This is a bit of a detour from the movies: Space 1999 was a UK-produced TV series that ran from 1975-77. The series was created by Gerry Anderson, of Thunderbirds fame, and it used similar special effects techniques to create fantastic miniatures of moon bases and spacecraft. That is what I remember being good about…
Cat People
“See these eyes, so green…” Cat People has one of the greatest theme songs ever, courtesy of David Bowie, but it is buried over the end credits. (A fact Quentin Tarantino realised when he re-used it rather more dramatically mid-scene in Inglorious Basterds). Additional random fact/pathetic claim to fame: David Bowie brushed my shoulder once. (Long…
The Guns Of Navarone
The Guns Of Navarone is one of the most famous and influential “men on a mission’ war movies. As a sub-genre, it covers movies such as The Dam Busters, The Dirty Dozen, Where Eagles Dare (my personal favourite) and Inglorious Bastards. The set-up is usually: a mis-matched small group of soldiers are given a virtually…
Psycho
Here is another great little Belgian poster addition to my Alfred Hitchcock gallery. Psycho is of course one of The Master’s most famous movies, and for good reason. Knowing the plot now, its hard to imagine how audiences would have reacted back in 1960 seeing it for the first time. In the days before internet…
The Public Enemy
James Cagney was the original movie tough guy. In his time, he was the star of various gangster classics, including Angels With Dirty Faces and White Heat, but 1931’s The Public Enemy was the first and arguably best. It became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Cagney plays a bootlegger who…
Raise the Titanic
How’s this for a would-be great bit of (re)marketing? This is a French grande poster for the 1980 movie Raise The Titanic. I’ve never seen it but it is by all accounts a bit rubbish. The movie was a box office bomb. (The quote from producer Lew Grade was “it would have been cheaper to…
On The Waterfront
“I coulda been a contender….” On The Waterfront is regularly cited as one of the greatest American movies of all-time. Upon its release in 1954, it won 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando, Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint (in her film debut) and Best Director for Elia Kazan. This…
Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo has been ranked in recent polls of film critics as the greatest movie of all time. I have to respectfully disagree with that. Its not even my favourite Hitchcock film – not by a long shot! I must admit I find it very slow and boring, which is one of the reasons…
Lifeforce
I remember Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce being a terrible, cheesy movie. I watched it again recently just to make sure. Yup, its dreadful beyond belief. Its a lamentable come-down for the director of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Despite a large budget and some impressive practical effects, it manages the feat of being both batshit crazy…
Cry Danger
Here’s another cool poster for a movie I don’t think I have ever seen. Cry Danger is a 1951 film noir, with a plot centering around the old staple of a man sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. He is played by Dick Powell. Powell had an interesting career, to say…