SECOND TAKE: ALTERNATE OPINIONS ON FILMS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED BY CINEMA RETRO 

BY TIM GREAVES

William Castle’s Strait-Jacket was a pretty big deal for Joan Crawford. Her biggest successes lay behind her, but she was shrewd enough to understand that even a low-budget horror film was money in the bank and, with the alternative for many actresses of her age (and younger) being protracted unemployment, she put her heart and soul into it. She participated in a pre-production featurette entitled “How to Plan a Murder”, alongside director/producer (and unsurpassed gimmick maestro) William Castle and writer Robert Bloch, jovially discussing the best ways to dispose of someone on screen. And, upon its release in 1964, she toured with the film, making a number of personal appearances that drew crowds in their droves. As to her performance within, if nothing else she should be applauded for having the temerity at the age of almost 60 to play not only a character some 15 years her junior, but (in flashbacks) a character some 35 years her junior; the latter, it has to be said, she monumentally fails to pull off!

In front of her terrified little girl, Lucy Harbin (Crawford) takes an axe to her philandering husband and his lover, after which, despite protestations of her innocence, she is hauled off – in a strait-jacket, no less – to an institution for the criminally insane. Twenty years later she is deigned fit for release and goes to stay on a ranch with her brother (Leif Erickson) and his wife (Rochelle Hudson), and her own daughter (Diane Baker) who has been in their care and is now an adult on the verge of matrimony. But as Lucy struggles to exorcise the demons of her past and attempts to forge a relationship with the daughter whose growing-up she has missed, she begins to have visions of decapitated heads and bloodied axes. Is she losing her mind, or is something far more sinister going on? Suffice to say it isn’t long before the murders begin…

A touch creaky by today’s standards and riddled with some pretty clunky dialogue, it’s nevertheless easy to conceive that Strait-Jacket was fairly shocking stuff back in the day. However, it’s fair to say that it’s still a very watchable little chiller, with a tangible snifter of Psycho running through its veins. Beyond the fact it emerged from the pen of Psycho-scribe Robert Bloch and was shot in crisp black and white (which served to lessen the impact of a number of its sanguinary sins), the premise of an elderly woman with a penchant for hacking up those who cross her prowling about a remote property certainly has a ring of familiarity about it. And, as with Psycho, it’s just possible that not everything is as it first seems. Anyone familiar with the twists in 1964’s Bette Davis starrer Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte (which, it should be noted, Strait-Jacket preceded into theatres by some 11 months) will probably cotton on to what’s going on.

The cast is strong, particularly Diane Baker as Crawford’s daughter and George Kennedy as a bad-toothed ranch-hand-turned-blackmailer (who, despite carrying an axe everywhere, may as well have “red herring” tattooed on his forehead). Watch out, too, in the opening scenes for the uncredited screen debut of Lee Majors in the role of Crawford’s so-to-be-headless hubby. But, make no mistake, this is 100% Crawford’s show, effortlessly traversing personality swings that vacillate between pitiably timid and contrite and vampishly gregarious and carefree. Proof, were it needed, that regardless of the quality of the material at hand, she always gave it her all. (For further compelling evidence on this score, check out 1970’s Trog.)

Where What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, released two years earlier, remains this writer’s favourite Joan Crawford film, for undemanding chills and spills – or simply to see the actress firing on all dramatic thrusters – they don’t come much better than Strait-Jacket. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled to the screen for the closing Columbia Pictures logo, slyly tinkered with by Castle in a wickedly comic wink that none of this stuff should be taken too seriously.

The film is available on disc as part of Sony Pictures’ Choice Collection and comes with a respectable array of supplementary goodies. Along with “Battle Axe” (an entertaining retrospective that runs just shy of 15-minutes and includes an interview with Diane Baker), there’s the vintage promo featurette mentioned at the start of this review, some 1963 Crawford wardrobe test footage, brief axe test footage (conspicuously more gruesome than anything that made it into the finished film) and a TV spot. Regrettably the transfer of the film itself is a little disappointing, the image often resembling that of an old VHS recording desperately in need of a tweak on the tracking; not a deal-breaker, but certainly worth keeping in mind.

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CLICK HERE TO READ LEE PFEIFFER'S ORIGINAL REVIEW OF "STRAIT-JACKET" 

Iconic Hammer actresses Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro. (All photos copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES

(The following article was originally run in November, 2014)  

BY ADRIAN SMITH 

With around sixty special guests in attendance, the Westminster Central Hall on Saturday the 7th of November was packed to its domed roof with excited Hammer film fans.

Familiar faces including Caroline Munro, Valerie Leon, Madeline Smith and Martine Beswick were providing some glamour, but the organisers managed to make the event extra-memorable by securing the presence of Edina Ronay, George Cole, Freddie Jones and others who had not signed autographs at a fan event before. At times queues to meet them ran out of the building and down the street! Other rare UK appearances were made from Veronica Carlson and Linda Hayden, flown in from the US to meet their fans. It was an incredible opportunity to meet an amazing selection of Hammer stars, directors and producers.

A huge selection of original Hammer film memorabilia was also available courtesy of the brilliantly eclectic stalls around the hall. Prices ranged from the eye-watering (£250 for an original poster!) to the affordable, with hard-to-find DVDs, magazines, novels, t-shirts and more on offer. Between browsing fascinating lobby-card sets and collecting autographed photos, I'm sure several fans had to make more than one trip to the nearest cash machine.

As if this alone did not make this a must-see event, there was also a busy schedule of events throughout the day overseen by genre scholars Jonathon Rigby and Sir Christopher Frayling. Peter Cushing's personal secretary Joyce Broughton tearfully shared her feelings of this much-loved actor (who was praised throughout the day by many who knew him). Joyce said that she would never reveal the location of Cushing's ashes, as he requested that his last resting place not become a shrine.

Lalla Ward and Robert Tayman, the latter also attending a fan event for the first time, discussed their experiences making Vampire Circus (1972). For Lalla it was her first film role following acting school. Robert's sense of humour was the driest and most sardonic of the day and he was clearly enjoying the opportunity to talk about his role as Count Mitterhaus.

Barbara Shelley

Barbara Shelley made a lot of films for Hammer, from their WWII prison-camp dramas to Quatermass and the Pit (1967). She revealed that she had swallowed one of her vampire teeth during a scene on Dracula - Prince of Darkness (1965)! She also expressed her gratitude to Hammer film fans for making her feel so good, and revealed that co-star Julian Glover referred to the film as "Quater-piss on the Mat" because of the smell of rank clay on the set!

A Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974) reunion saw Dave Prowse meeting up with Shane Briant, Madeline Smith and Philip Voss. Although in poor health, and beginning with an admission that his memory is causing him problems, Prowse was in good form and enjoyed talking about his playing Frankenstein's monster for the second time in a Hammer film.

Shne Briant, Sir Christopher Frayling, Philip Voss, Madeline Smith and David Prowse.

Hungarian director Peter Sasdy made three films for Hammer including Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) and was very detailed in his discussion of the directing process. Beginning his career in television, he had brought a new look to the Hammer gothics with his take on Dracula, and continued that with Countess Dracula and Hands of the Ripper (both 1971), all rather unique entries in Hammer's late horror films.

Finally event organiser Thomas Bowington was joined onstage by Caroline Munro, Veronica Carlson and Martine Beswick, all three of whom were entertaining and honest in discussing their time with Hammer. Martine shared the problems she had experienced on Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) when demands came through for her to appear completely nude, Veronica praised Freddie Francis, her director on Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1868), and Caroline never has a bad word to say about anyone, even when she was left buried in a hole in the ground during a rain storm whilst everyone else took a tea break during the shooting of Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972).

Robert Tayman, Lalla Ward and Jonathon Rigby.

As the distance between classic Hammer and the 21st century continues to increase, eventsof this scale are unlikely to happen again. The good news however is that The London Film Convention holds six events a year in Westminster! 

For information on forthcoming events go to http://www.londonfilmconvention.co.uk/index.html

BY DANIEL D'ARPE

Throughout his career, director Marco Bellocchio has been no stranger to controversy. A former supporter of militant left wing politics, many of his films have strong socialistic and violent themes woven throughout them. Although he has somewhat mellowed with age, his younger years were still quite radical. Few of his films demonstrate this better than 1986’s Devil in the Flesh (Il Diavolo in Corpo), a sexually charged film set during the terrorism and turmoil of Italy’s “Years of Lead”. Loosely based on Raymond Radiguet’s novel, this Italian-French production stars Maruschka Detmers and Federico Pitzalis as two lovers entrapped by the passion they have for one another. As they soon discover, though, passion alone cannot sustain a healthy relationship, especially when one person is engaged to a jailed terrorist. Although the plot a bit clichéd, Devil stands out for being one of the first X rated films to not only feature a mainstream actress, but also be released in the U.S. by a major distributor.

Andrea (Pitzalis) is an eighteen year old student who, like many people in their final years of high school, is quite bored with all the monotonous lectures in the classroom. One day class is interrupted by a commotion from a nearby rooftop. Looking around, the class discovers that a young woman is threatening to jump, drawing a crowd of onlookers. One of these onlookers is Giulia (Detmers), an older woman that Andrea sees and immediately becomes infatuated with. Pursuing her, Andrea and Giulia eventually develop a friendship which quickly becomes sexual and transforms into a torrid affair. Yet, complicating this affair is the fact that Giulia is engaged to a man who is in prison for charges of terrorism. Also, Giulia’s soon to be mother-in-law becomes quite suspicious and endeavors to find out who is sleeping with her son’s fiancé. As if all this is not enough, Andrea discovers that Giulia is a rather unstable woman who shows hints at the capacity of violence. All in all, these factors make all the problems Romeo and Juliet faced seem quite tame in comparison.

Credit must be given to Pitzalis, who depicts the detached, devil-may-care attitude of a disaffected teenager with great conviction. As the film progresses, it is clear that Andrea really has no ambitions, no dreams, and no real concerns in the world. The only thing he actually cares about is Giulia, and the lust he feels towards her. While his performance is admirable, it is still undoubtedly Maruschka Detmers who steals the show with her own dazzling skill. She doesn’t simply portray a woman who is controlled by passion, but rather a woman who is trapped by passion. It is readily apparent that for Giulia, passion is both her savior and tormentor. The longer her relationship with Andrea continues, the closer she is to being pushed over the edge into outright madness. Happiness and misery come together hand and hand. Between Giulia’s hysterical laughs, longings for Andrea, and sudden bursts of energy followed by crashing lows, the film begs audiences to answer a specific question. Does Giulia truly love Andrea, or does she simply need/use him? Either way, it seems unlikely that “ happily ever after” is in the cards for these two.

Devil is sexually explicit, and as such it may make some viewers uncomfortable to watch. In today’s day and age, relations between high school students and older adults are gravely serious matters. While numerous similar films have been made, there still may be some viewers who may find the vivid subject matter in poor taste, especially in a scene roughly halfway through the film. In one of the more infamous moments in Bellocchio’s film career, Devil in the Flesh features a scene of un-simulated sex between Pitzalis and Detmers. Although brief and done (for lack of a better word) tastefully, it is still unusual to see outside adult films (although to be fair, many contemporary TV shows such as Game of Thrones have come pretty close to approaching, and breaking down, that same taboo). Understandably, Italian producers wanted the scene to be cut, yet Bellocchio refused. Eventually, Italian Courts ruled in his favor, and he was able to complete the film with his cinematic vision fully intact.

Detmers made a bold career choice by agreeing to the scene, because she became one of the first mainstream actresses to participate in an act of un-simulated sex. Initially, she did defend her choice, saying that the scene had not been done or portrayed in a vulgar manner. While she may be right, it became something that would stand out in her resume and overshadow many of her other accomplishments.

To this day, critics are still divided about this infamous scene, although the majority of opinions seem to be unfavorable. While some will argue that it captures the raw passion that exists between Andrea and Giulia, many others argue that it trivializes the passion by trading in for shock value. Even with the relaxation in standards today for media (again, here’s looking at you Game of Thrones; Blue is the Warmest Color) there is a fine that can’t be crossed without penalty. When Devil premiered in the United States, it received an X rating and was confined to art house theaters. Still, the fact that any major distributor (Orion Pictures) even chose to showcase the film was pretty remarkable: it shows how times were changing, albeit slowly.

Devil in the Flesh was made in the 1980s, during a period where the Italian film industry was in crisis. While in previous decades the industry had been one of the most world renown, the 80s saw a widening gap between mainstream and art house cinema. To this day many people, including Quentin Tarantino, lament over the current state of Italian cinema. They feel that the industry has lost that magic touch that helped produce some of the most iconic movies in years past. Agree or disagree, this particular movie is clearly different from something that would have normally been shown in theaters.

Both NoShame Films and MYA Communications released fully restored versions of Devil in the Flesh. Although both labels are defunct, the DVDs are still readily available on sites such as Amazon for decent prices. The NoShame edition does have more special features, but both editions are uncut and feature gorgeously re-mastered colors and crisp audio. Overall, lovers of Bellocchio and art house films might just want to check this one out; highly recommended.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of  The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and in anticipation of the forthcoming big screen version of the classic television series, Cinema Retro will be offering periodic reviews of individual episodes of the show, which aired between September 1964 and January 1968. The episodes will be chosen at random and not presented in any specific order, thus offering analysis of telecasts from the four seasons. Reviews will be written by U.N.C.L.E. scholars and long-time devotees of the series.

BY C.W. WALKER

Air Date: February 1, 1965; repeated June 21, 1965

Filmed December 16-18; 21-23, 1964

Director: Seymour Robbie

Writer: Dick Nelson

Whenever fans new to The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ask me which episodes they should start with, The Mad Mad Tea Party Affair is always at the top of my list. It was filmed just before Christmas and aired in February, midway through the first season when the series was really hitting its stride. Although it lacks the film noir feel of some other first season episodes like “The Dove Affair” and “The Never Never Affair” or the colorful ‘60s vibe of later seasons, it contains all the elements that defined the series and made it so enormously popular. In many ways, this is a quintessential episode.

The plot effectively employs a three-cornered structure so integral to the series which always includes an initially confused but ultimately helpful Innocent; a smart, powerful and deadly Villain, and of course, the agents supported by the U.N.C.L.E. organization. In this case, the Innocent is a hapless store clerk named Kay Lorrison played by Zohra Lampert, who many will remember from the Goya Bean commercials of the 1980s. Lorrison is with her fiancée, Walter, buying lunch from a pushcart on a New York side street, when a mysterious man accidentally-on-purpose smears mustard on her dress, necessitating a trip into Del Floria’s dry cleaning shop to take care of the damage.

One of the attractions of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. series was its central “wainscot fantasy” --- that is, the idea that an incredible but largely invisible and exotic world of spies fighting evil existed side by side with our everyday, mundane existence. As with Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, young folks in the audience wanted to believe that U.N.C.L.E. was real (the official sounding disclaimer at the end of each episode told us so!) and adults could have fun playing along. Everyone coveted an U.N.C.L.E. identification card (preferably gold) or fervently hoped that one day, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin would come knocking on our door, dragging us along with them to save the world. Even the United Nations got into the act when visitors asked guides to allow them a peek at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters.

The bad guys (often, but not always) were in league with Thrush, and could be found lurking just behind the facades of the most innocuous places like book stores and car washes, beauty salons and vacuum cleaner repair shops. To enter U.N.C.L.E.’s sleek futuristic headquarters (what Kay later describes as this “chrome and gunmetal madhouse”), all you had to do was pull the coat hook in the middle booth of Del Floria’s. Poor Kay: she doesn’t even pull that iconic hook. While she’s still patiently waiting, dressed in just her underwear, the back wall suddenly swings open, revealing U.N.C.L.E.’s pulsing high tech reception area and, like Alice, Kay is suddenly propelled through a modern looking glass.

The episode acknowledges its debt to Lewis Carroll with act titles like “The Rabbit Hole Revisited” and “The Mad Hatter’s Inquisition.” Dick Nelson only wrote two other episodes besides this one, but with his contributions of the retired agent, Albert Sully in “The Odd Man Affair,” and the infamous Thrush operative, Angelique, in “The Deadly Games Affair,” his contribution to the series’ canon was considerable.

Kay’s unplanned sojourn at HQ means she may miss her own wedding, but there’s a much larger crisis shaping up in the form of increasingly serious threats being made against U.N.C.L.E. which is hosting a top secret international summit within the HQ building later that day. The aforementioned mysterious man (a bemused Richard Haydn), who begins the story by attacking HQ with a model airplane, turns out to be a red herring: he’s actually U.N.C.L.E. chief Alexander Waverly’s brother-in-law, a logic professor named Hemingway. The real villain is Riley (a misleadingly pleasant Peter Haskell) a mole in U.N.C.L.E.’s demolition lab, who is working under the direction of the notorious Thrush scientist, Dr. Egret.

Egret is notable, not only because she is a formidable professional woman, but also because she could effectively transform her physical appearance. Thus disguised, she was supposed to be a recurrent antagonist but played by different actresses. As it turned out, she will show up only once more, in “The Girls from Nazarone Affair,” definitely a lost opportunity.

Along with the Innocent, the Villain and the agents all scrambling around the sleek, shiny corridors of U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, , “The Mad Mad Tea Party” also features some interesting gadgetry, including an innocent looking pen that, when pressed against a skull, can instantly homogenize a brain. This wicked weapon is deliberately contrasted with Hemingway’s more mundane attempts to keep the agents on their toes. For the most part, veteran television director Seymour Robbie plays it straight and simple, although he does include a particularly notable low angle shot of shell casings sliding across the corridor floor after a shootout.

