Blu-ray Review: Billy Jack: The Complete Collection

Billy Jack: The Complete Collection is a four-disc set containing all four Billy Jack films, including The Born Losers, Billy Jack, The Trial Of Billy Jack and Billy Jack Goes To Washington, as well as bonus material on each disc.

Disc 1: The Born Losers

The Born Losers introduces the character of Billy Jack (played by Tom Laughlin, who also directs the series), the first shot showing him bathing, almost triumphantly, at the bottom of a waterfall. A bit of voice-over narration describes him as a trained killer who has Indian blood. And, as further introduction to his character, we see him among other animals of the natural terrain, giving us an idea of his preferred element. That then is in contrast to the shots in the city, where a guy gets into an altercation with a biker gang. No one will come to the guy’s aid. No one, that is, except Billy Jack, who is promptly arrested for his troubles. What I love about this is that it causes Billy Jack to be a reluctant hero. He’s not eager to get involved any further with this gang, but eventually feels he has no choice, after the gang takes an unwanted interest in Vicky Barrington (Elizabeth James), and it is left to Billy Jack to keep her safe until she can testify against the bikers.

The film contains some surprising shots, like Vicky coming across a dead seal on the beach, which helps keep this from being your typical biker movie. Another surprising shot is that of one biker asking for (and receiving) a kiss from another biker (remember, this movie came out in 1967). There is a fantastic shot of Vicky on her bike at a dead end street. The camera is behind her, and we see her left leg, clad in a white boot, in the foreground. And the entire biker gang suddenly appears riding toward her (and toward us). It’s such an interesting shot because it’s sexy, like she’s in control, but then as the bikers begin to fill the screen, even as she maintains the pose, we begin to feel that it is false bravado on her part.

This film has a much more serious tone than a lot of biker films have. The scene where Vicky is brought to the bikers’ pad and told about her initiation is intense. And the scene between Vicky and the nurse is excellent. What’s also surprising about this film is that most characters are complex. It is not simply a case of a hero and some villains. The film puts in the effort to show us another side of Danny (Jeremy Slate), the leader of the gang. Early on, we see him rescuing his little brother from their abusive father, and at other times in the movie we see his love for his brother. We also get a shot of him acting lovingly toward his young daughter. So he is put into a more normal, familiar context, which actually works to make his bad deeds all the more terrible.

Disc 1 Special Features

The first disc contains two commentary tracks. The first is with Tom Laughlin and executive producer Delores Taylor. Tom and Delores co-wrote the script, and Tom directed it under a fake name. On this commentary track, they talk about how they got the idea after seeing a news story about the Hell’s Angels raping a girl and then threatening her to keep her from testifying. Some of the bikers used in the film were actual members of a biker gang. They also talk about getting Jane Russell to do the film, and they tell a great anecdote about Haskell Wexler helping them get the shots in the airport. By the way, the seal was something they simply found on the beach. The second commentary track is with Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Frank Laughlin (Frank is the son of Tom and Delores, and also appears in the movie).

The first disc also has the film’s trailer, three radio spots, and a photo gallery that includes various film posters and lobby cards.

Disc 2: Billy Jack

I have a CD titled Protest Rock, which contains some great tunes from the 1960s and 1970s, including “One Tin Soldier (The Legend Of Billy Jack).” That song, which is by Coven, plays during the film’s opening credits, but – as is pointed out in one of the commentary tracks – was not written for this film. In fact, the song’s title is simply “One Tin Soldier,” and now I’m curious where the “(The Legend Of Billy Jack)” part of the title on that compilation came from. Anyway, this film tells quite a different story from the first one. At the beginning of the film, a deputy and some other scoundrels round up wild horses on Indian-held land, planning on slaughtering them for meat, until Billy Jack shows up to stop them. They tell him, “You’re making a mistake.” He replies, “I’ve made them before.” As with the first film, this one contains a bit of narration at the beginning, telling us that Billy Jack was a war hero who hated the war, and decided to turn his back on society and live on the reservation, protecting the Indians, the wild horses, and the kids at a school located on the land.

When the deputy beats his daughter (after she has revealed that she’s pregnant), Billy takes her to the hospital. Interestingly, the sheriff (played by Clark Howat) is sympathetic and doesn’t want to bring the girl home. Sheriff Cole is a great character, not the typical law enforcement character at all. He even has a good sense of humor. His line in the barbershop scene made me burst out laughing. Anyway, it is decided that the deputy’s daughter will stay at the school on the reservation, and we soon see that this is no typical school. At Freedom School, run by Jean  Roberts (Delores Taylor), the children are taught horseback riding, yoga, drama and so on. But the daughter’s presence draws unwanted attention to the school, especially after it is shown that many of the town’s people are bigots and are against anything done on the reservation anyway.

This film is quite different from the first film, but is just as powerful. That scene where the little girl sings a song about her brother is incredibly moving, as is the scene when the children are harassed by people in the town. Billy Jack says to one of the kids, “A lot of stupid people in this world, aren’t there?” Yes, and that hasn’t changed, sad to say. There is a good fight scene, and though violence is in the backdrop of this world, it’s not the heart of it, not the focus. Like the first film, this one does a decent job of creating complete characters rather than just heroes and villains. Bernard Posner, who proves to be something less than a good person, is first shown as a somewhat sympathetic character, not wanting to shoot the horses that his father has helped round up. It is interesting that the filmmakers have us side with him before showing us his bad qualities; after all, before Billy Jack shows up, Bernard seems to be the only sensible person there. Perhaps it’s to make us look inward at our own questionable and lesser attributes.

By the way, Howard Hesseman is in the film, though credited under the name Don Sturdy. He is excellent, as always. (Two cast members of WKRP In Cincinnati are in the Billy Jack series; Richard Sanders appears in Billy Jack Goes To Washington.)

Disc 2 Special Features

The second disc contains two commentary tracks. The first is by Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor, who mention that the film was a work of love, a project they’d been trying to bring to the screen for years. And the girl who sings that song is their daughter. Wow, she actually wrote that song, as well as the other song she sings in the film. That’s incredible. And the song that Lynn Baker sings in the film is one that Lynn herself wrote. Also, the information on the snake scene given in the commentary is wild. The second commentary track is by Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Frank Laughlin.

This disc also contains the film’s trailer, as well as a photo gallery of publicity stills, poster art and lobby cards.

Disc 3: The Trial Of Billy Jack

At the beginning of The Trial Of Billy Jack, as we see a bird fly over a beautiful but desolate landscape, titles appear on screen, about various colleges where students were shot. For example: “Kent State, May 1970, 4 Dead, 9 Wounded.” After listing several schools, this title appears: “Freedom School, 3 Dead, 39 Wounded.” We then see Jean Roberts (Delores Taylor), the woman who runs Freedom School, in the hospital, giving a press conference, and we learn this is several years after Billy Jack’s trial. So essentially the film is Jean’s tale of what happened, as told to a reporter in her hospital room. So, yes, there is a lot more voice over in this film than in the previous two. And there are flashbacks within the flashback, as we see some of the events described by Billy Jack during his trial – stuff from his time in the military, with soldiers murdering civilians. But Billy Jack’s real trial isn’t the courtroom proceedings that take up only a small portion of screen time, but rather his more personal trial in a battle against himself, as shown by his vision during his inner quest.

