Trilogy of Terror (NR)
"Troika of Her-or"
A trifecta of mid70s television horror, the ToT is most famous for its weirdly racist third story where a girl is terrorized in her lavish apartment by a reanimated voodoo fetish doll with razor sharp teeth and spear. The "horror" fun with puppets is entertaining, but the sub par popculture boogiemen of the first two stories (split personalities and inappropriate student/teacher relationships) sinks this far into the after-adult-school specials muck. Directed with expert camp by Dark Shawdows alum and all stories starring the wide eyes Karen Black (even as twins!), 3 of Terror is a cult classic for fans of camp and 70s TV with the third act providing the only WTFs to stand the test of time.
4.5 Establishing Sitcom Shots out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
Showing posts with label 1975. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1975. Show all posts
Take A Hard Ride (1975)
Take A Hard Ride (PG)
"Cowboy get up get down"
A unique jaunt into Blaxploitation brings Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly together again in this funky western B-movie follow up to the similarly cast "Three The Hard Way". The colorful group is trying to escort some gold to Mexico while being chased by bounty hunters and thieves (most notably by genre specialist Lee Van Cleef). It's a spaghetti western with a side of soul food, but not a great dish of either. Kelly (Black Belt Jones) in particular is underused as a mute, martial arts trained Indian scout(!), but its to be expected in such a sorely underwritten film. The awesome potential to mix genres is mostly wasted by being so unsure of which genre to embrace fully, which star to focus on and what lines not to cross.
5.5 Cleef squints out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
"Cowboy get up get down"
A unique jaunt into Blaxploitation brings Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly together again in this funky western B-movie follow up to the similarly cast "Three The Hard Way". The colorful group is trying to escort some gold to Mexico while being chased by bounty hunters and thieves (most notably by genre specialist Lee Van Cleef). It's a spaghetti western with a side of soul food, but not a great dish of either. Kelly (Black Belt Jones) in particular is underused as a mute, martial arts trained Indian scout(!), but its to be expected in such a sorely underwritten film. The awesome potential to mix genres is mostly wasted by being so unsure of which genre to embrace fully, which star to focus on and what lines not to cross.
5.5 Cleef squints out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
Dark Star (1975)
Dark Star (G) - Review
"Space Truckin'"
On a routine mission to destroy unstable planets, the futuristic spaceship Dark Star and its crew must over come the trials of loneliness, their computer, their weapons, their mascots and themselves to survive the long destructive voyage through deep space
The precursor to modern 1980s film greatness, Dark Star is the student film of director John Carpenter (The Thing) and writer Dan O'Bannon (scriptwriter of Alien and director of The Return of the Living Dead). Dark Star is a diamond in the rough, filled with low budget ingenuity, high caliber SciFi ideas and oodles of O'Bannon's & Carpenter's bizarre senses of humor. O'Bannon (who also stars as the accidental hero Pinback) went on to use the idea of the script to form the blockbuster genre redefiner Alien, but there are wonderful touches of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide here. Theres a sentient planet destroying megabomb and an incredibly silly encoutner with an alien life form who just happens to be a beachball with feet. The ending surfs its way to greatness, a groovy 1970s vibe prevades the fun and showed just how great a film these guys could make if just given the chance (and the cash).
7 Cardboard Instrument Panels out of 10 (GOOD)
"Space Truckin'"
On a routine mission to destroy unstable planets, the futuristic spaceship Dark Star and its crew must over come the trials of loneliness, their computer, their weapons, their mascots and themselves to survive the long destructive voyage through deep space
The precursor to modern 1980s film greatness, Dark Star is the student film of director John Carpenter (The Thing) and writer Dan O'Bannon (scriptwriter of Alien and director of The Return of the Living Dead). Dark Star is a diamond in the rough, filled with low budget ingenuity, high caliber SciFi ideas and oodles of O'Bannon's & Carpenter's bizarre senses of humor. O'Bannon (who also stars as the accidental hero Pinback) went on to use the idea of the script to form the blockbuster genre redefiner Alien, but there are wonderful touches of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide here. Theres a sentient planet destroying megabomb and an incredibly silly encoutner with an alien life form who just happens to be a beachball with feet. The ending surfs its way to greatness, a groovy 1970s vibe prevades the fun and showed just how great a film these guys could make if just given the chance (and the cash).
