TiVoPlex
By John Seal
November 2, 2005
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.
Tuesday 11/01/05
8am Turner Classic Movies
Saddle the Wind (1958 USA): The cast is the main reason to watch this proto-revisionist Western, but the story ain't chopped liver either. Penned by a pre-Twilight Zone Rod Serling, it's the tale of an ex-gunslinger (Robert Taylor) whose peaceful retirement comes to an end when his hotheaded younger brother (a young John Cassavetes, already Method acting like mad) and his bride to be (Julie London, who even gets to do a little singing) show up on the doorstep one day. In addition to the leads, Saddle the Wind features familiar genre faces such as Donald Crisp, Royal Dano, and Stanley Adams, as well as some gorgeous wide-screen photography - shot on location in the Rocky Mountains - by George J. Folsey. Serling clearly was impressed by the results, as director Robert Parrish went on to helm three Twilight Zone episodes during that show's first season, including the memorable One For the Angels.
3:30pm Sundance
Institute Benjamenta (1995 GB): This live-action feature from The Brothers Quay, best known for such bizarre animated short subjects as Street of Crocodiles, stars Mark Rylance as a young man enrolled in the titular establishment, an upscale training school for prospective butlers. True to the Quay's predilection for the bizarre, however, things are a little off-kilter on campus: no one ever graduates, the lessons are arcane at best and pointless at worst, and the brother and sister who operate the school (creepy Gottfried John and ethereal Alice Krige) have a rather strange relationship. This Kafkaesque black-and-white feature will befuddle as much as it entertains, but is strongly recommended to viewers of an artistic bent who will appreciate the film's surreal atmosphere, as well as the suitably spooky soundtrack provided by composer Lech Jankowski.
7pm Showtime 3
What Alice Found (2003 USA): Another dark drama for those who can't get enough ennui in their lives, What Alice Found features Emily Grace as the titular fresh-faced sweet young thing whose Florida road trip diverts her along the rocky side road of truck-stop prostitution. Shot on a shoestring (as well as on digital video), the film features a remarkable performance from Judith Ivey as a Good Samaritan who moonlights as Alice's pimp. Scheduled to air in wide screen, What Alice Found will make you think twice about getting roadside help from kindly strangers.
Wednesday 11/02/05
4pm Sundance
Bandwagon (1996 USA): A delightful rock-and-rock comedy, Bandwagon was written and directed by John Schultz, the original drummer of North Carolina rock combo The Connells, and features the band's lead singer, Doug MacMillan, in a supporting role. Whether or not the film is intended as autobiography I don't know, but The Connells spent years crisscrossing the nation and performing in dives of all varieties, so Schultz (who recently helmed the big-screen Honeymooners remake) knows of what he speaks. The film's fictional band, Circus Monkey, includes a singer who plays with his back to the audience Stu Sutcliffe-style, a guitarist who can barely stand up whilst playing his solos, a clueless drummer who speaks before he thinks, and a bass player with a temper and a penchant for firearms. This is no Spinal Tap-style mockumentary; it's a warm-hearted but realistic look at the life of a rock band, the compromises they have to make, and the hearts they have to break to "make it". For anyone who's ever spent time playing rock-and-roll, Bandwagon will serve as a bittersweet and hilarious reminder of misspent youth. Don't miss it. Also airs 11/5 at 9am.
6pm Sundance
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?(1999 NZ-AUS): This sequel to the popular Antipodean drama Once Were Warriors sees the great Temuera Morrison return as Jake Heke, the hard-man hero with a hair-trigger temper. In the first film, Jake lost his daughter and his wife, and things don't get any easier for him in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, as his son Nig (Julian Arahanga) gets involved in gangland activities. Directed by Ian Mune, whose first feature was 1985's underrated Came a Hot Friday, this is the rare sequel that actually expands upon the original story and doesn't simply recycle the elements that made the first film successful.