It all ends well of course, but not before some very close calls, enough for Kay to realize that although the life of an enforcement agent can be terribly exciting, she’s better off pursuing a nice quiet life with good old boring Walter. I’m not quite sure we in the audience felt the same way. Illya looks awfully dashing in that black turtleneck at the end, and his playful wink is certainly inviting.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Vinegar Syndrome has released a limited edition (1,500 units) dual format edition of the 1978 adult movie hit "Pretty Peaches" by director Alex deRenzy, who was perhaps the most prolific director the medium had ever seen. deRenzy didn't crank out cheapo grind house movies. Instead, he tried to incorporate relatively high production values, often shooting in outdoor locations. He also had an eye for attracting some of the most exotic actresses of the era. "Pretty Peaches" is one of deRenzy's most notable achievements. The movie introduced Desiree Costeau, who would go on to be a legendary name in erotic cinema. deRenzy made hardcore movies with some substance and style and this title is no exception. The plot finds the title character, Peaches (Costeau), an amiable but air-headed young beauty,  racing along in her jeep  in a hurry to get to Virginia City, Nevada, in the hopes of attending her father's civil wedding ceremony to his second wife, a young black woman with an insatiable sexual appetite. Peaches arrives just in the nick of time for the ceremony but after making some small talk with her father, she speeds off again in her jeep en route to San Francisco. Along the way, her jeep goes off the road and she is knocked unconscious. Two young men race to her assistance but, upon examining the scantily-clad Peaches, become sexually aroused. One of them goes so far as to violate her while she is still unconscious. When she finally awakes, she has complete amnesia. The men use this to their advantage by convincing her that they own the jeep and offer her a ride to San Francisco, where they coincidentally share an apartment. Peaches goes along but is troubled by the fact that she can't recall her name or anything about her background. While in the big city she tries to find professional help but ends up receiving treatment from a mad, sex-crazed doctor  whose "therapy" consists of inducing enemas! She doesn't fare much better when she applies for a job as an exotic dancer and ends up being violated by a gang of lesbians. Peaches is also uncomfortable living with her two male companions, who have a steady stream of loose women over to the apartment who they bed down without any regard for privacy concerns. Ultimately, she meets a handsome, kindly psychiatrist who offers to help her if she drops by his house that evening. Naturally, this offer isn't what it seems, either, and Peaches ends up in a major orgy where her memory is jolted back in an unpleasant way when she sees her own father (!) participating in the goings-on.

"Pretty Peaches" is very much from the school of 1970s erotica that blended slapstick comedy with hardcore sex. As the title character, Desiree Costeau is quite a find- at least in terms of her physical qualifications. She also gives an amusing performance, though it's doubtful Katharine Hepburn lost much sleep about her entry into the acting profession. The film is populated with other mainstays of the adult film industry of that time period including John Leslie, Joey Silvera and Paul Thomas. Juliet Anderson (aka "Aunt Peg") also makes her screen debut in this flick playing an assertive maid who ends up in a threesome with Peaches' dad and his new bride. Director deRenzy has good instincts when it comes to turning down the comedy elements when the action gets hot and he does provide some genuinely erotic sequences- but in the aggregate, the film will probably appeal most to those who like to mix laughs with their salacious cinematic thrills.

The Vinegar Syndrome transfer is just about perfect, having been remastered from a 35mm source print. Chances are the film looks better today than it did on the big screen. The release contains some special features including three trailers for other deRenzy films and an interview with film historian Ted Mcilvenna, who knew deRenzy since the 1960s. Mcilvenna was a social activist in San Francisco who was fighting for sexual freedom and crusaded against the archaic laws in Britain that criminalized homosexuality until 1967. he relates how deRenzy was so prolific in his work that he once discovered 19 completed feature films in his archive that the director had not gotten around to editing. There is also a rare interview with deRenzy himself, shot on VHS tape shortly before his death in 2001. Vinegar Syndrome believes this is the only known filmed interview with deRenzy. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

"Sex is only dirty if you're doing it right."- Woody Allen

Well, "Fifty Shades of Grey" has finally opened and- predictably- it looks to be an international blockbuster. All over the world, BDSM ("Bondage, Discipline, Submission and Masochism", for the uninitiated) will be the flavor of the week as couples dabble in getting naughty. But the very notion that the real world of this peculiar sexual fetish could be accurately presented in a none-threatening, Harlequin romance-like manner is negated by the fact that the film is rated R and has been released by a major studio. True, there was a brief period of time when major movie studios did push the envelope in terms of depicting raw sexual freedoms. Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris" was made over forty years ago but would be considered un-releasable by the Hollywood suits who run the industry today. Even United Artists, which had the courage to distribute the X-rated sensation back in the day, tried to have it both ways by re-issuing the film a few years later in a "safe", R-rated version, which was about as pointless as re-cutting "The Sound of Music" and eliminating the songs.  As with the source novel, the film version of "Fifty Shades" will become a sensation with people who think they're being daring by tying up their giggling partner to a bed post while playfully spanking them. Meanwhile, look for this Disneyfication of a sexual fetish to reach into other mediums- especially network television, which hasn't produced a truly original idea in decades. You can almost see the executives sitting around the long tables trying desperately to figure out how to work a bondage and discipline theme into mainstream fare:

"Hey, let's do a kinky TV remake of "My Fair Lady". We can have the leading actress sing "The Pain in Spain Falls Mainly in the Plain"!

"Forget that, we have to find out how to merge this stupid Duck Dynasty craze in with kinky sex. How about reviving "The Beverly Hillbillies" and calling the lead characters the Clamp-etts?"

It all leads to the question of whether any sexual practice can still be edgy if you can picture your parents and grandparents indulging in it. Small wonder that those who participate in the "real" world of BDSM have scoff at the pure vanilla depiction of their fetishes in "Fifty Shades". 

Anyone who considers for a minute whether to explore the world of sado-masochism would be well-advised to see director Christina Voros's 2013 documentary "Kink", which has just been released on DVD, appropriately, by Dark Sky Films. The movie, produced by actor James Franco, caused a buzz and won acclaim on the film festival circuit (including Sundance)  for its unstinting look at how BDSM is marketed to those who find it stimulating. Director Voros deserves praise for going all the way and not sanitizing the shocking depictions of these dark and generally sinister practices. The film makes no judgments either for or against those who indulge, but concentrates entirely on the business aspect of marketing BDSM-themed videos. The movie centers on the company Kink.com which is located in a gigantic building in San Francisco that was once used as an armory. The company's founder, Peter Acworth, an affable, forty-something Brit, relates how he got very wealthy by catering to people's darkest sexual desires. He takes us on a tour of the cavernous facility, pointing out that the foreboding nature of the huge, empty rooms suits his purposes just fine, as they provide ready-made film sets. The film observes some productions- in- the making, both straight and gay-themed. Voros interviews both cast members and directors, all of whom take their work very seriously and take pride in turning out slick, professional productions. It becomes abundantly clear that this is no longer your father's version of S&M films, which were generally relegated to old B&W 16mm loops in which naked guys in black socks and garters lamely "whipped" bored actresses, who had one eye on their wristwatch to see when quitting time was. Within the bowels of the Kink building, any number of productions are going on simultaneously. A surprising number of the directors are females, including at least one butch lesbian. They come across as generally intelligent and likable. All of the participants maintain that the secret to Kink.com's success is that they only hire real life adherents of BDSM both in front of and behind the cameras. They have female casting directors who go through a massive array of available "talent" to weed out actors who might only be motivated by money. The theory is that such individuals can't fake finding pleasure in pain and generally have to be fired. Other actors are eliminated because of objections from the leading actresses. (One male co-star is eliminated on the basis that "He's a vagina hog- he never wants to get out!")  Acworth states with pride that his productions are also very well monitored in attempts to ensure that all participants are healthy and enthused. He acknowledges that there is a certain danger of someone going too far and hurting a submissive, especially when said submissive routinely cries "Stop!" but really means "Keep going!" Thus, every submissive must employ a "safe" word that, if uttered, means that all action must cease immediately. The film humanizes the participants in this peculiar practice as much as possible. In between takes on a film in which a woman is being ravaged by a group of men, the cast chats amiably about such mundane topics as organic diets and the lure of a good chicken pot pie. A few minutes later, we watch people willingly subject themselves to almost unspeakable tortures. A gay "bottom" is submerged in a bathtub while an innocent-looking young woman is violated by a sex toy mounted on what can only be described as an automated piece of industrial machinery. This is not for the squeamish. Voros doesn't go so far as to show actual penetration, but doesn't hold back on showing full frontal nudity and sexually aroused males. 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Vinegar Syndrome has released another double bill of vintage erotica. "Three Ripening Cherries" is a 1979 production that centers on three high school girls with a cougar mom who sits them down for a frank discussion about sex. It's clear the young women are eager to enter this aspect of their adult lives so mamma decides to give them some blunt "dos and don'ts". Sitting around the kitchen table, mom dispenses some cautionary tales based on her own experiences. Seems she was once lured to the home of a trusted middle-aged man who drugged and seduced her. Mom explains that the experience was terrible and advises her daughters to save themselves for the right man. Fine up to now. However, she then almost gleefully recounts an abundance of other sexual experiences throughout her life, all of which were seemingly far more exciting and satisfying. By the time she is through, her daughters are so worked up that they retire to bed early and can't contain themselves. Since this is a movie made by males for males, the anticipated cliches are in abundance beginning with the sexually frustrated girls engaging in a lesbian threesome. Ultimately they attempt to get some male lovers but find their frustrations only increase. Some of the hunks they approach turn out to be gay. Another guy can't perform and a third potential lover ends up being an S&M addict who ties one of the sisters to a bed and whips her. If there is a moral aspect to the kinky tale it's that the sisters learn that mamma was right and they should wait patiently for the right man to come along. The film, directed by Carlos Tobalina, has a good deal of humor but the sex scenes are played for maximum erotic impact, as Tobalina shuns the slapstick elements that defined many porn films of the era. The film's female leads are Misty, Mary Ryan and Dorothy LeMay, all of whom are refreshing in the sense that they are not gorgeous goddesses but really do look like "the girl next door". I confess to never having heard of any of them but the trailer for the film (included on the DVD) plays up their teaming like it is an Irwin Allen all-star production. None of the actresses can actually act but that's academic in a movie like this. 

The second half of the double bill is "Sensual Fire", another Carlos Tobalina production with the director working under the nom de plum of Troy Benny. The story finds the ubiquitous porn presence of the era, Elliott Gould look-a-like Jamie Gillis, as Roy, a self-employed businessman who is happily living with his gorgeous girlfriend, a young widow named Laura (Jessica St. James), who seems to have no other daily activity other than luring Roy into bed. Things go awry when- in a tweak on the "Lolita" story line- Laura's teenage daughter Teena (Dorothy LeMay) returns from school to live with them. Roy is instantly obsessed with the young girl, especially when he spies on her through a secret peephole in her bedroom wall,  in true Norman Bates style. This being a porn flick, what he observes isn't Teena studiously poring over textbooks in anticipation of exams. Instead, she prances around stark naked and constantly pleasures herself. At various other times Roy endures the frustration watching her get it on with male lovers. His mind becomes so tormented that he seeks counsel from a psychiatrist (John Seeman) who advises him to satiate his desires by going to a bordello and seeking out a girl who looks like Teena. The ploy works- but only temporarily. Before long, Roy can't concentrate on his work and his love life with Laura is also suffering, as he constantly fantasizes about Teena. Determined to make love to the teenager, he devises a plot whereby he says he has to leave town on a business trip, knowing that Laura and Teena have been invited to a kinky costume party. He turns up at the party dressed as Zorro (!) and in one of the film's more amusing scenes, neither mother or daughter recognize him as he calculates how to use the disguise as a vehicle for seducing Teena. "Sensual Fire" is an above average porn flick for the era, as it boasts a fairly engrossing story line and production values and the sex scenes are fairly erotic. Director Tobalina turns up in a small part playing a hip priest who counsels Roy on his sex problems. An original trailer that is included that features scenes not in the final cut.  The transfer is quite good, as is generally the case with Vinegar Syndrome releases.  

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By Don Stradley

The final image of Arthur Penn’s “Night Moves” certainly gets the movie pundits in a lather. The scene consists of Gene Hackman as private eye Harry Moseby, shot to pieces but still trying to steer his motor boat to shore. Bleeding badly from his wounds, he’s unable to reach the gears; he ends up setting the boat in a circling motion. From above, we see Harry’s boat circling aimlessly in the Gulf Stream. This scene, which brings the film to a finish, has been described as a metaphor for many things, including America’s lost identity after the Watergate era, to Moseby’s own fruitless search for the truth, to Penn’s own floundering career. To me, it always looks like the boat is going down a drain (or a toilet). It’s the sort of ending that leaves a viewer wondering if you’ve missed something, and leaves critics tripping over their tongues trying to explain it. It’s a bummer, that’s for sure.

But don’t let your aversion to despair prevent you from watching “Night Moves”. I think it actually trumps the self-conscious “Chinatown” as an example of neo-noir, mostly because it doesn’t dress itself up in period garb; instead, it settles into its own time period, 1975, with Moseby being as much a man of the ‘70s as he is of the noir tradition. Moseby isn’t above roughing a guy up for some information, and he certainly beds down his share of women, but he also deals with such modern ‘70s elements as a cheating wife, an estranged father, and his share of shattered dreams. Poor Harry is not only a failed football player, but he’s even failing in his second career, that of a private investigator. What actor from noir’s golden era could play Moseby? Bogart was too self-assured. Alan Ladd was too much the tortured angel figure. Widmark? Maybe. Mitchum? Never. Hackman, raw-boned but intelligent and slightly melancholy, was born to play Moseby. He’s just about in his prime here, on the heels of those great performances in “The French Connection”, “The Conversation”, and “Scarecrow”. As Moseby, he’s the private eye as working class mug. He’s too good for the work he’s in, but not too good to mingle with the people he’s investigating.

The screenplay, by Brit novelist turned Hollywood writer Alan Sharp, borrows all of the right elements from the noir cannon: A faded actress hires Moseby to locate her missing daughter, Delly. The search brings Moseby to Florida where he finds Delly with her step-father Tom, a charter pilot who seems to be part of a smuggling operation. It’s all a bit vague and confusing, but it’s so beautifully played by Hackman and company that you won’t mind not getting it all. When you get to the end, don’t try to figure out what just happened, because the movie wasn’t designed to be understood. Just absorb it and walk away.

The supporting cast is up to the challenge of keeping up with Hackman, especially a young James Woods as a slippery mechanic who knows more than he lets on, and a 17-year-old Melanie Griffith as the sinfully attractive Delly (short for Delilah). John Crawford plays Tom as a blubbery middle-aged doofus, but his climactic fight scene with Hackman is splendid, one of the unsung fight scenes of the ‘70s, right up there with Ernest Borgnine attacking Lee Marvin with a hammer in “Emperor of the North”. Jennifer Warren is Tom’s girlfriend Paula, a slightly faded hippie chick whose resume includes such varied jobs as teaching, stripping, and hooking. Warren is one of those actresses who didn’t act in many movies, but looks familiar because she did so much TV work. Either that, or it’s because she resembles that other faded hippie chick, Susan Anspach.

Melanie Griffith as the wayward teenager.

The shoot took place during the second half of 1973 in Los Angeles as well as at Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida. It was a troubled production. Hackman, a sullen sort to begin with, was enduring some personal problems; Sharp was unhappy with the handling of his script, and later complained about Penn’s “indecisiveness”; and Penn was in a dark mood due to the darkness of the material, which he described as being about “a country gone boundless.” The director cut scenes that slowed the action, assuming the audience could figure out what was happening. This is what gives the film its quick pace, but may also add to the sense that we’re losing something. Penn also admitted that halfway through the shoot he stopped caring so much about creating a detective story, and became more interested in revealing Harry Moseby’s inner-self.

“We didn’t pay that much attention to plot,” Penn said at the time of the movie’s premiere in 1975. “We thought that plot was not going to be achievable, that there was never going to be way of saying ‘Ah-ha!’ in the last reel when you find out that so-and-so did so-and-so. And my only excuse or explanation for that is that we’re part of a generation which knows there are no solutions.”

Ironically, nine days after the release of “Night Moves” came the release of “Jaws”, a movie that set records at the box office and forever changed the way movies were made and distributed. Steven Spielberg’s shark may as well have eaten every print of “Night Moves”, for the arrival of “Jaws” more or less marked the end of contemplative stories like the one about Harry Moseby. There was nothing vague about the ending of “Jaws”, that’s for sure. The good guys killed the shark, and that was that. There were certainly no conversations as you left the theater about whether the shark really died or not. The era of introspective characters and vague endings was over. No solutions? Just blow it up, Jack.

In the years since “Night Moves” first hit theaters, its supporters have praised it as an underappreciated gem, and I agree. There are some great lines here, like when Moseby’s wife walks in as he’s watching a football game. She asks, “Whose winning?”

“Nobody,” he says. “One team is just losing more slowly.”

Little nuggets like that one keep the movie afloat, even as the story becomes harder to follow.

“Night Moves” is available on the Warner Bros streaming service. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Vinegar Syndrome has released yet another retro erotica double feature on one DVD. Both flicks are from the big hair era of the 1980s and both features center on similar themes: a frustrated young woman whose workaholic lifestyle leaves virtually no time for their love life. "Purely Physical" (1982) is the more impressive feature, largely because it has some production values and a reasonably intelligent plot, coupled with relatively accomplished actors and actresses. Laura Lazare plays Kathy, a young, overworked college girl who needs extra income. She applies for and gets  a job as the night clerk at a local motel. It doesn't take long for the outwardly prim and proper Kathy to observe that the place's primary source of income is as a "hot sheet" destination for people who want to carry out their sexual fantasies. She keeps a poker face even when confronted with the obvious intentions of her clients. There is a nervous young teenage boy who has barely cobbled together the $32 room fee in order to finally consummate his love for his cute girlfriend. There is a dorky, chunky guy who believes the hot number who picked him up in a bar really just wants to sit around the motel room and indulge in his passion for movie trivia. (She turns out to be a conniving hooker.) There is the frustrated traveling saleswoman (Juliet Anderson as "Aunt Peg", the original screen cougar) who finds she has no time for lovers so has to take sexual matters into her own hands. Finally, there is an exhausted businessman whose friend sends up two hookers to please him. He rejects their offer but when they inform him that they are actually lovers, he relents and let's them indulge. Predictably, his exhaustion fades pretty quickly and he gets in on the action. Then there's the attractive and wealthy young woman who want to indulge in her fantasies by renting a room and bringing in her two male tennis instructors. Faced with this sexual tidal wave on her doorstep every night, Kathy finally succumbs to make her own fantasies come true.  "Purely Physical" was apparently filmed, at least in part, at a sizable motel, though one wonders if the owners who consented knew exactly what kind of movie was being made on their premises. The opening credits are actually rather impressive, with some good photography of Kathy bicycling through busy city streets. Lazare, who appeared in numerous porn films throughout the 1980s, overcomes the bad hairstyles of the day and gives a fairly accomplished performance. The film only disappoints on one level: the much-hinted-at match-up between Kathy and Aunt Peg never occurs, beyond some mild flirting. Still, "Purely Physical" is one of the better porn efforts of the era.

