Saw a Takashi Miike picture called The Great Yokai War. "Yokai" is a Japanese term for monsters from folklore, as opposed to the more familiar kaiju. It's a kids' picture, about a young boy from Tokyo sent out to live in the countryside with his older sister and his intermittently senile grandfather. When a vengeful spirit appears, the boy gets caught up in a war between warring groups of yokai and must find his courage to become the "Kirin Rider", the hero who will set everything to rights. It's not a bad picture - nothing deep, but an amusing story. Some of the yokai are really trippy, Japanese folklore can get pretty "out there", apparently.
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Don Mankowski > Captain ComicsAugust 5, 2024 at 11:26am
Brides of Dracula is a favorite of mine. Somehow, Hammer made an effective follow-up to their Dracula, despite not having Christopher Lee. There's an understated (necessarily) perverse elemenbt in the plot -- one critic said it evoked Tennessee Williams (with the British-Germanic equivalent of a sick Southern family, I suppose). Cushing, Martita Huint and David Peel are all memorable.
Sure, the family was messed up, but so was everyone else. Not only was Baroness Meinster kidnapping girls from the inn to feed to her son, the innkeepers (and probably others) were aware of this, and did nothing to stop her.
I'm also wondering how the son -- who was later seen to be able to turn into a bat -- couldn't just bat himself out of that ankle cuff.
My wife and I also noted that, despite the title, the lead bad guy was, in fact, a guy. The titular females played supporting roles, if that.
Don Mankowski > Captain ComicsAugust 6, 2024 at 1:35pm
<< I'm also wondering how the son -- who was later seen to be able to turn into a bat -- couldn't just bat himself out of that ankle cuff. >>
The horror experts out there -- you know who you are -- will poiint out that the shackel was silver, and that particular metal has power over evil. However, I'll concede that the script should have mentioned that.
Also, male fans prefer females to be titular, and Hammer knew that. ;)
Speaking of silver, my understanding of vampires’ mirror problem is that mirrors were, and sometimes still are, backed with silver. Silver backing reflects 95% of the light. Other metals can work, though not as well. So, in theory, a vampire might see its reflection in a pond but not in the silver-backed anti-evil mirror.
Don Mankowski > Richard WillisAugust 7, 2024 at 5:42pm
Classically speaking, I think that iron is the metal that is best used against demonic forces. However, iron chains aren't very special.
JD DeLuzio > Don MankowskiAugust 7, 2024 at 6:57pm
You might know the story of John Landis's son asking him about fiction and movies and stuff, and so he asked him how one kills a vampire. Son responded with, you know, stakes, sunlight, and so forth. John Landis said, "No. You can kill a vampire however the f-ck you want, because vampires don't f-cking exist! You can make up rules."
I recently watched Dracula (1931). It had been so long since I'd seen it that there were scenes I had forgotten. Cap's comment on another thread about Lon Chaney Sr reminded me that, according to the IMDB trivia, Chaney was their first choice to play Dracula, even though Lugosi initiated the role on the stage. Chaney Sr inconsiderately died before he could be cast.
Coïncidenally, the Good Mrs. Benson and I watched that film again, also, last week-end. It'd been quite a while, and I'd forgotten how stylish a movie it is. It conjures horror with few scenes of actual violation. Most of the horror is implied, particularly by Bela Legosi's performance, yet one feels it just the same. It's a testiment that a moving picture doesn't need to have blood and gore to be an effective horror film. Even Dracula's demise is done off-camera, with only a groan to tell the audience that the deed is done.
One scene in the film awakened one of the long-standing discussions between the GMB and me. It's the scene in which Count Dracula is walking down a sidewalk in London, dressed in white tie and an opera cape. None of the passers-by gave him a second look, because that's how men often dressed then. Nor did it appear strange to us watching, though we live ninety-three years later. It seems perfectly natural. In fact, every male character in the film, outside of labourers and those in uniform, wore suit and tie throughout. Yet, we didn't find it strange or jarring. I predict neither did you,. Mr. WIllis, nor most of the people who view this film.
The point is---we don't see it as unusual, even though men don't routnely dress in suit and tie, anymore. The discussion that scene inspired is one I've bandied about with the GMB before: to wit, why don't men dress, anymore? My closet is full of tailored suits and sport coats and dress shirts and slacks, and I wear them on the merest excuse. I've read editorials on the reasons why men don't dress nowadays, and frankly, the excuses don't hold water.
Commander Benson’s comments about men dressing in suits and ties reminded me of older comic books and movies.
I’ve been watching a lot of movies from 1927* to 1960 that in my younger years I would have avoided. One thing they have in common with pre-1970 comic books is that virtually all men, good and bad, are in suits, ties and the type of hats that normally go with suits and ties.
It makes sense that criminals would want to dress like the average man on the street to not stand out in a crowd. It is a little peculiar when safe crackers are in suits, ties and hats while they work. They don’t even take off their hats. It’s widely believed that men in general gave up wearing hats with suits when JFK went mainly hatless.
