Wicked, Wicked, that's the ticket...

Following in the footsteps of THE CHELSEA GIRLS, WOODSTOCK and DePalma's original SISTERS (which I'm trying to pretend was never remade), the 1973 flick WICKED, WICKED was the first and only film presented in Duo-Vision, meaning it's presented (almost) entirely in split-screen.

The film follows the exploits of a misunderstood psycho who pulls on a rubber Halloween mask and plays Norman Bates with the single, pretty, young blondes that come to stay in the famous Hotel de Coronado. All the while, a bumbling hotel detective (David Bailey) is trying to figure out why blonde visitors keep skipping out before settling their bills... Then when a vampy brunette chanteuse (Tiffany Bolling, KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS) catches our anti-hero's eye before donning a cheap blonde wig, she finds herself his next target, so it's up to the hotel dick (who, coincidentally, happens to be her ex-husband) to keep her safe from harm. Here's the trailer (which includes SPOILERS!):

Although it's partly a slasher movie, WICKED, WICKED is more of a Hitchcockian black comedy thriller, minus the mystery -- the audience isn't kept in the dark about the killer's identity for very long (think PSYCHO meets BAD RONALD by way of BABY JANE). The movie's not clever enough to be truly Hitchcockian, but it does deserve props for effort. The split-screen gimmick is sometimes goofy (at times, there's not enough going on to justify the use of two points of view), but when it works -- like when characters tells their version of a story as the REAL story unfolds on the other side of the screen -- it works well. The acting, dialogue and some of the film's surprise revelations range from deliciously ridiculous to b-movie bad to wickedly campy, and the ending's not hard to predict, but it is brilliantly atmospheric, which makes it rather creepy. And then there's the music...

Once the theme song -- penned by Phillip Springer ("Santa Baby") and Irwin Levine (The Partridge Family) and sung by Tiffany Bolling -- gets in your head, it'll be stuck for all eternity! And adding to the atmosphere, the bulk of the score that's played throughout the film (literally by an oft-seen, senile organist who has absolutely nothing to do with plot!) is the exact same music that was composed for the 1925 silent classic THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. All in all, it's a highly flawed film, but it's so weird, campy and quirky that it oozes charm. WICKED, WICKED truly had the potential to be a ginormous hit on the '70s midnight movie circuit, but it appears the film never got a re-release after its initial theatrical run, so it's pretty much languished in total obscurity.


In addition to b-movie queen Bolling, the film also stars Randolph Roberts (Ritchie Cunningham's twice-seen older brother from "Happy Days") as the hotel handyman; Madeleine Sherwood ("The Flying Nun"s Mother Superior) as a penniless, over-the-hill resident of the hotel; Roger Bowen ("Arnie," ZAPPED) as the hotel manager; Stefanianna Christopherson (the original voice of Daphne on "Scooby Doo") as a slutty gift shop worker; perennial bit player Arthur O'Connell ("The Second Hundred Years") as the hotel engineer; '60s sexpot Diane McBaine ("Surfside 6") as a quickly dispatched victim; the ubiquitous Ian Abercrombie in a bit part as a room serviceman; and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes ("77 Sunset Strip," GREASE) as the resident lifeguard/gigolo.



WICKED, WICKED was never officially released on VHS or DVD (and it doesn't appear there's a release in sight), which is a shame 'cuz it definitely has the potential to build up a strong cult following. So now let me help that potential following along a bit...

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
The Movie, The Songs

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Michael Jackson & We Are the World

Michael Jackson with a bunch of rotting corpses... tacky, isn't it?

Like most everyone who was young in the '70s and '80s, I grew up with Michael Jackson in weekly cartoons, in movies, on MTV and the radio, on vinyl, 8-track, cassette and CD -- and even at Disney World! While I've never disliked his music or denounced him like many have, there's no denying that the man became increasingly weird over the years.... First he got a nosejob (of Jennifer Grey proportions). Next, he ripped off Alice Cooper's act (complete with Vincent Price), danced with the undead and turned into a werewolf (which I loved). Then he brought Brooke Shields and Emmanel Lewis to the AMA awards as his dates (WTF?). And then he got weirder...