"Cathouse Fever" (1984), on the other hand, is a lazy "quickie" feature with Becky Savage as a young L.A. secretary whose work hours deprive her of any romantic relationships. She makes the bold decision to join a bordello in Las Vegas. Aside from some "B" roll footage of Vegas in the era, the rest of the film is shot in one-room settings with the exception of a few beach scenes in which Becky is seen walking on the beach. Once at the bordello, Kathy enthusiastically embraces her work, bedding and pleasing an oddball selection of guys, some of whom probably mirror the real life experience of hookers in that they are decidedly unattractive. The movie stresses comedy, with some slapstick sequences inserted into the action. The routine script includes the usual standard sequences involving lesbians and group sex but most of it plays out in mundane fashion.

Both features boast excellent transfers and include the original trailers.

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Billie Whitelaw, the acclaimed British actress who won praise for her roles on stage as well as on screen, has died in a nursing home at age 82. Whitelaw began appearing in British films in the 1960s and gradually became one of the nation's most reliable and respected actresses. Her film titles include "Carve Her Name With Pride", "Charlie Bubbles", "The Krays", "Gumshoe", Hitchcock's "Frenzy", "Start the Revolution Without Me", "The Dark Crystal" and her final big screen venture, the 2007 hit cult comedy "Hot Fuzz". She is best known to American audiences as Mrs. Baylock, the creepy housemaid from the 1976 version of "The Omen" who has a knock-down brawl to the death with Gregory Peck. Whitelaw, who was also a popular presence through frequent appearances in television series, attributed her rise to stardom to her close association with avant garde playwright Samuel Beckett, with whom she collaborated on numerous acclaimed stage productions. For more click here 

Virna Lisi, one of the most prominent European actresses to find success in Hollywood during the 1960s, has died at age 78. The exact cause of her death has not been revealed but the NY Times states that she was recently told she had an incurable disease. Lisi's stunning looks helped her find success in her native Italy before she followed the path taken by Ursula Andress, Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg and other European beauties and moved to Hollywood. Here she made a sensational big screen impression opposite Jack Lemmon in the hit 1965 comedy "How to Murder Your Wife". Lisi never made any cinematic classics but during her years in the film industry she starred opposite such prominent leading men as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Richard Burton, George C. Scott, Marcello Mastroianni, Robert Vaughn and David Niven. She was recently widowed and said that she had gone into self-imposed retirement because her husband had always objected to her career as a cinematic sex siren. For more click here.  

BY ROD BARNETT

I was completely gob-smacked by this one, folks. From the title and description of this 1980 release, I was expecting a smarmy slasher film that used the holiday season for a cheap backdrop and even cheaper jokes. What I got instead was a very well-made character study reminiscent of Polanski's Repulsion. Although not as good as that classic, it stands proudly beside it as a fascinating picture of a slow descent into madness and murder. If anything, Harry Standling is a more sympathetic main character as we are shown in a brief prologue the genesis of both his fixation on Christmas and the reason for his awkwardness with people. At an impressionable age the young Harry crept downstairs on Christmas Eve to see Santa sexually gratifying his mother. That this Santa was actually his father didn't register and the traumatized boy never really got over the sight of Jolly Old Saint Nick pleasuring Mom. But let me tell you the story.....

Harry Standling (Brandon Maggart) is an introverted middle-aged man whose hobby is all things Christmas. Perfectly in sync with his obsessive regard for the season, he has worked in a toy factory for most of his adult life. Harry's years of experience have finally landed him a management job in the company and he seems to have thought that his new position would allow him to make better toys for kids. With the Christmas season approaching, he finds the hostile anti-holiday attitudes of his co-workers and the disappointment of no longer working directly with the toys getting to him. But what starts off looking like a bout of holiday depression begins to turn nasty.

Clearly sad and disappointed by the adults around him, he begins to focus on the joys Christmas brings to kids. For years Harry has kept detailed written accounts of the actions of the children that live in his neighborhood and bound books listing "bad" and "good" kids line his shelves. As he starts spending more time going through them, adding black & white marks, he becomes more unstable.

In his home workshop he fashions a Santa costume, paints an elaborate mural of Santa's sleigh on the sides of his van and begins to make plans. Learning from a snide PR man of his company's halfhearted stab at charity by donating toys to the local children's hospital, Harry is livid. Dressing as Santa he sneaks into the factory at night, stealing a van load of toys, and on Christmas Eve delivers them to the surprised and happy hospital staff. Elated by this near perfect moment of holiday cheer he tracks the company PR man to a church where he's attending a Christmas service. After waiting outside, a silent Santa, Harry is taunted by some of the churchgoers and stabs two of them to death with a toy solider! Driving away he next goes to the house of a co-worker who has insulted and belittled him repeatedly. After a failed attempt to go down the chimney he finds an open basement window, creeps in and kills the man right in front of his wife. Disturbingly, the dead man's awakened kids wave happily to the departing Santa just as their mother's screams ring out.

On Christmas Day the cops are running around hunting a killer Santa, even going so far as to put a bunch of them in a line up for witnesses from the church. But an APB on St. Nick on December the 25th isn't exactly the best move and does not net them their guy. Harry has spent the night in his van outside the toy factory and awakens to the realization of his plight. Afraid to go home he breaks into the place and, as if in a fantasy about really being Santa Claus, turns on all the toy making equipment. As news reports stoke the fears of the public Harry's younger brother Philip (Jeffery DeMunn) begins to think his brother is involved. He becomes convinced that his unbalanced sibling is the killer after a rambling phone call from him that afternoon. When night falls on Christmas, Harry ventures out again but ends up being chased through the streets by an actual torch-bearing mob until he escapes to his brother's home. An enraged Philip demands answers, resulting in a family fight that brings the tragic tale to a close.

In a film with many things to praise the first should be the performance of Brandon Maggart. He does a truly brilliant job of getting inside Harry's head, showing us the broken way his mind functions. The moment I knew he was simply not going to make a wrong step was in a sequence midway through his Christmas Eve rounds. He has stopped outside a community house and is watching a neighborhood party through a window. Spotted in his Santa outfit, he's pulled inside and asked to join in the celebration with children and adults alike. It's a beautiful scene that shows what his life could have been like as he happily dances with everyone and enjoys a few drinks. Maggart is note perfect here — he even elicits a chill as he says goodbye to the kids with a stern warning about being good.

Another thing to single out is the exceptionally fine cinematography of the film. For a movie made on such a small budget Christmas Evil looks incredible. From one of the three (!) commentary tracks included in this release I learned that director Lewis Jackson spent a lot his budget to get Ricardo Aronovich as his Director of Photography; his skill certainly makes the film a joy to look at. There are more than a dozen shots here that rival the best Christmas images I've seen captured in the movies, with some of them being heartbreakingly well composed. Jackson points out in brief liner notes that his prime visual inspiration was the Christmas paintings of Thomas Nast and it really shows. That a film of this type can be so beautiful puts to shame the sad Christmas movies pumped out every year by Hollywood.

As much as I liked the movie I have to admit it's not perfect. The last third of the film isn't as sure footed as the beginning It's as if the focus has been lost as Harry parades around the toy factory and it comes dangerously close to derailing as he’s being pursued by the mob of angry parents. But by the time the brothers have fought and credits roll over the haunting final image I found it easy to forgive these small hiccups. Of course, a movie about a murderous Santa Claus isn't going to be an easy sell for 90% of the public but I think plenty of folks would love this were it given a chance.

BY FRED BLOSSER

Today, moviegoers who want to immerse themselves in two hours of bittersweet romantic misery are likely to go see “The Fault in Our Stars,” “If I Stay,” or “The Best of Me.” In 1955, the comparable ticket was “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing,” based on Han Suyin’s bestselling 1952 book. Thanks to Twilight Time’s limited-edition Blu-ray of the 20th Century Fox film, today’s devotees of Nicholas Sparks and John Green have an opportunity to see what made their grandmothers cry as twenty-somethings in the Eisenhower era, while veteran fans of, uh, more mature age can enjoy Han’s tragic love story again in beautiful hi-def CinemaScope and Color by DeLuxe.

Han’s fictionalized memoir related the story of her love affair with a war correspondent, whom she called Mark Elliott, in 1949 Hong Kong. The circumstances of the affair were provocative for the time. The widowed Han, a medical resident at the crown colony’s Victoria Hospital, had mixed-race parentage (Chinese father, Belgian mother). Elliott was a married American, although the marriage was strained and he and his wife lived apart. How times have changed, in real life as in the movies. In 2014, neither the one partner’s race nor the other’s marital status would pose much of a challenge in most social circles. If you’re a 20-year-old viewer today, you may have to check your instinct to judge the story by those more tolerant standards, in which race isn’t a game-changer at all. Nowadays, in the rare event that a cultural difference between lovers is needed as a dramatic complication in a movie or TV show, it’s likely to be expressed in terms of supernatural fantasy, not race. By that measure, you may care that one partner is human and the other is a vampire. But that one sweetheart is part Asian and the other Caucasian? Not so much.

Another convention of the time isn’t merely irrelevant in today’s ethnically diverse cinema -- it’s embarrassing. In the movie, Suyin is played by a fully Caucasian actress, Jennifer Jones, who doesn’t look particularly Asian, even with make-up. Suyin has a younger sister in China, Suchin, played by Donna Martell, who appears even less Asian than Jones. A friend in Hong Kong also of mixed parentage, Suzanne, portrayed by Jorja Curtright, looks less Asian yet. There are plenty of Asian actors in the film, including such familiar and welcome faces as Richard Loo, Philip Ahn, Beulah Quo, and James Hong, but they’re relegated to supporting roles. It’s true that the movie could hardly have been green-lighted as a major production in 1955 without a star like Jones in top-billing, and that Asian actresses with that sort of clout were non-existent then. But still. Jones also tends to play her scenes in somewhat stilted, old-school style, yet another thing that today’s younger viewers may have to adjust to. William Holden, at the top of his game as Mark, brings a more relaxed method of acting, but even his dialogue becomes a little pompous at times: “That reminds me of a line in that poem by Thompson ...”

20th Century Fox dressed up the movie with all the amenities that A-picture budgets could provide in 1955. These values remain impressive almost 60 years later: a stirring score by Alfred Newman, which also yielded the hit title song as a chart-topper by the Four Aces (another sign of changing times -- can you imagine the Four Aces on the 2014 charts alongside Robin Thicke and Jay Z?), exotic on-location exterior shots in Hong Kong, and ravishing color design. The Twilight Time Blu-ray, limited to 3,000 units, includes a sharp 1080p transfer, an isolated music track, a souvenir booklet by Julie Kirgo, and a fine commentary track by Jon Burlingame, Michael Lonzo, and Sylvia Stoddard. Fox Movietone News clips from 1955 show Holden and producer Buddy Adler accepting honors at a couple of industry award ceremonies, reminding us that Hollywood loved to celebrate itself long before “Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood” came along.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray limited edition of “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” can be ordered HERE.

By Don Stradley

There is a frightening scene in “Prince of The Night” when Klaus Kinski chases a woman through the streets of Venice.  She runs into an empty building, but like a jungle cat bringing down an impala, Kinski catches her and smashes her to the stone floor. Actresses Barbara De Rossi and Elvire Audray complained that Kinski was too rough on them during the making of this 1988 Italian production, but when Kinski is hired to play Nosferatu, a creature “belched forth by the Devil,” one can’t expect the off-screen neck nibbles of Bela Lugosi. As he did throughout his hellacious career, Kinski played the role with an utter lack of restraint.   De Rossi and Audray were lucky he didn’t actually tear open their jugulars.

It turns out that Kinski’s untamed acting had a payoff. As we can see in the recently released DVD from One 7 Movies, Kinski outshines the rest of the cast, including such gallant journeymen as Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence. If a few actresses got scuffed up along the way, so be it.

The cast should have known what to expect when, on his first day of shooting, Kinski and director Mario Caiano got into a violent argument.  Part of the beef was that Kinski was reprising his character from Werner Herzog’s 1979 picture “Nosferatu the Vampyre” and was supposed to wear the same bald head, and corpse-white makeup.  However, the petulant Kinski arrived on the set wearing long hair and asserting that he had no intention of enduring another painful make-up sessions. This is why Nosferatu  of the 1988 film  looks like Aguirre and nothing like the original character from the Herzog movie  (or for that matter,  the F.W. Murnau silent film). Kinski’s only nod to tradition was that he wore the same rodent teeth he’d worn for Herzog.

Waylaid by Kinski’s bellicose attitude, Caiano left the production after being paid his full salary.  Caiano’s departure wasn’t a surprise, since the film had already been through several personnel changes. Producer Augusto Caminito had already hired and fired directors Maurizio Lucidi and Pasquale Squitieri before hiring Caiano. When Kinski forced Caiano off the set, Caminito decided to direct the film himself. Since Caminito had little directing experience, he enlisted the help of Luigi Cozzi, a veteran of many Italian horror films (as well as the Lou Ferrigno “Hercules” of 1983).  Not surprisingly, even Kinski is alleged to have directed a few scenes.  

Somehow, this debacle of a production yielded a highly watchable movie (originally titled “Vampire In Venice”).  I imagine some of the credit must go to cinematographer Tonino Nardi, who lovingly feeds us one eye-popping scene after another.   It’s as if Nardi knew, while chaos swirled all around him, that all one needed to make this vampire movie was Kinski, a few beautiful women, and the gorgeous scenery of Venice.   One can almost turn the sound off, ignore the rickety plot, and simply enjoy the movie for its visual delights.

 The movie is supposed to take place in 1780s Venice, a time of plagues and death. The streets are a weird mix of the morbid and the frivolous. You’re as likely to step over a corpse as to be pestered by a dancing harlequin. Yet, one of my favorite moments is when an extra steering a gondola is not in period costume, but is instead wearing a denim jacket and tight fitting jeans, as if a member of The Doobie Brothers had been somehow teleported into the 18th century. Caminito was probably so sick of reshoots that he hoped no one would notice the gaffe.

Don't you hate it when you're at an elegant cocktail party on Park Avenue or in Mayfair, and that inevitable snob arrives who starts informing everyone that he or she knows absolutely everything about "The Brady Bunch"? Like you, it's happened to us dozens of times....But the good news is, we can now provide some facts about the cheesy classic that will allow you to take the air out of that know-it-all's balloon. For example, the actresses who played Cindy and Marcia apparently still can't stand each other in real life (who knew they were "Method" actors?); the exterior of the Brady house was a real home; you never saw a toilet despite all the scenes set in the bathroom and although the show has gained status as a legendary "guilty pleasure", it wasn't a demonstrable hit when if first aired. Click here to read.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Impulse Pictures has improbably resurrected the bottom of the barrel porn vignettes from the 1960s and 1970s- commonly known as "peep show" films- into DVD releases that actually have some social significance.  First, some background. In the uptight era of the 1950s through early 1960s, even a hint of sex on screen usually resulted in censorship or arrest and prosecution. The main stream, big studios- in an attempt to prevent the establishment of an office of government censorship- took draconian measures to ensure they censored themselves by adhering to codes of ethics that watered down adult films every bit as much as any government entity was likely to do. Where would sexually frustrated men seek cinematic satisfaction? About the only venue available were 8mm stag films, which were primarily shown in private homes behind closed doors. Generally these were forbidden fruit shown at bachelor parties or perhaps added some spice to the marital bed if a man had a truly progressive wife. Men who lived in or near big cities could purchase reels of these films in "red light districts". If you lived in small town America, you were generally out of luck. When New York's 42nd Street made a sharp turn towards vice in the 1960s, porn parlor flourished along the notorious stretch. You could not only purchase reels of silent stag films for home viewing, but the era of the "peep show" also came about. A horny guy could enter a telephone booth-sized private cubicle and insert some coins into a machine and- Presto!- a dirty movie would start playing right before his very eyes. Frustratingly, the movie would end after a few minutes, thus ensuring the viewer would continue to insert more coins to see the climax (pardon the pun.) The films ran anywhere from five to ten minutes. Accordingly, story lines and production values were virtually non-existent because the action had to start almost immediately. From such modest cinematic achievements, some faces became well-known to patrons. John Holmes (aka "Long Johnny Wadd"), whose substantial physical asset became his trademark, was a ubiquitous presence in these films and some of the more prolific "actresses" also got their starts in these modest productions. As censorship laws slackened in the wake of the sexual revolution, production values increased within the porn industry and relatively high budget feature films played sometimes for months at a time in actual theaters. Among the more notorious: "Deep Throat", "The Devil in Miss Jones" and "Behind the Green Door", each of which became a pop culture sensation. Still, there was-and still is- a place for peep show fare among the remaining grindhouses in red light districts around the world.

Impulse Pictures has released a number of volumes consisting of numerous silent peep show flicks. Amusingly, they have added the sound of a whirring projector to the soundtrack. They have also shown the archival footage in its raw, primitive state, complete with original spice marks and blotches in order to recreate the experience of how these films were initially seen. What adds some "social significance" to these releases is the accompanying booklet with incisive essays by Robin Bougie, a self-professed scholar of sleeze movies. He runs a  web site at www.cinemasewer.com  and has an extensive knowledge of the genre. In Vol. #1 of the "Peep Show Collection", Bougie astutely points out that it took until the release of Sidney Lumet's "The Pawnbroker" in 1965 before American adult audiences could even be shown a glimpse of naked breasts in a mainstream studio release. Bougie points out that, although these 8mm loops are as bare-bones as one can imagine, there was a sense of fun that is lacking from today's coarser porn flicks. He also provides valuable insights into identifying future porn stars in these loops, including Marc Stevens, Annie Sprinkle and Lisa DeLeeuw. (John Holmes doesn't require any identification beyond his trademark appendage.) Most of the actresses in the films, however, were simply free-spirited young women who involved in the counter-culture. Many thought that by appearing in such films, they were thumbing their nose at the Establishment. Others were probably less politically inclined and did the films simply to make a few quick dollars. Still others just liked the notion of free, liberated sex after coming out of a period of social repression. In any event, it may not be pleasing to these ladies, many of whom are now grandmothers today, that these obscure, long-forgotten stag films are now being dressed up and issued on DVD.

