Michael Elliott

I recorded this, CRISIS and a few other Grant titles off of TCM recently so hopefully I'll get them viewed within the year.



I'm really not sure how you view these "B" and "Z" films Mario. If you go into BRIDE OF THE MONSTER rating/judging it the same as you would THE GODFATHER then you're going to hate it. Most of these "B" movies are technically very poorly made films so to rate them along with KANE or whatever great movie really isn't going to work in your favor. If that's how you see these movies then it's probably best to skip them because your opinion of an actor might slip some. I personally get entertainment from these films no matter how technically bad they are. Films like ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, THE KILLER SHREWS, REEFER MANDESS, SEX MADNESS and hundreds of others are technically bad but you can laugh at them or find entertainment in how bad they are. If you can't enjoy the badness then there's really no point in wasting time on these.

I've seen you give these rather low ratings but I'm not sure if you still find them entertaining enough to watch again or enjoy. I've given REEFER MANDESS, MANIAC, SEX MADNESS and several others a "BOMB" rating yet I will gladly watch them again due to the entertainment factor.



Again, it depends on how you're going to view these films. Ed Wood is the most beloved bad filmmaker and if you couldn't get any laughs from his films then I'm not sure how you'll react to these SW titles. They all feature horrid acting, horrid directing, horrid scripts, horrid soundtracks and awful effects. These are really (technically) bad films so can you get entertainment from them? If you can enjoy them for what they are then jump right in. If you view these compared to KANE then I'd stay away.



I haven't seen any of these.....yet.



This too will be coming soon.


Back to Franco, I really hope you get to one of the One Shot films soon. I've pretty much given up hope on Franco ever making another good film. As you know, he goes through various periods of filmmaking but I'm not sure what in the hell he's doing with these films. MARI COOKIE and KILLER BARBYS are mildly entertaining but nothing I'd rewatch. The same for BROKEN DOLLS. The rest are all horrid IMO. I just got ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS and LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE in the mail today (along with the 4 Kubrick early films).

I'm glad you enjoyed DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS. I haven't seen the remake yet but I've got it sitting here. Also, did you get the D.W. Griffith Masterworks from Kino? I noticed you watched a few shorts from him. ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE would probably be my favorite from that set. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR was another good one but it's not part of that set. Hopefully Kino will release a box set like they did with the Edison titles, which you should tell your store friend to get.

IMDB Reviews

Mario Gauci

Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"I recorded this, CRISIS and a few other Grant titles off of TCM recently so hopefully I'll get them viewed within the year."

I'd be very interested in knowing your reaction to these Cary Grant titles, Mike; ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939) is not only a superb adventure movie in its own right but also quintessential Howard Hawks (it is virtually a remake of his own CEILING ZERO [1935] with James Cagney and Pat O'Brien) and CRISIS sees Grant in a very atypical dramatic role (his part in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's even better PEOPLE WILL TALK the following year was in a similar vein).


Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"I haven't seen any of these.....yet."

You know, I can't really understand why, even among exploitation fans, Borowczyk's oeuvre isn't as well-known as that of Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Russ Meyer, etc. Maybe it's because he is so obviously the most talented of them all but still, the significant amount of nudity and similar petty perversions in his films - particularly in IMMORAL TALES (1974) and THE BEAST (1975) - should win him more audiences than he actually has. I suppose that this state of affairs arises from the fact that the arthouse crowd find his films too erotic while they are generally considered too arty by exploitation fans. However, it pleases me no end to be told by my local DVD rental shop owner that my R2 copy of THE BEAST (which I unloaded onto him once I got the R1 3-Disc Set) is becoming really popular with his customers!
In any case, when you decide to go with Borowczyk (whose career trail is much less time consuming than Franco's for sure, and arguably more rewarding) I recommend that you start with Nouveaux Pictures' "in name only" SE DVD of his excellent THE STORY OF SIN (1975) on R2 and Cult Epics' 3-Disc LE Set of THE BEAST. It's a pity that his masterpiece, the deliciously delirious DR. JEKYLL AND THE WOMEN (1981) seems to be perennially entangled in copyright issues but, if you have an opportunity to watch the film, don't miss it. At least, we have the upcoming DVDs of GOTO, ISLAND OF LOVE (1968), BLANCHE (1971; a hauntingly beautiful and tragic love story) and LOVE RITES (1988; advance online reviews of which are already available) to look forward to...


Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"This too will be coming soon."

I don't envy you but good luck with it anyway!


Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"Back to Franco, I really hope you get to one of the One Shot films soon. I've pretty much given up hope on Franco ever making another good film. As you know, he goes through various periods of filmmaking but I'm not sure what in the hell he's doing with these films. MARI COOKIE and KILLER BARBYS are mildly entertaining but nothing I'd rewatch. The same for BROKEN DOLLS. The rest are all horrid IMO. I just got ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS and LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE in the mail today (along with the 4 Kubrick early films)."

