Another George Lazenby movie checked off my list, he plays a police chief who assigns investigator Jim Kelly to stop an evil plan devised by Harold “Odd Job” Sakata (as he is awkwardly billed in the credits, not even using the proper one word name Oddjob) where a machine has been invented which freezes people solid. Directed by the legendary Al Adamson (he of a multitude of low budget pulp action/horror movies) this is only notable for the three stars who are more famous for their past resumes. Terrible dubbing, but George’s Australian twang remains intact. 9 years after OHMSS, and in his late thirties, he looks the picture of health with a more lived in appearance, why, oh why did he give up Bond, he should have been filming MR at this point and making his 6th Bond appearance, and looking bloody good in it.
Fascinating for all the wrong reasons, and worth watching for that alone.
2/5
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The Favourite is a sexed up, crude, yet remarkably old-fashioned cinematic take on true history, the sort of ‘history’ Hollywood used to mess around with in the 1930s. Here, Olivia Coleman’s Queen Anne is torn between her long held affection for the dominant, persuasive and conniving Sarah Churchill [incorrectly referred to throughout as Lady Marlborough when she was in fact a Duchess] and the younger, flirtatious and quietly ambitious Abigail Hill. Abigail, a delightfully intent Emma Stone, is Sarah’s cousin fallen on hard times; she has taken a role as a chambermaid in the Queen’s household and uses her kindliness and sensuality to ingratiate herself with the Queen, causing immediate friction with Sarah Churchill [an extremely wily and obnoxious, if rather spirited, Rachel Weisz]. You can sense where the story is leading almost from the off.
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and first-time writer Deborah Davis play fast and loose with history, snatching at snippets of hearsay and making more of them than is. They place the action in the correct timeframe but conveniently ignore the true background. For instance, both Anne’s husband and her eldest surviving child were both alive during the film’s established timeline; there is no evidence Anne kept pet rabbits, which were considered a pest in the 1700s; the language, while not necessarily incorrect, feels burdened by modernisms and vulgarities. The casual banding around of the term and implied acceptance of ‘rape’ might be contextually accurate, but when you are presenting your characters as empowered, it feels extremely odd. There is a similar problem with that sixties contemporary piece The Knack… and I wonder if writers sometimes overthink their screenplays and underthink their characters. This kind of playing with history is all very well in terms of generating a story, but it makes me query the intent of the producers, who seem to want to scandalise instead of sympathise.
The three women in this love-triangle are well presented, although I cringe almost every time Olivia Coleman grates across the screen. [I just can’t abide her, sorry, I just can’t; she strikes me as a soap opera actress; very one note, pulling faces and squeaking like she does.] The audience shares empathies with each in turn, as they metaphorically circle around each other and we witness the advantages of friendship, the narrowness of love and the exploitations position, power and influence can breed. These are not such modern tropes and have been the subject of many annals across centuries, usually of course involving men, or men and their wives. What perhaps makes the story, although not the film, unusual is that all three protagonists are females, albeit they do not always exhibit feminine grace and supplication. This in itself is a problem; in Anne’s case, her religious background would probably preclude her from most of the activities and language presented. The sexual antics are not documented or even hinted at by reliable sources. So one suspects the intent is to present a modern triad and place it in a historical context, one neatly manufactured. Let’s face it, there’s nothing like a royal scandal to get bums on seats.
The Favourite is well designed and photographed, although too often the dark interiors of the servant’s corridors don’t so much hint at despair and clandestine activity as simply blank out the screen. There is little in the way of context, some blustering about parliament and a war with the French is about all. The action seems to take weeks when the central relationships would probably have evolved over several years. In fact, Anne and Sarah were friends from when the Queen was a mere Princess and both were heavily involved in the removal of Anne’s Catholic father, James II, and the succession of her sister, Mary II. Anne’s Protestant fervour barely gets a look-in.
Annoyingly, a probably well-paid graphic designer has used a font and printing layout which is almost impossible to read fluently. Hence, a series of chapter headings as well as the closing credits were almost unintelligible. When I did manage to decipher one or two of these headings, I realised quite quickly they served no purpose whatsoever to the film. The fact you couldn’t read them seemed to suggest it also. Somewhere near the end Elton John’s back catalogue is mined for a completely inappropriate song. The unresolved story fades into a collage of Abigail’s revulsion, Queen Anne’s orgasm and a horde of hopping bunnies. ‘Skyline Pigeon’ sings Sir Elton – what? I shrieked, out loud, rather like Olivia Coleman.
This kind of slap-dash petty construction irks me almost as much as Ms Coleman, so The Favourite, while laudable in many aspects, simply irritates and frustrates in others. A bit like the female characters do to each other. Perhaps that was the point. I doubt it, but there you go…
An Oscar winning performance from Anthony Hopkins turns a potentially maudlin subject into a powerful observation of a man suffering dementia, how his mind interacts not with people, but with itself, shaping and forming his relationships, strengthening some and disrupting others. Ultimately and somewhat depressingly, The Father questions the sufferer’s unease, not the philosophy and decisions of the relatives or the dedication of the care nurses. Hence, it treads a brilliantly fine line between intrigue and anger – who is what and why are they behaving this way? The possibility of abuse rises its head, both physical and mental; selfishness too, from all sides of the argument. There are no solutions and no happy ending.
Hopkins plays [conveniently] Anthony, an old man whose faculties are failing and whose daughter looks after him in her well-to-do flat. Her antagonistic husband persuades her she cannot cope, but Anthony does not want to be abandoned in a care home. The battle of wills is played out in Anthony’s mind as a confused series of intertwined, but unclear events. Superbly edited so that we, although not Anthony, understand he sees all his living accommodations as both the same and different, the film is astutely directed by writer Floria Zeiller. Christopher Hampton gave a hand adapting Zeiller’s stage-play for the screen.
Olivia Coleman tips up as the concerned daughter, although she’s still doing her usual squinting, discombobulated act. The small cast is filled out by Rufus Sewell, Mark Gattis, Olivia Wilson and Imogen Poots. Nobody disgraces the subject matter.
It is a very sad film which at its end, like Hopkins’s character, leaves you with nowhere to go. Despite this, at times, the action is nervelessly brilliant. Rightly lauded, it is surprising to see The Father needed nine production companies to fund a miniscule budget. Obviously nobody wanted to tackle such a sensitive subject. The film’s critical, emotional and eventual financial success suggests there is a market for difficult themes. It’s vaguely similar to the Michael Caine / Glenda Jackson film The Great Escaper in its appreciation of the care system, but its outlook is far darker and more realistic and opens windows we should, but frequently do not, want to look through.
