The McPherson Tape (1989)

October 09, 2020 / Roger Edwards

In many ways the story behind The McPherson Tape is a lot more interesting than the film itself. This early found footage movie from 1989, was shot on home video on a virtually non-existent budget. The director Dean Alioto eventually found a distributor but on the eve of the movie’s home video release, the warehouse burned down and allegedly destroyed the master tape and all the promotional artwork. Yet this was not the end of the story. It was common practice in the eighties for small distributors to send advance copies to local independent video stores. Hence The McPherson Tape found its way into the pirate video ecosystem. It then migrated to the UFO community where it was circulated as being a video of a legitimate alien abduction. Dean found himself in the unusual position of having to debunk his own work. Three decades later due to the intriguing tale associated with The McPherson Tape, it has been remastered from the newly rediscovered 3/4" tape and re-released.

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categories / Movies, Science Fiction, Found Footage, The McPherson Tape

I, Monster (1971)

October 03, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I, Monster is a low budget Amicus production and a cunning retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Due to copyright reasons, these names are not used in the film and are replaced with new characters, Marlowe and Blake respectively. However, despite the modest budget and the aforementioned legal issues, this is a very faithful adaptation of the original gothic novella. Milton Subotsky’s screenplay incorporates all the essential elements of the source text which is both a boon and a bane. A boon because it really does capture the essence of Stevenson’s concept, which has been drastically misrepresented by previous adaptations. And a bane in so far that the original novella is a little too insubstantial to sustain a feature film. Even at a modest 75 minutes running time I, Monster feels somewhat “thin”.

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categories / Movies, Horror, Monster, I, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing

I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

August 18, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Until today, I have never seen the iconic horror movie, I walked With a Zombie. Some classic titles just seem to fall through your “movie net”, as it were. However, BBC iPlayer has a selection of RKO films available to watch for free (sadly, only for UK viewers), so as I had a convenient gap in my schedule, I finally caught up with this seminal title today. As expected it was visually an utter delight. Other aspects of the movie are more subtle and require some reflection to determine their virtue. The lurid title, doesn’t in any way do the film justice and was forced upon the production by studio executives. Essentially this is a romantic drama fused with the supernatural and set in an exotic location. The Caribbean setting and culture along with the voodoo element add an undercurrent of sexual tension to the central love, cleverly augmenting what is essentially a gothic tale by placing it in an alien setting.

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categories / Movies, Horror, I Walked With a Zombie, Val Lewton, Jaques Tourneur

Fandom Memories

August 15, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Syp over at Bio Break leads the charge with today’s Blaugust Promptapalooza writing prompt, with this interesting question. “What is your earliest memory related to one of your core fandoms?” Please do read his thoughts on going to see Return of the Jedi upon its original release back in 1983. It is something I can certainly relate to. I’m a decade older than Syp and so I can recollect actually seeing Star Wars for the first time at my local cinema. However as that was a starting point for a specific fandom rather than an “ongoing” example, I won’t cite it here. I have even earlier recollections of going to Longleat Safari and Adventure Park and having the extra bonus of seeing the Doctor Who Exhibition which ran there from 1973 to 2003. This would have been in August 1974 and I was six at the time. I have dim recollections of all the exhibits being mainly from the Jon Pertwee era and the Daleks being the high point of my day.

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categories / Blogging, Blaugust, Promptapalooza, Newbie Blogger Initiative, Fandom Memories, Splatterfest 90, Movies

An Ode to the VCR

August 14, 2020 / Roger Edwards

The Sony C6 Betamax VCR. A “Titan” in the format wars

Sometimes it really helps to have “been there” to fully appreciate an event or cultural phenomenon. We now live in an age where there is easy access to a multitude of television channels and movies, 24 hours a day. TVs are no longer bulky, luxury items that sit in a corner of your lounge. They are now elegant flat screened devices that occupy nearly an entire wall, offering crystal clear, high definition picture quality. Movies are now available for home viewing a lot sooner after their theatrical release and the current pandemic has brought the era of simultaneous release on all platforms just a little bit closer. And even the most obscure and niche market films are accessible in a remastered, HD or UHD format. It’s all a far cry from my youth when cinema and television were far more compartmentalised and consumers had far less choice along with access. All of which you can explain to those born into this modern world of plenty but they’ll never fully comprehend the realities of living such a life and in such times.

