Auteur archieven: Jeppe Kleijngeld

Cult Radar: Part 4

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Off course a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Green Hornet (USA, 1974)

Directed by: William Beaudine, Norman Foster, E. Darrel Hallenbeck
Written by: Charles Hoffman, Ken Pettus, Jerry Thomas, Arthur Weingarten
Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Charles Bateman, Walter Brooke

This is the first of two movies, compiled of The Green Hornet TV-episodes. It follows the adventures of Britt Reid aka the Green Hornet (Van Williams). In the daytime he is the publisher of a newspaper called ‘The Daily Sentinel’ and a news broadcaster. At night he is a masked vigilante who investigates crime, together with his sidekick Kato (Bruce Lee). In this film they take on various racketeers and a brilliant scientist that wants to drop a H-Bomb. While Reid does most of the investigating like some sort of Phillip Marlowe, Kato uses his martial art skills to kick the bad guys asses. The TV-budget obviously didn’t leave a lot of space for production design, but this is nevertheless entertaining stuff. If only to see an early example of Lee’s great talents at work.

Fury of the Dragon (USA, 1976)

Directed by: William Beaudine, Norman Foster, Robert L. Friend, ao.
Written by: Ken Pettus, Arthur Weingarten
Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Walter Brooke

This is the second compilation film made out of The Green Hornet TV-episodes. This time around the Green Hornet and Kato have to rescue the abducted daughter of a Middle-Eastern prince. They also take on a corrupt cop, a ring of drug dealers and a gang of art-thieves. The transitions between the four different episodes are a bit odd, but the episodes chosen are pretty decent. Al Hirt’s great trumpet theme score is missing most of the time, but the other Green Hornet elements are there: detective work, Kato’s martial arts and the usual comic book gadgets. Like the first film, this is entertaining super hero stuff.

Goin’ Up (Netherlands, 1983)
OT: De Lift

Directed by: Dick Maas
Written by: Dick Maas
Cast: Huub Stapel, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Josine van Dalsum

Expertly made Dutch thriller about an elevator that starts to live a life of its own. The visitors and inhabitants of an office building are terrorized and killed by the elevator, until maintenance man Felix Adelaar (Huub Stapel) starts to investigate the mysterious occurrences. The limited concept of this movie seems more like material for a short, but writer / director Dick Maas stretched it out over a feature that pretty much manages to entertain throughout its duration. The characters are a bit flat and the resolution a little silly, but this is made up by a few terrific shocks and excellent cinematography.

Body Snatchers (USA, 1993)

Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Written by: Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, Nicholas St. John
Cast: Gabrielle Anwar, Terry Kinney, Billy Wirth

New York filmmaker / artist Abel Ferrara directs a fabulously creepy remake of the fifties sci-fi classic about aliens attempting to take over the world. The alien pods’ tentacles infiltrate the bodies of sleeping people and make copies. The old bodies just disappear and one by one, all people are replaced by pod-people. Gabrielle Anwar is one of the few humans still able to resist. On a notable modest budget, Ferrera has perfectly captured the paranoid spirit of the original. The good cast and efficient shock effects complete this as a direct-to-video must-see.

Iron Monkey Strikes Back (Hong Kong / Taiwan, 1977)
OT: Jue dou Lao Hu Zhuang

Directed by: Hsueh Li Pao
Written by: Shu Mei Chin
Cast: Kuan Tai Chen, Sing Chen, Ling Chia, Lin Chiao

Despite what the title might suggest, this movie has nothing to do with the popular Hong Kong flick Iron Monkey. In fact it is unclear what ‘Iron Monkey’ from the title refers to in this movie. This is a much older martial arts film set in the Ching Dynasty. The emperor’s wife is murdered by a mysterious assassin. An investigation is started by inspector Coolhead, who tries to unravel the conspiracy. Although there is reasonable looking action every few minutes, the ridiculous dubbing and sound effects take a lot of fun away. Only for real kung-funatics.

Carlito’s Way (1993)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘He wanted out. There was only one way to get there.’

