Riding high: at the peak of his career, Reynolds and Clint Eastwood were the top boxoffice stars in the world.

At age 82, Burt Reynolds is beaten but not broken. The one-time superstar had many ups-and-downs in his career and he's now walking with a cane, the result of doing many dangerous stunts that went wrong. But he's still in there kicking. Reynolds, who resides in Florida, mentors acting students and is also starring in a new film, appropriately titled "The Last Movie Star", about a forgotten leading man who is to receive an honor late in life at a Nashville film festival. Reynolds was recently in New York to make an appearance at a retrospective of his films and was interviewed by Kathryn Shattuck of the New York Times. He comes across as candid and very much the same kind of wise guy that he popularized on screen. Click here to read. 

Retro-active: The Best from the Cinema Retro Archive

By Todd Garbarini 

Swamp Thing (1982) is a peculiar entry in the Wes Craven canon.  For a director who cut his teeth in porn (most directors began their careers as editors in this field in the early 1970s) and directed such fare as The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Swamp Thing is a much gentler film.  One of the few PG-rated entries to his credit, it was made just a few years prior to his very own A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the movie that turned the horror film industry on its ear with the introduction of Fred Krueger and which spawned one of the most successful franchises in the genre. 

Released on Friday, February 19, 1982 by the late Joseph E. Levine’s long-defunct Embassy Pictures, Swamp Thing is a film version of the DC Comic that was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Set in the swamps of Louisiana (though filmed in South Carolina), brother and sister scientists Alec and Linda Holland (Ray Wise and Nannette Brown) are hard at work on an experiment that is designed to create a plant and animal hybrid that can withstand the extreme temperatures of various environments. Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) works for the government and makes a trip to the lab to see how things are coming along. Just as it appears that the government has spent its money well, the henchmen of one sinister Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan), headed by the late cinema baddy David Hess, attempt to steal the written magic formula and the serum from the clutches of its rightful owner. Linda is killed, and Alec gets doused with the new concoction, ends up on fire (yes, that is stunt man Anthony Cecere running outside engulfed in flames, a feat he would repeat in A Nightmare on Elm Street) and jumps into the swamp, reemerging as the titular creature who is henceforth played by Dick Durock. Dr. Arcane believes that this serum will make him immortal and he will therefore stop at nothing to make sure that he gets his hands on the complete formula. Alice begins to fall for Alec/Swamp Thing as she is eluding Dr. Arcane's machine gun-toting minions. Mr. Hess, who appeared in the aforementioned Last House, plays the usual crazy, bullying nut job that he did so well in Hitch Hike (1977) and House on the Edge of the Park (1980), and the supporting cast that surrounds him are a terrific group of menaces. Reggie Batts nearly steals the film in his turn as Judd, a young store proprietor who does everything he can to help Alice avoid capture. There are various animated wipes, dissolves, and visual transitions/segues that take you from one piece of action to the next in an effort to emulate the look of a comic book. For the most part, the film succeeds.

Swamp Thing was originally available on home video on capacitance electronic disc (CED), laserdisc (LD), and the ubiquitous VHS cassette. Although it made its DVD debut in 2000, the discs were pulled from the shelves when it was discovered that the DVD was sourced from the international print which ran 93 minutes in length and contained an additional two minutes of nudity that was not seen in the original 91-minute PG-rated 1982 domestic theatrical exhibition. Bowing to some consumer complaints, MGM reissued the movie on DVD in 2005 in its original version, minus the nudity. It is this version that appears on both the new DVD and Blu-ray. It would have been nice if the missing footage had been included as an extra (if it is here as an Easter egg, kudos to those of you who can find it!).

The transfer of the film is excellent; there are a few spots and very small scratches here and there but nothing to distract from your pleasure of watching the image. Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, is to be commended for continually putting out our favorite genre films in these new versions with top-notch extras. Best of all, this is a DVD/Blu-ray combo. I don't know what the criteria is (or who the decision maker is) when it comes to deciding to release a title in separate formats or as a combo, but I sincerely wish that all of Scream Factory's titles were sold as combos forthwith. That being said, both formats boast excellent transfers, with Blu-ray obviously being the sharper and clearer of the two.

There are some really nice extras on the discs (which are presented equally on both formats). The movie contains two separate full-length commentaries. The first is with writer/director Wes Craven and it is moderated by Sean Clark of Horrors Hallowed Grounds. Mr. Clark is a walking/talking encyclopedia and asks Mr. Craven lots of interesting and intelligent questions about the production and the people involved.

The second commentary is with makeup effects artist William Munns, moderated by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures. This track is an absolute joy to listen to as Mr. Munns remembers a great deal about the making of the film. Growing up in Studio City, CA, he speaks quite eloquently about his experience in the film business prior to Swamp Thing, in addition to the issues that began to flourish when the film was green-lighted. He recalls having to wait a long time as the financing was secured, and even went to work on a film initially called Witch (later released as Superstition) in the interim. Since the sex of the Swamp Thing was an issue, he had to work around the anatomically correct creature and his recollections are humorous in how this was handled (he says that the film needed a PG-13 rating, however Swamp Thing was shot in the summer of 1981 and this rating was not used until 1984 with the release of John Milius’ Red Dawn). He talks about fitting the suit, discusses how the makeup crew became the scapegoat when filming came to a crawl due to the other departments that were behind, the dangers of wearing the Swamp Thing suit, the stunts that needed to be done, and how he took over as Swamp Thing when Mr. Durock could no longer perform.

The bonus features consist of:

Tales from the Swamp is an interview with Adrienne Barbeau. The segment runs 16:56 and Ms. Barbeau is a delight to listen to. Jovial and funny, she recalls the time that she spent on the film and talks about the bacteria and parasites in the water, the long hours on the set while they were in South Carolina, and the challenging elements around them. The original script that was given to her by Wes Craven was far more audacious than what ended up on screen. Unfortunately, just as the film went before the cameras, the production company began to chip away the film's budget, necessitating constant rewriting during the course of shooting and many concessions needed to be made. Ms. Barbeau is rather candid and pulls no punches in explaining her disappointment with the final product at the time, however she has developed an appreciation of the film in the years since its release.

Hey, Jude is the name of the second segment, and this is a fun and entertaining interview with actor Reggie Batts who plays Jude (hence the name!). It runs 14:30. Mr. Batts explains how he got the role in the film and was a fan of DC comics. Following the release of Swamp Thing, he also appeared in the North and South (1985) miniseries on television.

The last segment is titled That Swamp Thing, and it’s a look back with creator Len Wein who explains how he came up with the name for the creature and how he got his start as an animator. The segment runs 13:19.

The original theatrical trailer is also included, and this is in excellent condition, not the usual scratch-ridden mess that we’re used to seeing.

The photo galleries consist of posters and lobby cards; photos from the film; William Munn’s behind-the-scenes photos; and behind-the-scenes photos by Geoffrey Rayle.

As an added bonus, the DVD/Blu-ray sleeve is reversible and has the French poster artwork under the title of La Creature Du Marais, which translates to “The Creature of the Swamp”.

Click here to order from Amazon 

BY TIM GREAVES

My favourite Spaghetti Western theme song – and I stress theme song, not theme music – is Roberto Fia’s splendidly triumphant rendition of composer Luis Bacalov’s ‘Django’. The only one that comes close to challenging it for my affection is ‘Angel Face’, the opening credits ballad from A Pistol for Ringo (o.t. Una pistola per Ringo), Graf Maurizio’s silky vocal marrying up with Ennio Morricone’s passionate melody to forge a little scoop of sorrow-tinged nectar. And although I confess that my knowledge of Italian westerns is criminally deficient, of the titles I have actually seen I’d unhesitatingly cite A Pistol for Ringo among my favourites.

Released in 1965, the film was directed by Duccio Tessari, an uncredited co-writer on the previous year’s uber-classic A Fistful of Dollars. Part of the appeal of Tessari’s film is that the story takes place on the run up to Christmas, although being as sun-baked southern Spain is doubling for the Wild West it’s an exceptionally balmy one. Nevertheless, the inclusion of tinsel-decked trees, Christmas dinner and even a carol or two embroider the proceedings with a festive ambience conspicuously rare – perhaps even unique (I reiterate that my knowledge is lacking) – in Spaghetti Western terrain.

It’s a couple of days before Christmas in the town of Quemado and ruthless Mexican bandit Sancho (Fernando Sancho) and his gang have plundered the bank of its entire cash reserve. Their escape route to the border cut off by pursuing lawmen, the bandits hole up at the hacienda of Major Clyde (Antonio Hasas) where they take everyone hostage, including Clyde’s daughter Ruby (Hally Hammond), who also happens to be the fiancée of the Sheriff (George Martin). Under siege, Sancho threatens to kill two hostages a day until the law agrees to back off and let them ride away unhindered. Desperate for help, the Sheriff turns to scar-cheeked gunslinger Angel Face (Montgomery Wood) – Ringo to his friends – who’s currently locked up in the town jail on a quadruple murder charge. He makes Ringo a proposal: infiltrate the gang, eliminate them and rescue the hostages and he’ll be rewarded with 30% of the retrieved cash and exonerated of his crimes.

Duccio Tessari co-scripted A Pistol for Ringo, his fifth feature film, with Alfonso Balcázar. Casting Montgomery Wood in his debut starring role was a masterstroke; Wood is actually the nom de guerre of former stuntman Giuliano Gemma – all the better for performing his own gags, which include crashing through a ceiling to land upright on a grand piano and leaping from a galloping steed. Gemma has a scorching intensity about him and he gifts the self-serving Ringo with an affable personality and a cunning, cocksure attitude in the face of adversity. He also prefers milk to hard liquor and has a habit of dishing out pearls of wisdom at felicitous moments (“Never cry for a dead person – it’s pointless.”). He’s introduced playing hopscotch with some children, breaks off to take down a quartet of gunmen with the matter-of-factness of swatting flies, finishes up the game and strolls casually away. This is a guy who, with three bad guys still to be disposed of, realises he only has one bullet left in his gun and yet somehow still manages to pull it off. You’d really not want to be looking down the business end of Ringo’s six-shooter, but just the same he’s a very likeable anti-hero figure.

Fernando Sancho meanwhile makes for a nicely greasy villain, coincidentally also named Sancho. He shares some great scenes with Gemma, the best of which finds Sancho threatening to put a bullet through the bound Ringo’s head, only to find himself compelled to relent time and again as our unflustered hero convinces him he’s a valuable asset best kept alive – and what’s more his help is going to cost Sancho an ever-escalating cut of the booty! There’s even some gentle humour thrown in during a gathering ‘round the piano to sing carols, with Sancho awkwardly mumbling his way through “Silent Night”.

Hally Hammond is actually Lorella De Luca, director Tessari’s wife, and she brings a measure of prim sex appeal to the show, although beyond playing vulnerable she isn’t given too much to do – at least not until the finale when she finally gets her hands on a shotgun. Meanwhile Nieves Navarro (wife of the film’s co-producer Luciano Ercoli) fills the role of sultry bad girl rather deliciously; despite the fact she’s one of the intruders in wealthy landowner Antonio Hasas’s home, he has an amorous eye on her – and who can blame him? Amiable Manuel Muñiz is in situ primarily for light relief. 

Speaking of light relief, in my limited experience of Italian westerns they generally tend to be more brutal than their American counterparts, but A Pistol for Ringo is a bloodless, pretty frivolous affair, more mischievous in tone than one might expect from the sub-genre. That tone is established in the first few seconds as two unsmiling gunslingers stride towards each other and then, as opposed to drawing their weapons as anticipated, wish each other a Merry Christmas. To be fair the story itself is no great shakes, I can’t defend it, but regardless of any shortcomings this is very respectable fare that gallops along at a lively pace and – as do the best of them – leaves you wanting more.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Burt Reynolds had been gnawing around the boundaries of genuine stardom for more than a decade, starring in short-lived television shows and top-lining "B" movies. He ingratiated himself to the American public by showcasing his wit and comedic abilities by appearing on chat shows.  In 1972, he struck gold when director John Boorman cast him opposite Jon Voight as the two male leads in the sensational film adaptation of James Dickey's "Deliverance". Finally, he could be classified as a major movie star. Soon, Reynolds was cranking out major films even while his uncanny ability to publicize himself resulted in such stunts as his famed provocative centerfold pose in Cosmopolitan magazine. On screen, Reynolds sensed that he could cultivate an especially enthusiastic audience if he catered to rural movie-goers. He was proven right with the release of "White Lightning", a highly enjoyable 1973 action/comedy that perfectly showcased Reynolds' favored image as a handsome, unflappable hero with a Bondian knack for tossing off quips while facing death and also engaging in good ol' boy towel-snapping humor. Playing bootlegger Gator McClusky, Reynolds drew major crowds, very much pleasing United Artists, which enjoyed hefty profits from the modestly-budgeted production. Reynolds learned, however, that his audience wouldn't necessarily follow him if he deviated from that image. When he went against the grain in films like "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing", "At Long Last Love" and "Lucky Lady", the movies bombed. When he stuck to the basics, he had hits with "Shamus", "The Longest Yard" and "W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings". The legendary Variety headline that read "Hix Nix Stix Pix" was no longer true. The American heartland loved Burt Reynolds, especially when he played characters that rural audiences could embrace.

In 1976, Reynolds fulfilled another career milestone by directing his first feature film, a sequel to "White Lightning" titled "Gator". Like the first movie, it was shot entirely on location in Georgia and picked up on the adventures of everyone's favorite moonshiner. When we first see Gator in the sequel, he his getting out of jail only to be targeted by the feds to be used as a pawn in a multi-state crackdown on an epidemic of political corruption that threatens the career of the self-serving, ambitious governor (played very well by famed chat show host Mike Douglas in his big screen debut.) Gator is living in a shack located deep in an inhospitable swamp with his elderly father and precocious 9 year-old daughter when the feds launch a major raid to arrest him on moonshining charges. In reality, they want to use the warrant as leverage to convince him to go undercover for them inside the crime ring. Gator wants no part of it and leads the feds on a merry chase around the bayou in which he is pursued by speed boats and helicopters before finally relenting. The lead federal agent in charge is Irving Greenfield (Jack Weston), an overweight, hyper-nervous Jewish guy from Manhattan who has the unenviable task of ensuring that Gator follows orders. A good portion of the film's laugh quotient comes from Irving's less-than-convincing attempts to "blend in" with small town southern locals. The crime ring is run by Bama McCall (Jerry Reed), an outwardly charming and charismatic fellow who, in reality, uses brutally violent methods to ensure loyalty and intimidate local businessmen to pay protection money. He and Gator are old acquaintances and he doesn't hesitate to give Gator a good-paying job as an enforcer for his mob. Things become more intriguing when Gator sets eyes on Aggie Maybank (Lauren Hutton), an attractive local TV anchor with liberal political beliefs that find her squaring off against Bama in order to protect the poor merchants he is exploiting. "Gator" proceeds on a predictable path but its predictability doesn't detract from its merits, which are considerable. Reynolds is a joy to watch and it's small wonder he leaped to the top ranks of cinematic leading men. His cocky, self-assured persona served him well on the big screen and "Gator" is custom-made to please his core audience. He also proved to be a very able director, handling the action scenes and those of unexpected tragic twists with equal skill. He also gets very good performances from his eclectic cast, with Weston engaging in his usual penchant for scene-stealing. Reed also shines in a rare villainous role and ex-model Hutton proves she has admirable acting chops, as well. The action scenes are impressive thanks to the oversight of the legendary Hal Needham, who would forge a long-time collaborative relationship with Reynolds. 

BY MARK CERULLI

For years, every studio salivated over Marvel’s profit machine where iconic characters jump in and out of each other’s films. To get in on the action, Universal mined their monster vaults by creating the Dark Universe franchise. The first entry was The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis and Russell Crowe (as Dr. Henry Jekyll). Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the film also starred Algerian stunner Sofia Boutella as the title creature, who is light years away from Karloff’s 1932 creation.

The film stirred a pot o fan controversy when it was announced because of, well… Tom Cruise in a horror movie? Not to worry, he dove into the hero role with his trademark enthusiasm and ageless good looks, doing stunts that would leave any other mortal in a coma or full body cast. The film is entertaining; it’s a popcorn ride, full of beautiful scenery and state-of-the art visual effects, and Boutella steals the show as the sensuous 5,000 year-old Egyptian Princess who is pure evil.

Along with their $125 million film, Universal packed a sarcophagus full of extras on the 2-disc, dual format set that also includes a digital download version. Extras in the set include:

Deleted Scenes

Creating The Plane Crash (in Zero G)

Meet Ahmanet

Cruise In Action

And others – adding up to over an hour of bonus material. Say what you will about Tom Cruise doing horror, The Mummy featured spectacular sets and some of the best action sequences this side of a James Bond movie. (And the vicious sandstorm taking out London’s financial district is a show stopper.) Universal’s first plunge into their Dark Universe is definitely worth your time – and you might as well get familiar with it because, if the studio has its way, The Mummy is just the tip of the dark iceberg: The Bride of Frankenstein (with Javier Bardem as The Monster) is already in the works as is The Invisible Man (with Johnny Depp no less).

(For Mark Cerulli's review of the film's theatrical release, click here).

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

Bond girls Jenny Hanley, Caron Gardner, Francesca Tu.

BY MARK MAWSTON

The ultimate “Bonding” session once again took place at the home of the 007 franchise, Pinewood Studios, on Sunday 24th September. Those lucky enough to attend were treated to a dealer’s room, a 50^th Anniversary 4K screening of You Only Live Twice, at which organizer Gareth Owen read a message received from the e Prime Minister herself, Theresa May, which touched on the amazing feats of ingenuity and sheer technical mastery that went into the construction of the films famed volcano set; a three course lunch and afternoon tea and of course a "who’s who" from the world of Bond from both in front and behind the camera. These included:

Peter Lamont - Assistant Art Director - Art Director and Production Designer of 18 Bond films, Terry Ackland-Snow - Art Director on two Bond films, Alan Tomkins - Art director on five Bond films, Monty Norman – Composer, Vic Armstrong - 2nd Unit Director and stunt performer / supervisor, Rocky Taylor - Stunts - You Only Live Twice and many other Bond films; Norman Wanstall - Dubbing Editor/ Oscar-winning Sound Designer, Paul Weston – Stunts, and William P. Cartlidge- Assistant Director- You Only Live Twice and future Bond Associate Producer.

Monty Norman, composer of "The James Bond Theme".

Shane Rimmer, a Bond film veteran cast member and his wife Sheila, lead the crowd out of the John Barry Theatre.

Alan Tomkins and Peter Lamont.

Brian Gorman presented his one-man Bond tribute show.

And from in front of the camera: Shane Rimmer - three Bond films including You Only Live Twice, Eunice Gayson - Sylvia Trench in Dr. No & From Russia With Love, Jenny Hanley – “Irish Girl” in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sylvanna Henriques - Title sequence - You Only Live Twice and “Jamaican Girl” in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Caron Gardner - Pussy Galore Flying Circus pilot in Goldfinger, Nadja Regin - Kerim's girl in From Russia With Love and Bonita in Goldfinger and Francesca Tu, Osato’s secretary- You Only Live Twice.

Stunt Legends Vic Armstrong and Rocky Taylor enjoy some amusing anecdotes along with interviewer Gareth Owen.

William P. Cartlidge reflects on the trials and tribulations of bringing "You Only Live Twice" to the screen.

The highlight for many of those stars, as well as the fans in attendance, was a special tribute to the late, great Sir Roger Moore. The day was rounded off with a special premiere of Brian Gorman’s wonderful 60 minute one-man show “One Man Bond” (every Bond film in 60 minutes!). Afterwards Gorman said “It’s a dream to perform at Pinewood at this event, as you already know that this audience will get it, terrifying though it is if you get something wrong! It’s not like a normal crowd and I’ve never used a microphone before!” He needn’t have worried though and this rounded off what was another excellent event organized by Bondstars Andy Boyle and Retro’s own Gareth Owen.

(All images copyright Mark Mawson. All rights reserved)

Visit www.bondstars.com.  

BY JOHN M. WHALEN

There was a time once, in the far long ago, when a kid, on any given Saturday, could take a quarter from his allowance and spend an entire afternoon at his local neighborhood movie theater. The “Saturday Matinee”, as it was called, was a weekly event that usually included the showing of a couple of cartoons, a bicycle race, a Three Stooges short, a double feature, a serial and a popcorn fight or two. Serials, in case you don’t know, were short, two-reel chapters of a story that usually ran for 12 chapters, each chapter ending in some kind of a cliffhanger in which the hero of the story seemed to face imminent doom. You’d have to come back the next Saturday to learn how the he got out of it.

Several studios produced serials during the Cliffhanger’s heyday, which spanned the period from the 1930’s to the 1950s. They leaned heavily on newspaper comic strips for their sources. Universal brought Flash Gordon to life in perhaps three of the best serials ever made with Buster Crabbe in the starring role. Columbia released a couple of Batman serials as well as Superman, the Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician. But the studio that produced more serials than any other—and some would argue the cream of the crop—was Republic Studios. In terms of production values, scripts, stunts, and clever cliffhanger chapter endings, no one else came close. And without doubt, one of Republic’s best was “Daredevils of the Red Circle” (1939).

“Daredevils of the Red Circle.” What a great title. Has certain ring to it, doesn’t it? You might wonder how they came up with a title like that. Well, first of all, you need to know that as the story begins a deranged criminal has escaped from prison. Harry Crowl, who refers to himself only by his prison serial number, 39013 (pronounced Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen) was sent to prison by millionaire philanthropist Horace Granville (Miles Mander). Crowl has vowed revenge on Granville, and has dedicated himself to destroying all of the wealthy industrialist’s various properties. Crowl is played by none other than Charles Middleton, best known as Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon chapter plays. Said to be a really nice guy in real life, Middleton’s craggy face, hollow eyes and deep menacing voice kept him in demand as one of the best movie villains ever to appear on the silver screen.

As the story opens he has already set his sights on the Granville Amusement Center as his next target. It so happens that a trio of circus daredevils is appearing there, including aerialist Gene Townley (Charles Quigley), escape artist Bert Knowles (Dave Sharpe), and strong man Tiny Dawson (Herman Brix). Quigley is a barely known actor who never gained much of a reputation but he does a good job here as a true blue hero. He probably could have been cast as Captain Marvel if he’d had a better agent. Dave Sharpe was one of Republic’s best stunt men, and although he was doubled for some of the more dangerous stunts this time around, in this one he took quite a few flying head-first leaps and had an abundance of fist fights. Herman Brix played Tarzan in an earlier serial filmed in Guatemal and later had a fairly distinguished acting career after he changed his name to Bruce Bennett.

