Holy shit. We are no longer Florida-based. I live in Austin, TX. How I got here? The most beautiful woman in the world. The easy part? It's Austin, TX. Hell of a movie town. But you already knew that.
Most important is that my friend Jimmy Bickert has renewed his Women In Prison website/encyclopedia. When I first met Jimmy in the early naughts, it was in full swing. He let it go by the wayside (not like my retardedness but for actual adult reasons like career and family) but has recently come back with a vengeance. You meet people in your life who know their shit but rarely do you meet people who apply it with such dedication and talent. Jimmy is that guy.
If you haven't been hip to his resurgence in the WIP genre, please feast your eyes on his return to form. For me, it's equal parts happiness that his unique vision and knowledge is being put to good use and good-natured jealously that someone can actually have this much knowledge and talent.
Personally knowing Jimmy Bickert has made me a better person and a firm believer that sometimes life IS a total blast. I hope you enjoy his important piece of the world wide web.
Ginty's defining cinematic role, THE EXTERMINATOR, was a cable cult classic for me and one of the films that anybody could put on and I'd sit down and watch the whole thing.
His was a varied and interesting career. The streets are less safe without him.
I so want to do movie related things and sometimes I get that weird buzz to do them. Then I get all fucked and A.D.D.. Like right now. Music has so taken over my life as well as my band. Here's my movie poster from a movie poster generator.
While I'm working on this stupid little piece about young people in the movies and how I can't relate anymore because they look TOO young, enjoy the SERIOUS EXPLOITATION APPROVED SONG OF THE WEEK. You're gonna have to go off this page though.
This is Something Fierce, a band from Houston, TX. I don't know what's going on in Texas, but they're putting out some kick-ass rock and roll. I mean, they always have, but with Denton's kind of defunct Marked Men and these guys (and gal), they've got the lock on run around the room and break something rock and roll. The song you need to listen to is TEENAGE RUINS. Click the link below and listen to one of the best songs I've ever heard. I can't stop listening to it. It makes life better, guaranteed.
I was lucky enough to catch these guys in Orlando on Sunday night. A great song from a great album. If you haven't picked up THE '59 SOUND, I highly suggest that you do.
How happy I was last week that I found out that on eBay, someone was selling what I assume to be a soundtrack LP of Wildman Steve's THE SIX THOUSAND DOLLAR NIGGER aka SUPER SOUL BROTHER.
How uttery disappointed I was to learn that it's not worth the $30 I bid on it. But now we all officially know that it is worth $80.66. That makes me happy.
Congratulations to the winner. Maybe he or she'll read this and send me a copy. I don't even know what the fuck the music is on it or if it even is music and just some Wildman bits, but I'd would have paid $30 for the privilege to find out.
Being in a band has gotten me back into music in a big way. Up until about 6 or 7 years ago, I kept up with music, both popular and underground and one day, in a disgusted rage, just up and quit rock and roll. Then I moved to Boone, NC and just kind of quit everything for a bit. Call it a personal intervention away from pop culture. I learned to love my record collection at the time more.
But in the past year or so, I've been seeking out more new music. And now being in a band, I'm back on it full bore. Myspace is great for finding new music by a bunch of kids in a basement somewhere in Dubuque, Iowa but also a little disheartening. So much stuff and most of it sucks, a whole generation lost to Hot Topic-approved corporate rock and roll. But there's still some good underground rock and roll out there and oddly enough, some of the bigger names are putting out more vital and exciting music than their younger counterparts.
So now I'm gonna (at least) once a week give you the SERIOUS EXPLOITATION APPROVED SONG OF THE WEEK. And here's the first one:
TINTED WINDOWS-MESSING WITH MY HEAD
TINTED WINDOWS is the power-pop supergroup with Taylor Hanson (Hanson), James Iha(Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne) and the great Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick).
Figures Adam Schlesinger would be spearheading this. I'm a huge Fountains Of Wayne fan, whose last album kind of blew but had a pretty spectacular run of AM-fueled power-pop up to WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS. I always hated Smashing Pumpkins so it's good to see James Iha in a decent band. Taylor Hanson. Well, let's say I wasn't a fan but I appreciated the bubble-gum throwback at the time and the fact they could play their own instruments. Bun E. Carlos? He's the drummer for fucking Cheap Trick, man!
