them is in a suit, one is a native American, one is a punk, and one looks like a hobo. They are being commanded by someone who's invisible. They kill whoever fails them. Slowest fall from a building ever. Woulda looked awesome in 3D. I lie. Woulda looked ****. I want Lisa Langlois to mop sweat from my brow too... or something... she's Lisa Lang-lovely... Guttenberg touched the blue goo like an idiot. The Village People decide to slowly walk towards him while letting him undress before trying to shoot him. Guys, JUST SHOOT HIM NOW! Lisa has literally just taken Steve to a GIRLS SCHOOL while he's invisible. The sex-based comedy potential is limitless! Steve needs to get something to clean up a mess, ooh, the room next door is a shower filled with naked girls. Michelle Bauer is one of them. Steve hands one of them a towel and shampoo - even though he's invisible. Screaming. Lisa's gotten back and slapped him - "justice". That's not what I call it. That's it. They've left the school. They literally just went there for the shower scene. I'm staggered. Jeffrey is a baddie. He's taken a now visible Steve prisoner. Lisa needs to help him. Naked Lisa? My eyes can't focus on this blurred image. White Indian is back. Hilarious. When a gag doesn't work the first time just keep using it. Steve just dropped his pants thinking he has the invisibility formula - he doesn't. A man has commented his butt is cute. Lisa's fully nekkid. Awkward 'sex with an invisible guy' scene. The need to have constant narration to let us know there's supposed to be an invisible person onscreen is mucho annoying. Some kind of old men's club who spy on their neighbours having sex. Cue the invisible sex scene hilarity. Second slowest fall ever. Looks ****. Woman faints. A peculiarly long scene of them climbing over some buildings. Bonnet (hood) roll! It's amazing... this film has absolutely no tension in it whatsoever. Everything about it is flat. The villain is a WOMAN!!!! It's Steve's fiance! Didn't see that coming... GEDDIT?! Didn't see that coming! Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaa! Sadly, I did see it coming.
Best things about the film: The music and Lisa Langlois being nude. Everything else sucked.
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
| IP: Logged |
posted
Your play-by-play is infinitely more entertaining than the film itself. LOL "Family mystery thriller music"! Yep, but the film's plot is more nudie-cutie film from the 60s.
Lisa still does a lot of stuff on Canadian TV. She has a Youtube site with a demo reel of some of her performances. Interestingly, she makes no mention of The Man Who Wasn't There. How could that be? It's one of the great masterpieces of 80s cinema! OK, those three minutes or so are brilliant. All kidding aside (sorry, Lisa) I was stunned to learn that she is older than I am, but she still looks great.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
quote:Your play-by-play is infinitely more entertaining than the film itself. LOL "Family mystery thriller music"!
I wish I could describe it better, it's such a common vibe and it's been used a ton in many movies, but I just don't know what to call it.
Lisa will always be the sexy chick from 'Class of 1984' to me. Shame this movie was such a turnip - the nudity feels wasted.
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