Directed by:
Brian De Palma

Written by:
David Koepp (screenplay)
Edwin Torres (novels)

Cast:
Al Pacino (Carlito Brigante), Sean Penn (David Kleinfeld), Penelope Ann Miller (Gail), Luis Guzman (Pachanga), Viggo Mortensen (Lalin), James Rebhorn (District Attorney Norwalk), John Leguizamo (Benny Blanco), Joseph Siravo (Vincent Taglialucci), Richard Foronjy (Pete Amadesso), Ingrid Rogers (Steffie)

Brian De Palma’s career is often seen as a mix of brilliant, boundary-pushing filmmaking and controversial, uneven output. About his contributions to the gangster genre (Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way), there can be no doubt however: they belong to the absolute best. It’s right up there with Coppola’s and Scorsese’s output.

Carlito’s Way is largely set in the barrio of Manhattan’s Spanish Harlem, one of New York’s tougher areas that is filled with poverty, drugs and Latino gangs. This is the area in which Judge Edwin Torres grew up, who wrote two novels about the main character Carlito Brigante. It seems that in this neighbourhood, there are only two options in life; escape the slumps or join a gang. And those to go for option B have a way bigger chance on an early funeral (Carlito’s cousin) than to rise to the relative top (Carlito).

The Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante (Pacino) was a major heroin dealer before the law caught up with him and locked him up. His slick attorney David Kleinfeld (Penn) gets him an early release due to the DA’s usage of illegal wiretap evidence. The now free and seemingly new man Carlito desperately wants to change his ways. But many players, both old and new, intent to drag Carlito back into the deadly game of crime.

Despite the many temptations, Carlito manages to stay legit. He gets back together with his former girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller) and cooks up an exit plan. As soon as he has saved sufficient money by running a nightclub, he wants to take Gail to the Bahama’s and start a new life together. But then faith strikes and Carlito is placed in an impossible dilemma from which there is no escape. Kleinfeld – who Carlito feels he owes for giving him a fresh start – is in big trouble and he needs Carlito’s help with a very dangerous task.

The job turns sour, but leaves Carlito with enough cash to escape. It also puts him in a bad position with both the feds and the mob. Both his dream and downfall are now closer than ever.

Although the story of a criminal who wants out is nothing new, Carlito’s Way tells a beautiful tragedy. The deeper layers provide for a much more satisfying viewing experience than a clichéd gangster tale.

The acting is excellent. Pacino is solid as a rock as always, but the real joy here is Sean Penn. He portrays the manic, coke addicted lawyer Kleinfeld to perfection. His haircut deserves a special place in the gallery of wrong.

The finale of Carlito’s Way is an extremely suspenseful showdown with an ending that will leave no viewer unmoved. The fantastic escalator shoot-out – that looks as if Hitchcock could have directed it –is the highlight. It also pays a fitting tribute to the baby carriage scene in The Untouchables, which in turn paid tribute to Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.

De Palma has delivered a movie that is very rewatchable. Not only is it extremely entertaining, it is also character driven and manages to touch the viewer in the heart. Carlito’s ‘way’ turns out to be a fascinating one.

Rating:

Quote:
CARLITO: “Now I ain’t saying that my way would have been different had my mother been alive when I was a kid, cause that’s just bullshit.”

Trivia:
The exterior of the hospital where Carlito visits his bedridden attorney is the same one where Vito Corleone is taken in The Godfather (1972), also starring Al Pacino.

Eating Raoul

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Paul Bartel
Written by: Paul Bartel, Richard Blackburn
Cast: Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran

Year / Country: 1982, USA
Running Time: 83 mins.

After directing racing flicks Death Race 2000 and Cannonball!, Paul Bartel decided to make a more personal movie. Roger Corman, who had kick-started Bartel’s career with Death Race 2000, would not finance it, so Bartel raised the 500.000 dollar himself by putting up his parents house for sale. The result was Eating Raoul, a demented comedy of sorts about Hollywood, cannibalism and weird sex. It became a sleeper hit and got good critical reviews, especially in Europe.