Thursday 11/03/05
Midnight Showtime Extreme
The Capitol Conspiracy (1999 USA): This week's crappy action movie of choice is The Capitol Conspiracy, released briefly in theatres as The Prophet. Directed by schlockmeister Fred Olen Ray, the film features a past-his-prime Don "The Dragon" Wilson as Jarrid Maddox, a CIA agent with a difference: he can foretell the future. Y'see, when Jarrid was knee-high to a grasshopper, he and some other rugrats were subjected to a series of super-secret experiments which rendered them virtual visionaries with an oracular orientation. Now he's been sent to track down members of a Waco-style cult, but his past is catching up with him, and he starts suffering from some badly-filmed flashbacks that somehow relate to his current mission. This goofy thriller is typical low-budget Olen Ray stuff, with some gratuitous nudity and sex, Barbara Steele as Maddox's CIA supervisor, Robert Quarry as a fellow operative, and a ton of fistfights and shootouts. You know what to expect, and if low-budget thrillers are your bag, this is one you won't want to miss.
11:15am Sundance
Heroes (1977 USA): Henry Winkler was still completely identified with his Happy Days character The Fonz in 1977, and Heroes was his first attempt to break out of the "ehhhhhhh" straitjacket. The result is a generally satisfying low-key character study. He plays Jack, a Vietnam veteran planning to set up a California bait business with some of his former Army buddies, one of whom is portrayed by a pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford. Fate intercedes in the shape of Carol (Sally Field), a recently-separated woman Jack meets on a cross-country bus trip, and the two develop a love/hate relationship that forces them both to adjust their plans. Long unavailable on home video and only infrequently seen on the small screen, Heroes also airs 11/4 at 1:15am.
12:35pm IFC
Dancing in New Orleans(2003 USA): The good news is that Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint made it out of the Crescent City alive. The bad news, of course, is that New Orleans may never recover its rightful crown as the musical capital of the United States. This wonderful, if far too brief, documentary takes a look at the city's incredibly rich, diverse, and vibrant cultural stew of jazz, rhythm and blues, Zydeco, and rock-and-roll, and features appearances by Toussaint, the late, great Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and C.J. Chenier, amongst many others. Director Michael Murphy revisited the topic with the currently-in-release Make It Funky!, a film which will no doubt serve as an epitaph of sorts for this truly unique metropolis. Also airs at 5:45pm, on 11/4 at 9:45am, and on 11/7 at 2pm.
Friday 11/04/05
1:45pm Turner Classic Movies
The Green Slime (1968 JAP-USA): Director Kinji Fukasaku is best remembered for his series of bloody Yakuza epics and shockers like 2001's Battle Royale. It comes as a surprise to some that he had time to make this kiddie science feature for the Toei Company, but hey, the guy liked to keep busy, and had completed three other films the same year, including the unforgettable Yukio Mishima gender-bender Black Lizard. Fukasaku was, in fact, a virtual cinematic Renaissance Man, at home in any genre and defiantly unafraid to embrace popular cinema. Though most remember The Green Slime thanks to its groovy theme tune - a psychedelic bubblegum ditty that you'll be humming for days afterwards - the slime itself is equally memorable, shimmering iridescently as it threatens the lives of astronauts aboard a space station. Sadly still unavailable on DVD, this staple of my television youth returns to TCM tonight , unfortunately, in pan-and-scan format.
2:45pm Starz! In Black
Dancehall Queen (1997 JAM): This familiar rags-to-riches tale takes place in Jamaica, where struggling single mother Marcia (Audrey Reid) sells soda pop and beer outside the local dancehall. When her life becomes even more difficult thanks to the lousy men in her life, she takes matters into her own hands and enters a dance contest worth 100,000 Jamaican dollars. The film's premise rests on the rather flimsy proposition that no one recognizes the beer lady once she hits the stage, but the story is thoroughly engaging and the cast are superb. The attractive and expressive Reid is particularly notable, but kudos also to Paul Campbell as scum-of-the-earth bad guy Priest, oily Carl Davis as Marcia's sugar daddy Larry, and Cherine Anderson as Marcia's brassy daughter Tanya. Being a bit of a reggae snob I didn't expect to enjoy the music, but the upbeat dancehall style is catchy and infectious, and the dancing scenes will certainly hold your attention.
