Oh, my goodness, how I loved this film. A TV favorite when I was younger - and more than a little weird seeing Victor Newman from my grandmother's soaps in a movie. Film Forum here in New York is showing it January 23, 2025, as part of their "AI: From Metropolis to Ex Machina" series. Already on my calendar!
Saw this film last year thanks to Vince Keenan. What a seriously great movie. Once again, a Ray Banks write-up has allowed me to understand a film much better!
Vince put me onto it too - ain't he a stinker? - and if I'd even seen it, I forgot all about it, which doesn't seem plausible given how weird and good it is.
Excellent assessment of one of my favorites. One of the great "gang of nerds, 60s suit division" thrillers. I'm glad they couldn't afford a star. Yes, Heston or Peck could pull this off without raising their heart rate, but the blank slate of a solid but very not movie star actor tees it up perfectly.
Small related tangent: I first saw this in 1997. Had a friend get-together where each of us would bring a movie (on VHS!) that we loved but were pretty sure no one else had seen. No other planning was done, no one knew what others brought and viewing order was chosen out of a hat. This turned out to be the third film, following my choice at second: PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. I've banked the audible response when Shire's theme hit their eardrums as a favorite memory. An inadvertent Sargent double feature that couldn't be beat if you tried.
Was thinking about Braeden this morning as he reported that he was being evacuated from the fires in LA. Thought of his John Jacob Astor looking up at the sea water pouring in through Titanic's ceiling and hoping for the best in a terrible situation.
Sorry to run on. You hit a sweet spot for me on this one.
I agree: Heston or Peck could’ve done this in their sleep, but it’s Braeden’s complete lack of movie star magic that sells this for me. He looks like the kind of guy who would spearhead an insane project, thinking he’s Bond when he’s actually the villain.
That's a hell of Sargent double feature - it could have gone so horribly wrong, though I still have a soft spot for Jaws: The Revenge! As for Pelham, well, that Shire theme is my ringtone, and anyone phoning me needs to understand that this guy don't pick up until the horns kick in. But now I have to ask: if Pelham was #2 and Colossus was #3, what was the first one?
And never be sorry to run on - part of the beauty of this whole endeavour is reading other people's experiences of these movies. You may ramble with impunity here!
I too have a soft spot for Jaws: The Revenge! Far more entertaining than J:3D, so not even the worst of the sequels. It gets tossed up as a sleight to Sargent a lot, but I doubt there are many- if any- directors who could have made "Revenge" a good movie, but nobody has improved on Pelham and they've taken two shots at it. (I also have the theme as a ringtone and use it for an alarm when I want the day to start right.)
Looking at the Forbins now blatantly saying their creations will break a mountain of eggs to make an omelet, Braeden is way classier than the destroyers we ended up with.
The first movie was Freaked, a very silly Alex Winter movie that I only saw the one time, but enjoyed very much in the moment. It at least has Randy Quaid giving the funniest line delivery of "Paper cup?" I've seen to date. The remaining movies were the musical version of Little Shop of Horrors (that friend didn't take into account that we'd all seen it already, but enjoyed it still) and Diva. There was a time when I could watch five movies in a row from sundown to sunup, but those days are long ago and very much missed.
I feel like Sargent gets a lot of stick as a journeyman, but you're right: Jaws 4 would never have been any good. I seem to remember that it was rushed into production partly to help publicise the Jaws ride at Universal, but that might be wrong. Where else could you see Michael Caine play a character named Hoagie?
Freaked - oh man, I've also only seen it once, but I remember it too fondly to revisit (I was young). Little Shop of Horrors remains one of my all-time favourite musicals and Diva! - yikes, I haven't seen that in YEARS. A hell of a line-up, that. Your friends had excellent, esoteric tastes
I have lucked out in the friend department. Most of them are in far flung places now, but I liked the friend who brought Diva so much, I married her. Smartest decision I ever made. Jury's still out on it for her.
"I remember it too fondly to revisit" is a perfect mindset. One I try to stick to for certain movies. It's good to let an excellent first-viewing experience to be that for the long run.
