Review: Hurt and Turner Put All the Heat in "BODY HEAT"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2022 (No. 1829) by Leroy Douresseaux

Body Heat (1981)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Lawrence Kasdan
PRODCUER:  Fred T. Gallo
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Richard H. Kline (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Carol Littleton
COMPOSER:  John Barry

DRAMA/ROMANCE/CRIME

Starring:  William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, Oscar Grace, Mickey Rourke, Kim Zimmer, Jane Hallaren, Lanna Saunders, and Carola McGuinness

Body Heat is a 1981 romance and crime drama written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan.  The film is set in Florida during a searing heat wave and focuses on a small-town lawyer and a sultry woman who conspire to murder her rich husband.

Body Heat introduces Ned Racine (William Hurt), an inept lawyer who operates out of Okeelanta County, in southern Florida, which is in the middle of a searing heatwave.  One night, he chances upon a very attractive woman, who is all alone.  Although she initially rebuffs his amorous attempts, she eventually gives in to Ned's advances and identifies herself as Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner).  She lives in a posh mansion with her mysteriously wealthy husband, Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna).  Edmund is usually away on business during the week, so that is when Matty is alone.

Ned and Matty begin a torrid affair.  When they can be together, they have lots of sex in the sweltering heat of the night.  When Edmund is home on the weekends, Matty longs to be with Ned, as he longs to be with her.  If Matty were to divorce her husband, an onerous marital prenuptial agreement would leave her with very little, but she would get half his estate if he died...  Matty wishes Edmund was dead, and Ned presents her with a way to get rid of him.  Ned believes that he has figured out how to get away with murder, but has he figured out Matty Walker?

William Hurt (1950-2022) recently died after a reported battle with cancer, and I was taken aback.  William Hurt was one of the biggest names in Hollywood in the 1980s when I was first coming of age an a film fan.  I have decided to go back and watch some of his films that I'd previously seen and also to watch some for the first time.  One of those first time films is Body Heat, which was only the third film in which he'd starred.  It is apparently the film that made him a “bankable” Hollywood movie star.

Body Heat is also the film debut of Kathleen Turner.  Her physicality and obvious and frank sexuality made her a star of the 1980s.  Her adventurousness in choosing movie roles created an eclectic filmography, but Turner's star waned in the 1990s.  In Body Heat, however, she is ready to unleash her unique skill set on the world.  Matty Walker is Turner's signature work, and bits and pieces of the character and her performance of the character continued to show up in her work in the decades that followed the original release of Body Heat.

Here, in Body Heat, Hurt and Turner are stars ascendant.  At first, I wondered if they would have screen chemistry, and from my point of view, they are magnificent together.  The fact that they are willing to be naked together so often in this film speaks to their professionalism and also the depth of their skill as actors.  Both had performed on stage before they entered the world of Hollywood films, so they had acting experience.  That experience was needed in filming what has been described as many explicit sex scenes that were not included in the finished film.

Still, what is left on screen is hot and nasty.  Turner and Hurt are so hot together that they damn near burned this film down, which it needs.  The truth is that Body Heat is rather tepid.  The film is described as a “neo-noir,” a modern version of the classic Hollywood film genre, “Film-Noir.”  Outside of the depictions of sex and nudity, Body Heat's story and the execution of its narrative, to me, seem rather tame compared to a film like, for instance, 1950's Gun Crazy, another romantic crime drama about a killer couple.  Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, one of the best writer-directors and screen writers of the last five decades, apparently found inspiration for Body Heat in the 1944 Film-Noir classic, Double Indemnity.  Well, it's time for me to see that one.

Beside Ned Racine and Matty Walker, I like the other characters in this film.  Richard Crenna is really good in a small role as Edmund Walker; he deserved more screen time.  Ted Danson's Peter Lowenstein is good, but seems extraneous in this film, and J.A. Preston's Oscar Grace, a police detective, has his best moments in Body Heat's last act.  Also, if you ever wondered what Hollywood executives saw in Mickey Rourke that would make him a star, his small but potent turn as Teddy Lewis, an explosives expert and former client of Ned's, reveals the first glimmer of his movie star potential.

Body Heat is not William Hurt's best work, but his quirky takes make Ned Racine an interesting character.  Kasdan throws out hints about the general sloppy nature of Ned's skills as an attorney and also his inability to see the big picture.  Hurt takes that the rest of the way, creating a Ned Racine that is not savvy enough not to be a fall guy, but too smart not to figure it out eventually.  Body Heat is not a crime fiction classic, but it is a classic “erotic thriller.”  Hurt and Turner make it so.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, March 26, 2022


NOTES:
1983 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination:  “Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles” (Kathleen Turner)


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Review: In "TARZAN, the Ape Man," Bo Derek Could Drive a Man Ape

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 74 of 2021 (No. 1812) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
Running time:  115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  John Derek
WRITERS:  Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard (based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs)
PRODUCER:  Bo Derek
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Derek (photographed by)
EDITOR:  James B. Ling
COMPOSER:  Perry Botkin

FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Bo Derek, Richard Harris, Miles O'Keefe, John Phillip Law, Akushula Selayah, Maxime Philoe, Leonard Bailey, and Steve Strong

[I am working my way through the films that I first saw in a movie theater for which I have not previously written a movie review.  The first time I saw a movie in an in-door theater (as opposed to a drive-in cinema) was in 1980 – likely The Empire Strikes Back.  However, I am starting this process in the year 1981, and it turns out that there are only two movies left from that year that I saw in a theater for I which I have never written a formal review.  Tarzan, the Ape Man is one of them.]

Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1981 fantasy-adventure film and Tarzan movie directed by John Derek.  The film is loosely based on the 1912 novel, Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Tarzan, the Ape Man is told from the point of view of Jane Parker, who meets Tarzan while on an African expedition with her estranged father.

In 1910, Jane Parker (Bo Derek) arrives in West Africa.  She is looking for passage deep into the jungle where she hopes to find her long estranged father, James Parker (Richard Harris), whom she has never met.  When she does arrive at “Parker's camp,” she discovers that James Parker is the typical “great white hunter,” loud and boastful, full of songs and stories.

James is searching for the legendary “elephants' graveyard,” which is also known as the “escarpment.”  James reluctantly allows Jane to accompany him and his photographer, Harry Holt (John Phillip Law), on the expedition.  During the journey they also hear the call of Tarzan, the mythical “white ape.”  James declares that he will kill this Tarzan and have him mounted as a trophy, but James does not realize that he is also being hunted.  Meanwhile, Jane finds herself captured by Tarzan (Miles O'Keefe), but she is as fascinated by him as she fears him.

Film critics generally panned Tarzan, the Ape Man upon its initial release to movie theaters.  Some called it “one of the worst movies ever made” or “the worst movie ever.”  It is certainly not highly considered among the decades of feature films based on the Tarzan character.  However, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, Roger Ebert, was correct when he wrote that Tarzan, the Ape Man has a certain charm or disarming charm, although it is ridiculous in many ways.

I saw it as a 15-year-old in a local theater four decades ago, and I liked it then, although I was not crazy about it.  The reason I saw the film was because of Bo Derek, and I wanted to see her have sex on screen.  That did not happen, but there was a lot of sexual playfulness, some of which I can say, as an adult, has a wrongness to it.  I did not think that at the time; I just wanted as much Bo Derek as I could get, especially nude Bo Derek.

