tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166059802024-03-16T18:31:17.078+00:00BLACK HOLE REVIEWSBLACK HOLE REVIEWS - horror films and cult movies from Japan, South Korea, Europe, the best of 1970s, seventies, and what's still not on DVD. Spoiler free. Japanese, Korean, Thai, Thailand, weird, European, Europe, British, France, French, German, Germany, Russian, Italian, Italy, Asia, Asian. Twitter. Posters, stills, photos. News. Monster movies, yokai, Godzilla, Kitaro, kaiju, ghosts, giant monsters, Ultraman.Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.comBlogger792125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-18292812356396909592017-01-01T10:58:00.001+00:002017-01-01T10:58:34.885+00:00Zombie! Catastrophe! Freaks! - 1970s' movie books from Lorrimer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>GENRE MOVIE BOOKS FROM LORRIMER PUBLISHING</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>One of the easiest ways to recommend movies is to use photographs and posters. All it takes to sell a movie, even if it's fifty years old. Tweet the right image from a film and someone will reply, "I want to see that." In the years before the internet, I discovered many movies new to me from books and magazines, especially ones with lots of pictures...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>In the mid-1970s, when my interest in cinema accelerated, a handful of early hardback books about horror movies inspired me and many other lifelong genre fans, the books of Denis Gifford and Alan Frank. But these pictorial and evocative books were rare and comparatively expensive, only a possibility as Christmas and birthday presents. </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But here were a set of paperbacks, published at a time when cult movies were barely acknowledged in print and most writing about movies was very dry indeed, some of them having few or no illustrations!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Lorrimer movie books were medium-sized paperbacks, much smaller than 'coffee table' books but taller than novels. They were also quite affordable - little or no colour inside. But packed with photographs, often of a controversial nature, they thrived for several productive years.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The text was usually a rambling thematic essay, but at the very least, clued me into the titles, directors and stars of interesting-looking films. Unlike the newspaper critics, still very sniffy about horror and science-fiction, there was little editorialising about whether these were 'good' films or not. It was an early sign for me that I wasn't alone in my enthusiasm for genre movies, the more way out, the better.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before and since, Lorrimer Publishing has mainly released movie script reprints, like this one for Pabst's <i>Pandora's Box</i>. Invaluable for film studies, they specialise in arthouse cinema and international classics. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>But here are all of Lorrimer's 1970s movie genre samplers, in the order that they first appeared. I<i> think </i>I've listed them all...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhyphenhyphenEHmTJRStkZvvNor_7jrDFxjuvVnJhS12EYpNQDXYi8QkJAhX6FYsMCBiClPBHy9okWMc4TDfEo8T6XMqbOQfsT7KcmmCYWHvaeHCj3yZ6gnWU_3Vj8NIkY0NEMsUTq8FUL/s1600/lorrimer+hammer.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhyphenhyphenEHmTJRStkZvvNor_7jrDFxjuvVnJhS12EYpNQDXYi8QkJAhX6FYsMCBiClPBHy9okWMc4TDfEo8T6XMqbOQfsT7KcmmCYWHvaeHCj3yZ6gnWU_3Vj8NIkY0NEMsUTq8FUL/s1600/lorrimer+hammer.jpg" width="268" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The House of Horror, 1973</b></i></span></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My first Lorrimer book was also my first that was dedicated to Hammer films. The House of Horror clued me in to the many Hammer horrors I'd yet to see. It included a brief history of the studio, a filmography of ALL the studio's movies, with an invaluable summary of all the casts and credits. I then knew what order the Dracula and Frankenstein sagas ran in!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTVbeHn9WtMe068dbkQAsWNZFOevO6vprpHA-OXP7RZBtrkO4cyX8UTgG9TZld09gS0zwGzHxOWVPkwPVK7Syj8qT5QcObl05eRvw5jfqH3rW3r6ODPGiEhmc36ukqrws0XMg/s1600/lorrimer+earthcrackedopen_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTVbeHn9WtMe068dbkQAsWNZFOevO6vprpHA-OXP7RZBtrkO4cyX8UTgG9TZld09gS0zwGzHxOWVPkwPVK7Syj8qT5QcObl05eRvw5jfqH3rW3r6ODPGiEhmc36ukqrws0XMg/s1600/lorrimer+earthcrackedopen_300.jpg" width="286" /></b></span></a></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The bulk of the 128-page book is made up of the plots of all the horror films, though there are more photos than text. There's also eight pages of colour posters, for four projects that would never get made (above and below). An indicator of Lorrimer's future success was the sixteen-page gallery of Hammer's leading ladies. Full page portraits, not all fully clothed... Female nudity would be a regular feature in Lorrimer books - stealth softcore. The cover art was more respectable.</b></span></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Published in 1973, the last Hammer horror films that it lists are <i>Kronos</i> and <i>Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell</i>. Hammer wouldn't be making films for much longer, so this was <i>nearly</i> a complete overview. The House of Horror was updated several times (in 1981 and 1984, and maybe more), each time with new cover art and subtitled The Complete Guide to Hammer Horror. But I never replaced my original copy, with the colourful <i>Twins of Evil </i>poster art on the cover. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This is a light read but was an incredibly useful reference book for many years. The contents of later Lorrimer books were far more random...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1gtRJNdMULWH89zP7iYmAgbXqJ5BmDze3UwHtKxkjtPL_xbIqVC-fYXbaLTXg5KoSl7AABfH-uEh-_i_7vdRShsPEInAzOJE54I1wR0Nb5_fTkWinzivaNoOvUm6WjeXnb93/s1600/lorrimer+cine+1974.jpg" width="280" /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Cinefantastic - Beyond The Dream Machine, 1974</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I bought this one for the photographs and poster reproductions, but the rambling text is still interesting and accessible. A wild musing on loosely connected sci-fi and fantasy themes, possibly inspired by the photos that were available. The text avoids the typical, endless, spoiler-filled plot descriptions and also bucks the slavish attention to auteur theory. Instead it riffs on the chaptered themes of Myth, Machines, Visions and Nightmares. Linking images and motifs observed in cave paintings, through Méliès, to Euro-horror and Japanese monsters. An equally valid chain of influence in film history.</b></span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>For fresh ideas, it's no longer a fascinating read, but still a potent round-up of the variety of imagery in early sci-fi. While galleries of movie posters have now arrived online, and screengrabs are easy to upload, the internet has a long way to go before every movie <i>publicity</i> photo is accessible. Movie books of this vintage rarely published screengrabs, which seem to take up the majority of </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">online </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">movie illustration. The vast majority of photos were from studio photographers on the set, and this is where older books still have the upper hand over the internet - they also had access to photos that may not exist any more.</b><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>One of the earliest Lorrimer movie books, this was first published in 1974 as Cinefantastic (above), but reprinted as Cinema of Mystery and Fantasy in 1984 (see the cover art at the top).</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><i><b>Kung Fu - Cinema of Vengeance, 1974</b></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Celluloid Rock - Twenty Years of Movie Rock, 1974</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The Seal of Dracula, 1975</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>While the vampire genre of the 1970s offered an excess of naked female victims and vamps, the chapters also attempted to spotlight movies from every continent.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ape - The Kingdom of Kong, 1975</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Cut - The Unseen Cinema, 1975</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Because this series enjoyed sex and violence, extreme films that fell outside of the horror genre were mopped up by Savage Cinema and Cut.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Savage Cinema, 1975</i></b></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ0QeO9hGF2sAZcxdZmuR8XdybrqG0sTl6hyqTqplk9Vxo_Xdtp_G282RNsoiK8ML8cipOd9LarYZPN4cgM_rOSzW-mmd6Uroxvq7L_cFGbWKL0xlsp4R0m2EAqJ-bHT-xz60/s1600/blogger-image--2031470575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ0QeO9hGF2sAZcxdZmuR8XdybrqG0sTl6hyqTqplk9Vxo_Xdtp_G282RNsoiK8ML8cipOd9LarYZPN4cgM_rOSzW-mmd6Uroxvq7L_cFGbWKL0xlsp4R0m2EAqJ-bHT-xz60/s400/blogger-image--2031470575.jpg" width="273" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Italian Western - The Opera of Violence, 1975</b></i></span><br />
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<tr><td><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmFkW8nJDeSqJpLHs6wTImd6d11A5aIDo_pJTQnUzN0JEpvvDGQh-rVvrLhoiS38fGIfciOFJlVi3e-4kflOKQ8jHtUK2nw7khSogFU8zB1SKY7cVZK6KAAkJloKA1UvpzFKZ/s400/blogger-image--1536472244.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="288" /></b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Catastrophe - The End of the Cinema?, </b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1975</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Far from simply listing the big disaster movies of the decade, this has one of the more way out texts, envisaging the ultimate catastrophe of a cinema audience engulfed in an actual natural disaster. Though it puts the decade in perspective by cataloguing the many earlier examples of destructive spectacle in movie history.</b></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXCZNYoCPigIxDP3wVLRUxmDv3l7fT2d_daEmOL_178o87t-T4FeNpaBDkfs4wBhEpqnMJYDQvcGBhuGjsZAnESklRSYUuJJ5eNjG59wbxl-G7aCNi5UYHvoUswg5vheJO0Ce/s1600/blogger-image-95290442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXCZNYoCPigIxDP3wVLRUxmDv3l7fT2d_daEmOL_178o87t-T4FeNpaBDkfs4wBhEpqnMJYDQvcGBhuGjsZAnESklRSYUuJJ5eNjG59wbxl-G7aCNi5UYHvoUswg5vheJO0Ce/s400/blogger-image-95290442.jpg" width="273" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cinema of Mystery 1975</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtTDtkSqA7Ql36YowKCN2c5-3zFa1e5KoxF3Sf0Fkoxy3CP8ugSe8etNB4V7sUGZ4ESYsX8VlMKjtk3ejbISDB0quhKrZRnsU98bPp1503fW1nKu2l09U3VTI3JIZlOlogpkn/s1600/blogger-image-997443834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtTDtkSqA7Ql36YowKCN2c5-3zFa1e5KoxF3Sf0Fkoxy3CP8ugSe8etNB4V7sUGZ4ESYsX8VlMKjtk3ejbISDB0quhKrZRnsU98bPp1503fW1nKu2l09U3VTI3JIZlOlogpkn/s400/blogger-image-997443834.jpg" width="276" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Speed - Cinema of Motion, </b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1975</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg08uLqfK83jwORf1QEjuiRdhrmHkWjFnNrq8iAZA5TUwRJZ9IgBWUmmhyphenhyphendUkSs7voHoZQ6U_FdeBgWfOZTC1TuuXMR7iVNxf1U8kElr8jzBiWLY14nqLP9BwOvG_W9ChVWmFh/s1600/blogger-image--1770346643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg08uLqfK83jwORf1QEjuiRdhrmHkWjFnNrq8iAZA5TUwRJZ9IgBWUmmhyphenhyphendUkSs7voHoZQ6U_FdeBgWfOZTC1TuuXMR7iVNxf1U8kElr8jzBiWLY14nqLP9BwOvG_W9ChVWmFh/s400/blogger-image--1770346643.jpg" width="273" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><b>Freaks - Cinema of the Bizarre</b></i></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">, 1976</span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8fig-hIxDETL7jIVkfwczUpMXDjR8pOTKhncplBY4kX9A5btKxGhhChi_OdWR3H-PWYWsgzZZ8HU9HGqjYr2fOOygIIVv9plpvpHP5OuzJIUQQsAZsx8ZYo658ZRkXlTHr3L/s1600/blogger-image-1450483352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8fig-hIxDETL7jIVkfwczUpMXDjR8pOTKhncplBY4kX9A5btKxGhhChi_OdWR3H-PWYWsgzZZ8HU9HGqjYr2fOOygIIVv9plpvpHP5OuzJIUQQsAZsx8ZYo658ZRkXlTHr3L/s400/blogger-image-1450483352.jpg" width="291" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Zombie - The Living Dead, </b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1976</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrXg2wncKxfPCIkHV_uGpV2Ve7Q1OCaXT0AEDJ-oFh6e_j4y_L_mQnXx8pP1r2-pOQryD5HMWCdpemWjsSUIkp8hAOFyGOQCo-r34yigDTSKE6TecKsl5SSK82FL2uMU1ArP-/s1600/blogger-image--1644614870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrXg2wncKxfPCIkHV_uGpV2Ve7Q1OCaXT0AEDJ-oFh6e_j4y_L_mQnXx8pP1r2-pOQryD5HMWCdpemWjsSUIkp8hAOFyGOQCo-r34yigDTSKE6TecKsl5SSK82FL2uMU1ArP-/s400/blogger-image--1644614870.jpg" width="289" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Robot - The Mechanical Monster, </b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">1976</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYE1VtdE6eSNpbr1BAYv96CZlOUSbAEpqJVQMQ4kbQ8YG9pIULTYVJuTGol0HLjE_-rC1ryR-ok0lEPH6kzGAoJMJDHUcwD7xotwWaAW8gvfwkr-wIYBcaiyg5f9TXAdiY3P9/s640/blogger-image--2042629103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYE1VtdE6eSNpbr1BAYv96CZlOUSbAEpqJVQMQ4kbQ8YG9pIULTYVJuTGol0HLjE_-rC1ryR-ok0lEPH6kzGAoJMJDHUcwD7xotwWaAW8gvfwkr-wIYBcaiyg5f9TXAdiY3P9/s400/blogger-image--2042629103.jpg" width="300" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>While I've added to my collection of Lorrimer books through the years, and bought a few more for this article, here's the one from 1976 that I didn't want in the house. Just in case Amazon started making offensive suggestions.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Lorrimer books are easy to confuse with these Monarch Film Studies paperbacks which are almost identical in size, covering similarly offbeat movie subjects. The Monarch books are more dedicated to traditional film criticism, made up of essays on a single theme. There are fewer photos, but they are well-chosen, well-reproduced and often take up a half-page. These two from 1976, I simply couldn't pass up. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This was my first book on Ken Russell - it helped with background information on films that I hadn't yet seen, but of course he was still in the middle of the busiest decade of his career.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>A great photo of a young Ken Russell when he was a photographer,</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>from the Monarch book</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My selection of other British horror movie books from the 1970s is here...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This article was partly inspired by the enthusiasm for similar publications on the <a href="http://vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/2163">Vault of Evil discussion group</a> (where they float a few ideas about who all these Lorrimer authors might actually have been, behind the pen names).</b></span></div>
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-17350146440107565792015-05-25T12:15:00.005+01:002015-05-25T12:15:52.430+01:00QUATERMASS AND THE PIT - the BFI Film Classics book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48Rda74JC2vxnYFPvntiIovO7yw4UxZ6PSB5BgTufatfIwWNOUjdwXrxHJU28yMglqldeOdPC0znebjlk3ZWG7QO80Muz3sD4QPsR9eICDr0Tj6Vm1xfb3feadZ1BA4Pi3M-J/s1600/quatermass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48Rda74JC2vxnYFPvntiIovO7yw4UxZ6PSB5BgTufatfIwWNOUjdwXrxHJU28yMglqldeOdPC0znebjlk3ZWG7QO80Muz3sD4QPsR9eICDr0Tj6Vm1xfb3feadZ1BA4Pi3M-J/s320/quatermass.jpg" width="227" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>BFI Film Classics: QUATERMASS AND THE PIT</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>By Kim Newman</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Just rewatched QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1968) and read Kim Newman's book-length essay on the film and the Quatermass genre.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>His research on early British TV sci-fi and knowledge of the movie genre contantly give insights into all aspects of the three Quatermass films and all four TV series. Contemporary current affairs are reflected in the series, yet THE PIT movie still has a very current impact. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Newman also examines the movie's place in sci-fi, whether it was influencing others or influenced by previous novels and movies. QUATERMASS AND PIT makes a worthy, though far cheaper, companion to Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in terms of 'first contact'. Coincidentally both films were produced at the same time and even shared the same film studio for a while.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkQ1bAtU8UQtvWZn4veSfUOs8pzdhz9b7ucLhE0zTX4xKqOx7x8TKDisKKicMbwDNQibP0Q3fyw_WlHiaM2hxqeSTgyaHA3N5ttQuzbxX2cweeMkpC4M1ngnZs8D9FcK6SQri/s1600/quatermass+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkQ1bAtU8UQtvWZn4veSfUOs8pzdhz9b7ucLhE0zTX4xKqOx7x8TKDisKKicMbwDNQibP0Q3fyw_WlHiaM2hxqeSTgyaHA3N5ttQuzbxX2cweeMkpC4M1ngnZs8D9FcK6SQri/s320/quatermass+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A apt and witty dissection of the film highlights the many, many big ideas as well as the cracking dialogue. Newman also contrasts various versions of the developing scripts.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With beautiful, original cover art, I was disappointed that the many photos inside appeared to be fra</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me grabs. These are typical for film studies but considering this is the only book about the film, it's a lost opportunity to collect the best available publicity and behind the scenes photos.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Towards the end of the book, I also took exception to some of his readings of dialogue and ons</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">creen action. Also, I'm sure I've read elsewhere that the explanation of the 'rippling graveyard' effect wasn't 'gravel spread over rollers' that he suggests, but instead a thick rubber mat with compressed air forced under it.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But apart from a few subjective gripes, this is an immensely enjoyable, thorough and insightful look at British science fiction's early heroes, Nigel Kneale and Professor Bernard Quatermass.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KIm Newman's book is available on woodpulp and on Kindle.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1881741594"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My review of the QUATERMASS AND THE PIT Blu-ray and the movie, including associated ephemera, are here...</span></b></a><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/quatermass-and-pit-1967-invades-blu-ray.html">http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/quatermass-and-pit-1967-invades-blu-ray.html</a> </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1881741596"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My brief meeting with Barbara Shelley at a London convention last year is here...</span></b></a><br />
<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/british-horror-stars-at-westminster.html"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/british-horror-stars-at-westminster.html</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1881741602"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A look at the last original Quatermass TV series - The Quatermass Conclusion is here...</span></b></a><br />
<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/quatermass-conclusion-1979-grim-finale.html"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/quatermass-conclusion-1979-grim-finale.html</span></b></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-63220697698257842582014-12-21T21:28:00.003+00:002014-12-21T21:28:56.059+00:00Flashbacks - 1983 and beyond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIq1PTS-cw3_7zdCcB5EFFG4yFgyl1beZc9xnRMHB-jFLN3P1M6eC8M3EK2MuhiMwIjAWFi17dliVuwBufCqoHO9Mrd02agIsa2Jgmje9guYx1plJIjwb6Ee9gpmRvMV2yNxy/s1600/IMG_7349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIq1PTS-cw3_7zdCcB5EFFG4yFgyl1beZc9xnRMHB-jFLN3P1M6eC8M3EK2MuhiMwIjAWFi17dliVuwBufCqoHO9Mrd02agIsa2Jgmje9guYx1plJIjwb6Ee9gpmRvMV2yNxy/s1600/IMG_7349.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A last look at my old movie magazine shelf...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>While my collection of horror and sci-fi books and mags is another matter, this shelf of general movie magazines has a wider appeal and proved very popular on Twitter. Here's the last few highlights, skipping through the rest of the 1980s.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>After this, my collection became very specialised, and I rarely bought Empire magazine, especially as their opinions were so differently tuned than mine. I switched to Movieline for a few years, though my life was mostly ruled by the collectors' bible Video Watchdog, which is also still running today.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>All my early peeks inside the mags of the 70s are linked at the end of this article. Here we finish off the decade, starting with 1983...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dustin Hoffman put on a dress and won an Oscar in <i>Tootsie</i>. Another winner, <i>American Horror Story</i>'s Jessica Lange, was also on a roll with star roles at the time.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The third Star Wars, <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, lands in London at <i>three</i> West End Cinemas, in 70mm.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, July</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Flashdance</i> hit big that summer, though the news soon broke about Jennifer Beals not doing all her own dancing. Though a big clue was all of the stark backlighting...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another busy summer, another Bond, another Star Wars, another Superman...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Meanwhile, Scorsese was about to release <i>The King of Comedy. </i>Here he is with De Niro as Rupert Pupkin.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The last Monty Python film, <i>The Meaning of Life</i>, snuck out quite quietly. Terry Gilliam directed the short supporting film that later attacks the main feature! His next directing credit would be the epic <i>Brazil</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A new, but short-lived, movie magazine Movie Scene had great colour pages. This spectacular cover from <i>Fright Night...</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>...and this publicity shot for John Carpenter's <i>Big Trouble In Little China</i>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUY9yGOK4DwEWkGaC4K0RaXptLORKJZpBJQEzsRQ0_s5ofzIJ3jefzxsAAROUAKLO9eqgfecWxB9Pv9mFLUCjwyH0hMoy6pRXJXZThFZr94r2seOQcTc3d69tik5uvd3DwzXk/s1600/IMG_9239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUY9yGOK4DwEWkGaC4K0RaXptLORKJZpBJQEzsRQ0_s5ofzIJ3jefzxsAAROUAKLO9eqgfecWxB9Pv9mFLUCjwyH0hMoy6pRXJXZThFZr94r2seOQcTc3d69tik5uvd3DwzXk/s1600/IMG_9239.JPG" height="400" width="283" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>More sequels, here's Freddy in <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</i>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUAlntzIzyxsZa45H1rRnOvZddfX2fXJDC8hbHBvenouNzWOxqlR8edfLtbrZ5xylPlXEtKiqJ92wXY8hdVxlmM0Z-iu_Y6yb9sf_wdvMzy8-4DctgS-6fbyLWdaaiWZ5_Gbl/s1600/IMG_9241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUAlntzIzyxsZa45H1rRnOvZddfX2fXJDC8hbHBvenouNzWOxqlR8edfLtbrZ5xylPlXEtKiqJ92wXY8hdVxlmM0Z-iu_Y6yb9sf_wdvMzy8-4DctgS-6fbyLWdaaiWZ5_Gbl/s1600/IMG_9241.JPG" height="400" width="277" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Merchant/Ivory delivered this relatively frank gay drama, based on a novel by E.M. Forster, who also inspired their acclaimed successes with adaptions of his <i>A Room With A View</i>, <i>A Passage To India</i> and later <i>Howard's End. Maurice</i> features a great role for young Hugh Grant.