Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Midnight Marquee Press.

When Sir Christopher Lee passed away at the age of 93 in 2015, it was truly the end of an era. He was the last of the great horror stars. This book is a comprehensive overview of Lee's work in the horror genre, including movies, books, audio recordings and video games. As well as providing in-depth production histories and critical analysis, new interviews have been conducted with Lee's co-workers (some of them speaking here for the first time), which shed fresh light upon the man and his work. Few actors spanned the generations with more lasting appeal than Christopher Lee. From his ventures with Hammer-whose swift gradation of flesh and blood into a staid 1950s cinema broke new ground-to his work, in the next century, on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and numerous interactive formats, Lee was constantly abreast of advancements in his industry. Consequently, this book can be read not only as an alternative history of the Horror Film, but also of the myriad developments within cinema itself.

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The James Bond web site MI6-HQ.com provides full coverage of last weekend's "60 Years of Bond" event held at Pinewood Studios. The sold-out event was planned and hosted by Cinema Retro's own Gareth Owen of Bondstars.com and featured many dignitaries from the Bond series. CR's Dave Worrall led a tour of the studio grounds and contributing writer Matthew Field provides this detailed report.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actors and directors have a long tradition of trying to pass off exotic vacations as legitimate film making. Sometimes the cynical gambit pays unexpected dividends such as the Rat Pack's decision to shoot Oceans Eleven in between their nightly gigs on stage in the Sands hotel and casino in Las Vegas. They somehow turned out a good movie in between all the drinking, screwing and gambling. John Ford rounded up his stock company and headed to Hawaii for Donovan's Reef, but even with John Wayne on board, Paramount balked at the reed-thin script and old Pappy ended up having to front some of the production costs himself. In 1990, director Michael Winner teamed two of the wittiest and most likable stars- Michael Caine and Roger Moore- for what would appear to be a "no lose" proposition: casting them in an espionage comedy. Winner was well past his sell date as a director by then and ended up reinventing himself as a grouchy political pundit and much-feared restaurant critic. Still, how could he lose by teaming Harry Palmer and James Bond? It's a rhetorical question because the resulting film, Bullseye, was considered almost unreleasable. It's one of the least-seen movies of Caine and Moore's careers and with good reason. The ridiculous plot finds the two charismatic actors cast as two low-grade London con men who become embroiled in a plot to impersonate two renegade nuclear scientists who plan to sell top secrets to dangerous foreign powers. The silliest aspect of the film is that the scientists just happen to be physically identical to the con men. Moore and Caine are subjected to a series of increasingly weird scenarios that see them running about like the Keystone Cops as any shred of sensibility in the script is tossed out the window. They are joined by B movie mainstay of the era Sally Kirkland and Moore's daughter Deborah (billed here as "Deborah Barrymore") but not even the resurrection of Marilyn Monroe's sex appeal could salvage this cinematic train wreck. Winner seems to be directing as an afterthought as he indulges in some gorgeous locations in Scotland where the on-screen antics become so confusing that you literally have no idea whether you are observing the con men or the scientists. Winner films the final scene in an exotic island location which is quite obviously an indication of his ability to actually fly everyone there simply to shoot a few seconds of inconsequential footage. Winner wrote the non-screenplay with another otherwise talented person, the great lyricist and songwriter Leslie Bricusse. The only consolation they must have had is that they had a hell of a time on location and no one saw the movie anyway.

Personal observation: In 2017, following the death of Sir Roger Moore, a suitably opulent memorial service was held for him at Pinewood Studios, arranged by his friend, personal assistant and frequent co-author, Cinema Retro's own Gareth Owen. The service reflected the man himself: it was sentimental and funny as hell. Following the memorial, there was a champagne reception in the fabled gardens area. I found myself sipping bubbly next to Sir Michael Caine. In the parlance of the Brits, he and Roger had been best mates for decades. I mentioned to him that it was a shame that the only time they had teamed on screen was for "Bullseye". Sir Michael grinned and said he and Roger referred to the film as "Our "Ishtar", a reference to the notorious flop comedy from 1987. He said they had figured out very quickly that Michael Winner wasn't interested in the film. That was evidenced by the fact that every night he would whisk his stars away for dinner at another opulent restaurant and bill the entire meal to the studio. A great time was had by all. Consequently, he said that he and Roger agreed on two things: "Bullseye" was the worst film of their careers and, paradoxically, it was the most fun they ever had on a film set. 

(The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.)

By Darren Allison

It’s always good to see one of our leading European labels continue to bring us some exciting scores from the 1970s.

José María Forqué's La Donna Della Calda Terra (CSC 037) (aka La Mujer De La Tierra Caliente or Fury, as it is sometimes referred to in English territories) was made in 1978. The movie was a product of the erotic cinema cycle which was still popular throughout the remaining years of the decade. The genre was popularised by films such as Emmanuelle (1974) and would lead to many spin- offs and sequels. La Donna Della Calda Terra starred Laura Gemser who was perhaps best known for her role in Black Emanuelle (1975). As so often with these budgeted European movies, a one-time Hollywood star (who had seen their better days) was hired for a week or two - providing them not only with a pay cheque, but also an all-expenses paid vacation abroad, and in this instance it was Stuart Whitman who took full advantage. The film tells the story of two unnamed characters (Gemser and Whitman) who, despite very different backgrounds, come together. She is a village girl with ambitions; he is a man whose wife has recently died. The two of them converse and get to know one another, and so a journey of discovery begins. Despite their different social backgrounds and a considerable age difference, the couple eventually begin an intimate relationship.

The music score for La Donna Della Calda Terra was composed by Carlo Savina, a composer whose filmography covers almost every genre of Italian cinema - from the 1950s through to the 1980s. His music here has an unusual distinction in that the score was heavily rethought during the editing and eventually the first half hour is left without music, except for the opening titles. Thus, Savina's score begins when the film changes up the narrative structure and instead of telling the stories on two parallel storylines, they start to intercut them more frequently in order to draw stronger parallels between both central characters. Whilst the general focus is more tailored towards Gemser's storyline, the switch to a hunting trip in the man's storyline helps to reframe the girl's next chapter in the film’s narrative. There’s a really nice mix of styles in Savina’s music. Yes, there is the obligatory funky disco beat that peppered a great deal of these productions from this era, but there is also a great deal more. There are some gentle, romantic cues provided by acoustic guitar, some slightly more suspenseful, atmospheric pieces that reflect the tension brought upon by the relationship and even some traditional Mexicana. But overall, La Donna Della Calda Terra is light, breezy and distinctly European in its flavour. Moreover, the score is elevated to an entirely higher level with the inclusion of some wonderful wordless vocals by Edda Dell'Orso both on the main titles and several other cues. Uniquely identifiable, she remains the ultimate, signature voice of European film scoring.

Chris' Soundtrack Corner has made this score available for essentially the first time. With literally half the score going unused in the beginning of the film, this soundtrack album offers the first opportunity to enjoy the composer's playful variations of catchy thematic material, sensual tropical exotica, and even some highly melodramatic mini masterpieces - all of which is presented in a beautifully produced package. The album benefits from a first class production by Christian Riedrich and mastering by Manmade Mastering. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet designed by Tobias Kohlhaas and features exclusive (and exceptionally detailed) notes by Gergely Hubai, who explores both the making of the film and its score. Euro score fans will soak this up like a sponge.

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CSC’s second offering is the soundtrack to I Gabbiani Volano Basso (CSC 034) (aka Seagulls Fly Low), another film from 1978 and directed by Giorgio Cristallini (under the Americanised pseudonym of George Warner).

The movie was influenced by the number of Vietnam Vet dramas coming out of the United States in 1978 such as The Deer Hunter and Coming Home, and the Italian cinema didn't waste much time in capitalising on the commercial potential of these films.

Starring Italian actor Maurizio Merli, who was often typecast in tough cop roles, I Gabbiani Volano Basso tells the story of a Vietnam war veteran (Merli) who finds his post-war career in the private assassination business. After succeeding in a hit in Rome, using various aliases, the war vet gets into an altercation that leads to a wild chase involving the police, other killers, and a third shady business partner who wants to get the whole company for himself. While on the run, Merli's character hooks up with Isabelle (Nathalie Delon), the lonely owner of a Roman boutique shop who helps with his escape. But with the two other killers in tow, our hero must make an important decision between getting away safely while leaving Isabelle behind in danger, or making the ultimate sacrifice for the only woman who helped him selflessly.

