TEARS FOR FEARS RULED THE WORLD

ON FOUR SINGLES!

INSPIRATIONAL! This is powerful stuff! What an incredibly superior live act they were at this point. Their daggyness is now so so becoming. I am so appreciative of their lack of cool now. This is joyous music but I now realise the pain they've been through to bring you a fucking four leaf clover. This is spiritual and so damn uplifting the smile won't come off my face! THIS IS OUR FOUR LEAF CLOVER!!! Put your hands in the air! Clap and click those fingers Roland Orzabal stylee! Lose yourself! Celebrate while you can. The 2020s do not deserve such ecstatic beauty. This is chills down your spine. It's the hair standing up at the back of your neck and on your arms. This is the good goosebumps. Divine light rarely gets filtered through pop music so fucking dig on it. The humanity of it all is overwhelming. The music from 4.10 onwards is an astounding noisey workout and this is done live (!?). Masterful. Fuck me...I am moved! 

When Tears For Fears first arrived on the scene, was it Aussie top 10 hit Mad World in 1983? I was in grade 6 so I thought I knew what was cool, sexy, daft and whatever else. The Sunnyboys were youthful charm personified, INXS were quirky funk-rock sex maniacs, Madonna was trendy but undeniable, DEVO were pop art, wow Midnight Oil were like political man how interesting right? (said in Tim & Debbie's voice), Lionel Richie was just Lionel Richie, The Birthday Party were scary & satanic (Hey I was little but I had a much older brother), Cyndi Lauper was so wacky she had to be boringly normal, The Church were poetically mysterious, Duran Duran were for the girls to lust after, Prince was an otherworldly genius, New Order were the best, Depeche Mode were on the verge and about to become astronomically devastating and U2 were totally onto something because they were so rockingly anthemic, But Tears For Fears, right....were fucking odd. They didn't seem to be playing the same game.

They did not care about appearing cool or sexy or arty or punky or quirky or new-wave or weird. Even most synth pop whilst great fun was often cynical, perverse, cold, sad, dark, sexual or all of the above. Nik Kershaw & Howard Jones seemed a bit sooky (I'm Antipodean, look it up!) even whilst having terrific radio pop tunes. Tears For Fears were smiling onstage! Fuckin what??? Tears for Fears didn't seem to care enough about their clothes or haircuts or being aloof or sullen or ironic or miserable or funny. There was a darkness to be sure but it was about bringing the light in. They may have seemed generic, "oh more schlock aimed at Smash Hits Magazine kids", but even when I first heard them there was something rare that set them apart. There's a reason why people still care about this band during this era of their first two LPs while say The Thompson Twins are now forgotten despite superficial similarities at the time.

Maybe a year later I recall an interview, perhaps when Shout was released, where it sounded like they were kinda new age or involved in some kind of hippy cult-y therapy nonsense that I wouldn't have understood properly at the time except for being able to compare it to John & Yoko when they were in their balmy therapy phase. Primal screaming didn't seem far from their name tears for fears. I'm sure this was all in the back of my mind. Well it's pretty hard to miss it's scattered throughout their tunes. 

Now in JUNE 2021, even compared to their wonderful and much more critically acclaimed contemporaries TALK TALK, they stick out like a couple broken sore thumbs. I've done no research on them for this piece by the way so this is all off the top of me head and from experiencing their music again today. TEARS FOR FEARS stand out because this is fucking spiritual music! It's healing music. It's positive music. The onstage smiling is fucking magic, beautiful and infectious. They are like nothing else in the 80s except for maybe The Chameleons. The chameleons (who are probably now my favourite 80s British guitar band to exist solely within the 80s decade) are a totally dedicated guitar band though! Their sonic sorcery was beautiful, buzzing, spiritual and ecstatic post-punk of the highest order as I've attested on this blog before. 

As I've gone through life and pain but also reached ecstatic heights (haven't we all!) this music from Tears For Fears makes much more sense. That's not to say the youth of today can't enjoy it though, because it's meticulously crafted spectacular pop. I mean Curt & Roland were pretty young when they created the music from their precious 1982-85 (?) era. 

It's like they are pushing too many buttons of your humanity emotions. Mad World is so expressionistic right down to that synth break...hang on how the fuck did they make a synth break so full of pathos? Then we get Roland's dancing on the jetty which is an emotional expressionistic interpretive dance, all the words I'm not meant to say about rock but I'm saying it and I love it and I don't fucking care! Even the fake marimba synth soundz are emotional and passionate. Curt Smith's poignant vocal interpretation of Roland's words is so damn touching. They were striking early earth shattering gold here. 

What a great live band. They were so on it right here and they knew it. They were ruling the world at this moment and it's a gift that it was captured on video. What an anthem! I dunno what it means but to me it's about ruling my world which I rarely get to do any more, so this stirs me to my emotional core. Curt is so feeling it. He's clapping, he's dancing in rapture and his hands are in the air like a spiritual guru, this is twenty years before Nick Cave's transformation into a devotional performer. Curt's charismatic divine energy can't help but spill onto the stage and inspire all those within his presence. His joyousness is contagious and absolutely loveable. I'm kinda in love with Curt right now. Roland, the drummer and the synth dude in the singlet are exuding spiritual exuberance too. Then there is that bridge. Oh Lord! That is THE bridge of 80s pop: None more ecstatic. They know and Love, Love, Love... it's all in the air. Then Curt hits the fucking splash cymbal for maximum elation, the money and the show.

Holy fuck if you haven't heard this since you were a kid you are in luck. There's a reason why we all owned the 7" and why this was number one forever in 1984/85. Perhaps this is the most fervent of their anthems. Everything is 80s 80s 80s & switched up to 11. Firstly Roland's vocal performance of this endless mantra is outstanding, he's defiant, angry yet euphoric. Then there's that wicked mental synth bass, that neon tube synth sound, the heavy guitar, the pipes bit, the organ and just the humanity in the impassioned melody. Then we get the release of human agitation and frustration in the vocals and lyrics to reach a heavenly healing plateau. At about the 2.45 mark, signalled by the unforgettable drumming across the floor sequence in the film clip, there is a break down to that Tears For Fears signature percussion sound and it's party time! A 'lil bass break then it gets really fucking heavily psychedelic during and after Roland's insane epic lead break which he does atop a seaside cliff (80s, 80s, 80s!!!!) where all the music just keeps going higher and higher and noisier and louder and keeps enthusiastically climaxing which continues on with the totally mesmerising "SHOUT" chant and the circular harmony's in the round reaching fever pitch that feels like it will swell infinitely until an arbitrary fade out. They could have kept it going for another 10 minutes where eternal delirium may have set in but blissful it would have been! 

