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Post by kingstownted on May 19, 2010 6:23:50 GMT -5
It's a feedback show. With one host in absentia and one host sleep deprived we once again test the axiom of 'better than nothing'. Truth is, there's a lot to enjoy this week as the content has been provided by you the listeners. Ted sits down well into the morning hours to share a lengthy list of emails we received on the subject of Italian Horror. It's true the once promised stand alone episode dedicated to the genre did not materialize but that is with good reason - it was foolhardy to think it could be done. Fans of Italian Horror are a dedicated bunch and through the course of the show a lot of that passion comes across. Loads of recommendations and some discussions of the key elements that lend such a distinctive taste to the output of so many great filmmakers are here. It's a lot of material for just one voice so to break up the drone there's a whole roster of voicemails from the listeners on a nice variety of subjects as well (special thanks to Christopher Walken for calling in). And just to round things out and bring it all home the Italian Horror filmfest rages on with Joe D'Amato's Beyond The Darkness (1979). Thanks to everyone for writing / calling in to make this weeks episode possible. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com Voicemail (206) 337-5324
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Post by therottoenone on May 19, 2010 11:10:57 GMT -5
hey I like alone in the dark and house of the dead without shame. I loved suspiria but my favorite is the stendhal syndrome. that movie had a completely unpredicted ending. I also liked mother of tears. yay. torso was good. now when r u gonna do a show on horror in music. for example the misfits. well i liked this show thanks.
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Post by Stuart on May 20, 2010 3:18:17 GMT -5
Only halfway through this episode but I thought I’d throw in that I saw Fulci’s City of the Living Dead for the first time last night. That’s the whole “Gates of Hell” trilogy under my belt. COTLD suffers the same slowness as House by the Cemetery and the most wooden acting I’ve ever seen but the set-pieces are deliciously gruesome (eg drilled head, squishy brains, vomiting guts). Plus, the plot, although contrived, actually makes sense (until the very end). The zombie climax is particularly well done. I think Fulci was pleased with that scene too because he dwelled on it an inordinately long time ;D. Only one real quibble; what the hell did that ending mean?
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Post by Peekysdad on May 20, 2010 7:41:26 GMT -5
;D. Only one real quibble; what the hell did that ending mean? From Jay Slater's Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies- spoiler, click and roll over to read: When asked if the boy had turned into a zombie, Fulci replied, "Yes. It was the editor's idea. The child started laughing and running again and then, at a particular moment, who knows what he saw...and the editor got the idea of splitting up the frame, which works very well." However, in a later interview Fulci put a different spin on the ending:"Originally, the child ran towards the camera, and we cut to the two adults smiling to themselves. That was it, a happy ending. One day, I was in the editing room, and we watched the footage of the adults who were arguing in the shot- they didn't get along. So we cut to the little boy running and cut back to the footage of them arguing. But in that shot, there was an aberration on the film where it looked like the image started to break up. Well, [editor Vincenzo] Tomassi said, 'Why don't we use that?' So we did and now it's not so happy. Reviewers have written volumes on this ending, which was just basically a mistake saved by an ingenious idea. That's Tomassi."I think, like in most Fulci films, the overall impression is that no one is saved. There is no hope.
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Post by Stuart on May 20, 2010 9:02:47 GMT -5
Thanks PD. Glad it wasn't just me being dim Edit: By the way, Ted. As a long tiime Dio fan it was nice to hear the Holy Diver clip. No more songs about dragons and rainbows
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dv909
Creeping Corpse
Posts: 56
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Post by dv909 on May 20, 2010 14:33:57 GMT -5
Ted, great job.
Nice balance between email feedback, voicemails, and your own take on things. I really enjoy the listener feedback. Very entertaining.
The only Italian horror I've ever seen was Zombie. This episode makes me want to explore all those films.
I'm sure it's been mentioned before but an Exorcist commentary would be right on! And an episode focusing on all of it's sequels including similar films like Emily Rose and the upcoming "The Last Exorcist" would be fitting. Easy for me to say i know.
Btw, i just got around to watching "Let The Right One In." WOW! I found myself saying "brilliant" a few times throughout.
Well I'm off to catch Pearl Jam at MSG. Rock on Canucks!
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Post by kingstownted on May 20, 2010 14:36:11 GMT -5
Yes! I'm glad someone picked up on my little tribute to RJD. RIP.
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Post by Peekysdad on May 20, 2010 17:16:01 GMT -5
Yes! I'm glad someone picked up on my little tribute to RJD. RIP. I haven't heard the episode yet, but that is very cool. R.I.P. indeed.
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Post by ashclark on May 20, 2010 17:27:14 GMT -5
Great Job Ted. The combination of the feed back with your responses worked well as a one man format. I enjoyed that as much as I would any other episode. I would definitely list that under quality.