In a perfect world, this song would be blasting out of car speakers on the way to literal and figurative beaches all over the world all summer long. It now has what could possibly be a dubious honor as the inaugural SERIOUS EXPLOITATION APPROVED SONG OF THE WEEK.
First, the McVickers Theater in Chicago. Check out this picture:
What a great looking place. Even better is this August 2008 entry about the McVickers over at Cinema Treasures by a member named David Zornig:
" I was unfortunately at the McVickers during it's decline. I was the ride to a heavily advertised, short-run showing of "Make Them Die Slowly" in late 1982 or early `83. A campy horror film billed as "Banned In 31 Countries!".
The tag line apparently worked, as the by then decaying structure was clearly overwhelmed by the those who showed up.
The restrooms were located in the basement. Needless to say the archaic plumbing was no longer up to the task of large crowds. As the ensuing flood approached the grand stairwell upwards, management saw fit to only rope off the area, instead of closing and/or causing chaos/losing money.
As with most of the downtown theatres already in decline, rodents could be heard and felt under foot during the feature presentation. So much so that at one of the many points the film stopped, rowdier patrons would yell: "Hey rats, the film broke!", as if the rodents were somehow in charge or running the projector.
It was sad to see the once grand, vintage facade and ornate interior in such disrepair. Running "Make Them Die Slowly" sadly became a fitting end to a glorious theatre history.
As previously documented, the McVickers closed shortly thereafter."
Pure gold. Read more about the McVickers at Cinema Treasures here.
Second thing I want to talk about is where I got that picture from. A place online called American Image Classics.
It's truly one of the greatest things I've found onlne and it's chock full of movie theater pictures from all over America. They'll sell you prints of them too. I've already found a ton of Miami theaters I'd never thought I'd see again as well as pictures of ones I'd only heard about while living in Atlanta. I'm sure you'll find something from your neck of the woods.
A month or so back, I finally caught up with THE WRESTLER when a new all-digital multiplex opened up not far from my neighborhood.
I didn't like it. Had some moments but it was sunk by a horrible script. It's not as good as some have made it out to be. I'm right about this. I am.
Now with it's release on DVD, more and more folks come up to me and ask if I liked THE WRESTLER. In between the time I saw it and it's DVD release, I've grown to hate it more. It's a fucking chick flick for guys. It could be TERMS OF ENDEARMENT if you rearrange the pieces right. It's cliche-ridden, maudlin and creepy in ways it never intended (I thought he was going to fuck his daughter at a couple points).
While I don't doubt some people liked the movie, I'd have to ask them, especially with the passage of time and moments for rumination, was it as good as you thought? Seriously. If Rourke standing at a dead end street talking on a lonely pay phone doesn't make you go "Really?" out loud in the middle of a movie theatre like it did me, I can't help you.
If you want a good Mickey Rourke movie, try the forgotten POINT BLANK (1998.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------- From their eBay listing:
35mm film "Mark Of The Beast" Color Vintage 1979 (ff3721)
35mm film; Feature Movies (Takes, retakes, outtakes) Marked "Laloggia Prod." 10 rolls (5720ft) original camera negative picture all on cores in 10 1000ft lab cans. Rare, unseen horror movie? Lost movie history ready for rediscovery, vintage, in lab can; Rare, No "Vinegar syndrome"; (see photo)
After reading the Zooey Deschanel/500 DAYS OF SUMMER piece at the HEADQUARTERS 10 blog, I watched the music video author Matthew Kiernan embedded at the end. A She and Him video.
Looking around for stuff about Wildman Steve, I found his son Eric "Fats" Gallon, who lives in Stone Mountain, GA. Fats is a bad ass drummer.
You can read more about him and his pop at his website. There's a book he's written on his life I need to pick up.
THE GOLDEN BOYS opened here this weekend.
A limited release, THE GOLDEN BOYS opened up this weekend in Hyannis, MA, NYC, Charlotte, NC and a fuckload of theaters in Florida. Apparently, it's an old-timers film. I guess I'm an old-timer at 35. I plan on seeing it tomorrow.
I haven't put anything new up in the sections lately because A) I'm lazy and B)I'm lazy. However, if you haven't poked your nose around the sections for awhile, you may find something, especially in the Miami section.