Meanwhile, the children have become determined to expand the school, and get involved with journalism and exposing corruption. Jean tells us in voice over: “The fantastic reader response made the kids determined to bring these exposés to a wider public, so they decided to build their own TV station. They put on a fourth of July-type fundraising drive, which they called ‘1984 Is Closer Than You Think.’” While it might be a bit unbelievable that these kids could suddenly own and operate a television station, it certainly is interesting that they chose to refer to the George Orwell book, particularly for us today, when that novel seems more frighteningly relevant than perhaps ever before. When Billy gets out of prison, he sees there have been some changes to the school. The kids now learn martial arts, which surprises him. In that scene, there is what seems to be a flubbed line, flubbed and then corrected by the actor. I wonder why that was left in, why they didn’t do another take. The commentary tracks don’t address it.

This film isn’t as focused as the previous films. It seems to be tackling too many issues – child abuse, government violence against students, corruption, police brutality, the rights of Indians, poaching, racism. And there are lots of scenes of meetings of tribal councils to discuss some of these issues. And at one point suddenly the film is about rescuing some missing Indians from a mountain during a storm. There are some gorgeous shots in this sequence, but it all seems a bit off the track and unnecessary, and the missing Indians are found without much trouble. Also, the sequence doesn’t quite work because they keep mentioning how it’s a blizzard, yet in many of the shots it’s a clear day, and in none of the shots does there seem to be anything even remotely resembling a blizzard.

Yet there are some very touching moments, and you can’t help but become emotionally invested in the film by the end. And I appreciate the question about whether non-violence can ever be effective against dumb brutes. At the end, there is a title that reads, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”

Disc 3 Special Features

The third disc, like the first two, contains two commentary tracks. The first is by Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor. They talk about how this film was a labor of love, made after – and in response to – the shootings at different colleges. Tom talks about Rolling Thunder, who is in the film, and mentions briefly his relationship to the Grateful Dead. He tells a crazy anecdote about the mountain scene. Tom occasionally mentions running for President in 1992. He gets into the idea of a person’s shadow, of how the faults that upset you in others exist in you too, one of the strong messages of this film, and one I need to remind myself of daily as I get angry at Donald Trump and his supporters.

The second commentary track is done by Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Frank Laughlin. Tom talks about how they hadn’t considered sequels at first, and that originally he had intended to have Billy die at the end of Billy Jack, but Delores had argued against that. They talk about the policy in Vietnam, the U.S. government ordering the killing of civilians. In both commentary tracks, they talk about Delores’ hatred of exposition.

The special features also include a photo gallery and six radio spots.

Disc 4: Billy Jack Goes To Washington

The fourth, and final, Billy Jack film is actually a remake of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, in which Billy Jack is chosen as a temporary replacement after a senator has a heart attack and dies. The governor believes he can use Billy’s image for his own gain. When the senator has his heart attack, his secret files on the nuclear contracts are taken by a man named Dan who thinks this theft will be his ticket to a better government job and higher salary. He is sorely mistaken, of course. The other senator of Billy Jack’s state, Senator Payne (in an excellent performance by E.G. Marshall), was once an ally of Billy’s uncle, but now seems to have lost his way. Learning that the two once fought for lost causes is great, because it gives us the sense of Payne’s better qualities, that perhaps he is a good man at heart. Before this, we’ve only seen his corrupt side. I like that these filmmakers continue to make well rounded characters in these films.

Billy Jack’s pet project is the creation of a national youth camp, and Payne urges him to occupy himself with that in order to keep him away from the politics and dealing. But when Billy Jack chooses as the site for his camp the exact spot that has been secretly chosen for a nuclear plant, he begins to gain some enemies. This film tells an intriguing and unsettling story, giving us a serious look at the way bills are passed, and the way politics are played in this country. There is some very natural and believable dialogue, delivered by a good cast. In addition to that fantastic performance by E.G. Marshall, this film features the talents of Sam Wanamaker, Pat O’Brien, Richard Sanders (in a role very different from the one he played on WKRP In Cincinnati) and Lucie Arnaz (Arnaz is particularly good in the scene where she clues Billy Jack in about the nuclear plant). And of course Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Teresa Laughlin turn in good performances. Billy Jack Goes To Washington was produced by Frank Capra, Jr., son of Frank Capra, who directed Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

Disc 4 Special Features

The fourth disc contains two commentary tracks. The first is by Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor, and they talk about the troubles of shooting in Washington, D.C., the harassment they received, even though they had permits. They tell some crazy anecdotes. They ended up shooting some scenes at their own home, including the tennis court scene. Interestingly, Joe Klein – the author of Primary Colors – appears in an early scene. Tom Laughlin mentions the then-current presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, so this commentary track was recorded in 2000.

The second commentary track is by Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Frank Laughlin. They begin by talking about how this film was a departure from the earlier films, as they didn’t come up with the original story for this one. They talk about the Senate set that was built in Studio City, and about how Tom Laughlin was nervous about directing Pat O’Brien, unable to sleep the night before. In this commentary track, they talk again about some of the troubles they faced shooting in D.C. Crazily, at the Jefferson Memorial, they were told they could have actors or the camera there, but not both at the same time.

Billy Jack: The Complete Collection was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 25, 2017 through Shout! Factory as part of the Shout Select series.

Blu-ray Review: The Moderns

Is it just me, or does the face on the far right of the Blu-ray case remind you of Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine? I thought it was that character for a bit, and it took me a while to realize it’s Wallace Shawn in drag from the end of The Moderns.  Anyway, The Moderns has an excellent cast. In addition to Wallace Shawn, it stars Keith Carradine, Linda  Fiorentino, Genevieve Bujold, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin J. O’Connor and John Lone. And it takes place in a time that has always interested me – 1926, in Paris. It is a wonderful, character-driven film with its own style, dealing with questions of art vs. commerce, how we assign value to the things in our life, and what exactly is art. It brings fictitious characters and historical people together, and also uses a bit of old stock footage to establish the time and place, further mixing reality and fiction.

It opens with black and white stock footage of Paris, and the first moments of the action are also in black in white, as the film eases us into the time period. And then, still during the opening credit sequence, it gently goes from black and white to color. The film does this several more times, slipping into black and white during scene transitions, and inserting exterior stock footage. Much of the action takes place at a café where ex-patriots – including a lot of artists – gather. In the first scene, Oiseau (Wallace Shawn) says to Nick Hart (Keith Carradine): “Who are all these people? Seems like a new boat load of ex-patriots gets dumped here every day.” Oiseau is a columnist who wants to transfer to Hollywood, and wants to take Hart – the cartoonist for his weekly column – with him. He tells Hart that Hart’s trouble is he doesn’t know what he wants. But Hart has spotted what he wants across the room – an alluring woman staring back at him. Rachel (Linda Fiorentino) is now married to Bertram Stone (John Lone), a man eager to buy his way into culture, but it turns out that she and Hart have a past (and, as they say in Magnolia, the past is not through with them).

Hart is an artist, but his work doesn’t sell. Libby (Genevieve Bujold), the woman who runs the gallery, gets him a job creating copies of three paintings so the paintings’ owner can take the originals without her faithless husband being any the wiser. Nathalie de Ville, the woman who hires Hart, is played by Geraldine Chaplin, who is wonderful, as always. She tells him, “I guess I’m in need of a little flattery these days,” and gives a slight pause before “these days.” And in that pause, she tells us so much. Geraldine Chaplin is able to convey a lot with just a breath, a look, a pause. She is fascinating to watch. But the entire cast is quite good in this film.