But let’s get back to explaining how they came up with the serial’s title. Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen’s men set fire to the Granville Amusement Center which results in a personal tragedy for the trio of acrobats. Now out of a job anyway, they offer their services to Granville to help track down Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen and bring him to justice. Granville has a daughter, Blanche, (Carole Landis) who lives in the Granville Mansion with her father. Granville is a sickly old man who can only communicate with visitors by telephone from inside a sanitized room on the other side of a glass barrier. (Did you know Blake Edwards wrote a character like that in one of his scripts for an episode of “Peter Gunn”? Guess he was a Daredevils fan.) There are a couple of big surprises in the first chapter alone, including the fact that Granville isn’t exactly who he appears to be. As the story progresses chapter by chapter, the Daredevils receive help from a mysterious, cloaked, and hooded figure who creeps around the Granville mansion leaving cards with clues and hints written on them, all of them signed by someone calling himself The Red Circle. Thus the title “Daredevils of the Red Circle”.

For 12 thrilling chapters, the daredevils, using their individual skills and strengths, manage to escape Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen’s fiendishly clever machinations and death-dealing devices. Among other perils, they avoid drowning in a flooded tunnel, being burned alive, gassed to death, blown up, and disintegrated by a death ray. Will they finally capture Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen and discover who is the mysterious Red Circle? You won’t find out until Chapter 12, “Flight to Doom,” where all is revealed.

“Daredevils” was directed by William Witney and John English, the team that turned out 17 of Republic’s 66 serials. This was number 14 for them. Witney handled the action scenes, English did the dialog scenes. The script was by written by five screenwriters including Barry Shipman, Franklin Adreon, and Ronald C. Davidson, all veteran serial writers who were adept at devising clever and believable cliffhanger chapter endings.

Kino Lorber has done another terrific restoration job on the Blu-ray of “Daredevils of the Red Circle,” just as they did with Roy Rogers’ “Sunset in the West,” reviewed earlier. The picture quality of the 1080p transfer from a 4K scan is outstanding. A lot of the serial was filmed outdoors in various locations around Los Angeles, all of which look great in high def. It’s a fascinating look at LA before it was ruined by the freeways, over-development, traffic congestion and overpopulation.

Informative and entertaining commentary on several of the chapters is provided by film historian Michael Schlesinger on a separate audio track. The disc also includes some trailers for other KL Studio Classics releases. I recommend you get this one. Just make sure you have plenty of popcorn and soda pop on hand. I guarantee once you start Chapter One, “The Monstrous Plot,” it will be hard to switch it off. Thirty Nine-Oh-Thirteen and the Daredevils will keep you hooked for the whole three and half hours.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

John M. Whalen is the author of "This Ray Gun for Hire...and Other Tales." Click here to order from Amazon. 

BY DARREN ALLISON

In 1973 film critic Roger Ebert described Michael Winner’s The Stone Killer (1973) as a ‘superior example of its type - tough cop against the mob - and probably the best violent big-city police movie since Dirty Harry.'  The Stone Killer certainly does have a lot working in its favour. The film arrived during a period where the tough cop drama was arguably at its peak. One could perhaps argue that, most would follow a particular formula or style, but they fulfilled a demand. The police vs the mob was certainly nothing new but the subject matter was still trending successfully during the early to mid-Seventies. As a police sergeant proclaims to Bronson’s character, ‘nothing changes, only the names.’

Director Michael Winner had certainly turned a corner after completing the western Lawman in 1971. The decision towards making American movies is one that Winner adapted to well. Bronson was considered by some as an awkward actor to work with, but by the time of The Stone Killer, Winner and Bronson had already completed two films together, the revisionist western Chato's Land (1972) and the action thriller The Mechanic (1972). Clearly there was a happy medium between both director and star and the partnership was also proving to be lucrative.

The Stone Killer doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. If 95 minutes of tough, no nonsense action is something you seek, then Bronson delivers the goods - hard and fast.  Bronson plays Detective Lt. Lou Torrey an ex-New York City cop who is side-lined to the L.A. Police Department following criticism over his style of law enforcement. In L.A. he begins investigating a mysterious chain of events involving a violent campaign of murder. The trail eventually leads Torrey to the Mafia and Al Vescari (Martin Balsam). Vescari has hired an outfit of Vietnam veterans to stage an ambush that will wipe out the entire Italian mob leadership, thereby gaining revenge for a series of assassinations of Sicilians on April 10, 1931. 

In general, the plot is somewhat thin, so it’s perhaps not worth spending too long examining it or dissecting it to any major degree. In short, it’s Bronson in a cop thriller with plenty of great action pieces, some great stunts and a whole lot of gun play. Winner’s direction is fast-paced and tight and the whole thing is wrapped up in a superb Roy Budd score which undoubtedly provides extra bite and attitude. The supporting cast also seem to relish their roles, no more so than Paul Koslo as Alfred Langley, a super character actor and the bad guy we all love to hate. Koslo had a knack of carving out these niche roles for himself, appearing in Joe Kidd (1972) and cult classics like  Cleopatra Jones (1973),  Freebie and the Bean (1974) and reuniting opposite Bronson again in Richard Fleischer’s Mr. Majestyk (1974). 

Indicator’s region free Blu-ray marks its UK premiere and an impressive package it is, too. The Stone Killer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and in 1080p. Sourced from Sony’s HD remaster, the picture quality stands up incredibly well, there is an especially well defined and vivid look about the film, especially in the daylight scenes of which there are plenty. It is an extremely clean picture, with a minor amount of original grain. Its colour retains a nice natural and consistent look which works well. It appears that Sony have appeared to resist the temptation of tinkering and adjusting too much and as a result, the film holds on to its 70s taste and texture. The same can be said for the audio department, which is both clean and true. The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono track is punchy and free from any form of distortion or defects. 

Indicator’s bonus material is led by an audio commentary from journalist and film programmer Nick Pinkerton who examines the history and production of The Stone Killer. It’s an interesting walk through in which Pinkerton clearly demonstrates he has done his homework and keeps the viewer engaged. Keeping with the audio delights, the disc also includes composer Roy Budd’s complete isolated score in stereo. Licensed by way of the Twilight Time Blu-ray release, Mike Matessino’s efforts to make these scores available is always welcome, and of course, appreciated a great deal by soundtrack enthusiasts in general. Roy Budd’s work here is regarded as one of the great retro scores and its inclusion here is close to essential. 

Also included is an audio only recording of Michael Winner’s John Player Lecture. Recorded on September 13th, 1970 and with a running time of 65 minutes, Winner is interviewed by Margaret Hinxman at the National Film Theatre, London. The interview finds Winner in a relaxed, confident and incredibly humorous mood. Always with a plenty to say, he speaks without hesitation and with a ‘take it or leave it’ honesty. He is both entertaining and engaging throughout and often has his audience breaking out in spontaneous laughter. It’s a super find and entirely worthy of inclusion. 

Joe Robinson, 2004. (Photo copyright Cinema Retro. All rights reserved.)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Joe Robinson, the estimable stuntman, stunt arranger and occasional actor, has passed away in his native England at age 90. Robinson came from a family of wrestlers and he won the European Heavyweight Championship in 1952. Robinson drifted into the film industry initially as an actor, starring in the 1955 movie "A Kid for Two Farthings". Leading man status eluded him but he found a steady career arranging stunts for films and television shows and occasionally acting in them as well. Like many British and American actors, he gravitated to Italy in the early 1960s to appear in some of the "Hercules"-inspired strongman films that were quite popular during that era. He scored small action roles in "Barabbas" and "Ursus" before returning to England, where he had a supporting role in Tony Richardson's classic "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Rnner.  He was a noted judo and karate expert  and helped train Honor Blackman for her action scenes in "The Avengers" TV series and in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger". In 1971 he landed his best-remembered role as smuggler Peter Franks in the James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever". In the movie's best action scene, he has a bruising battle with Sean Connery inside the tight confines of an elevator.  This writer and fellow Cinema Retro publisher Dave Worrall met him in 1995 when he participated in recording a laser disc commentary track we were producing relating to the elevator fight  along with "Diamonds are Forever" director Guy Hamilton at Pinewood Studios (the track is available on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film today). 

Robinson battling Sean Connery in the 1971 James Bond film "Diamonds are Forever".

Robinson was very much a free spirit who would often turn up unexpectedly at events and ingratiate himself with people by discussing his fascinating stories of working in the film industry. He later would appear with the James Bond International Fan Club at various 007-themed events and conventions where he enjoyed meeting his admirers and signing autographs. He once told this writer that many years after filming "Diamonds are Forever", he decided to drop by Sean Connery's estate in Spain. When he rang the doorbell buzzer in the gated community, Connery asked who was there. When he heard it was Joe Robinson, Connery exclaimed "Tiger Joe!", referring to Robinson's nickname in the industry. The two men spent a pleasant afternoon reminiscing about old times. In addition to his other achievements, Robinson and his brother Doug co-authored "Honor Blackman's Book of Self-Defence", a 1965 volume that illustrated their training sessions with Blackman. For more click here. 

BY ERNIE MAGNOTTA

There’s nothing I like better than getting hold of a movie that I’ve been searching over three decades for and adding it to my collection. At my age, there aren’t many vintage films left that I don’t own in one format or another, so when I heard that the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw was getting a Blu-ray release, I was quite enthused. This movie has somehow always managed to elude me. It never seemed to play on any of my cable stations in the early 80s, we never had a copy of it at the video store I worked at in the mid-80s and I was still never able to find a copy of it anywhere throughout the 90s. To be honest, by the time the 21^st century hit, I completely forgotten about this movie, so I was pretty surprised and even more excited to find out that it was not only being released on Blu-ray, but also with quite a few special features. Why? To begin with, I’m a tremendous fan of the director; not to mention the entire cast and, last, but not least, I just love fun, action/crime/drama exploitation films from the 1970s.

Produced and directed by Mark Lester (Truck Stop Women, Roller Boogie, Class of 1984), written by Vernon Zimmerman (Unholy Rollers, Fade to Black) and released by American International Pictures, modern western Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw tells the tale of quick-draw expert and Billy the Kid enthusiast Lyle Wheeler (Marjoe Gortner, Earthquake, Food of the Gods, Viva Knievel!, Starcrash) who, together with waitress and aspiring country singer Bobbi Jo Baker (TV’s one and only Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter) experiences a dangerous cross country adventure filled with love, robbery and murder.

So, was the movie worth the wait? I certainly think so. It may not be in the same league as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), but it’s still an extremely enjoyable, well-directed, written and acted low-budget feature that definitely deserves to be seen. To begin with, Mark Lester’s direction is not only solid, but he is just at home directing the quiet, more character-driven and dramatic/romantic scenes as he is directing a sequence involving heavy action and stunts. Next up, Vernon Zimmerman’s wonderful writing not only creates an engaging story, but interesting and likeable three-dimensional characters as well. Lyle Wheeler aka the Outlaw, seems to live by his own code and has definite ideas of good and evil; right and wrong. Marjoe Gortner effortlessly and believably gets all this across and makes his character quite likeable. (This may be my favorite Gortner performance.) The stunning Lynda Carter gets to show a bit more range then she did as Wonder Woman and is extremely convincing as the hopeful and somewhat naïve Bobbi Jo. The rest of the outrageously talented cast not only add immensely to the film, but clearly came to play. Jesse Vint (Chinatown, Forbidden World) perfectly plays Slick Callahan; a wild, not too bright cocaine fiend and boyfriend of Bobbi Jo’s sister, Pearl. Gorgeous Merrie Lynn Ross (Class of 1984, TVs General Hospital), who also co-produced the film, brings a hardened heart quality to slightly ditzy stripper Pearl, and the always welcome Belinda Balaski (Piranha, The Howling) shines as hippie waitress Essie Beaumont. Rounding out the top-notch cast is Gene Drew (Truck Stop Women) as a no-nonsense sheriff, B-movie legend Gerrit Graham (Beware! The Blob, Phantom of the Paradise, The Annihilators, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.) as a helpful hippie, Virgil Frye (Graduation Day), who replaced Dennis Hopper, as a macho gas station attendant with something to prove, Peggy Stewart (Alias Billy the Kid, Beyond Evil) as Bobbi Jo’s alcoholic mom, and James Gammon (Major League) as a fast talking salesman.

BY DIANE A. RODGERS

A wonderfully understated comedy-drama, The Electric Horseman follows the story of Sonny Steele (Robert Redford), a five-time champion rodeo cowboy now turned brand spokesman for AMPco, a giant corporate firm selling 'Ranch' breakfast cereal.  Steele's life has become essentially a series of advertising appearances, at which he is required to brandish a box of cereal with his face adorning it whilst wearing a garish cowboy outfit festooned with electric fairy lights. The forced smiles, autographs and constant touring are starting to crack Steele; when we meet him, he is a disillusioned, unreliable drunk, stumbling from one engagement to the next.

The film centres around a big Las Vegas convention where Steele is booked for a ride-on appearance with AMPco's prize mascot, a 12-million-dollar racehorse. Horse and rider are strapped up in purple paisley silk and electric lights, the ridiculous spectacle of which, in the capital of sensational fakery and money-worship, proves to be the final straw for Steele. Appalled that the horse (a past champion like himself) has been drugged in order to fulfil the appearance, Steele decides then and there to ride him off into the desert and away from the bright lights of Vegas and the public eye. It is here the film really begins, as investigative journalist Hallie Martin (Jane Fonda) picks up Sonny Steele's story and pursues his mission to restore the horse to freedom.

In tracking down and following Sonny, Hallie becomes impressed with his knowledge of animals, nature and the land; he is indeed no fake but a 'real' cowboy in the most nostalgic sense; looking back to an innocent, forgotten America. As Sonny and Hallie drop their guards, against astounding mountainous scenery they sing 'American the Beautiful', unashamed and without irony: "O beautiful for spacious skies/For amber waves of grain/For purple mountain majesties...". Nonetheless, there is little schmaltz to be found here; no overbearing passionate Hollywood drama; Fonda's character is reminded by Sonny that there is no need for pretension with him, "It's not gonna be on television".

Sonny's attempts to liberate the horse is also a way of trying to free himself; from the world of fame and commerce, from which he shuns further attention. The kinship Sonny feels for the horse spreads beyond the screen; his nursing of the animal in the film is detailed and attentive and in real life, Redford not only did all his own riding stunts but, apparently, loved the horse so much he brought it home and kept it for the rest of its life.

At its core, the story is really one of authenticity; the world of money and business, bright lights and fakery versus nature, friendship and the great outdoors. Sonny's faithful friend and manager Wendell is played by Willie Nelson (in his feature debut, reputedly ad-libbing most of his dialogue), bringing further authenticity to the cowboys; Wendell and Sonny, after yet another dispiriting tour date, drunkenly sing a song Nelson himself had a recent chart hit with: "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys/'Cause They'll Never Stay Home and They're Always Alone".

There are no shootouts, saloons or spurs in the language here, but aspiration to a gentle caring spirit and understanding of nature and the outdoors. The only 'bad guys' are the heads of corporations who care only for profit, represented in the film by an unusually cold, steely faced John Saxon. For its grand themes, director Pollack delivers them in an oblique and unassuming way; the sound design during scenes in Las Vegas has slot machines and tannoy announcements, disconcertingly, almost as loud as the dialogue itself, which only emphasises the clarity, stillness and simplicity of scenes in the great outdoors.

There are lots of great comic moments and funny, sharply delivered lines; no less than you might expect from repartee between Redford and Fonda, who had previously co-starred in The Chase and Barefoot in the Park. Valerie Perrine (memorable as Ms. Teschemacher in 1978's Superman) also plays a notable supporting role as Sonny's soon-to-be ex-wife and Wilfrid Brimley (Cocoon) plays a marvellously modest but key supporting role. For fans of 1970s kitsch, there is a bit of everything here that you might expect from the era; from cowboy rodeos and disco dancing Vegas showgirls to a full on horse-race multi-car chase à la The Dukes of Hazzard (with one especially impressive stunt, culminating in one police car tearing along whilst carrying another, upside down, on top of it!).

The screener copy available for review of this re-release had no menu or extras, but the picture quality is excellent and does justice to the stunning cinematography of both the Vegas spectacle and its vast surrounding desert scenery.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Elvis Presley is almost always associated exclusively with movie musicals. However, he did stray from the genre to make a Western in which he didn't warble one lyric. The film is  Charro!,  which is  available from Warner Bros. Just as seemingly every actor tried to get on board the spy movie phenomenon of the mid-1960s, by the end of the decade they were attempting to similarly capitalize on the spaghetti western genre. This 1969 film is non-descript as a western - not among the best of the era but far from the worst. It does merit special consideration because perhaps more than any other of his films, Charro! exhibits a persona that Elvis had never been able to reflect onscreen - thanks to Colonel Parker's iron-fisted control over his career and his insistence that The King appear in outdated teen musicals. The razor-thin plot has Elvis trying to distance himself from a murderous gang he used to ride with. Gang leader Victor French isn't the kind of guy you quit on so he frames Elvis for crimes he didn't commit then tortures him into participating in an audacious plot that finds them stealing a giant cannon from the Mexican army and using it to blackmail a town.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1973 Euro Western "The Man Called Noon", based on the novel by Louis L'Amour. The film was produced by Euan Lloyd, who had previously brought L'Amour's novel "Shalako" to the screen in 1968 starring Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot and an impressive supporting cast. "Noon" is no "Shalako". It's more in line with Lloyd's filmed production of L'Amour's "Catlow", which was released in 1971 (i.e instantly forgettable). Like so many Westerns of the era, it's a strange hybrid production top-lining well-known American stars with a supporting cast of European actors. The result is a reasonably entertaining but completely unremarkable horse opera that plays out with a familiarity akin to that of the well-trod shooting locations in and around Almeria, Spain. Richard Crenna, in a rare top-billed role in an action flick, plays the titular character, Rubal Noon, a notorious gunslinger. In the film's opening minutes he narrowly escapes an assassination attempt but is wounded in the process and, in that tried and true movie cliche, loses his memory. He doesn't remember who he is or why anyone tried to kill him. He is befriended by a shady saddle tramp, Rimes (Stephen Boyd), who informs him that he's wanted by the law and a virtual army of killers is after him. Rimes takes Noon to a ranch that serves as an outlaw hideout. It's owned by Fan Davidge (Rosanna Schiaffano), who has been kept captive on the ranch by the outlaws and forced to serve as their leader's mistress. Within seconds of meeting, Noon and Fan begin making goo-goo eyes at each other and we know that can only lead to trouble. It's at this point that the screenplay by Scot Finch becomes overly convoluted almost to the point of parody. A long series of facts and clues are presented to Noon that gradually help him discover his motivations and why so many people are after him. The jumbled explanations have something to do with avenging the deaths of loved ones and having knowledge of a secret cache of buried gold.  However, by the time all of this is explained, there is no "A-ha!" moment of revelation. Instead, one just sits and ponders the long string of characters, names and confusing plot developments. On several occasions I backtracked on the Blu-ray disc, thinking I overlooked some obvious information but it still seemed like a confusing mess so I just gave up, sat back and enjoyed the frequent action sequences. Crenna does well enough in an undemanding, completely humorless role. The few moments of levity are provided by Boyd, who plays a character of dubious allegiance. Farley Granger shows up as a bad guy and Schiaffano is as lovely as ever, but the characters are poorly defined and the most impressive aspect of the movie are the well-staged stunts courtesy of  legendary arranger Bob Simmons, who devised some of the best fight scenes in the James Bond series. Luis Bacalov provides the sometimes impressive requisite Morricone-like score. The finale of the movie finds the heroes holed up in a burning cabin surrounded by an army of antagonists. The scenario is similar to that in John Huston's "The Unforgiven" but with far less credibility. (Noon's method of terminating Granger's character is downright absurd.) The film was directed by Peter Collinson, who had shown great innovation and skill with his 1969 version of "The Italian Job". Not many of those skills are on view in "The Man Called Noon", which Collinson directed in a manner best described as workmanlike. Sadly, the young director never fulfilled his potential and ended up directing mid-range and mediocre fare before passing away in 1980 at only 44 years of age. 

The Blu-ray from Kino Lorber has a crisp, clean transfer. There is a bonus trailer gallery that includes other Westerns available from the company including "Duel at Diablo", "Billy Two Hats", "Barquero", "The Spikes Gang" and "Navajo Joe".  

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

By Todd Garbarini

William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A., which opened on Friday, November 1, 1985 to lukewarm notices and underwhelming box office despite being championed by Roger Ebert’s four-star review, is a highly stylized, dark, and uncompromising crime thriller that boasts a then-unknown cast with a story and a pace that feels more suited to the 1970’s. It also contains what I consider to be the greatest car chase ever filmed and edited for a major motion picture, which took no less than five weeks to plan and shoot. Having seen Mr. Friedkin’s brilliant East Coast police thriller The French Connection (1971) on VHS in 1986, I made it a point the following year to catch up with his West Coast-based story of a Secret Service agent, Richard Chance (William Petersen), whose best friend and partner Jim Hart (Michael Greene) has been murdered by artist/currency counterfeiter Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe). Chance has one goal: put Masters away for life with no regard for how he has to do it. Truthfully, he would prefer to kill him. This causes problems for his new partner John Vukovich (John Pankow) who comes from a family of law enforcement officers and wants to do things by the book. Vukovich’s patience and unwillingness to go outside the boundaries of acceptability is tested when: Chance surreptitiously removes crucial evidence from a crime scene in order to get to Masters; springs a prisoner friend (John Turturro) of Masters without Vukovich’s knowledge to get him to testify; and most notably forces Vukovich to go along with a plan to obtain cash needed to get closer to Masters while nearly dying in what is arguably the cinema’s most exciting getaway car chase sequence. What makes the chase work so well is that it’s physical, it’s possible (though highly improbable), and it’s not done in a Fast and the Furious, over-the-top sort of way. It also comes as a result of a plot point and isn’t just there for the sake of having a chase scene. Chance also beds a willing parolee (Darlanne Fluegel) who gives him information on current convicts in order to provide for herself and her son Christopher.

Despite the intricate plot and the phenomenal car chase, I initially didn’t like the film. The mixture of Eighties-style pop music by Wang Chung (which turned me off, but I now feel fits the movie like a glove) and disreputable characters were off-putting, but subsequent viewings gave me a change of heart and I now feel that this is the last truly great film directed by Mr. Friedkin. Like the inexorable Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (he will stop at nothing to put drug dealers and users away), Chance will stop at nothing to stop and punish Masters. The difference between the two films is that the former paints Brooklyn and New York City as gritty and almost despairing cities whereas the latter bathes the frame in a Los Angeles that we have not seen before. While also gritty, grimy and dark, this is a Los Angeles that is also highly glossy and beautiful, with beautiful people who are about as real as the counterfeit bills that Masters manufactures. This is the overall theme of To Live and Die in L.A. which is to say that it’s about fraudulence. People use each other for their own personal gains. Masters is an artist but hates what he paints and burns his work in frustration. Since he cannot find joy or satisfaction in his own originality, he resorts to copying others, in this case $20, $50, and $100 bills in a procedure that is painstaking and difficult.

