Poem: Cool Relief

Cool air is back!
It surrounds us

Gone for months
I missed it so much

Stifling, life-sucking
super-heat came
back in the spring

Taking energy away
replacing it with lethargy

Shirt-soaking humidity
Much worse in the city

cursed words out loud
looking for a rain cloud

Was it so hard to ask
for relief from
extreme heat and its blast?

we asked
How long can it last?!

Cool air came back

and it kisses me.

Hope it lasts....

___

2019

Simon St. Laurent

Two Movies on DVD

Recently I walked past BMV Books on Bloor Street, here in Toronto, and decided to poke around inside the store.

Down to the basement where the DVD, VHS, BD, CD, and LP collections are kept.

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I'm not a big collector of movies-on-DVD. Call it "being cheap"; call it "I love movies but not that much", where I must have a copy on my shelf.

"Anvil." (Good price, I'll grab it. It is a terrific documentary.)

On my way to the desk a title caught my attention. I remember when The Warriors was released to theatres in 1979. It was a big deal in that some people released some violence in their local movie houses, deciding to settle old scores. These unfortunate events made the news, and, from what I understand, gave the film an undeserved bad reputation. Its fans say it's really a cartoon of sorts. (The label says $4.99, which means this disc is mine.)

I've never seen the flick, but I know its famous line: "Warriors, come out to play-i-ay."

Time for me to "play-i-ay" The Warriors....

___

Post Script: As I was preparing the photo above I noticed some similarities. Interesting.

Seventeen Years Ago, Eh? (The Phantom Menace)

Minutes ago I was reminded that it was seventeen years ago today that the big power outrage happened in Ontario, Canada, and many of the U.S. eastern states.

That was a day to remember. I was lucky in that my power snapped back on in my Toronto neighbourhood at about 9:30 that evening. A friend who lives just east of me waited for a few days. He told me that he and his wife lost about two-hundred dollars worth of meat -- they had shopped just the day before.

When power was restored I was sitting at home, chilling, relaxing: a mass of LED lights popped on around me, reminding me how much "phantom" power there was about. That was sobering. We are electricity pigs.

Memories, here.

The Fans of Summer

This heat and humidity here in Toronto, Canada, is basically unrelenting. We're now into months (plural) of continuous atmospheric oppression.

While I work during the day I listen to BBC Radio 2. The UK is enjoying much the same story. The radio presenters (hosts) quiz one another on air: "How did you sleep last night?" The respective answers, variations on: "Badly. And I had two fans going." (I wonder why well-paid BBC employees won't take the plunge and buy an air conditioner. My theory is they don't get enough days and nights of H&H to warrant the purchase price.)

This past spring I promised myself I would buy an air conditioner. Calling myself an "environmentalist" is fine and dandy, but sleep is a real bargain. Fine. My fan does the trick.

There's relief next week: around 25 Celsius.

This is beginning to look real good right about now....

Birth of a Giant

Beautiful bird.

I remember the Argus maritime patrol aircraft very well. When I lived in then RCAF Station Greenwood, Nova Scotia, they were a presence at the air base.

Memories.

Whenever an Argus was parked in a hangar for maintenance work the tail would jut from the building's closed doors.

I boarded an Argus during one Armed Forces Day; I remember thinking how comfortable the plane's interior looked.

What I liked in those RCAF days was the great "electric bolt" painted on the aircrafts' sides. (I wish the air force would bring back that livery.)

Below is a wonderful, at least to 'brats' like me, NFB (National Film Board of Canada) documentary from 1957 outlining the Argus' design and development and test flights.

Two program notes:

* On a Canadair plant status board are listed T-33 and F-86; these aircraft types were licence-built here in Canada.

* Lost in Space (CBS, 1965 - 1968) fans will recognize a certain computer interface board. This panel model somehow ended up on the Jupiter-2 (a supposedly futuristic machine).

___

First posted as "Canadair CL-28 'Argus' Film from the NFB" on August 11, 2019.

