While the rest of the USA typically greets Autumn in September, here in the desert October is commonly when we see our first break from blistering summertime heat and the onset of Fall. We welcome the shift to more stylish wardrobes, days with the windows open again, and most of all for me, Halloween! I recently had my first chance to earmark an evening of watching horror and Halloween inspired movies, and Mad Monster Party? (1967) was one of our choices.
As it was for me, if it's your first time seeing this, visually you'll find it instantly recognizable as another Rankin/Bass Animagic feature; yes, the same folks who brought you claymation Christmas classics such as Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. Again as I was, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised at how little this resembles those classics otherwise!
I believe there are a few reasons for this, and first is the writing. Penned by Mad Magazine creator Harvey Kurtzman, the story has quite a few elements and dialogue consistent with a slightly more risqué, adult tone that is nonetheless still suitable for child audiences. While sitting through the more saccharine movies of this type during the holidays often seems more a duty, this was decidedly less droll and much more fun with this element included!
The voice acting in this feature was an absolute delight, topped off by the inimitable horror monster master himself, Boris Karloff. This being one of his last handful of film efforts, it seems he and everyone involved tried their best to shine as well as have a good time with it. Allen Swift handles the greatest portion of the characters, but is particularly noteworthy as the spot on Peter Lorre inspired character, Yetch. The busty, Ginger Grant (of Gilligan's Island) derived Francesca is voiced by Gale Garnett, and we get the extra treat of Phyllis Diller as The Monster's Mate for plenty of campy comic punch lines! I found it strange that was her character's billing, because it's more a Bride of Frankenstein a la Madeline Kahn character. Perhaps it was a copyright issue, similar to their naming the obviously King Kong inspired ape character, "It".
If you saw this feature in it's previously released low quality cuts, I think you'll find the visual quality of the DVD release is stunningly good! In a perfect Hollywood story, a newly unearthed, pristine 35mm print was found for the digital remastering. The claymation seems particularly well done, with much more detail than we typically see from these features and surprising lighting effects throughout. In counterpoint to this, I was also a bit surprised by the many times you can see the strings and wires in the claymation; I wonder if it wasn't because the filmmakers were counting on the lower quality presentation of celluloid to hide this. They certainly couldn't have foreseen that the digital remastering processes of today might reproduce their efforts in such crystal clear quality. At any rate, I didn't find this distracting and I think it actually adds a bit of charm to it all!
I almost neglected to mention the musical score. Though not hugely remarkable throughout here, as in all Rankin/Bass holiday productions; it adds ably to the fun. Particularly enjoyable was the love song "Never Was A Love Like Ours", as performed by the Francesca character.
Finally, I think a good portion of the fun in this movie comes from the subject itself. Most of our Christmas stories are fairly one dimensional as well as religion based; I imagine this makes them difficult and risky to draw any inspiration or humor from. Horror monster movies on the other hand, are fertile ground for humor and camp; even Karloff The Uncanny was known to readily participate in parodies of his signature characters.
While this was the first time I've seen this movie, I won't be surprised to hear many say they've seen it just as often as they've seen the other Rankin/Bass features. It comes from growing up, more or less, out here in the desolate West, I suppose! Even so, if you haven't seen the DVD remaster, you're in for a treat and I think you'll find this is a fun way to kick off your October Samhain festivities!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - 2009
One of these days I'm gonna have to watch and review something I don't already know I'm going to love. This film wasn't it!
I've been looking forward to this movie hitting DVD since I saw the release trailers. I'm a Python fan, and by extension all of Terry Gilliam's movies. Gilliam himself stated this movie was something of a compendium for him of his own work, so if you are looking for a departure from his brand of imagery and fantasy, this isn't it either. In fact, I can see it being said that it's a bit redundant in that respect and on a basic level it is. Python fans will nonetheless rejoice.
I've heard it said that Gilliam's past movies have been about phases of life; 'Time Bandits' was childhood, 'Brazil' was adulthood, and 'Adventures of Baron Munchausen' was old age. This would indeed be Gillium in compendium. You'll also find plenty of standard Python imagery, much of it wonderfully wrought in CG; from British bobbies in drag to surreal balloon heads floating through CG scenery.
