Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Rogue Mail]

The Manitou...utterly bizarre horror movie from late 70's with Tony Curtis and Burgess Meredith.

Spoilers ahead...






How to describe the plot? Curtis plays a fake medium who gets involved with an old flame, who has a weird growth on her neck...which turns out to be a foetus...who is the reincarnation of an evil shaman.

There are shades of The Exorcist, and it's just kind of...very weird.

It's kind of a last gasp of seventies horror, production values are very good for the time, shot in widescreen.

And the ending with a naked woman firing Star Wars style lasers at an evil shaman is just bonkers.

Watching a recent blu ray release of this, so pic and sound are improved...and there is some making of stuff that i am looking forward to.

But it is a real curiosity piece...just totally nuts. For entertainment value I would put it on a par with Lifeforce...kind of a similar feel to it.

[dropforge]

^I love '70s horror. All kinds of weird shit back then that they're only recently catching up to. I forget the name, but there's even one about a "killer mattress"...lol!

Race with the Devil (a CLASSIC, starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and M*A*S*H's Loretta Swit)
Suspiria
Inferno
The Car
Black Christmas
The Legend of Hell House
Burnt Offerings
The Brotherhood of Satan (L.Q. Jones!)
The Sentinel
Blood on Satan's Claw
Tourist Trap
Baron Blood
The Devil's Rain (Shatner and Borgnine!)
Sssssss
Nightwing
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Prophecy

...and who doesn't love Dawn of the Dead, Phantasm and Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Not to mention the Hammer films.

[Jerjo]

The Manitou...utterly bizarre horror movie from late 70's with Tony Curtis and Burgess Meredith.

Spoilers ahead...






How to describe the plot? Curtis plays a fake medium who gets involved with an old flame, who has a weird growth on her neck...which turns out to be a foetus...who is the reincarnation of an evil shaman.

There are shades of The Exorcist, and it's just kind of...very weird.

It's kind of a last gasp of seventies horror, production values are very good for the time, shot in widescreen.

And the ending with a naked woman firing Star Wars style lasers at an evil shaman is just bonkers.

Watching a recent blu ray release of this, so pic and sound are improved...and there is some making of stuff that i am looking forward to.

But it is a real curiosity piece...just totally nuts. For entertainment value I would put it on a par with Lifeforce...kind of a similar feel to it.

I've seen a couple clips, including the ending. MST3K worthy indeed. Right up there with Space Mutiny.

[moecurlythanu]

I saw End Game today, so I can now read the last 5 pages of this thread. I thought it was good, but not as good as I was expecting.

[SteveSly]

The Manitou...utterly bizarre horror movie from late 70's with Tony Curtis and Burgess Meredith.

Spoilers ahead...






How to describe the plot? Curtis plays a fake medium who gets involved with an old flame, who has a weird growth on her neck...which turns out to be a foetus...who is the reincarnation of an evil shaman.

There are shades of The Exorcist, and it's just kind of...very weird.

It's kind of a last gasp of seventies horror, production values are very good for the time, shot in widescreen.

And the ending with a naked woman firing Star Wars style lasers at an evil shaman is just bonkers.

Watching a recent blu ray release of this, so pic and sound are improved...and there is some making of stuff that i am looking forward to.

But it is a real curiosity piece...just totally nuts. For entertainment value I would put it on a par with Lifeforce...kind of a similar feel to it.

I remember that one. Totally odd movie, but kind of cool.

[Rogue Mail]

I remember that one. Totally odd movie, but kind of cool.

The spacey, Star Wars style ending with the laser battle was indeed inspired by Star Wars, which had come out the year before.

And that has to be the most unnecessary and gratuitous nude scene ever. Not that I am protesting too much...

[Rogue Mail]

^I love '70s horror. All kinds of weird shit back then that they're only recently catching up to. I forget the name, but there's even one about a "killer mattress"...lol!

Race with the Devil (a CLASSIC, starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and M*A*S*H's Loretta Swit)
Suspiria
Inferno
The Car
Black Christmas
The Legend of Hell House
Burnt Offerings
The Brotherhood of Satan (L.Q. Jones!)
The Sentinel
Blood on Satan's Claw
Tourist Trap
Baron Blood
The Devil's Rain (Shatner and Borgnine!)
Sssssss
Nightwing
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Prophecy

...and who doesn't love Dawn of the Dead, Phantasm and Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Not to mention the Hammer films.

Pretty much like all of those.

Race With The Devil is a stone cold classic. A kind of hybrid action adventure/suspense/horror movie. It was often on a double bill with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, for obvious reasons. I think they even released the two together on a blu ray release recently.

I think its greatest strength is the suspense it creates when you realise that the whole town is probably in on the conspiracy, and they cannot trust anyone. The scene at the swimming pool is particularly powerful, and its bases on nothing but people looking at each other. No dialogue is needed.

