- Lanzman: Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m (doc) 5/10
- Colizzi: God Forgives… I Don’t 8/10
- Humphreys: Bottom Live -Arse Oddity 7/10
- Franco: Sadist of Notre Dame 7/10
- Fukui: Pinocchio 964 8/10
- Niskanen: Pojat 8/10
- Varda: Vagabond 7/10
- Hoblit: Primal Fear 7/10
- Eggers: Northman 8/10
- Tarantino: Pulp Fiction 10/10
3 Likes
And the next batch of Rutgers. The first one from 1989 was later released in the US in 1991 as ‘Beyond Justice’ but was edited down from the 3 hour original Italian mini-series and as such made little sense with gaping plot holes. The Dutch DVD is the full version with English audio. The 2nd is ‘Blind Fury’; the US spin on the Japanese ‘Zatoichi’ series. The 3rd one had limited release with various titles including ‘As Long As It’s Love’ and is a strange movie about a journalist pretending to have HIV. ‘Salute Of The Jugger’ is the uncut version in widescreen which I just picked up in 4K from Umbrella. Then it’s the ensemble piece ‘Bloodhounds Of Broadway’. The last is an episode from the 1989 anthology series ‘The Edge’ called ‘Indian Poker’ with Rutger playing an evil Sheriff.
1 Like
I’m still working through all of Rutger Hauer’s films in as close to chronological order that I can.
‘Past Midnight’ (1991) a passable neo-noir thriller co-starring Natasha Richardson.
‘Wedlock’ (1991) an entertaing sci-fi/action TV film.
‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ (1992) is the one before they made the classic TV series but I liked it despite the critical panning.
‘Split Second’ (1992) one of my favourite Rutger films and I really don’t care what critics say. I don’t really have time for critics. Being a critic takes no talent.
‘Arctic Blue’ is a run-of-the-mill, low budget, action/thriller lifted by the usual eccentric performance by Hauer.
1 Like
Mission Bloody Mary (1965)
First of three Agent 077 Italian/French/Spanish movies starring Ken Clark as secret agent Mike Malloy. This one seems to be cobbled together from different Bond movies including Thunderball and From Russia With Love. These movies have slightly more explicit sex and violence content than the Bonds (at least this one does) but obviously a lower budget although the action moves from Paris to Barcelona to Athens and back to Paris again. The titular ‘Bloody Mary’ is a new type of bomb which has been stolen from a plane off-screen due to budget constraints. Helga Line, familiar face, plays Malloy’s associate who may or may not be a double agent. In one scene she has to take her top off - chest below frame at least in this version - so that Malloy can check out some moles on one of her breasts to confirm her identity. The UK BBFC slapped this with a harsh ‘X’ (over 16s only) in 1966 and even that rating was only given after several fights were trimmed including one in a train compartment (similar to the Bond/Grant fight in FRWL) where Malloy smashes a window down on a bad guy’s neck and there is a lot of blood. Film is a bit choppy and the fight scenes aren’t very well staged with bad guys holding guns having to wait a second or two whilst Clark turns round and kicks them
Pridex have all 3 films on a DVD with English as well as German dubs. The print was English. Quality not too great, washed out and not much better than VHS dupe standard. Yet to see the other two.
2 Likes
The last few Hauer movies I’ve watched and none of them stand out as classics. Oh well, on to the next lot…
5 posts were merged into an existing topic: The Last Western You Watched? ver.2.0
Treated myself to an excellent, thunderous, triple-bill of War-time exploits and daring-do, and boys-own high adventure…
1957
1961
1976
3 Likes
That’s a marathon, but they are classics, and very re-watchable … Hope you had plenty of tea and bickies to keep you going!
1 Like
Indeed I did, my friend.
I joined Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness) in raising a cup of char, and thanking God that I am British…
"I think we can teach these Japanese a thing or two…‘’
Seriously though, they don’t make them like this anymore…“Madness, madness, madness…”
1 Like
1 Like
A big fan of Roger Moore, and these beautiful posters - the films however don’t live up to the promise of the illustrations - Humble opinion of course
1 Like
And, as always, I respect your opinion, amigo. Personally, I love them both, since I first saw them at the cinema many years ago…
I may watch ‘The Wild Geese’ (1978) this afternoon, which I’ve always referred to as the last of the Roger Moore 'African Trilogy’…another cracking film.
1 Like
Love this one!
Seen it many times since it was first released and snuck into this ‘AA’ flick when I was 12 … Happy memories.
1 Like
In the ‘old days’ they certainly produced some gorgeous, superbly hand-crafted film posters…not like the lazy photo-shop crap you get noways…
1 Like
Very true … and as a young budding artist, the posters were a big part of the fun of a visit to the cinema, and an inspiration.
1 Like
81. Zombie: House of 1000 Corpses 6/10
82. Fassbinder: Effi Briest 5/10
83. Forman: Loves of a Blonde 6/10
84. Altman: The Long Goodbye 10/10
85. Franco: Thong Girls 5/10
86. Tarkovski: Nostalgia 7/10
87. Black Magic Rites 5/10
88. De Sica: Il Boom 6/10
89. Härö: Elina: As If I Wasn’t There 6/10
90. Szulkin: O-bi, O-ba: The End of the Civilization 9/10
2 Likes
A whole bunch of 1952 westerns for me recently.
High Noon (Zinnemann / 10/10)
Ranch Notorious (Lang / 7/10)
Bend of the River (Mann / 8/10)
The Duel at Silver Creek (Siegel / 5/10)
Rage at Dawn (Whelan / 4/10)
Bugles in the Afternoon (Rowland / 4/10)
Denver and Rio Grande (Haskin / 3/10)
Flaming Feather (Enright / 5/10)
Montana Belle (Dwan / 3/10)
Three excellent westerns among a crowd of less worthy examples. I don’t give 10 out of 10s often but High Noon deserves it in every sense I believe. For a film shot in 5 weeks on a lowish budget it is a masterclass in visual framing and tension building. If there were ever any doubts that Leone learned from this film just watch the men waiting at the train station, the use of foreshortening and the meticulous shot compositions. It’s a classic.
Bend of the River is an excellent Anthony Mann example of the genre too. Glorious use of scenery, rollicking action and a thoughtful play of two men of similar backgrounds struggling to make their way in a new world. Also worth watching is Fritz Lang’s Rancho Notorious, a film with some key flaws but also some excellent attributes.
The rest are all pretty forgettable and apart from Rage at Dawn starring Randy Scott feature lead actors mostly ill suited to the western. I’m looking at you Ray Milland and Edmund O’Brien.
4 Likes