Throwback Thursday – We Are Movie Geeks

Throwback Thursday: “Bad Labor – No Coffee Break” Movies

Hollywood is filled with movies honoring working people and labor unions. I like labor unions but not everyone does – and well, labor unions (or union leaders) haven’t always been perfect. On Labor Day, we ran a pro-labor list but to reflect that other viewpoint, this edition of Throwback Thursday focuses on a Labor Behaving Badly list – films about bad or crooked union bosses, strikes gone wrong, workers behaving badly, and even a few anti-union films.

On The Waterfront (1954)

This excellent drama from director Elia Kazan is the gold standard of this kind of film, with a corrupt union boss (Lee J. Cobb) who have become a virtual dictator, treating the union like his own little army to do his bidding. One man, Terry Malone (Marlon Brando), stands up to him and breaks the power of the boss. Bad behavior indeed, and one heck of a good movie.

Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)

Union corruption, violence, drugs and prostitution – labor is keeping pretty bad company here. Set in a crime-ridden Brooklyn, it the lives of a mixed group of people struggling at the bottom of the economic ladder. Stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a prostitute who falls in love with a client.

F.I.S.T. (1978)

Said to be a fictionalized version of Jimmy Hoffa’s rise to union power, Norman Jewison’s drama features Sylvester Stallone as Johnny Kovak, a man who joins the Teamsters union and works his way up, becoming more ruthless as he climbs. Not as stylish a film as Hoffa, and one thing is sure: Sylvester Stallone is no Jack Nicholson.

Waiting for Superman (2010)

Know what’s wrong with public schools? Huge class sizes? More spending on athletics than academics? School superintendents getting huge salaries? Naw, it’s teachers unions! High schools really DO need a principal and two vice principals for every grade, plus an executive principal for the whole school.

I’m All Right, Jack (1959)

The Brits had problems with complacent, bloated unions and corrupt union leaders in the post-WWII years too, but this film tackles that issue by going the mocking, cynical humor instead of “On The Waterfront’s” drama. Peter Sellers plays goofy Fred Kite, a dimwitted union leader who adores the Soviet Union and believes his workers should do as little work as possible. The strike was actually deliberately provoked. as away to raise his price on a lucrative military contract. More a case of dumb union leaders rather than corruption.

Blue Collar (1978)

Union corruption is the theme here, clearly in the vein of “On the Waterfront.” Three Detroit auto workers (Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto), unhappy with both management and the union, decide to break in a local union office and rob it. The cash amount in the safe is disappointingly small but they find something else – documents suggesting links to organized crime and other signs of union leader corruption.

Billy Elliot (2000)

The main story of this film is about a working-class boy who does something unexpected by falling in love with ballet, but the backdrop is Northeast England during the 1984-85 coal miners strike. Local miners went on strike, trying to prevent the shutdown of the mines by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but it all went wrong. In some areas, miners kept working, the union failed to take a vote at the national level, and many other unions didn’t support the striking miners union. The failure of the strike was a major blow to unions in Britain, Britain went from 174 mines in 1983 to 6 in 2009, many of the mining towns vanished, and Britain now imports most of its coal.

North Country (2005)

Neither management or union officials look good in this fictionalized film based of the efforts of several real women in the ’70s and ’80s, who dared to want to work jobs in formerly men-only industries. Charlize Theron plays the beleaguered composite character, a single mother drawn to that bigger paycheck for “men’s work” and outside the low-paid “pink collar” fields. Management is sexist, co-workers are abusive and the union does nothing to help.

The Molly Maguires (1970)

In the pre-union years of the Industrial Revolution, both bosses and workers could get pretty bare-knuckled to get what they wanted. Based on a true story, this film about Pennsylvania coal miners features a thuggish proto-union group, the Molly Maguires, led by Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery), battling the company for better pay and decent working conditions. Unlike actual unions, the Molly Maguires don’t mind breaking equipment, heads or laws. But the bosses play tough too – they call in the Pinkertons and things get bloody. The film is directed by Martin Ritt, who also directed “Norma Rae.”

Won’t Back Down (2012)

Kind of a fictional version of “Waiting for Superman,” with two moms (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) deciding the teachers union is to blame for their failing school. However, in this version, the corrupt teachers union is working with a corrupt school board to make everything bad for students. But the solution is the same as “Waiting for Superman” – privatized public “charter” schools, which actually, on average, have the same success rate as regular public schools or worse. As this film sees it, good teachers are on call 24/7 and don’t expect to be paid for their work – they just do it for the love of their students.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: WAMG’s Favorite Johnny Depp Films

A film based on a Disneyland ride! Everyone thought, “Are they high?” And Johnny Depp to boot? Well actually, that was always a good idea.

Once again the multi-faceted actor is on brink of opening another chapter in the wildly popular PIRATES franchise. Along for the ride are newcomers Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, and Sam Clafin, as well as fan favorite Captain Barbossa Geoffrey Rush.

Maybe its kismet that brought Depp and Penelope Cruz together again some 10 years after they appeared together in 2001’s BLOW. A decade later the former would be a 3-time Oscar nominee, the later an Academy Award winner.

One of the Geeks has fond memories from 1995 while working at Paramount where Depp was shooting NICK OF TIME. The actor took the time to speak to the tours. Friendly right from the start!

Even with the fourth PIRATES opening this weekend and with estimates reaching as high as a $90M – $100M, there’s no stopping the biggest actor on the planet from his next role…or roles. Look for Johnny Depp in GK Films THE RUM DIARY on October 28, 2011, Warner Bros. Pictures’ release of Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS on May 11, 2012 (which just began shooting) and Tonto – to Armie Hammer Lone Ranger – in Jerry Bruckheimer’s THE LONE RANGER. (http://www.jbfilms.com/#/film/lone-ranger)

Oh, and don’t forget that Depp also has a small, uncredited cameo in Sony Pictures remake of 21 JUMP STREET on March 16, 2012.

Phew!

Below are a sampling of our special Johnny films. So have at it readers…what are your favorite Depp roles? THE LIBERTINE, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, CHOCOLAT, WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET? Let us know which films you would have included on our list.

Ph: Peter Mountain ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Glen Lantz

Here’s where it all began.