Watching it 40 years later and for the first time since then, I can say that I appreciate Bo Derek even more.  When this film was made and screened, she was in her mid-20, and Derek in her 20s was at the height of her powers, in terms of her looks, her body, and her sexual appeal.  Then and now, some women (and men) would sell their souls to have a her lithe, sexy body and those perfectly plump breasts.  I don't think I lusted for her as a teen as much as I did this time around.  I thought I would have a heart attack when, as Jane Parker, she emerged from the water in a white gown turned see-through when it got wet.  As Booger says in Revenge of the Nerds:  We got bush!

Bo Derek's husband, the late John Derek, made four films featuring his wife:  Fantasies and Tarzan, the Ape Man, both released in 1981; Bolero, released in 1984; and Ghosts Can't Do It, released in 1989.  Other than this Tarzan film, the only other one I saw was Bolero, which was, quite frankly, terrible.

Tarzan, the Ape Man is certainly a Bo Derek film, but a few other actors manage to stand out.  Richard Harris, in some ways, saves the film by giving a mad, over-the-top performance in order to create Jane's father, James Parker.  John Phillip Law as the photographer Harry Holt is good; Law certainly makes obvious Holt's naked lust for Jane Parker.

Miles O'Keefe was not the first choice to play Tarzan in this film, but he was intended to be the stunt double for the actor that would take the role.  Well, the actor who was to play Tarzan was fired or quit the film, and I don't know his identity.  O'Keefe stepped in to play Tarzan, and at that time, his body was the perfect male equivalent of Bo Derek's.  Lean, sinewy, muscular, and possessing perfectly sculpted abs, O'Keefe was an eye-appealing Tarzan, even if he was a really odd one.

If I remember correctly, the estate of Tarzan's creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs, was not pleased with this film, which made significant changes to the source material.  For instance, Jane Parker is really Jane Porter in the books, and her father is the professor, Archimedes Q. Porter, and not James Parker, the great white hunter.  Still, I hope that Tarzan, the Ape Man is not completely forgotten.  Future generations of men and teen boys should be able to partake of the opportunity that this film gives them to appreciate what, for a time, was one of American cinema's most beautiful women.  I plan to partake of that opportunity, again...

6 of 10
B

Monday, December 27, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "THE CANNONBALL RUN" Can Still Run

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 70 of 2021 (No. 1808) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Cannonball Run (1981)
Running time:  95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Hal Needham
WRITER:  Brock Yates
PRODUCER:  Albert S. Ruddy
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Michael Butler (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Donn Cambern and William D. Gordean

COMEDY/ACTION/SPORTS

Starring:  Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Tara Buckman, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, George Furth, and Michael Hui

[I am working my way through the films that I first saw in a movie theater for which I have not previously written a movie review.  The first time I saw a movie in an in-door theater (as opposed to a drive-in cinema) was in 1980 – likely The Empire Strikes Back.  However, I am starting this process in the year 1981, and it turns out that there are only two movies left from that year that I saw in a theater for I which I have never written a formal review.  The Cannonball Run is one of them.]

The Cannonball Run is a 1981 action-comedy and car-racing film from director Hal Needham.  The film was produced by the Hong Kong film company, Golden Harvest, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.  The movie's plot was based on the 1979 running of an actual cross-country, outlaw road race, the “Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash,” which was also known as the “Cannonball Run.”

The film features an all-star ensemble cast, led by Burt Reynolds and featuring Dom DeLuise, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., to name a few.  It was also the second Hollywood film appearance for Hong Kong martial arts legend and international movie star, Jackie Chan.  The Cannonball Run movie focuses on an illegal cross-country race and its oddball contenders who will use every dirty-trick-in-the-book to evade the law and to screw over their opponents.

The Cannonball Run opens in Connecticut were several teams of racers have gathered for the latest running of the illegal, cross-country road race, the “Cannonball Run.”  The goal of the racers, who are called “Cannonballers,” is to reach Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California.  Some of them hope to break the Cannonball's speed race record of 32 hours and 51 minutes.

The race teams that have gathered in Connecticut are an odd lot.  The most eccentric is the team of JJ McClure (Burt Reynolds), a famous racing driver and team owner, and Victor Prinzi (Dom DeLuise), his chief mechanic and co-driver.  There racing vehicle is a “Transcon Medi-Vac” ambulance outfitted with a NASCAR engine.  In order to convince any law enforcement officers that might stop them that they are a real ambulance and medical team, McClure and Prinzi draft a wacky physician, Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam), into their plans.  For a patient, they kidnap a beautiful young woman, a tree-loving photographer named Pamela Glover (Farrah Fawcett).

Their competitors are right behind them and are almost as weird.  Scotch-swilling Jamie Blake (Dean Martin), an F1 racing icon, and his gambling-obsessed teammate, Morris Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.), dress as Catholic priests, and drive a red Ferrari.  Jill (Tara Buckman) and Marcie (Adrienne Barbeau) are two attractive women who use their good looks and impressive cleavage against traffic officers while driving a black Lamborghini.  Two Asian racers (Jackie Chan and Michael Hui) race in a high-tech, computer-laden Subaru hatchback.  Seymour Goldfarb, Jr. (Roger Moore), the heir to the “Goldfarb Girdles fortune,” identifies himself as the actor Roger Moore, and he even drives a silver Aston Martin DB5.

Chasing after these teams and determined to stop the race because of its effects on the environment is Mr. Arthur J. Foyt (George Furth), an agent of the federal government's “Safety Enforcement Unit.”  But can Mr. Foyt really stop all the racers, or will their dirty tricks stop each other?

I know why 15-year-old Leroy loved The Cannonball Run when he saw it in a theater in 1981 (the Vista Village Twin Cinema).  He liked the fast cars, the cool-looking cars, the pretty White women with big boobs, and he was a fan of the actors and celebrities who appeared in the film, such as Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Mel Tillis, and Terry Bradshaw, to name a few.  I was and still am a huge fan of the NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and legendary Steelers quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, was and still is my favorite NFL player, even though he is now a fat, old White man who supports Donald Trump.

But why did AARP Leroy, who recently watched The Cannonball Run again for the first time in 40 years (via Netflix's DVD.com), still find himself loving the movie?  Maybe, it is because I like speedy, high-end, foreign sports cars.  Maybe, it's because I still like amble breasts on White women.  Maybe, it is because I still like many members of the film's cast, and I certainly appreciate Adrienne Barbeau, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin more than I did back then.  And maybe, it is because now I appreciate the way actor Alfie Wise and former NFL defensive lineman, Joe Klecko, who both appeared in The Cannonball Run, once looked in tight jeans.

I also noticed that some of the larger profile stars in this film are best known for what they did in the 1970s.  Some continued to be star actors into the 1980s and beyond, such as Burt Reynolds.  Others, like Terry Bradshaw, found new careers.  Bradshaw has acted and appeared in numerous films and television shows, and he has had a four-decade career in sports broadcast that has earned him three Sports Emmy Awards, and he is still do that as of this writing.

Maybe, part of my enjoyment of this film is nostalgia.  I am a fan of at least ten performers who appeared in The Cannonball Run and who are now deceased, including Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise.

