American High School Movies

Are American High Schools cooler than British ones? I grew up in England watching American movies and TV shows and rapidly came to the conclusion that they had a lot more fun in American schools than we where having. I know these films are all fiction or just taking the best elements and cramming them into ninety minutes but they were so much cooler than anything British producers could come up with! These films are all about Sex and drugs, the kids drove cool cars and the American drinking laws didn’t seem to stop them having massive parties. Looking back they weren’t having that much fun in Rebel Without a Cause and I am glad we never had anything like the “hazing” in Dazed and Confused but there are still some examples of high school movies that I look back on fondly. I am not talking about sports films or horror/slasher movies set in high school but films that are actually about the kids and their time in school. The one drawback, you have to be at least 25 years to graduate from an American movie high school!

Dazed and Confused: My favourite high school movie came out the year I left school. Looking back you recognise half the cast and wonder how they got so many stars including: Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Possey and yes that is Speedle from CSI (Rory Cochrane) playing Slater the school stoner! Then you remember they were virtually unknown at the time. The story takes place over the course of the last day (and more importantly night) of school term in 1976. As with so many Richard Linklater films it was shot on location in Austin Texas a place that is becoming a hotbed for independent cinema. Set at the time the director would have been 16: although not as romanticized a view of the past as films like American Graffiti it does look back on the era with great fondness and fun. When watching the film you get the impression he did half the things the characters in the film did, and wishes he did some of the others! In 2004 ten years after the film came out three of Richard Linklater’s former classmates filed a lawsuit claiming he did not gain their permission to use their likenesses and surnames (Wooderson, Slater and Floyd) and now suffer from ridicule as a result of the film. From the opening bars of Aerosmith’s Sweet Emotion you get a vibe for what the film will be like and know the soundtrack is going to be great, with highlights including War, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple the music captures the mood of the era as well as the film itself. This is also captured in the classic early 70’s cars driven by the kids most notably O’Bannion’s Plymouth Duster, Wooderson’s Chevy Chevelle SS and Pickford’s Pontiac GTO. The underlying theme of the film is best exemplified by Woodersons credo Just Keep Livin’

“Man, it’s the same bullshit they tried to pull in my day. If it ain’t that piece of paper, there’s some other choice they’re gonna try and make for you. You gotta do what Randall “Pink” Floyd wants to do, man. Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N” 

The Breakfast Club: A film that has become so ingrained in popular culture that it is referenced in countless films and TV programs. The story is so simple it’s amazing it got through a pitch; it must have been something like. “Five kids all representing a different stereotypes, meet in detention, they start of hating each other but become friends by the end”. It is one of those films that could have been so much different if the casting had been different. Widely regarded as the stand out performance of the film, Judd Nelson (in one of his three good film roles, the others being Phil Hicks in Fandango and Nick Peretti in New Jack City) nearly didn’t happen. First they tried to cast Nicolas Cage but couldn’t afford his salary demand. Then cast Emilio Estervez in the part but couldn’t find anyone to play Andrew Clark so moved Estervez to that role replacing him with John Cusack (the only other person suggested who I can imagine in the role) before replacing him with Judd Nelson. He was then nearly sacked by director John Hughes because of his attitude and treatment of co-stars particularly Molly Ringwald, co-star Paul Gleason intervened claiming it was a misunderstanding and Nelson was simply staying in character off camera (he is known to be a method actor). There where also questions over Nelsons age, at 25 he was the oldest of the students in the film and played college graduates in two other films that year; St. Elmo’s Fire and Fandango. The film like so many of the directors other films is set in the fictional (no one told Jay and Silent Bob that!) suburb of Chicago; Shermer, Illinois and was shot on location in real schools. The interaction between the charters was probably helped as the film was shot in sequence having been rehearsed like a play. You leave the film wondering what will happen when the kids go back to school on Monday, will they still be friends, you just somehow know they are going to be okay. The balance between life affirming and rebellion is perfectly portrayed not just by the kids striving to be something else but by the janitor who comes across as being a lot more intelligent than the hapless principal.