Like The French Connection, To Live and Die in LA is also based on a novel of the same name, this one written by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich. What makes the film almost remarkable is the opening sequence which features a martyr who shouts “Allahu Akbar” while blowing himself up on the roof a hotel where President Reagan is giving a speech. This scene made little sense to me 29 years ago, but is eerily prescient of the world that we unfortunately live in today.

The performances are excellent all around. William Petersen, whose film debut was as a bar bouncer in Michael Mann’s Thief (1981), is terrific as Rick Chance and plays him as a daredevil whose cowboy nature makes him a dangerous person to be around. This is established in an early sequence wherein Chance bungee jumps off of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, CA. In addition to the martyr sequence, this could also be one of the earliest instances of this now highly popular activity showing up in a major motion picture. John Pankow is also quite good as Chance’s conflicted partner. The stand-out is Willem Dafoe as Masters, whose icy expressions and demeanor can change on a moment’s notice without warning. Darlanne Fluegel is mysterious as Chance’s muse; I first saw her in Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). Debra Feuer is striking as Masters’ girlfriend and confidante. Dean Stockwell is great as Masters’ lawyer. You can almost see him prepping himself for the role of Ben in David Lynch’s masterful Blue Velvet the following year. Steve James is an actor I always liked ever since I first saw him in the “Night Vigil” episode of T.J. Hooker in 1984. He started in the industry as a stunt man in films such as The Wiz, The Wanderers, The Warriors, Dressed to Kill, and He Knows You’re Alone prior to onscreen acting. Here he plays Jeff, one of Masters’ clients and his performance, though small, shines. He also appeared in the William Friedkin TV-movie C.A.T. Squad in 1986, which was also written by Mr. Petievich. His premature death in 1993 from what is rumored to be the medical treatment that he received after a cancer diagnosis is a tremendous loss to the entertainment industry.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Mad Max fans will have something to put atop their holiday gift lists with the Mad Max High Octane Collection, debuting December 6 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE). All four films from visionary director George Miller’s blockbuster sci-fi franchise -- Mad Max (1979); Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981); Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985); and MadMax: Fury Road (2015), now with Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky -- are together in one collection.

The Mad Max High Octane Collection is available to own in both Blu-ray ($79.99 SRP) and DVD ($54.97 SRP) versions. Both collections include the four films and five hours of bonus content, including the visually stunning Mad Max: Fury Road “Black & Chrome” Edition. The Blu-ray collection will also include a 4K-Ultra HD version and a UV Digital Copy of Mad Max: Fury Road.

The Mad Max: Fury Road “Black & Chrome Edition” will also be available on Blu-ray 
($29.98 SRP) in a two film collection including the theatrical version of the film and a special introduction by George Miller describing his vision.

High Octane Collection Special Features and Additions:

 NEW! *Fury Road “Black & Chrome” Edition â€“ Witness the surreal black and white version of mastermind George Miller’s Fury Road.

 NEW! *George Miller Introduction to the Mad Max Fury Road: Black and Chrome Edition â€“ Special introductory piece by George Miller describing his vision.

NEW! Road War â€“ In 1982, the world was blindsided by George Miller’s masterpiece of apocalyptic destruction: The Road Warrior.  For the first time ever George Miller, Terry Hayes and star Mel Gibson tell the story of the car-crushing production that redefined action cinema forever.  

Madness of Max â€“ The previously released Mad Max (1979) documentary is a feature-length documentary on the making of arguably the most influential movie of the past thirty years. With over forty cast-and-crew interviews, hundreds of behind-the-scenes photographs and never-before-seen film footage of the shoot, this is, without a doubt, the last word on Mad Max (1979). Interviews include: George Miller, Byron Kennedy, Mel Gibson, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Roger Ward, Joanne Samuel, David Eggby, Jon Dowding and many more. From the Producers to the Bike Designers to the Traffic Stoppers, this is the story of how Mad Max was made.

Mad Max: Fury Road Two Film Collection

Special Features and Additions:

NEW! *George Miller Introduction to the Mad Max Fury Road: Black and Chrome Edition â€“ Special introductory piece by George Miller describing his vision.

About The Films

Mad Max (1979)

George Miller's first entry in the trilogy, Mad Max packs brutal action and insane stunts as it follows the inevitable downfall of relentless cop Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) in a world gone mad. Living on the edge of an apocalypse, Max is ready to run far away from it all with his family. But when he experiences an unfortunate encounter with a motorcycle gang and its menacing leader, the Toecutter, his retreat from the madness of the world is now a race to save his family's life.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982)

The sequel to Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior provides action-packed “automotive” entertainment, telling the story of a selfish-turned-selfless hero and his efforts to protect a small camp of desert survivors and defend an oil refinery under siege from a ferocious marauding horde that plunders the land for gasoline.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mel Gibson returns for his third go-round as the title hero who takes on the barbarians of the post-nuclear future - and this time becomes the savior of a tribe of lost children. Music superstar Tina Turner co-stars as Aunty Entity, a power-mad dominatrix determined to use Max to tighten her stranglehold on Bartertown, where fresh water, clean food and gasoline are worth more than gold.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max (Tom Hardy) believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa (Charlize Theron). They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON AND SAVE $$$!

By Todd Garbarini

Directors Joe Dante (1984’s Gremlins) and Allan Arkush (1979’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School) cut their teeth in Hollywood putting together trailers for Roger Corman films in the early 1970s and got the idea to make their own film by piecing together stock footage from other Corman pics and shooting a story around the clips. Armed with $55,000 from Mr. Corman, Hollywood Boulevard is the result. Released in 1976 on a smattering of screens, Hollywood Boulevard is a charming and entertaining send-up of Hollywood filmmaking which stars the incomparable (and sadly, the late) Candice Rialson as Candy Wednesday, a fresh-off-the-bus naïve blonde who, at the ripe old age of twenty-four, wants to be an actress and walks straight into the office of agent Walter Paisley (Dick Miller). His advice to just go out and walk the streets and be seen is taken quite literally, and she finds herself suckered into the middle of a bank robbery while assuming that it’s a movie being shot (that old gag!). It takes Candy some time to see through the bank robber’s real intent, but amazingly it does not seem to faze or dissuade her from getting into showbiz. Eventually she manages to hook up with a ragtag group of performers who work for Miracle Pictures – their motto is “If it’s a good movie, it’s a miracle!” They are making a film called Machete Maidens of Mora Tau II, which is directed by a campy and pretentious director named Erich Von Leppe (Paul Bartel) who orders around his leading lady (Mary Woronov). Unfortunately for her, she is replacing an actress who died on the set while Machete Maidens was being shot! Could the same fate befall her? Candy, now doing stunts for Miracle Pictures, catches the attention of Patrick (Jeffrey Kramer of Jaws), a writer, and they begin a passionate affair while making films. A series of misadventures follows when the crew goes to the Philippines to shoot. There is a hilarious bit where Candy, Walter, and Patrick view their finished product at the old Gilmore Drive-In in Los Angeles. Candy eventually becomes a glamourous film star and Patrick a successful screenwriter.

Hollywood Boulevard was shot in August 1975 in Los Angeles over a period of ten days(!) and is a film clearly love sonnet to the industry. There are street shots of Grauman’s Chinese Theater (Ovidio G. Assonitis and Robert Barrett’s Beyond the Door is on the marquee!), while another theatre boasts Jaws and Dog Day Afternoon. Can you imagine that there was a time in this country when you could go a theatre and these two films would be playing at the same time? Try finding any theatre nowadays boasting films half the caliber of these two titles. The Pussycat Theater offers Fred Donaldson’s Sometime Sweet Susan to those adventurous enough to head through the doors (Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver was being filmed during the same time in New York City and Susan is on a marquee in that film, too). The film is loaded with silly action that the low budget would allow and ADR-looped lines abound.

Scorpion Releasing has done a wonderful job of transferring Hollywood Boulevard. With the exception of two brief streaks down the left side of the frame early on the transfer, the 2K scan of the film’s inter-positive is a revelation, easily the best the film has ever looked. There are some nice extras on this edition, which is limited to 1,500 copies: the feature-length commentary with directors Joe Dante and Allan Arkush and producer Jon Davison has been ported over from the 2001 DVD release. Even if you are not a fan of the film (how can you not be?!), the commentary is worth the price of the Blu-ray alone as it has a terrific insight into the manner in which low budget filmmaking at New World Pictures was done in the 1970s. Director Dante is very engaging and hilarious to listen to, recalling with amazing swiftness which films the scenes were culled from, and funny anecdotes about the scenes and how and when they were shot.

There are also a handful of brand new on-screen interviews with:

Joe Dante (15:26) He quite correctly points out that despite the fact that more movies are available for viewing now than ever before, younger audiences don’t know about these films (foreign and the like) because they haven’t been exposed to them.

Allan Arkush and Jon Davison (15:23) are very funny to listen to, discussing how they came to direct and produce respectively Hollywood Boulevard and how they met Jeffrey Kramer and came to cast him.

Mary Woronov (11:18) speaks zealously about her time working for New World Pictures.

Roger Corman (7:00) reiterates how little money it took to make the film and how much he genuinely loves it.

Jeffrey Kramer (13:16) gets a decent amount of screen time here, reminiscing about his early days in the film industry, and tells a very funning anecdote about the premiere of his TV series Struck by Lightning in which he co-starred with Jack Elam. I liked this show which debuted on Wednesday, September 19, 1979, but I was also ten years-old, and after a total of three episodes it was cancelled due to low ratings.

Miller Drake (3:30) was the assistant cameraman and talks about the perils of shooting up near the Hollywood sign.

The Blu-ray also contains the original theatrical trailer and an edition of Dante’s popular Trailers From Hell.

I would have loved to have seen a tribute to the late actress Candice Rialson, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 54 from liver disease. She appeared in Raphael Nussbaum’s controversial exploitation/social commentary film Pets in 1973, the 1974 movie-of-the-week The Girl on the Late, Late Show and a series of three exploitation films, Candy Stripe Nurses, Mama’s Dirty Girls, and Summer School Teachers, all in 1974. She was a real trouper and is spoken of highly by Jeffrey Kramer as a kind and funny person. She is deserving of her own documentary.

Machete Maidens of Mora Tau II is a film that I really want to see, and it would have been wonderful if it was actually made (a la Machete (2010) being born from Grindhouse (2007).

Watching Hollywood Boulevard again suddenly made me think of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), with Naomi Watts’s wide-eyed Betty leaving the parking lot of LAX to “make it in the movies”. Candice Rialson was a wonderful film personality and truly deserved to go on and enjoy success in the Dream Factory.

(Note: this title appears to have sold out quickly though some dealers on eBay are offering it.) 

BY FRED BLOSSER

French gangster movies about mobs, molls, and ingenious but ill-fated heists enjoyed a big vogue in Europe in the 1950s and early 1960s, especially after the success of Jules Dassin’s stylish “Du Rififi chez Les Hommes” in 1955.  Opening here a year later in an edited, subtitled print as “Rififi,” Dassin’s picture drew a small but appreciative audience of critics and foreign-film fans, and became a perennial favorite in American art houses, repertory theaters, and film schools.    

This was a rare example of a “policier,” as French audiences called them, gaining any critical and commercial notice on these shores even remotely comparable to their popularity abroad.  Although the genre owed a clear debt to classic American crime films, it fell victim here, like nearly every other cinema import from abroad, to a homegrown bias against dubbed or subtitled foreign films in that more insular era of American popular culture. The vast demographic of moviegoers in small-town America tended to be wary of movies that they had to read as well as watch, or those in which stilted dialogue came out of unfamiliar actors’ mouths in interchangeable voices that didn’t match the movements of their lips. If you were a crime-movie enthusiast, you already had plenty of domestic product to choose from, anyway, thanks to a wave of violent, “fact-based” programmers like “The Bonnie Parker Story” (1958) and “Al Capone” (1959) that U.S. studios released in the wake of high ratings for TV’s “The Untouchables.”

The policiers that crossed the Atlantic, if they made it at all, were likely to be relegated to marginal, second-run theaters, alongside nudies and exploitation pictures. Newspaper ads and posters played up the sexier, grittier aspects of the films as lurid entertainment “for adults only.” For example, the blurbs on the posters for “Doulos, the Finger Man,” a subtitled 1964 edit of Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Doulos” (1963), proclaimed: “Raw, Savage, Shocking” -- “So ruthless, untamed women would do anything for him . . . and did!”  In these days of graphic internet porn, what may have been “shocking” 50 years ago now looks quaintly tame. Actual nude scenes in the original European prints, which were modest to begin with by today’s standards, were trimmed out of the American versions in deference to anti-obscenity laws. The sensual content that remained would hardly cause a stir in today’s climate, but it was provocative for its era, when married couples on TV had to be shown sleeping in modest PJs in twin beds, if they were shown in the bedroom at all.

The advertising strategy of implied sex turned a quick buck for distributors who had little chance of seeing the policiers accepted by mainstream ticket-buyers. However, the films’ reputation suffered in the larger court of public opinion. Middlebrow critics snubbed them as sordid trash, almost beneath their notice. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther, for example, dismissed the Melville film as “talkative and tiresome,” and seemed personally offended by the “mean and disagreeable” title character portrayed by Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Things have changed greatly since then. Younger generations of critics, less bothered by disagreeable characters than Crowther was, have revisited the policiers and found them worthy of serious discussion. Thanks to DVD, Blu-ray, streaming video, and cable movie networks, a wider audience in middle America has a chance to see the films in their original form, and they’re more likely to be receptive to foreign productions than their grandparents in the Ike era. Several policiers, including “Le Doulos” and nearly all of Melville’s other pictures, are available in restored DVD and Blu-ray editions with classy packaging. However, other policiers of arguably equal merit remain missing in action on U.S. home video, even on the collector’s market, notably Alex Joffé’s 1959 production, “Du Rififi Chez Les Femmes” (1959).

As the title suggests, Joffé’s film shares a bloodline with Jules Dassin’s better known classic. Both were based on novels by French crime writer Auguste Le Breton, who claimed that “rififi” was criminal slang that he had picked up from real underworld acquaintances in the hangouts of Montmartre and Pigalle, meaning something like “melee” or “rumble.” Le Breton co-authored the script for the Joffé movie.

Some critics have questioned whether Le Breton was telling the truth about his gangland connections, and suspect that he coined the term “rififi” himself. Dassin said he was disturbed by racist implications in the word, since Le Breton asserted that it referred to the violent characteristics of Parisian gangs made up of North African immigrants from the Rif area of Morocco. Accordingly, in the film version of “Du Rififi chez Les Hommes,” Dassin downplayed the ethnicity of his characters. Sort of a Mickey Spillane of France, Le Breton became a popular celebrity after the success of “Du Rififi chez Les Hommes” and made a lot of money writing about hoods and tough guys. Many of his novels were branded with “rififi” in their titles, but aside from certain shared themes and plot elements, the books were unrelated to each other.

In “Du Rififi Chez Les Femmes” (in my rough English translation, “The Girls Mix It Up”), underworld entrepreneur Vicky de Berlin (Nadja Tiller) owns a popular floating nightclub, the “Ration K,” on the Senne River in Brussels. Characteristically for Le Breton’s criminal figures, Vicky’s surname isn’t necessarily her real family name, just a nickname referring to the city where she came from. (In “Du Rififi chez Les Hommes,” the ringleader of the story’s audacious jewel robbery, played by Jean Servais in the movie, was Tony Le Stéphanois: “Stéphanois” being a colloquialism for someone from the French town of Saint Etienne.) Vicky’s troubled past as a displaced Berliner is suggested by a photograph of her father on the desk in her private office, a German officer wearing the Iron Cross. The name of her club implies that she might have made her first money dealing surplus or stolen U.S. Army rations on the black market after World War II.

“THE GLASSES IN MANHATTAN”

By Raymond Benson

This is the third excellent release of a Harold Lloyd film by The Criterion Collection and it’s a welcome addition to sit on the shelf along with the previous two (Safety Last! and The Freshman). I mentioned in a review of one of the previous releases how wonderful it was that Criterion was re-issuing Lloyd’s catalog. Most of his work had been unavailable for many years; I grew up with Chaplin and Keaton, of course, but with Lloyd, not so much. It’s a pleasure to discover him in this way.

Speedy was Lloyd’s final silent film, released in 1928. Although he usually made his pictures in Hollywood, this time he wanted to shoot in New York City. Bruce Goldstein, director of repertory programming at New York’s Film Forum, explains in an interesting supplement, “In the Footsteps of Speedy,” that Lloyd took his leading lady Ann Christy and canine co-star King Tut on the railroad across country to make the movie. Quite a bit was shot there, but in the end, though, nearly half the picture was also made on the streets of Los Angeles, doubling for New York—and the matching up is sometimes not very convincing. Still, it’s revelatory to see New York as it was in 1928—Times Square, Washington Square, Sheridan Square, Brooklyn and Coney Island—it’s all here, exactly the way it was. The establishing shot for Manhattan was that of the Woolworth Building, because at the time that was the tallest and most famous structure! Fascinating stuff.

The story concerns Pop Dillon’s horse-drawn streetcar, the last one of its kind in the big city, the tracks of which the railroad baron wants to demolish to make way for progress. Pop’s daughter Jane (Christy) is engaged to Harold “Speedy” Swift (Lloyd), who takes it upon himself to make sure Pop’s livelihood isn’t taken away or at least insure that he’s fairly compensated. Why Harold is nicknamed “Speedy” is not really clear... he’s the usual “Glasses” character—naive, enthusiastic, positive—who works at one job and then another, happily trying to make ends meet so he can marry Jane.

Much of the movie is a sightseeing tour of New York—the Coney Island scenes are especially enjoyable, since Speedy and Jane ride many of the classic attractions that don’t exist anymore. King Tut, the stray dog who picks Speedy to be his master, is adept at many tricks and serves as a terrific little sidekick.

The biggest draw, though, at the time of the film’s release, was the appearance of Babe Ruth in a minor role as himself. Speedy is a baseball enthusiast—a plot point that never really amounts to much—and he has a chance to give the Babe a ride in his taxi (Speedy’s current job). The Babe invites Speedy to see the game at Yankee Stadium, where our hero is able to avoid the cops who are after him for traffic tickets. Babe Ruth had already appeared in a couple of films, in one as himself and in another, a work of fiction called Babe Comes Home, as a baseball player very much like himself. Speedy came at the right time—1928 was the second year in a row the Yankees won the World Series.

Speedy is certainly good fun, although for my money I think both Safety Last! and The Freshman are better pictures. There are plenty of chases and slapstick bits, but the “thrill” stunts Lloyd is known for are not in this one. Here’s hoping Criterion continues its releases of Harold Lloyd classics, especially Grandma’s Boy, Girl Shy, and The Kid Brother.

The movie looks terrific in a new 4K digital restoration from elements preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive; there’s a musical score by Carl Davis from 1992, synchronized and restored and presented in uncompressed stereo (and it sounds great!). A new audio commentary is by Goldstein (see above) and Turner Classic Movies director of program production Scott McGee. In addition to the Goldstein documentary mentioned earlier, there is a selection of rare archival footage of Babe Ruth, presented by David Filipi, director of film and video at the Wexner Center for the Arts. A new video essay featuring stills from deleted scenes is narrated by Goldstein. There’s also a cute collection of Harold Lloyd’s home movies, narrated by his granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, as well as a newly restored Lloyd short from 1919—Bumping Into Broadway, with a 2004 score by Robert Israel. The booklet contains an essay by critic Phillip Lopate.

A must-buy for fans of silent comedy and for those who want to enrich their lives with the genius of Harold Lloyd.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

BY FRED BLOSSER 

Life moves at warp speed these days.  Almost overnight, cutting-edge in arts and technology becomes old-school.  

It seems like only yesterday that the Hong Kong movies of Jackie Chan and John Woo were the big new flavor in action cinema, and laser disc was the medium of choice for upscale home theater.  In reality, it’s more like yesteryear, and at that, nearly two decades of yesteryears.  

How many of today’s kids under 20 would you have to ask before you found one who’s seen a Jackie Chan film?  How many have even heard of laser disc, let alone loaded one of those unwieldy LP-sized platters into an equally clunky player?

These nostalgic if chilling thoughts occurred to me when, recently, I browsed through an old issue of “Mystery Scene” magazine and came across a review I’d written back in the day.  The topic was Jackie Chan, and more specifically, the availability of Jackie’s Hong Kong-made, martial-arts police movies on U.S. digital home video.  At the time I wrote the review in late 1998, laser disc was already in defensive posture against the rapid growth of the more affordable, more physically convenient DVD format.  By the time it appeared in print in 2000, DVD had taken over the digital market.  Shortly, it would supplant VHS as the dominant home-video product.  

In the review, I sorted out the Chan titles then on American DVD from those that remained available domestically only on laser.  Most of it is badly outdated now.  However, I believe that one observation remains true: on authorized American VHS and DVD editions (and more recently, Blu-ray), you can only find Jackie’s arguably best HK police caper, “Police Story 3,” directed by Stanley Tong, in the dubbed, edited version released to U.S. theaters by Miramax’s Dimension Films in 1996 as “Supercop.” 

For U.S. moviegoers, Dimension deleted some 10 minutes of the original HK version, inserted spastic opening credits, replaced the original Cantonese voice track with an English dub, and added new music tracks, including hip-hop in some scenes and “Kung Fu Fighting” over the end blooper reel.  “Kung Fu Fighting” was an OK Tom Jones remake, not the vastly superior, wonderfully cheesy 1974 Carl Douglas original.

A few months after the theatrical release, “Supercop” moved to American VHS and DVD on Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and to laser disc from the prestigious Criterion Collection.  Of them all, the only American edition that included the original Cantonese soundtrack as an audio option, and the only one that included the five scenes excised by Dimension, was the 1997 laser disc.    

As I noted in the “Mystery Scene” review, Jackie’s character in the movie was Officer Kevin Chan of the Hong Kong Police Department (in the HK original, Chan Ka-Kui), continued over from the first two “Police Story” films.  Kevin is teamed with a Mainland Chinese officer, Inspector Hannah (in the original Cantonese track, Inspector Wah), to infiltrate  an international drug cartel led by kingpin Chaibat (Ken Tsang).  To do so, they have to bust Chaibat’s brother, Panther (Wah Yuen), out of a Chinese labor camp.  Then, accepted into the gang, they accompany the gangsters to Cambodia, where Chaibat closes a heroin deal, and after that to Malaysia.  In Kuala Lampur, the kingpin intends to break his wife out of jail before the authorities can force her to reveal the code to Chaibat’s offshore bank account.

Jackie is well matched with Michelle Yeoh (then billed as Michelle Khan) playing Hannah, and Maggie Cheung as Kevin’s sweetheart May.  Cheung’s character was also carried over from the two prior movies. There’s a rather simplistic but funny complication when May catches Kevin in Hannah’s company at a vacation resort in Kuala Lampur.  Not knowing that her boyfriend is on an undercover assignment, she assumes he’s cheating on her.  It’s the kind of contrivance that dates back at least as far as silent movies, if not to Shakespeare.  But Cheung is cute, the physical comedy is well timed by Tong, and the set-up isn’t much more primitive than the twists you’d see in a 2015 chick flick.

