- Published on
I think it goes without saying that Ray Liotta is, certainly, no 'known commodity' in the realm of Science Fiction and Fantasy, but this isn't to say that he didn't give it a try.
Folks, believe it or not, I've actually been to Iowa's Field of Dreams, the very place where the much beloved cinematic fantasy of the same name was made in 1989. No, I didn't run the bases or take a place at home plate for a swing, but the wifey and I did walk through the corn in that goofy way wherein we both imagined we were travelling through the ages. It's a fabulous place to visit if for no other reason than you kinda/sorta get to re-experience the magic of that seminal film entirely on your own: walking around, you feel almost giddy as you watch folks coming from near and far to, simply, be on that baseball field with one another. Why, it oughta be in pictures!
Ray Liotta in the guise of 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' certainly delivered some of the film's best moments. Though I've never read what he thought of the picture (I'm quite certain it's out there, I've just never taken the time to research it), one would hope that it touched him in even a small way, as the message of the feature continues to ring true with folks decades later.
Still, genre never much called for Liotta, so far as I can tell. His appearances in the truest forms of the imagination are pretty few and far between. (That's not a complaint, folks, it's just an honest observation.) I do recall him appearing in 1994's No Escape -- a futuristic prison movie -- along with Lance Henriksen. A quick glance at his IMDB.com page also shows a visit to the world of Muppets In Space (1999) and some work in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014) of note. Otherwise, that's about all I find.
One of my other fascinations is vintage crime stuff -- I've always been a junkie on the American Prohibition Era and tales surrounding Murder, Inc. and Al Capone and Lucky Luciano -- so, yes, I've seen Liotta's work in Martin Scorsese's much-heralded Goodfellas. I couldn't say why exactly, but the film really did very little for me. Performances were all great, and -- as is the case with much of Scorsese's work -- there's no denying the quality; but aside for a few sequences I just wasn't as captivated as others were with the tale. I am liable to pick up the book it was based on someday and read that -- like I said, crime and general mob yarns excite me -- but I'd always be hesitant to revisit the film as I just think there are many more choices out there vastly more engaging.
Lastly, I do remember Liotta serving as the series narrator for AMC's great non-fiction miniseries The Making Of The Mob. It was a historical accounting of the rise of true gang crime in New York of the late 19th century and early 20th. Fascinating and incisivie, the program made a great choice in having the actor weave audiences through the intricacies of gangland origins, especially given the man's screen persona with so much of mainstream audiences.
Alas, none of us last forever, and word has reached the editor's desk this morning that the man passed overnight in his sleep. Hollywood and beyond has lost a true original.
Thoughts and prayers are extended to the family and friends of Mr. Liotta.
-- EZ
Folks, believe it or not, I've actually been to Iowa's Field of Dreams, the very place where the much beloved cinematic fantasy of the same name was made in 1989. No, I didn't run the bases or take a place at home plate for a swing, but the wifey and I did walk through the corn in that goofy way wherein we both imagined we were travelling through the ages. It's a fabulous place to visit if for no other reason than you kinda/sorta get to re-experience the magic of that seminal film entirely on your own: walking around, you feel almost giddy as you watch folks coming from near and far to, simply, be on that baseball field with one another. Why, it oughta be in pictures!
Ray Liotta in the guise of 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' certainly delivered some of the film's best moments. Though I've never read what he thought of the picture (I'm quite certain it's out there, I've just never taken the time to research it), one would hope that it touched him in even a small way, as the message of the feature continues to ring true with folks decades later.
Still, genre never much called for Liotta, so far as I can tell. His appearances in the truest forms of the imagination are pretty few and far between. (That's not a complaint, folks, it's just an honest observation.) I do recall him appearing in 1994's No Escape -- a futuristic prison movie -- along with Lance Henriksen. A quick glance at his IMDB.com page also shows a visit to the world of Muppets In Space (1999) and some work in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014) of note. Otherwise, that's about all I find.
One of my other fascinations is vintage crime stuff -- I've always been a junkie on the American Prohibition Era and tales surrounding Murder, Inc. and Al Capone and Lucky Luciano -- so, yes, I've seen Liotta's work in Martin Scorsese's much-heralded Goodfellas. I couldn't say why exactly, but the film really did very little for me. Performances were all great, and -- as is the case with much of Scorsese's work -- there's no denying the quality; but aside for a few sequences I just wasn't as captivated as others were with the tale. I am liable to pick up the book it was based on someday and read that -- like I said, crime and general mob yarns excite me -- but I'd always be hesitant to revisit the film as I just think there are many more choices out there vastly more engaging.
Lastly, I do remember Liotta serving as the series narrator for AMC's great non-fiction miniseries The Making Of The Mob. It was a historical accounting of the rise of true gang crime in New York of the late 19th century and early 20th. Fascinating and incisivie, the program made a great choice in having the actor weave audiences through the intricacies of gangland origins, especially given the man's screen persona with so much of mainstream audiences.
Alas, none of us last forever, and word has reached the editor's desk this morning that the man passed overnight in his sleep. Hollywood and beyond has lost a true original.
Thoughts and prayers are extended to the family and friends of Mr. Liotta.
-- EZ
- Published on
In the late 1980’s, I worked in home video retail, and one of my coworkers was a young fellow who claimed to know anything and everything about Science Fiction films.
He was a young whippersnapper … and that’s putting it mildly. He’d obviously done a lot of reading on film and the various productions that had come down through the ages. He was the kind of guy who’d always have a bit of trivia – some nugget of knowledge – about practically anything you could pull off the shelves. As you can imagine, that sometimes goes over well with customers; other times, it gets a bit grating, especially when he’d dip into those ‘I know more than you know’ waters. So far as I was concerned, I never professed to knowing much; I’ve always been the type of watcher who knows what I like, knows why I like it, and pretty much stick to the straight and narrow.
Anyway, one of the tales he loved to spin to anyone (if not everyone) trying to rent a copy of James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) always raised eyebrows: “You realize that’s just a remake of The Outer Limit’s 1964 episode ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ written by Harlan Ellison, don’t you?” Occasionally, a customer would push back, trying to get a word in the debate, only to be cut off with, “Well, you do know that James Cameron was successfully sued over stealing Harlan Ellison’s ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ from The Outer Limits, right?” As you might guess, it was always best to just surrender and let the young man go about his business.
To clarify the historical record all these years later: I knew then and I know now that, no, there was no successful lawsuit. (Mind you: I avoided debating the issue with him. I wasn’t going to get sucked down that rabbit hole.) What there was was a settlement, meaning that the issue never went to trial, meaning that no one sued anyone over the matter. The two parties got together, ironed out the relevant issues, and a check was written.
But …
What’s always troubled me beyond that misconception is that – having seen ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ – I’ve always been of the opinion that the two properties had negligible similarities, at best; but when you combine that Ellison work with another second season installment – ‘Soldier’ – then the legal position of Cameron perhaps using both as inspiration for his contributions to The Terminator script (FYI: he didn’t write it alone) becomes maybe undeniable. Individually? Mmmm. Hard to say. Combined? Yeah … it starts to look like there may have been some – what do they call it – unintended or unconscious inspiration drawn from the series at some point along the way.
He was a young whippersnapper … and that’s putting it mildly. He’d obviously done a lot of reading on film and the various productions that had come down through the ages. He was the kind of guy who’d always have a bit of trivia – some nugget of knowledge – about practically anything you could pull off the shelves. As you can imagine, that sometimes goes over well with customers; other times, it gets a bit grating, especially when he’d dip into those ‘I know more than you know’ waters. So far as I was concerned, I never professed to knowing much; I’ve always been the type of watcher who knows what I like, knows why I like it, and pretty much stick to the straight and narrow.
Anyway, one of the tales he loved to spin to anyone (if not everyone) trying to rent a copy of James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) always raised eyebrows: “You realize that’s just a remake of The Outer Limit’s 1964 episode ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ written by Harlan Ellison, don’t you?” Occasionally, a customer would push back, trying to get a word in the debate, only to be cut off with, “Well, you do know that James Cameron was successfully sued over stealing Harlan Ellison’s ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ from The Outer Limits, right?” As you might guess, it was always best to just surrender and let the young man go about his business.
To clarify the historical record all these years later: I knew then and I know now that, no, there was no successful lawsuit. (Mind you: I avoided debating the issue with him. I wasn’t going to get sucked down that rabbit hole.) What there was was a settlement, meaning that the issue never went to trial, meaning that no one sued anyone over the matter. The two parties got together, ironed out the relevant issues, and a check was written.
But …
What’s always troubled me beyond that misconception is that – having seen ‘Demon With A Glass Hand’ – I’ve always been of the opinion that the two properties had negligible similarities, at best; but when you combine that Ellison work with another second season installment – ‘Soldier’ – then the legal position of Cameron perhaps using both as inspiration for his contributions to The Terminator script (FYI: he didn’t write it alone) becomes maybe undeniable. Individually? Mmmm. Hard to say. Combined? Yeah … it starts to look like there may have been some – what do they call it – unintended or unconscious inspiration drawn from the series at some point along the way.
I’ve read that ‘Demon’ is oft-cited as one of the best (if not the best) hours of the popular mid-1960’s anthology series, and I suppose (in my humble opinion) that’s a merited assessment. It’s an hour that’s certainly been the recipient of a lot of praise over the years – from viewers and organizations alike. In fact, in 1965 the Writer’s Guild christened it with the ‘Best Screenplay’ award – only one of four Ellison received over his life in screenwriting – and, in 1972, Ellison won the Georges Melies Fantasy Film Award for Outstanding Cinematic Achievement in Science Fiction Television (per Wikipedia.org). The story also had a graphic novel adaptation in the mid-1980’s (I think I’ve read that, may even still own my copy somewhere in my boxes of whatnot), and – for a time – there was talk of Ellison penning a sequel or even a big budget theatrical script. Alas, no film was made (yet!!!), but it’s a property that gets talked about when studios dabble in remakes.
As for the story?
Here’s the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
“Days ago, Trent awoke with no memory of his past. Since then, sinister men have pursued him constantly. He manages to stay one step ahead of them by following the advice of his hand. Made of glass and apparently capable of speech, Trent’s hand can answer many of his questions. But it cannot tell him who he is or why his enemies seek him until he finds all of its fingers. The only trouble is that they’re in the hands of his enemies.”
The synopsis ignores perhaps the episode’s biggest narrative construct (and it’s a doozy): Trent’s enemies are not men of today but in fact are from a distant future, one cited to be a few thousand years into tomorrow when Earth has fallen to these warriors from Kyba. Though they look like Earthlings, I’ve read elsewhere that the appearance is merely a disguise: they couldn’t hunt their sole adversary in Earth’s past in their given form without corrupting the timeline, possibly risking their own place in human history. Largely, this explains why not much was invested in their costumes as the bulk of the Kyben force comes off looking like low-budget background thugs from any of the Republic (i.e. 1936’s Undersea Kingdom) or Universal serials (i.e. 1936’s Flash Gordon). Occasionally they’re sporting rubbery swim caps (with adornments) over their heads or – ahem – sheer panty hose over their faces, a development that quite possibly produced a bit of unplanned laughter from its mid-1960’s audience.