"One of these things is not like the others..."

Next he bought a chimp and named it Bubbles (insert bestiality joke here). Then he caught his hair on fire (inspiring Melanie Griffith to do the same in Cecil B Demented). Next he added a cleft to his chin and lightened his skin (making fans wonder if he was working on a book called "White Like Me"). Then he built Neverland Ranch (I believe in fairies!). Next he emerged looking like an Asian woman, tore off his shirt (just to prove otherwise) and sang a song declaring "it don't matter if you're black or white" (which is ironic, since he was neither). Then he married Elvis's daughter (now he can ask the other King his feelings on that subject). Then he had three kids (one of which, he tried to throw over a balcony!), though many speculate they're not biologically his. Then he started wearing surgical masks in public ("Like a surgeon..."). Then his nose caved in and he began to resemble a sideshow oddity (ah, plenty of sideshows would've liked to have had that act!). And, of course, there's the whole child molestation scandals (I'm not touching that one... though allegedly he did). The man has very publicly been self-destructing for three decades!

Seems Michael was after more than Alfonso Ribeiro's Pepsi!

Yet as I watched the news of his death unfold -- and I caught it from the very beginning -- none of that weirdness mattered. Despite the fact I had ultimately come to pity him, this is a man who I admired when I was young, after all. The whole event was utterly surreal -- the guy who refused to grow up was suddenly dead. Now, I remember countless celebrity deaths dating back to the days when Michael went solo, but this one was different. It was one of those "Where were you the day Kennedy was shot?" sort of things -- I guess I finally understand what that must've felt like, cuz I was in a total daze for the rest of the day. And since the news of his death took down Google, Twitter, AIM and Wikipedia, I guess I wasn't alone. We all knew Farrah could leave us any day, but Michael Jackson's death was totally out of the blue -- and it seems really ironic that it was all it took to get his music back on MTV and the top of the charts.

Look out kids, he's starting to expose himself again!

Yes, I'm cracking jokes here, but Michael himself made it kind of hard not to. As a singer, songwriter and dancer, he was captivating, original and truly one of a kind. As a person he was... captivating, original and truly one of a kind. However, there's little doubt in my mind that if he'd lived another 50 years, Jackson never would've re-established himself as a chart-topping entertainer here in the USA (re-issues aside) -- the molestation scandals tarnished his rep too badly. And seeing his long and grueling descent into madness, I can't imagine how much weirder he could've possibly become. At least in death, he's finally free of the shackles that bound him in life, and the entire world's rediscovering what a phenomenal entertainer he was. I doubt he could've hoped for more. So, on to the shares....

Mike liked this outfit so much, he had a matching glove made!

First up is the unimaginatively titled book "Michael Jackson" by Stewart Regan. This 1984 hardcover features 94 photos, 69(!) of which are in color. Taking a backseat to the photos is a biography on Michael, which nearly begins with a bizarre story in Jackson's own words about how he didn't have any friends. Also included with this book is a page from an '80s issue of People Magazine that talks about Michael's strange visit to the White House, and a page about Thriller from a 2002 issue of Q Magazine (which is sort of the British equivolent of America's Rolling Stone Magazine).

Michael Jackson by Stewart Regan
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
PDF, JPG or Gallery

Next up is "We Are the World" by David Breskin. This softback book documents the making of the legendary "USA For Africa" song, which was penned by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and featured a diverse celebrity chorus. In addition to the story and tons of black and white photos, the book also includes the sheet music for the song. My copy of the book spent a couple years in in a storage building where it got wet, resulting in some watermarks and slight warping (and I dunno how the masking tape got on the cover), so this scan's not sparkling, but I've seen much worse scans on the net...

