The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[wakka]

That’s about it I think (the first part you mentioned having the accompaniment of another great musical section with the song Gently Johnny performed below in the bar). Yeah, the extra scenes are from such poor stock they stand out a mile. At least it’s better than the directors cut which has a lot, and dull stuff from the mainland too. I think the biggest benefit of the final cut is the correct order of events making more sense but to me it was hardly a revelation and I can enjoy both.

In the end it’s the same as Apocalypse Now for me. The Final Cut is somewhere between theatrical and redux but I think I still prefer the theatrical overall.

Such and amazing film. There’s a great ep of the Evolution of Horror podcast on it I enjoyed listening to after watching it last.

Interesting, and thanks. I don't mind the poor stock as that is what it is (as long as we're seeing the best available version of things on Blus, I'm happy).

The additional footage is intriguing, though, for sure, and very interesting to see.

But overall I agree with you. The tighter theatrical version is probably best.

I will give that a listen, cheers!

[QualityChimp]

Stuff like The Wicker Man or Don't Look Now are so much more effective than jump scares to me.
Still think about them decades after first seeing them.

However, I always doubt myself on the spelling...

->Open Spoiler<-

Thought about our Director Cut chat this weekend when I heard that the new Batman film is about 3 hours.
I really don't mind longer cuts, but I also appreciate the braveness of a director able to chop certain segments out of their films to maintain pace/focus etc.

Massive sequence in The Raid 2 was cut, which is a shame, but totally agree that it detracts from the narrative of the core characters.

Always enjoy our post-weekend movie catchups, gang!

[Atticus]

Stuff like The Wicker Man or Don't Look Now are so much more effective than jump scares to me.
Still think about them decades after first seeing them.

Apparently The Wicker Man was the b-movie to Don’t Look Now when they both first released.

@ the Alan Whicker Man

[wakka]

WTF

Imagine going to the cinema to see Don't Look Now and getting The Wicker Man as your primer.

Christ. Imagine how good that would be!! Imagine it!!

*grabs Atticus by his lapels and shakes him*

[Atticus]

[wakka]

Awesome

[QualityChimp]

Blimey, how depressed would you be, walking out of the cinema seeing that double-bill?!

Last night I watched Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996 via DVD), which I picked up from CEX for a quid!
I mean, it's Bond-lite, filtered through the JC lens.
A routine mission to trail a suspect goes awry when she gets abducted and JC gives chase.
"Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui has come a long way from stopping a bus of criminals with just an umbrella in Police Story, as JCFS sees him in snowmobile races, clinging onto helicopters, avoiding missiles, falling into frozen lakes, fighting on stilts, climbing buildings and swimming with sharks!

Plot is bobbins, but there are some breath-taking sequences in this.
It's not just dropping from a helicopter before it explodes, but all the little things he does - scales a building, slides down a wall by walking down a post, flips through open windows or rolls through a rotating vanity mirror on a table.

Some great fights too, especially the sequence where he uses a ladder to fight off guys with bo staffs.
He makes it look so effortless, but when you see the outtakes, it regularly goes wrong, like the ladders collapsing on him or him getting whacked in the face with a mistimed pole strike.

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[Atticus]

The outtakes at the end of Jackie Chan films are such a great idea. While you’re buzzing from the finale you get another hit of amazingness. Legend.

[QualityChimp]

The outtakes at the end of Jackie Chan films are such a great idea. While you’re buzzing from the finale you get another hit of amazingness. Legend.

I've had "Lorelei" rattling around in my head since watching the end credits of Armour of God last week.

[wakka]

I've got Armour of God on my rental list! Although I might just buy it...

I did buy Armour of God 2 when that released on 88 Films a while back and no regrets there, that film rocks. Perfect Saturday morning watch after walking the dog.

First Strike sounds like a good un. I really need to see that and the third Police Story!

[Anpanman]

North by Northwest
Classic Hitchcock with Cary Grant in the lead, ably supported by James Mason, Eva Marie Saint and a young Martin Landau.
Grant is immaculately turned out and sports a suit that has been hailed as the best suit ever in a film.
Compared to modern scripts character depth may seem lacking but you have to remember this is Hollywood of the fifties.
Photography is bang on, some of the stills could be hung in an art gallery.
Overall very enjoyable and to me worth the hype.

On Her Majesties Secret Service
It seems in vogue for critics to love this film now which got a bit of a panning 40/50 years ago. Although not seen it that many times compared to the other Bond's I've always liked it, and Lazenby for me turns in a good performance with some nice touches for example him playing a spy playing a university boffin is very cleverly done.

You also get to see a little bit of the real Bond in his daily life rather than just the version of him out doing his day job.

Last Action Hero
The knives were out for Arnie by the Hollywood critics when this came out, probably tired of yet another film by the 'muscly bloke with the European accent' and in my opinion panned it unfairly as it's a very good outing with Arnie sending himself up with his mates like Stallone and loads of cameos - T1000, Tina Turner and Sharon Stone.

Dial M for Murder
Ray Milland does a good turn here alongside the stunningly beautiful Grace Kelly, filmed six years or so before the likes of North by Northwest Dial M doesn't have the expansive outdoor shots or photography of the later films, relying on studio shots for everything.
The suspense is handled well right up to the end though and a worthwhile watch.
I don't know if there are different copies of the film in existence but the one I saw did have some very poor editing at the start.

The China Syndrome
Jane Fonda is terrific as the TV presenter wanting to further her career, those little nuances, gestures and mannerisms that all the great actors can do are on display here.
Jack Lemmon also puts in a good performance as the Shift Manager at the nuclear plant which almost goes into meltdown.
One thing I do like about films from this time (70's) is being able to re-visit the fashion, hairstyles, vehicles and so on of the the time and the film does a good job of social commentary even though it is not really trying to do.
The thriller aspect is gripping and well told and whilst the ending may not be to everyone's taste anything else would mean a film lasting about ten times as long, looking back on it now after we have had events like Chernobyl and Fukushima it's easy to dismiss as a tad simplistic but to audiences at the time this was quite a chiller.

Terror
When the credits have such gems as 'Les & Vicki at the Nag's Head' and 'Range Rover supplied by H.R Owen' you know you are watching a real low-budget film.
Now that said, this is an interesting British horror from the late seventies with Glynis Barber in the credits. Some nice acting in there and really decent effects - certainly as good as anything Hammer looked to be doing, the possessed car scene at the end had no visible cables or cranes/lifting gear visible.
Also the scenes showing behind the scenes of a low budget soft porn film were well done too.
Story and setup were good as well, which involves a witch cursing a family bloodline and those members meeting gory deaths, which is fine but why do lots of other people who are completely unrelated get killed off too? This wasn't made clear and it seemed the director wanted as many deaths as could be crammed in as possible.

Overall though I enjoyed it and well worth a viewing if you like 70's horror and something a little different from Hammer.

[Atticus]

Some class films there [MENTION=6966]Anpanman[/MENTION] … love those two Hitchcocks and OHMSS is one of my fave Bond films too.

[Anpanman]

Cheers, that was a quick reply by the way!

[wakka]

China Syndrome is a great shout too. I really liked that.

[fallenangle]

I saw OHMSS when it first came out and each viewing since has reduced any positive feelings about the film to the minimum.

Lazenby was simply mediocre, at best, and mostly wooden as a door post. His casting almost ruined what was otherwise a decent enough entry in the series.

Positives were Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas as the bad guy and the very effective end scene. The latter is at least a halfway good performance by Lazenby but apparently even that had to dragged out of him by endless rehearsals.