The story revolves around Paul and Mary Bland, a square couple living in Hollywood. The couple is played by Bartel himself and Mary Woronov, another Corman veteran. The Blands want to open up a countryside restaurant, but lack financial means. A solution presents itself in the form of a swinger (their apartment building is full of them), a lifestyle the Blands – with their refined taste – disapprove of. When this swinger accidentally dies in their apartment, they come up with a very distinctive business model: lure swingers into their apartment and murder them for their money. It becomes a great financial success.

Then Raoul from the title gets involved (played by Robert Beltran, later Star Trek Voyager actor). He is a blacksmith, who discovers their secret and wants a partnership. After not too long, Raoul becomes a big problem the Blands have to deal with. Witty lines such as: ‘We’re having a friend for dinner’ (sounds familiar?) and a couple of hilarious gags make this an enjoyable little film. If you have a taste for the bizarre (it even got dwarves and stuff), Eating Raoul is an oddity that won’t disappoint.

Rating:

Biography: Paul Bartel (1938, New York – 2000, New York) majored in theater arts at UCLA and studied film directing in Rome. After getting his first work experience with Roger Corman he directed a number of low budget cult films. He also worked as a writer and an actor. He died in 2000 from a heart attack.

Filmography: The Secret Cinema (1968, short), Naughty Nurse (1969, short), Private Parts (1972), Death Race 2000 (1975), Cannonball! (1976), Eating Raoul (1982), Not for Publication (1984), Lust in the Dust (1985), The Longshot (1986), Amazing Stories (1986/87, TV episodes), Shelf Life (1993), The Comic Strip Presents…(1993, TV episode), Clueless (1996, TV episode)

The Ice Pirates

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Stewart Raffill
Written by: Stewart Raffill, Stanford Sherman
Cast: Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, Anjelica Huston

Year / Country: 1984, USA
Running Time: 91 mins.

This is a pretty odd movie: a Star Wars-like comedy; a sci-fi spoof that doesn’t always feel like one; a cult classic. In terms of special effects and production design, it looks good. Especially considering that this must have been – by Hollywood standards at least – a modestly budgeted flick. The cast of relatively unknown actors is – like in Star Wars – good enough to arouse and maintain interest from the viewer. The main problem with The Ice Pirates is that it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be.

The setting is a dried-up galaxy where there is virtually no water. Evil Templars from the water planet Mithra have gained control of this life-giving resource. A group of rebel pirates, under command of the roguish Jason (Robert Urich), survive by stealing ice from the great Templar fleets. During one of their missions, they are captured by the evil rulers, but with the aid of Princes Karine of Argon, they escape and start searching for the all-problem-solving Seventh World.

The story, including a romance between Jason and the princes, ensures a strangely entertaining ninety minutes. Only too often, does the movie shift from one genre to another and doesn’t go full throttle in any of them: the comedy at its best is only good for a modest smile; there is too little action to create a real sense of excitement and finally, the spoof level doesn’t go nearly over the top enough. Nevertheless there is still a lot of creativity and fantasy to be discovered. Especially the altered time element during the climax is a lot of fun. Those looking for more serious sci-fi should avoid this flawed film. But B-movie fans are – like many others – probable to embrace it as a classic in its kind.

Rating:

Biography: Stewart Raffill (1945, USA) is a US writer and director. He mostly made adventure / family films such as Lost in Africa, Mac and Me and Three.

Filmography: The Tender Warrior (1971), When the North Wind Blows (1974), The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975), Across the Great Divide (1976), The Sea Gypsies (1978), High Risk (1981), The Ice Pirates (1984), The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Mac and Me (1988), Mannequin: On the Move (1991), Tammy and the T-Rex (1994), Lost in Africa (1994), The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997, TV-episodes), The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998), Grizzly Falls (1999), A Month of Sundays (1999), Adjustments (2001, short), While You Were Waiting (2002, short), Three (2005), Croc (2007, TV), Mysterious (2007)