Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning film "Gladiator" impressed critics and the public worldwide. However, as the BBC's Nicholas Barber reports, there were plans for a sequel despite the fact that the main character, played by Russell Crowe, is killed off in the original film. What to do? Well, that's where the fun begins as Barber unveils an almost unbelievable concept for a sequel that rivals "Highlander 2: The Quickening" in terms of audacity, compromising of characters and a very naked attempt to simply make a fast buck. Fortunately for all involved, this unwanted sequel never went into production. Click here to read.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

One of the best WWII productions made while the conflict was on-going, "Destination Tokyo" is available on DVD through Warner Home Entertainment. The film was released in December, 1943 when the war was in full throttle. Cary Grant is well-cast and in top form as Capt. Cassidy of the U.S.S. Copperfin, a submarine that is being deployed on a top secret and highly dangerous mission to infiltrate Tokyo Bay in order to scope out key logistical data for the first planned bombing raid of the city by U.S. forces, historically known as the Doolittle Raid. The film's ample running time of 135 minutes allows the story to unfold in a leisurely manner and for supporting characters to be fully developed as distinct personalities. John Garfield is the co-star but he spends most of the time regaling his shipmates with tales (or perhaps tall tales) about his sexual conquests. Alan Hale provides additional comic relief as the vessel's cook and there are any number of other character actors who would go on to be mainstays in the film industry: John Forsythe, Tom Tully, Whit Bissell, Dane Clark and William Prince among them. The film marked an impressive directorial debut for Delmar Daves, who also co-wrote the script with Albert Maltz. Grant's Captain Cassidy is very much a populist officer, concerned about his men and well-acquainted with each one individually. Consequently, they'll do anything for him. That includes Garfield's character, who volunteers along with two other sailors to undertake a dangerous mission to leave the sub and use a rubber raft to land on Japanese soil where they can record vital statistics for the pending raid on Tokyo. In order to enter the bay, the Copperfin must deftly avoid mines and a submarine net, then escape detection while the volunteers spend the night on land recording their findings. Director Daves milks a good deal of suspense from this scenario, which of course delivers the pay-off war time audiences expected: a depiction of the actual Doolittle Raid, which is shown here as doing devastating damage to Tokyo. In reality, the raid only did minor damage to the city but the psychological effect on the Japanese population of having their seemingly invincible homeland penetrated scored a major coup for the U.S.

Some of the best scenes in "Destination Tokyo" don't involve violence. They explore the relationship between Capt. Cassidy and his men. In the most dramatic scene, a sailor suffers appendicitis. While fathoms below in the submarine, without an on-board surgeon, Cassidy must assist a pharmacist's mate in performing the life-saving operation with crude instruments. It's a tense and moving scene that was apparently based on a real-life incident. Although there are plenty of references to killing "Japs" as one might expect in a WWII era film, the screenplay also presents a more nuanced point-of-view with a discussion about how the Japanese people were hoodwinked by their militaristic leaders. It's an unusual instance of humanizing the enemy in a film that was made for propaganda purposes.

The DVD has a good transfer and contains the trailer and a 1934 musical comedy short "Gem of the Ocean" with French starlet Jeanne Aubert. There is also a Cary Grant trailer gallery beginning with "Bringing Up Baby" and culminating with "North by Northwest".  Recommended.

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“KUBRICK’S RIGHT-HAND MAN…AND LEGS, SHOULDERS, OTHER HAND, ETC.”

By Raymond Benson

Tony Zierra’s fascinating documentary that premiered at Cannes in 2017 (and was released theatrically in 2018) is about an unsung hero in the lore of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick—Leon Vitali, who describes himself not as an “assistant,” but as a “filmworker.”

Vitali, now 70 years old, began his career as an actor in the 1960s, appearing in various British films and television programs. After being impressed with Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Vitali told a friend, “I want to work for that guy.” He managed to get an audition for Kubrick’s next picture, Barry Lyndon, and landed the key role of Lord Bullingdon, the main antagonist of the film. Vitali received much praise for his performance, but instead of continuing an acting career, he made an extraordinary left turn. He asked Kubrick if he could work behind the camera from then on.

Kubrick grilled Vitali on his sincerity, and then he hired the actor as an additional casting director for The Shining. Vitali’s task was to go to America and find a little boy to play Danny in the classic horror movie. (The young actor turned out to be Danny Lloyd, who, as an adult, appears in Filmworker as a talking head.)

Throughout the making of The Shining, Vitali served as little Danny’s handler and guardian, and ultimately began to perform more tasks for the demanding filmmaker. For the next twenty-plus years, Vitali learned every aspect of the filmmaking business, especially the color correction processes for film that led to his overseeing the restoration of Kubrick’s pictures, and many other jobs. In short, he became an indispensable ally and assistant. As one interviewee put it, Vitali became Kubrick’s “right-hand man, along with the other hand, the legs, the shoulders, body…” (He also played the mysterious, masked “Red Cloak” leader of the orgy sequence in Eyes Wide Shut.)

Filmworker takes the viewer through Vitali’s years with Kubrick, commented upon by the likes of Ryan O’Neal, Matthew Modine, Danny Lloyd, Lee Ermey, Marie Richardson, Stellan Skarsgård, and others, plus film executives Julian Senior, Brian Jamieson, the late Steve Southgate, and Vitali’s family. We learn a lot about Kubrick’s process, as well as what kind of person he was. While it’s well-known that the filmmaker was a perfectionist, few realize that he was a genuinely warm, soft-spoken, animal-loving man.

Kino Lorber’s new DVD comes with 5.1 Surround sound, the theatrical trailer, and a supplement Q&A with Vitali and director Zierra.

Filmworker is a must for the Stanley Kubrick fan, and, in general, for students and devotees of filmmaking.

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This British trade magazine photo from 1970 show composer Roy Budd, who was then working on the score for the forthcoming crime film "Get Carter". Both the film and Budd's score would go on to become classics. Interesting to note that the film's working title was simply "Carter". Budd also scored many other films including many for producer Euan Lloyd, "Catlow", "Paper Tiger", "The Wild Geese", "The Sea Wolves" and "The Final Option" among them. Other film scores included "Soldier Blue", "Fear is the Key" and "The Stone Killer". He also wrote the theme for the British TV series "The Sandbaggers".  Bud died in 1993 at only 46 years of age, but his work lives on. - Lee Pfeiffer

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Despite having been a major star for decades and having a lead a life of controversy and personal obstacles and challenges, it seems surprising that there has never been a book about the films of Anthony Perkins that examined his work in detail. That dilemma has finally been resolved with the release of "More Than a Psycho: The Complete Films of Anthony Perkins" by husband-and-wife writing team of Dawn and Jonathon Dabell. The authors refreshingly concentrate on examining each of the actor's individual feature films and TV productions in detail, offering fascinating background information and astute evaluations of each title from classics such as "Friendly Persuasion" and "Murder on the Orient Express" to television fare such as "How Awful About Alan" There is a biographical section, to be sure, that provides meaningful details on Perkins' life and career but the primary emphasis is on the quality of his individual films. In this regard the book resembles those marvelous old Citadel Press "Films of..." titles that still adorn the bookshelves and libraries of movie lovers worldwide. The book is also profusely illustrated.

The Dabells succeed in their quest to prove that Perkins should be judged by other achievements that just his signature role as Norman Bates in "Psycho" but it's not without irony that the role that stereotyped him to a degree was one he would return to many years later to exploit in sequels based on Hitchcock's original premise. The book makes it clear that, for the most part, Perkins' considerable talents were generally under-utilized by the film industry. He would occasionally land a supporting role in an "A" list feature film but more of than not he top-lined a good deal of mediocre fare. Nevertheless, he always gave it his best effort and this very worthy book pays homage to his impressive achievements.

