Remember when you first saw THIS?

There are images from films that stay with you forever…and perhaps no movie has ever included more of these shocking images than “The Exorcist.”

I have been asked several times about what I consider to be the most shocking films ever made: in terms of raw power and brilliant film making, the 70′s had a number of them: “The Exorcist” and “A Clockwork Orange” are two of the best examples:

Both films were considered controversial movies at the time…but brilliant as well: in fact, both “The Exorcist” and “A Clockwork Orange” were nominated for Best Picture.

Another extreme and controversial movie is the complete uncut “Straw Dogs”, which is also considered a masterpiece.

What makes these movies so controversial? The often taboo subject matter of course, especially in the context of their time. They all showed things on film that were beyond the pale at that point in time. I will never forget the shock when Dustin Hoffman sheds his pacifist skin and takes up arms against his enemies in “Straw Dogs” – in shockingly violent ways….

This sudden explosion of violence is not only shocking, it’s the moment when the audience is forced to take sides, and accept violence as a suitable – and as the film advocates – “necessary” alternative to peace…

And of course, the shocking rape scene is one of the most uncomfortable moments ever captured in film…Director Sam Peckinpah knew it would shock the audience, and it also traumatized Actress Susan George…

The film ends with an orgy of violence – including her chance to get revenge on those men who assaulted her…

These movies had shocking imagery, adult themes, and taboo subject matter – they pushed buttons and outraged censors.

“A Clockwork Orange” was nominated for Best Picture of 1971. The movie’s critical acclaim didn’t lessen its controversial nature, however. Shortly after the film’s release, Director Stanley Kubrick was shaken by an incident of “copycat violence” in his native England.

Kubrick asked Warner Brothers to withdraw the film from British distribution, disliking the allegation that the film was responsible for copycat violence in real life. The film went unseen in England for decades.

If you want to read all about Oscar’s X-Rated fixation, check out my post HERE:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/05/07/x-rated-butter-cowboys-droogs-oscars-x-flirtation/

Even today, Malcolm McDowell’s look in the film is iconic. And who can forget this image from “The Exorcist?”

In the decades since, there have been many shocking films released – many without artistic merit, but some that are challenging AND worthwhile…and I am going to discuss three recent examples now.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

I have to admit up front that some of you SHOULDN’T read this post: I am discussing three of the most shocking, extreme films ever released. There are many more of course, some of which (Irreversible, Anti-Christ, Trouble Every Day, The Human Centipede) I have written about in other posts. You might find these movies simply too extreme for your taste, and that is understandable.

However, for those who are adventurous, and willing to understand that some stories are told in an extreme way FOR AN ARTISTIC PURPOSE – whether they are easy to watch or not, then this post is for you.

Here are two of the most shocking and controversial films ever released to mainstream audiences – both can be found on DVD – they were theatrically released, and most importantly: they received rave reviews alongside with harsh criticism – they are controversial and polarizing, yet they are artistic statements with as many supporters as detarctors – and they are shocking.

Martyrs – 2008

This shocking French film is part of what is called “the new French extremism”. There are other examples, but this one has an ending that is both shocking and intellectual…Here is the original French trailer, which is GRAPHIC:

Here is the plot: Fifteen years after a horrifying experience of abduction and prolonged torture, Lucie embarks on a bloody quest for revenge against her oppressors. Along with her childhood friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse, she quickly descends, without hope, into madness and her own delusions.

The story of Anna and Lucie soon turns from one of revenge into something MUCH darker…

Mademoiselle: “Lucie was only a victim. Like all the others. It’s so easy to create a victim, young lady, so easy. You lock someone in a dark room. They begin to suffer. You feed that suffering. Methodically, systematically and coldly. And make it last. Your subject goes through a number of states. After a while, their trauma; that small, easily opened crack, makes them see things that don’t exist.”

“Martyrs” begins as a revenge action film, then abruptly shifts into a philosophical discussion of what is, in fact, a “martyr”…

Mademoiselle: “Martyrs are exceptional people. They survive pain, they survive total deprivation. They bear all the sins of the earth. They give themselves up. They transcend themselves… they are transfigured.”

The film was categorized as a new example of new era French horror films with regards to the level of violence it depicts. Others, such as “Inside” and “High Tension” (AKA Switchblade Romance) also break new ground in graphic imagery.

Todd Brown at Twitch called Martyrs “without a doubt the single most divisive film to screen in the Cannes Marche Du Film this year”.

It is a tough viewing experience, and haunting in many ways….

WARNING!

LAST CHANCE TO TURN AROUND!

Now it’s time to discuss what is, without a doubt, in my opinion the most extreme film that has ever been theatrically released…you have been WARNED.

A Serbian Film – 2010

First, here is the official US trailer – again, the trailer, like the film, is VERY GRAPHIC:

Every few years a movie is released that polarizes EVERYONE – so rough, so beyond the pale, that it prompts calls for legislative action – and in this case, prompted a Film Festival Executive to be ARRESTED simply for showing the film.

Here is the plot of “A Serbian Film”: In Serbia, the retired porn star Milos is married to wife Marija and they have a little son, Peter, that is their pride and joy.

The family is facing financial difficulties, but out of the blue, Milos is offered a job in an art film. Milos is introduced to the director Vukmir, who offers a millionaire contract to act in the film.

However, Vukmir will neither show the screenplay or tell the story of the film to Milos. He must accept it sight unseen. Milos discuss the proposal with Marija and he signs the contract. But soon he finds that Vukmir and his crew are involved in sick snuff films of pedophilia, necrophilia and torture – and Milos has to find a way to protect his family and save himself.

Here is how one Critic described the film: “‘A Serbian Film’ is an metaphor standing for the writers perception of Serbian government; how they are puppeteers; controlling everything around them. They deliberately showed their metaphor in an extreme way; to emphasize their opinion.”

A Meditation On A Police State…

In the press notes director Srdjan Spasojevic is quoted as saying “this is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government. It’s about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don’t want to do”. Taking place in a country that lives in the shadow of The Yugoslav Wars, the film’s metaphorical representation of the Serbian government and its nation during that time is not only apparent in the story but is overtly referenced in some dialogue passages (“Vukmir! Sounds like a name of one of our guys at the Hague tribunal”).

I agree the film is a metaphor – an extremely powerful one at that…but WOW! – this is simply the most shocking, controversial film ever released to mainstream theaters…Look at what has happened upon release:

The Serbian state prosecution opened an investigation to find out if the film violates the law. It was investigated for elements of crime against sexual morals and crime related to the protection of minors.

It was banned by a court in San Sebastián, Spain for “threatening sexual freedom” and thus could not be shown in the 21st Horror and Fantasy Film Festival. The film was shown at an adults-only screening at the Spanish Sitges Film Festival during October 2010. As a result, the festival’s director Ángel Sara was ARRESTED and charged with exhibiting child pornography by the Spanish prosecutor who decided to take action in May 2011 after receiving a complaint from a Roman Catholic organization over a pair of scenes involving the rapes of a young child and a newborn. The charges were later dropped.