I just bought a version which was restored, remastered, reassembled, rescored, re-released a few years ago. I'd seen it before, in lesser versions, but this version is as good as it’s going to get for a film of such age.
I’m not going to go into the plot for the benefit of anyone who hasn’t seen it. The performances of the two main actors, Werner Krauss as the titular doctor and Conrad Veidt as his sleepwalking henchman Cesare, could not be bettered but those of the nominal young leads (our hero andheroine) are far weaker even given the conventions of the time.
Still, none of that is what this makes Das Cabinet so distinctive. The art, production design, call it what you will (I’m not an expert) is more than groundbreaking, it was unique in it’s time and pretty much still is today.
Angles are wrong, backgrounds are painted, the whole thing gives the impression of being a crazy nightmare – and perhaps it is?
It was very influential upon the first horror movies made in Hollywood – Murders In The RueMorgue and Frankenstein especially.
Frank Sinatra gives one of his best late period performances as USAF Colonel Joseph Ryan, who leads a 400 strong contingent of POW across Italy to Switzerland, using the rail network and dose of good fortune. Mark Robson directs with a keen eye for changes in atmosphere and character. Initially, the film seems to be a sort of Carry On Escaping, only perhaps not quite so bawdy. Our own Adolfo Celi plays a buffoonish prison commandant. Once the cohort breaks out of the camp, suspense is the order of the day. Latterly, when the real thrills kick in, the action is smartly directed and orchestrated with a touch of flair and much tension. The ending is memorable [filmed not in Italy, but Spain as they had a better bridge]. It was suggested by Sinatra himself.
Well worth a look, if you’ve never seen it before. A good cast of relative unknowns fills out the screen. The ‘leading lady’ – I say that only because she has third billing – is Raffaella Carra, a very attractive Italian actress and singer who had a string of Euro-disco hits in the seventies. Her ‘dress-tease’ with the nylon stockings is a great scene all on its own. Miss Carra would have made a decent Domino in the same year’s Thunderball. Jerry Goldsmith’s music score is suitably robust.
Cult classic guilty pleasure slasher film with Meghan Fox and Amanda Seyfried - having known the latter only for the Mamma Mia movies, I am belatedly coming round to her edgier, weirder stuff, from Mean Girls onwards. I think this got dodgy reviews when it came out - I don't know why, it's a blast and doesn't stint on the gore - it's not one to watch even with indulgent family members, however. As in the US tradition, the gore is all there but sex is referenced but nothing topless shown from our two actresses, mind you, that's star's privilege I guess. Not technically a vampire movie, one of them gets assaulted by a satanic indie band visiting the small town, and it goes on from there. Actually there is some rubbish here, like a big mention of the town's waterfall which disappears into a hole, more you think would be made of that later in the film but they don't really. No sense of a police investigation when the lone killings/slaughter pile up. A teacher - seemingly the only one in the school - as a Tee Hee pincer hook for a hand, well, maybe the actor does, I don't know, but nothing is made of that either. So yeah, you can pick holes in it. But because it's a guilty pleasure, you don't.
They reshow this a lot at London's Prince Charles cinema so I thought I'd catch it on Film4.
I haven't visited in a while, so I'll just have to make a list of the newest I've bought/seen.
When Eight Bells Toll (Blu ray)- first time watching since at the drive in as a little kid. Clearly an attempt at a Bond-like franchise, but it just didn't quite have that 'ooomph!' required. Still, a very enjoyable flick. The only part I really remembered was the underwater stuff.
Space: 1999, first season (Blu ray)- again hadn't seen it since I was 15, so much better than I remembered. The science is garbage, but it was like 2001 for TV!
The Blob (1988, Blu ray)- much more disturbing than I recalled. Pretty neat film, despite the lead actors hair.
Highlander (4K)- Jaw dropped, it looked like it did theatrically.
Predator (4K)- Best transfer I've ever seen. Again, I haven't seen it like this since 1987...
Lifeforce (1985, 4K/Blu ray)- a totally guilty pleasure, sci-fi/ horror vampire mess with a killer score & Mathilda May, what's not to like? Well, the 4k, actually. It was pretty bad, so I switched to the excellent Blu ray.
Drive (1997, 4K)- an unbelievably good little sort of sci-fi Kung Fu film with Mark Dacascos. As cool as I remembered.
Along with Micheal Reeves’s Witchfinder General, The Wicker Man encapsulates British cinema’s folk-horror cycle that ran through the late sixties and early seventies, a subgenre of some interest and certain cinematic flair. Robin Hardy directed The Wicker Man and he was enthusiastically lauded by star Christopher Lee, who considered this movie to be the best film he ever made. The literate screenplay by playwright Anthony Schaffer helps immensely to present characters of depth and intrigue. Utilising Schaffer’s words and Hardy’s cameras, the film creates a pagan conundrum which is both eerily satanic and also strangely erotic, imbued as it is with a sense of a rural idyll breaking down under the weight of its own traditional values.
Edward Woodward, fresh from Callan, plays Sergeant Howie, a Highland policeman sent to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate reports of a missing adolescent girl. Howie is a devout Christian Catholic, a virgin and a man engaged to be married. He takes his work seriously and life with a hefty pinch of the pious. His no nonsense approach to the crime does not endear him to the locals, who all seem in thrall to the local squire, Christopher Lee’s urbane Lord Summerisle, a man who has turned his back on God and brought back to the island the pagan rituals of its heritage, which include Herbals, free love and sex and a reliance on sacrifice to appease the Gods of the Earth and Elements. Lord Summerisle may dress up in kilts, entertain lavishly in his exquisite castle, hold May Day Morris Parades and generally be a benevolent presence, but he also holds a set of beliefs which run contrary to everything Howie hold precious:
‘I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago. Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth.’
Time and again on his journeys around the island, Howie is tempted – mostly by sex, sometimes with alcohol, usually with doleful patience – and he fights each presence with a grimace and a prayer. Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness equates to Howie’s forty hours on Summerisle.
