"Run Lola Run": I think this and "Fifth Element" is what sparked the women's red hair dye craze for a minute in the late 90s/early aughts. Anyhow, this movie makes me want to visit Berlin. My only criticism is that the casino finale detracted from the plausibility the movie had. It's funny that this is like "Home Alone" or other 90s movies where modern technology/communication could have solved everything in five minutes.
"Midnight Cowboy": I didn't know what to expect with the now outdated X-rating. Great film about friendship between two lost people. Interesting how many directors not from the US captured Americana very well.
By the way, I'd say I failed Funny Games when I watched it the first time (UK version). I stopped watching the American remake partway through.
So I finally tried to watch The House That Jack Built and turned it off after the 2nd "incident" on principle. I think I read that this was partly von Trier grappling with his depression, which is fair enough. But, whoa.
I'm currently re-watching William Friedkin's movies. Killer Joe seems even more baddass than the first time but The Sorcerer... goddamn... what a prime example for an underrated/forgotten master piece. I saw this first on tv around 1981, never in cinema, really hope I get to change this some time.
Great nod to the movie he shot just before. Caught this when the camera was sweeping across the hood of one of the trucks, leading up to the trip:
"Run Lola Run": I think this and "Fifth Element" is what sparked the women's red hair dye craze for a minute in the late 90s/early aughts. Anyhow, this movie makes me want to visit Berlin. My only criticism is that the casino finale detracted from the plausibility the movie had. It's funny that this is like "Home Alone" or other 90s movies where modern technology/communication could have solved everything in five minutes.
"Midnight Cowboy": I didn't know what to expect with the now outdated X-rating. Great film about friendship between two lost people. Interesting how many directors not from the US captured Americana very well.
"Run Lola Run" is pure garbage. The Krauts should have given up on making movies the day Klaus Kinski died. Everything that happened afterwards was just a sad waste of resources.
Trying to watch all the Friedkin's I haven't seen yet and, speaking of crime in the 80s, I just saw To Live and Die in LA. For all it's faults, I really enjoyed the ride. Like Cobra, it has an OTT car chase.
Thanks for making me feel old, I just had to google "OTT"... I have this one lined up next. I remember seeing a documentary about French Connection where it was claimed that the main car chase was shot in the early morning hours on un-blocked streets. Can you imagine stumbling out of an after hours, hailing a cab and getting caught up in some shit like that?
Jade, which I haven't seen yet, is said to feature another memorable car chase.
Also saw this at the theater. I read about the incident it was based on, but I never saw the film before. Apparently it has been screened only a handful of times in the US:
I cannot find the whole film on YT. I really like films such as these which show how Los Angeles used to be:
billbradleyYou want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,908 Posts
I wanted to watch To Live and Die in LA and found it wasn't streaming anywhere yesterday. Today I stopped by one of the shops in town and they had just gotten a used copy in shortly before I showed up and were playing it on the TV. Now it's mine.
Also saw this at the theater. I read about the incident it was based on, but I never saw the film before. Apparently it has been screened only a handful of times in the US:
a buddy of mine from Brazil just put out a reissue of the OST 7" for this film
The composer, Remo Usai, is a bit of a cult figure in Brazil. He didn't deliver the grooves like Waltel Branco and Osmar Milito were doing on their novela soundtracks, but he scored a ton of films.
Saw Carnival of Souls (in colour) and really enjoyed it. Heavy B-movie vibes with lots to chew on.
It was colorized? I learn something new everyday. I understand that it's a divisive topic among restorationists ("'disrespecting' black-and-white?!?"), but I am glad you liked it. As with "The Most Dangerous Game", it's one of those stories that I have seen remade and parodied countless times, yet I have never seen the original. I'll check it out.
i saw Munich for the first time recently. it was pretty engaging and, thankfully, did not take a "hardliner" approach to the topic. given that it's spielberg, i was suprised to see some light avant garde bits here and there.
"The Dogs Of War": I haven't seen it in a long time, but I finished the book this week and rewatched the next day. A great film that made Walken a star, but it understandably condensed, changed or omitted some things, including the very end. Three quarters of Forsyth's story is a step-by-step of how the shell companies were created and the weapons were smuggled within the tight deadline of a hundred days.