“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out, is that each one of us is: a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.”

Heathers: Wow is this film is over 20 years old, that makes me feel old! Let’s start with the facts, anyone asking why I haven’t included Mean Girls, the simple answer is Mean Girls is a watered down imitation of Heathers and the Plastics are positively nice, friendly and liberal in comparison to the Heathers who are the most evil hateful clique in the history of high school movies. That is why the film is so good. Everyone who has ever been to school will have said they want to kill one of their classmates at some time. Most of us didn’t really mean it and the majority of those who did mean it had the sense not to do anything about it. Heathers is a great “what if” film. With the extremely black humour and high body count the events should not be taken literally in the way some of the other films should be, however the themes of alienation are a staple of the genre. A note on casting Brad Pitt was rejected for the role of JD as he was considered to nice for the role, if only they could have looked forward a few years to see Tyler Durden! Heather Graham and Jennifer Connelly both turned down roles in the film. So we ended up with a young Winona Ryder in her biggest role to date and a 21 year old Christian Slater who had been appearing in films and TV since he was 7. Slater is suitably weird; he starts out as the mysterious kid in school (every bit James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause) but rapidly turns into a psycho. A perfect film for him as for years to come you never knew what to expect from him, it was around this time he developed his off screen persona as a Hollywood bad-boy. There is a great device in the film where Veronica has virtually the same conversation with her parents twice, it is then referenced in a later conversation, it says so much about teenagers relationships with their parents. The hippy teacher or guidance counsellor has become a recurring joke and cliché in American films and TV shows but it was still fresh back in the 80’s and is played to perfection by Penelope Milford. It is also great to look back on the dodgy 80’s hairstyles and clothes. On a sadder note, two of the films stars died prematurely: Kim Walker whose character says “Did you have a brain tumour for breakfast?” died of a brain tumour and Jeremy Applegate whose character prays he will never commit suicide at Heaters funeral later committed suicide with a shotgun.

“People will look at the ashes of Westerburg and say, “Now there’s a school that self-destructed, not because society didn’t care, but because the school was society.” Now that’s deep.”

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: A film that appears in lists of best comedies and best high school movies; however you look at it this film is a classic! That’s why it is the second John Hughes film in the list. Ferris Beuller (Matthew Broderick) is a high school kid who has everything going for him. He is doing well at school, he is very popular, has a perfect girlfriend and doting parents but from time to time decides to take a day off to help him get through the monotony of school life. On this particular day he decides to bring along girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck). His intention to give Cameron something good to remember high school by. Cameron also has something else going for him, the keys to his dads Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California (sadly a replica, or possibly fortunately a replica considering its fate). The film is basically a cat and mouse chase between Ferris and his nemesis’ his sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) and Principal Rooney. Most of the action takes place out of school as the three friends have a day to remember in the city. Unlike the other films I have mentioned that gained cult status on TV and Video Ferris Bueller was a massive box office success taking over $70million making it one of the top 10 grossing films of the year.

 “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Other recommended viewing: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, early 80’s comedy with a young Sean Penn and written by Cameron Crowe. Say Anything, Cameron Crowe writes and directs this time, starring ever reliable John Cusack. Rebel Without A Cause, Nicolas Ray’s film is over fifty years old now but still good to watch, staring James Dean, Natalie Wood and a 1949 Mercury Coupe, also look out for a young Dennis Hopper who appeared in this and Giant with James Dean. The Last Picture Show is Peter Bogdanovitch’s 1971 film set in a small Texas town in the 50’s, a wonderfully bleak film. Rushmore is a curious little Wes Anderson film set in a private prep school, a fantastic cast including the geniuses that is Bill Murray. “Joel, you wanna know something? Every now and then say, “What the fuck.” “What the fuck” gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.” The famous line from Risky Business an early Tom Cruise film that made him a star. Napoleon Dynamite is quirky comedy about a geeky high school loser. American Graffiti isn’t really a high school movie but well worth a viewing. Then we have the crossover films that incorporate sci-fi or fantasy into the high school movie: Donnie Darko is one of the best films of recent years and made overnight stars of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, if you haven’t already seen it go for the theatrical version not the directors cut. Back to the Future, one of the best trilogies ever but the 1985 original is by far the best of the three films. Not as good as back to the future but Francis Ford Coppola’s back in time high school movie Peggy Sue Got Married is also worth a look.