The film has a curious, almost wistful feel to it, amusing early on as the locals tease and confuse the policeman, but turning sinister and macabre as Howie uncovers the bleak and black hearts that the population thrives on. Poor Rowan Morrison, the missing girl who is as big a MacGuffin as Hitchcock ever had, may as well not be missing for half the movie, so obsessed is Hardy with the trappings of a rural diabolic existence. Music and song plays a big part in setting scenes and forming character. Nominally, the soundtrack is performed by Magnet, but this is a pseudonym for Paul Giovanni, who creates and sings a fluid background of new, old and revamped folk tunes – noticeably Robert Burns’s The Rigs of Barley – to allay with the action on screen. Britt Ekland’s Willow, the landlord’s daughter, gets to dance to two of them, one of them prancing naked about her bedroom. Next door, Woodward’s Sgt Howie buries his head beneath his pillow. These tests of his fortitude are designed to ensure he truly is the sacrifice the islanders seek to appease the gods, who have failed their crops. The modern-thinking Howie realises it is harvesting unsupportable strains of food which has put paid to abundance, but the maniacal and obsessive Lord Summerisle has other plans for his virginal visitor.
Like Hitchcock in his seminal Psycho, Hardy chooses to kill off his central character, but this time not until the very end. The film loses its way a little here, the explanation for Howie’s sacrifice sounds ridiculous, and his mysterious calling [he has been sent anonymous letters] is glossed over in a single sentence. When I watch movies where whole communities unite in violence or terror, I always furrow my brow and wonder how everyone – yes, everyone! – could be so callous, leading to the darkest of evils. Did the inhabitants of Summerisle learn nothing from all the free love and spiritual rebirthing they’d been indoctrinated with? Did nobody mention you need to care for your crops? As Howie rightly points out:
‘As a Christian, I hope for resurrection. And if you kill me now, it is I who will live again, not your damned apples… And when your crops fail next year, Summerisle, which they will, next year, your people will kill you on May Day.’
Christopher Lee’s villain merely grins and bares his teeth, vampire like. The final scene is gripping in its intensity and, although almost ruined by some wild screaming from Mr Woodward, the visual impact of the wicker man – an effigy reimagined from the annals of Julius Ceasar’s conquest of Gaul – is undoubtably one of horror cinema’s greatest moments. As the blazing funeral pyre collapses and the sun sets behind it, you really do have a sense of the power of the elements, not the power of man, which perhaps is the intent. Photographer Harry Waxman is strong throughout.
The Wicker Man ends on a distinctly bleak note, but the film is a remarkable watch, packed full of curiosities and talking points. It was virtually forgotten for almost two decades until Alex Cox revisited it for one of his Moviedrome documentaries, when it was reassessed and eventually became regarded as one of British cinema’s finest films. I maybe wouldn’t go that far, but it definitely has a look, sound and atmosphere of the period, one which evokes a time far in the past, manipulating its audience, drawing them twisting into this pictorial and verbal nightmare as certainly as is Edward Woodward’s Sgt Howie.
Directed by Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard). Cast with Bond connections includes Robert Stephens (father of Toby) as Holmes, a de-toupeed Sir Christopher Lee (have you seen this, @Sonero ?) as Mycroft,
and the voice of Nikki van der Zyl.
This was not liked at the time but I enjoyed it yesterday. A good plot I won’t spoil, some excellent if quirky performances, good period atmosphere, lovely settings at Loch Ness, and yes Holmes & Watson meet the monster.
Apparently a lot was cut out and the copy I've bought has these deleted scenes but I've not watched them yet.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,872Chief of Staff
EPiC - Elvis Presley in Concert.
Whilst researching his Elvis film Baz Luhrman found unseen Elvis footage and decided to put it together to make this movie…and what a job he did - it’s fabulous, although I think most of the credit should go to Elvis himself 😁🤣
Most of the footage deals with Elvis getting his band in shape for his concerts at The International hotel, after some preamble about his start in music and his Army service…at the start of rehearsals he looks nervous, pensive and a little out of sorts…that is until he starts to sing…you can’t deny that Elvis had an incredible voice. The band hang onto Elvis’s word, just wanting to please him - all while having a great time playing for him. The film transitions between rehearsal footage and stage footage throughout…going back and forth through a few years for some interviews…you get lean Elvis and not-so-lean Elvis - thankfully it doesn’t show any of his last couple of years - no one really wants to see THAT Elvis 😳
Those first shows at The International must have been electric…Elvis is doing what Elvis always wanted to do - to put on a show and sing to a live audience…he is in tremendous form once the early nerves settle…laughing and joking around with a huge smile on his face - THAT’S the Elvis we want to remember…plus I don’t think I’ve ever seen one man kiss so many women during a show - not that Elvis had much choice 😁 one section had him singing a song with a bra that had been thrown on stage on his head 🤣
THIS is what Elvis was born to do…he loved putting on those shows and he never took himself too seriously. Tom Parker (Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk) has a lot to answer for.
I’m guessing all Elvis fans will have seen this already - it was only being shown here for about 9 days but they had to bring it back because every house sold out.
I saw it at the local IMAX…watching a 60 foot Elvis in amazing high-fidelity sound (all cleaned up using Peter Jackson’s amazing machines) is everything you want it to be 😁
The last rodeo for Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, after somewhere between twenty and thirty (depends how you count them) movies together over the previous nearly thirty years.
Pedantry corner: Longer than that if you count Olivier’s Hamlet (1948), but they hadn’t met IRL and don’t meet in the movie either.
They’re joined by fellow horror stalwarts Vincent Price and John Carradine – both of whose careers stretch back to the Universal b&w days, Carradine all the way back to Bride Of Frankenstein (1935).
And having brought all these aged icons together, they’re dropped into an old dark house story that’s as old as they are. Writer Desi Arnaz Jr accepts a challenge to stay overnight in a reputedly haunted manor while he writes his next best seller. He’s constantly interrupted by the four horror men plus others dropping in to visit. There are some good moments, a few excellent lines (Price gets most of those), two (count ‘em) cat scares, and a supposed surprise ending that can be seen coming right from the start.
If you’re a fan of those actors and their movies it’s good to watch as an affectionate swansong both to them and to the pleasures they brought for many years. If not, you won’t get anything out of it that you haven’t seen before.
As any culturd human being I've seen this classic many times before, but this time I saw it at the cinema. The local film club had a poll for its members and this was the winner. To quoite the man who presented the film before the screening: " This is pure visual and audio enjoyment".
@Sonero Yes, it’s done really well. I guess I’m just a traditionalist, and I really love b&w movies they have so much atmosphere. It’s a great movie, I watched it again a few weeks ago, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🍸
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
It Came From Beneath The Sea is one of the classic 50’s monster movies. @Sonero@Barbel sorry, guys, I cannot contemplate watching this in anything but b&w. For me that goes for any monochrome movie, by the way, but I do understand that others prefer colour. I am colour blind and find monochrome easier to watch, shades of grey are sharp but night scenes on colour film all blend into one and I find it difficult to see anything but a blurry mess.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Diplomatic Courier 1952 with Tyrone Power and Karl Malden. I have this Tradition of a bloody Steak with Peas and Heinz Ketchup with watching a Flick from this Decade. Goes very well together. Film Noir et Steak Bleue or so.