On November 26, 2010, the film was refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, banning sales and public showings of the film in Australia. However, on April 5, 2011, the Australian Classification Board approved a censored version of the film. However, later in 2011, the censored version was also re-refused classification after review.

On July 12 and 16, 2011, the film was screened at FANTASPOA in Porto Alegre, Brazil and at least at one other film festival in the country, before being banned just before a screening in Rio de Janeiro. Initially the ban applied only in Rio, but afterwards the decision became valid throughout the country, pending further judgement of the film.

But Then There Are Awards, Too…

As controversial as this film is, it has also been critically acclaimed. On March 2011, A Serbian Film won the Special Jury Prize in the 31st edition of Fantasporto, Portugal’s biggest film festival, in Porto. It was banned in Norway on account of sexual representation of children and extreme violence in a fictional medium. It is one of the few modern day movies to be banned in Norway – the first since Takeshi Miike’s “Ichi The Killer” (2001)

I have seen reviews that apologized for making it to the end of the film – reviews that demanded you NOT TO WATCH - I can’t argue that, but now you know what the fuss is all about – it is, without question, the most extreme movie ever made.

Thanks for reading this look at the world’s most extreme films – I would love to hear your thoughts!

“Gene Hackman Attacks Lee Marvin With A Wheat Harvester Over A Very Naked Sissy Spacek!”

Talk about a film that sell itself! What you just read is the plot for “Prime Cut”, one of the most obscure and fascinating grindhouse classics of the early 70′s! And while Spacek was clothed in this chase sequence, she also spent alot of time like this!

Time to share this nasty little action picture – with two of the biggest stars of their day – and Sissy Spacek’s acting debut!

Prime Cut!

Lee Marvin was one of film’s all-time tough guys, and no more so than in this gritty thriller, where he saves a naked Sissy Spacek from the mob…here’s a teaser:

Lee Marvin plays his toughest role ever, as an “Enforcer” for the Mob, who heads to Kansas City to get the money that Gene Hackman owes the Mob..

Oh yeah, Hackman’s not really interested in paying back what he owes…and from then on out, the fight is on!

Hackman plays a cattle rancher who not only grinds his enemies into sausage, but sells women as sex slaves, and yes, he keeps them penned up…like I said, this is a dirty little grindhouse film!

The movie was considered highly risqué for its time based on its level of violence, as well as its graphic depiction of female slavery, including a scene depicting the auctioning of young women in the manner of beef cattle.

Gene Hackman digs into his role as the bad guy, just one year after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for “The French Connection!”

The King Of Cool!

There’s no doubt that Lee Marvin was the “King Of Cool.” He also won Best Actor a few years earlier, for his comedic work in “Cat Ballou!”

Marvin was also the star of the seminal 60′s action thriller “Point Blank”, and it’s Marvin’s turn once again to kick ass and takes no prisoners in “Prime Cut”.

There is a scene where Marvin and Sissy Spacek are chased through a wheat field by a shredder…a great action sequence.

Marvin and Spacek have a great rapport in the film, as he takes on a “father figure” role to help her escape from the bad guys…

A couple of years before she catapulted to stardom in “Carrie”, Sissy Spacek co-stars, and does a great job in the role…

This was Sissy Spacek’s feature film debut – and involves a lot of nudity. She is not only one of the naked “penned” girls, but spends most of her time wearing a see through dress…

I’m not sure if she remembers this film fondly, but she got to work with two acting legends right out of the gate! Marvin and Gene Hackman have a number of great scenes together, a couple of tough guys chewing up the scenery in a great B-movie.

“Prime Cut” is one of the more obscure action movies of the early 70′s, but it delivers the goods!

It’s “Forgotten Movie Monday”! Time to rediscover a classic slice of cinema!

The phrase “Catch-22″ is probably one of the most iconic in history, but do you know what it means?

“That’s some catch that catch-22.”
“One of the best!”

Well, we are about to explore the origin of the phrase, and also re-discover one of the most neglected films of the 1970′s…

“Catch -22″ was a massive bestselling novel, turned into the blackest of black comedies by one of the film’s greatest Directors. It was also one of the biggest flops of the 70′s! Yes, the cult novel turned literary sensation was a massive box office disaster upon release – and it is a brilliant black comedy action war movie, from one of the greatest novels ever written…time to rediscover a classic movie:

Catch-22!

Talk about a catch: a film based on one of the world’s most acclaimed anti-war novels, released at the height of the country’s anti-war movement over Vietnam, and it was directed by the hottest movie Director working at the time, with an all-star cast…

Maj. Major Major Major: Is something wrong?
Tappman: No, no. I . . . just thought I saw something.
Maj. Major Major Major: A naked man in a tree?
Tappman: Yes, that’s it.
Danby: [looking through binoculars] That’s just Yossarian.

As you can see, Yossarian was no fan of World War 2 – and he wanted OUT.

In 1970, on the heels of the success of “MASH”, anti-war statements were the rage. So acclaimed Director Mike Nichols took on one of the most celebrated novels of our time.

Here is the unique trailer from 1970, which shows the scene that explains exactly what “Catch-22″ is:

“Catch-22″ tells the story of Yossarian, a WW2 bomber pilot who desperately wants to stop flying. But there’s a catch…

Yossarian: “Let me see if I’ve got this straight: in order to be grounded, I’ve got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I’m not crazy any more and I have to keep flying.”

Crazy pilots were grounded. But “Catch-22″ required the pilots to request being grounded. But if they made the request, they were no longer crazy, so they had to keep flying…as I said:

“That’s Some Catch, That Catch-22!”

This movie had it all: Director Mike Nichols was coming off his Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Director for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff” and his Oscar win for directing “The Graduate.” Here is the director on the set of “Catch-22″ with Orson Welles…

Nichols was the hottest Director in film at the time, and his movies captured perfectly the changing culture in America, and so, with “CAtch-22″ he was determined to capture the madness of war…

The novel was one of the most acclaimed works of fiction of the 60′s – a scathing anti-war book at a time when the country was divided over our involvement in Vietnam…

Robert Altman’s masterpiece “MASH” had been released to critical and commercial acclaim, and it seemed the country was ready for another anti-war film…with an all-star cast…

Look At This Cast!

Nichols took this acclaimed novel and created a darkly comic look at war, and populated it with a “who’s who” of the time. Look at the stars who lined up to be in the film:

The cast included Alan Arkin, Bob Newhart, Richard Benjamin, Charles Grodin, Jon Voight, Art Garfunkel, Bob Balaban, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen and legendary Director Orson Welles:

– that’s right, ORSON WELLES, here being interviewed by Director Peter Bogdanovich on-set while Candace Bergen takes a photo – it was the biggest, loudest, most star-studded movie of it’s time!

The Simon & Garfunkel Rift!