* 1927 because "talkies" are less work. I prefer not to have to stare relentlessly at the screen to get the dialog. I will do it for subtitled movies if they are worth seeing.
Speaking of subtitled movies, I just watched this Korean subtitled movie from TCM's Noir Alley. It is the last Noir Alley offering until September. It is available on TCM streaming until August 26. The host, Eddie Muller, rightfully describes it as "jaw-dropping." It's just under two hours. If you like edgy movies, this one's for you.
Replies
Brides of Dracula is a favorite of mine. Somehow, Hammer made an effective follow-up to their Dracula, despite not having Christopher Lee. There's an understated (necessarily) perverse elemenbt in the plot -- one critic said it evoked Tennessee Williams (with the British-Germanic equivalent of a sick Southern family, I suppose). Cushing, Martita Huint and David Peel are all memorable.
Sure, the family was messed up, but so was everyone else. Not only was Baroness Meinster kidnapping girls from the inn to feed to her son, the innkeepers (and probably others) were aware of this, and did nothing to stop her.
I'm also wondering how the son -- who was later seen to be able to turn into a bat -- couldn't just bat himself out of that ankle cuff.
My wife and I also noted that, despite the title, the lead bad guy was, in fact, a guy. The titular females played supporting roles, if that.
<< I'm also wondering how the son -- who was later seen to be able to turn into a bat -- couldn't just bat himself out of that ankle cuff. >>
The horror experts out there -- you know who you are -- will poiint out that the shackel was silver, and that particular metal has power over evil. However, I'll concede that the script should have mentioned that.
Also, male fans prefer females to be titular, and Hammer knew that. ;)
Speaking of silver, my understanding of vampires’ mirror problem is that mirrors were, and sometimes still are, backed with silver. Silver backing reflects 95% of the light. Other metals can work, though not as well. So, in theory, a vampire might see its reflection in a pond but not in the silver-backed anti-evil mirror.
Classically speaking, I think that iron is the metal that is best used against demonic forces. However, iron chains aren't very special.
You might know the story of John Landis's son asking him about fiction and movies and stuff, and so he asked him how one kills a vampire. Son responded with, you know, stakes, sunlight, and so forth. John Landis said, "No. You can kill a vampire however the f-ck you want, because vampires don't f-cking exist! You can make up rules."
I recently watched Dracula (1931). It had been so long since I'd seen it that there were scenes I had forgotten. Cap's comment on another thread about Lon Chaney Sr reminded me that, according to the IMDB trivia, Chaney was their first choice to play Dracula, even though Lugosi initiated the role on the stage. Chaney Sr inconsiderately died before he could be cast.
I recently watched Dracula (1931).
Coïncidenally, the Good Mrs. Benson and I watched that film again, also, last week-end. It'd been quite a while, and I'd forgotten how stylish a movie it is. It conjures horror with few scenes of actual violation. Most of the horror is implied, particularly by Bela Legosi's performance, yet one feels it just the same. It's a testiment that a moving picture doesn't need to have blood and gore to be an effective horror film. Even Dracula's demise is done off-camera, with only a groan to tell the audience that the deed is done.
One scene in the film awakened one of the long-standing discussions between the GMB and me. It's the scene in which Count Dracula is walking down a sidewalk in London, dressed in white tie and an opera cape. None of the passers-by gave him a second look, because that's how men often dressed then. Nor did it appear strange to us watching, though we live ninety-three years later. It seems perfectly natural. In fact, every male character in the film, outside of labourers and those in uniform, wore suit and tie throughout. Yet, we didn't find it strange or jarring. I predict neither did you,. Mr. WIllis, nor most of the people who view this film.
The point is---we don't see it as unusual, even though men don't routnely dress in suit and tie, anymore. The discussion that scene inspired is one I've bandied about with the GMB before: to wit, why don't men dress, anymore? My closet is full of tailored suits and sport coats and dress shirts and slacks, and I wear them on the merest excuse. I've read editorials on the reasons why men don't dress nowadays, and frankly, the excuses don't hold water.
Commander Benson’s comments about men dressing in suits and ties reminded me of older comic books and movies.
I’ve been watching a lot of movies from 1927* to 1960 that in my younger years I would have avoided. One thing they have in common with pre-1970 comic books is that virtually all men, good and bad, are in suits, ties and the type of hats that normally go with suits and ties.
It makes sense that criminals would want to dress like the average man on the street to not stand out in a crowd. It is a little peculiar when safe crackers are in suits, ties and hats while they work. They don’t even take off their hats. It’s widely believed that men in general gave up wearing hats with suits when JFK went mainly hatless.
* 1927 because "talkies" are less work. I prefer not to have to stare relentlessly at the screen to get the dialog. I will do it for subtitled movies if they are worth seeing.
The Housemaid (1960)
Speaking of subtitled movies, I just watched this Korean subtitled movie from TCM's Noir Alley. It is the last Noir Alley offering until September. It is available on TCM streaming until August 26. The host, Eddie Muller, rightfully describes it as "jaw-dropping." It's just under two hours. If you like edgy movies, this one's for you.
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