A strange revelation to be having, well actually it's not that strange at all as all of the music about to be mentioned has its beginnings in 60s psychedelia, is that Shout is comparable to psych-noise/shoegaze as sonically this just keeps repeatedly blissfully swelling infinitely like a Loop or My Bloody Valentine tune except they weren't fetishising guitars, it was about the noisey overload of incanting human voices & emotions culminating in a trance-like state. The music too does get on a deafening mantra-ride. Whoever produced this sonic document is to be commended. The particular spellbinding buzz of Tears For Fears seems to be about healthy natural spiritual jubilation though. I can't see nihilistic hedonism being part of their lifestyle like say Spacemen 3, but who knows though? Not that that particularly matters on pop records though as the music is the hit, the aural drug, the fizzy pop endorphin rush you crave for and get in spades. 

The video is human and celebratory and smiley and family friendly (Babies & Nannas??? What??? Where's their generation gap???) and so fucking heartwarming: All the stuff that you weren't meant to be in rock because it wasn't cool but it now puts Tears For Fears in a very significant and a really unprecedented esteemed position in 80s pop. Shout was one of the most unique worldwide number one hits ever. One of a kind.

MOVIES 41

RECENTLY RE/WATCHED 

THE SNORKEL (1958)

Never even heard of this British murder mystery/suspense flick until Indicator released this blu-ray in February. I've come to realise over the last 10 years that there's an entire parallel history of British film out there to the one we already know and love and it's just as good if not better! The Snorkel is an absolute classic thriller that I reckon Hitchcock would have been proud of. Best to go in to this one with as little knowledge as possible. Highest recommendation. 

RUNAWAY TRAIN (1985)

I must have seen this classic 80s action thriller on telly before but I couldn't remember it so it was like I was watching it for the first time. As Peter from Britain's Dragon's Den likes to say "It does what it says on the tin!" ie. It's about a Runaway Train and it's edge of the seat of your pant stuff. John Voigt is outstanding in this Cannon Films production. This is pop art action entertainment!

FROM BEYOND (1986)

You know how Re-Animator (1985) is pretty much the best Sci-Fi Horror movie of the 80s, along with The Fly (1986) & Aliens (1986), well Stuart Gordon's second directorial effort is just as good. It's another HP Lovecraft interpretation. Nutty scientists bugger about and end up creating a "Resonator" which has all sorts of affects on dimensions and sexuality with weird & horrifying consequences. I mean sure it's all about Barbara Crampton in leather underwear, if you saw it in the 80s as a teenage boy but it's more than that, I think. You should watch it again if you haven't seen it since the 80s as it's an exciting wild trip into body horror. TOP SHELF 80s VHS!

DEADLY MANOR (1990)

It's hard to believe José Larraz the director of one of my all time favourite 70s horror movies Symptoms (1974) directed this bottom of the barrel 90s slasher. Only die hard slasher fans are going to find anything of interest here and I suspect they're not even going to extract too much enjoyment here. Steer clear!

THE GOOD DIE YOUNG (1954)
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record with all these ye olde British crime films but here's another gem I haven't watched in a while. I'm surprised by the amount of great British films that don't make the "so called" cannon lists. Is that because cannons are bullshit? It was mentioned on a podcast a while back so a re-watch was in order. Miles Ravenscourt (Laurence Harvey) is a degenerate gambler but with a set of great social skills to enable him to round up three other down and just about out blokes in London to help him pull off a heist. Three quarters of this film are dedicated to the ins and outs of the minutiae of manipulating such relatively good men into criminal and diabolical circumstances. Worth the build up for the terrific ending. 

The Good Die Young has a stellar cast including legendary Gloria Grahame and a a young Joan Collins along with stalwarts Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. Directed by Lewis Gilbert who went onto fame helming such films as Alfie, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. 

SAVAGE DAWN (1985)
Well this is a pretty good fun outlandish 80s action film with plenty of bad-arse motorbike action in a desert town. We get crazy firearms, tanks, betrayal, revenge, insane military weapons, tractors and even lassos! Stars Lance Henriksen, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Richard Lynch, William Forsyth etc. With characters called Tick, Stryker, Virgil, Zero, Meatrack, Joyboy, Spyder and Lipservice you know you've entered deep into the 80s VHS shelves of bonkers late night action entertainment. 

Ms .45 aka Angel Of Vengeance (1981)

Abel Ferrara's Ms .45 seems to get better with age. This rape-revenge movie is not going to be for everyone. Set in the trendy but sleazy garment district of NYC at the start of the 80s our mute protagonist Thana (Zoë Tamerlis) works as a seamstress. After work one day she is raped in a laneway by a masked man, as if that's not bad enough, when she she gets home she is raped again by a different dude whom she kills. There's more carnage to come as Thana becomes totally unhinged and revolted by any sexual advances from men. The final costume party mayhem extravaganza is actually quite ethereal, befitting Thana's alternative title as an angel of Vengeance. If I spit On Your Grave (1978) is way too much for you perhaps you'll be able to hack Ms .45 but it's still bloody rough going. There's no doubt though that this is a spectacularly put together exploitation film which must have been very unexpected in 1981 after the dross of his debut feature Driller Killer (1979). Ms .45 belongs in the higher echelons of the vengeance and rape-revenge genres. Zoë Tamerlis is brilliant as Thana. Whatever happened to her? er....drugs and lots of them but she did co-write Ferrara's 1992 depraved cop classic Bad Lieutenant before dying in her late 30s of too much drugs. 