Here is great trivia, courtesy of IMDB: “Since shooting took longer than planned, Art Garfunkel wasn’t able to make it back to New York in time to start writing and recording the Simon & Garfunkel album “Bridge Over Troubled Water”!

Angered by the delay, Paul Simon wrote the track “The Only Living Boy in New York” about the incident. The lyrics

“Tom, get your plane right on time / I know your part’ll go fine / Fly down to Mexico”

were a thinly veiled attack aimed at Garfunkel (who was “Tom” of Simon & Garfunkel’s earlier incarnation, Tom & Jerry), leaving Simon alone in New York to write the bulk of the album himself.”

Jon Voight as Milo Minderbinder!

One of the best parts of the book and film involves 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder, who is obsessed with making money from the war. Here, Minderbinder, played by Jon Voight, tries to explain to Alan Arkin that a few “adjustments” to the men’s food rations could make them rich:

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: I want to serve this to the men. Taste it and let me know what you think.

[Yossarian takes a bite]

Yossarian: What is it?

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Chocolate covered cotton.

Yossarian: What are you, crazy?

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: No good, huh?

Yossarian: For Christ’s sake, you didn’t even take the seeds out.

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Is it really that bad?

Yossarian: It’s cotton!

“Catch-22″ had it all, and when it was released, it bombed spectacularly! Dark comedy and satire is tough to pull off, and the film is unflinching in its depiction of war – it is also a very hard “R” rating for the time…and America rejected it!

This surreal nightmare of a war film is not perfect, but there are some amazing sequences in the film, as well as many disturbing images…it’s a black comedy with a social sting, and it is worth discovering – especially since the DVD special edition includes a conversation between Director Mike Nichols and Director Steven Soderbergh, who is a huge fan of the film!

If you are a fan of black comedy, and want to see a movie that puts it all out there – no matter how tough it may be to take – then this is the movie for you!

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce myself. My name is Rupert Pupkin. I was born in Clifton, New Jersey… which was not at that time a federal offense.”

Hello, Rupert! You Look Great For Your Age!

If you don’t know that image, you have missed one of the greatest films ever made – a searing look at the pursuit of fame and the price that celebrities pay for stardom.

And now, for the 30th anniversary of this classic film, a new blu-ray gives you more Scorsese, more Pupkin, and much much more!

Behold The Kings Of Comedy!

Last year, a classic cinematic reunion took place, and it is the centerpiece of a new, 30th anniversary blu-ray that you must get!

What an amazing event! The Tribeca film festival held the 30th anniversary screening of “The King Of Comedy” last year – and then hosted a “once in a lifetime” discussion afterwards…more on that in a moment, but first:

The King Of Comedy

Without a doubt, one of the best films ever made – released in 1982, and the points that the film makes about the relationship between star and fan is never more true today…especially when you consider “how” Rupert Pupkin becomes a “star”…

Here is the trailer:

Rupert Pupkin: “The more scribbled the name, the bigger the fame.”

Robert DeNiro has never been better! DeNiro stars as aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin – who wants to achieve success in showbiz, by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Look at the opening title: Talk Show Host Jerry Langford’s hands up against the glare of the cameras – and Rupert Pupkin’s determined look inside the limo – where he yearns to be…

Pupkin idolizes late night King Jerry Langford, played brilliant by legendary comic actor Jerry Lewis…but of course, what Rupert sees as a budding friendship is little more than a fan stalking a star…and the moments when you see Rupert “hosting” his own talk show – in his basement with cardboard cutouts of stars – simply brilliant:

It comes to a head when Langford has to tell Pupkin to leave him alone, which leads to this exchange:

Rupert Pupkin: I’m gonna work 50 times harder, and I’m gonna be 50 times more famous than you.

Jerry Langford: Then you’re gonna have idiots like you plaguing your life!

Sandra Bernhard’s Debut!

Comedian Sandra Bernhard makes an incendiary debut as a young socialite who is friends with Pupkin – and who has her own designs on late night Host Langford…

“You Should Get Cancer! I Hope You Get Cancer!”

The film really digs into the cult of celebrity – and the price you pay for fame….

When Jerry Langford is walking down the street, he is stopped by a woman talking on the telephone. When Jerry refuses to talk to someone on the phone, the lady says I hope you get cancer. This incident actually happened to Jerry Lewis. According to Scorsese, Lewis directed this segment himself!

And of course, things spiral horribly out of control – as Rupert Pupkin decides there is really only ONE way to become a star – and the film really captures the cult of celebrity and the downside of fame…

Rupert Pupkin: Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.

The King Of Comedy Reunion!

To acknowledge the 30th anniversay of this classic film, The Tribeca Film Festival held a screening, followed by a Q&A involving Scorsese, DeNiro and Lewis…

The reunion was a big big night for the Tribeca film festival – especially considering that “King Of Comedy” was a huge box office flop at its time of release – especially since “Raging Bull” had been the previous Scorsese/DeNiro collaboration – and was considered a masterpiece.

Now, “The King Of Comedy” has grown to become a true masterpiece as well…the only disappointment to the night was Bernhard’s inability to attend:

Bernhard did, however, send a video message to be played at the event…and if you want to hear how “tense” the relationship between Lewis and Bernhard is – here is a link to a great write up from Movieline that details it all…including a short clip from the event!

http://movieline.com/2013/04/30/the-king-of-comedy-tribeca-video-jerry-lewis-sandra-bernhard/

And Now, “The King” Goes Blu!

To celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, and new blu-ray is out that shows all of the material I just mentioned!

The 30th anniversary of “The King Of Comedy” is now out on blu-ray, with these special features:

Tribeca Film Festival: A Conversation with Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Jerry Lewis – yes, the entire conversation is included on the blu-ray!

A Shot to the Top: The Making of The King of Comedy – a documentary on the making of this iconic film

Deleted And Extended Scenes – great never-before-seen scenes from the film!

Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot – you know, how they originally sold the film – and a good look at why it didn’t work!

I already have my copy, and if you are a movie fan, you will get yours as well…Congrats to the entire creative team behind this neglected masterpiece!

“…More Sexually Disturbed Than ‘SYBIL’! More Faces Than ‘The 3 Faces Of Eve!’”

Now how can you argue with a film that describes itself like THAT?

A Saint, A Woman, A Devil!

OK, there are ALMOST no words to describe this ultra-obscure’70′s sexploitation classic! First, check out this vintage trailer!

There is nothing more satisfying that uncovering a slice of cinema that is SO OBSCURE AND YET SO TWISTED – that you cannot believe it took until now to unearth! It’s enough to drive you mad – or at least bring a twisted smile to your face!

Thanks to the twisted minds at Vinegar Syndrome, “A Saint, A Woman, A Devil” is now available to experience at home! Vinegar Syndrome has saved a number of obscure cult films for offbeat movie fans, and this is no exception. He is how they describe their new release:

One of the oddest mixes of drive-in craziness and steamy action, “RAGING BULL” co-writer Peter Savage’s sleazy adaptation of “THE THREE FACES OF EVE” finally comes to home video fully uncut with all the mind-boggling plot twists and sex-filled fun fully intact!

