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Tag Archives: 1981

Moviedrome Mondays: Escape from New York (1981)

01 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 11 Comments

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1981, Escape from New York

Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, my post on my favorite horror films ever made may get offset by my traditional Moviedrome Monday entry. To prevent that from happening, click on this first link here and that will take you to my blog entry regarding my favorite horror films of all-time.

Once again, I could not find a youtube video link to Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introduction to legendary director John Carpenter’s 1981 cult futuristic action thriller Escape from New York, so readers will have to rely on Cox’s intro transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was July 12, 1992 (read here). In regards to Escape from New York, I disagree completely with Cox’s opinion of the film. I truly believe that Carpenter made the most of it’s low-budget and location – two aspects that Cox seems to take issue with here. If any of you readers are interested, here is a link to my favorite John Carpenter films (read here).

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s first original theatrical trailer, which may be a teaser trailer, but I am not 100% sure

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s second trailer, which plays out more like a traditional original theatrical trailer

Here is a youtube video link to what may be either a longer version of the film’s second original theatrical trailer or the film’s third original theatrical trailer

Moviedrome Mondays: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and F for Fake (1973)

20 Sunday Sep 2020

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

1973, 1981, F for Fake, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Series 5 of Moviedrome opens spectacularly with not one, but two great films in my opinion. It also happens to be (as you guessed) another double bill entry 🙂

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

I have posted a youtube video link below to Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox’s introduction to Australian filmmaker George Miller’s widely acclaimed 1981 post-apocalyptic action masterpiece Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Readers can also read Cox’s intro transcript here. The episode’s original airdate was May 24, 1992 (read here). For me, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior ranks alongside 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road (also directed by Miller) as my two favorites of the Mad Max franchise, which consists of four films altogether. Along with Fury Road, I also rank The Road Warrior as one of the two many greatest action films ever made (sequel or not). If any of you readers are interested, here is a link to my favorite George Miller films (read here).

Here is a youtube video link to Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer


F for Fake (1973)

Since I could not find a youtube video link to Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox’s introduction to legendary American filmmaker Orson Welles bold 1973 avant-garde masterwork F for Fake, readers will have to rely on Cox’s intro transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was May 24, 1992 (read here). On the surface, what makes F for Fake so innovative lies in how Welles cleverly blends form (the film essay format) with content (the theme of fakery). At the center, it comes from Welles playful delivery of this already inspired combination. If any of you readers are interested, here is a link to my favorite Orson Welles films (read here).

Here is a youtube video link to what may be a 9-minute trailer for the film, though it reportedly contains no scenes from the film (read here).


Here is a youtube video link to another trailer, but I am not sure If it was one for the U.S. or another country


This youtube video link is for another trailer to it


Here is a youtube video link to a Ventura Club Society trailer.


Here is a youtube video link to documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville’s commentary for it from The Criterion Collection


Here is a youtube video link to film director/critic/historian Peter Bogdanovich’s commentary for it from The Criterion Collection

Here is a youtube video link to Bogdanovich’s longer version of that commentary

BTW, the then unfinished film Bogdanovich talks about in the link (The Other Side of the Wind) got completed and was released on the streaming service Netflix back in 2018. Here is a youtube video link to the trailer below

Last, but not least, If any of you readers are interested in learning more about the term film essay (or essay film), here is a link to a 2013 BFI (British Film Institute) article on it

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/deep-focus/essay-film

Moviedrome Mondays: Knightriders (1981)

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 12 Comments

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1981, Knightriders

I have posted a youtube video link below to Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox’s introduction to director/writer George A. Romero’s 1981 independent drama Knightriders. Readers can also read Cox’s intro transcript here. The episode’s original airdate was June 2, 1991 (read here). Along with There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch (both from 1973), Knightriders is notable for being one of Romero’s few non-horror films. How can I briefly sum up this film? Well, think of jousting, but with motorcycles instead of horses. This makes up the surface of the plot, which deals with the trials and tribulations of a traveling renaissance fair troupe from Pittsburgh. As with all of Romero’s films, I love this one as well. Fascinating bit of trivia: Romero has reportedly cited the Society for Creative Anachronism as the inspiration regarding the occupation of the film’s protagonists. If you readers are interesting in reading a list of my favorite George A. Romero films, read here.