That grenade revolver, whatever it is technically called, was so bad ass. And there's the "oh, that guy!" moments. Ed "Al Bundy" O'Neil and Eddie Tagoe, who later was Chocolate Mousse in 'Top Secret!', are here too.
Memorable lines: "He's alive, you pimp!", "import tax", "...and my ABSOLUTE favorite (and yours, too): the Nectarina famosa! God bless; here's to 'em!"
"Deadlock" (Roland Klick, 1970): Strange little "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly"-like curio from Germany with Marquard Bohm, Anthony Dawson and Mario Adorf bearing the likenesses to The Man With No Name, Angel Eyes and Tuco, respectively. Three guys in an abandoned desert mining town fight over a suitcase full of cash. The character dynamic of "I wanted to kill this guy, but I had a change of heart" to "let's work together and kill this guy" and back again is repeated numerous times until the intense climax. Of course, this is not as epic as its obvious inspiration but worth a look. The primary reason this was saved from the dustbin of complete obscurity is the soundtrack by Can. It was screened locally on Monday night and is available on DVD, but it can be seen for free online. However, you will have to put up with the commercials on Tubi, the Russian voiceover following the English dialogue on YouTube or even the entire film in reverse (why?!?) also on YT.
Crazy you mentioned "Blue Collar" because, coincidentally, it is going to play at the same theater, two weeks from now, where I saw "Deadlock". Before I saw your post, I read about all the drama behind the scenes. I re-watched "Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia" last week and it reminded me how many great films from the 70s (and before) involved actors and directors physically assaulting each other under the influence of alcohol and other drugs when the cameras stopped rolling, yet somehow all eventually managed to pull it off together and tell a fantastic story.
billbradleyYou want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,908 Posts
"Deadlock" (Roland Klick, 1970): Strange little "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly"-like curio from Germany with Marquard Bohm, Anthony Dawson and Mario Adorf bearing the likenesses to The Man With No Name, Angel Eyes and Tuco, respectively. Three guys in an abandoned desert mining town fight over a suitcase full of cash. The character dynamic of "I wanted to kill this guy, but I had a change of heart" to "let's work together and kill this guy" and back again is repeated numerous times until the intense climax. Of course, this is not as epic as its obvious inspiration but worth a look. The primary reason this was saved from the dustbin of complete obscurity is the soundtrack by Can. It was screened locally on Monday night and is available on DVD, but it can be seen for free online. However, you will have to put up with the commercials on Tubi, the Russian voiceover following the English dialogue on YouTube or even the entire film in reverse (why?!?) also on YT.
(spoiler-y trailer)
I watched Deadlock last night on Tubi. The movie is pretty slow, but the soundtrack is great.
Crazy you mentioned "Blue Collar" because, coincidentally, it is going to play at the same theater, two weeks from now, where I saw "Deadlock". Before I saw your post, I read about all the drama behind the scenes. I re-watched "Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia" last week and it reminded me how many great films from the 70s (and before) involved actors and directors physically assaulting each other under the influence of alcohol and other drugs when the cameras stopped rolling, yet somehow all eventually managed to pull it off together and tell a fantastic story.
I don't know anything about the behind the scenes on either movie, but just to say that I also love ...Alfredo Garcia. I'll look around for the d.r.a.m.a.
Akira, havent watched it in about 10yrs, i grabbed the DVD about 10yrs ago and was super stoked to watch it, i have the vhs, but its a pain digging that shit out and hooking it up and besides the dvd was remastered and “fancy”, lol… watched it and it was the worst fucking garbage english overdubs EVER… ugh. it sucks when you watch something and you attach voices to characters, the vhs is completely different, the dvd had scenes cut out… fuck! lol i went from so stoked to confused as the dvd played…
so last weekend i did it, my vcr is hooked up to my Mackie in the studio and i really didnt wanna fuck with shit, but man, i needed to watch that VHS… “hands and knees” type shit… cables all hidden behind Kallax’s.. but i got that shit, hooked it up, smoked, made popcorn and loved the fuck out of 4:3 ratio on my 55” Sony.. lol.
yesterday on internet archive, i found a digital copy of Akira Streamline English overdubs and i feel like i fool cause i didnt even think to look on the interwebs, which is a fail and embarrassing at the same time. someone painstakingly took the time to match up the Streamline english overdub to the remastered DVD version.. gonna watch it again on the weekend.
