If, like me, you love a good… or even a bad… doco about cinema, you might be interested in this film currently about to hit production, by Dustin Ferguson, director of Robowoman and Horndogs Beach Party.
This documentary, titled ‘Direct To Video – Straight to Video Horror of the Nineties’ is certainly something I’ll be VERY interested in as personally, I think the i0s is the very WORST decade for horror, and of that opinion can be changed, I’ll be open to it.
Poster by Mancat Design.
One from the re watch pile…
Future Shock! the Story Of 2000AD (2014)
Film: Truly, the best comic fans I know are the ones who grew up with the English comic, 2000AD. Sure, like many comic fans, I bought Marvel and DC as a kid, but these companies had (and still have) ‘style guides’ and even though we like to think we like one artist over another, the companies control the look to fit a company wide aesthetic… even Jack Kirby whilst he worked at DC in the early 70s had the heads of Superman that he drew redrawn by Curt Swan, an artist who probably drew Superman MORE than anyone else, ever!
I think if I had have been Kirby I would have been totally insulted and would have told them to stick their job right up their Hall of Justice.
2000AD was a totally different animal.
2000AD is a science fiction comic which celebrates the diversity of writing and art and within a single weekly issue, you were treated to at least 4 different artist and story teams, telling stories from all of the galaxy, and very rarely from the superhero sub-genre. It introduced the world to characters like Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Bad Company, Rogue Trooper and Slaine, just to name a few. It was more like the French comic Metal Hurlant (which is known in the English speaking world by its ‘other’ name Heavy Metal) mixed with an London punk attitude which shouted ‘UP YOURS’ to authority.
It interesting to point out that even DC realised that maybe they could do something different, something that didn’t have a style guide, and came up with the comic line Vertigo in the 90s which abandoned the strict Comic Code Authority restrictions and made a comic line truly for adult comic collectors, and by adult I don’t mean it was full of tits and violence… well not, always.
(It’s interesting to point out that Stan Lee experimented with doing more adult comics in the 70s and it always fell short, mainly due to the content still being somewhat juvenile rather than truly ‘adult’. DC’s Karen Berger understood better than Lee as to what adults wanted, stole all of 2000AD’s talent, thrived with Vertigo comics whilst Marvel, in the 90s, highjacked Image comics aesthetic and very quickly almost went into bankruptcy)
That’s enough of the history lesson though, what are we here for? Well, this documentary talks to the brains, the original talent and the past fans who became the talent of the comic, and how it thrived even beyond the time of its name! Future Shock is mainly a talking heads styled documentary but it’s subject is fascinating as the comic truly was a document of the time it was released, which is important for ANY science fiction to be relevant.
A massive amount of the UK’s comic talent pool are interviewed here, from Pat Mills to Neil Gaiman, Brian Bolland to Dave Gibbons, Cam Kennedy to Peter Milligan, Emma Beeby to Lauren Beukes… so many talented people with such interesting things to say about the history of UK comics, their own careers and what was happening historically in the Uk at the time.
The documentary is intercut with some pretty cool animation of the old art, and a decent heavy soundtrack that carries the subject changes along nicely (as an aside, seeing Dredd ACTUALLY punch his fist through Judge Fear’s head may have been one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen).
I’ve watched a lot of comic docos and honestly, I find all of them to be really engaging and definite rewatchers, but this one stands out as being a superstar. It never gets boring, it travels along at quite the clip. If I’m to criticise it at all it’s not due to the makers, but due to writer Alan Moore’s resistance at being interviewed about his craft, and his absence is really quite obvious and unfortunate as his comics that 2000AD published (The Ballad Of Halo Jones and Skizz, just to name a few) are an amazing introduction to his work.
Score: *****
Format: Future Shocks was reviews on the UK, region B Bluray release which is presented in an excellent, except for archival footage, 1.78:1 image with a perfect LPCM 2.0 audio track, which is fine considering most of the audio is Interview dialogue.
Score: *****
Extras: Arrow have provided a Mega-city full of extras, some of which were made by Arrow Video and are great supplements to the original doco:
Steve MacManus Interview is a 25 minute discussion with MacManus who was the editor of 2000AD from 1979 to 1986 and author of The Mighty One: Life in the Nerve Centre. His reflections on this amazing period for the comic is quite fascinating.
Extended Chapter featurettes just expands some of the discussions in the doco, specifically heap Entertainment” The Appeal Of Comics, Dredd Extended, Dredd 2012 True in Sporit and 2000ad VS The USA.
2000AD Strip Featurettes look at a bunch of different characters through the eyes of the creators, including Bad Company, Tharg’s Future Shocks, Rogue Trooper, Sláine and Strontium Dog.
Art Jam shows some time lapse footage of artists Jock and Henry Flint drawing pictures of Judge Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock.