Here is a youtube video link to Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to Knightriders

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

Moviedrome Mondays: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

15 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 15 Comments

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1981, An American Werewolf in London

I have posted a youtube video link below to Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox’s introduction to director John Landis 1981 horror classic An American Werewolf in London. My readers can also read Cox’s transcript here. The episode’s original airdate was July 22, 1990 (read here). Though I greatly admire Joe Dante’s The Howling and Michael Wadleigh’s Wolfen (also from that aforementioned year), I greatly adore An American Werewolf in London, which towers above them all as the best of the bunch. Along with The Howling, it features quite possibly the most spectacular werewolf transformation sequences ever displayed on film – courtesy of makeup effects artist Rick Baker. Last, but not least, Landis blending of comedy and horror here is seamless. Before I post the links, let me borrow a quote from the film to send to you dear readers: keep off the moors, stick to the roads. The best to ya… 🙂

Here is a youtube video link to Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to An American Werewolf in London


Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

Moviedrome Mondays: …All the Marbles (1981) (a.k.a. The California Dolls)

15 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 7 Comments

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...All the Marbles (a.k.a. The California Dolls), 1981

I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing Robert Aldrich’s 1981 sports comedy-drama …All the Marbles (a.k.a. The California Dolls); so my readers will have to make due with his transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was June 11, 1989 (read here). Not unlike what Cox implies here, If one looked beyond the film’s silly premise – a manager and his female wrestling team (The California Dolls) on the road – you will find a road movie with a lot on it’s mind. While maybe not as memorable as some of the best ones of the period – Monte Hellman’s Two-Lane Blacktop or Wim Wenders Road Movie Trilogy – there is still plenty to admire here. Interesting bit of trivia: 1981’s …All the Marbles was the final film that Aldrich directed – he died two years later in 1983. If any of you readers are interested in reading my list of my favorite Aldrich films, read here.

Here is a youtube link to the film’s original theatrical trailer below

Moviedrome Mondays: Diva (1981)

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by John Charet in Alex Cox, Moviedrome

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

1981, Diva

Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox did not seem to be a fan of this dazzling 1981 French cult thriller entitled Diva. The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix and while he has directed other movies after this one (Moon in the Gutter and Betty Blue to name just two examples), Diva still remains (at least for me) his best work. The film’s visual style is rooted in a 1980’s French film movement labeled Cinema du look. According to French-born, but British-based academic/critic Ginette Vincendeau (a Professor of Film Studies at King’s College London), Cinema du look films were driven by their “high investment in non-naturalistic, self-conscious aesthetics, notably intense colours and lighting effects. Their spectacular (studio based) and technically brilliant mise-en-scène is usually put to the service of romantic plots.” Aside from Beineix, fellow French filmmakers Luc Besson and Leos Carax also contributed greatly to this movement. According to French film critic and journalist Raphael Bassan, Beineix, Besson and Carax serve as the main directors of the movement (read here). With the exception of Carax, Beineix and Besson have found themselves frequently criticized for displaying this style in their films (read here). Either that, or maybe it is the way they display it? Even If I disagree with Cox here, I do love the way he talks about it in the link below.

First, here is a link to the Diva Moviedrome episode transcript. The episode’s original airdate was May 22, 1988.

Second, here is a youtube link below of Alex Cox’s introduction to Diva.

 

And finally, here is a link to the original theatrical trailer below (or at least the closest I can come to finding an original theatrical trailer for it).