Another film from around that time that often got put into the similar 'car crash/action movie' genre was Spielberg's Sugarland Express, which I consider to be one of his best. Goldie Hawn gives an incredible performance as a wayward mother whose child has been taken into care, and her and her husband Clovis ( William Atherton) break out of jail, take a cop hostage and drive across the state to get their child back.

There are may recognisable Spielberg traits here, although in embryonic form. I believe it may include his first use of the 'dolly shot'...his penchant for casting real people in smaller roles rather than actors...his mastery of large scale set pieces (in this case hundreds of police cars)...and his eye for great photography...there is a scene of two police cars driving side by side against a sunset that is just beautiful.

It has an incredible scene where two police cars (Ben Johnson's cop in one and Hawn and Atherton in the other car) are having a radio conversation with each other, and the camera moves effortlessly between and around them constantly...not an easy thing to pull off back then.

And lastly...it does have what is probably one of the most dangerous and foolhardy stunts ever...

[Gruno]

Burnt Offerings
Nightwing
Prophecy

These, along with The Hills Have Eyes.

Nightwing -- my brother and I can practically recite the entire film, if given the opportunity. Our dad made sure to take us to the theater practically every Friday or Saturday night. A double-feature was always the ticket. We saw Nightwing one of those nights and I loved it. "Don't close the circle!" --- "Doesn't even know who Mick Jagger is."

Burnt Offerings was always crazy and scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.

[nosebone]

Pretty much like all of those.

Race With The Devil is a stone cold classic. A kind of hybrid action adventure/suspense/horror movie.

I remember loving RWTD when it aired on the ABC Tuesday movie of the week back in the 70s.

I re watched it a few years ago and lets just say its not what I remembered.

That snake scene had us rolling.

[Rogue Mail]

I remember loving RWTD when it aired on the ABC Tuesday movie of the week back in the 70s.

I re watched it a few years ago and lets just say its not what I remembered.

That snake scene had us rolling.

Well the movie can't change by definition, like all of us your tastes change as you get older.

You have to view these movies in context, and be mindful of the time in which they were made. Certain things will date.

The Exorcist is probably a very good example...the physical effects may look dated, but I still think the movie retains that atmosphere of dread and unease.

And similarly I think RWTD retains the suspense and paranoia very well, and its great to see some real, old fashioned car stunts too.

I think its a bit unfair to diss the movie because of a rubber snake...

[Rogue Mail]

These, along with The Hills Have Eyes.

Nightwing -- my brother and I can practically recite the entire film, if given the opportunity. Our dad made sure to take us to the theater practically every Friday or Saturday night. A double-feature was always the ticket. We saw Nightwing one of those nights and I loved it. "Don't close the circle!" --- "Doesn't even know who Mick Jagger is."

Burnt Offerings was always crazy and scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.

I worked in cinemas back in the 80's, and there are a few I can remember that have become largely forgotten...

Parasite - in 3D, one of the first of that decades spate of 3D movies. Not a terrible movie, though let down by a poor central performance by Robert Glaudini(?). A very early role for Demi Moore, and some good 3D effects and plenty of gore.

The Wraith - kind of a teen action flick about a mysterious, souped up car and helmeted, leather clad driver goading kids to race against it. Early roles for Charlie Sheen and Nick Cassavetes. The car chases were OK, but never really convinced as they relied on speeding up the film to get the sense of speed.

Black Moon Rising - one of those John Carpenter projects that fell through his hands, and was eventually made on a miniscule budget by a nondescript director (Harley Cokliss). Another movie where the plot revolved around an experimental, souped-up car...which was very poorly realised in the final movie. Yet they got Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton to star in this garbage. The centrepiece was a stunt with the car jumping between the higher floors of two skyscrapers (which was done in FF7...I think).

Visiting Hours - actually quite a decent thriller, about a disturbed serial killer bumping off people in a hospital. William Shatner and Lee Grant starred, but Michael Ironside, fresh from Scanners, stole the show as...well, who else?

The Park Is Mine - bit of a First Blood rip-off, with Tommy Lee Jones as a vet who loses his job and is hassled by authority figures and decided to take control of Central Park commando style. A decent Tangerine Dream score too.

[nosebone]

Well the movie can't change by definition, like all of us your tastes change as you get older.

You have to view these movies in context, and be mindful of the time in which they were made. Certain things will date.

The Exorcist is probably a very good example...the physical effects may look dated, but I still think the movie retains that atmosphere of dread and unease.

And similarly I think RWTD retains the suspense and paranoia very well, and its great to see some real, old fashioned car stunts too.

I think its a bit unfair to diss the movie because of a rubber snake...

The Exorcist is a masterpiece of film making regardless of genre.

I can't put RWTD in the same category.

No disrespect intended, it's just an above average mid 70s TV movie of the week.