That aside, the film is genuinely funny, at least I think so.  It has a simple plot – win the race, trick the police, and lie-cheat-steal your opponents.  The setting is also simple, the highway and byways of the United States.  Sadly, because the film has a short-running time, it can only provide a cursory glance at the many unique places across the USA through which the Cannonballers have to travel.  Honestly, I think this concept would make for a good television series, at least a miniseries.

The characters are actually interesting.  Most of the actors are playing themselves or are playing character types, like Jack Elam's goony Dr. Van Helsing.  I'm pretty sure that Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. were each playing a character they played many times before this film, both on television and in film.  Farrah Fawcett's whispery-voiced Pamela Glover is a mostly pointless character, but Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman make better use of their “sex appeal.”

In the case of Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, their playing to type was and still is fine with me.  Reynolds smile and his wit shine through in The Cannonball Run, which is by no means one of his better performances.  Reynolds popularity lasted so long because he was a true movie star.  As for DeLuise, if you liked what he usually did, well, he gave all of himself here.  I have always found him likable, even when the material was not top notch, which it is not here.

I think what really sold The Cannonball Run, both to teenage me and to old me, is that everyone in this movie seems to be genuinely having fun.  Back in 1981, those good feelings crossed over to the audience; The Cannonball Run was one of the year's biggest box office hits.  In a way, those good feelings have crossed over through time to me, and I found myself really enjoying this movie all over again.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, December 11, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review "Excalibur" is Epic, Unforgettable (Happy B'day, Liam Neeson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Excalibur (1981)
Running time:  140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER:  John Boorman
WRITERS:  Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman; from an adaptation by Rospo Pallenberg of Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alex Thomson
EDITOR:  John Merritt with Donn Cambern (no screen credit)
COMPOSER:  Trevor Jones
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/FANTASY/WAR

Starring:  Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson, Robert Addie, Gabriel Byrne, Keith Buckley, Katrine Boorman, Liam Neeson, Corin Redgrave, Niall O’Brien, Patrick Stewart, and Clive Swift

The subject of this movie review is Excalibur, a 1981 drama and fantasy film from producer-director John Boorman.  The film is mostly based on Le Morte d’Arthur, the 15th century Arthurian romance written by Thomas Malory.  Excalibur focuses on Merlin the magician, King Arthur, and Morgana Le Fey.  It depicts how Arthur unites a land, creates the Round Table, and builds Camelot, while forces conspire to destroy it all.

John Boorman’s Excalibur is the acclaimed director’s lushly filmed take on the Arthurian legend as adapted from Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.  Early in the film, we see Arthur’s illicit conception when his father, King Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne), use magical trickery to seduce, Igrayne (Katrine Boorman), another man’s wife, and impregnates her with the child that would become Arthur.  Later, Merlin (Nicol Williamson) claims the infant Arthur as the price Uther must pay Merlin for providing the magical disguise Arthur used to seduce Igrayne.

Later, young Arthur (Nigel Terry) pulls the sword of kings, Excalibur, from a stone, which makes him King Arthur.  The film tells the story of the rise of Arthur’s kingdom and the righteous birth of The Knights of the Round Table.  Then, things go bad when Arthur’s wife, Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), takes Arthur’s best, bravest, and most favored knight, Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), as her lover.  Arthur’s sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), a crafty sorceress, connives until the balance of power shifts from Merlin to her.  The film concludes with Arthur’s final battle, this against his son, Mordred (Robert Addie), whom Arthur fathered with Morgana.

Boorman, his screenwriting partner Rospo Pallenberg, cinematographer Alex Thomson (who earned an Oscar nomination for his work here), composer Trevor Jones, and costume designer Bob Ringwood (who earned a BAFTA Award nomination for his work in this film) came together to create an exquisite rendition of the tale of King Arthur and Camelot.  The film is full of Christian symbolism, in particularly dealing with Christianity supplanting the old gods and necromancy in favor of men.  There is also a lot of sexual subtext, much of it is surprisingly gay; there is lots of man love and admiration of the virility, honor, bravery, and skill of men.  Men really admire and love great men in this story, and women, for the most part, are trouble in this film.

Boorman wanted to emphasize the story over the characters in his take on the Arthurian myth, and he uses the stunning visuals to evoke feelings, but to also get the viewer to think about the things for which the stories of King Arthur and his kingdom stand.  However, the actors really don’t surrender and play the role of puppets.  They play up to the symbolism and imagery.  They don’t treat their roles as figurative, but as interpreters of the things that this myth teaches us about the better parts of human nature – humility, charity, bravery, and sacrifice, and an understanding to forgive the trespasses our friends, loved ones, countrymen, and fellow humans make against us and we against them.

In Excalibur, John Boorman composes his scenes and photographic shots as if each were a giant painting, a series of representational works meant to tell a powerful tale about universal ideals.  There is something grand in Excalibur, and in spite of its faults:  some poor dialogue, the tendency for the film to suddenly take big leaps forward in the narrative time, and Boorman’s assumption that we should be familiar with these characters and their motivations, it succeeds.

8 of 10
A

Monday, May 23, 2005

Updated:  Saturday, June 07, 2014

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Cinematography” (Alex Thomson)

1982 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood)

1981 Cannes Film Festival:  1 win: “Best Artistic Contribution (John Boorman) and 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (John Boorman)

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Notable "Friday the 13th Part 2" Not Really That Good or Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 81 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Running time:  87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – R
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Steve Miner
WRITERS:  Ron Kurz (based on characters created by Victor Miller)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Stein (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Susan E. Cunningham
COMPOSER:  Harry Manfredini

HORROR

Starring:  Amy Steel, John Furey, Kirsten Baker, Stu Charno, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Bill Randolph, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Russell Todd, Jack Marks, Warrington Gillette, Steve Daskawisz, Walt Gorney, and Adrienne King with Betsy Palmer

Friday the 13th Part 2 is a 1981 slasher horror film from producer-director, Steve Miner.  It is a sequel to the 1980 film, Friday the 13th, and the second movie in the Friday the 13th movie franchise.  It is also the first movie in the franchise to feature Jason Voorhees as the villain.  Friday the 13th Part 2 finds a group of camp counselors being stalked by an unknown assailant.

The main story of Friday the 13th Part 2 takes place five years after the events of the first film.  Paul Holt (John Furey) has established a “Counselor Training” center on Crystal Lake, near the infamous Camp Crystal Lake AKA “Camp Blood.”  Paul ignores the fact that locals are not happy about him locating his training center so close to the site of several murders, and instead, he focuses on getting his large group of counselors together.  Only Paul’s assistant and sort of girlfriend, Ginny Field (Amy Steel), takes rumors about Jason Voorhees stalking the grounds of Crystal Lake.  One rainy night, however, a killer makes a move against the unwary camp counselors.

Recently, I watched Friday the 13th Part 2 in its entirety for the first time.  I have previously watched the movie in parts countless times, and I usually liked what I saw.  Strangely, I always found this movie to be a bit scary whenever I watched it in parts, but after watching the entire movie, I don’t find it particularly scary.  I wonder what the 15-year-old me would have thought of this film.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is a strange movie.  It opens with a 12-minute prologue (of sorts) that is set two months after the events of the first film, before returning to Crystal Lake.  Jason does not start killing campers until 50 minutes into the movie.  There is also a dream sequence that muddles the ending of the movie, but that dream sequence contains what may be one of the most famous moments in American horror cinema history.  Also, this film’s heroine does not really stand out as the hero until the last half-hour of the movie.  At this point in the franchise, Jason Voorhees is not the supernatural killer he would become.  Here, he seems like nothing more than a deranged killer.

