THE SPACE-SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME 1979

Between Christmas and New Year during that sleepy hollow when the fairy lights and the TV send you off to sleep mid-afternoon I caught part of a flick released in 1979 called The Shape of Things to Come.

Half-asleep I had thought at first it was an episode of Space 1999 as Barry Morse was in it wearing a white jumpsuit and the whole thing I half-saw had that series' feel to it.

It had nothing to do with Space 1999, nor HG Wells's Shape of Things to Come for that matter. It appeared to me to have been influenced by many different Sci Fi shows and films.

Here are a few glimpses culled from around the web.

Shades of UFO?

Hues of Robby the Robot and the Lost in Space Robot?

Hints of Star Trek?

Glimpses of Star Maidens?

You may know much more about this movie filmed in Canada. Please let us know. 

Have you seen it readers?

U N I V E R S E : the 1960 short film that is said to have inspired Stanley Kubrick

This is new to me and a revelation.

https://aeon.co/videos/prelude-to-the-space-age-the-1960-film-that-inspired-2001-a-space-odyssey

Shown on the Aeon website, this was originally on the National Film Board of Canada's website.

To quote Aeon:

Universe also altered the course of cinema’s evolution: the film’s masterful cinematography and groundbreaking animation inspired Stanley Kubrick when he was researching his own space-traversing masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Kubrick even borrowed the voice of Universe’s narrator, Douglas Rain, for the iconic role of HAL 9000.

What do you think readers?

Halloween Movie: Impulse

I always liked Tim Matheson in National Lampoons Animal House, so when I came across the movie Impulse years ago his face felt familiar.

Impulse is an eco-horror/ sci-fi film from 1984 about a small American rural hamlet where the good folks turn nasty after some even nastier chemicals get into the water.

It recalls movies like The Crazies and The Andromeda Strain. 

I've only seen it the once but really enjoyed it, so for Halloween it's my film recommendation. 

Impulse, 1984. 

Background:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_(1984_film)

The full Movie:

https://youtu.be/2dIo3d2mS6A?feature=shared

SCREAM OF THE WOLF

 I'm on a bit of a Dan Curtis/ Clint Walker kick at the moment. Seeing Snowbeast the other night sparked it off.

I'm currently deep into the mulderous files of Kolchak's exploits, having just watched the two films and now embarking on the TV series.

By way of an umleitung I plan to watch Scream of the Wolf too. Like Snowbeast a few years later, its was a made for TV Movie from 1974 starring Clint Walker and Peter Graves. It originally played in the States on January 16th, 1974 at 8.30pm on ABC. 

Do you remember it on ABC? Where you still up then?

Not sure if this was on in the UK. I don't remember seeing it. Do you?

HARRY BROWN AND THE HOODIE HORRORS

Whilst avoiding ads on TV watching the Terminator last night I switched often to Harry Brown on another channel.

Harry Brown, played by Michael Caine, is a 2009 film about Britain's feral youth and old aged pensioners and the fatal results of them meeting. Its also about quiet determination in the face of adversity - that 'make do' and 'can do' spirit of the War generation and the one that followed, suffering the rigours of ration book Britain after saving the world. Its sad really seeing Harry in his small place, alone after his beloved wife dies, tying his shoes slowly and accurately as he does with his tie to meet his chess partner len.

When Len is stabbed by said Feral Youths the scene is set for a lethal confrontation between the drug-addled yobs and the once law-abiding Harry. You can guess the rest.

Harry Brown is part of that film sub-genre called Hoodie Horrors, itself a tiny part of the much bigger Rebellious Youth theme, which has been around as old as film itself.

Hoodie Horrors seemed to have been the exploitative end of a drip-feed process of demonising young people in the UK the last few decades, to the point where Yobs, ASBO's [anti-social behaviour order], Chavs and SUS [stop under suspicion] became everyday language.

The sub-genre, unsurprisingly, has thrown up some extremes, from the gory Eden Lake set in the woods to Attack the Block, set in, well you know. All exploit the seemingly stark border between the morally-bereft children of the working class with the clear moral-compass of the either the older generation or the middle class. You can just see the headlines, which the film-makers were tapping into.

Another twist on the sub-genre is what you might call the Guiding Hand or the One Man Army, where the protagonist, eyeing the trouble from the porch, eventually steps in like Rambo to save at least one of the brazen teens from certain immoral oblivion. 

