TiVoPlex
By John Seal
July 3, 2007
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 07/03/07
2:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Flying Devils (1933 USA): Produced for RKO by King Kong creator Merian C. Cooper, Flying Devils is so minor it doesn't even merit a mention in Mark Cotta Vaz's otherwise exemplary Cooper biography Living Dangerously. Of course, that means it's of particular interest to yours truly, who lives by the maxim ‘the more obscure, the better'. Flying Devils features Kong's Bruce Cabot as Ace Murray, a stunt pilot who knocks heads with aerial circus owner Speed Hardy (Ralph Bellamy) and whose penchant for recklessness is endangering the lives of his daredevil employees. To complicate matters, and as a sop to romantic convention, there's also a love triangle involving Hardy, wife Ann (Arline Judge), and Ace's younger brother Bud (Eric Linden), whose double parachute act is the circus' star attraction. As with any Cooper production, there's spectacular aerial footage and plenty of excitement - though, sadly, no giant apes.
8:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Air Hawks (1935 USA): If the sight of actor Ralph Bellamy in pilot's goggles is particularly appealing to you, this is definitely your lucky day. In Air Hawks, he portrays budding entrepreneur Barry Eldon, who's competing against monetarily well-endowed Martin Drewen (Robert Middlemass) for a lucrative government mail delivery contract. Drewen has the inside track, but he isn't taking any chances against his young foe, and has conspired with sneaky Russian scientist Schulter (Dracula and Frankenstein's Edward Van Sloan) to develop a deadly ray that will be able to blast Eldon's planes out of the air. Can Barry dodge this futuristic bullet - and will he win the heart of ravishing taxi dancer Renee (Tala Birell)? Famed real-life pilot Wiley Post, who would perish in an aeronautical accident shortly after completing his work in Air Hawks, makes an extended cameo appearance as himself in this oddball, pseudo-science fiction adventure from Columbia.
6:30 PM Sundance
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox (2006 USA): Emanuel Bronner was a German Jew who emigrated to the United States in 1929 with two things in mind: to escape the gathering storm of Nazism, and to develop and market his own brand of soap, and use it as a tool to spread his unique social gospel, the ‘Moral ABCs'. After spending some time in a mental institution, Bronner's dream came true - and the company he founded is still in business today, each bottle of soap labelled with lengthy bromides extolling the virtues of Albert Einstein, Jesus, and, erm, Mark Spitz, amongst many, many others. His company now in the hands of son Ralph, Bronner (who died in 1997 at the age of 89) appears half madman, half inspirational avatar of capitalism with a conscience. Sara Lamm's documentary is utterly captivating stuff, and though it leaves much unsaid and quite a bit unexplained, makes for a fascinating journey down this very obscure historical byway. Also airs 7/5 at 9:30 PM and 7/8 at 12:30 PM.
Wednesday 0704/07
6:00 AM Encore Action
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991 JAP): First the good news: this quartet of recent Toho kaiju eiga are appearing uncut on premium cable for the first time today after extended runs on the commercial-bedizened Sci Fi Channel. Now the bad: they're all airing in pan and scan, so you may want to keep those widescreen versions you recorded off Sci Fi. First up this morning is the third of Toho's ‘new' Godzilla series, in which Big G tangles once again with three-headed villain Ghidorah for Tokyo stomping rights. There are also treacherous space aliens mucking things up, human characters about whom you won't give a damn, and lots of bad dubbing. It's followed at 7:50 AM by Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), an ostensible sequel to 1974's Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster; at 9:45 AM by Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), in which our hero squares off against his interstellar doppelganger; and at 11:45 by Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), in which the Godzilla saga finally reached its (temporary) tragic end.
3:00 PM Sundance
Tales of the Rat Fink (2006 USA): Remember those wacky trading cards back in the 1970s that featured outlandish, heavily stylized representations of anthropomorphic hot rods? The automotive equivalent of Garbage Pail Kids, they were inspired by the art of custom car designer Ed ‘Big Daddy' Roth, who finally gets the full scale documentary treatment in this most enjoyable feature from director Ron Mann. Mann has a penchant for pop culture - witness his 1988 effort Comic Book Confidential, which gave recognition to MAD magazine founder William Gaines, counterculture cartoonist Robert Crumb, and others - and Tales of the Rat Fink is a worthy addition to the canon. If you can get over Mann's cutesy decision to tell the goateed beatnik's life story via his automobiles - voiced by celebrities such as Brian Wilson, The Smothers Brothers, and Matt Groening - you'll have a great time. Also airs at 10:00 PM.
5:00 PM Sundance
The American Ruling Class (2005 USA): One of the abiding myths of American culture is the belief that we live in an economically fluid society, where anyone who tries hard enough and pulls at their bootstraps with sufficient force can become the next Bill Gates. While there's a tiny, tiny grain of truth to that maxim, the United States is rapidly becoming as stratified as any corrupt third world dictatorship or monarchy, with the upper classes skimming off huge portions of the nation's wealth and leaving the rest of us with the table scrapings (oh, and that bootstrap myth to keep us working extra hard). This very odd pseudo-documentary, produced by the BBC and narrated by Lewis Lapham, tries to convey this message through, of all things, song. It's a noble effort to put lipstick on a pig, and ultimately fails as either polemic or educational tool. Still and all, anything that alerts us to the pernicious class system has its heart in the right place, and you can't fault director John Kirby for trying.