I haven't read it, but have learned that the novelization of Jaws 4 includes a voodoo practitioner who is somehow involved in drawing the shark to the Bahamas. Novelizations were often based on early versions of the script (they were how we encountered deleted scenes before laserdisc and DVD), so it could have easily been worse. Caine's Hoagie and his magically drying shirt and Mario "Too Charismatic to Kill Even Though He Obviously Dies" van Peebles help the medicine go down. I also love the cut from Ellen arriving in sharkless Bahamas (because no one ever says, "Afraid of sharks? Move to Nebraska.") to the shark swimming southward. Would dearly love an insert shot when her son is talking into the move of the shark in a van going Harry Caul on the phone line.
Was just talking about this movie the other day for a tentative interview / podcast on video store days. Overlooked it for years, then finally watched it with a friend—we both fell in love with it, and although it's been 20 years since I've seen it, that ending has always stuck. So much so that when we ended the 5 issue run of our dumb little video store / promo zine, we included Colossus' final speech as the last page. So glad when someone brings this movie up.
That ending is a doozy for sure - even as a lover of '70s movies and in thrall to the downer endings, that one's still a surprise. I'm still not entirely sure why. It might be that it follows through on the premise all the way, which is rare. Still mulling that one over. Drop us a link to the podcast, by the way!
Yeah, there is something uncanny about that ending, it left me with a feeling that I've never quite been able to put my finger on. I make Colossus jokes to this day, even though like, 2 people I know have any idea what I'm talking about.
Those are the best jokes. Sometimes people need to do homework to laugh. Though I'll admit, if you're asking people how many times per week they need to have sex, someone'll be on the phone to HR.
I watched this one a decade or two ago, and I need to view it again. More recently, I watched a similar doomsday movie about a hyperintelligent ant colony, Phase IV. Sounds like it would be right up your alley.
Oh, my goodness, how I loved this film. A TV favorite when I was younger - and more than a little weird seeing Victor Newman from my grandmother's soaps in a movie. Film Forum here in New York is showing it January 23, 2025, as part of their "AI: From Metropolis to Ex Machina" series. Already on my calendar!
See? I KNEW people knew this from TV. It'll be fantastic on the big screen. Got to love a series that includes Zardoz, Short Circuit and bloody GOG!
Saw this film last year thanks to Vince Keenan. What a seriously great movie. Once again, a Ray Banks write-up has allowed me to understand a film much better!
Vince put me onto it too - ain't he a stinker? - and if I'd even seen it, I forgot all about it, which doesn't seem plausible given how weird and good it is.
Excellent assessment of one of my favorites. One of the great "gang of nerds, 60s suit division" thrillers. I'm glad they couldn't afford a star. Yes, Heston or Peck could pull this off without raising their heart rate, but the blank slate of a solid but very not movie star actor tees it up perfectly.
Small related tangent: I first saw this in 1997. Had a friend get-together where each of us would bring a movie (on VHS!) that we loved but were pretty sure no one else had seen. No other planning was done, no one knew what others brought and viewing order was chosen out of a hat. This turned out to be the third film, following my choice at second: PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. I've banked the audible response when Shire's theme hit their eardrums as a favorite memory. An inadvertent Sargent double feature that couldn't be beat if you tried.
Was thinking about Braeden this morning as he reported that he was being evacuated from the fires in LA. Thought of his John Jacob Astor looking up at the sea water pouring in through Titanic's ceiling and hoping for the best in a terrible situation.
Sorry to run on. You hit a sweet spot for me on this one.
I agree: Heston or Peck could’ve done this in their sleep, but it’s Braeden’s complete lack of movie star magic that sells this for me. He looks like the kind of guy who would spearhead an insane project, thinking he’s Bond when he’s actually the villain.
That's a hell of Sargent double feature - it could have gone so horribly wrong, though I still have a soft spot for Jaws: The Revenge! As for Pelham, well, that Shire theme is my ringtone, and anyone phoning me needs to understand that this guy don't pick up until the horns kick in. But now I have to ask: if Pelham was #2 and Colossus was #3, what was the first one?