The music for I Gabbiani Volano Basso was written by Roberto Pregadio, one of the few Italian Silver Age composers who also made a career as a television personality. In most of his film scoring collaborations, it was Pregadio's job to flesh out or transcribe the musical ideas of his co-composers who usually didn't have the necessary musical training to do so. Such was the case with I Gabbiani Volano Basso, where Pregadio is actually credited together with two members of the director's family, Paola and Carlo Cristallini, though only the latter is given credit. Besides the music that's in the film, the soundtrack also includes some major discoveries including music cues that were not originally heard in the finished film.

This release from Chris' Soundtrack Corner marks the premiere presentation of any of the music from I Gabbiani Volano Basso. Certain aspects of the recording indicate that the original production was prepared for the release of an eventual soundtrack album but the project did not materialise. One of these clues is that certain cues were recorded in shorter film versions as well as extended versions that would be more at home on a soundtrack or exploited on a later library LP, but neither saw the light of day. Among the differences preserved on the CD is "Title – versione disco", the record version of the opening music. This version is not only half a minute longer in comparison to the film version, but it's actually a different mix with a more prominent focus on the keyboard and the pop percussion, both of which appear in a lighter fashion in the movie. A great many of the tracks do follow an upbeat disco rhythm and electronic keyboard riffs, which provide an instant indicator of the film’s period setting. But it’s certainly not confined to a pulsating funk-filled timepiece, there are also a fair amount of more gentle, dreamlike moments that succeed in softening its harder edges and provide a welcome sense of calm and restfulness - so it’s a score that is nicely balanced. Its bonus tracks also include ‘Ricordi angoscianti’ - a traumatic and hectic cue which appears during a Vietnam flashback sequence shortly after Merli has completed his first hit in Rome. The album is superbly produced by Christian Riedrich and mastered by Manmade Mastering. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet designed by Tobias Kohlhaas and featuring detailed, exclusive notes on the film and its score by Gergely Hubai.

Chris' Soundtrack Corner have managed to weave their magic again by taking two relatively obscure and seldom seen films by presenting their soundtracks with a new found sense of importance and respect. We can only be grateful that CSC is prepared and willing to take up the challenge in their quest for film music preservation.

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(Darren Allilson is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro.)

Author and film historian Dana Polan has recently written a book titled Dreams of Flight: ‘The Great Escape’ in American Film and Culture that analyzes director John Sturges’ WWII classic. Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer conducted this interview with Polan regarding his book.

Q: Tell us about your book overall:

Dana Polan: Combining unique archival research, close analysis, and first-person accounts by viewers, Dreams of Flight traces multiple histories around the 1963 POW classic The Great Escape: production history of the film itself but also the history of the original event (an actual breakout in 1944 that led to the successful escape of three men, recapture of seventy-three with fifty of those summarily executed on Hitler’s orders), as well as the trajectory of POW Paul Brickhill’s written account as it evolved into the bestselling page-turner book The Great Escape. I also chronicle my own viewing history of the film, starting as a Sixties adolescent, along with accounts by other viewers who also saw the film around then and found that its blend of the buoyant and the downbeat stayed with them over the years. I had long wanted to revisit the film, ever since first seeing and being so strongly impacted by it. I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to engage with the film in a book-length study that could go into much detail about the film and its reception history.

Q: When and where did you first see the film?

DP: I wish I could be more precise about the exact date but I started researching and writing the book during Covid quarantine and that limited a wee bit of my research. I know I saw it at my town’s one drive-in and it was likely about 1965 since that is when we moved to the area. If so, I would have been 13 years old or so, and it would have been a re-release. I’d have loved to track down microfilm copies of the local newspaper to see the dates the film was playing and also to determine if it was on a double-bill or not. The Great Escape is a long film but our drive-in generally showed two films and I imagine would only have had one presentation per night of the double-bill. Although The Great Escape was not road-showed in its original release in 1963 — no symphonic overture over a static opening title, no intermission, and so on — I persist in thinking there was a break half-way through so viewers could be encouraged to go to the concession stand. In fact, the film has a logical place for a pause just at the halfway mark — when the first character we care about gets killed and the hitherto individualist Hilts (Steve McQueen) declares his commitment to the collective cause of escape. There’s a consequential fade-out and then fade-in as the POWs resolutely return to their cause. If indeed the drive-in showed The Great Escape on a double-bill, that would have made for a long evening, and the intermission might have been essential for concession-stand sales.

An amusing anecdotal detail: I was away for the weekend when the film opened at the drive-in and my mom and stepdad went without me on Saturday evening to see it. I had desperately been wanting to see it as, as I’ll explain in a moment, it seemed to promise exactly that sort of action entertainment I loved as a kid. When I got home by Sunday, I was so distraught that they hadn’t waited that my stepdad ended up having to take me that evening and sat through this long epic a second time in two days. He dozed off here or there while I was enthralled by every moment of the film even as I ultimately found it very disturbing.

Q: What impressed you most about it?

DP: Like, I imagine, many young American boys of the time, I went to the film for the gungho promise of its canonic poster, “The great adventure, the great entertainment, the great escape.” Instead, I was blown away by a narrative that seemed to me to be a deflation of adventure — a transformation of rousing entertainment into something questioning and quite bleak.

The Great Escape’s downbeat turn from a fun romp into fatalism left a lasting impression on me. As I write in Dreams of Flight, this unexpected narrative turn was a theme I began to notice in other films of that historical moment — one that is telling of American culture in the 1960s.

I have always imagined that my experience of movies is not mine alone but is likely representative of my demographic currents (gungho adolescent boy, in this case) and may be shared strongly by others in the same demographic. At the time, as I say, I was a pre-teen American boy who especially liked “manly” action cinema and expected from the trailers and that iconic poster that The Great Escape fit that mold. I know from other fan accounts that I tracked down for the book that I was not alone in feeling something disturbing and consequential was going on instead — in the film and in the times themselves. In my research for Dreams of Flight, I reached out to other viewers who first saw The Great Escape in the 1960s and found many had comparable reactions.

Q: Where does it stand in relation to Sturges' other films?

DP: John Sturges made over 40 films in a career that started with B-movies with a graduation to A-films in the 1950s, some of which combined strong narrative drive with a degree of artistic ambition — on the one hand, an entrapment drama like Bad Day at Black Rock (Sturges’s one nomination for Best Director) where thematic resonance (the topic of racial prejudice) is overlaid with taut suspense and moments of explosive action; on the other hand, the pretention of literary adaptation with, for example, the barebones Hemingwayesque allegory of The Old Man and the Sea. Even though he was thought of most as a manly man’s director, Sturges even did so-called women’s films, melodramas of love and emotional turmoil, such as A Girl Named Tamiko or By Love Possessed. But his forte was films of masculine fortitude and he found apt embodiment, literally so, for the trials and travails of men under pressure in a visual fascination with strong, sometimes stocky guys filmed as upright or coiled up bundles of vitality just itching to burst out. For example, the first time we see James Garner in The Great Escape (as Hendley, the forger), he’s filmed, perhaps curiously, from a distance that not only cuts off his feet but his neck and head as well so that the emphasis is on his torso, taut and tough as he confronts the fact of incarceration. Throughout the film, there are long pauses to paint a pent-up male energy that then passes over into scenes of vibrant action. I suggest in my book that The Great Escape not merely divides into three parts — planning of the escape, enactment of the escape, the outcome (as noted, a generally bleak one with most of the men rounded up and summarily executed) — but finds an overall distinct visual style for each of these: from coiled up men constrained by the fences that surround the camp and by the very confinement of the barracks they are walled up in, to the open expanses of seeming freedom beyond the camp, and back again to the camp for those POWs who are rounded up but escape execution (with the last shots showing even greater confinement for Hilts, who once again merits his moniker, “The Cooler King”).

