Midnite Movies, which to get? (1 Viewer)

[Eric Emma]

I've been curious to get into some B-Movie cinema for quite some time, so I ordered Invisible Invaders / Journey to the Seventh Planet (1959) and The Haunted Palace / The Tower of London (1963) for 7 bucks because they seem like fun movies... But there so many Midnite Movies I'm not quite sure if there are any must-buys for a newbie to get.

 

[[email protected]]

Vincent Price stars in many of the Midnite titles, so you can't go wrong using him as a starting point.

I highly recommend his role as Dr. Anton Phibes in The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Theatre of Blood is equally entertaining and serves as a nice companion to the Phibes movies.

Roger Corman also directed Price in a few Poe films that are worth checking out: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Masque of the Red Death.

 

[Eric Emma]

z0mg Joseph Cotten is in The Abominable Dr. Phibes! I love Cotten, Third Man, Citizen Kane, and Shadow of a Doubt all rock hardcore because of him! And it seem Midnite Movies has a double feature DVD that includes the original and the sequal, I'll have to pick this up.

 

[Sammy-G]

I watched the first Phibes film just to see Jo, and now it's one of my favorite guilty pleasures. There are no words to describe just how fabulously strange that movie is. You'll have a great time.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

It's one of my all-time favorites too. The visuals and the music are to die for, and Price is obviously having a great time.

 

[JohnRice]

I've always been kind of partial to Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

 

[Richard_Gregory]

...except that this one, like all the single Midnite Movie titles, is out of print. Officially, only the Midnite Movie Double Features are now in print - some of them have one of the old single titles plus another new to the range, but sadly, quite a lot of the older singles never made it. I;d assume they were all destined to become Doubles, and then Sony took over running things. Unfortunately.

The Midnite range has some fantastic films in it; I'd suggest picking up all the Corman directed Poe adaptations for a start, and anything that has Vincent price in it is worth having...

Some of the others, like the biker movies, are not to my taste so I haven;t got all of the Midnites.

 

[JohnRice]

That's a drag. For some reason, I had a feeling as I typed that, since I've noticed the MM titles nowadays all seem to be doubles. Guess I'm glad I snagged a copy during a BB 3 for $20 sale a few years ago.

 

[Eric Emma]

So the Midnite Movie line is dead now? :frowning: Also wtf is wrong with Sony, why'd they change the midnite movie logo on the pirate dvds

 

[[email protected]]

One of my favorites of the 'early' Midnite titles is, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes. I think Tim Burton was considering a remake at one point.

As for Killer Klowns, it may be OOP, but it's still fairly easy to find. I don't think it sold very well. Ironically, it was probably the best Midnite title in regards to extras, as it was one of the few (if not only) Midnite Movies to receive the SE treatment.

 

[Charles Ellis]

For a real 60s flashback, get Wild In The Streets/Gasssssss. The first is about a rock star who gets the youth of America to seize political power (this should be remade with someone like Justin Timberlake or Usher as Max Frost), the second is a hippie-flavored post-Armageddon comedy.

 

[Richard_Gregory]

It's debateable; Sony have said that they are to keep the line, but look at the start they made. Some naff pirate films on the coat-tails of a naff sequel...just two DVD's, and they mucked up the Midnite Movie logo on those as well, even while keeping the two "side by side movie posters" style of the covers.

But, meh, this is Sony we're talking about. My heart sank when they snatched up Columbia Tri-Star, and went through the floor when they acquired MGM as well.

It;s bizarre, as Sony seem to spend lots of money to specifcally NOT release films from their new assets. Maybe they don't want competition for their re-re-re-special-collectors edition of the same old films they;ve been rechurning for years.

Bitter? Me? Surely not.

The annual batch of new Midnite Doubles was a joy; they usually had some of the out-of-print singles paired with new films, plus a load of brand new ones as well.

Not any more!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Does anyone have a complete list of the titles that are *officially* out of print in this series?


My collection is almost complete save for a few titles that I have on order at various e-tailers but I'd like to know whether to cancel and go the eBay route or wait for the possible arrival of more stock.


Thanks!

 

[Richard--W]

I would say you just bought two of the weaker entries in the series. The Poe films are okay though.

Many of MGM's Midnite Movies and Midnite Movies Double-Feature sets are essential. There is no disgrace in small budgets and independent films when they are made with so much style, imagination, and inventiveness. Of the Poe films directed by Roger Corman and written by Richard Matheson, the double feature Fall of House of Usher / Pit and the Pendulum is essential. These were the first and the best in the series and definitive Poe adaptations. I recommend them without reservation. I also recommend Comedy of Terrors / The Raven which work both as Poe horror films and as comedy. Especially The Raven which is a real gem from the 1960s. Masque of the Red Death takes the Poe series onto a higher level, a dreamy parable on death and disease, exquisitely designed and photographed by the great Nicholas Roeg. Paired with The Premature Burial, a strong entry in the Poe films. In the same tradition most people would agree that Die Monster Die / The Dunwich Horror, Daniel Haller's twin adaptations of H.P Lovecraft stories, are two of the best horror films in the series. There is a reason why The Night Stalker / The Night Strangler is the best-seller in the series. They are entertaining as hell and started quite a trend in the early 1970s. The Night Stalker is a break-through classic that's both funny and scary at the same time. I can't recommend it highly enough. The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Dr. Phibes Rise Again are an exercise in nostalgia, kitsch, and gallows humor, and are also fun oddball horror films. Vincent Price went on the record to say that Theater of Blood gave him the best role of his career, but I forget what it's paired with. The Witchfinder General, released as a solo title, is an uncompromising historical horror film of an adult nature and one of the most important horror films of the 1960s, with Vincent Price delivering his least hammy and most deeply felt performance.