Yeoh, a truly awesome beauty, has wonderful comedy timing of her own, great rapport with Jackie, fluid grace in the martial arts fights, and remarkable gumption in doing many of her own stunts.  In one wince-inducing outtake in the blooper reel, Yeoh misses her grip as she drops onto a moving sports car, tumbling backward onto the street as car and camera speed away.  All of the action in the movie has this visceral immediacy, which movies largely have lost in the past decade with CGI effects and ADHD editing.    

It’s easy to guess why one scene from “Police Story 3” was removed in the editing as potentially offensive for American audiences.  A snickering Chinese punk helps a couple of Caucasian teeny-boppers shoot up with heroin.  One of the girls dies -- offscreen -- from an overdose.  Chaibat suggests that the corpse be used to smuggle a cache of smack past customs.  “Waste utilization,” he cackles.  Even without this callous bit, the American cut retains enough gun mayhem and blood squibs to earn an “R” rating, a rarity in the Chan movies tooled for the U.S. market, which typically earned the family friendlier PG-13.

On the Criterion laser disc, the five deleted scenes were added at the end of the disc as a supplemental chapter, not re-integrated into the “Supercop” cut.  The laser disc also benefitted from appreciative back-sleeve notes by film critic Dave Kehr.  A 2009 DVD reissue under the Weinstein Brothers’ Dragon Dynasty label restored the Cantonese voice track as an audio option, along with supplemental interviews, “making of” shorts, and an audio commentary by a kung fu movie expert, but the deleted scenes remained MIA.  Reviews suggest that a more recent Blu-ray edition from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment lacks any supplements, not even a Cantonese voice track.  

So, for a full package, the obsessive collector may want to get the 2009 DVD and the Criterion Collection laser disc (available cheap from online dealers), assuming he has one of the antique players lying around.  Another option -- ordering the original “Police Story 3” on Blu-ray or DVD from import dealers.  Online marketing has made it tremendously easier for U.S. collectors to obtain overseas videos today than 20 years ago.

BY DAVE WORRALL

No spoilers

The hallmark of any James Bond film has been the opening gun barrel sequence. It sets the tone for what's to come, and always sends a shiver up the spine in anticipation of what is about to unfold. However, since Die Another Day this tradition has been revoked and (much to the annoyance of millions of fans around the world) relegated to the end of the films. Not with SPECTRE. It is now back in its rightful place. Yes, folks, James Bond is back - and how. The customary pre-title sequence is a stunner, and quite violent. There's no messing around. A lot of people die in this film.

Once again, Sam Mendes has brought us a film full of excitement, tension and sexuality that retains a freshness and vitality in a similar vein to what he did with Skyfall. Although there are many spectacular chases and set pieces (the stunts and SFX by regulars Gary Powell and Chris Corbould, are well up to standard), Mendes maintains a sense of reality and plausibility, even though there are visual 'nods' to the films of the past. It's clever, but not pastiche. There is just the right level of humour, too, which Craig handles really well. Refreshingly, I didn't once notice any over-the-top references to products either!

The casting is impeccable, and Craig, as usual, is superb. This really is his film. Christoph Waltz makes for a perfect villain - a complex character who is equal (or even superior) to Bond, which is as it should always be. As for the "Bond Ladies", Mendes has triumphed once more. Monica Bellucci, who is mature in her years, is (for me) the sexiest woman to ever grace Bond's on-screen adventures. Then again, I've always been a sucker for a woman in a basque and stockings and suspenders. Sadly, her part is woefully short. Lea Seydoux is equally engaging and attractive, but not in a drop-dead-gorgeous superficial way that we have come to expect from earlier Bond films, and thankfully her character is integral to the plot, and not just eye candy. David Bautista, who I assume the producers wanted on board as an Oddjob-type villain, does an admirable job, and has a sinister and mean on-screen presence, although his role was totally unnecessary. Likewise, all the ballyhoo surrounding Bond's Aston Martin DB10 was wasted on me. The chase through the streets of Rome is not one of the series best by any measure. Mi6 'regulars' Ralph Fiennes, Ben Wishaw and Naomie Harris really come to the fore in this film, but I cannot comment further without revealing plot details!

On the technical front, the cinematography by Hoyte van Hoyetema (shot on 35mm film, not digital) is as good as Roger Deakins' efforts on Skyfall, and the vistas of Rome, Mexico, Austria and Morocco looking stunning. London also plays a major 'role' in the exciting finale where Bond races against the clock whilst dealing with ghosts from the past. Brilliant! Editor Lee Smith (director Chris Nolan's regular cutter) has creatively paced the film , and easily justifies the film's 148 minutes running time, which seemed to fly by.

Finally, the music. Sam Mendes' composer of choice, Thomas Newman, returns. Whilst his score for Skyfall was excellent, he didn't 'arrange' enough subtle cues of the James Bond theme throughout. This time around he rectifies that, with a superb score that also revisits Skyfall as well as using an instrumental rendition of Sam Smith's title song 'The Writing's on the Wall' .

So there you have it. Mendes' second Bond film, the 24th in the series, is top-notch entertainment that will thrill audiences around the world - and also please the 'die hard' OO7 buffs who are so critical of their favourite secret agent's on-screen antics. Oh, and there is a 'money shot' at the end of the film which totally threw me. I'm still reeling.

By Mark Cerulli

Thirty years after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome seemingly ended the Australian post apocalypse triptych, director George Miller is back, with a vengeance (and a much bigger budget). The result could have been an overdone, bloated production, loaded with CGI and soft on any real thrills… instead Miller has created a masterpiece that significantly raises the bar of action filmmaking.

Where to begin? From the opening sequence when Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) surveys a vast desert wasteland while eating a mutant lizard that wandered too close, you know this ain’t your daddy’s Mad Max. The film explodes from there – Max is captured by a gang of “War Boys” run by a terrifying character named Immortan Joe, his face hidden behind a ghastly breathing mask complete with teeth. Joe is played by Hugh Keys-Byrne who starred as Toe Cutter in the original Mad Max. The actor has bulked up and gone gray, but lost none of his swaggering menace. Our Max is quickly put to use as a living blood donor for an ailing warrior named Nux (Nicholas Hoult). Max’s life seems grim and short until he makes a daring escape, joining up with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who has just committed the most unforgivable of sins – stealing from Immortan Joe. And she didn’t just drive off with treasure or gasoline, she’s taken his very future – his five alluring slave wives, one of whom is carrying his child. You can bet he’ll unleash the hounds of automotive hell to get them back!

The film cleverly blends the best of the first three movies – snippets of Max’s personal tragedy, the hulking villain from 1982’s Road Warrior and a bit of Bartertown, resulting in a full throttle chase through the irradiated wasteland. Gradually Max and Furiousa learn to trust each other, but that’s as warm and fuzzy as the movie gets – there’s just no time for more. In fact, if Max has more than one page of dialogue in the entire film, I’d be surprised. What there IS time for, is an array of mind-bending stunts as they flee Immortan Joe’s forces, pursuing them in a fleet of devilishly souped-up vehicles. Throw in the hostile, opportunistic tribes roaming the wasteland and death is literally waiting around every curve. In terms of pacing, the director really puts the hammer down, so it’s relentless… and best of all, Miller did everything “Old School.” Real stunts, flying stuntmen, honest to gawd car crashes and glorious explosions, all played out against a white hot sky and muted red earth. (The film was shot off the grid in the Namibian desert when the Australian outback appeared too forgiving.)

While many of today’s releases can be enjoyed on DVD or any of the over the top services now available, Mad Max: Fury Road MUST be seen in a theater and with an audience. Guaranteed, there won’t be the usual multiplex hassles of conversation or texting – all eyes will be glued to the screen. (The preview audience I saw it with actually applauded various action sequences, a real rarity.)

We all love old movies and constantly lament, “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.” This time they did, and Lord Humongous would approve!

Mad Max: Fury Road Opens May 15^th from Warner Bros.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Actor Hugh O’Brian became an icon of American television through his long-running series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp”. O’Brian also became a popular fixture in feature films as well as stage productions. At age 90, he’s still going strong. His autobiography “Hugh O’Brian  or What’s Left of Him” has just been published and his Hugh O’Brian Youth leadership group is continuing to inspire American teenagers to become productive adults. Additionally, O’Brian has been promoting the SFM Entertainment’s release of “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp: The Complete Series” on DVD.

We caught up with O’Brian recently for a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. O’Brian’s wife Virginia, who co-authored his autobiography, also contributed some anecdotes. Hugh O’Brian possesses a marvelous sense of humor and makes self-deprecating jokes at the drop of hat. However, the main characteristic that comes across is that he is a true class act.

Cinema Retro: Can you give us some background on how you became involved in “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp”?

Hugh O’Brian: I really was a fan of Wyatt Earp before I got the role. I was in the Marine Corps and before my time, he had spent some time in the San Diego area. Every two or three weeks, he would go over to the Marine Corps base , which is where I enlisted in 1943 when I was seventeen years old.

CR: You ended up being named the youngest drill instructor that the Marine Corps ever had…

HO: Yes, they made me a drill instructor at age seventeen. I don’t know if you’ve ever met any drill instructors, but it would be very difficult for any of them to believe that. My grandfather was a Marine and my dad was a Marine. He worked for a company called Armstrong Cork. Cork, at the time, was the main thing you would use for insulation in homes and so forth. Dad became the captain in charge of the Marine Corps in the Chicago area and he made a wonderful recruiting effort there. Every summer from the time that I was four, I would go with my dad for the two week training period up at Great Lakes, Wisconsin. I had my own little pup tent and so you could say I was involved with the Marines since the age of four. Anyway, Wyatt Earp loved the Marine Corps because of the discipline and what they stood for. There was a guy by the name of Stuart Lake, who wrote the book on Wyatt (“Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshall”- Ed.) I made a point of meeting him. He became very became very instrumental in my finally getting the role of Wyatt. He liked the fact that I did all my own stunts, which was a stupid thing to do! On one film I had done, I jumped off the roof of a 36 story office building in New York City. These guys with guns were chasing me I broke loose and there was only one way to go: up. They were following me and I went over to the edge and as they came towards me, I went over backwards and came through a window below. There wasn’t any way you could practice that! I did my own stunts, not because of ego or anything like that, but because when you look at a film or a TV show, they usually have a stunt man or a double to do the fight scenes. I insisted from the very beginning that, while obviously they could lay out action scenes so they could get paid, but I would do the stunts myself. It helped the filming tremendously because they didn’t have to cut to a longer shot in which they would have used a double. If there was something that I thought was much too risky, then, of course, I would let the stuntman do it. I think appreciated the fact that I tried to do my own stunts. It was like Wyatt Earp being alive and doing it.

BY ROD BARNETT

As anyone with any knowledge of the history of film could tell you, Bruce Lee is an icon of both the worlds of martial arts and action cinema. He was a dynamic and exciting performer who seemed born to be on the big screen. His untimely death -just as his career was poised to become bigger than any previous Asian film actor- is only one element of his legendary status. Lee was an astonishing onscreen presence whose athletic abilities and kinetic style made him the center of attention whenever he was present. Until he was afforded the chance to star in his own movies, his bit roles such as a violent thug in Marlowe (1969) showed how thrilling he was to watch. His role in the short-lived TV series The Green Hornet cast him as the sidekick but it was Lee who provided the most memorable element in every one of those twenty six episodes. Once you've watched him onscreen his natural charisma is evident and it is no surprise that pictures of him often adorn the same walls as other 'gone too soon' icons as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Like those screen legends, Lee died in his prime with much promise laid out for the future and- like them- his loss will be felt by his fans forever.

Sadly, Bruce Lee's short film legacy is mostly unseen these days by martial arts movie fans. Other than his last completed film, Enter The Dragon (1973), his film history seems to have disappeared from the minds of most action fans. It almost as if Lee's contribution to martial arts cinema began and ended with that one excellent movie. Luckily, the fine folks at Shout! Factory have produced a fantastic, affordable Blu-Ray set that presents Lee's earlier films in nearly perfect transfers- and they have even included a few hours of extras to provide some context for modern viewers.

First up is 1971's The Big Boss which in many ways is the standard template for an entire sub-set of Chinese martial arts adventures. Lee plays Cheng, a young man from the countryside who is traveling to a bigger village to get a job (a common fate for males living in rural China). He intends to work hard and send money back home to his mother, who has extracted from him a promise not to utilize his considerable skills as a street fighter in the big city.. Cheng's uncle gets him a job in the local ice making factory but in just a few days our hero discovers that the business owner is using the industrial-sized blocks of ice to transport heroin. Cheng confronts the boss's henchmen and things get violent quickly- and become even worse when his his co-workers turn up murdered. Soon Cheng's (almost) girlfriend is kidnapped for the depraved boss' lustful attentions and it is time for wrongs to be righted in vengeful style.

The Big Boss was a huge financial success worldwide and made Lee's stardom concrete. In many ways it is typical of the type of action film being produced at the time in Hong Kong. The story is set in contemporary times and used the usual plotline of drug smuggling as the story's engine. There were at least a few dozen similar movies made in the 1970s what sets this production apart is the presence of Bruce Lee. His experience in American television and film is evident in his careful and fairly nuanced performance. Indeed, his more natural style often contrasts sharply with some of his co-stars as they mug their way across the screen like thy were projecting to the cheap seats. Lee's amazing physical skills are shown well here, too, even if I cringe at the silly trampoline work used to enhance the fights. The stunts are impressive and the action well choreographed with the only real complaint being that the film's pace is often leisurely to the point of irritation. The film clocks in at nearly two hours and could have been a good deal shorter.

Next up is 1972's Fist of Fury which is a period piece set in the early 1900's in Shanghai with Lee playing Chen Zhen. In many ways this is very much a typical martial arts film of the time with a plot seen often. Chen has returned to his old school to marry his beloved but learns upon his arrival that his martial arts master has died from what appears to have been natural causes. Chen is incredibly upset and angry about this and doesn't believe his master's death was natural. At the funeral students from a rival Japanese school insult Cheng even going so far as too slap him repeatedly. Cheng refuses to disgrace his master's funeral but he later goes to the rival school to challenge his harassers. In an impressive display of ability, he defeats the entire Japanese school including the master. This sets up an ongoing series of attacks and retaliations of various kinds that culminates in much mayhem, death and vengeance leading to a surprisingly downbeat ending. No one really wins in this terrible war.

As a modern viewer it is interesting to see how strong a statement this film makes about the horrors of racism. The war between these rival schools is based mostly on ethnicity and is ginned up by wounded pride and the inability to let old wounds heal. The emotions on display can feel over the top at times but they seem to reflect the blind hatreds of these groups as rational thought is ignored in the rush to inflict pain on rivals. Of course, this somewhat depressing takeaway doesn't alter the fact that the action scenes are incredible as a showcase for Lee, who demonstrates some amazing skills.. My favorite fight scene in Fist of Fury has to be the excellent dojo battle wherein Lee takes on an entire room of opponents and walks away unscathed. (The scene is marred only by the distraction of flying dummies and bad wigs.)

The year 1972 saw Lee taking control of his film career in a new way by writing and directing his next screen role. Way of the Dragon was released in the United States as Return of the Dragon but no matter what the title, it is a fascinating film. In Rome a Chinese restaurant owner is having trouble with the local crime bosses. Help from home is requested but when only one person appears in response to their plea, the victims despair. Luckily for them this one person is Bruce Lee as Tang Lung. Tang insists he is capable and even shows his open mindedness by stating that any fighting style is good and can be incorporated into your own form. Soon the mobsters are causing trouble, demanding payment and harassing the restaurant owners in any way they can. After a missed opportunity because of a poorly timed bathroom trip, Tang establishes his skills and warns the mafia bosses that these people and their establishment are under his protection. Even though a death threat on Tang is issued, he refuses to leave and ultimately is forced to take on his would-be assassins. Seeing that the local killers are not up to the task, a Japanese and an American martial arts experts are hired to finally take Tang out and it is in these confrontations that the conflict will be resolved.

BY DOUG OSWALD

A rookie cop or soldier arrives at his first assignment and quickly finds they’re in the middle of some serious trouble. This basic plot has been used more times than any movie buff can count and crosses genres like westerns, war movies and cop thrillers. “Pony Soldier” is an odd western in that the action takes place in Canada and involves the Northwest Mounted Police.

It’s 1876 and Canadian Cree Indians cross the border into Montana to hunt buffalo, but are mistaken for Sioux by the U.S. Cavalry and a battle ensues. Known as long knives by the Cree because of their sabers, the Cavalry forces the Cree to retreat. The leader of the Cree kidnaps two white settlers in order to trade them for buffalo and safe passage to Canada.

Constable Duncan MacDonald, played by the ever-youthful Tyrone Power, is briefed on the problem and takes up the challenge to negotiate the freedom of the white captives. He is joined by his half-native scout and side-kick Natayo Smith, played by Thomas Gomez, in an effort to preserve the peace between the Cree, the settlers, the Mounties and the U.S. Cavalry.

MacDonald plays the diplomat cop very well and gains a reluctant friendship with the Cree chief Standing Bear, played by Stuart Randall, while clashing with the Cree soldier Konah (Cameron Mitchell), who seeks a confrontation with the U.S. Cavalry across the border in Montana.

When a mirage appears across the valley showing the ocean and a large ship, MacDonald convinces the Cree of the futility of their efforts and they reluctantly decide to consider his offer to free the white captives. It turns out one of the captives is an outlaw, Jess Calhoun (Robert Horton), who is wanted for murder by the Mounties. The woman captive is pretty Emerald Neeley (Penny Edwards), who has been chosen by Konah to be his bride.

The Northwest Mounted Police seek to maintain the peace by returning their wards, the Cree, back to their home in Canada. Power’s MacDonald is the perfect mix of level-headed constable and diplomat. He even manages to befriend a Cree orphan who wants to be his adopted son. While ever the diplomat, MacDonald is no pushover and asserts himself with the Cree and in a final confrontation with the outlaw Jess.

“Pony Soldier” looks like a typical western of the era with a Cavalry battle, horse riding stunts, shootouts and lush vistas while also presenting the native characters as more than caricatures. Many, if not all, of the native supporting cast appear to be Native Americans with Anthony Numkena, a Hopi Indian, a standout as MacDonald’s adopted son, Comes Running.

The movie is based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Garnett Weston and was directed by Joseph M. Newman. Newman helmed the sci-fi classic “This Island Earth,” the noir cult film “Dangerous Crossing,”  Tarzan, the Ape Man” and several episodes of “The Twilight Zone” and “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.”

While this movie isn’t shot in the gritty adult western style made popular by John Ford, Anthony Mann, George Stevens, John Sturges and Fred Zinnemann in the 1950s; it still manages to be entertaining as a sort of transition between the standard western formula of old Hollywood and the modern westerns being made by independent directors.

According to IMDb, this movie is the film debut of Earl Holliman and features an uncredited performance by Richard Boone. It also features narration at the end of the movie by an uncredited Michael Rennie. The movie ends with MacDonald completing his assignment followed by a contemporary tribute of the Royale Canadian Mounted Police with Rennie extolling the virtues of their continuing mission as peacekeepers.

The movie looks terrific and was filmed in Technicolor on location in the Coconino National Forrest near Sedona, Arizona, and in California’s Red Rock Canyon. The 20th Century Fox production was released in December 1952 on the eve of CinemaScope and it’s a shame this movie was not able to make use of the wide screen process.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray release, which  looks and sounds wonderful, is limited to 3,000 copies and can by ordered via Screen Archives. The score by Alex North is offered as an isolated track on the disc and is the only extra. The release also includes the usual booklet of images spread throughout an informative and entertaining essay by Julie Kirgo. Fans of Tyrone Power and “north” westerns will want to give this movie a view and possibly add a copy to their collection.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

BY DEAN BRIERLY 

Although the term “Eurocrime” can be applied to films from any European country, it’s most closely associated with 1970s Italian crime films, aka poliziotteschi, poliziottesco or poliziesco. The last term is (in Italian) the grammatically correct moniker for a politically incorrect genre that was hugely popular in its day, thanks to a sensory overload of stylish ultra-violence, insane car chases, buckets of sleaze, almost-human bad guys and renegade cops with big guns, bad attitudes and badder mustaches.

Controversial during its heyday and critically marginalized in ensuing decades, the Eurocrime flame has been kept alive by a sizeable and devoted fan base, periodic DVD releases, various websites and online forums. Another shot in the arm was provided by Roberto Curti’s invaluable book, Italian Crime Filmography 1968-1980 (McFarland & Co Inc), an in-depth listing and analysis of more than 200 films.

Now, poliziesco junkies have even more reason to celebrate with the recent DVD release of Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that Ruled the ’70s, writer/director Mike Malloy’s documentary homage to the genre that illustrates why these testosterone-fueled thrillers deserve their place in the cinematic pantheon.

To that end, he rounded up the appropriate subjects to tell the Eurocrime story—the surviving actors, writers and directors who created these gonzo films from the ground up. It’s a cast list that would do any current action film proud: Franco Nero, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabata, Richard Harrison, Fred Williamson, Luc Merenda, Tomas Milian, Leonard Mann, Michael Forest, John Steiner, Joe Dallesandro and Chris Mitchum. Not to mention directors Enzo G. Castellari, Claudio Fragasso and Mario Caiano.

All of these iconic figures obviously retain deep-seated affection respect for the Eurocrime genre. There’s zero condescension and little posturing, and all seem grateful for the exposure these films brought them. In separate interviews, each relates his particular history with Eurocrime films; Malloy edits their individual stories into a collective portrait of the genre that’s as enlightening as it is fascinating.

Malloy gets them to talk about Eurocrime’s antecedent genres (peplums, giallos, spaghetti westerns); the influence of Hollywood’s Dirty Harry and The French Connection (both from 1971), which introduced a grittier ethos and more conflicted protagonists to crime cinema; and the social and political turmoil in Italy during the 1970s, which helped the poliziesco chart its thematic identity through a critical focus on the country’s political corruption, pervasive crime (organized and otherwise) and terrorist activity. While Eurocrime films were initially derivative of the American version, Italian filmmakers quickly stamped them with a unique identity, one that in turn influenced crime and action films the world over.

In addition to such broad-outline topics, the Eurocrime veterans expound on what it was like to work in a new genre that was literally being invented on the fly. Low budgets and short shooting schedules necessitated a guerilla approach to filmmaking. Directors often shot without permission on the streets, especially when staging chase scenes, which sometimes led to policemen pursuing stuntmen on motorcycles in the belief they were actual criminals. The emphasis on speed and economy led to an insane number of daily setups. Richard Harrison still laughs at the memory of doing 120 setups in a day.

Like virtually all Italian films of that era, the films were shot without direct sound. This allowed for smaller crews, less equipment and less need for retakes, but initially proved disconcerting for American actors used to quieter, more-ordered sets. Henry Silva and John Saxon recall their bemused reactions to the on-set noise and tumult during takes, countered by the Italian film crews’ bewilderment at their pleas for quiet.