Also, Lee Madden, director of HELL'S ANGELS '69 and ANGEL UNCHAINED died. Back in the day when my friends and I used to dig through video store garbage for posters and such, we would trade posters amongst each other like baseball cards. GHOST FEVER was a running joke. "I'll trade you GHOST FEVER!"
Bonus video below which may have made the list at sometime but unfortunately the quality is terrible. You may have noticed, we're all about quality around here.
Call me a shill but just don't call me late to watch these movies.
COVER ME BABE (1970)-Robert Forster as a pretentious student filmmaker. From Noel Black, the director of PRIVATE SCHOOL (1983) I've already seen this on here and the print ain't so hot but how else areyou going to see it? Worth watching then forgetting. On Tuesday April 14th, 4:30am
CAPONE (1975)-Ben Gazzara as Capone in this Roger Corman-produced, Steve Carver-directed gangster film. Cassavetes, Stallone, Dick Miller? What more could you want? On April 20, 2009, 2:30am
WILD TIMES (1980)-the Richard Compton directed mini-series starring Dennis Hopper, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson, Cameron Mitchell and LQ Jones. From a novel by Brian Garfield. On April 25, 2009, 4:00pm
Check the FMC schedule online. They've got a weird idea about time.
Just caught this on FOX MOVIE CHANNEL in a nice widescreen print. Didn't fucking record it though. I hope they show it again because it was a blast.
Richard Harris as Harry Crown is one of the most badass action heroes I've ever come across. It's weird to see a movie that truly is ahead of it's time and somehow remains so fresh and alive in the face of modern cinema. Chuck Connors and Bradford Dillman only add to the goofy nihilism.
This is the kind of movie I love most: the movie that inhabits it's own world and never tries to be logical, like ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL and NEVER BACK DOWN for a more recent example. Yet somehow it feels more real than my own life and my surroundings. It got into my head in all the good ways.
I've seen two great movies this weekend: one new, one old. Things are looking up. ------------------------------------------ CHUCK CONNORS PICTURE pilfered from BRIAN'S DRIVE-IN THEATER.
------------------------------------------------ THE ULTIMATE ANDY MILLIGAN COLLECTION
I am selling off a large part of my Andy Milligan collection. These items were in his personal collection and given to me before he passed away in 1991. There are several one-of-a-kind items you won’t find anywhere else in the universe.
--The jewel of the collection is the only known 35mm print in existence of Andy’s 1970 shot-in-England black and white sexploitation opus NIGHTBIRDS, maybe his most personal film. There are a few minimal cuts to the print—I believe this answer print was utilized for a trailer—but nothing major.
--The 1979 35mm workprint/ mag soundtrack (four double reels and one single reel) of HOUSE OF SEVEN BELLES, Andy’s incomplete Civil War horror picture, shot on Staten Island and starring the great Hal Borske (see rare still below). Milligan told me the film was complete save for a finale he was unable to shoot. This is all that exists of the film. The workprint reels bear Andy’s handwritten labels.
--Two 16mm black and white print reels of COMPASS ROSE, Andy’s unfinished satire on the Warhol/Caffe Cino crowd. Features rare footage shot inside the Caffe Cino and stars many Andy regulars: Hal Borske, Annie Linden, Candy Hammond, Gerry Jacuzzo and the late, great Matt Baylor. This is all that exists of the film.
--Color 35mm print of 1970’s THE BODY BENEATH. Both GURU and BODY have seen some use but seem to be in good shape. No vinegar smell, good color. The BODY print was used for its original VHS release.
--3/4” video masters (circa 1980s) of CANDIDA, NIGHTBIRDS (which Andy had tinted sepia), BODY BENEATH and GURU. Note: these masters were stored away in a shed before they were rescued and the edge of the tape reels have tiny spots of Milliganoid fungus or mold in places. The master of CANDIDA (starring Neil Flanagan) is all that exists of the filmed-in-Staten-Island production.
--Andy’s Nagra and microphone. Yes, the actual recorder used to capture that trademark crappy Milligan sound, at least on the later 35mm films. Can’t vouch for the working order.
I didn’t want to damage any of these materials before a release was undertaken so they have remained intact and generally untouched since I received them. The prints still have their handwritten address label (see photo) for delivery to Andy’s Troupe West theatre.
