Fans of 1950s B-movies can celebrate as they can now get their hands on the 70th Anniversary Restored Edition of the science fiction film Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon) on Blu-ray (Region Free) and DVD (Region Free) courtesy of BayView Entertainment.
Newly Restored in 3-D by the 3-D Film Archive! At last, ”can” and ”must” meet on the graph, as the most demented, delirious, and delightful 3-D film of the Golden Age arrives in this showcase edition loaded with out-of-this-world extras.
Synopsis:
A cosmic catastrophe ”has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man (George Barrows). Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her?
Filmed in the Tru-Stereo process, Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon...
Newly Restored in 3-D by the 3-D Film Archive! At last, ”can” and ”must” meet on the graph, as the most demented, delirious, and delightful 3-D film of the Golden Age arrives in this showcase edition loaded with out-of-this-world extras.
Synopsis:
A cosmic catastrophe ”has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man (George Barrows). Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her?
Filmed in the Tru-Stereo process, Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon...
- 7/25/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
A cosmic catastrophe has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man (George Barrows). Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her? Independently photographed in less than a week on location in Bronson Canyon, the Tru-Stereo photography is comparable to the major studio 3D productions of the time. And to mark the milestone 70th anniversary of this all-time sci-fi classic, the 3D version of Robot Monster has been painstakingly and masterfully restored from complete 35mm archival 3D elements by the talented archivists at the 3D Film Archive, the leading experts in vintage stereoscopic film restoration.
Robot Monster is available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 25.
Enter for your chance to win a Blu-ray of Robot Monster,...
Robot Monster is available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 25.
Enter for your chance to win a Blu-ray of Robot Monster,...
- 7/23/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Scanners Shirt from Rucking Fotten
Scanners may not be David Cronenberg’s best film on the whole, but its head explosion scene has become the most recognizable moment in his cannon. Rucking Fotten has immortalized it with a mind-blowing all-over print tee.
It’s up for pre-order for $54.99 through Sunday, June 16, as part of the Cronenberg collection alongside other apparel from Scanners, Videodrome, and The Fly. They’ll ship in 6-8 weeks.
Robot Monster Blu-ray from Bayview Entertainment
Robot Monster will be released on Blu-ray on July 25 via Bayview Entertainment. It has been newly restored in 4K from 35mm 3D archival elements with frame sequential Blu-ray 3D, anaglyphic 3D (with a pair of glasses included), and standard 2D versions.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Scanners Shirt from Rucking Fotten
Scanners may not be David Cronenberg’s best film on the whole, but its head explosion scene has become the most recognizable moment in his cannon. Rucking Fotten has immortalized it with a mind-blowing all-over print tee.
It’s up for pre-order for $54.99 through Sunday, June 16, as part of the Cronenberg collection alongside other apparel from Scanners, Videodrome, and The Fly. They’ll ship in 6-8 weeks.
Robot Monster Blu-ray from Bayview Entertainment
Robot Monster will be released on Blu-ray on July 25 via Bayview Entertainment. It has been newly restored in 4K from 35mm 3D archival elements with frame sequential Blu-ray 3D, anaglyphic 3D (with a pair of glasses included), and standard 2D versions.
- 7/14/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Fans of 1950s B-movies will rejoice this July when BayView Entertainment release the 70th Anniversary Restored Edition of the science fiction film Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon) on Blu-ray (Region Free) and DVD (Region Free) on 25th July 2023.
Newly Restored in 3-D by the 3-D Film Archive! At last, ”can” and ”must” meet on the graph, as the most demented, delirious, and delightful 3-D film of the Golden Age arrives in this showcase edition loaded with out-of-this-world extras.
Synopsis:
A cosmic catastrophe ”has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man (George Barrows). Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her?
Filmed in the Tru-Stereo process, Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon) boasts...
Newly Restored in 3-D by the 3-D Film Archive! At last, ”can” and ”must” meet on the graph, as the most demented, delirious, and delightful 3-D film of the Golden Age arrives in this showcase edition loaded with out-of-this-world extras.
Synopsis:
A cosmic catastrophe ”has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man (George Barrows). Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her?
Filmed in the Tru-Stereo process, Robot Monster (aka Monsters From The Moon) boasts...
- 6/26/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
As reported by the New York Times, on March 8, 2023, prolific B-movie filmmaker Bert I. Gordon passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 100 years old.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
- 3/9/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Claudia Barrett, an actress whose busy television career of the 1950s was destined to be outdone in the public’s memory by her film performance alongside a gorilla-suited alien in the camp sci-fi trash classic Robot Monster, died April 30 of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert. She was 91.
Her death was announced by her family.
“Although she loved acting, by the mid 60s she realized her career wasn’t advancing, so she switched to ancillary jobs in film distribution, publicity, and PR, but was not satisfied,” according to her family-written obituary. “However, in 1981 she found her dream job at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). She worked in the division that produced the awards for scientific and technical advances, got to go to the Academy Awards Show every year, and was able to give tickets to family members in the early years.”
In an image...
Her death was announced by her family.
“Although she loved acting, by the mid 60s she realized her career wasn’t advancing, so she switched to ancillary jobs in film distribution, publicity, and PR, but was not satisfied,” according to her family-written obituary. “However, in 1981 she found her dream job at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). She worked in the division that produced the awards for scientific and technical advances, got to go to the Academy Awards Show every year, and was able to give tickets to family members in the early years.”
In an image...
- 6/9/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Claudia Barrett, who was hounded by a post-apocalyptic alien dressed in a gorilla suit and diver’s helmet (complete with antenna) in the 1953 film Robot Monster, considered one of the worst movies ever made, has died. She was 91.
Barrett died April 30 of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, her family recently announced.
In Robot Monster, shot in 3D and distributed by Astor Pictures, Barrett portrayed Alice, the elder daughter of a scientist and one of eight surviving humans on Earth after a creature, Ro-Man (stuntman George Barrows), invades the planet with a deadly cosmic ray. To be expected,...
Barrett died April 30 of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, her family recently announced.
In Robot Monster, shot in 3D and distributed by Astor Pictures, Barrett portrayed Alice, the elder daughter of a scientist and one of eight surviving humans on Earth after a creature, Ro-Man (stuntman George Barrows), invades the planet with a deadly cosmic ray. To be expected,...
Claudia Barrett, who was hounded by a post-apocalyptic alien dressed in a gorilla suit and diver’s helmet (complete with antenna) in the 1953 film Robot Monster, considered one of the worst movies ever made, has died. She was 91.
Barrett died April 30 of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, her family recently announced.
In Robot Monster, shot in 3D and distributed by Astor Pictures, Barrett portrayed Alice, the elder daughter of a scientist and one of eight surviving humans on Earth after a creature, Ro-Man (stuntman George Barrows), invades the planet with a deadly cosmic ray. To be expected,...