ED WOOD

ED WOOD speaks to the passionate cinema-loving man-child in all of us, who just cannot play it straight with the big guys and has to live the independent route–even if he does suck. For the first time in Johnny Depp’s career, he was able show what he’s capable of in a leading role. Depp brings this naive charisma and desperation to make motion pictures however the heck he wants to Wood, who clearly had to have had a few screws loose to make the movies he made. Since Wood also took pleasure in dressing up in womens’ clothes, particularly angora sweaters, this adds another quirky dimension to a film that most would recognize as one of burtonâ€™s very best. Depp plays those scenes with a silly modesty.

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS

Raoul Duke

Johnny Depp transformed himself, running full throttle with little to no regard for his own personal sanity, when adapting Raoul Duke for the big screen. Clearly in tune not only with Hunter S. Thompson’s literary vision, but also the uniquely quirky one-of-a-kind imagination of director Terry Gilliam, Depp paints a wildly abstract cinematic portrait of a man made as boldly brilliant and bat-shit nuts by his unconditional love affair with controlled substances.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

Edward

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are like peanut butter and jelly… on bread shaped like funny little animals! The two have colaborated on some pretty amazing projects, starting with Edward Scissorhands. Sure, Depp had been in films before, but had not played a character quite like Edward. Depp wanted to break free of his “teen idol” image, and that he did. . The character of Edward is an interesting one, filled with fantasy, innocence, and wonder. Actually, Depp had to convey a wide array of emotion when playing Edward, while only saying 169 words throughout the entire film. This began a long running collaboration with Burton that continues to amaze audiences.

BENNY AND JOON

Sam

Johnny Depp created an inspiring role as one half of an unconventional couple in BENNY & JOON by displaying his talent virtually silent. His Buster Keaton-esque performance displayed yet another aspect of his immense talent as an actor and as an unforgettable character. Just one of Mr. Depp’s many memorable and charming films we have grown to love over the years.

DONNIE BRASCO

Donnie

In 1997 Johnny got to leave the Tim Burton fantasies and veer into Scorsese/Lumet territory with DONNIE BRASCO. With this true story, Depp showed he could hold his own on screen with a cinema icon. While he shared some great scenes with his on screen wife Anne Heche, the real chemistry was between Depp and Al Pacino as the low level mob runner Lefty.

THE NINTH GATE

Dean Corso

One of favorite Depp films, it was truly black magic when Depp joined forces with director Roman Polanski for this eerie supernatural thriller. The film depicted so dark a mood, that even we feared for Depp as he went up against the evil author of The Nine Gates.

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Ichabod Crane

The role of Ichabod Crane was tailor made for Depp. What with his build and physical stature, the persona of the actor and the character seemed interchangeable. If any director and actor could bring Irving Washington’s tale to the big screen it was be the pairing of Depp and director Tim Burton.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

The Mad Hatter

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jabberwock, my son

The frumious Bandersnatch!’

Director Tim Burton could simply not pass up the opportunity to put his spin on this classic tale, originally published by Lewis Caroll in 1865. Giving The Mad Hatter a more substantial role, unlike in the original, was all part of that plan, and who better to play the role than Johnny Depp. (Fun Fact: “Mad Hatter” or “Mad as a Hatter” was a term used to describe hat makers that were affected by mercury poisoning. Mercury was used in the hat making process at one point, and caused anything from “hatters shakes” to hallucinations.) Depp plays the character with an added richness. The character is not just “mad”, he is fearless, passionate, and intense.

“I always saw the Hatter as kind of tragic,” says Depp. “He’s a victim in a lot of ways. The mercury has certainly taken its toll, but there’s a tragic element to his past in this particular version that weighs pretty heavily on the character.”

Not to say Depp is lacking of a sense of humor, one last video.

Throwback Thursday: Best Picture Winners

3 Days to go until Hollywood’s big night – the 83rd annual Academy Awards. With THE KING’S SPEECH as the presumed front-runner and THE SOCIAL NETWORK hot on its heels, the race still may be too close to call. In a special Oscar edition of Throwback Thursday, we decided to have a look back at some of the previous Best Picture winners. Here are some of the highlights to what the WAMG crew considers to be among the Academy’s Best Picture winners. Tell us below what your favorite Best Picture is.

Jim: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) “There have been several movies based on this historical incident, but 1935’s MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the superior version thanks to the lavish MGM production values and a cast anchored by Clark Gable’s noble Fletcher Christian and Charles Laughton’s despicably cruel Captain Bligh.”

Travis: THE HURT LOCKER (2009) “It may be a bit long, but that’s like getting to ride the best roller coaster twice in a row without waiting in line a second time. Kathryn Bigelow’s direction reveals her passion for detail and Jeremy Renner’s performance teeters on the edge of insanity.”

Melissa T: BRAVEHEART (1995) “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but this awesome epic got him a set of bookends made of Oscar gold.”

Tom: UNFORGIVEN (1992) “Served by uniformly strong acting and by Clint Eastwood’s wonderfully understated direction in the grand tradition of Hollywood golden era directors such as John Ford or Howard Hawks, UNFORGIVEN was a powerful coda to the western genre and Eastwood’s definitive masterpiece.”

Travis: MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004) “It flourished on controversy — a film in two parts — both tackling topics of difficult “fights,” creating a ripple of social debate and helping the film take it’s place in cinematic history.”

Michelle: CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) “The British Are Coming was the victory cry heard round the world by night’s end of the 54th Academy Awards.”

Jim: THE STING (1973) “It’s a terrifically entertaining con-game comedy and a loving homage to all that’s wonderful about the movies produced during Hollywood’s golden age in the 1930’s.”

Travis: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) “It hits a nerve, bringing the darkly pessimistic writing of Cormac McCarthy together with the quirky intensity of the Coen brothers’ direction. Javier Bardem’s performance is just freaky and frighteningly good!”