Two films spring to mind, the American Gran Torino, 2009, with Clint himself constantly polishing his classic car,, keeping what he has worked hard for in tip-top condition, whilst simultaneously cleaning up the neighbourhood of unruly, lazy, never-done-a-proper-days-work gangbangers and rescuing his chosen 'good boy' from the needle-strewn abyss.

The Equaliser, 2014, fills the same brave shoes, with Denzel breaking off from his spartan 'make do' life of reading Moby Dick and washing up his one knife and fork to going head to toe with anyone and everyone who hurts his chosen youth-worth-saving, in this case a Russian-mafia American call-girl who eats soup with him at his midnight diner night-owl style

I'm sure you can think of many more Hoodie Horrors and Rebellious Youth movies and maybe even novels across the decades. Let us know readers.

Right, I'm off to polish my dinky cars.

THE AVENGERS ON SUPER 8

The Videotape Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s supposedly brought movies in to the home for the first time. In fact you could already watch movies and your favourite television programmes at home - on film.

There were a number of companies releasing movies and TV shows in the smaller film gauges (sizes). Mostly 8mm or Super 8 for home use; and 16mm for commercial or industrial use. 

Kodak introduced 8mm (later called Standard 8 or Regular 8) in 1932. It had large sprocket holes down one side of the film. Super 8 appeared in 1965. The film was the same size as before, but the sprocket holes were smaller, so the pictures were larger and of better quality when projected on to a screen. 

Both were available in silent or sound versions, with the latter being more expensive. The equipment needed to run sound film was also more expensive.

Due to the limited running time of 8mm or Super 8 film, a full-length movie had to be put on several reels, which needed to be changed over during the programme. Annoying. Multi-reel films were also expensive.

Many films were therefore released in shortened Abridged, Condensed or Digest versions, on just one or two reels. Short subjects such as theatrical cartoons could be released full-length, but usually just one short subject per reel. After the arrival of television, a number of popular TV programmes also appeared on film. Usually there were only a handful of episodes available, rather than full seasons. Again, these were often shortened versions of full-length episodes.

Film was expensive. The equipment needed was also expensive, and technical. Film was therefore never as popular as videotape would become, which was simple and easy to use, as the tape player just plugged in to a normal TV set, which most people already had by the 1970s.

The running time of a videotape was also far longer than a reel of film, so a whole movie would usually fit on to a single cassette. No need to change tapes part way through a movie. Film libraries existed, where tapes could be rented, just as in a video store. There was also mail order rental.

Now to the actual subject of this article. I wanted to look up the video tape releases of The Avengers TV series, and turned to my copy of The Complete Avengers by Dave Rogers (1989, published by Boxtree in Britain, and St Martin's Press in the US). 

Nothing at all on videotapes, but under Miscellaneous there was a section on Super 8 film releases, mostly by the British company Derann Film Services Limited.

Derann, founded by husband and wife team Derek and Anne Simmonds, operated from 1965 (another source says 1964) to 2011, according to Wikipedia. It was based in Dudley, in the British Midlands. They sold and rented 8mm and Super 8 films, and later moved in to videotape, having a couple of their tapes on the Video Nasties list in the early 1980s.

The Complete Avengers states that Derann released four Emma Peel episodes on Super 8 Sound film in the mid-1970s: From Venus With Love, The Living Dead, The Positive-Negative Man, and Return of the Cybernauts. All were from Season 5, and were in colour.

They were released in both a slightly condensed version (running time 45 minutes) on three reels; or a much reduced Extract version on a single reel (15 minutes).

There was also a full-length version of the £50,000 Breakfast by Centaur Films, on six reels. This was also from Season 5.

There is not a lot of information on these films, and even sales listings are uncommon. Both The Return of the Cybernauts and the Positive-Negative Man had the same oddly-coloured and uninspiring cover, showing Steed and Mrs Peel, so I assume this was common to all four episodes. 

Only the title varied. The cover states 'Sold for private and domestic exhibition only'. Other films from Derann are listed on the back of the box - including several starring Elvis Presley.

Front and back of the Derann box.

THE AVENGERS (TV) rare vintage original Derann Super 8 boxed film, John Steed | eBay

From the Super 8 Database is this page from a Derann catalogue listing three of the episodes.

Super8database Pdf

That is all I have been able to dig up so far.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

FLIGHT OF THE CHROME SEED

 I watched Flight of the Navigator with my Grandson recently. A fun family film from the 80's in the vein of ET with the boy pilot bonding with his alien spaceship.

The spaceship itself is like a big chrome beech nut. Its an interesting shape, which can change too.