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categories / Movies, Editorial, An Ode to the VCR, Video Nasties, BBFC, Censorship

Host (2020)

August 06, 2020 / Roger Edwards

In his review in the New York Times Kyle Turner states that the new horror movie Host “seems to speak to a collective id” and serves as “an analogy for mourning the recent past”. I’ve read several other critiques of this nature that both praise the film and make similar philosophical musings upon its nature. As a long standing horror aficionado I am always a little sceptical when a new movie quickly gains a lot of traction and a critical consensus swiftly forms. Especially when a genre product suddenly gains the attention of the mainstream media who subsequently stray into hyperbole and hype. This happened last year with Midsommar which was hailed as a groundbreaking horror movie and indicative of a renaissance in the genre. Although an intelligent and disturbing film, Midsommar is not without flaws and is far from universally accessible. It is also frustrating the way the mainstream media is oblivious to the ongoing financial and critical success of the horror genre that has existed since the inception of cinema.

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categories / Movies, Horror, Host, Computer Screen Movies, Found Footage

Firestorm (1998)

August 02, 2020 / Roger Edwards

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Firestorm was originally written as a vehicle for Sylvester Stallone, however when the production company Savoy Pictures went bankrupt the screenplay was bought by Twentieth Fox and the scope of the movie reduced to suit a lower budget. It’s broadly similar to Cliffhanger in so far as the lead character is a specialist in a certain field who runs afoul of criminals in a perilous environment. Whereas Cliffhanger is set in the Rocky Mountains, Firestorm takes place in the forests of Northern Wyoming. After the script was revised four times, the finished screenplay was given a final “polish” by Graham Yost who has considerable experience with the action movie genre. As stallone was no longer associated with the project and the production had been repurposed to be less extravagant, the movie was assigned to former NFL star Howie Long. Long had already appeared in the John Woo movie Broken Arrow (1996) and the Firestorm was seen as a means to give him a star vehicle.

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categories / Movies, Action, Firestorm, Dean Semler, Howie Long

Greyhound (2020)

July 20, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Greyhound is a curious film in that it flies in the face of one’s expectations. When I (and possibly others) see an advertisement or trailer for a World War II movie starring Tom Hanks, I naturally assume that the lead actor has been hired for his prodigious acting talent and that he’ll be providing an in depth character study. I was expecting Greyhound to be the story of an untested US Naval Commander enduring an ordeal by fire on his first escort mission. And that is to a degree what director Aaron Schneider provides but instead of the narrative arc focusing on Ernest Krause’s emotional struggles with his duties, we instead get a docudrama focusing on the technicalities of naval warfare. The latter approach is certainly engaging and at times tense and exciting but this decision narrows the appeal of the film. I personally would have preferred the former.

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categories / Movies, War, World War II, Greyhound, Tom Hanks

Scoob! (2020)

July 12, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Scoob! is one of several movies that was slated for a theatrical release this summer but ended up being premiering on VOD instead due to the global pandemic. As a result, it is difficult to ascertain exactly how successful this animated film has been. A lot of trade newspapers have indicated that rentals have been high and that the film has proven more popular than Tom Hardy’s new movie Capone. Some industry sources have estimated a gross of $100,000,000 in a two week period. I suspect that the current lockdown has provided a market of children craving new entertainment and parents happy to pay for 90 minutes of peace and quiet. Hence Scoob! appears to have been in the right place at the right time. Whether that popular success would have happened if the movie had been released theatrically is another matter.

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categories / Movies, Animation, Scooby Doo, Scoob!

Top Cat: The Movie (2011)

July 11, 2020 / Roger Edwards

The first I found out about Top Cat: The Movie was when I received an email from an events company that was handling promotional screenings, prior to the film’s UK release in the summer of 2012. For some reason I missed the usual pre-production publicity that comes with the rebooting of a popular franchise. One of the benefits of this was that I didn't have time to fret or fuss about this reimagining of an integral part of my childhood. I must admit I was flummoxed that this 50-year-old franchise was subject to a makeover and was even more discombobulated to find out that the original show was a massive hit in Mexico and had garnered a huge cult following. This was why Warner Bros. subcontracted this production to Mexico's Anima and Argentina's Illusion studios. Subsequently Don Gato y Su Pandilla (Top Cat and His Gang) opened on 16th September 2011 in Mexico to weekend box office returns of 41m pesos ($2.9m). It subsequently became the highest-grossing independent animated films released in the United States that year.

