KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK (1978): I don’t think much of KISS (the cartoony ’70s glitter-metal band) myself, but I’m pretty keen on this one. What do you do when you are a successful pop band? You make a movie. KISS did it (unlike many) not at the early peak of their fame, but after the pinball game and the Marvel comics that cashed in on them. And, rather than doing it artfully, or on the big screen, they chose to do a live-action made for TV movie produced by Hanna-Barbera — they of Scooby Doo and Space Ghost fame. What you end up with, then, is something like the Scooby-Doo-Meets-Celebrity specials of the ’70s, without Scooby and the gang — a product that the target KISS demographic hated, and that the band has struggled to suppress ever since (A DVD release of this a few years ago was quickly sued out of print). This one’s got it all — evil robot duplicates, KISS as superheroes, mad scientists, ChromaKey special effects, an amusement park haunted house… It pushes almost all my buttons. If only it could have been T.Rex Meets the Phantom of the Park!
to be preceded by highlights from
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976): (Description taken from http://members.aol.com/ShockCin/paul.html): “First broadcast on October 29, 1976, this hour-long TV-special is so excruciatingly ill-conceived that it’s difficult to avert your eyes from the multi-career carnage. Thanks to ’60s and ’70s TV-gigs like BEWITCHED and THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, the ‘flamboyant’ (nudge nudge) Paul Lynde became one of the biggest, cruelest, barely-closeted faces in Hollywood. And at the height of his comedic fame, some coked-up ABC exec greenlighted this holiday fiasco, which is loaded with guest stars and (in the rudest in-joke of all) begins with perpetual-asshole Lynde in a Santa suit! [...] The slim excuse for a plot has Margaret Hamilton as Paul’s homonculus housekeeper, who takes him to her sister (Billie Hayes)’s creepy manor on Halloween night. Suddenly Hamilton transforms into her old WIZARD OF OZ Wicked Witch of the West costume, while sis is H.R. Pufnstuf’s Witchiepoo! They hope to hire Lynde as a “spokeshuman” who’ll convince the world that witches are cool, in exchange for three wishes.” The guests in this debacle include Tim Conway (of the Carol Burnett Show), Florence Henderson (from The Brady Bunch), Donny and Marie Osmond, Billy Barty, and, of course, KISS.
An Evening in Honor of My Kid Sister: Danger: Diabolik
April 10, 2007
DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968): After the international success of Bond and Batman in the mid-1960s, the rest of the world decided to join in the fun. Mario Bava (Planet of Terror, Black Sabbath) entered the fray by adapting the Italian comic book mainstay Diabolik to the screen. Diabolik is a masked supercriminal who uses his brains, gadgetry and vast financial resources to undermine an unnamed European country. This one’s shot and edited in a way that evokes comics themselves, rather unlike more “static” period adaptations like Barbarella.
to be preceded by
“Body Movin’” (1998), The Beastie Boys video which is (rather self-conciously) based on Diabolik
Lisztomania!
February 5, 2007
Ken Russell’s Lisztomania will be, ideally, the first of several “movie nights.”
LISZTOMANIA (1975): Lisztomania is the very portrait of excess. Russell usually delights, astounds and offends with equal measure. Be prepared. Lisztomania is a (very loose) biography of composer/piano virtuoso Franz Liszt, but through a psychedelic pop art lens. It’s awfully campy, and full of elaborate setpieces, musical numbers, and crazy visuals. And, like much of Ken Russell’s work, there’s a strong sexual component too. The tagline said this one “Out “Tommy”s Tommy” and that’s not far off. From the jacket copy:
“The shaggy-maned idol rips into his song — and the audience screams with excitement. Some ecstatic fans storm the stage, wanting simply to touch him. Some want to bear his child. One adoring woman announces she already has. And outside the hall, a horse-drawn carriage awaits to whisk the performer away. Meet Franz Liszt, rock star circa 1840. Courtesy of Ken Russell, British cinema’s most excessive devotee of classical music (The Music Lovers, Mahler, Elgar, etc.) Lisztomania’s story of the turbulent friendship between Liszt (The Who’s Roger Daltrey) and Richard Wagner (Tommy’s Paul Nicholas), otherwise a historical footnote, is writ large to include vampires, groupie superheroes, Charlie Chaplain, Nazis and the Frankenstein Monster… surprise after outlandish surprise! You’ve got to see it to believe it… and by then, you too will be in the thrall of Lisztomania!”
to be preceded by:
“Sombra Dolorosa” (2004): Though this short is by Guy Maddin and not Ken Russell, its blender-style dream logic juxtapositions and savviness of the pop-culture landscape make it an excellent pair with Lisztomania. The following description is from an IMDB user comment: “Widow Paramo has lost her husband, Don Paramo, to the plague. Their daughter Dolores is inconsolable. With death in the air, Dolores is considering suicide, with El Muerto (the eater of souls) preparing himself to welcome her into the darkness. To save her daughter, Widow Paramo must battle the great El Muerto and defeat him. This battle, as with all existential wars, happens in a Mexican boxing ring and takes the form of a wrestling match.”
and
Ken Russell interview from BROTHERS OF THE HEAD (2006): Ken Russell talks about his method of making biography — and eschewing documentary — in this clip from the deleted scenes of Brothers of the Head, a pseudo-documentary based on the novel by science fiction writer Brian Aldiss about conjoined punk rock twins. In the film, Ken Russell is supposed to have directed an exploitation film based on the brothers called Two-Way Romeo.