Tom: MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) “It’s the story of two losers who find each other and the hostile, uncaring environment that surrounds them. The only film rated X to win the best picture Oscar, MIDNIGHT COWBOY becomes stranger, sleazier, and more heartbreaking as it ages.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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Throwback Thursday: ‘Swimming With Sharks’

I could start out in the most obvious and typical way by asking you if you’ve ever had a boss you hate. A boss you’d love to tell off, or, dare I say… a boss you yearn to see bad things happen to? Well, that’s not what I’m going to do.

“Shut up! Listen! Learn!” — Buddy

Weakness, and power, or the illusion of power… however you want to spin it, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS is all about survival of the fittest amidst the hounds of Hollywood. All the stories, the rumors, the gossip that emits radioactive frequency of negativity and cruelty, it all comes to life here in George Huang’s sharply written and unabashedly dark comedy about life in Hollywood as a schmuck assistant.

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS stars Frank Whaley (BROKEN ARROW, RED DRAGON) as Guy, an characteristically mannered and innocent young man from up-state New York who takes a job as Buddy Ackerman’s new personal assistant. Kevin Spacey plays Buddy Ackerman, a major producer for Keystone Pictures (an imaginary stdio). Buddy is the most vile, rude, selfish and inconsiderate son-of-a-bi*** you’ll never meet outside of celluloid. And, Kevin Spacey is a brilliant a**hole!

As the story goes, writer/director George Huang once held a position not unlike that of Guy’s, working for Columbia Pictures. The Buddy Ackerman character was apparently inspired by real-life producer Joel Silver, for whom Huang once worked. In Robert Rodriguez’s memoir REBEL WITHOUT A CREW, he recounts how he and George Huang met. After sharing some of his movie ideas with Rodriguez, the director told Huang he should just go out and make them. Huang quit his job and pursued making SWIMMING WITH SHARKS.

“You are nothing! If you were in my toilet I wouldn’t bother flushing it. My bathmat means more to me than you!” — Buddy

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS is a non-linear story. Cutting back and forth from current day as Guy battles his own desires for vengeance and inner morality, to his trials of serving as Buddy’s door mat and personal slave in an effort to merge onto the fast track highway to big time Hollywood. The film has a similar structure in ways to PULP FICTION, but was clearly coincidental (at least mostly) and the two films both came out in theaters in 1994. In between, the uncomfortably unnatural relationship between Guy and producer Dawn Lockard (Michelle Forbes) develops, which will serve as the catalyst for the film’s ending.

Frank Whaley… do you even remember him? Perhaps not from FIELD OF DREAMS or THE DOORS, maybe from CAREER OPPORTUNITIES? Really? Well, you’re sure to remember Mr. Whaley and his “big brain” as Brett from PULP FICTION. Personally, Frank’s certainly not the greatest actor, but it was a fun, if not disturbing, ride of delirious ambition as Guy goes from a naive small town boy to becoming a ruthless kidnapper, torturing Buddy in his own home in an act of passionate rage and revenge.

Kevin Spacey appears to be having far too much fun in this role… well, except for the torture scenes. Buddy Ackerman is a truly horrible human being one moment and then shrugs it off like nothing happened as soon as Guy leaves his presence. Buddy is just putting on a show most of the time. It begs the question, is he really this big of a jerk, or is he playing into the expected role of a person in his position? There are moments when you actually believe Buddy may just be putting Guy through all this to teach him how to survive in the biz.

“I’ve handled the phones, I’ve juggled the bimbos, I, I’ve put up with the tyrants, the yellers, the screamers. I’ve done more than you can even imagine in that small mind of yours. I paid my dues!” — Buddy

As difficult as it is to swallow, Buddy finally opens up to Guy during his torture revealing a side of himself we hadn’t seen before. Buddy explains how he once went through everything Guy is currently going through, minus the torture. An interesting observation… Spacey’s performance during Buddy’s monologue about his dead wife has the familiar feel of “Verbil” Kint’s ramblings to Agent Kujan in THE USUAL SUSPECTS. Clearly Singer and McQuarrie were fans of SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, nabbing the film’s two best actors.

Benicio Del Toro plays Rex, the former assistant to Buddy, now moving on to become Vice President of Production for Paramount. His are the shoes that Guy must fill. Del Toro did not have a largely significant rle in the story, primarily appearing in the first twenty minutes or so, but what the role did was to help Del Toro build his career. Prior to SWS, Del Toro had bit roles in MONEY FOR NOTHING, FEARLESS and CHINA MOON. Maybe you remember him from his feature film debut, appearing as Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in BIG TOP PEE WEE?

No, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS was the role that chronologically led Del Toro to Bryan Singer, where he would permanently brand himself and his image on our collective brains as Fenster in THE USUAL SUSPECTS. As interesting observation… During the drawn-out scene in which Rex is basically showing Guy the ropes, laying it out for him, Buddy takes it upon himself to comment on Rex’s name, suggesting it’s more fit for a mutt and calls him “dog boy.” A friendly reference to his first film, perhaps?

“Life is not a movie. Good guys lose, everybody lies, and love… does not conquer all.” — Buddy

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS ends with a bang (wink) after an intense three-way confrontation between Buddy, Guy and Dawn. In this memorable scene, the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, righteous and ridiculous are all blurred. Following this scene is the final scene of the film, bringing us full circle and revealing the outcome of the three-way confrontation with ironic results.

Here’s the trailer, but take it with a grain of salt. It’s cut to make the film look like a much lighter, run of the mill comedy than the dark brutal comedy it actually is…

Throwback Thursday: ‘Five Easy Pieces’

With 12 nominations, Jack Nicholson has had more Academy Awards nods than any other male performer in history. He ties for the most acting nominations period with Katherine Hepburn and only Meryl Streep has more with 14. His nomination for his performance in Bob Rafelson’s ‘Five Easy Pieces’ wasn’t Nicholson’s first nomination, either. That came from his supporting role in ‘Easy Rider,’ but it was his turn as Bobby Dupea, a man born with flawless musical talents but not the desire to make it his passion in life, that made the world stand up and take notice of Nicholson as a leading man.