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcnw_q3rzduxIdiS9qydhHwpEDhSm5Y9dHs3pusqhfqaAxUDDFZtgH8_iwOS94N6wUtQXszcmyDzRTZspgvWYHOVncM9dNRQ9o4IZ2ODnYbTaKuT-Kmo2QwOxcczgRiU6m-ez/s1600/IMG_9244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcnw_q3rzduxIdiS9qydhHwpEDhSm5Y9dHs3pusqhfqaAxUDDFZtgH8_iwOS94N6wUtQXszcmyDzRTZspgvWYHOVncM9dNRQ9o4IZ2ODnYbTaKuT-Kmo2QwOxcczgRiU6m-ez/s1600/IMG_9244.JPG" height="278" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Films Illustrated, November</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Photo from a one-page interview with Randall Cook, who provided some startling visual effects for the superbly entertaining horror, <i>The Gate</i>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P7ORPjePZ-YIQmivqW2sY0psPxzcCsc0EOVBpy7wJvSTGEeCImhOH8d5mkm71lBU08gKTX1XMj8yDe0fd-d9l3khhDHCBsl-cFp-9A1x_16a6Qfra2NdWyG402zW7uSgqolK/s1600/IMG_9246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P7ORPjePZ-YIQmivqW2sY0psPxzcCsc0EOVBpy7wJvSTGEeCImhOH8d5mkm71lBU08gKTX1XMj8yDe0fd-d9l3khhDHCBsl-cFp-9A1x_16a6Qfra2NdWyG402zW7uSgqolK/s1600/IMG_9246.JPG" height="400" width="281" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>After being derided in many roles, Arnold was finally taken more seriously in <i>The Terminator</i> and <i>Predator</i>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIwYs4J1RXgJRekGEGTl5thGQPXgRB5jVYzHIGVzGo6ZqH9k37RJyu_fPwzdTC-PX_2IQFOboJG1Y4HV-qW3C7whrrPjSNoagI2h6rbLiwMkD2JEHJSmPZOYwZBgQXrT4WaHq/s1600/IMG_9247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIwYs4J1RXgJRekGEGTl5thGQPXgRB5jVYzHIGVzGo6ZqH9k37RJyu_fPwzdTC-PX_2IQFOboJG1Y4HV-qW3C7whrrPjSNoagI2h6rbLiwMkD2JEHJSmPZOYwZBgQXrT4WaHq/s1600/IMG_9247.JPG" height="400" width="290" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Writer/director Derek Jarman's films were some of the few that were made that angrily fought back against A.I.D.S. paranoid British society. Tilda Swinton was a regular collaborator in these experimental visual poems, mostly shot on Super 8 film.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h-sg1oeVXNNfsJrVQkXaIx4ADTdt5NgzDeWuh7temj6P3SsaMAlH5KrQgg6owJLUM6HwkdBdQNCobmtUvtwgSOx18Z63rqmuKX_uGfOG5Hkg3zpo_0jBrNrieAwUs943JFGv/s1600/IMG_9248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h-sg1oeVXNNfsJrVQkXaIx4ADTdt5NgzDeWuh7temj6P3SsaMAlH5KrQgg6owJLUM6HwkdBdQNCobmtUvtwgSOx18Z63rqmuKX_uGfOG5Hkg3zpo_0jBrNrieAwUs943JFGv/s1600/IMG_9248.JPG" height="400" width="280" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director Ken Russell's last great works appeared in a loose trilogy, sharing a few overlapping cast members: <i>Lair of the White Worm</i>, <i>The Rainbow</i> and <i>Salome's Last Dance </i>(above).</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenAtvOO6zaDTbB5jFbAVhpvNacI2gKu57wqy4TAvT7KCWYmbrmp_qSjejyKSEeQs9Vz8WwOTw4NpEsIXRDdSzjx8vj_VjTajBneXpn5nowo29xnNy7sFBz9TsK0_RAUItPOEV/s1600/IMG_9250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenAtvOO6zaDTbB5jFbAVhpvNacI2gKu57wqy4TAvT7KCWYmbrmp_qSjejyKSEeQs9Vz8WwOTw4NpEsIXRDdSzjx8vj_VjTajBneXpn5nowo29xnNy7sFBz9TsK0_RAUItPOEV/s1600/IMG_9250.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Great shot of Paul McGann on location for <i>Withnail & I</i>.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcPd-5o4fjFmAv1vdZeYZx8lS-8Zr8mAJ16hvWF1xuZYDKi3zha-rPsWnuj-9TMbL-XpXx9D_Cid1LruP7Z0Fjomtp5pdUU5arQ8z6ryIHEYeJXU_cXgnry71LRgIIP11mHtj/s1600/IMG_9252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcPd-5o4fjFmAv1vdZeYZx8lS-8Zr8mAJ16hvWF1xuZYDKi3zha-rPsWnuj-9TMbL-XpXx9D_Cid1LruP7Z0Fjomtp5pdUU5arQ8z6ryIHEYeJXU_cXgnry71LRgIIP11mHtj/s1600/IMG_9252.JPG" height="400" width="301" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix in Gus Van Sant's <i>My Own Private Idaho</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Earlier magazine flashbacks from 1963 to 1982, can be found in the sidebar, at right...</b></span><br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-261676693080397022014-12-08T00:15:00.003+00:002014-12-08T00:15:49.397+00:00Bela Lugosi was here - a look round his old mansion!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB87wwoVpwHf99NioEp3Der5TYcausYUSqvqG7JI-Hs8L1An2a_5F97BvosFyIFuFaUm7J4F3pE1BxbWyBVqJxDgQBNrhOlWunVmjCTDXLlLzFUqtTixyZSOdirWcqs2FeJ8m/s640/blogger-image-931904725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJB87wwoVpwHf99NioEp3Der5TYcausYUSqvqG7JI-Hs8L1An2a_5F97BvosFyIFuFaUm7J4F3pE1BxbWyBVqJxDgQBNrhOlWunVmjCTDXLlLzFUqtTixyZSOdirWcqs2FeJ8m/s400/blogger-image-931904725.jpg" width="287" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Through a series of unrepeatable, lucky coincidences, I recently found myself standing in Bela Lugosi's bedroom. He may not have lived here for long, but just walking around one of the houses he owned felt very special. The rooms he once walked in, the views that he once enjoyed...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bela and his wife regularly moved homes when he was at the height of his career. It's estimated that he lived here for less than two years, in 1934 and 1935, in the Hollywood Hills' Beachwood Canyon in a mansion known as Castle La Paloma. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YbHmkaVviXzeEOStRqCkuU278bib74XkytwixVBWS-6uyq5cl_P2Jr3T8EbuScMhpoNbAx-R2KOlKYgwEh4etWxGEqdSJBZtnF-G4k7BuS__tF0RaeI_ifwwBqe8sqqOc6-F/s640/blogger-image--1815069224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YbHmkaVviXzeEOStRqCkuU278bib74XkytwixVBWS-6uyq5cl_P2Jr3T8EbuScMhpoNbAx-R2KOlKYgwEh4etWxGEqdSJBZtnF-G4k7BuS__tF0RaeI_ifwwBqe8sqqOc6-F/s400/blogger-image--1815069224.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Because the house was up for sale, we were able to briefly look around inside, with the realtor's permission. As this is private property, this certainly isn't open to the public, but sightseers can still see the front of the house from the street.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This isn't the modest, cramped home portrayed in Tim Burton's <i>Ed Wood</i>, when Bela was at the end of his career. This is where he lived twenty years earlier, while making<i> Mark of the Vampire</i>.<br /></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72FAUvSwAUi1JO3YL1DSjEvtP8qObLJcWQikrWCi9tT8a1isR9fAqWKBZFb9ThAPdU_wh-KbfRH_qpmxPjzkcMH3N3gf_yGfcAfr-dbdO4fPO8LhgvL5MFE-v8Jv-VhlqwDqw/s640/blogger-image-1442316777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72FAUvSwAUi1JO3YL1DSjEvtP8qObLJcWQikrWCi9tT8a1isR9fAqWKBZFb9ThAPdU_wh-KbfRH_qpmxPjzkcMH3N3gf_yGfcAfr-dbdO4fPO8LhgvL5MFE-v8Jv-VhlqwDqw/s400/blogger-image-1442316777.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The house perches on a very steep drop, allowing views from the back of the house, and gardens, to overlook a significant chunk of the City of Los Angeles, as well as across at many other lofty residences around the rest of the canyon. It has quite extensive grounds, carefully planted out, despite some of them being on a 30 degree slope! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb4UYhJA_ov_5Da7Xtl71hHIMvG1BvviMoxo_mwO5so5UNGCKp05n3ScxoV0wUA9G_knVOHI3BeW0JwuZGXHNZEOQBVrbgy3C8O_67BdD-E_qSIxr2JVAd6NIfsnHBXNFIkVx/s640/blogger-image--532728275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb4UYhJA_ov_5Da7Xtl71hHIMvG1BvviMoxo_mwO5so5UNGCKp05n3ScxoV0wUA9G_knVOHI3BeW0JwuZGXHNZEOQBVrbgy3C8O_67BdD-E_qSIxr2JVAd6NIfsnHBXNFIkVx/s400/blogger-image--532728275.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The 1924 house has recently been renovated and restored for the current sale, with this swimming pool added to what was once a large lawn where Lugosi's menagerie of large dogs must've romped.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQ7FzGAi03WVkghZGaVK90J7VV3RSBrshoev3mdcAWzqKIswg3kLwsJbWwyHzGgE836lMkINzb2L0ReAb1TWYhzVgGvveXEsNAozz8JOUKAo5XtF1wXYSJ4mVpBLJR8T7MEHd/s640/blogger-image-643089011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQ7FzGAi03WVkghZGaVK90J7VV3RSBrshoev3mdcAWzqKIswg3kLwsJbWwyHzGgE836lMkINzb2L0ReAb1TWYhzVgGvveXEsNAozz8JOUKAo5XtF1wXYSJ4mVpBLJR8T7MEHd/s400/blogger-image-643089011.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The front of the house looks like a quaint English country bungalow, disguising the fact that the house is actually on two levels, built down the canyon slope at the back. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I wasn't allowed to take photos in the room where Bela most likely used to sleep, which added to its mystique. The fascinating aspect of that room was a hidden, tiny back door that lead outside and subtly out of a corner of the grounds, past a hidden arbour. A remnant of forbidden Hollywood, to include a sneaky secret escape route out of the bedroom and away from the house!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAwzkaqY1xgZL3v0WrOPkzJ6Fjkm2nmPgtpFJhk9ETf83dqZrL9eSIq-zQgCXNTk85yXD9wo91s9dbv-FOuZJJd9Bi_W_jTUBU4TAiYwSUyjDN_4MXvggobcfFKsrAugLZcDm/s640/blogger-image--249988002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAwzkaqY1xgZL3v0WrOPkzJ6Fjkm2nmPgtpFJhk9ETf83dqZrL9eSIq-zQgCXNTk85yXD9wo91s9dbv-FOuZJJd9Bi_W_jTUBU4TAiYwSUyjDN_4MXvggobcfFKsrAugLZcDm/s400/blogger-image--249988002.jpg" width="300" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It was a pleasure to witness some vintage Hollywood history, and a privilege to look inside one of the luxury homes I normally only marvel at from the outside. The views are spectacular, and the chance to live in a genuinely old property relatively rare. I wonder who's going to end up buying it?</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_vKfxo6M3Dj0AcELtExBueb5PrrakqgkYRRn2fkJn3vmIzPQMu-SBKXxcRY5d2ctdrBcdXbJwODo0zMLQN10RxrIn5On236-rbHOl_rVT-RTf-F8psWrIKCwFikM2iIiEt9D/s640/blogger-image--1193704252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_vKfxo6M3Dj0AcELtExBueb5PrrakqgkYRRn2fkJn3vmIzPQMu-SBKXxcRY5d2ctdrBcdXbJwODo0zMLQN10RxrIn5On236-rbHOl_rVT-RTf-F8psWrIKCwFikM2iIiEt9D/s400/blogger-image--1193704252.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://la.curbed.com/tags/bela-lugosi"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>More photos of this Lugosi residence on Curbed L.A.</i></b></span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJygLQPa2fRuuNb6Zvki31_Ay0aU35A5xb8nRAGIZeCA4myhPigVn5kazEs0pH8E8J4H7h0Q5s1wBuz2XKmTnMTg87Spjs4ABAM1N3R1V2D4BM97wtS5QmqBANeQqcOskisSWA/s640/blogger-image--1642638867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJygLQPa2fRuuNb6Zvki31_Ay0aU35A5xb8nRAGIZeCA4myhPigVn5kazEs0pH8E8J4H7h0Q5s1wBuz2XKmTnMTg87Spjs4ABAM1N3R1V2D4BM97wtS5QmqBANeQqcOskisSWA/s400/blogger-image--1642638867.jpg" width="300" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me, not believing my luck</span></b></i><br />
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-4529342104217657742014-10-05T13:14:00.002+01:002014-10-05T13:14:09.584+01:00BLIND TERROR / SEE NO EVIL (1971) - CD soundtrack release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG98nXCjvNo6BJ1_E7AW3axN-9GgKR84wGOJXWk7On_8pyVUZlgMz0MT6iPGciQNGPA9WmEiFYp5iTgIqsTmZYWccYRfqjSngYuK9YfNlSjnAa_trBTQlWiCp0z57k0eY9BGBR/s1600/see-no-evil+cd.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></div>
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I've updated my review of <i>Blind Terror</i> (UK title) / <i>See No Evil</i> (US title), Richard Fleischer's 1971, blind woman vs psychopath thriller starring Mia Farrow. Unexpectedly, Elmer Bernstein's rousing and beautiful soundtrack has been restored and released on CD.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zvV3zg4F_z3BIDLxgOE-mLnfST-hSO_Dh8u18wE82VGlXDdWT2VbRKmG23HVIHy9xK5vwxTr12_mamu1fd4DVKoc4YO3iihhOlVFZXIa3dBjMVlW-rIf7QjfdV-YsF8cJJNc/s1600/blind+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zvV3zg4F_z3BIDLxgOE-mLnfST-hSO_Dh8u18wE82VGlXDdWT2VbRKmG23HVIHy9xK5vwxTr12_mamu1fd4DVKoc4YO3iihhOlVFZXIa3dBjMVlW-rIf7QjfdV-YsF8cJJNc/s1600/blind+poster.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/blind-terror-1971-mia-farrow-can-see-no.html">Link to the full, updated look at the film, here.</a></div>
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-45627230260079981442014-09-30T19:28:00.001+01:002014-09-30T19:28:24.367+01:00The Making of George A. Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD - a new book!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKQn-LTLXeYcQB415-wNV0cVlq20DM0J8-4SilxLgUNpL6nvlfNbPQL62fLFua4UWeonMo5YuP5bedyaxOYs5itQBvGkuU6TeHqMQEf_pVTFFbntJJLm8Tr4FkYvaw_eqYaGH/s1600/day+making+day+pb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKQn-LTLXeYcQB415-wNV0cVlq20DM0J8-4SilxLgUNpL6nvlfNbPQL62fLFua4UWeonMo5YuP5bedyaxOYs5itQBvGkuU6TeHqMQEf_pVTFFbntJJLm8Tr4FkYvaw_eqYaGH/s1600/day+making+day+pb.jpg" height="400" width="288" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I wish all my favourite movies had a book like this</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>George Romero's 1985 <i>Day of the Dead</i> now has a brand new making-of book, full of never-before-seen photos and recent interviews with the cast and crew. Published in October, it's been put together by Lee Karr, who's so keen on Romero's zombie films that he even relocated to Pittsburgh!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGg5c2NdKyRaPO4cLee1LXpWXy-fcJzNkloxQlXU9R1-4DfIcDdnyNV6Y4svb7y5GLGz6q6XCUs_8kqcMLX8EfUuyaiTdjv7vxX8einmWtwNYz6B1ab2e_YKqIMk4Sq_J5BuA/s1600/dayofthedead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGg5c2NdKyRaPO4cLee1LXpWXy-fcJzNkloxQlXU9R1-4DfIcDdnyNV6Y4svb7y5GLGz6q6XCUs_8kqcMLX8EfUuyaiTdjv7vxX8einmWtwNYz6B1ab2e_YKqIMk4Sq_J5BuA/s1600/dayofthedead.jpg" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Day of the Dead</i> deserved this book in 1985, but as the author notes, any chance of that was eclipsed by the publication of Paul Gagne's 'The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh - The Films of George A. Romero'. That only had a chapter about the film, but that was the main reason why I got it at the time. It's very good, but gives equal space to every other Romero film that existed up till then. I was so impressed with this film that I was still hungry for <i>much </i>more detail, which is why this book is such a treat. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwfW4gzhO0HZbjJHKqI5FJSyjy4Av5-ooYatUi3YQOQMVHXfmv4doSUdASywSqxUs0Hl70Wyy00GgOf6dnNpVSR0DwocWJK9r8iq2enNDB4ONnKqRizWvxLtMxj9_EFpujipm/s1600/day_of_dead_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwfW4gzhO0HZbjJHKqI5FJSyjy4Av5-ooYatUi3YQOQMVHXfmv4doSUdASywSqxUs0Hl70Wyy00GgOf6dnNpVSR0DwocWJK9r8iq2enNDB4ONnKqRizWvxLtMxj9_EFpujipm/s1600/day_of_dead_poster.jpg" height="400" width="276" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It's still hard to decide which I like more,<i> Dawn of the Dead</i> or <i>Day of the Dead</i>. <i>Dawn</i> was more influential, but <i>Day</i> has a better script and a more consistent cast. While the shopping mall was a post-apocalyptic fantasy, the underground shelter is a claustrophobic nightmare. The mall had many escape routes, in the mine, you're trapped. In the dark. With zombies.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGh1KOFMiPWpBjR-WepA2wknwmwUvBrvxj2-MWhxfai_R1Fq9Ucv9QrfBGwrW_uivE8wSjC4N-BnynsgKpNVbtdgw-Ly-I6Gr_0zFY8XTxTyPbM0ezTbUG-W2W1FLPhibtdsbe/s1600/day+quad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGh1KOFMiPWpBjR-WepA2wknwmwUvBrvxj2-MWhxfai_R1Fq9Ucv9QrfBGwrW_uivE8wSjC4N-BnynsgKpNVbtdgw-Ly-I6Gr_0zFY8XTxTyPbM0ezTbUG-W2W1FLPhibtdsbe/s1600/day+quad.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I saw both films in the cinema, during their first run in the UK. But the many, bloody shock moments in <i>Dawn of the Dead</i> had been censored, literally cut out of the prints, and it took years before the jigsaw was eventually put back together on home video. But <i>Day of the Dead</i>, I saw on one of the largest screens in the country and it looked uncut. With even more elaborate make-ups and gory effects, the many shock moments made much more of an first impression. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMxVhKoxa_Ya6F5TXP-WRgFOsfCvT3gh-OzGrJfMsZJxKlTpCV-Q9i0figzfx2WTnALtZmodWwUEr0IHluUwxo03ZgWfBMcuWZNZbVU5K-4xzKlBw1NgP1zuWKbBBU-J9GNca/s1600/day+ishot-930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMxVhKoxa_Ya6F5TXP-WRgFOsfCvT3gh-OzGrJfMsZJxKlTpCV-Q9i0figzfx2WTnALtZmodWwUEr0IHluUwxo03ZgWfBMcuWZNZbVU5K-4xzKlBw1NgP1zuWKbBBU-J9GNca/s1600/day+ishot-930.jpg" height="221" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Thirty years later, I've seen short documentaries and heard a few well-trodden stories, but here is a book full of much more. A complete story of the production of <i>Day of the Dead</i>, from the original rumours of 'a trilogy', through Romero's original vision (there is a lengthy synopsis of his favoured script), to the tortured pre-production process as the budget was pared down. There's a detailed account of how and exactly where everything was filmed, including interviews with the cast and crew, right down to the main zombies of every scene. Featured zombies were often technicians, volunteers or extras - but this was a chance for anyone to get a big screen close-up <i>and</i> a death scene. Something that many actors can only dream of.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3Gaf8JxqYbrTkOPU5Kw6bA2mXwqZ8bBPfq0NSIBztqy-m65ebFK-ibjjlWM_DAE2yS39UgR_o59ngl2v7D7tnEA-Ne0JVTKCNlo2BZWVPV3G3vLAT8yInM8kAbUPCViZXljl/s1600/day-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3Gaf8JxqYbrTkOPU5Kw6bA2mXwqZ8bBPfq0NSIBztqy-m65ebFK-ibjjlWM_DAE2yS39UgR_o59ngl2v7D7tnEA-Ne0JVTKCNlo2BZWVPV3G3vLAT8yInM8kAbUPCViZXljl/s1600/day-11.jpg" height="221" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Usually, when a film is documented, it's divided up into departments, stunts, special effects, directing, and a choice of all the best stories. In Karr's book, I was apprehensive to start trawling through the lengthiest section, a day-by-day account of the entire shooting schedule! But it proved to be very interesting - here we don't get the best stories, but all the stories. By the end, I felt like I'd been there with the crew for the entire shoot!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8frEsh6zzJvYbvoSB59NizuRI3FGmLz30fcvAV4KvtFCrCDCeeE9qGdqendoDS9u6YrQJ0Y9vDDc6TZ4muIpTwgVvjC0N-GLrPIwdxnoYMPkRFTL3sYOHeovwQECkQ_CiYSBj/s1600/day-of-the-dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8frEsh6zzJvYbvoSB59NizuRI3FGmLz30fcvAV4KvtFCrCDCeeE9qGdqendoDS9u6YrQJ0Y9vDDc6TZ4muIpTwgVvjC0N-GLrPIwdxnoYMPkRFTL3sYOHeovwQECkQ_CiYSBj/s1600/day-of-the-dead.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Karr doesn't shy away from the raunchier aspects of the young, high-spirited crew and I now see the wizard of gore, Tom Savini, in a slightly different light (!). His constant love of practical jokes distracts many of the crew from a grindingly hard and difficult location, where they were filming for months, though some of the 'gags' end up in hospital! At the same time, Savini tests his effects so thoroughly that it's very rare that any of his effects misfire. He's so conscious of how precious time is to a production schedule.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfkkKrJG5JVY_qrXyID7wPfgnW8ZVIuuCco8E63iyRwN1pS4ICmTsEd3Yq4r8za4S-JKOw0Pid_nu2lTk-C9QgwHUAJSEdcm7GbT1tWlBaUG9pJZCezoCLelVfhnPAr4-KbFB/s1600/day+making+day+dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfkkKrJG5JVY_qrXyID7wPfgnW8ZVIuuCco8E63iyRwN1pS4ICmTsEd3Yq4r8za4S-JKOw0Pid_nu2lTk-C9QgwHUAJSEdcm7GbT1tWlBaUG9pJZCezoCLelVfhnPAr4-KbFB/s1600/day+making+day+dead.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The film proved to be a training ground for several young crewmembers who'd been drafted in to deal with the huge number of make-ups and effects. <i>Day</i> presents the zombies as starting to rot, whereas in <i>Dawn of the Dead</i>, many of the make-ups were just extras painted green! Greg Nicotero, now a make-up effects supervisor on <i>The Walking Dead</i>, got his professional start on <i>Day of the Dead</i>, (and even had a supporting role). He learnt his trade on this film, though now we know what he actually did...</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrLP9pu_QqF5WKUNFNbGcQHtBIQOOAaxL6QJyeAxtXFZBYzj3g-gHl75ydJytoTgwJNH0CQnbfajOyd2UN0yYGVFmSN-RT_2PaQtIg9e-cn2I_xKHamZ183h_jeKAgLPr42Di/s1600/day+chopper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrLP9pu_QqF5WKUNFNbGcQHtBIQOOAaxL6QJyeAxtXFZBYzj3g-gHl75ydJytoTgwJNH0CQnbfajOyd2UN0yYGVFmSN-RT_2PaQtIg9e-cn2I_xKHamZ183h_jeKAgLPr42Di/s1600/day+chopper.jpg" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The book is drawn from over 100 interviews, though the passage of time has dimmed some of the detail. But the book boasts 250 never-before-seen photos (none are shown here), mostly in colour, presenting an eyewitness document of <i>Day of the Dead</i> that can't be beaten.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The paperback has just been published by Plexus and is now available in the UK and USA. Happily, <i>Day of the Dead </i>is now available on blu-ray in the UK and US, but please, please don't confuse George's film with the inferior 2008 'remake' starring Mena Suvari. Please.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQH0CMjXcDrEepptILGXPEMI0j6C2SXvmXlRs8VUCFWoOlzogqvtLd4knmpuGyCPF7a6_eS6GPVee1POfT4N_UO2WvyE2ISYzDxgTgWjFvW0OPjCRwjn-nXSSX0prwgPYJ8WdR/s1600/azumi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQH0CMjXcDrEepptILGXPEMI0j6C2SXvmXlRs8VUCFWoOlzogqvtLd4knmpuGyCPF7a6_eS6GPVee1POfT4N_UO2WvyE2ISYzDxgTgWjFvW0OPjCRwjn-nXSSX0prwgPYJ8WdR/s1600/azumi.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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Just had an article published on another movie blog. So if you go visit...<br />
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<a href="http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2014/09/underrated-actionadventure-black-hole.html">Rupert Pupkin Speaks - Underrated Action Adventure</a><br />
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... you can read my short list of action adventure movies through the decades, as well as many more sharp, snappy bundles of suggestions by other guest writers.<br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-61090179538784345232014-08-29T11:23:00.001+01:002014-08-29T11:25:56.954+01:00Flashbacks 1982 - Blade Runner, Tron, Poltergeist...1982 was an incredible year for new movies. But at the time, I was buying fewer of my usual, general film magazines. Here are the only highlights, plus a look at the more specialised publications I was chasing instead...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNCBrxllaeQM4N4Kh7FPzS7wq9ELx8poqeEf_S4VOrDMrXYklcRcO_VuisEPqUzRQq-GpQv9pegTrSm_tpKhPvGFqDzyQNeSONkjAke3Fg3NFtJYQ5MIkrdtrlcCGYrwfchd3/s1600/IMG_9151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNCBrxllaeQM4N4Kh7FPzS7wq9ELx8poqeEf_S4VOrDMrXYklcRcO_VuisEPqUzRQq-GpQv9pegTrSm_tpKhPvGFqDzyQNeSONkjAke3Fg3NFtJYQ5MIkrdtrlcCGYrwfchd3/s1600/IMG_9151.JPG" height="400" width="301" /></a></div>
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This <i>Blade Runner</i> cover shows how Ridley Scott's futuristic vision was at odds with the style-less presentation of movie magazines.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07oAh9C2L-TjH-j_iVZkTYDmmLBz6ChZv3lKNPfF7TdJKjUcJD3IS4fuRMQjvl6SpRDYAmsWrkYJhlk9vLx9464GE1YGHKKLX4lXXcmM_CkJTfWG-9aImJGYGSSIUsyxzmIs_/s1600/IMG_9152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07oAh9C2L-TjH-j_iVZkTYDmmLBz6ChZv3lKNPfF7TdJKjUcJD3IS4fuRMQjvl6SpRDYAmsWrkYJhlk9vLx9464GE1YGHKKLX4lXXcmM_CkJTfWG-9aImJGYGSSIUsyxzmIs_/s1600/IMG_9152.JPG" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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<i>Photoplay, October</i></div>
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An 'AA' certificate for the 'European Cut' of <i>Blade Runner</i> that was less censored than the US release. Unfortunately, that toned-down US version was then used as the basis for the 1992 'Director's Cut'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eDn_iNtZp454vp19zIGZ9CkAQcbglAU5jbKgcSjGVGqCm8eY4PSh9QIx4LAUGbgtECirLReK6nBC_TqGY8YFBHAJwe5dVD223Vdg_nXoPKPE90O736q97f8Vsii9tVukuvoS/s1600/IMG_9153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eDn_iNtZp454vp19zIGZ9CkAQcbglAU5jbKgcSjGVGqCm8eY4PSh9QIx4LAUGbgtECirLReK6nBC_TqGY8YFBHAJwe5dVD223Vdg_nXoPKPE90O736q97f8Vsii9tVukuvoS/s1600/IMG_9153.JPG" height="400" width="293" /></a></div>
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<i>Photoplay, October</i></div>
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I included this advert for <i>Who Dares Wins</i> because of the details of the release pattern, following TV regions and describing everywhere that isn't London as "provincial cities"!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbW6YvAlH9Kjf6p9TmRLSarvlD6YR61oOxOnjQPK6ohOITJBL8iMeaExa0dNfQXqFLEaC9GxIwwCC0iwsfTId2oUa91aF5r_Rge65B37RzIi_d2bJ7vmHF-xn1SpX00TPtrEx/s1600/IMG_9154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbW6YvAlH9Kjf6p9TmRLSarvlD6YR61oOxOnjQPK6ohOITJBL8iMeaExa0dNfQXqFLEaC9GxIwwCC0iwsfTId2oUa91aF5r_Rge65B37RzIi_d2bJ7vmHF-xn1SpX00TPtrEx/s1600/IMG_9154.JPG" height="275" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Photoplay, October</i></div>
