Category: 1978

Midnight Express (1978)

Walk into the incredible true experience of Billy Hayes, and bring all the courage you can!

Rating 18
Length 1h37
Release 10.08.1978
Director Alan Parker
About Billy, an American caught smuggling drugs, is prosecuted and jailed in Turkey for four years. When his sentence is increased to 30 years, Billy, along with other inmates, makes a plan to escape.
Trigger warnings: attempted rape, animal death, drug abuse.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: ITVX
Trailer:

The Good

Never in a million years did I think I would be saying this, but Randy Quaid! Dude knocked it out the park. Perhaps I’d written him off as a comedy goofball, but, but his performance is really refreshing.

It really does give food for thought. Yes, the conditions and treatment may have been exaggerated, however we do know that arrests and capital punish happen around the world for what we would consider misdemeanours. By presenting a ‘based on’ reflective film, it keeps that dialogue and conversation at the forefront of all politics. The aim is not to allow people to go free, but ensure that the punishment is humane and gives an opportunity for rehabilitation.

John Hurt gives a performance one would expect of him and from all accounts, he really went to great lengths for an authentic performance.

The Bad

It’s hard to place this here, given that the film won an Oscar for it, but I have an issue with the music. It’s a well crafted score, however it doesn’t fit this film. The synth heavy music would be at home in any SciFi of the time but as it stands, it clashes with the visuals.

I found Billy to be a rather unsympathetic character. No one deserves the treatment he gets in the prison; that is what human rights are for. However, in terms of him being a criminal, there’s no defending him. He’s clearly from an upper economic social background, so his reasoning of ‘I needed the money’ is galling.
Then consider the opening and closing scenes. He’s really shit at not being sus! He might as well have had ‘I’m smuggling drugs’ tattoo’d on his forehead. Then, when he thinks he’s in the clear, Billy grabs his girlfriend’s boob; something that is also punishable in Turkey. Entering into the final act, Billy firstly begs his girlfriend to undress and I found that most disturbing of all. That after being caught in the system, he would put her at risk to masturbate. Horrific.
Finally, what disappointed me most of all is that upon escape and facing an oncoming vehicle, Billy’s body curls in. The body language screams ‘I’m an escapee’ and I don’t understand how he’s not caught. While I’m sure freedom is the overall story arc, for Billy it should have been that ability of being able to carry himself in a way that enables/ earns his freedom. It really is a shame.

This film had Mark Hamill wanting to audition. In the words of Julia Roberts, the studio denying that opportunity? ‘big mistake, huge.’ I guess all Hamill was really known for at the time was Star Wars, but playing Billy, or even Jimmy would have allowed Hollywood to see the versatility that we know Hamill is capable of decades earlier.

The Ugly

The violence is brutal, unrelenting and inhumane. It comes from all directions; inmates and guards. It’s a struggle to watch and the scenes will churn even the strongest of stomachs.
Then there is also the animal abuse and the attempted/ implied rape that add to the brutality of this film. While it’s stated by many after its release that this representation was exaggerated, you cannot deny that this sort of punishment does exist in the world.

By extension, the representation of Turkey in this film is problematic. The real like Billy, the director of the movie and screenwriter, and up and coming Oliver Stone, have all since apologised. With so many apologise, it’s a wonder how much better this film would have been if only they paused to consider the optics.

Final Thoughts

Incredibly well made, but I will never watch it again.

Superman (1978) Review

Rating PG
Length 3h8
Release 26.4.2012
Director Richard Donner
About Scientist Jor-El rockets his infant son, Kal-El, to safety on Earth. Kal is raised as Clark Kent and develops unusual abilities and powers to become Superman who fights for truth and justice.
Moon: Full moon as Superman shows Lois ‘a whole new world’
Where to Watch: Own copy
Trailer:

The Good

  • Christopher Reeves makes for an amazing Clark Kent and Superman. Its not often someone can get the duel roles rights. It’s more than the glasses too. It’s posture, tone of voice and even facial expressions. You can understand with Reeves why no one would ever suspect Kent as Superman.

The Bad

  • It is a long and clunky film. It’s an hour before we get to meet Christopher Reeves as adult Clark Kent and even with that, I got the feeling there was more to be told about the teenage life of the man from Krypton. The film on a whole, feels bloated with characters and half stories.
  • Having seen this and the sequel from early childhood and these half-stories made it very easy to get muddled up as to which plot was coming up. Largely to do with the presence of the three Kryptonians that are banished to the Phantom Zone, who don’t reappear until the next movie. I also think I missed Lex Luther’s entrance because of the clunky narrative and my waining attention.

The Ugly

  • Marlon Brando. What on earth was all the fuss about this well known name? Am I missing something about his performances? I’ve seen Apocalypse Now and a few other films and I don’t see ‘greatness’.
    For Superman, Brando comes across as not being there. There’s no emotion in his performance. Given that he was one of the names that was selling the film, it really is a shame.
  • Did we really need Superman to use his powers to check the colour of Lois Lane’s knickers?! For that matter, is Lois Lane really that dumb a reporter to inform the whole world about Superman’s inability to see through lead?!