Barrett died April 30 of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, her family recently announced.
In Robot Monster, shot in 3D and distributed by Astor Pictures, Barrett portrayed Alice, the elder daughter of a scientist and one of eight surviving humans on Earth after a creature, Ro-Man (stuntman George Barrows), invades the planet with a deadly cosmic ray. To be expected,...
A stand-up comedian who wrote for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, Dana Gould embraces horror as well as humor through his longtime love of creature features, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and things that go bump in the night. It's fitting, then, that Gould, along with a cast of fellow comedians, is bringing both laughs and scares to the stage in New York this weekend for a live reading of Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space at the first annual Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival.
Ahead of the live reading on Friday, October 11th at 9:00pm at the Tarrytown Music Hall, Daily Dead had the pleasure of talking with Gould about bringing Plan 9 From Outer Space to life on stage with his friends, and he also discussed the plans he had for the fourth season of Stan Against Evil, getting to play a role on the new Creepshow series,...
Ahead of the live reading on Friday, October 11th at 9:00pm at the Tarrytown Music Hall, Daily Dead had the pleasure of talking with Gould about bringing Plan 9 From Outer Space to life on stage with his friends, and he also discussed the plans he had for the fourth season of Stan Against Evil, getting to play a role on the new Creepshow series,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
A Tribute to King Kong takes place as part of the The St. Louis International Film Festival Sunday, Nov. 6 beginning at 6:00pm at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium. The first film screened will be the new documentary Long Live The King, which explores the enduring fascination with one of the biggest stars — both literally and figuratively — in Hollywood history: the mighty King Kong. Produced and directed by Frank Dietz and Trish Geiger, the creative team behind the award-winning “Beast Wishes,” the documentary devotes primary attention to the 1933 classic, celebrating the contributions of filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot, writer Edgar Wallace, and especially stop-motion innovator Willis O’Brien. But Kong’s legacy is also fully detailed: the sequel “Son of Kong,” the cinematic kin “Mighty Joe Young,” the Dino DeLaurentis and Peter Jackson remakes, even the Japanese versions by Toho Studios.
- 10/21/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Samuel Fuller's first picture under his Fox contract is a fine Korean War 'suicide squad' tale, filmed on a sound stage but looking quite authentic. Richard Basehart leads a fine cast. Lots of cigars get chomped, and Gene Evans is actually named Sgt. Rock. Plus an excellent commentary from Trailers from Hell's new guru Michael Schlesinger. Fixed Bayonets! Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 92 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea, Richard Hylton, Craig Hill, Skip Homeier, Neyle Morrow, Wyott Ordung, John Doucette, George Conrad Cinematography Lucien Ballard Art Direction George Patrick, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Nick DeMaggio Original Music Roy Webb Written by Samuel Fuller from a novel by John Brophy Produced by Jules Buck Directed by Samuel Fuller
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sam Fuller's third independent film The Steel Helmet was a risky proposition...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sam Fuller's third independent film The Steel Helmet was a risky proposition...
- 8/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Good news, my creeps: Michale Graves‘ new horror rock opus When Worlds Collide is almost here, and I’ve had a chance to let it fill up my eerie earholes! Read on for a full review, an interview with the man himself, and more!
Michale Graves – When Worlds Collide (Music Review)
• Release Date: Available Now
I can’t even describe how excited I was to get my greedy lil’ claws on the latest release from Michale Graves. Not only is this the newest entry in his legacy of horror-punk-terror tunes, this album promised a first: a sequel to a song he penned back in his tenure in the group that started the whole shebang, the Misfits… and not just any song, my fiends—this would be a follow up to what is undoubtedly his signature song, Crying on a Saturday Night! Admittedly, that is a s–t-ton to live up to,...
Michale Graves – When Worlds Collide (Music Review)
• Release Date: Available Now
I can’t even describe how excited I was to get my greedy lil’ claws on the latest release from Michale Graves. Not only is this the newest entry in his legacy of horror-punk-terror tunes, this album promised a first: a sequel to a song he penned back in his tenure in the group that started the whole shebang, the Misfits… and not just any song, my fiends—this would be a follow up to what is undoubtedly his signature song, Crying on a Saturday Night! Admittedly, that is a s–t-ton to live up to,...
- 1/25/2016
- by DanielXIII
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Joel Hodgson never set out to start a wisecracking revolution. In fact, his conception for what would become the beloved cult series Mystery Science Theater 3000 was simply born out of a selfish desire to create a television show that incorporated a few of his favorite things: "bad movies, sci-fi, and puppetry." The rest is pop culture history.
Just a year after its Thanksgiving Day premiere on a Uhf channel in Minneapolis in 1988, MST3K made its national debut on the Comedy Channel, an HBO-owned cable network that eventually morphed into Comedy Central.
Just a year after its Thanksgiving Day premiere on a Uhf channel in Minneapolis in 1988, MST3K made its national debut on the Comedy Channel, an HBO-owned cable network that eventually morphed into Comedy Central.
- 12/22/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Jack Rabin and Irving Block were a couple of indie FX mavens whose works ranged from Night of the Hunter to Robot Monster. But one of their most offbeat creations was the giant alien robot Kronos, who wanted not Our Women but Our Energy. On its own terms it's a pretty nifty little picture, with an emblematic 50s sci-fi cast.
- 11/6/2015
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
By Bill Duelly
A wonderful, eclectic hodgepodge collection of vintage 3-D, tests, shorts, animation and trailers has been released on Blu Ray recently by Flicker Alley. 3-D Rarities, released on the Flicker Alley label, is for film and nostalgia buffs, alike. This is a wonderful snapshot of 3-D motion picture photography from early tests in the 1920’s up through 1962, and arrives in time to honor the 100-year anniversary of the exhibition of 3D films.
3-D wasn’t just a brief fad in the 50’s but was found in sporadic use for specialized presentations up through then. Early surviving shorts show us wonderful glimpses of Washington DC and New York City, with wonderful perspective. Two company films follow, Thrills For You and New Dimensions. Thrills for You was produced by The Pennsylvania Railroad for exhibition at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940 in San Francisco. This B&W wonder gives a...
A wonderful, eclectic hodgepodge collection of vintage 3-D, tests, shorts, animation and trailers has been released on Blu Ray recently by Flicker Alley. 3-D Rarities, released on the Flicker Alley label, is for film and nostalgia buffs, alike. This is a wonderful snapshot of 3-D motion picture photography from early tests in the 1920’s up through 1962, and arrives in time to honor the 100-year anniversary of the exhibition of 3D films.
3-D wasn’t just a brief fad in the 50’s but was found in sporadic use for specialized presentations up through then. Early surviving shorts show us wonderful glimpses of Washington DC and New York City, with wonderful perspective. Two company films follow, Thrills For You and New Dimensions. Thrills for You was produced by The Pennsylvania Railroad for exhibition at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940 in San Francisco. This B&W wonder gives a...