It’s not just Nicholson’s performance that makes ‘Five Easy Pieces’ such a standout in American cinema, either. Rafelson shoots the characters in his film with a distanced, calculated eye, forcing each character to live in the background while driving their actions to the forefront. He depicts the dirty world of oil rig workers with as much care and depth as he does the eccentric upper class. A scene early in the film shows Nicholson’s character standing in the middle of the orange fields of the oil rigs, and the cloud-filled sky above seems to be pressing down on him, almost as if it represents another world trying to get in. The most classic of imagery comes in the form of Dupea sitting in the back of a moving pickup truck, playing a piano with flawless grace as the driver of the truck moves the vehicle forward, oblivious to the beauty that is coming from the instrument.

Carole Eastman’s screenplay is equally flawless. In the early moments of the film, we are shown Bobby going about his routine life. He drives to work with his friend, Elton, played by Billy Green Bush, who some of you might remember would go on later in life to play the father in ‘Critters.’ Bobby works at the oil rigs, drinks with his pals, makes time with his girlfriend, and only in times of great emotional stress lets anyone close to him know there is something deeper going on. When Bobby’s world shifts a bit, not a big shift, but just enough for him to take notice, he seeks out a family member. He goes to visit his sister, a pianist who, while gifted, could never hold a candle to Bobby. It is from her that Bobby realizes his father has had a stroke, and may be nearing the end of his life. With his blue-collar life beginning to shake a bit and the upper-class world of his youth crying for him to come back into it if even for just a little while, Bobby decides to visit his family. He takes his girlfriend, Rayette, played exquisitely by Karen Black, with him even though he is embarrassed by her, and the weeks he spends with his family drive his emotions to the surface to the point where he must make a choice.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ was playing the same note ‘Good Will Hunting’ would give us nearly 30 years later. However, unlike ‘Good Will Hunting,’ ‘Five Easy Pieces’ is perfectly capable of sustaining its minimalist plot throughout, never making overly dramatic steps towards Bobby’s revelation about his own life or forcing him to make that choice. It feels so much more naturalistic, and, as such, it is a far truer to life depiction of what it means to be truly incredible at something but have not passion for it. Bobby is a man who cannot love, and throughout much of the film, we feel that he has no need for love coming back to him, either. This proves untrue, as he begins a fascination with his brother’s fiancee, played by Susan Anspach. Still, he cannot bring himself to love anything, including her, and a scene near the end where she turns Bobby’s lack of feeling back around so that he can see it is both quiet and emotional at the same time.

Like a shark, Bobby must keep moving. As he says “Not because I’m looking for anything really, but because I’m getting away from things that get bad if I stay.” The final scene of the film proves that he intends to move on once more. It is an incredibly ambiguous ending, one that Rafelson and Nicholson came up with on their own. Eastman’s original ending was much more dramatic and much darker, yet Rafelson and Nicholson both felt that the ending they chose was more suited to the character. It leaves a remaining piece of a puzzle that is being assembled throughout the rest of the film. It leaves questions open that may have modern audiences squirming in their seats, yet it plays the character to a tee. There simply is no other way for ‘Five Easy Pieces’ to end.

The most famous scene in the film comes during a stop at a diner. Bobby and Rayette are sitting on one side of the table. A pair of female hitchhikers, played by Helena Kallianiotes and Toni Basil, who the couple have picked up are seated on the other side. A waitress stands over the table, telling Bobby, who has just ordered, that he cannot have a side of toast. “No special orders,” says a sign hanging high in the restaurant. Bobby makes attempt after attempt at getting what he wants, finally relegating to ordering a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, hold the chicken salad. “You want me to hold the chicken?” queries the waitress. “I want you to hold it between your knees,” retorts Bobby. The waitress tells the four to leave the restaurant, which they do, but not before Bobby swipes the table clean of drinks and menus with one brush of his arm. Instantly, Jack Nicholson as we know him was born. Amazingly enough, 30 years later, Nicholson would somewhat reenact the scene in Alexander Payne’s ‘About Schmidt.’ This time around, however, Nicholson, now playing a broken, old man, would partake in acceptance rather than defiance. This scene doesn’t appear in the final version of Payne’s film, and can be seen as a deleted scene on the DVD.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ went on to receive four Academy Award nominations for Nicholson, Black for her supporting role, Rafelson and Eastman for their screenplay, and Best Picture. It didn’t win any of these losing out both Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor to ‘Patton’ and its star, George C. Scott. While three of the other five Best Picture nominations that year (‘Patton,’ ‘Love Story,’ and ‘M*A*S*H*’) would go one to be considered classics, none of them resonate as much or hold as much power that still comes from Rafelson’s film. Black lost to Helen Hayes for her supporting portrayal in ‘Airport,’ but she probably should have lost to Sally Kellerman for ‘M*A*S*H*.’

Incidentally, the five pieces as indicated by the film’s title are Fantasy in F Minor Op. 49 by Chopin, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue by Bach, E-flat Major Concerto K.271 by Mozart, Prelude Opus 28 by Chopin, and Fantasy in D Minor K.397 by Mozart.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ is a bona fide classic, a staggering depiction of self-propelled failure and the loneliness one feels when they don’t know their place in life. Bobby Dupea is an outstandingly written, crafted, and portrayed character in American film. His actions, though not always the best for anyone involved, are unequivocal and every one serves to define who he is. He is truly a great character in American cinema, and, if for nothing else, he led us to one of the greatest actors, as well.

Throwback Thursday: ‘Miller’s Crossing’ (1990)

Just listening to Carter Burwell’s score for this film alone is enough to make my day. I just recently watched MILLER’S CROSSING again for the umptee-nth time and I swear to you the DVD menu played in it’s loop for a good 15-20 minutes before I even hit play, listening to the Opening Titles track. Burwell’s score is haunting and enchanting at the same time, drawing from traditional Irish music and notched up with a bit of cinematic flair. The film however, proved somewhat challenging for the Coen Brothers, who suffered writer’s block during the scripting of the film. As a remedy, Joel and Ethan took a few weeks off and in that time wrote a film about writer’s block called BARTON FINK.

The opening scene is very reminiscent of Coppola’s THE GODFATHER, but does so with dignity and yet still has Coen Brothers written all over it. Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) is asking Leo to have Bernie “taken out” to reconcile an offense, but his request is denied since Bernie pays Leo protection money. The scene sets the tone of the film and makes clear that while this is a genre film, there’s no mistaking that it’s a Coen Brothers film, first and foremost.

