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Thursday 10/16/08

3:45 AM Sundance
The Sci-Fi Boys (2006 USA): This good-natured documentary takes a look at the evolution of the species scientia fabula fanatico. First discovered during the middle of the 20th century, this species includes such noted phyla as Ray Bradbury, Forry Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen, and Bob Burns, all of whom feature here in charming interview segments that serve as a tribute both to themselves and to the genre they love so much. Hard-hitting this ain't, but The Sci-Fi Boys is guaranteed to imbue a heart-warming, nostalgic glow in men of a certain age and girth.

2:40 PM Starz Edge
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006 USA): I haven't seen this mockumentary yet, but the précis sounds intriguing: a documentary crew making a film about aspiring serial killer Vernon (Nathan Baesel) are invited to bring their cameras along as he stalks his victims. Sounds reminiscent of the deeply unpleasant Belgian film Man Bites Dog, but with the added attractions of Robert Englund and Zelda Rubenstein (yes!!!) in the cast.

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Thief of Baghdad (1940 GB): An evening of Sabu commences with this remarkable, shot in color fantasy feature from the House of Korda, otherwise known as London Films. Produced by brothers Alexander and Zoltan, Hungarian refugees who breathed fresh life into the fusty British film industry of the 1930s, The Thief of Baghdad made a star of teenaged Indian actor Sabu, here cast as the cheeky Abu, the city's most talented cutpurse. Abu is befriended by outcast Prince Ahmad (John Justin), and the two partake in a series of amazing adventures brought to life by the stunning special effects work of art director William Cameron Menzies. It's the glorious blueprint for Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad films, and still has the power to amaze and delight film fans of all ages. It's followed at 9:00 PM by Korda's 1942 Rudyard Kipling adaptation Jungle Book, in which Sabu portrays the animal-conversant Mowgli; at 11:00 PM by Song of India, a rarely seen 1949 Columbia programmer co-starring Gail Russell and Turhan Bey; and (on 10/17) at 12:45 AM by the even rarer Jacques Feyder-helmed feature Son of India (1931), which doesn't actually feature Sabu, but would have if he weren't only seven-years-old and living in Mysore at the time it was produced.

Friday 10/17/08

1:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Together Brothers (1973 USA): I failed to mention this enjoyable (if far-fetched) drama when it re-appeared on Fox in widescreen last month, so it's time for me to do penance. Unfairly shoe-horned into the ghetto of so-called ‘blaxploitation' films, Together Brothers is more of a kiddie caper flick about a gang (in the nicest old-fashioned sense of the word) of teenagers who take it upon themselves to investigate the murder of beloved local police officer Mr. Kool (Ed Bernard). You may not believe a minute of it, but it's quality feel good entertainment, and co-stars the great Glynn Turman as a consciousness-raising doctor.

9:00 PM IFC
Razor: Sword of Justice (1972 JAP): The Hanzo (Razor) series came to domestic DVD a few years back, but it's taken a little longer for them to wend their way to the boob tube. First up is Sword of Justice, directed by Kenji Misumi (a veteran of both the Zatoichi and Lone Wolf series) and starring Zatoichi himself, Shintaro Katsu, as Hanzo the Razor, a samurai constable of considerable repute and impressive bloodletting skills. He patrols a precinct of Old Tokyo, where he kicks ass and takes names later in best Dirty Harry style, whilst his off hours are spent jumping between the sheets with any geisha who so much as gives him the eye. These are action films first, last and always: you might mistake a Hanzo film for a Kurosawa production at first blush, but they're basically very well-made exploitation flicks.

11:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Wicked, Wicked (1973 USA): I'm delighted to report that TCM has the good sense to repeat this remarkable piece of cinematic flotsam tonight. Or is it jetsam? Regardless, it's a lovable and nonsensical ‘mystery' film shot almost entirely in split-screen format. You can read a bit more about it in my June 3, 2008 column (in which my assessment was, I fear, a bit too harsh), or - shameless plug time - in my extended analysis in the new Fall issue of The Phantom of the Movie's Videoscope - available in good bookstores everywhere!

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