Inglorious Bastards screens at The New Beverly

Written by Joe D on July 31st, 2008

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Yo Everyone! I went to the screening of Inglorious Bastards at The New Beverly and it was great! it was also packed! A great turnout for this cool film. The film was action packed, a story full of enough twists and turns for three movies! But the real surprise was how funny the film is! Fred Williamson has a ton of great lines, great reactions. There are many cool bits including stopping a V2 rocket from exploding by shoving a pencil into a worm gear, such a great Italian solution! Bo Svenson is great too, as the playboy fighter pilot. Fred Williamson jumps from a bridge onto a moving train. It’s really him doing the stunt , and he talked about it during the Q & A. He said he couldn’t see the train as it went by because of the smoke from the locomotive. But he heard Enzo’s voice yell “jump!” and he did. He landed on his butt because he couldn’t see otherwise he would have ” jumped cool”. Fred, Enzo and Bo spoke at length about the film, and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Enzo, he couldn’t believe it and he was extremely happy. Kudos to Severin Films for striking a new print of this cool movie. Check it out if you can! It’s showing again tomorrow night at the New Beverly.
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3 Amigos

Enzo G. Castellari

Written by Joe D on July 30th, 2008

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Enzo G. and Q.T.
I attended Enzo G. Castellari’s 70th birthday party at the Italian Cultural Institute last night and it was a blast! I got to talk for quite a while with Enzo, a true maestro and a real gentleman. This was kind of amazing since it was a party in his honor and everyone was there to see him. We were interrupted several times by actors from his films, including Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson who appear in the original Inglorius Bastards akaQuel maledetto treno blindato. Lou Ferrigno ( the Incredible Hulk) , Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, Pia Zadora and John Saxon were there as well. I tried to complement John Saxon on his work in Mario Bava’s La Ragazza Che Sappeva Troppio, or The Girl Who Knew Too Much, or The Evil Eye, but he didn’t want to hear it. I guess he was in a hurry to get back to The Planet Of Blood . But Enzo really got excited when I asked him about his working as an editor. His father, Marino Girolami, directed over 100 films and Enzo told me that he grew up in the editing room. That’s how he got to spend time with his father, by hanging around the editing room. Also he’d go to the cutting room every night after shooting and tell the editor how to cut the scene he’d shot the day before. He loves editing and tells his students at the Arte Institute, ” If you want to be a director you must first learn editing!” Any way it was a great evening, honoring this giant of Italian Film, It made everyone there happy, seeing how happy Enzo was at being honored for his birthday and for the DVD release of his great Inglorius Bastards! Go out and buy it! From Severin Films!
Here’s the trailer!

Italian Crime Double Bill at The Egyptian!

Written by Joe D on July 21st, 2008

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Come one, come all to the Egyptian Theater this Thursday July 24th at 7:30 pm. It’s the Grand Finale of their Italian Grindhouse Festival. First up Sergio Sollima’ Citta Violenta ( USA Violent City). starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland and Kojack himself, Telly Savalas! A great score by Maestro Morricone and incredible stunt driving in tiny Fiats by the master of all Euro stunt drivers, Rémy Julienne, also editing by the great Nino Baragli! Then they’re showing, Fernando DiLeo’s masterpiece Milano Calibro 9. Great Score by Luis Bacalov and the rock band Osanna! Check them out , I’ll try to make it if I can. Here’s the trailer for Citta Violenta!

P.S. Here’s the wonderful Barbara Bouchet dance scene from Blood and Diamonds but she does a very similar dance in Milano Calibro 9!

Webster University Sam Fuller Film Fest

Written by Joe D on July 13th, 2008

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Fuller The Younger

Thanks to my good pal Film Walrus for telling me about the upcoming film series at Webster University in St. Louis. They’re showing a bunch of Sam Fuller films this summer in their” Summer Of Sam” film series. Here’s a link to the schedule: Webster University Film Schedule Check it out Fuller Fans!

Jess Franco!!!

Written by Joe D on July 1st, 2008

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I’m working on a piece about Jess Franco but I’m also working on an editing gig so I don’t have much time, there is a major Franco retrospective going on right now at the Cinematheque Francaise, if you’re going to be in Paris soon, check it out! Stay tuned in for more! In the meantime here’s a promo for a cool documentary on the ultra-prolific Spainiard, Man of La Cinema, Jesus Franco!