MILLER’S CROSSING is easily one of the top ten gangster films of all time, but likely won’t make the majority of the lists. This is due in part to it’s relative lack of notoriety amidst the general public, but is also due in part to an under-appreciation of this fine film. Aside from the music, MILLER’S CROSSING is also an incredibly well shot film, masterfully photographed as if they had an endless supply of golden hours in which to shoot. The film was shot by cinematographer turned director Barry Sonnenfeld, accompanied by Michael R. Miller’s very capable editing.

Perhaps the most powerful in the entire film is the static shot over which the film’s title appears. As the Opening Titles music eases to a close, a bowler (hat) is dropped right-side up on the ground which is covered with the crunchy brown fallen leaves of autumn. A gust of wind kicks up and blows the hat gracefully off into the distance in subtle slow-motion. This scene can be compared to the wind-blown plastic grocery bag scene in AMERICAN BEAUTY (only less effective that the scene in MILLER’S CROSSING) whereas Ricky Fitts finds beauty and meaning in an otherwise insignificant occurrence.

The hat’s little ballet, which later takes on a more significant role in Tom’s story, moves us into the meat of the film. Tom Regan (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to broker peace between two rival crime bosses, but finds himself torn between loyalties as he pursues an affair with crime boss Leo’s (Albert Finney) girl Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). MILLER’S CROSSING takes place during the prohibition era. Leo is the boss of the Irish mob and Johnny Caspar, his rival, is boss of the Italian mob. Tom Regan is the guy in the middle attempting to avoid an all out war between the two families.

John Turturro plays Verna’s slimy, arrogant brother Bernie. He’s hiding out, not staying in one place too long and trying to get Tom Regan to help him out, but no one really likes Bernie except for his sister Verna. Everyone is trying to work the angle of Tom’s debt to Lazarre, knowing he’s in deep, but Tom is a man of principle, which comes in handy as a go-between for mob family talks. Tom has his head on straight, but he’s also too stubborn for his own good at times. Steve Buscemi plays Mink, a neurotic wormy little weasel who’s constantly wound like a spider-monkey with Red Bull flowing intravenously into his veins. Mink is an informant, known for knowing things. J.E. Freeman is great as Eddie Dane, Caspar’s “shadow” and no excuses, get-the-job-done hitman nicknamed The Dane for his intimidating height.

The film also has some great, gritty scenes of mob violence, including one of my favorites being Johnny Caspar’s first attempt to take Leo out, sending two men armed with Tommy Guns to Leo’s house. Caspar’s goons take out Leo’s guard with ease, but find the aging Leo hasn’t lost his wits nor his ability to kick some mobster ass, if necessary. In brilliant Coen Brothers fashion, the entire tense lead-flinging scene is cut to an operatic rendition of “Danny Boy” creating beauty in madness.

MILLER’S CROSSING is certainly a gangster film, but it really draws from many eras and influences in a long history of gangster films. Stylistically, the film is a cross-pollination of the gangster film and film noir. Tom’s dialogue is often written with the sharp and direct dialogue of the anti-hero from classic noir greats. Tom serves as a sort of hard-nosed noir private detective for Leo, working the angles to his own benefit while also mediating the squeeze on Leo for control of the city from Caspar.

When things start to go awry with Leo, Tom finds himself jockeying for a position of security as the tensions between Leo and Caspar thicken. Choosing sides based on what’s best for his own survival, Tom becomes a lone wolf in sheep’s clothing. The forlorn Tom Regan, thrown out to fend for himself, must make one important decision of life and death, in turn weighing his own life in the scales of moral justice. Tom quickly learns that he made the wrong decision and must work twice as hard to survive as a result. In the end, Tom learns to pull the strings, setting the rival pawns in play to take each other out while Tom gets a second chance to make the “right” decision.

Bernie: “Look in your heart.”
Tom: “What heart”?

This film is especially enjoyable for the more extreme movie geeks, as I am certain one could classify the Coen Brothers themselves. MILLER’S CROSSING has hidden homages to cinematic masterpieces. The long walk up the steps by Leo’s would-be assassins can imply influence from De Palma’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and the staircase scene, or from Coppola’s incredible montage of rival mafia Don’s being strategically taken out in THE GODFATHER. Watch for the boxing poster that appears in the film. The name Lars Thorwald is printed on the poster, which also happens to be the name of Raymond Burr’s character in Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW. Or, even the endlessly ringing phone in Tom’s apartment, which is a throwback to Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.

MILLER’S CROSSING also features a couple of noteworthy cameos for the most discerning movie geeks out there. Frances McDormand, a frequent player in Coen Brothers films and wife to Joel Coen, appears in a cameo as the mayor’s secretary. Sam Raimi, director of the EVIL DEAD and SPIDER-MAN films and long time friend and colleague of the Coen Brothers, appears in a cameo as the cocky two-pistol wielding tan overcoat-wearing gunman during the massive police gunfight at the Sons of Erin Club.

Having opened in October 1990 in the US, MILLER’S CROSSING is yet another fantastic film that is considered a failure by the studio, which was 20th Century Fox. The film cost an estimated $14 million to make, grossing just over $5 million in the domestic box office. MILLER’S CROSSING was nominated for four obscure awards, winning two of them, but regrettably received no love from Oscar in 1990. The DVD didn’t see the light of day until May 2003, featuring a featurette with Barry Sonnenfeld and cast interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Marcia gay Harden and John Turturro.

Throwback Thursday: ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’

I have found few fantasy films that appeal both the children and adults as intelligently and successfully, with such creativity and flair as ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’. It is true, I am a devout follower of the cinematic God known as Terry Gilliam, but there’s a reason for that… he’s freaking brilliant. I have my own personal pantheon of filmmakers that I admire to the point of being borderline obsessive… Coen Brothers, Darren Aronofsky, Zhang Yimou and (of course) Terry Gilliam, to name a few.