Here is an official announcement about the release of the book:

Anthony Perkins is best known for playing Norman Bates in Psycho. Its notoriety and success ensured he remained one of filmdom’s most recognisable faces for the rest of his life… and beyond. Yet there were those (Perkins included) who felt he never truly shook the screen persona of the knife-wielding, mother-obsessed, cross-dressing psychopath, and he was often labelled on the strength of his most notorious role – thus giving a distorted view of a career which spanned four decades and almost sixty movies.

In More Than a Psycho: The Complete Films Of Anthony Perkins, Dawn and Jonathon Dabell take a closer look at the actor’s entire body of work. Their book provides cast and crew details, an extensive image gallery, background information and considered critical analysis for every title. Perkins was, they argue, more than just a prominent screen villain – his talent and versatility went much further, his wider oeuvre encompassing everything from romance to comedy, from war to westerns, from musicals to sci-fi.

With a foreword by highly regarded film and pop culture historian Paul Talbot, this is the essential guide to the career of Anthony Perkins.

300+ images.

Specially commissioned cover by artist Paul Watts.

Proofed and edited by Darrell Buxton.

Cast and crew information on every film, including films where Perkins was screen-writer or director only.

Capsule biography.

Television work.

Theatre work.

Theatrical and TV-movies.

In-depth, balanced critical analysis of every film.

Foreword by Paul Talbot, author of Bronson’s Loose, Bronson’s Loose Again! And Mondo Mandingo.

Extensive bibliography.

Rarely written-about titles explored in never-before-seen detail.

The first -and currently only - book devoted specifically to an examination of Anthony Perkins’ filmography.

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ALTERNATIVELY, SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM THE AUTHORS (REQUEST A SHIPPING QUOTE FOR YOUR PART OF THE WORLD BY SENDING ENQUIRIES TO morethanapsycho@hotmail.com).

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber has released the 1992 British farce "Blame It on the Bellboy" on Blu-ray. The film is a fast-paced homage to old Hollywood screwball comedies that makes fine use of a very talented cast. Like all good farces, the script involves mistaken identities, extraordinary coincidences and an eclectic (and eccentric) collection of characters. The action takes place entirely in Venice where a nervous milquetoast, Melvyn Orton (Dudley Moore) is sent by a tyrannical boss to buy a villa. Simultaneously, a hit man with a similar name, Mike Lorton (Bryan Brown) arrives in the city to assassinate a local crime boss, Mr. Scarpa (Andreas Katsulas), who knows he has been marked for death but doesn't know the identity of his would-be killer. Scarpa and his men are determined to assassinate the assassin. Both Orton and Lorton are staying at the same hotel, so you can pretty much guess where this is going. Among the other guests is yet another man with a similar name, Maurice Horton (Richard Griffiths), the lord mayor of a small British city, who has told his wife Rosemary (Alison Steadman) that he is on a business trip to Boston. In fact, he has signed up with a tacky "dating service" that promises to arrange a meet-up with a woman who is also on holiday through the agency.She is Patricia Fulford (Penelope Wilton), a middle-aged lonely hearts who wants to find passion and love when she meets up with her mystery date. Meanwhile, local real estate agent Caroline Wright (Patsy Kensit) is awaiting a meeting with a prospective client to buy a white elephant of a villa on the Grand Canal so that she can collect an extravagant fee.

Through a mishap involving the hotel's inept bellboy (Bronson Pinchot), who delivers messages to the wrong rooms, there ensues a massive case of mistaken identities. Maurice thinks the sexy Caroline is his date, and a prostitute as well, whose "services" are part of his holiday package. Caroline thinks he is her client to buy the villa. Melvyn is mistaken by Scarpa as his assassin and is kidnapped and tortured. Meanwhile, the real assassin, Mike Lorton, is mistaken by Patricia as her mystery date. Adding to the zaniness is the unexpected arrival of Maurice's wife, who hopes to catch him in the act of cheating. What ensures is a wild, mind-spinning series of comedic events, all very deftly carried out at lightning speed by director Mark Herman, who makes the most of shooting on location amidst the eye-popping Venetian backgrounds. Herman, who also wrote the screenplay, ensures that this extraordinary mix of actors and characters never becomes too confusing for the viewer to follow, despite elaborate plot twists. There are chases on foot and by boat, people darting in and out of each other's bedrooms and it's all set to a jaunty score by Trevor Jones. "Blame It on the Bellboy" isn't a comedy classic but it's consistently funny with the impressive cast all in top form. Recommended, especially if you like a modern take on a Marx Brothers comedy. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray has a very good transfer and includes a vintage video promotional trailer for the film as well as an assortment of other trailers for K/L releases.

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Neil Simon, the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright, has passed away at age 91. A Broadway legend, the Washington Post points out that he was considered the world's most popular playwright after Shakespeare, with his works adapted to international stage productions, TV series and motion pictures. Perhaps his signature pieces was "The Odd Couple", which was successful in all three mediums and is still widely-performed today. Simon wrote slice-of-life shows that usually centered on working class people, thus enabling a wide audience to identify with his characters and their humor. Click here for about his remarkable life and legacy.

BY BILL BLICK 

In the late 1970s and early 80s, there was a fear that gripped New York City. After 1977, the year of the Son of Sam murders, the disastrous blackout, and the Bronx literally in flames later, the cityscape and New York aura had drastically changed. The movie Death Wish (1974) directed by Michael Winner, made earlier, had caused quite a stir reflecting the bleak and often paranoid reactions of citizens, and it spawned several other films. Vigilante, produced and directed by exploitation genre virtuoso, William Lustig, and written by Richard Vetere, was perhaps arguably one of the leanest and no-holds-barred of this type of film. Lustig and actor Joe Spinell had teamed up to make the lucrative but extremely graphic and controversial horror/ serial killer film Maniac (1980). Vigilante was Lustig’s follow up. Yet, Vigilante remains to be more aestheticized with a raw prose of the street thanks to Vetere's work, and the grim urban settings serving as a stark landscape, rather than relying on the raw gratuitous gore of Lustig’s prior film.

I caught up with Richard Vetere in July 2018, who was a former professor of screenwriting of mine at Queens College in the late 1990s. I had seen the film on Netflix recently and thought how underrated it was, and I wanted to contact Vetere to find out his insight into writing such a gritty, visceral, and memorable film. Vetere explains that Lustig approached him to write a “Blue Collar Death Wish”. One of the points Vetere makes was how unapologetically politically incorrect the film is. It was on the top 20 highest grossing films of 1983, and it was an example of an innovative indie film, before indie groundbreakers, Miramax, the Shooting Gallery and Tarantino were making waves in the 1990s.

Vigilante can easily be overlooked as an exploitation genre film, but offers the viewer something more unique with the gritty performances especially by Forster, dialogue thanks to Vetere, and cinematography that make it a stand out. I saw the film when I was young and it made an impression. The political view is obviously in --your -face about policing tactics and politicians not doing enough for the public. We see this frustrated view in many of the films of the era. Pre-Giuliani, pre-Disneyfication of New York was grim, but it had almost a distinct street grit-aesthetic for filmmaking, such as in earlier films like The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971).

Vetere says what makes his film stand out is that it is unapologetic for the action of the heroes in the movie. The ending in which a judge is blown to bits was very controversial. He emphasizes his own frustration at the growing apathy in the city by police and the public alike. He also feels his film is one of the most realistic of the genre in comparison to other films like Death Wish and Fighting Back. He felt Death Wish had an ill-fitting sense of humor and the villains were so over the top that they were not realistic. Vetere maintains that he was going for “reality” untrammeled by Hollywood restriction or by a need for self-justification as he felt Fighting Back had.

Richard Vetere's films that he wrote or co-wrote include The Third Miracle starring Ed Harris and produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by Agnieszka Holland released by Sony Picture Classics, The Marriage Fool for CBS TV films starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett, How to Go Out on a Date in Queens starring Jason Alexander and the teleplay Hale the Hero! starring Elisabeth Shue for A&E.