As for the story?
Here’s the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
“Days ago, Trent awoke with no memory of his past. Since then, sinister men have pursued him constantly. He manages to stay one step ahead of them by following the advice of his hand. Made of glass and apparently capable of speech, Trent’s hand can answer many of his questions. But it cannot tell him who he is or why his enemies seek him until he finds all of its fingers. The only trouble is that they’re in the hands of his enemies.”
The synopsis ignores perhaps the episode’s biggest narrative construct (and it’s a doozy): Trent’s enemies are not men of today but in fact are from a distant future, one cited to be a few thousand years into tomorrow when Earth has fallen to these warriors from Kyba. Though they look like Earthlings, I’ve read elsewhere that the appearance is merely a disguise: they couldn’t hunt their sole adversary in Earth’s past in their given form without corrupting the timeline, possibly risking their own place in human history. Largely, this explains why not much was invested in their costumes as the bulk of the Kyben force comes off looking like low-budget background thugs from any of the Republic (i.e. 1936’s Undersea Kingdom) or Universal serials (i.e. 1936’s Flash Gordon). Occasionally they’re sporting rubbery swim caps (with adornments) over their heads or – ahem – sheer panty hose over their faces, a development that quite possibly produced a bit of unplanned laughter from its mid-1960’s audience.
Alas, we never learn all that much about the Kyben or what their collective gripe with Earth people was in those days of tomorrow. Ellison’s script functions well on its economy – only give the viewers enough information as is absolutely necessary to spin this tale – and any other particulars were left up to anyone’s best guess. What is established, however, is that Earth as we know it is all but gone. Somehow, the planet’s 70 billion inhabitants have also vanished in hiding, and the Kyben believe Trent knows where they are, which is what puts them hot on his trail through time … and, yet, just how he got here, who sent him, and why they chose the distant past remains a mystery (though some questions will be answered before the credits roll).
So the general thrust of ‘Demon’ is a general locked box procedural with Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery elements: Trent is directed to a downtown building wherein he unknowingly finds himself trapped with the enemy closing in, and the bulk of the episode deals with his race against time to recover the missing fingers of his glass hand, uncover the secret of his identity, or outwit the alien aggressors before they capture him.
Veteran character actor Robert Culp makes the most of this hour, though he eventually shares a good amount of screen time with Arlene Martel; as ‘Consuelo Biros,’ she kinda/sorta befriends Trent after their conflict gives way to a somewhat predictable love interest. (It’s probably the episode’s weakest and most predictable development.) They’re forced together out of sheer narrative contrivance, but they do share a telling moment in the climax that deftly underscore’s the hero’s plight of ‘forever marching on’ with little thought given to rest or recuperation. And, of course, it never hurts having the famed Bradbury Building in any production: it serves as the show’s visual centerpiece wherein all of these people inevitably collide in the race against time.
Because this is Science Fiction, after all, audiences need to have some visual confection, and nothing quite surpasses the level of greatness delivered by Trent’s glass hand. (We do so love our gadgets, don’t we? Especially the handy ones?) Though it’s gloved throughout most of the action sequences, the hour truly comes alive when the hero secludes himself into a dark corner, peels off the cloth, and talks to that wonderful, computerized gizmo. It isn’t all that big in size, but just the thought of it blinking away, robotically advising Trent what to do next, is the stuff lovers of SciFi and Fantasy show up to see. Ellison knew his audience, and he undoubtedly ‘handed’ it right to them, along with the craftsmen in the props and production department.
To say anything further would be to spoil the mix(these shows survive on their surprise twist endings), and you folks have read here long enough to know that I don't do that. I will say that, though I don’t see ‘Demon’ as the work of sheer genius most contend the episode to be (I left it with a fair number of unanswered questions regarding this world and Trent’s circumstances), it’s still easy to accept this as a highwater mark in the world of genre entertainment. Capturing a perfect fifty-one minutes will always be monumentally elusive, but if this is as close as The Outer Limits ever got then let’s all give them a hand.
-- EZ
So the general thrust of ‘Demon’ is a general locked box procedural with Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery elements: Trent is directed to a downtown building wherein he unknowingly finds himself trapped with the enemy closing in, and the bulk of the episode deals with his race against time to recover the missing fingers of his glass hand, uncover the secret of his identity, or outwit the alien aggressors before they capture him.
Veteran character actor Robert Culp makes the most of this hour, though he eventually shares a good amount of screen time with Arlene Martel; as ‘Consuelo Biros,’ she kinda/sorta befriends Trent after their conflict gives way to a somewhat predictable love interest. (It’s probably the episode’s weakest and most predictable development.) They’re forced together out of sheer narrative contrivance, but they do share a telling moment in the climax that deftly underscore’s the hero’s plight of ‘forever marching on’ with little thought given to rest or recuperation. And, of course, it never hurts having the famed Bradbury Building in any production: it serves as the show’s visual centerpiece wherein all of these people inevitably collide in the race against time.
Because this is Science Fiction, after all, audiences need to have some visual confection, and nothing quite surpasses the level of greatness delivered by Trent’s glass hand. (We do so love our gadgets, don’t we? Especially the handy ones?) Though it’s gloved throughout most of the action sequences, the hour truly comes alive when the hero secludes himself into a dark corner, peels off the cloth, and talks to that wonderful, computerized gizmo. It isn’t all that big in size, but just the thought of it blinking away, robotically advising Trent what to do next, is the stuff lovers of SciFi and Fantasy show up to see. Ellison knew his audience, and he undoubtedly ‘handed’ it right to them, along with the craftsmen in the props and production department.
To say anything further would be to spoil the mix(these shows survive on their surprise twist endings), and you folks have read here long enough to know that I don't do that. I will say that, though I don’t see ‘Demon’ as the work of sheer genius most contend the episode to be (I left it with a fair number of unanswered questions regarding this world and Trent’s circumstances), it’s still easy to accept this as a highwater mark in the world of genre entertainment. Capturing a perfect fifty-one minutes will always be monumentally elusive, but if this is as close as The Outer Limits ever got then let’s all give them a hand.
-- EZ
- Published on
PROGRAMMING NOTE
From time-to-time, it’s good for this old brain of mine to practice a bit of renewal; and because I’m such a huge fan of all films I do like to watch and reflect on some outside the realms of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. I’ve always promised not to do it that often in this space, and given the fact that I haven’t done it in a long, long while I figure it’s time to stretch my legs with a favorite potboiler from the late 1990’s: John McNaughton’s exceptional Wild Things.
I ask you: who among us doesn’t like a good monster movie?
As I’ve always cautioned, monsters – even in this world – come in all shapes and sizes, but the deadliest by far has been, remains, and always will be man itself. Why? Well, that’s because despite all we know about ourselves we are always fundamentally unpredictable. Circumstances can change in a heartbeat, and such pervasive uncertainty might cause us to act in a way against our long-term self-interest. We’ve always had a measure of intellectual cunning – even (gasp) the dumbest among us – and we’ve proven time-and-time-again that – in the heat of the moment – we’re liable to do damn near anything to save ourselves from that inevitable ending which ultimately awaits us all.
Still, films like Wild Things (1998) are a gem because they pull back the curtain on what we’re willing to do in order to achieve “the very best life” before that inevitable ending. As an audience, we get to see vicariously how those responding to darker impulses might very well think things, say things, do things … some very wild things, as it were … to speed themselves either to (at best) utopia or (at worst) their doom. Logic be damned. Safety be damned. Morality be damned.
It's truly a walk on the wild side.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Popular and charming, student counselor Sam Lombardo is no stranger to being the focus of female attention within the moneyed cliques of Florida’s Blue Bay. His fortunes are about to change dramatically, however, when one of the wealthiest students at his high school, sultry Kelly Van Ryan, accuses him of rape. The charge looks sure to stick when another girl from the other end of the social spectrum, Suzie Toller, steps forward with her own allegations, but Detective Duquette smells something fishy, and the truth is as murky and dangerous as the alligator-infested swamps in the hinterlands of this affluent beach community.”
Upon its original theatrical release, Wild Things created a bit of a cultural stir: it was heavily advertised as a silver screen sexual thriller, much along the lines of Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992). In the earlier film, one of actress Sharon Stone’s (ahem) “finer assets” was rather famously shown up in the lights and shadows during a now infamous police interrogation scene. That sequence and the flick’s hot-and-heavy sex sequences kinda/sorta suggested that Hollywood was willing to push boundaries that had been already broken decades earlier with conventional pornography; and many of the films that followed in the years after tried to pick up that mantle and run with it. Few truly did, but promotional executives thought they had the next incarnation with the McNaughton film.
As I’ve always cautioned, monsters – even in this world – come in all shapes and sizes, but the deadliest by far has been, remains, and always will be man itself. Why? Well, that’s because despite all we know about ourselves we are always fundamentally unpredictable. Circumstances can change in a heartbeat, and such pervasive uncertainty might cause us to act in a way against our long-term self-interest. We’ve always had a measure of intellectual cunning – even (gasp) the dumbest among us – and we’ve proven time-and-time-again that – in the heat of the moment – we’re liable to do damn near anything to save ourselves from that inevitable ending which ultimately awaits us all.
Still, films like Wild Things (1998) are a gem because they pull back the curtain on what we’re willing to do in order to achieve “the very best life” before that inevitable ending. As an audience, we get to see vicariously how those responding to darker impulses might very well think things, say things, do things … some very wild things, as it were … to speed themselves either to (at best) utopia or (at worst) their doom. Logic be damned. Safety be damned. Morality be damned.
It's truly a walk on the wild side.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Popular and charming, student counselor Sam Lombardo is no stranger to being the focus of female attention within the moneyed cliques of Florida’s Blue Bay. His fortunes are about to change dramatically, however, when one of the wealthiest students at his high school, sultry Kelly Van Ryan, accuses him of rape. The charge looks sure to stick when another girl from the other end of the social spectrum, Suzie Toller, steps forward with her own allegations, but Detective Duquette smells something fishy, and the truth is as murky and dangerous as the alligator-infested swamps in the hinterlands of this affluent beach community.”
Upon its original theatrical release, Wild Things created a bit of a cultural stir: it was heavily advertised as a silver screen sexual thriller, much along the lines of Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992). In the earlier film, one of actress Sharon Stone’s (ahem) “finer assets” was rather famously shown up in the lights and shadows during a now infamous police interrogation scene. That sequence and the flick’s hot-and-heavy sex sequences kinda/sorta suggested that Hollywood was willing to push boundaries that had been already broken decades earlier with conventional pornography; and many of the films that followed in the years after tried to pick up that mantle and run with it. Few truly did, but promotional executives thought they had the next incarnation with the McNaughton film.
Though Wild tried to be wilder, I found it rather tame by comparison. The film’s famed menage a trois between actors Matt Dillon, Denise Richards, and Neve Campbell certainly musters some screen heat – which gets ramped up with a bottle of champagne – but that and a rather brief sequence with actress Theresa Russell were the sum total of Wild’s actual commitment to the act. Everything else in there that comes close involves the obvious tension of attraction and flirtation – the social, cultural and legal taboo of an adult engaging in intimate acts with children (laws are laws, folks). Yes, it’s all delivered with aplomb, but if that kind of things doesn’t float your Florida boat then this picture barely leaves the dock.