If you haven’t already seen them take a look at all these films. If you have they are all worth another viewing.

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A time they’d never forget… if only they could remember: American High School Movies.

Are American High Schools cooler than British ones? I grew up in England watching American movies and TV shows and rapidly came to the conclusion that they had a lot more fun in American schools than we where having. I know these films are all fiction or just taking the best elements and cramming them into ninety minutes but they where so much cooler than anything British producers could come up with!These films where all about Sex and drugs, the kids drove cool cars and the American drinking laws didn’t seem to stop them having massive parties. Looking back they weren’t having that much fun in Rebel Without a Cause and I am glad we never had anything like the “hazing” in Dazed and Confused but there are still some examples of high school movies that I look back on fondly. I am not talking about sports films or horror/slasher movies set in high school but films that are actually about the kids.

 

Dazed and Confused

My favourite high school movie came out the year I left school. Looking back you recognise half the cast and wonder how they got so many stars including: Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Possey and yes that is Speedle from CSI (Rory Cochrane) playing Slater the school stoner! Then you remember they were virtually unknown at the time. The story takes place over the last day (and more importantly night) of school term in 1976. As with so many Richard Linklater films it was shot on location in Austin Texas a place that is becoming a hotbed for independent cinema. The film is set at the time the director would have been 16: although not as romanticized a view of the past as films like American Graffiti it does look back on the era with great fondness and fun. When watching the film you get the impression he did half the things the characters in the film did, and wishes he did some of the others!In 2004 ten years after the film came out three of Richard Linklater’s former classmates filed a lawsuit claiming he did not gain their permission to use their likenesses and surnames (Wooderson, Slater and Floyd) and now suffer from ridicule as a result of the film. From the opening bars of Aerosmith’s Sweet Emotion you get a vibe for what the film will be like and know the soundtrack is going to be good, with highlights including War, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple it captures the mood as well as the era of the film. This is also captured in the classic early 70’s cars driven by the kids most notably O’Bannion’s Plymouth Duster, Wooderson’s Chevy Chevelle SS and Pickford’s Pontiac GTO. The underlying theme of the film is best exemplified by Woodersons credo Just Keep Livin’

“Man, it’s the same bullshit they tried to pull in my day. If it ain’t that piece of paper, there’s some other choice they’re gonna try and make for you. You gotta do what Randall “Pink” Floyd wants to do, man. Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N”

 

The Breakfast Club

A film that has become so ingrained in popular culture that it is referenced in countless films and TV programs. The story is so simple it’s amazing it got through a pitch; it must have been something like. “Five kids all representing a different stereotypes, meet in detention, they start of hating each other but become friends by the end”. It is one of those films that could have been so much different if the casting had been different. Widely regarded as the stand out performance of the film, Judd Nelson (in one of his three good film roles, the others being Phil Hicks in Fandango and Nick Peretti in New Jack City) nearly didn’t happen. First they tried to cast Nicolas cage but couldn’t afford his salary demand. Then cast Emilio Estervez in the part but couldn’t find anyone to play Andrew Clark so moved Estervez to that role replacing him with John Cusack (the only other person suggested who I can imagine in the role) before replacing him with Judd Nelson. He was then nearly sacked by director John Hughes because of his attitude and treatment of co-stars particularly Molly Ringwald, co-star Paul Gleason intervened claiming it was a misunderstanding and Nelson was simply staying in character off camera (he is known to be a method actor). There where also questions over Nelsons age, at 25 he was the oldest of the students in the film and played college graduates in two other films that year; St. Elmo’s Fire and Fandango. The film like so many of the directors other films is set in the fictional (no one told Jay and Silent Bob that!) suburb of Chicago; Shermer, Illinois and was shot on location in real schools. The interaction between the charters was probably helped as the film was shot in sequence having been rehearsed like a play. You leave the film wondering what will happen when the kids go back to school on Monday, will they still be friends, you just somehow know they are going to be okay. The balance between life affirming and rebellion is perfectly portrayed not just by the kids striving to be something else but the janitor who comes across as being a lot more intelligent than the hapless principal. 