Please note: I’m not breaking up the lot. It’s the whole enchilada or nothing at all. It is hard for me to part with this stuff, hence the astronomical reserve. I’m certain it’ll piss off Milligan fans—all twelve of you. For various reasons I was unable to unleash this stuff on the world. If there happens to be a winning bidder, I hope they will do just that. I'll provide scans of whatever campaign material I have (see pictures, originals not included) if need be.
No rights are given or implied to the films themselves, just the physical materials.
Payment is due within seven days of auction. The sale is final, no returns.
Please IGNORE THE SHIPPING CHARGE LISTED BELOW. I will ship Fedex insured. Due to the weight, the three 35mm prints will be shipped minus their metal cases unless you want to pay for it. I estimate it'll be four or five boxes worth of stuff and it will be carefully packed. I'll be responsible for anything over $200 for shipping in the US (if the actual cost is less than $200, I'll refund the difference). International will be more, please contact me. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
The worst ad campaign in recent memory was PRIMEVAL.
At what point does that trailer tell you there's a killer crocodile?
In what way does that poster tell you this movie is about a killer crocodile? It's so bad I should pretend that the poster isn't even next to these words.
I go back and forth nowadays between paying attention to what's playing at the multiplex and just ignoring it all, hoping it will go away. But had you told me at the time, Walt Disney, you were releasing a movie about a giant killer crocodile, I'd have been there opening night.
Oddly enough, Miramax Pictures, owned by Walt Disney as well, has just released the worst ad campaign since PRIMEVAL. The Disney marketing machine is really outdoing themselves over there.
At no point does this trailer even hint at the movie you'll see should you choose to go and watch ADVENTURELAND. I figured it was some dopey nu-comedy in the Judd Apatow vein, especially touting SUPERBAD's Greg Motolla direction.
The poster is just as bad. So much so I'm going to pretend it's not even next to these words.
When we complain about modern moviegoing and the shit we have to sit through or what garbage people vote for more of with their box office dollars, remember that ADVENTURELAND played in theaters and you ignored it. Because of that trailer, I almost did too. Please don't be like me. I have seen the light.
This'll probably be the best film I see this year.
PRIMEVAL poster from worstpreviews.com. I don't frequent the place but they came up first in the Google image search for PRIMEVAL posters. I know nothing about them. They could be satanists.
ADVENTURELAND poster from the kick-ass IMP AWARDS!
Due to the fact I had to work tonight, I missed .38 Special at the Clay County Agricultural Fair. In honor of the hometown heroes, Serious Exploitation presents the 4th Greatest Music Video Ever.
I'm going to have to go on the record here and say ST. IVES is my favorite Bronson film. Big Lots got in the DVD for $3 new. Couldn't wait for the TELEFON double feature on 5/19, which has a pretty generic cover by the way.
Haven't seen it in a few years but I always think about it. I love that cafeteria he hangs at. I want a cafeteria like that here in town so I can go and drink beer out of a goblet with beans and knockwurst. What happened to this country?
Sometime in 2007, I wrote an article for American Vulture about Eagle Pennell. Nothing major. Just lamenting on how LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO affected me and how much I wanted to see the THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH. Since American Vulture will unfortunately cease to exist after April 13th, 2009, I'll reprint it here:
------------------------------ THINKIN' ABOUT EAGLE PENNELL by Eric M. Harvey
Whenever I think about making a movie, Eagle Pennell comes to mind.
Eagle was the guy who directed THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH, a movie that Robert Redford famously championed as the reason he started Sundance. He was also the guy who directed LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO, one of my all-time favorites even though I never mention it when somebody asks, "What're your favorite movies?" (I usually draw a complete blank anyway).
Working at Movies Worth Seeing in Atlanta, LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO hung out in the sleeper section, a catch-all for quirky indie stuff from the 70's up. It was a Continental Video release in the huge big box so it stuck out like a sore thumb. If you read the synopsis on the back and check out the stills, you get a "this could go either way" feeling. Luckily, it did go the way of greatness.
At the time, I'd describe it to the customers as "the redneck CLERKS" just to pique their interest. It also stars Lou Perryman, L.G. from TEXAS CHAINSAW 2, so what more do you really need. For TEXAS CHAINSAW completists, Kim Henkel wrote, produced and co-edited it.
Everybody who took the plunge loved it. I feel bad describing it like that nowadays because it's so much better than that. It's what independent film used to be and I wish could be again: talented people using whatever they got to make a scruffy, likable, minor masterpiece which completely captures the region it comes from and makes film a viable option in life's pursuit of happiness. It's that inspiring.