But I digress. On with the show, a marvelous array of whimsical theatrics known as ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’. The film opens with an immediate dose of Gilliam’s own unique style and flair for the ironic and absurd. As the score by Eric idle and Michael Kamen throws us directly into the time and place of the film, white titles appear on screen indicating the era known as the Age of Reason – Late 18th Century… BOOM! Violent and destructive war ravages the land as cannon balls plunge into stone and flesh alike. No worries mum and daddy, the scene is not nearly as graphic as I indulge.

The play of this opening scene against itself sets the tone of the film, the clashing of reality with the perceived reality of the most amazing Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen (John Neville), seasoned adventurer turned old and feeble weaver of intricate tales. Through the chaos of war, Gilliam pulls us into the intimate and misleading safety of the theater, filled with patrons temporarily withdrawn from the horrible reality which surrounds them as they allow themselves to be entertained by performers interpreting the life and experience of one Baron Munchausen.

Struggling to survive while aching to perform, the thespians find themselves suddenly put upon with a scolding the one and only, very real and alive true Baron Munchausen. Appalled by the mere suggestion that this performance does anything but disgrace and insult his very life, Munchausen sets in motion an epic flashback to his younger and more aptly mobile years as he spins a yarn of eccentric characters and fantastic encounters that make the most vivid fairy tales seem dull.

Gilliam’s film is a lyrical endeavor, both visually and orally. Designed and photographed to illicit the unmistakable appeal of childhood fairy tales, sets, props, costumes and especially lighting are combined creating a version of reality that exists within Munchausen’s mind, but whether it ever truly existed and to what extent is left for the viewer to decide on their own. This story is Munchausen’s life as he remembers it, much like we look back on on interpret our own lives as we grow older. We all prefer to focus on the positive parts of years past, over time diminishing the power of the negative parts we once found ourselves mired within. ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchuasen’ is a celebration of this conflicting yet transition of one man’s former self to his realization of his current self.

Legendary Italian cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno delivers a marvelous display of rich and vivid color, a teaming of contrast and camera movement that blurs the lines between reality and fiction along with a perfectly realized collaboration of Gilliam’s genius with working in shadows and color accompanied by bold angles and descriptive depth of field. Rotunno frequently worked with Federico Fellini, but has also been an integral part of other successful films including Sydney Pollack’s SABRINA, Dario Argento’s THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, ALL THAT JAZZ, POPEYE and RED SONJA.

While most of the film is bright and vivid, playful and perhaps at times even a bit sexual in a suggestive manner, a major turning point for Munchausen comes early in the film when he nearly dies from multiple cannon blasts converging upon the theater. In this one, especially dark and menacing scene, Gilliam’s interpretation of Death descends upon Munchausen, but just as Death is upon him, a brave young peasant girl named Sally Salt comes to his rescue.

Sally, played by a young Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter, Dawn of the Dead), becomes an inspiration to Munchausen as a sliver of his former self emerges just as he is about to give up and surrender to Death, disgusted with how the world has turned out. In a glorious moment of reclaimed youth and dignity, Munchausen commands a battalion of soldiers to silence the very enemy cannons that nearly ended his life moments ago. Despite his sudden valor, his actions fail to convince his skeptical audience and Munchausen endeavors to round up his former motley crew of companions to join forces one last time to help end this terrible war.

“Kindly be so good as to remove your knickers.” — Baron Munchausen, requesting the cloth from some fair ladies to construct a makeshift hot air balloon by which to locate and collect his loyal companions, Berthold (Eric Idle), Adolphus (Charles McKeown), Albrecht (Winston Dennis) and Gustavus (Jack Purvis). Reminiscing the glory of the old days, Munchausen recalls their great skills of speed, strength, accuracy and disproportionately powerful lungs. Once aboard the undergarment aircraft, Munchausen discovers Sally has stowed away and he reluctantly takes her on what will become the most dangerous yet memorable journey of her life.

Munchausen finds difficulty at first reconciling his memories of his talented companions with their current tired and aged reality, but eventually finds a way to muster that spark buried deep within their defeated souls to once more emerge to save the day. With Sally at his side, Munchausen manages to give his old friends (and himself) one last chance at being heroes and proving the tall tales within their memories had some validity.

‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ features an irrefutably talented ensemble cast of supporting characters. Jonathan Pryce plays The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson, Uma Thurman delivers an early and innocently seductive performance as the goddess Venus, Oliver Reed plays Venus’ brutish and temperamental husband Vulcan, Robin Williams plays the King of the Moon whose intellectual head separates from his mindlessly horny body, and even Sting appears in a small supporting cameo as a heroic military officer.

Originally released in the US in March 1989, the film that cost an estimated $46.6 million dollars to make opened with a meager box office tally falling just shy of $600,000 and grossed an even less impressive domestic box office of just over $8 million. A financial disaster for Columbia Pictures, ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ would also prove potentially disastrous for Terry Gilliam’s career as the first film after the epic battle he endured with 20th Century Fox over BRAZIL in 1985, which nearly convinced Gilliam to stop making movies altogether. Much of the turmoil was a result of numerous production setbacks combined with a change of regime within Columbia’s corporate studio structure. In an effort to undermine any potential glory for the previous regime, the new powers that be virtually buried ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ giving the film an extremely limited domestic release.

‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ is the final installment of an informal trilogy, serving as a metaphor for the three stages of human life. TIME BANDITS (1981) represents the stage of youth, BRAZIL (1985) represents middle-aged life and this film represents the elderly, or “golden” age. Unfortunately, due mostly to decisions outside of Gilliam’s control, TIME BANDITS is the only of these three films that is considered a financial success and it barely surpassed the break-even point.

Having two consecutive cinematic nightmares under his belt, Gilliam could have simply thrown in the towel, but he’s an artist obsessed with his vision and knack for visual storytelling and I am glad he stuck with his passion for movies. Fortunately, Gilliam’s vision and artistic brilliance was not lost on the critical community and his peers. The film was nominated for four Oscars, winning none, and nominated for 15 other awards, winning six. This, as with nearly all of Gilliam’s films have triumphed over the hardships and prevail as time-tested favorite films of movie geeks the world over and maintain a loyal and understanding appreciation from fans.

Throwback Thursday: ‘Moonwalker’

I thought that June 25th it might be a good idea to go back and take a look at Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker and see who if fares over time and after his death. The answer is a mixed one. I couldn’t help but like this film, but I laughed at all it’s lunacy crazy ideas.