1.  What was happening politically at the time this film was made in the early 1980s New York?

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s New York City was a city on a major decline. There was no political will and no ability to get anything done. Unlike today there wasn’t a single neighborhood untouched by graffiti, street crime, vandalism and muggings. Prostitutes walked the streets, cars being broken into -- all met with indifference by a somewhat over-taxed, somewhat corrupt, somewhat bewildered police force. When you got on a subway you were basically taking your life into your own hands since gangs roamed the subway with impunity. Just stepping out of your house could be intimidating to the common citizen. You have to remember back then the police only responded to a crime the concept of attacking crime and preventing it was not put into effect. Also the subway police and the street police were two different departments so if someone committed a crime, they took refuge underground. So I would like to answer your question this way – the average citizen was afraid and felt helpless. This made them apathetic to their own plight. As a young man this outraged me to such a point that I wanted to take action. I was angry at the indifference of the populace and of the authorities. From this anger and frustration came Vigilante.

The Hollywood Reporter provides a fascinating, if disturbing, story about the complex legal disputes regarding exactly who should control the rights for the character of Buck Rogers, who was transformed from comic strips to serials to a 1970s TV series. The plot is thickening with the intervention of a judge, bankruptcy proceedings and some very sticky legal challenges. Click here to read.

For decades, the historic Loew's Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey, has been undergoing a painstaking renovation by The Friends of the Loew's, a group of evolving volunteers who have transformed the dilapidated theater that was marked for destruction back to something akin to its original luster. They've had to overcome lawsuits, lack of funding and- because this is New Jersey- plenty of political intrigue. This video from The Star Ledger newspaper details the on-going efforts to make the restoration complete. For information about the Loew's click here.

BY DARREN ALLISON

100 GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION THEMES

Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic and London Music Works, this comprehensive 6 CD collection features music from the latest Sci-Fi blockbusters; from Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Blade Runner 2049, all the way back to 1950s classics The Day The Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet.

This release brings together the best selection of science fiction music spanning almost a century, through a thorough overview of musical styles, themes and techniques. It spotlights music from Hollywood heavyweights and classically trained legends (John Williams, John Barry, Ennio Morricone and Bernard Hermann), electronic experimenters (Bebe & Louis Barron, Vangelis) and jazz-influenced composers (Bill Conti, Henry Mancini) to the new generation, who combine orchestral sounds with electronics (David Arnold, Johann Johannsson, Ramin Djawadi, Steve Jablonsky, Hanz Zimmer and Clint Mansell.)

100 Greatest Science Fiction Themes is released in both physical and digital format on 31st August 2018.

THE INVASION

Don Harper’s soundtrack to the 8-part Doctor Who story The Invasion was made and transmitted in 1968 starring Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor.

Featuring the Brigadier, UNIT, and the Cybermen, this “modern Earth invasion” Doctor Who story was made into a hugely influential series in 1968. Directed by Douglas Camfield, the music was composed by Don Harper, the third Australian émigré composer (after Ron Grainer and Dudley Simpson) to work on the programme.

Don Harper’s music for The Invasion may have been influenced by John Barry’s score for The Ipcress File (1965). Don used the cimbalom in the score, and the artist was most likely John Leach (who also worked under the name Janos Lehar), who played on The Ipcress File, King Rat and The Persuaders.

The instruments used included the organ, cimbalom, percussion, clarinet (doubling clarinets in A and Bb, bass clarinet and oboe), bass guitar, contra-bass clarinet and cor anglais. The percussion consisted of bim bams and temple blocks, timps including piccolo timp and hand timp, as well as cymbal and vibraphone. The organ was a Hammond M100 with Leslie speaker.

The score was augmented by the use of electronic sounds created by Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. There was also “Muzak” by John Baker (referred to as such in the cue sheets for episodes 1 and 2), which had its first outing in an Out of the Unknown episode.

For this 2018 Silva Screen album, Doctor Who composer Mark Ayres have placed the previously used music together, followed by additional unused cues and the electronic score.

Don Harper (1921 - 1999) was an Australian film and TV composer, jazz violinist and big band conductor. He is best known for his work on Doctor Who, World of Sport, Sexton Blake, Out of the Unknown and Dawn of the Dead, as well as his work with Don Harper’s Sextet and Dave Brubeck’s Quartet. After many years between England and Australia, Harper returned to Australia in order to take up the position of Head of Jazz Studies at the Wollongong University's School of Creative Arts, which he held until 1990. He died in 1999 aged 78.

Don Harper’s music has achieved cult status and in 2005 MF DOOM and Danger Mouse, in their collaborative project DangerDoom, sampled Don Harper's "Chamber Pop" and "Thoughtful Popper". Elements of "Dark Earth" from the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack were used on Gorilazz "Intro" from Demon Days, which was also produced by Danger Mouse.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

In a shock announcement, the James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson and star Daniel Craig have announced that Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle has exited the new, as yet untitled, 007 production. Much fanfare was attached to the original announcement that Boyle, who previously directed "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire", would follow in the footsteps of another Oscar winning director, Sam Mendes, who had helmed the two previous blockbuster Bond films, "Skyfall" and "Spectre". The reason cited for Boyle's departure is the old show biz catch phrase: "creative differences". It is not known whether the screenwriter that Boyle brought on board, John Hodge, will stay with the production. Hodge has replaced longtime Bond movie scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who had already completed a screenplay that was shelved when Boyle and Hodge came aboard. Filming is set to begin in December at Pinewood Studios, London. The pressure will be on Eon Productions to find another director of stature to sign for the film on relatively short notice. The movie is scheduled for the usual high profile London premiere in late October 2019. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

MVD has released director Albert Pyun's 1997 thriller "Blast" as a Blu-ray edition. If you've never heard of the film, most of its cast members or director Pyun, you're not alone. But Pyun has a long-standing and enthusiastic fan base that credits him for being a pioneer in launching the cyborg sci-fi genre in the 1980s. His fans admire him for churning out independent films often under trying circumstances and very limited budgets. Despite having a few surprise hits at the boxoffice, Pyun has often been associated with films that were terminated or unreleased due to financing problems. Still, like the ultimate trooper, he continued to persevere and even today, while battling some significant health problems, Pyun remains determined to be a player in the indie film market. "Blast" enjoyed its "premiere" on home video, something that has apparently enhanced its reputation among enthusiasts for "direct to video" fare ("DTV" for those in the know...). While most movie lovers used to avoid DTV product on the assumption that it was deemed to be too bad to merit a theatrical marketing campaign, these fans enjoy making silk purses from sow's ears and claim that many underrated films have suffered the DTV syndrome. They are probably right, but "Blast" isn't one of them. The film was made when audiences were still obsessed with the blue collar working man hero generally played by the likes of Stallone, Willis, Van Damme and occasionally Schwarzenegger. The "grunt and punch" aspect of these heroes relegated them to limited dialogue, save for the precious "tag line" they will inevitably mutter in the course of the film in the hope that it will become the next "Make my day"-like catchphrase with the public.

