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Post by andydecker on Jan 1, 2022 21:47:15 GMT
Oh, and a Prosit Neujahr too! for you and all on the board.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 2, 2022 2:27:54 GMT
Andreas, I played a three minute trailer for the Count Zaroff movie that was probably more entertaining for me than sitting through the whole thing, though some of the offbeat humor mentioned in a review (maybe on DVD Savant?) might pique my interest further. The title character is played by an actor with a very offbeat face.
It definitely looks superior to Franco's films. Rollin is mentioned as someone comparable. I have friends who swear his films are genuinely "artistic" but whenever I've tried to watch a clip on youtube, I get bored quickly. I think it is simply a matter of the films being made for an audience that doesn't actually include me. Which, really, is fine.
I'll never understand the cult around Franco. He made 99 films, reportedly. Even one is a struggle to get through though I will admit to having enjoyed a Sumuru film, mainly thanks to Shirley Eaton and the costume designs. That movie has something like 5 or 6 release titles, including Future Women, The Girl from Rio, and The Seven Husbands of Sumuru (German release title).
cheers, Steve
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Post by ripper on Jan 2, 2022 10:44:23 GMT
Enjoyed very much X-Rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker by Stanley Long and Simon Sheridan. Really interesting account of Long's career in exploitation, with many laugh out loud moments.
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Post by andydecker on Jan 2, 2022 11:10:39 GMT
Andreas, I played a three minute trailer for the Count Zaroff movie that was probably more entertaining for me than sitting through the whole thing, though some of the offbeat humor mentioned in a review (maybe on DVD Savant?) might pique my interest further. The title character is played by an actor with a very offbeat face. It definitely looks superior to Franco's films. Rollin is mentioned as someone comparable. cheers, Steve The actor is the director Michael Lemoine. He began as an actor in adventure movies in the 50s, became a writer and director and in the liberated 70s he drifted into softcore movies and later hardcore movies, back when the were still produced for the screen. I share your view on Franco. I don't "get" him either. I do understand that some of his setpieces and the atmosphere are quite unique. In hindsight his movies may be more interesting for their era and the story of producers like Eurocine. One has to keep in mind that most of his movies were shot before the video-age and actually played in cinemas. In our "see it in the bus on your handy age" this is hard to understand, I think, that you actually had to buy a ticket to see any of this. Maybe the appreciation of these movies is in ones genes or not. Franco doesn't work for me, Jean Rollin does. Over the years I have become a Rollin fan. I can absolutely understand why his work is mostly considered as boring. It relies more on fantasy and a dreamlike-atmosphere and is not narratively driven. I like the melancholy and the morbid atmosphere of his movies, which were produced under difficult circumstances and with so money at all. He created well-known images, like the one of Brigitte Lahaie with the scythe on a castles moat. Or the vampire twins about which Rollin also wrote some novels which sadly were never translated.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 2, 2022 19:34:59 GMT
Thanks for those thoughts, Andreas. In all honesty, I'd be interested to see a Rollin film at one of the local rep houses (there are two near where I live that could, conceivably, someday do a Jean Rollin retrospective). I think that could be a decent introduction to his work for me. I have often found it easier to get into potentially difficult material in a theatre as opposed to at home where I often just don't have the right attitude or degree of patience. However, the only way I have ever found to see a complete Rollin film is to purchase a DVD or, now, a Blu Ray disc. And even if I find the film remarkable, it's unlikely I'd ever want to watch it more than once. But who knows.
I've seen very few of those Italian giallo films so many people write lengthy blog posts and articles about now for the same reason--only way to see them, mostly, is to purchase a disc. Sometimes they do show up on youtube for a brief period. I finally saw the 1965 cult film Bloody Pit of Horror on y.t. and found it mostly a yawn. This one sequence that one critic had raved over was so poorly shot--a wasted opportunity. The critic claimed it was deeply homoerotic and I am a middle aged (getting to be elderly) gay man and all I saw was Mickey Hargitay rather unconvincingly pretending to be a psychotic narcissistic looking at himself in a large mirror.