I was into anime at one point, but all I remember from "Akira" were the motorcycle battles. If you're into that same style, check out the "Golgo 13" and "Ninja Scroll".
confession: i've never seen Akira. anime was never my thing bitd and i've just never gotten around to it. but i should check it out!
yeah for some people it can be “meh” but imo its one of those cult classic anime films that falls under “movies i must see before I die” also “Princess Mononoke” and “Ghost in the Shell”
I was into anime at one point, but all I remember from "Akira" were the motorcycle battles. If you're into that same style, check out the "Golgo 13" and "Ninja Scroll".
aw yeah, i never heard of those before and will keep them in mind when looking for some Anime, yeah the Akira motorcycle scenes with “the Clowns” was dope and brutal at the same time…and its when the “Akira Slide” happens, damn that skid is so sick, lol and to top it off the OST is awesome as well.
Got to see "Akira" in the cinema in Manchester when it first came out. The satellite laser was stunning. Japanese with subs, of course.
I was good friends with a guy on my course who was an expert in Japanese and Chinese cinema. He had an incredible VHS collection (1990s) which he'd amassed through writing to people in Hong Kong and getting on underground mailing lists.
He was one of the smartest people I've ever met. The computation course was boring for him; I read his code and it was a piss-take - it was like someone solving a Rubik cube in patterns that matched Wu-Tang verses, for fun. He was a master of a videogame in one of the arcades; it was like a precursor to Candy Crush. I asked him how he'd got so good, he said he wrote a copy at home to train himself.
He was the guy who had all the Chow Yun Fat and John Woo stuff that wasn't mainstream at the time outside of their domestic market.
The Hong Kong students on our course used to trade copies with him and tipped him to a dodgy rental place in Chinatown (Manchester) who he tried to get membership from but they basically carried him physically off the premises and said "No white people".
Same place was exposed as a Triad laundering operation on TV a few years later when the (UK Chinese) Investigator was attacked with machetes and leapt out of a second floor window to escape these people.
Life stranger than fiction!
He was doing a lecture in Canada, got chatting to a TV newsreader in a queue, by the time he got to the front she paid for him and he moved in with her the day after.
Later, my friend used to organise Chinese film festivals for the BFI in London before moving to Taiwan and I lost touch with him. Stephen Cremin, take a bow.
I had a brief flirtation with anime which coincided with my most gremlin-living period in my life. I did see Akira but remember nothing outside the stuff you get exposed to without even watching it (the bikes, "TETSUO ! ! !" etc.). The non-Miyazaki films that Studio Ghibli made are my recommendation. I mean Miyazaki made some bangers too but the others get slept on.
The problem I had as I made that one attempt to get to know the genre more deeply than feature films - so much of the "culture" for what it's worth is wrapped up in TV series - ended in disgust. Many, probably most, series had a 12-year-old's libidinal prurience to them that made it too hard to be a fan of. Like you can't just throw this shit on around other people because the canonical genres and tropes of the form are all basically sexual wish fulfilment - isekai, bishoujo, shoujo, bishounen, fuckin... "harem anime" which is a whole major genre where a nerdy guy gets pawed and lusted after by a group of sexy girls who are all in love with him and possibly magical or invisible or whatever. So I ended up retreating back to the feature films, which for whatever reason, seem to be way less psychosexual. Let's say psychosexual at a normal level like any movie is.
The exception was DBZ-esque power fighting fantasy stuff which was dreck to me to begin with. Superheroes in another form.
Comments
"Midnight Cowboy": I didn't know what to expect with the now outdated X-rating. Great film about friendship between two lost people. Interesting how many directors not from the US captured Americana very well.
So I finally tried to watch The House That Jack Built and turned it off after the 2nd "incident" on principle. I think I read that this was partly von Trier grappling with his depression, which is fair enough. But, whoa.
"Run Lola Run" is pure garbage. The Krauts should have given up on making movies the day Klaus Kinski died. Everything that happened afterwards was just a sad waste of resources.
Thanks for making me feel old, I just had to google "OTT"... I have this one lined up next. I remember seeing a documentary about French Connection where it was claimed that the main car chase was shot in the early morning hours on un-blocked streets. Can you imagine stumbling out of an after hours, hailing a cab and getting caught up in some shit like that?