I love the look of this film, and its pace. Several scenes make use of mirrors and interesting perspectives. There were just two shots that momentarily pulled me out of the film. The first is an odd shot of a piano player, where the camera zooms in on him in a jolting way, for no apparent reason. That shot could easily be cut. The second is an odd pan over to a group of more modern people looking directly at the camera. I found myself wondering about that shot for several minutes, and missed whatever was said immediately after it. The film has some excellent dialogue. One of my favorite lines is from Libby, as she describes Bertram Stone. “He’s got lots of money, he’s just not worth a damn.” (What a great description of the current president of the United States.) But probably my absolute favorite line belongs to Oiseau. He is speaking of suicide and says: “I saw a man once who’d been hung. He looked a bit disappointed.”

Special Features

This Collector’s Edition Blu-ray contains a feature-length documentary about The Moderns, titled Art And Artifice In The Moderns. This documentary features interviews with director/co-writer Alan Rudolph, co-producer Carolyn Pfeiffer and actor Keith Carradine. Rudolph talks about the film’s time period and the lost generation, saying he picked the year 1926 because at that point, “The party was kind of over.” He talks a bit about his earlier work, and the long path to getting The Moderns made, mentioning that Robert Altman influenced everything he’s done. Those interviewed talk about shooting in Montreal, and how the set design helped create that sense of unreality. Rudolph says that he would often tell his director of photography, “We’re inside of a painting.” Carradine talks about doing some of the actual painting, including the painting that became the artwork for the film’s poster. I love Keith Carradine’s take on what acting is, and how you go about it. There is a lot of information on the casting, including that Mick Jagger was originally set to play Bertram Stone. This documentary is approximately ninety-six minutes.

The Blu-ray also contains the film’s trailer.

The Moderns was directed by Alan Rudolph, and was released on Blu-ray on September 19, 2017 through Shout! Factory, as part of the Shout Select series.

Blu-ray Review: Car Wash

Recently there was an insane story about Donald Trump trying to ban the Center For Disease Control from using seven words, and I thought, We desperately need George Carlin back. He could help us deal with the completely screwed up reality that has assaulted us all in the past year. What would he say about that mendacious prick Donald Trump and all the eager Nazis who support him? Well, while we no longer have George Carlin, we do have his albums and films, and earlier this year Shout! Factory released a special Blu-ray edition of Car Wash, an ensemble film with Carlin playing a cab driver. This film also features Richard Pryor, Professor Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon, Lorraine Gary, Melanie Mayron, Bill Duke, Garrett Morris, Franklyn Ajaye and The Pointer Sisters, and a bloody great soundtrack. It was written by Joel Schumacher and directed by Michael Schultz.

The entire film takes place over the course of one day at a car wash (and the area immediately surrounding it) in Los Angeles. It takes us from the morning just before the car wash opens to the evening just after it closes. At the beginning, we are quickly introduced to several characters, one after another. George Carlin says to his passenger, “That’s what I think we need, is more love in the world.” But the woman – a prostitute – sneaks out of his car without paying when she realizes she doesn’t have the money. So he goes on a search for her. Richard Pryor is great as a rich religious huckster who travels in style with the Wilson Sisters (played by The Pointer Sisters). “And there’s a good place in this world for money,” he says. “Yessiree, and I know where it is. It’s right here in my pocket.” One of the few television shows I watched regularly during high school was Thirtysomething, a show which featured an impressive and talented cast, including Melanie Mayron. In Car Wash (which came out a decade earlier), she is adorable as Marsha, the receptionist and possible love interest of the owner. But perhaps the most meaningful performance is by Ivan Dixon as Lonnie, an ex-con who is trying to help Duane/Abdullah and keep him from possibly making similar mistakes.

In addition to the wonderful ensemble cast, there are radio DJs who play an important part, acting as constant companions to these characters and an integral part of the background. Those radio voices remind me of the announcements in the film M.A.S.H. And actually there are shots of the speakers, as in M.A.S.H. And like M.A.S.H., it’s the location that brings these characters together. There are some funny bits of set dressing, like the sign that reads, “We give the best hand job in town” (they wash the cars by hand).

The film has a light, loose, bouncy, bright, playful feel, yet also touches on some serious themes, such as the relationship between management and employees, and the thought that we’re all simply making the best of the situations we find ourselves stuck in. And this film contains the line, “Honey, I am more man than you’ll ever be, and more woman than you’ll ever get.” That line was later ripped off by that abysmal film Rent. By the way, at the end the cast is listed by a radio DJ, much like in M.A.S.H., where the cast is given by the camp’s announcer over the speaker.

Special Features

There are several special features, including an audio commentary by director Michael Schultz, in which he talks about the music, and how he wanted three songs written beforehand so that he could play them on set. He also mentions how there was a tremendous amount of noise on the set, making it necessary to record the dialogue later in the studio. Surprisingly, he says that the NAACP was offended by the film, considering the characters to be stereotypes.

Working At The Car Wash With Otis Day is an interview, in which Day talks about getting the role, and about the director and his style. He says he got sick of the “Car Wash” song. This interview is approximately twelve minutes. Car Wash From Star To Finish With Gary Stromberg is an interview with producer Gary Stromberg, in which he talks about getting his start in PR. Geez, his first three clients were Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf and The Doors. Crazy! He talks a bit about his history with drugs. But of course the bulk of the interview is about Car Wash, and he has plenty of interesting stories. He says the idea behind the film was that it would be driven by the music, and the idea was inspired in part by Robert Altman’s Nashville. (Clearly, Altman had a big influence on this movie.) Interestingly, the soundtrack was completed before they even started to shoot, so they could use the music as playback on the set. Stromberg also talks about the real person who was used as inspiration for Richard Pryor’s character, a person who was actually originally cast in the part as well. And I had no idea that Car Wash was the official US entry at Cannes. This interview is approximately thirty-four minutes.

The special features also include four radio spots and the film’s trailer.

Car Wash was released on June 20, 2017 by Shout! Factory, as part of its Shout Select series.

Blu-ray Review: South Park: The Complete Twentieth Season

Seriously, twenty years? It does not feel like it’s been twenty years since I first enjoyed South Park. The series has no real signs of wear and tear. It is as strong, as daring, as relevant as ever. The Complete Twentieth Season contains all ten episodes on two discs, plus plenty of bonus features. The country and our culture have gone to shit, and the folks behind South Park – Trey Parker and Matt Stone – are well aware of it. The episodes that make up the twentieth season tell one complete story (well, actually, several connected stories), involving our nation’s complacency, lowered expectations, nostalgia repackaged and sold back to us, and of course a man becoming president who has absolutely no qualifications or understanding of the job. Serious subjects, but of course handled with humor. And that’s what we need right now, as so many of us are still reeling after a year of disbelief, shock, anger and despair. It’s a damn good thing we can turn to South Park for a little perspective this holiday season.

As the twentieth season opens, the question on everyone’s mind is, Will a black fourth grader take a knee during the national anthem before a volleyball game? After the question is answered, the crowd disperses, leaving the children to play the game with no audience. The girls, however, are more concerned with the online bullying they’re receiving from someone calling himself “Skankhunt42.” Meanwhile J.J. Abrams is asked to “reboot the national anthem” in order to bring a divided country together again. “The new anthem is said to have everything the old one had, but some new surprises as well. You’d have to be an asshole not to stand and support it.” But the answer to all our problems might be found in member berries.

This series has a lot to say. I love that when a student quits Twitter, it’s treated like a suicide. And other students considering quitting social media are counseled: “You’ve got so much ahead of you, Scott. So many posts and tweets still ahead of you.” When Cartman is forced offline, he joins the lost souls who have abandoned social media, and he changes, actually becoming a better person, even getting a girlfriend. And the police investigate his disappearance. “Most people that quit Twitter leave at least three paragraphs stating that they’re quitting Twitter before they quit Twitter. This child just stopped using it.” Ah, was it a Twitter suicide or a Twitter homicide? And Heidi – Cartman’s girlfriend – says: “The hardest part is not having any followers. I used to go places just to show them where I was.” Oh, you know there are people who actually do that. Will they realize how ridiculous they are when they watch these episodes? Another thing I love about this season is how it plays with the new use of the word “troll” and the traditional use of the word, having two online trolls meeting under a bridge.