Bougie also delves back into the origins of the peep show films, tracing them to one Lasse Braun, who used an inheritance to finance the first of these films for European audiences. They were then imported to America by a man named Reuben Sturman, who distributed them to 60,000 porn shops. Thus, the era of the peep show was born. 

This collection obviously isn't for everyone. The films are definitely hardcore and leave nothing to the imagination. But if it's possible for someone to get sentimental about such fare, this collection will fit the bill. Perhaps the value of the adult entertainment industry of this era is best summed up by a quote from Norman Mailer that Bougie cites in his essay: "There was something exciting about pornography. It lived in some mid-world between crime and art. And it was adventurous."

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Vinegar Syndrome, the DVD label that specializes in rescuing obscure cult movies from oblivion, has released another grindhouse triple feature of 1970s erotica. All three features, contained on two DVDs,  are hardcore and all recall period of time when, in order to see such fare, you had to sheepishly pay to enter a porn theater, hoping that anyone of influence in your life who might see you would be sitting in the audience themselves. Watching these oldies but goodies today, one is impressed by the fact that, even within the limited boundaries of the meager production values, some real attempts were made to tell legitimate stories. In that respect, the X rated feature films differed from the "loops", which merely consisted of ten minute reels in which everyone had to get down to business as quickly as possible.

The first film in this triple feature is "Cry for Cindy", which starred Amber Hunt, a pouty, baby-faced beauty who evidently made a bit of a splash when the film was made in 1976 (it begins with a placard thanking Hustler publisher Larry Flint for bringing his top centerfold to the attention of producers.) Hunt plays Cindy, a young woman who is living the high life in L.A. She drives an expensive car, lives in a luxurious apartment and even gets to fly private planes. However, the down side is that all of this is financed by her career as a high end hooker. The film delves into her psychological dilemma: she's addicted to her lifestyle but is increasingly appalled at how she earns it. She is used and abused by a brutal pimp who reminds her that he can toss her out into the street on a whim. Consequently, she becomes his personal sex slave. Her two best friends are more accepting of their fate as hookers. In a flashback sequence, we see how Cindy started as an innocent hair stylist who was helping to finance her boyfriend's way through medical school. Faced with insurmountable debt, she is lured into the life of a hooker without ever divulging this to her lover, who thinks she is suddenly earning big money by modelling. Cindy never warms to going to bed with unattractive men but learns to be the best in her profession, thus making herself a valuable commodity. As the story progresses, however, she becomes more depressed, leading to a rather somber and unexpected development. "Cry for Cindy" is quite ambitious in many respects: it shows a feminine point of view towards sexual exploitation, admittedly even while the actresses are sexually exploiting themselves. The script is literate and interesting and - dare I say it?- the acting is impressive for this genre. The sex scenes leave nothing to the imagination and are erotically filmed and the production values are fairly high, with numerous location sequences and even an original love song written for the opening credits. The film ranks high among the grindhouse sex flicks of the era. (The DVD set also contains a more mainstream, soft-core cut of the film).  

"Touch Me" is another attempt to combine a literate script with hardcore sex. Filmed in 1971, the low-budget production is set in an institute where various young people have assembled to discuss and try to resolve their sexual issues. The setting is the private home of the doctor who administers the therapies, which seems to be an opening for low-brow comedy. Yet, the script plays it straight, offering fully developed characterizations and a cast that can actually act (even if the "doctor" is of the rather stiff, pre-"Airplane" Leslie Nielsen method school). The characters span such a spectrum of varying personalities with varying problems that you half expect to see Irwin Allen's name as producer. There's the guy who is insecure about his penis size. There's another guy who harbors rape fantasies. There's a bickering couple and a wife who is rather frigid- and of course, the prerequisite lesbian who feels compelled to get "cured" but ends up adding a few numbers  of straight women to her black book.  The sex here is more clinical-both cinematically and in a literal sense- as everyone learns to shed their inhibitions and express and enact their wildest fantasies. As with "Cry for Cindy", "Touch Me" is a very obvious attempt to present an erotic film that might be more appealing to female viewers. The dialogue is intelligent and the cast is talented enough to suspect some of them might have found legitimate success in the profession. 

Rounding out the triple feature is "Act of Confession", a 1972 film that starts out as ambitiously as the other two entries in the set. The film opens with a rather poignant overview of the miserable conditions most people lived in during the Middle Ages. A narrator points out how particularly rough it was for women, who were mostly consigned to a slave-life existence as the wife of a peasant. Consequently, many young women sought refuge in convents, not particularly because of religious conviction, but simply to escape the drudgery of back-breaking daily life on a farm. The premise is fine and one wishes the producers had stuck with simply providing a documentary about the Middle Ages. However, sex is the name of the game here and we are soon introduced to a young nun who develops some nasty habits in the convent, getting it on with the other sisters as well as the most fortunate priest and altar boy in Europe. In what is undoubtedly the most controversial sequence, she is seduced by Jesus Christ, so if you're still griping about that old Scorsese film, here's a new one you can protest. Unlike the other two films in this set, this entry is about as erotic as a catechism class, with a leading lady so lifeless that the sex scenes border on necrophilia.

Although the films credit aliases for their directors, the DVD sleeve indicates they were actually all helmed by one Anthony Spinelli, who apparently was a legend in the industry back in the day- and improbably, was the brother of noted character actor Jack Weston. Spinelli's work is several notches above the norm for this genre and Vinegar Syndrome presents crisp, clean remastered transfers. Whether these types of films appeal to you or not, they do offer an undeniable cinematic time capsule into an era when the industry was shaking off the constraints of repressive censorship that had dominated popular culture for the entire century. I'd call this an impressive package, but given the subject matter, it would sound too much like a stale joke. 

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By Howard Hughes

(the following review is of the UK release of the film, on Region 2 format)

Behind the Lace Curtain: Soviet Spies in Suburbia

Robert Tronson’s ‘Ring of Spies’ (aka ‘Ring of Treason’) is the 1964 film version of the true-life Portland Spy Ring case. From the late 1950s until 1961 the five-strong ring passed secrets to the Soviets from the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment at Portland in Dorset, ‘the most hush-hush joint in the country’. Bernard Lee – who is best known for his role as James Bond’s M, played Harry Houghton, an ex-naval officer who is shipped back from his post in Warsaw following a drunken incident at an embassy party. Houghton is posted as a clerk at the secret naval base at Portland and is approached by an agent from ‘the other side’ who convinces him to commit treason and steal them ‘a few titbits’. Houghton befriends his co-worker, Elizabeth Gee (played by Margaret Tyzack), whom Harry calls ‘Bunty’. In reality spinster Gee’s first name was Ethel. Pleased with Houghton’s attention and fuss, the two begin courting and Houghton convinces her to take ‘Top Secret’ documents from the safe. Gee thinks she’s helping US intelligence to keep tabs on the Royal Navy, but their contact in London, Gordon Lonsdale, is actually a Soviet agent.

Lonsdale (played by William Sylvester, later of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’), masquerades as a jukebox dealer in London, but in reality he takes the ‘borrowed’ documentation to antiquarian bookseller Peter Kroger (David Kossoff) and his wife Helen. There, behind the lace curtains at their bungalow at 45 Cranley Drive, Ruislip, Middlesex – inconspicuously nestled in suburbia – the pilfered secrets are photographed, documented, then sent behind the Iron Curtain, reduced to diminutive microdots which are hidden as full stops in such collectable books as ‘Songs of Innocence’ by William Blake. Houghton and Gee become wealthy for their sins, buying a bungalow and a new Zodiac car. But their boozing and conspicuous generosity in local pubs attracts attention. The police and secret service calculate that their joint £30-a-week incomes don’t match their extravagant lifestyle. Their home is bugged by an agent posing as a gasman and the spy ring’s full extent begins to be revealed.

Anyone interested in rare 1960s British cinema and low-fi monochrome espionage is in for a treat with this engrossing rendition of a fascinating true story. Told with the minimum of flash and no distracting score (the only music is from record players, or odd atonal data electronica) ‘Ring of Spies’ deserves to be better known. Bernard Lee is well cast as the hard-drinking Houghton, who feels the world owes him something and has no loyalty to ‘Queen and Country’, in sharp contrast to his M character in the 007 films. Tyzack and Sylvester are also ideal for the roles of timid spinster and ice-cold spymaster. The supporting cast is good, with Thorley Walters as Houghton’s cheery commander, Winters, and familiar faces such as Paul Eddington and Geoffrey Palmer present in the background. Edwin Apps plays Blake, ‘a minor cog in the Middle East department’. One of my favourite 1960s actresses, Justine Lord (Sonia in ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ spy spoof episode of ‘The Prisoner’) appears early in the film, as Christina, Harry’s lover in Warsaw. Gillian Lewis played Harry and Bunty’s co-worker Marjorie Shaw, whose beauty has earned her ‘Runner up, Miss Lyme Regis’. The realistic settings and authentic filming locations – Chesil Beach, various London tube stations, the Round Pond in Kensington Palace Gardens, the magnificent roof garden at the top of Derry and Toms department store on Kensington High Street – ensure the story is always interesting and the monochrome cinematography adds docu-realism to the action. Interiors were shot on sets at Shepperton Studios.

Don’t expect 007, nor even Harry Palmer, but the film’s depiction of low-key, cloak and dagger espionage is edgily exciting, as the spies are tailed on English country roads and suburbia by British agents disguised as builders, ‘News of the World’ newspaper van drivers and nuns. This is a must for fans of 1960s Cold War spy cinema. The story proves that fact is often much stranger than fiction. In reality, after being sentenced to 15 years in prison each, Houghton and Gee were released in 1970 and married the following year.

This DVD release is part of Network’s ‘The British Film’ collection, a five-year project to release over 450 British films via a deal with Studiocanal. The project commenced in April 2013. ‘Ring of Spies’ is from British Lion and includes the original trailer (a ‘U’ rated trailer advertising an ‘A’ certificate film) and a gallery of publicity stills. 

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There will be a 50th anniversary reunion of actresses from the James Bond classic Goldfinger appearing at the next London Film Convention to be held on 20 September. Actresses scheduled to appear are Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallet, Nadja Regin and Margaret Nolan.

For more information click on www.londonfilmconvention.co.uk

By Fred Blosser

I approached the 2013 Blu-Ray edition of André Téchiné’s “The Bronte Sisters” (1979) with mild interest, which was mostly piqued by the powerhouse casting of the three leading young actresses of 1970s French cinema -- Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, and Marie-France Pisier -- as Emily, Anne, and Charlotte Bronte.  Imagine a 2014 U.S. film teaming Scarlett Johanssen, Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley.  With vague memories of “Devotion,” Hollywood’s melodramatic 1946 Bronte biopic, I was doubtful that the film itself would be particularly compelling.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  Relating the formative events in the lives of the three sisters and their brother Branwell (Pascal Greggory) in straightforward, episodic form, Téchiné’s interpretation is first-rate: excellently acted, emotionally moving, and visually striking with starkly beautiful cinematography by Bruno Nuytten on the Yorkshire moors where the Bronte siblings lived their sadly short lives.

In a new documentary about the making of the film, included as an extra on the Cohen Film Collection Blu-Ray, Téchiné recalls that he wanted to stay true to the facts of the Brontes’ lives without speculation or embellishment. Similarly, he “demanded a certain austerity of acting” from the cast to complement the unadorned style of the narrative. Beginning with a scene in which Branwell, proud but also uncertain about his talent, unveils his painting of his three sisters and himself, the movie proceeds to cover decisive moments in the siblings’ lives. Emily, a free spirit, capers on the moors in boy’s clothing. Charlotte, the quietly ambitious sister, convinces their aunt to lend money so that she and Emily to go abroad to school. Anne, the dutiful one, stays behind to take care of their father, aunt, and brother.

Initially, this approach seems a bit cold and distant, but as the movie continues, it becomes clear that Téchiné’s decision was a wise one. The unfolding vignettes are quietly powerful in illuminating the close and sometimes contentious relationships between the sisters. This matter-of-factness pays off especially well in the later segments of the film. As one tragedy after another besets the family, the scenes relating to the deaths of Branwell, Emily, and Anne are all the more affecting because they aren’t amped up with banal dialogue and syrupy background music. Téchiné is helped immensely by the costuming, set design and cinematography (as he acknowledges in the making-of documentary), which recreate mid-19th Century England in astonishing detail.

A certain playful sense of humor surfaces occasionally, leavening the bleakness of the story. When the sisters submit their first novels as Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell, speculation runs wild in the publishing world: are they the same person, are they male or female, are they a man and a woman collaborating? Deciding it’s time to reveal the sisters’ true identities, Anne and Charlotte travel to London to meet with their publisher in person. “I am Currer Bell, and that is Acton,” Charlotte says quietly when she and Anne appear unexpectedly in the publisher’s office. “We are three sisters. There is no man.” Pisier delivers the lines with perfect deadpan matter-of-factness.

Adjani, Huppert, and Pisier are luminous. Interviews in the making-of documentary reveal that the actresses had a sometimes intense off-camera rivalry, complicated by existing relationships with other people in the production crew. (Téchiné and Pisier were friends; Adjani and Nuytten were romantically attached.) It’s a measure of Téchiné’s talent and the actresses’ professionalism that the three women convincingly project a sisterly bond of support and affection, with perhaps the real-life rivalry only erupting strategically on screen in scenes where the sisters’ love for each other is strained. I wish Patrick Magee (“Marat/Sade,” “A Clockwork Orange”) had more to do as the head of the Bronte family, and his distinctive voice is lost because his lines are dubbed in French by someone else, but nevertheless his presence is used effectively if sparingly, Bronte purists will be pleased that he, Téchiné, and co-writer Pascal Bonitzer portray the Rev. Patrick Bronte sympathetically as a caring father and progressive clergyman, reflecting modern scholarship that refutes earlier prose and film portraits of Bronte as a domestic tyrant.

In addition to the making-of documentary, the Cohen Film Collection Blu-Ray includes two trailers and an excellent audio commentary track by film critic Wade Major and Bronte scholar Sue Lonoff de Cuevas. If you’re as unfamiliar with the subject matter as I was, I might almost suggest that you listen to the commentary before playing the movie, since Major and de Cuevas illuminate many details about Bronte history and about the production aspects of the movie that deepened my appreciation of the film. Although the making-of documentary doesn’t include Adjani or Huppert (Pisier died in 2011), many of the other key cast and crew are interviewed. This is an excellent Blu-Ray package, highly recommended.

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By Todd Garbarini

American Hustle, one of the best Martin Scorsese films not directed by Martin Scorsese (James Toback’s Fingers (1978) is another film that falls into this camp), opens with an amusing sequence in a hotel room wherein con artist Irving Rosenfeld (a nearly unrecognizable Christian Bale) is attempting to hide his male pattern baldness. It is April 1978 and confederates Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who is presenting herself as an English aristocrat named Lady Edith Greensly and Richard DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) are in the midst of trying to sting Carmen Polito (Jeremy Renner), the Mayor of Camden, NJ. Irving has to get it together and be convincing (what we don’t know at this point of the film is how conflicted he is about what he is doing regarding the mayor). He comes to blows with Richard, who eggs him on and ruffles his hair in a hilarious moment of awkwardness and discomfort, and we wonder if Irving will blow a gasket and go Joe Pesci on Richard or if he will simply attend to his ridiculous comb-over. The question of why they want to sting the mayor is eventually revealed as the story flashes back to when Irving and Sydney first meet and bond over their love and admiration of Duke Ellington. They realize they are kindred souls and their attraction to one another intensifies. As we come to learn, however, nothing is quite as it seems because as David Mamet showed us in both House of Games (1987) and The Spanish Prisoner (1997), everyone is potentially a mark and each mark is played for someone else’s gain. Irving is married and has a son but like professional thief Neil Mccauley (Robert De Niro) in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995) he is good at what he does, and in this case he knows how to not only conduct loan scams but forge fake paintings even when hiding behind a legitimate business of being a dry cleaner for tax purposes. Unfortunately, he and Sydney attempt to con Richard, who turns out to be an FBI agent who cuts them a deal: he forces them into aiding him entrap some other targets and promises that if their help results in four good arrests, they will both end up with tabula rasas, effectively avoiding jail time.

American Hustle, which opened theatrically in December 2013, is set within the framework of the Abscam scandal of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, which also provided the backdrop for the Al Pacino/Johnny Depp vehicle Donnie Brasco (1997). It was the first time in history that undercover FBI agents videotaped the taking of bribes by politicians. This factors into the film, which was directed by David O. Russell who also directed Flirting with Disaster (1996), I Heart Huckabees (2004), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Mr. Russell has meticulously recreated the 1970s to such a degree that you cannot help but marvel at all of the details, looking carefully to try and spot any obvious anachronisms. Amy Adams stars opposite Mr. Bale (who followed in Mr. De Niro’s thespian footsteps and gained some 40 pounds to play the role) and she gives a multi-layered performance as Sydney, impersonating a refined British woman. It becomes a game between Irving and Richard trying to tell which person they are talking to, Sydney or Lady Greensly. Jennifer Lawrence portrays Irving’s wife, Rosalyn, and proves why she is one of the best actresses working today. Rosalyn is a loose cannon. Like Sharon Stone’s impetuous Ginger McKenna in Casino, she has a big mouth and messes with dangerous people when she isn’t starting fires by microwaving metal or vacuuming her house while belting out the famous songs of the day. She hates Sydney and lets her know it, and underneath the hardened and tough veneer is a woman who is hurt by her husband’s betrayal.

Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995) are obvious stylistic influences here, ranging from effective use of period music to the inclusion of an uncredited Robert De Niro as a mobster, Victor Tellegio, who actually speaks Arabic! The scene where he attempt to communicate with a supposedly wealthy Arab sheikh (in reality a fraud who speaks Spanish and English) is both tense and funny. Jeremy Renner is his usual brilliant self as the Mayor of Camden, based upon Angelo J. Errichetti who in reality served three years in prison for his role in the Abscam scandal (in the film, which is highly fictionalized, he serves 18 months). Mr. Errichetti passed away seven months prior to the release of American Hustle at the age of 84.

The use of voiceover is also effective, a device that Mr. Scorsese also employed to great effect in his aforementioned gangster epics. The film runs a quick 138 minutes, but I have seen 90-minute movies much longer than this.

The Blu-ray is the way to go for this release as it comes with a DVD and digital copy. The extras are slim, which is unfortunate considering the high number of Oscar nominations and accolades the film received. They consist of a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film which runs 16 minutes, and an extended deleted scenes section that runs 22 minutes. The requisite theatrical trailer is also included. I would have loved a running commentary from the director as the film was obviously a labor of love. That being said, its exclusion should not detract from your enjoyment of watching this highly watchable recreation of a specific moment in time in New York and New Jersey’s history.

Blu-ray/DVD Review

Ingmar Bergman’s PERSONA

The Criterion Collection

A Mystery of Faces

By Raymond Benson

Much has already been written about Ingmar Bergman’s 1966 head-scratcher, Persona—it’s been analyzed, dissected, reconstructed, and debated, and it still remains a cinematic enigma, and a brilliant one at that. Of all of the Swedish master’s challenging works, Persona is undoubtedly the most complex, audacious, radical, and experimental film Bergman ever made. It’s also been widely parodied and imitated. Its influence on other filmmakers, and on pop culture itself, cannot be taken lightly.

Persona, which means “mask” in Latin, is all about artifice. Bergman makes no pretentions that what the audience is viewing is make-believe—it is an invented drama about personalities hiding behind “masks,” if you will, performed for a camera that translates the images onto celluloid. In fact, Bergman begins Persona with an extraordinary prologue consisting of the arc lights igniting inside a projector and the film starting to move through the sprockets. An extra on this new Criterion Collection release is Bergman scholar Peter Cowie’s analysis and visual essay on this first several minutes of the picture—and it is enlightening for those of us who have studied and pondered over the meanings behind the seemingly haphazard images (including an erect penis!) that assault the viewer at the start of the film. It’s interesting to note that Bergman’s original working title on his script was Cinematography.

Once the story starts proper, we find ourselves in the sphere of two women. One, a nurse (Bibi Andersson), is taking care of an actress (Liv Ullmann) who has lost her ability—or will—to speak. They are alone on an island off the coast of Sweden (it was actually filmed on Fårö, where many of Bergman’s pictures from the period were made, and where the director lived and died), and go through a series of emotional soul-searching moments together. That’s putting it simplistically. By the end of the short film (83 minutes), the two women have exchanged selves. Or traded masks. Or become one. Or maybe the characters were two sides of the same person all along. Or... something. In other words, Persona is totally open to interpretation, and it demands multiple viewings to fully appreciate. It helps that the film is immensely entertaining. You can’t keep your eyes off these two incredible actresses who are giving their all to us.

While Andersson had worked with Bergman many times prior to Persona, this was the first picture featuring Ullmann, who would also become a regular member of the director’s “stock company” as well as his lover. Another extra in the package is a feature-length documentary, Liv & Ingmar, directed by Dheeraj Akolkar, which examines the remarkable forty year relationship between the two. It’s certainly one of those great cinematic behind-the-scenes love stories, like Burton and Taylor or Tracy and Hepburn. Ullmann is breathtakingly beautiful in Persona, and, since her character is silent, her acting is displayed entirely in the expressions on her face. On the other hand, the film is a tour de force for the also-gorgeous Andersson, who talks non-stop. It’s certainly the best thing Andersson ever did, and her performance was worthy of Academy Award consideration (she did win other awards for the film around the world).

What everyone takes away from Persona, though, is the magnificent black and white cinematography by Sven Nykvist. His manipulation of light and shadow is nothing short of magical. And the close-ups! The tale is all in the up-close and personal examination of these women’s faces. We’ve all seen the iconic stills of Andersson and Ullmann together, looking directly at the audience... or the even more startling image of their two faces merged. There have been many tight director-cinematographer relationships over the years, but the partnership between Bergman and Nykvist was one of the most profound.

And thank goodness for The Criterion Collection’s new 2K digital restoration! The Blu-ray looks far better than the MGM/UA edition that was released several years ago. Along with the above-mentioned extras, the package includes a dual Blu-ray/DVD format; new interviews with Liv Ullmann and filmmaker Paul Schrader; archival interviews with Bergman, Ullmann, and Andersson; on-set footage with audio commentary by Bergman historian Birgitta Steene; and the usual slick booklet jam-packed with more photos, essays, and interviews.

Can you unravel the mystery that is Persona? Consider it a challenge, as well as an opportunity to experience a cinematic wonder.

The addictive pop culture blog Hill Place presents an impassioned defense of Tina Louise as Ginger over Dawn Wells as Mary Ann on the Gilligan's Island TV sitcom. Retro TV lovers have long been debating who was the hottest chick on the isle: sweet but sexy "good girl Mary Ann or "bad girl" diva Ginger. It's amazing how compelling this article actually is, as it delves into the behind-the-scenes rivalry between the two actresses. Click here to read

You can count me among those who were critical of Jacqueline Bisset's bizarre acceptance speech at the recent Golden Globe Awards. Bisset seemed dazed and confused (though decidedly not inebriated) when she gave a rambling speech (complete with an unbleeped expletive) that resulted in widespread criticism and ridicule in both the main stream and social media. Entertainment writer Shaun Chang contacted Cinema Retro to set the record straight, at least insofar as he sees it. He has written an article detailing his dealings with Ms. Bisset and defends her as as kind, sensitive and highly intelligent woman. To be fair, that has always been her reputation and we at Cinema Retro are great admirers of her work. That's why it was so disheartening and disappointing to see her appearance at the Golden Globes. There are precious few actors and actresses still working who were major players in the golden age of cinema during the 1960s and 1970s. Generally speaking, they are light years ahead of today's crowd when it comes to class and style. Ms. Bisset certainly looked as gorgeous as ever. It was her choice of words that got her in trouble. Nevertheless, in the interest of fairness to an actress we respect and admire, we agree with Shaun Chang that she should not judged entirely by this one incident because most of us would not want to be subjected to the same fate. Thus, you can click here to read Chang's poignant defense of the lady and her career. - Lee Pfeiffer

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Vinegar Syndrome DVD label is making a niche for itself through the release of retro erotica from the 1970s. The latest release is a "Peekarama Big 2 Unit Show" double feature. First up is Abduction of an American Playgirl, a 1975 hardcore flick shot largely in a rural area. Darby Lloyd Rains, one of the more popular "names" among porn actresses of the era, stars as a woman who is randomly abducted by two simpletons who want to satiate their sexual desires. She conveniently faints when they approach her and she remains in a virtual coma while they bring her to a remote house and remove all of her clothes. However, she quickly sizes up their combined intelligence is about the same as their shirt collar sizes and turns the tables. If you can accept the premise of forcible abduction as a premise for comedy, you might be able to relish the goofball satirical aspects of the film. It turns out that the kidnapper's plans to retrieve a ransom fall apart when her own father shows no desire to have his daughter returned. They then discover that Rains is a nymphomaniac with an insatiable sexual desire. By the end of the first day she has so exhausted both men that they have to call in a friend to help with the stress of keeping up with her demands. Eventually her younger sister shows up with some greatly reduced ransom money and both sisters outwit the villains by stealing their car. Having escaped sexual abuse, they decide to go to motel and pick up some new strange guys. (Hey, this was '70s porn, after all). Because of the abundance of alleged comedic situations, the film is about as erotic as a dip in a pool of ice. However, the transfer of this low-budget sleezefest is actually rather impressive. It also includes a trailer (yes, they made trailers for porn flicks) that identifies the movie under the title of Abduction of an American Plowgirl.

The second feature, Winter Heat, was shot in 1976 and is more ambitious than the Playgirl movie in that it at least attempts to present a somewhat believable story. Male porn icon Jamie Gillis leads a gang of thugs (including his own wife) to a remote snowbound cabin where they attempt to find food and shelter. Since the cabin is conveniently inhabited by three comely young women, their list of demands gets somewhat more creative. There is a genuinely disturbing element to this film, at least initially, with Gillis giving a fairly convincing and scary performance as the sex-crazed leader of the pack. The film contains numerous hardcore sexual scenarios that are played largely without humor. It's a distasteful premise for our more enlightened times and the film is squarely geared toward male interests with the female victims ultimately getting into the action. The transfer is fairly grainy in the beginning but quality improves as the film progresses. 

Vinegar Syndrome releases are definitely acquired tastes and are not for mainstream viewers. However, if you have fond memories of the erotica from this time period, the company is doing yeoman work in preserving and presenting this fare. 

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By Lee Pfeiffer 

Those naughty folks at Impulse Pictures have done well by digging up and marketing retro European and Japanese erotic films from bygone eras. Among the more popular releases are the "Schoolgirl" titles that were very popular in Germany during the 1970s. Each release presents several short stories relating to the sexual escapades of German high school girls. (The fact that most of the actresses look a bit long in the tooth to be playing 16 and 17 year old girls becomes less bothersome once the clothes are shed.) Impulse has just released volume 10 in this series which consists of a film originally released in 1976. The thinly-plotted script features story lines that are erratic in content as well as execution. The story opens with a female teacher addressing an all-girls classroom in a discussion on contemporary sexuality. As the girls debate social mores, several of them relate personal experiences. The first tale involves a middle-aged male teacher who is accused of raping a student he was tutoring. The man professes his innocence to a local prosecutor who is interviewing him about the case. (In a bizarre tactic, the prosecutor breaks the "fourth wall" and addresses the viewer directly, though this element does not appear in any other segment of the film). His young student claims she arrived at his apartment for her first lesson and that she was plied with liquor and was seduced by the teacher, who deflowered her. In an anemic conclusion, one of her fellow students comes forward with information that exonerates the teacher. This yawn-inducing scenario seems a mere pretense for showing the young girl disrobing and getting it on. In fact, the story presents flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks. The second story revolves around a gorgeous virgin who is desperate to make love. The rather flaccid scenario finds her learning a life lesson by cheapening her own values through having sex with a series of cads and suffering being gang raped (never shown, but implied). The next tale is somewhat more engrossing with a snarky teenage girl in conflict with her sexy stepmother. She induces a would-be lover to engage in an elaborate plot to discredit the stepmother so that her father divorces her. In return for the young man's cooperation, she promises to finally have sex with him. The plan involves the young hunk actively courting and seducing the stepmother while the daughter secretly documents the adultery by taking photos. The whole scenario comes to an ironic conclusion that sees the deceitful daughter getting her just desserts. The most amusing segment finds two young lovers who are frustrated by their lack of privacy. Inspired by William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, the couple concocts a crazy scheme to finally get them into bed together in her parent's house. This is accomplished by having the girl pretend she is possessed by a demon. The over-the-top slapstick humor has the young woman walking around cross-eyed, rolling about the landscape and engaging in obscene behavior. In one scene she enter the family kitchen, drops her panties and exclaims to her mother, "I own this pussy and it's burning!" (And you thought Linda Blair had some rough dialogue to get through...) With their daughter's "possession" out of control, the family engages the services of an exorcist, who turns out to be her lover in disguise.  Behind closed doors, he performs a loud and very violent exorcism, but its really just the two of them having wild sex. The goofy premise is actually fairly amusing. The final tale has another gorgeous high school girl pampered by her middle-aged, married lover. When his wife finds out, complications ensue and she ends up becoming involved with the man's nephew (who somehow looks as old as his uncle).

The series definitely caters to female sensibilities. Women are generally presented in an intelligent manner and the sex scenes are fairly vivid but softcore and tastefully done. (Nothing too kinky here.) One of the most unintentionally amusing aspects of the film involves the English sub-titles which show that Germans must have felt at the time that the word "bang" was used constantly in American society. (One girl greets her would-be suitor by saying, "You want to bang me, right?") This misconception is an amusing reminder of how no one could convince director Sergio Leone that the phrase "Duck you sucker!" was not a common part of the American vernacular. He was so convinced that it was that he titled one of his most prominent films with this bizarre phrase. This latest Schoolgirl entry (pardon the pun) has relatively rich production values in that there are an abundance of sequences shot in actual locations as opposed to bedrooms. An enjoyable aspect of the movie is that it allows the viewer to relive the 1970s for better or worse. We see young people's bedrooms adorned with posters from Easy Rider. There are tacky fashions, high school girls with hairy armpits and the kind of grainy cinematography that was a mainstay of the era. 

The movie is definitely a guilty pleasure but it's  painless and largely inoffensive to watch- and it does boast some genuinely erotic moments.  

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Joan Fontaine, who won the Best Actress Oscar for Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 classic Suspicion, has died in her California home at age 96. Fontaine began her film career playing attractive but nondescript characters until Hitchcock cast her as the female lead in his 1940 film version of the bestseller Rebecca opposite Laurence Olivier. The film earned her an Oscar nomination and elevated her to one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses. In 1943 she received a third and final Oscar nomination for The Constant Nymph. Fontaine also won rave notices in the film version of the Gothic novel Jane Eyre, starring opposite Orson Welles. In both films she played an innocent woman whose husband is harboring a shocking secret that is unveiled within the walls of a stately but foreboding country manor. Fontaine's other major films include Ivanhoe, The Emperor Waltz, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, This Above All, The Women, Gunga Din, Casanova's Big Night, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Tender is the Night. She retired from feature films in the 1960s after being offended by being asked to play Elvis Presley's mother. However, Fontaine did continue to appear in TV shows for another twenty years. These included Ryan's Hope, Hotel and The Love Boat. Fontaine was the sister of fellow Oscar winner Olivia De Havilland but the two sisters engaged in an on-going feud that extended back to their childhood years. For more click here 

Barbara Feldon and Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer at the Episcopal Actors Guild in New York City.

On November 21, Cinema Retro hosted an Evening With Barbara Feldon at the historic Episcopal Actors Guild in New York City. The event benefited indigent people in the arts. Ms. Feldon was interviewed by Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer, who asked her about her career prior to her Emmy-nominated performance in "Get Smart". She revealed that she had come to New York as a young woman from her native Pittsburgh with the desire to enter show business. Good looking and statuesque, Feldon was soon hired for a three month stint as a chorus girl at the famed Copacabana. She said it was the most thrilling time of her life, to be young and in New York with unlimited possibilities before her. Shortly thereafter, she became one of the top fashion models of the era, which- in turn- led her to be the face of Revlon in print and on TV ads. Those ads helped elevate her status and brought her to the attention of Hollywood producers. She played some bit roles in TV series before the producers of "Get Smart" (created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry) approached her for the role of Agent "99" opposite Don Adams. She initially turned down the offer, as she already had a lucrative career in modeling. She had also been offered a plum role in Sidney Lumet's film "The Group". She credits her agent at the time for convincing her to accept the part of "99" on the basis that Candice Bergen had the prime role in the Lumet film because she played a lesbian, which was a sensational notion at the time. He cautioned Feldon that she would just be lumped in with the other talented actresses who were to appear in the film and that Bergen would get all the attention. She accepted his advice and reluctantly flew to Hollywood, leaving behind her beloved New York. She immediately knew she made the right decision. The friendly bond between cast and crew on "Get Smart" was addictive and she said the show was a pleasure from day one. She credited Buck Henry for setting the tone of the early episodes, as Mel Brooks had already departed to work on his first feature film, "The Producers". After viewing a screening of the "Satan Place" episode with Cinema Retro's own Joe Sirola as the villain, Feldon remarked at how well the writing held up. Amusingly, she said she still feels self-conscious about how she towered over the much-shorter Don Adams and was reminded of how she attempted to minimize the height difference by slumping a bit in their scenes together or finding an excuse to sit down. Feldon said that when the show's ratings fell in the fourth season and the show moved from NBC to CBS for the fifth and final season, the idea of marrying "99" and Maxwell Smart was done simply as a gimmick, as was the introduction of their twin children who she laughingly said "disappeared rather quickly". Feldon also discussed the fact that the character of "99" was one of the first independent female characters on television. Pfeiffer mentioned that there were precious few such role models aside from Emma Peel and Cathy Gale of "The Avengers" and April Dancer of "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E". Feldon agreed, saying that she was happy that "99" was given more to do than simply being "the skirt" but said that, even then, it was clear that her character was often there to comfort or console the male hero, Maxwell Smart. She said, however, that given this was before the Women's Lib movement, it was rather progressive for the medium of television. 

Feldon signs a commemorative shoe phone for contributing Cinema Retro photographer Tom Stroud.

Feldon said that, despite working with Adams for years, she knew very little about his personal life. It was only when they reunited for the TV movie "Get Smart Again!" in 1989 that they truly bonded and became close friends until Adams' death in 2005. Asked about why she didn't appear in the rather anemic "Get Smart" 1980 feature film, "The Nude Bomb", she said bluntly that she simply hadn't been asked. She said she was philosophical about the snub, saying that they were obviously looking for younger women to play against Adams. Pfeiffer asked Feldon to reflect on the contributions of Edward Platt, whose spot-on performance as "The Chief" is often overlooked in evaluations of the show. She said he played an integral part in the show's success and was a truly lovely man who was also a trained professional opera singer. She also discussed her post-"Smart" career when she wrote and performed a one woman show because she thought her acting skills might be getting stale and wanted a challenge that would "terrify" her. She also spoke about her lucrative career as one of New York's top voice-over talents. Speaking of feature films, she said that, at the time, being a TV star had made it difficult to transfer into theatrical films, although she loved working with Dick Van Dyke on the 1968 Disney film "Fitzwilly" and was especially pleased to star with Bruce Dern in the acclaimed 1975 comedy "Smile". She also spoke about how, after a failed marriage and relationships, she came to the conclusion that people don't need committed relationships in order to find happiness. She said her book, "Living Alone & Loving It: A Guide to Relishing the Solo Life", extols the virtues of living an independent life. She said living alone doesn't mean you are living a lonely life. She said her life is filled with wonderful people and great times, but she has chosen not to engage in a monogamous relationship. 