I have to admit that Friday the 13th Part 2 is yet another of those movies that I like, but cannot really explain why I like it.  I will recommend it to fans of horror movies.  After all, Friday the 13th Part 2 was the first time Jason Voorhees took the spotlight, on his way to becoming a legendary horror movie monster.

5 of 10
B-

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: Roger Moore Still Cool in "For Your Eyes Only" (Remembering Sir Ian Fleming)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  U.K.
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  John Glen
WRITERS:  Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson (based on short stories and the characters created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCER:  Albert R. Broccoli
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alan Hume (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Grover
COMPOSER:  Bill Conti
THEME SONG:  “For Your Eyes Only” – Lyrics by Michael Lesson, music by Bill Conti, and sung by Sheen Easton
Academy Award nominee

SPY/DRAMA

Starring:  Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Jill Bennett, Michael Gothard, John Wyman, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and James Villiers

The first James Bond movie that I watched in a movie theater was For Your Eyes Only, the 1981 British spy drama.  For Your Eyes Only was also the 12th film in the James Bond film series.

For Your Eyes Only is based on two short stories written by James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming.  The two stories, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico,” both appeared in the James Bond short story collection, For Your Eyes Only (1960).  For Your Eyes Only the movie follows James Bond-Agent 007 as he hunts for a lost British encryption device before it falls into enemy hands.

For Your Eyes Only centers on a special object that was aboard the British electronic surveillance ship, St. Georges.  This is the ATAC – Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator.  The ATAC can order submarines to launch ballistic missiles.  The St. Georges is sunk by a naval mine in the Ionian Sea.  If the ATAC falls in the wrong hands, such as Soviet Union and the KGB, they could render the British Royal Navy’s Polaris submarine fleet useless.

Now, MI6 agent, James Bond, codename “007” (Roger Moore), must retrieve the ATAC before the bad guys get it.  After the first British ally in the ATAC matter is killed, 007 tracks a Cuban hit man to Spain where the assassin meets another hired killer, Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard).  Following Locque takes 007 into the shadowy Greek criminal underworld, where allies might be adversaries, but where adversaries can also be allies.  As 007 gets closer to finding the ATAC, he meets several beautiful women, including the vengeance-seeking Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and the lusty young figure skater, Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), who just can’t wait to get James Bond in bed.

As a youngster, I liked Roger Moore; he was my favorite James Bond, largely because he was the first Bond I ever saw.  I’ve changed my mind over the years, going from one favorite Bond actor to another.  [I’m currently crazy about Daniel Craig.]  Prior to recently watching For Your Eyes Only, I had not watched a Roger Moore Bond movie in well over a decade, partly because I thought that I wouldn’t like them.  Maybe, as a kid, I was more accepting of things for which people often criticized the Roger Moore-James Bond movies:  the over-the-top stories, campy qualities (to varying degrees), and the silly sci-fi/fantasy elements.

For Your Eyes Only surprised me, however.  I enjoyed it, and only found a little of it silly.  Its prudently-staged violence and edited-for-television sex and sexual innuendo are actually a bit charming.  The best of For Your Eyes Only are the action set pieces.  The stunt coordinators and crew should be commended for turning some comically-conceived action scenes into sequences that make this a better movie.

As for Roger Moore:  at that point in time, For Your Eyes Only was Moore’s fifth turn as Bond (out of seven).  He is just a bit too old for the role, but in the film, he looks up to the challenge.  Yeah, his charisma has a waxed-fruit quality, and his debonair air is a bit musty.  Still, Moore as Bond knows that he is too old for one of the women looking to bed a secret agent, and that counts for something.  Moore knows his limits, and at least, he seems determined to reach them, never giving less than the best of himself.  It seems, at least, that way to me.

Now, I know that I can watch and enjoy For Your Eyes Only again without waiting decades, and I’m ready for more Moore.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

1982 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Review: "History of the World: Part I" is as Funny as Ever (Happy B'day, Mel Brooks)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 205 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I (1981)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Mel Brooks
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Woody Omens (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: John C. Howard
COMPOSER: John Morris

COMEDY/HISTORICAL/MUSICAL

Starring: Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Gregory Hines, Pamela Stephenson, Shecky Greene, Sid Caesar, Mary-Margaret Humes, Rudy De Luca, Andréas Voutsinas, Spike Milligan, and Orson Welles with Barry Levinson and John Hurt

The subject of this movie review is History of the World: Part I, a 1981 comedy film from writer-director Mel Brooks. The film is a parody the various kinds of historical films, including period costume dramas and sword and sandal epics. The catchphrase “It’s good to be the king” originated in this film. History of the World: Part I contains mock coming attractions for “History of the World: Part II,” but that was a joke, as no actual sequel was planned.

Mel Brooks writes, directs, produces, and plays five roles in his comedy semi-classic, History of the World: Part I. The film can be considered an anthology or a series of vignettes that take a farcical, skewered, and wacky view of history from the dawn of man through the cavemen, the Roman Empire, and the Spanish Inquisition, to the French Revolution. The film also features some appearances by Brooks’ films semi-regulars including Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman.

I can’t imagine why Brooks picked the particular pre-historical and historical periods he did; perhaps, they were the funniest to him or he found in them the most to send up. However, the film is only mildly funny until the Spanish Inquisition segment, which is a musical number with a dance routine that even features water ballet. Both the song and the dance numbers are both awesome and freaking hilarious. Perhaps, the film’s best bit is the closing segment, the French Revolution. Some of the most famous quotations from Mel Brooks’ films come from this side-splitting section. It alone is more than reason enough to see this film.

Most of the jokes here are sight gags and anachronisms, but when Brooks and his cast are “on” in this film, the picture really works, as in the aforementioned second half. It’s worth noting that History of the World: Part I is not a great work, but because of it does have some great moments, it’s not to be missed.

7 of 10
B+

Updated: Friday, June 28, 2013

1981 Version of "Halloween II" a Worthy Sequel

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 120 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Halloween II (1981)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA - R
DIRECTOR: Rick Rosenthal
WRITERS/PRODUCERS: John Carpenter and Debra Hill
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Cundey
EDITORS: Mark Goldblatt and Skip Schoolnik
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance Guest, Pamela Susan Shoop, Dick Warlock, Leo Rossi, Gloria Gifford, Tawny Moyer, Ana Alicia, and Ford Rainey

Halloween II, the sequel to the highly influential 1978 horror film, Halloween, picks up right where the original ended. In fact, Halloween II begins with footage from the first film that finds high school babysitter, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), and psychiatrist-with-a-gun, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), fighting off masked killer, Michael Myers.

Loomis shot Myers six times at the end of the first film, but Myers walked away from what should have been kill shots. After that recap (with some new footage mixed in), Laurie is hauled off to the local hospital, but Myers tracks her across town and enters the hospital, where he begins to kill off the hospital staff so that no one can be in his way when he moves in to kill Laurie. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis is running into his own problems, as Michael’s murder spree from the first film has the entire state in an uproar, with the blame placed squarely on Loomis’ shoulders. Dr. Loomis also learns a hidden secret, which reveals that Laurie was Michael’s main target all along. Can he get to the hospital in time?