Eagle Pennell died, pretty much thanks to his alcoholism, in 2002. Around that time, there was a retrospective of his works at the Alamo Drafthouse in his stomping grounds of Austin that included LAST NIGHT as well as THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH and his short film, A HELL OF A NOTE. His output was miniscule and other than LAST NIGHT, none of them were released on video (if you read this and should have a copy of WHOLE SHOOTIN' or any others besides LAST NIGHT, I'll definitely be your best friend).
Apparently, they're grizzled greatness at it's most sloppy. If they're anything like LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO, then they'd probably become favorites as well which I could blank on at the dreaded favorite movies question.
If you've seen it, I'm preachin' to the choir. If you haven't, do yourself a favor. Track down LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO. -------------------------------------
Because of that article, M.G. Wood, grand poobah of American Vulture, recieved an email from Lou Perryman. He forwarded it to me and to make a long story short, it pretty much was a thank you as well as an invitation to contact him further.
I never did. Equal parts laziness, equal parts fear. I don't consider myself a journalist and I'm scared about starting something I can't finish. I do it a lot and lose track of time. Also I think it was mostly fear. What the fuck am I going to say to Claude from LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO? L.G. from TCM2? Looking back, I remember saying to myself to contact him. And then I truly and honestly forgot. My life is a perpetual Bermuda Triangle of time.
My buddy Murphy called me tonight and told me about what happened. I was shocked. I'm even more shocked now that I've had time to think about it. And to read about how he died is even more infuriating, sad and confusing. He was supposed to be part of the TCM reunion at Cinema Wasteland this weekend.
Even more maddening is how underused and overlooked he was, not to mention the great Sonny Carl Davis, his cinematic partner in crime. They were the Matthau and Lemmon of Texas. Possibly even more important in the grand scheme of things for me. Because even though Matthau and Lemmon were schlubs every man could relate to, Perryman and Davis were schlubs every man from the South could relate to. Those characters they created in the Pennell films, I know those people. Those people ARE my family.
I've got a lot of dreams that die by my own self-defeatist hand but there's this script I have half-written that when I was writing it, I had Perryman in mind for the father role. Every time I wrote a line for the father character, all I could hear was Perryman's Claude character from LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO.
I tend to attach people to certain things based on the music or movies they make, and those people make me want to go there. In the late 80's/early 90's, The Replacements/Paul Westerberg's LEFT OF THE DIAL made me want to move to Georgia, which I did.
Perryman and Pennell in the late 90's/early 2000's made me want to move to Austin, TX, which I haven't yet. Now they're both gone. Pennell by his own selfish, fucked up demons (which sadly I can relate to, explaining my Westerberg/Pennell/Peckinpah worship that at most times nowadays I try not to wear as a badge of honor) and now Perryman because of pure insanity.
In a way, I'm glad I made no contact with Lou Perryman. If I had, this would have been more hard to take than it is. In the interviews I've read about him and the interviews I've seen with him, he seems to be one of the most honest and lovable gentlemen ever to walk the earth.
My heart goes out to his family and friends. Please seek out the available work he left behind.
The one thing about alcohol is it unleashes the shit you used to think about when you were on the pot. Things like watching KING FRAT and writing down the perfect cast to do a remake with (I know Dave Chapelle was involved). And fuck, remember that Remo Williams video?
David Szulkin of Grindhouse Releasing left a comment that he bought the print of BARELY PROPER on eBay! Not only does it go to a good home, it'll probably get seen by a lot of people.
Now we have to find the other lost Brad Grinter nudist film, NEVER THE TWAIN (1974), if only because...
...it's a nudist film about a man possessed by the spirit of Mark Twain at the Miss Nude World Pageant.
There are times when I shake off my atheist tendencies and think that there actually may be a higher power in the universe. That maybe those intelligent design proponents are right.
Of course, my higher power enjoys the films of Brad Grinter.
I came across a film I'd never heard of. Here it is below:
BARELY PROPER. Just what the fuck is a BARELY PROPER, I ask myself. Well, let's scoot on over to the IMDB.
BARELY PROPER is a Brad Grinter nudist film from 1975.
From 1975? Wow.