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This was a great year for special-effects heavy classics. But these monthly magazines couldn't give me what I really wanted - colour photos from the films and well-researched behind-the-scenes information. In retrospect, they provide valuable information about when and how they were released in the UK.</div>
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A great cover, but Films & Filming had no colour pages inside. Couldn't pass up articles about John Milius and David Cronenberg though!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuV5H3r6y1S7bMILI4pSq2LdyRUp8cb-uhjmvWsPIKxHRldz5FkIf72S0rZBiBSqeUKutHgjZ0SO2d66_UArJYd6y73GW81ViJUsFPde4vq4iNIJIcNC1TCFpdSIu3tV2siYZ/s1600/IMG_9157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuV5H3r6y1S7bMILI4pSq2LdyRUp8cb-uhjmvWsPIKxHRldz5FkIf72S0rZBiBSqeUKutHgjZ0SO2d66_UArJYd6y73GW81ViJUsFPde4vq4iNIJIcNC1TCFpdSIu3tV2siYZ/s1600/IMG_9157.JPG" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Films & Filming, October</i></div>
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<i>The Entity</i> still has no trouble finding an audience. It was late to the 'possession' horror genre, it's edge came from the claim that it was based on a true story. Surprised to see it appeared in 70mm!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN0P8eKKpR3ZetwV8TW0hQYTUUp9hFxhfms9SHG-ppLzLqgxGsy2z_YogrdfTxGMkWm2d1Dv_4sf-v4pJicjfjXJ14GtgteLf3pn3ZsHhtQ1YlYpydGD84YEXbeD3bwd2Sz7E/s1600/IMG_9165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN0P8eKKpR3ZetwV8TW0hQYTUUp9hFxhfms9SHG-ppLzLqgxGsy2z_YogrdfTxGMkWm2d1Dv_4sf-v4pJicjfjXJ14GtgteLf3pn3ZsHhtQ1YlYpydGD84YEXbeD3bwd2Sz7E/s1600/IMG_9165.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Films & Filming, November</i></div>
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Besides the blockbusters, mid-budget genre films like <i>The Sword and the Sorcerer</i>, which delighted me all through the 1970s, were disappearing from wide cinema release and instead finding their fortune on home video.</div>
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That's all I've got to show you from 1982! The reason that I bought so few Photoplays and Film Reviews was because of the blossoming of sci-fi and horror specialist magazines. Film synopses, cheesecake photos and publicity-soaked interviews were no longer enough. I was after hard facts from writers who didn't scoff at my favourite genres! Here's (some of) what I was collecting instead in 1982...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2YQIimlQnz86jYwDZ4P8H7DyTGpfBQU0e6tIuIXncbvvgr9m3fRT8CZ4xAhKBwQ-27n2KgLpr57all7Vn7dR5Y13dccKscheyROw9a4-FJGh3ywwo1bFwgMeyzz8d4gkIeTG/s1600/1982+cfq+thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2YQIimlQnz86jYwDZ4P8H7DyTGpfBQU0e6tIuIXncbvvgr9m3fRT8CZ4xAhKBwQ-27n2KgLpr57all7Vn7dR5Y13dccKscheyROw9a4-FJGh3ywwo1bFwgMeyzz8d4gkIeTG/s1600/1982+cfq+thing.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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'Cinefantastique' had glossy pages (mostly colour), top reporting on new sci-fi hits, great news coverage of what was coming, and extensive, superbly researched retrospectives of genre classics.<br />
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'Cinefex' soon took over from Cinefantastique in chronicling the precise visual effects techniques used in American blockbusters, as well as any groundbreaking techniques used in film or TV, focussing on two or three of the latest movies each issue. In the UK, we could see how they made the movie before we saw had a chance to see it! Thick issues full of startling photos. However, their coverage can dissipate the magic of a movie, by blowing every secret behind the cleverest effects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgS38YXDpg9OdTJkthQoTd6WFpzRz2X1EbW0IvtLnvncoyggBpyaLOLR16IktmjxrXVsdnWc1HYAkZPvIG_HQEo7b8imRmvH6s9W-0ePduFSICDZDwRf-J0Yd18rLh6p7KNlEm/s1600/1982+sl+tron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgS38YXDpg9OdTJkthQoTd6WFpzRz2X1EbW0IvtLnvncoyggBpyaLOLR16IktmjxrXVsdnWc1HYAkZPvIG_HQEo7b8imRmvH6s9W-0ePduFSICDZDwRf-J0Yd18rLh6p7KNlEm/s1600/1982+sl+tron.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
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'Starlog' rivalled Cinefantastique with it's sci-fi coverage. Published more often, it could scoop it on news and had far more coverage on TV fantasy. At the time, their episode guides were invaluable!<br />
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Starlog begat 'Fangoria', with horror movie news and a special interest in the latest make-up effects. Often the clever gory techniques would never make it onto UK screens due to the avid censorship of the time. The colour pics in Fangoria were the only clues we had to what we'd missed.<br />
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Yet another American glossy on sci-fi movies, 'Fantastic Films' soon failed to compete, but with great interviews and tons of colour photos, it was essential while it lasted.<br />
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This British answer to Starlog was cheaper and timelier than the US mags. Of course 'Starburst' covered more European sci-fi, TV and (gasp) literature. It also sneaked in horror reviews in the absence of any UK mags on the subject.</div>
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But. I'm not going to go through these magazines in the same 'flashback' way. Most titles are still publishing, so I'm certainly not reproducing any of their pages. Because... copyright. And because, they still make money from back issues, digital or otherwise.</div>
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My flashback articles have focussed on the covers and adverts for the UK release date information. Taken from defunct magazines that predate the scope of internet coverage. The next flashback, 1983, will be my last look back at my UK movie mags from this era.</div>
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(There's a list of links to previous Flashback posts, from 1968 onwards, in the sidebar to the right...)<br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-11980286429297272982014-08-10T18:31:00.001+01:002014-08-10T18:31:30.490+01:00THE UFO INCIDENT (1975) - the mother of alien abduction stories<div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE UFO INCIDENT</span></div>
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(1975, U.S. TV movie)</div>
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<i>First recreation of a reported alien abduction - never been on DVD</i><br />
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This a compelling, well-produced TV movie that features an early conception of what 'grey' visitors look like and introduced the 'alien abduction' to millions of viewers, presenting it as actual events on prime-time. Whether or not all of it's true, the cultural influence of this story is huge. Before it, there'd been documentaries about UFO sightings, but here it's powerfully dramatised. First contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation, presented as a factual possibility.<br />
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Betty and Barney Hill were driving home from Montreal to Portsmouth, New Hampshire at night, when they saw an unidentified flying object. A few miles on they heard a beeping sound and both suffered amnesia (an unusual phenomenon in itself) about what happened next, arriving home in a daze two hours later than planned. After two years of nightmares and anxiety-related illness, they sought professional help and, through hypnosis, recovered memories of the lost hours from that night. They remember being stopped in the road and led into an alien spacecraft...<br />
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Many films say they're based on a true story, then distort the truth to make a better story. But <i>The UFO Incident </i>doesn't need to invent anything to be a gripping drama. It's based on a book containing many of the actual transcripts of the Hills' hypnosis sessions. The Interrupted Journey (1966) is written by the psychiatrist himself, who saw his job as evaluating what happened to the couple, but mainly to alleviate their anxieties over these repressed memories. The book and the film is open-minded to the possible truths behind their memories. Much of the script is taken word-for-word from their taped psychiatric sessions. As films based on true stories go, this is one of the most faithful there is.<br />
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It's up to the viewer to decide what the Hills are remembering under hypnosis. Flashbacks recreate their memories, but are they dreams or experiences? The emotional reactions from them not <i>wanting</i> to remember and the shock realisation over what they saw is down to James Earl Jones' and Estelle Parsons' extraordinary performances, filmed in very long takes.</div>
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According to the full-page review in Cinefantastique magazine (volume 5, number 1, 1976), James Earl Jones (above) bought the rights to the story and spent two years trying to get it made as a feature film, before settling for a TV movie. His work isn't reflected in the brief onscreen credits though. Jones even travelled the roads around the abduction site in preparation for the part.<br />
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The film packs in as many of the book's highlights and conjectures as possible, but I was clearer about the timeline of events after reading the book as well. It adds some consistent details about the visitors' motives. The aliens have no concept of age or dying (which fits in with extended years of space travel) and are only visiting Earth to collect a few samples - they say they won't be back! Betty's recovered memories are so rich in detail, the internal logic is too good to be from a dream. For instance Betty wants to stay with Barney while he's being examined, but she also wants to leave the spaceship as soon as possible. The alien leader argues that if she is examined at the same time as her husband, she'll be out of there faster!<br />
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It's a dramatic, involving and frightening movie that derives its strength from close ups of the couple under hypnosis, far more than what they actually see. Their memories are often seen only in flashes, which also means we don't dwell on the costumes and special effects too much. The budget certainly isn't<i> Close Encounters</i>, but it's better than <i>Project U.F.O.</i> because of the superior performances that sell the shocks. There are some beautiful lighting effects used to infer the pursuit by the ship that I'd love to see clearer (the YouTube files are quite vlurry). Incidentally, Greg Jein, one of the main modelmakers on <i>Close Encounters</i>, built the spaceship forest diorama glimpsed in <i>The UFO Incident </i>(below).<br />
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The significance of this case is wide-ranging, and the book and film are definitely important culturally, if not scientifically. This may not be the first reported story of an alien abduction, but because there are two witnesses it was taken more seriously. It fed into a widespread UFO paranoia, predating many similar reports and variations of abductions, and popularised the use of hypnotic regression. It also champions the idea that aliens won't harm us - the view soon to be expressed in <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) </i>and by 'visitor' cults and religions.</div>
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Two years on, Ridley Scott's <i>Alien </i>(1979) turned the tables again and 'abductions', a weird term for an event where you're borrowed for a few hours, turned hostile again. Despite the warm fuzziness of <i>E.T. The Extra-terrestrial</i>, most spaceship interiors signified terrifying experiences, as seen in <i>Communion</i>, <i>Fire In The Sky</i> and <i>The X Files</i>.</div>
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So, <i>The UFO Incident </i>is an important milestone of the genre and worth watching as a drama, but is it a true story? The Hills (pictured below) weren't motivated to make this all up for personal gain. Both of them had steady jobs and Barney was also involved in civil rights campaigning. They didn't want the story getting out because of ridicule. They didn't sell their story and worked hard to keep it out of the public eye. The book was only published to set the record straight after the story was leaked to the press.</div>
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As with many stories of UFOs, I think the context of human perceptions framed by public knowledge and popular culture holds many answers, possibly revealed in the earlier cultural timeline. The film was made in 1975 but the abduction took place in 1961. (Why did it take so long to become a film?)</div>
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Betty and Barney Hill were driving home on September 19th, 1961 when they spotted a light in the sky. The way it was moving ruled out that it was a light aircraft. They thought it might be a helicopter though they couldn't hear a motor. Barney looks at it through binoculars and thinks its a UFO. But their conclusion is already being formed by many earlier reports of UFOs in that area. Betty's sister had already seen one, so they were already primed to conclude that that's what it was. </div>
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<i>The Twilight Zone episode 'Hocus Pocus and Frisby' </i></div>
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<i>premiered May 1962, between their abduction and hypnosis</i></div>
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On TV, many episodes of <i>The Twilight Zone</i> featured spaceships and alien visitors similar to the ones they describe, not to mention hundreds of pulp novels with imaginative cover art, cartoons and the sci-fi feature films of the previous decade. <i>This Island Earth </i>(1955) and <i>Invaders From Mars </i>(1954) both feature abductions, the latter a table examination with a needle probe. <i>The Day The Earth Stood Still </i>(1951) has the same circular corridors and ramp that they described inside the spaceship. These films and TV episodes could all provide a library of visual experiences to be remembered later on. Whether the Hills saw any of these or not, the images might also have been on posters, in newspapers and TV guides.</div>
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While they claim amnesia for most of the ride home, Betty had very vivid dreams over the next few weeks, detailing her walking into the spaceship and speaking telepathically with the alien visitors on board. She then writes down these dreams. I don't know what extra detail she remembers under hypnosis, other than that it was real rather than a dream. She also contacted her sister, who had seen a UFO, and then Project Blue Book takes a statement of their sighting. Those guys may also have quizzed them with leading questions, adding detail to what they could have seen. Barney also read a book about UFO experiences (Donald Keyhoe's 'The Flying Saucer Conspiracy').<br />
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All this happens in the two years before the taped hypnotisms, the couple have potentially filled themselves up with memories by December 1963. By which time, <i>The Outer Limits</i> is also on TV - featuring a different alien creature every week! (<span style="text-align: center;">The episode 'The Bellero Shield' featuring a grey alien with a streamlined head </span><span style="text-align: center;">premiered the week before the Hills' second hypnotic session.) </span>Their two missing hours could also be explained by their repeatedly stopping the car and getting lost on the way home.<br />
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While their experiences are broadly the same, this could be explained that Betty has been talking about her nightmares with Barney. In any case, the psychiatrist doesn't cross-examine them closely on the details once they're inside the ship (Betty mentions that the examiner took out Barney's false teeth, but the psychiatrist fails to check if Barney also remembered that incident). The opportunity to get two distinct accounts is further tainted when he plays back all their trance-like recordings back to them, once they're awake.<br />
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I was struck that their descriptions of the abduction is dreamlike, mirroring their state under hypnosis - they are barely awake when they are dragged into the ship. The aliens also use hypnotic suggestion on them to cooperate. Betty mentions that the aliens talk to her without talking (infering telepathy) but also much like we communicate with characters in our dream.<br />
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The psychiatrist questioning Betty parallels the alien leader interrogating her. There's even a moment in the book when Betty is in an alien waiting room while Barney is still being examined (this is when she asks about the star map). A parallel experience with her hypnotism session happening after Barney's.<br />
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But these stories are fascinating, and the film and book stress the possible multitude of reasons for their recalled experiences. An extraordinary case dealt with sympathetically though intelligently. The abduction experience overshadows what just happened when they were conscious - a UFO that they observed over several miles that seemed to be following the car. Barney even stares at it through binoculars, observing a window with several figures inside!<br />
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I wish it <i>were</i> a true story. But projecting wishes onto what I've seen in this movie is probably the same mechanism that started this all in the first place.<br />
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The cover scans I've seen of this on sale online make me think that <i>The UFO Incident</i> has never officially been on DVD. All the art looks like bootleg. Though there's this NTSC VHS sleeve (above) that indicates it had a home video release. But it should really be on DVD, rather than the fuzzy, jumpy TV recordings that are currently on YouTube.<br />
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-60172262457403984542014-08-02T17:06:00.000+01:002014-10-03T00:37:55.210+01:00MONSTER MAG rises from the grave with three new issues!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">MONSTER MAG!</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's Back! Bloodier Than Ever!</span></b></div>
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</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>The goriest movie magazine of the 1970s - a c</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>over gallery that includes the brand new issues...</i></b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: lime;">(Updated 02/10/2014 - issue 19 is a third new Monster Mag)</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Of the few horror movie magazines available in Britain in the 1970s, Monster Mag was the most outrageous. Gory publicity photographs all in full bloody colour on glossy paper. Once seen, never forgotten, but it's time for a little reminder now that three more editions have been published, 39 years later!</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Early issues had more text, less colour, but great posters!</b></span></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MM 2 was confiscated and destroyed, but MM 3 was even bloodier!</span></b></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Censored from British and American versions, this scene has only just re-appeared in the newly-restored blu-ray edition of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (MM 3)</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> MM<i style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 6 had a foldout poster from Ken Russell's The Devils</span></b></i></b></i></span></div>
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<i><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MM 6 covered Amicus' The Beast Must Die, with this graphic</b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> shot of a throat wound effect that still baffles me. The graininess of the image made me think it could be an optical effect?</b></i><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From 1973 to 1975, these monthly magazines were the clearest images from current and recent horror movies available at pocket money prices. Each edition had photo-heavy 'articles' that folded out with a huge tasteless (creased) poster on the reverse. 'Poster magazines' later became more popular as movie tie-ins, like <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/doc-savage-man-of-bronze-1975-action.html">Doc Savage</a></i>, <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/island-at-top-of-world-1974-steam.html">Island at the Top of the World</a></i>, and a monthly series for <i>Star Wars</i>.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Monster Mag mostly covered European and British horror films that were in cinemas in the mid-seventies. Light on text, often leaving many photos uncaptioned, they alerted horror fans to the existence of many movies we had no hope of seeing unless they turned up on TV.</b></span></div>