Although the screen credits for Halloween II list John Carpenter, who directed the first film, as strictly a co-writer and co-producer for the second film, Carpenter thought Halloween II director, Rick Rosenthal, had delivered a sequel that was too tame. Carpenter did three days of re-shoots for Halloween II and added the new scenes into the footage Rosenthal shot in order to make the final version of the sequel bloodier, and Halloween II certainly is. The body counts exceeds 10 (whereas there were only four onscreen killings in the first film), and the sequel certainly reflects the gory nature of 1980’s slasher films like the Friday the 13th franchise, although the original Halloween, which almost single-handed gave birth to the 80’s slasher craze, does not have an abnormally high body count.

Despite the bodies piling up, Halloween II has a superbly chilling atmosphere that will have goose flesh raised and the viewer cowering in his seat. The hospital, operating on a nighttime skeleton crew, is all dark rooms and shadowy corridors, which is perfect for the spooky sequences of Myers slowing stalking the hallways, his slow footsteps bringing him from one scene of bloody mayhem to the next. Rosenthal, who would later direct the 2002 installment of this franchise, Halloween: Resurrection, should probably get credit for creating this frightful ambiance. Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance give good performances, in particularly Pleasance, who gives Dr. Loomis a droll sense of humor and a matter of fact attitude about his quest to stop Myers. However, this flick’s true stars are the darkened exteriors and interiors and the murderous wraith that stalks them. Halloween II may be inferior to the original film, but it’s not inferior by a whole lot.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, June 02, 2006

Review: "The Howling" Still Has Bite

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Howling (1981)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Joe Dante
WRITERS: John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless (from the novel by Gary Brandner)
PRODUCER: Daniel H. Blatt, Jack Conrad, Michael Finnell, and Steven A. Lane
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jim Hora
EDITOR: Mark Goldblatt and Joe Dante
COMPOSER: Pino Donaggio

HORROR/THRILLER/DRAMA/FANTASY

Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Elisabeth Brooks, Robert Picardo, Margie Impert, Noble Willingham, James Murtaugh, Jim McKrell, Kenneth Tobey, Don McLeod, and Dick Miller

The subject of this movie review is The Howling, a 1981 werewolf movie from director Joe Dante. The film is loosely based on Gary Brandner’s 1977 novel of the same name. The film starred real-life husband and wife Dee Wallace and Christopher Stone, who were married from 1980 to Christopher Stone’s death in 1995.

One of the few great werewolf movies of the last quarter of the 20th Century is The Hollowing. Directed by Joe Dante, the film is part tongue-in-cheek and part tribute to B-movie horror, but to describe the film as merely cheeky or cheesy would be a disservice to a film that features some really great scary movie atmosphere and some fantastic monster makeup effects.

After a traumatic experience with a serial killer, TV news reporter, Karen White (Dee Wallace) and her husband, Bill Neill (Christopher Stone), move temporarily to a rustic California resort called The Colony, at the behest of the resort’s founder, Dr. George Waggner, who is Karen’s therapist. Once at the colony, both Karen and Bill dislike the kooky yokels. However, Bill starts to blend in after a comely and brazen young woman puts some moves on him. Karen is upset by this attention Bill is getting, but she is more worried by what she hears at night, right outside her window – the howling. Meanwhile, Karen’s colleagues, Terry Fisher (Belinda Balaski) and Christopher (Dennis Dugan), are getting closer to making a shocking connection between the serial killer who attacked Karen and The Colony.

The Howling for all its humorous edge is also quite intense. In fact, Dante directs the shrewdly and tightly (co-written script by John Sayles) in a straight fashion and with a straight face. Considering the subject matter, the viewer may take The Howling as a howler or as a riveting horror flick. It works quite well either way, plus, the film’s sexual edge is quite effective. The women in this film are by far the most interesting players. Dee Wallace and Belinda Balaski’s primary mode is either breathless wonder or wild-eye terror, and they do it so well.

The Howling’s best aspect is the monster costumes and special makeup effects; the werewolf transformation scenes are fascinating and mesmeric, each one a unique, mind-bending, imaginative showcase of the immense talents of Rob Bottin. Unfortunately for Bottin, his work was overshadowed by his mentor, Rick Baker, who won an Oscar for his make up work in 1981’s other werewolf movie, An American Werewolf in London. Bottin’s work, Dante’s directing, and the Sayles/Winkless script make this a must-see for horror movie fans.

8 of 10
A

April 6, 2005

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Review: "The Evil Dead" Still Givin' Head to Horror Fans (Happy B'day, Sam Raimi)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 125 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Evil Dead (1981)
OPENING DATE: January 1, 1983
Running time: 85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)
MPAA – NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore (1994 theatrical release)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
PRODUCER: Robert G. Tapert
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tim Philo
EDITOR: Edna Ruth Paul

HORROR with elements of comedy

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, and Sarah York

Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his four friends are college students on vacation, and their destination is a cabin (an actual abandoned cabin that director Sam Raimi reportedly later burned to the ground) remotely located in the Tennessee woods. What they don’t know is that those very same woods are full of slumbering demonic spirits that are ever-present and ever listening. They lie in wait for the recitation of an ancient incantation that will allow them to possess the living. The student quintet finds a reel-to-reel recording of that same incantation in the cabin’s cellar, and they unwittingly play the recording. One by one, Ash’s four friends succumb to these merciless spirits, leaving him alone in a struggle to save his body from possession and becoming one of the evil dead.

Long before they produced the “Hercules” and “Xena: Warrior Princess” TV shows, Sam Raimi wrote and directed and Robert Tapert produced one of the most shockingly original horror films of the last quarter of 20th century, The Evil Dead. If horror movies can be funny, then no truly scary movie was as funny as The Evil Dead. The film’s primary influences were obvious (writer H.P. Lovecraft and filmmaker George A. Romero), but Raimi’s script created a bastard child of Lovecraft and Romero that wouldn’t submit to being properly reared. It’s insane. It’s gory. It’s frickin’ hilarious.

Using the few resources he had, Raimi combined stop-motion photography, homemade gory effects, and cheap, but frightening monster makeup. Perhaps the element the best served The Evil Dead was the Raimi’s penchant for using an active camera. He mounted a camera on a 2x4, and he and actor Bruce Campbell would each hold an end and run headlong through the set. This created Raimi’s signature visual clue that evil moving running through the woods. The camera also tilts, spins, dips, swerves, flips over, and generally does whatever it takes to create the sense that demonic forces are constantly moving and creeping around – always in attack mode.

The performances are great, in particularly Bruce Campbell’s combination of half-madness and half over-acting. However, his cohorts (and the many stand-ins actors or “shemps” as they were called, who played the possessed students in the second half of the film) attack their roles as demonic zombies with relish – all in all creating some of the scariest film creeps in horror movie history. No one can be a true fan of horror films without having seen The Evil Dead, regardless if in the end he or she didn’t like it. The film is simply a viewing requirement for scary flick fans.