A Young balding Karl Malden does not play the Love Interest of said courier but a very relatable MP Officer in Adventuremode!
There’s a long story about why this film of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” doesn’t bear that title and whose characters have altered names (“Count Dracula” = “Count Orlok”, “Mina Harker” = “Ellen Hutter”, and so on) but it’s well known and I won’t repeat it here.
Like Caligari before it, this was a product of the Weimer Republic’s time and leans on expressionism only less so. With the exception of Max Schreck as Orlok, where it’s appropriate, the cast are prone to the exaggeration of emotions intrinsic to silent movies of the time but which seem corny nowadays. The sets and costumes are vivid and atmospheric and carry the film.
The version I bought and watched is the BFI restoration, which is not very good compared to other similar restoration jobs although I am sure the techs did their best with the materials available to them.
One major plus is the score added to that restoration by the late Hammer veteran James Bernard, who had plenty of experience with vampire movies and provides just the right touch.
I finally got to see the acclaimed BUGONIA last night. It's not always a comfortable watch--Emma Stone spends much of the film bound and tortured--but she plays her character smart and tough; and the entire film is weird, original, and unpredictable. Every time I think moviemaking is dead, something like this comes along.
Not watched many movies recently, been a bit busy on the university front, anthology editing, book writing, so... as it was a bank holiday weekend, some nostalgia...
SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977)
The third and last of a loose trilogy of Arabian Nights fantasies from master SFX wizard Ray Harryhausen, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger suffers from some dreadful casting but lopes along fairly amicably with a sort of childish glee that keeps your attention. Patrick Wayne [John Wayne’s son] as Sinbad and Taryn Power [Tyrone Power’s daughter] as Dione, a pretty alchemist’s daughter, look the part, but are simply dreadful when it comes to acting – although she is better than he. Jane Seymour looks lovely but seems to have forgotten her own dramatic chops, while sorcerers Patrick Troughton and Margaret Whiting over-egg at every opportunity. Despite the hammy performances, there is quite a lot to keep us entertained.
This one doesn’t mess about. Sinbad arrives in the kingdom of Charak to celebrate the coronation of his good friend Prince Kassim. He also has the hots for the prince’s sister, Farah [the lovely Miss Seymour]. Before he can reacquaint himself, he and his shipmates are attacked by demonic skeletons. Shades of Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts abound. Battle done, Sinbad learns that Kassim’s devilish step-mother Zenobia has put a curse on the prince, turning him into a baboon and thus preventing his legal ascension. Sinbad vows to right this wrong by hunting down the elusive Greek scientist Melanthius [Troughton], who he believes will lift the incantation. A series of adventures ensue, most of them involving strange creatures, some of them prehistoric, most of them rather large.
The script isn’t up to much, but the production teams are on top form. The sets are splendid, costumes fine and gaudy and OO7's venerable lensman Ted Moore photograph’s everything with a keen eye. Of course, it is hard to fault the stop-motion photography. The baboon is particularly fine. An over reliance on two strip or three strip colour separation overlay makes some of the scenes very creaky to look at; for instance, it is fairly obvious the main cast never travelled to Jordan to film scenes there. I suppose one can forgive these kind of lapses a little, but when you are confronted with effects as good as those seen in the year’s other summer blockbusters Star Wars, Close Encounters and even James Bond, it does Sinbad… a veritable disservice.
Still, when I was a kid, the movie was the talk of the playground. Mum wouldn’t let me see James Bond, so I was taken to see this instead, by my mate’s Dad who corralled a good half-dozen of us into the Sutton 1-2-3. So that summer I never saw Anya Amasova naked in the shower, but I saw Jane Seymour and Taryn Power nude sunbathing and the memory of those brief nipple-slip-side-boob shots lasted many years. It was fun to revisit them yesterday. The nudity seems almost quaint. The pervy troglodyte who interrupts their reveille certainly looks interested.
A decent and exciting ending featuring an angry sabre-tooth tiger ties up all the loose ends of a fairly baggy story.
Note:
Chewbacca, sorry, Peter Mayhew, plays the Minoton, a living bronze statue of a minotaur in some scenes, although for the most part the creature is stop-motion animated. So Mr Mayhew got to star in two summer blockbusters of 1977.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,872Chief of Staff
Watched this movie tonight…not solely on your recommendation, but certainly that played a part….I’m not really going to add to what you wrote - as you pretty much got it spot on…it’s good these types of movies are made.
PS. I forgot to mention this earlier, but there’s a major plot hole in this version of the Dracula story. In the book and some adaptations, Dracula takes a ship (the Demeter) from Transylvania to England, arriving in the town of Whitby. Meanwhile, Jonathan Harker having escaped from Castle Dracula makes his way across Europe back home again and reunites with Mina at the same place.
Okay so far. However, this film sets the non-Transylvania action in Germany, in a fictional town called Wisburg (note the similarity to Whitby). The Dracula character still takes a ship while the Jonathan equivalent still travels cross-country to reunite with his love in Wisburg where they are terrorised by the vampire.
Have a look at a map of Europe. From Transylvania to Germany taking a ship would be a bad idea – you’d have to go through the Med, up the Channel, etc. Much simpler and faster to go by coach (remember no cars in those days).
This has happened by changing the location from England to Germany but keeping the ship scenes in the plot because they add atmosphere to the story and the writer or director wouldn’t want to lose them.
Comments
Just seen Project Hail Mary- Total Win.
I wish Gosling would be Bond or some Ladies Man again. And I wish Bond would go back to space.
DEATH DIMENSION (1978)
Another George Lazenby movie checked off my list, he plays a police chief who assigns investigator Jim Kelly to stop an evil plan devised by Harold “Odd Job” Sakata (as he is awkwardly billed in the credits, not even using the proper one word name Oddjob) where a machine has been invented which freezes people solid. Directed by the legendary Al Adamson (he of a multitude of low budget pulp action/horror movies) this is only notable for the three stars who are more famous for their past resumes. Terrible dubbing, but George’s Australian twang remains intact. 9 years after OHMSS, and in his late thirties, he looks the picture of health with a more lived in appearance, why, oh why did he give up Bond, he should have been filming MR at this point and making his 6th Bond appearance, and looking bloody good in it.
Fascinating for all the wrong reasons, and worth watching for that alone.