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<b>According to publisher Dez Skinn's website, Monster Mag was edited by husband and wife team Roger and Jan Cook. Apparently Jan's mission was to find the goriest movie photos that were around at the time. This was a full five years before Fangoria magazine began, and also learned of the power of gory photos on their circulation.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I discovered my first Monster Mag in a local newsagents when I was about thirteen! (My first issue was six, I might still have been twelve). Buying them sometimes took a couple of tries because I was refused a few times. The front cover had a strip saying 'For A</b></span><b>dults only', a warning usually only printed on softcore porn mags. I'd return to the shop on a different day, when someone different was at the till, and try my luck again. Thought I was being ingenious by covering up the 'adults only' banner with my thumb. Didn't always work.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Inside MM 7, Willard, Ben and Blood Island!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>MM 8 had a startling spread covering Paris' Grand Guignol theatre, and a photo-free article on The Exorcist.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>MM 9 has more Euro-horror with The Claws of Lorelei and Horror Express</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>MM 9</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>, had this mystery poster, probably from the Grand Guignol stage production that they covered in MM 8.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>MM 10 has two pages on When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth and this great publicity photo of Vincent Price as Dr. Phibes</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZamTvp1F9v5Sa_R4BJob_JKM0dYZaoKcErep68_e4J4EyLhAo7QZgAZekgqv29u1ovD16_v-PZYN0CNHmcNXLerAAZSSJSLkWRmSgriCyacw-YMaKS_7lKYFzTgWAlHQxw4U/s1600/mm12+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZamTvp1F9v5Sa_R4BJob_JKM0dYZaoKcErep68_e4J4EyLhAo7QZgAZekgqv29u1ovD16_v-PZYN0CNHmcNXLerAAZSSJSLkWRmSgriCyacw-YMaKS_7lKYFzTgWAlHQxw4U/s1600/mm12+p.jpg" height="400" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>MM 12 has more great photos, but the poster features Hammer's worst ever fake head, from Twins of Evil!</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLo-zbQWqK885SCnQKOaYN62zg5d4mn9YeVZlVBqCXckPIItSGp18wBA721kf-oXn1kemK6ON3fLYiKiY83xU4peY-umyMlGodnFr7SsqFVzAzodtpH4ja4nyYY-PRVtletA1/s1600/mm12+cu+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLo-zbQWqK885SCnQKOaYN62zg5d4mn9YeVZlVBqCXckPIItSGp18wBA721kf-oXn1kemK6ON3fLYiKiY83xU4peY-umyMlGodnFr7SsqFVzAzodtpH4ja4nyYY-PRVtletA1/s1600/mm12+cu+p.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>This shot of sting make-up from The Deadly Bees is barely glimpsed in the film (MM 12)</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMm44BCNhwvx-Xr1kJVVLG818s4Y_PI1vkL8v0s1fALEGkk44be-qmCVC5Lyp3sh1GYa1ZCBn89EzS74N__tZuYWxJjHE0-tgRRGGfFwE_-BQmNU12fmLO8W1E3yijoX1VqE-7/s1600/mm13+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMm44BCNhwvx-Xr1kJVVLG818s4Y_PI1vkL8v0s1fALEGkk44be-qmCVC5Lyp3sh1GYa1ZCBn89EzS74N__tZuYWxJjHE0-tgRRGGfFwE_-BQmNU12fmLO8W1E3yijoX1VqE-7/s1600/mm13+p.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>As you can see from all these covers, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were Britain's kings of horror!</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9ftg0jHgsKumsOwZDZKDv1l_neB6oeHehxci0S9mdaGsvLH_CLsleLkl50_S3e-abC_EYDV0r-co5lMyGdbPfpF-H6UKA9qVdDOlSuIudQ5B8pdGLEuLBrCjVAstbzZjUcmI/s1600/monstermag14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9ftg0jHgsKumsOwZDZKDv1l_neB6oeHehxci0S9mdaGsvLH_CLsleLkl50_S3e-abC_EYDV0r-co5lMyGdbPfpF-H6UKA9qVdDOlSuIudQ5B8pdGLEuLBrCjVAstbzZjUcmI/s1600/monstermag14.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Grisly giant poster of Dracula frothing blood!</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0RoPErt_h2B7yaTEkxhmFUXFG7S3HXdAZw1ZoYRA43ETZngck6hG1jcTDaxQrxl6sBs9HXAkxcdFess589M0JDnGIGGq6XnWDtMGsNzdyJkiEQle6yVjERwgjQGG8YLgcXD2/s1600/mm14+cu+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0RoPErt_h2B7yaTEkxhmFUXFG7S3HXdAZw1ZoYRA43ETZngck6hG1jcTDaxQrxl6sBs9HXAkxcdFess589M0JDnGIGGq6XnWDtMGsNzdyJkiEQle6yVjERwgjQGG8YLgcXD2/s1600/mm14+cu+p.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Excellent shot from Vampire Circus - again, I can't tell if this is a fake head or a camera trick (MM 14)</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilp9fnxUP814EXt2ppIS3J6U40ILtQGyeVaK0l90ekAzLxB4_eH1qNYqbYeAjH7PQXRaFjBa-08AU9cOhMWjD78JJH69FEoQ6LeFQvVK-e2-D0ZrUY6h4MJvinX3zx0codTQDh/s1600/MM21+P.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilp9fnxUP814EXt2ppIS3J6U40ILtQGyeVaK0l90ekAzLxB4_eH1qNYqbYeAjH7PQXRaFjBa-08AU9cOhMWjD78JJH69FEoQ6LeFQvVK-e2-D0ZrUY6h4MJvinX3zx0codTQDh/s1600/MM21+P.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Volume 2 had a slightly smaller format and the posters were diminished down to two big photos</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcovEFdOlusc9OmTn3b42m7lx6crnrMW2zHmvUBIwADH-YbNZKeH6mFzpgjTldancIgr9ZQN-IIhUDhPrTwXP9HKVs1WDjA04brni_wtkpI3TyFZabzxZ7wf3C9aJe7uKKb93g/s1600/MM22+P.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcovEFdOlusc9OmTn3b42m7lx6crnrMW2zHmvUBIwADH-YbNZKeH6mFzpgjTldancIgr9ZQN-IIhUDhPrTwXP9HKVs1WDjA04brni_wtkpI3TyFZabzxZ7wf3C9aJe7uKKb93g/s1600/MM22+P.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTPBw9ToFlvMpFi-HIacqFGV-s4OxyT3VqoV_q82KLeK2BLwZX2eP06zBt2dtD6fCgBEPcymxVjekyh63yHp8DoNZwmMhNIZQH-ivNvYjAE92LhaTjZvK6hAkeVF51pSqbSQJ/s1600/MM22+circus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTPBw9ToFlvMpFi-HIacqFGV-s4OxyT3VqoV_q82KLeK2BLwZX2eP06zBt2dtD6fCgBEPcymxVjekyh63yHp8DoNZwmMhNIZQH-ivNvYjAE92LhaTjZvK6hAkeVF51pSqbSQJ/s1600/MM22+circus.jpg" height="640" width="436" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Vampire Circus gets a four-page spread in volume 2, no. 2</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbu0BfShO1JrWhEKgLc4me5AE2UEtiNzdLYRl3EWjLpReZuEYzrBUn4WnieXr5SFnLh4UfVrcNamUVOwcK-Q-tJrwL8WMRQvFmiSXbomhIwPtbLL6nqGPtNR53TtLou7gKoUBl/s1600/mm23+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbu0BfShO1JrWhEKgLc4me5AE2UEtiNzdLYRl3EWjLpReZuEYzrBUn4WnieXr5SFnLh4UfVrcNamUVOwcK-Q-tJrwL8WMRQvFmiSXbomhIwPtbLL6nqGPtNR53TtLou7gKoUBl/s1600/mm23+p.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Volume 2, no. 3 was the last of the Monster Mags (or was it?)</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Includes a great spread of photos from Scars of Dracula</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>At the time, horror was barely recognised as a serious genre, and violent thrillers like <i>Bonnie and Clyde</i>, <i>Death Wish </i>and <i>A Clockwork Orange</i>, westerns like <i>The Wild Bunch</i> and <i>A Fistful of Dollars </i>were the main worry of censor-happy moralists like the Daily Mail. <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974.html">The Texas Chain Saw Massacre</a></i> hadn't opened in British cinemas yet (not until Christmas 1976), but I think that's when low-budget horror started being perceived as a threat. </b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But just before then, there wasn't any fuss in the papers over Monster Mags being sold in the newsagents. The threat of 'high street horror' didn't hit hard until video rental shops opened everywhere.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For the rest of 1975, I collected most of the Monster Mags (12 of the 17), failing to backorder the gaps in my collection. But for decades, no-one was able to complete their collections because issue two was never on sale in the UK, though they were available abroad, in German and French... </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU17DQs6rice2rr8F_A5nOLGY_zP09Kn2ylbXXctyFWAEUOFnM8Ikgc1hReHOUuLJqqdkLZbZwifetbZpUq-ZO8u3T3M3skAb_as4y50p3o0uZP58OzG1LtwT1P9WXq2uO-MBy/s1600/MM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU17DQs6rice2rr8F_A5nOLGY_zP09Kn2ylbXXctyFWAEUOFnM8Ikgc1hReHOUuLJqqdkLZbZwifetbZpUq-ZO8u3T3M3skAb_as4y50p3o0uZP58OzG1LtwT1P9WXq2uO-MBy/s1600/MM2.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Problem was that the English editions were also printed in Europe, but on arriving in England, Her Majesty's Customs seized all copies of issue two, destroying every last one! It was only a few years ago that I first saw a photo online of the French edition (above), but never ever a copy for sale. Only last month did the publisher officially reprint it in English (below). Hurrah!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh5MCSJX8U5CABZT9AmBZya7ldQWM7yA8vlpLR1L_rfgqui0uSEDKqW83aXYT28yKwQNzMel4A2WckXpWzekZ3Rcd0LuZO9UIo9VtWFx7z98ejONzWaKPC38VwNVl_myA6tP8/s1600/mm2+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh5MCSJX8U5CABZT9AmBZya7ldQWM7yA8vlpLR1L_rfgqui0uSEDKqW83aXYT28yKwQNzMel4A2WckXpWzekZ3Rcd0LuZO9UIo9VtWFx7z98ejONzWaKPC38VwNVl_myA6tP8/s1600/mm2+new.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a mad thrill to be able to buy a brand Monster Mag again, after all this time. At the end of July, publisher Dez Skinn followed up the resurrection of issue 2 with the 'XX issue' that was promised in the last ever Monster Mag in 1975 (pictured at the top)! And in September, Issue 19, with <i>Carrie</i> on the cover (pictured below) has continued the revival. So that's<i> three</i> new editions that are now on sale, both selling for cheaper than any secondhand vintage editions</b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZuF50dJkzFf7zrKQrwpnF4lC9a7P5H-F-aMEqPR2wvSO60H9j8Hd3T96G8TDu0-KZhzxdM9tttcfDpVfgtt7wCV8mvND2jXKss9upZlR58O60i6gwTFFxDWhoQVpdWvlJHBe/s1600/Monster-Mag-19-cover-lo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZuF50dJkzFf7zrKQrwpnF4lC9a7P5H-F-aMEqPR2wvSO60H9j8Hd3T96G8TDu0-KZhzxdM9tttcfDpVfgtt7wCV8mvND2jXKss9upZlR58O60i6gwTFFxDWhoQVpdWvlJHBe/s1600/Monster-Mag-19-cover-lo-res.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, back in the '70s, a slightly tamer version continued...</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN_E3I3ETx88SPkpwzpsVb-QVKG7K0s1VYa_SaTULOWbQY_bXD0Pq84uh1Q9CNzp_puUpddYpfXEDaRU8oKHQJsNoDXDFfI8g4Yoon5ne7BPBhyphenhyphenIoqVmsZd3m89TmRkMLJu7T/s1600/LHC+3+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN_E3I3ETx88SPkpwzpsVb-QVKG7K0s1VYa_SaTULOWbQY_bXD0Pq84uh1Q9CNzp_puUpddYpfXEDaRU8oKHQJsNoDXDFfI8g4Yoon5ne7BPBhyphenhyphenIoqVmsZd3m89TmRkMLJu7T/s1600/LHC+3+p.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>After Monster Mag folded (sorry), a toned-down foldout poster mag appeared </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">throughout 1976</b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> called Legend Horror Classics. A bizarre mix of creepy comic strips and movie photos, aimed at a younger, but still bloodthirsty, reader. The comic artwork was too simplistic for me at the time, and the first two cartoony covers put me off. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_wkLVi_Iu8HFMQHYstC3ZeclDWLDz3fcbMT6Xblpgu2R0ipxyjCkXm9LC7bjvBBKCJCAX5ufvDL_z_lajj4TbLAZSYmxci6cPW6lwp3U2hvS8D9IomrsmEMugHJYbQxFySzH/s1600/legend+gore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_wkLVi_Iu8HFMQHYstC3ZeclDWLDz3fcbMT6Xblpgu2R0ipxyjCkXm9LC7bjvBBKCJCAX5ufvDL_z_lajj4TbLAZSYmxci6cPW6lwp3U2hvS8D9IomrsmEMugHJYbQxFySzH/s1600/legend+gore.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>However, I bought this one with the astonishing photo from <i>Death Line</i> on the cover. That was even gorier than the Monster Mags!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGM92aT6msO-WHsihT-HNaQKGVDAPb0vhXTIwgaCSuDUweeP3LZ_bmw57C0SRsteqcRchuCQcNEIq5FR0pMsGO7gr2MSGvXb3Rl5WkMXJnGA_qZLrl7GKEe1b_z8kEX5tyy3b/s1600/LHC+3+cyclops+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGM92aT6msO-WHsihT-HNaQKGVDAPb0vhXTIwgaCSuDUweeP3LZ_bmw57C0SRsteqcRchuCQcNEIq5FR0pMsGO7gr2MSGvXb3Rl5WkMXJnGA_qZLrl7GKEe1b_z8kEX5tyy3b/s1600/LHC+3+cyclops+p.jpg" height="400" width="287" /></a></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Also bought no. 3, that tied in nicely with a reissue in cinemas of Ray Harryhausen's <i>The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.</i> The plot was adapted as a comic strip and there was this four-page cyclops poster (above) too. In all, there were nine issues of Legend Horror Classics that were mostly comics inside.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kmm8LRGRjVY1x6IbyezVVr24lxZOpOStlHx5fUeDrYttRaqH-ESHIsjZFwbGh7r8tf7gwzH-szxyzCcEcXrvx3iQoCvVidlqZ8tTH1UAZTb3oCeKKpWtAtFJXG6n3671c8p9/s1600/LHC+special+p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kmm8LRGRjVY1x6IbyezVVr24lxZOpOStlHx5fUeDrYttRaqH-ESHIsjZFwbGh7r8tf7gwzH-szxyzCcEcXrvx3iQoCvVidlqZ8tTH1UAZTb3oCeKKpWtAtFJXG6n3671c8p9/s1600/LHC+special+p.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>But, </i>the last three issues returned to an 'all photographs' format like Monster Mag. The titles were Vampires (above), Werewolves and Frankenstein. <a href="http://monstermagazinegalleries.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/legend-horror-classics.html">Here are all twelve covers of Legend Horror Classics on the Monster Magazine Gallery site</a>.</b></span><br />
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</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Welcome back, Monster Mag. It's been a while! Looking up your history, I've learnt more about the tempting Legend Horror Classics series too.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIweekzCEXXgsVYKEmPJZgDEzWGun74AoNLCkznORerw3MHcXLjNb_kesSY13BsMaPL6WSlVrBm9ympL2xO2oWzTOYzzJGcdkwQZl1Tj6hGUX1QvRSaLBlijnhENcLpdimyDYa/s1600/Monster-Mag-Utte-poster-montage-e1405857450928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIweekzCEXXgsVYKEmPJZgDEzWGun74AoNLCkznORerw3MHcXLjNb_kesSY13BsMaPL6WSlVrBm9ympL2xO2oWzTOYzzJGcdkwQZl1Tj6hGUX1QvRSaLBlijnhENcLpdimyDYa/s1600/Monster-Mag-Utte-poster-montage-e1405857450928.jpg" height="400" width="283" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Get the new Monster Mag editions from <a href="http://dezskinn.com/quality-shop-1/">Dez Skinn's website</a> </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>or </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from his <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Monster-Mag-Double-X-Special-only-39-years-in-the-making-/321467723865?pt=UK_Magazines&hash=item4ad8f83059">eBay shop</a>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>More about Dez Skinn's adventures in publishing on his website <a href="http://dezskinn.com/warner-williams/">(the story of Monster Mag is near the bottom of this page)</a>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9uwbu9Pg3_hXgXUTQSCr_8V-9zR7dKud-ycr8j-xswV1bfhnfHQdUbt-RiyhFwJHs7D_6GxBy5KnSBS2xLMT-PKhUu5Oigjwy3rHYkeVxxSFJnpoBpjrZN-VqgZNWlq1agGF/s1600/scream+monsters+only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9uwbu9Pg3_hXgXUTQSCr_8V-9zR7dKud-ycr8j-xswV1bfhnfHQdUbt-RiyhFwJHs7D_6GxBy5KnSBS2xLMT-PKhUu5Oigjwy3rHYkeVxxSFJnpoBpjrZN-VqgZNWlq1agGF/s1600/scream+monsters+only.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/monster-mags-horror-movie-magazines-in.html">And here's my look at the other horror movie magazines on sale in Britain in the 1970s.</a></b><br />
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-9409540733827814942014-07-26T14:35:00.003+01:002014-07-26T14:35:56.886+01:00DRAKULA HALALA (1921) - a Dracula movie before NOSFERATU<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoE2Xdv-Iy8plGeU1DNS6QybWW7_RWNE3G0VO2CZCWRqI207Iuuiy34VXflymzDt_faglqiFqmA5NFynSxQhxNHdFDSYPHZW8bCYSYAuRIgweeBCVB8RnLevef3CTzkrYj1mAq/s1600/Drakulahalala_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoE2Xdv-Iy8plGeU1DNS6QybWW7_RWNE3G0VO2CZCWRqI207Iuuiy34VXflymzDt_faglqiFqmA5NFynSxQhxNHdFDSYPHZW8bCYSYAuRIgweeBCVB8RnLevef3CTzkrYj1mAq/s1600/Drakulahalala_orig.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE DEATH OF DRACULA</span></div>
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(1921, Hungary, <i>Drakula halála</i>)</div>
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<i>So you think you know the history of horror films? I don't!</i><br />
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There I was, thinking <i>Nosferatu </i>(1922) was the first ever Dracula film. It was a surprise to see on Twitter a photo of an actor playing Dracula in an earlier film! This is definitely a movie worth highlighting, despite <i>The Death of Dracula</i> currently being a lost film. On reading more about it, I discovered I should have known about it already...<br />
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My interest in horror films stretches back to the origins of the genre. Early zombie movies, demons, werewolves, vampires... and like with the first existing silent <i>Frankenstein</i> film (1910), you can then delve back further to Mary Shelley's novel and her inspirations, the mythologies and technologies around her as a teenager.<br />
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Many elements of horror films are predated by plays, novels, newspaper serials, art, folk stories and legends and back and back... but the first film in any genre holds a special place. While vampire-like creatures appeared in silent films as far back as Georges Méliès' short films in the late 1890s, when did the character of Dracula make his screen debut?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE8CGG-6tCU3Ze6YJcj115mO78il26nUclRURLQv93rCYCYhtWcWrDn5O2gG3NhlS4HOdbL8eSd_rOlITE9pZWdo4qe8rJF8hUf5068b4fVvCOUYx8Jyhf82P-5UFISxenurR/s1600/nosferatu+blu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE8CGG-6tCU3Ze6YJcj115mO78il26nUclRURLQv93rCYCYhtWcWrDn5O2gG3NhlS4HOdbL8eSd_rOlITE9pZWdo4qe8rJF8hUf5068b4fVvCOUYx8Jyhf82P-5UFISxenurR/s1600/nosferatu+blu.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
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After years of reading about vampire movies, I presumed that the first Dracula movie was <i>Nosferatu</i>, F.W. Murnau's unauthorised German adaption released in 1922. While the names in the novel had been changed to try and dodge a lawsuit, the film lifts most of its story and characters from Bram Stoker. When his widow successfully sued the filmmakers, it was ordered that all prints of the film be destroyed. Luckily for us, they missed a few and <i>Nosferatu</i> has now been released on blu-ray!<br />
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But for decades, there'd been a search for the lost Hungarian film <i style="text-align: center;">Drakula halála</i> (translated as <i>The Death of Dracula</i>). While there was no trace of any surviving footage, a researcher found a 'filmbook', a novelisation (pictured above) in the Hungarian National Library in Budapest. This, together with magazines of the time, have given us the story <i>and</i> a few photographs, proving that there was a film based on the Dracula novel, first released in 1921.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SFWh-IyLNMXnotkExZbEl7CGeeUYOx7wUzJQBYRtyhyvf0jSczIC41mopXlqu9UF2giKRoAHHjI07SSNJ1DM8lSmp8wPLoIih5PWI6zwX5xyqmoxcPOxtaFPQC6nc3HglvPt/s1600/drak+director.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SFWh-IyLNMXnotkExZbEl7CGeeUYOx7wUzJQBYRtyhyvf0jSczIC41mopXlqu9UF2giKRoAHHjI07SSNJ1DM8lSmp8wPLoIih5PWI6zwX5xyqmoxcPOxtaFPQC6nc3HglvPt/s1600/drak+director.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></div>
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Released in 1921, it was directed by Károly Lajthay (above) and starred Paul Askonas as Drakula and Lene Myl as Mary, the haunted heroine. Lajthay had written the script with Mihály Kertész, better known to us when he moved to America and changed his name to Michael Curtiz (!), directing classic Hollywood films such as <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/mystery-of-wax-museum-1933-early-modern.html">Mystery of the Wax Museum</a></i> and <i>Casablanca</i>! It was shot on location in Vienna and in studios in Budapest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu5Ch6ydmwhQcjrtU7x1Mdyz0x24BQ8dIQTnNqyI-yaA5lUR72GOZIx0PjSdFTvU5Qfxp_j4k3fWBwG6OhjsyZkmu3hgM9LTAUA1gf1zhdVB2D9kEvxvv6eFc56410sSV_9aL/s1600/drakula_halala1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu5Ch6ydmwhQcjrtU7x1Mdyz0x24BQ8dIQTnNqyI-yaA5lUR72GOZIx0PjSdFTvU5Qfxp_j4k3fWBwG6OhjsyZkmu3hgM9LTAUA1gf1zhdVB2D9kEvxvv6eFc56410sSV_9aL/s1600/drakula_halala1.jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></div>
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The novelisation probably gives us the full story of this fifty to sixty minute film, (the existing photographs match two scenes in this book). The virginal Mary is haunted by the demonic Drakula after she encounters him in a lunatic asylum. The man (possibly deluded that he thinks he's Dracula) recoils from the cross, but later kidnaps Mary for a satanic 'wedding' back at his castle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UI_1K5gq6CKBSuXiNicS4GI61NTAydHnu3G860fmgdiGB_Kj9X8NHT-NrIJm-ySBurG-VhrLq0eqaieVzsHOmXN65MCqNwo9mvLON2kNsancpoTHiw4yZcnSIbqMYSsn_k6k/s1600/drakula+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UI_1K5gq6CKBSuXiNicS4GI61NTAydHnu3G860fmgdiGB_Kj9X8NHT-NrIJm-ySBurG-VhrLq0eqaieVzsHOmXN65MCqNwo9mvLON2kNsancpoTHiw4yZcnSIbqMYSsn_k6k/s1600/drakula+wedding.jpg" height="273" width="400" /></a></div>
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While the plot doesn't follow Stoker's novel, many situations are familiar from it. Dracula's immortality, his castle, his brides, Mary's suffering health after meeting him, the asylum... possibly the story elements were juggled to dodge any copyright issue?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVIKEN5lmZXeygXGjic_ZcRZXHOtwf7XJedB1ibZvFjkDGH1YHPtlgKCAA6HLnuLCvJAyNLSr3h8Q2WWm4ybv4VTTW0pXyIhPi55q71yocILaxBNpOwfJDqm4jc7RKARiPJrM/s1600/Drakula1921-01KMV2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVIKEN5lmZXeygXGjic_ZcRZXHOtwf7XJedB1ibZvFjkDGH1YHPtlgKCAA6HLnuLCvJAyNLSr3h8Q2WWm4ybv4VTTW0pXyIhPi55q71yocILaxBNpOwfJDqm4jc7RKARiPJrM/s1600/Drakula1921-01KMV2.JPG" height="320" width="275" /></a></div>
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The filmbook's cover art shows Drakula with fangs, talons and a 'bat ear' hairline, but the portrait of Paul Askonas as Drakula (above) only shows us his cape, wild hair and eyebrows, with a hairline that looks a little like bat ears. There's a chance to see Askonas in action in <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/hands-of-orlac-1924-extreme-horror.html"><i>The Hands of Orlac</i> (1924)</a>, where he plays Conrad Veidt's butler.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0DmujuVxhU-sKbPXcAuhDHRdvZhqL0QjmKoalzKwbl0fp9Ua5ADdvlCzQe3Fya57U1j8rwgRy9nm7LMeuBSx3WD_0R7v4quaXUdsGE9GFb7GVJ8Opzxm22flVbPemg4qU4Y1/s1600/drakula+myl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0DmujuVxhU-sKbPXcAuhDHRdvZhqL0QjmKoalzKwbl0fp9Ua5ADdvlCzQe3Fya57U1j8rwgRy9nm7LMeuBSx3WD_0R7v4quaXUdsGE9GFb7GVJ8Opzxm22flVbPemg4qU4Y1/s1600/drakula+myl.jpg" /></a></div>
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In this photo of the central character, Mary Land, actress Lene Myl is barely visible. There are reports that her part was also refilmed with another actress when the film was re-released three years later! So, maybe two versions of the film, both missing, presumed lost, in the second world war...<br />
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But why didn't Florence Stoker also sue the makers of <i>Drakula Halala</i>? One theory is that she never got to hear of it, let alone see it. But maybe it was too dissimilar from the novel. Vlad Drakul was a local historical figure, so it would be hard to base a lawsuit on the name either. It's also intriguing that Bela Lugosi, born in Hungary, could have seen the film, ten years before he played Dracula.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzptb1KN07BWpawIcrgb_kVM0wmaCVF7FpMpKhMYcZ_2Nua2SMTsBkhoO0v5auLWrN_nxP5wP5j9r1uhULTa1NDID2QPdsll5A1lCEi5L_GyEZCiIlekK4OqjCh-x4okPvAbeY/s1600/drac+frank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzptb1KN07BWpawIcrgb_kVM0wmaCVF7FpMpKhMYcZ_2Nua2SMTsBkhoO0v5auLWrN_nxP5wP5j9r1uhULTa1NDID2QPdsll5A1lCEi5L_GyEZCiIlekK4OqjCh-x4okPvAbeY/s1600/drac+frank.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
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Looking back through my books and magazines - I discovered that I should have known about this film all along. Radu Florescu included it in the filmography of the revised 1994 edition of 'In Search of Dracula'. Only a small mention, but Alan Frank had also noted it in his 'Monsters and Vampires' (above), which I've had since 1976! Perhaps I repeatedly dismissed the film's existence because it could never be seen? But just because we can't see it any more doesn't discount its place in horror history.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qyo-3wySkWF-sn2usBK9oeE-g_-_j53Nw4YdQuiCWem1Gr0DZqQE_sk-qAtqd2VYFvvblCCa1zHYDP6chHLsppuxLOIEE4jtnXCJ6pddHR6doZsQtLYc_IrMzQ815Hoak8zD/s1600/drac+cfq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qyo-3wySkWF-sn2usBK9oeE-g_-_j53Nw4YdQuiCWem1Gr0DZqQE_sk-qAtqd2VYFvvblCCa1zHYDP6chHLsppuxLOIEE4jtnXCJ6pddHR6doZsQtLYc_IrMzQ815Hoak8zD/s1600/drac+cfq.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
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My most unforgiveable oversight is forgetting about the massive three-page article in the October 1998 Cinefantastique magazine (volume 30 number 7/8) which carries the full story on the discovery of the filmbook in the Budapest library. Perhaps I was too excited about the next season of <i>The X Files</i>... </div>
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The lesson. Read and re-read your chosen subjects. The answers might already be around you!</div>
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Incidentally, <a href="http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Article,id=8951/">there's this even more extensive article about <i>Drakula Halala</i> by Gary D Rhodes</a>. Published in 2010, this free-to-download PDF also includes the first ever English translation of the entire filmbook - the only way to enjoy this lost movie, as well as better versions of the surviving photographs.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hitchcock.hu/Filmes/Silent_Horror/Drac21hu.htm">This Hungarian site includes other artefacts</a>, like adverts for the film.<br />