- 7/14/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Talk about descriptive titles! This generic little indie, set in a Long Beach amusement park terrorized by an escaped gorilla, was one of only three 3-D productions released by 20th Century-Fox in the fifties. It benefits from an unusually good cast including Oscar nominee Lee J. Cobb (the same year he made On the Waterfront!) and contract player Anne Bancroft, who probably didn't include this one on her resume. George Barrows fills out the ape suit a year after playing the diving helmet-headed gorilla in Robot Monster.
The post Gorilla at Large appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Gorilla at Large appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 8/6/2014
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
There is an embarrassment of horror riches on TV these days. In some ways, that makes it easier to choose ten best episodes, because you have a ton of options to choose from. In other ways, it makes it more difficult because there are so many options to choose from, and you have to sift through the bad (like Under the Dome and the disappointing final season of Dexter) to get to the good. Last year a fair amount of series made my list; this year, I limited it to an episode or two. Sometimes that is because I thought a season as a whole was not worthy of being “best of;” sometimes it is because the whole season was good, but there was one or two episodes that really stood out.
Enough yammering. Let’s get to the picks. In no particular order....
Hannibal Episode 109: “Buffet Froid”
I...
Enough yammering. Let’s get to the picks. In no particular order....
Hannibal Episode 109: “Buffet Froid”
I...
- 12/16/2013
- by Alyse Wax
- FEARnet
Spoiler alert – the Mayans were wrong. But don't let that spoil a look back at a movie that finds new ways to obliterate the world. Stuart Heritage checks out the destruction, on Channel 5 on Sunday at 9pm
• Ghostbusters recap
• Die Hard recap
"Download my blog" – Charlie Frost
When 2012 was released in 2009, it came with a nifty built-in self-destruct mechanism. Back then there was a chance, however minuscule, that the Mayans were right and the world really was about to come to a spectacular end. However, now it is November 2013, and the Mayans are all feeling pretty stupid.
Anyone watching 2012 for the first time won't experience even the tiniest twinge of foreboding. Instead, they will just think that people in 2009 were all superstitious idiots. But you've seen 2012 before. That or you've got an impressively cavalier attitude toward spoilers. Either way, you're rewatching it purely for the spectacle.
So, has 2012 been permanently...
• Ghostbusters recap
• Die Hard recap
"Download my blog" – Charlie Frost
When 2012 was released in 2009, it came with a nifty built-in self-destruct mechanism. Back then there was a chance, however minuscule, that the Mayans were right and the world really was about to come to a spectacular end. However, now it is November 2013, and the Mayans are all feeling pretty stupid.
Anyone watching 2012 for the first time won't experience even the tiniest twinge of foreboding. Instead, they will just think that people in 2009 were all superstitious idiots. But you've seen 2012 before. That or you've got an impressively cavalier attitude toward spoilers. Either way, you're rewatching it purely for the spectacle.
So, has 2012 been permanently...
- 11/3/2013
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
It's time for The Simpsons' annual "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween Spook-tacular. This year, they are kicking it up a notch with an opening credit sequence created by Guillermo del Toro. Not content with doing a guest voice or a standard couch gag, del Toro created a nearly three-minute long opening sequence (that does include a couch gag) that is so crammed full of horror goodies you will have to watch it five times just to get half of the jokes. Look for references to The Birds, The Car, Blade, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, The Shining, Alice in Wonderland, Phantom of the Opera, the Universal monsters, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Ray Harryhausen, H.P. Lovecraft, Futurama, Freaks, Nosferatu, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and my favorite bad-movie, Robot Monster. It's pretty damn impressive.
Enough jibber-jabber. Enjoy the clip!
The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror Xxiv" airs October 6th on Fox.
Enough jibber-jabber. Enjoy the clip!
The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror Xxiv" airs October 6th on Fox.
- 10/3/2013
- by Alyse Wax
- FEARnet
For the third year running, the World 3-D Film Expo has come to Hollywood, with 35 screenings of rare, classic 3-D prints spread out over two weeks at the resplendently restored and iconic Grauman’s Egyptian Theater.
This year, audiences are treated to a stellar lineup that includes House Of Wax, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Revenge Of The Creature, Jaws 3-D, Wings Of The Hawk, It Came From Outer Space, The Mad Magician, Robot Monster, Hondo, and many more.
The event began this past weekend, and I had the pleasure of being in attendance for a couple of the screenings. It was my first experience with the Expo, and it’s all been fantastic thus far. Over the next week, I’ll be discussing my experiences at the event (I’m attending four days), the movies, and the special guests in attendance (like The Julie Adams, Joe Alves, and Piper Laurie). In fact,...
This year, audiences are treated to a stellar lineup that includes House Of Wax, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Revenge Of The Creature, Jaws 3-D, Wings Of The Hawk, It Came From Outer Space, The Mad Magician, Robot Monster, Hondo, and many more.
The event began this past weekend, and I had the pleasure of being in attendance for a couple of the screenings. It was my first experience with the Expo, and it’s all been fantastic thus far. Over the next week, I’ll be discussing my experiences at the event (I’m attending four days), the movies, and the special guests in attendance (like The Julie Adams, Joe Alves, and Piper Laurie). In fact,...
- 9/10/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Faye Dunaway in ‘Mommie Dearest’ — Joan Crawford portrayal ‘Greatest Bad Performance’? Clint Eastwood Best Picture Oscar nominee among ‘Greatest Bad Movies’ See previous post: “From John Travolta to Bob Dylan: ‘The Greatest Bad Movies of All Time’: Q&A with Phil Hall.” (Photo: Mommie Dearest, Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford.) I noticed you have included some Bad Movies that were well received upon their release, e.g., Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture Oscar nominee ‘Mystic River’ (2003) and Henry King’s ‘In Old Chicago’ (1937) — another Best Picture nominee. Why are those movies not only Bad Movies, but also Great Bad Movies? I need to begin my answer by insisting that my new book is strictly about opinion. I don’t pretend to be the author of a be-all/end-all encyclopedia on the subject. Many people may disagree with the selection of films, both from an inclusive viewpoint and from...
- 9/10/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Article by Tom Stockman
Though he may have been but an animated model given life through primitive special effects, King Kong, with his doomed loved for the beautiful blonde, has become one of the most beloved of all movie characters, revived in remakes, sequels and knock-offs. But Kong wasn’t the only massive simian to grace the silver screen. Here’s a look at the ten best giant ape movies.