THE BLOB (1988)

Wow when I first put this on I thought geez I've underrated this for 30 years. I loved it with its outa space slime falling out of the sky, squishing out of hospital and oozing into the sewer system. But then after half way through comes the the buzzkill information that it's a government scientific military warfare experiment. I couldn't even be bothered trying to read the subtext. Was it anti-Reagan, anti-war, anti-government, anti-military, anti-who gives a fuck?! Why not just have a scary gloopy blob destroying everything in its path without the tedious politics. Still it is worth checking out for the excellent old school effects and the top mysteriously scary first two thirds. For 80s VHS sci-fi horror enthusiasts. A missed opportunity but then again it seems to have quite the cult following.

DOMONIQUE (1979)
This blu-ray was in the Vinegar Syndrome sale so I took a chance and it payed off! This is a quaint British horror film set in a bucolic mansion owned by a very wealthy couple. Inheritances, chauffeurs, gaslighting, death, ghosts, and other assorted monkey business takes place for a splendidly entraining evening of light spooky viewing. Top thriller/horror to watch with your grandma.

POOL OF LONDON (1951)

Here we go again! Another British crime movie of the highest calibre. This is a heist movie with twist then a few more twists and some romance. Basil Dearden directs so what could go wrong? Nothing. The pace, the plot, the scenic London being rebuilt post-WWII, the acting and just the whole vibe is enticing. Surely this one makes some of the canonical lists. Two Merchant seamen and best buddies Johnny Lambert (Earl Cameron) & Dan MacDonald (Bonar Colleano) get the weekend off whilst their ship is docked in London. Johnny finds a woman who he falls in love with while Dan is up to all sorts of shady shenanigans in the streets, pubs and dancehalls of post war London. The duo find themselves inadvertently involved in a jewellery heist. What will become of these two? 

This is right up there with the best British films of all time including Dearden's other top efforts League Of Gentleman, Victim, All Night Long, Sapphire, Blue Lamp, The Mindbenders etc. For my money Dearden is the greatest British director of all time to not cross the pond. A quick look at the Time Out & BFI lists of The 100 Best British Films Of All Time reveals no love for Dearden whatsoever, with no entries in either list, which is perplexing and a disgrace! Next time you read such a list have a good think and you'll realise they are in no way indicative of the greatest films of all time that they purport to be. There is always a narrative being followed or an agenda or some sort of commercial interest but you can become a heterodox thinker so make your own real list. I mean come on! 24 Hour Party People over every single brilliant film in Dearden's entire filmography, that's a bullshit list innit?

LINE OF DUTY THOUGH

But I haven't been in movie mode really because LINE OF DUTY SEASON 6. Anti Corruption Unit 12 are back in full swing! This season's special guest star is legendary Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald and she absolutely kills it as the dodgy copper DCU Joanne Davidson. Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston as our AC-12 trio of Ted, Kate & Steve are brilliant once again. Anna Maxwell Martin returns as the god awful DCS Patricia Carmichael. Then there's Gregory Piper as PC Ryan Pilkington, the all grown OCG housing estate kid from series one and Nigel Boyle returns as the incompetent twat DSU Buckles. These are the greatest actors on telly right now and they put in an unbelievable ensemble performance. It is a joy to watch people at the top of their game and thanks to the writing of Jed Mercurio plus the art of his three directors (special mention to Gareth Bryn for helming episode four) it all comes together spectacularly. This is impeccably put together with not a second wasted. You cannot look away. There's no looking at your phone or knitting to be done during this extraordinary, meticulous and intense Cop V Cop drama!

First we had to watch the new season but then we had to watch all the previous seasons again. So now we're in the middle S6 again. One of the top three episodes ever is in the new season that being episode four. DI Steve Arnott even agrees. Of course the best ever is episode six of season three followed by episode four of season five. Fans you know what I'm talkin' aboot! But there's NOT a bad episode in the entire six seasons. So that's over 36 hours of television (pretty dense) perfection. Nobody can touch the Brits when it comes to telly of the outstanding variety!

Is this the end of the line for Line Of Duty though? I remember a few years back Jed Mercurio was promising seven seasons. The end of the sixth season feels like it's done and dusted though. It all seems wound up. There's only really a couple of questions about Ted Hastings past that remain unanswered. Maybe they could do a prequel of Ted as a youthful copper in his Northern Ireland days. Perhaps it's good to just leave it alone now though. I'm sure Jed's got some other fabulous ideas for other shows percolating in his brain. Maybe that is what's worth looking forward to.

I've watched a bunch of other films and old favourites that I couldn't be bothered writing about or reviewing again like all of the Umberto Lenzi & Sergio Martino poliziotteschi movies, Chopping Mall (1986), The Blood Spattered Bride (1972), Maniac (1980), The Night Train Murders (1975), Der Fan (1982), Bunny Lake is missing (1965), Endless Night (1972), 11 Harrowhouse (1974), The Trinidad Affair (1952), Blood On Satan's Claw (1971), Radio On (1979) and probably some others I've forgotten. 

FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY FOR THESE CULT MOVIES

ONE ARMED BOXER (1971)
RELEASE DATE: NOW
Kung-fu blu-ray debut of One Armed Boxer on EUREKA CLASSICS. Jimmy Wang Yu the original One Armed Swordsman (1967) is back to fight an array of malicious martial artists in this cult Hong Kong movie from The Golden Harvest Co. After becoming famous as the one armed swordsman whilst under contract at The Shaw Bros Studio now he gets his arm severed again to become the One Armed Boxer...aww no. How does Jimmy do it because he actually has two arms in real life! Amazing, plus he also directs this one with one arm tied behind his back.

THE CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT (1972)
RELEASE DATE: 6/7/21

One of my all time favourite Gialli gets the blu-ray treatment from Cauldron Films. This is set in the picture-esque city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Blind movie composer Peter (Anthony Steffen) becomes the amateur sleuth after his ex-girlfriend dies. The police don't think its murder but Peter knows better. I mean he's blind but even he can see its murder. Hold on to your hats: We get overheard conversations, a modelling agency, a fashion house, adultery, a deadly cat, a phoney drug addict, sex photo extortion, silk shawls, 70s restaurants/bars, pet shops, a bus chase, a shocking death shower scene, blackmail, a white caped murderer, a body count, a butler, red herrings, tape recordings and more. Unusually we get an incredible set piece on a construction site (?) with the blindman Peter having to dodge murderous machinery whilst on dangerous scaffolding. This is an intense action sequence that sets this Giallo apart. The best (Original review from 26/6/20). 