“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out, is that each one of us is: a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.”

 

Heathers

Wow is this film really 20 years old! Let’s start with the facts, anyone asking why I haven’t included Mean Girls, the simple answer is Mean Girls is a watered down imitation of Heathers and the Plastics are positively nice, friendly and liberal in comparison to the Heathers who are the most evil hateful clique in the history of high school movies. That is why the film is so good.Everyone who has ever been to school will have said they want to kill one of their classmates at some time.Most of us didn’t really mean it and the majority of those who did mean it had the sense not to do anything about it.Heathers is a great “what if” film.With the extremely black humour and high body count the events should not be taken literally in the way some of the other films should be, however the themes of alienation are a staple of the genre. A note on casting Brad Pitt was rejected for the role of JD as he was considered to nice for the role, if only they could have looked forward a few years to see Tyler Durden! Heather Graham and Jennifer Connelly both turned down roles in the film.So we ended up with a young Winona Ryder in her biggest role to date and a 21 year old Christian Slater who had been appearing in films and TV since he was 7.Slater is suitably weird; he starts out as the mysterious kid in school but rapidly turns into a psycho.A perfect film for him as for years to come you never knew what to expect from him, it was around this time he developed his off screen persona as a Hollywood bad-boy.There is a great device in the film where Veronica has virtually the same conversation with her parents twice, it is then referenced in a later conversation, it says so much about teenagers relationships with their parents.The hippy teacher or guidance counsellor has become a recurring joke and cliché in American films and TV shows but it was still fresh back in the 80’s and is played to perfection by Penelope Milford.It is also great to look back on the dodgy 80’s hairstyles and clothes.On a sadder note, two of the films stars died prematurely: Kim Walker whose character says “Did you have a brain tumour for breakfast?” died of a brain tumour and Jeremy Applegate whose character prays he will never commit suicide at Heaters funeral later committed suicide with a shotgun. 

“People will look at the ashes of Westerburg and say, “Now there’s a school that self-destructed, not because society didn’t care, but because the school was society.” Now that’s deep.”

 

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

A film that appears in lists of best comedies and best high school movies; however you look at it this film is a classic! That’s why it is the second John Hughes film in the list. Ferris Beuller (Matthew Broderick) is a high school kid who has everything going for him.He is doing well at school, he is very popular, has a perfect girlfriend and doting parents but from time to time decides to take a day off to help him get through the monotony of school life. On this particular day he decides to bring along girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck). His intention to give Cameron something good to remember high school by. Cameron also has something else going for him, the keys to his dads Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California (sadly a replica, or possibly fortunately a replica considering its fate). The film is basically a cat and mouse chase between Ferris and his nemesis’ his sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) and Principal Rooney. Most of the action takes place out of school as the three friends have a day to remember in the city.Unlike the other films I have mentioned that gained cult status on TV and Video Ferris Bueller was a massive box office success taking over $70million making it one of the top 10 grossing films of the year.