The war between the girls and boys escalates, and it looks like the next president is going to be someone who doesn’t even want the job. Mr. Garrison laments, “I told people I could make the country great again, but I didn’t have a plan.” I love that they relate the troubles to the fact that The Force Awakens wasn’t nearly as good as people thought it was. “It may seem fun to go back and recycle the past we love, but we end up with no sustenance.” And when the election is concluded, no one can believe the results. Mr. Garrison promises, “Just as J.J. Abrams did with Star Wars, I will make this country great again.” He transforms into Donald Trump in Darth Vader’s meditation chamber. Like many people after the election, Cartman and Heidi want to leave the planet. But for Cartman, it’s more a matter of him not wanting Heidi to see his internet history. War is imminent, because Denmark has a plan to release everyone’s internet history.

South Park is a series that is aware of itself. The season is partly about the role of a comedian who pushes people’s buttons in a nation that is now run by someone who loves pushing people’s buttons. And in the penultimate episode of the season, they even joke about how the entire season has dealt with a single subject, essentially poking fun at their own decision. The twentieth season is excellent, and is something you will likely want to watch all in one sitting.

Special Features

This two-disc set contains quite a bit of bonus material, most of it on the first disc. There are deleted scenes, including one with Cher eating the pizza pocket, as well as an air strike on Denmark. The deleted scenes are presented in the order of episodes. There are a couple of short promotional pieces – South Park By The Numbers and South Park: We’ve Been There. South Park: The Fractured But Whole E3 2016 Game Trailer makes fun of the whole superhero franchise idea, which is marketing and not storytelling.

There is a commentary track by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which plays over segments from different episodes of the season, and is approximately twenty minutes. They begin by joking that it is the commentary for season twenty-one, then talk about the idea of doing a serialization, and how the troll idea was related to Donald Trump, and how America has lost its way. The story they’d mapped out had Hillary Clinton winning. So like everything else, Trump fucked up this plan too.

You can also watch each episode with occasional notes at the bottom of the screen, notes about characters and so on, delivered as if on social media.

The second disc includes the 2016 Comic Con panel with Matt Stone and Trey Parker. They start by talking about The Spirit Of Christmas, and how they chose the style of that short by their own artistic limitations, plus their love of Terry Gilliam’s animation in Monty Python’s Flying Circus. They also talk about how television has changed so much since they started, so that the early stuff seems so tame by today’s standards. They also talk about video games and role-playing games, with Trey saying how always being the Dungeon Master when he was a kid helped make him a good storyteller. (Trey also says he thinks the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons is “fucking awesome.” I do not entirely agree with that statement.) Toward the end, they take questions from the audience. What the fuck is up with that person in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt seated behind the first girl to ask a question? Anyway, this feature is approximately fifty-five minutes.

South Park: The Complete Twentieth Season was released on June 13, 2017 through Comedy Central.

Blu-ray Review: Cheech And Chong’s Next Movie

As we near the end of what seems like the fortieth year of Donald Trump’s presidency, a year when many of us have needed to rely on drugs and comedy to get us through, it seems fitting to turn to Cheech and Chong. As part of its Shout Select series, Shout! Factory has released a special Blu-ray edition of Cheech And Chong’s Next Movie. The film’s first line, spoken by Cheech Marin – “Hey, man, this is bullshit, man” – is a line many of us have found ourselves uttering all year, whenever Trump or any of his fellow assholes spoke on any subject. This movie, which was directed by Tommy Chong, features a fairly excellent cast, including Paul Reubens, Edie McClurg, Cassandra Peterson, Michael Winslow (doing a bit similar to what he would later do in Police Academy), Rita Wilson and Phil Hartman.

At the beginning of the film, Cheech is late for work for the fifth time that week (“It’s only Tuesday, man”), and Chong is his own best customer in his marijuana-selling business. Interestingly, Chong says: “Dope’s going to be legal in a few years. Then it will be a legitimate job.” Well, it took a bit longer than a few years, but he was certainly right. The movie doesn’t have anything resembling a strong plot. In addition to smoking pot, Cheech and Chong annoy their neighbor, get fired, have fun in a welfare office and play a funny song about Mexican Americans. And Chong and Red (Cheech’s cousin, also played by Cheech Marin) have something of an adventure. It’s more about these characters and the craziness surrounding them than it is about story.

There are plenty of funny lines. At one point, Chong carries a jar of urine, telling Cheech “It’s for my probation officer, man.” Cheech asks, “What, does he drink pee?” (And yeah, there is some pee-drinking in the film.) There is a great shot where Cheech backs the car out of frame in order to hit on some girl he’s spotted, and then pulls forward back into frame followed by a police car. And there are lots of fun bits of set dressing, like the “Waitress wanted” sign in the window of their house, and the “Dave’s not here” message scribbled on a wall near their phone (a nod to one of the duo’s most famous bits). And the movie has a weird-as-shit ending. The Blu-ray would certainly make a good Christmas gift for the right sort of person, you know? And it contains some special features.

Special Features

From Records To Movies: Making Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie is a new interview with Cheech Marin, in which he talks about the Cheech And Chong records, about improvisation, about the character Red, and about his influences (which include Ken Nordine). He also talks about how this movie was deliberately a day-in-the-life tale rather than something with a linear plot, that the film’s strength is that it does go all over the place. This feature is approximately nineteen and half minutes.

The Blu-ray disc also contains the film’s trailer, as well as seven radio spots.

Cheech And Chong’s Next Movie was released on Blu-ray on June 13, 2017 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: The Greasy Strangler

In need of a good movie to watch after (or perhaps during) your Thanksgiving dinner? Let me recommend The Greasy Strangler, a nice family film with plenty of scenes of people dining to keep you in a festive mood. When Brayden (Sky Elobar) hands his father his morning coffee, his father (Michael St. Michaels) wonders, “Why not put a little grease in your coffee?” Then he offers, “Now you probably think I’m the greasy strangler.” He then immediately admits that he is in fact the strangler, but takes it back a moment later. And father and son share a laugh. That’s how The Greasy Strangler opens.

Ronnie and his son routinely accuse each other of being bullshit artists, and sometimes it’s a point of pride. Hell, they are bullshit artists. They run a dubious business, taking customers on tours of local disco-related landmarks. After an angry discussion about free drinks not being included with the tour, all the customers leave, except Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo), who comes on to Brayden. Ronnie worries that Brayden will leave him now that Brayden has found a female companion. Or maybe he’s just bullshitting and doesn’t care about his son. Either way, Ronnie is attracted to Janet himself, and flirts with her in front of his son, telling her, “I’ve been making my own olive oil in my bedroom, extra virgin,” and asking her, “Do you like oily grapefruit?” And at one point he tells her, “I wanted to watch you go pee.” Now that sort of flirting might not work on most women, but Janet is not most women. The characters who populate this film are unusual and interesting. I love that Janet wears the same sweater in nearly all of her scenes, giving you the sense that this movie is operating outside of normal time. Everyone in this movie is delightfully off.

