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deadmartyr
Reviews
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1979)
Bad, in oh so many ways...
I just got back from seeing Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars at the Castro Theater. Here's a few observations... 1. I see better bands/shows on a monthly basis here in San Francisco. 2. Bowie's ex-wife was a numbskull. 3. English people can't dance (although I can't either unless it's no-wave related). 4. The best thing about the movie is the costumes that Bowie wears. 5. The worst thing about the film is that it has the visual appearance of being filmed by a first-year photography student; jumpy camerawork, no prep work, bad lighting, (at times) bad sound, no sense of FOCUS, and a general lack of professionalism. I can forgive this only because it was filmed in 1973, when every artist was a supreme hack trying to build a reputation (OH, AND I KNOW ABOUT HACK ARTISTS... I KNOW!) 6. The new soundtrack is infinately better than the one on the original release and that first soundtrack. 7. LOTs of frumpy middle-aged drag queens were doing lines at the 7:00 showing judging from their rather frantic exit when I was in line for popcorn at the 9:00 showing. WOW, never have I seen so many men trying to be their mothers in their fashion sense. 8. There's lots of pseudo-gay punks in the Castro these days, and lots of really annoying homeless people. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! 9. $8 was about twice as much as anyone should pay for this film. Wait until it comes out on DVD... Seriously. 10. I had a great time listening to Yarra du Jour snicker at the fashion on one side of me and listening to my uncle Stephen chuckling at the utter worthlessness of the movie on the other. Our other friend Catlin remained suspiciously silent during the film. Maybe she fell asleep? I certainly did at least twice.
Dark Waters (1993)
Brilliant
I was referred to this film by someone in some chat room in '88. He convinced me that having a copy of this film would be worth while, and he was right. It now lists among some of my favorite and most played movies, alongside such classics as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Liquid Sky, and The Evil Dead. Needless to say that with its appearance on such a lofty list of films one could be overwhelmed by the hype! I assure the reader that this could not be further from the truth. Dark Waters is stylish, coherent, artsy, and deeply disturbing, all rolled up in one. You owe it to yourself to go out and pick up a copy of this right now. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer.
Du-beat-e-o (1984)
Ouch (but sort of worth seeing)
Well El Duce's "role" was sort of interesting. I was totally annoyed by the barely audible running commentary by him and a couple of his groupies (?) during the film. At one point there's a minute long super-fast mismash-collage of all the scenes in the movie, which was interesting, plus Tex and the Horseheads and Joahanna Whendt were fascinating. Overall, if they had cut out all the footage which was supposed to tie the whole film together and released the old footage of the bands and Joan Jett's performances, this would have been a good half hour well spent. RIP - El Duce
The Apple (1980)
seriously, the best!!!
I can't believe that the other reviewer didn't like this film! Maybe he didn't notice the subtly nuances that portray all the characters as direct rip-offs from the bible? He didn't understand the folk versus new wave/disco war which was going on? The elaborate musical numbers and not-so-vague references to hedonistic sex and homosexuality?
The Apple is a must-see movie for anyone interested in sci-fi musicals! Now if we could get a director's cut on DVD which doesn't cut off half the screen's action, we'd be in business. And where can we find the soundtrack LP?