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(Thanks also to Emilio J Fernandez <a href="https://twitter.com/EmilioJFernndez">@EmilioJFernndez</a> for resetting my horror knowledge with a single tweet!)<br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-75474234328531104232014-07-25T12:45:00.002+01:002014-07-25T22:18:05.865+01:00KONGA returns! Paul Stockman - the man behind the masks<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0oFdQemNbIludmGvw2Yt0EmYkPwp4lBb7oXHv38o6S9GsYNtaYCRz2xotT4avXJXshFjHipnK7-RZtpPcsdGEqA03Y7hK8zZJuEUQJu3hyphenhyphenDcWJPYUio3jmohXgdmoZqxArbO/s640/blogger-image-2124114674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0oFdQemNbIludmGvw2Yt0EmYkPwp4lBb7oXHv38o6S9GsYNtaYCRz2xotT4avXJXshFjHipnK7-RZtpPcsdGEqA03Y7hK8zZJuEUQJu3hyphenhyphenDcWJPYUio3jmohXgdmoZqxArbO/s400/blogger-image-2124114674.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /><i>Out of the Konga suit and into Doctor Blood's Coffin! </i><br /><br />You may have seen Paul Stockman's most famous roles, but not his face. He played the undead occupant of <i>Doctor Blood's Coffin</i> (1961) and the giant gorilla-chimp in Konga </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1961). In his brief spate of screen roles, he also appeared with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. After a break of twenty-five years, he's acting again and has just started making public appearances.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The London Film Conventions are currently inviting celebrities as interesting as the gigantic Film and Comic Cons, focussing on British cinema and TV from the sixties and seventies. I couldn't believe it when they announced that Paul was appearing. </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was a zombie in the first zombie film I ever saw! Made up as the walking dead, his photos were in monster magazines and books on both sides of the Atlantic. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Looking up his other credits I was amazed to see that he'd also been in <i>Konga</i>. Not just in the film, but in the gorilla suit! I've written maybe too much about <i>Konga</i> already... because it's a British giant monster movie, that it starred Michael Gough and that it was shot at Merton Park Studios. But here was a chance to meet Konga himself!</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The convention, held as usual in the Westminster Methodist Hall opposite the Houses of Parliament, was on July 19th. Incongruously parked next to a row of comedy actresses was the man himself. Defying his age of 82, Paul Stockman has been racking up new screen credits since 2010 but of course, I was more interested in 1961. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul is friendly, enthusiastic and still tall! He described how he got the role of Konga, when producer Herman </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cohen put out a casting call for actors who were six feet tall. About fifty guys turned up and Cohen enters the room with the box with the gorilla suit in it (which he'd hired from the US). For the suit to fit, the actor would have to be <i>exactly</i> six feet tall, to the inch. This disqualified most that were present and, of the three remaining, Paul was the only one with brown eyes, so he got the job!</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I complemented him on his performance in <i>Konga</i>. Despite his eyes being set deep under the mask, the lighting always catches them, revealing his cheeky, rather human actions during his scenes, adding an intentionally humorous layer to the film.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He remembers the main sound stage at Merton Park as being quite small and that he didn't have too many scenes with the rest of the cast, as he was stomping around miniature sets and doing blue screen work. I asked if he was a stuntman but that's not the case. Actors simply get asked to do their best, even when they're destroying large-scale models that happen to be on fire!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Paul remembers being roughly directed by the assistant director 'Buddy', being manhandled into position rather than asked. But Konga was paying him three times what he'd been getting in other roles. And when filming had wrapped, it was Buddy who rang him up having suggested him for <i>Doctor Blood's Coffin</i>. Another ten days work!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The downside, and the main reason I didn't associate him with the role, is that he starred in <i>Konga</i> without being credited! Not in the end credits or on the posters, for the ludicrous reason that Cohen wanted the audience to think that Konga was a real gorilla!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But onto <i>Doctor Blood's Coffin</i>, where he plays Hazel Court's deceased husband, secretly being revived by renegade surgeon Kieron Moore. This included location work in Cornwall, in the mines, as well as a London studio. Paul remembers the Cornish winter, made colder by the latex rubber that was applied to his face being kept in the fridge overnight. It wasn't a mask as such, but made from scratch every day. Mixed in with the latex was ether, which seeped out of the make-up under the studio lights. He remembers lying on slab, to be operated on by Dr. Blood, and falling asleep because of the fumes!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Appearing with him on the day was a full-size replica of the make-up and costume that was made by an American fan (photo at top). I suggested that his image in the role was one of the few realistic looking zombies at a time when there very few zombie movies.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Konga </i>is on DVD in the UK and US, but <i>Doctor Blood</i> is only on DVD-R in the US (<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/doctor-bloods-coffin-1961-not-on-dvd.html">see my review</a>)</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. But later that day, I discovered that <i>Doctor Blood's Coffin</i> will shortly be released <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LH18ZGC/">on DVD in the UK</a> for the first time.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Paul Stockman (left), with Peter Cushing in </i>The Skull</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Of course, Paul has many other credits and is currently adding to them. I also didn't think to ask him about when he appeared, without make-up, with Peter Cushing in Freddie Francis' <i>The Skull </i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1965). But Paul did mention how he'd worked with Christopher Lee on their first film, </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Penny and the Pownall Case</i> (1948), when Lee was 25 and Paul was just 15. What a way to start!</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, keep an eye out for Paul Stockman on TV, in movies and at movie conventions for your own chance to meet a very charming monster!</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Thanks to Lee Kaplan, for his ideas, enthusiasm and actually wanting to read this!)</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.londonfilmconvention.co.uk/">Details of upcoming events and guests at London Film Conventions.</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/british-horror-stars-at-westminster.html">Meeting Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Janina Faye, David Warner, John Hough and Michael Armstrong at a 2013 London Film Convention</a>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/konga-1961-attack-of-giant-hypno.html">My look at <i>Konga</i> (1961) including photos, posters and the DVD releases</a>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.hermancohen.com/interview-attack4.html#konga">More about the making of <i>Konga</i> on the website dedicated to producer Herman Cohen</a>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/doctor-bloods-coffin-1961-not-on-dvd.html">My look at <i>Doctor Blood's Coffin</i> (1961), publicity material and the US DVD release</a>.</b></span></div>
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-72212298547533578182014-07-21T15:06:00.002+01:002014-07-21T15:06:42.499+01:00MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) - an early 'modern' horror<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(1933, USA)</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Unique two-strip Technicolor horror is grossly distorted on DVD</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I love <i>Wax Museum</i> because the humour is modern, the colour scheme almost unique and that it can still chill and shock despite being over 80 years old. It bridges the gothic (or German expressionistic) look of early Universal horror with a modern metropolitan setting - eradicating the safety net that horror only happens in far away countries or the distant past.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fast-talking, wise-cracking Glenda Farrell steals Fay Wray's limelight with a storming performance as a tough, nosey news reporter. She's chasing a suicide story unaware it's linked to serial murder and body-snatching, centred around the newly-opened House of Wax...</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcp-GGjKXv2Q4OgSs1tPUXobYny3Vxu0Hadkhp3IxOHvvxMjD9FDq6yzZIJ1ODowPpYOBfkCJYAruQXsr1qPWk478HO71wQX4orHoysh8u4ju3RRMW8ncG8z_EJHJnbOfNMPl_/s1600/wax+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcp-GGjKXv2Q4OgSs1tPUXobYny3Vxu0Hadkhp3IxOHvvxMjD9FDq6yzZIJ1ODowPpYOBfkCJYAruQXsr1qPWk478HO71wQX4orHoysh8u4ju3RRMW8ncG8z_EJHJnbOfNMPl_/s1600/wax+poster.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>With a twisty plot, racy dialogue (Glenda asks a policeman, "How's your sex life!"), distorted, creepy sets (from production designer Anton Grot), dynamic camerawork, this is a super example of an early ‘talkie’ - the colour helps you forget just how early this is. The problems of unwieldy cameras and the hiding of microphones (spoofed in <i>Singin' In The Rain</i>) have all been surmounted only five years after the first talkie,<i> The Jazz Singer</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Lionel Atwill ruled many movies as a black-hearted villain, but here balances his character with sympathy for the pain of his being crippled in a fire, no longer able to walk or sculpt - his hands burnt so badly that they're no longer useful.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nJBQ27aGN9LhF7vNi4kuAUH5T0H6HCYMbVB1OtPkNSiNZJYsSZaPWUzkAA8D4Oh1h4mygGAF5dyF3mbsB5MfL35I4TDS1BaQV-OQKu2QK309Ej5a8ApTEHcGWtTqSm2HtQY4/s1600/mystery+atwill+makeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nJBQ27aGN9LhF7vNi4kuAUH5T0H6HCYMbVB1OtPkNSiNZJYsSZaPWUzkAA8D4Oh1h4mygGAF5dyF3mbsB5MfL35I4TDS1BaQV-OQKu2QK309Ej5a8ApTEHcGWtTqSm2HtQY4/s1600/mystery+atwill+makeup.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wax Museum is a classic of 'pre-code' Hollywood, made before the Hayes Code censorship kicked in, that toned down Hollywood for several decades with a huge list of 'don'ts'. Glenda's character starts off nursing a New Year's hangover, a police friend is flaunting a ‘naughty’ magazine and one of the villains is explicitly a cocaine addict, as well as such irreverent immoralities as alcohol during prohibition and marrying for money. Mercy!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gAgSHtGYS8-99HFSTpcWPmKyEuoxb3ADO1qK25dKJIupl9mBJoQ-xD21VYwOQLGsMSqgfqL-ut4wMaG77uQZi72qAR5U1SLlFwwdTCj3CTvb7bjqFzDJrDcUTUbbW-qEtKAA/s1600/mystery_of_the_wax_museum1933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gAgSHtGYS8-99HFSTpcWPmKyEuoxb3ADO1qK25dKJIupl9mBJoQ-xD21VYwOQLGsMSqgfqL-ut4wMaG77uQZi72qAR5U1SLlFwwdTCj3CTvb7bjqFzDJrDcUTUbbW-qEtKAA/s1600/mystery_of_the_wax_museum1933.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Briefly, films talked about sex and drugs, and horror was that much more horrifying. Allowed to be sadistic, shocking and sexual. So too was the advertising, posters and publicity photos used nudity - substituting naked statues for actual women (see above and below).</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYgzLlKqpE6NVMDdxKC2nGK-MXRV0rxTn2b97SNDg5UY6kz9AjpQTyV1kplKWZBD8g4SOuMYybJreKsTuyiUB6gDKsY6TtbdvafZpjvEqU8Pm2K_1AaYxJNsmNp01zR9V3b0T/s1600/WAX+BOOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYgzLlKqpE6NVMDdxKC2nGK-MXRV0rxTn2b97SNDg5UY6kz9AjpQTyV1kplKWZBD8g4SOuMYybJreKsTuyiUB6gDKsY6TtbdvafZpjvEqU8Pm2K_1AaYxJNsmNp01zR9V3b0T/s1600/WAX+BOOK.jpg" height="400" width="255" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>After years of officially being a lost horror film, a single print of <i>Wax Museum</i> was discovered. We're therefore at the mercy of any damage that this only print has ever endured. Any scenes where a few frames are missing also means that snippets of dialogue are also lost. I rewatched the film, comparing it to the scriptbook (above) to discover that, while it reprints the final script, much of the dialogue was then altered during the shoot. No major changes, but perhaps of interest to how director Michael Curtiz improvised or improved dialogue on the day. This book also has an extended look at the origination of the script that inspired so many similar projects and two direct remakes.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegxBzkv7A-VUoGkhGO5GL_8rShRHfSrAxRlupQ_YOLtPRKSxeB6_JGdCgbEMRdEbV5IPao_ZF7hAJQUGgidbMfJ0Vc8PwxUFc2gIdw82a6eVRHwxgNBvFre-Px5Mq2TZnJ39P/s1600/wax-blu-ray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegxBzkv7A-VUoGkhGO5GL_8rShRHfSrAxRlupQ_YOLtPRKSxeB6_JGdCgbEMRdEbV5IPao_ZF7hAJQUGgidbMfJ0Vc8PwxUFc2gIdw82a6eVRHwxgNBvFre-Px5Mq2TZnJ39P/s1600/wax-blu-ray.jpg" height="400" width="315" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i>Mystery of the Wax Museum</i> isn't available on its own DVD, but is included on the 1954 <i>House of Wax</i> DVD and blu-ray, as an extra! Unfortunately it's not included in high definition.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJTNBkJkbCGPuEKVypMNp9l3I95QZ6gn1kpzm6IbQmtJEgqtSTiJwipKpre9Qwd-_qSENtnPLIvWYmoioAu5kW3vT2DF2QVX0cG20sWnBvT2G11z6AYzR2Dzvazms0OKXXO_N/s1600/wax+fay+x2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJTNBkJkbCGPuEKVypMNp9l3I95QZ6gn1kpzm6IbQmtJEgqtSTiJwipKpre9Qwd-_qSENtnPLIvWYmoioAu5kW3vT2DF2QVX0cG20sWnBvT2G11z6AYzR2Dzvazms0OKXXO_N/s1600/wax+fay+x2.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Electronically tweaked colours on DVD (left), </b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>original two-strip on laserdisc (right)</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Wax Museum</i> was filmed in an experimental colour technique, two-strip Technicolor, where only red and green elements of the colour spectrum could be recorded. It needed twice as much film, but red and green were chosen because they could accurately capture Caucasian flesh tones.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The bad news is, that on the DVD and blu-ray releases, this rare colour process has been electronically tweaked to artificially include blue, as well as the original red and green, resulting in a surreal, over-saturated effect. The original delicate flesh tones are now a surreal, ruddy red.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDrFLzCvazn_aG19g6RNIActf9NstL6nhyEmlg6NX-iRx3_xMSt-e9H_RWcTvjqim0vIZqXBvuNELddxr_aFf01OToHFGrBQPacn6cviVt1bLrRfh3VqIhoyuor3fLBwrp9ue/s1600/wax+room+x2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDrFLzCvazn_aG19g6RNIActf9NstL6nhyEmlg6NX-iRx3_xMSt-e9H_RWcTvjqim0vIZqXBvuNELddxr_aFf01OToHFGrBQPacn6cviVt1bLrRfh3VqIhoyuor3fLBwrp9ue/s1600/wax+room+x2.jpg" height="158" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On DVD, blue has been added (left) to scenes </b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>that should only be red and green (right)</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Some sets and costumes are now royal blue, a colour that wouldn't have been seen in the cinema. This technique fails to make the film resemble a normal colour film, and deprives us of seeing how 'two-strip' looked. The only official release to use the original elements was the laserdisc release, of both <i>Doctor X</i> and <i>Wax Museum</i>, both filmed in two-strip. <i>Mystery of the Wax Museum </i>was originally written as a follow-up to <i>Doctor X</i>, making this a very suitable pairing, both starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNre8IQhrfPpbBX4sQ6YleK-nrUWxSSsG45MVUoUeO-zwno6OT_cJkSzlyH8dJ50Q0IA8_NDc1MKteLw3wl-U9Iurhj3CMqudtDJiQDaKVJpZNp9NMkfH8E0r9ISNYeAcxXM1E/s1600/was+disc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNre8IQhrfPpbBX4sQ6YleK-nrUWxSSsG45MVUoUeO-zwno6OT_cJkSzlyH8dJ50Q0IA8_NDc1MKteLw3wl-U9Iurhj3CMqudtDJiQDaKVJpZNp9NMkfH8E0r9ISNYeAcxXM1E/s1600/was+disc.jpg" height="320" width="312" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>MGM Laserdisc double-bill</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>By the way, the two-strip release of <i>Doctor X</i> has been on DVD a couple of times, though the alternate black-and-white version (that uses different camera angles and alternately filmed takes) hasn't hit home video yet.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l3vM2YeVyZBqxVpSYTDWgOMDu82wfO1pzVVpSzpDL0t66jekDZkU4zFUi8oPHH7YMCf885Ej75CWxRkqEg4m5fsVTBGi8-9mqQbmJTDE06OITgNkanvcS-UyC-mrg2szowS0/s1600/doctor+x+dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l3vM2YeVyZBqxVpSYTDWgOMDu82wfO1pzVVpSzpDL0t66jekDZkU4zFUi8oPHH7YMCf885Ej75CWxRkqEg4m5fsVTBGi8-9mqQbmJTDE06OITgNkanvcS-UyC-mrg2szowS0/s1600/doctor+x+dvd.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(This is my updated look at the film and its availability. Nine years ago, this article looked like <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/finally-on-dvd-mystery-of-wax-museum.html">this</a>...)</b></span></i><br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-66641559362040058782014-07-21T14:09:00.000+01:002014-07-21T14:11:04.796+01:00BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS (2013) - intense adaption of Frank Miller's vision<div style="text-align: center;">
<b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPOvFZPZjsV1dpOhsy_ktLOBOx1eyU8ErAMYlY4Iz7-1zcTos6p3HJFsLHXk129F12R-CVMTh9ykHeA6voEuaW4FAiBRfMZ_fK-SxjBC_mC73Ib209SCEv63FMeibrMjbBoUL/s1600/dark+blu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPOvFZPZjsV1dpOhsy_ktLOBOx1eyU8ErAMYlY4Iz7-1zcTos6p3HJFsLHXk129F12R-CVMTh9ykHeA6voEuaW4FAiBRfMZ_fK-SxjBC_mC73Ib209SCEv63FMeibrMjbBoUL/s1600/dark+blu.jpg" height="400" width="316" /></a></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS </span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2013, USA)</b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>An animated Batman for adults!</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a new problem in Gotham City, an army of mutant criminals on a worsening crimewave. Just as Commissioner Gordon finally retires, Batman appears after a ten-year absence, but is perhaps too old to fight crime anymore. The 'masked vigilante' also faces hostility from the media, politicians and the new chief of police... </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Even after all the Bat-movies and Bat-TV I've seen, I had a lot of fun watching this. Frank Miller's legendary reinterpretation of the Batman universe has been adapted as a feature-length animation. An honest attempt to be faithful to the original comic results in a very different approach to the character seen in the many previous animated Batmans, and intended for even more mature audiences than Christopher Nolan's sombre live-action trilogy.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBdC31FF4DzA7otgA6oMsds4HubC3Po4JW37SCMxAfFE_6MScwZ0sxt-bFe1W0WAd5o5JIv-8H4tAN-pwcvdOTIV8GtGKK5DjpL0M0HUVPFgm-QpySlnBefGsEcLDInZmOIIT/s1600/dark+miller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBdC31FF4DzA7otgA6oMsds4HubC3Po4JW37SCMxAfFE_6MScwZ0sxt-bFe1W0WAd5o5JIv-8H4tAN-pwcvdOTIV8GtGKK5DjpL0M0HUVPFgm-QpySlnBefGsEcLDInZmOIIT/s1600/dark+miller.jpg" height="400" width="256" /></b></a></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early edition of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">graphic novel</span></b></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />The release of the 1986 Frank Miller story, together with 'Watchmen', was back when comics became acceptable for adults (outside of Japan), and the 'graphic novel' became a thing - a comic that looked like a book and a new way to read a limited-run story, as a collection. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1fNfyf1mNW0GN6g_fHU6iYKFHo0AWDOBuGuOZzfOm1TivfhO1iiD85KFsUSUiHwQXian9V8O696EPZ6_a_79SS1VuCiJPj8Pn6kph70KzCV9p10_NOr_lvAVbtJuZew0U1MK/s1600/Dark+knight+Batmobile+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1fNfyf1mNW0GN6g_fHU6iYKFHo0AWDOBuGuOZzfOm1TivfhO1iiD85KFsUSUiHwQXian9V8O696EPZ6_a_79SS1VuCiJPj8Pn6kph70KzCV9p10_NOr_lvAVbtJuZew0U1MK/s1600/Dark+knight+Batmobile+11.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miller simply acknowledged that times had changed in America, dragging Batman into a far more realistic metropolis. This isn't to say that he distorts the DC characters. He retains their origins but refuses to ignore their real adversaries - automatic weapons, politics and overwhelming organised crime. Each more of a problem than colourfully costumed villains and their themed burglaries. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjdSjwOCHEM-UVciwr70R9hLYR7DXGAR1hgRVBkmH7GqVaeXSBa7KHtsd0qq3b3VugcfcAeU9Kqw9xeHgANXXiLA4-uqJoZwaApmSWOh8YBtLPP2SB4NBKOpN54J3O2L7YqKL/s1600/dark+robin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjdSjwOCHEM-UVciwr70R9hLYR7DXGAR1hgRVBkmH7GqVaeXSBa7KHtsd0qq3b3VugcfcAeU9Kqw9xeHgANXXiLA4-uqJoZwaApmSWOh8YBtLPP2SB4NBKOpN54J3O2L7YqKL/s1600/dark+robin.jpg" height="400" width="356" /></b></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />When first published, there were shockwaves caused by the changes made to the friendly neighbourhood superhero, still strongly associated with Adam West's tongue-in-cheek man in tights. Batman was getting old. Ronald Reagan was President. Robin was a girl! Superman was a dick! Batman angry, Batman kill! It smashed many preconceptions with interesting angles. Fresh, controversial, hard to dismiss - it tempted an older audience back to 'comic books'.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Dark Knight Returns revived interest in Batman as a franchise, providing a new angle unexplored in film or TV. The Tim Burton films could now be dark, with Batman (1989) a depressed, introspective loner. Surprisingly, Bruce Wayne's unrelenting cynicism was also carried into <i>Batman - The Animated Series </i>(1992).</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Now there's this animated adaption of the assault on the Batman mythos. Throughout this feature-length adventure, the story regularly warrants the 15 certificate, with violence, madness and sexuality usually excised from Bat-animation. <br /></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5pr-qJ7oQwpRhz4GizLiInxzl_U_Q8I4IMphah5O1Bs_tpH9tQW8fw7xhBxVRovOQRbjlsvgLQz0-sTKrMGX-n_kcg5DCau2816eeMTO05mmhdcW-ExX3MWwKxAaskFss9QK/s1600/dark+super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5pr-qJ7oQwpRhz4GizLiInxzl_U_Q8I4IMphah5O1Bs_tpH9tQW8fw7xhBxVRovOQRbjlsvgLQz0-sTKrMGX-n_kcg5DCau2816eeMTO05mmhdcW-ExX3MWwKxAaskFss9QK/s1600/dark+super.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></b></span></div>
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<br />Some of the highlights include an even more aggressive Batmobile than Nolan's Tumbler, the brutal Bat-Tank! Big enough to hold an endless supply of firepower. A slamdown battle with Superman (but how?). And this insane villain - a topless Nazi machine-gunner!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHiws7yH9kJmUbtsnriBm6bw-VQvYbascZdi4Sr6LmbIuwLl0qpAQZrig19GrWkaBdFPZK-OD_uF09Rm7AmrhtKd-fen1aFVuqC2XcT0I0GeTDlHge3acAPYj4A87ZZka43lS/s1600/dark+nazi+lite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHiws7yH9kJmUbtsnriBm6bw-VQvYbascZdi4Sr6LmbIuwLl0qpAQZrig19GrWkaBdFPZK-OD_uF09Rm7AmrhtKd-fen1aFVuqC2XcT0I0GeTDlHge3acAPYj4A87ZZka43lS/s1600/dark+nazi+lite.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></b></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Even now, adapting this story as animation is risky. It's notable how few animated films are restricted to the over-twelves, the exception being anime. I struggle to think of any British or American animation for adults since the X-rated era of Ralph Bakshi's feature films, like <i>Fritz the Cat</i>. Apart from the 1990's MTV Animation that brought us the complex mind-games of <i>The Maxx </i>and the fetishistic gunplay of <i>Aeon Flux</i>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwyyg5BamySRQn0yho6ZNgmCjiF35I6TBOV0VPIb8gEdoHyIGNcj_3BVATqu7qY2-KV2iQTTp1X7x2lA0a7zM1_LH9LhJCaRoBclzPJ00GibhngO3l3OaUw9eHrtfz75cz2C9/s1600/dark+joker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwyyg5BamySRQn0yho6ZNgmCjiF35I6TBOV0VPIb8gEdoHyIGNcj_3BVATqu7qY2-KV2iQTTp1X7x2lA0a7zM1_LH9LhJCaRoBclzPJ00GibhngO3l3OaUw9eHrtfz75cz2C9/s1600/dark+joker.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></b></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />Now, adult animation is mostly TV comedy that dare to swear. <i>South Park</i> then <i>Family Guy</i> wallow in occasionally bloody, gross-out humour. Hilarious though they are, watching <i>The Maxx</i> again reminded me how exceptional serious stories are with mature, psychological depth.<br /></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3TVCEBhr-0p7OkAZk7tf7Fdzoy1WqIz8XdUKIspcHw-n4Ovm0Df_FLfC5j00UYoY-3SmoguR2crxfquCCBpFIh0Dke_XsGIUA3O_nRSIbiijrIO0dRxz7qMNWHNXCNNzS5Ka/s1600/batman+no-nos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3TVCEBhr-0p7OkAZk7tf7Fdzoy1WqIz8XdUKIspcHw-n4Ovm0Df_FLfC5j00UYoY-3SmoguR2crxfquCCBpFIh0Dke_XsGIUA3O_nRSIbiijrIO0dRxz7qMNWHNXCNNzS5Ka/s1600/batman+no-nos.jpg" height="400" width="316" /></a></b></span></div>
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<b><i>Bruce Timm cartoon combining everything</i></b></div>
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<b><i>that would be rejected by the TV network </i></b></div>