I'm probably too curmudgeonly at this point to go out in society, but here we are.
cheers, Steve
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Post by andydecker on Jan 3, 2022 9:09:07 GMT
Thanks for those thoughts, Andreas. In all honesty, I'd be interested to see a Rollin film at one of the local rep houses (there are two near where I live that could, conceivably, someday do a Jean Rollin retrospective). I think that could be a decent introduction to his work for me. I have often found it easier to get into potentially difficult material in a theatre as opposed to at home where I often just don't have the right attitude or degree of patience. However, the only way I have ever found to see a complete Rollin film is to purchase a DVD or, now, a Blu Ray disc. And even if I find the film remarkable, it's unlikely I'd ever want to watch it more than once. But who knows. I've seen very few of those Italian giallo films so many people write lengthy blog posts and articles about now for the same reason--only way to see them, mostly, is to purchase a disc. Sometimes they do show up on youtube for a brief period. I finally saw the 1965 cult film Bloody Pit of Horror on y.t. and found it mostly a yawn. This one sequence that one critic had raved over was so poorly shot--a wasted opportunity. The critic claimed it was deeply homoerotic and I am a middle aged (getting to be elderly) gay man and all I saw was Mickey Hargitay rather unconvincingly pretending to be a psychotic narcissistic looking at himself in a large mirror. I'm probably too curmudgeonly at this point to go out in society, but here we are. cheers, Steve To watch those movies on Youtube gives one a mostly negative impression, a lot are better made as seen there. But the problem is indeed avaibility. A lot of those movies you indeed watch one time only. Of course with these new editions it is a matter of the extras. The audio commentaries often do put things in perspective and are more interesting than the stuff on the screen. Which for the majority is understandably not the reason for watching this. Italian genre movies is such a wide field, from the 60s Gothics by Freda to the 80s erotic thrillers. For every Mario Bava you get movies like The Bloody Pit of Horror (which IMHO is only labeled cult because it is so inept and can be safely laughed about). A good guide before buying too many BDs you later rue is the two part Italian Gothic Horror Films by Roberto Curti which is fairly comprehensive. But it doesn't cover the Giallo, the "sexy thriller" of the time. Rollin is as already mentioned a also a wide field. For instance his first movie Le Viol du Vampire is still shot in black&white and more like the work of film students at the beginning of a time of societal and political upheavals - when it was indeed shot - and shouldn't be viewed with the expectation of some good vampire flick. It really is like those French movies which are always used as joke material in American sitcoms. I can't recommend it for the casual first time viewer.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 3, 2022 18:50:11 GMT
Hi Andreas,
Some of these films may be available on the streaming service to which I have access through a popular retail site. And perhaps I'll make time to look around and try to see one later this year. I'm more curious about Rollin than some of the other directors widely touted these days (Fulci is another one I can't quite make head or tails of), simply because thoughtful people such as yourself do mention how poetic the Rollin films are. I read somewhere that Rollin wasn't interested in the exploitation element at all but that was the only way he was able to get the films made.
A similar case as Bloody Pit of Horror is the American cult film Count Yorga Vampire which I've seen perhaps three times (as it is widely available over here). The editing and many of the camera set-ups are extraordinarily inept--the film looks as if it was edited with a dull razor-blade and a rather clapped-out movieola--but whenever Robert Quarry is onscreen, his performance makes it fascinating to watch. He isn't onscreen all that much though and I find the longueurs taxing during those lengthy sequences. Some of the actors were people whose previous work had been in late 1960s porno films, I have read (the actresses mainly, I would think). I have the sequel here on a DVD I purchased a few years ago but have been unable to make myself sit down and watch it. Have heard it is a much better film.
If I have time, I'll look through my journal and see if I can retrieve some titles to post on this thread. I hope you enjoy health, prosperity and at least some measure of happiness in this new year.