For me, The Great Escape shows Sturges at the pinnacle of his dramatic form, although some fans prefer the tighter professionalism of The Magnificent Seven. Later Sturges films have their moments but the pauses get longer (and more talky as in the very sodden The Satan Bug) and the professionalism turns into long scenes of planning for action that actually defer that action (for example, the slowly unfolding Marooned and the overblown Ice Station Zebra which keeps delaying a violent confrontation that actually never comes for symphonically scored scenes of the submarine crashing through the ice and men pushing buttons and yelling orders). I find perfection to the pacing of The Great Escape: men talk out their plans at length but the suspense never lets up and, as I argue in the book, Sturges films dialogue scenes in a variety of forms (classic shot/reverse shot, wide-screen confrontation between men, long takes with a moving camera, and so on) that keep everything moving forward in thrilling fashion.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Movie fans are mourning the loss of British actor David Warner at age 80. Warner was known for often playing quirky characters in major films. He began acting in movies in the early 1960s while also appearing in stage productions. He studied his craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. No specific cause of death was announced but his family confirmed he had been suffering from a "cancer-related illness" for the last 18 months. Warner rarely scored a leading role but had a distinguished career playing supporting roles in many high profile films.

His credits include "Titanic", "Morgan", the 2001 version of "Planet of the Apes", "In the Mouth of Madness", "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier", "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", "The Man with Two Brains", "Tron", "The Concorde: Airport '79", "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "The Island", "Cross of Iron", "Straw Dogs", "The Ballad of Cable Hogue", "Perfect Friday", "The Fixer" and "The Deadly Affair". In the 1979 film "Time After Time", Warner played Jack the Ripper, who manages to travel through time to the modern era. One of his best-remembered roles was as the photographer who assists Gregory Peck in attempting to thwart the satanic threat in "The Omen".  His last screen appearance was in "Mary Poppins Returns" in 2018. For more, click here.

By Lee Pfeiffer

When director William Friedkin's expensive adventure film "Sorcerer" opened in 1977, it died a quick death at the boxoffice. Like other films that met the same fate, however, it has been re-evaluated and - much to Friedkin's satisfaction- it is regarded by many as one of the great movies of its era. In this clip, critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel review the film on their show "At the Movies". As usual, they disagree, with Siskel stating he was not impressed by the movie while Ebert argues the film is terrific. Ebert also gripes that the studio botched the marketing campaign, while Siskel points out that the film's title implied it was relating to the supernatural. Thus, audiences were expecting something akin to Friedkin's previous film, "The Exorcist". In any event, "Sorcerer" has withstood the test of time and plays even better today in the CGI era when we can appreciate the days when special effects and great action scenes were achieved the hard way.

(For an exclusive interview with William Friedkin about the film, see Cinema Retro issue #29).

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By Darren Allison

Having starred in the popular sitcom series The Munsters from 1964 -1966, Herman (Fred Gwynne), Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), Grandpa (Al Lewis), Eddie (Butch Patrick) and Marilyn (Debbie Watson) hit the big screen in Munster, Go Home (1966).

Produced and co-written by series creators Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher (Leave It to Beaver), this satire of American suburban life features British comedians Terry-Thomas and Hermione Gingold, legendary horror star John Carradine and future Family Feud host Richard Dawson, who was then appearing on Hogan’s Heroes.

The Munsters achieved higher Nielsen ratings than the similarly macabre family of the time The Addams Family. In 1965 it was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series but lost to The Rogues starring David Niven which was cancelled after one season.

After 70 episodes, The Munsters was also cancelled after ratings dropped due to competition from the Batman TV Series. The film was produced immediately after the television series completed filming. It starred the original cast (Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick) apart from Marilyn, who was played by Debbie Watson, replacing Pat Priest from the series.

The movie was released in Technicolor, whereas the TV series was telecast in black & white. The hope was that the film would introduce the series to the world in advance of negotiating future syndication rights. The film was released in the United Kingdom at the end of December 1966 as support for the Norman Wisdom movie Press for Time (1966). The instrumental theme song, titled The Munsters' Theme, was composed by composer/arranger Jack Marshall and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965.

The story sees Herman becoming Lord Munster after he inherits an estate from an English uncle. With Spot guarding 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Herman leaves his job at Gateman, Goodbury & Graves Morticians for Munster Hall in England. Whilst there, he uncovers a counterfeiting ring and upholds the family honour by driving his Drag-u-la special in the annual road race.

The move from the TV screen to the cinema screen is often a gamble. The transition is tricky, with the chief obstacle finding a story interesting enough to fill a 90-minute slot while at the same time sustaining the audience’s attention can be tough. However, the central problem with Munster, Go Home! is that it just really isn’t that funny. The shifting dimensions between TV and cinema so often adjust the overall dynamics. The absence and familiarity of a laughter track almost leaves a cold, empty feel to the movie. Whilst The Munsters (shot at Universal City) was never filmed in front of a live studio audience, it was overdubbed with ‘canned laughter’ or a laughter track, an element that at least helped cue up or support a punchline or a comedic line of dialogue. As a result, something just seems to be lost in the movie version. Even the support from Terry-Thomas as English ancestor Freddie Munster is really over-the-top and at times borders on embarrassing. At just 96- minutes, it’s all really hard work.

Nevertheless, it’s not all bad. On the technical side, the production values work very well. Creepy dungeons, gothic mansions et al – create the perfect setting and atmosphere to satisfy every horror kid’s dream. The film is also presented in its original theatrical 1.85:1 ratio. But the real winner here is the Technicolor photography; the process simply elevates everything on display. It’s a distinctly ‘groovy’ 60’s colour pallet with all of its vibrant lime greens, luminous pinks and rich reds’ really igniting the screen and it comes through as the film’s overall saving grace.

Considering the film (and the series it was based upon) was so culturally significant, the Blu-ray’s extras are decidedly thin, consisting of just a lone theatrical trailer. It’s a real pity that some film or horror historian couldn’t be found to sit in and provide some sort of commentary – especially as the whole franchise had loose connections and is distantly related to the whole Universal Horror cycle…

Munster, Go Home! is released on July 25th 2022 as a Region 2 Blu-ray and is available from www.fabulousfilms.com

(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro)

By Darren Allison

The Film Detective release the B movie classic, The Brain from Planet Arous on Blu-ray. The company continues to impress with their stable of underground, cult classics. Teenage monsters, juvenile gangs and deceitful femme fatales have all made it into their catalogue and have provided an excellent, wide range of pure entertainment. The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) is no exception.

Nathan Juran’s wonderful piece of science fiction hokum remains a firm favourite among B movie buffs. With a cast headed by John Agar and Joyce Meadows, the story finds Professor Steve March (Agar) in his laboratory with his assistant Dan Murphy (Robert Fuller). Both men are troubled by some unusual readings and bursts of radiation coming from the desert, specifically, the wonderfully named Mystery Mountain. Both are eager to head out there and inspect the situation as quickly as possible. Steve's fiancée, the domestic goddess Sally Fallon (Joyce Meadows) is fully behind the boys, but refuses to let them leave on empty stomachs, especially after preparing the perfect barbecue in the garden - what a gal!

Steve, Dan and a bellies full of hamburgers arrive in the desert to discover a newly-formed cave. As they begin to explore inside they are met by a large, telepathic, floating brain. The alien lifeform kills Dan and proceeds to enter the body of Steve. A week later, Steve returns home, concocting a story about Dan taking a break and taking off to Las Vegas. It soon becomes apparent that Steve is not acting in a normal manner , in fact, he’s become something of a horny sex pest, especially towards Sally, who he practically tries to rape at any given opportunity.

Steve has obviously become possessed by the alien brain (called Gor) (and is incidentally voiced by the film’s associate producer Dale Tate). The possessed Steve has become a power-mad tyrant who gleefully blows passenger planes from the sky or deights in destroying entire towns with his newly- found powers and abilities.

It’s all wonderful material and a complete joy to absorb. Agar really seems to be enjoying this role. After so often portraying the clean-cut, all-American hero, he appears to relish the opportunity in playing the bad guy.

The Film Detective has provided a beautiful 4K restoration and the film looks incredible. There are two options to view it, either in a theatrical widescreen (1.85:1) ratio, or a straight-forward full frame (1.33:1) format. I would actually recommend the latter. After watching both versions, the full frame version seems to retain a greater element of fine detail, but of course this is down to individual choice. The contrast and depth offered in the black and white photography really shines through, as does the lovely clean audio track.