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categories / Movies, Animation, Top Cat: The Movie

Ray Harryhausen

June 29, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Today Ray Harryhausen would have been 100. Sadly he died on 7th of May 2013. He is one of a handful of creative artists who due to his skill, passion and good nature, influenced generations of fans and had a significant impact on filmmaking worldwide. In 2010 I had the pleasure of attending Ray’s 90th Birthday celebrations held at the British Film Institute. Hosted by charismatic director John Landis, all manner of celebrities, actors and filmmakers queued to heap praise on this quiet and retiring gentleman. It was a wonderful evening and a fitting way to honour a man who was not only a pioneer in the visual effects industry but a great source of inspiration for so many. His work was so influential that it has shaped many aspects of contemporary fantasy cinema. For six decades Ray Harryhausen made unique movies where he breathed life into monsters and mythical creatures. Through the medium of stop motion animation he endowed all of his creations with a unique character. He quite simply made dreams real. And that unique gift had a colossal impact

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categories / Movies, Ray Harryhausen, RIP

Dawn of the Dead: Complete Cut (1978)

June 26, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Five years ago, I wrote about a fan edit of George Romero’s horror classic Dawn of the Dead that attempted to recreate the original rough cut of the movie. The so-called “Extended Mall Hours” cut was composed of the 139 minute Cannes edit of the film and the 117 minute Dario Argento version. It was a very interesting project but as it consisted of DVD quality material (including deleted scenes) it was not an optimal presentation. Being a fan edit, there were obvious issues regarding legality, so I never really expected to see anything comparable to this version being officially sanctioned or released. So I was therefore most surprised to learn that a recent Blu-ray boxset release by Austrian distributors XT Video included a “Complete Cut” which similarly combines all available material. This is presented in 1080p, at a ratio of 1:85:1 and runs 155 minutes. It is superior in quality to the “Extended Mall Hours” cut and is most likely the nearest any fan is ever going to get to seeing Romero’s initial edit of the film.

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categories / Movies, Horror, Zombies, George A. Romero, Dawn of the Dead, Complete Cut

Classical Music in Movies

June 14, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Classical music has often been used to great effect in cinema since the advent of sound. It has certain advantages over bespoke compositions, in that it can imbue a scene with a sense of gravitas and emotionally connect with viewers who may already be familiar with the piece being played. Legendary director Stanley Kubrick famously rejected Alex North’s score for 2001: A space Odyssey after finding the classical tracks he used for the temporary soundtrack complement the visuals perfectly. Over the years, some particular pieces of classical music have proven to be very popular and flexible, thus appearing in a wide variety of films across multiple genres. Hence, I have chosen two well known tracks that demonstrate this. I would also like to highlight contemporary classical music and have also selected one example that I feel demonstrates how the genre sublimely compliments cinema.

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categories / Classic Themes, Classical Music in Movies, Movies, Zardoz, Gallipoli, Knowing, The Tree of Life

The Last Broadcast (1998)

June 06, 2020 / Roger Edwards

The Last Broadcast is a curious beast that straddles both the “mockumentary” and “found footage” genres. Shot entirely on consumer level video equipment, it effectively captures the look and feel of public access cable TV from the times. Released before the massive commercial success of The Blair Witch Project, The Last Broadcast did not find a comparable mainstream audience at the time, although it remains a favourite with genre fans. However, the movie has been recently re-released on Amazon Prime and subsequently become a talking point once again. Elements of the plot have proven very prophetic, such as the popularity of “ghost hunting” reality shows and the integration of online interactivity into live television. But the one standout aspect of The Last Broadcast which polarises viewer opinion is its ending. This is often seen as either a clever “sting in the tail” or an ill considered “jumping the shark” cop out.