 

John Charet’s Take On: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

10 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by John Charet in 1980's Cinema, American Filmmakers, British Cinema, Cinema, Comedy, Horror, John Landis

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

1981, An American Werewolf in London, John Landis

Aside from frequently tackling the horror genre and directing episodes of Showtime’s anthology series Masters of Horror from a decade ago, what do directors Larry Cohen, Joe Dante and John Landis all have in common? The answer (at least for me) lies in the fact that all of them had directed three of the absolute greatest werewolf movies of 1981. Cohen directed Full Moon High, Dante directed The Howling and Landis directed An American Werewolf in London. Even Michael Wadleigh’s The Wolfen (released that same year) was pretty good. The first three also offered plenty of dark humor and social commentary on the side. Since I love the first three titles equally, I feel that it would be wise for me to focus on what makes An American Werewolf in London a classic of its sub-genre.

While backpacking in Yorkshire (a county of England), two visiting American college students from the East Coast (I think New York) named David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) get attacked by a vicious werewolf after walking from the road onto the moors. Though Jack gets mauled to death, David survives, but not before being bitten by the wolf, who gets shot with silver bullets by pubgoers of “The Slaughtered Lamb”, which was the name of the bar he and his (then alive) friend entered earlier in the film.

During his stay at a hospital recovering from his wounds, David starts having weird nightmares. One of them involves a now reanimated Jack (in the first of three appearances) telling him that he must commit suicide before the next full moon occurs, which is when David will turn into a werewolf. Jack warns David, that once he is a wolf, he will go on a killing rampage. After ignoring Jack’s warnings twice (he even insults his presence), the night of the full moon eventually and inevitably comes resulting in David’s transformation into a vicious werewolf. Waking up the next day, David learns the awful truth from a front page newspaper that an animal (which was him) killed quite a few people and that Jack was not crazy after all. Now, David must stop himself before the next full moon.

With the exception of The Howling (which was released four months prior to this film), no other werewolf transformation sequence in cinema had been as truly amazing as the one in An American Werewolf in London. Once the full moon appears, David slowly and painfully begins his transformation into a werewolf. After that, all of these tiny pieces of hair start growing out of every single area of his body with his arms, hands, legs and feet stretching out completely. To put the icing on the cake, his head and face begin morphing into something monstrous looking with demon-like eyes. Makeup artist Rick Baker was responsible for these impressive effects and deservedly won an Oscar for Best Makeup (the first year, the category became available too). Personally, I feel that Rob Bottin should have taken one home for The Howling as well, which would have resulted in a tied win, but that is a whole different story for a whole different blog post. Also worth mentioning (though frequently ignored) is the particularly effective buildup to this scene which comes off as terrifyingly funny in retrospect. Before David goes into the house he is staying at, a dog (belonging to two giggling little girls) viciously barks at him and a cat hisses at him in an equally vicious way. In a bit of comic relief, David looks in the mirror and roars once or twice. As David starts anxiously pacing around, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” starts playing in the background subsequently leading up to David turning into a werewolf with Sam Cooke’s rendition of “Blue Moon” taking over.

Along with The Blues Brothers from a year earlier, An American Werewolf in London ranks as one of director John Landis two most fully realized films. Whereas the former was a commercial comedy distributed by Universal and made for $30 million dollars, the latter is a darkly humorous independent horror movie distributed by that same studio and made for $10 million dollars. Regardless of cost, both of them finish up as the purest expressions of Landis wonderfully over the top style of filmmaking. Coincidentally, I read somewhere that Landis considered this one to be his most personal film.

Interestingly enough, director John Landis has reportedly stated that his screenplay for An American Werewolf in London had originated from an experience he had back in 1969, while working as a production assistant in Yugoslavia on the set of the war comedy Kelly’s Heroes (1970). During his time there, he had witnessed a ritual being performed on a dead man at a Gypsy funeral, who was buried in a way that would supposedly make it impossible for him to come alive ever again. If anything else, this actual incident may have uniquely shaped the film as a whole.