Getting past this, there are a number of things that make this movie special. This is the first film since 'Munchausen (1988)'where Gillium storyboarded the entire movie himself, explaining his ownership of the movie's visual style. It's also from an original story he co-wrote, with no basis on existing screenplay or text.
Arguably the most unique feature of this movie is that it was Heath Ledger's last picture. The production and everyone involved with it were affected by his loss. This influenced the film in many ways, including an alteration to the story line to allow 3 different actors to complete his part; this actually becomes a plot device in the film. It was heartwarming to learn that the three actors donated all their pay for this movie to insure the financial future of Ledger's daughter.
This substitution was an artful idea; unfortunately it's execution exposes the biggest flaw in the film. Perhaps it's the number of these elements that clouds the idea, but several of the plot devices receive no explanation or follow through at all. Indeed at times the actors themselves appear as befuddled by some of them as the viewer will likely be. This lends a rambling incoherence to the story that doesn't really get linked in any way to anything. Ultimately the film is about the power of imagination; so it could be said that this incoherence is an inherent quality of imagination. It's just a bit overdone.
Still, nearly everything about the film is a delight. It's wonderfully cast, and I felt one of the most engaging parts was played by Tom Waits. As Ole' Scratch, he is a classic master of trickery but with his own gambling vice. This eventually is the undoing of his scheme with Parnassus, but it's hard to tell if this wasn't part of his grander scheme, I'll leave it to you to decide what that might be.
Surprisingly, I didn't find that Heath Ledger had the most interesting character. We'll all be left to wonder whether that might be different if he had been able to complete the role.
One of these days I'm gonna have to watch and review something I don't already know I'm going to love. This film wasn't it!
I've been looking forward to this movie hitting DVD since I saw the release trailers. I'm a Python fan, and by extension all of Terry Gilliam's movies. Gilliam himself stated this movie was something of a compendium for him of his own work, so if you are looking for a departure from his brand of imagery and fantasy, this isn't it either. In fact, I can see it being said that it's a bit redundant in that respect and on a basic level it is. Python fans will nonetheless rejoice.
I've heard it said that Gilliam's past movies have been about phases of life; 'Time Bandits' was childhood, 'Brazil' was adulthood, and 'Adventures of Baron Munchausen' was old age. This would indeed be Gillium in compendium. You'll also find plenty of standard Python imagery, much of it wonderfully wrought in CG; from British bobbies in drag to surreal balloon heads floating through CG scenery.
Getting past this, there are a number of things that make this movie special. This is the first film since 'Munchausen (1988)'where Gillium storyboarded the entire movie himself, explaining his ownership of the movie's visual style. It's also from an original story he co-wrote, with no basis on existing screenplay or text.
Arguably the most unique feature of this movie is that it was Heath Ledger's last picture. The production and everyone involved with it were affected by his loss. This influenced the film in many ways, including an alteration to the story line to allow 3 different actors to complete his part; this actually becomes a plot device in the film. It was heartwarming to learn that the three actors donated all their pay for this movie to insure the financial future of Ledger's daughter.
This substitution was an artful idea; unfortunately it's execution exposes the biggest flaw in the film. Perhaps it's the number of these elements that clouds the idea, but several of the plot devices receive no explanation or follow through at all. Indeed at times the actors themselves appear as befuddled by some of them as the viewer will likely be. This lends a rambling incoherence to the story that doesn't really get linked in any way to anything. Ultimately the film is about the power of imagination; so it could be said that this incoherence is an inherent quality of imagination. It's just a bit overdone.
Still, nearly everything about the film is a delight. It's wonderfully cast, and I felt one of the most engaging parts was played by Tom Waits. As Ole' Scratch, he is a classic master of trickery but with his own gambling vice. This eventually is the undoing of his scheme with Parnassus, but it's hard to tell if this wasn't part of his grander scheme, I'll leave it to you to decide what that might be.
Surprisingly, I didn't find that Heath Ledger had the most interesting character. We'll all be left to wonder whether that might be different if he had been able to complete the role.
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