A discussion about potato chips (food really plays a key role in this movie) turns deadly when a greasy creature shows up. “Am I dead yet?” one of the victims asks. When the greasy strangler kills Brayden’s best friend, Brayden becomes determined to learn the killer’s identity and to stop him. Early on, we know who the killer is, but that does not lessen our enjoyment of the movie in the least. The murders aren’t really the focus or the point, but are rather just one element in the crazy reality of this film. At its heart is the strained relationship between a man and his father.

The Greasy Strangler had me laughing out loud many times, sometimes in utter amazement. Also remarkable are the performances by the three leads. Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar and Elizabeth De Razzo turn in fearless and wild performances, unlike any you’ve probably seen.

The Greasy Strangler was directed by Jim Hosking, and was released on DVD on May 9, 2017 through MVD Visual. The DVD contains no special features.

DVD Review: Evil In The Time Of Heroes

Evil In The Time Of Heroes is an unusual and mostly entertaining and enjoyable take on the zombie tale, with its own style and humor. It starts in the deep past – ancient Greece, in fact – showing that it was never safe to sit around a campfire outside the city walls at night. The movie then brings us to the present, introducing us to Argyris, who is impaled on a pipe when we meet him. He doesn’t let that stop him from providing a bit of narration, letting us know about a few other survivors that he’s met. The film drops us right into the action, as those survivors run from the zombies. Soon they are trapped in a stadium, with zombies closing in on them from all sides. Rather than a long fight sequence, we get a title card that reads, “Ten minutes later,” and we see the four of them, now covered in blood, emerging from the building. One of them says, “Yeah, that was a brilliant idea.” Wonderful! Obviously, this film has a sense of humor, which should be immediately apparent, what with that bit of narration from a corpse and all. And even though the film skips a potentially violent fight sequence, don’t worry, as there is plenty of blood, and even a headless body bumping into a fence. And shit, that’s just the first ten minutes.

Zombies are not the only danger our heroes have to face. Someone shoots out one of the tires of their vehicle, because, hey, after the zombie apocalypse, law and order go out the window, and some people are just assholes no matter what the situation. (Isn’t that right, Donald Trump? Yeah, you know you’re an asshole.) And unlike many zombie films, it is discovered that the zombie troubles are limited to just Greece. So it is decided that Athens will be bombed with chemical weapons to wipe out the problem before it can spread, suddenly putting our heroes in still greater danger.

The movie travels back and forth in time a bit, with some brief flashbacks to the beginning of the zombie problem, as well as flashes to the time of the opening scene. And a mysterious figure from that time reappears in the present, a man with seemingly magical powers (played by Billy Zane). He isn’t the only one with unexplained powers, as Argyris, as we learn, is capable of returning from the dead.

There are lots of quirky details, like a guy pausing to straighten a photograph on the wall before letting the survivors back into their hideout. The film certainly has its own style. Sure, some shots are poorly lit, like a fight sequence on a rooftop, and there are moments when the film loses me for a bit, like when Lieutenant Vakirtzis and Olga go to confront the people who were shooting at them and then suddenly are gazing up at the stars. What happened? And the film gets a bit goofy toward the end. But still it’s an enjoyable and original take on the zombie subgenre of horror, and I am happy to be along for the ride.

Evil In The Time Of Heroes was released on DVD on October 24, 2017 through Doppelganger Releasing (Music Box Films). It is presented in its original Greek with English subtitles. The DVD includes two special features – the original battlefield storyboards and the film’s theatrical trailer.

DVD Review: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXIX

I am always happy when a new volume of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes is released. But the new one, Volume XXXIX, if you believe the rumors, may be the last set ever (of the original series). That’s not because all of the episodes have been released, but because of troubles with rights and licenses and the like regarding the remaining episodes. This set has three episodes, rather than the usual four, with the fourth disc being a collection of the host segments from those still-unreleased episodes. Well, if this set does end up being the final one released, it seems that Shout! Factory saved some of the best episodes for last. The three episodes are Girls Town, The Amazing Transparent Man and Diabolik (Diabolik being the very last episode to be produced), and each disc contains bonus material.

Disc One: Girls Town

This is a Mike Nelson episode from 1994, and poor Gypsy is a physical link to Dr. Forrester back on Earth. The movie the gang is forced to watch stars Mamie Van Doren, Mel Torme and Paul Anka. And, yes, there are plenty of jokes about Mel Torme: “Mel always looked fifty,” “He’s like a youthful Jabba The Hutt.” Paul Anka doesn’t escape their quips. “He looks like a young Cher,” they observe. As a woman is chased by a man on screen at the start of the film, the guys joke “Heidi in The Most Dangerous Game.” Then, after the guy falls to his death, Mike quips, “Hey, I think the date’s going pretty well.” When an unstable fan lunges at Paul Anka, the nuns stop her and Tom Servo says, “Paul Anka’s beefy security nuns step in.” The running jokes about that loony girl are among the episode’s best. This movie has it all: Mamie Van Doren, The Platters, nuns and even Mel Torme in a car race. Sheilah Graham is also in it, a name familiar to you F. Scott Fitzgerald fans. (As an interesting side note, Girls Town was also given the title The Innocent And The Damned when it was re-issued, a title close to Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful And Damned.) There are references to Velvet Underground, Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, The Godfather and The Hotel New Hampshire.

The first disc includes Anatomy Of A Theme: An Interview With Chuck Love, in which he talks about how he was approached to write the theme song to the show. He also explains how the end theme came about. The trailer for Girls Town is also included.

Disc Two: The Amazing Transparent Man

This is a Mike Nelson episode from 1995, and it has Crow as the latest insect in Tom Servo’s collection, while Dr. Forrester has turned his laboratory into a bed and breakfast inn. Everything is okay as long as no one gives matches to Mike. Before the main attraction, this episode contains The Days Of Our Years, a deliciously bad short film that Mike and the robots enjoy skewering. A title card reads, “‘The days of our years are three score and ten’…Psalm 90:10,” leading Mike to ask, “So we have seventy days in each year?” The short is narrated, and the narrator tells us, “In those days, Joe was about as average a young fellow as you’d be likely to meet.” Mike responds, “He sounds great.” And when the narrator describes Helen as “a wonderful girl who wanted nothing in the world more than to be Mrs. Joe,” Mike says “So his name is Joe Joe?” In the main film, a character says, “We’re completely equipped for our experiment.” Crow adds, “We got a grant from viewers like you.” As another character offers an explanation of some apparatus, Tom Servo offers this comment: “Honey, I shrunk the audience’s interest.” Throughout the film, the gang jokes about an organ that is in several shots but is never played. There are references to Talking Heads, Psycho, Apocalypse Now and Chinatown. They also make several references to the short film.

The second disc includes Beyond Transparency, in which film historian C. Courtney Joyner talks about The Amazing Transparent Man and Beyond The Time Barrier, and how these two films came about, and how American International acquired them. The film’s trailer is also included.

Disc Three: Diabolik

This is the final episode. Mike finds the Satellite Of Love employee handbook, and soon learns the ship will be heading back to Earth, which makes Pearl unhappy. But first Mike and the robots have to suffer through Diabolik, and Tom Servo has to do some cleaning. As motorcyclists follow an armored truck, the gang quips, “If Hitler had won and hired Stu Sutcliffe as a fashion designer.” Tom Servo adds, “Some movies just won’t stop and ask for directions.” As two characters enter an underground lair, Crow comments “Great hideout, but it’s hard to get your Sunday paper delivered.” The gang also jokes about the difficulty in getting contractors to construct a place like that, something I always wonder about when I see something like this in a movie. The gang sings a delightful song about going to earth. This episode contains references to The Graduate, The Wizard Of Oz, Dr. Strangelove, The Avengers, Sesame Street, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Devo and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. The guys even make a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, or at least to This Island Earth: “Welcome, Dr. Meacham.”