I became interested in watching ATTACK ON THE ROBOTS (1966) after I learned that it starred Eddie Constantine - who was so iconic in Jean-Luc Godard's ALPHAVILLE (1965) - and Bunuel favorite Fernando Rey and also that it was co-written by Bunuel's regular screenwriter, Jean-Claude Carriere; it's quite an enjoyable if somewhat goofy spy romp and I've even written a review of it on the "Latarnia" Forums and on the IMDB. I found LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE (1967) too silly to think much of but maybe I approached it with the wrong attitude.

By the way, where did you get hold of those early Kubricks? I read a while ago that they were coming but I didn't really follow them through.


Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"I'm glad you enjoyed DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS. I haven't seen the remake yet but I've got it sitting here. Also, did you get the D.W. Griffith Masterworks from Kino? I noticed you watched a few shorts from him. ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE would probably be my favorite from that set. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR was another good one but it's not part of that set. Hopefully Kino will release a box set like they did with the Edison titles, which you should tell your store friend to get."

I’ve posted my impressions of THE KING OF KINGS (1927) in its respective thread headed by your review, Mike, (linked below) so feel free to reply to them over there:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...39#post2620339


Yes, I do have Kino's 2-Disc Set of Griffith's "Biograph Shorts" but I've yet to watch his "Civil War" films included on the second disc of their edition of THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915). However, those recent viewings happened by chance when they were shown on late-night Italian TV prior to a screening of 2 Fernando Di Leo thrillers I had caught in Venice last September - MILANO CALIBRO 9 (1972) and LA MALA ORDINA (1972).


Quote (originally posted by Michael Elliott):

"I'm really not sure how you view these "B" and "Z" films Mario. If you go into BRIDE OF THE MONSTER rating/judging it the same as you would THE GODFATHER then you're going to hate it. Most of these "B" movies are technically very poorly made films so to rate them along with KANE or whatever great movie really isn't going to work in your favor. If that's how you see these movies then it's probably best to skip them because your opinion of an actor might slip some. I personally get entertainment from these films no matter how technically bad they are. Films like ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, THE KILLER SHREWS, REEFER MANDESS, SEX MADNESS and hundreds of others are technically bad but you can laugh at them or find entertainment in how bad they are. If you can't enjoy the badness then there's really no point in wasting time on these.

I've seen you give these rather low ratings but I'm not sure if you still find them entertaining enough to watch again or enjoy. I've given REEFER MANDESS, MANIAC, SEX MADNESS and several others a "BOMB" rating yet I will gladly watch them again due to the entertainment factor.

Again, it depends on how you're going to view these films. Ed Wood is the most beloved bad filmmaker and if you couldn't get any laughs from his films then I'm not sure how you'll react to these SW titles. They all feature horrid acting, horrid directing, horrid scripts, horrid soundtracks and awful effects. These are really (technically) bad films so can you get entertainment from them? If you can enjoy them for what they are then jump right in. If you view these compared to KANE then I'd stay away."

I can understand what you're saying, Mike, but I don't believe in rating those films based mainly on their entertainment value (as some people might be prone to do). However, this doesn't mean that if I recently gave THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (1962) a ** rating it's because I didn't enjoy it; as a matter of fact, I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to but that doesn't make it a "good" film in the normal sense of the word. I'd go even further and say that I wouldn't mind watching it again but I wouldn't really care to have it in my collection. I hope I'm making sense. The same goes for films of recent vintage like FREDDY VS. JASON (2003) - it's enjoyable as a mindless horror/slasher film but I would never dream of giving it a *** (i.e. good) rating.

However, the situation with those low-grade Lugosi and Karloff pictures is a totally different one: despite my "restricted" familiarity with their work, I've seen enough of their work to know that I'd love to watch them in practically anything they've ever did. After all, I have watched Lugosi in NINOTCHKA (1939) and Karloff in THE CRIMINAL CODE (1931), SCARFACE (1932), THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (1947) and UNCONQUERED (1947) - which is more than Joe Karlosi can say!


Quote (originally posted by Joe Karlosi):

"The Lewis films I've seen so far are BLOOD FEAST, GORE GORE GIRLS, WIZARD OF GORE and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS.

I haven't seen GORE GORE GIRLS and WIZARD OF GORE in about ten years, but my memory of these two were that they were pretty awful, even allowing for their type of offbeat exploitive gore and judging them as such. Just gore in your face for no real reason.

However, I do own both BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS.

I think BLOOD FEAST is very bizarre but works in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. I think TWO THOUSAND MANIACS is the "best" (if such a word applies to Lewis) of the stuff I've seen from H.G., mostly because there's more of a plot involved along with the over-the-top gore. If you only see one Lewis film, make it TWO THOUSAND MANIACS. If you don't get a kick out of it in an oddball sort of way, forget about the others."

Gee, Joe, thanks for looking out for me: you seem intent on saving me a lot of money lately, what with discouraging me from getting the Ed Wood and the Herschell Gordon Lewis Box Sets!

However, now that I'm renting/getting a couple of films with your heroes (Karloff and Lugosi) you should return the favor and do the same for me by putting at least ONE Bunuel on your Netflix queue. Is that too much to ask? After all, Michael has sort of promised to get himself acquainted with the works of Walerian Borowczyk!