Extras on this special edition are also very enjoyable, and this is where I believe The Film Detective really notches up the fun factor. Their presentations always carry a firm tongue-in-cheek element. These films were never going to be multi-Oscar winners, and The Film Detective recognises that - but never without a lack of respect. There is a terrific commentary track featuring the always enthusiastic and knowledgeable film historian Tom Weaver, Monstrous Movie Music’s David Schecter (who released a great re-recording of the score and whose CD I still recommend) and the lovely Joyce Meadows joins in with the memories of making the movie. In fact, Joyce Meadows also has her own featurette / introduction on the disc, ‘Not the same Brain’,which finds her recreating her role as Sally, visiting locations and basically having a great deal of fun with it all. There are also a couple more featurettes, ‘The Man before the Brain: Director Nathan Juran’ and ‘The Man Behind the Brain: The World of Nathan Juran’. Both are original Ballyhoo productions, and despite some overlapping information between them both, they are nevertheless insightful and enjoyable. Also inside there is an excellent 10- page booklet featuring an essay by Tom Weaver, ‘The Brains Behind the Brain: The Sci-Fi Career of Producer Jacques Marquette’.

The Film Detective are on a fine roll of releases of late, and I only hope they continue on the same path. They have captured a format that really works in both their choices of titles and their presentation.

(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro. Read his column in every issue.)

Click here to order from Amazon or click here to order directly from the Film Detective web site.

By Darren Allison

Austrian label Cineploit celebrate their 10th anniversary year with the release of two new albums - whilst expanding their ever-swelling catalogue of titles. It’s always pleasurable to hear their latest work, so often produced in the style of exploitive, retro euro scores of the 1970s and 80s.

As Cineploit explains, “Morlock's 'The Outcasts' (Cine 25), is a sophomore album of cosmic explorations by synthesist and drummer Andrew Prestidge (Zoltan, Warning, The Osiris Club). It’s a deceptively accessible fusion of post-punk, electro-pop, Moog drones and Italian prog soundtracks. Blending melody and experimentation into a shifting patchwork of retro-futuristic splendour, these seemingly contradictory elements battle it out in a dream landscape of the ancient and the alien.”

The influences on the record are vast and varied. As a long-time fan of electronic music, Andrew Prestidge’s compositions can invoke anyone from Tubeway Army to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop or perhaps John Carpenter to more abrasive acts such as Killing Joke, The Chameleons or Cardiacs. And there are even shades of Queen’s Flash Gordon echoing from within this latest work.

In contrast to Morlock’s 2019 debut release, 'Ancient Paths', rhythm and riffs are brought to the fore throughout the course of these seven epic tunes. In cinematic terms, it’s more like experiencing a widescreen version of the band and a more collaborative production. The recording took place in London's celebrated Holy Mountain studios in the spring of 2021. The final mixes were done in Switzerland by Misha Hering (Memnon SA), who also co-writes and adds synthesisers to a number of tracks. The production veers between the pastoral and the urban, from the roots of the Earth to the measureless depths of outer space, all of which amounts to a highly enjoyable and hypnotic trip!

As usual, Cineploit offer a nice range of formats including a 180g marbled coloured Vinyl and CD Set (250), a 180g Black Vinyl and CD Set (150) and finally a CD only in mini Gatefold Sleeve (400).

After the ‘Kosmonauter’ (Cine 24) album, a trippy journey which explored distant galaxies, Pan/Scan this time penetrates deep into the inner realms of the human mind with their latest work , ‘A Far Distant Corner of Nothing Special’ (Cine 26). While the musical style serves as a continuation of the previous album, here the listener is lulled into a compellingly hypnotic sound-environment. The record tells the story of secret telekinetic experiments for the purpose of creating a new form of "power", conducted in dark laboratories deep under the surface of the earth. A human mind, captured within a state of permanent tension and relaxation, finally unleashes its full potential, bringing not only the desired success of the experiments but also the opening of a gate to a new world. But what awaits us all on the other side?

A wide range of formats include a 180g marbled coloured Vinyl and CD Set (250), a 180g Black Vinyl and CD Set (150) and again, a CD only in mini gatefold sleeve (400).

Both of the CDs offer excellent audio quality and are released on 15th July 2022.

All titles are available from Cineploit’s website http://www.cineploit.com/

(Darren Allison is the Soundtracks Editor for Cinema Retro.)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

After the Golden Era of Universal monster movies in the 1930s and 40s, the cinematic fiends were largely relegated to "B" movie status. In the mid-1950s, Hammer Films, a production company founded in 1934, discovered there was gold in them 'thar monsters and moved away from the largely nondescript, low-budget films they were known for in favor of the horror and science fiction movies that would quickly define the Hammer legacy. The studio brought to the screen the first color movies featuring Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, not to mention Sherlock Holmes ("The Hound of the Baskervilles"). The British company kept censors on their toes with an ample supply of busty beauties and a good sampling of bloody set pieces. Audiences that were starved for adult-oriented fare in these genres responded with enthusiasm and Hammer continued to supply a good number of hit films on relatively modest budgets. By the 1970s, new screen freedoms resulted in plenty of prurient cinematic films and the shocking aspects of the Hammer films seemed mundane. Consequently, the studio began to up the ante, substituting more sex and violence in place of the production qualities and fine scripts that had been the hallmark of earlier films. By the 1980s, the company was through and existed only as a legal entity. Over the decades, rumors of a comeback drifted through the film industry with no sign of a resurrection. Under a new management team in the 2000s, Hammer rose from the grave and began making films once again. They had a critically acclaimed boxoffice hit in 2012 with the refreshingly traditional ghost story "The Woman in Black" starring Daniel Radcliffe but the output since has proven to be sporadic and erratic.

One "modern" Hammer production that merits some attention is the largely-ignored "The Tenant", released in 2011. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as New York Emergency Room doctor Juliet Devereau. Like many Gotham residents, she's on the hunt for an affordable apartment in a city that practically requires a supply of gold bullion to pay the rent. She seems to strike pay dirt with her discovery of a large old building that has a cavernous apartment for rent at the "affordable" price of $3800 a month (and this was in 2011). The place was once an office building but it is being painstakingly and slowly restored by its owner, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a somewhat shy, polite and rather hunky young guy who lives in the building with his grandfather August (Hammer icon Christopher Lee). In fact, they appear to be the only residents, as Max only has one apartment available for rent. Juliet falls in love with the place. It's huge by Manhattan standards. Max points out the negative aspects: he is working long hours on the restoration which requires much of the building to appear unsightly. It's also a noisy process. Additionally, the elevated subway runs almost directly past her bedroom window. Undeterred, Juliet enthusiastically rents the place. It's close to work and affords an atmosphere of solitude and charm. But you know the way these things go in a Hammer film.

Max is rather shy but extremely polite and he's always on hand to carry out any household-related requests. Juliet finds him attractive and before long she is in bed with Max. But before any hanky panky takes place, she thinks the better of becoming romantically involved with her landlord and abruptly puts an end to their dalliance. She just wants to be friends, as she's also nursing the wounds from breaking up with her longtime boyfriend Jack (Lee Pace). Max remains polite but we see he is carrying a lot of psychological baggage. Juliet's rejection of him leads to a meltdown. Before long, he's going the full Norman Bates route, using assorted peepholes that allows him to see the object of his desire as she moves about her apartment. Then things get really dangerous for Juliet.