COLUMBIA NOIR BOX SET #4

RELEASE DATE: 20/10/21

Six More 40s & 50s crime films from Indicator Blu-ray. All debuting on blu-ray. Four of which I've never seen! We've got the lot here: Glamour, Guns, Nihilism, Femme Fatales, Gangsters, Spies, Hitmen, Seedy Cops on the take, Scuzzy NYC, Love and an array Creepy Miscreants. Acting from Kim Novak,  Abbe Lane, Fred MacMurray, Richard Conte, Jean Simmons etc. Directing from Phil Karlson, John Farrow, Richard Quine et al. Plus commentaries and introductions from the likes of Marty Scorsese, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Frank Krutnik etc. No Adrian Martin though (aww but why though?). Plus the usual Three Stooges shorts sending up noir motifs. Can't wait!

* I'm not gonna say we need a blu-ray of Cockfighter, After Hours, Night Of The Juggler, Straight Time or Minnie & Moskowitz any more. I give up.

What about The Well (1951), The Phenix City Story (1955), Don't Deliver Us From Evil (1971), Hollywood Man (1976), The House With The Laughing Windows (1976) or Possible Worlds (2000)? Come on blu-ray people! 

POSSIBLE WORLDS. Best film Of the century?

*RANT ALERT! BLU-RAY BUSINESS'S ARE THE NEW DJS!

It befuddles me that not one of these boutique labels has carved out a niche by getting hold of like the 20 best Krimi titles or why it's only been 88 Films championing Hong Kong's amazing yet neglected 60s/70's/80s/90s film legacy up until now that other business's have started barging in on 88 Film's Hong Kong film love. It's like nobody's out there thinking differently. All these labels seem to be covering similar stuff. Something tells me these blu-ray people can't seem to think for themselves and are a bit clueless except for 88, Indicator, Kino Lorber, Vinegar Syndrome and a couple of others. The rest seem keen to just follow trends and chase the same cult films as one another.

Early Krimi THE STRANGE COUNTESS (1961)

Labels like Studio Canal's Vintage Classics, BFI & Network are quietly brilliant because they just do their own thing without trying to be trendy or cool with their ye olde British flicks, British telly and miscellaneous excellent movies. Nobody ever raves about those labels and maybe that's a good thing as they are all about The Movies. One day I just realised that half the movies in my collection are manufactured by these labels.

I mean these  other blu-ray label people are hardly creative types. They are just releasing old stuff that they had absolutely nothing to do with when it was being made. Unless you are Warner Archive or William Lustig running your own fabulous cottage industry in Blue Underground which is keeping his own creative legacy alive and visible. There's nothing particularly cutting edge about this game. It's a bit like DJs in the 90s getting all this notoriety & adulation by simply playing records made by other incredibly creative/innovative artists. That's the crux of the entire curatorship problem. It's now historic. The creativity is finished long ago and never belonged in the hands of these new third party business owners. They are the end of the line. It's bottom feeding innit? The more I think about it, the fustier it all seems, a bit gross, sycophantic and sort of film necrophilia. The cult of boutique blu-ray labels is daft.

Joe Spinnel MANIAC 1980 (Bill Lustig)

I'd say most people probably pay no notice, as they should, and just say "Awesome I've found a blu-ray of Over The Edge! I love that movie. How good is Matt Dillon? Plus all those kids who were non-actors. Jonathan Kaplan rules and the soundtrack is so like excellent!" 

Poliziotteschi classic STREET LAW (1974)

It's puzzling and somewhat suspicious that Arrow are now getting involved in releasing Poliziotteschi Movies after 88, Code Red and others have been releasing that stuff for years. Plus Arrow??? They're slipping in quality and value with not one commentary on any of the the five films on only three discs in the Years Of Lead Box. They're cutting corners and losing respect! Why are we paying premium prices still for that box set, as good as it may be, that seems like it should be a budget product? I think something is definitely up over there at Arrow Films. They are no longer exciting. They're posting apologies and cancellations of blu-ray features. They're repackaging their old titles like Sergio Martino Gialli & Jules Dassin Noirs to make them look like new products. This of course will make obsessive collectors buy the same material again. There was even an instagram post earlier in the year saying they were dropping the excellent esoteric film buff's Arrow Academy line so they have changed their MO to what appears to be a more business-centric model as opposed to a bunch of movie fanatics putting out stuff they love. If I had to guess I'd say there's been a changing of the guard at Arrow HQ and their future is fading fast as it now appears to be being poorly run. Their time might be almost up if they don't get it together and keep the faithful happy....anyway whatever....

Grace Jones in COLT 38: SPECIAL SQUAD (1976)

Illustrated Man (Mini-LP) 1984

GREAT MISSES OF THE 80S

How on EARTH this has passed me by until just recently is astonishing. For a start legendary keyboardist Roger Mason is in this band and I was an obsessive James Freud & Freud era Models fan in the early to mid 80s. 

Illustrated Man also have the great guitarist Rob 'fucking' Dean and my older brother was soo obsessed with all things Japan including all their side-projects. Dali's Car anyone? So maybe he had this record when he flew the coop in 85 and just never played it to me because he didn't rate it (?!). Have I forgotten? I just dunno. I'm perplexed. 

But hang on there's some more... drumming extraordinaire Hugo Burnham from Gang Of Four is also in the band. Hugo was part of funk-rock's greatest rhythm section along with bassist Dave Allen. Gang Of Four's Entertainment (1979) LP may just well be the best record ever made! The only country where it cracked the top 40, I am proud to say, was Australia!

The weirdest thing about Illustrated Man though is the fact that the best ingredient in this super soup of a super group is singer Philip Foxman who was in Aussie glam band Supernaught in the 70s but wait for it...he was not even the singer in that band yet he is the fucking fantastic front man of the Illustrated Man!