So anyway I look over the listing and find a post from somebody named misanthropic_666, who sounds like a reasonable fellow. I'm just going to copy his post to here to save you time:
" Does anyone out there have a copy of BARELY PROPER on video? I found out that Something Weird Video put it on video sometime in the mid 1990's but they no longer offer it anymore. I ordered it from them about 6 months ago and they sent me my money back and said it was not available. Someone out there must've purchased a copy of this film from SWV back when it was available. Anyhow, I have an original poster for BARELY PROPER which came out in 1975. It was a late-in-the game nudist camp film shot down in Florida and was directed by Brad Frank Grinter who was a nudist in real life. The film starred his favorite actress Heather Hughes who appears in most of Grinter's films. It also starred Gideon who is a well known artist who lives in Florida. If anyone out there has the film, an original pressbook, lobby cards, film stills, etc. please email me. I'd love to finally see this "lost" film on video and DVD someday!"
Google BARELY PROPER and you'll also find a link to the MySpace site of one Gavcrimson, who says he was once called "a latter day Sherlock Holmes of pornography". Which is way cool. Seems like a good guy. But Gavcrimson has a MySpace friend with the moniker Absinthe, who posted a comment on Gavcrimson's page which goes a little like this (I'm going to take the whole comment verbatim so you don't have to go there right at this point):
" Thanks for the add. I don't know if you remember me but years ago when I first started using the internet, I used to read your reviews of exploitation films on the Internet Movie Database website and I emailed you a few times about Brad F. Grinter's "lost" films. Supposedly, sometime in the mid-1990's Something Weird Video released Grinter's late-in-the-game nudist film, "Barely Proper" (1975) which I have an original poster for. Well, to make a long story short, I ordered the film from SWV and they gave me a credit refund and told me that the film was no longer available. After that I emailed Lisa Petrucci (Mike Vraney's wife) and she told me that Barely Proper was dropped because SWV didn't have the rights to it and that Mike was currently in contact with Randy Grinter (Brad's son) and attempting to purchase the rights from him. Lisa also went on to say that she didn't know the status of "Never The Twain" (the other Grinter nudist film from the same year which I also have an original poster for.) Needless to say, it's already half way through 2008 and SWV has yet to release neither film.
BTW, if you haven't already noticed, Andy Milligan is my favorite of all exploitation film makers. He's the BEST! Please don't believe all the lies posted about him all over the internet."
I'm thinking misanthropic_666 and Absinthe are the same guy. This dude is all about Brad Grinter. In fact, this guy should probably write a book on him. I'd fuckin' buy it.
But back to IMDB...
I find out about this movie I've never heard of. Then I find out it's a nudist movie made by Brad Grinter in 1975. Then it just so happens there's another post on the message board. From March 23, 2009. Here again, I'm just taking the post (attributed to ttribalfreak):
"Just posted this film on eBay...check it out, item# 230333072503".
Wow! I find out about this movie and now someone has a copy of it for sale on eBay? Cool! Poor misanthropic_666 has been looking for this movie forever. Well, at least since March 20, 2004, the date of his IMDB post.
So I head on over to eBay to check it out. And Holy Shit...
Are you sitting down? Okay, look:
Yeah. tribalfrek (how he's known on eBay) is actually selling a print of BARELY PROPER.
Here's his strange description:
"Very Rare Find!!! Never completed film by Brad Frank Grinter...written by Manny Dietz, Produced by B. Grinter and Chas Youngman. Stared: Gideon, Heather Hughes, Jan Livingston and Cindy Walker. This film was made in 1975, promo posters and all. I came across these reels at a friends house...he told me they were in the storage unit when he got there. After doing a little research I found these reels never made it to editing, they were being shiped from Brooklyn, NY. to Miami FL. I have 3 cases of film but the shipping lable says 3 of 4...I don't know if 1 more case is missing or made it to Miami. The company that made this film is no longer open...PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH ON THIS FILM. There is a cult flowing for B.F. Grinter If you have any questions...please write. Thank you.... Note: these cases are heavy, even shipping through UPS it will cost."
I don't know what never made it to editing means. He mentions the shipping label says 3 of 4 but there's eight reels. Unless this is the IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD of nudist films, it's safe to say that this is the whole movie. Or possibly an uncut work print, if tribalfrek is correct in saying this has never been edited.
$50? Hell yeah! $180 shipping? Fuck no! I work in a liquor store, man.
