Page for November 14 - 20, 2009.
(Banner by Chris Casey)
The purpose of this page is to find others with a shared interest
in these kinds of movies, and to keep me from getting that "No new
messages" response when I check my email. So, please
drop me a line
with comments or questions about
Italian and Spanish action movies,
or Martial Arts fight flicks.
William Connolly
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Contents: Trivia Game (below),
Recent Viewings (below),
Unanswered Questions and Requests,
Stuff For Sale or Trade,
Stuff I'm Looking For,
Some of my favorite films,
and Links.
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Check out The Spaghetti Cinema blog.
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Click here for the trailer of a movie that changed my life.
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Brain Teasers:
What Sammo Hung directed film intended to combine Chinese Kung Fu with Wild West stylisms?
SHANGHAI EXPRESS, aka THE MILLIONAIRES EXPRESS.
Which Italian spy movie was hyped as "The Super Charger of the Year" in the U.S.?
No one has answered this question yet.
Can you name three actors who played Jason (of the Golden Fleece) in Italian productions?
Charles Gilbert knew of Roland Carey in GIANTS OF THESSALY and Fabrizio Mioni of HERCULES, but Todd Armstrong wasn't in an Italian production.
In which Samurai movie did Toshiro Mifune get an arrow in his eye?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which actress born in Italy in 1935 began her film career in the British industry before she made any movies in Italy?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which Hong Kong film director reportedly is now teaching at the Hong Kong Film Academy?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which actress born in 1921 Italy worked with directors Alfred Hitchcock, John Irvin, Eugenio Martin, Bernardo Bertolucci and Georges Franju?
No one has answered this question yet.
Who sang the end credit theme song for Kage No Gundan III, aka Shadow Warriors 3?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which Italian screenwriter directed Alec Guiness in a movie?
No one has answered this question yet.
Who was originally set to star in director Akira Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA?
No one has answered this question yet.
Franco Nero was quoted as saying that he may retire from acting for what reason?
No one has answered this queston yet.
Which Japanese movie star had a well-publicized arrest at an airport in Hawaii carrying cocaine?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which American actor who made gladiator movies in Italy was up for the role of Zorro on the Disney TV series?
Rick Garibaldi knew that it was Tony Russel.
Which American actor who made Westerns in Italy was up for the role of Tony in the movie version of WEST SIDE STORY?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which American actor who made sci-fi movies in Italy appeared in the movie which Lee Harvey Oswald was watching when arrested by the Dallas police for the JFK assassination?
No one has answered this question yet.
On what movie did Jackie Chan and Peter Fonda both labor?
Llewellyn H. knew that it was THE CANNONBALL RUN.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which Richard Harrison movie is seen on TV in JACKIE BROWN?
Which Italian director worked with Vincent Price and Fabian in the same movie?
Which Italian Spy movie begins with our hero seemingly executed as a criminal only to be recruited as a secret agent?
Which "Bruce Lee Clone" appeared in a movie with Richard Harrison and Brad Harris?
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Name the movies from which these images come.
Llewellyn H. and Rick Garibaldi identified last week's photo from FINGER ON THE TRIGGER.
Above is a new photo. Can you name from what movie it came?
Joseph Viglietta identified last photo of Richard Harrison and Livio Lorenzon in THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR.
Above is a new photo. Can you name from what movie it came?
No one has identified the above photo.
It shows John Erickson in OPERATION ATLANTIS.
Issue #77 of SPAGHETTI CINEMA is now available.
In it, Mike Eustace continues his essay on Sword and Sandal flicks, "Nights of Pleasure...
Days of Strife", with a look at "The Monsters of Hercules".
James Chaney concludes his translation of the interviews conducted by Franca Faldini and Goffredo Fofi
with Italian Western directors Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari and many others.
Finally, Mickey Hargitay is memorialized in two articles. First is an interview by Gerard Dessere conducted in 2002. And then there is a brief biography with filmography.