cheers, Steve
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Post by andydecker on Jan 3, 2022 20:54:25 GMT
Hi Andreas, Some of these films may be available on the streaming service to which I have access through a popular retail site. And perhaps I'll make time to look around and try to see one later this year. I'm more curious about Rollin than some of the other directors widely touted these days (Fulci is another one I can't quite make head or tails of), simply because thoughtful people such as yourself do mention how poetic the Rollin films are. I read somewhere that Rollin wasn't interested in the exploitation element at all but that was the only way he was able to get the films made. If I have time, I'll look through my journal and see if I can retrieve some titles to post on this thread. I hope you enjoy health, prosperity and at least some measure of happiness in this new year. cheers, Steve Thanks! You too. Rollins said that himself in a few interviews. The erotic - i.e. some nudity, not even simulated sex - elements were mostly a thing of the producers. It is quite ironic as Rollin later directed some porn himself. Fulci is a chameleon. His early movies are nothing like his later splatter movies. For instance his movie Una sull’altra from 1969 with Marisa Mell, a thriller in the Hitchcock mode, is so far removed from the zombie stuff it is kind of schizophrenic. I like those early movies much more than the later horror stuff. I was tempted to buy the Yorga movies. :-) I have a dim recollection of seeing them years ago and not being much impressed. But I sometimes have a terrible taste in movies. I even bought Grave of the Vampire by William Hayes which is another of those 70s movie with so much unfulfilled potential. Way ahead of its time which of course is only seen 50 years later.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jan 3, 2022 21:16:29 GMT
Fulci is a chameleon. His early movies are nothing like his later splatter movies. For instance his movie Una sull’altra from 1969 with Marisa Mell, a thriller in the Hitchcock mode, is so far removed from the zombie stuff it is kind of schizophrenic. I like those early movies much more than the later horror stuff. The explanation is the changed international role of Italian cinema, and changed budgets. UNA SULL'ALTRA is extremely suspenseful.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 3, 2022 21:34:20 GMT
A scattering of salts...
Dion Fortune, The Strange Cases of Dr Taverner Dion Fortune, The Winged Bull Saki, The Chronicles of Clovis Jack Mann, The Ninth Life Marion Zimmer Bradley, ed. Greyhaven Raphael Patai and Robert Graves, Hebrew Myths Chris Hunt, Thornapple Chris Hunt, Street Lavender Sjón, Moonstone - The Boy who never was A. Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet
"Television"
Shadow of the Stone (1987) Dark Shadows (1966-1971) Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-67)
I did view some films but often failed to note these even in my personal journal. A recent delight was viewing the HD edition of the 1964 film The Gorgon, once regarded as a failure but now increasingly embraced by fans for its mysterious, poetic qualities.
H.
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Post by andydecker on Jan 4, 2022 21:06:23 GMT
Fulci is a chameleon. His early movies are nothing like his later splatter movies. For instance his movie Una sull’altra from 1969 with Marisa Mell, a thriller in the Hitchcock mode, is so far removed from the zombie stuff it is kind of schizophrenic. I like those early movies much more than the later horror stuff. The explanation is the changed international role of Italian cinema, and changed budgets. UNA SULL'ALTRA is extremely suspenseful. I was talking about his overall style, not the crisis of Italien cinema and his need to earn a living. Maybe I am seeing things, I still have to watch one of his old movies or his comedys, but I think his change is different.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jan 4, 2022 21:09:13 GMT
The explanation is the changed international role of Italian cinema, and changed budgets. UNA SULL'ALTRA is extremely suspenseful. I was talking about his overall style, not the crisis of Italien cinema and his need to earn a living. Maybe I am seeing things, I still have to watch one of his old movies or his comedys, but I think his change is different. I do not think so. The same thing happened with Umberto Lenzi, for instance.
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Post by andydecker on Jan 5, 2022 10:22:39 GMT
I was talking about his overall style, not the crisis of Italien cinema and his need to earn a living. Maybe I am seeing things, I still have to watch one of his old movies or his comedys, but I think his change is different. I do not think so. The same thing happened with Umberto Lenzi, for instance. Lenzi, hm ... Frankly I can't remember his later movies, even if I am sure I have seen them. I have just seen his Così dolce... così perversa for the first time and was rather bored. This was too much Les Diaboliques for me to work. But the direction sure was more careful than the later horror schlock. Or maybe the screenplays were just better written at this time, who knows? Maybe Gastaldi was a better writer than a lot of his contemporaries. Or I am just biased because I like his work.
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Jan 9, 2022 17:16:41 GMT
Dark Shadows (1966-1971) H. As a fellow Dark Shadows fan, one of the highlights of my Christmas season was watching many of the original cast members reunited to perform a spirited reading of a radio adaptation of A Christmas Carol. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWUmihz0F6M
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Post by humgoo on Jan 25, 2022 4:06:45 GMT
TELEVISION SERIES: Midnight Mass; Locke & KeyThe former seems to have polarized folks, but I enjoyed its low-key, reflective approach. I've been watching Midnight Mass for the second time, actually. I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know how original the script is, but I certainly enjoy it (I don't even mind the dia-/monologues). My only complaint is that the Thing in it is a bit too ... how do you say that in English? Droll? (And literally lame at the end!)
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