I love the first shape shown, its so organic-looking like a nut or a a seed. It reminded me a bit of the insect hive spacecraft buried in Quatermess and the Pit, a sort of ovoid seed too.

I imagine there are a few more seed-like spaceships in film, TV and literature. Last week I think someone also mentioned a similarity with old ice cream cases from ice cream vans. I wonder if they meant oysters?

Anyway, because I couldn't find any toys connected to Flight of the Navigator at all [which I thought odd] I tried to make a small and quick Navigator ship for Junior myself. 

I used tin foil rolled up into a ball and then shaped and smoothed with a spoon. I seem to recall doing this as a kid and after a lot of smoothing getting a fine flat finish in the foil. On You Tube there are videos of foil balls being given a perfect mirror-finish.

My tinkering sort of worked and Junior recognised me efforts when he said 'That's the ship from the film!"

Alas, I didn't photograph my tin foil craft but I'm sure you've had a bash at foiling yourself.

Here's a class rocket someone's done on the net. There's even a tin foil astronauts club.

Photographs of your tin foil spaceships welcomed!

And finally, as I was surfing for silver seeds and the like, this Alessi lemon squeezer popped up. Instant War of the Worlds tripod or what! Anyone ever used one in a sci-fi setting?

The Pig Questions

Just watchin the film Charlotte's Web about the barn spider and the piglet.

My Grandson's asked me if the Pig Wilbur is related to the pig in the movie Babe?

Anyone know?

THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS

With a nod to Halloween tomorrow, I recently watched the comedy horror film, The Fearless Vampire Killers from 1969.

I remember watching it as a kid sometime in the Seventies on TV I think. I don't think I've seen it available on the telly since. Is that right?

I always liked the look of it though, the snowscapes, the castle and above all the garish costumes of the dancing vampire assembly.

The acting was superb as well; Alfie Bass as the hilarious innkeeper and Count von Kronach, the boss vampire; the bumbling Professor; Polanski his assistant and the hypnotic Sharon Tate.

One thing that was missing from the film I saw this summer online was an animation I remember being at the start. A sort of swirling cartoon of vampires and the hunters. What's happened to that?

I know the film has a chequered history in terms of names and countries - its also called Dance of the Vampires - but where is the intro cartoon now?

Can anyone find it online?

Oh, and do you like the film?

MEN IN BLACK: KOLCHAK?

Reading further into my TV Horror book I was amazed to read something about Kolchak the old American TV series. It says that there was an organisation in it called Men in Black. is that right? Is that where the comic version and the later Will Smith film comes from? Do you know readers?

FILM NIGHT

Well, its Friday night and work is done for this week. I'm kicking back with a lager and blackcurrant and looking forward to a film night with Blue the Moonbase Mutt.

I've had a break from horror and sci-fi lately and seen a few thrillers, which were:

The Maus - an interesting take on the Balkans war of the Nineties. It uses a deep forest to ramp up the dread and malice that a post-war couple feel when faced with seemingly belligerent strangers. Ultimately, I didn't like it.

The Irishman - a Scorsese marathon of 3.5 hours. if you like Goodfella or the Godfather you should enjoy this mob epic. I'm curiously drawn to the brash world of American Italian gangsters battling it out in the clubs and yards of the States. Exceptional De Niro -Pesci- Pacino triple act, which I loved.

Casino - another mobster maelstrom at 2.5 hours, this time on the Las Vegas strip, as De Niro tries to become the legit King of the city, whilst his best buddy Pesci is busy punching and kicking everyone he meets. A sort of alternate universe sequel to Goodfellas set in the Seventies and Eighties. Again, I loved it.

The Vanished - a thriller starring The Punisher himself, Thomas Jane. It is a punishing movie too as it deals with the immediate aftermath after a child goes missing at a caravan park in America. A strange flick, which I sort of enjoyed.

Do you like any of these? What have you seen lately readers?

NOT SOLYENT

I've been thinking about a film where the rich eat the poor. I had thought it was Solyent Green but it isn't that. Everyone get's those biscuits.

Anyone know what I'm on about?

BEHIND THE SHINING

Stanley Kubrick is perhaps most famous for 2001 A Space Odyssey. 

But its his The Shining that is often cited as the best horror film of all time vying for the pole position with The Exorcist and Bride of Frankenstein.