Foxman stamps his personality all over this group with his unique vision, striking melodies and exquisite singing style. Oh yeah he also created Burnham's historic second astounding rhythm section by playing stellar bass and helping create impeccable synergy.    

How this band got together is beyond me but Mason was playing keyboards for Gary Numan in the early 80s before joining Models as a full time member in 84/5 so I guess they all knew one another and were playing on each others records in the UK but still where does Foxman fit in? I guess I'll find out more in due course as I'm looking into getting an interview with Foxman, Mason or whoever will talk to me.

The Songs. The Music. The Foxman Charisma! 

The music while definitely forged in their own originality is as good as anything in this scene like 80s Roxy Music, Simple Minds, The Reels, ABC, Duran Duran, Talk Talk et al. but it also foreshadows the future sounds that Shriekback, INXS & the Duffield-less Models would make.

They were't that generic though were they? I think Just Enough was a near miss or minor hit in some territories but details are sketchy on the web about chart entries. How on earth were these songs not Chartbusting Hits! Surely they cracked the Canadian top 20! They definitely had their own magnificent idiosyncratic anthemic sound. Apparently they were a devastating live act. Just imagine if they went further into the future...even just one more mini-LP or an actual album... they would have been an unstoppable Juggernaut...what could have been...?

Days Without End shows they could go into darker more melancholic territory while still retaining their essence. This is like hearing a parallel 80s. One which should have been part of that retro-licious cannon of pop but is somehow foreign yet a perfectly delectable 80s confection all the same. I'll take both versions of the 80s thanks. I'm happy to be in parallel zones.

Now the absolute killer 80s dance-rock of Head Over Heels is where things get contentious not for Illustrated Man but for INXS. The What You Need (1985) beat/bassline are literally right here. 

The guitar line and exact guitar sound INXS used in New Sensation (1988), that is the perfect intersection of funk and rock in fluid circular motion, is here too and it belongs to Rob Dean not Andy or Timmy Farriss. I know INXS loved their Stones-y riffs, Numan, Gang Of Four, disco, a bit of AC/DC, ska and old school funk but come on this is absurd! This is a strange revelation to be having in 2021. How INXS didn't get sued once let alone twice is beyond me.

Anyway who cares I suppose Head Over Heels and its bunch of mixes will have you blissfully elated and in 80s dancefloor Heaven! Rewind!

Yeass but not quite just enough....

Underneath The Radar - Underworld

2021 GLOBAL ANTHEM

I'm gonna go out on a limb here (not googling) and say this was probably only a top 40 hit down here in The Antipodes. I'd say they sold more records in my home-town of Mildura in regional Victoria, Australia than anywhere else in the world at this point in time. I'm sure this was No.1 on local radio station 3MA for months! Was Underworld's aim to become an honorary Aussie dance-rock band? To be fair amongst the Real Life/Icehouse/INXS vibes they also owe a great debt to Waterfront era Simple Minds and maybe The The circa Infected. Their paranoia and even the robot man's nefarious one world order mantra "Think Global, Act Local" comes straight out of the Midnight Oil playbook. It is a weird song. People used to say dancing to Infected was so fucked up because it's a song about contracting HIV, dancing to Underneath The Radar is a bit like celebrating your powerlessness over the inevitability of authoritarianism finally taking over. While the sounds are quintessential mid/late 80s, the vibe is soo very 2020s. I'm diggin it A LOT! In fact I'm obsessed with this song now. Perhaps a 2021 re-mix/re-release would send it to the top of the global charts.

Born Slippy - Underworld

I don't care how middlebrow this is. It's still great! I get that it's happy hardcore for for the boozed up Loaded boys and gals but who gives a fuck?!!! Starts out of the gate in classic 90s ambient mode then into the rock singing which was a vestige of Underworld's past (Underneath The Radar 1988) as an attempted Welsh version of an Aussie Dance-Rock band. Then the happy hardcore beat kicks in and that's pretty ecstatic. Then the anthemic LAGER LAGER bit and by the end it's in like Luke Slater trance-y territory. Epic sonic journey. Es & a lager thanks. Yass!

Movies Part 40

Streetwalkin' (1985)

A brother and sister are runaways from upstate left to fend for themselves on the mean streets of NYC in the mid 80s. Cookie (Melissa Leo) soon becomes a prostitute after being charmed by Duke (Dale Midkiff) a psycho pimp (are there any other kind?). Soon enough she and her brother Tim (Randall Batinkoff) have an apartment they share with fellow prostitute Heather (Deborah Offner). Heather is being beaten to a pulp by Duke so a pimp intervention is in order. It's got all the sleaze, nudity, drug use, violence and depraved fuckers from back when New York seemed like a whole lottla scary lawless fun. Look out for TV's Cat Woman from Julie Newmar as the wise ole hooker Queen Bee. Do a double bill with Angel (1984) which is like the LA equivalent. 

Dragonwyck (1946)

Gene Tierney once again stars with Vincent Price in this compelling dark melodrama. It might be one of Price's best performances. It's better when he plays slightly unhinged, flawed or spooky characters. I find him a bit off when he's trying to play a relatively normal man. One suspects PTA would be a fan of this film, perhaps it was an influence on Phantom Thread (2017). This is notably produced by Ernst Lubitsch as well as being the auspicious directing debut flick for Oscar winning director/writer Joseph L Mankiewicz who would go on to direct the much more famous A Letter To Three Wives (1949), All About Eve (1950), Suddenly Last Summer (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). 

Yield To The Night (1956)

This brilliant British film puts things like French New Wave into perspective. This is so stylish at the start you might be forgiven for thinking that perhaps you'd stumbled across a lost Melville or Antonioni film. This is basically Dead Man Walking (199?) 40 years early except it's awesome. Mary (Diana Dors) is convicted of cold blooded murder and we watch  her play out the rest of her days reminiscing in her gaol cell before her hanging or her reprieve from the governor. All the acting here is in a superior class as is the script and direction from J Lee Thompson. The Best!