However, what intrigued audiences far more – and deservedly so – was screenwriter Stephen Peters’ labyrinthian plot along with director McNaughton’s masterful construction. Though occasionally a bit convoluted, the tale worked as a conventional crime thriller with an unconventional presentation, taking the audiences indeed on a wild ride through the present and then unspooling it (in the climax) with some narrative flashbacks. Viewers found out who the guilty culprit was (I won’t spoil it), only then needing to be taken back through the events to understand the exact how and why of it all. It’s a calculated risk – one I’ve only seen achieved sparingly on the screen – but the payoff works incredibly well, making these Wild Things an absolute treat.
Wild Things (1998) was produced by Mandalay Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by the reliable Arrow Video Films. As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve frequently reminded regular readers that I’m no ‘tech junkie,’ but I thought this film looked and sounded downright fabulous in this 4K presentation. As one who has spent a fair amount of time in and around Florida communities kinda/sorta like this one, the shooting locations and overall feel of the production is spot on. Very well done by the production choices.
As for the special features? Arrow Video is no slouch, and they’ve given audiences something special to enjoy here on top of the 4K restoration. First up, the set boasts the original theatrical version along with an Unrated Version. (FYI: I watched the Unrated, and I couldn’t say specifically what was added to the original.) There are not one but two commentary tracks, both involving McNaughton (obviously) at various stages in his life. (His recollections are very good in both, maybe even a bit too lively in a few cases.) Naturally, there are the usual interview shorts, production stills, and even a few outtakes (all centered on Bill Murray, who I honestly had completely forgotten was in this.) Lastly, there’s a great collector’s booklet with multiple essays as well as some new art and postcard-sized reproductions of lobby cards. As usual, Arrow does not disappoint.
Highly recommended. Performances are spot on, the narrative couldn’t be any tighter, and Wild Things gives one of the screen’s best jaunts through the sexy and sweaty underbelly of screen revenge. (FYI: you won’t know it’s a revenge flick until the very end, folks, so watch closely.) Like a good book, the feature film is the kind of experience that can be enjoyed across multiple viewings, and the guiltier pleasures just get seedier each time you experience them. The twists are not always perfect, mind you, but they’re imminently watchable. (Here’s looking at you, Denise Richards!) Enjoy … you bad, bad boy, you.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Video provided me with a complimentary 4K UltraHD Blu-ray of Wild Things by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
However, what intrigued audiences far more – and deservedly so – was screenwriter Stephen Peters’ labyrinthian plot along with director McNaughton’s masterful construction. Though occasionally a bit convoluted, the tale worked as a conventional crime thriller with an unconventional presentation, taking the audiences indeed on a wild ride through the present and then unspooling it (in the climax) with some narrative flashbacks. Viewers found out who the guilty culprit was (I won’t spoil it), only then needing to be taken back through the events to understand the exact how and why of it all. It’s a calculated risk – one I’ve only seen achieved sparingly on the screen – but the payoff works incredibly well, making these Wild Things an absolute treat.
Wild Things (1998) was produced by Mandalay Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by the reliable Arrow Video Films. As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve frequently reminded regular readers that I’m no ‘tech junkie,’ but I thought this film looked and sounded downright fabulous in this 4K presentation. As one who has spent a fair amount of time in and around Florida communities kinda/sorta like this one, the shooting locations and overall feel of the production is spot on. Very well done by the production choices.
As for the special features? Arrow Video is no slouch, and they’ve given audiences something special to enjoy here on top of the 4K restoration. First up, the set boasts the original theatrical version along with an Unrated Version. (FYI: I watched the Unrated, and I couldn’t say specifically what was added to the original.) There are not one but two commentary tracks, both involving McNaughton (obviously) at various stages in his life. (His recollections are very good in both, maybe even a bit too lively in a few cases.) Naturally, there are the usual interview shorts, production stills, and even a few outtakes (all centered on Bill Murray, who I honestly had completely forgotten was in this.) Lastly, there’s a great collector’s booklet with multiple essays as well as some new art and postcard-sized reproductions of lobby cards. As usual, Arrow does not disappoint.
Highly recommended. Performances are spot on, the narrative couldn’t be any tighter, and Wild Things gives one of the screen’s best jaunts through the sexy and sweaty underbelly of screen revenge. (FYI: you won’t know it’s a revenge flick until the very end, folks, so watch closely.) Like a good book, the feature film is the kind of experience that can be enjoyed across multiple viewings, and the guiltier pleasures just get seedier each time you experience them. The twists are not always perfect, mind you, but they’re imminently watchable. (Here’s looking at you, Denise Richards!) Enjoy … you bad, bad boy, you.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Video provided me with a complimentary 4K UltraHD Blu-ray of Wild Things by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- Published on
PROGRAMMING NOTE
The kind folks at Liberation Hall have been good enough to provide yours truly with a complimentary set of RoboCop: The Series; and I’m going to spend a fair amount of time with it over the next few days. Interested readers are encouraged to watch this space as I’ll be doing some individual episodes reviews – and maybe even a few extra articles – in order to both promote the product as well as relive a show I’ve read so much about but am only just getting to know.
If you’re interested in picking up your very own copy of RoboCop: The Series, then you can follow the link right here for more details. It’s available in either Blu-ray or traditional DVD.
If you’re interested in picking up your very own copy of RoboCop: The Series, then you can follow the link right here for more details. It’s available in either Blu-ray or traditional DVD.
The transition from the big screen to the small screen can be a risky proposition.
By their very nature, feature films invest a significant chunk of their change into making characters, costumes, environment, and set pieces look larger-than-life: it’s why they call it ‘the movies,’ after all. In some cases – especially when you’re dealing with franchise properties – no expense is spared in giving the motion picture the visual clout needed to compete in the ultimate venue of cinematic ideas. Audiences can expect to be more than reasonably entertained in exchange for the price of a ticket, and studios are inclined to put-up-or-shut-up with the hopes of wooing them back again should the prospect for a sequel get introduced.
Indeed, RoboCop was a force to be reckoned with up in the lights, but the constraints of weekly television production understandably meant dialing some of that cinematic excess. The premiere installments – a two-parter titled “The Future Of Law Enforcement” – picks up a few years after the events of the 1987 motion picture, completely (and thankfully) ignoring the developments of the inferior sequels. That’s not such a bad thing, per se – anyone showing up to watch anything with ‘RoboCop’ in its name is certainly most interested in our hero himself – but that’s why maybe the show made a calculated gamble with this script serving as its debut:
Alex Murphy isn’t in a good percentage of it.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“RoboCop and Officer Lisa Madigan uncover a deadly conspiracy between insane genius Dr. Cray Mallardo and ruthless OCP executive Chip Chayken to create Neuro Net, a computer linked to a human brain designed to run the entire city. The hitch: finding a brain capable of doing the job.”
It’s certainly no weakness to build a weekly police procedural around an established character like RoboCop, and showrunners Kevin Gillis, Brian K. Ross, and Stephen Downing made great strides in adapting the property’s cinematic constructs for the Boob Tube. The satirical newscast, the unintentionally funny commercial advertisements, and the grim urban landscape of Old Detroit all come along for active duty. Actor Richard Eden takes on the big task of filling those big cybernetic shoes, but – for some reason I’ve not yet been able to uncover – the character of bubblegum-chewing Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen in the film) is jettisoned in favor of bubblegum-chewing Lisa Madigan (played here by the lovely Yvette Nipar). Given the fact that both female partners would appear to be the same person, I’m at a loss to understand why the change.
In any event, the action is toned down considerably from what one experiences in the movie – I’m certain TV network censors would’ve had issues with that anyhow – but that’s a negligible change: what matters most is that RoboCop is back on the job, and that fact alone make much of “The Future Of Law Enforcement” (Parts 1 and 2) watchable.
By their very nature, feature films invest a significant chunk of their change into making characters, costumes, environment, and set pieces look larger-than-life: it’s why they call it ‘the movies,’ after all. In some cases – especially when you’re dealing with franchise properties – no expense is spared in giving the motion picture the visual clout needed to compete in the ultimate venue of cinematic ideas. Audiences can expect to be more than reasonably entertained in exchange for the price of a ticket, and studios are inclined to put-up-or-shut-up with the hopes of wooing them back again should the prospect for a sequel get introduced.
Indeed, RoboCop was a force to be reckoned with up in the lights, but the constraints of weekly television production understandably meant dialing some of that cinematic excess. The premiere installments – a two-parter titled “The Future Of Law Enforcement” – picks up a few years after the events of the 1987 motion picture, completely (and thankfully) ignoring the developments of the inferior sequels. That’s not such a bad thing, per se – anyone showing up to watch anything with ‘RoboCop’ in its name is certainly most interested in our hero himself – but that’s why maybe the show made a calculated gamble with this script serving as its debut:
Alex Murphy isn’t in a good percentage of it.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“RoboCop and Officer Lisa Madigan uncover a deadly conspiracy between insane genius Dr. Cray Mallardo and ruthless OCP executive Chip Chayken to create Neuro Net, a computer linked to a human brain designed to run the entire city. The hitch: finding a brain capable of doing the job.”
It’s certainly no weakness to build a weekly police procedural around an established character like RoboCop, and showrunners Kevin Gillis, Brian K. Ross, and Stephen Downing made great strides in adapting the property’s cinematic constructs for the Boob Tube. The satirical newscast, the unintentionally funny commercial advertisements, and the grim urban landscape of Old Detroit all come along for active duty. Actor Richard Eden takes on the big task of filling those big cybernetic shoes, but – for some reason I’ve not yet been able to uncover – the character of bubblegum-chewing Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen in the film) is jettisoned in favor of bubblegum-chewing Lisa Madigan (played here by the lovely Yvette Nipar). Given the fact that both female partners would appear to be the same person, I’m at a loss to understand why the change.
In any event, the action is toned down considerably from what one experiences in the movie – I’m certain TV network censors would’ve had issues with that anyhow – but that’s a negligible change: what matters most is that RoboCop is back on the job, and that fact alone make much of “The Future Of Law Enforcement” (Parts 1 and 2) watchable.
The villainy here is a bit more cartoonish, and (again) I’d suggest that’s largely owed to the fact that TV properties typically don’t go all hardcore in their politicizing yarns. Both OCP baddies – Chayken (John Rubinstein) and Mallardo (Cliff De Young) – are a bit over-the-top, coming off much dastardlier and more mischievous than they are truly evil. Their goal is to secretly take charge of any and all technological wonders within the city of Detroit is an interesting one, and the stakes are raised when it’s shown how far they’re willing to go to silence those who oppose them. The script even introduces a street thug – William Ray ‘Pudface’ Morgan – to kinda/sorta serve as a gang-level enforcer who has an axe to grind with RoboCop, and – whether you like the general goofiness of it or not – all of it certainly feels authentic to this TV incarnation.
And – dare I say? – actor Eden does an admirable job picking up the Robo-mantle from his theatrical counterparts. Granted, one might think that getting suited up into that alleged 90-pound cybernetic carriage alone gives any Thespian ample leverage to use in executing a character, but the man clearly has the movements down as well as some effective speech patterns maximized in every scene. He’s clearly done some work to prepare for the gig, and I’m excited to see where he’ll take this journey over the twenty-plus episodes.
