A trifecta of sixties films were the major picks this month.
James Landis' The Sadist was easily my favourite film. Its producer, Arch Hall Sr. also had a cameo and ghost produced another choice pick in Ray Dennis Steckler's surprisingly well made, The Thrill Killers.
Fast travel to Japan, and I was wowed by Yosuzô Masumura's psycho-sexual drama Blind Beast. Kudos for not going how I predicted it.
Film:
The Outlaw (Howard Hughes & Howard Hawks•, 1943)*
She Shoulda Said No! AKA Wild Weed (Sherman Scott AKA Sam Newfield, 1949)*
I'm All Right Jack (John Boulting, 1959)
The Sadist (James Landis, 1963)*
The Thrill Killers (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1964)*
Lady Morgan’s Vengeance (Massimo Pupillo, 1965)*
The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (Noriaki Yuasa, 1968)*
A Woman Kills (Jean-Denis Bonan, 1968)*
Blind Beast (Yosuzô Masumura, 1969)*
Help Me… I’m Possessed (Charles Nizet, 1974)*
Hotel Fear (Francesco Barilli, 1978)*
Alley Cat (Victor M. Ordoñez, Edward Victor & Al Valletta, 1984)*
Hell Comes to Frogtown (Donald G. Jackson & R. J. Keizer, 1988)
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel, 1996)
The Wash (DJ Pooh, 2001)*
Chained (Jennifer Lynch, 2012)*
Helter Skelter (Mika Ninagawa, 2012)*
Black Bear (Lawrence Michael Levine, 2020)*
The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)*
Babylon (Damien Chazelle, 2022 / 2023)*
Infinity Pool (Brandon Cronenberg, 2023)*
Television:
The Day of the Triffids Season 1 - Episodes 1 - 6 (Ken Hannam,1981)
Neighbours - Episode 1 (Reg Watson, 1985 / 1986)*
The Day of the Triffids Season 1 - Episodes 1 & 2 (Nick Copus, 2009)
Mastermind Episodes 20 - 23 (Bill Wright, 2022 / 2023)*
The Outlaw (Howard Hughes & Howard Hawks•, 1943)*
She Shoulda Said No! AKA Wild Weed (Sherman Scott AKA Sam Newfield, 1949)*
I'm All Right Jack (John Boulting, 1959)
The Sadist (James Landis, 1963)*
The Thrill Killers (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1964)*
Lady Morgan’s Vengeance (Massimo Pupillo, 1965)*
The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (Noriaki Yuasa, 1968)*
A Woman Kills (Jean-Denis Bonan, 1968)*
Blind Beast (Yosuzô Masumura, 1969)*
Help Me… I’m Possessed (Charles Nizet, 1974)*
Hotel Fear (Francesco Barilli, 1978)*
Alley Cat (Victor M. Ordoñez, Edward Victor & Al Valletta, 1984)*
Hell Comes to Frogtown (Donald G. Jackson & R. J. Keizer, 1988)
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel, 1996)
The Wash (DJ Pooh, 2001)*
Chained (Jennifer Lynch, 2012)*
Helter Skelter (Mika Ninagawa, 2012)*
Black Bear (Lawrence Michael Levine, 2020)*
The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)*
Babylon (Damien Chazelle, 2022 / 2023)*
Infinity Pool (Brandon Cronenberg, 2023)*
Television:
The Day of the Triffids Season 1 - Episodes 1 - 6 (Ken Hannam,1981)
Neighbours - Episode 1 (Reg Watson, 1985 / 1986)*
The Day of the Triffids Season 1 - Episodes 1 & 2 (Nick Copus, 2009)
Mastermind Episodes 20 - 23 (Bill Wright, 2022 / 2023)*
*First time viewings.
• Uncredited.
Dada Debaser Notes:
- Instead of the adult film industry, imagine if Boogie Nights was about various figures during Hollywood’s transition from the silent movie era to the talkies and beyond. Now imagine it’s written and directed by a Criterion loving millennial in urgent need of Ritalin. That's Babylon!
- Couldn't help wondering if Laura Benedict in The Thrill Killers might be Aubrey Plaza's nan since she looked striking similar to her.
- Speaking of Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear was all right, but the meta film-making concept was way more creative and less exhausting in One Cut of the Dead (2017).
- Crazy how I'm All Right Jack, a British comedy from the 1950s, can still feel relevant decades later with its on point satire of working trade unions.
- Vincent D'Onofrio's performance in Chained was superb. Too bad the film was completely undermined by a terrible plot twist and a predictably ambiguous final scene.
- It wasn't until my appreciation post for Roy Budd's soundtracks did I realise he also scored both Steptoe & Son films.
- From Dr. Dre having the "bubblies" to Snoop & Truth Hurts having a quickie, the only redeemable part about The Wash was the end titles featuring the Bad Intentions music video.
- Still in two minds over Son of Cronenberg's new film. First hour was great, but afterwards... it kind of lost its way. Will return to it again soon, though.
- Tried watching that recent BFI Spike Lee Q&A, but kept being reminded of the Joker's art museum scene from Batman (1989).
- R.I.P to the bikini goddess Raquel Welch!