Promo Film for Canadair Yukon and CL-44

As I've posted here before, the Canadair CC-106 Yukon was a special transport aircraft with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Canadian Armed Forces: Article Sample: "Yukon Crews"

Here is a promo film produced in 1960 for the "Yuke" and its civil variant, the CL-44. Great stuff....

___

First posted as "Canadair CC-106 Yukon & CL-44 "Swing-Tail" Promo" on August 10, 2019.

A Forever Question: Fire Wall

“Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question.”

Sir. Why do angry people become brave behind emails and text messages?

Martin Landau, Actor

The following is a piece I roughed-out back in July of 2017 -- days after character actor Martin Landau passed away. It got forgotten through the passage of multiple blog posts....

Like many young people who populated the mid 1970s, I discovered Martin Landau through a television series: Space: 1999 (1975 - 1977)

As I quickly discovered while watching the show, which I did from day one, it was lame -- a young teen was disappointed. As I realized later, after seeing it in late night reruns, Mr Landau was miscast as "Commander John Koenig". I discovered a few years ago that he was highly critical of 1999. He would write comments on his scripts berating the producers and writers for what he considered to be substandard material. Landau was right. One scribbled comment I remember reading about went like this: "This makes absolutely no sense! . . . Let's get some real writers on this show."

The man had been around the actors' block for some time by this point; working with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Lewis Milestone. Landau enjoyed great success as "Rollin Hand", one of the key IMF agents on television's popular dramatic series Mission: Impossible (CBS, 1966 - 1973). It was because of that series' name-brand quality that he was cast as series lead in Space: 1999. (Editorial: Hiring Landau and his then wife Barbara Bain was a big mistake. But they were 'names'; which, as it turned out, did not help the series succeed -- over and above some interesting visual stylings. As 1999 producer Sylvia Anderson said in an interview, Martin Landau "is" an excellent character actor, but not a leading man. Trivia: She wanted to cast Robert Culp.)

If one wants to stick with SF episodic television featuring the actor in guest-shot roles, watch the Outer Limits episodes "The Bellaro Shield" and "The Man Who Was Never Born".

Landau was memorable -- I would say "terrific" -- as "Leonard", implied lover of James Mason's Phillip Vandamm in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic North by Northwest.

More films to check out: the underrated Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), the essential Ed Wood (1994), and the superb Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Television episodes to check out: "Devil's Planet" and "The Bringers of Wonder".

___

First posted as "Memories of Martin Landau" on August 3, 2019.

And Cut to Clay, Now!

It was a long distance telephone chat with an old friend….an editor by trade.

One brief discussion was about “fan edits”. These wishful versions of films always run at a deficit since the source footage is from a final cut. Unless one has access to raw footage such endeavours stay the domain of the hobbyist. If you're not a Kevin Brownlow, chances are you’re not going to get access to a movie’s original film/digital elements.

I asked my friend: “If there is only one film that needs not one frame changed, what would it be?” (It’s absolutely perfect the way it is.)

He missed not a beat: “Plan Nine from Outer Space.”

Only an editor would know the correct answer.

___

First posted as "Mister Wood Has Final Cut" on July 27, 2019.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To escape the death camp.

___

First posted as "An Ethical Question" on July 19, 2019.

Batman of 1989

Last week I learned, or was reminded, that Tim Burton's Batman was released thirty years ago this month. While I was a Batman fan, I was in no rush to see the movie. Those readers who were not around back then would not know that there was some controversy when Michael Keaton was presented as the actor to play Gotham's famed caped crusader. ("Mr. Mom?") A comic book fan friend told me that he could not imagine Mr Keaton in the role. I really had no opinion on the matter. I would wait and see.

I did: at Toronto's Hollywood Theatre in September that year, just before the flick was pulled. My movie-mate had seen Batman; this was his second viewing, and he was curious....

"What did you think?"

"It was okay."