Live ammunition was sometimes used during filming (Saxon still seems a little freaked out recalling it decades later), and most of the leading actors did their own stunts. Leonard Mann recalls: “We’d do them so fast, you know. We’d be out there just running around and doing our own stunts. I did almost all of them…The things we did, I’m surprised we didn’t get killed.”

Speaking of stuntmen, one of that noble breed is represented in this documentary. Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, who worked on Enzo G. Castellari’s The Big Racket (1976) and Heroin Busters (1977), wryly contrasts the approach of Italian and Hollywood stuntmen: “We were a little more adventurous. We made things a little more ‘homemade.’” That DIY ethos contributed to the rough-edged spontaneity that gave the films a sense of gritty realism, no matter how outlandish the scenarios, action or performance.

Steven Awalt – author interviewed by Todd Garbarini

“Well, it’s about time, Charlie!”

Dennis Weaver utters these words in my favorite Steven Spielberg film, Duel, a production that was originally commissioned by Universal Pictures as an MOW, industry shorthand for “movie of the week”, which aired on Saturday, November 13, 1971. The reviews were glowing; the film’s admirers greatly outweighed its detractors and it put Mr. Spielberg, arguably the most phenomenally successful director in the history of the medium, on a path to a career that would make any contemporary director green with envy. Followed by a spate of contractually obligated television outings, Duel would prove to be the springboard that would catapult Mr. Spielberg into the realm that he was shooting for since his youth: that of feature film directing. Duel would also land him in the court of Hollywood producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck and get him his first theatrical film under his belt, 1974’s The Sugarland Express. It would be the 1975 blockbuster smash success of his second film, Jaws, similar in theme to Duel in that a seemingly unstoppable monster is eventually put down following an inexorable chase of cat-and-mouse, which would make him a household name. Yes, Charlie, it is about time that this phenomenal film got its own book, one that is dedicated to the story’s origin and creation. Painstakingly researched by Spielberg scholar Steven Awalt, the aptly-titled Steven Spielberg and DUEL: The Making of a Film Career is an excellent book now available in hardcover, paperback and for the Kindle from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

The volume starts at the beginning with Duel’s author, the late Richard Matheson, the man responsible for some of the most interesting, frightening, and best short stories of the genre and some of the most memorable episodes of television’s The Twilight Zone (1959 – 1964) such as Third from the Sun, Nick of Time, The Invaders, Little Girl Lost, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and Night Call. Author Awalt expertly describes the terrifying, dangerous and death-defying real-life incident that compelled Mr. Matheson to pen the story, and the fascinating journey it took until it was published in the April 1971 issue of Playboy Magazine which made its way into the hands of Steven Spielberg’s secretary. Through interviews with the remaining crew members who worked on Duel, Mr. Awalt covers every aspect of the film’s inception, creation (actual filming and subsequent editing into answer print form) and ultimate presentation. What is interesting to note is that although Duel originated as a TV-movie, the film’s success in the form of excellent critical reception and high Nielsen ratings resulted in the director being given additional capital to increase it from its standard 74-minute running time to the more acceptable 90-minute length it required for release in movie theaters, and it played briefly in select markets in the spring of 1983. It is this 90-minute version of the film that is known the world over.

Illustrated with publicity shots and storyboards created by the director, Steven Spielberg and DUEL is the last word on this terrific thriller that the director originally wanted to make without any dialogue (interestingly, the Twilight Zone episode The Invaders was originally conceived this way). Everything you ever wanted to know about how the film came about is covered in this exhaustively researched book. Best of all, Universal is releasing the Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection on Blu-ray, and one of the titles included in this collection is Duel.

I recently spoke with Mr. Awalt about his book and genuine love for all things Spielberg.

Todd Garbarini: Based on what I have read about you, it is my understanding that you became a fan of Steven Spielberg after your first viewing of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Please tell me about that, as that is exactly the same way that I became familiar with his work.

Steven Awalt: Yes, that is correct. My family and I saw it in the early winter of 1978. I was five years-old at the time, and my parents had earlier taken me to see Star Wars in a drive-in during the summer before. So between those two films, they really had a huge impact on me. I was also familiar with the Walt Disney films, as well as Jim Henson's work, but Steven Spielberg was the first director who I saw as a real filmmaker. The story of the making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the one book that I really, really want to write.

TG: I had the exact same reaction you did. I saw Star Wars in the summer of 1977, not at a drive-in but at a two-screen movie theater. Five months later for my birthday my parents took me to see it again and this time the trailer for Close Encounters was presented before the film. I remember being frightened and finding certain images from the film to be very intense, like the interrogation scene between Richard Dreyfus, Francois Truffaut and Bob Balaban. Like you, I had been used to seeing the Walt Disney cartoons. In a way, this was my introduction to more mature, adult filmmaking. I knew about Jaws in the summer of 1975 and knew some kids who had seen it. When it came to Close Encounters, I was just blown away by that film. It's one of the great cinematic experiences of my childhood. I almost feel that after having seen Star Wars and Close Encounters, I was kind of spoiled because I was expecting to see all the other directors making movies just as great as those films, especially when you consider that on the heels of that you had The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

SA: E.T. is actually my personal favorite Spielberg film. I have a really deep personal connection to the film.

TG: I can certainly understand that. He captures children in a way that I've never seen from anyone else, except maybe for Truffaut.

SA: Yes, I can't think of any other filmmakers who are as real and as honest with children. I think that Steven has always been that way, even if you look at Hook you see the way the children relate to each other.

Todd Garbarini: I first heard of Duel when Steven Spielberg appeared on The Dick Cavett Show in June 1981 while doing publicity for Raiders of the Lost Ark. He talked about Duel and a man being chased down by a large truck, and I wondered how I never heard of the film, not knowing that it was a TV-movie. About a year later, I was in my 7^th grade English class and we were required to read short story collections and write compositions on them. A collection caught my eye, and Duel was one of the stories. I read it and was hooked on Richard Matheson’s writing. In 1983 I begged my father to take me to New York to see Duel during a brief theatrical exhibition following the worldwide success of E.T. but it didn’t last long enough for us to get to see it. I finally saw it on VHS in 1988 and loved it. How did you come to see Duel and what was your reaction to it?

SA: I saw it on television with my dad, but I don't remember it to the extent that I remembered seeing Close Encounters in the theater. I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, of course, and Poltergeist was also a big film for me. However, I don't recall what it was like seeing it for the first time. My father and I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark many times together. He introduced me to a lot of great movies, including 2001: A Space Odyssey. Jaws was also a movie that I saw on television, I think that was first on in 1980 on ABC, or was it NBC?

TG: It was on ABC, it premiered in November 1979. That took a full four years to come to network television.

SA: Oh, wow. Yeah, that was how our generation saw movies in the days before VHS.

TG: I know, remember that? When a big movie was premiering on television, it was an event that my friends and I really looked forward to. It didn't matter that it had commercials, because none of my friends, except for one, had cable television. Now, forget about it. You don't even have to own the movie; you can simply go to YouTube and watch almost anything that you want. I found Amblin (1968) on there. When The Warriors was released in 1979, there was a lot of controversy surrounding it, stories of gangs fighting in movie theaters. When it came to ABC in 1981, that is how I first saw it. I didn't see it on cable or on home video, I saw it on network television. I think that’s how a lot of us saw movies from the 1970s. The networks would sometimes air movies with alternate titles. That’s how I saw Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), which aired as War Games and Escape to Athena (1979), which aired as The Golden Raiders, and Ffolkes (1979) which aired as Assault Force.

SA: Yeah, that's how I first saw 1941 (1979). I have a soft spot in my heart for that film. It's a bit of a mess, but it has really great work in it. The miniatures are really beautiful in that movie. Yeah, it was a whole different era. Young audiences today almost don't know what it's like to go see a movie like Star Wars in the drive-in. For people like you and I, you'd see a movie in the theaters, and that it would come to network television and would really be something to look forward to. Then there was the dawn of home video in the form of VHS in the late 70s and early 80s. I think that the first movie I saw on VHS was The Muppet Movie, that might've been in 1981. Then in 1982 I saw Time Bandits. What a different era it was back then, having time to watch those movies over and over again!

TG: I saw both of those films in the theater, but the first home video format that my family owned was the RCA Select-A-Vision Capacitance Electronic Disc system, or CED for short, which necessitated purchasing movies. The Muppet Movie and Time Bandits were two titles that I owned. Star Wars and Poltergeist with the first two movies I ever purchased and they were in that format. I just watched them over and over and over again, on a 13” color TV, no less. Most people don't even remember that system, they tend to confuse it with Pioneer’s laserdisc format. It's interesting, Jaws was the first movie released on laserdisc; it was through MCA's DiscoVision line. The movie was spread out the five sides! Can you imagine?

SA: Yeah, I actually have the letterboxed laserdisc special edition of Jaws, that thing cost $150.

TG: My favorite action film is The Road Warrior. The stunts and camerawork are groundbreaking, but there are a few shots where it almost looks like a Mack Sennett comedy in that the cameras were undercranked and the action moves too quickly. I never noticed that in Duel. To your knowledge, was Duel shot without any undercranking?

SA: There was one shot where that happens, but it actually helps. The frame rate was actually increased and the camera was overcranked. It's a long shot where the vantage point is that of Dennis Weaver's character, David Mann, and the truck is just plowing around the corner coming towards him.

TG: Was there any behind-the-scenes footage shot on this movie, or was it done on such a low-budget that that wasn't even a consideration?

SA: Yeah, it was very low-budget, even the amount of stills that were taken is very small. They didn't really have a dedicated on-the-set photographer.

TG: What is the biggest difference between the theatrical cut and the television cut?

SA: The biggest and most obvious difference between the two is the opening. The first few minutes where the camera begins in the garage, pulls back and drives through downtown traffic was all added later so that it could be released theatrically.

TG: Yes, I remember when first saw it I thought, You mean to tell me that they let him do this for a television movie? I was astonished. But I was completely wrong!

SA: Yeah, exactly. The television cut begins with Dennis Weaver's car driving from left to right in the frame as he is on his way to his business appointment. Of course, the scenes with him on the phone talking to his wife and his run-in with the school bus were also added later.

TG: Most of those streets look the same today. The last time I was in Los Angeles was November 2008 and I drove along most of those same roads. I made it a point to go to Milky Way, the restaurant owned and run by Leah Adler (Steven Spielberg's mother). She was there that day, and I sat and talked with her for a while about how much her son’s movies changed my life. It was great walking to the bathroom as the hallway is flanked with movie posters of his films. When did you first meet Mr. Spielberg?

SA: In 2006. I originally ran a website dedicated to his movies from 2001 until 2009. So, I had been writing for the website for a while. In February 2006, I received a FedEx package from DreamWorks. I figured it was stills from his films or something to that effect, because I had never even broached the subject of interviewing him. It turned out to be a letter from Steven Spielberg, and he told me how much he enjoyed my writing and really like the website. Eight months later he was being given a lifetime achievement award at the Chicago Film Festival and I met him on the red carpet and we talked for a while. I did a sort of mini-interview with him. The highlight of the evening, in addition to meeting him of course, was when he introduced me to Roy Scheider.

TG: I am experiencing major jealousy pangs right now! (laughs)

SA: (laughs)

TG: God, Roy Scheider. I would've loved to have met and spoken with both of them. The French Connection is my favorite film –

SA: Oh, my God, I love The French Connection.

TG: I was fortunate enough to meet most of the cast members of the film, such as Gene Hackman, Tony LoBianco, and even Sonny Grosso. The icing on the cake was meeting William Friedkin. I also met Chris Newman, who recorded the sound on the film. One of my biggest regrets, however, has not being able to meet Roy Scheider.

SA: Yeah, All That Jazz is a great film.

TG: Yes, in fact the Criterion Collection released that on Blu-ray. He was great in Marathon Man, Sorcerer, and The Seven-Ups from 1973, which is a film that a lot of people don't even know about.

SA: Yes, meeting Roy Scheider was a great life moment for me. And then I guess around 2011 I pitched the idea of the Duel book to Steven Spielberg's people and he said yes right away, he thought it was a great idea. He even invited me out to interview him before I even had a chance to ask him if I could interview him. I cannot say enough about him, he's just such a nice man and is so genuine. You hear the story all the time that when you're in conversation with him, and you think about all the things that he has going on in his life, he's just right there and he's 100% completely focused on what you're talking about as he's talking to you. Even in conversations, he's a really great storyteller, which really isn’t surprising! When I was out in L.A. interviewing him, he showed me a photo of himself standing next to Federico Fellini and he was talking about this memory that he had of meeting him in 1973 and there was such excitement in his voice about this memory that was nearly 40 years-old. He's got such a deep appreciation of film history and such excitement about it, and he's also one of the pinnacles of it!

TG: Well, he's just like us. He is first and foremost a movie fanatic. I could literally spend hours talking to him about not only his experiences on the sets of his own movies, and I would love to hear some stories that he has to tell about what went on behind the scenes of his films and so forth, but also his impressions of other directors and other movies that he has seen growing up and even the new films that are out now and what's still inspires him. He isn't just some hack who is out there trying to make money, he honestly and truly loves this stuff. Were you able to see his early work? I know that he's not a fan of Amblin, a film that I really like very much, especially the main theme song. Did you get to see Firelight or any of the short films that he did as a teenager?

SA: I've seen everything he's done with the exception of his episode of Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, nor could I find his two episodes of The Psychiatrist. I spoke to Sid Sheinberg about it, and he remarked that one of the episodes, called Par for the Course, was one of the most moving pieces of work he had ever seen. Spielberg was in his early twenties when he did it. The episode is about death, friendship, and losing a friend. But, like I said, that's one that I haven't been able to locate and I'm really interested in seeing it. You look at the The Sugarland Express, for example, and it's frustrating for me to look back now on even some of the good critical notices the film got. For example, Pauline Kael said that Spielberg was very good at moving the cars around. But, when you look at the movies, whether they involve cars, sharks, spaceships or whatever, even though those are brilliant and exciting cinematic creations, and even going back to his early television work pre-Duel, he was always about the characters. Their personalities and the situations that they get caught up in are always first and foremost the most important aspects of the story. I've always felt that he's been an incredibly humanistic director and I think that unfortunately that aspect of his career has been totally lost on a lot of critics. Getting back to Sugarland, I don't believe that the cars are the main focus or the main aspect of that story. The characters are really special, and the fact that a lot of the leading critics didn't see that at the time is almost mind-boggling. Still to this day he carries that reputation with him. It's really amazing to me that when people talk about his work, and I don't know if this is attributed to jealousy or snobbery or whatever, they just don't give him the credit that he deserves. I also think that a lot of the times the critics were comparing him to highly established directors who were in their fifties and sixties at the time. You have to look at it in perspective. Spielberg was a guy in his twenties. How many people have that kind of perspective into the human condition in their twenties? But for him to have that human angle even in a film like Duel is amazing. The intercutting between the car and truck - the film is ultimately about a man and his paranoia. So he has enormous insight into the psychology of the Dennis Weaver character. What an amazing young filmmaker to be able pull off something like that at his age.

TG: Would you say that his experience on Duel prepared him for the desert truck chase sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark?

SA: No, I wouldn't say that because the truck chase was done during principal photography and was shot by Mickey Moore. Steven conceived and storyboarded it, but Mickey Moore shot it with the second unit crew. I remember when I read that and thought, I really thought that Steven had been out there shooting that whole thing. But, despite the fact that he didn't, it works brilliantly in the film and actually got a lot of subsequent work for Mickey Moore. This is always a tough thing because I do believe…I don’t want to say auteur theory necessarily, as I think that's become a denigrated term now, but to deny authorship I think is ludicrous. Everything in a film is funneled through either a director’s filter or a very strong producer’s filter, so obviously when you look at a filmography like Steven’s or any other dominant and very personal director obviously authorship is something that should definitely be considered. I still think his fingerprints are all over it. Don't get me started on Poltergeist, by the way!

TG: (laughs) I saw that movie the weekend that it opened. My friend and I sat through it twice. It played next door to Kill Squad.

SA: Oh, I love Poltergeist, even to this day. The first time that I saw it was when I was playing with some friends and neighbors. The adults were inside watching it on television and I basically saw it through the screen door. I couldn’t hear it well at all, but I was so excited to see it.

TG: I have seen Poltergeist many, many times. It's one of my favorite movies ever. Thinking along those lines, and this kind of thing started for me with Star Wars, it was only in 1977 that I would go back to see a favorite movie multiple times. Prior seeing to seeing Star Wars, I don't ever remember doing that. There weren't any films that I had seen that made me want to go see them more than once, although I did sit through two screenings of Peter Pan during a 1976 rerelease in the summertime. Superman the Movie was another pivotal film for me. For one thing, these movies stayed in theaters for a very long time, and if friends of mine and I loved it, which we invariably did, we would always go see them on our birthdays. Our parents would wonder why in the world we would want to see the same movies over and over again instead of new movies. John Williams’ music, without taking anything away from the writers, producers, directors, and actors, the overall cast and crew of all of these films, I really believe is what makes those films what they are.

SA: I completely agree and I don't think that the filmmakers would disagree with that statement at all. I think that they would be right there with you.

TG: I've read that Mr. Spielberg even cuts to Mr. Williams’ music. The two of them have gone on to such an amazing collaboration, far more so than the one between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann which, as you well know, was argumentative and often combative. However, Herrmann clearly enhanced Hitchcock's movies immeasurably. Imagine Psycho without those strings?

SA: I know!

TG: Billy Goldenberg wrote excellent music for Duel, in addition to several other shows directed by Mr. Spielberg. I have always felt that his music has been woefully underrepresented on soundtrack albums. Do you know if there are any plans to release his music from these Spielberg projects on CD?

SA: Not to my knowledge, no. He is very underrepresented on disc, it’s a real shame. A lot of the soundtrack album companies are doing a really terrific job in getting a lot of the scores out there in terms of getting them out of the vault. However, there really is still so much work to do for scores from that era. I really think that Billy’s scores need a release. And even John Williams’s score to Sugarland, this is the only score from his collaboration with Spielberg that has never been released. Now this is like the missing link. I have heard from soundtrack producers at Universal, at least previously anyway, they were very tight with what they allowed to come out of their vaults. I would love to see a score for Sugarland released, and also for Duel obviously.

TG: Well, with your excellent book on Duel and the new Blu-ray release of the film in the Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection, let’s hope that this leads to a soundtrack release.

SA: Sounds good to me!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "STEVEN SPIELBERG AND DUEL: THE MAKING OF A FILM CAREER" FROM AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "STEVEN SPIELBERG: THE DIRECTOR'S COLLECTION" ON BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "DUEL" DVD COLLECTOR'S EDITION FROM AMAZON 

BY FRED BLOSSER

A particular kind of film was popular in, and almost unique to, the 1970s. I would call them “A-minus” movies. Not quite “A” because they didn’t feature trendy mega-stars like Newman, Redford, McQueen, Eastwood, Streisand, or Beatty, but not quite “B” either. Typically, they were international packages that starred a mix of American actors who, although past the peak of their popularity, still retained some marquee appeal for older moviegoers, and European actors who would draw overseas audiences. They usually were built around B-movie crime, spy, and thriller stories, but bigger-budgeted and more sophisticated than the standard “B,” and filmed on European locations, not a studio backlot in Culver City.

Henri Verneuil’s “Le Casse” (1971),” released in the States by Columbia Pictures in 1972 as “The Burglars,” exemplifies the genre -- French director; on-location filming in Greece; score by Ennio Morricone; the names of Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, and Dyan Cannon above the title; an able supporting cast of Robert Hossein (“Les Uns et Les Autres”), Renato Salvatori (“Luna”), and Nicole Calfan (“Borsalino”); and a script by Verneuil and Vahé Katcha based on David Goodis’ 1953 paperback crime noir, “The Burglar.”

Verneuil had recently aced a big hit in Europe and a modest hit in the U.S. with “Le Clan des Siciliens” (1969), also known as “The Sicilian Clan.” “The Sicilian Clan” is relatively easy to find in a sharp print on home video and TV (there was a 2007 Region 2 DVD, a 2014 Region 2 Blu-ray, and periodic airings on Fox Movie Channel). Unfortunately for A-minus aficionados, “The Burglars” is more elusive in a really good, English-language video print.

Professional thief Azad (Belmondo) and his partners (Hossein, Salvatori, and Calfan) have cased a villa in Athens whose jet-setting owners are away on vacation. A safe in the house holds a million dollars in emeralds. The thieves break into the house, crack the safe, and make off with the jewels, but two glitches arise. First, a police detective, Zacharias (Sharif), spots the burglars’ car in front of the villa. Azad chats with the detective and spins a cover story of being a salesman with engine trouble. Zacharias leaves, but it seems like too easy an out for the thieves.

Next, the plan to flee Greece immediately on a merchant ship falls through. The gang arrives at the dock and finds the ship undergoing repairs: “Storm damage. It will be ready to sail in five days.” They stash the money, split up, and agree to wait out the delay. Zacharias reappears, playing cat-and-mouse with the burglars. He’s found the opportunity to cash out big. Offered a meager reward by the billionaire owner of the jewels and “10 percent of the value” by the insurance company, he decides he’ll do better by finding and keeping the emeralds himself. In the meantime, Azad meets and romances Lena, a vacationing centerfold model (Cannon), whose role in the story turns out to be more relevant than it first seems.

Goodis’ novel was filmed once before as “The Burglar” (1957), a modestly budgeted, black-and-white programmer with Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, and Martha Vickers, directed by Paul Wendkos. The script by Goodis himself, the photography in gritty Philadelphia and Atlantic City, Duryea’s hangdog performance, and Mansfield’s surprisingly vulnerable acting faithfully captured the bleak spirit of the novel.

Retooling the story as a shinier A-minus, Verneuil made significant changes. Duryea’s character, Nat Harbin, runs ragged trying to keep his fractious gang together and protect his ward Gladden, the young female member of the team, whose father had been Harbin’s own mentor. Verneuil tailors the corresponding character Azad to Belmondo’s exuberant, athletic personality and changes the dynamic between Azad and Helene, Calfan’s character. Where Gladden is brooding and troubled, Helene seems to be well-adjusted if somewhat flighty. When Nat realizes that he loves Gladden, it comes too late to save their doomed relationship. Azad and Helene find a happier resolution. The opportunistic cop in the novel and earlier movie, Charley, has little interaction with Harbin, but Belmondo and Sharif share ample screen time and charm as the two equally wily antagonists. Their final showdown in a grain-storage warehouse brings to mind, of all classic movie references, the climactic scene in Carl Dreyer’s “Vampyr” (1932).