We Are the World by David Breskin
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
PDF, JPG or Gallery

When Farrah Fawcett got to Heaven, God said to her, "Because of the good deeds you've done, I will grant you one wish." Without hesitation, Farrah replied, "I just wish that all of the children of the world could be safe." For several hours, God pondered how to grant her wish... and then he killed Michael Jackson.

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Update and re-ups

Second of three posts today. There just aren't enough hours in the day to be everything to everyone, so apologies that I'm hopelessly behind in my emails again. Here's the dealio... When the updates stopped a few weeks ago, it was cuz I was in a really bad car accident. My new car was totaled, but other than some cuts, bruises, a constant headache that lasted several weeks and the obligatory mental anguish, I'm okay and nobody else was hurt. Until the last few days, I haven't felt up to doing much of anything online... and I think my main computer is on the verge of crapping out for good (God forbid). So at the moment, I'm trying to back up and re-up some of these files before I lose them.

Amongst the recent re-ups are The Groovie Goolies (which includes a new photo gallery), the Donnie Darko Vocal Remixes, Down By the Creek Bank, Bubble Boy and the novelization and soundtrack for April Fool's Day have shiny new download links. Still working on getting a few broken links fixed, and I've got at least 5 things that are close to being ready to be shared...

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RIP Ed, Farrah and Michael

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Wow. Celebrities always seem to die in threes, but that's three high-profile, tortured souls who are finally free. May they all rest in peace.

Michael Jackson - Captain EO (Full)

Dragonslayer

Back in December when I posted the comic book adaptation of Dragonslayer, I mentioned that I couldn't find a download of Alex North's long out of print score for the film anywhere. Well, my buddy Thïrd World Man came through and shot me a copy. So here for your listening pleasure...

01. Urlander's Mission (Main Titles)
02. No Sorcerers, No Dragons
03. Ulrich's Death/Mourning
04. Maiden's Sacrifice
05. Forest Romp
06. Hodge's Death
07. Galen's Search for the Amulet
08. Vermithrax's Lair/Landslide
09. Valerian and Galen's Romance
10. Tyrian and Galen Fight
11. Jacopus Blasted
12. Elspeth's Destiny/Dragon Scales
13. Galen Jailed/Galen's Escape
14. Dragon Fight/Burning Villages
15. The Lottery
16. Elspeth at the Stake/Vermithrax's Triumph/Galen's Encounter
17. Galen's Desperation and Spirit Revitalized
18. Eclipse/Love and Hope
19. Resurrection of Ulrich
20. Destroy the Amulet/Ulrich Explodes
21. The White Horse/Into the Sunset (End Credits)

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
MultiUpload, Sharebee
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Krofftapalooza: Electra Woman '01

In 2001, Sid & Marty Krofft made an attempt to revive "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl," a beloved but short-lived serial that originally aired as one of the revolving segments on "The Krofft Supershow."


Essentially a female version of the '60s "Batman" sitcom, the original series (which starred "Days of Our Lives" star Deidre Hall as the leading heroine) lasted a total of 8 episodes. Although the show was considered by the Kroffts to be one of the least successful segments on the Supershow during its original run, somehow it endured and has become one of their most popular creations. Girls liked the show for its female leads, guys liked the show for the hot chicks in form-fitting spandex. The series was subsequently rerun in a Krofft syndication package, it later turned up on Nick-at-Nite's Pufapalooza marathon, and it got additional exposure on TV Land's short-lived TV Kitschen block of programming.