If I have any significant gripe with the debut (and – c’mon – it’s me, you know I’m gonna have at least one gripe), it’s the choice of story. Without spoiling too much of it, our singular hero gets – ahem – significantly sidelined for much of the second half. IMDB.com reports that the script emerged from a script penned originally for RoboCop 2 by Robo’s creators Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner; and perhaps they were thematically trying to take these events in a slightly more ‘redemptive’ direction than one generally gets in episodic television. There’s nothing wrong with anyone rising from the grave, but I think that ‘Second Coming’ is stuff best left to religion and those who practice it.
RoboCop: The Series was produced by Robocop Productions Ltd., Rysher Entertainment, and Skyvision Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Liberation Hall. This Blu-ray set contains five discs and boasts a runtime of approximately seventeen hours.
As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve read online that some longtime fans of the show are a bit upset with this release: the episodes have all been formatted 16:9 for widescreen televisions but the show was original broadcast in standard 4:3. My expertise is certainly not in the technical areas covered by some who do reviews, but I can say – after viewing a few episodes – there are some hiccups regarding cropping. It’s nothing glaring – only a handful of scenes ended up looking shot with a person’s head out-of-frame – so I’m not inclined to make a big deal out of it. However, there are also a few scenes of obvious grain I suspect are a result of the increased focus; again, it’s nothing ‘tragic,’ but it is what it is. (I’ve seen other shows broadcast on HD channels reformat older programming that looks vastly worse than this.)
As for the special features? The set provides a handful of the typical behind-the-scenes whatnot including extras kinda/sorta repackaged from the show itself. Cast profiles are also a nice touch, along with some other documentary-style shorts about the show, some of its props, etc. For what it’s worth, I thought it a nice assortment for folks either casual or die-hard enthusiasts of the greater RoboUniverse. Well done.
Recommended. I think it’s fair to say that RoboCop: The Series really only got off to an affable start in “The Future Of Law Enforcement: Part 1” and Part 2. Honestly, Part 1 is vastly better than Part 2 – largely because the plot as constructed has our hero sidelined for much of the action (won’t spoil it, but it’ll be damn obvious), and the tone of the big climax gets a bit too wacky for my tastes. The conventions and restrictions of episodic television might keep the big guy from achieving status anywhere near what he did on the silver screen (even in the lesser sequels), but I’m holding out hope that the producers have a little something up their sleeve for future installments.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Liberation Hall provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Robocop: The Series by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
And – dare I say? – actor Eden does an admirable job picking up the Robo-mantle from his theatrical counterparts. Granted, one might think that getting suited up into that alleged 90-pound cybernetic carriage alone gives any Thespian ample leverage to use in executing a character, but the man clearly has the movements down as well as some effective speech patterns maximized in every scene. He’s clearly done some work to prepare for the gig, and I’m excited to see where he’ll take this journey over the twenty-plus episodes.
If I have any significant gripe with the debut (and – c’mon – it’s me, you know I’m gonna have at least one gripe), it’s the choice of story. Without spoiling too much of it, our singular hero gets – ahem – significantly sidelined for much of the second half. IMDB.com reports that the script emerged from a script penned originally for RoboCop 2 by Robo’s creators Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner; and perhaps they were thematically trying to take these events in a slightly more ‘redemptive’ direction than one generally gets in episodic television. There’s nothing wrong with anyone rising from the grave, but I think that ‘Second Coming’ is stuff best left to religion and those who practice it.
RoboCop: The Series was produced by Robocop Productions Ltd., Rysher Entertainment, and Skyvision Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Liberation Hall. This Blu-ray set contains five discs and boasts a runtime of approximately seventeen hours.
As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve read online that some longtime fans of the show are a bit upset with this release: the episodes have all been formatted 16:9 for widescreen televisions but the show was original broadcast in standard 4:3. My expertise is certainly not in the technical areas covered by some who do reviews, but I can say – after viewing a few episodes – there are some hiccups regarding cropping. It’s nothing glaring – only a handful of scenes ended up looking shot with a person’s head out-of-frame – so I’m not inclined to make a big deal out of it. However, there are also a few scenes of obvious grain I suspect are a result of the increased focus; again, it’s nothing ‘tragic,’ but it is what it is. (I’ve seen other shows broadcast on HD channels reformat older programming that looks vastly worse than this.)
As for the special features? The set provides a handful of the typical behind-the-scenes whatnot including extras kinda/sorta repackaged from the show itself. Cast profiles are also a nice touch, along with some other documentary-style shorts about the show, some of its props, etc. For what it’s worth, I thought it a nice assortment for folks either casual or die-hard enthusiasts of the greater RoboUniverse. Well done.
Recommended. I think it’s fair to say that RoboCop: The Series really only got off to an affable start in “The Future Of Law Enforcement: Part 1” and Part 2. Honestly, Part 1 is vastly better than Part 2 – largely because the plot as constructed has our hero sidelined for much of the action (won’t spoil it, but it’ll be damn obvious), and the tone of the big climax gets a bit too wacky for my tastes. The conventions and restrictions of episodic television might keep the big guy from achieving status anywhere near what he did on the silver screen (even in the lesser sequels), but I’m holding out hope that the producers have a little something up their sleeve for future installments.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Liberation Hall provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Robocop: The Series by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- Published on
Happy Tuesday, peeps ... and it's another edition of New Releases Tuesday, though it's been some time since I've done one. I gravitate back and forth between doing these posts and not, mostly because in my review of site traffic these don't get a lot of traction. Still, there are a few of these hitting shelves today that I thought worthy of a mention ... so sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the data.
Candyman (1992): "The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth." (IMDB.com)
Lifeforce (1985): "A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, beginning an apocalyptic descent into chaos." (IMDB.com)
Passengers (2016): "A malfunction in a sleeping pod on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet wakes one passenger 90 years early." (IMDB.com)
RoboCop: The Series (1994): "Alex Murphy is RoboCop, a cybernetic policeman. A creation of a vast corporation, he fights crime and occasional corporate conspiracy in the near-future of Old Detroit."
(IMDB.com)
Studio 666 (2022): "Legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much anticipated 10th album." (IMDB.com)
The Batman (2022): "When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement."
(IMDB.com)
X (2022): "In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives." (IMDB.com)
Happy shopping!
-- EZ
Candyman (1992): "The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth." (IMDB.com)
Lifeforce (1985): "A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, beginning an apocalyptic descent into chaos." (IMDB.com)
Passengers (2016): "A malfunction in a sleeping pod on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet wakes one passenger 90 years early." (IMDB.com)
RoboCop: The Series (1994): "Alex Murphy is RoboCop, a cybernetic policeman. A creation of a vast corporation, he fights crime and occasional corporate conspiracy in the near-future of Old Detroit."
(IMDB.com)
- Watch this space, readers, and I'll be reviewing this release of RoboCop: The Series along with some individual episode reviews in the days ahead!
Studio 666 (2022): "Legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much anticipated 10th album." (IMDB.com)
The Batman (2022): "When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement."
(IMDB.com)
- Yes, I'm on record as being no huge fan of The Batman. Sorry, folks, but it is what it is.
X (2022): "In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives." (IMDB.com)
Happy shopping!
-- EZ
- Published on
PROGRAMMING NOTE
The kind folks at Liberation Hall have been good enough to provide yours truly with a complimentary set of RoboCop: The Series; and I’m going to spend a fair amount of time with it over the next few days. Interested readers are encouraged to watch this space as I’ll be doing some individual episodes reviews – and maybe even a few extra articles – in order to both promote the product as well as relive a show I’ve read so much about but am only just getting to know.
If you’re interested in picking up your very own copy of RoboCop: The Series, then you can follow the link right here for more details. It’s available in either Blu-ray or traditional DVD.
If you’re interested in picking up your very own copy of RoboCop: The Series, then you can follow the link right here for more details. It’s available in either Blu-ray or traditional DVD.
1987’s RoboCop is – without question – one of the greatest Science Fiction films ever made.
The script from Michael Neumeier and Michael Miner balances just the right ingredients of SciFi, Fantasy, comedy, drama, and horror consistently while maintaining a focus on each character’s identity. The performances by all of the onscreen players (Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, and Kurtwood Smith in the biggest roles) have their respective moments and end up playing exceedingly well off one another in the film’s eventual payoff. And the effects work certainly pushed the bar on what was achievable, combining some practical work with some post-production trickery in ways that also complemented the other, evening garnering a Saturn Award nomination for his craftsmen.
Given the fact that the wider landscape of television has focused for so very long on police officers, crimefighters, and the like, I suppose it was only natural (at some point) for some studio executive to realize this character might do very well in its own weekly procedural. TV dramas – after all – allow storytellers to utilize both static players and guest stars in ways that support character development over time; given officer Alex Murphy’s slowly awakening memories regarding his past and the gradual rediscovery of his human potential, I’m actually a bit surprised that RoboCop didn’t happen on TV well before it became a movie franchise!
The truth is: it did … but in a vastly different presentation. ABC TV’s popular and long-running The Six Million Dollar Man saw astronaut Steve Austin return to work in a devastating crash. But we had the technology, so we rebuilt him better than before. Better. Stronger. Faster. Like that bionic man, it was going to be great having RoboCop back in the guise of weekly adventure program; I’m disappointed that the Detroit cop was only given a single season.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the series’ IMDB.com profile:
“Alex Murphy is RoboCop, a cybernetic policeman. A creation of a vast corporation, he fights crime and occasional corporate conspiracy in the near-future of Old Detroit.”
The script from Michael Neumeier and Michael Miner balances just the right ingredients of SciFi, Fantasy, comedy, drama, and horror consistently while maintaining a focus on each character’s identity. The performances by all of the onscreen players (Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, and Kurtwood Smith in the biggest roles) have their respective moments and end up playing exceedingly well off one another in the film’s eventual payoff. And the effects work certainly pushed the bar on what was achievable, combining some practical work with some post-production trickery in ways that also complemented the other, evening garnering a Saturn Award nomination for his craftsmen.
Given the fact that the wider landscape of television has focused for so very long on police officers, crimefighters, and the like, I suppose it was only natural (at some point) for some studio executive to realize this character might do very well in its own weekly procedural. TV dramas – after all – allow storytellers to utilize both static players and guest stars in ways that support character development over time; given officer Alex Murphy’s slowly awakening memories regarding his past and the gradual rediscovery of his human potential, I’m actually a bit surprised that RoboCop didn’t happen on TV well before it became a movie franchise!
The truth is: it did … but in a vastly different presentation. ABC TV’s popular and long-running The Six Million Dollar Man saw astronaut Steve Austin return to work in a devastating crash. But we had the technology, so we rebuilt him better than before. Better. Stronger. Faster. Like that bionic man, it was going to be great having RoboCop back in the guise of weekly adventure program; I’m disappointed that the Detroit cop was only given a single season.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the series’ IMDB.com profile:
“Alex Murphy is RoboCop, a cybernetic policeman. A creation of a vast corporation, he fights crime and occasional corporate conspiracy in the near-future of Old Detroit.”