Updating the technical details of the story, Verneuil turns the safecracking into a lengthy scene in which Azad uses a high-tech, punch-card gizmo to visually scan the scan the safe’s inner workings and manufacture a key that will open it. Roger Greenspun’s June 15, 1972, review in “The New York Times” took a dim view of Verneuil’s meticulous, step-by-step depiction: “Such a machine might excite the envy of James Bond's armorer, or the delight of Rube Goldberg. But what it does for Henri Verneuil is to fill up a great deal of film time with a device rather than with an action.” In fact, Verneuil was simply paying homage to similar, documentarian scenes in John Huston’s “The Asphalt Jungle” (1949) and Jules Dassin’s “Rififi” (1955) -- incidentally, one of Robert Hossein’s early films -- and at the same time avoiding repetition by employing the kind of Space Age gadget that fascinated 007 fans in the early ‘70s.

Greenspun also objected to “an endless (and pointless) car chase,” but the chase, choreographed by Rémy Julienne, isn’t exactly pointless: it adds an overlay of menace to the second, verbally cordial meeting of Azad and Zacharias. Besides, in the era of “Bullitt” (1968) and “The French Connection” (1971), a car chase in a crime film was good box office, as Verneuil certainly knew. The chase isn’t shot and edited as electrically as the ones staged by Bill Hickman for Peter Yates and William Friedkin, but it’s easily as entertaining as Julienne’s stunts for the Bond films.

Ennio Morricone’s eclectic score includes a jazzy, Europop-inflected title tune; dreamy easy-listening background music in the hotel cafe where Azad and Lena meet cute; sultry music in a sex club where Morricone seems to be channeling Mancini and Bachrach; and airy, Manos Hatzidakis-style string music in a Greek restaurant where Azad and Zacharias meet. It’s an inventive score, but not as well known as some of Morricone’s others, perhaps because it borrows so freely (with an affectionate wink and a nod) from his contemporaries.

There are a couple of versions of “The Burglars” as the French-language “Le Casse” on YouTube, only one of them letterboxed, and neither with English subtitles. Web sources indicate that Sony released the German-language version of the film, “Der Coup,” for the German DVD market in 2011; some say it includes English subtitles, others say it doesn’t. There was a letterboxed Alfa Digital edition of “The Burglars” in 2007 for the collectors’ market, and a letterboxed print occasionally runs on Turner Classic Movies. Those are probably the best bets for an English-track, properly widescreen (2:35-1) print, although in both cases the colors are muddy, dulling the bright cinematography by Claude Renoir that I remember seeing on the big screen in 1972.

Belmondo, Sharif, and Cannon probably have little name recognition among younger viewers today, and a scene in which Azad slaps Lena around, activating a clapper that cuts the lights in Lena’s apartment and then turns them back on with each slap, would never be included in a modern film. On the other hand, the mixture of crime, car chase, and romance might pique the interest of today’s “Fast & Furious” fans. In fact, with some rewriting (and further separation from Goodis’ noir universe), it could easily be remade as a future installment in the franchise, with Belmondo’s Azad repositioned as Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto, and Sharif’s Zacharias rewritten and softened as Dwayne Johnson’s Agent Luke Hobbs.

It’s heartening that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has begun to move older Columbia genre releases from its vaults to DVD and cable TV, often in first-rate condition. For example, a pristine print of “Thunder on the Border” (1966) ran recently on GetTV, Sony’s cable outlet for the Columbia vault. As another example, “Hurricane Island” (1951) has aired on Turner Classic Movies in perfectly transferred or restored Supercinecolor. It would be nice to see Sony offer a comparably refurbished print of “The Burglars” on American Blu-ray. If nothing else, the movie’s 45th Anniversary is only a year and a half away.

By Todd Garbarini

Director Peter Hunt’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service celebrates its 45^th anniversary this year. Actor George Lazenby, who donned the role of Bond, James Bond, for this singular film will be appearing for a Q and A at the screening on Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The event will be held at the Landmark Theatre, 10850 West Pico at Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. From the press release:

James Bond goes undercover in the treacherous Swiss Alps in this underrated, highly entertaining, action-packed epic filled with artillery-laden ski pursuits, incredible stunts and nonstop thrills! George Lazenby (in his only appearance as James Bond) leaps into the role of Agent 007 with supreme confidence and undeniable charisma, even finding love with the beautiful and seductive Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg). But first Bond must stop evil genius Blofeld (Telly Savalas) from releasing a germ warfare plot that could kill millions! Directed by Peter R. Hunt (Gold, Shout at the Devil).

Click here for more information.

By Fred Blosser 

On a windy night, a black-clad stranger rides into Daugherty City, Texas. He flips a coin to a scruffy drunk who is strapped for the price of a drink. He exposes a crooked dice game in the local saloon, where most of the townsfolk seem to be congregated. Then he departs. In the meantime, down the street, a gang of acrobatic robbers breaks into the bank and heists a safe containing $100,000 in Army payroll money. The getaway crew escapes town before a wounded trooper can raise the alarm, but out on the trail they run into the stranger, Sabata, who picks them off with a tricked-out rifle and recovers the stolen money.

Thus, in under 15 minutes of running time, Gianfranco Parolini neatly sets up the events that will drive the remaining 90 minutes of his 1969 Spaghetti Western, "Ehi amico... c'è Sabata, hai chiuso!" -- better known simply as “Sabata,” as United Artists retitled the English-dubbed version that debuted in the U.S. in 1970. The original Italian title translates to something like, “Hey, Pal, Sabata’s Here, You Lose” . . . or maybe closer to the film’s rambunctious spirit, “. . . You’re Screwed.”

Bracketing the opening credits, Parolini economically introduces most of the movie’s main characters, establishes their personalities, and through their interactions with Sabata and each other, defines the interpersonal relationships that will drive the plot.

Sabata (Lee Van Cleef), the sharp-eyed “man who knows,” as the drunk Carrincha (Pedro Sanchez) calls him, deduces that the men behind the attempted robbery are the local businessman Stengel, his partner Ferguson, and their crony Judge O’Hara (Gianni Rizzo). He approaches them and demands $10,000 in hush money. Refusing, Stengel dispatches one assassin after another to kill him. Stengel’s henchman Slim, a hulking gunman named Sharky, two hit men dressed like the Earp brothers, and a nervous killer disguised as a clergyman all try and fail. With each attempt, Sabata raises his price higher and higher.

An old acquaintance, barroom minstrel Banjo (William Berger), one of the supporting characters deftly sketched in the opening saloon scene, ambles in and out from the periphery, toting his own tricked-out weapon, a carbine hidden under his musical instrument. Sometimes he sides with Sabata for money, sometimes he works for Stengel; in any event, not to be trusted by either. He and a greedy saloon girl, Jane, have a sort of romance characterized by mutual boredom and availability. Carrincha and a mute Indian acrobat, Alley Cat (Nick Jordan), help Sabata.

Arguably, “Sabata” represented the high tide of Spaghetti Western popularity in the States in 1970, benefiting from the box-office success of Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking films and preceding the decline of the genre as it sputtered toward a slow box-office death in the mid-‘70s. Where Leone’s movies were generally panned by mainstream U.S. media on their initial release, but nevertheless attracted a small early following of more progressive critics, “Sabata” ironically met the opposite reception.

Major outlets like The New York Times gave it good notices, but the pioneering book-length studies of the genre by Christopher Frayling and Laurence Staig & Tony Williams were lukewarm. Staig and Williams dismissed it as “a mixture of gimmickry and borrowed themes.” Citing Banjo’s hidden carbine, Frayling said that the movie was one of the “derivatives” inspired by Leone’s scenes in which “guns are fired from unexpected places.”

Other commentators over the years have noted additional Leone influences. Before you see Sabata’s face in the opening scenes, Parolini gives us a shot down the main street of Daugherty City, framed between Sabata’s boots in close-up -- a favorite Leone visual angle. Paralleling the three lead characters of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Parolini (who also co-scripted with Renato Izzo) builds the action around an unflappable protagonist, an icy bad guy, and a talkative, slippery secondary lead. Sabata’s black suit, black military coat, and fanciful weapons recall Colonel Mortimer’s from Van Cleef’s break-out Spaghetti role in “For a Few Dollars More.”

The argument that Leone cast a long shadow over Parolini’s movie is valid as far as it goes, but then Leone cast a long shadow over all the Italian Westerns that followed after his enormously successful pictures with Clint Eastwood. If we acknowledge that “Sabata” often follows the visual and dramatic conventions of Leone’s movies, it’s only fair to Parolini to note that he also departed from those conventions in ways that other Spaghetti directors such as Sergio Corbucci, Sergio Sollima, and Luigi Vanzi generally didn’t.

For example, like John Ford, Leone held a sentimental reverence for the sanctity of the traditional family; the families in his movies symbolize social stability. There are no traditional parents and children in Parolini’s universe, even if a kid’s chorus heard in the movie’s bouncy title tune suggests there will be. The only offspring and parent in “Sabata” are Sharky -- a burly, slovenly adult -- and his gray-haired old virago of a mother, who berates him verbally and physically for not settling a score with their neighbors the Mallorys. “They stole your woman, didn’t they?” she shrieks. No, Sharky retorts, “you sold her to the Mallorys.”

Carrincha, who looks a bit like Sharky in girth and disheveled appearance, laments his life of thirst and poverty: “I curse the mother who bore me, and my brother, and my whole family.” Almost everything Carrincha says is prone to exaggeration, so it’s difficult to know whether this sentiment is real or not. Regardless, it mirrors and reinforces the satiric relationship between Sharky and his mother, poles away from the traditional relationships portrayed by Leone and Ford.

Playing with the “trio” aspect of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Parolini assigns the trickster role of “the Ugly” not to the boisterous Mexican (in name, at least) Carrancha, as Eli Wallach’s Tuco was “the Ugly” in Leone’s movie, but to the Anglo drifter, Banjo. This way, Parolini finds not only differences but also similarities between the two characters, including allusions to a shared history during and after the Civil War and maybe a shared past outside the law. This gives their relationship an extra dimension not present in the relationship between the Good and the Ugly in the Leone movie.

Critics and fans who appreciate “Sabata” on its own terms usually employ terms like “hectic and chaotic,” and “fun” that’s “not to be taken too seriously.” The movie hardly lets up for a moment (none of Leone’s long, measured takes), but a term like “chaotic” can be misleading if you think it means slipshod. In fact, even though Parolini doesn’t build the movie around a mystery as Leone does in “For a Few Dollars More” (what do those seemingly shared flashback memories by Colonel Mortimer and Indio mean?) or around a character arc as Sollima does in “The Big Gundown” and Corbucci in “The Mercenary,” “Sabata” has its own ingenious design. Beyond the action, stunts, and cynical humor, “Sabata” bears repeated viewing to appreciate the two techniques that Parolini uses to bring unity to the film.

One technique is repetition. Little details that appear in one scene in the visuals or in the dialogue will unexpectedly and sometimes subtly reappear later in a different context. Slim’s loaded dice in the opening saloon scene always come up 7. There are seven men in the getaway crew from the bank robbery whom Sabata ambushes. When Sabata checks into a hotel in Daugherty City, Banjo’s squeeze Jane gives him Room 7 -- “next to mine,” she says suggestively. (Sabata isn’t interested. As Jules Feiffer once observed of Superman, he is so self-sufficient and self-confident that he doesn’t need to pursue every woman he encounters, or even to respond to every pass that comes his way.)

Parolini’s other technique is music. Like Ennio Morricone’s compositions for Leone, Marcello Giombini’s score is integrated into “Sabata” as an essential part of Parolini’s fabric. Like Morricone, Giombini tailors certain musical themes and cues to specific characters in the story. As John Mansell observes in his liner notes for a 2001 CD soundtrack edition, Sabata’s theme incorporates “a rather buoyant sounding guitar piece … interspersed with a solo muted trumpet, occasional harpsichord flourishes plus the added support of choir, which is carried along on a backing of slightly upbeat percussion.” Banjo’s theme is a cocky melody plucked on his namesake instrument, sometimes augmented by jingling bells like those sewn on his trousers.

But Mansell’s description of Sabata’s theme, while insightful, fails to note that the theme also incorporates a glissando passage like the swirling of the wind. Sabata is associated with the wind throughout the movie. In the first scene, tumbleweeds blow down the street and lamplight flutters as Sabata rides into Daugherty City. In the closing scene, Parolini and Sabata use the wind to the same ironic effect that John Huston used it at the end of “Treasure of Sierra Madre” and Stanley Kubrick in the finale of “The Killing.” Although Judge O’Hara wonders if Sabata is a government agent, and Stengel snaps back that “he’s nothing -- just a drifter who’s after our money,” the man in black perhaps suggests his true elemental nature when he advises Stengel in one exchange: “Don’t shoot at the wind.”

Parolini and Giombini also take their partnership one step further than Leone and Morricone did in their collaborations. In Morricone’s scores, Leone’s primary characters have (in the words of Staig and Williams) their own “individual musical signatures” -- the template followed by Parolini with Sabata’s and Banjo’s themes. The difference is that, in Morricone’s scores, in any one scene where the character either enters or dominates the action, his theme predominates. Parolini combines his individual themes for Sabata and Banjo as point and counterpoint in the same scene to underscore the two gunmen’s shared history and one-up rivalry.

Banjo’s theme sounds a little like the old military marching tune, “The British Grenadier,” a reminder of Banjo’s allusion to his and Sabata’s Civil War past on different sides of the conflict: “You in the North and me in the South.” In their first meeting after Sabata’s arrival in town, Banjo plays a mocking version of the tune, in increasingly frantic tempo, as if trying to get under the other man’s skin. Sabata stops the performance by shooting one of the pegs off the banjo. “You were out of tempo,” he says dryly.

Near the end of the film, as Banjo leaves Daugherty City in apparent triumph after a pivotal final encounter with Sabata, a merry version of his banjo theme begins to play, bolstered by a fife and drum that underlines the similarity to military marching music. The jingle of bells joins in with a close-up of the bells on Banjo’s trousers. The viewer senses that this is the victorious music that Banjo probably hears in his own imagination. However, Sabata’s wind-theme presently swirls in. As if in competition, the strum of the banjo gains tempo, becoming increasingly insistent. Remembering the association of the fast-tempo strumming with the much earlier scene in which Banjo was humiliated, you may anticipate that Banjo’s present victory will be short-lived, too.

There isn’t an official 45th anniversary edition of “Sabata,” but the Swiss label Explosive Media recently released a new Blu-Ray combo pack that also includes a DVD print, a supplemental disc of interviews and features, and a nice souvenir booklet in German, copiously illustrated with stills and pictures of various international posters.

“Sabata” and the two Parolini films that immediately followed it are popularly known as “The Sabata Trilogy,” although only one is a true sequel. “Indio Black, sai che ti dico: Sei un gran figlio di . . .,” released in Italy in 1970, was imported to the U.S. the following year as “Adios, Sabata.” Yul Brynner played the hero who wears black, this time a black fringed shirt and bell-bottom trousers instead of Lee Van Cleef’s more formal outfit. In the Italian version, he’s Indio Black; in the dubbed U.S. print, Sabata.

Both movies are strongly linked in casting and style. Three of the major supporting roles in the two movies are occupied by the same actors (Jordan, Rizzo, Sanchez) and fulfill similar functions in character and plot. Dean Reed, who looks like the young Roger Moore, plays an opportunist named Ballantine who serves as this film’s surrogate for Banjo. There are several big-action set pieces, mostly involving Sabata’s mission in Mexico to relieve a tyrannical officer, Colonel Skimmel, of a hoard of gold during the revolution against Maximilian.

“Adios, Sabata” is an entertaining Spaghetti with a bigger cast of extras and more explosions than its predecessors. One set piece, in which Sabata sends the no-good Murdock Brothers to their “just reward” in a showdown at the Bounty Hunters’ Agency, is particularly well dialogued and choreographed.

But “Sabata” is the better movie, partly because Van Cleef and Berger had stronger chemistry than Brynner and Reed, and partly because Brynner’s character is a more traditional soldier of fortune and do-gooder (he’s friends with benevolent old priests and small children) than Van Cleef’s enigmatic loner. Although Bruno Nicolai’s score for “Alias Sabata” is quite good on its own terms, the title track emulating the full-on symphonic, choral sound of Morricone’s Spaghetti music, it isn’t as ingeniously integrated into the movie as Giombini’s composition was.

Parolini’s authentic sequel to “Sabata,” released in Italy in 1971 as "È tornato Sabata... hai chiuso un'altra volta," reached the States in 1972 as “Return of Sabata.” Lee Van Cleef returns as the lead character, and Giombini returns as the soundtrack composer, but unfortunately this movie doesn’t measure up to its predecessors.

As in “Sabata,”Van Cleef’s character rides into a town where a cabal of seemingly respectable citizens is engaged in nefarious activity. This time, the heavies are the outwardly pious McIntocks who trumpet civic expansion in Hobsonville by raising money for new buildings and businesses. They do so by imposing exorbitant taxes on the town’s goods and services.

In truth, patriarch Joe McIntock is conniving with his brother-in-law, banker Jeremy Sweeney, to smuggle the money out of town for his own enrichment. Sabata, who arrives in Hobsonville as a sharpshooter in a traveling circus sideshow, following a hunch about something being rotten somewhere, uncovers the fraud. As in “Sabata,” he demands blackmail from the bad guys in return for keeping their secret. The McIntocks, reluctant to pay, send a series of would-be assassins after him.

Again, Parolini employs his stock troupe of Jordan, Rizzo, and Sanchez in supporting roles, and inserts a slippery intermediary character, Clyde (Reiner Schone). Clyde, like Banjo, shares a Civil War past with Sabata. Giombini’s music isn’t as ingenious as his score for the first movie, and the circus aspect of the story never quite jells with the plot about the McIntocks’ scam; as a whole, the movie lacks the little visual and aural details that wove “Sabata” together.

Another problem: Sabata loses much of the steely, enigmatic quality that defined his personality in the first movie. In “Return of Sabata,” an old girlfriend, a hooker named Maggie, drifts into town, and Sabata shacks up with her. Maggie is never quite integrated into the story either. Sabata as a mysterious loner in the original film was intriguing. As a more conventional character with a sexy main squeeze, like a hero out of a paperback adult western, he isn’t. Still, “Return of Sabata” hardly merits a place among the “50 Worst Movies of All Time,” as the Medved brothers asserted in their 1978 book. Maybe Parolini has the last laugh: the Sabata movies live on while the Medved book is long forgotten.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "THE SABATA TRILOGY" FROM AMAZON USA

(For information about Explosive Media's Blu-ray European special editions, click here. For more information, see the story in Cinema Retro issue #29. Click below to purchase). 

 Cinema Retro issue #29:

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Explosive Media is an exciting new German company that specializes in releasing excellent Blu-ray and DVD editions of retro movies. The good news is that all of their releases are "region free", which means they will play on any Blu-ray/DVD system. The bad news is that if you don't live in Germany, you might have a difficult time obtaining these unless you order through Amazon Germany or find the the titles through third party sellers. Nevertheless, our considerable European readership will be especially gratified that some excellent titles are now available through this company. One of those titles is The Revengers, a little-remembered but very worthwhile 1972 Western that reunited Wild Bunch co-stars William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, along with another Western icon, the great Woody Strode. The time-worn premise is a familiar one to fans of the genre. Holden plays John Benedict, a successful rancher with a loving family consisting of two sons, two daughters and a devoted wife. One day, while out hunting a mountain lion, Benedict is alerted to the fact that his ranch is being attacked by a band of ruthless rustlers. By the time he makes his way home, he finds a horrific sight to greet him: his entire family and dedicated farm hand have been mercilessly slaughtered. Benedict is overcome with grief but his overriding emotion is for revenge. He learns the band of cutthroats consists of renegade Indians and white men who are led by Tarp (Warren Vanders), who is leading the pack and their stolen herd to a hideout encampment in Mexico where they will use the horses to trade for guns and liquor. Benedict travels to Mexico and hand picks a gang of convicts who are suffering under horrid conditions in a desert prison. He "rents" them ostensibly to do labor in a mine but actually enlists them to accompany him on his seemingly suicidal mission to infiltrate Tarp's camp so he can have his revenge. Predictably, the motley crew double crosses and even robs him- but in the end, his faith in them is justified when they return and inform him they will go with him. They embark on a year-long quest to find Tarp's camp and when they do, a major battle ensues during which Tarp escapes. Benedict and his ragtag "army" continue the hunt but not without some infighting within their group that leads to Benedict being seriously wounded by one of his own men. 

The Revengers looked like pretty standard horse opera stuff at the time of its release. At times it's like The Comancheros meet The Magnificent Seven by way of The Dirty Dozen and The Searchers. However, the film plays better today with Holden and Borgnine giving fine performances (the latter is particularly amusing as the sleaziest of Holden's allies) with Woody Strode and an impressive cast of supporting actors adding to the mix. Susan Hayward (in her last film role) pops up briefly as a lonely Irish nurse who cares for the wounded Holden. Director Daniel Mann makes the most of the Mexican locations and there is some truly inspired cinematography by Gabriel Torres. There are also any number of well-staged action sequences including a hell of a battle when Holden's group aids an outnumbered outpost of U.S. Cavalry against an overwhelming number of Comancheros. These scenes feature some of the best horse falls stunts of the era. The only criticism from a technical standpoint is that composer Pino Calvi's score seems dated and more appropriate for an old episode of Starsky and Hutch.

The Blu-ray edition boasts a crystal clear transfer with the film available in both English and German languages. Explosive provides some nice extras including a four-page German language illustrated booklet, a great gallery of original posters and German lobby cards and several trailers for other releases including a terrific promo for Burt Lancaster in Valdez is Coming.

Explosive Media titles may be hard to get in the English language market, but they are worth going to some trouble to obtain.

Click here to visit their web site with links to Amazon Germany.

(In America, Paramount is reissuing the film on DVD, but not Blu-ray. Click here to order)  

By Raymond Benson

On the advent of The Criterion Collection’s upcoming release of Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman on Blu-ray and DVD, it’s high time that the silent film star gain some recognition from at least two generations that missed out on seeing this master comedian in action. Last year’s release of Safety Last! certainly got the ball rolling, and with Lloyd’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, working as the trustee to his film library and head of Harold Lloyd Entertainment, Inc., the goal is to bring the pictures of the “third genius” (after Chaplin and Keaton) to a wider audience, especially in America.

Despite the fact that Harold Lloyd was a superstar during the silent era, I had never seen a Harold Lloyd film when I was growing up. Except for some hardcore film historians and enthusiasts, very few people had a chance to become familiar with Lloyd’s work over the last seventy-odd years, mainly because Lloyd had refused to sell his pictures to television. Not only was the offer not high enough, but he felt that the medium wasn’t right for his movies. If timing and pace were critical in his comedies, as well as the carefully-planned camera set-ups, why should he allow television to hack them up with unapproved edits, insert commercials, and perhaps “cheapen” his work?

