posted
I really like THX-1138, an expansion of George Lucas's student film, but it indeed has a dark, hopeless feel. This is such a difference from Lucas's feel-good science fiction Star Wars.
In looking at THX-1138 on imdb.com, I was shocked to see it reported there that the film grossed almost $(US)2.5 million. I don't believe that, unless that figure includes the box office for the post-Star Wars re-release. I was always under the impression that even though it didn't cost a lot, it was considered a huge bomb and just dumped into a few theatres by Warner Bros. back in early 1971. Without the Internet in those days, genre fans like me had only heard about it from specialty film magazines like Cinefantastique, where it got a glowing review. Then one night in 1973, it showed up on the great CBS Late Movie (or "all the film school you'd ever need," as a friend of mine so aptly puts it), home to many exploitation, cult, lost, and unreleased films in the days before VHS. (I saw DePalma's long-shelved Get to Know Your Rabbit on the CBS Late Movie too.)
[ 14. December 2016, 15:32: Message edited by: Crash ]
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Fascinating look at a very fragile looking David Bowie preparing and performing his Diamond Dogs tour in the US.
Part of the long-running BBC Omnibus documentary series, this 53 minute episode originally aired in january 1975.
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
"After a rich old man dies in a suspicious car accident in Acapulco, his widow wants his insurance company to pony up $5 million. A hotshot investigator Decker (Grodin) and a charming model (Fawcett) come in to check it out." (IMDb)
This was a pretty fun, easygoing crime comedy directed by Richard C. Sarafian (Vanishing Point, Eye of the Tiger). Fawcett looks amazing, Grodin is great as usual and Art Carney is the older guy who knows the local life. The three have a nice chemistry and supporting cast includes more interesting names like Joan Collins, John Hillerman, Keenan Wynn and Seymour Cassel.
Cool cast, nice locations, few fun one-liners and some action. I also like the Graham Gouldman (10cc) penned theme tune. Not bad.
posted
Sunburn was hyped a lot when it came out I think, and it became something of a byword for flop / bad movie. I've never seen it but it does look interesting, and Grodin always rocks.
Watched: Logan's Run. Still fun, still hokey. A little more clunky than I remember it. Ustinov's character grated a little more too. More nudity than I remembered. Plus I still laugh at the line "I am Box - impressive am I not?" because the answer to that question has always been "No".
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quote:Originally posted by Crash: Logan's Run--Jenny Agutter nude. 'Nuff said!
Jenny is a true legend. She got her kit off all the time and yet it’s almost impossible to think of her as anything other than the perfect cinematic example of a lady. Maybe it's the poise... maybe it's the "Daddy my daddy!" scene from 'The Railway Children'. Who knows. Bottle that magic and sell it!
It never occurred to me that the three leads are British. Seems odd thinking about it now. Plus it never occurred to me that Michael and Jenny were supposed to be doing US accents until Michael mentioned it in the commentary.
However, I think it has to be said... Richard Jordan probably gives the best performance in the movie – he just doesn’t have that much to do.
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
This was a very good murder mystery directed by Massimo Dallamano. Basically this is a typical whodunnit giallo but it´s very well done and atmospheric plus i love the London, England locations. I also liked the cast, especially Cristina Galbo as Elizabeth was very pretty and sympathetic.
The kills are quite nasty but there´s not much blood around. I also have to mention one pretty disturbing scene near the end featuring Camille Keaton. Ouch! The film is a bit too long for it´s own good but there´s few unforgettable scenes and overall great (melancholic) vibe so i highly recommend it to the fans of macabre.
The Arrow release includes few nice documentaries. The leading star Fabio Testi talks about his career and Karin Baal hates the film deeply Posts: 7054 | From: Finland | Registered: Feb 2008 | Site Updates: 7
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
A fun 60s comic book feature directed by Mario Bava. I loved the wild cinematography, awesome settings and set pieces created by Bava and his friends.
John Philip Law is perfect Diabolik and Marisa Mell is his superhot girlfriend/partner in crime. The plot is simple: Diabolik robs money and jewelry but doesn´t give to the poor but to his girlfriend. Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) and evil mobster Valmont (Adolfo Celi) are after him but Diabolik outsmarts them every time.
Although there´s some silly acting here, especially from Terry Thomas, i say forget the campy 60s Batman, Diabolik is the man!
The dvd also includes a cool documentary featuring comic book artist and Diabolik freak Steve Bissette.
Marisa Mell looking so fine Posts: 7054 | From: Finland | Registered: Feb 2008 | Site Updates: 7
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posted
I too love Danger: Diabolik. Bava was a genius for beautiful films on a budget. I think this one was the highest budgeted film of his career, but he still brought it in way under budget. Try that out for size, Michael Bay!