2/5
THE FAVOURITE (2018)
The Favourite is a sexed up, crude, yet remarkably old-fashioned cinematic take on true history, the sort of ‘history’ Hollywood used to mess around with in the 1930s. Here, Olivia Coleman’s Queen Anne is torn between her long held affection for the dominant, persuasive and conniving Sarah Churchill [incorrectly referred to throughout as Lady Marlborough when she was in fact a Duchess] and the younger, flirtatious and quietly ambitious Abigail Hill. Abigail, a delightfully intent Emma Stone, is Sarah’s cousin fallen on hard times; she has taken a role as a chambermaid in the Queen’s household and uses her kindliness and sensuality to ingratiate herself with the Queen, causing immediate friction with Sarah Churchill [an extremely wily and obnoxious, if rather spirited, Rachel Weisz]. You can sense where the story is leading almost from the off.
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and first-time writer Deborah Davis play fast and loose with history, snatching at snippets of hearsay and making more of them than is. They place the action in the correct timeframe but conveniently ignore the true background. For instance, both Anne’s husband and her eldest surviving child were both alive during the film’s established timeline; there is no evidence Anne kept pet rabbits, which were considered a pest in the 1700s; the language, while not necessarily incorrect, feels burdened by modernisms and vulgarities. The casual banding around of the term and implied acceptance of ‘rape’ might be contextually accurate, but when you are presenting your characters as empowered, it feels extremely odd. There is a similar problem with that sixties contemporary piece The Knack… and I wonder if writers sometimes overthink their screenplays and underthink their characters. This kind of playing with history is all very well in terms of generating a story, but it makes me query the intent of the producers, who seem to want to scandalise instead of sympathise.
The three women in this love-triangle are well presented, although I cringe almost every time Olivia Coleman grates across the screen. [I just can’t abide her, sorry, I just can’t; she strikes me as a soap opera actress; very one note, pulling faces and squeaking like she does.] The audience shares empathies with each in turn, as they metaphorically circle around each other and we witness the advantages of friendship, the narrowness of love and the exploitations position, power and influence can breed. These are not such modern tropes and have been the subject of many annals across centuries, usually of course involving men, or men and their wives. What perhaps makes the story, although not the film, unusual is that all three protagonists are females, albeit they do not always exhibit feminine grace and supplication. This in itself is a problem; in Anne’s case, her religious background would probably preclude her from most of the activities and language presented. The sexual antics are not documented or even hinted at by reliable sources. So one suspects the intent is to present a modern triad and place it in a historical context, one neatly manufactured. Let’s face it, there’s nothing like a royal scandal to get bums on seats.
The Favourite is well designed and photographed, although too often the dark interiors of the servant’s corridors don’t so much hint at despair and clandestine activity as simply blank out the screen. There is little in the way of context, some blustering about parliament and a war with the French is about all. The action seems to take weeks when the central relationships would probably have evolved over several years. In fact, Anne and Sarah were friends from when the Queen was a mere Princess and both were heavily involved in the removal of Anne’s Catholic father, James II, and the succession of her sister, Mary II. Anne’s Protestant fervour barely gets a look-in.
Annoyingly, a probably well-paid graphic designer has used a font and printing layout which is almost impossible to read fluently. Hence, a series of chapter headings as well as the closing credits were almost unintelligible. When I did manage to decipher one or two of these headings, I realised quite quickly they served no purpose whatsoever to the film. The fact you couldn’t read them seemed to suggest it also. Somewhere near the end Elton John’s back catalogue is mined for a completely inappropriate song. The unresolved story fades into a collage of Abigail’s revulsion, Queen Anne’s orgasm and a horde of hopping bunnies. ‘Skyline Pigeon’ sings Sir Elton – what? I shrieked, out loud, rather like Olivia Coleman.
This kind of slap-dash petty construction irks me almost as much as Ms Coleman, so The Favourite, while laudable in many aspects, simply irritates and frustrates in others. A bit like the female characters do to each other. Perhaps that was the point. I doubt it, but there you go…
THE FATHER (2020)
An Oscar winning performance from Anthony Hopkins turns a potentially maudlin subject into a powerful observation of a man suffering dementia, how his mind interacts not with people, but with itself, shaping and forming his relationships, strengthening some and disrupting others. Ultimately and somewhat depressingly, The Father questions the sufferer’s unease, not the philosophy and decisions of the relatives or the dedication of the care nurses. Hence, it treads a brilliantly fine line between intrigue and anger – who is what and why are they behaving this way? The possibility of abuse rises its head, both physical and mental; selfishness too, from all sides of the argument. There are no solutions and no happy ending.
Hopkins plays [conveniently] Anthony, an old man whose faculties are failing and whose daughter looks after him in her well-to-do flat. Her antagonistic husband persuades her she cannot cope, but Anthony does not want to be abandoned in a care home. The battle of wills is played out in Anthony’s mind as a confused series of intertwined, but unclear events. Superbly edited so that we, although not Anthony, understand he sees all his living accommodations as both the same and different, the film is astutely directed by writer Floria Zeiller. Christopher Hampton gave a hand adapting Zeiller’s stage-play for the screen.
Olivia Coleman tips up as the concerned daughter, although she’s still doing her usual squinting, discombobulated act. The small cast is filled out by Rufus Sewell, Mark Gattis, Olivia Wilson and Imogen Poots. Nobody disgraces the subject matter.
It is a very sad film which at its end, like Hopkins’s character, leaves you with nowhere to go. Despite this, at times, the action is nervelessly brilliant. Rightly lauded, it is surprising to see The Father needed nine production companies to fund a miniscule budget. Obviously nobody wanted to tackle such a sensitive subject. The film’s critical, emotional and eventual financial success suggests there is a market for difficult themes. It’s vaguely similar to the Michael Caine / Glenda Jackson film The Great Escaper in its appreciation of the care system, but its outlook is far darker and more realistic and opens windows we should, but frequently do not, want to look through.
Very, very good indeed.
DAS CABINET DER DR CALIGARI (1920)
I just bought a version which was restored, remastered, reassembled, rescored, re-released a few years ago. I'd seen it before, in lesser versions, but this version is as good as it’s going to get for a film of such age.
I’m not going to go into the plot for the benefit of anyone who hasn’t seen it. The performances of the two main actors, Werner Krauss as the titular doctor and Conrad Veidt as his sleepwalking henchman Cesare, could not be bettered but those of the nominal young leads (our hero and heroine) are far weaker even given the conventions of the time.
Still, none of that is what this makes Das Cabinet so distinctive. The art, production design, call it what you will (I’m not an expert) is more than groundbreaking, it was unique in it’s time and pretty much still is today.
Angles are wrong, backgrounds are painted, the whole thing gives the impression of being a crazy nightmare – and perhaps it is?