On one level, "The Resident" is just another "young woman in jeopardy" movie pitting our heroine against a creepy stalker. But director Antti Jokenen is a cut above the directors of similar, disposable films. Aided by fine performances by Swank (who executive produced) and Morgan, he is able to elevate the movie above many entries in this genre. As with numerous Hitchcock films, this one seems intent on demonstrating that there isn't necessarily safety in numbers. The teeming streets of Manhattan lay only yards away, but Juliet ultimately finds herself very much alone and isolated when her life is at stake. By the time the inevitable confrontation with her tormentor finally comes, Jokenen's slow-boil approach has resulted in a considerable degree of nail-biting suspense. It's too bad the film becomes a bit cliched in the final moments (whenever a power tool is shown in a flick such as this, you know someone is going to end up using it as a deadly weapon.) It's also a bit disappointing that Christopher Lee (in his final Hammer film) is not given more screen time. It's a joy to see him on screen, but he has little to do and is primarily only seen in the early part of the movie. Nevertheless, there are other merits including outstanding cinematography by Guillermo Navarro and creative editing by Oscar winner Bob Murawski. There's also an appropriately eerie score by John Ottman and a literate script by Jokinen and Robert Orr. Special kudos to Production Designer J. Dennis Washington, for his creative design of the apartment house and its underlying secret passages.The film was shot in only 30 days, with interiors filmed in a studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Considering the talent involved, it's surprising that "The Resident" went straight to video in America and didn't make much of a splash in that realm. Since Cinema Retro likes to make readers aware of worthy and overlooked films, I can recommend "The Tenant". It is by no means a horror classic, but it deserved a far better fate.

The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Click here to order on Blu-ray from Amazon.

“A TRIUMPH OF BRUTALITY”

By Raymond Benson

I once lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in the 1980s. Occasionally, I would spot Jake LaMotta in the neighborhood. The former boxer must have lived nearby or had reason to visit sometimes. One day as I was walking along 1st or 2nd Avenue, I spotted LaMotta coming toward me. As he passed me, I quietly (but loud enough for him to hear) spoke in that whispery kind of voice that imitated a “crowd noise.” I said, “Jaaaaake LaMoooooottaaaa!” in the style of a boxing announcer. LaMotta turned to me with a frown. At first I thought he was going to punch me or something. But then he grinned, clasped his hands together in a self-clasping handshake that is a gesture of triumph and victory, and waved them over his head. It was a special moment.

That gesture of triumph from LaMotta is indicative of the man’s redemption he received from the biopic about his life that was released in 1980. Raging Bull, brilliantly directed by Martin Scorsese and superbly acted by Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Cathy Moriarty, is indeed a feat of greatness. LaMotta (played by De Niro), who was a middle-weight champion boxer active professionally between 1941 and 1954, is depicted as a troubled soul who cannot control his anger—his rage—and this is the character trait that propels him through boxing matches. Unfortunately, his rage also propels him through his relationships with his wife, Vickie (Moriarty), and brother Joey (Pesci). The film must have brought some closure to the real Jake LaMotta, who experienced a newfound fame and celebrity after his post-boxing years of ups and downs.

Much has been made by film critics and fans alike about the Academy Awards for 1980—that Raging Bull deserved the Best Picture award over what won (Ordinary People). I recently wrote at length about the latter film in a Cinema Retro review of a new Blu-ray release. In it I defended People’s win, so I won’t go into it again here. That said, Raging Bull is a magnificent piece of film craftsmanship. The double-punch team of Scorsese and De Niro, along with the two-punch partnership of Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, all combine to exhibit one of the most dynamic showcases of bravura filmmaking.

Robert De Niro delivers the performance of his career, and there was no question that he deserved the Oscar for Best Actor that year—everyone else could have just stayed home. The actor’s commitment to the role is seen by De Niro famously gaining over fifty pounds—and then losing it—to play the older LaMotta. At the time, this was unheard of for an actor. Joe Pesci also made a name for himself in the picture, as he was virtually unknown to the general public prior to Bull. The same is true for Cathy Moriarty, who was only seventeen when she was cast.

Raging Bull is arguably Scorsese’s most accomplished film in terms of mastery of the craft, although there are other titles that I personally enjoy more. And this is perhaps key to why Raging Bull is problematic to anyone who isn’t a film connoisseur. The movie is about brutality. It features a rather unlikable violent person who is abusive to everyone around him. The movie is nonstop in its assault on an audience, such that at the end we feel as if we’ve just spent a few rounds in the ring with the character ourselves. There is no question that it’s an absolute masterpiece of cinema and should be admired as such… but it’s not a pleasant picture to watch. Therein lies the rub. Of course, art isn’t always safe.

The Criterion Collection presents a gorgeous new 4K digital master approved by Scorsese, in two versions—a 4K UHD disk and Blu-ray. The 4K UHD package comes with the second Blu-ray disk, but the Blu-ray alone can also be purchased separately. Both feature 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. The UHD disk is the film by itself presented in HDR. The Blu-ray disk contains the film and all the supplements. The movie comes with three previously-released audio commentaries: a) One with Scorsese and Schoonmaker; b) one with DP Michael Chapman, producer Irwin Winkler, casting director Cis Corman, music consultant Robbie Robertson, and others; c) and one with LaMotta and screenwriters Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader.

The supplements are terrific, especially the new video essays by film critics Geoffrey O’Brien and Sheila O’Malley that examine both the film and the actors. Previously released features include a four-part making-of documentary; three short programs highlighting Scorsese and De Niro’s collaborations; TV interviews with LaMotta, Moriarty, and Vickie LaMotta; and a piece with former boxers reminiscing about LaMotta. The booklet contains essays by poet Robin Robertson and film critic Glenn Kenny.

Raging Bull has been issued on Blu-ray more than once, but the Criterion Collection’s presentation is the Cadillac of them all. It is indeed worth the upgrade. For fans of Scorsese, De Niro, and cinema that delivers a K.O.

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

(This article has been revised and updated from its original version.)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Fourth of July seems to be an appropriate day to revisit our review of one of the most savaged films of its times- and to re-evaluate many merits that were initially overlooked.

It certainly isn't unusual for studios to invest money in director's cuts of films that were critical and box-office successes, but in a highly unusual move, Warner Home Video has made it possible for director Hugh Hudson and star Al Pacino to revisit and improve upon one of the most notorious box-office bombs of all time: the 1985 epic Revolution. The film was ravaged by critics and a disinterested public virtually ensured the movie would go down in the annals of Hollywood financial disasters. Yet, like Heaven's Gate, it's a film that is often mocked by people who probably haven't even seen it. I had only viewed it once - when it was first released on VHS. With the widescreen image cropped and the shoddy transfer work that was the rule during those dark days of the pre-DVD era, I was not impressed with the movie- though I felt it had far more qualities than its reputation might indicate. The story centers on Tom Dobb, a poor widower who comes to New York City with his young son Ned to sell his furs. He finds the city in a state of revolutionary fervor, as colonists are on the verge of all-out rebellion against King George. Dobb is apolitical, but soon he and his son are ensnared by the events of the day and are virtually forced to serve in the rapidly-formed colonial army. The plot follows father and son through the early days of the revolution, when independence seemed to be a foolish dream. George Washington's forces lost most of the major battles and the troops starved and froze before the tide of battle turned.

There are two other major characters in the film: Daisy (Nastassja Kinski), a rebellious teenager disowned by her Tory family for obsessively fighting for the cause of the revolutionaries, and Sgt. Maj. Peasy (Donald Sutherland), a soft-spoken but sadistic British officer with a penchant for molesting little drummer boys. In the original version of the film, director Hugh Hudson (fresh from acclaim for Chariots of Fire and Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes) found himself under great pressure from the financing team that was backing the film. He had to make some drastic artistic compromises and knew full well that the finished film released to theaters was far from his original vision. What he didn't expect was the sheer venom extended to his movie. The criticism was scathing and much of it was directed at star Al Pacino, who garnered the worst reviews of his career. There was little mention of the magnificent battle scene, the outstanding production design or the stirring score. The film vanished from theaters and both director and star suffered career set-backs.  

The new version of the film is titled Revolution Revisited and benefits extensively from the mere fact it looks terrific in the DVD format. Hudson cut about five minutes of the film (including the sappy ending that was forced on him by the producers)  and more crucially, added a narration by Pacino that ties up many loose ends and makes the story far more coherent. (One complaint: Pacino virtually whispers the narration, making it difficult to hear without the sound cranked up full volume.) Nevertheless, the movie deserves a re-evaluation and I have to say that it now plays wonderfully. Hudson's skill at handling the epic qualities of the story, without sacrificing the human aspect, is far more apparent with the new version. The performances are all first rate, even if the characters are still a bit sketchy. (Pacino and Kinski keep bumping into each other in the most unlikely places, though it's never explained why their brief encounters lead to an obsessive love affair.) Hudson's use of the hand-held camera during the main battle sequence was scoffed at by critics, but today it is standard practice - and adds immeasurably to the feeling of realism. Assheton Gorton's production design is truly superb and transplants you back into the era with a feeling of conviction.