Honorable Mention: A*P*E
The ad campaign for the 1976 Korean film A*P*E warned “Not to be confused with King Kong”. A captive giant ape, after escapes from a freighter and sets his destructive sights on Seoul, Korea where he falls for an American actress (Joanna Kerns ) filming a movie there. A*P*E was originally filmed in 3-D so there are countless shots of a man in a moth-eaten ape suit throwing Styrofoam boulders at the camera.
Though he may have been but an animated model given life through primitive special effects, King Kong, with his doomed loved for the beautiful blonde, has become one of the most beloved of all movie characters, revived in remakes, sequels and knock-offs. But Kong wasn’t the only massive simian to grace the silver screen. Here’s a look at the ten best giant ape movies.
Honorable Mention: A*P*E
The ad campaign for the 1976 Korean film A*P*E warned “Not to be confused with King Kong”. A captive giant ape, after escapes from a freighter and sets his destructive sights on Seoul, Korea where he falls for an American actress (Joanna Kerns ) filming a movie there. A*P*E was originally filmed in 3-D so there are countless shots of a man in a moth-eaten ape suit throwing Styrofoam boulders at the camera.
- 8/20/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Dan Boultwood’s It Came! #1 was released on Wednesday and tells the story of a giant robot from space appearing in a country town in 1950s England. Told from the perspective of our two heroes, Dr Boy Brett and his lady friend Doris, the comic is a funny, wonderfully drawn, and hugely entertaining comic that pays loving homage to cheaply produced sci-fi movies of this era, among other things. Dan spoke to me about his latest series and other topics, including his obsession with b-movies.
Noel Thorne: First of all, I loved this comic – congratulations on creating such a brilliant, clever and funny comic. What made you want to do a comedy about space robots coming to Earth framed as a 1950s b-movie?
Dan Boultwood: Hello Noel, I’m glad you enjoyed issue one I hope the rest lives up to expectations!
I’ve always loved B-movies, they’re my...
Noel Thorne: First of all, I loved this comic – congratulations on creating such a brilliant, clever and funny comic. What made you want to do a comedy about space robots coming to Earth framed as a 1950s b-movie?
Dan Boultwood: Hello Noel, I’m glad you enjoyed issue one I hope the rest lives up to expectations!
I’ve always loved B-movies, they’re my...
- 8/15/2013
- by Noel Thorne
- Obsessed with Film
Jim Knipfel Oct 10, 2018
Stop calling Ed Wood "The Worst Director in History." His films have a unique energy and charm that should be appreciated.
This article first ran in 2013, but it's Ed Wood's birthday, so we need to pay tribute to him again.
Ed Wood is an easy target, a no-brainer cultural reference for people who’ve likely seen, at most, one or two of his films. Beginning with the 1980 publication of that asshole Michael Medved’s The Golden Turkey Awards, Wood was unquestionably and for time immemorial declared The Worst Director of All Time, and his 1959 picture Plan 9 From Outer Space the Worst Film Ever Made. People have been parroting the party line ever since.
Everybody says it, so it must be true. There’s no reason to even bother with watching the films anymore so long as we’ve been given the answer. You could stick Wood’s name on the credits for,...
Stop calling Ed Wood "The Worst Director in History." His films have a unique energy and charm that should be appreciated.
This article first ran in 2013, but it's Ed Wood's birthday, so we need to pay tribute to him again.
Ed Wood is an easy target, a no-brainer cultural reference for people who’ve likely seen, at most, one or two of his films. Beginning with the 1980 publication of that asshole Michael Medved’s The Golden Turkey Awards, Wood was unquestionably and for time immemorial declared The Worst Director of All Time, and his 1959 picture Plan 9 From Outer Space the Worst Film Ever Made. People have been parroting the party line ever since.
Everybody says it, so it must be true. There’s no reason to even bother with watching the films anymore so long as we’ve been given the answer. You could stick Wood’s name on the credits for,...
- 5/26/2013
- Den of Geek
Anybody who has ever been to a high school reunion (and I’ve been to my share) will tell you that the calendar and the clock can be incredibly cruel (particularly when combined with the long-term effects of gravity, but let’s not go there).
Time punishes creative works as well. Some work grows dated, stale, stiff. Time and the evolving form of the given art leaves a once vibrant and exciting work behind looking dead and obsolete.
More cruel, perhaps, is work that is simply…forgotten. Not for any good reason. Good as it was, maybe it was simply not successful enough to lodge very deeply in the popular consciousness; working well enough in its day, but soon lost among the ever-growing detritus of a lot of other pieces of yesterday.
Movie music is particularly vulnerable to the cruelties of time. Outside of the form’s devotees, it rarely...
Time punishes creative works as well. Some work grows dated, stale, stiff. Time and the evolving form of the given art leaves a once vibrant and exciting work behind looking dead and obsolete.
More cruel, perhaps, is work that is simply…forgotten. Not for any good reason. Good as it was, maybe it was simply not successful enough to lodge very deeply in the popular consciousness; working well enough in its day, but soon lost among the ever-growing detritus of a lot of other pieces of yesterday.
Movie music is particularly vulnerable to the cruelties of time. Outside of the form’s devotees, it rarely...
- 1/14/2013
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Review by Sam Moffitt
Bad movies have been a cult all their own at least since the publication of the Medved Brother’s book The 50 Worst Movies of All Time. Although my bet is that it started with the publication of Joe Dante’s article the 50 Worst Horror Movies of All Time (Or was it 25?) in Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1960′s I had that issue and had seen some of those movies. I assumed Joe Dante was a grown man and found out years later he was about the same age as me when he submitted that article to Forry Ackerman. I loved reading Famous Monsters and Monster World but it never occurred to me to write an article and submit it as Joe Dante did (and Stephen King as Forry later told in interviews, although he made it a point not to publish fiction).
After the Medved...
Bad movies have been a cult all their own at least since the publication of the Medved Brother’s book The 50 Worst Movies of All Time. Although my bet is that it started with the publication of Joe Dante’s article the 50 Worst Horror Movies of All Time (Or was it 25?) in Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1960′s I had that issue and had seen some of those movies. I assumed Joe Dante was a grown man and found out years later he was about the same age as me when he submitted that article to Forry Ackerman. I loved reading Famous Monsters and Monster World but it never occurred to me to write an article and submit it as Joe Dante did (and Stephen King as Forry later told in interviews, although he made it a point not to publish fiction).
After the Medved...
- 12/31/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As he has before, Edgar Chaput has inspired me with one of his pieces, this one – part of Sos’s recent Bond Fest — concerning the loopy 1967 Casino Royale. As I commented on Edgar’s piece, I didn’t disagree that Royale was a royal mess after having passed through the hands of one director after another (and one screenwriter after another as well). Mess though it was, however, I found it – as I wrote – a “fascinating mess.” Maybe that’s just a holdover from seeing it as a 12-year-old when so much about the movie seemed so dizzyingly novel at the time: it’s casual sexuality, bawdy humor, wink-to-the-audience jokes, hallucinogenic visuals, Burt Bacharach’s poptastic score. In a way, the fact that the movie didn’t make much sense and caromed from one directorial style to another only added to the sensory overload it unloaded on a pre-adolescent.