Even though it starts off, continues and finishes as a darkly humorous horror film, An American Werewolf in London is sprinkled with a touch of surrealism during its second and third act. The first example involves David having a series of nightmares while recovering in the hospital. In this Bunuel-ish dream within a dream sequence, David dreams that he is running completely naked in the woods and in the next frame, he is graphically eating a (still fresh in this case) deer. Soon after, he sees his hospital bed there and his nurse (and later girlfriend) Alex Price (Jenny Agutter) is standing on the left side. Suddenly, David wakes up and mischievously smiles with yellow demon-like eyes and teeth. Next up is a nightmarish dream that involves a group of grotesque mutant Nazis coming into his house mowing down his parents and two younger siblings with machine guns while another one slits David’s throat. Initially, it seems as If the nightmare is over when nurse Price comes in, but after opening the drapes, a mutant Nazi suddenly appears and stabs her to death. Afterwards, David wakes up and this time, the nightmare is actually over with nurse Price keeping her eye on him. Equally surrealistic is the three times David’s dead friend Jack appears. During his first appearance, Jack is all bloodied up, in the next one, his skin is now green and begins to rot and in the final one, he looks all skeletal. The overall result is bizarre, scary and hilarious all at once.

On the outside, An American Werewolf in London comes off as a wildly entertaining monster movie/homage, but on the inside, it also openly and subtly touches upon (briefly or frequently) various themes relating to America’s relationship with Britain (historically, pop culturally or otherwise), religion, genocide, sex and ultimately, life and death. With the exception of the third one, all of these themes are tackled in a wickedly funny manner. For example, when David and Jack are in the tavern during the first act, David asks the patrons If they “Remember the Alamo”, but all of them think he is referring to the 1960 John Wayne film The Alamo as opposed to the historical event. Shortly afterwards, Jack adds “Right. With Lawrence Harvey Everyone dies in it. Very bloody.” David and Jack’s bafflement with England sparks amusement as well. The response they have to the howl of a werewolf hilariously results in them making references to The Hound of the Baskervilles, Pecos Bill (certainly not a wolf) and finally Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights (who “didn’t howl!”). This trait also occurs in other trivial matters such as when David discusses to Alex (the nurse) that he feels like Lon Chaney Jr. in 1941’s The Wolf Man and she mistakenly believes that he is referring to 1961’s The Curse of the Werewolf with Oliver Reed. The former was distributed by Universal Pictures in California (The U.S.) and the latter was distributed by Hammer Film Productions in London, England (The UK). Both studios are iconic for their classic horror films. Ironically enough, Alex’s London flat is decorated with American pop culture. Aside from owning two figurines of Walt Disney cartoon characters (Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck), she also has film posters of Gone With the Wind (1939) and Casablanca (1942) which are two celebrated American films. Maybe she just prefers Hammer’s catalogue of horror. I also love how after turning back into his human form the morning after the night he turned into a werewolf, David is running around London nude trying to find clothes and bribes a little boy with two pounds (British currency) to buy his balloons to cover himself. This results in the little boy’s priceless reply of “a naked American man stole my balloons.” What makes it amusing is that the little boy says it in such a casual way as If he did not really care. Equally amusing is when David steals a lady’s red coat without any trouble and shortly after putting it on, he comments about something random with a guy, who like the kid and many around him, do not seem bothered by his appearance. Sheer hilarity is also on display when David tries to get himself arrested for the werewolf murders mouthing obscenities or stuff that would be offensive to British sensibilities. “Shakespeare’s French” comes off as the funniest of his backfired insults. Interestingly enough, the end credits features a word of congratulations to The Prince of Wales (Charles) and Lady Diana Spencer for their wedding that occurred on July 29th 1981. Sadly, their marriage proved to be a highly publicized disaster eventually and inevitably leading to them divorcing each other in 1996. A year later, Princess Diana would die in a fatal car crash.

Upon the many times I have watched An American Werewolf in London, I have become more and more fascinated by how it insightfully explores both the darker and lighter side of human sexuality (as dubious as it might initially sound). During the aforementioned dream within a dream sequence where David awakes with that scary face I just described earlier, we are sure that as a werewolf, he would maul Alex to death, but what about as a human being? Since being bitten by a werewolf, does David lust for sex in his human form the way a vampire lusts for blood? For the most part though, David’s ideal vision of romantic love can be defined as one of warmth. One perfect example is when David and Alex are making out in the shower and fittingly enough, Van Morrison’s Moondance is playing during part of the scene. Contrary to the explicit way David and Jack talk about a woman’s body near the beginning, Alex’s revelry in it comes off as more subtle. This comes when another female nurse playfully tells Alex that David is Jewish because she “had a look.” This is obviously a reference to male circumcision via Brit Milah.