He laughed. "Oh, come on, man. You liked it."

I've not seen it since. Time, thirty years worth of time, can change one's opinion. It would be interesting to hear what my buddy thinks of Batman now.

___

First posted as "Holy Time Machine, Batman!" on June 26, 2019.

A Great Science Fiction Movie Never Made

The Greatest Science Fiction Movie Never Made
Jodorowsky's Dune

So emblazons the DVD/Blu-ray case insert sleeve. I rewatched this fascinating documentary. In ninety minutes we find out how much work Alejandro Jodorowsky and the creative team put into developing his motion picture take on "Dune", Frank Herbert's classic 1965 science fiction novel. The great and innovative filmmaker promised an artful epic: something, as a few interview subjects share, the average studio executive does not want to imagine funding -- especially one in 1975. Apparently the production needed about another five million (1970s) dollars guaranteed before hammers could start swinging. Fifteen million in total was desired, but no doubt much more would have been needed before a release print met a projector gate. The mathematics of dollars and cents is what killed this dream realization.

My reaction upon completing my second viewing was the same as the first: It's a good thing Dune never met production status. I'm convinced it would have been a disaster. A financial disaster. I can't imagine a Jodorowsky Dune being anything less than great film art -- something rarely seen.

CUT TO: 1984 - December

With a film school classmate, I exited the Imperial 6 theatre's main doors. Something happened that could have been right out of a movie; one of those too common occurrences the audience does not buy since they're just too coincidental to believe. A fellow classmate walked by. "George!" He stopped and turned to us.

"Hey!"

"We just saw (David Lynch's) Dune."

"How was it?"

"It wasn't very good."
"Disappointing."

It's a shame Alejandro Jodorowski never got to make Dune.

___

First posted as "Jodorowsky's Dune See" on June 13, 2019.

Flash? Ah Ha.... (But Brian Blessed Was Great!)

While listening to BBC Radio 2 yesterday I learned that the 1980 Dino De Laurentiis feature film release, Flash Gordon, is enjoying a re-release in UK cinemas.

I saw that picture when it first hit theatres, and thought it was just good enough that I didn't wish for a money back guarantee. Visually, the film was beautiful. The design work was upper craftsman. Colours curled and flowed, broken by vertically-charged gleaming sets expected in such a big budget production.

No expense was spared, but the script, what made it to the final cut, was sparse: wrapped in moments demanded, too fearful of straying from halftone origins. The result was something we'd seen many times recently before. Just a few years earlier, similar influences had been re-spun, and most effectively, with audiences thinking they were seeing something new.

I've known for a few years now that British audiences took more readily to De Laurentiis' Flash Gordon than had we North American cynics, hence the 4K remastered release projected in selected UK cinemas. Had I known....


From the website, "Top10 Films":
“Flash Gordon” Returns To UK Cinemas For 40th Anniversary
Flash Gordon will return to cinemas for its 40th anniversary.

Steven Spielberg's After Dark

A headline from this morning, alerted me to something potentially scary:

Spielberg's After Dark: New horror series by iconic director can only be watched at night

I remember the debacle titled Amazing Stories. The year was 1985, the year of the television anthology format, and we waited with some enthusiasm for Steven Spielberg's effort to tell some "amazing stories". Well, that did not happen. With very, very few exceptions, the show was a complete and utter dud.

Decades later some of us old enough to remember "the show with just a name" might not be so entranced.

Spielberg states that Spielberg's After Dark will be watchable only when skies are dark.

Dark.

Like my television/tablet/phone.

(The horror!)

___

First posted as "Steven Spielberg's Dark Television Series'" on June 12, 2019.

A Forever Question: Soft Furry Dreadnoughts

“Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited a question.”

Sir. Why are cats cute, soft, and squeezable, but armed with claws and sharp teeth?

