Mermaid Legend - 1984 - Japan

Mermaid Legend - 1984 - 6/10
AKA - Ningyo Densetsu // 人魚伝説

 
Like most in the fishing village, the couple does not want to sell out to the amusement park.
None know that is just a front for a proposed nuclear reactor.
Migiwa is a deepwater albacore diver, husband Keisuke her topside lifeline.
So, when he is murdered, she almost murdered then framed, she wants answers.
Behind it all is corporate greed.
Idyllic first act shifts to murder mystery, then bloodbath.
A tasty gem; surprised this is not better known.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369651

Sex From Beyond The Grave - 1984 - Hong Kong

Sex From Beyond The Grave - 1984 - 5/10
AKA - Fung lau Yuen Gwai // 風 流 冤 鬼

 
During WWII, lustful Japanese murder her husband and son, then rape the beautiful actress.
Jump 40 years.  The ghost, after having killed guilty parties, now haunts the home.
The narrative jumps to a luckless gambler, comically inept.
And a professor, his wife and son who purchase the cursed house.
Confused?  The whole thing is a mess, with several nude dance sequences and other distractions.
Dylan Cheung provides a lively, if breathless, commentary ranging from the demise of Shaw Brothers, Hong Kong in the 1980’s, actors, films, in-jokes, locations, anecdotes, restrictions, much more.
Cheung never stops for air.  His commentary is more valuable than the film which is uneven and cheesy.

The Brother From Another Planet - 1984 - USA

The Brother From Another Planet - 1984 - 6/10

 
Who is actually an escaped slave from another planet.
He lands in New York, and is viewed as another street person as his clothes are shabby.
Plus, he is black and is mute.  An outsider.  Yet, a curious and gentle soul.
Soft sell, fish out of water story, with an undercurrent of community and slavery.
The latter runs throughout as there are “bounty hunters” on his trail.
Joe Morton amazing in non-speaking role, communicating eloquently with gestures and expressions.

Broadway Danny Rose - 1984 - USA

Broadway Danny Rose - 1984 - 6/10

 
Who happens to be, if not inept, then he is simply unable to land quality talent.
Some are relics from vaudeville, others seem like circus sideshow, some charity cases.
His washed up singer, Lou, is enjoying a comeback, and cheating on his family with a hot blonde.
Who is also the girlfriend of a mobster.
Interesting Woody Allen movie mixes jokes with violence and betrayals.
Allen surely had long experience and deep memories of characters like these.
Exaggerated, sure, yet the bittersweet truth makes this part of his heady run of successes.
For the Mia Farrow faithful, this is one of her finest performances.

Buffalo Creek Revisited - 1984 - USA

Buffalo Creek Revisited - 1984 - 6/10

 
Ten years after the dam break that destroyed a dozen hill communities.
Restitution?  Mega-trailer parks, communities jumbled.
Trailer parks considered concentration camps, one nicknamed Gestapo.
An uptick in alcoholism, domestic violence, crime, despair.
Folks returned to their own land?
No, land was owned by coal companies, lumber mills, oil empires.
Highway Dept. seized the rest for a proposed expansion.

 
Fatcats enriching themselves exploiting the state’s mineral resources.
Government agencies make promises – without keeping promises.
I could go on and on and on.  Fifty years on, this still bothers me.  Hell.  
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3359472

The Enchanted - 1984 - USA

The Enchanted - 1984 - 7/10

 
The old neighbor, Booker, tries to warn him about the peculiar brood.
Following a few years at sea, young Royce returns to the empty family farm.
Living out in the woods are the Perdrys, who offer help – for a pittance.
The oldest girl, Twyla, puts the glamour on Royce, and she is soon in his bed.
Milking the stamen, as well as clouding his reason.

 
Perhaps too slow for many, Southern yarn set on the fringes between subsistence and the backwoods.
I recognized the landscape almost immediately.  Florida scrub.  Slash pines, palmetto, cypress, moss.
Strange, hypnotic film of border crossings, and the tenuous veil between worlds.