King’s Reach Tower sees Pat Mills revisit the place where 2000AD was born, King’s Reach Tower.
Soundtrack Studio takes a look at the production of the soundtrack by Justin Graves from Crippled Black Phoenix.
Extended Interviews has more comic knowledge from Mills, Morrison, Gaiman, Gibbons and Berger.
Blooper Reel proves that even in a documentary, people can foul up what they were saying. Special mention goes to the Australian Women’s Weekly for getting a mention.
There is also a teaser trailer and the Uk Launch trailer.
In addition this package contains a booklet with an essay from Pádraig Ó Méalóid about the history
of the comic, some cool art and a few little notes about the disc itself.
Score: *****
WISIA: Seeing as how I love comic documentaries, this will get revisited regularly, especially considering how many extras there are!
One from the re watch pile…
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation (2008)
The Umbrella Entertainment Bluray release of the film
Now when I say Australian film, I don’t necessarily mean heartfelt, moral stories or period pieces, what I am talking about is the rough and tumble, violent, bloody, nude-filled lowest common denominator films made for people like… well, like me!
This documentary is written and directed by Mark Hartley, who had previous made several documentaries about specific Australian films like Blood and Thunder Memories: The Making of Turkey Shoot and Jaws On Trotters: The Making of Razorback, and it is divided into three sections:
Ocker’s, Knockers, Pubes and Tubes looks at the Australian version of sexploitation, and the celebration of the freedom that the post 60s world allowed us.
QT enthusiastically talks about Ozploitation films.
High-Octane Disasters and Kung-Fu Masters is the final part of the film and it looks at the Australian action films of the time.
The biggest problem any film fan and movie collector will have with this film is that by the time you finish it, you have a shopping list of 50 films you immediately have to buy. It’s been almost 9 years since I first saw this and I’m still trying to get Lady Stay Dead and Snapshot!
Robert Powell survives in… well, The Survivor
A special cooee has to go out to the music as well. The selection of pop songs is spot on and the other music by Stephen Cumming of The Sports and Billy Miller of The Ferrets is fabulous too.
Quite possibly the BEST documentary about a niche sub genre of cinema ever. With so many interviews it could have been easily turned into a boring talking heads styled thing, but there is SO much archival footage and SO much clever and interesting editing that is really a feast for the eye.
Score: *****
The menu to the Umbrella Bluray of Not Quite Hollywood
Score: ****
Extras: Extras? EXTRAS? Oh boy, is this disc just straining the threads of its undergarments with extras! It’s voluptuous with extras! It’s well-hung with extras!
Seriously though, if you for some crazy reason thought there wasn’t enough about Ozploitation info in the main part of the doco, or you just haven’t seen enough boobs, the extras will more than satisfy your desire for more.
First we have a commentary featuring a bunch that the cover declare to be the Ozploitation auteurs: Mark Hartley himself hosts this commentary and through the course of the film has a turnstile of talent who star in the doco, and has a lot more anecdotes and information about this film.
Deleted and Extended Scenes can be watched with the commentary on or off and even though I would have preferred this to be recut into the film, I do like watching them with either the commentary on or off as it’s pretty informative, and features some films that are quite conspicuous with their absence.
The Lost NQH Interview: Chris Lofven which features an interview with the director of 1976’s OZ, which unfortunately was left out of the film.
Quentin Tarantino and Brian Trenchard-Smith Interview Featurette has a conversation between the two directors and their respective careers.
Melbourne International Film Festival Ozploitation Panel sees a whole bunch of NQH interviewees talking about the state of censorship and other aspects of film and art of the time this film discusses. (There is a misspelling of the film ‘Stork’ as ‘Stalk’ but I guess either could be used to describe the character!)
Melbourne International Film Festival Red Carpet is an astounding piece of footage of stuntman Grant Page walking the red carpet, quite calmly, on fire.
Behind the Scenes Footage from the Crew sees a bunch of BTS stuff filmed on a Duty free purchased video camera whilst they were in the UK doing the interviews for the film.
UK Interview with Director Mark Hartley is just that, and it’s a nice introduction to the director.
The Bazura Project Segment sees another interview with Hartley with the guys from The Bazura Project.
The Monthly Conversation is a low-res version of an interview Hartley did with Tom Ryan from The Monthly.
The Business Interview is an audio only interview with Hartley.
Extended Ozploitation Trailer Reel is 3… yes, 3 hours of Ozploitation movie trailers!
Confessions of an R-Rated Filmaker: John D. Lamond Interview sees Mr. Lamond talk about his career.
The next 5 extras are archival ones, made at the time of the films they represent.
On-set Interview with Richard Franklin is an interview with Franklin on the set of the horror film Patrick.
Terry Bourke’s Noon Sunday Reel talks about the making of a film called Noon Sunday.