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categories / Movies, Found Footage, Horror, The Last Broadcast

Classic Movie Themes: The Pink Panther

April 28, 2020 / Roger Edwards

If you mention The Pink Panther (1963) I’d hazard a guess that most people will instantly think of Inspector Clouseau (and possibly throw in a quote in faux French about “Minkeys”) or hum or whistle the iconic theme tune. It’s blend of cool sixties Jazz and Lounge is both classy and evocative. Henry Mancini’s contribution to the Pink Panther franchise is commensurate to that of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards. If you removed his musical scores from any of the films they would be greatly diminished. In fact one can argue that the movies made in the eighties after Sellers’ death are greatly bolstered by Mancini’s intelligent and accomplished musical accompaniment. The franchise may have run out of steam but Mancini never did so.

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categories / Classic Themes, Movies, The Pink Panther, Henry Mancini, Blapril

Brick Mansions (2014)

April 27, 2020 / Roger Edwards

The original French movies District 13 and its sequel District 13: Ultimatum, conceived and produced by Luc Besson, were enjoyable variations of the Escape from New York theme. Their charm lay in their European pedigree and the skilful use of parkour. The two leads, David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli, were eminently suited to the minimalist roles and the screenplays were fun. Half of these movies appeal was the fact that they were not mainstream US products. Brick Mansions is the Hollywood remake of District 13, as well as being Paul Walkers’ final movie. Sadly, this film is far from a fitting epitaph, being devoid of any charisma or innovations. It is blandly shot , poorly edited and has been stripped of everything that made the original entertaining.

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categories / Action, Movies, Brick Mansions, Blapril

Noah (2014)

April 23, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Darren Aronofsky's Noah is about as far removed from the traditional Cecil B. DeMille Biblical epic as you can imagine. In some respects it follows more closely the Jewish interpretation of the source material, rather than the Christian text. It is visually arresting and for the first two thirds of it's running time is a very engaging movie. It covers a multitude of theological and philosophical themes and depicts them in a creative fashion. Although the film may not find favour with fundamentalist faith denominations, it certainly has a great deal of appeal for the more liberal and progressive believer. It also has facets that are potentially of interest to the more secular viewer.

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categories / Movies, Noah, Blapril

Sabotage (2014)

April 18, 2020 / Roger Edwards

Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to the big screen after his political career has been uneven to say the least. His cameos in The Expendables and The Expendables 2 were well received, with their self referential charm and age related irony. Yet his first major movie The Last Stand, although competent, failed to find an audience. Escape Plan fared better at the box office but did not put Arnie back on the A list. Effectively there's a large percentage of the contemporary cinematic audience who were born after his heyday and are simply not overt fans of his work. His core audience is more than likely of the age group that consume most of their film entertainment at home. Which may explain why Sabotage tanked in the US upon release on March 28th 2014. It was the worst opening box office of Arnie's career. He used to break first day opening records.

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categories / Movies, Action, Sabotage, Blapril

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

April 13, 2020 / Roger Edwards

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You could quite easily lose thirty minutes from A Million Ways to Die in the West. Tighter pacing would certainly shorten the gaps between the genuinely funny material. As it is, the movie is somewhat baggy and surprisingly middle of the road. Yes it has all of Seth McFarlane's usual hallmarks as far as extreme humour but it lacks the occasional moments of satire and social commentary that you see in Family Guy and in Ted (his best movie to date). The movie is very much aware of what it is and focuses a little excessively on observational humour based on traditional tropes and memes of the Western genre. You frequently get the feeling at times that it’s trying very hard to be “funny” in a “Seth McFarlane” idiom but it smacks a little of “art imitating art”.

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categories / Movies, Comedy, A Million Ways to Die, in the West, Blapril

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

April 09, 2020 / Roger Edwards

I was 12 years old when I first saw Battle Beyond the Stars during its UK theatrical release. I remember that I enjoyed it and thought it was an action packed movie. Being young, lacking the critical faculties that come with age and exposure to a wider variety of cinematic material, a lot of the films plus points were lost on me. I recollect that I did pick up on the fact that this film was more ghoulish than the other “Space Operas” that flooded theatres at the time. But beyond that, all I saw was a fun and enjoyable science fiction movie. I cheered when the Malmori were defeated and was saddened when Space Cowboy died. It is only after subsequent viewing over the years, that I’ve realised that this film is a microcosm of all the things that made Roger Corman productions so successful and unique. Despite its low budget, the visual effects were good and innovative for the times. There was more sex and violence present, than in comparable productions. And the crew is a veritable who’s who of talent that went on to wider success.

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categories / Movies, Science Fiction, Battle Beyond the Stars, Blapril

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