"Blast" is set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics games. The American women's swim team enters the pool area to practice even as the President of the United States and other world leaders arrive in the city for the opening of the games. Just as the women's swim team arrives, the complex is taken over by terrorists led by Omodo (Andrew Divoff) and his band of fanatical followers who have posed as workers for the Olympic organization. The terrified female swimmers under the guidance of their coach Diane Colton (Kimberly Warren) are verbally abused and one of the women is shot to death as a sign to the authorities that the terrorists mean business. Omodo is well-known to international authorities and is wanted by police throughout the world. Seems that Omodo's ego is bruised because his last two terrorist actions have fizzled even though they left behind a string of dead bodies. He is determined to regain his reputation by ensuring the Olympics operation is a  success. (Apparently, when terrorists get together at their annual picnic, no one wants to be the butt of colleagues' jokes.) The terrorists quickly kill off any guards and begin operating the complex's security system, thus giving them views of any police attempts to enter the building, which they have made into a fortress by mining the entrances with bombs. Omodo's demands from the authorities must have been fairly mundane because minutes after he issued them, I forgot what they were. In any event, the only person in the complex left to combat the terrorists is Jack Bryant (Linden Ashby), a one-time Olympic star who has seen his life fall apart due to his own demons. He's now working in the building as a janitor. Omodo and his men can occasionally see him on the vast networks of security cameras but Bryant is a savvy guy and learns how to keep on the move and pick off the terrorists one-by-one. (Like most janitors, Bryant is also a world-class martial arts expert). For some melodramatic elements, we learn that Bryant and Diane had once been married but he lost her when his life went into a downward spiral. With the authorities virtually helpless, it's up to Bryant to thwart the terrorists...although he has a an ally in the Atlanta Police Department: Leo ((Rutger Hauer), a wheelchair-bound, eccentric detective who is an old nemesis of Omodo and who manages to provide Bryant with some helpful tips. 

"Blast" is a storehouse of every action movie cliche from films of this era but it's not as bad as you might think. Director Pyun does the best he can to disguise the movie's limited budget (virtually all of it is shot in one location with a few exterior shots tossed in to break the monotony). Pyun keeps the action moving at a brisk clip and avoids at least a couple of anticipated cliches from coming to pass. However, the sheer monotony of seeing Bryant and the bad guys chase each other up and down very similar-looking hallways and staircases quickly grows wearying. The cast performs gamely, with Linden Ashby suitably hunky and capable of delivering the film's obligatory "tag line": "I'm coming to get you!!!!" Andrew Divoff brings some Bond villain-like qualities to his role but he's undermined by Pyun insisting that he imitate every vocal mannerism of Arnold Schwarzenegger imaginable. The gimmick proves to be distracting, though Divoff has a few standout moments. The musical score by Anthony Riparetti starts out well but becomes grating because it seems to consist of a constant repetition of the same few notes. The film is occasionally suspenseful and exciting but Pyun goes off the rails during the climax which sees a knock-down fight to the death between Bryant and Omodo that incorporates some ridiculous elements including a bomb explosion that is so poorly rendered that it looks like a frame from a Road Runner cartoon was utilized. Also puzzling are the brief appearances of Rutger Hauer as a potentially intriguing character but the role is drastically under-written.

MVD has released "Blast" as a nice-looking Blu-ray edition as part of their "Marquee Collection". The box art features a cringe-inducing rip-off of the main poster art for "Die Hard" including an exploding skyscraper, even though there are no skyscrapers in "Blast", exploding or otherwise. There is a bonus trailer gallery of other similarly-themed titles from MVD, although the trailer for Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Lionheart" looks like a poor VHS transfer.  

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BY TODD GARBARINI

Laemmle’s NoHo 7 Theatre in Los Angeles will be presenting a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) screening of John Glen’s 1989 James Bond outing Licence to Kill. The 133-minute film, which stars Timothy Dalton in his second and final stint as 007, also features Cary Lowell, Robert Davi, Anthony Zerbe, and Desmond Llewelyn. Director Glen also helmed For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), and The Living Daylights (1987).

Licence to Kill will be screened on Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 7:30 pm.

PLEASE NOTE: At press time, Licence to Kill actor Robert Davi will participate in a Q&A after the screening at the NoHo on Thursday, August 23.

The NoHo 7 Theatre is located at 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA. The phone number is (310) 478 – 3836.

Click here for tickets.

BY TODD GARBARINI

Plagiarism, if done willingly and poorly, generally does not go unnoticed and one cannot help but see certain similarities in various works be it literature, art, or cinema. In listening to the audio commentary with author Jonathan Rigby and director Alvin Rakoff on the new, limited edition Blu-ray of 1980’s Death Ship, a horror oddity about an abandoned old ship inhabited by the ghosts of members of the Third Reich(!), a remark is made that the poster for 2002's Ghost Ship was remarkably similar to the poster art for Death Ship, and it’s true that the similarities are uncanny. I can't help but wonder who came up with the idea for the poster for Ghost Ship, as Death Ship was well over twenty-five years-old and seemed to be relegated to the land of forgotten cinema.

Captain Ashland (George Kennedy) is at the helm of a cruise ship, about to turn over the reins to Captain Trevor Marshall (Richard Crenna) and he's not happy about it. He seems perturbed by this changing of the guard, commenting in no uncertain terms that his place as captain should be regarded as more than something of a novelty to tourists. Unfortunately for him and his guests, the unmanned and haunted titular ship that steers ahead, powered by the blood of its most recent victims, is on a crash course to meet with his. Using footage borrowed from Andrew L. Stone's The Last Voyage (1960) and Ronald Neame’s The Poseidon Adventure (1972), the two vessels collide and Ashland’s ship begins to fill with water and quickly sinks (too bad The Concorde: Airport ’79 didn't sink with it!)

Kennedy, Crenna, Nick Mancuso (who provided the bulk of the horrifying phone calls in Bob Clark's 1974 film Black Christmas), Sally Ann Howes of Dead of Night (1945) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and a few other characters manage to be the only survivors in a lifeboat and make their way aboard the decrepit ship that put them in their predicament. Once on board, they find the ship bereft of passengers and crew, and slowly become victims of the supernatural games that ensue.

As the plot unfolds, it becomes apparent that the ship in question was once used as a Nazi torture chamber, as evidence of teeth, clothing and medical devices start to turn up in explored rooms. The worst of these rooms houses a group of cobweb-infested corpses, presumably the long-dead Jews whom the Nazis tortured. One might wonder about the boundaries of bad taste pushed in a film that seems to make light of one of humanity's most horrendous and egregious atrocities.

The director employs some nifty scare tactics, such as a projector that runs itself; a shower that turns blood red; and a crazed George Kennedy, apparently possessed by the long-dead Nazis, going on a rampage. One must wonder why distress signals are not sent, and why help is not forthcoming, given the radio rules in place since the downing of the Titanic in 1912. However, this is a B-movie shot in five weeks and done on a shoestring and asking too many questions is not suggested. The ship in this film is supposed to be steering itself with a life of its own, however one never really gets the feeling that it’s actually alive, that it’s a merchant of evil like the house in Burnt Offerings (1976) or the hotel in The Shining (1980). The film ends the way one assumes with will, but it’s not bad for what it is.

Originally released on DVD in England in 2007, Death Ship had at the time had been transferred from a print that was not perfect and contained a few sporadic imperfections but was believed to be the best surviving source material. That disc had included a disclaimer citing the film lab that housed the original camera negative closed in the late 1980's and the aforementioned resources were "lost" as a result. I would be curious as to how this sort of thing happens as this is certainly not the first time it has occurred, nor will it be the last. I'm always reading of an original negative somehow getting "lost". Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell, the TV-movie that Crenna made the year prior to Death Ship, was released on DVD at roughly the same time and that movie looks like it was just made yesterday. Honestly, Devil Dog’s transfer could not be more beautiful. Yet a theatrical film's negative gets "lost"? Insert quizzical expression here.

Here's a golden oldie from 1966: the Man from U.N.C.L.E. secret message pen ad by American Character toy company. It looks like the entire marketing campaign for the commercial cost about fifty cents, but in those days anything relating to a movie or TV spy was a sure-fire way to make a quick profit. 