What...
What...
- 11/24/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
It might only be the end of February but it looks like The Devil Inside has the award for Worst Movie Of 2012 in the bag
When a rollover-and-beg quote-whore as easily placated as Rolling Stone's Peter Travers is moved to write of your movie that it will "make you puke for all the wrong reasons", it's time you quit making movies and re-enrolled in bartending academy. Such was the fate of The Devil Inside, widely lauded – or something – as the very worst movie of 2012, notching up a miserable 5% on the review aggregating site rottentomatoes.com, having occasioned a rare unanimity among fractious American film critics.
And, yes, it's bad. It's very, very, very, bad. And not bad in a good way, or so bad it's actually brilliant, or any of that. It's the kind of bad that gives bad a bad name. Lingering only on one screen in the single...
When a rollover-and-beg quote-whore as easily placated as Rolling Stone's Peter Travers is moved to write of your movie that it will "make you puke for all the wrong reasons", it's time you quit making movies and re-enrolled in bartending academy. Such was the fate of The Devil Inside, widely lauded – or something – as the very worst movie of 2012, notching up a miserable 5% on the review aggregating site rottentomatoes.com, having occasioned a rare unanimity among fractious American film critics.
And, yes, it's bad. It's very, very, very, bad. And not bad in a good way, or so bad it's actually brilliant, or any of that. It's the kind of bad that gives bad a bad name. Lingering only on one screen in the single...
- 2/25/2012
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The Roman Empire was brutal, repressive, tyrannical, corrupt, morally bankrupt… Well, nothing’s perfect, right? After all, the Empire’s collapse after 700 years didn’t bring freedom or reformation, but the Dark Ages – disease, ignorance, witch trials, book burnings, illiteracy, and all that other bad stuff which made the Dark Ages so damned dark.
It’s like that line in Monty Python’s Life of Brian: a Jewish revolutionary group is plotting the overthrow of their Roman overseers, and ringleader John Cleese declares, “After all, what’ve the Romans ever done for us?”
After which Cleese’s followers offer a shopping list – a long shopping list – of the benefits of Roman occupation. An exasperated Cleese finally concedes/concludes with, “All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”
To...
It’s like that line in Monty Python’s Life of Brian: a Jewish revolutionary group is plotting the overthrow of their Roman overseers, and ringleader John Cleese declares, “After all, what’ve the Romans ever done for us?”
After which Cleese’s followers offer a shopping list – a long shopping list – of the benefits of Roman occupation. An exasperated Cleese finally concedes/concludes with, “All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”
To...
- 1/16/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
So let me guess, Halloween is right around the corner and you don’t have a costume. You don’t want to just run out to the store and pick any old Dracula or Charlie Sheen mask, everyone will have those! Well gentle reader, you’re in luck: We here at Famous Monsters can offer you the crème de la crème of obscure creature costumes. Read on for the Top 5 Obscure Monsters for Halloween Costumes…
#5: The Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus
Considering how every group of female friends is composed of a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, this one is perfect for the ladies. These witches come from a little Disney film called Hocus Pocus. A 1993 film that focuses on Max, a high school student and a virgin, who lights the legendary Black Flame Candle in a fabled ritual thus, bringing the Sanderson Sisters back to life for one night on Halloween.
#5: The Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus
Considering how every group of female friends is composed of a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, this one is perfect for the ladies. These witches come from a little Disney film called Hocus Pocus. A 1993 film that focuses on Max, a high school student and a virgin, who lights the legendary Black Flame Candle in a fabled ritual thus, bringing the Sanderson Sisters back to life for one night on Halloween.
- 10/29/2011
- by elvis
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
It's like we can touch you! The landmark 10th round necessitates something special, wouldn't you agree? We thought so. That's why we're proud to announce that this week will be in eye popping (gouging?) 3D! We'll provide glasses, you guys bring your sense of wonder and awe.
The Mask (1961, Canada) [Aka: Face of Fire Aka: Eyes of Hell]
An archaeologist is tormented after finding a mask that produces nightmarish visions and leaves him wondering if he's a murderer. Before his suicide, he mails the cursed mask to his psychiatrist. Is he doomed to suffer the same fate? Is the mask driving him to kill?
Billed as the only 3D film to come out of Canada (and allegedly their first horror film), The Mask is one wild ride with a pretty decent story to boot. A booming voice commands that viewers "Put The Mask On Now!" (as a cue to put on your 3D glasses!) in order to fully...
The Mask (1961, Canada) [Aka: Face of Fire Aka: Eyes of Hell]
An archaeologist is tormented after finding a mask that produces nightmarish visions and leaves him wondering if he's a murderer. Before his suicide, he mails the cursed mask to his psychiatrist. Is he doomed to suffer the same fate? Is the mask driving him to kill?
Billed as the only 3D film to come out of Canada (and allegedly their first horror film), The Mask is one wild ride with a pretty decent story to boot. A booming voice commands that viewers "Put The Mask On Now!" (as a cue to put on your 3D glasses!) in order to fully...
- 7/1/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Kevin, Mark & Parker)
Can you tell whether a movie’s going to be awful without even watching it? The clues are there, if you know where to look…
No one sets out to make a terrible movie. Not even Michael Bay. In the long, collaborative process of filmmaking, everyone's trying to pull together in the hope that, once all the scenes have been shot and edited into a coherent sequence, the results of all their efforts will be rewarded with critical acclaim, audience approval and an influx of lovely cash.
Take a careful look over the history of cinema, though, and it's clear that there are certain things you should most definitely avoid as a filmmaker. To this end, we've dug deep through the movie archives to come up with eight signs that your movie is doomed to critical or financial failure...
1. It features a character dressed in a rabbit or bear costume...
No one sets out to make a terrible movie. Not even Michael Bay. In the long, collaborative process of filmmaking, everyone's trying to pull together in the hope that, once all the scenes have been shot and edited into a coherent sequence, the results of all their efforts will be rewarded with critical acclaim, audience approval and an influx of lovely cash.
Take a careful look over the history of cinema, though, and it's clear that there are certain things you should most definitely avoid as a filmmaker. To this end, we've dug deep through the movie archives to come up with eight signs that your movie is doomed to critical or financial failure...
1. It features a character dressed in a rabbit or bear costume...
- 6/22/2011
- Den of Geek
When you consider that the title sounds like the caffeinated fever dream of a particularly excitable eight-year-old, it’s perhaps not that surprising that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has had so many incarnations: Gritty monochromatic independent comic book, beloved ’80s cartoon, mega-grossing feature-film trilogy, an endless assortment of action figures, fondly-remembered videogames, a second animated series that ran for several years in the 2000s, and a big-screen animated reboot.