<br />Of course there are restrictions on what children should see in TV shows and <i>Batman - The Animated Series</i> worked hard to make exciting stories that could also interest older viewers. They did this with rounded characters, a downbeat Batman, fast, intricate stories, beautiful design work, a superb voice cast and by pushing the action as far as possible.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But here's a rare chance to experience Batman without those limits.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdtLciEerYl3kSQKWs5Uek8mQtkJNevFnSXs_HRB-VG2Sn1xGHQLgI9Ywjbu6mBvmLYh3LTjCyISXxB0M8HeYc84n45xfA9rUXc2W-ewlvAh7Nfj23RUZsh5YI3aHkCsz_YjA/s1600/dark+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdtLciEerYl3kSQKWs5Uek8mQtkJNevFnSXs_HRB-VG2Sn1xGHQLgI9Ywjbu6mBvmLYh3LTjCyISXxB0M8HeYc84n45xfA9rUXc2W-ewlvAh7Nfj23RUZsh5YI3aHkCsz_YjA/s1600/dark+1.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /><i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> was first released on DVD and blu-ray as Part One in 2012 and Part Two in 2013. It's now available as a single Deluxe Edition (at top). A misleading pity that the generic cover art on all these editions don't relate to the style of animation, which is more in line with Miller's designs.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-54411435994368753762014-07-09T16:46:00.000+01:002014-07-09T16:46:04.651+01:00THE LODGER (1927) - Hitchcock's riff on The Ripper...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCMrLgar4xmHQoScV-uG_W3VPtWxA5-_tESkzSjiGjfboXORDp3rhM4C_jjWQehO10Kr4XNvwZeVeZFlkkhmvEqcrXOk1KPWhoKWbvdNGXAkSE3yN_M4L59RWbMR7koD2iwZw/s1600/lodger+title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCMrLgar4xmHQoScV-uG_W3VPtWxA5-_tESkzSjiGjfboXORDp3rhM4C_jjWQehO10Kr4XNvwZeVeZFlkkhmvEqcrXOk1KPWhoKWbvdNGXAkSE3yN_M4L59RWbMR7koD2iwZw/s1600/lodger+title.jpg" height="306" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE LODGER</span></div>
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(1927, UK)</div>
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<i>Alfred Hitchcock's earliest thriller is far from silent in this new restoration </i><br />
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While Alfred Hitchcock's earliest films as a director have recently been restored by the BFI, fans of his thrillers shouldn't delve back any further than <i>The Lodger</i>, where his aptitude for innovative technical style and plot twists in the search for thrills, chills, cheeky dark humour and blondes first meshed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs-NIQFdN4iNa1Zja-Bph9y0dLw7xxse_-4AxdlPD-JjATSh84gUQdyWhkxO64dQy6J4ATyFnVSyAE_3kYvOFmhb4-ZMIQY22WV55jGCGpff1aHUuPZxx4YYtLslKZMOZiHAm/s1600/lodger+doorway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs-NIQFdN4iNa1Zja-Bph9y0dLw7xxse_-4AxdlPD-JjATSh84gUQdyWhkxO64dQy6J4ATyFnVSyAE_3kYvOFmhb4-ZMIQY22WV55jGCGpff1aHUuPZxx4YYtLslKZMOZiHAm/s1600/lodger+doorway.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
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It begins, like <i>Frenzy</i>, with a body discovered at London's Embankment. As a string of serial murders slowly creep across London, a mysterious figure clutching a surgical bag arrives at a lodging house. (Hitchcock lays it on rather thick at this point, with an introduction that echoes Cesar appearing from inside the coffin in <i>The Cabinet of Dr Caligari</i>). The new lodger demands that photos of women be removed from his room. Dialogue further hints that he doesn't like women and the possibility that he's "a bit queer", but Hitchcock also cast a gay actor, Ivor Novello, in the role. I have a suspicion that Hitch, and many other casting directors since, add an extra layer of 'mental anomaly' by casting gay men as psycho-killers. See also Farley Granger in <i>Rope</i> and Anthony Perkins in <i>Psycho</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJDZNm6Z_oqiFv6TibGlxlkqBVSvwFzThdUOhiKOZPRVjIXWYMDK69EDfJuKKiApZoPDF2-TINB74QGCtBAFWWrPhmeEK6WK4Ze91sM97mDzA6uV4EH6dqrlF_MiZbOpK83Kq/s1600/lodger+blu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJDZNm6Z_oqiFv6TibGlxlkqBVSvwFzThdUOhiKOZPRVjIXWYMDK69EDfJuKKiApZoPDF2-TINB74QGCtBAFWWrPhmeEK6WK4Ze91sM97mDzA6uV4EH6dqrlF_MiZbOpK83Kq/s1600/lodger+blu.jpg" height="400" width="312" /></a></div>
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The 2013 restoration of <i>The Lodger </i>was badly needed - the image was noticeably deteriorated on the National Film and Television Archive print. But the replacement of all original titles and cards with new digital titles, animated as if they have film weave, is presumably a necessary evil. An overuse of tinting in the opening scenes extends to<i> two</i> colours being used - which I doubt was ever possible at the time. While the tinting calms down, and even allows some black and white scenes to creep in, a more distracting element pervades the whole film...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatWI4j_3VVw1NA_sdNH7jcCPhFZwfHLLnhLmF70So9TzXwKRt3pLwhvcC7xnrb3IgvA2-4aw5hB-RmSzXn94O7A-YP55sR9tBuwthjMyQsl99SD-zg0V9JHnivxOUrq5cl78z/s1600/lodger+scream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatWI4j_3VVw1NA_sdNH7jcCPhFZwfHLLnhLmF70So9TzXwKRt3pLwhvcC7xnrb3IgvA2-4aw5hB-RmSzXn94O7A-YP55sR9tBuwthjMyQsl99SD-zg0V9JHnivxOUrq5cl78z/s1600/lodger+scream.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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The music has beautiful melodies, but they continue unabated over too many dramatic turning points when the mood has obviously changed. It wallpapers over the emotional content of scenes, certainly not complementing them. A couple of songs are used, proving to me why this technique hasn't been used before. It's really very hard to follow performance and story <i>and</i> read intertitles when you're simultaneously listening to lyrics.<br />
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The music repeatedly echoes themes from<i> North By Northwest</i>, a misguided reference to a much later Hitchcock thriller that knowingly signals far too early that this is a 'wrong man' story, rather than a 'killer on the loose'. The light theme of romantic adventure dissipates the housekeeper's terror and the suspense of the heroine alone with the suspected killer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxby3j1MrbHGoe_SPwV7cg0C5MncUUm1YlonhAaxO2rn85nryE0DoNNxltACiFCxuOCmZB4odJOSt2gylqgC_h4Y81BCq7-1JvIIvqr3NZ1rfoBf8iJxOeGEZDtCGvXz9k6ePG/s1600/lodger+usa+dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxby3j1MrbHGoe_SPwV7cg0C5MncUUm1YlonhAaxO2rn85nryE0DoNNxltACiFCxuOCmZB4odJOSt2gylqgC_h4Y81BCq7-1JvIIvqr3NZ1rfoBf8iJxOeGEZDtCGvXz9k6ePG/s1600/lodger+usa+dvd.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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Admittedly, the image has been miraculously salvaged, but I'm certainly hanging onto this 2009 DVD (of the National Film and Television Archive print, <i>before</i> the new digital restoration) for the more traditional soundtrack and a record of how it actually looked on film.<br />
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It may have been this new soundtrack, but my long-held impression of <i>The Lodger</i> as a tense story soon dissipated after the opening scenes. The cosiness and light comedy of the parlour, a love triangle and not many more thrills after the family's initial suspicions of a murderer in their midst. The thrust of the original novel has been compromised and is better served with far more psychological terror in the 1944 adaption starring Laird Cregar (below).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsP-yWiPIES7uX-P1BIreNpmaRbw5WNzHy4Lmqb6m29cmSoBFZUWtTRdlaJ1uax2HzctYhgiUX_Nd-c5OAqNKB-8u8DNCa0Boag7jimYDMFBxaNY3YvSt7ptNOKOKBQjLTsOC/s1600/lodger+cregar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsP-yWiPIES7uX-P1BIreNpmaRbw5WNzHy4Lmqb6m29cmSoBFZUWtTRdlaJ1uax2HzctYhgiUX_Nd-c5OAqNKB-8u8DNCa0Boag7jimYDMFBxaNY3YvSt7ptNOKOKBQjLTsOC/s1600/lodger+cregar.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Lodger (1944) is also set earlier than Hitchcock's film, placing it back in the era of The Ripper as well as the novel. Cregar's performance is eerily brilliant and together with director John Brahm's astonishing injections of sexual motive, this is by far a better adaption.<br />
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Catching up on a spate of Jack The Ripper documentaries on TV about ten years ago, I was puzzled to see a 'new' theory being floated that the murderer disappeared so quickly because he lived in local lodgings. I saw nothing new in that idea because the author of <i>The Lodger</i> had suggested it a hundred years earlier! Indeed, Marie Belloc Lowndes' 1913 novel was the first to dramatise the case.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_TaR215fULsyVRqMCQ6i07gaxPF4-pgCK09r-yRvqEo77eYgz2V2TH_oJhb-2LKH4pfP0T8GMn503MGv15Kg6rAdeDm7Wu-myTq2q6FfaMQ5zt1cuW4wmQELcj8pZm7H0h3c/s1600/lodger+belloc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_TaR215fULsyVRqMCQ6i07gaxPF4-pgCK09r-yRvqEo77eYgz2V2TH_oJhb-2LKH4pfP0T8GMn503MGv15Kg6rAdeDm7Wu-myTq2q6FfaMQ5zt1cuW4wmQELcj8pZm7H0h3c/s1600/lodger+belloc.jpg" height="400" width="237" /></a></div>
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With the 1927 <i>The Lodger</i>, students of Hitchcock will find plenty of foreshadowing of the master's later themes and motifs, and some interesting visual techniques that bridge the gap between the German filmmakers he admired and his own style and innovation. But this is a compromised restoration to try and enjoy it with.<br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-19577833172651035162014-07-08T16:33:00.004+01:002014-07-08T16:36:36.093+01:00Flashback 1981 - FLASH! CLASH! SLASH!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A selection of pages from British movie magazines of 1981. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUsu3upktBsL-tAimvHRFqb8hgClR-aqO1rUUsQVaNO-R7Vfjn-W3gmsfwigxsPHT77JGahPVSKcvOXNDYecEsp0ZWgP5qZROCVnYzGToRWXb3wIkx8W1BFABjOq2nDHctZZj/s1600/IMG_8875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUsu3upktBsL-tAimvHRFqb8hgClR-aqO1rUUsQVaNO-R7Vfjn-W3gmsfwigxsPHT77JGahPVSKcvOXNDYecEsp0ZWgP5qZROCVnYzGToRWXb3wIkx8W1BFABjOq2nDHctZZj/s1600/IMG_8875.JPG" height="400" width="305" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The highlight of 1980's Christmas holidays was easily Dino De Laurentiis' <i>Flash Gordon</i>, which didn't need much advertising with Queen's theme song riding high in the charts.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx6-fDv_BxujKHMMhPj4TLHaQ5uyZV_3M2AGW-WKsLGMM6CyBE5HQI2WmHJqZrM8HAEIfdsPPZPsl9-9-lLQ3SEZIXYt2WWOkbMqtSp1cXDiqjk8Y4iJy4vDusXKXoxWDfDwL/s1600/IMG_8876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx6-fDv_BxujKHMMhPj4TLHaQ5uyZV_3M2AGW-WKsLGMM6CyBE5HQI2WmHJqZrM8HAEIfdsPPZPsl9-9-lLQ3SEZIXYt2WWOkbMqtSp1cXDiqjk8Y4iJy4vDusXKXoxWDfDwL/s1600/IMG_8876.JPG" height="400" width="291" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Photoplay, January</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The above advert pinpoints when <i>Flash Gordon</i> opened in London and then around the country. The superb artwork is by Renato Casaro. (<a href="http://www.filmonpaper.com/blog/interview-renato-casaro/">Film On Paper interview Renato Casaro</a>).</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VsrEX49tVgZfPyBnwyqqucoX-JMcAtZj7ktk-491Ukv1Fmg61vfZ8Mx_3ExtZer-0kUYQmnUavW7LH1loa6s9rsoF1XlKLxkoYotH5KfzFPiyrIClOG6nevkmHXXD8d7H8Xu/s1600/IMG_8877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VsrEX49tVgZfPyBnwyqqucoX-JMcAtZj7ktk-491Ukv1Fmg61vfZ8Mx_3ExtZer-0kUYQmnUavW7LH1loa6s9rsoF1XlKLxkoYotH5KfzFPiyrIClOG6nevkmHXXD8d7H8Xu/s1600/IMG_8877.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Photoplay, January</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Flash Gordon was played by Sam Jones, then almost completely unknown. These magazines had to remind us that he'd had a brief role in Blake Edwards' <i>10</i>, playing Bo Derek's boyfriend.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKH6L9fGTEXV_yWUYCqojAxcET_NnEp0Dc73I2kyriKo0-Ggf1GZVuBSagpCwJ4XylDLnwRiG8H-5ZZ-NYbBSr6s3Zr6YrVRpcwUq9eT9KQCEGucFwgws0_w5gOxXwgNSHqv1X/s1600/IMG_8882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKH6L9fGTEXV_yWUYCqojAxcET_NnEp0Dc73I2kyriKo0-Ggf1GZVuBSagpCwJ4XylDLnwRiG8H-5ZZ-NYbBSr6s3Zr6YrVRpcwUq9eT9KQCEGucFwgws0_w5gOxXwgNSHqv1X/s1600/IMG_8882.JPG" height="400" width="345" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, January</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Unusually, Film Review ran an offer on original <i>Flash Gordon</i> film posters - UK quads for only 95p each! I've not seen official cinema posters being officially sold like this before or since! Yes, I've still got one.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Photoplay, January</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Stuntman</i> was fun, with Peter O' Toole playing a crazed movie director (who he based on David Lean!). This article points out it was delayed in getting released, having been shot in 1978. It appeared in cinemas later in the year.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYTjAJYBrX7ukKamls6B7Sz2M2kFXUzA8VKjiDiMo00n3sBymDCqYscoF8O7Vd99_oN3CziXVKfnQVEQCLuaGrRvHSl_SaChPugT9bpn20cNJWUSAdc6uzQ2MdvsPcZUUJIx2/s1600/IMG_8880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYTjAJYBrX7ukKamls6B7Sz2M2kFXUzA8VKjiDiMo00n3sBymDCqYscoF8O7Vd99_oN3CziXVKfnQVEQCLuaGrRvHSl_SaChPugT9bpn20cNJWUSAdc6uzQ2MdvsPcZUUJIx2/s1600/IMG_8880.JPG" height="400" width="305" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Photoplay, January</b></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director Richard Rush (kneeling), Peter O'Toole and Steve Railsback making <i>The Stuntman.</i></b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, January</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A tribute to Steve McQueen who'd passed away in November, 1980. In Britain, we'd only just seen his last film <i>The Hunter</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>To kick off a busy summer, here comes Superman... II. The newspapers were buzzing about how Richard Donner, Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman had left the production when they discovered they'd made two films, while only being paid for one. Well, that was the story. The producers had performed a similar trick with <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/three-musketeers-1973-and-four.html"><i>The Three/Four Musketeers</i></a>. Having lost the director, Richard Lester completed this second film, Susannah York replaced Marlon Brando as Superman's parental guidance, and Gene Hackman's scenes were very obviously finished with a body double (who mostly kept his back to the camera). Despite all this, the film was hugely successful and an enjoyable crowd-pleaser with just the right amount of humour. Years later, Richard Donner released his own Director's Cut on DVD, notably less humorous than Richard Lester's approach.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Films and Filming, April</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>While General Zod is the most memorable character in the film, Terence Stamp's face isn't even shown in the artwork (just the back of his head!) and he doesn't get a 'supporting cast' photo either.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, May</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>British film had a great boost from <i>Chariots of Fire</i>, again given free publicity from the hit single from Vangelis' soundtrack. The story of olympic runners didn't inspire me into the cinema though. Ben Cross (top left) emerged as the star of the film, but his career soon descended into US horror movies. His 'opponent' Ian Charleson (top right) later starred in Dario Argento's <i>Opera</i> (1987) but died far too young, soon afterwards.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, May</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A far more interesting British film appeared at the same time. <i>The Long Good Friday </i>is the twisty tale of ambitious London gangsters. It also nailed the political mood of a country about to embrace Thatcherist consumerism. It established Bob Hoskins as a star and, for a while, Helen Mirren.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, May</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Robin Williams' first starring role. I went to see Robert Altman's <i>Popeye</i> because <i>Mork and Mindy</i> was funny. Before buying my ticket, I was unaware that this was a musical, and also an origin story where Popeye took his sweet time becoming Popeye. Shelley Duvall appeared a great deal happier in this than she had in the previous year's <i>The Shining</i>.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, May</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Here's a great double-page spread of Disney's <i>Herbie Goes Bananas</i> and... David Cronenberg's <i>Scanners</i>! No, it wasn't a double-bill.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, May</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>David Cronenberg continued with his run of graphic 'body horror' movies. Because of <i>Scanners'</i> science-fiction element, and a lack of violence featuring guns or knives, the moments of explosive gore bypassed any censor cuts. <i>Videodrome</i> wouldn't be so lucky...</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, June</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Weird paste-up poster with a lousy tagline. Posters were losing their touch. Especially in underselling a gutsy action-packed thriller like <i>Nighthawks</i>. With Rutger Hauer as a baddy, just before <i>Blade Runner</i>.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, June</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Halloween</i> and <i>Friday the 13th</i> had initiated the decade of the slasher. Tobe Hooper joined in with the weirdly bloodless <i>The Funhouse</i>, here supported by <i>My Bloody Valentine</i>, which wasn't bloody because much of the gore had been censored. Only the recent DVD special edition restored the scenes we'd first seen in the pages of Fangoria.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, July</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another Canadian horror classic (again with the bloodiest bits removed), <i>Happy Birthday To Me </i>is now more enjoyable as a whodunnit.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, July</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The clear winner at the box office - Friday continued to thirteen. I remember seeing this on the afternoon of July 29th that year, in order to escape the blanket media coverage of Charles and Diana's wedding.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, July</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another summer, another Roger Moore Bond movie. There were far fewer gadgets in <i>For Your Eyes Only</i> as Bond came down to Earth (after <i>Moonraker</i>) for a tough, stunt-heavy, spy adventure.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sword and sorcery films were a parallel genre to compete or cash in with the fantasy adventure of <i>Star Wars</i> mania. </b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></i></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even <i>Clash of the Titans</i>' Bubo the clockwork owl had a whiff of R2-D2. It was Ray Harryhausen's final feature film.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41qC5BxJtxVDPEmEHHd-xeihz6k384lOwnHU0mVIBHRw2nNFPVBiz5X7V2ydeeB1CoiEd4NKX8szfemd4fSm94GrKrAZ-Bc0KwPNKQQriYJtroQTWjQqY723OFY2I9tJzx96Z/s1600/IMG_8915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41qC5BxJtxVDPEmEHHd-xeihz6k384lOwnHU0mVIBHRw2nNFPVBiz5X7V2ydeeB1CoiEd4NKX8szfemd4fSm94GrKrAZ-Bc0KwPNKQQriYJtroQTWjQqY723OFY2I9tJzx96Z/s1600/IMG_8915.JPG" height="400" width="285" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>John Boorman's <i>Excalibur </i>had an interesting cast, but reminded me too much of <i>Monty Python and The Holy Grail</i> without the laughs. Well it still got a few laughs.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another Muppet movie - they became regular events for a few years.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Time Bandits</i>, Terry Gilliam's dark fairy tale, featured a couple of Python cameos, like his first solo film <i>Jabberwocky</i>. But here he'd imagined a spectacular time-travelling story and the special effects to visualise them, culminating in Good literally fighting Evil. Like <i>The Long Good Friday</i>, this was produced by Handmade Films.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, August</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another big summer movie was of course <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i>, though the poster art looked pretty drab in black and white. The many action set pieces and supernatural climax took me completely by surprise - I thought the poster completely undersold it!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In the seventies, Ken Russell had a great run of making interesting new films almost yearly. But there was a gap after <i>Valentino</i> for a couple of years while he made <i>Altered States</i>, followed by an even longer gap before his controversial <i>Crimes of Passion</i>. In 1981, I was happy to see my first, first-run Ken Russell movie in the cinema. The bonus being that it was science fiction,with special effects by make-up maestro Dick Smith. The climax of the film may now only be familiar for inspiring the pop video for A-ha's 'Take On Me'!</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, October</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The film confirmed William Hurt as a star, and co-star Blair Brown is also still working, appearing recently as a regular cast member in J.J. Abrams' TV series <i>Fringe</i>. Both actors had to endure unusual and arduous full-body make-ups for the film. <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/altered-states-1980-biological-time.html">Much more about <i>Altered States</i> here.</a></b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, October</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Omen</i> movie series was first </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">announced as four films, but wound up as a trilogy (<i>Omen IV</i> was a TV movie). The best things about <i>The Final Conflict</i> are Sam Neill as the adult Damien and Jerry Goldsmith's grandiose soundtrack</b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, October</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A busy summer continued with another from John Carpenter's run of cult classics. Kurt Russell had already starred before for Carpenter, in <i>Elvis - The Movie!</i></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Film Review, October</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Michael Mann's first film <i>Thief</i> hit the UK with the title changed to <i>Violent Streets</i>. </b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Films Illustrated, November</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Another masterful Brian De Palma horror-edged thriller, his third with Nancy Allen. </b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Films Illustrated, November</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>George Romero took a break from zombies with <i>Knightriders</i>, originally planned as knights on horseback rather than on motorbikes. I don't remember this getting a very wide release in the UK though.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cinema, Winter Special</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cinema! A new magazine that lasted most of the following year (but infuriatingly displays no dates anywhere). The low quality pulpy paper, apart from a few splashy colour pages, weren't as attractive as the reviews and articles from many of the Starburst regulars. the first f</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ront cover (above) features hot property William Hurt in <i>Body Heat</i>.</b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cinema, Winter Special</b></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rare photo of Harrison Ford and his sons Ben and Willard. <i>Star Wars </i>and <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark </i>had already confirmed his star status.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Films Illustrated, December</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For patrons of the sci-fi superstores of Forbidden Planet, there's plenty of history in this advert from the end of 1981. It mentions that Forbidden Planet began in London in 1978, then opened the New York store early in 1981. Then, in London, it splits into two shops - one for comics and books, the other for movie magazines and memorabilia. After this, it moved round the corner to New Oxford Street, before settling at its present site on Shaftesbury Avenue.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>See more magazine flashbacks - <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/flashback-1980-apocalypse-now-empire.html">here's 1980 - Apocalypse Now and The Empire Strikes Back...</a> </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other Flashbacks are linked in the sidebar at right.</b></div>
