Sorry about the slightly late update. Busy weekend as it was my birthday :-)
Our film on Friday was Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks. Yes, I'm aware that its a comedy but it pays alot of respect to the horror genre - even going as far as using the original equipment from the Karloff version of Frankenstein (1931) and taking elements from Bride Of Frankenstein (the blind man and the actual bride), and the little girl who was drowned in the original but kept alive in this one, bringing in Inspector Kemp with his dodgy arm (I don't know which original Frankenstein film that was - perhaps someone could tell me please?) and making the Creature (Peter Boyle) very child-like, just like Karloff's. And the brain stealing scene is taken straight out of the original - apart from the sign on the door:
"After 5pm, deposit brains through slot in door"
It kept true to the genre again by filming it in black and white, which emphasised the shadows and creepiness of the castle, lots of gruesome decomposing heads, the occasional rat and the usual dark and stormy nights.
Gene Wilder is brilliant as the doc, although denying his roots at first, he's soon swayed by his grandfather's book "How I Did It" and becomes gradually manic as the film progresses, even inheriting some of the Creature's characteristics by the end.
Then we have Marty Feldman as Igor. For those who don't know, he was an English comedian with very funny eyes. He did some stuff with some of the Monty Python chaps in "How To Irritate People" and did his own material as well. He's a terrific stooge for Gene Wilder.
Then we even have a musical number in which the Doc and the Creature perform "Putting On The Ritz". Its simply genius. If I say any more about it, I think it'll spoil it for everyone.
There's only one difference - we have a very happy ending with no twist which leads the way for a sequel.
Until next time...
Toodles
Sunday 26 June 2011
Saturday 18 June 2011
House Of Wax
Keeping up with the family tradition of Friday Night is Horror Night - our film of choice this week was House Of Wax - the Vinent Price one (directed by Andre De Toth), not the crappy remake with Paris Hilton!
There's alot of humour in this one, trying to alleviate the tension is my guess. I do like Vincent Price's make-up after his accident and how he turns from mild-mannered artist into an insane grave-robber who likes to preserves corpses in wax.
I don't think much of the acting, some of the characters are meant to be funny, I have no problem with that, only the acting of the leading lady (Phyliss Kirk) and the supposed love interest (Paul Picerni - or Mr Colgate Perma-Tan) was lousy in comparison to VP.
Its also prophetic as it was filmed in 3D - very advanced for the 1950s! There are a couple of scenes that bring humour and also makes use of the 3D technology of the time. Although I saw Clash Of The Titans last year in 3D and I don't think its advanced much further - we still have to wear those silly glasses!
At the end of the film, we found the original Mystery Of The Wax Museum from 1933 on the DVD - what a great surprise - two films in one night! Directed by Michael Curtiz, its pretty clear that the VP version is virtually a carbon copy if this film. Even some of the dialogue is the same. Although I found it hard to keep up the dialogue because the actors speak incredibly quickly - I kept thinking "why don't they pause for breath!" It even has Fay Wray - the actress who was in the original King Kong movie.
Until next week,
Toodles
There's alot of humour in this one, trying to alleviate the tension is my guess. I do like Vincent Price's make-up after his accident and how he turns from mild-mannered artist into an insane grave-robber who likes to preserves corpses in wax.
I don't think much of the acting, some of the characters are meant to be funny, I have no problem with that, only the acting of the leading lady (Phyliss Kirk) and the supposed love interest (Paul Picerni - or Mr Colgate Perma-Tan) was lousy in comparison to VP.
Its also prophetic as it was filmed in 3D - very advanced for the 1950s! There are a couple of scenes that bring humour and also makes use of the 3D technology of the time. Although I saw Clash Of The Titans last year in 3D and I don't think its advanced much further - we still have to wear those silly glasses!
At the end of the film, we found the original Mystery Of The Wax Museum from 1933 on the DVD - what a great surprise - two films in one night! Directed by Michael Curtiz, its pretty clear that the VP version is virtually a carbon copy if this film. Even some of the dialogue is the same. Although I found it hard to keep up the dialogue because the actors speak incredibly quickly - I kept thinking "why don't they pause for breath!" It even has Fay Wray - the actress who was in the original King Kong movie.