Shot (1973)

Bizarre low budget but highly ambitious 70s crime film. Did this film make any sense? I'm not so sure. I think I'll need to watch it again. It was worth it though for the 70s clothes, cars, buildings and stuff. It's all about the violence, car chases and nihilism. The helicopter cinematography is splendid, it captures snowy regional outskirts of wherever-ville USA gloriously. A film in search of a cult audience or is it already a cult film? Who decides these daft things? I'm guessing if you get a blu-ray release from the fabulous Vinegar Syndrome label you instantly become a cult film.

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

I'd never seen this film. It was not what I was expecting one bit. As soon as I saw Tennessee Williams' name hit the screen I got concerned though, thinking isn't he the most pompous middlebrow writer of the worst kind? For the first hour I just wanted to turn it off as a wall of non-stop words hit me in my head. This may has well been a radio-play as far as I was concerned. Elizabeth Taylor finally appearing kept me in and the story was pretty compelling in the end if totally bloated. It only really become cinematic in the last twenty minutes when Catherine (Liz Taylor) describes how and why her male cousin Sebastian died. This was s shown in flashback sequence. I wonder if films such as these gave melodrama a bad name and eventually made them unfashionable? Liz's famous bathing suit only makes a brief appearance. It's hard to imagine how it became so iconic! Still this overblown mysterious tale of deplorable behaviour is very sickening. 

From a cinematic point of view I would have just told the crime story in the Spanish seaside town straight. Cutting out all the self important time wasting monologues (particularly those of Katherine Hepburn) and all the stupid psychiatry but leaving in the transgressive taboo horror. That would have been a lean and mean nasty flick though, making it perhaps unpalatable for the time. Then again many noir films and Budd Boetticher Westerns did this previous to 59. Anyway It is worth watching for Taylor's performance alone which is as per usual pretty spectacular. In a word TURGID.

RaBID DOGS (1974)

One of the most fun and definitely the most compelling Mario Bava movies ever made! You cannot look away or lose interest during this entire 96 minutes. It been categorised as many things but I reckon it's just the ultimate depraved black comedy road movie ever. If an insane criminal threatens to chop off your kidnapped sons balls and make them into earrings for you, then offers to make you a broach from his winkle you know you're on a deranged movie trip of a lifetime!

The Damned (1962)

I only knew this was one of Joseph Losey's British era flicks. That's all you need to know. Just drop everything and go watch this immediately. I gotta say I dunno how this got past me for so many years because surely this is one of the ultimate batshit crazy cult movies. Just look at the two posters above...yes they are THE SAME MOVIE! 

Border Incident (1949)

It's got quicksand seriously what more do I need to say! They could remake this today and they wouldn't have to change one thing. No director would have the guts though. This subject matter couldn't be more relevant as the Mexican/USA border humanitarian crisis has deepened with Creepy Joe in power. This is an unbelievably brutal tale of people smuggling. The American and Mexican feds are in cahoots to try and capture some of these rotten people smugglers. John Alton and Anthony Mann once again collaborate and along with great actoring create create a unique piece of cinema. Border Incident's captures all the claustrophobia that noir westerns have and way way more malevolence.   

The Gunfighter (1950)

Gregory Peck is Ringo a bad arse gunslinger. Based on a story by legendary director/screenwriter Andre De Toth but directed by Henry King. Due to the ageing Ringo's reputation as the fastest gun in the west all the young upstarts wanna have a crack at him. Ringo's looking to settle down and make up with his estranged wife though. 

SPOILER ALERT! I mean this film is 71 years old so whatever... I find it hilarious that some experts have read Peck's character as morally upstanding. Some movie writers are dumb as fuck! The fact of the matter is by not retaliating to his killer Ringo gets supreme vengeance upon him before he croaks by bestowing a life sentence of anxiety, looking over your shoulder and never having a moments inner peace as you never know where your next potential killer is coming from. Ringo tried to redeem himself, it didn't happen so he bitterly handed out this bleak vengeance. He died in vane and left an inhumane legacy upon his killer. This is the ultimate in vengeance! This could have been the plot-line for an episode of Deadwood so if you're a fan of that spectacular tv show this is right up your street. Top Western.

La polizia ha le mani legate aka Killer Cop (1974)

Excellent Poliziotteschi film directed by Luciano Ercoli who directed a trio of distinctive gialli The Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion (1970), Death Walks On High Heels (1971) & Death Walks At Midnight (1972). A terrorist bombs a hotel lobby in Milan. It's up to Commissioner (Claudio Cassinelli) a NARC who inadvertently became embroiled in the saga and the DA (Arthur Kennedy) to figure out who the bomber is as there seems to be corruption somewhere along the chain of command in the Milanese police squad. La polizia ha le mani legate, while not as OTT as most Italian action crime movies of the time is a compelling and tense cop drama.

Victim (1961)

A grim bit of social commentary right here folks. I like my films to be as morally reprehensible as possible so I usually don't go for movies with social consciences but this one is so brilliantly executed you cannot deny it. Victim tells horrific tales of gay men being blackmailed out of their hard earned cash otherwise they'll be dobbed into the coppers for being homosexual which was illegal at the time. In fact it wouldn't be until 1967 that homosexual men were granted some freedom in England & Wales. Basil Dearden piles on the mystery and suspense until we wind up with the callous extortionists being revealed but not before sad collateral damage has occurred. Dearden as per usual assembles a cast of master actors including Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Sims, Denis Price, Nigel Stock, Peter McEnery, Donald Churchill etc. 

Interestingly several of the most famous actors of the time who had appeared in other Dearden films turned down the role of Melville Farr. Farr is a gay barrister living in a traditional marriage to Laura (Sylvia Simms) but has to come out so that the blackmailers can be punished for their fiendish deeds. Bogarde a gay man himself took on this role fearlessly but saw it as a no brainer because a large part of British society was already permissive and accepting of homosexuality. Perhaps he was being modest as his character was not only the film's hero but he became a real life hero too. Bogarde was commended for his bravery for portraying such a character with great sympathy and dignity. 