You Tube holds a number of clips about more obscure aspects of The Shining and here are a couple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVlXbS0SNqk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o-n6vZvqjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esaGu1w1K1g

BRAY STUDIOS

I've been trying to work out if this shot of Peter Cushing - see link below - is in the same set as the sunken garden seen in the Hammer horror The Gorgon at Bray studios - can't find a picture of it though.

http://petercushingblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/on-back-lot-at-bray-studios-peter.html

Looking at Imdb's list of films filmed at Bray Studios it would seem to to be the case.

I do love films made at Bray. Their castle frontage set was just spectacular and my fave film from it has to be Dracula Prince of Darkness starring Christopher Lee and Captain Scarlet himself, Francis Matthews.

I think they used it in Rasputin The Mad Monk as well, in which Francis Matthews appeared too. Can you think of more films using this set?

Does it still exist?

SINUS CINEMA 2: THE SPLUTTERING

Still unwell folks. 10 days now. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon so I don't cough and splutter allover Santa and his reindeer. I may end up on the naughty list!

In the meantime I've been watching films in between attempting some daily human activity. There's no-one here at Moonbase at the mo besides me and the mutt so it's a bit like quarantine.

So the films I've seen since last time I blogged are:

Vampire Circus: a classic Hammer fangfest set in that bat-ridden valley where Hammer's based. Some years after the local toothsome Count is vanquished and his castle taken off the market, a circus comes to town. Yes, a roadshow of panthers, tigers and chimps repleat with a buxom ringmaster, a strongman and clown dwarf. And yes, bloodsuckers too.

The strongman is Dave Prowse no less. Alas, this is another role where he didn't get to speak. His physical presence is memorable though, as he lifts the locals and flips the dwarf. Said dwarf is the late great Skip Martin, a mesmeric actor who simply steals the show whenever he's on. Here he plays a demented funny man, who helps the vamps get near the necks of the Burgermeister's daughter and anyone else. No-one can portray being completely unhinged like Skip.

Horror Hospital: another Skip Martin role in this deranged tale about lobotomising the hip youth of the Seventies. Yep, there's flares, long hair and denim jackets. That go-to randy rocker, Robin Askwith, gets up to his frisky tricks as he attempts to visit a health farm dreaming of 'birds'. Alas, the farm is run by a lunatic surgeon, who dreams of his own army of Stepford birds. Skip provides the humour as he welcomes the guests, serves them dinner and generally goofs around. What a star!

IT Part 1: this is the modern first part of the new IT. You know, Stephen King's Pennywise and his red balloons. Its a good film, which at over 2 and a half hours is useful. Besides the hard work put in by the child actors, the standout performance is Bill Skarsgard as the malignant clown who likes stuff to float. His voice is hypnotic!

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell: another Dave Prowse flick, this time he's portraying the hellish monster of the title. Alas, there's no Dave to be seen as the make-up and costume covers him entirely, good training I suppose for his later Vader role. The star of the show is Peter Cushing, Hammer;s leading man and as usual he's messing about with ikky stuff and stitching things together. I remember this film being covered in one of my Monster Mag's in the early Seventies. It seemed shocking at the time, a jar of eyeballs but there's worse in daytime TV nowadays!

Thearte of Blood: a classic slice of Vincent Price pudding thick with grue. I've always liked this film and his later and similar Dr. Phibes flicks. In all of them Price's character has been humiliated and his career destroyed. In Thearte of Blood he plays a Shakespearean actor, who admires his hamming-up of the Bard far more than the critics. He takes his life but ... returns to enact every murder in Billy Shakespeare's works. It takes a while. Ian Hendry also stars, an actor I always enjoy seeing.

That's it for now. As its Friday night I shall go in search of a 'big' movie for me and the mutt to watch now.

SINUS CINEMA

Waiting for the penicillin to begin its magic me and the mutt Blue caught a few films last night.

The Silence: a Netflix movie about keeping quiet. There's another film just like it, A Quiet Place I think. Anyways, in the face of a global 'invasion' everyone has to keep stumm or else. At the centre of the thing is a tightly-knit American family, who face the catastrophe together. Now I must have seen too many horror films but the decimation of the family unit is a trope I'm not keen on. Besides which the lead actor Stan Tucci is simply far too cloyingly reasonable all of the time. I wanted him to make lots of noise and be removed from the script. I had to fast forward to the end about half way through. Shame on you Woodsy!

Cargo: another Netflix zombie movie. I usually avoid zombies like the plague as its a sub-genre that's simply died and come back to life too many times. I had thought Cargo was a sci-fi flick. Admittedly it started OK, in a sort of Dead Calm way on an Australian river, but alas, another Netflix family unit is under attack and its all very predictable. The director did at least throw in some native Aborigines but not even their outback mysticism could save rigor mortis setting in, in both me and the film. I fast forwarded to the end. I know, I know. By the way, Martin Freeman was the lead. He gets everywhere. Even Middle Earth.

