Here is a nice documentary on one of the greatest actors of all time, Peter Lorre. He is unique,there will never be another like him. I guess his daughter had died by the time they made this doc. Lorre’s niece supplies the family point of view.
They restored Putney Swope and re-released it! It’s playing in several theaters in Los Angeles right now. I first saw it many years ago at a midnight show at the Park Theater in Caldwell, N.J. It blew my mind. Check it out if you can. I know and worked with the writer/Director Robert Downey Sr. He is a great guy, a prince. Funny and charismatic and an all around great human being. Meeting him made my career in films, I owe him a lot. So here is a trailer for Putney Swope, it was a big hit when it came out in 1969. Same time as Easy Rider.
Check out this great interview courtesy of Vanity Fair with Wu Tang Maestro RZA. He breaks it all down for you and he’s pretty funny too. PS A lot of these films are available on Amazon Prime!
I just happened to catch this flick on Channels, the cheap archive of Wierd Movies you can subscribe to on Apple TV for a couple of bucks. It was OK, an evil Queen, an Italian Hercules, a cene where Hercules is caught in these giant Jaws of Death for what seems like an eternity.
I left it on while I was brushing my teeth and putting on my socks. I’ve always had a soft spot for Hercules type movies, made in Rome in the 60’s, usually some crazy monster appears. Anyway I was sort of watching it when a sequence began, it took place in a huge cavern in the Mountain of Death, A Moon Man, looking like a futuristic Tin Woodsman crossed with an owl, was coducting a ceremony to bring the evil Queen back to life with the blodd of an innocent girl.
Suddenly there was an image of incomparable beauty, a throbbing purple orb slowly turning above their heards, then the moon appears in an opening in the roof of the cavern, it’s obscured by clouds but it comes closer through the mist. I immediately thought of Mario Bava, it had his fingerprints all over it. The film was made at Cinecitta, Bava’s hangout. I heard Bava would work on the Special Effects of other peoples films when he wasn’t busy on his own films, along with his father, a talented sculptor. Then I read that Tim Lucas, the Bava guru said he thought Bava worked on this film as well. So watch it for yourself and decide. The sequence I’m referring to is towards the end of the film.
Here’s a crazy Spaghetti Western available on Amazon Prime, Requiescant. It stars Lou Castel, who appeared in the SuperCool, Grazie Zia, which I wrote about herehttp://www.filmforno.com/?p=1147. This film also stars Mark Damon as the evil Southern rascist boss, some say the inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Django Unchained. The other bonus in this picture is Pier Paolo Pasolini as a Mexican revolutionary. Pretty Cool. Here’s the trailer which is not the greatest.
If you want to catch up on your Spaghetti Western watching look no further than Amazon Prime. I guess they acquired the FilmRise catalog and have a whole slew of Italian Westerns from the 60’s. I’ve watched A Pistol For Ringo, The Return Of Ringo, Cemetary Without Crosses, Django Kill, and last night a crazy one with Lou Castel called Requiescant. But there are a ton on there. You can watch The Great Silence, The Grand Duel, Navajo Joe and many others. So saddle up companeros and tune into Westerns on Prime.
I just watched Werner Herzog’s magnificent film Stroszek. Starring the incomparable Bruno S. I had never seen it before and it really impressed me. All the acting is terrific especially Bruno as the title character. The film is filled with an undeniable poetry, the ending is a visionary critique of Capitalism and the American way of life, something that was not scripted but found by chance as Herzog filmed on location. A miracle of Synchronicity. You should watch it and be amazed. 10 thumbs up!
Here’s the trailer.
Jack Nitzsche told me he was there when the Rolling Stones asked for their idol Howlin’ Wolf to be a guest on Shindig when they appeared on the show. He said he was talking to Wolf when he noticed an older Black man sitting nearby, Wolf said” I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Son House.” So here thanks to the miracle of YouTube is that show from way back in 1965,
Here is a scene from the great Ermanno Olmi’s film The Legend of The Holy Drinker. I haven’t seen the film but I will watch it as soon as I can. I love Olmi’s films, he was such a cinematic genius. And here’s to Rutger Hauer who just died, another great talent gone on to the next level.
P.S. This film won the Golden Lion at The 1988 Venice Film Festival.
P.P.S. it’s available to watch FREE on Amazon Prime so check it out!
Here she is on the Mike Douglas show talking about Wanda and how she met John and Yoko at Cannes. Pretty Cool. They even show a scene from Wanda, notice how dirty it is, she probably only had one print. Pretty cool.
Here is the great Barbara Loden, writer,star, and director of the wonderful film Wanda, playing the scantily clad sidekick to Ernie Kovacs magician. Loden said Ernie Kovacs took pity on her and hired her over the objections of a producer. Enjoy the shtick.
My friend Eric put together this short film about the Spaghetti Western career of Richard Harrison, a veteran of over 100 Italian Horse operas, check it out.