Do you feel 78 ?......well, do you punk?
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
STONE (1973)
A failure on its initial release, the film has developed a cult status over the years, although I'm damned if I can see why. It opens quite nicely with a sequence where a guy revs up his bike, rides off and a few moments later is beheaded by a wire stretched across the road. There is a big impressive funeral with a motorbike hearse and the burial itself is quite cute with the body being lowered down a manhole in the middle of
the cemetery. After that, though, the bikes don't even need engines c'os it's down hill all the way. Any tolerance that one might be prepared to give the movie flies out the window the moment our eponymous hero, played by Ken Shorter, appears. Where did they find this guy??? He is obviously having a bad hair day and looks ready to burst into tears at any moment, this being the only expression he can manage. Ken went on to have a totally undistinguished career in Australia and later an even less distinguished on in England where he can still be seen on rare occasions playing small roles in such drama shows as HOLBY CITY. The whole thing seems to have been a vanity project for director Sandy Harbutt (his wife Helen Morse appears in the film and Harbutt himself plays Undertaker, the gang leader) as according to IMDB he has done zilch since - which is understandable. The trouble with this whole genre is that the characters never seem to be able to string words together to make coherent sentences which tends to make them a bit on the uninteresting side and as far the posturing weirdness...well if you haven't got the budget to get Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern - forget it. Go watch Brando and Marvin in THE WILD ONE. Rating *
the cemetery. After that, though, the bikes don't even need engines c'os it's down hill all the way. Any tolerance that one might be prepared to give the movie flies out the window the moment our eponymous hero, played by Ken Shorter, appears. Where did they find this guy??? He is obviously having a bad hair day and looks ready to burst into tears at any moment, this being the only expression he can manage. Ken went on to have a totally undistinguished career in Australia and later an even less distinguished on in England where he can still be seen on rare occasions playing small roles in such drama shows as HOLBY CITY. The whole thing seems to have been a vanity project for director Sandy Harbutt (his wife Helen Morse appears in the film and Harbutt himself plays Undertaker, the gang leader) as according to IMDB he has done zilch since - which is understandable. The trouble with this whole genre is that the characters never seem to be able to string words together to make coherent sentences which tends to make them a bit on the uninteresting side and as far the posturing weirdness...well if you haven't got the budget to get Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern - forget it. Go watch Brando and Marvin in THE WILD ONE. Rating *SIDNEY POLLACK DIES....
SIDNEY POLLACK1934 - 2008
THE SLENDER THREAD, CASTLE KEEP, THE SCALPHUNTERS
THE YAKUZA, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
ABSENCE OF MALICE
Monday, 26 May 2008
HE IS NOT DEAD, JUST SLEEPETH!
Yes, I know it's not his birthday until tomorrow but the party will go on all night at the House of Seven Gables!Vincent Price is one of my top half dozen favourite actors of all time - but of that top five he occupies a very special place. Of my favourites he is the only one I have actually met. More, because to a degree I got to know him. I have dined with him, visited his dressing room at The Queens Theatre in London and even been on a car journey with him. I was lucky enough to see Vincent on stage in a production of ARDELE and at his John Player Lecture at the National Film Theatre. I first met Vincent through my friend, the late Michael Reeves, who directed him in WITCHFINDER GENERAL and was later lucky enough to visit the sets or locations for THE OBLONG BOX, THE ABOMINABLE DR.PHIBES, THEATRE OF BLOOD, MADHOUSE, SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and CRY OF THE BANSHEE. I don't think I've heard anybody say a bad word about Vincent....probably because there isn't one to say. He was a very funny man to be with, a gracious host and a great actor. I feel privileged to have known him, even for what was a relatively, short period, but it was one of the great thrills of my life. Happy Birthday, Vincent!
Please give the video a few moments to load.
Please give the video a few moments to load.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
EMMA ZUNZ
Here is what will, hopefully, be a real treat for you - an entire movie (albeit a short one) directed by my friend Maxim Ford while studying at the Polish Film School many years ago. It is based on the short story, EMMA ZUNZ, by the great Argentinian writer Jose Luis Borges and although there are several other versions of the story on You Tube, this is by far the best. Enjoy!
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