Escape From New York - 1981 - USA

Escape From New York - 1981 - 6/10 

  
“I heard you were dead.”
Manhattan is a fortified prison, the rest of the US of A, a fascist dystopia.
All well and good, until the President is captured and held by inmates.
Brass then opts to send an ex-commando, Snake, in via glider.
Where he finds a waiting cabbie!  Only in the movies, kids. 
Watch for a good cast, menacing set design, and action.  Disregard the lack of logic.

Gallipoli - 1981 - Australia

Gallipoli - 1981 - 7/10

 
The Great War, Turkey and ally of Germany, proves highly resistant to the allies.
Including the Australian contingent.
Accomplished young runners, Archy and Frank, eager to serve, enlist for the war to end all wars.
Hijinks and exploring, ease the tension for awhile.
Until the unit winds up at the slaughterhouse of the Turkish beaches.
Powerful film should have made Mark Lee a name, that went to costar Mel Gibson.

The Attack Of The Saucer People - 1981 - Ireland

The Attack Of The Saucer People - 1981 - 6/10

 
Roger screens a few scenes of his SciFi for potential investors.
Low-budget would be an understatement; one rocket appears to be a pencil.
Amidst heckling and badgering from mates, he manages to film a few more scenes.
Only he accidentally captures a passing UFO.  Descending.
True filmmaker to the core, Roger keeps shooting even when he should flee.
Droll Irish comedy.

Nightshift - 1981 - UK

Nightshift - 1981 - 6/10

 
The stifling ennui of the graveyard shift at The Portobello Hotel.
Complaints, intrusions, overheard conversations, silence, more silence.
I worked a hotel night shift for a cycle of seasons.
This compresses a week of sundry activity into an hour.
Mostly, the job was numbing boredom, punctuated with some alcoholic’s emergency.
Should appeal to fans of Ligotti or Samuels.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369653

The Hungry Grass - 1981 - Ireland

The Hungry Grass - 1981 - 6/10  

 
The overgrown churchyard was the last remaining evidence of the village.
Decimated during the great famine.
The American descendant, visiting, sees his name of a tombstone.
He lingers too long, and the land begins to reclaim.
Irish legend or lore.  Explore the Wild Wood safely, friends.

In The Wink Of An Eye - 1981 - Philippines

In The Wink Of An Eye - 1981 - 7/10  
AKA - Kisapmata

 
He has trouble letting go.
Even though daughter Mila is pregnant, the male is ready to marry her.
Her father does not want to let her leave.
All manner of excuses, reasons, coercion, threats.
After all, Mila is more than just a daughter, she is his property, and something more.
Creepy suspenser with tension that tightens from the onset.
Steeped in incest, this is more frightening than most “horror” films.
Sadly, based on true events.

The Last Shark - 1981 - Italy

The Last Shark - 1981 - 5/10
AKA - L'ultimo Squalo

 
The annual windsurfing regatta is scheduled for the weekend.
Meanwhile, a great white has arrived in the neighborhood, and it has a taste for long pig.
The mayor and local skippers take precautions, but this is one wily fish.
It can tear things up, it can build, as well.  It’s big, it’s fast, and it is not anorexic.
Blatant ripoff of Jaws proves laugh out action after a lethargic start.  
For viewers who slow down to gape at car accidents, there are piles of unhappy meals.

Possession - 1981 - France

Possession - 1981 - 7/10

 
Mark returns from another lengthy mission, only to find wife Anna unresponsive and wanting out.
She denies another man, yet he quickly finds the name Heinrich.
The two men come to blows, while Anna returns home sporadically, yet emotionally distracted.
After disappearing from both men, Mark hires a detective agency.
Then things get really weird.
Possession relates to relationships, emotionally and physically, especially carnally.
Also obsession, along with the inklings of doppelgangers.
This can be an especially draining watch, with the emotional outbursts.
Although Mark (Sam Neill) is the focus, keep trained on Anna (Isabel Adjani) who is both possessive and possessed.
Get the UNCUT version.  Possibly watch twice, unless your are grossed out by intense scenes.

The Pledge - 1981 - UK

The Pledge - 1981 - 6/10

 
The fate of the highwayman.  Rob, ride hard, live well, for the gallows await.
Flashbacks and voiceovers recall crimes and revels.
Memories recalled from the final prison cell, or the gibbet.
Later, confederates recall their pledge to honor the corpse.
Moody, brutal short of the glamorous life.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3358862

Fist Of Death - 1981 - Mexico

Fist Of Death - 1981 - 3/10
AKA - El Puño de la Muerte

Twin sisters, one good, one evil, clash over the cosmic stone of power!
One heals the lame and the blind, while the other wants to annihilate the world.
Of course, the wicked one steals it.

 
What to do?  Why, summon Santo telepathically.
Wait!  There is Jungle Girl too, with her wolves (German shepherds).
Never mind, she is going to marry the Chinese prince.  Until her Wickedness kidnaps her!
This winner is laughably bad, yet not so-bad it’s-good.
No, the bulk of it is padded footage.  Either dancing, or folks schlepping from one place to another.

 
Only reason to view this is Grace Renat and her stupendous twin pair of … as twins.
Parts filmed in Florida (Alabama Jack’s boat), gators, Coral Castle (last mentioned in Nude On The Moon).
Note: Zelda and I visited Coral Castle around this time.  No sighting of Grace Renat, alas.

My Dinner With Andre - 1981 - USA

My Dinner With Andre - 1981 - 7/10

 
The inspiration for those action figures (Waiting For Guffman).
Theatre director Andre meets friend Wally for dinner, and we eavesdrop.
Andre has had affairs, foreign travels, broad worldviews.
Wally is more grounded, more of a listener, but not a milquetoast.
When pushed, he can shove right back.
In some ways, this is theatre, in other ways, this is listening to intellectual intelligence.
A quiet film, one could rewatch every few years and tease new insights.