For those unaware of the particulars, the TV series for RoboCop was shot and produced in Canada, meaning that – for folks like me – it aired in television syndication in the United States. As a consequence, I missed quite a bit of this back then; I caught it when I could find it, which was honestly extremely rare. (Syndicated markets airing local sports programming would dump whole episodes if and when games ran long, and the stations would never publish when those make-up airings would take place.) From what I’ve come to know, the series essentially honors only the original 1987 Paul Verhoeven-directed film, ignoring completely the characters and events of the two sequels. (Honestly, that’s as good a choice as any, given the curious nature of those uneven flicks.) Though I’ve not read exactly how much time has transpired between the film and the series, it’s safe to say that only a handful of years have passed: Murphy’s recall of his original death even takes place in the pilot episode.
Given that I’m somewhat new to the property, I’m going to withhold any true judgment on it at this point; but I’m going to say – as I did above – that the concept of RoboCop is perfectly conceived for television. Culturally, we’ve always enjoyed programs centered on justice and good deeds, and this fact alone makes this cybernetic crime fighter ideally suited for the serialized format. He’s certainly enjoyed a share of success on the silver screen, along with the assorted comic books and even an animated incarnation (heavily geared for the youngest among us). His central programming calls out for these stories, and I’m thrilled to spend time in this ride-along on behalf of the DVD set’s distributors.
RoboCop: The Series was produced by Robocop Productions Ltd., Rysher Entertainment, and Skyvision Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Liberation Hall. This Blu-ray set contains five discs and boasts a runtime of approximately seventeen hours.
As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve read online that some longtime fans of the show are a bit upset with this release: the episodes have all been formatted 16:9 for widescreen televisions but the show was original broadcast in standard 4:3. My expertise is certainly not in the technical areas covered by some who do reviews, but I can say – after viewing a few episodes – there are some hiccups regarding cropping. It’s nothing glaring – only a handful of scenes ended up looking shot with a person’s head out-of-frame – so I’m not inclined to make a big deal out of it. However, there are also a few scenes of obvious grain I suspect are a result of the increased focus; again, it’s nothing ‘tragic,’ but it is what it is. (I’ve seen other shows broadcast on HD channels reformat older programming that looks vastly worse than this.)
As for the special features? The set provides a handful of the typical behind-the-scenes whatnot including extras kinda/sorta repackaged from the show itself. Cast profiles are also a nice touch, along with some other documentary-style shorts about the show, some of its props, etc. For what it’s worth, I thought it a nice assortment for folks either casual or die-hard enthusiasts of the greater RoboUniverse. Well done.
Recommended. I’m only starting to make my way through the pilot and the subsequent twenty-one one-hour episodes, so it’d be uncouth of me to render any massive judgment on the series as a whole. However, I’m a Science Fiction junkie who likes what he’s seeing thus far, so I’m definitely looking forward to spending a fair amount of time getting to know an incarnation that completely passed me by on its original airings. While much of it ‘feels’ authentic to the first movie, it’s clearly been toned down – maybe even a bit too kid-friendly in a few places – yet that’s the nature of serialized television.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Liberation Hall provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray box set of RoboCop: The Series by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Given that I’m somewhat new to the property, I’m going to withhold any true judgment on it at this point; but I’m going to say – as I did above – that the concept of RoboCop is perfectly conceived for television. Culturally, we’ve always enjoyed programs centered on justice and good deeds, and this fact alone makes this cybernetic crime fighter ideally suited for the serialized format. He’s certainly enjoyed a share of success on the silver screen, along with the assorted comic books and even an animated incarnation (heavily geared for the youngest among us). His central programming calls out for these stories, and I’m thrilled to spend time in this ride-along on behalf of the DVD set’s distributors.
RoboCop: The Series was produced by Robocop Productions Ltd., Rysher Entertainment, and Skyvision Entertainment. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Liberation Hall. This Blu-ray set contains five discs and boasts a runtime of approximately seventeen hours.
As for the technical specifications? Well, I’ve read online that some longtime fans of the show are a bit upset with this release: the episodes have all been formatted 16:9 for widescreen televisions but the show was original broadcast in standard 4:3. My expertise is certainly not in the technical areas covered by some who do reviews, but I can say – after viewing a few episodes – there are some hiccups regarding cropping. It’s nothing glaring – only a handful of scenes ended up looking shot with a person’s head out-of-frame – so I’m not inclined to make a big deal out of it. However, there are also a few scenes of obvious grain I suspect are a result of the increased focus; again, it’s nothing ‘tragic,’ but it is what it is. (I’ve seen other shows broadcast on HD channels reformat older programming that looks vastly worse than this.)
As for the special features? The set provides a handful of the typical behind-the-scenes whatnot including extras kinda/sorta repackaged from the show itself. Cast profiles are also a nice touch, along with some other documentary-style shorts about the show, some of its props, etc. For what it’s worth, I thought it a nice assortment for folks either casual or die-hard enthusiasts of the greater RoboUniverse. Well done.
Recommended. I’m only starting to make my way through the pilot and the subsequent twenty-one one-hour episodes, so it’d be uncouth of me to render any massive judgment on the series as a whole. However, I’m a Science Fiction junkie who likes what he’s seeing thus far, so I’m definitely looking forward to spending a fair amount of time getting to know an incarnation that completely passed me by on its original airings. While much of it ‘feels’ authentic to the first movie, it’s clearly been toned down – maybe even a bit too kid-friendly in a few places – yet that’s the nature of serialized television.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Liberation Hall provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray box set of RoboCop: The Series by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- Published on
Honestly, I’ll go to my grave insisting that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was not the cinematic catastrophe most people allege it to have been.
Yes, yes, and yes: I’m old enough to have seen this one on first run in the theaters back when it premiered in 1979. Truth be told – if circumstances had worked out perfectly back in the day – I could’ve been one of the very first to have seen it a few days before its general release to mankind: I think it was either Burger King or McDonald’s that was running a contest for customers, and I remember receiving the letter confirming that my entry had been drawn from the box of submissions. (I’m sure that there were more than just mine in there, but I did my part to stuff that ballot box, I did.) Alas, I lived in downstate Illinois and the showing was set for the greater Chicagoland area, so I had to surrender my seats to someone who could make the trip. Yes, yes, and yes: I was devastated as a little guy … but I got over it.
I did get to see Star Trek on the silver screen when it premiered the very next week in my hometown, and I’ve no problem confessing that I saw it several times, even multiple times on the first Saturday. Me and my friends had a habit of buying a ticket for the first daily showing; if it was something we liked, then we’d sit through it twice, as we rarely had anything to do in our one-horse town. I think we repeated the experience for the next two Saturdays, as well, as The Motion Picture was something that certainly made an impression on our young minds.
Having been born in the mid-1960’s, the television show was a bit out of my intellectual reach. I’ve mentioned before (in this space) that I do distinctly remember being sat down in front of a set and shown an episode of the program; I know this because I can recall vividly being fascinated with Spock’s ears. Which adventure was it? Oh, that is lost to the ages – I’ve no recollection of the storyline – but that image of the singular Vulcan was seared into my young mind.
Like so many, I had the good fortune of discovering Trek in TV syndication, and my parents responded in kind, gifting me a few of those popular Mego action figures for either a birthday or Christmas. For a time, my Kirk and Spock went with me everywhere … until I came home from school one day to find the family dog had chewed off a leg. (I think it was Kirk’s, actually.) I made do the best I could with them in the Enterprise playset … damn that dog.
Being the age I was, Star Wars naturally became the next big thing in my life, but I never set aside my love for the Gene Roddenberry property. Though Luke, Han, and Leia were fun to cheer along with, I still believe that Kirk was the better hero. He never relied on the magical powers of the Force, but he could always count on his crew – the people he had chosen to surround himself with – to brave the Final Frontier, face any challenge, and stand tall against any adversary. As fun as that galaxy far, far away was, it just never had stories like those that the Enterprise crew faced; and – even as a young one – I was always fascinated more with stories than I was with visuals.
Believe it or not, I was a bit hesitant when I heard the news that producers were working to transition Star Trek from the small screen to the silver one. Sure, I was excited to see the original crew return to action – no die-hard Trek enthusiast worth his or her weight in gold would turn down the chance for more adventures in Starfleet – but I just felt they were going to – ahem – screw it up. Everything was going to have to be remade for the big screen, and the story was going to have to be a bit more epic: gone would be the intimacy of those weekly procedurals, and – in its place – there would have to be some yarn larger-than-life. (My two cents? On TV, the acting can be larger-than-life. Not the stories. ‘Nuff said.) That just wasn’t the way Trek explored strange new worlds and new civilizations, so I feared the worst.
Lo and behold, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was everything I hoped it would be.
Now, I’m not going to get into the endless arguments are pacing. Nor am I going to debate anyone over the film’s decidedly more adult tone. I’ve long said that folks showing up for a Star Trek movie expecting Star Wars action were going to be disappointed as Trek was never about heart-pounding action or eye-popping special effects. The show inspired scientists and astronauts – not swashbucklers and pirates – so anyone who bought a ticket thinking this was going to be some big budget space fantasy needs to get his head examined. The series made its mark spinning morality tales … and so far as this longtime fan is concerned that’s exactly what producers delivered with TMP. What else can you conclude in learning that V’Ger was – in fact – our very own creation – a future technological Frankenstein – that was returning home with the intent of causing our extinction? Could there be a more cautionary tale in all of Trekdom?
But I do get that some folks just don’t like it. They wanted something else. They wanted something faster. They wanted something maybe even hipper. I still argue they wanted Star Wars, and I’ve made my piece with that.
My purpose for bringing this up is that yesterday I had the good fortune of taking in the Fathom Events screening of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Cut at one of the local venues. This release is essentially meant to hype the upcoming home video release of the 4K version of the film, a process for which I learned that producers actually culled their way through an incredible 200,000 feet of film. And the result is the film looks and sounds even better than it ever has! Though I went in expecting a kinda/sorta more-of-the-same feeling to the affair, I was stunned by how incredible several of those longer effects sequences look with this restoration. The detail is incredible, and anyone who considers himself a fan of classic Trek really owes it to the franchise to see this one on the silver screen if you can. I think you’ll be glad you did.
Website: Fathom Events
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
Yes, yes, and yes: I’m old enough to have seen this one on first run in the theaters back when it premiered in 1979. Truth be told – if circumstances had worked out perfectly back in the day – I could’ve been one of the very first to have seen it a few days before its general release to mankind: I think it was either Burger King or McDonald’s that was running a contest for customers, and I remember receiving the letter confirming that my entry had been drawn from the box of submissions. (I’m sure that there were more than just mine in there, but I did my part to stuff that ballot box, I did.) Alas, I lived in downstate Illinois and the showing was set for the greater Chicagoland area, so I had to surrender my seats to someone who could make the trip. Yes, yes, and yes: I was devastated as a little guy … but I got over it.
I did get to see Star Trek on the silver screen when it premiered the very next week in my hometown, and I’ve no problem confessing that I saw it several times, even multiple times on the first Saturday. Me and my friends had a habit of buying a ticket for the first daily showing; if it was something we liked, then we’d sit through it twice, as we rarely had anything to do in our one-horse town. I think we repeated the experience for the next two Saturdays, as well, as The Motion Picture was something that certainly made an impression on our young minds.