Next year, Nickelodeon will relaunch Turtles as a new animated series, and EW can report exclusively that Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings’ Sam, The Goonies’ Mikey, and Rudy’s Rudy) will be voicing red-masked Raphael.
Next year, Nickelodeon will relaunch Turtles as a new animated series, and EW can report exclusively that Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings’ Sam, The Goonies’ Mikey, and Rudy’s Rudy) will be voicing red-masked Raphael.
- 6/14/2011
- by Darren Franich
- EW - Inside TV
Forbidden Planet (1956) Direction: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Robby the Robot, Warren Stevens, Earl Holliman, Richard Anderson, Jack Kelly, George Wallace, Robert Dix Screenplay: Cyril Hume; from a story by Irving Block and Allen Adler inspired by William Shakespeare's The Tempest Oscar Movies Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Robby the Robot, Forbidden Planet By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica: When one thinks of 1950s science-fiction films, one thinks of the sort of schlocky black-and-white B movies that were parodied on the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 television show. Yet, while there were a whole lot of films like Plan 9 from Outer Space and Robot Monster, the 1950s did have some truly good sci-fi movies, among them The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The War of the Worlds, and The Thing from Another World. For its literacy...
- 3/15/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
It’s that time of year again, when sites the web-over compile helpful holiday shopping lists to guide you into the deepest, darkest pits of retail with a map that will hopefully get you out alive. Here now, without further ado, is the 2010 Fred Holiday Shopping Guide.
(If you see anything you like, please support Fred by using the links below to make your holiday purchases - it’s appreciated!)
It’s been over 10 years since cultural icon Stephen Fry released his first memoir, Moab Is My Washpot, which left leaders with only a portion of the story, ending as it did in his teenage years, just released from a prison sentence for credit card fraud, with college - the legendary Cambridge - and fame still before him. Well, he picks it all right back up in the same warm, witty, candid style with The Fry Chronicles (Penguin, £20.00 Srp), a must-read volume that,...
(If you see anything you like, please support Fred by using the links below to make your holiday purchases - it’s appreciated!)
It’s been over 10 years since cultural icon Stephen Fry released his first memoir, Moab Is My Washpot, which left leaders with only a portion of the story, ending as it did in his teenage years, just released from a prison sentence for credit card fraud, with college - the legendary Cambridge - and fame still before him. Well, he picks it all right back up in the same warm, witty, candid style with The Fry Chronicles (Penguin, £20.00 Srp), a must-read volume that,...
- 12/16/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Pahrump - Call it Hof Vegas. Dennis Hof of HBO’s Cathouse no longer wants me to warn readers that his Bunny Ranch empire is in only Reno and not Las Vegas. He’s bringing his style of adult fun to the outskirts of Sin City. He called up the hotline from the middle of Crystal, Nevada to spread the news. The sounds of hammering and drills came from his end of the phone.
“We’re moving around here and getting some things done,” Dennis Hof said. “I bought two 35 year old rundown, rat trap brothels. What you’re buying is the licenses.”
The two old names were Cherry Patch Ranch and Mabel’s Whore House. The new places are Love Ranch and Dennis Hof’s Cathouse. “Those are name that are synonymous with good times.”
There are no good times for the former owner. He got arrested for bribing a county official.
“We’re moving around here and getting some things done,” Dennis Hof said. “I bought two 35 year old rundown, rat trap brothels. What you’re buying is the licenses.”
The two old names were Cherry Patch Ranch and Mabel’s Whore House. The new places are Love Ranch and Dennis Hof’s Cathouse. “Those are name that are synonymous with good times.”
There are no good times for the former owner. He got arrested for bribing a county official.
- 11/16/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
It was with some trepidation that fans entered the 5th season of Doctor Who (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$89.98 Srp) - Not only were we losing fan-favorite David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, but the 11th Doctor would be the ridiculously young unknown Matt Smith. Surely this would be when the new series stumbled. Well, no. No it didn’t. In fact, Matt Smith is a wonder in the role,...
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
It was with some trepidation that fans entered the 5th season of Doctor Who (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$89.98 Srp) - Not only were we losing fan-favorite David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, but the 11th Doctor would be the ridiculously young unknown Matt Smith. Surely this would be when the new series stumbled. Well, no. No it didn’t. In fact, Matt Smith is a wonder in the role,...
- 11/12/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
This week, Shout! Factory releases Mystery Science Theater 3000 Vol. Xix (yes, that's 19), featuring four more classic episodes from the show that made it Ok to talk back to the screen: Devil Doll, Devil Fish, Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster, and Phil Tucker's infamous Robot Monster. A writer for most of the show's run, Mary Jo Pehl (who played the evil Mrs. Forrester during the SyFy run of MST3K), sat down to talk about her history with the cult cable classic as well as her current movie-riffing project Cinematic Titanic, which teams her with MST3K creator Joel Hodgson and fellow show vets Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, and J. Elvis Weinstein on live shows and DVD releases.
- 11/10/2010
- Movieline
While DreamWorks Animation doesn’t typically contend with rival studio Pixar’s knack for character development and story, Megamind is one instance where style wins out over substance just enough to allow a modest recommendation. At least, that endorsement stands if one is viewing the 3D presentation.
In the opening sequence, alien infants (and instant rivals) Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) and Metro Man (Brad Pitt) crash land on Earth where their lives diverge on wildly different tangents. Metro Man is raised in splendor and becomes a flying hero to the citizens of Metro City. By contrast, the blue-tinged title character grows up in a prison, developing unusual speech patterns, like pronouncing the city’s name in a manner similar to the word atrocity. Ostracized by his peers, the super-villain’s only friend is Minion (David Cross), who, oddly enough, is little more than a fish swimming in a bowl atop a mechanized gorilla suit,...
In the opening sequence, alien infants (and instant rivals) Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) and Metro Man (Brad Pitt) crash land on Earth where their lives diverge on wildly different tangents. Metro Man is raised in splendor and becomes a flying hero to the citizens of Metro City. By contrast, the blue-tinged title character grows up in a prison, developing unusual speech patterns, like pronouncing the city’s name in a manner similar to the word atrocity. Ostracized by his peers, the super-villain’s only friend is Minion (David Cross), who, oddly enough, is little more than a fish swimming in a bowl atop a mechanized gorilla suit,...
- 11/5/2010
- by Glenn Kay
- newsinfilm.com
Timeless exploits of Johnny Knoxville and co have their roots in Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin and The Three Stooges. But do they really need to be in 3D?