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Tom
Creeping Corpse
Posts: 53
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Post by Tom on May 21, 2010 2:37:33 GMT -5
I saw Fulci’s City of the Living Dead for the first time last night. That’s the whole “Gates of Hell” trilogy under my belt. COTLD suffers the same slowness as House by the Cemetery I personally don't think it does, at least not to the same degree. It definately doesn't do as well as The Beyond for spacing the set pieces throughout, but it's not quite the same as Cemetery where it's pretty much boring build up for most of the running time. There's still some great imagery in City that keeps it ticking over somewhat, and sequences like the brilliantly tense coffin one. I'd say City is somewhere between Cemetery and Beyond for pacing, but I very much see it as Fulci warming up for getting it spot on in The Beyond. Well, back to the show. I think it's a credit to the quality of the podcast that at 1am with only one of the hosts you can still pull a thoroughly enjoyable episode out of the bag. I'm not sure what your level of feedback is usually, but Italian horror certainly seems to have struck a chord in people. I find myself gravitating to it a lot these days, there's a wealth to be mined from it and it's what I tend to turn to when I want a more visceral horror experience, even with the age of a lot of the films, they still pack a punch. Suspiria keeps cropping up. I must admit I have seen it only twice. Once on VHS years ago - and I liked it well enough, but then again recently when it got a blu ray release in the UK. Now I don't want to come off as a high def or home cinema nazi, but it seems to me that this really is how the film should be seen - in high definition with surround sound. It's not so much a film as an assault on the senses, but one where you don't mind a beating. The sound track rattles your spine, and keeps the nerves on edge throughout. If anyone is interested in Italian horror releases that include some of, but go beyond a lot of the same titles that keep cropping up, I'd recommend the releases from Shameless Screen Entertainment www.shameless-films.com/
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Post by jahbulon on May 21, 2010 12:26:16 GMT -5
If anyone is interested in Italian horror releases that include some of, but go beyond a lot of the same titles that keep cropping up, I'd recommend the releases from Shameless Screen Entertainment www.shameless-films.com/ I agree that Shameless are putting out some fantastic, off-the-beaten-path releases here in the UK, especially their recent Enzo Castellari 'Bronx Warriors' boxset, but some of the more gruesome offerings such as Fulci's 'New York Ripper' are still heavily censored here. I still mainly import R1 from Blue Underground, Synapse Films, Grindhouse Releasing etc. for most of the European horror titles...
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maarow
Ghost in the Graveyard
Posts: 509
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Post by maarow on May 21, 2010 14:43:11 GMT -5
Great episode! I'm still more or less a newbie to Italian horror outside of my Mario Bava collections, so it's great to hear from more experienced fans what I have to look forward to. I love a film that attempts to stretch the boundaries of cinema beyond the Western-beloved idea of linear three-act structure, and this is what the Italians seemed to be attempting much of the time. When they weren't in it merely for the exploitation.
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Post by ashclark on May 21, 2010 15:54:06 GMT -5
Although to this point I completely disagree with Ted and company on Argento. I really have to hand it to Ted for honestly trying to give Italian horror a fair shake. In the end his views may not change but I feel he now understand that many of these films are an acquired taste. Any horror fans owes it to themselves to reserve there judgment as they are introduced to these films. Much of it is understanding that you can enjoy films for compelty different reasons than you have been conditioned to.
For example when you watch an Argento film you almost want to turn off the Left (logical) side of your brain. Concentrate completely on your senses. Let yourself be all consumed by the camera moments, the music, the sets, the atmosphere. View it as a nightmarish experience and not a film. I also find it better to watch them on your own, watching it with someone else will only take away from that concentration. It's strange but even though I try to turn of my logical side, by the end I find the overall effect to be a heightened state of enlightenment.
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Tom
Creeping Corpse
Posts: 53
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Post by Tom on May 22, 2010 4:33:47 GMT -5
I agree that Shameless are putting out some fantastic, off-the-beaten-path releases here in the UK, especially their recent Enzo Castellari 'Bronx Warriors' boxset, but some of the more gruesome offerings such as Fulci's 'New York Ripper' are still heavily censored here. I still mainly import R1 from Blue Underground, Synapse Films, Grindhouse Releasing etc. for most of the European horror titles... I'd disagree on the "heavily censored" part. New York Ripper was released with 34 seconds of cuts, and Venus in Furs with one minute of cuts. These are the only two releases out of Shameless' 23 releases that have any cuts to them. It's the old sexual violence thing. Gore doesn't seem to be a problem to the BBFC these days thankfully, but sexual violence (like the nipple slice in NY Ripper) still is. All of the titles that were heavily censored in the old days were re-submitted by shameless, and apart from the two mentioned, all of the previous cuts were waived. But yes, I love the titles from the other companies you mention too and even these small cuts are annoying.
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Post by jahbulon on May 22, 2010 8:04:33 GMT -5
I agree that Shameless are putting out some fantastic, off-the-beaten-path releases here in the UK, especially their recent Enzo Castellari 'Bronx Warriors' boxset, but some of the more gruesome offerings such as Fulci's 'New York Ripper' are still heavily censored here. I still mainly import R1 from Blue Underground, Synapse Films, Grindhouse Releasing etc. for most of the European horror titles... I'd disagree on the "heavily censored" part. New York Ripper was released with 34 seconds of cuts, and Venus in Furs with one minute of cuts. These are the only two releases out of Shameless' 23 releases that have any cuts to them. It's the old sexual violence thing. Gore doesn't seem to be a problem to the BBFC these days thankfully, but sexual violence (like the nipple slice in NY Ripper) still is. All of the titles that were heavily censored in the old days were re-submitted by shameless, and apart from the two mentioned, all of the previous cuts were waived. But yes, I love the titles from the other companies you mention too and even these small cuts are annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff that Shameless is putting out [ Night Train Murders, Watch Me When I Kill, Ratman etc. ] but, like you said, I just find those tiny cuts annoying too. I concede that "heavily censored" was a bit strong, wasn't it. I mean, its not their fault. It's the BBFC what done it!! I know that they're more easy-going than back in the days when James Ferman ran the place, but still... Also, I'm currently in the process of downloading your podcast & can't wait to give it a listen. Anything that features Maniac, Return Of The Living Dead and Sleepaway Camp/Nightmare Vacation has gotta be good, right...
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