Wolfen - 1981 - USA

Wolfen - 1981 - 6/10

 
Murders splash across Manhattan penthouses and rubbled Bronx tenements.
One might think random serial killer or spree killer, yet detective finds himself drawn into myth.
Legends from when New York was a native tribal area.
Of early Dutch settlements.  Of beasts that still pad their territory.
Wolves, werewolves.  Part slasher / part thriller.  Add police procedural, surveillance and Capitalism.
Albert Finney and Gregory Hines make a great team.
Michael (“Woodstock”) Wadleigh’s rough cut – preferred cut – director’s cut remains unseen.

Agatha And The Limitless Readings - 1981 - France

Agatha And The Limitless Readings - 1981 - 7/10
AKA - Agatha et Les Lectures Illimitées

 
Sister and brother, both early 30’s, rendezvous at an empty seaside hotel for, perhaps, the last time.
The site where, in their teens, they first “saw” the other, and developed passionate feelings.
Feelings seem mixed.  Neither guilt, nor regret, simply sorrow at the imminent parting.
Dialogue propels the narrative.  Theatrical, arch, stilted, akin to poetry.
The siblings are rarely shown.  Photography lingers on waves, skies, horizons, the beach.
I imagine we ought to consider the tide of memory, surging, shifting, receding.
Not for all tastes, but if one is patient, quite patient, and able to listen, this is deeply rewarding.

Quest For Fire - 1981 - Canada

Quest For Fire - 1981 - 7/10

 
They have lost their village.  Worse, during the exodus, the fire has gone out.
Thus three men (cavemen) are sent to find fire, whether it grows from a shrub or comes in a rock.
Truly, they have no understanding of fire, save that survival depends on it.
Almost wordless film plays out across barren landscapes.
A chance encounter with a more advanced tribe offers gifts and experiences.
This is one that ought to be viewed on as large a screen as possible.

Oasis Of Fear - 1971 - Italy

Oasis Of Fear - 1971 - 6/10
AKA - Un Posto Ideale per Uccidere

 
A pair of free spirits (not hippies) make their way from London to Italy.
Main income comes from peddling pornography.
Smutty photos, a no-no in Italy (?!!?), gets them kicked out.
Except, enroute to the south, they break into a house to swipe gasoline.
The owner is headcase, change-her-mind-on-a-dime, female.
Sexual games, mysteries, locked rooms, lies, excuses, absurd explanations.
The young couple, to be clear, a shady pair, are completely out of their depth.
How producers talked Irene Papas into this steamy Giallo is beyond me.
She dominates every scene, although the couple, young nude skin and plenty of it, are easy on the eyes.

Diva - 1981 - France

Diva - 1981 - 7/10

Jules, passionate about opera, makes an HQ copy of his favorite singer, one who has refused any live recordings.
Round about this time, a hooker drops an expose cassette into his mail pouch, before she is killed.

 
Police want Jules, hired killers plan to murder him, music bootleggers want his tape.
Visually arresting film, packed with memorable characters and high energy.
Terrific chase in the subway are one of many highlights.
Dominique Pinon, in his second role, is unforgettable as the lethal “priest”.

Arthur - 1981 - USA

Arthur - 1981 - 6/10

 
Arthur, an eternal manboy, stands to inherit hundreds of millions of dollars if he marries well heeled Susan.
Sure, why not?  Have the lawyer make a prenup, marry Susan, then move to Amalfi.
No, no, that would not make a Romcom, but possibly a decent Noir.
Arthur is an alcoholic, he adores New York, then he falls in love with poor, klepto, Linda.
Liza Minnelli (Really?  Oh, right, right, he’s an alcoholic.)
John Gielgud is a delight as the sarcastic butler, Hobson.
Arthur made Dudley Moore a star for a brief time.

God’s Angry Man - 1981 - Germany

God’s Angry Man - 1981 - 6/10
AKA - Glaube und Währung - Dr. Gene Scott, Fernsehprediger

 
How angry?  Pretty darn mad if those donations start to dwindle.
Early Werner Herzog documentary profiles Dr. Gene Scott.
One feels Herzog filmed this for European audiences, trying to explain US televangelists.
Chances are, Scott gave him access, whereas contemporaries such as Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, the Bakkers, or Jerry Falwell would not.
This makes an interesting curio, catching Scott before his larger reach in the 1990’s.
His show was a constant stop during late night channel surfing.
An extremely intelligent man, if he was preaching or giving lessons, I would invariably listen for a bit.
If he was asking for money, I would continue changing channels until I found an old movie.
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/gods-angry-man-glaube-und-whrung-dr-gene-scott-fernsehprediger/english/2926942

The French Lieutenants’s Woman - 1981 - UK

The French Lieutenants’s Woman - 1981 - 7/10

 
Resourceful adaptation of John Fowles’ bestseller.
Charles, gentleman naturalist, and engaged, is smitten by Sarah, a more dubious soul.
They are drawn to each other, in secret however, owing to conventions of Victorian society.
The film, diverging from the book, also features Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep playing actors, playing the parts of Charles and Sarah.
While this may sound confusing, it works and is clear, so do not be put off if curious.
The film is beautiful to look at, though the emotional tone is cool, particularly for dual romances.

Mommie Dearest - 1981 - USA

Mommie Dearest - 1981 - 6/10

 
“No wire coat-hangers!”
Based on a then-popular, tell-all book by Joan Crawford’s daughter.
(Published after Crawford’s death.)
Allegedly a biography, this is so over the top, it must be seen to be believed.
Faye Dunaway unforgettable as the furious, over-controlling mother and lover.
The book was a hatchet job, the film a parody.
Points awarded for sheer camp value.