Having been born in the mid-1960’s, the television show was a bit out of my intellectual reach. I’ve mentioned before (in this space) that I do distinctly remember being sat down in front of a set and shown an episode of the program; I know this because I can recall vividly being fascinated with Spock’s ears. Which adventure was it? Oh, that is lost to the ages – I’ve no recollection of the storyline – but that image of the singular Vulcan was seared into my young mind.
Like so many, I had the good fortune of discovering Trek in TV syndication, and my parents responded in kind, gifting me a few of those popular Mego action figures for either a birthday or Christmas. For a time, my Kirk and Spock went with me everywhere … until I came home from school one day to find the family dog had chewed off a leg. (I think it was Kirk’s, actually.) I made do the best I could with them in the Enterprise playset … damn that dog.
Being the age I was, Star Wars naturally became the next big thing in my life, but I never set aside my love for the Gene Roddenberry property. Though Luke, Han, and Leia were fun to cheer along with, I still believe that Kirk was the better hero. He never relied on the magical powers of the Force, but he could always count on his crew – the people he had chosen to surround himself with – to brave the Final Frontier, face any challenge, and stand tall against any adversary. As fun as that galaxy far, far away was, it just never had stories like those that the Enterprise crew faced; and – even as a young one – I was always fascinated more with stories than I was with visuals.
Believe it or not, I was a bit hesitant when I heard the news that producers were working to transition Star Trek from the small screen to the silver one. Sure, I was excited to see the original crew return to action – no die-hard Trek enthusiast worth his or her weight in gold would turn down the chance for more adventures in Starfleet – but I just felt they were going to – ahem – screw it up. Everything was going to have to be remade for the big screen, and the story was going to have to be a bit more epic: gone would be the intimacy of those weekly procedurals, and – in its place – there would have to be some yarn larger-than-life. (My two cents? On TV, the acting can be larger-than-life. Not the stories. ‘Nuff said.) That just wasn’t the way Trek explored strange new worlds and new civilizations, so I feared the worst.
Lo and behold, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was everything I hoped it would be.
Now, I’m not going to get into the endless arguments are pacing. Nor am I going to debate anyone over the film’s decidedly more adult tone. I’ve long said that folks showing up for a Star Trek movie expecting Star Wars action were going to be disappointed as Trek was never about heart-pounding action or eye-popping special effects. The show inspired scientists and astronauts – not swashbucklers and pirates – so anyone who bought a ticket thinking this was going to be some big budget space fantasy needs to get his head examined. The series made its mark spinning morality tales … and so far as this longtime fan is concerned that’s exactly what producers delivered with TMP. What else can you conclude in learning that V’Ger was – in fact – our very own creation – a future technological Frankenstein – that was returning home with the intent of causing our extinction? Could there be a more cautionary tale in all of Trekdom?
But I do get that some folks just don’t like it. They wanted something else. They wanted something faster. They wanted something maybe even hipper. I still argue they wanted Star Wars, and I’ve made my piece with that.
My purpose for bringing this up is that yesterday I had the good fortune of taking in the Fathom Events screening of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Cut at one of the local venues. This release is essentially meant to hype the upcoming home video release of the 4K version of the film, a process for which I learned that producers actually culled their way through an incredible 200,000 feet of film. And the result is the film looks and sounds even better than it ever has! Though I went in expecting a kinda/sorta more-of-the-same feeling to the affair, I was stunned by how incredible several of those longer effects sequences look with this restoration. The detail is incredible, and anyone who considers himself a fan of classic Trek really owes it to the franchise to see this one on the silver screen if you can. I think you’ll be glad you did.
Website: Fathom Events
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
- Published on
Born in Seattle, Washington in 1946, actor John Aylward was a fabulous character actor whose career stretched just shy of one hundred different projects. IMDB.com reports that, in 1973, he joined forces with others in his field to found the Empty Space Theatre in his hometown, though there's no other information regarding that entity's various dramatic endeavors.
Though his first professional citation of record took place in 1976, it wasn't until nearly two decades later -- in 1993 -- that he stepped into the realm of cinematic Fantasy: cast in Stuart Gillard's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III -- the film that transported that fearsome foursome back into 17th century Japan -- Aylward filled the shoes of 'Niles' in the picture.
In 1998, the actor enjoyed exploring characters in the popular HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon (produced by Tom Hanks). That same year also had the man facing an aquatic menace in the miniseries adaptation of Peter Benchley's Creature as well as turning up on the silver screen with a small role aboard Michael Bay's Armageddon.
In 2000, Alyward enjoyed a recurring role aboard the short-lived TV series, The Others, a procedural that dealt with a group privately confronting supernatural and paranormal events. That same year, he paid a visit to another TV world, that of the short-lived Secret Agent Man from creator Barry Sonnenfeld.
As you can guess, other opportunities continued to appear on his horizon. Fans were able to enjoy his work in such properties as 3rd Rock From The Sun, HBO's Carnivale, The X-Files, Surface, Stargate SG-1, Alias, The Crazies (2010), Fringe, and American Horror Story.
Alas -- as they say -- an end awaits us all, and word has reached us this week that the actor passed from natural causes. Thankfully, we'll always have the work he did so well to appreciate the time he spent entertaining everyone.
Thoughts and prayers are extended to Aylward's family and friends.
-- EZ
Though his first professional citation of record took place in 1976, it wasn't until nearly two decades later -- in 1993 -- that he stepped into the realm of cinematic Fantasy: cast in Stuart Gillard's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III -- the film that transported that fearsome foursome back into 17th century Japan -- Aylward filled the shoes of 'Niles' in the picture.
In 1998, the actor enjoyed exploring characters in the popular HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon (produced by Tom Hanks). That same year also had the man facing an aquatic menace in the miniseries adaptation of Peter Benchley's Creature as well as turning up on the silver screen with a small role aboard Michael Bay's Armageddon.
In 2000, Alyward enjoyed a recurring role aboard the short-lived TV series, The Others, a procedural that dealt with a group privately confronting supernatural and paranormal events. That same year, he paid a visit to another TV world, that of the short-lived Secret Agent Man from creator Barry Sonnenfeld.
As you can guess, other opportunities continued to appear on his horizon. Fans were able to enjoy his work in such properties as 3rd Rock From The Sun, HBO's Carnivale, The X-Files, Surface, Stargate SG-1, Alias, The Crazies (2010), Fringe, and American Horror Story.
Alas -- as they say -- an end awaits us all, and word has reached us this week that the actor passed from natural causes. Thankfully, we'll always have the work he did so well to appreciate the time he spent entertaining everyone.
Thoughts and prayers are extended to Aylward's family and friends.
-- EZ
- Published on
Take note, readers: I've said it before and I'll say it again but everyone who is anyone wants to -- somehow, some way, sometime -- be in the business of Science Fiction and Fantasy. That's been my position as long as I've been a consumer of media, and I give you my word that I'll remain true to it until my dyin' day.
As long as there has been stars over our heads, mankind has looked at them and wondered what it would be like to travel out there, into the distant black, to visit new worlds and to explore new civilizations. Kirk and company certainly went about their business on the immortal Star Trek; and since those days -- if not before -- storytellers have been only too willing to keep fueling our imagination by rocketing us into that Final Frontier. There has always -- always -- been a market for quality (and less-than-stellar) Science Fiction ... and there always will be.
That said, I'm thrilled this morning to report that the good people over at Film Movement has decided it's time that they launch their own efforts to capitalize on those weird, weird tales from yesteryear: starting this month, they've incorporated not one ... not two ... but an incredible array of two dozen cinematic gems from days gone by into their own online streaming platform. (Interested parties are encouraged to check out their full line-up -- not just these adventures -- at their website right here.) There are a few in this bunch that I've seen -- so I'll likely be ponying up on my MainPage some refurbished reviews with some updated thoughts in order to help promote their streams -- and I encourage folks to be watching for them.
Also, I'm going to do the polite copy-and-paste of their press release (and related information) before. Seriously, folks, there's a lot of screen magic in here: I know not everyone is as fascinated by these older entries as I am, but there's something to be said for expanding one's horizons when the movie houses are still a bit s-l-o-w since the days of COVID to get back up to speed. Why not make a small investment for the summer days, stay out of the heat, and curl up with some true originals? This gets my highest recommendation.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
As long as there has been stars over our heads, mankind has looked at them and wondered what it would be like to travel out there, into the distant black, to visit new worlds and to explore new civilizations. Kirk and company certainly went about their business on the immortal Star Trek; and since those days -- if not before -- storytellers have been only too willing to keep fueling our imagination by rocketing us into that Final Frontier. There has always -- always -- been a market for quality (and less-than-stellar) Science Fiction ... and there always will be.
That said, I'm thrilled this morning to report that the good people over at Film Movement has decided it's time that they launch their own efforts to capitalize on those weird, weird tales from yesteryear: starting this month, they've incorporated not one ... not two ... but an incredible array of two dozen cinematic gems from days gone by into their own online streaming platform. (Interested parties are encouraged to check out their full line-up -- not just these adventures -- at their website right here.) There are a few in this bunch that I've seen -- so I'll likely be ponying up on my MainPage some refurbished reviews with some updated thoughts in order to help promote their streams -- and I encourage folks to be watching for them.
Also, I'm going to do the polite copy-and-paste of their press release (and related information) before. Seriously, folks, there's a lot of screen magic in here: I know not everyone is as fascinated by these older entries as I am, but there's something to be said for expanding one's horizons when the movie houses are still a bit s-l-o-w since the days of COVID to get back up to speed. Why not make a small investment for the summer days, stay out of the heat, and curl up with some true originals? This gets my highest recommendation.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
IT’S ATTACK OF THE RETRO DRIVE-IN CLASSICS ON
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS THIS MAY!
BEGINNING THIS FRIDAY, THE SVOD PLATFORM OPENS
THE VAULTS WIDE FOR A FULL-SCALE INVASION OF
GENRE GEMS OF YESTERYEAR WITH TWO DOZEN
SCI-TASTIC CLASSICS!
Unidentified Fears of the Unknown and Deep Space Are on Tap This Week,
With the Premieres of 12 Films – All From the Best Available Broadcast Elements for Optimal Viewing -- Including THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1958), DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS (1953), ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950) and the Landmark THINGS TO COME (1930)
New York, NY (May 20, 2022) – This May, look to the sky, as Film Movement Plus is invaded…by the genre gems of yesteryear! Beginning Friday, May 20, the SVOD platform will welcome two dozen “Retro Drive-in Classics” spanning the thematic categories of “Aliens”, “Space”, “Beasts”, “Monsters” and “Mayhem (The Films of Ed Wood)”. Utilizing the best available elements and transfers, these unforgettable classics hailing from the Golden Age of Cinema have never looked better!
Spaced invaders and giant alien brains are on tap with the first wave of the invasion featuring “Aliens” and “Space”, and includes such unforgettable drive-in era shockers as THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS, THE COSMIC MAN, DESTINATION MOON, THE PHANTOM PLANET, ROCKETSHIP X-M and more! Not since “War of the Worlds” sudden terrifying Martian invasion of Grovers Mill have there been so many aliens in one place, so grab a tub of popcorn and a vat of soda and strap in for a trip to the outer reaches – and beyond!