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-59908996549676589532014-07-05T18:10:00.001+01:002014-07-06T01:35:25.221+01:00WENT THE DAY WELL? (1942) - what if Germany had invaded?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2aMaFBQ-MGooSSLsIbPf8G6L0N14KTrd8w66F-BHfIZIB5sy5eoId9X_Bg6sOY7u7IOb41ec-z0FfAvhNJcvh2MM6Dg53scQ4kairAzKEGdlSKr5GHjYjWGb_1DyFVbRo0Ge/s1600/went+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2aMaFBQ-MGooSSLsIbPf8G6L0N14KTrd8w66F-BHfIZIB5sy5eoId9X_Bg6sOY7u7IOb41ec-z0FfAvhNJcvh2MM6Dg53scQ4kairAzKEGdlSKr5GHjYjWGb_1DyFVbRo0Ge/s1600/went+poster.jpg" height="297" width="400"></a></div>
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(1942, UK)</div>
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<i>Home invasion horror... in wartime England</i><br>
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An English village surrounded by countryside. The middle of World War II. A regiment of German troops secretly parachute down, pretending to be British troops. With inside help, they infiltrate the village on a strategic mission to make way for the German invasion. All that can stop them are the local women, old men and children...<br>
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The women who run the switchboard at the local post office become crucial. As does anyone with a car, a gun or even a bicycle. Anyone with the means to warn the outside world or the local Home Guard.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyTq7lozFTk_t9X-HgkfihyphenhyphenIl1VrQ6gQ6FCiEtsgfr5znDFT-3J4s20eOXXGdZQ5UJjcfL6XFXBVGx8DrZKJHqd4PaokLV4yJzyvJm2CHSpoLpcuiM1VSZFdWPXyuECeS65cU/s1600/went+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyTq7lozFTk_t9X-HgkfihyphenhyphenIl1VrQ6gQ6FCiEtsgfr5znDFT-3J4s20eOXXGdZQ5UJjcfL6XFXBVGx8DrZKJHqd4PaokLV4yJzyvJm2CHSpoLpcuiM1VSZFdWPXyuECeS65cU/s1600/went+church.jpg" height="215" width="400"></a></div>
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<i>Went the Day Well? </i>isn't like the many British war films or spy thrillers of the time. The heroes aren't the best of the armed forces or dashing secret agents. This isn't armed combat and fistfights. There are no battlefields or rooftop chases. It's not an epic, it's not a comedy. While it has lighter moments, this is the horror of invasion, rather like the <i>Village of the Damned</i> and just as violent.<br>
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My first glimpse was of the most shocking the scene, on afternoon TV. I couldn't believe they'd show something <i>that </i>violent during the day. Of course, the rules were different during schooltime, when children weren't supposed to be at home. A modern, colour film wouldn't get away with that level of violence. 'An old black and white war film' is presumed to be harmless. But also the cosy setting of the rural home counties made most of the film seem, at a glance, idyllic. A sixty year-old film achieving shock value instantly impressed me, and I watched out for it to be repeated.<br>
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Now, to replace the cramped TV screenings (credits and captions used to be cut off at the edges), there's a blu-ray release in 1.66, presumably an early use of that aspect ratio. Besides the shocks, the continuing pleasures are in the cast, the photography and the uneasy sense of 'what if?'. What would have happened if Germany had invaded the British mainland, a country sapped of fighting fit young men.<br>
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The BFI Classics book by Penelope Houston starts with several rude swipes at <i>Went The Day Well?</i> being a minor film, not having "any striking depth or subtlety" and with "few puzzles of interpretation". What's wrong with a good story that dares to show us a possible yet unthinkable future?<br>
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Thankfully she goes on to explore its role as propaganda, one of the only films to visualise a German invasion of Britain that was made during the war. Indeed, in early 1942 invasion was still a real possibility and this would have been the perfect vehicle to demonstrate to a wide audience what ordinary people could do. Though apparently the government weren't nearly as interested in propaganda as Germany. Indeed, the British film industry had had to scale down production enormously, starved of funds, staff and resources. They certainly weren't being used to boost morale or speak for the government.<br>
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<br>Apparently the story caught the eye of Michael Balcon at Ealing Studios, as well as the Brazilian documentary director Cavalcanti who was friends with Graham Greene, who had written it for a magazine. I think it was basically Balcon, the director and their writers who wanted to answer the difficult questions - what could people do if they came face to face with invaders in their own homes. It suggests a moral stance of selflessness, with scenarios that empower the young and old to make a difference.<br>
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An ambitious story, some of the action falls flat because of a lack of stunt performers, soldiers are playing soldiers and simply fall down rather than act at 'being shot'. This lessens some of the drama, but the director also avoids dwelling on all the sacrifices made. Some of the cast complained that he didn't direct them much and this showcases performers who could 'direct themselves'. A particular standout scene is from a young Patricia Hayes (<i>The NeverEnding Story</i>, <i>A Fish Called Wanda</i>).<br>
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Leslie Banks will always be Count Zaroff in <i>The Most Dangerous Game</i>, but here he's the traitorous town squire. The camera kindly makes little of the facial disfigurement on his left side (from an injury in World War I) though his character is still two-faced. Further down the cast, Thora Hird (below left) became a familiar face in British TV, here uncharacteristically handling a rifle with glee.<br>
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Elizabeth Allan (above centre) is more familiar in flowing dresses in <i>Mark of the Vampire</i>. The accomplished cast make the large number of characters are easy to distinguish. I failed to spot James Donald in the background, or a young Janette Scott (Thora Hird's daughter) as one of the children.<br>
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Little is made of the impeccable English accents of the German soldiers, and they don't revert to speaking German when found out. Their true allegiance isn't concreted with dramatically unveiled swastikas or flags. We don't even see them parachute in. The overall impression is that they could be rebel British soldiers. But that's another message from the film. You have to be careful and not go by appearances.<br>
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In the US, it was simply retitled <i>48 Hours</i>. Director Cavalcanti of course went on to direct a segment from the acclaimed portmanteau horror <i>Dead of Night</i> (1945) that also features Mervyn Johns in a pivotal role.<br>
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An unusual nightmare from an unusual moment in history.<br>
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<br>Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-5963501772165226572014-06-25T20:13:00.001+01:002014-06-25T20:13:37.876+01:00THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO and THUNDERBIRD 6 - blu-ray double-bill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(1966, 1968, UK)</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Both on one limited edition blu-ray from Twilight Time</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Gerry Anderson's many series have been a lifelong obsession of mine. But of all the times I've seen <i>Thunderbirds Are Go</i>, watching this blu-ray was one of the most thrilling. I could talk about this all day but I'll try and be brief...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The first mission to Mars is under threat from sabotage. International Rescue are called in to ensure the safety of the astronauts lift-off for Mars and their return journey too! Most of the Thunderbirds craft are needed and of course Lady Penelope is called in to tackle the villains, demonstrating a spectacular new feature of her fabulous Fab 1 Rolls Royce.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds TV series first aired in the UK in 1965 and really spoiled us as children. A puppet show with intricate models (that looked like the best toys ever), a weekly hour of special effects and explosions. Every set for the puppets had to be built and dressed in 1/6th scale. All the exteriors, every vehicle and aircraft and their surroundings, had to be built on an even smaller scale. As a child, it was a hugely exciting adventure. As an adult, the work that went into these illusions still fascinates, as does the high quality of the writing and the humour and inventiveness of the stories.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Thunderbirds</i> was a huge phenomenon in sixties' Britain, so popular that it immediately spun off weekly comics, books, toys, model kits, records and more - a marketing phenomenon over a decade before <i>Star Wars</i>. As most televisions were still small, squarish screens in black-and white, <i>Thunderbirds </i>then burst into cinemas in two widescreen adventures in colour.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The puppets and models were all upgraded for their big screen appearance. Similar to when TV productions had to revamp their sets and make-up for the transition to HD transmission. None of the footage from the <i>Thunderbirds</i> TV shows was re-used - for instance, all the classic launch sequences of the Thunderbird craft had to be rebuilt and re-filmed.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Of course, Barry Gray (who provided the theme tunes and backing music for all of Gerry's shows from <i>The Adventures of Twizzle</i> to the first season of <i>Space: 1999</i>) composed and conducted the movie soundtracks, this time with a big orchestra.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>While the two feature films weren't successful at the box office, I had no idea about that as a child. I'd got to see <i>Thunderbirds</i> in colour on a huge screen! The TV series then finished after 32 episodes, but continued to be repeated for many years on ITV. Eventually, there was home video, and then there was a second boom in popularity during the BBC2 repeats in the 1990s. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I always double-dipped for the home video releases, through VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. But I think the new blu-ray release from Twilight Time, with both feature films on one disc, is the best presentation we're likely to see in terms of picture quality. Though I've read a few complaints about it...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Both films were shot on 35mm, but for some reason, in Techniscope - a lower budget alternative to anamorphic 2.35, where the widescreen image is squeezed onto four perfs of 35mm film. Techniscope was non-anamorphic, recording the 2.35 image onto two-perfs of 35mm. The result being that the features were filmed at half the visual quality of the TV series! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>As a result, any shots that involve 'optical' work, like when the opening titles are added over a moving image, the quality of the image has gone down a generation when the two elements were optically combined and copied onto a new negative - this makes it noticeably more grainy, which is unfortunately how <i>Thunderbirds Are Go </i>begins. After all the Thunderbird craft are introduced, and the assembly of the Zero-X (over which the opening titles appear), the picture quality improves greatly. But the visible grain might be a shock at the start of this blu-ray. It's not how the whole film looks, it's just during the title sequence, which is admittedly very lengthy.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Blu-rays use high-resolution digital scans of film elements, allowing us to see the quality of the original film even clearly than it was possible in the cinema. The puppet scenes look the best, with less grain and saturated colour. The exteriors, with models of spaceships and aircraft are grainier. I've also noticed this difference while watching the <i>UFO </i>blu-rays, where the actors' scenes have a different look than the miniature work. I'm guessing that they used different cameras, maybe even different film stock. The miniatures were usually shot at higher speeds, resulting in a slow motion to make the models appear to look heavy. But this increase in filming speed, and the need for very deep sharp focus so as not to give away the small scale, would demand much more light and wider lens apertures. Basically pushing the film stock it to its limit. The main problem would be more grain.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But I like the fact that I'm watching something that looks like film. After many years, I'm very used to seeing grain. I also know that it's not always welcome when watching a brand new film on blu-ray! But this isn't brand new and it wasn't shot digitally. I'll add that I'm against use of heavy digital grain reduction to amend this texture. It could add extra textural movement that wasn't on the negative and possibly obscure valuable visual detail. On this presentation, it's daunting to finally see (feint) support wires on the Zero-X spaceship. Derek Meddings and his visual effects crew would certainly have reshot those scenes if the wires were visible on a cinema screen. Proof that we're seeing the film at higher quality than ever before.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Twilight Time have included previously available DVD extras and added some new ones. Having both films on one disc makes this the best value of all their releases. The new transfers also improve on previous DVD editions with a less cramped aspect, revealing additional picture information on all sides of the frame. For the level of detail and richness of the colours, I couldn't be happier with it!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>There are several high definition screengrabs from both films on this blu-ray <a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_61/thunderbirds_are_go_thunderbird_6_blu-ray.htm">here on DVD Beaver</a>.</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A special 1965 magazine about the story and the making of the film.</b></span></i></div>
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Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-71589638827203354412014-06-22T19:27:00.000+01:002014-06-22T19:42:53.395+01:00MISSING (1982) - a true story of modern horror<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">MISSING</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1982, USA)</span></b></div>
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</span></b> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>When the law means nothing any more, just obey the guys with guns...</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A young American journalist (John Shea) gets cut off from his wife (Sissy Spacek) during a violent military coup in South America. With the army in charge and locking down communication and travel around the country, she knows that he might just be caught up somewhere, unable to get in touch. But as the weeks pass, his father (Jack Lemmon) flies down from the USA to help try and locate him.</b></span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The mystery drives the two through the shady activities of the new regime, based on the 1973 coup in Chile. It's recognisably a modern American city - but civilisation has some nasty cracks. As they talk to officials and journalists in embassies and restaurants, there are sudden loud bursts of gunfire outside. People are dragged away from busy public places, seemingly at random. Fresh gunshot victims lie in the empty streets, unattended.</b></span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The horrors of the new order are steadily revealed through the film. My first watch, over twenty years ago, shocked me. I couldn't believe that this was a true story. After a steady diet of news and documentaries, these events are now more familiar, but <i>Missing</i> still captures what it's like to be trapped inside this chaotic and terrifying situation, exposing the underside of the story that we don't get in news reports.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director Costa-Gavras has always made political films, but here expertly balances his revelations with a well-told drama. Missing successfully reached a mainstream North American audience and won two Academy Awards (as well as two other nominations). It reminded me of <i>The Killing Fields</i>, with the constant verbal battles with armed authority, but this is a stronger story that hits harder.</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek are both excellent, but so is the direction - keeping the momentum of the investigation going, while piling on terrifying detail. Soldiers burning books at night is an eerie indicator of the way the country is being controlled.</b></div>
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The lasting impression of this film was creeping depression! That this happened at all, and that it's probably still happening today. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I watched the region 1 DVD that I bought years ago - it's anamorphic widescreen with no extras. There's now a Criterion special edition, with interviews with the people the characters were based on and more context about the Chilean coup.</b></span></span><br />
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Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-47173150829806676482014-06-15T16:14:00.001+01:002014-06-15T16:14:14.974+01:00FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969) - the doctor driven to new depths<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED</span></div>
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(1969, UK)</div>
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<i>The apex of the Hammer Studios' Frankenstein series...</i><br />
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Baron Frankenstein's latest experiment has been found discovered by the police. He has to leave town quickly and continue his grisly work elsewhere. With a new name and hidden better than ever, the doctor discovers an old colleague is now confined to an lunatic asylum. Frankenstein uses his unorthodox surgical skills to cure this doctor whose knowledge can further his own...<br />
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This Hammer horror stands above the rest of its Frankensteins because, this time, the human experiment can reason intelligently and speak their mind. While teenaged me was disappointed that it wasn't about a rampaging disfigured monster, the dramatic consequences proved creepy and haunting. That Frankenstein never hesitates to further his knowledge at the cost of any lives necessary.<br />
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It was <i>The Curse of Frankenstein</i> (1957) that launched Hammer Studios in the new direction of horror for the next twenty years. They continued Baron Frankenstein's medical adventures with Peter Cushing every couple of years for another five sequels. There's no overall 'story arc' - each Dracula, Frankenstein and Mummy film can be enjoyed as stand-alone films. Just as well, back when the only way to see them was when ITV or BBC decided to schedule one, always in a random order.<br />
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For me, <i>Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed</i> is the most interesting of the Hammer Frankenstein's. It's not set in a castle and there's less emphasis on costume drama. Apart from riding around on a coach and horses, it could even be a modern story. This film also attempts to compete with the emerging violent cinema heralded by <i>Bonnie and Clyde</i> and <i>The Wild Bunch</i>. Not as extreme as either of those, but notably more vicious.<br />
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From the very first scene, there's a beautifully executed pre-credits sequence, much like a Bond film, where it apparently begins with a finale from a previous adventure. A wordless, shocking, concise flurry of bloody action that sums up the Doctor's methods, before he has to set off on the run from the police, again. This is director Terence Fisher on top form, even though it was close to his last film.<br />
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Throughout the Hammer Frankensteins, there are many memorable moments, but this film packs in most of my favourites. Not just the tension of 'how much they'll show' of the surgical operations, but also the suspense of being discovered as the police close in on the Doctor's hideout, and a spectacular problem with a corpse that won't stay buried.<br />
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A particularly strong cast has Simon Ward co-opted into assisting the doctor. While he looks angelic, Ward was cast as both heroes (<i>Young Winston</i>) and psychopaths. Here his character gets our sympathy, despite the ambiguities of his character.<br />
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Veronica Carlson gives her best performance as his blackmailed girlfriend, with far better scenes than her usual 'waiting to be bitten' vampire victim.<br />
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Peter Cushing is excellent as Dr Frankenstein, surprising fans with his convincing portrayal of a vicious sleaze. This film, along with <i>Corruption</i> (1968) contain the actor's most controversial scenes.<br />
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Freddie Jones is the other standout performance. An actor capable of playing extremely eccentric characters or difficult scenarios such as this with invention and conviction. No wonder he became a favourite of David Lynch after being cast in <i>The Elephant Man</i> (and then <i>Dune</i>, <i>Wild At Heart</i>, <i>Hotel Room</i>, <i>On The Air</i>). His faltering voice conveys extreme vulnerability, but also an inner steel that can match Frankenstein's obsession with success.<br />
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This is a cleverer story than usual, less concerned with pseudo-science, and more interested in the insecurities of all the players. Deeper emotions and higher stakes make this gripping as drama <i>and</i> horror, regularly reaching frenzied highs, particularly the extended climax. Speaking of which, James Bernard's score (available on the above CD) evokes the sadness, suspense and excitement with one of his most memorable scores.<br />
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I watched the US region 1 DVD (above) - which is thankfully presented in the original anamorphic 1.85 widescreen. It's now definitely due for a blu...<br />