Connery in the blockbuster 1965 film version of "Thunderball".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

James Bond scholars and purists are well-versed in the muck and mire pertaining to Ian Fleming's ill-fated partnership with producer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham. But for those who aren't as consumed with Bondian history, the BBC's Nicholas Barber summarizes the contrivances that occurred when the business relationship between the three men broke up, thus resulting in a high profile lawsuit against Fleming and complications pertaining to the screen rights to the film version of Fleming's novel "Thunderball". In the mid-1970s, McClory began to exercise his rights to remake the film and enlisted noted novelist Len Deighton, author of the Harry Palmer spy books and Sean Connery as screenwriters for a planned film titled "Warhead" (though Connery never committed to star in the film). When Eon Productions, the company that had made the traditional Bond films, decided to fight McClory in the courts, the project faded away. Connery would return as Bond in McClory's 1983 remake of "Thunderball" titled "Never Say Never Again", marking his last performance as 007. However, that film bore virtually no resemblance to the one that screenwriters Connery and Deighton had cooked up for "Warhead" involving a battle atop the Statue of Liberty. Click here to read.

Curly Howard is considered today to be an icon of American comedy thanks to the eternal popularity of The Three Stooges. However, as this mini-biography shows, Curly's real life dilemmas were anything but funny. He was stricken with numerous debilitating strokes while only in his forties and his final days found the comedy legend struggling unsuccessfully to recuperate and lead a normal life. 

BY DOUG OSWALD

Scott Glenn is a down on his luck American boxer who gets caught in the middle of a blood feud between Japanese brothers in “The Challenge” available on Blu-ray and DVD. Glenn’s character Rick accepts a job smuggling a valuable sword into Japan and is quickly swept up in intrigue as rival brothers seek ownership of the sword which was taken from Japan at the end of WWII. Hideo (Atsuo Nakamura) is a powerful businessman and convinces Rick to train under his brother, Yoshida (Toshiro Mifune). This close proximity should enable him to steal the sword in Yoshida’s possession and deliver it to Hideo. This is not a civil family feud, as a half dozen people are murdered within an hour of Rick’s arrival in Japan.

Yoshida honors the traditional samurai traditions and runs a school for practitioners of these teachings. Rick is a reluctant participant in the deadly feud and his loyalties are challenged as he is attracted to Yoshida’s daughter, Akiko (Donna Kei Ben), as well as to the traditional samurai philosophy and her father’s cause. Rick is skeptical of the training, but goes through the standard ordeals we’ve come to expect from this genre such as eating exotic foods including live lobsters and octopi with tentacles slithering on plates. He’s also reduced to performing seemingly mundane tasks like sweeping floors and cleaning up only to discover it was a test of his commitment and resolve.

At one point, Rick spends days buried up to his neck in a pit as ants and bugs crawl on his face while being denied food and water. He complains throughout the training, backing out and returning several times, and even steals the sword at one point, only to return it and learning this too was a test. He finally pledges his obedience to the samurai order under Yoshida and completes his training. Sound familiar? Yes, but it’s all part of the central trope of this genre and it works very well to further the story.

Directed by John Frankenheimer, the film is exciting with plenty of action and the climactic sword fight in the office complex is very well staged. While not quite a martial arts movie, the film offers a veritable buffet of combat techniques with fists, samurai swords, bow & arrows and knives. The location shooting in Japan and the action scenes kept my interest and the film culminates in a battle at Hideo’s office headquarters as Rick, Yoshida and Akiko sneak in and fight their way to Hideo and the inevitable confrontation between him and Yoshida.

The movie features familiar American television character actors Calvin Jung, Clyde Kusatsu and Sab Shimono in supporting roles and was the first starring vehicle for Glenn with a script by John Sayles and Richard Maxwell. Sayles was brought to Japan to make changes to the story which was radically altered after Glenn accepted the role. Disappointed, Glenn was persuaded by Mifune to take it in stride and enjoy the experience. This was the final of three collaborations between Frankenheimer and Jerry Goldsmith who provides a terrific score. Steven Segal also worked as a technical advisor and stunt coordinator for the movie. I enjoyed the movie a great deal and so should fans of action and martial arts movies.

Released in July 1982 by CBS Theatrical Films, the movie was a modest success for Frankenheimer and it has grown in status over the years with a solid fan base due to broadcast television and home video release. The movie clocks in at 110 minutes with a great looking transfer and sound quality. Bonus features on the German Blu-ray/DVD two disc set release by Explosive Media include the theatrical trailer, TV trailers, a poster gallery and the cropped TV version on the DVD. The set also includes a photo-filled 24-page booklet featuring poster art, lobby cards and an essay by Andreas Volkert of All About Movies Bayreuth.

(Note: this region-free title is available through Amazon Germany. However, Explosive Media titles often surface through third party dealers on other Amazon and eBay sites.) 

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since the big screen version of the classic TV series "The Fugitive" hit theaters and became a sensation, marking one of the best small-to-big screen adaptations ever. Writing in the Atlantic, Soraya Roberts reflects on what made the film so special and why today's action movies are largely lacking in the same qualities.

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BY JOE ELLIOTT

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet. The movie was a sensation when it came out in 1968, spurring ticket sales in the millions and becoming one of the top-grossing features of the decade. One reason the film made so much money was due to the number of people who returned for a second or even fifth viewing. It seemed audiences just couldn’t get enough of the story about those two star-crossed adolescent lovers from old Verona. The movie’s memorable music score, composed by Nino Rota, also became a best seller. The album quickly went gold and was later repackaged in a beautiful deluxe box set that included the entire movie soundtrack, along with two handsomely produced companion booklets.

There was something about the film, for all its shortcomings, that many found almost hypnotic. I’ll fess up and admit I was one of these people. I didn’t actually see it until the 1970s when it was still being trotted out in theaters in order to squeeze out extra profits for the studio. I was a teenager at the time and was more into flicks like Billy Jack and the Bond films than stories about people who lived hundreds of years ago and spoke in rhyming couplets. The only Shakespeare I had read was in class, the substance of which I found nearly indigestible. I did know something about the movie since one my English teachers had once played a portion of the soundtrack for us in class. However, apparently not having much else to do that summer evening, I decided to take a stroll down the street to our local movie palace and buy a ticket.

The first thing I noticed about the film was how rich in color it was. From the very beginning, following the smoky prologue spoken by Laurence Olivier, everything is drenched in bright primary colors. Things got off to a rousing start with the scene of the bloody brawl in the Verona marketplace between those two wild and crazy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. (I hadn’t realized until then that it was possible to be a real badass and still wear red and yellow striped tights with pointy soft leather shoes.) Soon the cops arrive (the prince and his soldiers) to break up the fracas and issue a stern warning to all those who would disturb the civil peace in the future. Immediately following this we get our first look at Romeo (Leonard Whiting), a handsome love-sick youth with a shaggy haircut. He talks dreamily of some girl he’s got a crush on, but then comes to his senses at seeing one of the wounded being carried away. Meanwhile, back at the Capulet palace, Juliet’s father (Paul Hardwick) is coyly negotiating the marriage of his daughter to a young man named Count Paris (Roberto Bisacco). The first time we see Juliet (Olivia Hussey) she’s running through the house like a kid at play.

All this is interspersed between scenes of Juliet and her bawdy, fun-loving nurse (Pat Heywood) talking to the girl’s mother Lady Capulet (Natasha Parry) about marriage and things, immediately followed by a night scene of Romeo and his friends on a soliquious pub crawl through the deserted streets of Verona. Later that same evening Romeo and his mates crash the Capulet masquerade ball. The ball scene is among the highlights of the film. It is here Zeffirelli really shows his stuff, combining visual pageantry with an almost obsessive attention to detail. Everything about this sequence is highly choreographed, from the beautifully composed dance scenes (“the moresca!”) right down to the fastidious arrangement of the candles and platters of fruit (Zeffirelli had studied art and architecture in his student days). Absolutely nothing is left to chance. In the hands of a less gifted visual director, and Zeffirelli was nothing if he wasn’t visual, all of this might have come off as too showy and distracting. However, here the effect is just the opposite. The viewer almost feels as if he or she is present in the scene, seductively pulled in as we are by the sensuous whirl of warm colors, voices and melodious music. All of it lovingly captured by the gifted eye of cinematographer Pasqualino De Santi who was awarded an Oscar for his efforts on the project. Clearly, the ocular accoutrements of this particular production are as essential to its success as the words of Shakespeare himself.

