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The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. The music r... see description |
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Set in contemporary suburbia, young Victor Frankenstein happily plays with his aptly named bull terrier "Sparky", when the tragic happens... the spunky pooch is hit and killed by a car. Crushed, Victor struggles to acclimate to life without him, when he receives the bright Promethian idea to re-animate Sparky after watching the science teacher demonstrate electrical muscle spasms with an "ex-frog".
He rushes home to bring his beloved canine partner back to life. Under the suspicious gaze of a neighbor, he gathers the necessary equipment from the garage, and sneaks out to the pet cemetery to disinterr the pup, anxiously awaiting the next storm to arrive, which is fortunately within a couple night's time.
Predictably, after studying through several books on the subject, he actually manage... see description |
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Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D. Dr. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. president (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Strangelove; George C. Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses. S. The Soviets counter the threat with a so-called "Doomsday Device," and the world ... see description |
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Paul Bartel's 1975 cheap-o satire about a futuristic international sport--an anything-goes car race where drivers score points for hitting pedestrians--stars David Carradine as a hero behind the wheel and Sylvester Stallone as his nemesis. The sets are gloriously artificial, and former Warhol star Mary Woronov is in sexy, comic form. The film is clever and macabre enough as a modernist satire, but finally overplays its hand in grim, decadent humor. --Tom Keogh I remember convincing my dad to take me to this movie when it first came out telling him about all the "cool cars" that were in it. He almost flipped a lid when the first nude scene miraculously popped onto the screen. I remember him telling me not to say a word of it to my mother. Oh what fond memories that brings to the forefron... see description |
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Released in 1955, "Quatermass Xperiment" is a creepy, horrifying masterpiece of science fiction. What is the Quatermass Experiment? Professor Barnard Quatermass sends three British astronauts into the far reaches of the galaxy for observations. Their rocket crash lands on earth and only one astronaut, Victor Caroon, remains on board. Empty space suits of the other two are immediately found. Escaping from the hospital, Caroon attacks and absorbs plants, animals, and humans. Each time he feeds, he mutates into a creature that is a composite of all its victims until it finally resembles a shapeless glob with numerous tentacles.
Brian Donlevy does a superb job as Quatermass. However, in "Quatermass Xperiment," Quatermass is more ruthless and less compassionate than his characte... see description |
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