8 of 10
A

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Review: Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" is Still a Joy to Watch

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, and Art Stevens
PRODUCERS: Ron Miller (executive producer), Wolfgang Reitherman (co-producer), and Art Stevens (co-producer)
WRITERS: (story) Larry Clemmons, Ted Berman, David Michener, Peter Young, Burny Mattinson, Steve Hulett, Earl Kress, and Vance Gerry (based upon the book by Daniel P. Mannix)
EDITORS: Jim Koford and James Melton
COMPOSER: Buddy Baker

ANIMATION/FANTASY/DRAMA/FAMILY with elements of action and comedy

Starring: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, Richard Bakalyan, Paul Winchell, Keith Coogan, Corey Feldman, John Fiedler, and John McIntire

This year is the 30th anniversary of the original release of the Walt Disney animated feature film, The Fox and the Hound (specifically July 10, 1981). It was re-released in 1988, which is when I first saw the film, when my late sister and I took our first cousin (then about five-years-old) to see the movie.

I liked the film when I first saw it, and Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s recent release of an anniversary Blu-ray and DVD of the film gave me a chance to see it again. I still like, and though it may not be as good as such films as Bambi or Beauty and the Beast, The Fox and the Hound is a visually beautiful film full of gorgeous colors. It is a personal favorite of mine because it recalls fond memories of days gone by.

The Fox and the Hound is based upon the Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same title, but the film removes the element of death that is apparently a big part of the novel (which I’ve never read). The film tells the story of two unlikely friends, a red fox named Tod and a hound dog named Copper. The film begins with a young red fox being orphaned by its mother. Big Mama (Pearl Bailey), an owl, sets it up so that the fox is adopted by Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan), who names the fox, Tod (Keith Coogan).

Meanwhile, her neighbor, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson), brings home a young coonhound puppy that he names Copper (Corey Feldman), and introduces to his old hunting dog, Chief (Pat Buttram). Tod and Copper become friends, but that angers Chief and Slade, who hunts animals, including foxes, for their pelts. Tod and Copper remain friends, but their natural instincts begin to drive them apart. When they reach adulthood, Tod (Mickey Rooney) and Copper (Kurt Russell) must confront the reality of their situation – that they are natural enemies.

The Fox and the Hound, Walt Disney’s 24th full-length animated feature film, is considered average by some. The story isn’t as complex as some Disney films, and the songs are indeed mostly average. However, the film is a parable about how society demands that individual accept predetermined roles even in spite of an individual’s better impulses to do something different, so I give this movie credit for that. Its themes of prejudice and friendship outside of social circles make it memorable, and those themes resonate with audiences, both young and old. The film deals with prejudice in an intelligent way, particularly because Tod is actually the lead character. Thus, the audience sees prejudice and persecution directly through the eyes of the fox, who is basically the inferior.

The film is also very well animated. The character animation is quite good, particularly in the facial expressions, depictions of emotions, and general movement of the animals. Glen Keane, then part of a young generation of Disney animators, does stellar work in supervising the animation in the scene of the fight between Copper, Tod, and the bear. This is one of the great animated sequences in the history of Disney films.

Pearl Bailey also delivers the film’s best voice performance as Big Mama, although Mickey Rooney is quite good as the adult Tod. The Fox and the House may not be considered one of Walt Disney’s best, but with its vivid colors, lush forest and outdoor backdrops, and dynamic character animation, it represents what Walt Disney Animation Studio does best – create the illusion of life.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

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Review: "RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - 30 Years Later, It's Still a Beast

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
WRITERS: Lawrence Kasdan; from a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman
PRODUCER: Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Douglas Slocombe (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Michael Kahn
COMPOSER: John Williams
Academy Award winner

ADVENTURE/ACTION

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliot, Wolf Kahler, Alfred Molina, Fred Sorenson, and George Harris

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark to movie theatres (specifically June 12, 1981). The 1981 American adventure film went on to become the top-grossing film of 1981 and spawned four sequels and a short-lived television series. The film introduced the still wildly-popular character, Indiana Jones, portrayed by Harrison Ford (with a few exceptions), to audiences. The creation of director Steven Spielberg and executive producer, George Lucas, Raiders of the Lost Ark showed that a family film didn’t have to be G-rated fare, but could be a movie with nonstop action and quite a bit of violence.

Raiders of the Lost Ark follows archeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), who braves ancient temples to retrieve archeological relics. After his latest adventure, Army intelligence officers seek Jones help in finding his old mentor, Abner Ravenwood. The officers also inform Jones that the Nazis, in a quest for occult power, are looking for the Ark of the Covenant, the chest the ancient Israelites built to hold the fragments of the original Ten Commandments tablets. Ravenwood is supposedly in possession of the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, an artifact essential in finding the Ark. Ravenwood is also an expert on the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis, where the Ark is believed to be hidden.

Jones discovers that Ravenwood is deceased and that his daughter, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), is now in possession of the headpiece. With Marion in tow and the Nazis hot on their trail, Jones travels to Egypt, where enlists the help of an old friend, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), a skilled excavator. Meanwhile, Dr. René Belloq (Paul Freeman), Jones’ arch-nemesis who always seems to beat him, has joined forces with the Nazis to find the Ark before Indiana Jones does.

I’m old enough to have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark in a movie theatre, and I also remember how much I loved the movie. I was flat out crazy about Raiders, and, as far as I was concerned, Indiana Jones was the man. I must have watched Raiders more than 20 times within a five year period after it was first released. I watched it a few times in the late 1980s and early 1990s because of the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Since then, I’ve watched bits and pieces, but I just recently sat down and watched the entire film. Do I still feel about Raiders of the Lost Ark the way I did after I first saw it and after I watched it countless times over the next decade? Yes.

It’s just a great movie, a magical summer movie. Raiders of the Lost Ark is fun and ingenious, in terms of story and also film technology, in the way only American-made adventure movies are. It has a sense of humor and the droll wit of the characters simply makes Raiders something special – something more than just another action movie with fistfights, gun battles, and chase scenes. The actors’ wit and style make it seem as if they are really into this movie and are determined to make us believe the outlandish, logic defying leaps the action and story often take.

Raiders of the Lost Ark may be an ode to the old movie serials of the 1930s and 40s (especially the ones produced by Republic Pictures), but it is a triumph that has stood the test of time better than the stories that influenced it. Every time I see Raiders of the Lost Ark, I am reminded of how much I love movies, and that makes up for the bad movies.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards: 4 wins: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, and Michael Ford), “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, and Joe Johnston) “Best Film Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Sound” (Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, and Roy Charman) and “Special Achievement Award” (Ben Burtt and Richard L. Anderson for sound effects editing); 4 nominations: “Best Picture” (Frank Marshall), “Best Director” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Cinematography” (Douglas Slocombe), and “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams)

1982 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Production Design/Art Direction” (Norman Reynolds); 6 nominations: “Best Film,” “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (John Williams), “Best Cinematography” (Douglas Slocombe), “Best Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Sound” (Roy Charman, Ben Burtt, and Bill Varney), and “Best Supporting Artist” (Denholm Elliott)

1982 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Steven Spielberg)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

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Review: "Heavy Metal" Still a Fantastic Movie (30 Years Later - 1981)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Heavy Metal (1981)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour 26 minutes)
Rating:  MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Gerald Potterton
WRITERS: Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum, from stories by Dan O’Bannon, Richard Corben, Juan Gimenez, Angus McKie, Thomas Warkentin, and Berni Wrightson
PRODUCER: Ivan Reitman
EDITORS: Janice Brown, Ian Llande, Mick Manning, and Gerald Tripp
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein

ANIMATION/SCI-FI with elements of action and horror

Starring: (voices) John Candy, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, Richard Romanus, August Schellenberg, John Vernon, and Percy Rodrigues

Originally released in 1981, Heavy Metal is an animated science fiction film named after a magazine of the same title. It is an anthology film made of several animated short films, with each short film connected to the others by an overall storyline. That storyline involves the quest for a mysterious, powerful object.