7 Cardboard Instrument Panels out of 10 (GOOD)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Barry Lyndon (PG) - Review
"Barry was one of those born clever enough at gaining a fortune, but incapable of keeping one"
The long running, tragically black comic tale of the life of a country Irish boy named Barry, whose fortunes and travesties are spread all about 18th Century Europe as could only be accomplished by master director Stanley Kubrick.
Famously shot using mostly natural lighting, the picture is luxuriously bathed in candle, sun and moon light. Every frame is intended to invoke a painting from the period, adding a soft even glow that surrounds the often turgid affairs onscreen. This was made possible, yet still famously, when Kubrick borrowed three lenses that had been constructed for NASA's moon landings to shoot Barry Lyndon. The rolling hillsides, the elegant costumes, the pastoral music all combine into an epic of a quiet simplicity: to observe Barry slink his way through the stations of his life and fortune as it comes and goes. With the dry wit of the script and drier still voice over narration, Lyndon gracefully lambastes the European castes and societies while still fabulously dousing itself in it's fashions, practices and beliefs.
Ryan O'Neal (Love Story) leads the cast of wigged and ruffled actors with stoic determination, but all of the strengths of the movie lie with the filmmakers: the script, the production design and the editing are all the major feats of accomplishment. The actors may then end up just models for the camera and lighs, but one can hardly complain when the frame it produces is this gorgeous.
The transformations of Barry, the log winded nature of its humor, and the absolute genius of Stanley Kubrick's artistry allow Barry Lyndon to be more than just a sly romantic period piece. While the story certainly meanders a tad (the MTV generation might scoff at its 3 hour runtime and lack of jumpcuts), nothing in retrospect is either excessive nor unnecessary. To remove a scene would be the same as removing the color blue from a great oil portrait, leaving a gaping hole in the tapestry that is obviously more than the sum of its hues.
8.5 Sheep Drawn Carriages out of 10 (GREAT)
"Barry was one of those born clever enough at gaining a fortune, but incapable of keeping one"
The long running, tragically black comic tale of the life of a country Irish boy named Barry, whose fortunes and travesties are spread all about 18th Century Europe as could only be accomplished by master director Stanley Kubrick.
Famously shot using mostly natural lighting, the picture is luxuriously bathed in candle, sun and moon light. Every frame is intended to invoke a painting from the period, adding a soft even glow that surrounds the often turgid affairs onscreen. This was made possible, yet still famously, when Kubrick borrowed three lenses that had been constructed for NASA's moon landings to shoot Barry Lyndon. The rolling hillsides, the elegant costumes, the pastoral music all combine into an epic of a quiet simplicity: to observe Barry slink his way through the stations of his life and fortune as it comes and goes. With the dry wit of the script and drier still voice over narration, Lyndon gracefully lambastes the European castes and societies while still fabulously dousing itself in it's fashions, practices and beliefs.
Ryan O'Neal (Love Story) leads the cast of wigged and ruffled actors with stoic determination, but all of the strengths of the movie lie with the filmmakers: the script, the production design and the editing are all the major feats of accomplishment. The actors may then end up just models for the camera and lighs, but one can hardly complain when the frame it produces is this gorgeous.
The transformations of Barry, the log winded nature of its humor, and the absolute genius of Stanley Kubrick's artistry allow Barry Lyndon to be more than just a sly romantic period piece. While the story certainly meanders a tad (the MTV generation might scoff at its 3 hour runtime and lack of jumpcuts), nothing in retrospect is either excessive nor unnecessary. To remove a scene would be the same as removing the color blue from a great oil portrait, leaving a gaping hole in the tapestry that is obviously more than the sum of its hues.
8.5 Sheep Drawn Carriages out of 10 (GREAT)
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About Me
- Kevin Gasaway via HardDrawn
- Turlock, California, United States
- Media and Reviews by Kevin Gasaway