Much like the new "Land of the Lost" film, instead of just re-doing the show, they skewered the original (as well as countless other superheroes) in the 2001 update, which was a pilot for the now defunct WB network. Markie Post ("Night Court") takes over the role of Lori/Electra Woman who, decades after her 15 minutes of fame, has descended to the bottom of the bottle, and is divorced (Dyna Girl ran off with her husband) and living in a decrepit trailer. One day, a vivacious college student (Anne Stedman) whom Electra Woman once saved from a ferris wheel accident (!), comes knocking and convinces a reluctant Lori to don her tights again. Running a scant 14 minutes and featuring a little bit of language unsuitable for broadcast, WB foolishly ignored the monstrous buzz surrounding the show and passed on it. That's a real shame because the show had a lot of potential and there's some truly hilarious moments. Copies of the pilot quickly found their way into fandom and bootlegs show up from time to time at comic book conventions and on eBay. So here's the pilot, which is split into two parts...

While trying to clear off a harddrive, I discovered I saved this video from You Tube -- it vanished from the site eons ago (and electrawoman.net no longer exists either). Unfortunately, it was in the pre-HD days of the Tube, so the quality's not a whole lot better than the clips above, but if you want to download the original flv video files, here they are...

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
Sharebee


Electra-Awesome, isn't it?
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Rock & Rule - the comic book!

When I posted the soundtrack for Frauds, I said that there are a few obscure films that I really go out of my way to point out to people. Rock & Rule is another one. The story is about an aging rock star named Mok (obviously inspired by Mick Jagger) who kidnaps a singer in a rock band because she has the perfect voice to summon a demon from another dimension, whose powers Mok wants to harness to rule the world. The story's a little bare and the film seems unsure if it's for kids or adults (more on that in a moment), but the animation is truly spectacular (including early computer animation and a monster that's quite literally made of meat), the characters are distinctive and likable (Mok is easily one of cinema's most charismatic villains), and the soundtrack is rock solid. Too bad there was no soundtrack album.


The story behind the film is an interesting one. Canada's Nelvana animation studio began making a name for itself in the '70s. Their resume included countless TV commercials as well as a handful of animated specials and the Bobba Fett segment of The Star Wars Holiday Special (I just keep coming back to that damned special, don't I?), and by the '80s they'd branched out into weekly television, animating countless popular shows. But it was their 1978 Halloween special The Devil and Daniel Mouse that was the inspiration for the studio's first feature film, which was to be called Drats (Nelvana was approached to work on Heavy Metal, but they turned it down in favor of Drats). The film went into production around 78/79 without a script, merely as a family friendly concept about a mutant rock band in a futuristic society who made a deal with the devil to become stars (essentially the same plot as Daniel Mouse).


Huge portions of Drats was storyboarded and animated, but as the scriptless project evolved, so did the character design, so footage had to be scrapped and re-animated. Somewhere along the way, the film turned from family fare into something slightly more adult, a few of the era's biggest stars (Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Lou Reed and Earth Wind and Fire) were recruited to provide original music, and the name was changed to Rock & Rule. Nelvana made a deal with MGM to distribute the movie but, due to the haphazard way the film was put together, the animation studio missed their deadline and by the time the film was completed, the heads of MGM had changed. The new regime had virtually no interest in the film -- though they did insist on some cuts and the recasting of one voice actor -- so they did virtually nothing to promote it.


With only the minimalist of minimal promotion (including this comic book and segments on "Night Flight" and "Lights, Camera, Action") and no accompanying soundtrack album, the movie garnered little interest from the adult audience who'd been dazzled by the substantially more adult Heavy Metal a few years earlier, and after a blink-and-you-missed it run in theaters, it was dumped on home video to gather dust. Nelvana sank $8 million into the film and probably would've gone belly up if not for the success of their next big project, The Care Bears Movie. In the USA, Rock & Rule showed up infrequently on HBO and in 1985, the film was aired on Canada's CBC... the interesting thing is that somehow CBC wound up with the original print of the film, complete with the original voice actor, a few missing scenes and a vastly superior audio mix. Many who caught the film in those early days (which wasn't that many, though I was amongst them) were enamored by it, but still the film languished. Until the internet age.