[dropforge]

The Park Is Mine - bit of a First Blood rip-off, with Tommy Lee Jones as a vet who loses his job and is hassled by authority figures and decided to take control of Central Park commando style. A decent Tangerine Dream score too.

Guilty pleasure, indeed. I love the score, since it's part of the Schmoelling era.

[dropforge]

Race With The Devil is a stone cold classic. A kind of hybrid action adventure/suspense/horror movie. It was often on a double bill with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, for obvious reasons. I think they even released the two together on a blu ray release recently.

I think its greatest strength is the suspense it creates when you realise that the whole town is probably in on the conspiracy, and they cannot trust anyone. The scene at the swimming pool is particularly powerful, and its bases on nothing but people looking at each other. No dialogue is needed.

Word. I'll never forget the creepy old lady with the shades, with her impish grin. When I first saw the movie, it was in the '80s on TV, and I tuned in halfway through. Naturally, I had to track it down to watch the whole thing.

Nightwing -- my brother and I can practically recite the entire film, if given the opportunity. Our dad made sure to take us to the theater practically every Friday or Saturday night. A double-feature was always the ticket. We saw Nightwing one of those nights and I loved it. "Don't close the circle!" --- "Doesn't even know who Mick Jagger is."

I saw it at the drive-in. I loved it. I wanted to go study vampire bats like David Warner's Phil Payne. The novel's very good and is a bit different — Payne dies. There's also a great scene that would have been difficult to translate to film, where an enormous cloud of bats emerges suddenly from the mountain and overwhelms a helicopter and the pilot loses control and they crash.

[dropforge]

The Exorcist is a masterpiece of film making regardless of genre.

I can't put RWTD in the same category.

No disrespect intended, it's just an above average mid 70s TV movie of the week.

It's easily better than that! RWTD is one of the '70s best creepers.

[nosebone]

It's easily better than that! RWTD is one of the '70s best creepers.

When was the last time you watched it?

[GuitarGeek]

Burnt Offerings was always crazy and scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.

That's the one where Oliver Reed nearly drowns the kid in the swimming pool isn't it? That was a spooky movie.

[dropforge]

When was the last time you watched it?

Dude, I own it.

[philsunset]

Rewatched The Long Goodbye (1973) this afternoon. Directed by the great Robert Altman and starring Elliot Gould.

[dropforge]

Rewatched The Long Goodbye (1973) this afternoon. Directed by the great Robert Altman and starring Elliot Gould.

I own that, too!

[Jerjo]

The title Nightwing stirred up some 80s memories for me. Anyone remember Nighthawks with Sly Stallone and Billy Dee Williams? And for horror, there's Wolfen with the always wonderful Albert Finney.

[GuitarGeek]

[ Anyone remember Nighthawks with Sly Stallone and Billy Dee Williams?

Also, the US debut of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (his second US film was Blade Runner, and you may also remember him from pictures like Ladyhawke, The Hitcher, etc), with a support cast that also included Lindsay Wagner (aka the Bionic Woman) and Persis Khambatta, with a full head of hair (unlike her appearance in Star Trek II: The Motion Picture). Also, the score was done by Keith Emerson.

And for horror, there's Wolfen with the always wonderful Albert Finney.

I saw that, once, maybe about 20 years ago. Good picture, as I recall.

And Wolfen reminds me of An American Werewolf In London (which inspired Michael Jackson to hire John Landis to direct the Thriller video) and The Howling (and it's numerous sequels).

[Rogue Mail]

Also, the US debut of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (his second US film was Blade Runner, and you may also remember him from pictures like Ladyhawke, The Hitcher, etc), with a support cast that also included Lindsay Wagner (aka the Bionic Woman) and Persis Khambatta, with a full head of hair (unlike her appearance in Star Trek II: The Motion Picture). Also, the score was done by Keith Emerson.


I saw that, once, maybe about 20 years ago. Good picture, as I recall.

And Wolfen reminds me of An American Werewolf In London (which inspired Michael Jackson to hire John Landis to direct the Thriller video) and The Howling (and it's numerous sequels).

Nighthawks was OK. Stallone was huge at the time. So it was always bound to make money. I was not keen on Emersons score here though.

Wolfen is another underrated little movie. A very different take on the werewolf genre, mixing in native American folklore and inner city decline. And it had a very effective werewolf 'POV' camera. But the cinematography in general was excellent, making great use of the early 80s NY location.

I thought it worked best when it created atmosphere and tension, especially in the earlier scenes where the wolves were barely glimpsed.

Unfortunately you got the impression that the studios insisted on some gore, and a lot of that stuff was unconvincing and a little silly.

[nycsteve]

Im pretty sure Nightwaks was Gregory Hines not Billy D Williams.

[nycsteve]

Nope . Billy D Williams. I was probably thinking of Running Scared which had Hines , and I think Billy Cyrstal. Which Im not looking up to verify. To much to do this morning...………..but then theres the OCD...….