All Movie Talk, Episode 5
Show contents, with start times:
- Top 6: The Horror of the Unseen (1:30)
- Trivia Question: Horror Musical Motifs (25:37)
- Controversial Take: The Village (27:13)
- Series Spotlight: James Bond, Part 3 (35:00)
- Good Bad Movie: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (50:46)
- Closing: Trivia Answer, Thanks, Preview of Next Week (59:58)
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If you like the show, please take a moment and vote for this episode over at PopCurrent.com.Show Notes:
Top 6: The Horror of the Unseen
See our separate Top 6 entry for more information about our picks.
Sam references The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), a drama about a Hollywood producer that includes a subplot that mirrors the real life story of the making of one of his Top 6 picks.
Trivia Question: Horror Musical Motifs
We have a three-for-one deal this week when it comes to our trivia question. All three of our mystery movies are classic horror films. OK, maybe at least one of them isn't a classic, but they're all certainly famous. Despite his obvious talent at production, Sam has no formal training as a sound engineer.
Controversial Take: The Village
Sam feels that M. Night Shyamalan's 2004 film The Village is a good movie, though not up to the par of Shyamalan's earlier films like The Sixth Sense (1999) or Unbreakable (2000). He feels the characters and pacing are compelling, while Stephen believes the movie has a few good moments but is ultimately brought down by bad dialogue. They both agree that the cinematography by Roger Deakins is top-notch.
Beyond his personal enjoyment of the movie, Sam believes the film functions as an interesting parable about isolationism and immigration. In this view, the closed nature of the village is a metaphor about what can happen when nations isolate themselves from others -- a recurring theme in American history. Stephen agrees the movie may have a point, but it's not told in an interesting way.
Series Spotlight: James Bond, Part 3
This segment is an installment of our continuing discussion about the James Bond film series. See Episode 3 and Episode 4 to hear about the earlier episodes of the series.
- The tenth James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), is the first Albert R. Broccoli produced on his own. Probably it was one of Bond's last chances to prove financially viable without Sean Connery, but it turns out to be a critical and commercial success and revitalizes the series.
- The Spy Who Loved Me is the first Bond film to have an original screenplay. Blofeld was slated to return, but a legal dispute with Kevin McClory, who owned the screen rights to the character, puts a stop to that.
- The film also marks the first of two screen appearances by Jaws, the steel-toothed henchman played by Richard Kiel.
- Jaws returns in Moonraker (1979), the second of two ignominious low points in the series. Moonraker has its moments but is largely a campy, over-the-top parody of itself that launches Bond into outer space.
- Moonraker, however, sets records for Bond at the box office. Despite this, producer Albert Broccoli recognizes it as a creative mistake and decides to return Bond to his more grounded roots in For Your Eyes Only (1981), one of the best films of the series.
- Bernard Lee, who played the character of M, Bond's boss, in the first 11 movies is left uncast in For Your Eyes Only, following the actor's death. Future Bond films would cast Robert Brown in the role.
- For Your Eyes Only marks the series' last appearance by Blofeld, unnamed but clearly intended to be the Blofeld character.
- Octopussy (1983) has some silly moments but is also a strong series entry with a sharp edge to it. It opens months before Kevin McClory's competing remake of Thunderball, called Never Say Never Again.
- Never Say Never Again (1983) is good, though not great, but is weird because it lacks the usual series trademarks, including the infamous James Bond theme music. It does, however, feature the return of Sean Connery to the role he swore he'd never do again.
- A View To a Kill (1985), Roger Moore's last Bond movie, is a weak one, though Sam has a soft spot for it. The film also marks the last appearance of Lois Maxwell, who had played Moneypenny in every official Bond movie to date.
- James Bond will return in Episode 6, when we cover the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan years.
Good Bad Movie: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
So you know Stonehenge? What if a mad scientist stole it and used it to build evil Halloween masks that shoot snake lasers? Sounds terrifying? No? How about incomprehensible and unintentionally hilarious? We think so too. Halloween III is one of the more entertaining bad movies out there. Witness how clever editing can help you escape from impossible situations.
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