Young Sylvia is a good, pure Christian, but her friends and family are noticing strange things happening to her. Sylvia is experiencing sudden transformations from a church going innocent into a sex-obsessed vixen, violently seducing every man (and woman) in sight!

Shocked by these episodes, her beautiful sister seeks help from a psychiatrist (played by director Peter Savage) and the two of them begin to explore the dark secrets in Sylvia’s past that have lead to her unnatural sexual awakening.

Better known under its re-issue title of SYLVIA, Vinegar Syndrome brings this sexy cult film to DVD in its original cut and under its original title, A SAINT, A WOMAN, A DEVIL! And that’s enough to bring a smile to your face!

And thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, there are many more classic sexploitation films to check out!

Yes, there are classic grindhouse films like “Massage Parlor Hookers” AKA “Massage Parlor Murders” now out on blu-ray thanks to Vinegar!

Read all about this classic slice of exploitation by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/07/02/70s-sin-ema-massage-parlor-murders-ursula-gets-naked-gritty-grindhouse-classics/

And don’t forget, Vinegar Syndrome also rescued this obscurity from oblivion!

You need to check out this classic film – click on my link to read all about it!

http://johnrieber.com/2014/02/25/the-telephone-book-a-legendary-mind-blowing-obscure-cult-classic/

Time to celebrate one of cinema’s greatest Producers – RIP to iconic Movie Master Harry Novak – who entertained the world with a classic array of hits like THESE!

Yes, some of the greatest films ever made – from a time when the title and tagline for a film were as important as what was in it! Because as you can see, it was:

“A CITY RIPPED APART BY SIN AND LUST!”

Thanks to legendary film Producer Harry Novak, we will always have these classic slices of cinema to enjoy – because Harry helped blow the doors off cinema! RIP Harry, you will be missed – let’s remember how he heated up movie theaters forever!

Sexploitation Lives!

Harry Novak is one of the most influential Producers in movie history. Why? Easy! How can you not love a guy who was behind a film like this?

It’s just one of the deliciously wicked films from the mind of Novak. To fully appreciate his impact, a quick bit of history…back to a time when seeing a salacious film was more difficult, more daring…and very dangerous for the people making them!

Enter The Glory Years Of Exploitation!

In the 60′s and 70′s, exploitation films – also known as “sexploitation” movies – were the cheapest, sleaziest films there were: low budget, often poorly made, and often dubbed european films that were shown exclusively in inner city “grindhouses”…

In big cities, especially New York’s Times Square, these downtown movie theaters were open 24 hours a day, and didn’t care WHAT was going on in the seats – seeing a film here was a dangerous sport! And the movies that were shown were “grinding out” all day and night – usually a gratuitous mix of non-stop sex and violence…hence the term “grindhouse”:

And they were aiming for one thing, and one thing only…to satisfy a PURIENT INTEREST:

Here is the definition of PRURIENT: “Having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.”

Well then, there you go. And Harry was about to satisfy a lot more than that!

Movies like “Scream In The Streets” were designed to tease and titillate – and also WARN everyone about the dangers of promiscuity…remember, when these movies were shown, there were no “hardcore” movies in theaters – nudity and sex were a dangerous mix…

So these “sexploitation” films were a legal outlet for pent up sexual repression – and presented as “sex education”, therefore slipping back local censors…

In those early days, these films were always presented as if they were made for one reason only: to warn you of the dangers lurking in the big city!

It was a wild time for all – along with Times Square, these movies were routinely booked in drive-in theaters in the midwest and south, with lurid come-on advertising – and in many cases they high-tailed it out of town with the police close behind.

Celebrate Exploitation!

I do not apologize at all for my love of “grindhouse” films: these movies celebrate sex, violence, and – well – MORE sex and violence, but they are an important part of our cinematic history, for they helped open the doors to much more “adult” film making. I mean, who can argue with titles like these:

Harry Novak was a master in making money off sex – as you see, often with a sense of humor! Appreciate them for what they are – the opening of the door to a new world of freedom in movie making that now results in “anything goes”…

And Thanks To Harry Novak, It DID!

Here is a look at three of Harry’s sexploitation masterpieces – beginning with one that was so iconic it even go the attention of the President Of The United States!

Mantis In Lace – 1968

She loved them…and loved them…and loved them…TO DEATH!

Look at this! President Obama and VP Biden enjoying a burger in a shop that never stops celebrating this film!!!!

Time to meet the sexy cast of “Mantis In Lace!”

The plot of “Mantis In Lace” is pure Novak: Lila (played by Susan Stewart) is a good-natured go-go dancer who strips at a seedy topless bar on the Sunset Strip. After ingesting LSD, Lila becomes a psychopathic serial killer!

Read This Carefully!

Now listen to how crazy this plot gets: she continues to pick up men at the bar where she is employed, but:

after her sanity is lost she routinely is interrupted mid-coitus by psychedelic bad trips in which she visualizes a balding, half-naked old man clutching wads of cash in one hand and a bunch of bananas in the other.

Yes, you read that right!

These psychotic episodes cause her to murder her partners by stabbing them with a screwdriver and dismembering them with a rusty meat cleaver (or in one case, a garden hoe) while imagining that she is cutting up cantaloupes and watermelons. As you can see from this VHS cover, they had no problem selling the seddier elements of this movie!

Sexploitation King Harry Novak produced and distributed a prolific number of exploitation films from the early 60s to the mid-70s, including “Mantis in Lace” – which exemplified the wacky theatrics that went into selling sex in the late 60′s and 70′s.

Novak’s later films straddled the line between hardcore and softcore pornography by featuring both full frontal nudity by both women and men – something that had never been seen before in a movie theatre!

Novak was one of the first to push the envelope for adult content in movies…using the “educational tone” of his movies to fight obscenity charges….

After the floodgates were open, Novak expanded by heading out to the country for some fun:

Talk About “Driving A Hard Bargain!”

I mean, look at that poster! As a producer, Novak expanded his taste for film, and his most popular late-period genres were rural comedies like “The Pigskeeper’s Daughter”…

Thanks to Something Weird, a great double bill DVD exists!

Sassy Sue / The Pigkeeper’s Daughter

Come on down to the farm for some fun! Producer Harry Novak was a legend for his lowest-common denominator approach to film making, which resulted in movies like these playing all over the country to “excitable” teen boys:

Yes, girls down on the farm who just want to have a “roll in the hay.” Thanks to the terrific company Something Weird Video, these classic sexploitation films live on.

As you would imagine, the plots are simple: “Sassy Sue” tells the story of Pa, a moonshining chicken farmer, who is worried that his dim-witted son Junior is becoming way more attracted to their cow Sassy Sue than he should be, so he sets out to gather up all the nubile young farm girls in the area and get them to show Junior what he’s missing. And they do, trust me.