 “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

 

Other recommended viewing:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High, early 80’s comedy with a young Sean Penn and written by Cameron Crowe.Say Anything, Cameron Crowe writes and directs this time, staring ever reliable John Cusack. Rebel Without A Cause, Nicolas Ray’s film is over fifty years old now but still good to watch, staring James Dean, Natalie Wood and a 1949 Mercury Coupe, also look out for a young Dennis Hopper who appeared in this and Giant with James Dean.  The Last Picture Show is Peter Bogdanovitch’s 1971 film set in a small Texas town in the 50’s, a wonderfully bleak film.  Rushmore is a curious little Wes Anderson film set in a private prep school, a fantastic cast including the geniuses that is Bill Murray.“Joel, you wanna know something? Every now and then say, “What the fuck.” “What the fuck” gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.” The famous line from Risky Business an early Tom Cruise film that made him a star.Napoleon Dynamite is quirky comedy about a geeky high school loser. American Graffiti isn’t really a high school movie but well worth a viewing.  Then we have the crossover films that incorporate sci-fi or fantasy into the high school movie:  Donnie Darko is one of the best films of recent years and made overnight stars of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, if you haven’t already seen it go for the theatrical version not the directors cut.  Back to the Future, one of the best trilogies ever but the 1985 original is by far the best of the three films.Not as good as back to the future but Francis Ford Coppola’s back in time high school movie Peggy Sue Got Married is also worth a look.

 

If you haven’t already seen them take a look at all these films. If you have they are all worth another viewing.

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Groovers and Mobsters Present: Vampire Movies

Groovers and Mobsters Present is back and its our biggest one yet. October is the month of Halloween and a time for horror movies. Look out for the Halloween horror special later in the month but for now we give you the ultimate creation of horror movies and literature, The Vampire. So many bloggers wanted to take part this month that we have expanded from the usual five blogger/movies. When asking people to pick vampire movies we placed no limitations on the movies other than that they be about vampires, interestingly there are two major omissions, the glittery, sparkly teen-angst vampires of the Twilight Saga and the granddaddy of the movie vampire Dracula. Despite this we have a great and eclectic selection of movies for you:

My selection wasn’t a difficult one, as a big fan of vampire movies I give you my favourite vampire movie of all time:

Near Dark (1987)

“Caleb, those people back there, they wasn’t normal. Normal folks, they don’t spit out bullets when you shoot ‘em, no sir”

With a score from German electronic group Tangerine Dream this movie is pure 80′s but unlike The Lost Boys (also from 1987) Near Dark is a cold calculating and deeply dark thriller. The initial setup is similar to The Lost Boys: a young man is lured into the circle of a “family” of vampires by an attractive young female vampire. Once bitten the young man begins the process of turning into a vampire but is reluctant to take the final step, drinking human blood. Whilst I love the Lost Boys (both because of and despite its 80s cheesiness) Near Dark is in another league and is amongst the best (and certainly my favourite) vampire movies ever made.

More grounded in reality than most vampire movies Near Dark deals with supernatural, fantasy creatures but dispenses with the myth, mysticism and quasi religion of other vampire movies. In other words it was the first modern vampire movie that reinvented the genre for ever. But greatness isn’t achieved without a cost, the movie was a box-office failure, this can be attributed to two things, firstly it was the final movie produced and released by DEG (DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group) before they went under, this resulted in a criminally small release. The second and possibly more significant reason is that the movie is so far ahead of its time that audiences and critics just didn’t get it at first. Depending on your point of view the movie deconstructs or reconstructs the genre. At no time in the movie is the word ‘vampire’ used and symbols of purity (crucifix, holly water, garlic and silver) are not used moving away from the Victorian origins of the vampires in literature and the early to mid 20th century vampires of the movies and towards a more practical and scientific ideal. Through the character of Homer the movie explores the idea and issues of a child becoming a vampire two decades before Let the Right One In.

Seamlessly blending genres this modern day horror/western is also a road movie and a love story as well as a missing person drama. It may not be director Kathryn Bigelow’s best know movie, but it may just be her best.

See the whole post over at Movie Mobsters. 

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A Remake I wouldn’t Be Against

More often than not remakes are a bad idea. Once in a while they work out, everyone knows the classic movie, The Maltese Falcon (1941) is actually a remake of a movie of the same name form ten years before. They are based on a Dashiell Hammett novel and are both worth seeing although the Humphrey Bogart version is far superior to the original.

The remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is in pre production and Let The Right One In re-titled Let Me In is already in the can. Fortunately the proposed Americanisation of Oldboy appears to have been abandoned but Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) has been suggested for the remake treatment as has Battle Royale (2000) and The Orphanage (2007). If rumours are true there are remakes of Suspicion (1941) and The Birds (1963) on the way. I propose a new law making it a capital offence to mess with Hitchcock movies!

The proposed remake of one film did get me thinking though. Flight of the Navigator (1986) was a family film whose main objective was probably to cash in on the success of E.T. (1982). Not a bad family film, but I’m really not sure what a remake can offer. A movie that really should be remade however is The Last Starfighter, made in 1984 on the back of the success of the Star Wars Trilogy and utilising early CGI, the idea was far better than the resultant movie. It really is a fantastic concept let down by the limitations of the effects of the time and a commercial attempt to be too family friendly.

Teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) lives in a trailer park with his mother and kid brother. Like Luke Skywalker he dreams of doing something with his life but finances stand in the way of his college plans. His only interests appear to be his girlfriend Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart) and playing an arcade game called Starfighter. The aim of the game is to “defend the Frontier from Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada” When Alex achieves the record score on the game he is recruited by the games inventor to “defend the Frontier from Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada” for real!

With too much time spent back home and not enough in space the battles really lack any vision or imagination and animation although groundbreaking was still inferior to the model based space scenes from the original Battlestar Galactica TV show from the late 70’s. Despite all this the film isn’t without its charms. With the right casting and some decent space set action a remake could really work.

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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

I first saw The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension or Buckaroo Banzai for short in the mid to late 80’s and thought it was utter crap. Looking back on it now it is clearly a mess of a movie and a cheesy mess at that but like so many 80’s movies it has a certain charm. For those who don’t know it (I suspect they outweigh those that have seen it) here is a brief synopsis:

Dr. Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is a Rock-Star, physicist and brain surgeon. Dr Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow) whose mind has been taken over by Lord John Whorfin. Whorfin and the rest of his race the Red Lectroids have been banished to the 8th Dimension. Thousands of them escaped (it was covered up as Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds radio broadcast) and have an evil plan that only Dr. Buckaroo Banzai and his band of sidekicks The Hong Kong Cavaliers can stop him. He is helped along the way by Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin) (who for no good reason within the plot is the long-lost twin sister of Buckaroo’s dead wife) and by the peace loving Black Lectroids who had originally captured the Red Lectroids. And that’s a simplified version!

The mythology of the plot and the characters back story is bizarre, it is as if the filmmakers have created this elaborate universe to set the story in and not bothered to tell the audience about it, you just have to pick it up as you go along. The easiest way to describe it is picking up a TV show in the second season. You soon get to know the characters but you aren’t sure what has gone on before and you don’t get the in-jokes. This could be because there were several part-finished stories before they settled on one to be turned into a movie. It was also intended for there to be further Buckaroo Banzai adventures that didn’t happen for financial reasons. The end credits actually promise a sequel “Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League” although the sequel never happened, all reports at the time and since have stated it was the intention to make the movie. As well as the poor box-office, Sherwood Studios went out of business Shorty after the releases. There are suggestions that other studios were interested in picking up the character but never go beyond the red tape involved in acquiring the rights. There was also talk of a TV series in the 90’s, that also came to nothing!

As alluded to above, the movie bombed at the box-office but has gained a cult status ever since. The real problem with its lack of audience was twofold, there was a real lack of marketing for the movie, it also came out in the middle of the summer and had to compete with big hitters like Ghostbusters that was still packing them in two months after its original release. As the movie contained so many genres but couldn’t be pigeonholed into one the studio didn’t know how to market it or more to the point who to market it to.