And never be sorry to run on - part of the beauty of this whole endeavour is reading other people's experiences of these movies. You may ramble with impunity here!
I too have a soft spot for Jaws: The Revenge! Far more entertaining than J:3D, so not even the worst of the sequels. It gets tossed up as a sleight to Sargent a lot, but I doubt there are many- if any- directors who could have made "Revenge" a good movie, but nobody has improved on Pelham and they've taken two shots at it. (I also have the theme as a ringtone and use it for an alarm when I want the day to start right.)
Looking at the Forbins now blatantly saying their creations will break a mountain of eggs to make an omelet, Braeden is way classier than the destroyers we ended up with.
The first movie was Freaked, a very silly Alex Winter movie that I only saw the one time, but enjoyed very much in the moment. It at least has Randy Quaid giving the funniest line delivery of "Paper cup?" I've seen to date. The remaining movies were the musical version of Little Shop of Horrors (that friend didn't take into account that we'd all seen it already, but enjoyed it still) and Diva. There was a time when I could watch five movies in a row from sundown to sunup, but those days are long ago and very much missed.
I feel like Sargent gets a lot of stick as a journeyman, but you're right: Jaws 4 would never have been any good. I seem to remember that it was rushed into production partly to help publicise the Jaws ride at Universal, but that might be wrong. Where else could you see Michael Caine play a character named Hoagie?
Freaked - oh man, I've also only seen it once, but I remember it too fondly to revisit (I was young). Little Shop of Horrors remains one of my all-time favourite musicals and Diva! - yikes, I haven't seen that in YEARS. A hell of a line-up, that. Your friends had excellent, esoteric tastes
I have lucked out in the friend department. Most of them are in far flung places now, but I liked the friend who brought Diva so much, I married her. Smartest decision I ever made. Jury's still out on it for her.
"I remember it too fondly to revisit" is a perfect mindset. One I try to stick to for certain movies. It's good to let an excellent first-viewing experience to be that for the long run.
I haven't read it, but have learned that the novelization of Jaws 4 includes a voodoo practitioner who is somehow involved in drawing the shark to the Bahamas. Novelizations were often based on early versions of the script (they were how we encountered deleted scenes before laserdisc and DVD), so it could have easily been worse. Caine's Hoagie and his magically drying shirt and Mario "Too Charismatic to Kill Even Though He Obviously Dies" van Peebles help the medicine go down. I also love the cut from Ellen arriving in sharkless Bahamas (because no one ever says, "Afraid of sharks? Move to Nebraska.") to the shark swimming southward. Would dearly love an insert shot when her son is talking into the move of the shark in a van going Harry Caul on the phone line.
Was just talking about this movie the other day for a tentative interview / podcast on video store days. Overlooked it for years, then finally watched it with a friend—we both fell in love with it, and although it's been 20 years since I've seen it, that ending has always stuck. So much so that when we ended the 5 issue run of our dumb little video store / promo zine, we included Colossus' final speech as the last page. So glad when someone brings this movie up.
That ending is a doozy for sure - even as a lover of '70s movies and in thrall to the downer endings, that one's still a surprise. I'm still not entirely sure why. It might be that it follows through on the premise all the way, which is rare. Still mulling that one over. Drop us a link to the podcast, by the way!
If it ever comes out, will do, hahahahaha!
Yeah, there is something uncanny about that ending, it left me with a feeling that I've never quite been able to put my finger on. I make Colossus jokes to this day, even though like, 2 people I know have any idea what I'm talking about.
Those are the best jokes. Sometimes people need to do homework to laugh. Though I'll admit, if you're asking people how many times per week they need to have sex, someone'll be on the phone to HR.
I watched this one a decade or two ago, and I need to view it again. More recently, I watched a similar doomsday movie about a hyperintelligent ant colony, Phase IV. Sounds like it would be right up your alley.