Until next week,
Toodles
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Join us....Join us......
First horror film into the blog then.
Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi.Watched it last night on SyFy. Not the first time I've seen it though. Watched it on recommendation from the Rough Guide to Horror Movies 50 Must See Films.
It looks totally cheap, almost like a student film, despite that, the zombie make-up is very good. The zombies appearance becomes more disgusting as the film goes on, although one of them looks like that kid out of The Exorcist! The gore increases as the film progresses, so much so that I felt queasy by the end.
The tension is cranked up constantly as long takes with not much happening followed by some sort of jolt, relying on the power of suggestion. That goes on throughout the whole film, although the music sometimes gives the game away.
My main gripe is the acting - its so wooden! The zombies seem to be better actors than the humans! Whether thats deliberate or not, I don't know. The whole film screams "B-movie!" Maybe thats part of its charm.
Although its not the best horror film I've ever seen, I do think that Evil Dead provided the template for zombie movies to follow.
Short and sweet for now.
Toodles
Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi.Watched it last night on SyFy. Not the first time I've seen it though. Watched it on recommendation from the Rough Guide to Horror Movies 50 Must See Films.
It looks totally cheap, almost like a student film, despite that, the zombie make-up is very good. The zombies appearance becomes more disgusting as the film goes on, although one of them looks like that kid out of The Exorcist! The gore increases as the film progresses, so much so that I felt queasy by the end.
The tension is cranked up constantly as long takes with not much happening followed by some sort of jolt, relying on the power of suggestion. That goes on throughout the whole film, although the music sometimes gives the game away.
My main gripe is the acting - its so wooden! The zombies seem to be better actors than the humans! Whether thats deliberate or not, I don't know. The whole film screams "B-movie!" Maybe thats part of its charm.
Although its not the best horror film I've ever seen, I do think that Evil Dead provided the template for zombie movies to follow.
Short and sweet for now.
Toodles
Monday 13 June 2011
Hellay Hellay!
Well, this is my first blog so I'm really excited about this.
I suppose the best way to start is to explain my main interests, the stuff I'll be writing about, if you like. Hence the title.And maybe I'll put in some random stuff as well.
My first love is music. To elaborate, my two favourite bands in the whole world are Genesis and Madness. Quite a stark contrast, I know. I will admit here and now that I am musically challenged - I can't sing and can't play any instruments. Terrible isn't it? I won't go into more detail now or I won't have anything else to talk about!
The next one is film, specifically the horror genre. Our family tradition is on Friday nights, when I get home from work, we, as a family, sit down and watch a horror film each week. I do like comedy films too, mostly the "old" ones like the Marx Brothers, Mel Brooks' films and the Monty Python films.
And my last one is literature. My favourite subject at school was English and even completed a degree at university in English. If I'm not watching a film or listening to music then I'm reading, a great fiction novel is a fabulous way of escaping reality for a couple of hours. The same applies to films too, come to think of it.
So there you have it. Be nice to me since I've never had a blog before so bear with me, I'll get the hang of it, I hope.
I suppose the best way to start is to explain my main interests, the stuff I'll be writing about, if you like. Hence the title.And maybe I'll put in some random stuff as well.
My first love is music. To elaborate, my two favourite bands in the whole world are Genesis and Madness. Quite a stark contrast, I know. I will admit here and now that I am musically challenged - I can't sing and can't play any instruments. Terrible isn't it? I won't go into more detail now or I won't have anything else to talk about!
The next one is film, specifically the horror genre. Our family tradition is on Friday nights, when I get home from work, we, as a family, sit down and watch a horror film each week. I do like comedy films too, mostly the "old" ones like the Marx Brothers, Mel Brooks' films and the Monty Python films.
And my last one is literature. My favourite subject at school was English and even completed a degree at university in English. If I'm not watching a film or listening to music then I'm reading, a great fiction novel is a fabulous way of escaping reality for a couple of hours. The same applies to films too, come to think of it.
So there you have it. Be nice to me since I've never had a blog before so bear with me, I'll get the hang of it, I hope.
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