It was very influential upon the first horror movies made in Hollywood – Murders In The Rue Morgue and Frankenstein especially.
Caligari
Frankenstein
VON RYAN’S EXPRESS (1965)
The Great Escape with trains.
Frank Sinatra gives one of his best late period performances as USAF Colonel Joseph Ryan, who leads a 400 strong contingent of POW across Italy to Switzerland, using the rail network and dose of good fortune. Mark Robson directs with a keen eye for changes in atmosphere and character. Initially, the film seems to be a sort of Carry On Escaping, only perhaps not quite so bawdy. Our own Adolfo Celi plays a buffoonish prison commandant. Once the cohort breaks out of the camp, suspense is the order of the day. Latterly, when the real thrills kick in, the action is smartly directed and orchestrated with a touch of flair and much tension. The ending is memorable [filmed not in Italy, but Spain as they had a better bridge]. It was suggested by Sinatra himself.
Well worth a look, if you’ve never seen it before. A good cast of relative unknowns fills out the screen. The ‘leading lady’ – I say that only because she has third billing – is Raffaella Carra, a very attractive Italian actress and singer who had a string of Euro-disco hits in the seventies. Her ‘dress-tease’ with the nylon stockings is a great scene all on its own. Miss Carra would have made a decent Domino in the same year’s Thunderball. Jerry Goldsmith’s music score is suitably robust.
I enjoyed it.
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Cult classic guilty pleasure slasher film with Meghan Fox and Amanda Seyfried - having known the latter only for the Mamma Mia movies, I am belatedly coming round to her edgier, weirder stuff, from Mean Girls onwards. I think this got dodgy reviews when it came out - I don't know why, it's a blast and doesn't stint on the gore - it's not one to watch even with indulgent family members, however. As in the US tradition, the gore is all there but sex is referenced but nothing topless shown from our two actresses, mind you, that's star's privilege I guess. Not technically a vampire movie, one of them gets assaulted by a satanic indie band visiting the small town, and it goes on from there. Actually there is some rubbish here, like a big mention of the town's waterfall which disappears into a hole, more you think would be made of that later in the film but they don't really. No sense of a police investigation when the lone killings/slaughter pile up. A teacher - seemingly the only one in the school - as a Tee Hee pincer hook for a hand, well, maybe the actor does, I don't know, but nothing is made of that either. So yeah, you can pick holes in it. But because it's a guilty pleasure, you don't.
They reshow this a lot at London's Prince Charles cinema so I thought I'd catch it on Film4.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I haven't visited in a while, so I'll just have to make a list of the newest I've bought/seen.
When Eight Bells Toll (Blu ray)- first time watching since at the drive in as a little kid. Clearly an attempt at a Bond-like franchise, but it just didn't quite have that 'ooomph!' required. Still, a very enjoyable flick. The only part I really remembered was the underwater stuff.
Space: 1999, first season (Blu ray)- again hadn't seen it since I was 15, so much better than I remembered. The science is garbage, but it was like 2001 for TV!
The Blob (1988, Blu ray)- much more disturbing than I recalled. Pretty neat film, despite the lead actors hair.
Highlander (4K)- Jaw dropped, it looked like it did theatrically.
Predator (4K)- Best transfer I've ever seen. Again, I haven't seen it like this since 1987...
Lifeforce (1985, 4K/Blu ray)- a totally guilty pleasure, sci-fi/ horror vampire mess with a killer score & Mathilda May, what's not to like? Well, the 4k, actually. It was pretty bad, so I switched to the excellent Blu ray.
Drive (1997, 4K)- an unbelievably good little sort of sci-fi Kung Fu film with Mark Dacascos. As cool as I remembered.
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SPOILERS
although you've probably seen it...
THE WICKER MAN (1973)
Along with Micheal Reeves’s Witchfinder General, The Wicker Man encapsulates British cinema’s folk-horror cycle that ran through the late sixties and early seventies, a subgenre of some interest and certain cinematic flair. Robin Hardy directed The Wicker Man and he was enthusiastically lauded by star Christopher Lee, who considered this movie to be the best film he ever made. The literate screenplay by playwright Anthony Schaffer helps immensely to present characters of depth and intrigue. Utilising Schaffer’s words and Hardy’s cameras, the film creates a pagan conundrum which is both eerily satanic and also strangely erotic, imbued as it is with a sense of a rural idyll breaking down under the weight of its own traditional values.
Edward Woodward, fresh from Callan, plays Sergeant Howie, a Highland policeman sent to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate reports of a missing adolescent girl. Howie is a devout Christian Catholic, a virgin and a man engaged to be married. He takes his work seriously and life with a hefty pinch of the pious. His no nonsense approach to the crime does not endear him to the locals, who all seem in thrall to the local squire, Christopher Lee’s urbane Lord Summerisle, a man who has turned his back on God and brought back to the island the pagan rituals of its heritage, which include Herbals, free love and sex and a reliance on sacrifice to appease the Gods of the Earth and Elements. Lord Summerisle may dress up in kilts, entertain lavishly in his exquisite castle, hold May Day Morris Parades and generally be a benevolent presence, but he also holds a set of beliefs which run contrary to everything Howie hold precious:
‘I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago. Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth.’
Time and again on his journeys around the island, Howie is tempted – mostly by sex, sometimes with alcohol, usually with doleful patience – and he fights each presence with a grimace and a prayer. Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness equates to Howie’s forty hours on Summerisle.
The film has a curious, almost wistful feel to it, amusing early on as the locals tease and confuse the policeman, but turning sinister and macabre as Howie uncovers the bleak and black hearts that the population thrives on. Poor Rowan Morrison, the missing girl who is as big a MacGuffin as Hitchcock ever had, may as well not be missing for half the movie, so obsessed is Hardy with the trappings of a rural diabolic existence. Music and song plays a big part in setting scenes and forming character. Nominally, the soundtrack is performed by Magnet, but this is a pseudonym for Paul Giovanni, who creates and sings a fluid background of new, old and revamped folk tunes – noticeably Robert Burns’s The Rigs of Barley – to allay with the action on screen. Britt Ekland’s Willow, the landlord’s daughter, gets to dance to two of them, one of them prancing naked about her bedroom. Next door, Woodward’s Sgt Howie buries his head beneath his pillow. These tests of his fortitude are designed to ensure he truly is the sacrifice the islanders seek to appease the gods, who have failed their crops. The modern-thinking Howie realises it is harvesting unsupportable strains of food which has put paid to abundance, but the maniacal and obsessive Lord Summerisle has other plans for his virginal visitor.