Suzanne admits he made a mistake. “He lost so many generations who don’t know him,” she says from her office in Los Angeles. “Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin, Keaton, W. C. Fields—they were all on television, and that’s who the baby boomers got to know. In the 1970s, HBO and Time-Life did some of his films for TV in Europe, but he missed that boat in America.” In the 1980s, however, Suzanne set about having her grandfather’s films restored. By the New Millennium, she had made a deal with Turner Classic Movies, and they now have approximately fifty titles (shorts and features) that are shown regularly. It’s ironic, because Harold Lloyd made tons of more films than his counterparts. Nearly two-hundred of them! And while Chaplin’s individual features were more profitable, Lloyd was overall more commercially successful because he was so prolific. Lloyd made twelve features in the 1920s, while Chaplin made only four.

Born on April 20, 1893 in Burchard, Nebraska, Lloyd wanted to be an actor from an early age. After moving to Hollywood in 1912, he quickly rose from bit player to leading man, especially after teaming up with producer Hal Roach. Between 1915 and 1917, Lloyd’s onscreen characters, such as “Lonesome Luke,” were admittedly knockoffs of Chaplin and others. That changed in 1917, when Lloyd put on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. The “Glass” character, as he called it, became Lloyd’s signature role that he would play for the rest of his career.

The Glass character, often named “Harold” in the pictures, was an Everyman with whom audiences of the 1910s and 20s could easily identify. Optimistic, ambitious, and kind-hearted, and perhaps a little naive, Harold was the Boy Next Door. And every one of his pictures involved the Boy chasing the Girl Next Door. It was a template for what later became known as romantic comedy.

“That’s his legacy,” Suzanne asserts. “He is quite simply the grandfather of the genre. In his movies he always falls in love with the girl, and then the stories are all about the chase, trying to impress her, almost losing her, and then finally getting her in the end. I do believe that our modern romantic comedies owe a great debt to Harold.”

One of the reasons Lloyd was so likable onscreen was that the actor was truly that guy. “He wasn’t someone who ran around telling jokes, although he would tell jokes; rather he was a lot like the character—inquisitive, wanting to be first, winning the game, getting around obstacles, and getting the girl,” Suzanne says. She laughs and remembers, “He hated losing at a card game, though! He was not a good loser. He always had to win at any type of game, and he was a great bowler, a champion handball player, and a good golfer. He loved the sport of winning, and that tied into his Glass character as well. He was all about enjoying life and trying to make it better. He was ‘the glass is half full and not half empty’ kind of man. And this is even more remarkable after what he went through in 1919.”

That year, while posing for publicity shots to promote his current work-in-progress, the short From Hand to Mouth, a supposedly fake “bomb” (the big black ball-shaped kind that resembles a cartoon prop) that he was holding in his right hand actually exploded. It took off his thumb, index finger, and a third of his palm. Lloyd was blinded and his face was burned. His sight eventually returned and his face healed, but for an actor who relied on “thrill comedy”—action stunts, climbing, falling, and the like—his hand’s disability could have been a career-killer. Instead, after eight months out of commission, Lloyd bolstered himself up and kept going. “They fashioned a special glove for him to wear,” Suzanne says. “It looked like he had all five fingers, and there was an old-fashioned wooden clothes pin contraption with a strap up his arm. With that, he could make his hand look whole, and he always wore it in every picture he made afterwards. Luckily, he was ahead of the game with his releases. He had some in the can, so his studio staggered the releases while he recovered. News articles said that he had been hurt, but no one knew how bad it really was.”

Nevertheless, the 1920s were good to Lloyd. His films, such as Grandma’s Boy, Safety Last!, Why Worry?, Girl Shy, The Freshman, The Kid Brother, and Speedy, to name a few, were extremely popular. And unlike many silent film stars, Lloyd made a smooth transition into talkies, making several successful sound pictures in the thirties. Suzanne says that her grandfather embraced sound. “He was dedicated to giving his audience what they wanted, and he was willing to go to the edge. He was always progressing. And his voice fit his character, which helped!”

Lloyd’s estate in Beverly Hills, “Greenacres,” was a popular destination for the children of other silent film stars during those exciting years in Hollywood. Since Lloyd socialized and played tennis with Charlie Chaplin, the Little Tramp’s first two sons, Charles Jr. and Sydney, often came over to play with Lloyd’s children—Gloria, Harold Jr., and Peggy. “They would always want to spend the night and stay over,” Suzanne says. “The boys would tell my mother, ‘your dad is so generous, he plays with us, plays golf with us, swims with us, throws ball with us... our dad never does that!” Shirley Temple was also a frequent visitor to Greenacres. “She actually lost her first front tooth eating sponge cake at my grandparents’ house, and boy, was that a big drama for Mrs. Temple,” Suzanne remembers being told. “My family had to call Darryl Zanuck and say, ‘uhm, guess what!’” Suzanne, who was raised at Greenacres, had similar experiences with her own friends. “They really liked my grandfather, too. They asked if they could call him ‘Harry,’ as a nickname, and he let them. He was absolutely a great grandfather—he took me to Beatles concerts, Las Vegas, and Disneyland. He was happy to be with younger people.”

By Paul Talbot

The poster screamed: “Most criminals answer to the law. The world’s most savage executioner must answer to Bronson.” Since the late 1960s, Charles Bronson’s name on a marquee was a guarantee of unchained action. When The Evil That Men Do opened in 1984, fans were hit with the expected violence─but this time they were also assaulted with thick layers of sadism, sleaze and depravity. And they loved it.

Born in 1921, Charles Bronson (originally Bunchinsky) was a dirt-poor Pennsylvania coal miner before he was drafted and later used the GI Bill to study acting. After dozens of small roles, he became a popular supporting player in hit films like The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Great Escape (1963)─then went overseas to star in European pictures like Farewell, Friend (1967), Once Upon a Time in the West (1967) and Rider on the Rain (1970). Although ignored in the States─where they were shelved or sparsely-released─Bronson’s foreign films were international blockbusters and made him one of the biggest superstars in the world. With the vigilante-themed American movie Death Wish (1974), Bronson finally became huge at U.S. theaters and he followed it with worldwide hits including Breakout (1975) and Breakheart Pass (1975). By the early 1980s, weak entries like Love and Bullets (1979) and Borderline (1980) weren’t doing much at North American box offices, but the Bronson name (with the right material) could still secure financing.

Looking for suitable material was independent producer Pancho Kohner─son of Paul Kohner, the successful Hollywood agent and the longtime representative of Bronson. Pancho Kohner had already produced the Bronson vehicles St. Ives (1976), The White Buffalo (1977), and Love and Bullets. He recalls, “[Bronson] always liked to satisfy his audience. He knew what his audience expected of him. He didn’t want to deviate too far. He did a couple of films that were different, but mostly he knew what his audience expected of him and that’s what he wanted to do.”

“I look for material that will entertain,” Bronson once said. “I’ve sustained because I’m sympatico with the material I do and the other way around. An actor shouldn’t just think of doing things he might enjoy doing. I think first of the audience, not of myself, but of the movie fans all around the world who want to be entertained.”

Kohner’s search led to an action novel called The Evil That Men Do. Published in November of 1978 by Times Books, it dealt with a legendary assassin named Holland who travels to Guatemala to take out Clement Moloch aka “The Doctor”─a feared torturer described as “one of the most hideously depraved men in all the darkest ranks of history…a man who stood in blood to the ankles.” Kirkus Reviews called the book “A frightening, razor-slice thriller that holds the reader hostage until the last shuddering climax.” Author R. Lance Hill’s previous novel, King of White Lady (1975) which was about a cocaine dealer, was optioned several times by movie producers, but it stayed unfilmed. Bronson initially passed on The Evil That Men Do, but in 1980 the screen rights were purchased by a partnership consisting of Kohner, Bronson, Jill Ireland (Bronson’s actress wife) and director J. Lee Thompson. Hill was commissioned to turn his novel into a script.

J. Lee Thompson’s long directing career began in the 1940s in England and his exceptional British films included the suspenseful Tiger Bay (1959). Thompson relocated to Hollywood in 1960, and the following year he helmed two action-suspense classics: Guns of Navarone (which earned him an Oscar nomination) and Cape Fear. His output included over a dozen more pictures before he first teamed with Bronson and Kohner on St. Ives and The White Buffalo.

While Kohner shopped the Evil That Men Do package, Bronson starred in Death Wish II for the Israeli filmmaking cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who had recently moved into the Hollywood movie market by purchasing the distribution/production sleaze outfit the Cannon Group. In 1982 the Death Wish sequel went to number-one at the U.S. box-office, was a huge international hit, revitalized the Bronson name, and gave a major boost to Cannon’s image. Naturally, Golan and Globus wanted a follow-up.

Kohner explains, “Golan wanted to do Charlie’s next picture and [The Evil That Men Do was] the one that we were going to do next. We were going off to Cannes to pre-sell foreign territories. I explained to Menahem that the rights to the book and the cost of the screenplay was $200,000. Menahem said, ‘Well, as a producer, that’s your contribution.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s very nice, but I put up a third, Charlie put up a third, and J. Lee Thompson put up a third. We must certainly reimburse them, if not me.’ He said, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.’ Menahem and I liked each other, but he didn’t want to back down. It became a matter of principle. We were leaving the next day for Cannes. [Golan] said, ‘I’ll tell you what. We’ll go to Cannes anyway and we’ll pre-sell the next Bronson picture. When we come back in two weeks, we’ll find another story and we will not make The Evil That Men Do. That’s how we came to do 10 to Midnight [1983]. It wasn’t until later that we made The Evil That Men Do.”

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The good folks at Scorpion Entertainment have done it again by producing first rate special collector's DVD and Blu-ray editions of a film that most critics dismissed as second rate at the time of its initial release. In this case, the film is "Dogs", which was unleashed (if you pardon the pun) on theaters in 1976, an era in which audiences went mad for movies about animals waging war on humanity. The modestly-budgeted production was shot in southern California on the outskirts of San Diego, with some key scenes filmed at Southwestern University. Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff, who went on to become a popular director of hit TV series, the film is set in an unnamed college in an unnamed town in an unnamed state. Suffice it to say that the area is fairly rural and the townspeople all seem to have connections to the local university.  A bearded, shaggy-haired and denim-clad David McCallum is Harlan Thompson, a science instructor at the school, whose counter-culture viewpoints and cynical disposition makes him a controversial figure among his peers. Nevertheless, when a series of mysterious and gruesome deaths occur, it is Thompson who is consulted about finding the culprit. Working with a new colleague at the school, Michael Fitzgerald (George Wyner)  and the town's sheriff (Eric Server), Thompson is at first baffled by what kind of wild animals would attack humans in a pack and leave their corpses chewed almost beyond recognition. When local dogs begin to act inexplicably vicious towards their owners, Thompson and Fitzgerald theorize that a local top secret government experiment with sensitive chemicals might some how be causing these generally benign household pets to become murderous beasts. In any event, it isn't long before Thompson and Fitzgerald encounter every classic cliched character to be found in horror films of the era. There is the stubborn bureaucrat who refuses to accept that a crisis is at hand. There are the trigger-happy mob members who set off on an ill-fated hunt for the furry fiends. There is the sexy young woman (Pre-"Dallas" Linda Gray) who inevitably feels compelled to take a shower, with predictably disastrous results.  (Yes, a Doberman manages to sneak into her bathroom in the film's mandatory homage to "Psycho"). Rounding out the "must-haves" for films of this genre, the climax must place a considerable number of students in imminent danger of suffering gruesome deaths.

Although "Dogs" is a factory of cliches, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the film. It's a true independent production that lacked any studio backing. As such, director Brinckerhoff does yeoman work getting around the obvious budget constraints. Although one assumes the cast and crew had their tongues firmly in their cheeks while shooting the movie, everyone plays it straight and no one goes for an over-the-top laugh. You keep waiting for one of those "so bad, it's good" moments to arrive, but surprisingly, the film remains a rather effective thriller. The premise, of course, is absurd...but so was the premise of Hitchcock's "The Birds", which is clearly the prime inspiration for "Dogs". The notion that any rural town in modern society can be completely cut off from humanity was far fetched when Hitchcock's film was released in 1963 and was even more unrealistic in 1976.  You also have to accept the other horror film cliche that occurs routinely in this movie: when people realize they are in imminent danger and have a method of escaping, they find a reason to delay their departure until it is too late. In this case, people who should immediately flee decide to "gather a few things together" first, as though stockpiling deodorant and hair gel would even cross your mind if you were in danger of being ripped apart by a pack of dogs. Refreshingly, however, the heroes of the film, played by McCallum and Wyner, act like true academics would in a crisis situation. They are not turned immediately into superheroes and when they take up arms, it has a tragic consequence. They also make human errors and prove to be wrong in some of their judgments. McCallum's trademark acting style of underplaying a scene has served him well throughout his career. While other actors often over-emote, he can quietly steal a scene even in such star-packed films as "Billy Budd", "The Great Escape" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told." This is an off-beat role for him and he delivers a fine performance. He's matched by George Wyner, who went on to have a very successful career as a character actor in hit comedies, though there is little evidence of his comedic appeal here. The two actors work well together and are joined by a competent supporting cast that includes Sandra McCabe, who nominally serves as McCallum's romantic interest but is really on-screen to provide the necessary "woman in jeopardy" sequences.

The Scorpion special edition DVD includes a campy introduction by their in-house hostess, actress Katarina Leigh Waters, who provides some interesting facts about the production while spoofing the horror film genre. There is also a documentary with recent interviews with Bruce Brinckerhoff, George Wyner, Eric Server and other people who worked on the production. Wyner and Server both talk about being thrilled to work with McCallum, who was the only big star associated with the production. Brinckerhoff, who is clearly proud of the film, discusses how the lack of production funds necessitated some of the actors to do their own stunts, which are uniformly impressive. He also points out the the film was edited by John Wright, who went on to receive two Oscar nominations and is today regarded as a top editor in the industry. The special edition also includes the original theatrical trailer. 

"Dogs" had a patchwork release and, to my knowledge, never even played in some key American cities. However, it did sensational business internationally and in rural American areas where its intended audience- the drive-in-crowd - responded to the chilling one sheet poster and the ominously-narrated trailer and TV spots. The flick has held up well over the years and if you view it in the proper context, it remains and effective example of indie filmmaking, both in execution and in marketing. 

If you want to "fetch" a copy from Amazon, click here to order DVD edition or click here to order Blu-ray. 

HOLLYWOOD GOES "MAD"

By Raymond Benson

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the 1963 classic epic comedy directed by Stanley Kramer, is one of those Hollywood train wrecks that you can’t help but like. It’s a one-of-a-kind all-star extravaganza featuring some of the biggest names of mostly 1950s and early 1960s comedy (and a good number of them were known primarily as television actor/comics rather than big screen performers). The United Artists release was one of a current trend of movie star ensemble film in which the producers attempt to throw in as many big names as possible (e.g. Exodus, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Longest Day). As Kramer himself states in a reunion extra that appears on Criterion’s new Blu-ray/DVD combo set, “It would be impossible to make today,” due to the salaries stars demand now.

Nowhere can you find such a collection of brilliant actor/comics in one motion picture—Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Dick Shawn, Edie Adams, Dorothy Provine, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Jim Backus, William Demarest, Carl Reiner... to name a few of the more prominent folks in the sprawling story. Spencer Tracy is top-billed and serves as the anchor, more or less, to the truly insane shenanigans going on. Then there are a bunch of cameos by the likes of Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Don Knotts, and ZaSu Pitts, some of which are delightful and serve as a “spot the player” game for the audience. Unfortunately, a handful of these cameos are wasted, having no “punch line” for their appearance. For example, why bring in the Three Stooges if they’re only going to stand still and stare straight ahead for a few seconds? The Three Stooges were not particularly known for portraying silent statues on screen. Another disappointment is the use of Buster Keaton. We barely know it’s him (in the general theatrical release), due to the lack of close-ups or identifiable visual Keatonesque traits.

All that sounds terrific, doesn’t it? In truth, the picture comes off as some kind of bizarre stunt. The plot is paper thin. A bag with $350,000 has been buried beneath a “big W” in Santa Rosita Park in the California town of the same name. A bunch of nincompoops go their separate ways and then proceed to go nuts trying to get to the treasure first. In the general theatrical release, Kramer takes 163 minutes to tell this tale with a series of slapstick set pieces, mostly shot on location, and generally consisting of crash-bang, destructive, pratfall humor. A little bit of that noisy kind of comedy goes a long way. Two hours and forty-three minutes of it is exhausting. Criterion has also attempted to piece together something resembling the original road show edition of the film by utilizing visual and/or audio elements that are, unfortunately, not in the kind of sparkling condition as the 4K digital film transfer of the general release. This extended edition clocks in at 193 minutes. Both versions are too long, as many of the critics of the time complained. While It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has its legions of admirers and fans, I tend to agree with those contemporary reviews. As with other “big” comedies (1941, The Blues Brothers), the size of the stunts and destruction overpowers the humor. Comedy simply works better on a more intimate, personal level.

In this case, the performances are larger than life. The superstar comics more or less spend the entire film in a hysterical state, frantically yelling their lines. They start at a fever pitch and then have nowhere to go from there. Rooney and Hackett are particular guilty of this. A handful of the principles are also supposed to be funny, but they end up being annoying. Ethel Merman, in particular, was written and directed to play the mother-in-law from hell, and she does such a fabulous job that I want to strangle her in the first five minutes of screen time—but alas, we have to put up with her for the next excruciating two and a half hours. When it’s all over you feel shell shocked. But I guess that’s the point.

That’s not to say there are no laughs in Mad World. There are. Jimmy Durante “kicking the bucket” is one such highlight; unfortunately that occurs in the first ten minutes. I particularly like the sequence in which Caesar and Adams are stuck in a hardware store basement and try all the wrong things to escape. I’d forgotten what a babe Edie Adams was in those days.

Technically, the picture is superb. The cinematography, particular, is fabulous—imagery of 1963 southern California almost transforms the picture into a western in which factions of outlaws are vying for hidden gold.

The Criterion Collection does an appropriately epic job in bringing Mad World to Blu-ray, and it’s a lavish, five-disc set—two Blu-rays and three DVDs. The general release version looks absolutely gorgeous (it was the first picture to be shot for Cinerama without using the Cinerama three-camera process). The audio commentary (on the extended version) by Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger, and Paul Scrabo, is very entertaining and enlightening. I recommend watching the general release edition first, then watching the extended version with the commentary. Also included are several fun extras, including vintage and recent television interviews and spots, an excerpt about the film from the 2000 AFI program 100 Years...100 Laughs, a new documentary with behind-the-scenes footage detailing the picture’s visual and sound effects, a selection of humorist and voice-over artist Stan Freberg’s original TV and radio ads for the film, and more. You even get a map of the locations.

No matter if you’re a huge fan, or, if you’re like me, a respectful viewer that appreciates the picture for its earnest in-your-face effort, Criterion’s new release is an educational journey into mad, mad, mad, mad Hollywood.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON AND SAVE $20!

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Twilight Time has released director/writer Walter Hill's 1978 thriller The Driver as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The film is intentionally antiseptic when it comes to development of characters. They are deliberately opaque. In fact, not one character in the movie has a name. The credits refer to them by their professions or physical characteristics. Ryan O'Neal stars in an almost wordless role (he speaks literally 350 words according to the informative liner notes by Julie Kirgo) as a legendary Los Angeles wheelman who gets paid big sums of money to drive getaway cars in the commission of crimes. The Driver doesn't know the people he is in league with and sentiment plays no part in his decision as to whether to accept an assignment. It's strictly based on the money to be earned and his confidence in the people pulling off the caper. The film opens on the robbery of a gambling den in Los Angeles. The crooks bungle their time table, leading The Driver to have to enact death-defying stunts in order to outrun a fleet of police cars in rapid pursuit. He succeeds in doing so but curtly informs his confederates that he will never work with them again because of their lack of professionalism. Meanwhile an arrogant detective (Bruce Dern) is excited by the challenge of finally capturing and convicting The Driver, a man he has been pursuing with a Javert-like zeal for years. He recovers a piece of evidence that leads him to The Driver. The Detective is blatantly breaking the law by setting up a crime and forcing some petty criminals to approach The Driver to be the wheelman. If they succeed in enlisting him for the job, they will walk away from jail sentences. The Detective doesn't want them: he only wants them to lure in the big fish so he can have the ultimate victory. To say that things go wrong across the board would be an understatement but the scenario allows Walter Hill to stage some of the most spectacular car chases in the history of the medium. He was clearly inspired by the success of Bulllitt, which he worked on, and he replicates that film's effective method of mounting a camera inside each speeding car. The result is thrilling. The caper aspect of the story is less impressive largely because of the vaguely-defined characters. Each one is unlikable and somewhat obnoxious. We root for The Driver only because The Detective is so egotistical and morally ambiguous. Isabelle Adjani is thrown into the mix as sexy window dressing but she saunters around wearing a glum, depressed expression and the script does not provide any opportunity for her to develop on screen chemistry with O'Neal. O'Neal, always a competent but bland and unexciting actor, is actually in his element in this role, as it seems to suit his real life personality. Dern steals the show because his character at least has some interesting eccentricities to play off of. There are some fine sequences aside from the chase scenes, with Dern's pursuit of a suspect aboard an Amtrak train especially exciting, even though it seems based on a similar sequence in Peckinpah's The Getaway. Ronnee Blaklee gives a fine performance as a southern woman caught up in the L.A. crime scene who pays a terrible price for that affiliation in the film's most disturbing sequence. The Driver is an imperfect film but it is an exciting one.

The Twilight Time release boasts a first rate transfer, an original trailer that shows a snippet of a kiss between Adjani and O'Neal that I don't believe ended up in the final cut and a deleted original opening sequence that  gives a bit more depth to the characters but which drags along at a snail's pace. Hill was right to eject it from the film. 

In all, another fine Twilight Time release and one that is highly recommended.  

Click here to order from Screen Archives 

Needham in 1980.

Stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham has died from unspecified causes at age 82. Needham had a long history as one of the best stuntmen in feature films and television before he moved into directing movies. Needham's films were hardly the stuff of art house theaters. He specialized in testosterone-packed action sequences designed to appeal squarely at male audiences. Along the way, he was also credited with developing methods that reduced the risk for the many stuntmen who populated his films. Needham made his directorial debut in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit starring his old friend Burt Reynolds. Critics scoffed at the cornball humor and endless car stunts and the film laid an egg in urban play dates. However, it resonated with its intended audiences in rural areas and eventually the grosses brought to blockbuster status. The movie not only cemented Reynolds as a genuine superstar but gave new life to the careers of his co-stars Sally Field and Jackie Gleason. Needham and Reynolds collaborated a few years later on another film, Hooper, that was accentuated by stunt work. He teamed with Reynolds again for the all-star comedy hit The Cannonball Run in 1981. The film spawned an ill-conceived sequel a few years later.  He also directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his first starring roles in the Western comedy Villain. Needham had no reservations about alternating between directing films and serving as a stunt coordinator. However, his association with Reynolds seem to mirror his own fate in the film business. As audiences tired of Reynolds' stunt-packed action films, grosses fell and Needham found himself less in demand. However, in 2012, he did have the satisfaction of receiving an honorary Oscar for his contributions to stunt work in the film industry. The characteristically modest man was well-liked and greatly respected for the impressive number of major films on which he performed stunts. These include Little Big Man, French Connection II, The Longest Yard, Camelot and A Star is Born. He was also a favorite of John Wayne, who learned a thing or two from Needham about how to throw convincing punches. Wayne used him as a stunt man or stunt coordinator on his films Rio Lobo, Chisum, The Undefeated and McQ. For more click here  

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!