Some of the animated short films in Heavy Metal were adapted from science fiction, fantasy, and horror comics that appeared in Heavy Metal magazine in the 1970s. A few of the other animated short films appearing in this movie were original stories done in the spirit of the kind of comics found in Heavy Metal (which is still published today).

Heavy Metal the movie begins with an astronaut returning home to his young daughter. He shows her something he brought back, a glowing, green crystalline ball, which kills him as soon as he removes it from a carry case. Calling itself “the sum of all evils,” the green orb begins to tell the terrified daughter a series of stories about how it has influenced people and societies throughout time and space.

The audience learns that the green orb is called the Loc-Nar and also watches as people try to control it or as it controls people. A sweeping story of the battle of good against evil is told through this anthology that follows several characters over 8 short films. These include Harry Canyon, a cabbie in futuristic New York City. There is Dan, a nerdy teenager. The Loc-Nar transforms Dan into Den, a muscular barbarian (with a huge “dork”), and transports him to the world of Neverwhere. The final short film focuses on Taarna, a beautiful warrior woman who takes on a band of vicious, murderous men and monsters created by the Loc-Nar.

As an animated film, Heavy Metal is a wonder. Sure, the character animation in a few of the short films is awkward, but it is quite good in others, like the Taarna story. Heavy Metal’s designers and animators grabbed the art and graphics from Heavy Metal magazine and brought them to motion picture life with vivid, stirring animation. I cannot call Heavy Metal great, but this visually striking animated film is one-of-a-kind and an absolute delight to watch – especially if you are a comic book or science fiction fan.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, April 08, 2011

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Review: Always Ready to Escape to "Escape from New York" (Happy B'day, Kurt Russell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour,  39 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITERS: Nick Castle and John Carpenter
PRODUCERS: Larry Franco and Debra Hill
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Dean Cundey and George D. Dodge (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Todd Ramsay
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, and Tom Atkins

One film certainly deserving of its cult movie status is John Carpenter’s early 80’s futuristic sci-fi thriller, Escape from New York. Set in (what was then) the future of 1997, Manhattan Island in its entirety is a giant maximum-security prison where all hardened convicts are sent for life i.e. no one gets out alive.

Early in the film, a terrorist hijacks Air Force One and crashes it into Manhattan. The President (Donald Pleasance) escapes the crash in a pod, but he falls into the clutches of Manhattan’s overlord, The Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes). The Duke holds the President hostage, in an attempt to use him as leverage for his own release from the island.

After the security force that guards the prison on Manhattan Island is unable to rescue the president, the “warden” of the prison, Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), tries something different. Hauk makes a deal with a former Special Forces serviceman turned bank robber, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), who is about to be imprisoned on the island. All Plissken has to do is sneak onto the island and rescue the president in 23 hours, and Hauk has a micro detonation device inserted into Plissken’s neck to give him incentive to complete the mission.

Escape from New York might be seen a cheesy entertainment, and much of the film, both in story and production values, certainly seems dated, but the film remains an excellent example of speculative science fiction film, especially of the sci-fi action/adventure sub-genre. Carpenter, an exceptional director when he’s on his game, was right in the middle of his golden age. Escape from New York is a delicious, wacky gumbo that combines several film types: urban thriller, western, search and rescue, gangster, exploitation. Carpenter is an imaginative filmmaker and storyteller, who mixes pop science with pulp fiction craziness quite well.

Kurt Russell, a frequent collaborator of Carpenter’s, does his usually cool John Wayne riff, mixing it with a flavor that can be best described as a pre-hip hop gangsta/thug precursor. Escape from New York gives us Snake Plissken, a wonderful and strangely endearing character for such a hard ass. If anything, Russell’s Plissken is always worth the price of admission.

7 of 10
B+

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Review: "An American Werewolf in London" Will Howl Forever (Happy B'day, Rick Baker)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 85 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Landis
PRODUCER: George Folsey Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Paynter
EDITOR: Malcolm Campbell
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein

HORROR with some elements of comedy and romance

Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine, Anne-Marie Davies, and Frank Oz

I remember when my late father had to actually go to the ticket window and physically purchase a ticket for me to see John Landis’s comedy/horror classic, An American Werewolf in London, because it was an R-rated movie. At the time, the local sheriff was forcing the theatre I frequented to abide by the MPAA ratings system. In the early 80’s, there were so many (fairly) hardcore teen-oriented films with strong sexual and violent themes, but I’m sure it was the sex that was bothering any influential locals who might have protested to the sheriff. I think the area was just starting to understand that the less attractive aspects of the sexual revolution were coming to visit us.

However, the “inconvenience” to my father was worth it, at least to me. An American Werewolf in London truly is a great horror film. I recently watched the movie in its entirety for the first time in over 20 years, and I still liked it as much as I did the first time. Even the special makeup effects by SFX maestro Rick Baker (who won an Oscar for his groundbreaking work here) for the first werewolf transformation that we see is as stunning, shocking, hilarious, frightening, and quite intense as it was when it first wowed audiences.

In the film two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), on a walking tour of England are attacked by a werewolf (Paddy Ryan) near a small rural village on the moors. David survives the attack, which the superstitious town folks hastily cover up. While recovering in a London hospital, David falls for his nurse, Alex Price (Jenny Agutter), and she takes him how so they can bop each other’s brains out. However, David receives a gruesome surprise when Jack returns as an undead apparition that only David can see. According to Jack, David carries a curse, and during the next full moon, he will transform into a werewolf and kill more people. Only David’s death will end the curse, free Jack’s soul, and save others from a brutal death in the jaws of the lycanthrope.

From Animal House to Blue Brothers, writer/director John Landis showed his gift for sheer lunacy, which he combined with a rich sense of humor. Granted that American Werewolf’s has some story holes (didn’t the neighbors hear all the racket David made the night he transforms and how did he leave Alex’s apartment after he transformed?), but the movie is such fun. It’s creepy, but not in a dreadful sort of way. It’s inventive, especially in the dream sequences and scenes where Jack and other undead visit David. It’s spectacular in Rick Baker’s surreal and near supernatural display of make up wizardry. Werewolf is hilarious and goofy; it has a B-movie spirit of winks and nudges with just enough gore to place it firmly in the pantheon of “serious” horror films.

I liked the acting because all the actors played their parts with such aplomb. Although I really liked David Naughton’s frantic portrayal of the doomed David, I also liked Griffin Dunne’s turn as the sarcastic and deadpan Jack. What more do I need to say? If you like horror movies, especially the one’s in which the comedy is intentional, and a good old-fashioned thriller, An American Werewolf in London is the film for you. It stood out amongst the flood of crass slasher films of its time, and it has a special quality that would make it stand out today. And I love Rick Baker even more!