The special edition includes: Country Bumpkin Trailers for these movies, plus “Country Cuzzins,” “Country Hooker,” “Midnite Plowboy,” “Southern Comforts” and “Tobacco Roody” – plus, a bonus Southern-Style 32-Minute Theatrical Featurette: “The Old Man’s Bride”.

Buy this and you will thank me the longest day of your life!

In addition to producing films about America, Novak would also bring classic european sexploitation to America, leading to what I consider the craziest slice of “euro-sleaze” ever unleashed upon America!

“A young bride, left alone to the lewd passions of an evil dwarf!”

The film’s releasing company was called “Box Office International”, which was Harry’s film company, and the film is “presented by Harry Novak” – in other words, Harry went overseas to keep his sexploitation madness alive in America!

Here is the plot of this twisted masterpiece: Diminutive former kiddie-show host Torben Bille – who looks disturbingly like Jack Black in a trash compactor – stars as a young man who takes a special interest in the female guests at his mother’s boarding house…

Yes, that is Torben Bille – “The Sinful Dwarf” – who stars as the pint-sized pervert who imprisons drugged teenage sex slaves in the attic of his drunken mother’s decrepit rooming house…and that’s just the first ten minutes!

Poor Anne Sparrow!

Just look at this description from the cover art:

“The delicious Anne Sparrow – in her first and understandably only screen role – co-stars in this towering achievement in graphic depravity, now fully restored from a 35mm print discovered hidden in a janitor’s closet at the Danish Film Institute!”

Anne Sparrow certainly had a good reason NEVER TO ACT AGAIN – in classic euro-sleaze style, she is abducted and abused by our Sinful Dwarf – while her husband naively looks for a job…

Oh, did I mention that his Mom is CRAZY – and yes, she SINGS! Happy Mother’s Day indeed! You will never clean your ears the same way again…

And yes, that’s right – this movie was not only found in a janitor’s closet in Denmark – but they chose not to throw it out!

You will never see a more bizarre film than “The Sinful Dwarf” – and yes, it’s a euro-sleazy as they come…this is grindhouse at its best – or worst!

Novak went on to produce more films throughout the 70′s and 80′s , but these were his “exploitation masterpieces”…from his first :Kiss Me Quick”:

To one of his last, with the classic tagline:

“Let’s Play Hide And Go Kill!”

RIP Harry Novak – your twisted movie madness will be missed!

“Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth!”

Cult movie fans know that Sam Jones WAS “Flash Gordon!’ But did you know this: those are the words that led to “Star Wars!”

There, do I have your “fanboy” attention now? Time to tell a fascinating story about a classic sci-fi movie – and a classic “cult” film that was an inspiration…

How “Flash Gordon” Created “Star Wars!”

It’s a great story, almost as great as both movies are! First, a comedic sidebar, courtesy of this guy:

I was one of many who LOVED Seth MacFarlane’s comedy “Ted” – one of the funniest and most profane movies of all time…as “Ted” himself was eager to admit…

And of course, the film had one of the greatest cameos of all time as well!

Sam J. Jones: “We are gonna party like the 80s.”

Ted: “Show us how, Flash!”

Sam J. Jones: “Easy. We just gonna nail a lot of girls named Stephanie.”

In addition to being hilarious, “Ted” also shared an affection for “Flash Gordon” by including a small but hilarious part for Sam J. Jones, the star of “Flash Gordon”, who showed his willingness to go “over the top” and embrace Ted’s wild side!

Now only did Sam act perfectly alongside his stuffed buddy, but he was willing to become “Flash Gordon” again – as we first see him in “Ted” arriving at a party dressed as Flash!

So what does this have to do with “Star Wars?” Well, here is a fascinating piece of trivia, courtesy of the terrific website IMDB.

George Lucas Loves Flash Gordon!

George Lucas had hoped to remake the original Flash Gordon film from 1936 – in fact, “Flash Gordon” serials were very popular at that time…

How “Flash” Became “Luke!”

George Lucas had already directed “THX-1138″ and “American Graffiti” – and was eager to take on “Flash” – but when he learned that Dino De Laurentiis had already bought the rights, he wrote “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” instead!

Can you imagine how “Flash Gordon” would have turned out under Lucas’s direction? And that is no disrespect to the team behind “Flash”, but clearly his love of science fiction would have made “Flash” a great success…

Still, there is now a huge group of people who love what WAS the film version of George’s passion:

How can you NOT love a movie with this plot: A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

Well, OK!

And of course, the film has become a cult classic – everything from the music to “Ming The Merciless”, to great dialogue like this!

Flash Gordon: This Ming is a psycho!
Ming’s Floating Servant: This Ming is a psycho.
Klytus: Who said that?
Ming’s Floating Servant: The fair-haired prisoner.
Klytus: Who are you?
Flash Gordon: Flash Gordon. Quarterback. New York Jets.
Dale Arden: Dale Arden, Your Highness. Live and let live, that’s my motto.

Introducing Sam Jones!

Sam J. Jones was cast in the role after being spotted by the mother-in-law of Dino De Laurentiis on an episode of The Dating Game!

According to IMDB, you might love the way Sam looks, but that doesn’t mean you know how he sounds! Most of Sam J. Jones’s dialog was dubbed. This was down to the fact that Jones had had a falling out with producer Dino De Laurentiis over lack of payment and refused to go into the recording studio to loop his lines!

Director Mike Hodges, referring to the numerous production problems that plagued the film, once called it “the only improvised $27-million movie ever made”.

In the original script, when Flash is sentenced to death by Ming, Dale bursts out that Ming is “absolutely merciless”. Ming is enthralled with the description, and immediately starts calling himself “Ming the Merciless”.

Another great bit of trivia: Max von Sydow’s Ming costume weighed over 70 pounds and he could only stand in it for a few minutes at a time.

Ming’s Floating Servant: Long live Flash! You’ve saved your Earth. Have a nice day.

Flash Gordon: [leaps into the air] Yeah!

Cue The Killer Queen!

One other classic aspect of “Flash Gordon” is the musical soundtrack, written and performed by Queen!

It is one of Queen’s great songs, even if it is very short…it has the perfect Queen sound, and it fits the style and tone of the movie perfectly! Here is the music video that captures the band recording the song:

Unfortunately, “Flash” Was No Luke Skywalker…

Obviously, “Flash Gordon” was not a huge box office success…but fans have found it over the years, which is one reason “Ted” was so affectionate towards Sam…

And of course, “Star Wars” did OK for itself…and now fans wait breathlessly for “Episode VII” from JJ Abrams:

And fans will keep “Star Wars” alive forver, whether it’s thru bacon:

Or dressing up like Princess Leia – as Olivia Munn did for G4:

To read all about THAT adventure in a galaxy far, far away – well, you can click on here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/11/09/official-star-wars-vii-release-date-olivia-munn-as-princess-leia-bloopers-bacon-darth-vader-fans-galaxy-of-star-wars/

Thanks as always to Olivia for stepping up for the good of the galaxy!