Real-life husband and wife Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland made numerous films together. Among them: "Breakout", a 1975 film that was shot quickly in order to capitalize on Bronson's soaring popularity with "Death Wish". The crime thriller was lambasted by critics but performed very well indeed at the boxoffice. Click here for review. 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Twilight Time has released the 1965 action adventure film "Genghis Khan" as a limited edition (3,000) Blu-ray. The film was released almost ten years after Howard Hughes produced the notorious clinker "The Conqueror" starring John Wayne as the legendary Mongol leader. A decade later, producer Irving Allen ensured he did not make the mistake of laughably miscasting the leading man. Omar Sharif, then a red-hot up-and-coming star, was cast in the title role, and while an Egyptian actor might not seem to be an obvious choice, Sharif possessed an exotic international appeal that saw him convincingly play characters of many different ethnic backgrounds. Ironically, while Allen had successfully hired a leading man, his judgment did not extend to the key supporting roles. If you want to enjoy "Genghis Khan", there are many positive aspects to the film- but you will have to overlook some jaw-dropping casting errors. That feat is a bit like trying to calmly peruse a newspaper in your living room while ignoring the 800-pound gorilla who is sitting across from you, but more about that later.

The film opens with a brutal raid on the tribal home of the young Mongol Temujin and his family. The raid is led by a rival Mongol tribe headed by the merciless Jamuga (Stephen Boyd), who murders Temujin's father and enslaves the women of the tribe. The story then jumps ahead a number of years and we find Temujin (Omar Sharif) has now grown to manhood and is still a captive of Jamuga. He's forced to wear a giant wooden yoke around his neck as a reminder of his humiliation. Ultimately, Temujin escapes captivity with the help of holy man Geen (Michael Hordern) and a mute Mongol warrior named Sengal (Woody Strode.), much to the chagrin of the infuriated Jamuga. Temujin vows to bring the warring Mongol tribes together so that they can form an unstoppable army capable of conquering the known world. How he achieves this is never shown but before long we see he has indeed amassed a devoted army intent on uniting the remaining Mongol tribes, one of which is headed by Jamuga.One of Temujin's obsessions is to humiliate Jamuga, which he does by kidnapping his woman, Bortei (Francoise Dorleac), who he then makes his own wife. As played by the gorgeous but ill-fated Dorleac (she died in a car crash in 1967), Bortei sports a modern hair style and the latest trends in makeup. She's a Mongol by way of the emerging mod scene on Carnaby Street. Dorleac is miscast but at least her performance isn't embarrassing. The same cannot be said of some of her otherwise revered cast members.

Since the film is designed to entertain, not enlighten, we are presented with a truncated historical record of Temujin's conquests. In short order, he and his army become feared as they relentlessly conquer seemingly any land they want to occupy, either by having the inhabitants willingly accede to their demands or face defeat in battle. The script boils down these tumultuous events into a Cliff Notes adaptation of a Classics Illustrated comic book. Temujin next sets his sights on the legendary land of China, and are admitted entrance through the Great Wall. Here they are guided by Kam Ling, a wise man who serves as chief adviser to the Emperor. The role is played by James Mason and if you thought, as I did, that this great talent was incapable of presenting a bad performance, be prepared to be enlightened. Mason sports a sem- Fu Manchu mustache and seems to be foreshadowing those now cringe-inducing Chinese detectives that would be played by Peter Sellers and Peter Ustinov. But wait! Mason's performance seems positively inspired compared to that of Robert Morley as the Emperor. Yes, that Robert Morley, the rotund and usually delightful British character actor who played every role in precisely the same manner. Thus, we have the Emperor of China depicted as a prissy, comical figure. (Presumably, Paul Lynde was not available for the role.) The miscasting of these two pivotal roles makes it difficult to concentrate on the otherwise compelling script by Clarke Reynolds and Beverly Cross. Fortunately, events move quickly. The Emperor treats Temujin and his army with great reverence and respect- and Temujin is even giving the honorary title of Genghis Khan ("Great Conqueror"). But Temujin correctly suspects that they are being held as captives in a gilded cage. Seems the Emperor realizes that Temujin suspects that the Chinese military is a paper tiger and that he would be tempted to gather an even bigger army and take the nation by force. In a creatively-staged scene, the Mongols use the Chinese fascination with fireworks as an elaborate method to affect a daring escape. Armed with the advanced military technology they have secured from China, the Mongols' ever-growing armies continue to sweep through kingdoms far and wide. Jamuga, who had been held captive by Temujin but managed to escape, refuses an offer to join Temujin's forces- and even insults him by implying that Temujin's young son had been fathered by him. This results in a "Mongol Duel" in which both men go mano-a-mano, with the surviving winner taking control of the armies. The sight of two sweaty, hunky shirtless men grappling with each does have an unintended and amusing homo-erotic aspect but the scene is quite suspenseful.

Watch the original U.S. TV spot for Milos Forman's superb (but underrated) 1981 drama "Ragtime", the adaptation of E.L. Doctprow's bestselling novel. The film brilliantly interweaves the sagas of disparate characters in a grand, lushly produced production that marked the final feature film appearance of James Cagney, who was lured out of retirement after twenty years. If you've never seen "Ragtime", make sure you do. (By the way, the DVD is out of print in America and has never been issued on Blu-ray. Are you listening, Paramount?)

"Lawrence of Arabia". "The Godfather". "Gone with the Wind". "Casablanca". Is it time for "Ant-Man and the Wasp" to also enjoy Oscar gold?

BY LEE PFEIFFER, Cinema Retro Editor-in- Chief

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced changes to its annual Oscars broadcast. The event will be confined to three hours and certain awards will not be seen live on the broadcast. Instead, they will be given out during commercial broadcasts then edited into a segment that will be shown later in the telecast. After all, who wants to see some science-obsessed geek get honored for inventing something that enhanced the film industry when, instead, we can all enjoy some innovative ads for erectile dysfunction? Additionally, in an admitted attempt to gin up ratings, AMPAS will introduce a new awards category for outstanding achievement in popular film. That's right, movie lovers...you might live to see the day when the producers of a "Transformers" movie stroll on stage to be honored in the manner in which the greatest filmmakers of all time were. In fact, "popular" movies have long been recipients of major nominations. Films such as "Jaws" , "Star Wars" and "The Towering Inferno" were nominated for Best Picture, while a little flick from 1997 named "Titanic" won the coveted award. Exactly how the Academy will distinguish which "popular film" releases should be relegated to the new category is not known. What if the "popular film" that is honored happens to also gain a Best Picture nomination- or will the categories be mutually exclusive? AMPAS isn't saying.

AMPAS has been grappling with sagging ratings for the Oscars for years. Unless there is a major blockbuster to liven up the proceedings, audiences tend to drift away from the broadcast. Not helping matters is that the Golden Age of great Hollywood stars is also long over. That isn't anyone's fault but the lack of legends on any given broadcast only serves to diminish the special quality of the evening, as does the fact that there are now so many movie awards shows that ol' Oscar is struggling to remain relevant. The producers of the show are undermining the very people the ceremony was designed to honor. This is nothing new. AMPAS decided years ago that it was too boring to broadcast honorary awards to older people in the industry, thus these have now been consigned to a couple of snippets from an earlier ceremony. Ditto with the geniuses who are honored with technical awards. Under the current scenario, Charles Chaplin's acceptance of an honorary Oscar in 1972 (one of the great moments in Hollywood history) would now be deemed unworthy of being telecast. Instead, the broadcast has morphed into a quasi-comedy special hosted by late night hosts who replicate inane (and often embarrassing) extended skits that seem to drone on forever. It's the height of irony that there is plenty of time to allocate to such nonsense but it comes at the expense of the true artists who are supposed to be the focus of the show. As we point out every year in our review of the ceremony, even the tastefully creative tribute to talents who passed away in the last year has become contentious. Rather than simply extend the segment for a few additional minutes to include more qualified artists, the truncated tribute now not only excludes legendary personalities but even famed artists who were once nominated for an Oscar. 