SPAGHETTI CINEMA
A 50 page photocopy journal investigating Italian and Spanish
popular cinema, S.C. began publication in 1984 and continues
to come out as often as possible.
From Hercules to The Man With No Name; from I VAMPIRI to CEMETARY MAN
- S.C. offers research and opinion on the kinds of movies
which excited us as children and continues to fascinate under
more mature scrutiny.
For a list of back issues and ordering information
click here.
Trivia questions welcomed!
No one has identified the above photo yet.
Can you name from what movie it came?
M.A.M.A. #54 is now available with Michael Reid's exhaustive listing of movies, TV and anime
based on the Shinsengumi; including THE LAST SAMURAI, GOHATTO, Samurai X, THE MAN WHO KILLED
RYOMA, TENGU TO, BAND OF ASSASSINS and ASSASSINATION. Mike Eustace also continues to comment
on recent Celestial DVD releases of old Shaw Brothers movies.
For ordering information, click on "drop me a line" below.
MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE ASSOCIATES
A 20 page photocopy journal investigating Asian action films, M.A.M.A. began publication in 1985.
For a list of back issues and ordering information
click here.
Trivia questions welcomed.
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I would be interested in knowing what movies you are watching and what you are
enjoying or not. So please drop me a line
if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:
Highly enjoyed:
JACKIE BROWN - Considering how little I liked KILL BILL, I was greatly surprised at how much I liked this film.
Enjoyed:
Castle #18 "Kill the Messenger"
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
IN BRUGES
JOHNNY COOL - This has been a favorite since I was eight years old. It's not a great film, but I like it - especially Billy May's hot jazz score.
Mildly enjoyed:
IRON MAN - My favorite thing in this movie was finding that Leslie Bibb had a good supporting role.
DAY WATCH - This improves on NIGHT WATCH by having an ending that isn't obviously set up for a sequel, and for a moment when a still of actress Lyudmila Savelyeva from director Sergei Bondarchuk's WAR AND PEACE is seen on a wall.
Bones #90 "The Dwarf In the Dirt"
ERAGON - In comparison to this, STAR WARS suddenly seems quite brilliant. I enjoyed Sienna Guillory much more in HELEN OF TROY.
Did not enjoy:
The first two episodes of V - even with two actors from Firefly and one from Battlestar Galactica.
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Graham Rix Enjoyed:
PASSENGER 57 (1992) - An early DIE HARD 2 rip-off, with Wesley Snipes chasing terrorists who hijack a plane. It's pretty bad, and very cheesy indeed, but I liked it as a kid and I still like it today. File it under 'so bad it's good' entertainment.
ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND (1980) - I caught this on DVD for the first time and absolutely loved it. A perfect combination of comedy and horror, equalled only by EVIL DEAD 2 and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD.
Mildly enjoyed:
THE WOODS (2006) - Teen horror in a rural girl's boarding school run by teachers who are secretly witches. This one's a virtual remake of SUSPIRIA, but lacking style and interest, although it's not without merit. I enjoyed the casting of Bruce Campbell in this one.
Did not enjoy:
SPECIES (1995) - I remember seeing this film as a teenager back when it first came out and thinking it was okay. It hasn't aged at all well. The special effects are generally poor, the non-existent plot is patience-testing, and I kept wondering how they assembled such a high-profile cast.
SOLARIS (1972) - Declared by many to be a masterpiece of Russian cinema, I found this boring and unengaging in the extreme. Perhaps I'll give the remake a go some time.
NIGHT WATCH (2004) - A huge hit in Russia, this is essentially THE MATRIX but with vampires. Crude and unoriginal, with a bad script and worse effects, this is another that I don't see what all the fuss is about.
REINDEER GAMES (2000) - Lamentable casino heist thriller in which one ludicrous twist follows another. I'm sorry this was John Frankenheimer's last theatrical film.
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