The third disc includes Showdown In Eden Prairie: Their Final Experiment, which features interviews with cast and crew members about the end of the series, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage. The Last Dance is a whole hell of a lot of behind-the-scenes footage from the production of the final episode, including some shots of the props room. The film’s trailer is also included.

Disc Four: Satellite Dishes

There are eleven episodes that have yet to be released, and likely will not be – six Joel episodes and five Mike episodes. The fourth disc in this set contains the host segments from those episodes (nearly three hours of material). Let’s hope the universe will shift slightly in our favor, and those episodes will be released. But for now, we can enjoy the host segments. In the Rocketship X-M episode, Frank says he’s new. He wears a name tag and another tag that says “Trainee.” The invention exchange includes Joel’s drum set that we see toward the end of the opening theme sequence. And in the Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster episode, the gang sings a song about Godzilla’s family. And later Mothra shows up at the Satellite Of Love. In other segments, Joel works as Crow’s puppet, Crow wants to marry into posture, and Tom Servo has some questions about making out. He must have learned a thing or two, because in another segment he mans a kissing both. In one of the best segments, the gang provides evidence supporting their case that the filmmakers responsible for Attack Of The Eye Creatures just didn’t care. In another episode, an alien lifeform attaches itself to Tom Servo, and Mike makes a giant omelet out of the alien’s eggs. In the last of these missing episodes, Mike and Pearl swap places.

This disc also includes a special feature, Behind The Scream, an interview with Daniel Griffith about Ballyhoo and Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXIX is scheduled to be released on November 21, 2017 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: Art House

My girlfriend and I have been talking lately about the kind of house we’d like to one day live in. For now, it’s more a matter of trying to make our current apartments seem less horrible and more home-like. The artists who are the subject of the documentary Art House made their living spaces works of art, and are inspiring me to take a more serious – and more joyful – look at the way I’m living and at my goals for changing my living space to better suit my personality. It may very well have the same effect on you.

Art House is divided into several sections, each section dedicated to the living space of one artist (or group of artists). It begins with Russel Wright, and his home, named Manitoga. The camera gently, respectfully moves in on details of the home and the area surrounding it, the images set to music, allowing us to take it all in, to develop our own opinions without much narration to guide our thoughts. There is just a little information on each artist, presented as title cards before we see the living spaces.  Alastair Gordon does provide a bit of narration at certain moments throughout the film, but not much. Other information is given from short interviews with family members and apprentices, these interviews coming after we’ve seen some of the images. Ann Wright, Russel Wright’s daughter, talks about the long process of construction of the home. Russel thought of it as his personal living space, and it’s a bit sad when Ann tells us, “I feel like I was a person in his living space” (though she kind of laughs as she says it). I love the way nature and natural things are incorporated into the design of Manitoga. It’s beautiful.

Cosanti, the living and work space of Paolo Soleri, is a remarkably different type of space with a different feel, in part because of the difference in location. Again, this film allows us the time to take it in before anyone speaks of the artist’s work. The first building constructed is called Earth House, and it has a strong relation to the natural surroundings. The film is like a meditation, on possibilities for living. At least, that’s how it feels to me. This documentary is not so much about the artists’ biographies as it is about the spaces where these people lived and worked.

Some of the homes seem more personal than others, such as that of Raoul Hague, perhaps because of the photos and other artifacts displayed on the walls. (All those clocks would have driven me insane. I’ve never understood the passion some people have for clocks.) Eliphante, the home built by Michael Kahn and his wife, Leda Livant, was created from repurposed materials, and is beautiful, even kind of magical (though slightly twisted too). I want to see more of this structure. That’s perhaps my only complaint about this film. I wish the camera would take us through every room of these structures.

Certain spaces and rooms and structures shown in this film have more of an impact on me than others. I’m particularly drawn to the spiral staircase of Wharton Esherick’s home. It has a natural and eternal feel. And there is a room in Crow House – the home of architect and painter Henry Varnum Poor – that I absolutely love. It’s the kind of place I want to create (or find) for my girlfriend and myself. There are dark beams against white in the ceiling, with a warm red archway.

Art House is based on the book Artists’ Handmade Houses by Michael Gotkin and Don Freeman. Don Freeman directed the film, and also was the director of photography, still photographer, editor and producer of the film.

Special Features

The DVD contains a photo gallery, with the subject of each photograph identified clearly on the side of the screen. There are also short written biographies of the artists, of the documentary’s director, and of Alastair Gordon.

Art House was released on DVD on April 19, 2016 through First Run Features.

DVD Review: Summer Of Fear

Down A Dark Hall was the book that turned me on to author Lois Duncan when I was in fifth grade. But Summer Of Fear was my favorite. I watched the made-for-television film when it was re-broadcast (I was too young the first time around, in 1978), though then under the title Stranger In Our House. While I don’t think I realized it had been directed by the same guy that made Last House On The Left (yes, I saw that movie when I was quite young), I certainly realized it starred the same girl that was in The Exorcist, and that was part of the film’s appeal. But the larger part of the appeal was its suspenseful tone, which felt faithful to the book. And now I’m finally getting another chance to enjoy Wes Craven’s film version of Summer Of Fear, thanks to the new DVD release by Doppelganger Releasing and Music Box Films.

Summer Of Fear tells the story of a young woman named Rachel (Linda Blair), whose life is upended by the arrival of her cousin Julia (Lee Purcell) after the sudden deaths of Julia’s parents. Julia is a stranger in her home, as Rachel, her parents and her siblings haven’t seen her in ten years. While they all try to accommodate who they assume is a grief-stricken relative, it isn’t long before Rachel begins to have her doubts about Julia.

Upon her arrival, Julia immediately starts complimenting Rachel on her possessions, running her fingers over the photograph of Rachel’s boyfriend. It could be innocent, but there’s a creepy vibe right from the start, with that shot of her fingers almost caressing the photo, lingering over it, and Rachel has to take the photo away from her. And then Julia lies down on Rachel’s bed, making herself at home, even after verbally turning down Rachel’s offer of that bed. While Rachel’s brother clearly has a crush on his cousin, not everyone is so happy to have the new houseguest. Sundance, Rachel’s horse, attacks her. And when Rachel discovers a human tooth among her cousin’s possessions, she begins to wonder about her. Rachel comes down with a sudden illness, and so has to miss a dance she’d been looking forward to. Julia takes her place, the dress that Rachel made strangely fitting her better than it had fit Rachel. Rachel makes some other discoveries, and it’s not long before she suspects her cousin might be up to no good.

This story is still frightening. The idea of someone taking over your life, your world, while those around you don’t see it is terrifying. Especially when you’re young, and you have no one to turn to, because the source of the horror is in your home, and those people you’d expect to protect you – your parents – deny the problem. This film is quite suspenseful. Also, it features an early performance by Fran Drescher. She plays Rachel’s friend, Carolyn. And there is a stunt with a horse that is still stunning to watch.

Special Features

The DVD includes a commentary track by Wes Craven and executive producer Max Keller. Max talks about how he started the project, and how they needed to have Linda Blair attached to it. That was why they changed the dog in the book to a horse for the film, as Linda Blair was fond of riding. Wes talks about how important this film was in his career, this being the first time he was able to shoot on 35 mm, and this being the film that got him into the Director’s Guild. Max mentions the two different versions of the film – the international theatrical edition is what is on this DVD, with the TV version sporting the other title, Stranger In Our House. It’s actually a really good commentary track, with plenty of interesting anecdotes, like about losing the horse footage on the day of shooting. And of course they discuss that crazy horse stunt. Wes says, “It was not planned for the horse to fall on top of her, but that’s what ended up happening.” Holy moly!