It's no secret that word on the internet spreads faster than wildfire -- if the net had been more prominent in 1983, perhaps the movie would've been more successful. By the turn of the century, animation buffs who were familiar with Rock & Rule began pointing it out to other animation buffs. A fan site popped up. Bootleg videos and VCDs of both the home video and CBC versions began showing up regularly on eBay, and copies of the store-bought VHS, Beta and laserdiscs climbed into the triple digits. Suddenly this little film that had been ignored for the better part of two decades began to finally find an audience. The film's still not incredibly well known, but many more people have seen it now than 25 years ago. In 2005, the movie was released on DVD, in both a single-disc edition and lavish two-disc edition that includes a wealth of extras including the alternate CBC print of the film (unfortunately the original print was destroyed in a fire, so the CBC version is duped from a fairly good-quality video).Yet us fans are still awaiting an official soundtrack. Wow, I really didn't set out to write a full abridged history of the movie...


Anyway, here's the Marvel Super Special comic book tie-in. This book itself is pretty unique as well. Instead of hiring artists to re-interpret the animated movie, they simply cobbled together a comic book using screen caps from the film. Doubtlessly the techniques for taking screen-caps was much more primitive back then -- some are crystal clear while others are fuzzy. The more worthwhile aspect is that the book includes a 14 page making-of, which goes much further in depth than I did here...

Marvel Super Special #25: Rock & Rule

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
PDF, JPG or Gallery


And check out the Rock & Rule site for mp3s of the songs & more!
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Krofftapalooza: Land of the Lost '09

"When I look all around, I can't believe the things I've found! I need to find my way. I'm lost! I'm lost! Find me..."

Yep, you probably knew this post was coming. In theatres this Friday, it's the lonnnng awaited big-screen version of "Land of the Lost," the '70s sci-fi/adventure series that left an indelible impression on a generation. In the 1998 book "Pufnstuf & Other Stuff" by David Martindale, Marty Krofft talked about the film: "As we speak, I'm waiting for the script to be finished. It's on its third writer... I think it's going to be '98 or '99 before the movie gets made." Turns out Marty was only off by a decade!

So here's the plot of the movie: Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is a washed-up scientist with a severe case of Rodney Dangerfield disorder -- his theories on time and space travel have made him the laughing stock of the scientific community (and of "The Today Show"). Soon Dr. Marshall is encouraged by grad student Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel, "Pushing Daisies") to build the "Tachyon Amplifier" time travel machine he's been theorizing about. But when they go to test the machine along with survivalist Will Stanton (Danny McBride, Pineapple Express), the trio gets sucked into another dimension that's populated by dinosaurs, reptile (Sleestak) and monkey (Pakuni) people, nasty, parasitic insects and lost remnants of many other civilizations. Dr. Marshall wants to get back to our reality and prove that his theories were correct... but his Tachyon Amplifier was lost in the shuffle. Will they get back home or become permanent residents of The Land of the Lost?

For fans of the original series, which had a whopping 43 episodes (more than any other Krofft kiddie series) and spawned a '90s remake, a memorable spoof in the charmingly "Dopey" big-screen comedy "Bubble Boy," and a running gag in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (Will Ferrell's character in that film was named 'Marshall Willenholly'), expectation seems to be low.


Most are upset that they've taken an intelligent family show, removed the family element and turned it into a slapstick vehicle for comedian Will Farrell. But I gotta say, despite the fact that they employed "Star Trek" writers (or perhaps partly because of that), there was always a heavy camp element running rampant in the original series, so I'm keeping an open mind. And one has to remember that a big part of the reason that they went with the intelligent storylines in the series (unlike the other Krofft shows) was because the network wouldn't let them put the family in peril. Sure, the dinosaurs and Sleestak were menacing, but there wasn't really much in the way of action (other than the family constantly running away from the monsters), so they compensated by beefing up the writing and adding intrigue, mystery and an assortment of strange characters. And it completely lacked the off the wall comedy that made the rest of the Krofft shows Krofft shows. Maybe this film is more of what Sid Krofft had in mind when he created the show. At the very least, there's no denying that the film has a sheen that no Krofft project has ever had before -- after 40 years of working in film and TV the brothers Krofft have FINALLY been given a budget to work with!