Jim_K

First time viewings in Red
Out of



Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) (9/10)
The last masterwork from one of my favorite directors, Sam Peckinpah. A Mexican rancher places a $1,000,000 bounty on the head of the man who knocked up his daughter. Enter loser piano player Warren Oates & his crab-infested hooker girlfriend who know Alfredo is dead & plan to dig up the grave to retrieve the head. This is a grim, blood soaked, unrelenting film that is definitely not for all tastes. Fans of Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez should check this one out.

Panic in the Streets (1950) (8/10)
Thrilling suspense flick (or film noir as some would call it) has Richard Widmark tracking down a pair of killers (Zero Mostel & Jack Palance) carrying the plague through the mean streets of New Orleans. The film sports a unique on location look along with a great menacing performance by Palance. Easily the most entertaining film I’ve seen from Elia Kazan.

Possessed (1947) (6/10)
This soap opera /”noir” has Joan Crawford going insane when a past love re-enters her life by romancing her step-daughter.

The Rack (1956) (5/10)
Returning Korean War POW (Paul Newman) faces a Court-Martial for collaborating with the enemy after torture. Also stars Lee Marvin, Edmond O’Brien & Walter Pidgeon

Never So Few (1959) (5/10)
Standard WWII adventure yarn has Frank Sinatra leading a group of guerilla fighters in the jungles of Burma. Of interest for an early Steve McQueen appearance yet a disappointing effort from John Sturges.

The Collection (Blu-Ray High Definition/DVD)

Pre-orders - BLU-RAY: Akira, The Dark Knight, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Death Proof, King Kong, La Femme Nikita, Planet Terror, Raging Bull, Ronin, The Third Man DVD: .................

Joe Karlosi

Mario, I know you weren't replying to me here, but of course you know this is a favorite subject of mine so I'd like to join in. I certainly understand what you're saying, since there is a difference between a film being "good" in a technical sense and "good" as far as a good moviegoing experience is concerned. But I've always felt that the latter consideration is the most crucial angle when it comes to reading any viewer's own opinion. It's what brings the personal or individual rating to the table. Even without ever going ahead to check your personal star ratings I would already be pre-aware that both THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE and FREDDY VS JASON are not considered "good movies" in the cinematic sense. But that's where personal review/opinion on a film comes in, I believe. I want to know what kind of experience Mario Gauci had with the film, if you follow me.


I saw Karloff in THE CRIMINAL CODE (so far it's my favorite Hawks film, by the way). I saw him in DEVIL'S ISLAND and SMART MONEY, too. Also saw him in CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA. There were probably others I don't recall at the moment. Of course, I've also seen Lugosi in THE PHANTOM SHIP. I mean, I don't know what field of the ball park this came from...


I don't look at your watching Karloff/Lugosi films as doing me a "favor"! Besides I already know what your star ratings are going to be! Anyway -- no, it's not too much to ask for me to put ONE Bunuel film on my queue. I presently have around 35 films in there, though. What Bunuel film(s) do you suggest?

Brook K

Your memory of Gore Gore Girls is correct Joe. It is awful, so bad it's bad. Agree with you on Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs, very fun movies. Two Thousand Maniacs is my favorite as well.

Yes, Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the breeze. The day needs my saving expertise! - Captain Hammer, Corporate Tool

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 314 Last Watched: An Autumn Afternoon

Last 10 Films Watched:
Mon Oncle Antoine - B / Late Autumn - A-
Paranoid Park - B / An Autumn Afternoon - A
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - B / Run, Fatboy, Run - B
Get Smart - C- / Rendition - B-
Springtime in a Small Town - B+ / Evan Almighty - C

DVD BEAVER My Collection

Michael Elliott

I listed it in the upper post. You just be sure and watch THE GENERAL since, IMO, it's the greatest silent and among the 10 greatest films ever made. Since you're on a Tracy kick then I hope you enjoy BAD DAY, which is one of my personal favorites. I included it so in case you like the film you could jump on Warner's upcoming box set, which includes another wonderful Tracy film, FURY by Lang.



Most people would consider everyone of these the "very worst" so it'll really depend on his personal taste. I also fit BLACK FRIDAY on that first disc. I'm not sure if he's seen any of these.

IMDB Reviews

Robert Crawford

Any further discussion about bootlegs and the making of bootleg copies on DVD-R needs to cease immediately. You guys know our rules, please abide by them.





Crawdaddy

G.W. McLintock: Camille, you're on your own.

Joe Karlosi

Brook -- what are your feelings on some of the other Lewis films? I haven't seen all of them.


Mario -- if you ever get around to it, do NOT see FURY OF THE WOLFMAN as your first Naschy film; it truly is God-awful. IMO, the best film to start with would be WEREWOLF SHADOW (aka: THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN). My personal favroite would be the very first one, called LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO (known in the U.S. as FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR, of all things!)


That's great news. I hope you manage to keep it up, and I'll be checking there to read any updates. Could you provide a link to your reviews page under your master list here? That would be very convenient for the future.