Barry McKenzie: Ogre or Ocker is a short doco about the making of the Barry McKenzie films.
Inside Alvin Purple is an hour long documentary about Alvin Purple.
To Shoot a Mad Dog Documentary looks at the making of Mad Dog Morgan.
Ozploitation Stills and Poster Gallery is an awesome look at a lot of promotional stuff for many of the films mentioned throughout the documentary. It’s an animated gallery too, with some funky music over the slideshow.
NQH Production Gallery like the previous Gallery is an animated one, but now has some great portraits of the interviewees for the documentary.
NQH Pitch Promos sees the inception of the NQH project and features a lot of Tarantino, and his endorsement with some of Hartley’s other documentaries that have features]d as extras on other DVDs and BDs.
NQH Original Theatrical Trailer is (phew!) exactly what the name would suggest!
If that’s not enough extras, I don’t know what else could appease you.
Score: *****
WISIA: if it’s not the best documentary made about movies, it’s certainly the best made about Ozploitation movies. I rewatch it regularly!
Cassandra Delaney braves a bull bar in Fair Game
One from the To Watch Pile…
NIGHTMARES IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE: THE EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN HORROR FILM (2009) REVIEW
Film: Even though their releases are hit and miss, I am always willing to giving Australian company Monster Pictures a go. Sometime I get a gem like All Through The House, other times I am kicked in the nuts with trash like Pod, but I still feel that support is important.
On a few occasions, Monster Pictures will release a documentary ABOUT films, like Andrew Leavold’s The Search for Weng Weng, the unusual film about Richard Franklin’s descent into madness Lost Souls, and this, the more mainstream horror based doco about the American horror film, Nightmares in Red White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film.
Now I am a massive fan of documentaries about film, and site The History of Film TV series as my second favourite TV series of all time (the first is Doctor Who, the third is Criminal Minds) and I am a regular viewer of other docos like Video Nasties, Channel Z, Not Quite Hollywood, Machete Maidens Unleashed, Rewind This et cetera.
I think the reason I am so interested in these documentaries is because I am somewhat of a frustrated filmmaker myself, and would love to make docos!
Now the history of horror films would be a TV series unto itself as so many countries have a massive horror film industry themselves, so this one egotistically narrows its focus solely on the American horror film.
The film is narrated by horror icon Lance Henrickson, and features interviews with various directors like Joe Dante (The ‘Burbs), George Romero (Land of the Dead ), Brian Yuzna (Beyond Re-animator), John Carpenter (Halloween (1978), Larry Cohen (The Stuff), Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II), Mick Garris (Riding the Bullet), Tom McLoughlin (Sometimes They Come Back) and Roger Corman (trust me, you’ve seen a Corman film), as well as film historians John Kenneth Muir and Dennis Fischer and ex-Fangoria editor in chief Tony Timpone.
This is a pretty good movie, though as the title would suggest, its very insular and outside a couple of mentions of what is happening in the overseas film industries, it talks repeatedly about what was happening in America, to Americans (though apparently Canada is America now, according to the Cronenberg mentions) and how the various world wars effected Americans and the American horror film industry.
That’s a minor criticism though and the documentary takes a fleeting look at the entire history of American horror from the dawn of cinema appearing in America to Universal Monsters, to thrillers, savage cinema, slashers, zombies: you name it.
This documentary also looks at the highs and lows of the industry, and how the ‘real’ world (whatever that is these days) effects the quality and tone of horror films.
Horror movie fans will love the fact that this film doesn’t hold back on the violence and blood: obviously the director, Andrew Monument and writer, Joseph Maddrey (also the writer of the book on white this was based) know where the bread and butter of the genre usually is; you know, that surface interest before the story or acting or direction becomes and appeal.
The real shame in this film is the lack of female discussion: no women directors, historians, journalists or actresses get a say here which I found unusual, considering how great their presence has become, and how important both sexes are to the genre. Seriously, Rue Morgue, the wonderful horror magazine was at its best when under the control of now-director Jovanka Vukovic, surely someone like her or her contemporaries (like Monica S. Kuebler or Rebekah McKendry or April Snellings or any of the other wonderful female voices in horror) would have had something important to say.
Even over that, I enjoyed this documentary and am happy to have it in my collection of docos about horror films.
Score: ***1/2
Disc: This region 4 DVD release from Monster Pictures runs for roughly 96 minutes and is presented in a 16×9 image of varying quality, which is not entirely fair as some of the footage is from old films but some of the interview do have some noise on their image, and the audio is presented in an entirely functional Dolby Digital 2.0.
Score: ***
Extras: Not a sausage.
Score: 0
WISIA: I have no doubt that I’ll watch this again as I do re-watch horror documentaries regularly.
The To Watch Pile 