Moonwalker is less of a film, and more of an experience. It’s actual story driven film doesn’t start until fourty minutes into the movie. Before that we’re given several music videos and a montage of Michael’s life. We start with “Man in the Mirror,” which is done through a montage of concert footage. There are girls screaming, fainting, trying desperately to get onto the stage, and of course Michael just rocking out and giving a truly great show. It’s truly aweinpiring in some cases when you see the huge arenas and oudoor venues he’d sell out.

This takes us into Michael’s life by showing us a small room filled with memorabilia from over the years. Everything from studded gloves to shoes and a lot of family photos, while we listen to sound bites from his early career and more. We then travel with the TV that turns into a space ship and we get a montage of his life done through a lot of claymation and clips from music videos and TV shows. The Jackson 5 footage is fantastic and it’s enhanced with some cool effects. If you’re a fan of Michael it’s really hard to sit through this enitre segment without getting a little depressed. The man’s career was packed with tallented hit after hit before the tabloids and rumors hit. This montage if filled with just hit after hit single and it starts to become a little staggering.

What comes next is “Badder” which is a famous interpretation of the “Bad” that’s done entirely by children. It still comes off as awesome and hilarious even two decades later. We get “Baby Bad” Michael walking off set and suddenly turning into adult Michael and we’re instantly off into another music video “Speed Demon” which is about fans and reporters chasing Michael across America and to get away from them he dresses up as a large claymation rabbit. We get this really strange real world/claymation hybrid that still works and a lot of it looks great. The rabbit version of Michael dances and moves just like Michael would and they even have a dance off. It’s classic.

That eventually moves us into “Leave Me Alone” which is Michael’s answer to the tabloids at the time. Michael is seen as taking a ride through a strange ammusement park that is actually his own body and life. We see glimpses of everything people were talking about him from own the Elephant Man’s body and even addresses the plastic surgery done to his nose. They even bring up little things like his supposed shrine to Liz Taylor. The entire video is imaginative and well made. It’s done with a strange semi-stopmotion animation style but with real photogrpahs manipulated in post. It’s a great statement and now looking back on it, maybe people should have left him alone.

When “Leave Me Alone” ends we’re finally treated to the real “movie” of Moonwalker. Moonwalker is the story of three kids, Zeke, Katie and Sean who all know Michael. They spy on him at night coming out of his nice apartment and then see him get gunned down by a group of soldiers and then we flash back to a time with all of the kids and Michael hanging out playing soccer. When their dog skipper gets lost in the woods, Michael and Katie go after him, getting lost and taken to a dark scary part of the forrest that isn’t dark or scary at all despite what Michael says.

Michael and Kate stumble into a factory making drugs by a japanese top knot wearing Joe Pesci calling himself “Mr Big”. It’s a very heavy handed approach of saying “drugs are bad, Michael Jackson says so”. Mr Big actually says “I want every kid in this world to take drugs because of me!” It’s just terrible acting and you don’t buy it for a second. I remember being five or six years old and thinking this guy was the most evil person in the world, but now, he’s just hacking his way through the role. Flash forward to when Michael was getting gunned down and we see that he ducks just in the nick of time.

There’s a huge chase between Michael and Mr Big’s security through the streets and they finally have Michael trapped. What happens next is the start of one of the craziest films of all time. Michael sees a shooting star and wishes on it, and then turns into a car. Yes Michael Jackson actually transformers into a futuristic (for the time) car and flies away.

The rest of the movie is just as absurred with scene after scene that makes little sense. They actually manage to fit in “Smooth Criminal,” which is a modern take on speak easys from the 1930s, and it some how makes sense despite the previous scene involving Michael turning into a car.

But if Michael turning into a car weren’t strange enough the finale involves the most insane ending of all time. I won’t give away the finale of course, but let’s just say Michael Jackson was the first Transformer to ever hit the big screen.

It’s really hard to do a serious review on this film because it’s not really a film. Sure it was on the big screen, but it’s more of a series of music videos and ideas with almost no plot to it at all. There’s no story until 45 minutes into the movie and that story doesn’t last much longer than 30 and then we get a concert with Michael singing “Come Together”. It’s a pretty good cover I guess, but after what you’d just seen for the past hour and 15 minutes it’s a pretty lack luster one.

Moonwalker should be seen by anyone even a little bit curious as to what was going on in Michael Jackson’s head. It’s confusing, but fun to watch. It really does achieve everything it tries to do, and for that I can’t fault it. It’s an insane trip through strange ideas and great music and in the end you’ll probably like it.

Throwback Thursday: ‘The King of Comedy’

“Why not me? Why not? A guy can get anything he wants as long as he pays the price. What’s wrong with that? Stranger things have happened.”
– Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) in ‘The King of Comedy’

Six years after Martin Scorsese gave us Robert De Niro as a mentally unstable Viet Nam vet turned taxi driver, he gave us another De Niro-played, mentally unstable character. This time, however, it was played for laughs. However, playing it for laughs or not, with ‘The King of Comedy,’ Scorsese put together a film that told a story as dramatically connected to the world as anything he had done before or since. It is a film about celebrity and the lengths to which people will go just for a glimpse, a taste of it. Continue reading Throwback Thursday: ‘The King of Comedy’

Throwback Thursday: ‘Tank Girl’

There’s a realm of cinema that exists within a peculiar limbo between good and bad. Films that the masses consider horrible, but others who fall within various niches of movie geekness find irresistibly alluring. Movies such as these are forever pleasing to these geeks, no matter how much the outside world insists on telling them they’re wrong. For me, and this list is long, ‘Tank Girl’ will always be there on my list of these awkward gems. Let the mocking begin, but I stick to my guns in saying ‘Tank Girl’ is a super-cool, crazy, funky messed up joyride.