Night Of The Comet - 1984 - USA

Night Of The Comet - 1984 - 6/10

 
Save for a pair of Valley girls (and a pinball pro), a comet has wiped out most of humanity.
And other survivors are hungry zombies.
Light-hearted Horror goes for satire and laughs and hits most bases.
Wry homage to Dawn Of The Dead as well as grrrl power.
Shopping mall is laugh out loud at times, and the scientists are proof that the smartest in the room often have no common sense.
No great shakes, but fun, although so many references will be lost to post X-er viewers.

Gold Lust - 1984 - Canada

Gold Lust - 1984 - 7/10

 
Documentary of the Serra Pelada gold field in Brazil.
A nugget was discovered in 1979.  By the time of this film, tens of thousands slaved away.
Yes, gold was found, nuggets 10 lb and heavier.
The open air pit was humongous.  As was the violence, thievery, murder, squalor.
Mud, filth, avarice, delusions, despair.
Narration by Orson Welles.
Doc captures the utter depths of humanity … the potential near-future of civilization.

Snake Sisters - 1984 - Philippines

Snake Sisters - 1984 - 5/10

 
The snake lays sixteen eggs; three extra large ones hatch out as human females.
Life is idyllic on the tiny island until the females begin menstruating.
Then they start seeking another sort of snake.
Nudity throughout, quite a bit of sex, and eating (implied) of animals.
I don’t know the history, so don’t know if this is pure fantasy or based on Filipino folklore.
Definitely a curio, and perhaps more for seekers of such.

The Masks Of Death - 1984 - UK

The Masks Of Death - 1984 - 6/10

 
Sherlock Holmes comes out of retirement to solve a series of baffling wharf deaths.
Until the Home Secretary asks him to suspend the inquiries and investigate a locked-room death.
Time is 1913, the cusp of the Great War, and the death is of a prominent German figure.
The mystery is a bit of a muddle, the sets are lean yet serviceable.
An excellent supporting cast bolsters Peter Cushing in one of his final films, and his last starring role.

Blood Simple - 1984 - USA

Blood Simple - 1984 - 7/10

 
Sleazy bar owner suspects his wife is having an affair with one of the help.
He hires a private eye, who turns out to be one devious, twisted soul.
Participants circle warily, crossing, then double-crossing each other.
Brooding Noir put the Coen Brothers on the map for audiences who saw this.
Siskel & Ebert, then emerging, helped with positive reviews.
This ugly film, that feels like a trashy paperback, still packs a punch.
Unforgettable sequence of an active burial.

Conan The Destroyer - 1984 - USA

Conan The Destroyer - 1984 - 6/10

 
What happened here?
Conan The Barbarian (1982) was faithful to Robert E Howard and Frank Frazetta.
Brutal, sexy, dark, bloody.  Breathe the Hyborian Age.
This followup is more cartoonish.  Silly at times.
Anyway, the Cimmerian is tasked with escorting a virgin princess to restore a horn on the god Dagoth (Dagon?).
Adventures follow in this disappointing sequel.
Great cast, fabulous sets, all wasted.
John Milius and Oliver Stone sorely missed.

The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady - 1984 - UK

The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady - 1984 - 7/10

 
Lovely adaptation of Edith Holden’s book, which was quite popular a generation earlier.
12 episodes, one per month, this follows the changing seasons, as well as Holden’s life.
Nature fans will embrace the scenery.  Topical points also raised (hunting limitations).
Holden herself is something of an enigma.
Pay attention and you will notice her family’s declining fortunes.
Her death was likewise a mystery, although producers offer unsupported hints, which they ought not have.
This series should be better known.  Music by Jon Lord.

The Company Of Wolves - 1984 - UK

The Company Of Wolves - 1984 - 6/10

 
Although listed among Horror, this anthology holds fairy tales revolving around wolves.
Werewolves, Red Riding Hood, transformations.
One even includes the chance encounter with the Devil.

 
Interior sets predominate, although that seems in keeping with the fantasy element.
Angela Lansbury reliable as Granny, a classic ”wise woman”.
The real gem is 12 year old Sarah Patterson.  She is in almost every scene and is bewitching.
Early Neil Jordan work.

