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Joshû 701-gô: Sasori (1972)
Chicks-behind-bars: Japs-sploitation at its misogynist best
Double-crossed by her very first lover, gang raped by thugs, and unjustly thrown into a hellish prison, stoic and tough-as-nails Nami Matsushima endures endless torment and brutality at the hands of corrupt cops, sadistic prison-trustees, and her fellow convicts, all while awaiting her chance for sanguineous satisfaction. While the protagonist is a tough, resourceful woman, the film's frequent nudity, sexual violence, and borderline B'n'D, suggest that the film is not really intended as an exercise in female empowerment...but it is fun in a guilty-pleasure way. The extreme blood-letting is tempered by the extreme 'fakeness' of the violence (one man gets his head 'sliced open' by a shovel that misses him by inches and the resultant gout of blood looks like bright red food dye) and the nasty 'woman in prison' sthick is so over-the-top that the film is almost a parody of that frequently repugnant (and easily parodied) genre. Meiko Kaji is pretty good as the long-suffering Matsu, but the rest of the acting, along with the script, is border-line amateur (note: I watched an English-subtitled version on Tube). There are some strange celluloid moments as the background inexplicitly drifts into the surreal or when a knife-wielding killer spontaneously turns into a kabuki character while pursuing her prey in a (pleasingly crowded) women's shower room. All in all, an equal mix of entertaining and awful. Followed by three sequels, the first two of which supposedly pretty good (but less pink and simplistic).
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
A must see for some, a must avoid for others
The aftermath of the American Civil War sees the birth of the Klu Klux Klan, portrayed in this film as righteous vigilantes protecting Southern honour and Southern women from unscrupulous carpetbaggers and from former slaves, now free and vengeful. D. W. Griffith's near hagiographical tale of the Klan's origins is one of the most controversial films in American cinematic history and much has been written about the film, both from modern perspectives ('woke' and otherwise) and from contemporaneous accounts (praising or damning). The civil war battle scenes are well-done and exciting; otherwise, the film has not aged well, and viewers would need to be familiar with the early silent genre to appreciate the merits of the direction, production and cinematography. There are few inter-titles so much of the story is told almost in mime, and there are some over-the-top histrionics, especially by the 'villains' who are frequently sneering or glowering, the women who are either terrified, 'dancing with joy', or cloyingly affectionate. IMO worth watching (and not banning) despite the overt racism, which was much more blatant and permeating than I expected.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
More Mad Maxine saga then Mad Max saga
This prequal to 'Mad Max Fury Road' (2015) provides Furiosa (now played first by Alyla Browne and then by Anya Taylor-Joy) with a back-story as we follow her development as an über warrior from her traumatic early childhood abduction to her coming of age as the one-handed Imperator whose tale is told in 'Fury Road'. I was surprised how quickly car-chases, shootouts, explosions, grim mayhem, and assorted grotesqueries got boring, and long before the end, I lost interest everything but the imagery. Anya Taylor-Joy is fine in the 2D action-figure role, but her character's trajectory is painfully predictable even by prequel standards. Lachy Hulme is OK as Immortan Joe, who is essentially a comic-book super-villain (Hulme replaces Hugh Keays-Byrne who played the great 'Toecutter' in the original 'Mad Max' (1979)) but the main malefactor is the biker-boss 'Dementus', played unevenly by Chris Hemsworth. Over-the-top (like all the other characters) Dementus veers from hardcase sadism to verbose jocularity, with Hemsworth occasionally bringing the touch of the tough-guy-goofiness that made 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (2022) so unbearable. I'll round my rating up as a tribute to the brief cameo of the "last of the V-8 interceptors".
Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
Funny frenetic war-time fairy tale
The 'big, bad wolf' (apparently on sabbatical from Disney Studios) plans trick innocent Red Riding Hood into surrendering her basket, which is full of delicious rabbit. Mayhem ensues. The cartoon opens with Red belting out an obnoxiously loud rendition 'Five O' clock Whistle' as she bops her way over to Grandma's (who's off Rosie-riveting at Lockheed). The wolf, now in old-lady drag, tricks the credulous bobby-soxer into leaving the basket only to end up the target of Bugs' usual semi-sadistic shenanigans. Despite being dismissed from the tale early, Red feels obligated to carry out her usual role of questioning Grandma's big eyes, big ears, big teeth etc., much to the irritation of the wolf, and eventually, the rabbit. Bea Benedict (of Petticoat Junction (1963) fame) is fabulous voicing the irritatingly loud and brassy granddaughter. A funny cartoon war-time cartoon with a great score from a time when the wabbit was as much a bastawd as he was a wascal. (#41 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'),
Ali Baba Bunny (1957)
Standard but fun Bugs and Daffy outing
A wrong turn on the way to Pismo Beach finds Bugs and Daffy deep in Ali Baba's cave, where a mountain of treasure tempts the always avaricious duck despite a hulking guard wielding a scimitar. This is a pretty typical Bugs outing. All the expected gags are trotted out as the every-resourceful rabbit flips from identity to identity (genie, snake-charmer, etc) to outwit his dim-witted and credulous opponent despite the best efforts of his pushy, hyper-kinetic, duck-billed sidekick. I remember watching this one as a kid and then running around the playground waving a stick and yelling "Hassan chop", a behaviour that, these days, would result in the rapid deployment of a team of child counsellors tasked with explaining to me that ethnic stereotypes and threats to slice people in twain just aren't funny.
Along the Moonbeam Trail (1920)
Silent fantasy featuring early stop-motion dinosaurs - strictly for the kids (a century ago)
A fairy grants the wish of two boys and their uncle for an airplane that can fly to the moon, but they end up on a strange planet inhabited by dinosaurs. The story is a simple 'kids' adventure framed as a dream and features comic elements such as Mars, God of War, acting as a giant 'traffic cop' who stops the boy's plane in mid-air to give the right-of-way to Mother Goose on her flying broomstick. After evading the traffic-God, the plane is pursued by a pterodactyl, forcing the boys to land after which they encounter a stegosaurus, a hadrosaur and a tyrannosaur. The provenance of the dinosaur effects is unclear; supposedly, after a disagreement with Willis O'Brien after completing 'The Ghost of Slumber Mountain', producer Herbert M. Dawley took some of the dinosaur effects and incorporated them into this film. Having seen both films, which scenes were recycled in 'Moonbeam' is not obvious (at least to me) but neither film exists in its complete form and Dawley may have only take unused footage. Overall, the stop-action work is inferior to that in 'Slumber Mountain' (notably the dragon-like pterodactyl) and the other special effects are primarily poorly done double exposures and animations. Of little interest to anyone outside of film historians or sci-fi/dinosaur movie completists.
Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)
Walt Disney and Ishiro Honda walk into a bar...
...and meet Marv Newland, who helps them decide who is greater, an adorable little fawn with a doomed mother or a towering, armour-plated prehistoric-throwback born of radioactive fire. The answer is obvious, as can be seen as this brief (1:39) kaiju eiga epic. Opening to Rossini's 'William Tell, Ranz des Vaches', a classic musical theme evoking nature, peace, and tranquility, the abrupt transition to the reality of 'nature, red in tooth and claw' should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the titular characters. The Marv Newland-themed credits are entertaining and we should all thank the City of Tokyo for their help in making this legendary showdown (#38 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons') possible.
Rooty Toot Toot (1951)
Hell hath no rage ...bizarre jazz-themed cartoon-noir
Frankie and Johnny were lovers, but he done her wrong, so the bullets start flying. Based on the classic revenge-ballad, and structured like Rashomon (1950), this cartoon courtroom drama reflects a new look in animation, with stylised, geometric (almost cubist) backgrounds and sketchy, simplified but highly individualised characters. Classic noir characters abound: laconic bartenders, sleazy musicians, wronged dames, provocative femme-fatales, and shady shysters. With a great score and amusing visuals, this 'adult' cartoon has developed a well-deserved cult following and was voted #41 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'.
The Barber of Seville (1944)
Virtuoso animation, a great 'opera' soundtrack, and a demented woodpecker with a straight razor
Looking for a haircut. Woody Woodpecker ends up in a barbershop from which the proprietor has left to get his army physical, so the frenetic fowl tales on tonsorial duties as assorted customers come in. The cartoon starts slowly as Woody attempts to cut the hair of a stereotypical Indian, resulting in typical sight-gags involving head-dresses and cigar stores, but really takes off when an equally stereotypical Italian construction worker enters the shop and Woody breaks into a whirlwind rendition of Rossini's 'Largo al factotum' while inevitably wielding shaving-foam and a straight-razor. This manic opera parody predates the better known (and IMO superior) Bugs Bunny version by six years and is the wild woodpecker's only appearance in the 50 Greatest Cartoons' (at #44).