In addition to the original trailer (which shows some of the cut final scene), the DVD has a very unique featurette- a recent sit down, causal conversation between Hudson and Pacino in which they candidly discuss what went wrong with the first version of the film. Both agreed it was too hurried and was confusing. Pacino expresses amazement that he was mocked for his accent in the film, even though it was carefully worked on with the aid of historians to ensure accuracy. He also points out this was the only film he had made that was not of a relatively contemporary nature and his was disappointed to learn his audience would not accept him in a historical epic. Both he and Hudson admit the film damaged their careers and they didn't work again for years. This type of candor is all too rare and quite refreshing in the realm of DVD documentaries. Pacino says there are no other films he is as defensive of and so enthusiastic about revisiting to give it a second chance. The conversation lets us in on several juicy bits of trivia - Sylvester Stallone wanted the lead role in this, and Al Pacino had been offered the role of Rambo.

It sounds like a cliche, but you haven't seen Revolution until you've seen the new, improved version. I don't want to overstate the movie's merits. This isn't some under-appreciated classic and some of its primary flaws remain. However, there is much to value here that was overlooked in the original version of the film and only improved upon in the director's cut. Hardcore Cinema Retro readers will be especially appreciative of Hudson's achievement and the massive scale of the film in that glorious era that preceded CGI.  Given the passage of time, I believe the critics were wrong about this one - and so was I.

(The U.S. DVD is now out-of-print but can be found on eBay. The film is currently available for streaming rental or purchase on Amazon. A Region 2 PAL format Blu-ray/DVD edition can be ordered from Amazon here.)

Cinema Retro issue #53 has now shipped to subscribers worldwide. If you thought the issue was a bit late, you are correct. Since the magazine is printed in the UK, our subscribers there and in Europe received the issue last month. However, all other parts of the world are mailed from our U.S. office and there is always a lag time...but never this long. We're told it was caused by continuing lingering disruptions to the international shipping industry due to the pandemic. In any event, we thank you for your patience and we think you'll find this issue has been worth the wait. Here are some highlights:

• We pay tribute to the eternal cinematic love story Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Cai Ross provides an exclusive interview with the film's director, Jeannot Szwarc.
• Simon Lewis provides a 12-page "Film in Focus" article detailing the trials and tribulations of making David Lean's ill-fated Irish romance, Ryan's Daughter.
• John P. Harty examines the merits of another high profile boxoffice misfire, Richard Brooks' Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole.
• Mark Mawston entices actor John Leyton to give a rare interview in which he discusses his successful career as a rock 'n roll heartthrob and, as an actor, filming The Great Escape.
• Dave Worrall shines the spotlight on Helen Mirren's breakthrough film, Age of Consent.
  
• Thomas Hauerslev celebrates the recent restoration of MGM's Cinerama classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
• Lee Pfeiffer looks at the dark side of director Blake Edwards' films with Experiment in Terror starring Lee Remick, Glenn Ford and Stefanie Powers.
  

Subscribe or renew today for Season 18 and get this issue along with issue #52 and our Fall/Winter issue #54.

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BY TODD GARBARINI

The year 1976 was a phenomenal time for films that went into production. George Lucas’s space opera, Star Wars, began principal photography in March; Steven Spielberg, fresh off the success of Jaws, was given carte blanche to bring Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the screen and began shooting in May; and Dario Argento, who became emboldened by the financial success of his latest and arguably best film to date, Profundo Rosso (known in the U.S. as Deep Red), embarked upon Suspiria, a murder mystery involving a dance academy hiding in plain sight while doubling as a home to a coven of witches, which began filming in July. Suspiria is just one of a handful of films directed by Signor Argento over a fifty-plus year career, and it’s also being showcased in full-blown 4K Digital Cinema Projection as part of the sinisterly titled Beware of Dario Argento: A 20-Film Retrospective at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City now through June 29^th. You can see the full calendar at this link here. The one omission from the roster of titles is his 2009 thriller Giallo, starring Adrien Brody, which was stopped from being released due to the actor’s failure to be paid for his role until he successfully sued the producers.

Beginning on Friday, June 17^th, the first film shown in the retrospective was his debut outing, the phenomenal The Bird With the Crystal Plumage from 1970, lensed by straordinario cineasta Vittorio Storaro, on a double bill with his equally fine thriller Tenebre/Tenebrae from 1982. Bird is amazing in that it was the first film that he ever directed…ever. There were no interminable student films made prior to it. Somehow, following his years as a newspaper film critic and having contributed to the 1968 western Once Upon a Time in the West, he made a visually dazzling cinematic yarn loosely inspired by Fredric Brown’s 1949 novel The Screaming Mimi (itself made into the 1958 film of the same title by Gerd Oswald starring Anita Ekberg), though there are also some similarities to the creepy 1949 “Birdsong for a Murderer” episode of the Inner Sanctum radio drama that starred the late great Boris Karloff.

The standout in this series is clearly Suspiria, with its amazingly bright color palette and virtuoso camerawork. Also of note, at least for die-hard Argento completists, is his sole non-thriller/horror outing, the 1973 Italian comedy set during the Italian Revolution of 1848 called The Five Days (Le Cinque Giornate) shot by cinematographer Luigi Kuveiller who would go on to lens Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) (1975). While available on Youtube in Italian, this is an extremely rare presentation of the film with English subtitles – restored in 4K to boot. It’s also quite funny; not on the level of the Pink Panther films, but enough to elicit audible chuckles. The seldom-seen Inferno (1980), his beautiful follow-up to Suspiria, will also be shown, the sole title to be showcased in 35mm.

The Italian Maestro appeared in-person at several of the screenings over the weekend, most notably on Sunday in a Q & A session emceed by Argento expert Maitland McDonagh, the author of the excellent book Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento, originally published in 1991. Following the sold-out screening of his 1985 film Phenomena, a phantasmagorical fairytale/murder mystery that was presented to an audience of mostly younger fans who, judging by their applause and reactions to the film, were new to it. The plot of Phenomena has long been the subject of ridicule and derision by critics and fans alike since its initial release. The inevitable complaints about the film range from the bad dubbing and stiff performances. If the film’s title does not sound familiar, that could be attributed to the fact that Phenomena was severely cut by 34 minutes and retitled Creepers when it opened in the States on Friday, August 30, 1985. Fortunately, the 116-minute cut of the film was shown. Signor Argento responded through an interpreter to Ms. Donagh’s questions about the film.

Maitland McDonagh: I've always thought that Phenomena was extraordinary because it's a story that is sort of both a cross between the operatic and the fairy tale. Dario, what were the origins of Phenomena?

Dario Argento: I was on vacation with my mother on a small island, and we were listening to Radio Monte Carlo. There was a person telling a story about how in Germany they had discovered that by examining insects, they could discover when a person had died. I was very struck by this and when I returned to Rome, I went to see an entomologist and asked him how this was possible. He told me, for example, that if somebody fired a gun off in a room full of insects, that the insects would die. He also explained that for a whole series of reasons, that it would be possible to identify a person’s exact date of death using insects, which is described in-depth in the film.

MM: The insects are one of the most remarkable parts of this film. Working with them must have been a great challenge. How did you work with your crew and your on-set insect experts to get the insects to almost be their own characters in their own right?

DA: For this movie, I needed thousands of flies. I rented a small theater and completely sealed it off. I put some fly larvae in there and every week I would throw some raw meat in the room. Eventually, after several weeks, they turned into a mass of flies that just went after the actor the way that we had intended and that’s how we shot the end of the film. The insects in the scenes with Donald Pleasence, who plays the entomologist, were all manipulated by insect handlers on the set and through editing.

MM: One of the things that really struck me after having viewed this film after many years, was that it tells the story of two abandoned females. First, there is Jennifer Corvino played by Jennifer Connelly, whose mother leaves the family on a Christmas morning, and her father is currently away shooting a movie in the Philippines, unable to be reached by telephone. The other female is Inga, the chimpanzee, who loses her friend, played wonderfully by Donald Pleasence. 