A Soldier’s Story - 1984 - USA

A Soldier’s Story - 1984 - 7/10

 
During WWII, a black sergeant is murdered in racist Louisiana.
Sent to investigate, a JAG officer.  A black JAG officer.
General consensus agrees the murder was committed by the Ku Klux Klan, still a force then.
The JAG captain (excellent Henry Rollins), wants truth, not an easy answer.
In the finest investigative tradition, the captain ruffles everyone’s feathers.
While based on a play, this does not feel stagebound.
Drama predominates over mystery.
Acting uniformly fine (early role for Denzel Washington).

2010: The Year We Make Contact - 1984 - USA

2010: The Year We Make Contact - 1984 - 6/10

 
Like 2001, the 2010 date recedes further in the mirror each day.
Meanwhile, the chances of human space exploration grows slimmer.
Pointless “sequel” sends US-Soviet mission to Jupiter to find out what happened with USS Discovery in 2001.
Global tensions back on Earth, but nauts astro and cosmo are beyond that, correct?
While both stories were based on Arthur C Clarke works, 2010 misses Kubrick.
Despite better special effects (and I did like that Soviet craft), this lacks the soaring vision and imagination of the original.
What this does offer are tidy guides for individuals (know thyself) who want everything explained.
I remember half snoozing when I originally saw this.
No change.

Comfort And Joy - 1984 - UK

Comfort And Joy - 1984 - 5/10

 
Scottish radio announcer gets entangled in ice cream truck feud.
Mister Bunny (no more Mister Softy!) trucks vandalize McCool trucks and vice versa.
In other hands, this might have been a holiday turf war.
Instead, this is weird for the sake of weirdness.
No character development - indeed, even the main character, one Dickie Bird, is barely a sketch.
A “wintery" film, the story is fairly depressing and meanders a lifeless path.
Of course that may well be the point, that the Life path is a dreary myth.
I screened this theatrically when it first came out.  I had no memory of it because it is not memorable.
Quirky, not comedy, and not as charming as I had recalled.

What Waits Below - 1984 - UK

What Waits Below - 1984 - 5/10

 
Wolfsen, gathering intel on Nicaraguan mercenaries, makes a hasty, gun-blazing exit.
Why?  Because a new cave network has been discovered in Belize.
Archeologists and military ops squabble over site rights, until all descend.
Low budget, fast moving adventure nonsense juggles politics, Navy submarines, romance, escapes, lost civilization.  
Hardly a great film, though I was amused throughout.
I watched to see Lisa Blount, who never quite caught the breaks.

Blame It On Rio - 1984 - USA

Blame It On Rio - 1984 - 5/10

 
Two friends, fathers, head for Rio with their two teenage daughters in tow.
Steamy days, sultry nights, and soon one father and the other’s daughter pair off.
This borders on smutty exploitation, yet it is awfully funny.
Michael Caine and Joseph Bologna share good chemistry (and good one-liners).
Rio is a postcard, Michelle Johnson is absolutely ripe (though Demi Moore seems uncomfortable).
One does wonder why Stanley Donen, of all people, is directing this fluff.

Crimes Of Passion - 1984 - USA

Crimes Of Passion - 1984 - 6/10

 
By any other hand, this might be a steamy erotic thriller, a genre in vogue for a decade.
A Ken Russell film, though, brace for something “different”.
Bobby, hired to investigate industrial espionage, discovers his quarry is designer by day, prostitute by night.
Soon enough, he initiates a … hmm … a connection with her
As if one stalker isn’t bad enough, she also attracts a weird minister.
Anthony Perkins (sadly typecast throughout his later career) memorable as the wacko, obsessed preacher.
The film had / has a scurrilous reputation, reason enough to watch when it came out.
I found it disappointing, then learned the R rating had trimmed naughty bits.
By the time I viewed an unrated version, well, the world and I had moved on.
Don’t watch this for sex, watch to enjoy the repartee between China Blue and Reverend Shayne.
As I tell young colleagues, you want to see hot action, get a mirror and an enthusiastic partner.