And thanks once again to Sam Jones for his terrific work alongside Mark Wahlberg and “Ted!”

You know the song…

“Here We Come…Walking Down The street…We Get The Funniest Looks From Everyone We Meet…”

Yes, they were manufactured by TV…but it was Jack Nicholson who gave them HEAD!

They were one of the 60′s most popular bands – and they made a movie, too – that was written by Jack Nicholson!

“Hey hey we are the Monkees, you know we aim to please. A manufactured image with no philosophies!”

Yes, that is Jack Nicholson sitting with The Monkees – listening as they play some classic Monkee music – and saying Jack’s lines, because he wrote the quote above!

Jack Nicholson, Screenwriter For The Monkees!

Yep, it’s true: Davy, Peter, Michael and Mickey all starred in a movie that was written by Jack Nicholson! Yes, it is time to share one of Jack Nicholson’s most obscure efforts – as a Screenwriter for The Monkees! Or, as Peter Tork would say:

“Let me tell you one thing son. Nobody ever lends money to a man with a sense of humor.”

Time To Celebrate “Head!”

If you haven’t heard of this cult classic slice of pop psychedelia, check out the movie trailer!

In the 60′s based on the phenomenon known as The Beatles, a smart US TV Producer decided to make a show about a pop band – and they created The Monkees:

They were an immediate pop sensation, with such classic hits as “Last Train To Clarksville”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and, of course:

“Hey Hey We’re The Monkees!”

After years on TV and a slew of hit songs,t he group decided to go in a more experimental direction, which led to:

Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Mike, Davy Jones: “Hey hey we are the Monkees, you know we aim to please. A manufactured image with no philosophies!”

The Monkees made a film that was one of the most neglected psychodelic gems of the “flower power” generation. Here is how the great website IMDB TRIES to explain the plot of “Head”:

“Running in from seemingly nowhere, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith & Peter Tork – better known collectively as The Monkees – disrupt a bridge opening ceremony. From where and why did they come to disrupt the proceedings? They were filming a series of vignettes in several different genres, including a wild west sequence, a desert war sequence, a Confederate war sequence, and a science fiction sequence.

They disagree with much of what is happening around them, and try to figure out how to escape the oppression they feel – symbolized by a big black box in which they are seemingly imprisoned – by the forces around. “

Well, there you go – but really, does it matter what the plot is? It was a chance for Jack Nicholson to hang out with The Monkees, and write a screenplay for them! It included lines like this:

Peter Tork: “Everybody’s where they wanna be.”

Micky Dolenz: “That is a particularly inept thing to say, Peter, considering that we are in a vacuum cleaner.”

Here is some great trivia about the film: the movie’s origin was in Ojai, California, where The Monkees, producer/director Bob Rafelson and writer Jack Nicholson spent a weekend in a resort motel verbally tossing story ideas into a tape recorder. This became the script for the movie.

Co-writer Jack Nicholson actually compiled the movie soundtrack in its final form, with snippets of the movie dialogue between songs, and is so credited on the album cover. (When he saw Michael Nesmith at work in the studio and asked if he could help, Nesmith let him take over, because “I just want to go home”.)

Nicholson had unwavering enthusiasm for the movie, joining in a stickering campaign to promote the premiere, and declaring later that “I saw it, like, 158 million times, man. I loved it!”

A misleading ad campaign, combined with a poorly timed release date of 6 November 1968, two months after The Monkees TV show was canceled, led to a box office disaster. According to IMDB, “Head” only grossed $16,111 in ticket sales!

Cue The Special Box Set!

Although a huge bomb when it was released, time has been very good to “Head.”

The film is available on DVD with bonus material, and there is a huge box set with all of the film’s music, lots of outtakes, and bonus material!

And of course, Michael Nesmith wrote some of the band’s music – and he also went on to have an incredible solo career – including creating MTV!

If you don’t know the story about Michael Nesmith’s solo career, you are missing a lot! Read all about Nesmith and the beginning of MTV by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/11/14/elvis-drugs-michael-nesmith-the-dawn-of-mtv-elephant-parts-the-monkees/

And enjoy the classic, hilarious Nesmith project “Elephant Parts!”

Have You Heard Of This Classic Genre Of Exploitation?

I am a big fan of all sorts of exploitation films, and this genre is a great one for me – get ready to go down under for some “Ozploitation!”

“A Time When Admission Was Cheap – And The Thrills Even Cheaper!”

Well, if The Village Voice says it, it must be true! And now, there is a compilation of movie trailers that celebrate Australia’s “anything goes” era of film from Australia!

I can’t wait to watch them all! Check out this trailer for “Dead End Drive-In!”

How can you top that for exploitation fun? It’s got, blood, sex AND Aussie accents, and it’s just one of the many pleasures to be found HERE!

Yes, this is an amazingly fun collection of “65 jaw-dropping vintage coming attractions of sex, action & horror from down under!

The exploitation era in Australia is a fascinating one – weird, offbeat films – and very colorful characters in front of and behind the camera!

“Not Quite Hollywood!”

Dozens of vintage exploitation trailers await you on the trailer collection – and if you need more, check out this documentary all about this era of Australian film making:

This is a great docu, telling the story of a wild era in film…really worth checking out…as is this classic look at 70′s sexy Australia…

You can read my story about some of the wildest 70′s sexcapades ever, including a documentary about sex in Australia….

http://johnrieber.com/2012/04/06/how-can-i-offend-you-best-documentaries-pt-2/

And you also need to check out one of the most disturbing Australian films of the early 70′s – a brutal look at the hard drinking Australian outback!

Wake In Fright!

This classic cult film from Australia is included in the “Ozploitaiton Explosion”, but if you want to read more about it, click on here!

http://jrsploitation.com/2014/01/18/alcoholic-aussies-sci-fi-head-trip-obscure-70s-films-saved/

It’s a rough, tough and sometimes shocking look at the outback!

Time to enjoy some “Ozploitation!”

Laura Nyro’s Monterey Pop Performance Lives!

One of music’s greatest concerts includes a controversial performance by one of music’s greatest singer / songwriters!

Welcome To Monterey Pop!

First, let’s remember what an amazing music event Monterey Pop was. This legendary California music festival was actually pre-Woodstock – it was held at the height of the “summer of love” in 1967 – and it is perhaps most well-known for launching the careers of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Mama Cass of The Mamas & The Papas is shown in the film being blown away while watching Joplin sing.

Among the incredible performances at the event are those by The Who, Buffalo Springfield, Otis Redding, Jefferson Airplane and Simon & Garfunkel. The resulting documentary is a perfect time capsule of the the “summer of love”, and a great look at the greatest artists of that time…

The concert was captured in a classic documentary – with all of the performances, the personalities, and the hippie “flower power” of the time…and of course, all of the music….well, not quite:

Laura Nyro’s On The Cutting Room Floor!