6pm IFC
Radio Bikini (1987 USA): In 1946, the Truman Administration sent a wealth of photographic equipment to Bikini Atoll to record America's atomic test site in action, with the intention of producing a propaganda film to bolster America's self-confidence and serve as a warning to other potential members of the nuclear club. That film was never finished, but much of the resultant footage was used in this Academy Award-nominated documentary about the disaster that was atmospheric testing. Focusing on those most affected by the tests - the islanders forcibly removed from their homes, and the soldiers left observing the tests sans protective gear - Radio Bikini is a horrifying reminder of the unintended blowback from imperial hubris and careless decision-making. Also airs 11/5 at 11am.
11pm Turner Classic Movies
Kameradschaft (1931 GER): In 1930, German director G. W. Pabst helmed Westfront 1918, a powerful anti-war film about life on and behind the frontlines of World War I. One year later, he produced Kameradschaft, another plea for peace, unity, and understanding, this time set in the mines of Alsace-Lorraine. The recipient of the League of Nations Peace Medal, the film recreates the Courrieres mining disaster of 1906, when over 1,000 French miners died and hundreds trapped below ground were rescued by their German counterparts from across the border. It's a great film, beautifully shot, and marked the pinnacle of Pabst's career; after a brief sojourn in America, the director returned to Germany and produced films for the Nazi regime, rendering him an untouchable in the immediate post-war years.
Sunday 11/06/05
12:15am Encore Mystery
The New Centurions (1972 USA): I wish, wish, wish that Encore had a wide-screen print of this Richard Fleischer cop drama, but if wishes were horses, which they thankfully aren't, I'd, erm, be getting lavishly compensated for writing this column (the slavemasters at BOP are very generous with the shiny beads, though). That aside, this is a really fine, episodic film about life as a street cop in Los Angeles. Based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel (boy, that guy sold a lot of books in the ‘70s), The New Centurions stars George C. Scott as a grizzled veteran cop breaking in his idealistic young partner (Stacy Keach). The set-up sounds predictable, but the sharply-honed screenplay by Sterling Silliphant defies expectations, throwing curveballs throughout the film that lend added realism to the proceedings. Scott and Keach are excellent, and the balance of the cast includes familiar faces like Ed Lauter, Isabel Sanford, Rosalind Cash, and a pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada. The pan-and-scan print is awful, consistently compromising cinematographer Ralph Woolsey's work, but the storytelling remains strong and the film comes highly recommended.
9pm Turner Classic Movies
Battle of the Sexes (1928 USA): A relatively rare comedy from film pioneer D. W. Griffith, Battle of the Sexes features Jean Hersholt as Bill Judson, the hapless target of gold-digging Jazz Age flapper Marie (Phyllis Haver). Judson, a middle-aged tycoon looking for kicks he can't find at home, leaves his wife and two kiddies in favor of the fun-loving Marie, but will he find true happiness, as well? Like most Griffith' features, there's a moral to be learned from this silent saga, though it's not as heavy-handed as Intolerance or Hearts of the World, and the film reflects the more open attitudes of the Roaring ‘20s.
Monday 11/07/05
1am Turner Classic Movies
Invasion Quartet (1961 GB): Though fairly thin gruel, especially for American viewers, Invasion Quartet offers enough gentle humor and charm to make it a qualified recommendation, especially as there's not much else on this Monday. Spike Milligan stars as a British soldier determined to put the kibosh on the cross-channel Jerry gun that's keeping him and his friends awake at nights. The solution? A little extracurricular trip to occupied France of course, where Milligan and his chums - including Bill Travers, John le Mesurier, and Gregoire Aslan - aim to permanently disable their adversary. It's pleasant if inconsequential stuff, and airs in wide screen this morning.
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