By Lee Pfeiffer

Now that Severin Films has bounced back into circulation with their outstanding Blu-ray release of The Wild Geese, the company has also released a more obscure, star-studded title: the 1979 adventure film Ashanti. Never heard of it? Most people haven't and only a relatively few people have ever seen it in the American/British market, despite the impressive cast of high profile names. The film takes on what is probably the world's second-oldest profession: slave trading. Although human trafficking is high on the list of international crimes today, when the film was made, great pains had to be taken to educate viewers that slave trading did not get extinguished in the age of the horse and buggy and remains a very modern criminal activity. The film, directed by old hand Richard Fleischer, opens in Africa when an interracial married couple -  doctors David and Anansa Linderby (Michael Caine and Beverly Johnson)- are seen providing medical services to remote tribes who reside in isolated regions. When Anansa decides to take an ill-fated skinny dip in a local river, the beautiful young woman is mistaken for a member of the tribe and brutally kidnapped by slavers headed by the notorious Suleiman (Peter Ustinov), an Arab trader of human misery.  When David discovers his wife's fate, he launches an ambitious rescue effort but is hampered by corrupt or incompetent local officials. He decides to take matters into his own hands, with the help of a local humanitarian (Rex Harrison) and a sympathetic mercenary (William Holden). Despite their assistance, David finds the only man who can really help him is Malik (Kabir Bedi, who makes a striking screen presence), a Rambo-like figure who lives in the desert and is consumed by his own wife's abduction and murder at the hands of Suleiman. He agrees to assist David and the two make an arduous trek across the blazing Sahara in an attempt to rescue Anansa and her fellow victims before they can be sold at a private auction to rich men who want to abuse the slaves sexually.

Ashanti doesn't stint on the plight of those victimized by slavery. The slaves are treated brutally on the walk across the Sahara and given a minimum amount of food and water. The plan is to bring them to a "fattening house", a deplorable cellar, where they will be brought back to health in order to maximize their price at auction.  Along the way, both young women and little boys are molested at will. David and Malik make for a disparate but determined team. David, who is unskilled in fighting or the use of weapons, must rely on his hot-tempered ally, who is capable of taking on numerous adversaries at the same time and prevailing. Meanwhile, Anansa tries to use logic with Suleiman to gain her freedom, pointing out that she is employed by the United Nations and her kidnapping will bring authorities down on him. He is unimpressed and claims that her natural beauty will result in his making enough money to retire and leave the slave trade before he can be found.

Ashanti is a consistently compelling adventure film, well-directed by the veteran Fleischer. Caine is a refreshing screen hero because he isn't a superman. He does acquit himself well in a climactic fight scene but his unfamiliarity with firearms realistically results in tragic consequences for one of his key allies. Ustinov channels his role from Spartacus as a charismatic scoundrel. Even when he engages in deplorable acts, he is personally charming. The real find is model Beverly Johnson, who gives a very fine performance in what is really the starring the role in the film. Harrison and Holden have extended cameos and their presence adds greatly to the enjoyment of the movie, as does a late-in-the-story appearance by Omar Sharif. If there's a weak aspect to the production it's the musical score by Michael Melvoin, which would be more appropriate in a disco-themed romance than an action film.

Severin's Blu-ray edition features an extensive, recent interview with Beverly Johnson, who discusses the fact that she was the "breakthrough" African American female model of the 1970s. (She is also an activist for social causes and was recently honored by Oprah Winfrey). Johnson is very verbose and amusing in recounting the film, which she is proud of. She found herself the only girl among a team of hard-drinking guys on the production company, but recalls some sound advice given to her by Rex Harrison ("Never perform your own stunts!) that she ignored with almost tragic results. She still swoons at the memory of aging William Holden's handsome features and speaks bluntly about having to cope with former husband Danny Sims' on-set antics, which she says included bedding seemingly every female in sight. She also blames Sims, who was a high profile record producer, for the film's awful song, heard over the end credits which he convinced her to sing in order to promote a record album that no one bought. Johnson says the film's producer alienated the "suits" at the studio and they decided to get even by burying the movie, despite its expensive production values. Regardless of its theatrical fate, Ashanti remains a fast-moving, well-acted adventure movie that entertains even as it outrages viewers with an honest look at how cheap human life is in certain parts of this planet.

The special edition also includes the original trailer.

Click here to order from Amazon.

By Lee Pfeiffer

In 1978, I was still in college and was happily fulfilling my duties as film critic for the campus newspaper. It was a good gig: I got to go to press events, advance screenings and meet filmmakers all for free, which fit comfortably within my discretionary spending budget that amounted to zero dollars. I had seen advance teaser ads for the upcoming mercenary adventure movie The Wild Geese, which boasted the kind of all-star cast that impressed even in an era when all-star casts were anything but unique. I attended the press screening in New York and was instantly blown away. Here were great stars like Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and Stewart Granger adding considerable glamor to a gritty British war movie that was in the best stiff-upper-lip tradition of great British war movies. Having been weened on the likes of Zulu, The Wild Geese immediately became one of my favorite movies, one that I knew I would revisit many times more in the years to come. Adding to the pleasure of the experience was the opportunity to attend a press conference with the film's producer, Euan Lloyd and Col. "Mad" Mike Hoare, the legendary real-life mercenary who served as technical adviser on the movie. I found Lloyd to be an extraordinary man: kind and appreciative of my comments. In an extraordinary gesture, he invited me to breakfast at the Plaza the following morning, a pleasure most struggling blue collar college kids would not enjoy. Lloyd read some of my reviews and said he was suitably impressed (or was kind enough to pretend he was.) We spent a couple of hours talking about film history and movie making before parting company. I would not see him again for about 25 years, but that one meeting was pivotal in convincing me to write about film as a living.

I have indeed seen The Wild Geese numerous times over the years. The film's release was somewhat botched in America but it was a mega-hit for Lloyd worldwide. The story, in the tradition of Dark of the Sun, is based on a novel by Daniel Carney. It involves four middle-aged, seemingly over-the-hill mercenaries who are hired by a London millionaire to rescue a deposed African President from his captors and restore him to office. Something about copper rights is at the heart of the scheme, but the mercenaries (Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Kruger) are largely apolitical and only get involved for their own self-interests. Only the Harris character is somewhat reluctantly drawn to the mission on the basis of human rights issues: the man he hopes to rescue will presumably replace the murderous dictator who had him deposed. The old friends are reunited and go about recruiting an eclectic group of hard-bitten fellow mercenaries who are parachuted into Africa to accomplish this deadly mission. All goes well until an unexpected plot development leads them stranded in a barren wasteland as an army of vicious Simbas advance upon them. Now the Wild Geese ust devise desperate plans to escape certain death.

This is the best movie ever directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, an old hand and pro at directing action movies. He is surprisingly at ease in this most British of story lines and deftly handles his talented cast, bringing out each actor's best qualities. The movie is so exciting that it seems unfair to provide many more details, as it might spoil at some of the film's many pleasures. Lloyd, a former protege of legendary producer Cubby Broccoli, hired many crew members from the James Bond series including editor John Glen, title designer Maurice Binder, stunt coordinator Bob Simmons and production designer Syd Cain. These were the best in their chosen professions and the film benefits greatly from their contributions. There is also a rousing score by Roy Budd and a fine title song written and performed by Joan Armatrading. One of the great joys of the movie is watching the three middle-aged leads accentuate their ages. Those who were amazed Burton could still carry off an action film with Where Eagles Dare were even more impressed he could do so again a decade later with this movie. The supporting cast is wonderful, with stalwart tough guy Jack Watson particularly good as the hard-as-nails R.S.M who whips his aging recruits into shape. Granger gives a fine, late career performance as the erudite baddie and the final confrontation between him and Burton is wonderfully written (the impressive screenplay is by Reginald Rose, who wrote Twelve Angry Men) and performed by the two seasoned pros. The film's scene-stealer is veteran British character actor Kenneth Griffiths, who plays an effete gay medic who nonetheless is a vicious warrior on the battlefield. Lloyd's films are filled with such progressive messages that denounce stereotypes based on sex, race or sexuality. The film's pleas for racial understanding come across as a bit too pat by today's standards, but this was edgy stuff in 1978 in the era of apartheid. (Lloyd broke racial barriers by hiring black actors and crew members and insisting they be housed, paid and treated equally- a rather controversial notion in Africa at the time.)

The most vivid image from the film is famous sequence in which the Geese free fall over Africa before landing by parachute. It's beautifully filmed and inspired Cubby Broccoli to use free-falling stunts as the opening sequence of his next James Bond film, Moonraker. The movie's breakneck-paced conclusion finds the Geese incurring major losses against a seemingly insurmountable army as Roger Moore's Sean Flynn attempts to use an aging airplane as a rescue vehicle. It's as exciting of a battle sequence as you can imagine and ranks with the best sequences in any film of this genre.

Severin Films, one of our favorite niche market DVD labels, has been largely dormant this year but has come back with a vengeance via this superb Blu-ray/DVD dual pak release. The film transfer is highly impressive and the bonus extras will be appreciated by fans. The release imports all of the special features from the previous UK release: a vintage, extended featurette about the making of the movie (all of the stars agree it was one of the best experiences of their professional careers), producer Jonathan Sothcott's excellent documentary about Euan Lloyd's life and career (most appropriately titled Last of the Gentleman Producers, a commentary track by Roger Moore, the original trailer and news coverage of the film's London premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square Theatre and the after-party at the Dorchester. Two new major features are unique to this release: recent filmed interviews with Andrew V. McLaglen and 94-year old mercenary Michael Hoare.

In all, a superb celebration of one of the great British films of its era.

Click here to order from Amazon.

By Dave Worrall

I went to the media screening of the new James Bond film SkyFall last night at the "home" of 007 - the Odeon Leicester Square. All 1600 seats were taken, and the buzz of anticipation in the auditorium was overwhelming. They were not disappointed, as this 23rd film in the series unfolded in spectacular fashion.

I'm not one for revealing story lines, and I'm not about to change that habit here. However, press releases have disclosed the story (a simple one at that) of Bond being sent in pursuit of a stolen hard drive that contains the names of secret agents around the world who have infiltrated terrorist organizations. We soon discover the nemesis behind the plot, which leads to a vendetta against Mi6 and 'M' - and a scenario that Bond has to resolve.

All the "elements" of a big-scale James Bond film are here: stunning locations, beautiful women, action set-pieces, grand sets, and gadgets and gimmicks - oh, and characters from the past. This film is director Sam Mendes’ tribute to the 007 films he grew up with, and he delivers big time. For me, after the disappointment of the lack lustre Quantum Of Solace, it was a welcome back to the world of Bond of the past - but only the 21st century past. You cannot compare this film to the Connery or Moore eras; that would be ridiculous. Times have changed. Audiences have changed - and so have expectations of a new generation of movie-goers - and quite rightly so. Bond has changed, too, and is all the better for it.

Producers Broccoli and Wilson have brought together a brilliant team of craftsmen for this production, and everyone delivers. From the stunning photography of Roger Deakins (probably the best-looking Bond film ever), to the superb pacing of editor Stuart Baird (a joy to behold after the computer game- style cutting of Quantum) and the dazzling set designs of Dennis Gassner, this really is the "David Lean" of Bond films. Daniel Kleinman's titles are fantastic, and the Adele title song is the best since Tina Turner's GoldenEye. The action set-pieces are spectacular, and handled by past "Bond veterans" Gary Powell (stunts) Alexander Witt (2nd unit director) and Chris Corbould (special effects).

The stellar cast is impeccable. Craig is in top form, as is Judi Dench. Javier Bardem makes for a menacing and memorable villain, and co-supporters Ralph Fiennes, Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris and Rory Kinnear come together as a believable "team" who assist Bond with his mission. Bérénice Marlohe, who looks stunning, is under-used (when you see the film you will see why). However, that is due to the script and not a reflection on her ability as an actress.

Which brings me around to the script. As I said earlier, the plot is fairly simple, but the dialogue is superb, and there are some excellent humorous one-liners that had this audience laughing out loud. There are also some "nods to the past" which the audience loved - with one scene getting a round of applause and cheering. The violence is pretty full-on and dramatic. It's definitely not a film for kids.

Are there any flaws? Yes. But only noticeable to Bond die-hards, not a general audience of movie-goers. Is it the best Bond film ever? No, but it's up there in the top five. Would I see it again? I can't wait - and most Bond fans will feel the same after experiencing Skyfall.

On Global James Bond day, Eon Productions has released the first film clip from Skyfall that features a spectacular action sequence involving Daniel Craig's assault with a bulldozer on a speeding train. The scene has a nice Bondian touch: 007 adjusting his cufflinks after enduring some death-defying stunts. It reminds us of Bond calmly adjusting his necktie after the brutal battle to the death with Red Grant in From Russia With Love. Best of all, the score features strands of the James Bond Theme, which has been all-too elusive in recent 007 flicks.

George Leech, a mild-mannered and understated man in real life, menaces Carole Bouquet in the 1981 007 film For Your Eyes Only.

George Leech, the legendary British stuntman, passed away on June 17 at age 90. Leech was a veteran of many classic films and his ability to perform dangerous, awe-inspiring stunts allowed him to work as an elder statesman in his industry. Up until recently, he was helping to train aspiring stuntmen. Leech's films include such memorable action films as Kelly's Heroes, The Guns of Navarone, A Bridge Too Far and Superman. However, he is best known for his long relationship with Eon Production and his work on the James Bond films from Dr. No (1962) through A View to a Kill (1985). For more about his remarkable career click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Fox has released the 2011 film adaptation of the classic children's tale Mr. Popper's Penguins as a Blu-ray special edition that also contains a standard DVD version. The original 1938 book by Richard and Florence Atwater has been updated to contemporary times and is set in New York City. Jim Carrey, who has regained his comedy mojo, is in top form as the titular character. As a boy, young Tom Popper idolized his father, who was an intrepid explorer. Although the two rarely saw each other, Poppa Popper used to stay in touch every night on ham radio from exotic ports of call and transfix his young son with tales of his adventures. Cut to decades later. Young Popper is now a middle-aged real estate hot shot living in a posh Manhattan penthouse. His obsession with his career has led to his wife Amanda (Carla Gugino) leaving him and taking custody of their teenage daughter Janie (Madeline Carroll) and young son Billy (Maxwell Perry Cotton). Although Tom is lovable and possesses a goofy sense of humor, his relationship with his children is strained because he is irresponsible and unreliable when it comes to promises he's made to them. Shortly after the death of his beloved father, Tom receives an unusual inheritance: six live penguins, a token of his father's esteem. At first, Popper is understandably frazzled, as coping with penguins in a Manhattan apartment, no matter how spacious, is a recipe for disaster. Through a misunderstanding, his children believe the penguins are pets for them. Having finally earned the gratitude of his children, Popper can't bring himself to donate the animals to a zoo so he concocts elaborate schemes to house them and care for them secretly, 'lest the board of the apartment building evicts all the inhabitants of Popper's penthouse. 

Much of the fun from this smartly written and well-directed film is the sheer joyfulness of watching the penguins "perform". Although CGI was indeed used in key sequences, amazingly, most of the sequences relied upon trained penguins to perform some astonishing stunts. Director Mark Waters deftly weaves the human elements of the story in with the mayhem caused by the animals. Tom Popper's career nosedives when he becomes obsessed with caring for his frisky pets. Consequently, he seems unable to land a deal to convince a wealthy woman (Angela Lansbury) to allow him to broker a deal to buy the legendary Tavern on the Green in Central Park. (Tragically, the happy ending in the film was not mirrored in real life: the restaurant closed.) Popper keeps up a maddening pace, trying to keep his hard-nosed, demanding bosses happy as well as attempting to win back the affection of his wife and kids. The film is delightful throughout and Carrey has never been funnier. There are many memorable sequences, one of which involves the penguins disrupting a posh black tie gathering at the Guggenheim in much the same way the Three Stooges used to upstage champagne-drinking snobs. The supporting cast is also very winning, with both Carroll and Cotton giving admirable performances as Popper's kids, Gugino both sexy and sympathetic as his long-suffering wife and Lansbury, impressive in her most memorable role in years. There are also gems of cameos by Philip Baker Hall as Popper's grumpy boss and the always impressive Lee Moore in a fine bit as Popper's attorney.  

The Blu-ray/DVD package is loaded with extras including some very interesting "making of" featurettes, a gag reel and deleted scenes (some of which should have remained in the film).

Mr. Popper's Penguins wasn't a blockbuster at the box-office, but it will undoubtedly become a family favorite that will perennially delighted generations to come. 

Click here to order from Amazon 

The Barbican in London will present a major exhibition dedicated to the style and design aspects of the James Bond films. The exhibit will run from 6 July to 5 September, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the film series. Here is an official announcement:

With unprecedented access to EON’s archive, Designing 007 – Fifty Years of Bond Style is a multi-sensory experience where screen icons, costumes, production design, automobiles, gadgets, special effects, graphic design, exotic locations, weapons, stunts and props combine to immerse the audience in the creation and development of Bond style over its auspicious 50 year history. 

Highlights include gadgets and weapons made for Bond and his notorious adversaries by special effects experts John Stears, Syd Cain and Chris Corbould; artwork for sets and storyboards by production designers Sir Ken Adam and Peter Lamont and costume designs by Bumble Dawson, Donfeld, Julie Harris, Lindy Hemming, Ronald Patterson, Emma Porteous, and Jany Temime.

On display too will be lavish screen finery produced for the six actors who played Bond and his sidekicks over five decades by Hollywood costume designers and major fashion names including Giorgio Armani, Brioni, Roberto Cavalli, Tom Ford, Hubert de Givenchy, Gucci’s Frida Giannini, Douglas Hayward, Rifat Ozbek, Jenny Packham, Miuccia Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Anthony Sinclair, Philip Treacy, Emanuel Ungaro and Donatella Versace.

Lindy Hemming, costume designer says, “In our exhibition, we intend, having explored the contents of the extensive EON archives, to thrill visitors with an insight into some of the design processes involved in the many different areas of making the Bond films.”

For more click here

She's at it again. Actress and party-crasher Sean Young, star of such hits as Blade Runner and Stripes, was arrested Sunday night while allegedly attempting to crash a post-Oscars party. Young got into an altercation with a security guard who attempted to bar her entrance to the affair. Young, who was clad in a glamorous gown, denied she assaulted anyone. This is not the first time she has received unwanted attention from her antics. She has unsuccessfully attempted to crash other high profile parties in the past and engaged in bizarre stunts in a failed attempt to win the role of Catwoman (click here for video). Her career was derailed many years ago and she has been treated for substance abuse. Click here for more

Sir Roger Moore returns to television on December 3 in a Hallmark Hall of Fame family movie, A Princess for Christmas (see photo above). Sir Roger also reflected recently on James Bond films past and present: he's a big fan of Daniel Craig and acknowledges that if he had to do as many stunts during his tenure as 007, "I would have been dead after the first movie!" He also says the 1977 flick The Spy Who Loved Me was the most fun to film. For more click here

Two of our spies are missing: the roles of actors to play Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin have yet to be cast.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. feature film curse continues. Since the late 1970s, efforts to turn the classic 1960s TV series starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Leo G. Carroll have been thwarted at the last minute by a variety of factors. George Clooney was to play the Vaughn role of Napoleon Solo in a big screen production directed by Steven Soderbergh. Clooney dropped out because of old injuries that might have precluded him from performing certain stunts. Then Bradley Cooper seemed to be ready to take up the mantle until word came that he, too, has dropped out. At this point it looks like they may have to go back and hire Vaughn and McCallum for the project! No word on who is next in line for consideration but with filming due to start soon, Soderbergh is running out of time. For more click here

News reports in the trade press indicate that actor Bradley Cooper has been offered the role of Napoleon Solo in director Steven Soderbergh's forthcoming big screen version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The role of the suave spy was immortalized by Robert Vaughn in the legendary 1960s TV series. No word on whether Cooper will accept. George Clooney was to play the role originally in the feature film but backed out because he feared some old injuries might prevent him from performing the required stunts.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Twilight Time, the DVD label that specializes in releasing worthy films as limited editions of only 3,000 units, has brought out another long-neglected gem: the 1966 Fox version of John Ford's 1939 classic Stagecoach. The film was roundly blasted by critics in its day, perhaps out of reverence for Ford and John Wayne, who were still very much alive. There is no doubt that the original Stagecoach remains a milestone in cinematic history- the first "adult" Western, if you don't count Raoul Walsh's ambitious The Big Trail from a decade earlier.The film not only rescued Wayne from "B" Western hell but also encouraged other studios to revitalize the genre. Fox took the brunt of criticism from movie fans at the time of the remake's release for allegedly taking the original film off the art house and TV syndication markets for a period of years. The claim may not be true since the original movie was released by a different studio, United Artists, but whether it is an urban legend or not, the knives were out for the remake long before it opened. Audiences today are quite tolerant of remakes. They have to be since virtually every other movie in current release seems to be a remake. However, in 1966 the notion of remakes of classic movies seemed to rub audiences and critics the wrong way. There are those who still denounce the big budget re-dos of Mutiny on the Bounty and Cleopatra even though many film scholars now concede they are better than the originals. At the risk of being accused of being accused of blasphemy, I'd like to state categorically that if the remake of Stagecoach isn't as important or influential as its predecessor, it's every bit as entertaining.

Happier times: Manes with Eastwood on the set of Any Which You Can (1980) prior to the severing of their friendship.

Fritz Manes, a boyhood school friend of Clint Eastwood who would later produce many of the actor's hit films of the 1970s and 1980s, has died at age 79. Manes was a Korean War veteran who was hired by Eastwood's Malpaso Productions in the mid 1970s. He served variously as producer, associate producer or executive producer on major films such as Escape From Alcatraz, Every Which Way But Loose, Any Which Way You Can, Pale Rider, Firefox, Honkytonk Man, Sudden Impact, Tightrope and others. Manes would occasionally appear in cameo roles and perform stunts in the films, as well. He and Eastwood had their friendship severed when the two collaborated on the 1986 film Heartbreak Ridge, a fictionalized version of the U.S. invasion of Granada. Eastwood had wanted Manes to ensure that the film had the full backing of the U.S Marine Corps and Department of Defense, especially since it capitalized on the wave of patriotism that defined the Reagan era. However, both the Marines and Department of Defense publicly disavowed the movie, leading Eastwood to fire Manes.  Later, Manes accused Eastwood of being power-crazed and reluctant to share credit for anything. Eastwood responded by saying that Manes had failed to perform the duties that had been expected of him. For more click here