Beehive Tetherball, Dildo-Cannon, Sweat Cocktail, Superglue-69, Fart-Dart, Fart-Trumpet, Bungee-Jump Portaloo … the only possible explanation for these vividly named vignettes of hardcore conceptual art-cum-grotesque vaudeville, is that the ageing enfants terribles of Jackass are back. And this time, they're in 3D.
True, I larfed until I almost barfed, but I still don't understand why Jackass 3D required its third dimension. Sure, it was nice to have all those enraged bees hurtling towards my face with no likelihood of being stung, and the process adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the sight of a fellow in a portable toilet – uh, fully loaded, if you catch my drift – lofted skywards on catapult-rigged bungee cords. But how it improves a stunt like Sweat Cocktail (man sweats into bodysuit,...
Beehive Tetherball, Dildo-Cannon, Sweat Cocktail, Superglue-69, Fart-Dart, Fart-Trumpet, Bungee-Jump Portaloo … the only possible explanation for these vividly named vignettes of hardcore conceptual art-cum-grotesque vaudeville, is that the ageing enfants terribles of Jackass are back. And this time, they're in 3D.
True, I larfed until I almost barfed, but I still don't understand why Jackass 3D required its third dimension. Sure, it was nice to have all those enraged bees hurtling towards my face with no likelihood of being stung, and the process adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the sight of a fellow in a portable toilet – uh, fully loaded, if you catch my drift – lofted skywards on catapult-rigged bungee cords. But how it improves a stunt like Sweat Cocktail (man sweats into bodysuit,...
- 10/29/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The 50s was a golden era of big screen sci-fi. Here’s our pick of the decade’s ten very best genre films…
Off screen and on, the 1950s was a spectacular era for science fiction. In literature, Ray Bradbury kicked off the decade with his masterpiece, The Martian Chronicles, while digest magazines like Galaxy were publishing the works of such sci-fi luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
In the cinema, every year brought forth a fresh wave of genre pictures, some brilliant in their awfulness (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster), others simply brilliant. This article is devoted to the movies in the latter category.
Here, then, is my rundown of my ten favourite science fiction movies of the 50s:
Destination Moon (1950)
The 50s era equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Destination Moon was the brave attempt of producer George Pal to bring a...
Off screen and on, the 1950s was a spectacular era for science fiction. In literature, Ray Bradbury kicked off the decade with his masterpiece, The Martian Chronicles, while digest magazines like Galaxy were publishing the works of such sci-fi luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
In the cinema, every year brought forth a fresh wave of genre pictures, some brilliant in their awfulness (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster), others simply brilliant. This article is devoted to the movies in the latter category.
Here, then, is my rundown of my ten favourite science fiction movies of the 50s:
Destination Moon (1950)
The 50s era equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Destination Moon was the brave attempt of producer George Pal to bring a...
- 10/20/2010
- Den of Geek
It’s back (again)! On November 9, Shout! Factory is dropping the next installment of the cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000. This new release, Volume 19 (or Xix if you want to go off the Roman numerals on the box), is a four-disc set which contains four previously unreleased episodes, a bunch of special features, and a limited-edition Gypsy figurine that’s now sitting on my desk as I write this. Let’s enjoy the mayhem, shall we?
The Show
Oh, MST3K, how I missed you. Like many of you out there, I’m sure, I spent a lot of time when I was younger watching this show and crying with laughter as Joel, Mike and the robot crew of Crow, Tom Servo and Gypsy lampooned some utterly horrible films. What they did has since been referenced or imitated countless times in pop culture. MST3K is a great example of how...
The Show
Oh, MST3K, how I missed you. Like many of you out there, I’m sure, I spent a lot of time when I was younger watching this show and crying with laughter as Joel, Mike and the robot crew of Crow, Tom Servo and Gypsy lampooned some utterly horrible films. What they did has since been referenced or imitated countless times in pop culture. MST3K is a great example of how...
- 10/6/2010
- by Brittany Frederick
- TVovermind.com
Here are ten rules for making a movie monster that will leave audiences screaming in the aisles…
For every genuinely menacing screen monster, there are at least a dozen unintentionally funny, shambling travesties. For every Giger-designed Alien, there's a legion of creatures like the rubbery octopus-type thing from Yog: Monster From Space, or the man in a bear suit from Robot Monster.
Here, then, is the Den Of Geek guide to creating a scary movie monster, and a few examples of the pitfalls you should avoid.
A lack of eyes is scary
Designed by H.R. Giger, the titular xenomorph from 1979's Alien is arguably one of the most disturbing creatures ever to grace the big screen, quite possibly due to its apparent lack of eyes. And while Giger's monster has suffered from over-exposure in recent years (not to mention its appearance in the woeful Aliens Vs Predator movies), its original...
For every genuinely menacing screen monster, there are at least a dozen unintentionally funny, shambling travesties. For every Giger-designed Alien, there's a legion of creatures like the rubbery octopus-type thing from Yog: Monster From Space, or the man in a bear suit from Robot Monster.
Here, then, is the Den Of Geek guide to creating a scary movie monster, and a few examples of the pitfalls you should avoid.
A lack of eyes is scary
Designed by H.R. Giger, the titular xenomorph from 1979's Alien is arguably one of the most disturbing creatures ever to grace the big screen, quite possibly due to its apparent lack of eyes. And while Giger's monster has suffered from over-exposure in recent years (not to mention its appearance in the woeful Aliens Vs Predator movies), its original...
- 8/31/2010
- Den of Geek
Robots in our past and present, in film and real life.
What Is a robot? Everything from a real-life car assembly machine to a fictional artificial human being gets called a “robot.”
The Merriam-Webster Online site gives its main definition of the term this way: “A machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being, also: a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized.”
That lack of humanity in a humanoid shell is what makes a great movie robot a great monster.
There were robots in films before the term “robot” was created. In fact, robots have been in films for as long as films have been a widely available entertainment.
Robots in film
Robots in film go back nearly as far as motion pictures themselves. In 1907, Vitagraph released a short film...
What Is a robot? Everything from a real-life car assembly machine to a fictional artificial human being gets called a “robot.”
The Merriam-Webster Online site gives its main definition of the term this way: “A machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being, also: a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized.”
That lack of humanity in a humanoid shell is what makes a great movie robot a great monster.
There were robots in films before the term “robot” was created. In fact, robots have been in films for as long as films have been a widely available entertainment.
Robots in film
Robots in film go back nearly as far as motion pictures themselves. In 1907, Vitagraph released a short film...
- 8/31/2010
- by Max
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
With a resurgent craze for 3D sweeping Hollywood, we delve into the archives to salute the best 3D effects from old-school movies…
It seems like every other movie is getting released in 3D these days. And just when you thought an HD television was good enough, now it’s time to throw that in the trash and upgrade to high-definition 3D. Even movies shot in two dimensions are getting retro-fitted – often to their detriment (yes, that’s you Last Airbender) - with 3D.