Spaced invaders and giant alien brains are on tap with the first wave of the invasion featuring “Aliens” and “Space”, and includes such unforgettable drive-in era shockers as THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS, THE COSMIC MAN, DESTINATION MOON, THE PHANTOM PLANET, ROCKETSHIP X-M and more! Not since “War of the Worlds” sudden terrifying Martian invasion of Grovers Mill have there been so many aliens in one place, so grab a tub of popcorn and a vat of soda and strap in for a trip to the outer reaches – and beyond!
THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1958)
Starring John Agar, Joyce Meadows | Directed by Nathan Juran
An evil organism resembling a giant brain from distant planet Arous crash lands on Earth and takes over the body of a nuclear scientist, determined to use Earth’s resources and its power of mind control to build a galactic army. In hot pursuit is another alien brain on a mission to capture the first and take it back to Arous to face justice. (71 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring John Agar, Joyce Meadows | Directed by Nathan Juran
An evil organism resembling a giant brain from distant planet Arous crash lands on Earth and takes over the body of a nuclear scientist, determined to use Earth’s resources and its power of mind control to build a galactic army. In hot pursuit is another alien brain on a mission to capture the first and take it back to Arous to face justice. (71 mins | B&W | USA)
THE COSMIC MAN (1959)
Starring John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene | Directed by Herbert Greene
An unidentified flying object travels to Earth and produces a humanoid figure who appears to military personnel in his cosmic state and displays its far superior intelligence and delivers a message of hope. However, the Air Force Colonel in charge sees the being as a threat and attempts to capture the cosmic man and his spacecraft, in a display of arrogance that proves to the visitor that humans lack the compassion to be part of a greater inter-planetary society. (72 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene | Directed by Herbert Greene
An unidentified flying object travels to Earth and produces a humanoid figure who appears to military personnel in his cosmic state and displays its far superior intelligence and delivers a message of hope. However, the Air Force Colonel in charge sees the being as a threat and attempts to capture the cosmic man and his spacecraft, in a display of arrogance that proves to the visitor that humans lack the compassion to be part of a greater inter-planetary society. (72 mins | B&W | USA)
DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS (1953)
Starring Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott | Directed by David MacDonald
The planet Mars needs to restock its supply of males after they are wiped out after a battle of the sexes. Into the Scottish Highlands of Earth comes a flying saucer piloted by Nyah, part of the advance party to prepare the mission to round up Earth’s suitable men and take them back to Mars. But will it succeed? . (71 mins | B&W | UK)
Starring Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott | Directed by David MacDonald
The planet Mars needs to restock its supply of males after they are wiped out after a battle of the sexes. Into the Scottish Highlands of Earth comes a flying saucer piloted by Nyah, part of the advance party to prepare the mission to round up Earth’s suitable men and take them back to Mars. But will it succeed? . (71 mins | B&W | UK)
ROBOT MONSTER (1953)
Starring George Nader, Gregory Moffett | Directed by Phil Tucker
Proudly hailed as one of the worst movies ever made, Robot Monster is an apocalyptic scenario in which space invader Ro-Man is sent to Earth and destroys all of humanity, except for band of survivors. The bigfoot-like creature attempts to dispatch the remaining survivors one at a time, but falls in love with one of the women, drawing the ire of his superior, the Great Guidance. (62 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring George Nader, Gregory Moffett | Directed by Phil Tucker
Proudly hailed as one of the worst movies ever made, Robot Monster is an apocalyptic scenario in which space invader Ro-Man is sent to Earth and destroys all of humanity, except for band of survivors. The bigfoot-like creature attempts to dispatch the remaining survivors one at a time, but falls in love with one of the women, drawing the ire of his superior, the Great Guidance. (62 mins | B&W | USA)
STRANGER FROM VENUS (1954)
Starring Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine | Directed by Burt Balaban
A visitor from Venus arrives in Britain to deliver a warning to Earth: our nuclear weaponry poses a grave threat not only to Earth itself, but to other nearby planets as well. The Venusian being offers that Venus is willing to share its great knowledge with Earth, but retracts the offer after witnessing the brash and foolhardy tendencies of Earthlings. . (74 mins | B&W | UK)
Starring Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine | Directed by Burt Balaban
A visitor from Venus arrives in Britain to deliver a warning to Earth: our nuclear weaponry poses a grave threat not only to Earth itself, but to other nearby planets as well. The Venusian being offers that Venus is willing to share its great knowledge with Earth, but retracts the offer after witnessing the brash and foolhardy tendencies of Earthlings. . (74 mins | B&W | UK)
DESTINATION MOON (1950)
Starring John Archer, Warner Anderson | Directed by Irving Pichel
When government financial support for the first-ever trip to the moon dries up, three scientists must find a way to finish their space rocket and get it into orbit. After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, they finally manage to achieve their goal of spaceflight to the moon, only to find the return trip to the Earth to be the hardest part. (91 mins | Color | USA)
Starring John Archer, Warner Anderson | Directed by Irving Pichel
When government financial support for the first-ever trip to the moon dries up, three scientists must find a way to finish their space rocket and get it into orbit. After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, they finally manage to achieve their goal of spaceflight to the moon, only to find the return trip to the Earth to be the hardest part. (91 mins | Color | USA)
FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS (1960)
Starring Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes | Directed by Kurt Maetzig
After an alien artifact is discovered on Earth, scientists conclude that its origin was from Venus. A team of interstellar astronauts are sent on a mission to the distant planet, where they find the remains of a lost civilization. (79 mins | Color | Germany/Poland)
Starring Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes | Directed by Kurt Maetzig
After an alien artifact is discovered on Earth, scientists conclude that its origin was from Venus. A team of interstellar astronauts are sent on a mission to the distant planet, where they find the remains of a lost civilization. (79 mins | Color | Germany/Poland)
MISSILE TO THE MOON (1959)
Starring Richard Travis, Cathy Downs | Directed by Richard Cunha
A scientist-engineer and his partner have built a rocket capable of traveling to the moon, but the military announce they will take over the project despite the scientist’s objections. The scientist discovers two escaped convicts hiding aboard the rocket, and uses them as crew-members to fly to the moon, despite the military’s order. (77 mins | Color | USA)
Starring Richard Travis, Cathy Downs | Directed by Richard Cunha
A scientist-engineer and his partner have built a rocket capable of traveling to the moon, but the military announce they will take over the project despite the scientist’s objections. The scientist discovers two escaped convicts hiding aboard the rocket, and uses them as crew-members to fly to the moon, despite the military’s order. (77 mins | Color | USA)
THE PHANTOM PLANET (1961)
Starring Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray | Directed by William Marshall
A two-man space crew is ordered to investigate the disappearance of an expeditionary rocket, and are forced to crash-land on a mysterious asteroid. Only one of the men survives, and must contend with the civilization he finds on the asteroid. (82 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray | Directed by William Marshall
A two-man space crew is ordered to investigate the disappearance of an expeditionary rocket, and are forced to crash-land on a mysterious asteroid. Only one of the men survives, and must contend with the civilization he finds on the asteroid. (82 mins | B&W | USA)
PROJECT MOONBASE (1953)
Starring Ross Ford, Donna Martell | Directed by Richard Talmadge
In the year 1970, the US government launches a mission into space to set up a military installation on the moon. However, a saboteur threatens the success of the mission. (63 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring Ross Ford, Donna Martell | Directed by Richard Talmadge
In the year 1970, the US government launches a mission into space to set up a military installation on the moon. However, a saboteur threatens the success of the mission. (63 mins | B&W | USA)
ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950)
Starring Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery | Directed by Kurt Neumann
A crew of revered scientists blast into space on mankind’s first expedition to the moon. A sudden loss of power and freak accident sends their rocket hurtling out of control, and the crew suddenly finds themselves upon Mars. They decide to take advantage of the opportunity to make a landing and explore the red planet, only to discover evidence of a demolished civilization. Convinced there are no survivors, they let their guard down just enough to learn otherwise. Rocketship X-M is considered a defining film of the 50s space-exploration genre. (78 mins | B&W | USA)
Starring Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery | Directed by Kurt Neumann
A crew of revered scientists blast into space on mankind’s first expedition to the moon. A sudden loss of power and freak accident sends their rocket hurtling out of control, and the crew suddenly finds themselves upon Mars. They decide to take advantage of the opportunity to make a landing and explore the red planet, only to discover evidence of a demolished civilization. Convinced there are no survivors, they let their guard down just enough to learn otherwise. Rocketship X-M is considered a defining film of the 50s space-exploration genre. (78 mins | B&W | USA)
THINGS TO COME (1936)
Starring Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke & Ann Todd | Directed by William Cameron Menzies
A landmark science-fiction film that examines mankind’s capacity for peace and scientific progress and also for tyranny and destruction. As war rages, civilizations fight endlessly until little is left. Later, a warlord claims the remaining vestige of civilization until he learns of a new, more advanced and peaceful civilization elsewhere in the ruins of the world and views them as a threat. They invade and liberate the hapless subjects of the warlord. In the future, a technologically superior and peaceful civilization emerges, but still there are agitators who seek to disrupt peace. (109 mins | B&W | UK)
About FILM MOVEMENT PLUS
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS (www.filmmovementplus.com) opens up a world of provocative, compelling and award-winning films from Film Movement’s singular library. Priced at $5.99 per month with a free 14-day trial, the SVOD subscription service, currently available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, mobile (iOS and Android), and Chromecast, offers consumers immediate access to over 400 festival favorite feature films and 100 short films, including: THEEB, the 2016 Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Film; AFTER THE STORM, a powerful family drama from 2018 Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters); HUMAN CAPITAL, a political thriller from Paolo Virzi (The Leisure Seeker) that was Italy’s Best Foreign Film submission for the 87th Academy Awards® and MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER, an unforgettable documentary about true love that transcends generations and cultures and is South Korea’s most successful film of all time. Classics from the Film Movement catalog include Bille August’s PELLE THE CONQUEROR, an Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996 and much more.
Starring Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke & Ann Todd | Directed by William Cameron Menzies
A landmark science-fiction film that examines mankind’s capacity for peace and scientific progress and also for tyranny and destruction. As war rages, civilizations fight endlessly until little is left. Later, a warlord claims the remaining vestige of civilization until he learns of a new, more advanced and peaceful civilization elsewhere in the ruins of the world and views them as a threat. They invade and liberate the hapless subjects of the warlord. In the future, a technologically superior and peaceful civilization emerges, but still there are agitators who seek to disrupt peace. (109 mins | B&W | UK)
About FILM MOVEMENT PLUS
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS (www.filmmovementplus.com) opens up a world of provocative, compelling and award-winning films from Film Movement’s singular library. Priced at $5.99 per month with a free 14-day trial, the SVOD subscription service, currently available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, mobile (iOS and Android), and Chromecast, offers consumers immediate access to over 400 festival favorite feature films and 100 short films, including: THEEB, the 2016 Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Film; AFTER THE STORM, a powerful family drama from 2018 Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters); HUMAN CAPITAL, a political thriller from Paolo Virzi (The Leisure Seeker) that was Italy’s Best Foreign Film submission for the 87th Academy Awards® and MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER, an unforgettable documentary about true love that transcends generations and cultures and is South Korea’s most successful film of all time. Classics from the Film Movement catalog include Bille August’s PELLE THE CONQUEROR, an Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996 and much more.