Quasi at the Quackadero (1976)
Trippy, surreal cult fav
Two duck-like entities (Quasi and Anita) and their robot (?) colleague visit the Quackadero, a side-show carnival where attractions include memory projection, mind reading, prognostic mirrors, and one-way windows into the past and future (the latter Anita takes advantage of to deal with the obnoxious Quasi). The imagery and the erratic, surreal, pulsating animation have the look of the era's 'underground comic' movement. The weirdly creepy futuristic Quackadero psycho-temporal amusement-park resembles somewhere that, in another generation of cult cartoons, Rick and Morty would visit. Bizarre but entertaining. One of the few 'post-golden age' (and post Timothy Leary) cartoons represented in the '50 Greatest Cartoons' (at #46).
A Corny Concerto (1943)
Comical Warner Bros' lampooning of a Disney classic
A befuddled (and wardrobe challenged) Elmer Fudd leads a symphony playing classic waltzes by Johann Straus ('Tales from the Vienna Woods' and 'The Blue Danube'), illustrated first by Porky Pig (in Mr. Fudd's usual role) hunting a familiar wascally wabbit, and then by a snooty swan-mother rejecting a tiny but troublesome Daffy Duck. This Bob Clampett parody of Disney's Fantasia is funny, and the smooth, imaginative animation is a pleasure to watch. Daffy's toothy grin and the 'hep-cat' buzzard are particularly amusing and, as usual, Bugs is not above cross-dressing to confound pursuers. Surprisingly non-political for a 1942 cartoon (other than Daffy's brief transition into a snarling P40 Warhawk). #47 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'.
A Unicorn in the Garden (1953)
A pointed fable of poetic justice
After reporting the presence of a flower-eating unicorn in the garden, a meek bespectacled gentleman is accused by his shrill and disagreeable wife of being insane and promptly hauled off to a psychiatrist's office for committal. Based on a short story by James Thurber and animated in a style similar to the humourist's sketchy illustrations, the brief cartoon is entertaining in a low-key way. I am not familiar with Thurber's writing but apparently this is one of his better known, and more discussed, stories (I'm surprised that an internet search didn't turn up lots of accusations of misogyny - the wife is pretty awful). #48 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'.
The Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (1942)
Hyperkinetic fun from Chuck Jones
Dastardly Dan Backslide has kidnapped Dora, a dainty but deadly damsel. Can her shrill cries for help reach the heroic Dover Boys (Tom, Dick and Larry) in time? In making this entertaining, high-speed parody of the Rover Boys adventure books, Jones was an early adopter of what was later referred to as 'limited animation' (time and budget cutting techniques effective here but later criticised when overused in, for example, the myriad of Hanna-Barbara cartoons of the late 1965s and 1960s). The 80-year old cartoon is a parody of stories that take place in the early 1900s, so there are numerous dated 'culture-jokes' that might evade younger modern viewers, but as the cartoon is considered a milestone in the evolution of animation, there is no shortage of analysis and explanations on-line. The characters are funny, the songs amusing, and the sight-gags are great (especially Dora). Typical of Jones work, there are in-jokes, the imagery approaches surrealism at times, and there is a touch of meta-humour. #49 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'
Felix in Hollywood (1923)
Primitive but fun and seminal
The ever-mischievous Felix the Cat connives his way to Hollywood where his quick thinking, marksmanship and skill with a sword earns him a contract from none other than Cecil B. DeMille. This early, slightly surreal silent cartoon features one of the biggest animated stars of the era as well as caricatures of some of the era's biggest 'real-life' stars including Charlie Chaplin, William S. Hart, Ben Turpin, and Gloria Swanson. This fun little short was the first of a long line of cartoons featuring caricatures of 'Hollywood Royality' and the antics of the rubbery little black-and-white cat with the detachable tail are always amusing. #50 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'
Hour of the Gun (1967)
Good revenge oater (but ignore the opening claim of veracity)
In the aftermath of history's most famous (and Hollywood's most fictionalised) gunfight, Wyatt Earp (James Garner), along with his tubercular shootist buddy 'Doc' Holliday (Jason Robarts), goes after the skulking killers who bushwhacked his brothers, leading to a showdown in Mexico with their boss, the villainous cattle-rustler Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan). Although featuring a completely different cast, John Sturges' tale of Earp's 'vendetta ride' is essentially a somewhat more fact-based sequel to his hit 'Gunfight at the OK Corral' (1957). Doing his best to buck his usual affable movie-persona, Garner is pretty good as a vengeance obsessed hard-case lawman and Sturges does a good job of timing the action to blur the distinction between self-defence and murder, a blur that Holliday, as Earp's gun-toting 'conscience', comments on a number of times. As always, Ryan makes an excellent black-hat and the rest of the cast, which includes John Voight (in his second film role) is fine. The desert cinematography is stark and beautiful, and the shoot-outs (the raison d'etre for most oaters) are nicely staged. The film opens with a pious statement that the tale is factual, a claim that should be 'taken with a grain of salt' (a character shot dead in a quick-draw showdown in 1882 was actually shot dead off his horse by a man with a rifle in 1887).