"...and loving it!" Barbara expresses her appreciation to "Get Smart" scholar Nate Sears for flying in from Utah for the event.

Cinema Retro reader Tony Latino with Barbara Feldon.

Prior to the event, Barbara Feldon was interviewed for ABC News Radio by film critic Bill Diehl.

Following the interview, Ms. Feldon graciously answered questions, signed autographs and posed for seemingly endless photos with fans. She said she was genuinely touched by the fact that so many people still take an interest in her work. In all, a fun and informative evening with the ultimate New York "independent woman"- who still cites her three month stint as a chorus girl as the most fulfilling time of her career.  

(Click here to find out how to join the Episcopal Actors Guild, which is non-sectarian. Dues are only $35 annually and you will get invitations to many exclusive entertainment-related performances and events. Proceeds go to aid charitable causes relating to the arts.)

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Lesleh Donaldson with Cinema Retro columnist Todd Garbarini.

By Todd Garbarini 

Richard Ciupka’s unfairly maligned 1983 horror film Curtains was screened recently as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Scary Movies 7 exhibition that also included screenings of Lucky McKee’s new film All Cheerleaders Die, Michele Soavi’s highly regarded Cemetery Man (1994), Eli Roth’s new film The Green Inferno, John D. Hancock’s ultra creepy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), the New York premiere of Clive Barker’s 1990 film Nightbreed - the Cabal Cut, and Peter Carter’s brilliant Rituals (1977), better known as The Creeper, which stars Hal Holbrook and Lawrence Dane in a film that is clearly influenced by John Boorman’s Deliverance (1971) but easily stands on its own as a strong piece of independent filmmaking.

Appearing in person at the Curtains screening was actress Lesleh Donaldson who played Christie Burns, the ice skater in the film. Ms. Donaldson, who made her film debut as Michael Douglas’ teenage daughter in Steven H. Stern’s 1979 film Running, introduced the film and spoke at length following the screening with a question-and-answer session. Also at the screening were longtime Curtains aficionados Bryan Norton (he teaches filmmaking at the New York Film Academy and is the director of Penny Dreadful with Betsy Palmer and Jack Attack with Helen Rogers), actor Joe Zaso, film directors Bart Mastronardi, Alan Rowe Kelly, Howard Simon, and yours truly representing Cinema Retro.

Lesleh Donaldson

Exhibited from a rare 35mm print, Curtains is one of the most under-appreciated thrillers of the early 1980s. The Canadian production went before the cameras in November of 1980 and was beset by a multitude of problems which stretched over several years and included but were not limited to: creative differences between director Ciupka and the film’s producer, the late Peter R. Simpson, who directed much of the film; a last-minute change in casting of one of the supporting characters; and issues of money for the budget. This tale of director Jonathan Stryker (played by the late John Vernon) and his desire to bring the story of a woman, Audra, to the screen also features veteran actress Samantha Eggar as actress Samantha Sherwood having herself committed to a sanitarium to study mentally disturbed individuals only to find that Stryker, for reasons never explained, has secretly decided to leave her there and recast the film by auditioning other actresses at his house. Once she gets out, all hell breaks loose…

“Richard and Peter did not get along and they both had their own views of what this movie was going to be about,” Ms. Donaldson said after the screening. “Richard (Ciupka) was a cinematographer who had a very artistic view of what the film should look like. On the other hand, Peter Simpson, having done Prom Night prior to this, knew what worked. He just wanted your typical slasher movie. So, they were constantly battling and eventually Richard just left the project. They cast Celine Lomez in the Linda Thorson role (of Brooke Parsons) originally. I am not sure what happened, if she got another role or whatever, but she left.” When asked if she still has her fake head that appears in a toilet during a gruesome discovery, she admits that it was an artificial makeshift toilet and they used her real head for the scene. “The dinner scene and the bedroom scenes were all done by Richard,” Ms. Donaldson continued. “The ice skating rink scene and the chase through the prop house, that was all Peter. The other actresses and myself, we all got along fine. There were no fights of any sort. I liked all of the women, they were all really great. I didn't get to know Samantha Eggar very much but to be honest I think she kept herself away from everybody because that’s what the character called for. I became really good friends with Lynne Griffin (who played Patti O’Connor and also starred in Bob Clark’s Black Christmas) and she was very excited that they were screening the movie tonight. She couldn’t be here, unfortunately, but she really wanted to. Anne Ditchburn was also a very good friend as well. I did actually practice a skating routine and she helped me. I didn’t actually get to do my routine because I had practiced skating in an arena. When it came time to shoot my ice-skating scene in the movie, I literally took one glide out on to the icy pond and hit a bump. I fell face-first on to the ice. Looking at it on the big screen I can see the cut on my chin. Of course, I did it right behind Peter and Gerry Arbeid (production manager)! Gerry turned to Peter and said, ‘Didn’t we pay for her training?’ So, they had to use a double for my ice skating.”

Ms. Donaldson was nominated for a Genie Award for her performance in the 1980 horror film Funeral Home but lost out to Margot Kidder in Donald Shebib’s Heartaches (1981). Her other horror film outings include Happy Birthday to Me (1981) and Deadly Eyes (1982).

Released on VHS in 1983 and on DVD in 2007, Curtains is currently undergoing a long overdue digital film restoration from an interpositive under the auspices of Don May, Jr.’s company Synapse Films with a Blu-ray scheduled for release in 2014.

Audra herself couldn’t have done it better!

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Italy may have suffered immeasurably during WWII but in the post-war era the Italian cinema entered a renaissance period with world-acclaimed directors making the country the epicenter of the European new wave films. The Italian cinema was still in vigorous condition in the 1960s and the nation's most glamorous actors and actresses became international stars. In the wake of Fellini's La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, even mainstream American audiences that were generally immune to the charms of foreign films became smitten by the Italian touch. One of the most unheralded Italian imports from this era ironically boasted one of the most impressive casts. Made in Italy was released in America in 1967 with an all-star cast that included Virna Lisi, Sylva Koscina, Anna Magnani, Alberto Sordi and Nino Manfredi. The movie, which has been released as one of Sony's burn-to-order DVD titles, is a madcap look at a disparate number of Italians who are all experiencing something chaotic during the course of a single day. The movie, directed and co-written by Nanni Loy (The Four Days of Naples), runs at a fairly manic clip and certainly contains some moments of inspired comedy. However, the screenplay is woefully under-written with some of the vignettes (which are all unrelated) ending abruptly on an unsatisfactory note. Not helping matters is the penchant for dubbing films during this era, an absurd practice that was designed to increase boxoffice dollars but resulted in plenty of voices that didn't seem to match the actors on screen. This film is no exception, with only a few instances in which the dubbing can be deemed satisfactory. In most cases, it's poor and woefully distracting. The dozens of vignettes have varying running times and are primarily designed to look at how every day life in Italy impacts its citizens from all walks of life. Loy gets a bit Felliniesque by making some social commentary along the way. In one sequence, a group of bored, super wealthy socialites decide to "slum it" by eating in a crowded restaurant that is popular with the working class. The snobs arrogantly laugh at how they are immersed with those of lower social status in much the same way as visitors to a zoo might be amused by the antics of some exotic animals. In the most poignant sequence, a middle-aged out of work man desperately seeks employment and goes off on a job interview for a position of laborer. The hopes and enthusiasm of his wife at the prospect of his finding a job is genuinely touching even though the episode ends on a downbeat note.  The only consistent characters seen throughout are a group of bawdy Italians who are aboard a flight to Sweden where they apparently have been engaged to do some unspecified work. The scenes of these obnoxious men clowning on the plane are routinely unfunny and the payoff is even weaker when they arrive in Sweden only to find it a gray, humorless place. The funniest segment involves Alberto Sordi as a philanderer who is caught in the act with his mistress by his wife- only to slickly present a defense of his actions that is designed to make him appear to be the victim of his wife's uncaring behavior. Another funny segment involves Anna Magnani trying to simply walk her family to a local ice cream parlor only to have to endanger everyone's lives by trying to cross the lanes of non-stop traffic that resembles a racetrack. The premise is very funny but, again, the script ends on a bizarre note, as though the writers couldn't envision a satisfying conclusion. The film's main attributes are the superbly photographed scenes of various exotic Italian cities and other locations, all set to a jaunty and delightful musical score. 

Made in Italy is a mixed bag. There is inspired humor in small does along with some poignant social commentary, but all too often the segments are as leaden as a mountainous plate of lasagna.

The DVD transfer is excellent but there are no bonus extras.  

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Although Natalie Wood was regarded as a "serious" actress, having made the rare successful transition from child star, the custom of the day was for studio actors and actresses to pose for an endless amount of "cheesecake" photos. Wood was no exception as this rare photo for the promotion of "Gypsy" (1962) reveals. 

The last known photograph of Doris Day, taken in 2008. The screen legend is now largely relegated to staying indoors.

In an interview with a former assistant to Doris Day, the Daily Mail reveals that there are concerns that the 91 year-old screen legend may be in a precarious state. Ms. Day has always been the most reluctant of superstars. Despite being a chart-topping singer and one of the most popular actresses of her era, Ms. Day has worn the mantle of fame and fortune very modestly. Her life has been beset by tumultuous marriages, deaths and estrangements. Like Cary Grant, she walked away from the motion picture business in the 1960s (her last film was released in 1968). She had a successful TV sitcom in the early 1970s and would periodically appear in the medium from time to time. She spent most of her life in a rather secluded manner, having sworn off relationships with men. Most of her efforts in her post-acting years were devoted to helping injured and stray animals. Rumors have abounded that Ms. Day was a total eccentric but friends and neighbors said that wasn't true. She would often be seen around her home town of Carmel, California, shopping or running errands. She also prided herself on answering fan mail personally. Now, however, it is feared that her health is deteriorating and that the quality of her life has been compromised by caregivers who are allegedly little more than adequate. For more click here 

Bergman Meets Bergman

By Raymond Benson

It was the first and only time two famous filmmaking Swedes worked together—the enigmatic, existential, and brilliant director Ingmar Bergman, and the glamorous, international star of Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman (no relation). According to Ingmar in a filmed introduction he made in 2003, he and Ingrid had met and agreed that one day she would act in one of his films. Then, apparently he and Ingrid met again at a film festival in the mid-70s. She reminded him of their promise; he told her about the script he was working on, in which Liv Ullmann would play the daughter, but he hadn’t cast the mother yet. Done deal. But, in a recently-filmed interview, Ullmann relates how the two Bergmans did not get along very well for the longest period. Ingrid wanted to do it one way, Ingmar another—and he had never dealt with such a headstrong Hollywood personality before. In the end, though, Ingrid capitulated to the director, eventually admitting that he was right. He must have been, for she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and picked up a slew of other awards in 1978, and sadly, it was to be her final feature film.

Autumn Sonata is a chamber piece and feels as if it could be a stage play; indeed, it has been adapted to the stage after the fact. The story is simple—a world-famous concert pianist in her sixties stops touring for a moment to visit her estranged forty-something daughter and husband in Norway. Both of them seem to know that they’re going to come to blows at some point during the stay, and they do. The last act is a painful, cathartic angst-fest, as both women—mother and daughter—have it out with what went wrong with their relationship. Oh, and to complicate things, the mother’s other daughter is at the house, too—and she suffers from a severe disability (possibly Multiple Sclerosis). By the end, the actresses will be exhausted and spent—and the audience will be as well. This is serious, heavy-hitting Bergman (the director), and it displays just how effortlessly—it appears—he could dig deeply into the emotional psyches of two very gifted actresses, more so than we have ever seen before. It’s not a particularly “fun” time at the movies, but it is a powerful exercise in acting and directing. Serious fans of the theatre, and with the Bergmans—both of them—will surely find this to be a stunning little drama.

Sven Nykvist’s color cinematography is gorgeous in its new 2K digital restoration. The Blu-ray exhibits some natural graininess, but the improvement over Criterion’s earlier DVD release of the film is substantial. Extras include the previously mentioned Introduction by Bergman himself; audio commentary by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie; the Liv Ullmann interview; a vintage interview between Ingmar Bergman and critic John Russell Taylor at the National Film Theater in London in 1981; and, astonishingly, a three-and-a-half-hour “making of” on-set documentary. That’s more than twice as long as the movie itself. The film chronicles the entire production—initial readings, rehearsals, dress rehearsals, filming—it certainly gives you a feel for how Bergman worked. The usual classy booklet (with an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme) and packaging, hallmarks of The Criterion Collection, make Autumn Sonata a terrific addition to the home collection.

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By Todd Garbarini 

There are certain movies that you see on substandard formats such as VHS and you enjoy the film and think nothing of the technical prowess that went into making it. When you see that same film given the proper respect of being telecined, color-corrected from the original camera negative, properly framed in the original aspect ratio and displayed on a 1080P monitor/television, the difference is mind-boggling and literally makes you wonder how you managed to suffer through such mediocre viewings in years past. James Munro’s Street Trash (1987) is a colorful, vile, over-the-top contraption featuring dirty and reprehensible characters in Brooklyn, NY who dwell in an automobile graveyard and have fashioned stacks of tires, empty vehicles, and just about anything else that they can get their hands on into shelter and a way of life. They commit petty crimes, steal from one another, and in short do anything to ensure their own survival. To what end, it remains a mystery, however judging from their behavior their miserable existences are probably more preferable to them than the unknown of what lies in the great beyond. As the film opens, a bespectacled local liquor store owner, who looks a lot like the bespectacled bad guy chasing Louis DeFunes through much of Gerard Oury’s The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973), finds a case of “Tenafly Viper” (presumably whiskey or bourbon) in his basement long after the concoction’s expiration date has passed and elects to sell it in his store for a dollar a bottle. The results are disastrous for those who consume the poisonous drink as they begin to slowly turn into defragmented, messy, colorful blobs that would make Rob Bottin, the effects master on John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), cringe. Fred (Mick Lackey, who also did special make-up effects on the film) owes money here and there and will steal from anyone to get it. Bronson (Vic Noto) is an imposing individual who appears to hold sway over everyone who lives in the junkyard and demands money (probably rent) from them. Shot in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, NY in 1986 long before gentrification of the neighborhood, the opening of the film sports a schizophrenic sequence of fast-moving Steadicam shots of Fred out-witting other bums for money. Names like Vandervoort Avenue, Meserole Avenue, Moultrie Street, Norman Avenue, and Humbolt Street populate the screen. Fred takes to the steps of the abandoned and graffiti-covered Greenpoint Hospital Outpatient Department on Maspeth Avenue (now the fully functioning Greenpoint Renaissance Center), and another bum, Paulie, bemoans the fact that his son is wasting his life on computers! If only he had a crystal ball…

Like David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977), Street Trash virtually defies description. That is part of the film’s charm, if a film like this can possess charm! There are some wildly hilarious moments, particularly in the opening scenes involving Fred and flatulence. Another scene involves a group of squeegee men (people who wash car windshields at red lights and demand payment under the threat of vandalism). Bronson takes this bit of intimidation to the extreme by extricating a stereotypically-dressed nerd, with glasses and bowtie, from his car and throwing him headfirst into the windshield as his girlfriend screams in horror. Bronson is unhinged from the get-go and it comes to light that he once fought in Vietnam. This point is driven home in a sequence wherein he has a flashback and is attacked by the Vietcong. Bronson no doubt inspired the character of Wynyard, the drug-addicted frog in Peter Jackson’s hilarious 1989 Muppets send-up Meet the Feebles (years ago, Anchor Bay promised a deluxe DVD of the Feebles, however it soon disappeared from their “future” list. It has been no doubt delayed due to Mr. Jackson’s involvement in getting his Tolkien fantasies shot, but this would be a perfect film for Synapse to release). Another funny sequence takes place in a supermarket wherein a panhandler stuffs nearly a quarter of the store’s inventory down his pants and is offended when the store manager calls him out on it. The film's craziest sequence, however, involves the removal of a bum’s private part as others use it to play a game of catch, tossing it amongst themselves. It looks like it’s paying homage to the tossed bone in the air in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It’s humorous but it goes on a little too long. One fellow reviewer referred to this film as “the greatest movie Troma never made,” and he’s absolutely right. In fact, Troma has been making so many crazy, off-the-wall parodies of other movies for nearly four decades that I initially thought that films like Street Trash and Peter Jackson’s wildly entertaining Bad Taste (1986) were made by them. The pacing of the film is a bit off, and it might have worked better as an 80-minute film rather than its full 101 feature-length running time. The timing of the film’s release following Larry Cohen’s The Stuff (1985), about a company that packages industrial waste into the form of a snack, is either deliberate or entirely coincidental, as that film concerns people who, after ingesting The Stuff, have awful things happen to them. If you are a fan of Street Trash, this new Blu-ray from Don May, Jr.’s excellent Synapse Films is a no-brainer. The transfer is absolutely gorgeous.

The film has been released many times before on VHS and laserdisc (both here and in Japan). Synapse Films released it in the US in 2005 as a single DVD disc, then in 2006 as a special edition two-disc set the following year. It is that set that is replicated on the single Blu-ray with the following extras:

The Meltdown Memoirs (2:04:00) I love when DVDs and Blu-rays offer documentaries that are occasionally longer than the feature film that they are discussing. Laurent Bouzereau’s documentary on Steve Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is a case in point. The documentary on Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners (1995) runs roughly four hours long, as does the one on the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, Never Sleep Again. The same is true of the documentary on Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) on Blu-ray. While some people may find this excessive, true diehard fans, including yours truly, love these added values. The Meltdown Memoirs is no exception. It runs just over two hours in length and is everything that a film documentary should be: entertaining, informative, and comprehensive. Just about everybody who appears in the film can be seen here as well. There is plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, discussions about the cast and financing the film, discussions about special effects, illustrations of conceptual art, the gloriously colorful cinematography and production design, etc. In short, this is just about everything that you need to know about this movie. The original cut of Street Trash ran nearly three hours (gulp!).

Audio commentary number one with writer/producer Roy Frumkes. It is a real pleasure to listen to Roy as he discusses many facets about the making of the film. Usually, special editions offer commentaries as well as interviews which tend to contain the exact same information just packaged differently. The idea behind this, I assume, is to give fans who like watching short interviews but do not like to listen to full-length commentaries the same information, however in truncated form. There is very little repetition in the way of what is mentioned in the audio commentary on this disc, as opposed to the documentary. This is really designed with the hardcore fan in mind, the person who’s going to watch and listen to every extra that the disc boasts.

