Tag: murder

Cinema Smorgasbord – Further Reeding – Women in Love (1969)

You can’t have an Oliver Reed-themed podcast without eventually dipping into the works of the legendary Ken Russell, and we stick our toes in for the first time with his 1969 melodramatic adaptation of D. H. Lawrence’s beloved – and controversial – 1920 novel, Women in Love. Starring Reed alongside Alan Bates, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden, the film examines love, sex and death in all manner of permutations, and manages to fit in some notorious nude man-on-man grappling just for fun. We go deep on the film’s explicit queerness, the difficulty of working with temperamental actors (and directors) and so much more. ENJOY!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Wild in the Streets – The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975)

Claudio Cassinelli plays a man on the edge in Sergio Martino’s unique eurocrime oddity THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR which mixes comedic elements, the elaborate (and stylish) murder sequences from the popular giallo films of the time – including a knock-off Goblin-style score almost as good as the real thing – and the usual Poliziotteschi trappings of the era to create something a bit scattershot, but totally unique. Filled with odd flourishes and bizarre choices, it’s equally confusing and enthralling – just like our hosts! Check it out!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Whatever Happened to Vic Diaz? – Blood Thirst (1971)

On this episode of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ? (the world’s finest podcast devoted to “the Filipino Peter Lorre” Vic Diaz) we’re checking out the oddball 1971 (though filmed in 1965) B&W sorta-spy horror film BLOOD THIRST featuring a wise-cracking cop in a foreign land, a monster that looks like a diseased testicle, many legitimate – and accidental – red herrings and, of course, the legendary Vic Diaz playing a rare good guy. It’s pretty entertaining with some nice photography, and also consistently strange for its brief 75-minute run time. We also chat about diseases, FLETCH, and SO MUCH MORE! Check it out!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Wild in the Streets – Rabid Dogs (aka Kidnapped) (1974)

In 1974 Mario Bava was struggling after a series of financial failures and decided to turn towards a genre completely new to him: Poliziotteschi! Adapting a crime story by Michael J. Carroll, he was almost finished filming when the producer filed for bankruptcy, leaving the film to sit on a shelf for twenty years (well after Bava’s death in 1980). On this episode of WILD IN THE STREETS we take a look at the revived film RABID DOGS, which exists in FIVE different versions – most notably an unfinished workprint version and a re-edited version with new sequences filmed by Lamberto Bava retitled KIDNAPPED! Was it worth the wait, or should these dogs be put down? LISTEN AND FIND OUT!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Whatever Happened to Vic Diaz? – Daughters of Satan (1972)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ is BACK! On this episode Tom Selleck is an American museum curator in the Philippines who becomes obsessed with a painting of three witches being burned at the stake when he notices one eerily resembles his young wife Chris (Barra Grant) in 1972’s DAUGHTERS OF SATAN. What follows is SATANISM, witchery, a demon dog from HELL, and lots and lots of day-for-night filmmaking. Also.. the wonderful Vic Diaz as the fiendish antiques dealer Carlos Ching! Let’s explore it together, friends.

Cinema Smorgasbord – George Kennedy is my Copilot – Tick, Tick, Tick (1970)

On this episode of GEORGE KENNEDY IS MY CO-PILOT our merry trio is diving into the fiery drama TICK, TICK, TICK from 1970 starring Jim Brown, Fredric March, Clifton James and – of course – George Kennedy! Brown stars as the newly elected Sheriff of a very, very racist southern county, while Kennedy is the now ex-Sheriff who is semi-committed to keeping him alive. Spoiler: it’s not easy! Before that we discuss another George Kennedy commercial (for California-based tech company TOTLCOM), and try our darndest to make it interesting (did we succeed? listen and find out!)

Cinema Smorgasbord – Cinema Fantastica – Watchers (1988) & Leviathan (1989)

On this episode of Cinema Fantastica we travel all the way to Molins de Rei, near Barcelona, Spain to attend the 1990 edition of the Molins Horror Film Festival. Or, more accurately, we’re attending the Dotze hores de Cine de Terror de Molins de Rei, a ten hour marathon of recent horror movies that was initially established way back in 1973! The 1990 edition featured a slew of interesting horror films, and our hosts have chosen two to battle against each other: the super-intelligent dog chased by a sasquatch-monkey thing Canadian horror film WATCHERS from 1988 /w Corey Haim and Michael Ironside, and the star-studded underwater mutant monster film LEVIATHAN from 1989 /w Peter Weller, Ernie Hudson, Daniel Stern and more. WHICH FILM REIGNS SUPREME? Listen and find out!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Wild in the Streets – The Italian Connection (1972)

We’re getting WILD IN THE STREETS with Henry Silva and Woody Strode in Fernando Di Leo’s THE ITALIAN CONNECTION from 1972! Starring Mario Adorf as a Milanese pimp wanted by the mob for a crime he didn’t commit, it takes its time getting going, but eventually turns into a story of violent revenge, including one of the finest chase sequences you’re likely to ever see! We discuss some of our other favorite chase scenes, Liam’s crime connections and SO MUCH MORE. Check it out!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Eric Roberts is the Man – Babylon (2022)

On this episode of ERIC ROBERTS IS THE MAN we’re going all in on Damien Chazelle’s overstuffed ode to the silent era BABYLON, which stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Tobey Maguire and – of course – the man himself Eric Roberts! Filled with spewing bodily fluids, orgies, murder, rat eating and snake wrestling, it’s both an ode to the end of a cinematic era and a commentary on the current changing face of movie-going. Fun, right? I guess we’ll see! We also chat about drunk driving, guns, Michael Madsen, Guy Ritchie knock-offs and SO MUCH MORE. Check it out!