Apache (1954)
Early A-lister 'progressive' Western, a product of its times but still watchable
Massai, a proud Apache warrior (Burt Lancaster) escapes from prison-train bound for a Florida reservation, returns to his frontier homeland where he becomes a renegade thorn-in-the-side of the 'Whiteman' while on the run with his woman Nalinle (Jean Peters), daughter of Santos, the weak, alcoholic Chief of the remnants of Massai's once powerful tribe (Paul Guilfoyle). Despite what these days would be the fatal faux pas of much of the main cast being in 'red-face', Robert Aldrich's semi-revisionist Western is pretty good. Once you get past Lancaster's ice-blue eyes and legendary Hollywood grin, he makes a good renegade brave and (with similar caveats) Jean Peters is fine as his long-suffering but tough mate. Aldrich's sympathies clearly are on the side of the natives but the various 'Whitemen' are not as stereotypically deplorable as they are in the more 'preachy' revisionist oaters. The cast is generally good, there are some amusing scenes (notably the back-and-forth between the 'wild' Apache warrior Massai and the 'civilised' Cherokee farmer Clagg (Ian MacDonald)), the colour cinematography is excellent, and the script, while replete with the usual 'Indian English', doesn't stray too deeply into cliché; however, I found the story's ending to be a bit flat, maudlin and contrived. Massai was an historical character, but there is little biographical in 'Apache'.
Starship Invasions (1977)
Cheesy space-opera hitch-hiking on the Star Wars phenomenon
Nasty aliens led by Ramses (Christopher Lee) plot to eliminate big-headed good aliens before extirpating humanity and taking over our planet. Quickly released to cash in on the popularity of 'Star Wars' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and surfing the '70s fascination with UFOs, this Canadian production is generally awful. Christopher Lee wears an amusing flying-serpent adorned jumpsuit but, as aliens are telepathic, the usually excellent actor never speaks. Robert Vaughn plays a UFO-expert with his standard one-note delivery and an unfortunately constantly-clad Penthouse Pet of the Year Victoria Johnson rounds out the cast as some kind of alien. The 'big-head' make-up is pretty good but, in the aftermath of 'Star Wars', the 50's-style special effects look primitive and amateurish (although the UFO scenes often worked for me because they resembled the equally primitive and amateurish looking 'real pictures' of flying saucers that were making the tabloid rounds at the time). An odd attention to detail saves the film from the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel: many of the silly looking flourishes are based on 'eye-testimony' of 'actual' UFU abductees (eg the pointy androids, the flying serpent emblem). I went to this film when it first hit the theatres (the ads on TV looked promising) and remember being both staggeringly disappointed and curious as to how Christopher Lee would explain his presence in this space-turkey to his frequent co-star, Peter Cushing, who had recently achieved action-figure status after starring in 'Star Wars'.
Zeburâman (2004)
Silly but fun
After Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa), a nebbish schoolteacher with a cheating wife and resentful kids fashions a cheap-looking replica of the costume of 'Zebraman', his favorite childhood super-hero, he discovers the black-and-white outfit actual gives him superpowers, which become useful when he is forced to battle some gooey, green nose-goblin aliens who are taking over people's minds for nefarious purposes. The story makes little sense (note: I have not read the antecedent manga) but Aikawa's character is likable, the 'action sequences' are fun, there are some comical scenes (I particularly liked the victim of Zebraman's deadly back-kick) and the film has a goofy low-budget appeal (especially for viewers who pick up on the meta-humour and the tokusatsu in-jokes).