Semi-autobiographically or not, with An American Werewolf in London, director John Landis may have also tapped deeply into what amuses, perplexes and scares him as an individual. Since Landis was born and raised in a Jewish family (though he identifies himself as an atheist), it only makes sense that Nazis (in this case, mutant ones) would terrify him (and lots of other viewers) the most. The stranger aspects of David’s nightmares (i.e. running naked in the woods and eating an animal) is something that any person can identify with since we have all had different yet equally weird dreams in our lifetimes. The scenes involving David’s dead friend Jack talking to him can be strangely funny: “can I have a piece of toast” or “have you tried talking to a corpse? It’s boring! I’m lonely!” Another one is when David is in a porn theater and is trying to figure out ways to commit suicide before the next full moon appears. In it, David’s six victims (along with Jack) join in to give him advice and David facetiously says “thank you, you’re all so thoughtful.” Guilt is also explored in the scene where after dismissing Jack’s words twice, David finally admits that (when turning into a werewolf) he didn’t mean to call Jack a meatloaf. Similar to some of Landis other films (most notably The Blues Brothers, Into the Night and Innocent Blood), this one climaxes with a showstopper within its actual filming location (in this case, it would be Piccadilly Circus).

Rumor has it that the roles of David Kessler and Jack Goodman were originally for Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, but in the end, I am glad that director John Landis went with David Naughton and Griffin Dunne. Since both of them were low-profile at the time, it was easier for them to act naturally in portraying their characters. On the surface, Kessler (Naughton) and Goodman (Dunne) may be little more than stereotypical frat house types, which only gives more ammunition to the opinion summed up by American Embassy representative Mr. Collins (Frank Oz of The Muppets fame). In this case, it was “These dumb ass kids. They never appreciate what you do for them.” Nevertheless, as the film progresses, we learn that Kessler and Goodman are fairly grateful, likable and normal at heart. In Goodman’s first appearance as a talking corpse, he says these following words to Kessler: “life mocks me even in death.” To a small or considerable extent, we all wish that Goodman could have lived a life free of cynicism. We also learn to love Kessler more and more that we hope that he survives this werewolf curse brought upon him. Long before playing Sister Julienne on BBC’s (PBS here in the States) Call the Midwife, British actress Jenny Agutter began her career playing one of the title characters in The Railway Children in 1970 before graduating to more daring roles with Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout (1971), Michael Anderson’s Logan’s Run (1976), Sidney Lumen’s Equus (1977), and Monte Hellman’s China 9, Liberty 37 (1978). Jenny Agutter may be playing the “typical” girlfriend role, but at the same time, she manages to make it interesting. As the regular working class woman who lets Kessler stay with her, Agutter is able to make Alex Price attractive on the outside (especially in a nurse’s uniform) and tender on the inside. Her love of old-fashioned Americana, which I briefly touched upon earlier, coincides perfectly with her persona.

No doubt, their has probably been a good number of werewolf films released since 1981, but neither of them (at least in my opinion) can top the triple punch delivered during that aforementioned year by The Howling, Full Moon High and this one, which is An American Werwolf in London. With the possible exceptions of Into the Night and Innocent Blood, An American Werewolf in London was the second (the first being The Blues Brothers) and last time that Landis would allow his imagination to run delightfully and uncompromisingly hog wild. Be that as it may, at least it happened on a film that is often considered by dyed in the wood horror fans like myself to be one of (If not) the finest werewolf movie of all time.

I would love to end this review with a quote for my dear readers. The quote comes from the truck driver, whose advice to David and Jack should apply here as well:

“keep off the moors, stick to the roads. The best to ya…”

-Star Rating-
* * * * (Out of * * * *)

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