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)

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Review: Original "My Bloody Valentine" is Odd and Gruesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 63 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

My Bloody Valentine (1981)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
DIRECTOR: George Mihalka
WRITERS: John Beaird; from a story concept by Stephen Miller
PRODUCERS: John Dunning, Andre Link, and Stephen Miller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rodney Gibbons
EDITORS: Gerald Vansier and Rit Wallis

HORROR with elements of mystery

Starring: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Keith Knight, Alf Humphreys, Cynthia Dale, Helen Udy, Don Francks, Larry Reynolds, and Peter Cowper

My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 horror movie from Canada that followed in the wake of the slasher film craze that began with such movies as Black Christmas (1974) and Halloween (1978) and surged through Friday the 13th (1980). My Bloody Valentine, like these other movies, was also the subject of a remake, My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009).

The film is set in the fictional mining town of Valentine Bluffs (actually shot in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia), and the story begins February 12th, two days before Valentine’s Day. For the first time in 20 years, the town is going to have a Valentine’s Day dance. Once an annual tradition, the event was stopped 20 years earlier after a horrific methane gas explosion at the local Hanniger Coal Mine caused the tragic deaths of four workers. A fifth worker trapped in the mine, Harry Warden (Peter Cowper), became a crazed killer who cut out the hearts of his victims. Warden promised to kill the townsfolk if they ever held a Valentine’s celebration again.

Now, a local businesswoman has led the charge to celebrate Valentine’s Day again, but when murder victims with their hearts cut out start popping up, Police Chief Jake Newby (Don Francks) cancels the dance. On February 14th, however, a group of young miners and their girlfriends decide to have a party anyway – at the Hanniger Coal Mine! They are blissfully unaware that a mysterious killer, the Miner, who may or may not be Harry Warden, is stalking their every move and killing them one by one.

My Bloody Valentine is a surprisingly entertaining low-budget horror film. Having the killer use a pick-axe gives the gory murders an extra gruesome twist. It also does not hurt the movie by having Valentine’s Day as the killer’s holiday of choice, because that just adds to this movie’s peculiarity. Like many slasher movies, My Bloody Valentine is anemic on character development, but the late screenwriter John Beaird tweaked enough clichés and character types to keep things interesting – like the hot dog murder scene and the elderly woman who spearheads the party plans.

Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, which stands in for Valentine Bluffs, gives the movie a really nice rustic atmosphere. The dusty, dreary, and rundown feel of the location is balanced by the young cast’s jaunty and carefree interpretations of their characters – an odd, but pleasing yin and yang. That may be why My Bloody Valentine deserves its cult status and why no slasher movie fan should miss it.

6 of 10
B

Monday, August 09, 2010

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Original "Clash of the Titans" B-Movie Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 98 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Clash of the Titans (1981)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Desmond Davis
WRITER: Beverley Cross
PRODUCERS: Ray Harryhausen and Charles H. Schneer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ted Moore (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Timothy Gee

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/FAMILY/ROMANCE

Starring: Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Laurence Olivier, Clair Bloom, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Sian Phillips and Neil McCarthy

Since the original, classic, black and white film, King Kong, special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen was known for his meticulous use of stop-motion photography. This was the method of photographing models one frame at a time, from 25 to 35 frames for every one second of film that gave the models the illusion of life. Before computer-generated imagery (CGI), this was how fantastic creatures were given life in films. The special effects crew of The Empire Strikes Back made extensive use of the method for several scenes on the ice planet of Hoth. Harryhausen’s most famous and best example of his use of the technique is the famous skeleton fighters from Jason and the Argonauts.

Clash of the Titans, a big-budget spectacular back from the early 80’s, was Harryhausen’s last film before his retirement from filmmaking. The tale borrowed liberally from Greek mythology, and the master Harryhausen brought many wonderful creations to life for the film, my favorite being the gorgon, Medusa.

Perseus (Harry Hamlin) must find a way to defeat the Kraken (another Harryhausen creation) before his betrothed Andromeda (Judi Bowker) is sacrificed to the creature for the appeasement of a jealous goddess. With his trusty winged steed, Pegasus (more Harryhausen), Perseus sets off to obtain the head of Medusa, whose face turns men who gaze upon it to stone. It is the only thing that will stop the Kraken from snacking on his virginal bride-to-be.

Though the effects look dated, Clash of the Titans is fun, family-oriented fantasy. It’s exciting and adventuresome in a quaint sort of way, and it has never lost its charm. The combination of Greek myth, a cast that includes revered British actors, fantasy and fantastic creatures, with a B-movie pace makes this a delightful film treat for the young at heart.

6 of 10
B

Dragonslayer a Cult Classic Deserving of More Love

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 70 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dragonslayer (1981)

Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)

DIRECTOR: Matthew Robbins

WRITERS: Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins

PRODUCER: Hal Barwood

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Derek Vanlint

EDITOR: Tony Lawson

Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/DRAMA/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre, Albert Salmi, Sydney Bromely, Chloe Salaman, Emrys James, Roger Kemp, and Ian McDiarmid

To appease Vermithrax Pejorative, an old dragon prone to rampages, Casiodorus Rex (Peter Eyre), the ruler of a small kingdom, sacrifices virgins twice a year during the solstice (winter and fall, I think) to the dragon. A young woman masquerading as a man leads a contingent to visit the sorcerer, Urlich (Ralph Richardson), and ask him to slay the dragon, but Urlich is killed during a test of courage. Urlich’s apprentice, Galen (Peter MacNicol), boldly decides to take his master’s place and slay Vermithrax. The dragon, however, is known to wreaked havoc and much destruction on the human settlements immediately after the numerous unsuccessful attempts to slay him. The film begs three questions: does Galen have what it takes to be a dragon slayer? Can the novice be a wizard and unleash the magic necessary to kill a monster? And did he truly understand his master’s final instructions to him?

Dragonslayer remains an exceptional fantasy film over two decades after its release. The Paramount Pictures/Walt Disney co-production obviously lacks the computer effects that make the monsters and supernatural creatures of today’s films so convincingly real. However, some of the best creature builders and special effects minds of the time worked on the film, and the result is a mechanical dragon that is as scary today as it was in 1981. This is truly a monster and a monster movie that stands out from the pack.

While the acting is wobbly, everything else about Dragonslayer is great. From the locations in Scotland and Wales to the natural lighting used to photograph this film, the technical aspects give a ring of truth to this fantastic film. Co-writer/director Matthew Robbins directs the film at a nice pace that overcomes the shortcomings in the actors’ performance and a script that seems to wander and lacks real dramatic conflict between the characters. There is a lot of potential in this story for conflict that is underplayed or underdeveloped. One thing that the script does do well is emphasize how Christianity slowly encroached on the old pagan ways and belief in magic. There is a strong feeling of authenticity in this film’s depiction of the old ways giving in to the new, and that the light of Christianity has come to dispel the darkness of evil and the black arts. Dragonslayer isn’t high fantasy like The Lord of the Rings, but this is high quality “reality-based” fantasy that hits the spot.

7 of 10

A-

NOTES:

1982 Academy Awards: 2 nominations – “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, and Brian Johnson) and “Best Score” (Alex North)

May 20, 2005