Plastic Model Kits on Wires

Yesterday I filed a book picture posting: Destination: Moonbase Alpha - The Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to Space: 1999

From author Robert E. Wood:

"Ultimately this [a loyal cult following] is a vindication against whatever the harshest and most biased of critics could hurl at it. This book is presented in the desire to provide that conclusive reckoning owed to Space: 1999 ...."

Okay, you lost me right there: page one of the "Introduction".

The Eagle has landed. With wires cut.

Lost in space? Not quite.

___

First posted as "A Mysterious Unknown Force Pulls Me" on June 6, 2019.

Keep It, Picard

This past week I saw a link to the teaser-trailer for the new television series, Star Trek: Picard. Patrick Stewart once again helms a Trek show; the first being Star Trek: The Next Generation, a series which did not exactly captivate me, principally because of its staffing of too many two-dimensional characters.

The video embedded above is a teaser: shots of a vineyard and wine bottles mixed with the face of Jean-Luc Picard. It looks 'interior'. In my Starfleet Manual, that would put it at an advantage. I might want to watch. Of course, I'll do my usual: Watch the first two episodes, and stop there.

Maybe not. I'm capable of surprising myself.

Subspace message to Picard's showrunners from this old Trekker: Keep the show about "character"; focus on the interior. While I admit I watched around 40 episodes in total out of a possible 178, my favourite episode of ST:TNG was "Family". In that one, Picard went home to his family's vineyard in France, as he tried to replenish his soul after being released from Borg-assimilation. (Jeremy Kemp was outstanding as Picard's elder brother, Robert.)

In my rule book, with few exemptions:

* I don't want to see any goofy space battles.
* I don't want to hear any ridiculous techobabble.
* I don't care about more Klingons, or Romulans.


Give me Star Trek: with genuinely engaging characters and stories.

Bring on Picard.

Oh. I had forgotten about the fanboys....

___

First posted as "Keep it Picard" on May 26, 2019.

The Most Awesome Movie Credit Ever?

Action Sequences

Directed by

IRWIN ALLEN

Okay, that single credit impressed my moviegoing pals and I as we watched the 1974 blockbuster movie The Towering Inferno on 'opening night'.

Our little popcorn-munching faces: "Wowww."

Good times.

Scoring Horror Films

Music scoring is important for many strains of film, but it may be most important for the horror film.

My go-to examples:

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Dracula (1958)
Psycho (1960)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Exorcist (1972)
Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls (1973)
Jaws (1975)
The Omen (1976)
Suspiria (1977)
Halloween (1978)
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Shining (1980)

___

First posted as "Horror Film Scores of Notes" on May 25, 2019.

Pizza Delivery

Hidden charges. We all know them.

Two years ago I placed a pizza order. The last time I took advantage of such a service was many years in the past. The Romans and Carthaginians had gone at it a few times since had I last picked up the telephone and called in a pizza pie.

“... Pizza Pizza. Can I have your order please?”

Sure you can. The flyer I referenced from had a special offer: a large pizza with three toppings, for $12.99.

“That’ll be (around twenty) dollars.” Since I was in a busy headspace, the total cost went by me.

It came.

When the delivery guy repeated the total cost I made an interjection: “I thought it was $12.99 (plus tax, of course)!”

“There’s a five dollar delivery charge, sir.”

The order taker did not say that.

My memory is such that I can replay a conversation when I need to check details. I let it go. That pie smelled really good.

In hindsight, I should have put two and two together, if not add (about) seven dollars.

A few months later I ordered again, just to do a little quality control and a needed customer service check.

This time around I pressed “record” on the ol' reel-to-reel.

“... Pizza Pizza….”

I wanted the same special.

“That’ll be (around twenty) dollars.”

I knew it. “I thought the pizza was twelve ninety-nine?”

“There’s a five dollar delivery charge, sir.”

Just to get technical: “You should say, ‘so you know, with deliveries there is a five dollar service charge’.”

Silence.

We’re surprised?

___

First posted as "Telephone Order Pizza With Care" on May 22, 2019.