All that aside the real question, is it any good. And the real answer, I’m not sure. I hated it when I was thirteen, twenty years later I kind of like it but I don’t know why. Everything about the movie goes over the top, the 80’s cloths, the acting and most notably the premise, but that really is no bad thing. The movie is the most fun when at its cheesiest. Also look out for the famous and much imitated end credit sequence. If you are still not convinced to take a look two questions. How funny does Jeff Goldblum look in his cowboy outfit; and how hot does a young Ellen Barkin look? (she was 30 at the time) still not curious? It kind of explains why the movie bombed.

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Streets of Fire: A Rock & Roll Fable

Director and co-writer Walter Hill set out to make his idea of a perfect movie but not his perfect movie in 1984, his perfect movie when he was growing up in Long Beach, California in the 50’s reading comic books. Following the name of the movie and it’s subtitle a Rock & Roll Fable there is a further title card saying “Another Time, Another Place“, that kind of sums the movie up, it’s an urban fantasy. Instead of being set on far off planet or in a distant time the movie is set in world we can almost recognise as out own. The style of the movie is derived from this, a sort of future/retro blend. The cars and bikes mainly come from the 50’s most notably a stunning custom Mercury Convertible. The music is very 80’s and somewhat dated although some of it is pretty good. The costumes are a strange blend of 50’s and 80’s with the biker gang employing every leather clad stenotype committed to celluloid.

The plot is relatively simple. Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is a big time singer (her singing voice is dubbed by Laurie Sargent), she comes back to her home town for a concert. Unfortunately things don’t go to plan, at the end of her first song the stage is invaded by a biker gang lead by Raven Shaddock (a young Willem Dafoe who looks like he hasn‘t had a change of cloths since The Loveless two years before) who kidnap her. The police don’t seem to be doing much so local dinner owner Reva Cody (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) sends a telegram (I told you it was retro) to the only person who can help, her brother and Ellen’s ex, Tom (Michael Paré) a former soldier and all round brooding hero type. Along with McCoy (Amy Madigan ) and Ellen’s manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) Tom sets of f to rescue Ellen. There are a few familiar faces along the way including Bill Paxton and Elizabeth Daily.

The cast, even the ones who became big stars were all pretty young and inexperienced when the film was made. Although a little by-the-numbers, the script is pretty good keeping the plot lean and simple. Depending on your point of view the dialogue is either brilliant or terrible. What sounds wooden and staid spoken by average and inexperienced actors in a modern movie would have sounded tough and great coming from Humphrey Bogart or Edward G. Robinson in the 40’s or 50’s.  Shot on location in Chicago, LA and on the Universal Back lot the city looks like a dystopian version of Chicago, the studio set included The Richmond main street complete with an elevated railway to match Chicago’s ‘L’. The unnamed city is split into at least four districts (three we see plus The Bayside that is mentioned but not seen) Each one has a distinct look. The Richmond (where Ellen and Tom are from) is an inner city working class neighbourhood, it looks old-fashioned all the colours are neutral subdued, the cars are old and dull. The Battery is a rough industrial area frequented by the kidnapping bikers. The colours are darker and harsher with lots of black leather. The Parkside District is vibrant and bright with a more 80s look complete with bright colourful neon lights and 80‘s fashion.

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag: despite only being eighteen Diane Lane had already made ten movies, her performance isn’t bad but she could have given it in her sleep, she does look as stunning as ever. Michael Paré is wooden at best as usual but pulls of the quiet brooding type well. Rick Moranis is truly bad, over acting all the way. Amy Madigan isn’t great but does deserve credit for her part in the production. She plays Tom’s tough, ex soldier sidekick, a part originally intended for a middle aged man. Convinced it was the best role in the movie she talked Hill to re-write the part for her. Willem Dafoe is the real revelation here showing what a great actor he would become with a cold villains stare.

The great shame of the movie is the lack of the song Streets of Fire by Bruce Springsteen from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. The song gave the movie its name and was intended to be used towards the end of the film. Springsteen was initially keen for the song to be used but when it was decided it would be used as Ellen Aim’s final song it meant re-recording it by a female singer and negotiations stalled. As is often the case with Walter Hill movies Ry Cooder provides the score and on the whole it’s a good one. A lot of the songs are written by Jim Steinman hence the Bonnie Tyler/ Meat Loaf sound to Ellen Aim.