As amazing as the documentary “Monterey Pop” is in capturing this seminal music event, they left this brilliant singer/songwriter out! Let’s look at what happened, and the fascinating myth behind it:

In 1967, Laura Nyro was one of the hottest new talents in music. Still, she was making only her second major live appearance at Monterey Pop. Laura performed “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Poverty Train” and “Eli’s Coming”…yes, she wrote the song turned into a #1 hit by Three Dog Night! Nyro performed the three songs, but here is what they say on The Criterion Collection blu-ray about what happened next:

“Not all of the amazing acts from the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival made it into the final cut of D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Monterey Pop. Among the casualties was Laura Nyro, who gave one of the more notorious performances.”

Why Notorious? The Myth Uncovered!

According to Criterion, a myth has built up that, after performing her three songs, Nyro left the stage in tears, convinced she had been booed — even though this has been disputed over the years! The great news is that her performance has been restored! In this footage from her set — included in the two hours of outtakes in the blu-ray collector’s edition of the documentary, you don’t hear any boos – and Criterion points out that, if you listen closely, you hear a “Beautiful!” or two from the audience!

The Legend Grows…

Over the years, the legend grew that Laura was booed off the stage at Monterey. This was widely reported in the biggest music magazines, like Rolling Stone at the time – and the myth stuck! Amazingly, it was even mentioned in several of Nyro’s obituaries after her death in 1997.

Judge for yourself! Here is one of her GREAT performances from the Monterey Pop Festival:

No Charge Singing!

One last piece of trivia from IMDB: “Most of the artists played for free and were only paid for their expenses – the only performer who was paid for his performance was Ravi Shankar. When John Phillips and Lou Adler took over the promotion of the festival from the original promoters, they decided to honor Shankar’s original contract.”

So Laura probably sang for free, got a warm reception, but the myth lived on! And, according to the film maker, Nyro may have had a hand in that!

This is fascinating to me: even though this myth stayed with Laura her entire life, the footage of her performance now seen on the blu-ray release shows that the singer clearly received a warm round of applause from the audience. Perhaps the fact the performance didn’t make the original theatrical cut allowed the myth to flourish….

And, As For Laura’s Role In That…

According to the Criterion Collection blu-ray, the documentary’s Director, legendary film maker D.A. Pennebaker believes Nyro imagined the negative reaction, and may have even helped spread the rumor herself. They don’t give an example, so it is just presented as a theory from the Director. I cannot find anything from Nyro on this subject, but it is a fascinating myth that is now cleared up by the concert footage…

Another interesting piece of trivia from the film: this was the next to last performance for The Mamas and the Papas. They performed one more time before breaking up a few months later.

And if you need more proof just how talented Nyro was, here it is: from youtube, here is Laura Nyro’s earliest recording of her classic song “And When I Die” from 1966, when she was just eighteen years old!

Thanks to S. Adam Bernstein for posting this online! It’s just one of many great live performances you can find, including such Nyro classics as “Stony End”, “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Stond Soul Picnic.”

I just went on iTunes and bought a great live collection from Nyro, and I encourage you to do the same. And of course, I wrote a story about Laura’s collaboration with my other favorite artist, Todd Rundgren! Todd not only produced one of her later albums, he recorded a tribute to her as well…

You can read all about it by clicking here….

http://johnrieber.com/2013/10/25/brilliant-laura-nyro-todd-rundgrens-muse-their-beautiful-musical-history-together/

If you have additional trivia or information to share about Nyro’s performance at Monterey Pop, feel free to share. And of course, let me know what your favorite Laura Nyro songs are!

Movie Lovers Rejoice! A “Lost” Classic Is Here!

You know the story: A brilliant Director follows up his greatest work by making a “difficult” film that is lost to time…until it is rediscovered as a masterpiece…

Behold “Sorcerer!” The Classic Action Suspense Is Back In Blu!

Time to celebrate one of the greatest film Directors of all time – and the release of one of his “lost” classics on blu-ray!

Celebrating William Friedkin!

Director William Friedkin has had an amazing career – including the greatest horror film ever made!

William Friedkin directed “The Exorcist” – the scariest film of all time – a classic that gets better every time you watch it!

“The Exorcist” was released in 1973, a high point in the Director’s career. The tim was nominated for Best Picture, and he was nominated for Best Director. He had also just won the Best Director Oscar along with Best Picture in 1971 for one of the greatest chase movies ever made, “The French Connection”:

Friedkin Goes “Cruising”:

He would go on to direct Al Pacino in one of his most controversial roles ever – as an undercover cop who gets “too undercover” in Friedkin’s gritty, leather-bound thriller “Cruising” – the “Basic Instinct” of its time:

And Of Course, His “Lost” masterpiece, “Sorcerer!”

More on Friedkin’s other great films in a moment, but now, let’s look at his “lost” classic – his 1977 remake of the brilliant french film “The Wages Of Fear”:

“Sorcerer” Goes Blu!

And now the blu-ray release is here! Let’s look at the film – beginning with the movie trailer:

The plot originated with the same Georges Arnaud novel that inspired Henri-Georges Clouzot’s French suspense classic The Wages of Fear (1953). In Friedkin’s version, Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou play four men who end up in a South American town where an American oil company is seeking out courageous drivers willing to haul nitroglycerin over 200 miles of treacherous terrain.

This is an intense, beautifully made action thriller – dirty and gritty, amazingly tense – and the work of a master film maker. For whatever reason, the public ignored it when it was released – perhaps because “Star Wars” had moved them in a completely different direction months earlier…but now, the blu-ray is here!

The blu- ray includes a newly remastered print – under the supervision of Friedkin himself!

The blu-ray is presented as a BD Book featuring 40 pages filled with beautiful images and excerpts from the Director’s autobiography “The Friedkin Connection a Memoir”

The blu-ray also includes a new, personal forward written by Friedkin…

I can’t wait to go blu on this movie! Now, onto some more classic Friedkin!

Everybody Wang Chung Tonight!

Friedkin also made the seminal LA chase movie – a neglected 80′s classic with a terrific soundtrack by Wang Chung!

If you haven’t seen “To Live And Die In LA”, it’s a classic 80′s action movie with another amazing car chase sequence – the film stars William Peterson and Willem Dafoe…and it has a mesmerizing soundtrack as well…

What A Career!

There are many more films to discuss, and what better way to hear about them than from the great Director himself?

The Friedkin Connection!

The long-awaited memoir from the Academy Award–winning director of such legendary films as “The French Connection”, “The Exorcist”, and “To Live and Die in LA” is here! The autobiography is called, appropriately, “The Friedkin Connection” – and as amazon says, “it takes readers from the streets of Chicago to the suites of Hollywood and from the sixties to today, with autobiographical storytelling as fast-paced and intense as any of the auteur’s films.”

I am a huge fan of Friedkin’s work, from his breakthrough film “The Boys In The Band” to his latest, “Killer Joe”…and of course, his best picture of 1971:

Anecdotes! Anecdotes! Anecdotes!