Audio commentary number two with director James Munro. Director Munro speaks about this film from a technical standpoint which is helpful to people who work behind the camera. If you have already watched the two-hour documentary and listen to Mr. Frumkes, you can probably skip this track and not miss out too much. However, if you’re a completist, there are interesting anecdotes to be sure.

The original Street Trash 16mm short that inspired the feature-length film. This short runs approximately fifteen minutes in length and is interesting to see in contrast to the feature-length film.

The original Street Trash promotional teaser.

Deleted scenes and outtakes. Seven minutes of short scenes are featured here in a sequence that is exclusive to the Blu-ray.

Jane Arakawa interview. A nine-minute interview with one of the actresses from the film that is also exclusive to this Blu-ray.

Theatrical trailer. This runs about two minutes.

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Canadian cartoonist Sophie Cossette uses her considerable talents to pay tribute to cult movies and their stars and directors. Click here to view her tribute to "King Leer" himself, producer/director Russ Meyer, who certainly never went flat busted -both financially and in terms of the films he made, which showcased the best endowed actresses he could find. This was all done in an era when silicone implants would have been considered "cheating". Meyer searched out those ladies who were naturally "gifted" and made quite a few sex comedies that are so tame today they could be shown on the Disney Channel. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, they served to titillate an entire generation of men.  

Once again, Cinema Retro is proud to bring you behind the scenes on a world-class retro movie event.  

By Matthew Field

It seemed only appropriate that Octopussy, the only James Bond film with a tenuous link to Wimbledon, should be the theme of BondStars’ summer barbeque on the very day Andy Murray became champion. (Octopussy actor and former tennis player Vijay Amritraj was semi-finalist in the men’s doubles in 1976!)

On a sweltering summer’s day, OCTOPUSSY AT 30, re-united cast and crew from the 13^th James Bond movie at Pinewood Studios where the movie was made back in 1982/83.

The day kicked off with a screening of the Blu-ray master (kindly lent by Eon Productions) in Theatre 7. Director John Glen, assistant director Anthony Waye and stars Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn, were on hand to introduce the film to fans at the sold out event. Glen told the audience that Octopussy was his favourite pre-title sequence along with The Spy Who Loved Me. He also remarked with a smile how gorgeous his actresses were still look today – and they certainly were!

A lineup of Bond royalty: Peter Lamont, Kristina Wayborn, John Glen, Maud Adams and Alan Tomkins. (Photo: copyright Matthew Field, All Rights Reserved.)

Later in the day guests were also joined by twins David & Tony Meyer, Carole Ashby, Jeremy Bulloch, production designer Peter Lamont and stunt arranger Paul Weston. Cinema Retro’s Dave Worrall, our very own veteran tour guide, led guests around the studio, pointing out of particular note, the entrance to the manor house which doubled for the British embassy where 009 turns up dead with the Faberge egg in Berlin.

Well, Louis Jourdan couldn't make the event, but we've got the next best thing: Cinema Retro's Matthew Field, the thorn between two roses: Kristina Wayborn and Maud Adams. 

Cinema Retro's Dave Worrall is still pondering why his relationship with this lovely lass never quite worked out! (Photo: copyright Matthew Field, All Rights Reserved.)

On stage the Meyer twins recalled the filmmakers first approached them after John Glen had seen twins in France performing a knife-throwing act. But the French duo had turned the film down on the grounds that jumping off of trains wasn’t really their sort of thing! Maud Adams said how proud she is to be associated with the Bond franchise while Kristina Wayborn recalled her first day at the studios in 1982 where she met not James Bond in the Pinewood restaurant – but Superman actor Christopher Reeve. Ipads and smart phones were running the Murray match throughout the day and there was a huge cheer as the young Scot secured the trophy while Kristina and Maud were being interviewed on stage.

Stuntman extraordinaire Paul Weston (center) can't resist monitoring the action at Wimbledon. Paul performed some of the most harrowing stunts in the film. (Photo: copyright Matthew Field, All Rights Reserved.)

A lineup of 007 greats: Alan Tomkins, John Glen and Peter Lamont. (Photo: copyright Matthew Field, All Rights Reserved.)

The Octopussy theme ran throughout the day. Circus acts entertaining guests in the Pinewood gardens during lunch while specially designed cupcakes were served with afternoon tea. An Octopussy special was put together by Mi6 Confidential Magazine to accompany the event featuring many interviews and behind the scenes photographs from the personal archives of those who worked on the film. Sir Roger Moore wrote a wonderful introduction to the day also.

Yet another great day for 007 fans and a new “All Time High” for BondStars!

Jean Stapleton, whose performance as Edith Bunker in All in the Family made her one of the most iconic actresses in the TV industry, has passed away at age 90. Click here for details 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Impulse Pictures has released Sexcula, a 1974 Canadian hardcore horror spoof, on DVD. The film is more notable for the story behind its production than the finished product, which is generally fairly anemic. It was made in Vancouver with the aid of a loophole in the Canadian government's tax shelter funding even though hardcore porn was illegal in the country until 1978. Consequently, the movie was never shown beyond an alleged initial screening for cast and crew.  Many doubted the very existence of the film, which is presumed to be the first ever Canadian feature length porn flick, since it hasn't been seen at all over the decades. . The bizarre scenario finds a young couple who discover a diary from 1896. In it, an incredible tale is told about a female mad doctor named Fallatingstein (get it?) who used her skills to create an artificial life form: a hunky would-be sex slave named Frank (get it?) The only problem is that while Frank is desirable to the doctor, the "monster" is uninterested in the doctor. In frustration, she reaches out to her relative, Countess Sexcula (Debbie Collins, Canada's answer to Marilyn Chambers). The two women attempt to "raise the dead" in terms of Frank's flaccid sexual state. Although the title hints at overt horror themes and most of the action takes place in a dungeon, Sexcula herself just seems to be an exotic, perpetually horny young woman with no particular ties to the supernatural. (The tag line for the movie promises "She'll suck more than your blood!") The rest of the film consists of humorous vignettes in which the two females try every imaginable scenario to get Frank aroused. Even the inevitable lesbian scene fails to do the trick. The joke is carried on throughout the cheaply made production, which intersperses soft core sex with a few hardcore sequences. The comedy is overt, obviously having been inspired by the goofy appeal Deep Throat held for mass audiences. However, the movie is completely lacking in wit and Ms. Collins' performance makes Marilyn Chambers look like Kate Hepburn. The actresses seem stiff and uncomfortable. There is also footage from what appears to be an unrelated production showing a young couple in a wedding chapel who turn their exchange of vows into an orgy. (Being polite Canadians, they ensure that the preacher joins in as well.) Perhaps the most offbeat sequence features a comely female robot sexually assaulted by a gorilla! The film lurches towards a Blazing Saddles-like conclusion with cast members clearly walking around the sets, indicating the whole production has been a joke. 

Sexcula strives to be a cut above average porn but the talent simply isn't there to carry off the gimmick. Even the hardcore sequences are dimly lit and not very erotic. However, the Impulse release deserves praise because it represents the first public distribution of this film, which was rumored to exist but had been lost in Canadian archives. Liner notes by Dimitrios Otis, who is referred to as a "Porn Archaeologist" (how does one get a degree in that field?) present the interesting tale of how the movie reels were located and salvaged. An original trailer is included as well as a pop art comic synopsis of the movie by Rick Tremble. In all, an impressive package for a relatively unimpressive film. However, there is that terrific poster art concept used on the sleeve. 

If not for a last minute change, legendary opera star Maria Callas would have been the female lead in The Guns of Navarone.

Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival  (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.

The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.

Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the role model for every diva to come. This was an astonishing publicity coup. Names did not come any bigger. Although few opera stars can act, she was considered more than capable. Smouldering European actresses like Sophia Loren were much in demand in Hollywood at the time and she fitted the bill.’

Born in America in 1923 to Greek parents, she mad her singing debut in 1941 but her early career was tumultuous and it was not until she married wealthy industrialist Giovanni Meneghini that she achieved major success. Even so she battled with employers and was known as much for her tantrums, walkouts and love life as her singing. Her presence was a considerable departure from the best-selling book by Scottish writer Alistair Maclean for in the original there were no female characters.

The news received worldwide coverage – Callas was that big a star. Hollywood was agog. Offers of movie roles had been made to Callas before and she had turned them down. There was a history of opera stars making the jump to Hollywood. Popular 1930s due Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald had both been opera stars. More recently Mario Lanza had been a box office sensation - his film The Great Caruso had ranked third in the US box office charts in 1951 ahead of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place In The Sun. There had also been a trend for operas to be filmed and show in cinemas.

But Callas’s career had been riddled with bust-ups and insiders predicted the relationship with Foreman would not last. Callas abruptly quit the production before shooting began and was replaced by classical actress Irene Papas.

Nor was she the only casualty of the filming. Producer Foreman lost first choice actors  Cary Grant and William Holden, director Alexander Mackendrick (The Ladykillers), scriptwriter Eric Ambler (Mask Of Dimitrios), and a second female star Annette Stroyberg, wife of director Roger Vadim who had turned Brigitte Bardot into a star. British actor David Niven nearly died during filming.  The set, the biggest ever built in Britain, for the titular guns collapsed and had to be rebuilt and the budget soared by 25%. 

Despite these setbacks, the film burned up the box office and was the number one film of the year and nominated for seven Oscars.

Hannan has also published two books on Hitchcock – Darkness Visible:Hitchcock’s Greatest Film and Hitchcock’s Hollywood Hell.

The author will introduce a new restored 4K version of The Guns Of Navarone film on Sunday April 28 preceded by a book signing of his book and its companion The Making Of Lawrence Of Arabia.

The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone by Brian Hannan is published by Baroliant Press, priced £8.99 and is available on Kindle and in bookshops.

(U.S. readers can click here to order the Amazon Kindle edition)  

Contact Brian Hannan by email on bhkhannan@aol.com  or mobile  07946 278403

Oscar winners Daniel Day Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway and Christoph Waltz.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although it's fashionable (required?) for critics to dump on the annual Oscar telecast, I've been impressed by some of the ceremonies in the last few years. Despite the length of the broadcast (only David Lean could be counted on to provide a longer running time), last night's presentation moved at a much faster pace than usual. It was hosted by Seth MacFarlane, someone whose presence on the show initially left me less-than-thrilled. I'd heard of him, of course, but had never seen him.  That may mean that I'm out of touch with contemporary pop culture, especially television, but I'd wager that anyone would agree that MacFarlane is the least-known person to ever host the show. Having said that, he did a fine job, given his thankless job as ringmaster. The show got off to a mildly amusing start with William Shatner as Captain Kirk "beamed" in from the future to warn MacFarlane that his reviews would prove to be terrible if he didn't improve his jokes. The gimmick worked well at the start but went on for an interminable 15 minutes until I wish someone had beamed me out. Fortunately, MacFarlane's monologue was clever, as was an intentionally distasteful "tribute" to actresses, a song titled "We Saw Your Boobs", which was turned into an admittedly funny production number.

Other observations:

• The producers succeeded in their quest to get big names to attend. Clint Eastwood may have opted to watch the show at home, but Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Christopher Plummer and other legends added star power to the event.
  
• One of the best gimmicks was the slowly-encroaching theme from Jaws which was played when winners went on too long in their acceptance speeches. The one winner who chose to ignore the warning  lost the battle and came across as a windbag.
• Fashion-wise, there were no show-stoppers, but neither were there any overt embarrassments. Everyone looked elegant.
  
• The obituary segment was improved by the fact that it wasn't accompanied by live music, which generally caused the camera to focus on the musician instead of the screen where the dearly departed are being honored.
  
• It's a pity that the once-vaunted Jean Hersholt Award is now relegated to a brief sound bite from an earlier presentation ceremony (Jeffrey Katzenberg was the honoree this year.) 
• It was great to see Barbra Streisand pay tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch by singing The Way We Were, but for some reason the arrangement left me unmoved and this great song didn't resonate the way it should have.
• The "banter" between co-presenters was pretty lame and got exponentially worse with the number of presenters on stage at any one time. (The cast of The Avengers appearing together must have seemed like a great idea but the result was awful in terms of witty byplay.)
  
• The much-anticipated James Bond 50th anniversary tribute would have been enthusiastically received by fans of the series, but the producers blundered early on by hinting that they were arranging for an on-stage appearance by all six 007 actors. When that fell apart, they then hinted something phenomenal was in the works, but aside from Shirley Bassey's brilliant rendition of Goldfinger, the long-overdue tribute to the series consisted of a pretty routine film clip compilation. Later in the show, Adele sang her theme from Skyfall and won a well-deserved Oscar. Skyfall also won in a sound category, thus breaking the Bond "Oscar Curse." (The last 007 film to win an Oscar was Thunderball back in 1965).
• There were a number of surprises among the winners: Christoph Waltz, Ang Lee, Quentin Tarantino were all considered to be dark horses this year.
  
• Production numbers were generally very good, especially the gathering of the Les Miserables cast who were in fine form.
  
• The inclusion of First Lady Michelle Obama in a live feed from the White House to "help" present the Best Picture award was as bizarre as it was superfluous. It may have gone over well with the crowd in the auditorium but probably left most viewers scratching their heads. Let's hope this overt blending of politics and Hollywood doesn't start a trend or we'll be seeing senators and congressmen in future production numbers. 
• MacFarlane's closing production number "tribute" to the losers was as witty as anything Billy Crystal ever came up with and ended the show on a high note.
  

Overall, a good presentation that moved briskly and rarely proved to be boring. MacFarland will suffer the slings-and-arrows of the professional Oscar-bashers, but he acquitted himself well in the eyes of this reviewer, who incidentally, had a very mediocre result from his Oscar predictions. I only managed to nab some of the foregone conclusions and completely misjudged many of the other categories. The sheer unpredictability of this year's winners helped to inject some genuine suspense into the proceedings. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Synapse Films continues to release interesting, quirky niche market films to the DVD market including the latest Schoolgirl Report edition, this one labeled #9 : "Mature Before Graduation". It is a 1975 German softcore sex film that actually has some resonance in the international cinema of that era, as this series proved to be sensationally popular with mainstream audiences. For the most part, couples could safely enjoy the naughty fun without the stigma of being seen entering a theater that specialized in showing hardcore films. This entry follows the tried and true adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" in that it presents the standard scenario for the series: a number of vignettes centering on nubile high school girls who, we are specifically and painstakingly told, are 18 years of age or older (probably to prevent any legal challenges.) The movie begins with a reckless game of "chicken" involving drunken teenagers in two cars. The inevitable accident leaves several of them at death's door, with some of the girls reflecting on their relationships with the boys involved in the crash, though this plot device seems to be dropped and reappear at random. One story follows a young girl who is determined to marry her boyfriend against the objections of her parents, who claim she is too young. Predictably, they are proven right. On the wedding night, she is less than impressed by her new husband's sudden drop in libido- and the fact that he now wears dorky pajamas. The story meanders to a conclusion, having existed in the first place only to show the sex scenes. (In one amusing sequence, an elderly widow who rents a hotel room to the honeymooners finds various schemes to walk in on them during the most delicate moments.) In a bizarre story, a young girl finds she can't enjoy sex because she is haunted by having been "flashed" by an exhibitionist who was sporting a giant, rubber phallus (a common occurrence that virtually all of us can relate to). Another segment centers on a scenario that many of us actually can relate to: a teenage girl whose parents are away on a trip invites her friends over for a party that soon gets out of hand- only to have her mom and dad return home early. The skit is played (or over-played) broadly for laughs. In another vignette that is fairly funny, two middle-aged parents go to extremes to show their daughter and her boyfriend that they are hip. However, they are at least ten years behind the times and sport the type of mod outfits that would embarrass Austin Powers. It's a cute segment with a few genuine laughs. The most poignant story centers on a teenage girl who is caught experimenting with lesbianism with her best friend. She is blackmailed by her unscrupulous stepfather into entering a sexual relationship with him with devastating consequences to all involved. 

The Schoolgirl Report films are fairly low-end in terms of production values, with herky jerky camerawork in some scenes and humor that is relatively broad and unsophisticated. Yet, there is something nostalgic about this type of erotica. While the films clearly exploit the female participants, they were made in an era in which the actresses could at least appear in a natural state. This is unlike today's erotic films in which the women have to incur treatments of Botox, implants, collagen and more wax treatments than a floor at Wal-mart would be subjected to. There is a certain innocence about the series and they never degenerate into being truly vulgar. They may not be everyone's cup of tea but retro movie lovers may have a few naughty memories rekindled by watching them.

The Synapse Films release offers the uncut version of the movie in German language with English sub-titles. There are no extras on this edition.

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Click here to read Dean Brierly's report on the history of the series.

By Todd Garbarini

One of the strangest G-rated “family films” that I have ever seen is Al Adamson’s 1982 effort Carnival Magic, released by HD Cinema Classics by way of Film Chest Media Group. As a fan of the best genre efforts that were afforded by what is arguably the last truly great summer for movies in the United States, 1982 gave us Conan the Barbarian, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, The Thing, The Beastmaster and The Road Warrior. I must admit that I was stunned to learn of this film as I had not heard of it prior to its 2010 release on home video.

Filmed over three weeks in Gaffney, South Carolina and Shelby, North Carolina, Carnival Magic is, in the words of producer Elvin Feltner, “the story of a magician and a traveling carnival and his pet monkey, who just happens to be a talking monkey.” It is also a film that cannot make up its mind if it wants to be a slapstick comedy or a family film with dramatic adult themes. Starring a cluster of soap opera actors and actresses, producer Feltner does what any good producer does when faced with the rising costs of a film budget. He thinks outside the box and delivers a film that can easily be categorized as a cult favorite.

The carnival’s magician, Markov (played nicely by Don Stewart), can read people’s thoughts and levitate objects. Armed with his talking chimp Alex, they are the top crowd pleaser, easily making the wild animal trainer second banana and very jealous in the process. Hoping to regain his former glory, the trainer attempts to kidnap the chimp and give him to a medical laboratory for experimentation in the hopes of displacing his competition and making a good deal of money. Among this plot are a bevy of carnival beauties who dance, and a young adult romance that blossoms innocently.

