Popcorn Time!
This column is a list of the strange, unique, seldom-seen, engaging, popular, not-so-popular, yet always watchable materials tucked away in our eclectic Multimedia Collection in the University Library. Surely not to everyone’s taste, but well worth checking out. This time around, summer is for fun popcorn flicks, mindless entertainment, and the profoundly un-profound. Bug-eyed monsters, explosions and natural disasters rule the day. Browse through the collection of feature films at http://tinyurl.com/zw2aw. Here is a sampling of time-wasting brain-in-neutral non-academic diversions available for loan:
Armageddon (DVD 238) - The height of wretched excess ground out from the bowels of Hollywood’s creatively bankrupt psyche, directed by an adolescent 12-year-old Michael Bay, who apparently mainlined a combination of caffeine and sugar throughout production and edited like an MTV video. The embodiment of everything that is wrong with the summer movie genre, it is worthy of close scrutiny and deconstruction; highly recommended and presented by The Criterion Collection (featuring Bay’s spirited profanity-laced commentary).
The Blues Brothers (VHS 5292) - Twenty years before Bay, John Landis was also handed a blank checkbook and asked to blend car chases with the Chicago blues scene. Somehow, a flame throwing Carrie Fisher, an RV full of enraged country singers, a scary nun, and a station wagon full of Illinois Nazis got thrown into the mix before the Honorable Richard J. Daley Plaza is destroyed by the United States Army and the greatest fighting force known to humanity: the Chicago Police Department. Need I add that these are the quiet introspective moments? It gets louder. Great fun with some amazing music throughout; John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, James Brown, Cab Calloway and many others.
Earthquake (DVD 141) - It’s funny how 30 years perspective can make a picture look quaint, but this 1974 Universal disaster epic is positively sedate compared to today’s cacophonous counterparts. Charleton Heston is on hand not to part the Red Sea, but to divide the San Andreas, plunging Southern California into the biggest quake of all time. An unimpressive array of stars are colorfully jostled about, topped by the improbable sight of Ava Gardner playing Lorne Greene’s …daughter!?!?!
It Came From Beneath the Sea (VDISC 246) - A giant octopus eats the Golden Gate Bridge and uses the Ferry Building as a toothpick. ‘Nuff said.
Jaws (DVD 145) - The one that started it all! The first super-smash summer blockbuster, it changed the way Hollywood marketed and sold pictures. What is even more astonishing is that this is a really good flick. Aside from some fashion slights, it holds up remarkably well 30+ years later; a literate script that transcends it’s pulpy origins and extremely well acted by the three leads: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and the amazing Robert Shaw. If you haven’t seen it for a while, it’s worth another peek; watch how production problems with the mechanical shark forced Spielberg and crew to be more creative in barely showing the beast.
Mallrats (DVD 826) - Okay, you don’t want explosions and mayhem. What is the summer alternative? Potty-mouthed scatological humor? Here it is: ripped from the comic book collection of Clerks creator Kevin Smith, his sophomore effort, unduly savaged by critics and audiences alike – a tale of a bunch of shopping mall slackers finding true love whilst roaming food court. Highlights include the hilarious screen debut of Jason Lee, snappy dialog, and even a few little life lessons along the way (from a sage Stan Lee!). You’ll never look at a chocolate covered pretzel the same way ever again after watching this one.
Le Pacte des Loups (VHS 5925) - So you don’t want mayhem and juvenile humor? Hmm… Something more arty, but still trashy at heart? Subtitled, preferably? Try this one! Based on legend, in 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast. It's a period costume horror martial-arts werewolf movie (yes, you read that right) and surprisingly all those pieces work together provided you don't concentrate too hard. Beautifully crafted, but still essentially a dopey monster flick with wire-fu.
The Patriot (DVD 433) - So Independence Day is rolling around soon, and you’d like to share a historical saga of the Revolution with the whole family. Whom would you seek to craft such a film? Hire they guy who made Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and Eight Legged Freaks of course! While you’re at it, hire the Road Warrior to play the lead. It is reported that Harrison Ford declined the lead role, feeling the script had boiled the Revolutionary War down to a "one-man's-revenge" melodrama. Astute guy, that Ford. You know you’re in trouble when the highlight of the film is observing battle from a cannonball’s point of view.
The Rock (DVD 262) - We have to throw in one more Michael Bay flick on this list, because you just can’t get enough of this guy. A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when soldiers threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco. Besides the appeal of fun nearby location work, there is a sense of wild abandon in this addlebrained flick, telegraphed best when Sean Conner dangles his hair dresser (!) from a balcony window. Who knew that cable cars could fly? Thank goodness Nicholas Cage is in there to keep the tone mellow… And, yes, it’s shocking, but this one got the Criterion Collection treatment, too! Deep down, you KNOW Michael Bay is a genius… Maybe not.
Superman (VHS 3000) - Gotta throw this one in. There is a sequel to this 1978 original coming out in June, and the best way to prepare is by watching this Richard Donner film. The first hour of this movie is nearly perfect in every way; the origin story on Krypton, youth in Kansas, up through the first night out in Metropolis. Takes a few missteps in campy humor with the Lex Luthor stuff, but the late Christopher Reeve is so honest and believable as the Man of Steel that you just don’t care about the failings. The apocalyptic finish is a dazzler featuring the biggest “reset-button” of all time. See this one again; it’s the longer Special Director’s Cut, to boot!
The Thing from Another World (VHS 4843) - Summer is dragging along, and it’s hotter than ever, so you want a movie that’s fun but helps you think cool thoughts. Check out this corker from 1951, one of the first great alien invasion movies, made all the more effective by the claustrophobic setting. A flying saucer crashes near a remote Arctic research station, and the frozen remains of the alien pilot thaw out, creating murder and mayhem as it attempts to literally seed its spawn, feeding on human blood! Portions were filmed in a giant refrigerated soundstage, lending great authenticity; the ensemble cast of character actors is superb. Rapid-paced, overlapping dialog is most uncommon for a feature like this, lending credence to the rumor that legendary director Howard Hawks actually helmed this movie, and not the credited Christian Nyby.