I think that the film looks great, is so much fun, and has Marissa Mell. Of all the Euro starlets of the late 60s and early 70s, Mell, along with Edwige Fenech, Florinda Bolkan, and Femi Benussi, was my favorite. There was an even better picture in Famous Monsters of Filmland of Marissa Mell from Danger: Diabolik that made me a man. LOL As a teenager, I used to think all European women looked that good.
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"This is the largest single shipment of dollars ever made... at six in the morning!"Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
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posted
It really feels like 70s films were full of sensual, beautiful women. Gotta love ´em!
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Psychological thriller, with only 5 actors and 1 setting, about the aftermath of the events also portrayed in Casualties Of War. The rape and subsequent murder of a Vietnamese woman results in a moral clash between platoon mates, and they end up facing each other on opposite sides in a court martial. Years later, two former soldiers who were found guilty and imprisoned for two years come knocking at Bill's door, who had testified against them. Tensions rise when Bill's wife and her father are dragged into the conflict, and a night of psychological terror ensues.
Starring James Woods and Steve Railsback, and directed by veteran filmmaker Elia Kazan.
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,..A young gunfighter plans to track down and eliminate the bandits who killed his family, and forms a tenuous alliance with an aging ex-outlaw to achieve this end..'
Excellent Italian western, for a change not directed by one of the 'Sergios' (Corbucci, Leone, Sollima), but the lesser-known Giulio Petroni. John Phillip Law (Danger Diabolik, Barbarella) and Lee Van Cleef star.
Great story, breathtaking scenery, lots of striking faces (including cult-fave Luigi Pistilli), and of course the requisite Ennio Morricone score ! John Phillip Law's character suffers a bit from stilted dialogue in the dubbed audio, but Van Cleef has tremendous screen presence here in a role with a bit more depth to his usual silent avenger type of character.
Definitely among the best of its kind, i highly recommend Death Rides A Horse !
posted
This is an excellent spaghetti Western, a real favorite of mine.
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Van Cleef is so cool. He really had the right face for it. I love Day Of Anger and The Big Gundown too.. good stuff !
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posted
Van Cleef, one of the greatest film tough guys. Always a favorite.
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
posted
I´m gonna check out Death Rides a Horse and yeah, Van Cleef rocks!
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posted
Just watched this on YouTube. Good spaghetti western. Kind of odd pacing, but Van Cleef and John Phillip Law are good (Law seems to be doing some kind of John Wayne impersonation).
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posted
I watched Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore this evening (1974). This was much better than the cheesy tv show that took its name from the movie. This movie had an indie flick feel to it. One of Scorsese's first full length feature films. I really enjoyed Burstyn and Kristofferson. I could not figure out who that kid was who played Tommy. He was also in The Bad News Bears a few years later.
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posted
That film is pretty much forgotten today, but it was an early--and excellent--studio film by the great Scorsese.
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quote:Originally posted by Logan 5: Just watched this on YouTube. Good spaghetti western. Kind of odd pacing, but Van Cleef and John Phillip Law are good.
True. The pacing of spaghetti westerns has always been erratic, but that's part of the genre's charm, i think. They have this otherworldly feel that adds a slight touch of surrealism, which i really like.
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quote:That film is pretty much forgotten today, but it was an early--and excellent--studio film by the great Scorsese.
Sooooo many great movies made in Hollywood in the 70's. True greatness. I don't think we'll ever get an era like that again. It was the perfect storm for creativity; Hollywood moguls not knowing what to do amid a crumbling studio system, young ambitious directors raised on classic US movies and foreign cinema, and a society dropping all constraints after the sexual revolution. That was before the dark times... before the corporations...
This one tends to get forgotten because it's sandwiched between the cooler Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. But this one really put him on the map. Burstyn and Kristofferson were big stars in the 70's, but they didn't seem to retain that status beyond the decade (in terms of the mainstream). Funny how that works.
I watched:
Parallax View: Much more dated and patchy than I remember. The scene with the musical montage in the 'training centre' is very very weak now. The cast are great though. I often forget how good Beatty is.
The Europeans: Very early Merchant Ivory (before that became a dividing term). A very simple but evocative movie about some Europeans visiting some rather pious Bostonians and the culture clash (if 'clash' is the right word) that follows.
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posted
I think it's in the classic book Movie Brats where the argument is made that the 1970s were the best decade of American films. I think that I have to agree. Here is what I think is a great list (including some foreign films, but all the U.S. classics are there):
posted
I´ve seen 60/100 so i have some work to do Luckily i own many of those on the list i´ve yet to see.
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Luckily i own many of those on the list i´ve yet to see.