Like Hitchcock in his seminal Psycho, Hardy chooses to kill off his central character, but this time not until the very end. The film loses its way a little here, the explanation for Howie’s sacrifice sounds ridiculous, and his mysterious calling [he has been sent anonymous letters] is glossed over in a single sentence. When I watch movies where whole communities unite in violence or terror, I always furrow my brow and wonder how everyone – yes, everyone! – could be so callous, leading to the darkest of evils. Did the inhabitants of Summerisle learn nothing from all the free love and spiritual rebirthing they’d been indoctrinated with? Did nobody mention you need to care for your crops? As Howie rightly points out:
‘As a Christian, I hope for resurrection. And if you kill me now, it is I who will live again, not your damned apples… And when your crops fail next year, Summerisle, which they will, next year, your people will kill you on May Day.’
Christopher Lee’s villain merely grins and bares his teeth, vampire like. The final scene is gripping in its intensity and, although almost ruined by some wild screaming from Mr Woodward, the visual impact of the wicker man – an effigy reimagined from the annals of Julius Ceasar’s conquest of Gaul – is undoubtably one of horror cinema’s greatest moments. As the blazing funeral pyre collapses and the sun sets behind it, you really do have a sense of the power of the elements, not the power of man, which perhaps is the intent. Photographer Harry Waxman is strong throughout.
The Wicker Man ends on a distinctly bleak note, but the film is a remarkable watch, packed full of curiosities and talking points. It was virtually forgotten for almost two decades until Alex Cox revisited it for one of his Moviedrome documentaries, when it was reassessed and eventually became regarded as one of British cinema’s finest films. I maybe wouldn’t go that far, but it definitely has a look, sound and atmosphere of the period, one which evokes a time far in the past, manipulating its audience, drawing them twisting into this pictorial and verbal nightmare as certainly as is Edward Woodward’s Sgt Howie.
Very, very good.
I just saw this recently for the first time, and it was a Clockwork Orange moment all over again.
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Brilliant, haunting movie.
Just saw this in the theatre today, very enjoyable if a bit long; the less you know going in, the better.
if you like Ryan Gossing at all, then this is a must-watch.
4 of 5 stars.
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The Private Life Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Directed by Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard). Cast with Bond connections includes Robert Stephens (father of Toby) as Holmes, a de-toupeed Sir Christopher Lee (have you seen this, @Sonero ?) as Mycroft,
and the voice of Nikki van der Zyl.
This was not liked at the time but I enjoyed it yesterday. A good plot I won’t spoil, some excellent if quirky performances, good period atmosphere, lovely settings at Loch Ness, and yes Holmes & Watson meet the monster.
Apparently a lot was cut out and the copy I've bought has these deleted scenes but I've not watched them yet.
EPiC - Elvis Presley in Concert.
Whilst researching his Elvis film Baz Luhrman found unseen Elvis footage and decided to put it together to make this movie…and what a job he did - it’s fabulous, although I think most of the credit should go to Elvis himself 😁🤣
Most of the footage deals with Elvis getting his band in shape for his concerts at The International hotel, after some preamble about his start in music and his Army service…at the start of rehearsals he looks nervous, pensive and a little out of sorts…that is until he starts to sing…you can’t deny that Elvis had an incredible voice. The band hang onto Elvis’s word, just wanting to please him - all while having a great time playing for him. The film transitions between rehearsal footage and stage footage throughout…going back and forth through a few years for some interviews…you get lean Elvis and not-so-lean Elvis - thankfully it doesn’t show any of his last couple of years - no one really wants to see THAT Elvis 😳
Those first shows at The International must have been electric…Elvis is doing what Elvis always wanted to do - to put on a show and sing to a live audience…he is in tremendous form once the early nerves settle…laughing and joking around with a huge smile on his face - THAT’S the Elvis we want to remember…plus I don’t think I’ve ever seen one man kiss so many women during a show - not that Elvis had much choice 😁 one section had him singing a song with a bra that had been thrown on stage on his head 🤣
THIS is what Elvis was born to do…he loved putting on those shows and he never took himself too seriously. Tom Parker (Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk) has a lot to answer for.
I’m guessing all Elvis fans will have seen this already - it was only being shown here for about 9 days but they had to bring it back because every house sold out.
I saw it at the local IMAX…watching a 60 foot Elvis in amazing high-fidelity sound (all cleaned up using Peter Jackson’s amazing machines) is everything you want it to be 😁
The House Of The Long Shadows (1983)
Dir: Peter Walker
The last rodeo for Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, after somewhere between twenty and thirty (depends how you count them) movies together over the previous nearly thirty years.
Pedantry corner: Longer than that if you count Olivier’s Hamlet (1948), but they hadn’t met IRL and don’t meet in the movie either.
They’re joined by fellow horror stalwarts Vincent Price and John Carradine – both of whose careers stretch back to the Universal b&w days, Carradine all the way back to Bride Of Frankenstein (1935).
And having brought all these aged icons together, they’re dropped into an old dark house story that’s as old as they are. Writer Desi Arnaz Jr accepts a challenge to stay overnight in a reputedly haunted manor while he writes his next best seller. He’s constantly interrupted by the four horror men plus others dropping in to visit. There are some good moments, a few excellent lines (Price gets most of those), two (count ‘em) cat scares, and a supposed surprise ending that can be seen coming right from the start.
If you’re a fan of those actors and their movies it’s good to watch as an affectionate swansong both to them and to the pleasures they brought for many years. If not, you won’t get anything out of it that you haven’t seen before.
The good the bad and the ugly (1966)
As any culturd human being I've seen this classic many times before, but this time I saw it at the cinema. The local film club had a poll for its members and this was the winner. To quoite the man who presented the film before the screening: " This is pure visual and audio enjoyment".
EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956)
'Project Skyhook', a United States space research program gets compromised.
Apparently all launched research satellites have fallen back to earth.
Leading scientist Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) discovers an alien presence manipulating things behind the scenes.
A momentary lapse of judgement results in a military standoff with the aliens, who are now hell bent on teaching the human race a bitter lesson.
-------
An iconic sci-fi film; very well made and expertly directed.
A treat for fans of the UFO genre films.
(Directed by Fred F. Sears - 84 minutes)
(I would recommend watching the colorized version of the film.)
@Sonero you disappoint me…colourised version my *#%@…I don’t know, you youngsters today…😳 😉🤣
@CoolHandBond 😂😂😂
I would never recommend a colorized version of a vintage gem.
But please see for yourself. I think they harmonized the colors very well.