Radio-Mania (1923)
More interesting than entertaining but imaginative and amusing at times
After his experimental radio opens communications with Mars, Arthur Wyman (Grant Mitchell), a down-and-out inventor uses Martian technology, such as methods to synthetise diamonds and gold, to become fabulously wealthy. The film was produced and displayed in 'Teleview', an early experiment in 3D that used paired out-of-sync cameras to combine images from two different perspectives. The projected film was then watched through special viewer that used rapidly opening and closing irises such that each eye would only see the image from one perspective allowing 'persistence of vision' to create an illusion of depth. Apparently the system was quite good at generating a 3D effect but the viewers were complex and cumbersome and 'Teleview' was never used again after the initial showing of 'The Man from M. A. R. S' at the Selwyn Theater in New York City in 1923. As of this writing, no copy of the 3D version exists but a 2D version, entitled 'Radiomania' is held by the BFI and currently is included on the Blu-ray disc '100 years of 3D Movies'. The film itself is a lightweight romantic fantasy as the poor inventor with big dreams needs to make good before marrying his landlady's pretty daughter Mary (Margaret Irving). Needless-to-say, the best parts take place on Mars and are both imaginative and comic. This may be the first film to portray the classic 'big-headed' alien (we are told that the Martian cranial capacity is about a gallon and that an Earthling brain is about the same size as that of a Martian chipmunk). There is also an amusing scene in which Arthur orders Martian women's fashions. Mary is nonplussed by the small box that contains the top half of the outfit and later outraged at the interest that Arthur takes in the girls modeling the voluminous Martian skirts and skimpy Martian tops. While probably viewed more for historical interest that entertainment, 'The Man from M. A. R. S' is an imaginative example of an early science fiction film and given the prevalence of big-headed aliens (especially on the covers of the pulps) should be better known.
Deddo sushi (2012)
Cheerfully silly splatter-fest that left me chuckling and hungry
Led by a were-tuna, sushi come to life as fierce flying-fish and slaughter sexy servers and cretinous customers at a Japanese inn. Can anyone, including the bare-breasted bukkake star, survive the noxious nigari, the sinister sashimi, and the malevolent maki? Also, the terrifying tamago has a lovely singing voice. Everything is over-the-top in this goofy, gory comedy. Plot, acting, script, etc are incidental as everything is simply a set-up for a sight-gag, tacky CGI, or a fake looking blood-geyser. Not as engagingly ridiculous as 'Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead' (2011) but in a similar vein and, like that eproctophiliac epic, anyone who can get past the title will probably enjoy the film. Watched on Tubi with English subtitles.
The Void (2016)
Low budget shocker, murky and not much new
A disparate group tries to survive in a creepy building while a monstrosity and its minions take them out one by one. Beyond a few lines about bringing back a dead loved-one, there is not much of a coherent storyline nor any character development, just a bunch of grotesque 'boo' moments strung together. The cinematography is the typical dark, murky chiaroscuro with lots of saturation and flickering lights typically used to 'heighten suspense' while masking weaknesses in the special effects. The acting is sufficient for the characters, the script is reasonably free of cliches or forced attempts at humour, and there are some imaginative shots (such as the triangle slowly forming in the clouds). I agree with comments that the filmmakers did a lot with a very limited budget, which makes the film interesting from a production perspective at least. Be warned: if you decide to watch 'The Void' because you have read it favourably compared to Carpenter's 'The Thing' (1982) and Barker's 'Hellraiser' (1987), you likely will be hugely disappointed.
Once in a New Moon (1934)
Light-weight 'social comedy', dated and illogical but still mildly amusing
After being torn off the Earth by the 'magnetism' of a 'dead star', Shrimpton-on-the-Sea, a coastal British village forms a tiny independent 'planet', suspended between the attraction of the Earth and the passing star. Cut off from the rest of England, the residents begin to bicker about who's in charge of their new world: the Lord of the Manor and associated toffs or the 'commoners' and workers. The premise is complete fantasy, with a premise that is simply a setup for a 'topical' social-comedy about the equitable division of resources with stereotypes putting face to the opposing points of view (a radical socialist worker verses a snooty Lady of the Manor). The acting is fine for the material, with the best characters being Harold Drake (Eliot Makeham), the reluctant newly 'acclaimed' leader representing common people of 'Shrimpton-in-Space' and Lord Bravington (Morton Selten) as the equally reluctant 'hereditary' leader representing the status quo. The film is short, low-budget (notably in the 'special effects'), and the comedy quickly descends into farce as the two sides prepare for 'war'. The storyline of Englishmen being separated from King and Country is not uncommon in British comedies and 'Once in a New Moon' makes an interesting companion to the post-WW2 comedies 'Passport to Pimlico' (1949) and 'The Admirable Crichton' (1957).