Yes, there's a CGI T-Rex named Grumpy, but they've kept him just slightly cartoony. However, there's nothing cartoony about the Sleestak! Gone are the cheap costumes with obvious seams and inarticulate mouths -- these Sleestak are so disturbingly detailed that they look like something out of a George Lucas epic. The Pakuni looked good in the original series, but seeing Jorma Taccone in his Chaka costume, one can't help but recall the wonderful costumes and makeup in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" (er... maybe I shouldn't be making that comparison -- this film already has enough going against it!), and Taccone went so far as to learn the Pakuni language, which was created by linguistics professor Victoria Fromkin for the original series. Danny McBride studied Wesley Eure's stances from the show and tried to copy them. "Beware of Sleestak" is written on the wall, Grumpy tries to bust into the cave where Marshall, Will and Holly are taking refuge, and there's doubtlessly tons of other little references to the show. But the bottom line is: although the film simultanously borrows and pays homage, if you're expecting the 1974 show, you'll doubtlessly be disappointed. Enjoy it for the mindless Krofft comedy that it is!


In this lengthy interview with the cast and crew from MovieWeb, the interviewer is obviously familiar with the series (unlike most of the people who've given early reviews of the film):

The movie hits theaters on June 5th and the soundtrack with Michael Giacchino's score is in stores on June 23rd. There's a slew of trailers, behind-the-scenes clips and interviews on You Tube, and check out landofthelost.net for tons of exclusive content, including games (I won a Subway gift card playing one of 'em!) interviews, and an extensive flash-filled look at the world of the Land of the Lost!


Yes, I realize I'm probably facing the wrath of countless fans of the series by writing this post, but regardless, I will always support and promote the Krofft brothers' projects -- and this is the first big one since the hilarious but ill-fated "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" update in 2001! Here's hoping this fares better...

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Star Wars: Empire & Jedi comics

Since posting the two Flash Gordon books, I've suddenly got an unusually high ratio of sci-fi, comic book geeks visiting. Since I love culty, unusual and offbeat movies (and people!), sci-fi geeks are always welcome! So I figured I'd give the new visitors some more to download...

Here's the Marvel Super Special adaptations of both "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Once again, not my scans, I snagged copies of all of the Marvel Super Specials (except the unreleased Sgt. Pepper comic) from a painfully slow torrent last year. I generally give some sort of commentary on the movies I cover, but since every dork with a computer writes about Star Wars, I think the world can live without this dork's input... that is, until the day comes when I post a download of the wonderfully bad Holiday Special (which I'm sure I will offer sooner or later...).

Marvel Super Special #16:
The Empire Strikes Back

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
PDF, JPG or Gallery

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Marvel Super Special #27:
Return of the Jedi

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
PDF, JPG or Gallery


"Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!"
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Give me some straight talk, straight talk...

Somebody requested this elsewhere, so here it is, the almost instantly out of print soundtrack for Dolly Parton's 1992 film Straight Talk! With the exception of "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" (which she first recorded for her 1977 album "New Harvest, First Gathering"), all of the songs were penned by Parton for the film... though only a few of them were heard at great length in the movie, and the rest were heard as instrumentals.

Dolly Parton
Straight Talk Soundtrack

01. Blue Grace
02. Light of a Clear Blue Morning
03. Dirty Job
04. Blue Me
05. Straight Talk
06. Fish Out of Water
07. Burning
08. Living a Lie
09. Thought I Couldn't Dance
10. Burning to Burned
11. Light of a Clear Blue Morning (reprise)

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
MultiUpload, Sharebee

Fun fact! If your lover takes your bowling bag when they leave, you're S.O.L.!

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