Jade, which I haven't seen yet, is said to feature another memorable car chase.
Also saw this at the theater. I read about the incident it was based on, but I never saw the film before. Apparently it has been screened only a handful of times in the US:
I cannot find the whole film on YT. I really like films such as these which show how Los Angeles used to be:
a buddy of mine from Brazil just put out a reissue of the OST 7" for this film
https://www.discogs.com/release/29899618-Remo-Usai-O-Assalto-Ao-Trem-Pagador
The composer, Remo Usai, is a bit of a cult figure in Brazil. He didn't deliver the grooves like Waltel Branco and Osmar Milito were doing on their novela soundtracks, but he scored a ton of films.
I see that he composed the music for a few of Os Trapalhões' movies. "Sete Homens Vivos Ou Mortos" and "O Bravo Guerreiro" look interesting.
It was colorized? I learn something new everyday. I understand that it's a divisive topic among restorationists ("'disrespecting' black-and-white?!?"), but I am glad you liked it. As with "The Most Dangerous Game", it's one of those stories that I have seen remade and parodied countless times, yet I have never seen the original. I'll check it out.
That grenade revolver, whatever it is technically called, was so bad ass. And there's the "oh, that guy!" moments. Ed "Al Bundy" O'Neil and Eddie Tagoe, who later was Chocolate Mousse in 'Top Secret!', are here too.
Memorable lines: "He's alive, you pimp!", "import tax", "...and my ABSOLUTE favorite (and yours, too): the Nectarina famosa! God bless; here's to 'em!"
(spoiler-y trailer)
I saw Blue Collar (Pryor+Keitel+Kotto, written/directed by Schrader) and it's a great watch.
Tagline: "The American Dream - if you're rich, you can buy it. If you're anything else, you've got to fight for it."
I watched Deadlock last night on Tubi. The movie is pretty slow, but the soundtrack is great.
I don't know anything about the behind the scenes on either movie, but just to say that I also love ...Alfredo Garcia. I'll look around for the d.r.a.m.a.
so last weekend i did it, my vcr is hooked up to my Mackie in the studio and i really didnt wanna fuck with shit, but man, i needed to watch that VHS… “hands and knees” type shit… cables all hidden behind Kallax’s.. but i got that shit, hooked it up, smoked, made popcorn and loved the fuck out of 4:3 ratio on my 55” Sony.. lol.
yeah for some people it can be “meh” but imo its one of those cult classic anime films that falls under “movies i must see before I die” also “Princess Mononoke” and “Ghost in the Shell”
aw yeah, i never heard of those before and will keep them in mind when looking for some Anime, yeah the Akira motorcycle scenes with “the Clowns” was dope and brutal at the same time…and its when the “Akira Slide” happens, damn that skid is so sick, lol and to top it off the OST is awesome as well.
I was good friends with a guy on my course who was an expert in Japanese and Chinese cinema. He had an incredible VHS collection (1990s) which he'd amassed through writing to people in Hong Kong and getting on underground mailing lists.
He was one of the smartest people I've ever met. The computation course was boring for him; I read his code and it was a piss-take - it was like someone solving a Rubik cube in patterns that matched Wu-Tang verses, for fun. He was a master of a videogame in one of the arcades; it was like a precursor to Candy Crush. I asked him how he'd got so good, he said he wrote a copy at home to train himself.
He was the guy who had all the Chow Yun Fat and John Woo stuff that wasn't mainstream at the time outside of their domestic market.
The Hong Kong students on our course used to trade copies with him and tipped him to a dodgy rental place in Chinatown (Manchester) who he tried to get membership from but they basically carried him physically off the premises and said "No white people".
Same place was exposed as a Triad laundering operation on TV a few years later when the (UK Chinese) Investigator was attacked with machetes and leapt out of a second floor window to escape these people.
Life stranger than fiction!
He was doing a lecture in Canada, got chatting to a TV newsreader in a queue, by the time he got to the front she paid for him and he moved in with her the day after.
Later, my friend used to organise Chinese film festivals for the BFI in London before moving to Taiwan and I lost touch with him. Stephen Cremin, take a bow.