- Published on
Speaking only for myself, I’ll admit that it’s sometimes difficult to find something relevant to say about movies and television shows of a bygone era.
Unlike today, there’s a vast library of broadcast programming out there that wasn’t written to spur audiences to activism. Production executives weren’t always interested in representing key demographics or minority groups with members of their cast. More often than not, storytellers were merely working to sling words together on a page – giving it a serviceable beginning, middle, and ending that could fit within an episode’s budget – so trying to affect the viewers’ minds about some controversial or timely topic of dinner table conversation was likely backburnered as a network priority. Instead, the focus was on telling a good story – maybe even a damn good one – and leave the lesson planning to the teachers.
In fact, even the commentary track on the 2018 Kino Lorber release for The Outer Limits: Season 2 suggests just how different the network shenanigans back then differ from today. Film historian and author David J. Schow provides the reflections specifically to “Soldier” as well as some insights into the show’s behind-the-scenes pressures, and he remarks how the network suits demanded monsters to appear every so many minutes in each typical one-hour installment. (Apparently, these folks had done their research, and their findings convinced them that audiences only wanted monsters.) Story wasn’t all that important … so long as it provided a greater context for monsters.
Well, “Soldier” has a monster. Of a sort. If you can believe it, we’re the monster. Man. All of us.
But I’ll get to that in a moment.
The point I raised in this article’s outset remains: because yesterday’s entertainment largely lacked the complex ideological agendas that today’s purveyors of media typically embrace, I’m occasionally flummoxed over having something to say about a show that, frankly, hasn’t been said already in the decades since its original airing.
This isn’t to say that Ellison didn’t have a ‘moral to the story.’ He did. (Well, I’d like to think he did.) His anti-war stance was, likely, plain as day back then as it is now. Also, one could argue that the screenwriter gave a pronounced and favorable nod to the benefits of the nuclear family – were one so inclined to interpret those 51 minutes in such a way. Heck, a case could even be made that “Soldier” suggests the care and evaluation of returning soldiers should be placed in the hands of independent, unbiased, non-governmental mental health and wellness providers – scientists well outside the military industrial complex of that era – if you’re watching closely.
As is often the case, we take exactly what meaning we want from art, but I’ve long argued that shows from yesteryear left room for folks of all political stripes – not just the institutional Right or Left, the Liberal or Conservative – to find commonality, a sentiment I fear lost on today’s scribes. Thus, “Soldier” represents the very best of us – a desire to seek and find answers even to life’s most daunting challenges – as much as it represents the very worst of us – a demonstrated proclivity to wage war, even if the combatants cannot articulate what they’re fighting for.
As Quarlo Clobregnny, the great Michael Ansara played a soldier wrapped up in a very different kind of war than the one for which he was originally trained: a survival beyond the battlefield. It would appear no thought was ever given to what an existence outside of bloodshed might be. Ellison’s total immersion of this warrior into the (somewhat) peaceful past – into an period devoid of legitimate physical aggression for his outlet – creates an all-new and insurmountable conflict. Without the preparation for setting aside his bloodlust, Quarlo cannot relate in any useful way upon arrival; and – depending upon one’s interpretation, again – he succumbs to his original programming in the hour’s final moment. Violence remains his “true north” – if you’re familiar with the expression – as well as his last resort.
Unlike today, there’s a vast library of broadcast programming out there that wasn’t written to spur audiences to activism. Production executives weren’t always interested in representing key demographics or minority groups with members of their cast. More often than not, storytellers were merely working to sling words together on a page – giving it a serviceable beginning, middle, and ending that could fit within an episode’s budget – so trying to affect the viewers’ minds about some controversial or timely topic of dinner table conversation was likely backburnered as a network priority. Instead, the focus was on telling a good story – maybe even a damn good one – and leave the lesson planning to the teachers.
In fact, even the commentary track on the 2018 Kino Lorber release for The Outer Limits: Season 2 suggests just how different the network shenanigans back then differ from today. Film historian and author David J. Schow provides the reflections specifically to “Soldier” as well as some insights into the show’s behind-the-scenes pressures, and he remarks how the network suits demanded monsters to appear every so many minutes in each typical one-hour installment. (Apparently, these folks had done their research, and their findings convinced them that audiences only wanted monsters.) Story wasn’t all that important … so long as it provided a greater context for monsters.
Well, “Soldier” has a monster. Of a sort. If you can believe it, we’re the monster. Man. All of us.
But I’ll get to that in a moment.
The point I raised in this article’s outset remains: because yesterday’s entertainment largely lacked the complex ideological agendas that today’s purveyors of media typically embrace, I’m occasionally flummoxed over having something to say about a show that, frankly, hasn’t been said already in the decades since its original airing.
This isn’t to say that Ellison didn’t have a ‘moral to the story.’ He did. (Well, I’d like to think he did.) His anti-war stance was, likely, plain as day back then as it is now. Also, one could argue that the screenwriter gave a pronounced and favorable nod to the benefits of the nuclear family – were one so inclined to interpret those 51 minutes in such a way. Heck, a case could even be made that “Soldier” suggests the care and evaluation of returning soldiers should be placed in the hands of independent, unbiased, non-governmental mental health and wellness providers – scientists well outside the military industrial complex of that era – if you’re watching closely.
As is often the case, we take exactly what meaning we want from art, but I’ve long argued that shows from yesteryear left room for folks of all political stripes – not just the institutional Right or Left, the Liberal or Conservative – to find commonality, a sentiment I fear lost on today’s scribes. Thus, “Soldier” represents the very best of us – a desire to seek and find answers even to life’s most daunting challenges – as much as it represents the very worst of us – a demonstrated proclivity to wage war, even if the combatants cannot articulate what they’re fighting for.
As Quarlo Clobregnny, the great Michael Ansara played a soldier wrapped up in a very different kind of war than the one for which he was originally trained: a survival beyond the battlefield. It would appear no thought was ever given to what an existence outside of bloodshed might be. Ellison’s total immersion of this warrior into the (somewhat) peaceful past – into an period devoid of legitimate physical aggression for his outlet – creates an all-new and insurmountable conflict. Without the preparation for setting aside his bloodlust, Quarlo cannot relate in any useful way upon arrival; and – depending upon one’s interpretation, again – he succumbs to his original programming in the hour’s final moment. Violence remains his “true north” – if you’re familiar with the expression – as well as his last resort.
Quarlo’s society – presumably a future version of us – never prepared this man for anything else, clearly building a wartime Frankenstein that’ll likely be beyond its control in times of peace.
So … we made the monster, and the monster is us.
Dare I suggest this isn’t likely the “monster” the studio executives were anticipating?
Ultimately, what I find so impressive about “Soldier” is the choice of protagonist.
It’s a matter of public record that Ellison’s short story – “Soldier From Tomorrow” – was first published in the October, 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe. For those who’ve missed ‘50’s and early ‘60’s television, the going trend leaned heavily on Westerns, private detectives, cop shows, and the like; so adapting a somewhat cerebral tale focusing on a philologist thrown into a conflict between two enemy combatants likely gave some network executives pause. The typical heroes of this era weren’t so much revered for their brains as they were their instincts, and they often packed heat (carried guns) or had to pass regular physicals to keep their employment. Lloyd Nolan’s ‘Tom Kagan’ comes across far more grandfatherly than he does anything resembling a stout authoritarian, and he solves the world’s problems with his mind.
Having watched as much older Science Fiction as I have, I can assure you that, typically, scientists have enjoyed a myriad of depictions. There have been good ones, and there have been bad ones. Indeed, they’re probably shown to have caused as many problems as they’ve solved, and the Atomic Age certainly presented these brainiacs with an all-new set of experiments to perform. On film, some of them unleashed giant insects that went marauding across the amber waves of grain while others went about using new these forms of energy to reanimate the dead. Imagine my surprise to find out that somewhere out there might be a fellow like Kagan – a guy whose chief motivation is that he, simply put, just cared?
In many ways, “Soldier” ends as it began: two men are thrown together in mortal combat.
Sides don’t matter. Stakes are never discussed. Objectives never come into discussion. This is a world of kill or be killed, and these two are functioning at peak condition. One smokes a cigarette in a moment of calm while the other sucks medicine (drugs? liquid smoke?) from a handheld device. All they know is violence. All they serve are their respective masters. Science may’ve played a hand in their training and even in their unintentional trip through time, but it was raw human savagery – and the working end of a laser rifle – that defined their final moments alive. Whether or not Quarlo matured in some way, discovered his latent humanity, and sacrificed his life protecting the Kagan family is a question we’ll never answer definitively, certainly not with the evidence as presented.
As I said above, we take what messages we want from art, and I suspect you’ll have to do the same here.
-- EZ
So … we made the monster, and the monster is us.
Dare I suggest this isn’t likely the “monster” the studio executives were anticipating?
Ultimately, what I find so impressive about “Soldier” is the choice of protagonist.
It’s a matter of public record that Ellison’s short story – “Soldier From Tomorrow” – was first published in the October, 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe. For those who’ve missed ‘50’s and early ‘60’s television, the going trend leaned heavily on Westerns, private detectives, cop shows, and the like; so adapting a somewhat cerebral tale focusing on a philologist thrown into a conflict between two enemy combatants likely gave some network executives pause. The typical heroes of this era weren’t so much revered for their brains as they were their instincts, and they often packed heat (carried guns) or had to pass regular physicals to keep their employment. Lloyd Nolan’s ‘Tom Kagan’ comes across far more grandfatherly than he does anything resembling a stout authoritarian, and he solves the world’s problems with his mind.
Having watched as much older Science Fiction as I have, I can assure you that, typically, scientists have enjoyed a myriad of depictions. There have been good ones, and there have been bad ones. Indeed, they’re probably shown to have caused as many problems as they’ve solved, and the Atomic Age certainly presented these brainiacs with an all-new set of experiments to perform. On film, some of them unleashed giant insects that went marauding across the amber waves of grain while others went about using new these forms of energy to reanimate the dead. Imagine my surprise to find out that somewhere out there might be a fellow like Kagan – a guy whose chief motivation is that he, simply put, just cared?
In many ways, “Soldier” ends as it began: two men are thrown together in mortal combat.
Sides don’t matter. Stakes are never discussed. Objectives never come into discussion. This is a world of kill or be killed, and these two are functioning at peak condition. One smokes a cigarette in a moment of calm while the other sucks medicine (drugs? liquid smoke?) from a handheld device. All they know is violence. All they serve are their respective masters. Science may’ve played a hand in their training and even in their unintentional trip through time, but it was raw human savagery – and the working end of a laser rifle – that defined their final moments alive. Whether or not Quarlo matured in some way, discovered his latent humanity, and sacrificed his life protecting the Kagan family is a question we’ll never answer definitively, certainly not with the evidence as presented.
As I said above, we take what messages we want from art, and I suspect you’ll have to do the same here.
-- EZ