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Beautiful and entertaining
Having escaped the annihilation of his father's army by Imperial troops (relegated to the villainous Harkonnens), Paul Antreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a Bene Gesserit 'witch', join the Fremen, Arrakis' fearsome desert warriors. Due to the millennium-old Bene Gesserit program of spreading myths and prophecies throughout the universe, Paul is seen by many of the Fremen as the Messiah who was foretold to free their world and make the arid planet a paradise. Like 'Dune, part one', Denis Villeneuve's vision of Frank Herbert's popular book is very well done, especially the sets, props, and cinematography. The acting and script suffices for the relatively 'basic' main characters (Paul and Chani, Chalamet and Zendaya). Chalamet is fine when brooding or messing around with worms, but lacks something when trying to sound imperious and powerful, and Zendaya spends most of the film looking looking some combination of tough, suspicious and annoyed. The secondary characters are more interesting (IMO) especially Jessica and the Bene Gessarat Reverand Mothers, but like most villains, the Harkonnens are a bit over-done (but much less so than the hammy and cartoonish characters in David Lynch's 1984 lensing of the story). The only thing I disliked about the film were the inconsistencies in what would 'work' as a weapon in the Dune universe: in the book, 'shields' neutralised energy and fast-moving projectile weapons, so killing was done by blade, but slowly, so as to penetrate the shield; in the movie, energy weapons seem to be used when convienient and there's lots of flashy knife play but little to suggest that the shields were being defeated (and if no shields, why bother with knives (other than highly choreographed melees look really cool)). All in all, like part 1, part 2 is a well-made, entertaining version of a book considered unfilmable. I'm unsure whether to look forward (to or get my hopes up for) the next installment in the epic - I never liked the subsequent books in the series.
The Slime People (1963)
Cheap and silly but fans of bargain-basement creature-features should still find it watchable
Disturbed by our atomic tests, gurgling monstrosities armed with spears emerge from the bowels of the Earth, attack Los Angeles and then encase the devastated city in a fog that hardens into an obdurate barrier that is impervious to humanity's puny weapons. Can the few survivors trapped within the fog-dome stymie the sub-terrestrial invaders' deadly plans? The premise is sufficiently contrived that five characters and three monster suits can represent an existential war of survival. The film is notorious for its excessive use of fog that, while consistent with the storyline, obscures much of the action much of the time (which may be for the best). For a low-budget production, the monster costumes aren't bad and the filmmakers must have been pleased with their titular stars - there is no tension-building wait for a 'big reveal', viewers are treated to a clear look at a Slime-person before the opening credits roll. On the other hand, the script is awful, at times the acting is borderline amateur, the plot is ludicrous, the shoe-horned-in romances are dispensable, and the attempts at humour are limp. There are some better moments: the use of a wild-fire damage as a stand-in for a ravaged city was frugally clever and the quick-cutting used to make three costumes look like a horde was reasonably well done. On par with 50's-era bottom-of-the-barrel creature-features, but much better than the dreck produced by Larry Buchanan later in the 60s (which saves the slime-folk from a 1 or 2 rating). Watchable by anyone who watches this sort of thing.
Anno zero - Guerra nello spazio (1977)
One of many crappy space-operas to pop up in the wake of Star Wars.
Lured to a strange planet, a spaceship crew finds the debased remnants of a once-great civilisation ruled by a malevolent computer. I generally like the garish charm of Italian space-operas but 'War of the Planets' is terrible, even by my forgiving standards. The plot makes little sense (and devolves to no sense when the guy with the fangs shows up), the special effects are awful, the endless beeping, clicks, klaxons, and ominous organ music tiresome, the script trite and infantile, and the acting terrible (as best as I could judge watching an English-dubbed version). Directed by Alfonso Brecsia in an attempt to cash in on the success of 'Star Wars', the film is the first of five that share cast and crew members as well as props and special effects (such as they are). Apparently the final film in the series (1980's 'Beast in Space') had some porn inserted as box-office bait. Only watchable by dedicated fans (and even then only barely). The incoherent storyline was not helped by the American distributers rearranging scenes in order to get an action-packed opening (like that in 'Star Wars').