Final Thoughts

Nowhere near as enjoyable as I remembered it and too flawed for its status as a classic. However, it has a good framework for TV storytelling.

The Cat from Outer Space (1979)

Rating U
Length 1h44
Release 17.2.1979
Director Norman Tokar
About A UFO captained by a cat-like extraterrestrial (Ronnie Schell) is intercepted by the U.S. Military. The spacecraft’s feline pilot, who goes by the human name Jake, reveals to his captors that he must locate a substance called “Org 12” to restore his battered spacecraft and reunite with his mothership. With help from scientist Frank Wilson (Ken Berry), Jake figures out the Earth equivalent of Org 12 — gold — and then activates his collar’s technological capabilities to help retrieve it.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Disney+
Trailer:

The Good

  • It really is a charming film with a gimmick that, while a risk, works. The cat(s) are beautiful and the film deals with the communication well, so there’s no special effects to make it look like the mouth is moving- a pet hate of mine.
  • Many of the cast seemed familiar to me. They have that old Hollywood vibe that Disney and other studios had in films of the 60s and 70s.
  • The plot is fairly simplistic; following a cause and effect approach to storytelling. While some might think it’s a little lacking in the story department; this is a Disney film aimed at the whole family.

The Bad

  • Some of the action sequences haven’t aged very well and perhaps seem a little low-key compared to action of today. While your older viewers are perhaps going to label this ‘boring’, most will see it in the context of film history.

The Ugly

  • The acting voices used are of their time. They do add a certain charm to the film, but they also grate after a while. There’s an odd nasal enunciation that appears to be the American equivalent of the British RP of the BBC.

Final Thoughts

Perfect easy watch for a Sunday afternoon. Not going to be for all children, but don’t blame me if you and your little ones want to adopt a fur ball after the credits roll.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Rating X

Length 2Hr 7

Release 9.3.1980

About As hordes of zombies swarm over the U.S., the terrified populace tries everything in their power to escape the attack of the undead, but neither cities nor the countryside prove safe. In Pennsylvania, radio-station employee Stephen (David Emge) and his girlfriend, Francine (Gaylen Ross), escape in the station helicopter, accompanied by two renegade SWAT members, Roger and Pete. The group retreats to the haven of an enclosed shopping center to make what could be humanity’s last stand.

Treat

  • As an audience, you’re thrown in the deep end. Chaos has already taken hold and you have to run to keep up.
  • There was a zombie POV shot in the Peter/Roger opening scene that was really well done and I was very surprised to see that this film has more balls than Walking Dead by having, and killing, children zombies.
  • There’s plenty of shots that have clearly inspired others, namely the Mall based sections of S3 of Stranger Things.
  • Rogar’s fate was played out in a rather unexpected way that I found interesting. If he hadn’t been just a toolbag, I might have actually cared.

Trick

  • Despite its relatively high powered opening, I ultimately found the film boring and lifeless. Pun aside, I felt no sympathy or attachment to any of the four main characters.
  • Is it wrong that I was waiting for the baby to claw it’s way, all zombie-like, from the woman’s womb?
  • While the four characters provide a certain dynamic that works to a certain extent, I fell as if more human characters are needed for the length of time the film runs for. Perhaps it’s the quality of the acting, or the expectation of a human body count but for me it really stalled the plot.
  • Some of the zombie scenes are rather too comical. From having the humans punch them in the face to falling all over the place, it’s hard to take seriously.

Final Thoughts

Of my creatures featured in movies, zombies are my least favourite. It comes as no surprise that I’m indifferent to this movie. Yes, it’s well(ish) made for an independent effort from the 70s, but it’s not the amazing fanfare to cinema I’ve been made to believe.


Halloween (1978)

Rating: 18

Length: 1Hr 31

Release: 25.1.1979

About: On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith’s Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.

The Good

  • The filming is atmospheric: from the voyeuristic Michael Myers’ POV shots to the ones that track Michael, have him placed in shot without showing him fully.
  • The music adds to this with that creepy and chilling score.
  • I love that there’s no running really. It’s all sneak attack, up close and often without them expecting it. Largely that seems to do with the fact that it’s all set around the one day.
  • Donald Pleasance having his own storyline away from the survivor is a refreshing change. Having no one believe him is terrifying.

The Bad

  • Laurie is a little bit dumb. Not once, but twice she discards the knife right next to Michael Myers’ body. Okay, first time I’ll let you off. But you know the bastard is good at playing dead, why the fuck would you hand back the knife?!?!

The Ugly

  • What sort of basketball player worthy cameraman did they use for that opening sequence in which Michael, a six year old Michael at that, is given a camera POV shot? Way too tall and it really pulled me out of the scene.