DA: Tanga, the chimpanzee who plays Inga in the film, suffered greatly from the loss of her friend (the Donald Pleasence character) halfway through shooting. She escaped from the set. We were working and shooting right near a large forest, and she went into that forest for almost three days. As you can well imagine, she became very hungry and so the forest rangers put out some food and they were able to lure her back out. Tanga was a remarkable creature; I would tell her what to do and she would simply do it. I recall that in the film there is a scene where she must break up the wooden slats on the shutters in order to get into her friend’s house. I showed her how to do it, and she did it exactly how I showed her. Jennifer Corvino is also a very sad character. Even though a lot of her classmates must think that she’s so lucky to have this famous father for an actor, she’s very much alone and off by herself. Because of this, she becomes prey to a very evil person. This is the story that I wanted to tell, the loneliness of a young girl. This was a girl that was my daughter’s age at the time. Jennifer Connelly was thirteen when she played this role, and she did it with a tremendous amount of elegance.

MM: I also love the way that you use the Swiss locations in the film, especially the trees and the wind. They really work well in conveying the mindset of the characters and the larger forces of nature that are at work.

DA: I have the character of the professor talk about the foehn, the wind in the Swiss Alps, with the link into the insects. At the very start of the film, where we see the trees and the wind, there is this little house set against this vast landscape. It looks like something right out of a fairy tale, sort of like a gingerbread house. This young Danish tourist who is accidentally abandoned by her tourist bus, is all alone in the midst of this panorama of forests, mountains and trees. There’s this awful thing that is about to happen. The girl who plays her is my first daughter, Fiore Argento. I really studied for this film very thoroughly. I put a lot of time and effort into it. I did my best to create this, as you so put it, operatic fairytale. I did it with great love, and I especially appreciate the wonderful performance by Jennifer Connelly and what she had to offer. She was thirteen years-old when we shot the film. This was her first big movie, and I was just dazzled by her beauty, her intelligence, and her grace.

Dark Glasses

The evening was rounded out with the premiere of his new film Dark Glasses (Occhiali Neri), his first film in ten years, and while it fails to crack the Top Ten Best Argento Flicks list, it’s still worth seeing in a theater. It was shot in mid-2021 in Italian and has English subtitles. Written over twenty years ago and consigned to a drawer in 2002 after the financier went bankrupt and ended up in prison, Dark Glasses was resurrected by his daughter, actress Asia Argento, who stumbled across the script, read it, and urged him to make it. Described as a “tender thriller”, this is highly misleading as there is a fair amount of brutal violence and explicit gore, far more than anything seen in Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Tenebrae, Phenomena, or even Opera – arguably the last truly great film he has made – the films often cited as his most violent and most censored. If I had to compare Dark Glasses to anything in his filmography of the past 35 years following Opera, it would be Sleepless (Non Ho Sonno) (2001).

Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) is a matter-of-fact prostitute who finds herself blinded in an accident caused by a maniac out to kill women in her line of work. Her misfortune puts her in contact with a young orphaned Asian boy named Chin (Andrea Zhang) as well as a woman named Rita from the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Asia Argento, in a refreshingly realistic and subdued performance, with her own voice to boot!) who works with people to help them get on with their lives. There is also a seeing-eye dog who comes to the rescue to help our protagonists out of danger. While some of the plot points feel a little silly and predictable, the film possesses an extremely atmospheric score by Arnaud Rebotini. Missing from the film are the very directorial flourishes that fans have come to love and expect from the Maestro’s golden era, his genius method of cinematically propelling a story forward with astonishing set pieces: there are no cameras booring into brains or over buildings, or excessive jump-cuts, etc. The film boasts a decent performance from Ilenia Pastorelli and young Andrea Zhang whose characterization of Chin is ultimately sympathetic as the Mandarin youth the audience roots for. One of the director’s shortest films at just 90 minutes give or take, the lack of visual splendor may be a result of the director’s getting on in years – he is currently 81 – and unwillingness to perform time-consuming set-ups. Or it may be having to make a film on a smaller budget.

Once wonders what fate has befallen the director’s as-yet-unfilmed project, The Sandman, first announce in the fall of 2014. As of this writing, there is still no word on it, however in the meantime, Dark Glasses fits the bill as a bright spot in the director’s later filmography.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Bob Hope's status as having enjoyed the longest reign as America's most beloved comedy icon remains unchallenged . When he passed away in 2003 at age 100, Hope had mastered seemingly all entertainment mediums. By the 1930s he was already a popular star on stage and in feature films. He could sing, dance and joke often simultaneously. British by birth, Hope and his family emigrated to America when he was five years old and he would ultimately become one of the USA's most patriotic public figures. His long-term contract with NBC stretched from radio days to being the face of the network's television broadcasts. It was TV that made made Hope the ultimate media icon. His NBC TV specials were the stuff of ratings gold, especially those that found him entertaining American troops in far off locations during the Christmas season. Hope continued this tradition, which started in WWII, through the early 1990s. His genius was that he never veered from his core act: quick one-liners that were designed to amuse but never offend. Although a life-long conservative and Republican, Hope knew how to thread the needle when it came to politics. He hobnobbed with presidents of both parties and the jokes he cracked about them gently poked fun at their eccentricities without offending either them or their supporters. Hope's political barbs were made in an era in which such humor would bring people together instead of polarize them. Hope's humor became dated but he never lost his popularity with older fans who continued to tune in to his TV specials and delighted at his frequent appearances on chat shows. Not everyone was a fan, however. Marlon Brando once criticized Hope's hunger for the spotlight by saying he would turn up at the opening of a supermarket if there was a camera there. Still, Hope's ubiquitous presence extended into the realm of movies, though cinema was decidedly a secondary career for him. In the 1940s and 1950s he was a top box-office attraction, with his "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby particularly popular. By the 1960s changing social values threatened Hope's brand of squeaky clean comedies but he still had enough juice at the boxoffice to top-line movies throughout the entire decade. 

"Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number", released in 1966, is the epitome of a Hope comedy. He plays Tom Meade, a California real estate agent who has sunk a considerable amount of money into buying a house in a remote area of the mountains by a beautiful lake. He was certain he could turn a quick profit but it transpires that the house is located in an area that is a bit too remote and his investment has turned into a money-bleeding white elephant. At the same time, the story follows the exploits of Didi (Elke Sommer), an international screen sex siren who is known for including provocative bathing sequences in her racy films. Didi is shooting her latest movie when she has a fierce argument with her director/lover Pepe Pepponi (Cesare Danova) and storms off the set to go into hiding, thus initiating an intense manhunt that dominates the headlines. Through the type of quirk that can only happen in movies, Tom makes a business phone call and accidentally gets connected with Didi, who tells him she is hiding in a nearby hotel but lacks any food or sustenance. Tom realizes he possesses bombshell information and promises to visit her with food. He sneaks out late at night so his wife Martha (Marjorie Lord) doesn't suspect anything...but unbeknownst to him, his nosy and sarcastic live-in housekeeper Lily (Phyllis Diller) catches on. When Tom arrives at Didi's hotel room, she practically seduces him but Tom has something other than sex on his mind. He offers Didi the opportunity to stay at his dormant house at the lake until the manhunt dies down. He's motivated partly by compassion and partly by the opportunity to exploit the property as the house that Didi once hid in. Things naturally go awry when Martha insists on spending a romantic weekend at the house with Tom, away from their two pre-teen but precocious son and daughter. This sets in motion one of those traditional bedroom farce situations. Tom arrives separately in advance of Martha and discovers Didi is practically comatose after taking a sleeping pill. In the ensuing mayhem, he must drag her from room to room and hide her before Martha discovers her presence. This madcap sequence is the highlight of the film and it is deftly directed by old pro George Marshall. However, the film's final act crosses the line into over-the-top outright slapstick with Diller riding wild on a motorcycle and Hope being pursued in a car chase by FBI agents who think he murdered Didi. 