The Ritual: once more I ventured into Netflix's horror selection and having read the word 'monster' I watched The Ritual. It started badly, it was British. I have a dislike of modern British horror. Its lost its way but, I persevered. The Ritual is a lot like the Descent but with blokes. After the tragic death of a group member, a circle of Uni mates is whisked away on a whirlwind of grief, blame and guilt as the remaining pals attempt to re-bond on a Swedish hiking holiday. Despite my best efforts to think badly of this film I found myself liking it. The 'lads' are irritatingly stereotyped, drowning in their own machismo, but the scenery they wander through is breathtaking. I greatly appreciated the effort the audio team put into the echoing sound effects of the 'monster' felling trees and being generally primeval. I watched it all, to the very end. If you liked Troll Hunter then maybe give The Ritual a gamble, although there are no trolls in it.

Schizo: this was the Horror Channel's late night offering and as Pete Walker directed it I thought I'd try it out. Pete Walker produced and directed sleazy twisted cinema in the Seventies and his 'Frightmare' is one of my all-time fave horrors. I hadn't seen Schizo before. You'll know the unhinged leading man, Jack Watson, when you see him. A stalwart of British films and TV. He was an interesting choice by Walker but I'm unsure if it worked. Schizo bored the hell out of me and I found myself constantly switching to Me, Myself and Irene on another channel. In the end I let Jim Carey's split persona win.

Me, Myself and Irene: I love this comedy. Never tire of seeing it as it always makes me laugh. Carey is brilliant as Charlie-Hank and Zelwegger the perfect foil. The soundtrack is wonderful too. I look forward to each of the the songs beginning. Yep, its a feelgood movie for me.

Have you seen any of these readers?

SPANISH UFO SUPER 8

I'm always keen to see Super 8 films on auction.

As a collector of video films I'm excited by this earlier film format. Alas I don't collect Super 8. which is largely due to lack of funds and space.

Despite this I do love to oggle at the gorgeous box art of cine film and Super 8.

This example of a Spanish UFO boxed film caught my eye, Identificacion Positiva, on Todocollecion. I was impressed with the listing's amazing images of the film cells on the spool.

I've re-shown a few of the cells in the listing here, albeit small, as readers may find them interesting.

Does anyone else have this episode of UFO on film at all?

SPEEDER BIKES WITH WITCHES

Me and the Missus recently caught Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters again on the telly.

An enjoyable romp into witchery bristling with steampunked weaponry and fairy-tale terrors. We liked it!

I couldn't help noticing this forest broom chase scene this time round.

It looked so familiar! The fast moves, the many trees, the quick dodges!

Yep, it's a witchified version of the Endor forest speeder bike scene in Star Wars Return of the Jedi!

OK, not the same but very speedy!

What do you think readers?

Any more fast forest chases like these?

NUADA VERSES MAUL: POLES APART?

Who would win in a battle between Prince Nuada [Hellboy] and Darth Maul [Star Wars]?

Both are masters of the long pole [what I knew as Bojutsu as a young martial arts-mad teenager], each using their skills to employ their chosen weapons: Nuada, a short sabre-like spear that extends into a long spear and Maul, a double light sabre, what else!

Here's Nuada, played by Luke Goss, training in the Golden Army:

and here's Darth Maul, played by Ray Park, in the Phantom Menace:

Oddly enough a mate and I once had lunch on the next table from Ray Park. He was a guest star at the NEC Memorabilia event back in the early noughties. I half expected him to pull out an extending double fork to eat his nosh or at least snap up a fly whizzing by with his sticky tongue [he's Toad in the X-Men].

As an aside I couldn't help noticing the similarity of Prince Nuada's face to that of the lady monster in The Unnameable!

I blame the pale face creme.

MINIATURE SOLDIER MINDWORM

I've got a mindworm and its driving me crazy.

Its about films and miniature model soldiers.

I know that in the original The Day of the Jackal the French detective Claud Lebel is making model soldiers at some point during the movie. 

Can I find a screengrab or a film clip of this? Forget it.

Similarly and even more irritating is another scene of miniature soldier making in another film with a very similar actor, this time with long hair. I had thought it the same actor as Lebel. It could be in a Jason Bourne film.

Anyone know anything about either of these?

Its driving me nuts!