Does today’s 3D need a lesson from yesterday? Here are a several notable 3D effects hailing from the bygone era of anaglyph 3D and earlier polarized lens efforts:
Harpoon gun - Creature From The Black Lagoon
Numerous point-of-view shots feature projectile weapons being fired at audiences, but this one still tops the list, just as Jack Arnold’s 1954 creature feature is one of the best of its kind.
It seems like every other movie is getting released in 3D these days. And just when you thought an HD television was good enough, now it’s time to throw that in the trash and upgrade to high-definition 3D. Even movies shot in two dimensions are getting retro-fitted – often to their detriment (yes, that’s you Last Airbender) - with 3D.
Does today’s 3D need a lesson from yesterday? Here are a several notable 3D effects hailing from the bygone era of anaglyph 3D and earlier polarized lens efforts:
Harpoon gun - Creature From The Black Lagoon
Numerous point-of-view shots feature projectile weapons being fired at audiences, but this one still tops the list, just as Jack Arnold’s 1954 creature feature is one of the best of its kind.
- 7/5/2010
- Den of Geek
Have no doubt, I love bad movies. I still have fond memories of the first time I stumbled onto Robot Monster, back in the days when local broadcast television had afternoon movie shows, and one could serendipitously chance upon such inspired dreadfulness as a cheesy science fiction epic -- with Hamlet-like ambitions -- in which the titular monster was actually some guy in a gorilla suit wearing a toy diver's helmet (check it out if you don't believe me). Lemme tell ya, there's nothing quite like sitting through ninety minutes of "What the frak is this?!" to put a spring in your step and reinvigorate your will to live. Problem is that, these days, fortune has dictated I be late to this particular party, getting around to the legendarily awful long after their cults have formed. Which is by way of...
- 5/14/2010
- by Dan Persons
- Huffington Post
The art that stays with us, that moves us, that captivates, beguiles and enthralls us, is the kind that goes to extremes.
No comedy is as funny as when the action therein is taken to extremes of the farcical and absurd. Film noir depicts human beings in their most extreme states of moral decay, asking questions of us as to whether we can be decent people in an indecent world. Superheroes inspire by operating on the extreme side of nobility. Horror films thrive by confronting the extremes of evil, pain and death and forcing us to confront terrors deep and even instinctual within our conscious as well as our subconscious.
The cinematic phenomenons of late – whether one would evaluate these pictures as “good” or “bad” – are no exception. The extravagance of Avatar’s fantasy is matched by the outrageousness of the financial and technical resources required to create it. The...
No comedy is as funny as when the action therein is taken to extremes of the farcical and absurd. Film noir depicts human beings in their most extreme states of moral decay, asking questions of us as to whether we can be decent people in an indecent world. Superheroes inspire by operating on the extreme side of nobility. Horror films thrive by confronting the extremes of evil, pain and death and forcing us to confront terrors deep and even instinctual within our conscious as well as our subconscious.
The cinematic phenomenons of late – whether one would evaluate these pictures as “good” or “bad” – are no exception. The extravagance of Avatar’s fantasy is matched by the outrageousness of the financial and technical resources required to create it. The...
- 3/10/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
The Horror Writers Association has announced the nominees for the 2009 Bram Stoker Award, honoring superior achievement in horror literature:
Superior Achievement In A Novel
Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan (Harper)Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin)Quarantined by Joe McKinney (Lachesis Publishing)Cursed by Jeremy Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Superior Achievement In A First Novel
Breathers by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)Solomon's Grave by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)Superior Achievement In Long Fiction"Dreaming Robot Monster" by Mort Castle (Mighty Unclean)The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)Doc Good's Traveling Show by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)Superior Achievement In Short Fiction"Keeping Watch" by Nate Kenyon (Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror...
Superior Achievement In A Novel
Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan (Harper)Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin)Quarantined by Joe McKinney (Lachesis Publishing)Cursed by Jeremy Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Superior Achievement In A First Novel
Breathers by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)Solomon's Grave by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)Superior Achievement In Long Fiction"Dreaming Robot Monster" by Mort Castle (Mighty Unclean)The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)Doc Good's Traveling Show by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)Superior Achievement In Short Fiction"Keeping Watch" by Nate Kenyon (Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror...
- 2/21/2010
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
Having followed the antics of the many incarnations of the blurry photographed cryptid most commonly known as Bigfoot throughout my life, I have heard of his Missouri counterpart, Momo. I had not heard that the Sasquatchian hominid known as "Momo" was said to have the head of a jack o'lantern. That I would have remembered. But now that I know, I have to wonder why it has taken so long to make a motion picture about pumpkin-headed Bigfoot.
Momo's time has come in the form of the horror-comedy Momo. Loosely based on the alleged sightings of a Bigfoot creature with a pumpkin-shaped head around the Louisiana, Missouri area from 1971-1972, Momo deals with a Bigfoot monster with a jack o'lantern for a head terrorizing drunken rednecks in the Missouri woods. It also appears to involve an Elvis-impersonating, shotgun-toting cryptozoologist.
Monster Island News brings word of the super low budget Momo...
Momo's time has come in the form of the horror-comedy Momo. Loosely based on the alleged sightings of a Bigfoot creature with a pumpkin-shaped head around the Louisiana, Missouri area from 1971-1972, Momo deals with a Bigfoot monster with a jack o'lantern for a head terrorizing drunken rednecks in the Missouri woods. It also appears to involve an Elvis-impersonating, shotgun-toting cryptozoologist.
Monster Island News brings word of the super low budget Momo...
- 1/8/2010
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Like most fans over a certain age, my introduction to horror came from the Universal Monster series that were syndicated for television and run late at night hosted by a wisecracking host. For every Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man were ten Night of the Lepus, Navy Vs The Night Monsters, and Robot Monster. When you’ve got so many turkeys to present, you better be entertaining – and the hosts that I grew up watching inevitably were.
Virginia Creepers Co-directors Sean Kotz and Chris Valluzzo have assembled a collection of reminiscences by the horror hosts themselves, the fans who watched them, and a large collection of very rare footage from this era of television. The movie examines every major horror movie host in Virginia starting with the original, Jonathan in 1958 and coming full circle with the likes of Mr. Lobo, Karlos Borloff, and Count Gore DeVol the latter two having...
Virginia Creepers Co-directors Sean Kotz and Chris Valluzzo have assembled a collection of reminiscences by the horror hosts themselves, the fans who watched them, and a large collection of very rare footage from this era of television. The movie examines every major horror movie host in Virginia starting with the original, Jonathan in 1958 and coming full circle with the likes of Mr. Lobo, Karlos Borloff, and Count Gore DeVol the latter two having...
- 12/18/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (John Porter)
- Fangoria
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