There is also a new interview with Linda Blair, in which she talks about the project, and about the process by which she gets a role. She talks about working with Wes Craven, and about her fellow cast members on this film. She mentions that the slap from Carol Lawrence (who plays her mother in the film) was real. She also talks about that stunt with the horse.

The special features also include a photo gallery and the trailer.

Summer Of Fear was released on October 10,2017 through Doppelganger Releasing and Music Box Films.

DVD Review: Lewis Black: “Black To The Future”

The world is a putrid, absurd, horrid mess at the moment. Everyone is aware of this, perhaps no one more so than comedian Lewis Black. Known for his rants, Lewis Black is – in my opinion – the best living comedian, and his particular bent, his particular humor is exactly what we need these days. He can express the anger we all feel in a way that eases tension rather than increases it. His new DVD, Black To The Future, captures a live performance that Lewis Black did at The Marquis Theater in New York last year during the time of the election, and in it he addresses both major candidates, as well as a variety of other topics. The DVD also includes a bonus performance from 2014, in which he fields questions from fans.

Lewis Black wastes no time and opens his show by reading a poll that said 13% of potential voters would rather have the world destroyed than have either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump become president. “The only good thing that has come out of this election cycle, quite honestly, is that it has made time seem longer.” Many people have commented on the fact that reality has gotten so far out of whack that satire almost seems unnecessary, that we are actually living the fucking joke. Lewis Black touches on this idea early on in the performance: “To be honest, having spent this year watching what’s going on, I have no idea what my job is anymore. Everyone in this room already has thirty Trump jokes that are probably better than any one that I thought of. What the fuck do you need me for?”

But of course we do need him, maybe now more than ever before. He addresses several important subjects, including guns and mental illness. He says: “I believe that we all learned about mental illness the same way that I did. I think we did that through dating.” Yes, absolutely. And he points out a sign of a widespread mental illness: “I read a while back that six hundred forty million dollars was spent by Americans purchasing Valentine’s Day gifts for pets. That’s the sign something’s fucking wrong.” Toward the end, he returns to the election, with some due dread. He rips into the risible idea that Donald Trump is a masterful businessman. “He bankrupted a casino,” he reminds the crowd. “I mean, that’s impossible, unless you locked the door and just stood in front.” I love when he tells the audience directly, “If you vote for Donald Trump, you’re going to go to hell.” And, yes, he talks about Hillary Clinton and offers his opinion on why everyone dislikes her.

The performance is approximately fifty minutes, and during the closing credits there is a shot of Lewis Black addressing someone who is leaving. I wish that whatever led to that moment was included. By the way, Grateful Dead fans will be interested to know that this special was directed by Justin Kreutzmann, Bill’s son.

Bonus: The Rant Is Due

The DVD includes a second performance in which he answers questions from his fans, moderated by Kathleen Madigan, who sits off to the side, drinking wine. Lewis Black says, “I can’t drink because then the anger becomes real.” Before fielding questions, he talks about trying to get his 95-year-old mother to watch the special online. “My mother can’t sleep at night because she’s trying to rearrange the universe in her own image.” The first question he’s asked is about social media, which sets him off on a delightful rant, one which I especially appreciate. He points out that Facebook and Twitter aren’t media. “A newspaper is media. This is like a collection of fucking scrapbooks and shit.” He also answers questions about marijuana, teaching, different countries and running for political office. This performance was filmed at The City Winery in Napa, California in 2014, and is approximately fifty minutes.

Lewis Black: Black To The Future was released on October, 13, 2017 through MVD Visual.

DVD Review: Cinematic Titanic: The Complete Collection

In 1999, Mystery Science Theater 3000 came to a close (sort of), and a void was left, a void that needed to be filled by people talking back to the screen during bad movies. And in 2007 along came Cinematic Titanic, created by some of the same folks responsible for bringing us MST3K. So we were lifted from our despair. Sure, there were some changes. There were no robots, and this time they seated themselves in the bottom corners of the screen, and they basically got right into the film rather than doing invention exchanges and so on. But it felt familiar and it felt right. And we had a female voice added to the mix. For this series, there are five people riffing instead of three: Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein. Cinematic Titanic: The Complete Collection gives us all twelve episodes – both the studio recordings and the live recordings – on six discs, plus a couple of bonus features. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 should certainly appreciate this set.

1. The Oozing Skull

One of the opening credits for The Oozing Skull reads, “Hemisphere Pictures,” leading the group to joke, “We’ve got half a mind to make a movie.” A doctor in the film tells a man, “As soon as you are passed away, your body will be flown to the United States.” The gang adds, “Coach.”  The doctor describes a new tool by saying, “It has permitted me to cut through the skull without damaging the brain.” The gang adds, “What we do is go through the feet.” When a midget on screen says, “He won’t get far on foot,” the gang responds, “But he’s using both feet.” The joke about “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” had me in tears, I was laughing so hard. While they don’t have non-movie segments, they do pause the movie a few times, once to do a joke about Al Hirt. As in Mystery Science Theater 3000, there are plenty of pop culture references. In this episode, they refer to The Benny Hill Show, M.A.S.H., THX-1138, West Side Story, The Lovin’ Spoonful and David Bowie.

2. Doomsday Machine

The opening of this episode acknowledges the lack of robots in the series. Then later there is a joke about the MST3K robots. When we see the doomsday machine, someone comments: “A gumball machine head on a robot? I’m sorry, that is lame.” Doomsday Machine stars Casey Kasem, so yes, there are plenty of jokes about countdowns and various songs. It’s a particularly bad film. An opening title reads, “Executive Producer Oscar L. Nichols,” and Mary Jo Pehl points out, “That’s the only Oscar this movie gets.” They stop the film a couple of times during this episode, and they make references to Get Smart, The Jetsons, Star Wars and Planet Of The Apes. “You’re ruining the apocalypse for everyone.”

3. The Wasp Woman

In the brief introduction, they give a bit of information on the film. And during the film’s opening credit sequence, when Roger Corman’s name appears on screen, they say, “Hey, directed by Corman, so you know that was three days well spent.” The cheap aspect of the film is fodder for riffing throughout. When one character says, “Now I see how you built all this,” Mary Jo Pehl responds, “Three non-union stagehands and a case of beer.”  During a pointless driving scene, Mary Jo Pehl says, “Maybe they could drop us off near a better film.” Yes, Mary Jo seems to have most of the best lines in this one. There are references to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Star Trek and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They stop the film twice.

4. Legacy Of Blood

As with The Wasp Woman, a bit of information on the film is given at the beginning. When a character begins his speech with the word “Dead,” the group quips, “I would have gone with ‘Hello.’” As a recording of the will is played, we hear the deceased say, “Greetings from beyond the grave.” The gang adds, “Wish you were here.” And when we see a low angle shot from the coffin, they joke, “Furthermore, I want the camera man buried with me.” Over an exterior shot of a house, they riff, “The house that plot forgot.” When one character says, “Igor and I have placed the bodies in the garage,” the gang adds, “And modified them for street racing.” One of my favorite lines from the gang is “She’s wearing her day-for-nightgown.” When a human head is discovered, Mary Jo Pehl says, “Let’s go put this in a horse’s bed,” a reference to The Godfather. There are also references to Annie Hall, Chinatown, Meat Loaf and Frank Zappa.

5. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians

During the introduction, the gang does make reference to the fact that Mystery Science Theater 3000 already tackled this movie. Joel says, “Some of us have seen this movie before.” And Trace runs off when he is told the movie’s title. When a reporter says about Santa, “I’m sure he’d like to say a few words to you kids,” the gang adds, “Despite the court order.” As we see two elves working, the gang quips, “Do you really think Santa can find enough elves in India to do this job?” And when a Martian says, “Desperate problems require desperate deeds,” they respond, “Like the Patriot Act.” I also appreciate their rip on Ann Coulter. They stop the movie just once. There are references to Star Wars, Star Trek, Lost In Space, Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, Steve Miller and Bob Dylan. And, hey, “Why would the real Santa travel with a fake beard?”

6. Frankenstein’s Castle Of Freaks

The opening scene features some sort of cavemen fight, leading the gang to joke, “Rock beats skull every time.” A credit for “Boris Lugosi” leads them to ask, “They couldn’t get Bela Karloff?” After a character stumbles through a line, the gang says, “Ten more minutes with that script and I would have had this scene down.” When Frankenstein tells a midget “You have to leave,” the gang quips, “We’re upsizing.” And when Frankenstein says “I brought a human being back to life,” the guys add, “Like Tarantino did with John Travolta.” They also offer this observation: “You never see a hunchback in a management position.” They stop the film just once. There are references to Gilligan’s Island, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Hills Have Eyes and Return Of The Jedi. There is also a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000.

7. Blood Of The Vampires

When a guy on screen says “You know you almost took my breath away,” the gang adds, “When you held that pillow over my face.” The movie was dubbed into English, and the gang has a lot of fun with that aspect of it, joking “Don’t mind my voice and lips acting independently.” Also, there are characters in black face, which the gang can’t help but make fun of: “I’ve got to be careful not to sweat off my ethnicity.” When a female character says “We have to face certain things,” the gang adds, “Ridiculous, B movie things.” As one character whips his undead wife, the gang quips, “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeSade.” The guys also joke, “I may be undead, but I’ve never felt more unalive.” When a vampire pushes a woman against a tree, the gang jokes, “Ouch, the bark is worse than his bite.” This is a particularly good episode, with references to Star Wars, Fight Club, The Warriors, Citizen Kane, Seinfeld, and Sanford And Son. They stop the film once to drink.

8. East Meets Watts

This is the first of the Cinematic Titanic Live episodes. Joel Hodgson gives a brief introduction about Mystery Science Theater 3000, and introduces the other four riffers, who arrange themselves in a similar configuration as on the other episodes. Now they’re not just silhouettes, but are lit, and we can see their notes at times. It appears that they’re facing the audience, but that is just some movie magic happening. Of course, as it’s a live performance, we can hear the audience laughing. And yes, the cast members stumble over a few lines, but this is still one of the best episodes. As a Chinese fighter wanders the streets of San Francisco, the gang jokes, “You know he’s out of his element when Chinatown seems foreign too him.” When a character exclaims “Right on,” the gang explains, “That’s seventies for ‘I encourage such behavior.’” East Meets Watts is a terrible film, and so of course ends up being one of the funniest episodes. At one point, two characters jump onto the back of a truck, then jump off it, only to frolic in the woods for a while before jumping onto the back of another truck. That leads the gang to joke, “Okay, this is our big chance to do a scene-by-scene recreation of the previous twenty minutes of this film.” They add, “The cutting room floor must have been clean as a whistle.” And I was once again in tears, I was laughing so hard during the mute girl stuff. When one character says “You know the penalty for acting without instructions,” the gang responds, “I think everyone in this movie is acting without instructions.” That line gets applause from the audience. There are references to Neil Diamond, Journey and The Monkees. By the way, they do not stop the film during the live episodes.

9. The Alien Factor

The Alien Factor gets so much so wrong. As the gang points out at the beginning, “Has there ever in history been a two-door cop car?” Mary Jo Pehl adds, “That police car has a definite my-brother’s-going-to-kill-me-if-we-don’t-have-it-back-by-six quality to it.” As another car pulls up, she quips, “I’m surprised they didn’t write ‘Ambulance’ on the side with a Sharpie.” There’s a really funny bit when suddenly the movie switches to three children playing with a ball in slow motion. When the cops come to the conclusion that a bear couldn’t be the killer, the gang jokes, “Well, it saves me having to go undercover in a bear suit.” When a large car pulls into the shot, they joke: “That’s no moon. That’s a space station wagon.” There are also references to Animal House, The Dukes Of Hazzard and Happy Days.

10. Danger On Tiki Island

Ah, the title of this movie has a different meaning after the recent Trump Nazis’ use of Tiki torches. Can you imagine an entire island of those bastards? During the opening titles, the gang quips, “Independent-International: protecting you from quality movies since before cable.” When a girl on screen says “I’ve never seen so many sad faces,” the gang responds, “Can she see the audience?” And when she says “It’s so peaceful here,” the guys add, “Especially during my long, awkward pauses.” They often poke fun at the acting ability (or inability) of the cast. When a girl says “You couldn’t possibly believe that, could you,” they answer, “Not based on that read, no.” And later they joke: “I really thought I was going to die. Is that what acting feels like?” When a guy says he’s thinking of setting a trap for the monster, the guys add, “I need a virgin, a piece of string and a cardboard box.” There are references to Time Bandits, The Eyes Of Laura Mars, Flashdance, Little Shop Of Horrors and Three’s Company. And there is a Mystery Science Theater 3000 reference as well. When we see an old lantern, the gang says, “Hey, it’s the wild west Tom Servo.”

11. War Of The Insects

This time the introduction is not done by Joel. This is another incredibly bad movie, and so an incredibly funny episode. At the beginning, as two characters look up to see a plane overhead, the gang jokes, “Maybe there’s a better movie showing on that flight.” When once character asks “What the hell’s happening,” the gang replies, “Nothing realistic.” It’s a Japanese film, and at one point the guys ask, “Why is the American actor being dubbed?” A shot of two characters sleeping leads the gang to comment, “Finally, a scene the audience can relate to.” There are references to Popeye, The Love Boat, Neil Young, Air Supply, The Doors and The Strawberry Alarm Clock. The gang also makes the same reference to Tom Servo they did while watching Danger On Tiki Island.

12. Rattlers

Joel doesn’t do the introductions for this episode either. The opening shot of the film shows a sun over the desert, leading the guys to comment, “For your next vacation, escape to Tatooine.” During a shot in a school corridor, the gang presents this announcement: “All teachers, please relinquish your collective bargaining rights to the office” (that line gets a cheer from the audience, and would be appreciated by my parents as well – if I could get them to watch this, that is). When a cop tells a scientist, “Friday, say about noon,” the gang responds, “Yeah, let’s just ease into the murder investigation.” When a woman says, about her mother, “And it seemed every night she came home, she aged another year,” the gang explains, “Because she only came home once a year.” Like the rest of the films the Cinematic Titanic gang ridicules, this one features some less-than-stellar performances. When one woman says “Look, I guess I’m acting silly,” the guys respond, “You are acting?” This episode features references to The Warriors, The Sixth Sense, M.A.S.H., Apocalypse Now, Dr. Who, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life.

Special Features

The first disc includes A Look Back With J. Elvis Weinstein, an interview with Weinstein, in which he talks about the origins of Cinematic Titanic, his working relationships with the others of MST3K, and about the live performances.

The sixth disc includes Between The Riffs, which features interviews with all five cast members – Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein and Frank Conniff. They talk about the live performances, about what makes a bad movie, and about each other. This feature also includes interviews with some fans who attended the live performances.

Cinematic Titanic: The Complete Collection was released on August 8, 2017 through Shout! Factory.