The joy of any Bob Hope movie is that he never played the traditional hero. He specialized in portraying characters who weren't immoral but who were willing to gnaw around the edges of ethical behavior (i.e a coward who pretends he's a hero, a virginal buffoon who pretends he's a great lover, etc.) In this production, Hope continues that tradition and gets off some good one-liners. He's got the perfect foil in Phyllis Diller and their chemistry worked so well they made two more films together in short order, "Eight on the Lam" and "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" before Hope retired from the silver screen with his 1972 dud "Cancel My Reservation". "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!" plays out like an extended TV sitcom from the era and was shot on a relatively modest budget. There are a few timid attempts to make the script a bit contemporary by including a some overt references to sex but it's still tame family-friendly viewing. It should be said that Elke Sommer, who was always somewhat underwhelming in terms of dramatic acting skills, had a true knack for playing light comedy and she's delightful in this movie in a physically demanding role that requires her to be tossed around while unconscious as though she is a rag doll. One of the more amusing aspects of the film is unintentional: Marjorie Lord's hairstyle, which is as high as a beehive and equally distracting. One keeps awaiting Hope to make some quips about it but they never come.

Olive Films has released the movie as a Blu-ray with an excellent transfer but no bonus extras. As retro comedies go, this is typical of a Bob Hope comedy from the era. It offers no surprises but somehow today the sheer predictability and innocence of his movies make for pleasing viewing- and this is no exception. 

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Published: Sept 2021

Paperback

Bloomsbury Publishing

320 pages

8 colour and 46 B&W images

ISBN: 9781350164666

RRP: £19.99

Review by Adrian Smith

James Bond is almost surely the franchise that we here at Cinema Retro have been the most closely associated with, with many of our contributors having written Bond books, not forgetting our editors-in-chief and Bond experts Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall’s many tomes including the The Essential James Bond. There are so many other books about the James Bond films out there as well that one might be forgiven for thinking that there can’t possibly be anything left to say about them, but Llewella Chapman’s new book Fashioning James Bond is proof that there is life in the old spy yet.

This is the first book to study the costuming of the Bond franchise, from Dr No (1962) right through to Spectre (2015), drawing on material from many different archives, looking at, amongst other things, scripts, correspondence, call sheets and publicity materials, as well as new interviews with the families of tailors and shirtmakers who made clothing for Bond, and of course the films themselves. Clothing was always so important to Ian Fleming, who would regularly take time out from the action to describe what characters were wearing in perfect detail, and this was translated over to the films themselves.

Chapman goes through each film and analyses the iconic outfits in detail. The measurements of the stars are supplied (have you always wanted to know Sean Connery’s collar size? 17”), the budget allowances for costuming and how much each outfit cost, and call sheets provide details as to which costumes were needed at which locations. Specific costumes such as Dr No’s famous Nehru suit are discussed at length – it’s historical significance, what kind of shirt would need to be worn underneath it, and the significance of its Asian stylings as a signifier of the ‘cultural politics of Bond villainy.’

George Lazenby’s sole effort as Bond is also discussed, with plenty of information about the different costumes he needed: twenty, more changes than any other Bond actor in one single film. When Roger Moore came on the scene, his keen interest in fashion (he had a credit on The Persuaders! for designing his own costumes) was a big influence on the look that his James Bond would establish in Live and Let Die (1973) and develop over the next decade. Timothy Dalton also had some input when he arrived on the scene, preferring that Bond wore more casual clothing such as a leather jacket, to be more in keeping with the times.

When Pierce Brosnan was chosen as Bond and the news got out that he would wear Italian suits there was an outcry in the press, something which Chapman details. The Independent claimed that ‘Fleming would be doing somersaults in his grave’! Daniel Craig also wore Italian suits, before moving on to suits designed by Tom Ford, which was deemed to suit his grittier, more edgy Bond.

Of course, it’s not just the various Bonds whose clothing is put under the microscope by Chapman. The costumes worn by the various ‘Bond Girls’ are also examined in great detail, from Ursula Andress’ iconic bikini (totally improvised on set using her own bra and a utility belt from a passing sailor), to Jill St. John’s fabulously seventies outfits (and wigs), always being sure that the collars and cuffs match. Again we get details of measurements and designs, and designers, and it is fascinating to see just how much work goes into this aspect of the filmmaking process, one which is often easily overlooked in favour of the more bombastic elements of your average Bond film.

This review has only really scratched the surface of Fashioning James Bond. There is such a wealth of insight and information in here that it will keep any Bond fan happy and will ensure that the next time you watch any of the films your eyes will linger just that bit longer on the designs and the stitching.

Llewella Chapman was a recent guest on my podcast to talk about the book and her favourite Bond film, Diamonds are Forever (1971). You can listen to it here: https://shows.acast.com/second-features/episodes/diamonds-are-forever-1971-with-llewella-chapman

You can order a copy of the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/fashioning-james-bond-9781350164666/

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Bloomsbury

Published: September 2022

Paperback

288 pages

29 B&W illustrations

ISBN: 978-1-5013-7386-2

RRP: £26

Review by Adrian Smith

In the summer of 1975, a much-anticipated film adapted from a bestselling novel called Jaws, directed by a little-known newcomer named Steven Spielberg, was unleashed on the public- and visiting the beach would never be the same again.

The stories about the making of Jaws have been told many, many times: the shark didn’t work, they ran over budget and schedule because just a few seconds of usable footage was shot each day, the studio wanted to fire its young director, etc. The myths and legends around Jaws have become almost as popular as the film itself, with dozens of books and documentaries, as well as the three sequels, serving to keep Jaws firmly lodged in the public consciousness.

So what else can there possibly be to say about this legendary film? Well as this book’s subtitle suggests, new perspectives have been found and reveal new ways of thinking about Jaws and its place in popular culture and film history. The contributors to the book take several different approaches, questioning myths (was Jaws really the first summer blockbuster? Cinema Retro’s own Sheldon Hall tackles that one), analysing themes and looking at its legacy, or ‘cultural footprint’.

Verna Fields rightly won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, and one chapter here focuses specifically on the editing, highlighting technical innovations and analysing why some of those classic scenes work so well. A similar level of in-depth analysis is applied to John Williams’ iconic score. It may well be one of the most well-known scores in cinema history, but musicologist Emilio Audissino brings his understanding of music theory here to explain exactly why the music works so well.

Another chapter sees a consideration of the influence of Steven Spielberg’s Jewishness on Jaws, whilst Linda Ruth Williams looks at the way children are often used as bait in his films. Matthew Leggatt focuses specifically on that Indianapolis speech from Quint, exploring the atomic legacy as evidenced in Jaws. Is it a coincidence that the shark is killed with a massive explosion?

The ongoing influence and legacy of Jaws is delved into in the fascinating final section of the book, which, as well as exploring the sequels, also looks at the many documentaries about the making of the film, the ‘Sharksploitation’ edit of Jaws (a strictly unofficial fan-edit which incorporates footage from Jaws and its sequels as well as from deleted scenes and shark documentaries, and also replaces the score with contemporary rock songs), and even a discussion of The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week.

This is a terrific collection of essays that genuinely brings new insight, and with a foreword provided by Jaws’ screenwriter and supporting actor Carl Gottlieb himself, The Jaws Book is highly recommended for any fan of Jaws, or for anyone with even a passing interest in this crucial moment in film history.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jaws-book-9781501347535/

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By Darren Allison

In our latest printed edition of Cinema Retro, I featured the original soundtrack Vinyl release of John Carpenter’s classic Escape from New York in Blue Vinyl. Speaking to my Vinyl contact at Silva Screen this morning I have since learnt that the Blue edition is virtually close to sold out. It seems that this iconic score is still very much in demand. However, it’s not all bad news, as Silva Screen has also released a superb transparent RED version (Catalogue Number: SILLP1493R) of the vinyl.

Silva Screen’s press release states: “Originally released on the 31st of July 2015, the vinyl edition of John Carpenter’s classic 1981 thriller mirrored the expanded CD release from 2000, with over 20 minutes of previously unreleased music plus music from scenes deleted from the final print and original dialogue highlights. The masters for that CD were re-mixed from the original multi-track session tapes by long-time Carpenter associate Alan Howarth. This is the first time the expanded edition has appeared on vinyl in its complete form, including original dialogue highlights.”

If the demand for the Blue edition is anything to go by, I’m sure this red version will not be around for too long either, so I wouldn’t think to long about it…

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