I couldn’t help but think of Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse (1981) while watching this film, as the carnival atmosphere always intrigued me since I saw the “Levitation” episode of Tales from the Darkside in May 1985.

The video transfer of the film is done from a recently unearthed 35mm theatrical print discovered lying in a warehouse (the original negative apparently was not among the finds unfortunately), but HD Cinema, a terrific company in their own right, has done a wonderful job of cleaning up the print with their restoration transfer. I honestly cannot wait to see what this company has up its sleeve in the months to come. If they can get their hands on low-budget, independently made films and do high definition transfers of them for new audiences, their future is surely bright.

There are a host of extras in this collection. A running audio commentary with cult film historian Joel Rubin and producer Feltner reveals a great deal of information regarding the making of the film. Although Carnival Magic was copyrighted in 1982, most people did not see the film until roughly a year later in select screenings, as it was difficult to find theaters willing to book the film. Mr. Feltner makes mention that the film was shot in 1981 in the video interview introduction, however historian Reuben points out that according to lab documents it was filmed in the previous year. When Mr. Feltner mentions that it was shot in 1982 on the audio commentary and become fairly adamant, it leads the audience to wondering why the discussion is up for debate when such information is easily verifiable. The subject is eventually put to bed when the outtakes that appear in the supplementary section clearly reveal the date of July 1980 on the film slate.

The remaining extras consist of twenty minutes of outtakes sans audio and a short “ before” and “after” restoration demo. What is most interesting is the inclusion of both the original television trailer and the theatrical trailer, wherein the former presents the film as a non-stop riot and the latter gives one the impression that they should expect something along the lines of Smokey and the Bandit. Rounding out the extras is an interesting slideshow which consists of newspaper clippings illustrating when the movie came to the respective filming locations, looking for extras to appear in the carnival scenes.

Regardless of one's opinion of the film's narrative, the movie stands as a time capsule of a more innocent era in American life, of small-town folks enjoying the summer with family and friends. The carnival sequences almost serve as a documentary of what life was like in 1980 for these people.

HD Cinema Classics gets it right by releasing this as a DVD and Blu-ray combo package, something that too few companies are doing even now. They are to be commended for offering the film in both formats, though Blu-ray is really the way to go due to the increased sharpness and definition. The colors really pop out in this format.

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Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole with Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever.

A bevy of James Bond actresses will be appearing at the Hollywood Show in Burbank, California on January 11-13. The collector's show features a wide array of movie memorabilia and celebrity autograph opportunities. Among those appearing from the Bond films: Lana Wood, Luciana Paluzzi, Britt Ekland, Eunice Gayson, Tania Mallet, Gloria Hendry, Maud Adams and Maryam d'Abo. Also appearing is fan favorite Richard Kiel and James West himself, Robert Conrad. For more click here

(Thanks to Lana Wood for the news alert.)

The Hollywood Reporter has a major article that takes readers inside the world of agents who represent porn stars. It's not all glitz and glamor for anyone involved. The article points out that sex is treated coldly as a business and there is little evidence anyone involved considers it a lark. As with "normal" actresses, porn stars have their tiers of top-earners and those who are more in demand than others. Agents negotiate on their behalf, discussing everything from whether there will be a professional makeup artist available on set to whether their clients will be paid extra for performing anal sex or double penetration scenes on camera. Such is the bizarre world of porn star management. Click here to read the entire article. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Night Digger, a well-regarded cult film that died at the box-office upon its initial release in 1971, has been brought to DVD by Warner Archive. The moody and atmospheric film stars Patricia Neal as Maura Prince, a middle-aged woman who resents having allowed life to pass her by while she caters to her nagging, ungrateful mother (Pamela Brown). The two women live a boring life in a run-down, rural mansion on the outskirts of London. When Billy (Nicholas Clay),  a transient young man on a motorcycle appears and requests employment as a handyman, Maura balks but her mother consents. The charismatic lad proves to be well worth his room and board, fixing everything in sight and making no demands on either woman. Before long, the sexually-deprived Maura becomes romantically obsessed with him. Neither Maura or her mother realize that Billy is actually a serial killer of young women who is being sought far and wide by the police. He takes moonlight sojourns on his cycle and breaks into women's houses. After molesting them, he kills them and buries their bodies.

Although the film has a good deal of suspense, it's primarily a character study and a look at the self-imposed prisons many people lock themselves into. Neal, working from a screenplay by (then) husband Roald Dahl, is simply superb. Her willingness to portray everyday women, minus any glitz or glamor, made her one of the most watchable actresses of her day. She receives equally good support from Pamela Brown as the Mother Bates figure, an obnoxious self-centered woman who feels no guilt about destroying her daughter's life so that she can have a constant servant and companion. Nicholas Clay is excellent as Billy, underplaying the demonic side of his character and making him somewhat sympathetic. Had the film been the hit it deserved to be, he would have emerged as a much bigger star. The movie also boasts an impressive score by the legendary Bernard Hermann and intelligent direction by Alastair Reid. The film builds to a suspenseful, if unsatisfying and rather confusing climax that might make more sense on repeated viewings. However, The Night Digger an acting tour-de-force for Neal and emerges as an underrated gem. (The movie was also known as The Road Builder)

The DVD contains the original trailer.

Click here to order Warner Archive.

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

By Lee Pfeiffer

One of a seemingly endless number of films that tried to capitalize on the success of the 1974 "art house" softcore porn flick Emmanuelle, the 1983 Canadian movie Joy has been released to DVD by Severin Films. Emmanuelle was especially influential because it broke barriers by playing in neighborhood theaters where couples could view the film in a respectable environment and not be bothered by the raincoats-on-the-lap crowd. Joy, directed by Serge Bergon, follows in the tradition by stressing a story of romance over overt sexual acts. The movie benefits from its considerable budget and boasts some outstanding cinematography in such far-flung locations as Mexico, Paris, Montreal and New York City. It's like a National Geographic special with orgasms. Claudia Udy, a stunning Canadian actress, is more than competent as the title character, a free-spirited model who is searching for true love amidst the hectic pace of her thriving career. She seems to be attracted to suave, older men and believes she's found true love in Marc (Gerard Antoine Huart). However, the romance is on-and-off as she discovers he insists upon carrying on a simultaneous relationship with another woman (He is French, after all...)  Joy also experiments with other men before returning to Marc, who expands her sexual freedoms by exposing her to group sex in a bizarre sequence that seems like an inspiration for Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

By Doug Gerbino

The beautiful Rita Hayworth shines in her first Technicolor© film-COVER GIRL (1944). The beautifully restored transfer co-stars Hayworth with Gene Kelly (on a loan out from M-G-M) and a young, pre-Sgt. Bilko Phil Silvers. This lighthearted musical boasts a score by Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin (the great standard, “Long Ago, and Far Away” comes from this score) and was directed by Charles “King” Vidor.

Twilight Time has done a terrific great job presenting this film on Blu-ray and ANYTHING that presents classic 1940s TECHNICOLOR© is a must for me. There was never anything like it (and never will be.) Actresses like Rita Hayworth were made for TECHNICOLOR©. This one is a backstage musical with Rita rising to the top as a nightclub performer. Gene Kelly is there to love and support her. Phil Silvers and Eve Arden are along for laugh-support.Talk about star power… This was the first film in which Kelly was allowed to design and stage his own musical numbers. His home studio, M-G-M, had never given him that kind of control until he returned to the studio with significantly more clout. Why didn’t Metro learn NOT to lend their stars out to Columbia? It didn’t work back in ’34 when they loaned-out Clark Gable. Like Kelly, he returned to MGM a much bigger name and was consequently able to make far greater demands.

Calendar Girl is yet another worthy release by Twilight Time, which is fast becoming one of the premiere distributors of fine retro movies that would otherwise undoubtedly remain in studio vaults.

107 minutes. 1080p HD/ 1.33:1 Limited Edition of 3,000 units / Informational booklet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo included.

Click here to order from Screen Archives.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The new romantic comedy ("romcom" for you hipsters) Excuse Me for Living represents the first feature film by Ric Klass, at least in terms of getting any meaningful distribution. (His prior excursion into filmmaking was the little-seen Elliott Fauman, PhD. back in 1990.)  The indie movie goes into theatrical release in select theaters nationwide this week. The film traces the tangled relationships between young New Yorkers, with the emphasis focusing on Dan (Tom Pelphrey), a privileged Gen X'er who nonetheless suffers from severe depression and a penchant for self-destructive behavior. When the film opens, we find him about to leap to his death from a bridge. Saved by a cop, he is "sentenced" to a rehab clinic run by a strict, but compassionate psychiatrist (Robert Vaughn), who attempts to form a personal bond with the troubled young man. Dan agrees to join a therapy group comprised entirely of elderly men, each of whom reveals their own personal demons. Dan is accepted by the group, but his rebellious nature gets the better of him. Before long, he's being lured back to his old ways. He sneaks out to attend wild parties at the home of a snobby friend and even starts an affair with his own psychiatrist's daughter. The episodic nature of the film provides both strengths and weaknesses. On the plus side, we're introduced to some interesting characters, well played by a talented cast of largely unknown actors and actresses. Pelphrey is especially good in the lead role, but he gets able assistance from Melissa Archer and Ewa Da Cruz as the femme fatales who wreak havoc on his his troubled mind by offering a continuous string of sexual temptations.  On the other hand, Klass, who also wrote the screenplay, introduces so many characters and relationships that the viewer sometimes can't follow who is doing what with whom. Klass doesn't strive for belly laughs, instead concentrates on amusing situations and poignant and often moving dramatic aspects to the storyline. Best of all, he brings together some terrific veteran actors, all seen in their largest big screen roles in years. Vaughn, in particular, makes the most of his considerable screen time, bringing grace and dignity to a complex role. It's great to see him in a lead role on the big screen again.  Seinfeld almuni Jerry Stiller (playing a relatively subdued and realistic character) and Wayne Knight are also on hand, along with Christopher Lloyd, whose usual crazy guy shtick is quite amusing. There is also enough mildly kinky sex and scantily-clad women to appeal to guys who might otherwise think this is a chick flick. In fact, it's a smart, witty comedy that should have special appeal to young, urban audiences. The movie also has a rich look to the production design and is crisply photographed and impressively edited.

Excuse Me For Living makes for a fine directorial debut for Klass. Here's hoping he has a second act in the works. 

Click here to visit the official web site for the film

By Harvey Chartrand

Frank Langella played an aging writer in Starting Out in the Evening (2007). Who would have figured this for typecasting?

In his superb memoir, Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them (HarperCollins), Langella reveals that he is an incomparable memoirist and storyteller, recalling his encounters with scores of luminaries from the world of entertainment in a career spanning half a century. All of these luminaries are deceased and the cast of characters is listed “by order of disappearance”. Just as well, as many of the revelations are quite shocking.

Langella must be the most sociable and congenial actor on the planet, as the busyness of his social and professional lives and the breadth and depth of his friendships, romantic liaisons and acquaintances are very impressive indeed. He met Marilyn Monroe in 1953. She stepped out of a limousine and said “hi” to the adolescent from Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1962, Langella, struggling for a toehold on Broadway, carried a dead drunk Montgomery Clift to his nearby townhouse several times. “He never spoke a word to me. Never even knew my name,” Langella recalls.

He knew Anthony Perkins in the late fifties when the future Norman Bates was the king of Broadway, and decades later met him in the parking lot of a grocery store in L.A., shortly before his death.

“I turned and saw what looked to me like a ghostly apparition, a paper-thin, wide-eyed, sallow-faced, walking cadaver. (…) He did not speak. (…) It was a terrifying sight. Clearly dying and clearly desperate, he seemed disoriented and lost. Only his familiar crooked grin gave me the sense he knew who he was. (…) Staring through my rearview mirror at him wandering around in the grass and weeds, I remembered when the world was his oyster and it seemed nothing could stand in his way; a book with such a beautiful cover on whose pages were most likely written crippling and indelible words of shame and guilt.”

Several of Langella’s memoirs deal with the ravages of time on the careers of actors and actresses who had been to the top of their profession and smelled its rarefied air. In 1976, Langella co-starred with Cameron Mitchell “in a ghastly television series entitled Swiss Family Robinson.” By then, the once handsome Mitchell was “fifty-eight, a fat, jowly mess, covering his sad decline with an over-the-top wisecracking demeanor; its most heartbreaking manifestation its constancy.” The wardrobe lady finds an old Napoleonic-era jacket with Mitchell’s name on it, probably the one he wore in Desirée, a 1954 film he did with Marlon Brando. Mitchell does “a little yo ho yo ho strut” in the jacket that is now two sizes too small for him, “like a vaudeville clown getting ready to throw a pie.” Pathetic.

Langella is unusually frank about his relationships with Rita Hayworth (20 years his senior, her memory failing) and an aging Elizabeth Taylor, whom he gently spurns, knowing that he could not be part of “her indiscriminate search for the one thing she could not and would never have: Enough!”

Langella has serious regrets about lost opportunities: blowing a possible relationship with Dinah Shore; treating an older Deborah Kerr callously as they co-starred in Edward Albee’s play Seascape on Broadway in 1974… and then trying to meet with her 30 years later to apologize; turning down a role in John Frankenheimer’s The Horsemen in order to star in Mel Brooks’ flop The Twelve Chairs, which led to an angry rebuke by Frankenheimer, who never asked for Langella again.

Langella befriended Alan Bates during the Broadway run of Ivan Turgenev’s play Fortune’s Fool and they remained very close friends until Bates’ death in 2003. Langella also expresses admiration for Tony Curtis: “(…) apart from the absurdity of his desperate attempts to look cool, hip and young, I found him always to be charming, instantly connected, and very funny. He was, as well, ruthlessly honest when he didn’t like someone or something. A no-shit guy who had taken a lot of abuse, often challengingly bringing it upon himself.”

As for Paul Newman, who tried to befriend Langella, the memoirist writes: “He was a great audience, a true lover of acting and actors, and wanted, I believe, to be thought of as a great actor. He wasn’t. But he gave everything he had to every role. As his movie star days faded and turned mostly to stage and television projects, his limitations became more apparent. As indeed, they were in life. After dirty-sexy jokes, shop talk, cars, or politics were exhausted, Paul was a pretty dull companion. Never rude or unkind, just dull.” However, Langella ends his chapter on Newman with a description of his final heartbreaking encounter with the actor famed for his baby-blues when he is stricken with cancer.” As I read this passage, I was so moved that tears welled in my eyes.

Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them is so damned interesting and well written that it should be savoured, but that is almost impossible. I dashed through the book in one sitting and will read it again just to study Langella’s literary artistry. My only quibble is that Langella doesn’t mention Kate Nelligan, his ravishing leading lady in John Badham’s 1979 Dracula.

Other stars and entertainers profiled by Langella include Billie Burke, Noel Coward, Lee Strasberg (whom Langella treated with contempt), Celia Johnson, Dolores del Rio, James Mason, Richard Burton (a thundering bore), Yul Brynner, Elsa Lanchester, Laurence Olivier, Bette Davis, Rex Harrison (a dreadful man), Coral Browne, Colleen Dewhurst, Gilbert Roland, Jessica Tandy, Raúl Juliá, Ida Lupino, Jo Van Fleet (who ended her days as a bag lady), Robert Mitchum, Roddy McDowall, Oliver Reed, George C. Scott (terminally sad), Loretta Young, Roger Vadim, John Gielgud, Anthony Quinn, Hume Cronyn, Elia Kazan (“talent such as his doesn’t give you rights” to become “a serial fucker of women’s bodies and men’s minds”) , Arthur Miller, Anne Bancroft (terminally miserable despite all her gifts), Maureen Stapleton, Yvonne De Carlo, Charlton Heston, Richardo Montalban, Jill Clayburgh and Susannah York.

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By Todd Garbarini

In August 1981, at the age of twelve, I viewed my very first horror film, Dan Curtis' 1976 theatrical outing Burnt Offerings, based upon the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. I was immediately impressed with the film's spooky quality and the performances by Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith. One area that stood out most was the chillingly icy score by Robert Cobert. I was eager to discover other works directed by Mr. Curtis and it would be nearly 30 years before I would finally see episodes of what is arguably his most popular production, the soap opera/thriller Dark Shadows. Running for nearly five years on ABC-TV from 1966 to 1971 and consisting of 1,225 episodes in total (some of which were in black and white), Dark Shadows is an enjoyably spooky production that was shot on videotape. It stars Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, and Lara Parker as Angelique. Genre fans will recognize the late Ms. Bennett from as Celia Lamphere in Fritz Lang’s Secret Beyond the Door… (1948) and as Madame Blanc in Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977). Like many of Mr. Curtis’ other creepy productions, it was scored by Robert Cobert as well.

For those of you who were watching this series when it premiered 46 years ago, your opportunity to view uncut and uninterrupted episodes is now possible thanks to home video. There are two newly released single DVDs (Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites and Dark Shadows: Best of Barnabas), each of which contain nine of the most loved episodes by the millions of fans who tuned in to it daily. These DVDs were released to coincide with Tim Burton’s film version of the show starring Johnny Depp and give new viewers a taste of what the series was like. While it is a far cry from such current vampire fare such as HBO’s enormously popular True Blood, it still possesses (no pun intended) an air of Gothic creepiness and in my humble opinion the entire series should have been shot in black and white. Eagle-eyed viewers will catch a glimpse of a boom mike here and there, and it’s a hoot to see that the show’s costumes were provided by Ohrbach’s, a department store I recall from my youth in the 1980s. Actresses Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker provide introductions to the individual episodes which are a nice added value for the money spent.

If you’re a rabid fan and need to have every episode, the complete series is due out on DVD in July 2012. If you’re looking for a sampling of the show prior to seeing its complete run, these two DVDs are the perfect appetizer prior to the entrée due out next month.

The success of the show led to two theatrical offerings: House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971), also directed by Mr. Curtis and scored by Mr. Cobert.

Click here to order Fan Favorites DVD from Amazon

Click here to order Best of Barnabas DVD from Amazon

Click here to order deluxe limited edition entire series DVD set