The Prowler (1951)

Unpredictable Joseph Losey directed creepy crime flick. Webb (Van Heflin) a cop is called out to a house to investigate a prowler. He discovers Susan (Evelyn Keyes) is all alone at night as her husband is doing the late shift on the local radio station. Soon enough Webb has coerced Susan into a diabolical relationship. What's the word for a femme fatale in masculine form? Anyway that's essentially what Webb is. Nefarious plans go awry of course and this film ends up in a most peculiar and unexpected place. Great stuff of the high recommendation merit!   

Quicksand (1950)

Unfortunately there is no actual quicksand here but this is a notch crime story anyway. Quicksand starts with Dan (Mickey Rooney) taking 20 bucks out of the work cash register so he can take the glamorous Vera (Jeanne Cagney) on a date. A downward spiral then ensues with atrocious consequences. Peter Lorre steals the show as the dodgy blackmailing arcade owner Nick. This script doesn't miss a beat with its enthralling & absurd plot that'll have you glued to the screen for the duration. This is entertainment of the high order.

Lolly-Madonna xxx (1973)

A pitch black crazy Hillbilly feud flick. A turf war between two neighbouring rural families up a mountain in Tennessee, America escalates to insane nihilistic levels. We get violence, gang rape, grannies with shotguns, clapped out pick up trucks, mucho denim, bootlegging, kidnapping, love, demented macho men, animal cruelty and general lawlessness. They call this kind of film hillbilly-sploitation these days. This one is aiming somewhat higher than typical fare in this sub-genre though. Lolly-Madonna xxx is based on a Sue Grafton novel, has high calibre actors, fine film-making execution and was even produced by MGM. We get young Gazza Busey, Randy Quaid & Jeff Daniels plus ragged veteran actors Rod Steiger & Robert Ryan. 

The titular character is played by Season Hubley who is a curious figure on the peripheries of cult cinema. She also appeared in Hardcore (1979), Elvis (1979), Escape From New York (1981), Vice Squad (1982) and that's about it apart from a bit of telly. This flick is for exploitation completists, 70s Americana fiends and "New Hollywood" fanatics. Oh, the best thing here is the brilliant score from Fred Myrow of Soylent Green (1973) and Phantasm (1979) fame. 

Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)

We're still in Hillbilly exploitation territory here. This film is pretty deranged so it's not going to be for everybody. In fact it's hardly going to be for anybody except for the most die hard of exploitation fans. How much disturbia can you handle? This is an el-cheapo Southern Gothic Horror Film innit? Almost every scene is designed to make you uncomfortable à la Lars Von Trier. The tonal shifts here are bizarre and rapid adding to the overall queasy vibe. 

Liz Wetherly (Leslie Uggams) is a beautiful famous black jazz singer who runs into trouble when her car breaks down in a remote hillbilly town. Everybody she meets seems to be a lecherous creep. Liz's car is deliberately not being fixed which basically makes her a hostage at Bertha's Oasis, a skanky rundown bar/motel run by Bertha: A Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard) type of faded showbiz character, flawlessly depicted by the magnificent Shelley Winters. Look out for Slim Pickens as the sleazy sheriff, Dub Taylor as the mental justice of the peace and Ted Cassidy as the scarfaced oddball Keno. 

Oh... I almost forgot then there's smiley Eddie (Michael Christian) the psycho but handsome Elvis wannabe who is being kept by the much older Bertha. Since Liz's arrival in town though Eddie's got one thing on his rapey mind and nothing is gonna stop him. Just how the hell is Liz going to get out of this horrific nightmare? The Horror!

 

Les Diaboliques (1955)

I've been waiting 30 years to get around to watching this famous French Horror/Thriller directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. So I was totally enthused to break out the blu-ray as the time was right. I was so excited! However it turns out waiting that long ruined the whole thing for me. I was thinking "Geez some of this has been ripped off!" Then by the time of the hamper scene scene I'd put two and two together. I'd seen this exact film before in the guise of a bloody American ABC tv movie of the week from the 70s. I knew it had Tuesday Weld and Sam Waterston from Law & Order but I had to look it up right here on my own blog. It's called Reflections Of A Murder from 1974. 

Les Diaboliques is still brilliant though. So many characteristics of film suspense started here. This murder mystery horror has a plot so perfectly watertight (haha) it's astounding! Most of you have already seen it but if you haven't you gotta watch it because it's THE BEST. Just steer clear of all the remakes and rip offs beforehand.

Dirty Weekend (1992)

This feels more like a 1989 film than a grunge era flick. Michael Winner is a fine director of some awesome (The Mechanic) and some outrageously controversial but bloody entertaining movies (The Mechanic, Death Wish 1, 2 & 3, Scream For Help). Dirty Weekend is in the latter category with its joyous depiction of sex, violence & revenge based on the 1991 best selling novel by Helen Zahavi. It's pretty hard not to enjoy this illicit piece of cinema. We get sleaze, more sleaze, sleazy peeping toms, obscene sleazy phone calls, a sleazy psycho Persian clairvoyant, shit friends, sleazy bad cops, sleazy fat psychologists, sleazy amoral gun dealers, picturesque Brighton Beach, sleazy rape, a sleazy rapey dentist, an assortment of murder methods, not one but two serial killers and a whole lotta stupid vengeful fun! 

Bella (Lia Williams) is a boring unnoticeable plain girl who's been fucked over one too many times by men. She transforms into a depraved sexy murderous avenging angel. The scene with the psychologist fat man (Michael Cule) is the pièce de résistance of Dirty Weekend. It has to be seen to be believed especially when he strips naked and slaps his flabby man boobs in what he thinks is a sexy time come on move. Your life will not be complete without witnessing this historic moment of cinema! This is 100% The Lia Williams Show with terrific dialogue. The script was written by Winner and Helen Zahavi. Lia Williams should have won awards for this depiction of a character who totally transforms from beginning to end. Oh... nearly forgot: Mike from The Young Ones plays a cameo role as a homicidal maniac named Small One. If gleeful rape revenge depicted on celluloid is your idea of fun then this is for you.