The reaction in the industry over these proposed changes has been universally negative, leading us to think this is the worst marketing "improvement" plan since the introduction of New Coke in the 1080s. Hopefully, the backlash with cause those who make the decisions at AMPAS to rethink their position- otherwise we're likely to soon see the creation of the Steven Seagal Lifetime Achievement Award. 

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BY MARK CERULLI

Do sharks give you the willies? Does the sight of a 12-foot Great White on the Discovery Channel make your heart skip some beats? Then imagine a 75-foot super shark, looking like a freight train with gills! Meet the villain of the new Warner Bros. sci-fi thriller, The Meg starring Jason Statham and Chinese star, Li Bingbing.

The story concerns a Chinese-American exploration team penetrating the deepest reaches of the Pacific, cut off beneath a thermal layer. The operation’s backer, a snarky billionaire played by Rainn Wilson (TV’s The Office) is hoping to exploit the sea bottom’s mineral wealth. Unfortunately this untouched region is inhabited by a Megalodon, a gigantic prehistoric shark that makes “Bruce” (the shark from Jaws) look like a sardine. It can bend submarines and implode research pods with ease… but it meets its match in a “washed up but still heroic” rescue diver played by Jason Statham.

Directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) and made with (lots of) Chinese money, there is an obvious Chinese influence running throughout - with Chinese talent in key roles and the climax unfolding at an exotic Chinese beach resort. (There, several scenes such as a frantic mother searching for her child during the shark’s attack, or the giant shark dragging swimming platforms like flotsam are truly reminiscent of Jaws.)

Although the movie drags on the surface, it picks up speed underwater and the visual effects of the enormous shark trashing whatever technology mankind throws at it are superb. While Statham turns in his usual rugged performance (and at 51, his physique remains a work of art), Li Bingbing is lovely but a bit wooden. The dialogue tells us they’re inching towards romance but their interaction has an odd formality, with nary a kiss to be seen. Instead it falls to her precocious daughter (the wonderful Sophia Cai) to tell Statham, “My mom likes you.” As if an action movie icon like Statham needs a romantic assist from an 8 year-old!

To be fair, any shark movie made after 1975 will always be compared to the mother of all summer tentpoles, Jaws, and while The Meg does provide some thrills, it’s not better… it’s just bigger. But maybe for the “global audience” this movie is going after, that might be enough.

The Meg opens nationwide on August 10^th from Warner Bros.

Does this screen grab show an innocuous image of an unidentified extra in "Jaws"- or does it depict a young woman who would be murdered shortly thereafter?

In the summer of 1974 Steven Spielberg was filming his soon-to-be legendary blockbuster "Jaws" on Martha's Vineyard. One hundred miles away in Provincetown, Mass, a badly decomposed and mutilated body of a woman was discovered near a beach area. Police have doggedly tried to solve the crime ever since and the victim has become known as "The Lady in the Dunes". Enter writer Joe Hillstrom King, who writes novels under the nom-de-plume of Joe Hill. King, the eldest song of legendary horror writer Stephen King, became intrigued by the case after reading about it in a book about amateur sleuths attempting to solve cold cases. Shortly thereafter,  King happened to attend a retro movie screening of "Jaws". At the 54 minute and 2 second mark, there is a scene in the film showing masses of tourists arriving at the fictitious town of Amity (in reality Martha's Vineyard). King immediately took note of a fleeting glimpse of a female extra who appears at this precise moment in the film. The blink-and-you'll-miss-it flash haunted him because he felt the extra bore a remarkable resemblance to police artist's conceptions of the murder victim. King recently revisited his theory, which was not dismissed by the police out of hand,  on a podcast he hosts relating to the movie "Jaws". King doesn't claim he knows that the film extra and murder victim are one-and-the-same but he is still sufficiently intrigued to find out for sure. Someone out there knows who the woman in the film is...perhaps a Cinema Retro reader can shed light on the mystery?

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EVE GOLDBERG looks back on a "can't miss" film production that fell short of expectations: 

Paris Blues could have been a hit. It could have been a game-changer. It could have become a classic. Starring Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz musicians, this 1961 movie was filmed in Paris, directed by Martin Ritt (Hud, Norma Rae,) and written by Walter Bernstein (The Front). All the ingredients for a compelling, top-notch entertainment were in place.

But the movie misses. Despite strong performances, a fascinating milieu, meaty subject matter, gorgeous cinematography, several unforgettable set pieces, and a score by Duke Ellington, the whole is distinctly less than the sum of its parts.

So, what went wrong?

The problem is the script. How the script falters, and why, is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the film.

Paris Blues is based on a 1957 same-titled novel by Harold Flender. The book tells the story of Eddie Cook, an African American jazz musician living and working in Paris in the 1950s.

The author draws on the historical reality that throughout much of the 20^th century, many African American artists, writers, and musicians emigrated to Paris, where they found the personal and creative freedom denied them back home. James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Josephine Baker, Sidney Bechet, Lester Young, and Bud Powell all found refuge from racism in the City of Light. In addition, jazz musicians discovered that their artistry was more highly valued and appreciated in Europe than in the United States. Miles Davis said that his time living and working in Paris was life-altering. “It changed the way I looked at things forever. Paris was where I noticed that not all white people were prejudiced.”

The novel Paris Blues re-creates this vibrant world of smoky clubs, outdoor cafes, and a creative community where the “mixing” of everyone is the norm. In terms of plot, saxophonist Eddie falls for an African American school teacher, Connie, who is touring Europe with a group of educators. Eddie is torn between going back to the racist United States with Connie or forgoing their love and staying in Paris where he feels respected as a man and musician.

In a comedic sub-plot, Connie’s 60-year-old white roommate, Lillian, and Eddie’s middle-aged Jewish band mate, Benny, are thrown together for a booze-filled night on the town, during which Lillian experiences the wild side of Paris and begins to question her uptight, chaste lifestyle.

Some of the chapters are written from Eddie’s point of view, others from Connie’s, so we get a nuanced and in-depth look into both individuals. The author successfully creates a set of appealing characters with complex emotions and conflicts. While the novel goes flaccid in the last third — its themes have been exhausted and now it’s a forced slog to the end of a thin plot — just the fact that a 1957 novel by a white American writer features two fully-developed black protagonists who are dealing with important, real-life issues, is an achievement in itself.

Then, somewhere between page and screen, things happened.

First and most significant, in the film version of Paris Blues, Eddie and Connie, the book’s central characters, are relegated to the B-story. They now take a backseat to a pair of white folks.

In the film, Benny, who in the book is Eddie’s middle-aged, paunchy, Jewish sidekick, has been transformed into hunky trombonist, Paul “Ram Bowen” Newman. Ram is handsome, sexy, charming, and brooding. He yearns to be a serious composer, but fears he may not have the chops. He is the undisputed leader of the band and the central character of the movie, with saxophonist Eddie now playing the lesser role of “best friend.”

In a parallel revision, Connie’s old-maid roommate Lillian is converted into a young, attractive, divorced mother who is amazingly uninhibited when it comes to sex. She is played by Paul Newman’s real-life wife, Joanne Woodward.