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Currently only available in the UK on a made-on-demand DVD-R <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frankenstein-Must-Be-Destroyed-DVD/dp/B0001XLY56/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1402835017&sr=1-1&keywords=frankenstein+must+be+destroyed">from the Warner Archive Collection</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn0WQcuuUbLzRNsn2TD7_iAkiY2qV8BEK8iqccwhVoY0kJflcS3yaA-P8A0UQgPvcp26UPUQjrHZKw7uuvNz723QCws2F6-PnErS-71ouZV5NXokbu6bJm_lZRiuMFdEZDRXC/s1600/Deadfall+lp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn0WQcuuUbLzRNsn2TD7_iAkiY2qV8BEK8iqccwhVoY0kJflcS3yaA-P8A0UQgPvcp26UPUQjrHZKw7uuvNz723QCws2F6-PnErS-71ouZV5NXokbu6bJm_lZRiuMFdEZDRXC/s1600/Deadfall+lp.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>DEADFALL</b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(1968, UK)</b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Very sixties, very glossy, very repressed...</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Michael Caine plays a jewel thief, drawn into an ambitious heist from a well-protected estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca. But the story spends more time on the psychological motives of his partners in crime, a mysterious husband and wife team (Eric Portman and Giovanna Ralli).</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Based on a pulpy thriller by Desmond Cory, director Bryan Forbes adapts and streamlines the highlights of the story until its almost insubstantial. I was interested to see that the most unlikely physical aspects of the main heist are are taken from Cory's novel. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Forbes seems distracted by the glamour of his cast, Caine at the height of his Alfie/Harry Palmer sexiness, as well as the beauty of the sun-drenched locations. It's often shot with a trendy variety of oblique, beautiful camerawork (framed through archways, out of focus/into focus...). </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpgEk8Mzrl-P2rz-HuRc0Ia6mhtmJnuPw6krg558-I_VcnEQxwJmkQ8FPVO6kMfh_PA0WfV6SNBTJlcQlOsaOSTyoFt_HMV3bEpUD_Tk8DmHk1PkxhDGdjma0Oic-_pHEKgsq/s1600/deadfall+giovanni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpgEk8Mzrl-P2rz-HuRc0Ia6mhtmJnuPw6krg558-I_VcnEQxwJmkQ8FPVO6kMfh_PA0WfV6SNBTJlcQlOsaOSTyoFt_HMV3bEpUD_Tk8DmHk1PkxhDGdjma0Oic-_pHEKgsq/s1600/deadfall+giovanni.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It's interesting to see a sixties' drama in English using the relatively <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">meaningless camerawork</span> of French new wave. The sheen of the film would have been more attractive when the Mediterranean was a faraway glamorous location. A few years before it was overrun with affordable flights and package holidays.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgF_7sonPaVnPxuQmsXfmrxJSX-9NK94A_1BdnBtirzFswIy-00FhpUc-kQ3TKSBM12Kp5CHLYNhGdOHTk1H25D3K6Ev4bneRrCRAu2aBpkkQk7aF6u5RWnSfyghnpnUP3t4A/s1600/deadfall+jewels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgF_7sonPaVnPxuQmsXfmrxJSX-9NK94A_1BdnBtirzFswIy-00FhpUc-kQ3TKSBM12Kp5CHLYNhGdOHTk1H25D3K6Ev4bneRrCRAu2aBpkkQk7aF6u5RWnSfyghnpnUP3t4A/s1600/deadfall+jewels.JPG" height="291" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But the style is very seductive, especially for late night viewing, when you can bathe in it, regardless of the pace of the story. Midnight is also a more suitable time for the sombre mood of the drama and the darkness in John Barry's lush soundtrack, the last of six collaborations with Forbes. For instance, Barry's theme when the diamonds are revealed hints at their dangerous allure. The theme song, belted out by Shirley Bassey, highlights the duality of several characters, 'My Love Has Two Faces'...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The musical centrepiece of the film is during a burglary, timed while a rich couple leave their mansion to go to a concert, conducted by John Barry himself! The performance doubles as the tense soundtrack to the heist. As Forbes explains in the DVD extras, they had the mindboggling task of filming the concert before the soundtrack was completed, when that music is normally added after the editing.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The soundtrack has always stuck with me, but so has the backstory of one the characters. As a young teenager, I was interested at the hint of a gay character, especially rare on TV in the 1970s. In my memories, I thought it only figured in one scene. But now I recognise the gay subplot as major rather than minor. It can also be the only reason for <i>Deadfall</i> being an X certificate in 1968. Note that the poster warns of "the perverse". There's no nudity, violence or swearing, what else could it be but a taboo subject?</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZMGr21G5Mx5uEn5UcZIw9-yTUOAF3cRNGjhuEuv6qkwu_bKV624UucvmlpY5jeVH47JtBsMf4Q6DcXWJxFvSSvohFMZlCjJvet7Sc2zzO6zjUx8kqMBEKDdJrXcRP1Grtxrp/s1600/deadfall+x.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZMGr21G5Mx5uEn5UcZIw9-yTUOAF3cRNGjhuEuv6qkwu_bKV624UucvmlpY5jeVH47JtBsMf4Q6DcXWJxFvSSvohFMZlCjJvet7Sc2zzO6zjUx8kqMBEKDdJrXcRP1Grtxrp/s1600/deadfall+x.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It even makes me wonder that I missed some of the dialogue, or if several 'homosexual' references were removed when this played on Saturday night TV in the evening, rather than late at night. I'm thinking that the 'queer' in the dialogue might have been snipped out.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GzXGK54ljnrfwsRwnJcZ39sPwLOFhFzVRhJpj8o-kXMNCp45mIJRJcDVXVd-Vqd6RKkn41lHFwW6GI2-9EQAMiWoML9cb6OxLvtpemtaroLJpFkqawRUyT6K_oOGhCVz07ZE/s1600/deadfall+lc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GzXGK54ljnrfwsRwnJcZ39sPwLOFhFzVRhJpj8o-kXMNCp45mIJRJcDVXVd-Vqd6RKkn41lHFwW6GI2-9EQAMiWoML9cb6OxLvtpemtaroLJpFkqawRUyT6K_oOGhCVz07ZE/s1600/deadfall+lc.jpg" height="317" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Deadfall</i> reminds me of how homosexuality in the seventies continued to be represented, regarded as a dirty, dark secret that had to be carefully guarded and hidden at all costs. The story intertwines the shame and guilt with the plot. It's a dated representation, but a realistic taste of the anguish of closetted life.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0BsfkbQpQD0xhjoPZ_wgq1ePxkuv_i4J2ibcql0-2EOV1rmpmiD-H4gDUWHVpZSYi8EQCjpCqjYsTLfA7y10zi31g2MlgnR-k0rM4sHMIkIyNv5WvbG_eXXlp56B3XMsCQVE/s1600/deadfall+nanette.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0BsfkbQpQD0xhjoPZ_wgq1ePxkuv_i4J2ibcql0-2EOV1rmpmiD-H4gDUWHVpZSYi8EQCjpCqjYsTLfA7y10zi31g2MlgnR-k0rM4sHMIkIyNv5WvbG_eXXlp56B3XMsCQVE/s1600/deadfall+nanette.JPG" height="320" width="230" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The downbeat tone is leavened with a fun party scene where Nanette Newman inevitably cameos. Her character wants to be in movies. "Oh, you're an actress?" asks Caine. "No, I want to be in movies." she replies, absently.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Deadfall</i> is at its core a heist movie. On the glossy surface, a variation on <i>To Catch A Thief.</i> A reminder of the lush music and cinematography of the decade. But it's also a tortured drama.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu_FEItx0U_sVj3jRKeso_zBeb-jIeZ78JB0CKiN99DRaRDN4MZ2vwnqEKpo_B_7DXnfwEFoK9lHz2vn5jMt6XYyxBHZWRMXBs66H_UV_NnjmDdcfnx4aWc-3Hq421urQOFBE/s1600/deadfall_dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu_FEItx0U_sVj3jRKeso_zBeb-jIeZ78JB0CKiN99DRaRDN4MZ2vwnqEKpo_B_7DXnfwEFoK9lHz2vn5jMt6XYyxBHZWRMXBs66H_UV_NnjmDdcfnx4aWc-3Hq421urQOFBE/s1600/deadfall_dvd.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The US DVD (above) includes an isolated score, a 19 minute featurette interview with composer John Barry and director Bryan Forbes, both no longer with us, and the spoilerific original trailer. Optimum have also released a widescreen DVD in the UK.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkzn9eAi89FG80NEQHlb51-obn82Zl8HEkAeYcYOYAe-EdDrWJr8FZCLvwQB1Iv7OAVlyaME8VHv4BHwZL8RET23uHCmot_IBiGM-cxa0yYjvCdYMv-ahKd4SphsFqYd9zTPN/s1600/deadfall+blu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkzn9eAi89FG80NEQHlb51-obn82Zl8HEkAeYcYOYAe-EdDrWJr8FZCLvwQB1Iv7OAVlyaME8VHv4BHwZL8RET23uHCmot_IBiGM-cxa0yYjvCdYMv-ahKd4SphsFqYd9zTPN/s1600/deadfall+blu.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Deadfall</i> is also on a German blu-ray (as <i>Die Todesfalle</i>) with no extras, only a choice of English or German audio tracks.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5BcPQDWgmNJPrLUAQ0xZ5nG_i_KrvzNMnXaBK26v067bWAv1jmaRJ8h6kmsu__jv-5astE7Q9kL5JkynEkuywIawvt6fkfhe4SZGd2ZSBe7Py8jk5t56vrknYFfz3YN2WhMt/s1600/Deadfall+cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5BcPQDWgmNJPrLUAQ0xZ5nG_i_KrvzNMnXaBK26v067bWAv1jmaRJ8h6kmsu__jv-5astE7Q9kL5JkynEkuywIawvt6fkfhe4SZGd2ZSBe7Py8jk5t56vrknYFfz3YN2WhMt/s1600/Deadfall+cd.jpg" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>There's a CD soundtrack from Retrograde Records that remastered and expanded John Barry's original vinyl soundtrack (shown at top).</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span>Lastly, here are some inviting screengrabs from the US DVD <a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdreviews25/deadfall.htm">here on DVD Beaver</a>.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVDhd_7NdfBpgON8LO8wwFUN420MzwQ5yxOXQw4xjyntc5IqIG8t1LTjMwghVbwc4PYBb7IoZDX7UmxblPbn019xC91SL83_Scxhs-TiDOYxLonlwxNJc2ePIb1GMq3FR_BGW/s1600/Fink+Bros+MUTANTS+UK+12+POSTER.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVDhd_7NdfBpgON8LO8wwFUN420MzwQ5yxOXQw4xjyntc5IqIG8t1LTjMwghVbwc4PYBb7IoZDX7UmxblPbn019xC91SL83_Scxhs-TiDOYxLonlwxNJc2ePIb1GMq3FR_BGW/s1600/Fink+Bros+MUTANTS+UK+12+POSTER.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The first time ever I heard Judge Dredd...</b></span></i><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Judge Dredd has always been coy about showing his face. In the early years, 2000 AD comic fans of all ages would send in drawings of what his face might look like. There was also on ongoing conversation in the letters page about which actors could or should play the character onscreen. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>At a time when we were desperate for Judge Dredd to be brought to life in some way, before there were any video games or movies, there was an initial thrill in hearing him speak for the first time. In 1985, ten years before he was first portrayed in a movie, Joe Dredd's voice was first heard in this unlikely project...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>'Mutants In Mega-City One' by </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Fink Brothers </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was released as a single in 1985. It alternates between an electronic saxy dance track and dialogue from a parade of different characters from the Judge Dredd stories, including the man himself.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Written as a mini-adventure, with mutants breaching the city walls, the soundscape to this track has sirens and screams that evoke the chaotic life of Mega-City One. Particularly like the robotic voice of Dredd's Lawmaster bike grimly reciting his percentage chances of survival.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On the back of the record sleeve, each of the character voices was identified in this unorthodox lyric sheet...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It was no secret that The Fink Brothers were actually Carl and Suggs of Madness who were huge 2000 A.D. fans - proof that the comic was already popular with adults (not even many graphic novels around back then). Despite the zany antics usually associated with the band, The Finks' track was played as seriously as the comic, post-apocalyptic with a hint of dark humour. It was released on their record label, Zarjazz, as a 7inch and 12inch single, but never on CD.</b></span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Brian Bolland drew a superb front and back cover for the vinyl sleeve, reprinted as a "What's Up Earthlets?" poster, free with some of the records (not mine, dammit!) and also used on the Prog 403 cover of 2000 AD to further promote the song.</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Brian Bolland's original pencil art for the sleeve</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><b>Hear '</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><b>Mutants In Mega-City One' by </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The Fink Brothers</b></div>
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16605980.post-47416943626494070752014-06-02T00:01:00.000+01:002014-06-02T00:01:42.321+01:00ISLAND OF TERROR (1966) - remastered and coming to DVD and blu-ray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>ISLAND OF TERROR</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(1966, UK)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Just when you think an old film is out-of-print and likely to be forgotten, it gets digitally remastered and struck on blu-ray! Odeon Entertainment are releasing <i>Island of Terror</i> in September and <i>Night of the Big Heat </i>on June 23rd. Both films are sci-fi horrors directed by one of Hammer Films' best, and both star Peter Cushing. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Terence Fisher repeatedly proved that low-budget sci-fi was harder than low-budget horror, though it appears that he made these for less money than any of his Hammer Films. But he could still milk chills out of them, even <i>The Earth Dies Screaming </i>(1965).</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>That, <i>Island of Terror</i> and <i>Night of the Big Heat</i> are derived from the tradition of British science fiction in the vein of John Wyndham (<i>The Kraken Wakes</i>, <i>The Day of the Triffids</i>). Space invaders attacking isolated communities. Humanity retreating to defend itself in a mundane hotel bar or public house... </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Island of Terror</i> is the most ambitious of Fisher's 'invasion trilogy' with an onslaught of slow-moving... things. Bulletproof things that quickly replicate themselves and can suck the bone out of anything they get their tentacles on. Not a great situation to be trapped on a remote island with.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hard not to like, it has a brisk pace, even though our heroes spend a lot of time racing up and down the same dirt road in the same car. The monsters are quite unique, unlikely looking but sounding really creepy. They move slow but they can still creep up on you...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Edward Judd (<em>First Men in the Moon</em>) effortlessly plays a patronising, womanising hero, with barely any feeling for his dialogue, except that it's louder than everyone else and often begun over the others' lines. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Carole Gray (<em><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2006/08/finally-on-dvd-curse-of-fly-1965-third.html#links">Curse of the Fly</a></em>) looks too classy and beautiful for b-movie monsters, and is far more convincing than Judd. There's also Niall MacGinnis (<em>Night of the Demon</em>, <em>Jason and the Argonauts</em>) given far too little to do. It's almost insulting that Peter Cushing isn't the romantic lead, though that doesn't stop him from hinting at it!<br /><br />The rollicking Malcolm Lockyer (<i>Dr Who and the Daleks</i>) soundtrack is supplemented by Barry Gray's (<em>Thunderbirds are Go</em>, <em>Space 1999</em>, <em>UFO</em>) creepy electronic sound effects.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Island of Terror</i> - uncut German DVD</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Island of Terror </i>had a UK DVD release, which I've not seen. I'd opted for the German DVD because it has an additional, bloody censor cut. But the transfer is poor, overly contrasty, and the source print is jumpy. The aspect ratio looks like 1.66 stretched sideways to fill the 16:9 frame. I delight in watching it just for the extra shot, but the forthcoming remastering will easily look better.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.odeonent.co.uk/product/island-of-terror-dvd">Odeon's online store</a> is already offering pre-order sales for <i>Island of Terror </i>on DVD and blu-ray <i>- </i>the site says that these will be region-free. </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll update this article once I've seen the new blu-ray.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Terence Fisher's <i>Night of the Big Heat </i>(1967) starring both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee is <a href="http://www.moviemail.com/film/blu-ray/Night-of-the-Big-Heat/?tag=144">on pre-order at MovieMail</a>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>More about Terence Fisher's other sci-fi horror <a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/earth-dies-screaming-1965-very-english.html"><i>The Earth Dies Screaming </i>(1965)<i>.</i></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/collectible-silicate-monsters-from.html">An earlier look at<i> Island of Terror</i></a> and some Silicate fridge magnets!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>DAY OF THE ANIMALS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(1977, USA)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>When animals attack... and keep on attacking!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A large group of happy campers prepare for a long trek in California's High Sierras. But after they're dropped off high on a mountain by helicopter, a warning goes out that an anomaly in the ozone layer could alter animal behaviour, and even be dangerous for humans. As the evacuation begins of all the towns at high altitude, the campers aren't expecting it when the many wild animals start behaving strangely...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This wouldn't have been made if it wasn't for <i>Jaws</i>, but like Joe Dante, director William Girdler knows his audience and tries to add surprises to the horror genre, rather than relying on cliche. With the theme of atmospheric damage, this also has a strong dose of sci-fi. It has a grindhouse vibe, but is too well made to be labelled as such.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Director William Girdler started off making <i>really</i> cheap horror films (</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">like <i>Three on a Meathook</i> and <i>Asylum of Satan</i></b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) but rapidly progressed to mainstream releases. He rarely strayed from horror films, but maintained a fun creative sense, injecting what are now known as 'WTF moments' that make his later films must-sees. I looked forward to them, and was saddened when he died accidentally at the ridiculously young age of 30.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Day of the Animals</i>, <i>Grizzly</i> and <i>The Manitou</i> deserve to be remastered on blu-ray. At the moment there's only a blu-ray of <i>Grizzly</i> in France and <i>Day of the Animals</i> has just had a special edition blu-ray in the USA, from <a href="http://www.scorpionreleasing.com/">Scorpion Releasing</a>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>When I first saw this, on a double-bill with <i>The Car</i>, it didn't impress me nearly as much (<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/car-1977-sworn-enemy-of-road-safety.html">see my review of <i>The Car</i> here</a>). Watching it again on DVD did little to improve my opinion, but it was a really terrible presentation. Now, seeing it again in 2.35 widescreen, superbly restored, has elevated <i>Day of the Animals</i> to a worthy support feature for <i>Grizzly</i>, which I rate very highly. It could be argued that there's some continuity between the two stories. <i>Day of the Animals</i> could be a prequel, explaining why Grizzly ran amok. The animal attack theme certainly binds these two films together, made in consecutive years. It's certainly a better partner than <i>The Car</i>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The new blu-ray showcases the production from the opening shots. Even the title sequence looks good, with so many wild animals sitting, waiting patiently in frame for their prey to arrive. The many wild animals on show are impressive because none of them are stock footage. The excessive lens flares and slightly 'hot' overexposure, with some additional filters, cleverly transmit that there's something not quite right about the sunlight. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>When the animals start to attack, it looks convincingly fierce. Girdler and his team must have met up with the right people during the making of <i>Grizzly</i>, to be able to film so many different co-operative animals. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>While the stuntwork is still very convincing, The budget can't extend to ambitious visual effects, some of which haven't aged well. It's also hard to take the film too seriously with Leslie Nielsen playing a racist bully, shortly before he appeared in <i>Airplane!</i> </b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both Christopher George (<i>City of the Living Dead</i>) and Richard Jaeckel (<i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/green-slime-are-coming-to-widescreen.html">The Green Slime</a></i>) return fresh from <i>Grizzly</i>, but as quite different characters. Girdler certainly hangs on to the actors he likes. Similarly, Michael Ansara later appeared in <i>The Manitou</i>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Susan Backlinie was most famous for being the first victim in <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/everything-jaws-in-black-hole.html">Jaws</a></i>, and here he uses her both as stunt performer and an actress. Bobby Porter also performed stunts, but being under five feet tall, he usually doubled children. He also acts and plays a child in this, even though he was 25 at the time! Porter also had a major role as the young chimp in <i>Battle for the Planet of the Apes</i> and memorably a child zombie in <i>Night of the Comet</i>.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Andrew Stevens has a small role in this, just before he landed a major role in Brian De Palma's <i><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/fury-1978-de-palma-follows-up-carrie.html">The Fury</a></i>. There's also Paul Mantee, star of George Pal's <i>Robinson Crusoe On Mars</i>. He and Jon Cedar are interviewed on the blu-ray edition, adding considerable background to the making of the film and William Girdler's way of working.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>As I mentioned, the US DVD of <i>Day of the Animals</i> is ghastly, a blurry, pan-and-scan 1.33 crop from a 2.35 widescreen image.</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new blu-ray shows off the how good the production actually looked, especially it's scenic cinematography, digitally mastered from the interpositive. There's a new 5.1 audio mix of the original elements and a unique isolated soundtrack of Lalo Schifrin's music. All this and reversible cover art.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An action-packed 'animal attack' movie at the height of that craze, and a predictive tale of eco-disaster, I finally loved watching this again. </b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_60/day_of_the_animals_blu-ray.htm">To see how <i>Day of the Animals</i> looks on blu-ray, visit DVD Beaver for their review and gallery of screengrabs.</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/grizzly-1976-with-emphasis-on-grisly.html">GRIZZLY - my look at the superfun 1976 <i>Jaws </i>rip-off, nick-named - 'Jaws on land'</a></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For much more about the films of William Girdler, go to fan site <a href="http://www.williamgirdler.com/home.html">WilliamGirdler.com</a></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9XdMHMlIKex1RbF2VhENXxEtbtnViuSz2aoKjqONUwBh_HmAKR1IY8b28yFgj0F7GpIRqwKtawvM3KJGR_Z6604ZKO0pt-2fDGbsbx88bPvkQIg3eJJvv-luWyADcsQDYSfKB/s1600/who+uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9XdMHMlIKex1RbF2VhENXxEtbtnViuSz2aoKjqONUwBh_HmAKR1IY8b28yFgj0F7GpIRqwKtawvM3KJGR_Z6604ZKO0pt-2fDGbsbx88bPvkQIg3eJJvv-luWyADcsQDYSfKB/s1600/who+uk.jpg" height="400" width="282" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I've updated my review of <i>Who?</i> to include this new region 2 Pal DVD release for the UK. It's probably a repackaged version of the 2010 US release, but without any of the extras (namely commentary tracks). Don't quite know why they've changed the title. It always ran as <i>Who? </i>on British TV, years ago.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I try and keep all the information about one film in the same post, so please follow this link...</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://blackholereviews.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/not-on-dvd-who-1973-mystery-cyborg-spy.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Elliott Gould in WHO? (1973) - cold war spy game with a splash of dated sci-fi...</b></span></a><br />
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<br />Mark Hodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08744056312268440003noreply@blogger.com0