‘Tank Girl’ emerged from the dust and ashes and hit theater screens on March 13, 1995. With an estimated budget of $25 million, the film grossed a little over $4 million domestically and another $2.5 million internationally… basically, making ‘Tank Girl’ a financial flop. The movie was directed by Rachel Talalay (Ghost in the Machine) who is probably best known for helming Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. Now, with the above information divulged, it may not be surprising to find out that Talalay hasn’t made a single theatrical film since ‘Tank Girl’ but, she has worked extensively in TV. As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t a jab but rather a sign that she found her niche a set out to strive in her newly discovered medium of choice. Talalay has directed episodes of Boston Public, Ally McBeal, Supernatural, The Dead Zone and Flash Gordon. That’s not such a bad wrap list.

The movie, written by Tedi Sarafian (T3: Rise of the Machines) was based on the British cult comic by the then twenty-something duo of writers Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. ‘Tank Girl’ is clearly the work of two guys heavily influenced by movies and pop culture, laden with said references and stylistic homages. The writers themselves have eluded to Mad Max as an influence, but this isn’t difficult to piece together. The story takes place i the year 2033, set in a post-apocalyptic Australian Outback. [On a recent note, I realized that Will Ferrell’s ‘Land of the Lost’ stole a shot almost directly from ‘Tank Girl’. Do you know what shot I speak of? I’ll leave this one hanging to see if anyone figures it out. Leave a comment if you think you know…]

Rebecca Buck – aka Tank Girl, played by Lori Petty, is our heroine… actually, scratch that. Tank Girl is the epitome of anti-heroine. She’s free-spirited, fun-loving and crass. She’s sarcastic, untethered and kitschy cool, dressing in rag-tag eccentric punk apparel complete with candy necklace accessories. While she’s unrefined and rough around the edges, Tank Girl is still rooted doing the “right” thing. This side of her comes out to play when the houseful of pot-smoking, water-stealing neo-hippies is brutally murdered by the foot soldiers of the mega-corporation Water & Power, including her boyfriend. The SWAT-geared goons capture her 10-year old female buddy Sam, setting Tank Girl on a mission of destruction to rescue her from the maniacal grip of Kesslee, head honcho of Water & Power.

Malcolm McDowell was perfectly cast as Kesslee, radiating that special kind of creepy cruelty that any insanely evil criminal mastermind should possess, but McDowell has a way of portraying this quality in a way that remains just below the fine line between eccentric and over-the-top. Where many character actors fail to successfully walk that line, McDowell never fails to excel within these tightly stretched boundaries. The first time we meet Kesslee in ‘Tank Girl’ he’s reprimanding his right hand man with a calm, collected serenity that makes a person terribly nervous despite the soothing tone of his voice. Upon making his disappointment known verbally, Kesslee proceeds to emphasize is disgust by making an example of the Captain, politely asking him to take off his boots and walk across the floor, freshly covered with the broken shards of glass resulting from Kesslee’s violent outburst. As the Captain reaches Kesslee, he is made vividly aware of his lack of courage and Kesslee shoves a specialized plastic water bottle into the Captain’s back that drains his body of water. Adding an exclamation point to his example to the other men in the room, Kesslee then walks barefoot across the broken glass without hesitation whilst drinking the water from the Captain’s body. And you thought your boss was a prick!

‘Tank Girl’ also stars Ice-T as one of the Rippers known as T-Saint and Naomi Watts as the nerdy techie known as Jet Girl. Also making brief but very welcome cameo appearances are Iggy Pop as the pervert known as Rat Face and James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China) as Che’tsai, an elderly Chinese evil scientist/doctor who offers Kesslee a cybernetic solution to his eventual limb deficiency. While Tank Girl is the center piece of the movie (imagine that) of the same title, there’s a lot for movie geeks and pop culture buffs to enjoy. The quirkiness of the film overflows. Tank Girl has an obsession with Doris Day. Why… who cares why? Her friend Sam has a metallic toy called a “dangerball” that very closely resembles the deadly spheres from ‘Phantasm’ (1979). Coincidence? I think not! Quick, random cut away close-up shots of various pop culture trinkets and fadgets [that’s a fad gadget, get it] permeate the film in between scenes… just for the helluvit. It actually works to help maintain the tone of the film.

Another heavily used and effective stylistic element of ‘Tank Girl’ is the use of animated sequences that add energy and break up the monotony of reality. The various styles of the animated sequences ranged from Aeon Flux to Ren and Stimpy and many other recognizably popular influences. Added to this is the film’s killer soundtrack, which at the time of the film’s release was a bigger deal than it seems to be today. Many of the artist’s on the soundtrack including Bjork, Veruca Salt and Bush have since fallen out of mass popularity and into more specialized fandom. Also contributing to this soundtrack were Devo, Joan Jett, Hole, The Magnificent Bastards, Stomp, Portishead (a fave of mine), Sky Cries Mary, L7, Belly and Iggy Pop. Rounding the music out is the always cool scoring of composer Graeme Revell and the inclusion of Isaac Hayes theme to ‘Shaft’ when Tank Girl first finds her tank, a sort of love at first sight scene.

While I don’t want to beat a dead horse, I can’t help but return to one of my favorite recurring elements in ‘Tank Girl’ being the slew of references to movies and pop culture. Tank Girl wears some different outfits throughout the film. One of them, making it’s appearance just after Malcolm McDowell’s first scene, features a bowler hat and fake eye lash makeup, paying homage to another crazy movie called ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Come on, now… that’s just cool!

I think the only element of the movie that bothers me a little is the way in which the Rippers were interpreted. The idea itself is cool, with the Rippers being advanced mutated military experiments on kangaroos creating super-soldiers that are now hiding out underground and terrorizing the Water & Power outposts by night. The special effects for the Rippers were done by the late, great and legendary Stan Winston and done well enough in that sense. But honestly, the Rippers were much cooler in the comic books. The movie has them resembling the Warriors of Virtue and that’s just not a good thing. Another interesting piece of lost knowledge about ‘Tank Girl’ and the Rippers is that the love interest (specifically the sex scene) between Rebecca and Booga (one of the Rippers) that appeared in the theatrical release was forcefully cut from the VHS/DVD release by the studio, despite Talalay’s objections.

So, what could be more fitting a way to close this week’s Throwback Thursday than to fill in the blank and show you that relatively short scene which you won’t see on the VHS or DVD versions of ‘Tank Girl’… Enjoy!

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