8:55 PM Showtime Extreme
Bad Boys (1982 USA): Not to be confused with Michael Bay's buddy cop shoot ‘em ups of the same name, this Bad Boys features a very young Sean Penn as Michael O'Brien, a Chi-Town juvenile delinquent who gets sent to reformatory after contributing to the hit and run death of an eight-year-old boy whilst on the run from the police. Once behind bars, devil may care Mick begins the long hard journey to redemption in the company of assorted rapists, murderers, and drug-dealing scum. Penn had already received good notices for his performance as goofball Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High in 1982, but this was the first film where he began to display some real acting chops, and it's quite the tour de force. Bad Boys is airing in widescreen, and repeats on 7/8 at 10:35 PM.
Thursday 07/05/07
6:35 AM Flix
My Brilliant Career (1979 AUS): Gillian Armstrong's delightful coming of age drama returns to premium cable this morning after a very lengthy absence. Starring up and comer Judy Davis as feisty, turn of the 20th century Australian schoolgirl Sibylla Melvyn, My Briiliant Career essays the young girl's transformation from troublemaking youngster to troublemaking adult, as the rebellious Sibylla establishes herself as a successful author whilst avoiding the social constrictions of marriage at a time when marriage was the only acceptable path for a ‘nice girl' to take. This pointed but enjoyable (and never labored) tribute to proto-women's liberation co-stars Antipodean regulars Sam Neill and Wendy Hughes, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design, rendering it that rarest of beasts, the feminist frock flick.
12:05 PM Encore Action
Black Dragon (1989 HK): This excellent action comedy was directed and penned by lead actor Jackie Chan, who was at the height of his powers and the apex of his success in 1989. Set during the 1930s, Black Dragon features Jackie as country boy Cheng, who unwittingly saves a gangster from a fate worse than death - well, okay, death itself - and receives payback via a rapid immersion course in criminal evildoing at the knee of his new master. Cheng soon finds himself romantically involved with a gorgeous nightclub ingénue (Anita Mui) - but does she love him for who he is, or for whom he works? Jam-packed with the action and breathtaking stunts we expect from a Chan feature, Black Dragon also benefits from the presence of the late, much lamented Mui, who brings an otherworldly luminescence to the proceedings. Sadly, Encore seems to be utilizing a pan and scan print - and with any luck, it'll also be dubbed.
Friday 07/06/07
5:00 PM Encore Western
God Forgives, I Don't (1967 ITA): I did a double take when I saw this spaghetti western on the schedule. Not only has God Forgives, I Don't remained resolutely unavailable on stateside home video, it's rarely if ever appeared on American television. It marked the first of two dozen on-screen teamings of actors Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, who became the biggest thing in Italian cinema since Franco and Ciccio thanks to a series of amusing if quite broad western comedies. Unlike most of their collaborations, however, this is definitely not a laugh riot, but a fairly violent oater about train robbers trying to divide up their ill-gotten gains in a fair and mutually satisfactory manner - which, needless to say, is easier said than done. Directed by Giuseppe Colizzi, God Forgives, I Don't also co-stars the great expatriate American actor Frank Wolff, who tussles with Bud and Terence for the moolah.
Saturday 07/07/07
3:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Big House, U.S.A. (1955 USA): Here's a rarely seen prison break thriller that's guaranteed to please action fans. Roughly divided into two sections, Big House, U.S.A. first grimly details the kidnapping of a child, and then segues to Casabel Island Prison, where Rollo Lamar (loathsome Broderick Crawford) is leading a group of inmates - including Lon Chaney Jr., William ‘Hamilton Berger' Talman, Charles Bronson, and Ralph Meeker - in an escape attempt. Considering this was produced in 1955, it's quite edgy and bloody fare, and the non-pareil cast makes it a must see. Too bad there was no room for Lee Marvin, who starred in the equally nihilistic Violent Saturday the same year.
6:00 PM Starz
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006 USA): Just to prove I'm neither a complete snob nor an unrepentant pedant - though, of course, I'm both - here's a tip of the hat to 2006's funniest comedy, which makes its premium channel premiere this evening. Star Will Ferrell has since outdone himself in this year's hilarious Blades of Glory, but Talladega Nights is plenty funny, too, assigning juicy roles to top character actor John C. Reilly as Ricky Bobby's put-upon pal Cal Naughton Jr. and the previously unheralded Sacha Baron Cohen as gay French racing champion Jean Girard. Cohen would reappear on American screens a few months later as Borat Sagdiyev - but that's another story for another column. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.
Sunday 07/08/07
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
A Nous la Liberte (1932 FRA): I last saw this film 25 years ago, and can STILL sing the theme song to this very day! That's especially impressive considering the vintage of this wonderful French comedy from director Rene Clair, and an impressive tribute to composer Georges Auric, who penned the catchy tune. As for the story, it essays the tale of French ex-cons Emile and Louis (Henri Marchand and Raymond Cordy), the former of whom has become a wealthy factory owner at the expense of, amongst others, the latter, who now works for him for a meagre wage. Emile is determined to completely automate production, but a disgruntled worker recognizes him as a former inmate and threatens to bring down the operation via blackmail. Sickened by this turn of events, Emile and Louis throw down the tools of their oppression, chuck in their day jobs, and reunite as equal opportunity tramps journeying across the bucolic French countryside. If you've ever seen Clair's equally brilliant social satire Le Million, you know what to expect, but if you haven't, you're in for a real treat. Fair warning, though: you'll still be humming that song a quarter century from now.
Monday 07/09/07
6:00 PM Sundance
Commune (2005 USA): Now and probably forevermore the butt of a thousand hippy jokes, communes began life as very serious and determined efforts to create alternate communities outside the framework of ‘normal' American society. This documentary takes a look at one such community, California's Black Bear Ranch, which started life in 1968 and still exists today. Though a tad bit unfocussed, this is an interesting film, refreshingly devoid of cant and condescension, and serves as an admirable counterweight to mainstream media's narrative regarding the movement, which seems to fixate on pot smoking, tye dying, and hacky sack.