The movie meets the first and most important criteria of a cult classic, it bombed at the box-office grossing just over half its budget. In his early career Walter Hill made some great movies, while Streets of Fire doesn’t live up to his best (The Warriors, The Driver, 48 Hrs and Southern Comfort) it is still a lean mean movie with the look and fun of a comic book movie. If you haven’t already seen the movie I suggest you give it a go, you may hate it but what’s the harm in giving it a try. If you do like it check out Trouble in Mind starring Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine and Lori Singer.

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I’ll be taking requests from all you teenage comet zombies

Revisiting Night of the comet

When I reviewed Zombiland last year I compared its plot to Night of the Comet, a movie I hadn’t actually seen for nearly twenty years. So when the movie became available on DVD (for the first time in the UK) I put it on my rental list.

A comet is passing the earth, the last time it passed was 65 million years ago and that night saw the end on the dinosaurs! Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) works in the art deco El Rey Movie Theatre in LA. She spends the night in the projection room, the next day she wakes up to find the population of LA and possibly the world have been turned to dust. She goes home to discover her cheerleader sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney) has also survived. They hook up with truck driver, Hector (Robert Beltran, Chakotay from Star Trek Voyager). They soon discover they are not as alone as they first thought when they encounter zombie like survivors. There is also a government think tank who suspecting the danger shut themselves away. Led by Geoffrey Lewis (better know as Clint Eastwood’s none primate sidekick in Every Which Way But Loose and Juliette Lewis’s farther). A stupid mistake during the night causes the think tank to change their agenda.

On re-watching the movie it is more 80’s than I remember filled with the periods hairstyles, fashion and “valley girl” stereotypes. The general tone of the movie is comic, much like The Lost Boys., the real surprise was the lack of horror and gore. For something remembered as a Zombie movie (sometimes referred to by its working title teenage comet zombies) the zombies aren’t actually zombies and there aren’t may of them. The film does have the usual political subtext of a zombie movies but it is pretty thin and formulaic. The movie is actually quite poor but like so many other 80s horror comedies it is infectious viewing. This is because of the likable characters and the snappy if ridicules dialogue. For example while shooting up a Cadillac on the street for target practice army brat Samantha’s MAC-10 machine pistol jams. With no sense of irony or humour she turns to her sister and says “You see this is the problem with these things Daddy would have gotten us Uzis”. In an equally dry tone Regina tells her “The car didn’t notice the difference”, but then Regina had told us earlier that ”the MAC-10 submachine gun was practically designed for housewives”.  Samantha gets most of the best lines. When they take over a radio station, not knowing if anyone is alive to be listening she declares “I’ll be taking requests from all you teenage comet zombies”

As much as I love this movie I have to admit it isn’t very good Meredith from M Carter at the Movies may describe it as “Terrifically Terrible Cinema”. The Rosses from Ross v Ross may call it a Guilty Pleasure. Both of these are pretty accurate labels but in its defence the movie does present relatively strong female role models, as dumb as they are at, the sisters are generally more capable than the male characters. We also get to see haunting early morning empty LA cityscapes nearly twenty years before Danny Boyle gave us a similar vision of London in 28 Days Later.

 

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It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.

After a false start last week when the cinema posted an incorrect date I went to see The Blues Brothers last night. One of my favourite films from when I was a kid I finally got to see it at the cinema thanks to s new season of classic films to get a new release. Next up: Scarface on 25th August if they get the date right this time.

It was great to finally see the film on the big screen. The digital image had been cleaned up and was brighter and clearer than I have ever seen it. The sound was clean and crisp and had me tapping my feet whenever a song started. It was the original theatrical cut not the 25th anniversary versions with extra scenes.

So if you get the chance go and see this modern classic where it belongs on the big screen. You will be quoting it for the rest of the week. “We’re on a mission from God!”

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