But in the film nerd business, coincidence happens like this all the time. And for somebody out there, or should I say, somebody with the funds to purchase a 35 mm print of a possibly unedited work print of BARELY PROPER, well...I'm envious.
A few more things around the Jacksonville pages. And the Greatest Music Video Ever Made.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Slow fucking start, eh? I've been re-doing things (meaning straightening up unorganized piles of movie shit) and getting the money together for a new scanner. I've got a ton of stuff I'm going through and I need something bigger for old video ads from the 80's and larger pressbooks. However, I came across some more old Jacksonville microfilm and I put some up, mostly in the SERIOUS JACKSONVILLE HORROR section as well as SERIOUS JACKSONVILLE CHOPSOCK and SERIOUS JACKSONVILLE SEXPLOITATION. Not a lot mind you but I'm getting spring fever and have plans to head over to the college this weekend to do more Miami microfilm. When that happens, I'm good for a solid two weeks of putting shit up.
New 12 screen all digital Carmike multiplex opened up not far from me and I checked it out last Friday, which coincidentally was opening day. Nothing major to report other than moviegoing is dead. I swear the place felt like I was in a Chuck E. Cheese. And I guess because it was opening day and one of the first shows, everybody was super patronizingly nice, holding doors open and doing everything but blowing me. Kind of creepy actually. The presentation was nice, I have to give them that. Popcorn sucked though.
And the film? I finally caught up with THE WRESTLER. And it's a pretty awful movie, even though I liked parts of it. However, if this is considered offbeat and challenging cinema, we're fucked. Seriously fucked.
I did get to watch THE HONKERS on Encore Western Channel Friday night. It's not bad, but I wasn't too impressed. Rodeo footage was excellent and James Coburn is great. But the whole Slim Pickens thing is handled horribly and the motherfucker literally just ends, as if there was no ending at all. You could argue maybe that was the point, but the truth is, JUNIOR BONNER is way better. In the 1972 broken down rodeo rider sweepstakes, it's the winner hands down, but I should reserve judgement as I'm in the process of procuring Cliff Robertson's J.W. COOP, which surprisingly I've never seen and may kick JUNIOR BONNER's ass.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
In honor of the FRIDAY THE 13th remake (or dishonor since it sucked balls), here is a piece original FRIDAY scribe Victor Miller penned for the Washington Post way back in 1980. Check it out by clicking the link below.
Also skip on over here to commemorate Valentine's Day by checking out Boston Globe's Michael Bowen and his original MY BLOODY VALENTINE review. In case you're wondering, I liked the remake.
I'm gettin' the itch again. After failing out of school, I've gotten back into a band. What better reason to leave school, right? Especially at 35 years of age. That's me to the left of the picture.
But the itch came back hardcore as I was perusing eBay, typed in AIN'T THAT JUST LIKE A HONKEY, and found this:
I had to work the night it ended and I didn't get it. I wonder if Chris Poggiali got it.
Anyway, it got me the itch and the itch led to "Fuck, I need to go back to the UNF Library and do some more microfilming" and then I realized, "Fuck! I got more stuff I ain't put up!".
So yeah, this week, new stuff.
I also think Lux Interior's death played a role in all this. Life is short, filled with stuff, y'know?
Welcome to SERIOUS EXPLOITATION, where the intended goal is to document the Florida movie-going experience of days gone past, and with heavy emphasis on the exploitation film. However, SERIOUS EXPLOITATION (or SEx, for short), doesn't stop there.
A main passion of the site is to collect the criticism of exploitation films from American print journalists who were there in the trenches and the respective newspapers they wrote for. It's amazing to think that some newspapers ever gave these films the time of day. Some of the writing is dismissive, some of it downright hilarious and and some critics seem to enjoy the vacation from the Hollywood machine. Either way, movies like those celebrated here don't receive theatrical releases anymore and I think that the time period they did and the critics who went to see them are important to remember.
Any material you think is related, any memories you have (especially of Miami and Jacksonville, FL) of theater-going, or working in a theater or working in theatrical distribution are more than welcome here. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a worldwide community of strange cinephiles to remember the movies that warped many a youngster (and most adults). Feel free to contact me with your thoughts and questions anytime at seriousexploitation@yahoo.com
I hope you enjoy this place I made, which really is a snapshot of what's swirling around in my cluttered mind.