@Sonero Yes, it’s done really well. I guess I’m just a traditionalist, and I really love b&w movies they have so much atmosphere. It’s a great movie, I watched it again a few weeks ago, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🍸
It's a classic.
At the moment I'm considering buying a colourised version of "It Came From Beneath The Sea", another Ray Harryhausen film but haven't quite decided.
An excellent film and very well colorized as well.
Now if only they could colorize the first three seasons of Danger Man / Secret Agent with AI.
That would be a dream come true.
It Came From Beneath The Sea is one of the classic 50’s monster movies. @Sonero @Barbel sorry, guys, I cannot contemplate watching this in anything but b&w. For me that goes for any monochrome movie, by the way, but I do understand that others prefer colour. I am colour blind and find monochrome easier to watch, shades of grey are sharp but night scenes on colour film all blend into one and I find it difficult to see anything but a blurry mess.
Diplomatic Courier 1952 with Tyrone Power and Karl Malden. I have this Tradition of a bloody Steak with Peas and Heinz Ketchup with watching a Flick from this Decade. Goes very well together. Film Noir et Steak Bleue or so.
A Young balding Karl Malden does not play the Love Interest of said courier but a very relatable MP Officer in Adventuremode!
NOSFERATU (1922)
There’s a long story about why this film of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” doesn’t bear that title and whose characters have altered names (“Count Dracula” = “Count Orlok”, “Mina Harker” = “Ellen Hutter”, and so on) but it’s well known and I won’t repeat it here.
Like Caligari before it, this was a product of the Weimer Republic’s time and leans on expressionism only less so. With the exception of Max Schreck as Orlok, where it’s appropriate, the cast are prone to the exaggeration of emotions intrinsic to silent movies of the time but which seem corny nowadays. The sets and costumes are vivid and atmospheric and carry the film.
The version I bought and watched is the BFI restoration, which is not very good compared to other similar restoration jobs although I am sure the techs did their best with the materials available to them.
One major plus is the score added to that restoration by the late Hammer veteran James Bernard, who had plenty of experience with vampire movies and provides just the right touch.
Give me Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee any day.
I finally got to see the acclaimed BUGONIA last night. It's not always a comfortable watch--Emma Stone spends much of the film bound and tortured--but she plays her character smart and tough; and the entire film is weird, original, and unpredictable. Every time I think moviemaking is dead, something like this comes along.
Not watched many movies recently, been a bit busy on the university front, anthology editing, book writing, so... as it was a bank holiday weekend, some nostalgia...
SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977)
The third and last of a loose trilogy of Arabian Nights fantasies from master SFX wizard Ray Harryhausen, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger suffers from some dreadful casting but lopes along fairly amicably with a sort of childish glee that keeps your attention. Patrick Wayne [John Wayne’s son] as Sinbad and Taryn Power [Tyrone Power’s daughter] as Dione, a pretty alchemist’s daughter, look the part, but are simply dreadful when it comes to acting – although she is better than he. Jane Seymour looks lovely but seems to have forgotten her own dramatic chops, while sorcerers Patrick Troughton and Margaret Whiting over-egg at every opportunity. Despite the hammy performances, there is quite a lot to keep us entertained.
This one doesn’t mess about. Sinbad arrives in the kingdom of Charak to celebrate the coronation of his good friend Prince Kassim. He also has the hots for the prince’s sister, Farah [the lovely Miss Seymour]. Before he can reacquaint himself, he and his shipmates are attacked by demonic skeletons. Shades of Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts abound. Battle done, Sinbad learns that Kassim’s devilish step-mother Zenobia has put a curse on the prince, turning him into a baboon and thus preventing his legal ascension. Sinbad vows to right this wrong by hunting down the elusive Greek scientist Melanthius [Troughton], who he believes will lift the incantation. A series of adventures ensue, most of them involving strange creatures, some of them prehistoric, most of them rather large.
The script isn’t up to much, but the production teams are on top form. The sets are splendid, costumes fine and gaudy and OO7's venerable lensman Ted Moore photograph’s everything with a keen eye. Of course, it is hard to fault the stop-motion photography. The baboon is particularly fine. An over reliance on two strip or three strip colour separation overlay makes some of the scenes very creaky to look at; for instance, it is fairly obvious the main cast never travelled to Jordan to film scenes there. I suppose one can forgive these kind of lapses a little, but when you are confronted with effects as good as those seen in the year’s other summer blockbusters Star Wars, Close Encounters and even James Bond, it does Sinbad… a veritable disservice.
Still, when I was a kid, the movie was the talk of the playground. Mum wouldn’t let me see James Bond, so I was taken to see this instead, by my mate’s Dad who corralled a good half-dozen of us into the Sutton 1-2-3. So that summer I never saw Anya Amasova naked in the shower, but I saw Jane Seymour and Taryn Power nude sunbathing and the memory of those brief nipple-slip-side-boob shots lasted many years. It was fun to revisit them yesterday. The nudity seems almost quaint. The pervy troglodyte who interrupts their reveille certainly looks interested.
A decent and exciting ending featuring an angry sabre-tooth tiger ties up all the loose ends of a fairly baggy story.
Note:
Chewbacca, sorry, Peter Mayhew, plays the Minoton, a living bronze statue of a minotaur in some scenes, although for the most part the creature is stop-motion animated. So Mr Mayhew got to star in two summer blockbusters of 1977.
Watched this movie tonight…not solely on your recommendation, but certainly that played a part….I’m not really going to add to what you wrote - as you pretty much got it spot on…it’s good these types of movies are made.
I threw a DVD of that out day before yesterday! I figured I'd never watch it again, and the kids weren't interested, so out it went.
NOSFERATU (1922)
PS. I forgot to mention this earlier, but there’s a major plot hole in this version of the Dracula story. In the book and some adaptations, Dracula takes a ship (the Demeter) from Transylvania to England, arriving in the town of Whitby. Meanwhile, Jonathan Harker having escaped from Castle Dracula makes his way across Europe back home again and reunites with Mina at the same place.
Okay so far. However, this film sets the non-Transylvania action in Germany, in a fictional town called Wisburg (note the similarity to Whitby). The Dracula character still takes a ship while the Jonathan equivalent still travels cross-country to reunite with his love in Wisburg where they are terrorised by the vampire.
Have a look at a map of Europe. From Transylvania to Germany taking a ship would be a bad idea – you’d have to go through the Med, up the Channel, etc. Much simpler and faster to go by coach (remember no cars in those days).
This has happened by changing the location from England to Germany but keeping the ship scenes in the plot because they add atmosphere to the story and the writer or director wouldn’t want to lose them.