Gator Bait (1974)

Keeping with the American country bumpkins but this time we're not up a mountain in Tennessee we're in the muddy alligator territory of Louisiana swampland. This time it's male cops & crims in cahoots against a cajun woman Desiree the gator poacher. She's played by Playboy playmate Claudia Jennings (Truck Stop Women 1974) so she is exceptional eye candy. The best thing about the movie is the music which is harmonica and banjo led folk. Gator Bait is another exploitation flick that is also beautifully photographed but maybe that's not that hard in such spectacular wilderness. The other great thing is the boat chase sequence which I was totally digging and had me thinking we need more boat chase action set pieces in movies. We also get manslaughter, attempted rape, the hunters becoming the hunted, liberal use of racial slurs, implied incest and general daft dumb-arse country macho bullshit. Despite this assortment of ingredients for a backdrop and a plot there's not really a good story here...well there sort of coulda been but the interesting part isn't developed. They just throw a major dramatic arc away like litter, perhaps because they were in a rush to just cash in. The atmosphere and location on their own just aren't quite enough to hold this film together, a missed opportunity. Although if you are from the area or have visited, it's probably worth a nostalgic look.    

SLASHER BINGE WITH DODGY PIZZAS

Final Exam (1981)

A hybrid of of almost sex comedy & slasher film. Likeable characters always push a slasher to a much better place. Even the numskulls are bearable in this college set movie. I love how they to try to make a good looking actress the plain one by just not making her hair cool, using less make up and giving her personality common sense. Look out for terrorist scene that would not get okayed today. Includes terrific arbitrary Carpenter-esque score. Better than most. 

Just Before Dawn (1981)

One of the few slashers that transcends its sub-genre and gets to be considered a very good film by some. This just gets better and better each time I watch it. It stands apart because it's not just a slasher, it also has Deliverance vibes and some pretty spectacular set pieces. The filmmakers somehow make a bunch of College kids going camping in the woods and getting harassed by in-bred maniacs not just interestingly tense but fresh and er... strangely touching. Just Before Dawn's got beautiful cinematography, a great Brad Fiedel score and a transformed fist pumping final girl in very small shorts! Tops.

Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Jackie (Andree Honore) puts the pizza box from the slaughtered pizza delivery boy onto his chest then proceeds to eat a slice of said pizza. I assume she's got the munchies from smoking pot earlier on but I'm sure the anxiety of a seemingly random massacre happening around you would be enough to put you off your food at least until the killer is captured!

Mutilator (1984)

This is probably the worst of this batch but it's not the lowest you can go in the sub-genre. In fact in the right frame of mind and at the right time of night this is sufficiently entertaining. Some of the acting here is very ropey. Boobs, blood, beer and bad dads.

Intruder (1989)

Directed by Sam Raimi's mate Sam Spiegal this is an el cheapo slasher set in a supermarket with pretty inventive kills, good gore and an unusually likeable cast. I even like the killer. For slasher completists and those willing to go deep into the dodgy 80s VHS shelves. Includes appearances from Bruce Campbell, Sam & Ted Raimi. There is also dodgy pizza shenanigans here.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

A huge cult favourite amongst slasher aficionados. I'm beginning to come around on this one. I hated this when I first saw it. For a start I'm loving the way the cars, streets and fashions of the time are filmed. It's sort of like a Stephen Shore or Langdon Clay photo come to life. Some real suspense is built up in the mine sequences making me realise why this particular slasher has such a rabid cult following. My Bloody Valentine actually seems have actual high production values and maybe even a reasonable budget to almost match Halloween (1978). 

 

Nightmare Beach (1988)

Umberto Lenzi half-directed this Slasher/Biker/Electric Chair/Police Procedural/Spring Break hybrid made in Florida in the late 80s! Need I say more? If you understand and like the idea of that sentence this is for you and if you don't move along. Next.

Offerings (1989)

Prom Night meets Halloween 10 years too late in regional Oklahoma. Offerings is a demented yet sad love story with some black comedy chucked in, like a proper Greek tragedy. John Radley (Richard A Buswell) is the tragic figure trying to communicate his love to his childhood crush of ten years ago Gretchen (Loretta Leigh Bowman) the only way his damaged brain knows how. He offers her body parts, a bit like when your cat delivers you a dead birdy or puts something in your shoe because they love you. Offerings contains one of the great John Carpenter scores not actually by Carpenter. This is not too bad considering how late in the cycle it is. While the pizza delivery boy is murdered à la Slumber Party Massacre this pizza should definitely not be eaten!

CULT BLU-RAY CELEBRATION TIME COME ON: FORTHCOMING

Siege (1983)

Release Date: 20/7/21

I asked for this blu-ray in my last film post and violà here it is. Thanks to the blu-ray gods & Severin Films. Cult Canuxploitation that is awesome low budget goodness. Anarchy reigns supreme in Nova Scotia due to a police strike. A battle ensues between The fascist New Order gang and the tenants of a block of flats.

Years Of Lead Box Set (1973-1977)

Release Date: 21/6/21

I also asked for "a stack of Poliziotteschi movies" and violà here's five in one boxset! We are told these are five classic crime thrillers. I've only seen one from this set so how excitement. The Movies appearing in this new box set are No The Case Is Happily Resolved (73), Savage Three (75), Like Rabid Dogs (76), Colt 38 Special (76) and Highway Racer (76). 

Vengeance Trails: 4 Classic Westerns (1966-1970) 

Release Date: 26/7/21

I didn't ask for this one but what is better than two cult genres coming together at once. That's the Spaghetti Western and the Revenge Film. Let's face it westerns are only worth watching if they've got revenge so Hallelujah! We get Fulci's Massacre Time (1966), Lucidi's My Name Is Pecos (1966), Dallamano's Bandidos (1967) and Margheriti's And God Said To Cain (1970). What about that for a list of directors?! 

*I had a good strike rate in the last wish-list so let's see how we go this time. Still no California Split, After Hours, Cockfighter, Straight Time or Night Of The Juggler announcements. We also want Quicksand, Side Street, Blast Of Silence, I Walk The Line, Payday, Fear Is The Key, Minnie & Moskowitz, The Last Of Sheila, Going In Style (79), Stir, Pure Shit, Arrebato, Breaking In, Possible Worlds, Ladies & Gentleman The Fabulous Stains and more 40s/50s English & American crime movies I can't remember the names of right now because tired.