Near the beginning of the film, we get a taste of what this movie might have been. Ram is at the train station, waiting to greet the famous jazz trumpeter, Wild Man Moore (played with gusto by Louis Armstrong). While at the station, Ram accidentally meets Connie (Diahann Carroll). He flirts with Connie who tells him she’s waiting for her traveling companion.

Ram: “Is your girlfriend as pretty as you are?”

Connie: “Yes.” (pause) “She’s a white girl.”

Ram: “Might be hard to find. All you white girls look alike.”

Connie shoots Ram a “Huh?” look. She’s clearly taken aback that this white guy is flirting with her….and what does he mean by that strange comment? The audience, and Connie, know that we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Although there is no interracial romance among the main characters in the original novel, the filmmakers seem to be flirting with creating one in the movie. But apparently, the powers that be in Hollywood decided America wasn’t ready for an on-screen interracial romance — that moment would come several years later with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? — so Ram predictably pairs off with white Lillian, as Eddie and Connie fall in love.

Poitier later stated, “Cold feet maneuvered to have it twisted around — lining up the colored guy with the colored girl.”

BY TIM GREAVES

The name Sergio Martino will strike a chord with anyone who has even a passing interest in Italian exploitation pictures of the 70s and 80s. Once seen, who can forget The Great Alligator or The Island of Fishmen – both of which are favourites of this writer in their showcasing of Barbara Bach at her most radiant – or premium Suzy Kendall giallo Torso, or for that matter once ‘video nasty’ and Ursula Andress headliner The Mountain of the Cannibal God? Marking Martino’s second giallo, The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail (o.t. La coda della scorpione), was released in 1971, sandwiched between a couple of his most highly regarded titles, The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and All the Colours of the Dark. Scorpion’s Tail isn’t quite on a par with either of those, but it’s still a respectable entry in the sub-genre.

When her husband is killed in a plane accident on a business trip to Greece, his unfaithful wife (Evelyn Stewart) is informed she’s beneficiary to a $1 million inheritance, with the one caveat that she has to travel to Athens to finalise her claim. However, there are a number of people intent on getting their hands on the not insubstantial sum, and at least one of them will remorselessly resort to murder to do so. A turn of events results in the arrival of an insurance investigator (George Hilton), who hooks up with a reporter (Anita Strindberg) to check out some irregularities, and they inadvertently set themselves up as targets for the killer.

An enjoyable enough, if not particularly remarkable giallo then, touting a convoluted plot loaded with sufficient a measure of misdirection to keep things unpredictable. Opening in a very clean looking London and moving on to various Greek locales, the travelogue location work certainly functions in the film’s favour, lending it production value that eclipses the slightly ponderous narrative of the screenplay (a collaborative affair from Eduardo Manzanos, Ernesto Gastaldi and Sauro Scavolini). Most of – if not quite all – the standard giallo trappings come into play, primarily there are a number of graphic murders perpetrated by a fedora-wearing, razor-wielding maniac attired in black (who’s not averse to donning a scuba wetsuit when the moment is propitious). Some of them are pretty nasty too, including a startling– if not particularly realistic – moment of eye-violence (squeamish viewers be warned!). However, there’s a conspicuous dearth of nudity, in fact it’s about as coy as they come that department; of course, nudity is seldom (if ever) pertinent, but it’s standard enough a constituent within this sub-genre as to be noticeable when it’s missing. The showdown on a forebodingly rocky stretch of desolate Grecian coastline is fantastic, combining vertiginous camera angles and suspenseful POV to maximum dramatic effect.

Heading up a strong cast – which includes Alberto De Mendoza, Ida Galli (aka Evelyn Stewart), Janine Reynaud and Luigi Pistilli – are George Hilton and Anita Strindberg. Hilton also starred for Martino in the aforementioned pair, The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and All the Colours of the Dark. His rugged good looks found him top billing in a slew of spaghetti westerns – he was a one-spin Sartana – as well as a run of crime and gialli pictures such as The Case of the Bloody Iris, My Dear Killer and The Two Faces of Fear... though 1965’s spoof Bond caper Due mafiosi contro Goldginger (in which he played Agente 007) can probably be safely disregarded! He’s on top form here and rubs along well with the very lovely Anita Strindberg. This writer first became aware of her in Who Saw Her Die?, in which she appeared alongside George Lazenby and Adolfo Celi. She didn’t enjoy as prodigious a career as Hilton, but she did score a lead role in Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key for Martino, as well as featuring in such renowned fare as Lizard in a Woman’s Skin and Women in Cell Block 7. Her performance in Scorpion’s Tail is among her finest and there’s no denying that the scene she spends clad in a sheer, clingy wet shirt affords the audience a prurient bonus treat.

Flashback: 1972. Dustin Hoffman drops by the set to visit director Bob Fosse and star Liza Minnelli, who were filming "Cabaret". Hoffman would star in Fosse's next film, "Lenny", the biopic of Lenny Bruce.

Michael Coate of The Digital Bits web site has once again done yeoman work by rounding up a panel of James Bond scholars (including Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer) to reflect on the 45th anniversary of Roger Moore's first James Bond film, "Live and Let Die".

Click here to read.

University Press of Kentucky

464 pages

Published 15 December 2017

ISDN: 978-0-8131-7425-9

REVIEW BY ADRIAN SMITH

Born in 1896, as a teenager Barbara La Marr, then Reatha Watson, lead something of an adventurous life. Her father worked in the newspaper business, and the family moved home constantly, almost inevitably contributing towards the turbulence and seeming inability to settle down that plagued her life. At the age of sixteen, now living in California, her elder sister and her husband kidnapped Reatha, causing a minor scandal, with some accounts stating that Reatha had helped plot the kidnaping herself in a desire to flee her oppressive parents. Reatha was already an incredibly luminous and attractive young woman, and she was regularly spotted in the nightclubs of Los Angeles dancing, drinking, and generally behaving in such a way that soon brought the wrong kind of attention. For her own protection a court declared that she was “too beautiful” to be on her own in the city and was ordered to leave Los Angeles.

This did nothing to assuage her ambitions however, and she attempted to turn this publicity into a Hollywood career. Having had stage experience as a child, she appeared as an extra in several films within the still developing Hollywood studio system. Being somewhat disappointed by her perceived lack of success, she went on to develop a career as a dancer, and performed in nightclubs around the country, attracting men wherever she went, until the strain on her health proved too great and she headed back home to California. Reatha Watson was incessantly creative and decided to try her hand as a writer. Her first attempt at a novel found its way into the right hands, and in 1920 the Fox Film Corporation produced The Mother of His Children (Edward J. Le Saint), the success of which lead to her becoming a staff writer for Fox.

Aware of the negative publicity attached to Reatha Watson, it was around this time that she changed her name to Barbara La Marr, and she was overjoyed to back in Hollywood, even if it was on the other side of the camera. However, that state of affairs did not last long, and she was soon invited to screen test and began appearing in small roles again. Her friendships with A-list stars soon lead to bigger roles, and within just three years she was playing major roles in The Three Musketeers (1921, Fred Niblo) alongside Douglas Fairbanks, in The Prisoner of Zenda (1922, Rex Ingram) with her good friend Ramon Novarro, and in Hollywood satire Souls for Sale (1923, Rupert Hughes), the cast-list of which reads like a Who’s Who of the silent era. La Marr often found herself cast as a ‘vamp,’ a Hollywood type popular in the pre-code films, and as such she was often dressed in amazing jewelled costumes and over-the-top headwear whilst tempting men to their fate, often being punished for such licentiousness by the end of the film. Despite being kind, overly generous and unselfish towards everyone she knew in her real life, this Hollywood ‘vamp’ image began to follow her wherever she went, and the Hollywood gossip press loved to tell tales of her somewhat scandalous personal life, the truth of which is laid out in this meticulously researched biography by Sherri Snyder.