For sci-fi pairings, Roger Corman's X-The Man With the X-Ray Eyes is innovative sci-fi and a riveting thriller. I don't understand why it isn't better known. Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires, from Italy, drips with atmosphere and rates high in the creepiness factor. It is also one of the two sources for the Alien franchise. The other source, It! The Terror From Beyond Space paired with Monster That Challenged the World, is not so good, but some people like it.

If you're into the swinging 60s, Psych-Out / The Trip will take you into the deep end of LSD and hippies. Both are interesting films for reasons that have nothing to do with what they're about. The Wild Angels started the biker genre in the 60s. It's been issued solo and then later paired with Hell's Belles. Angels Unchained is okay. Teen fantasies about taking over from rotten grownups are satisfied in Gassss / Wild In the Streets; the latter is not to be missed for Shelley Winter's flamboyant performance. I'm particularly fond of Panic In Year Zero / The Last Man On Earth. The former is directed by Ray Milland, the latter is the first adaptation of I Am Legend and is written by Richard Matheson under an alias. Both deal with apocalyptic issues.

 

[Richard--W]

oldies.com has a sale on MGM Midnite Movies, including some titles that oop and impossible to get anywhere else.

I'm not sure but I think this list is complete. Some titles were released individually before they were released as double-features:

ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES, THE
ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES / DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN
ANGEL UNCHAINED / CYCLE SAVAGES
ANGRY RED PLANET, THE
ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE
ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE / VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS
ATTIC, THE / CRAWLSPACE
AT THE EARTH'S CORE
BEACH BLANKET BINGO
BEACH BLANKET BINGO / HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI
BEACH PARTY
BEACH PARTY / BIKINI BEACH
BEAST WITHIN, THE
BEAST WITHIN, THE / BAT PEOPLE, THE
BIKINI BEACH
BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER / MAN IN THE ATTIC
BUCKET OF BLOOD, A
CHOSEN SURVIVORS / THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING
COMEDY OF TERRORS / THE RAVEN
COUNTESS DRACULA / THE VAMPIRE LOVERS
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE / RETURN OF COUNT YORGA
CRY OF THE BANSHEE / MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE
DERANGED / MOTEL HELL
DEVILS OF DARKNESS / WITCHCRAFT
DIE MONSTER DIE
DONOVAN'S BRAIN
DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE
DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN
DUNWICH HORROR, THE
EMPIRE OF THE ANTS
EMPIRE OF THE ANTS / TENTACLES
FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE
FIREBALL 5000 / THUNDER ALLEY
FOOD OF THE GODS
FROGS
GHOST OF DRAGSTRIP HOLLOW / GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI
GORILLA AT LARGE / MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND
HAUNTED PALACE, THE / THE TOWER OF LONDON
HOUSE ON SKULL MOUNTAIN / MEPHISTO WALTZ
HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI
I BURY THE LIVING
INVADERS FROM MARS (REMAKE)
INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES / INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS
INVISIBLE INVADERS / JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET
ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, THE
IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE
MAN FROM PLANET X, THE
MARS NEEDS WOMEN
MINI SKIRT MOB / CHROME AND HOT LEATHER
MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD, THE
MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD, THE / IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE
MOTEL HELL / DERANGED
MUSCLE BEACH / SKI PARTY
NIGHT STALKER, THE / THE NIGHT STRANGLER
OBLONG BOX, THE / SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
PAJAMA PARTY
PANIC IN YEAR ZERO / LAST MAN ON EARTH
PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT
PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT / THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT
PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES / BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES
PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE
PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES
PREMATURE BURIAL / MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
PSYCH-OUT / THE TRIP
REPTILICUS
RETURN OF DRACULA / THE VAMPIRE
STRANGE INVADERS
STRANGE INVADERS / INVADERS FROM MARS (REMAKE)
TALES OF TERROR
THEATRE OF BLOOD
THEATRE OF BLOOD / MADHOUSE
THING WITH TWO HEADS, THE
THING WITH TWO HEADS, THE / INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT
TOMB OF LIGEIA / AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
TWICE-TOLD TALES
VAULT OF HORROR / TALES FROM THE CRYPT
VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS
VOODOO ISLAND / FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE
WAR GODS OF THE DEEP
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? / WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO?
WILD ANGELS, THE
WILD ANGELS, THE / HELL'S BELLES
WILD IN THE STREETS / GAS-S-S-S
WITCHFINDER GENERAL
YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP / KONGA
X-THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES

 

[WadeM]

Funny this thread came up again. I was just looking at the titles at the official website: Midnite Movies the last couple of days wondering what else I could/should buy. I already had the Phibes movies, the Poe movies, and had ordered the Tales From the Crypt/Vault of Horror and Yorga titles.

And now someone mentions there's a sale going on.... very tempting.

 

[soop.spoon]

Here's an exhaustive list:
Midnite Movies List

Click on the title of each and you can read DVDDrive-In's review, where available (most).

 

[Tim-H.]

Thanks for the oldies.com tip. I ordered Raven/Comedy of Terrors and Planet of the Vampires, which I think has been out of print for a while.

 

[Richard--W]

Thanks for posting that inter-active list. DVD Drive-In is a useful website for fans of genre films. I don't always agree with their reviews. In particular I think the site underrates The Mephisto Waltz which is a sophisticated witchfraft tale from director Paul Wendkos, Island of Dr Moreau, and Return of Dracula. I recommend each of these of these Midnight Movies:

 

[WadeM]

I found this list very helpful. Thanks!

I picked up a couple of Richard--W's suggestions also.