He has an amazing career full of great anecdotes, and the book tells them all. The website FishbowlLA related this great anecdote from the book:

In 1966, when Friedkin was just getting started as a director on the TV side, he had the privilege of being asked to read the script for a planned feature film version of Director Blake Edwards’ earlier TV series “Peter Gunn.” But it’s what happened at a subsequent Monday morning breakfast meeting that really made the difference:

“So what do you think?” Edwards asked.
I chose my words carefully, but I had to say what I felt and accept the consequences. “Blake, I think the script is a piece of sh*t.”
He looked up in shock, his English muffin poised in midair. “What?” He set his muffin down and looked at me directly, not so much mad as confused. “What did you just say?” A bitter smile crossed his lips.

There were two other people at the time in the Paramount Studios bungalow, one of whom Friedkin had never been introduced to. That individual in the corner turned out to be the uncredited author of the Peter Gunn screenplay, William Peter Blatty.

Five years later, Friedkin was surprised to receive a copy of the book The Exorcist and a note from author Blatty to call once he had read it. When the two connected, Blatty explained: “I sent you the book because I remember our meeting outside Blake Edwards’ office about Peter Gunn, and how you had the balls to tell us what a piece of sh*t it was, even though it cost you a job; and I believe you’d never bullsh*t me.”

Even though Friedkin’s name was not next to those of Stanley Kubrick, Mike Nichols and Arthur Penn on the Warner Bros. wish list, Blatty had director approval and wanted Friedkin. The rest is history…

Without a doubt, “The Exorcist” was a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1973: people were reported passing out in the theaters showing the film, or running our sick…it was a media frenzy, a pop culture sensation, and don’t forget – it was nominated for best picture as well – it is a masterpiece…

The Exorcist.

It is one of the greatest films ever made, and quite simply – the scariest, most shocking movie ever released…

Director William Friedkin made this two years after he won the Oscar for Best Picture for “The French Connection”…

“The Exorcist” was also nominated for Best Picture of 1973 – along with a slew of other nominations and accolades:

Regan MacNeil: “My bed was shaking. I can’t get to sleep.”

Talk about an understatement!

“The Exorcist” is the ultimate confrontation between a frail, elderly priest and an old demonic enemy – good versus evil in its purest form.

Demon: What an excellent day for an exorcism.
Father Damien Karras: You would like that?
Demon: Intensely.
Father Damien Karras: But wouldn’t that drive you out of Regan?
Demon: It would bring us together.
Father Damien Karras: You and Regan?
Demon: You and us.

“The Power Of Christ Compels You!”

The refrigerated bedroom set was cooled with four air conditioners and temperatures would plunge to around 30 to 40 below zero. It was so cold that perspiration would freeze on some of the cast and crew. On one occasion the air was saturated with moisture resulting in a thin layer of snow falling on the set before the crew arrived for filming.

And cure even more iconic moments from the film:

Demon: “Your mother sucks cocks in Hell, Karras, you faithless slime!”

Oh yeah, and then there is the “head turn” sequence! This film is so intense and scary that the original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of the white-faced demon quickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters, as it was deemed “too frightening”.

And then of course, there is the projectile vomiting scene!

The substance that the possessed Regan (Linda Blair) hurls at Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) is thick pea soup. Specifically, it’s Andersen’s brand pea soup. The crew tried Campbell’s but didn’t like the “effect.”

Tons of great stories and commentaries on the special edition blu-ray….check it out and relive a classic!

“The Friedkin Connection!”

Make sure to check out “The Friedkin Connection” to read all of the stories from the great Director himself!

Finally, you can click below to read a story I previously posted all about Friedkin’s latest film “Killer Joe”, one of 2012′s best – and I did a quick look at his other classics, such as 1971′s Best Picture “The French Connection” as well as “To Live And Die In LA”!

Click here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/08/10/the-brilliant-killer-joe-mcconaugheys-hat-trick-plus-friedkins-wang-chung/

And check out the mesmerizing soundtrack to the film “To Live And Die In LA”, from Wang Chung!

WOW! Check out this AMAZING VIDEO!

Need to change a tire? No problem! You don’t even need to pull over!

Yes, what you are seeing is real: they are changing flat tires while driving on two wheels!

Wow! “Sidewalk Skiing!”

Meet the world of dangerous stunt driving, courtesy of Saudi Arabia!

Here’s how “Laughing Squid” describes it: “A group of men appear to remove and reinstall two wheels on a Toyota SUV as the vehicle is driven down the road on two wheels in this insane video uploaded by Al Drifter. The potentially deadly stunt is an example of ‘sidewalk skiing’, a death-defying activity practiced by young men in Saudi Arabia’s underground street racing culture.”

Check out this unbelievable video:

Thanks to Laughing Squid website for sharing this…unbelievable….check out the entire story here:

http://laughingsquid.com/death-defying-passengers-remove-and-reinstall-wheels-while-their-vehicle-is-driving-on-two-wheels/

It’s just one of the more amazing things we’ve seen online lately…

Look Out!

You know when there is a traffic accident, people slow down to gawk…well, someone took it one better: they compiled the most unsettling collection of “close calls” from traffic cameras!

Here is one I found on youtube, posted by “Giovanni Gentile”:

Here is one posted by “ArroganteDekadenz” on youtube:

While these are hard to watch, they are also fascinating – and everyone in these videos walked away without a scratch! Amazing….

Everyone remembers one of the sexiest screen starlets of all time – Raquel Welch – seen here in the camp movie classic “The Magic Christian” with Ringo Starr…

But Raquel was just one of the many sex kittens of the 70′s…including one who played one of James Bond’s greatest co-workers!

In a long history of movie sex kittens, one of the more unjustly neglected is iconic beauty Barbara Bouchet…

Barbara Bouchet is a German-American actress and entrepreneur. If you aren’t familiar with her, that’s because most of her work was done in the 70′s and 80′s….but it was quite a body of work…

She has acted in more than 80 films and television episodes and founded a production company that has produced fitness videos and books.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of Bouchet’s career…

Sex And The Single Girl!

Bouchet got her Hollywood start with a small part in this light-hearted but saucy comedy in the mid-60′s, but it was one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises that gave her huge exposure:

Miss Moneypenny in “Casino Royale!”

That’s right, Bouchet starred in this unique all-star James Bond “comedy”, and very “unofficial” James Bond film at a time when rights to the books were in dispute, and this very campy Bond film was released:

This “all-star” James Bond spoof starred David Niven as Bong, and included a very young Woody Allen, and Barbara Bouchet co-starred as a very sexy Miss Moneypenny! Here she is with Allen, in a movie still I found online that was signed for a fan!

This film is not part of the “official” Bond series, but it is a snapshot of the swinging 60′s, and Bouchet had fun in the role…

The Actress gave an extensive interview to “Shock Cinema”, where she discussed her career…and what it was like shooting “Casino” in a very prim and proper London:

“And being in England, I was missing the sun. One day I went out and laid in Hyde Park in my bikini and got arrested. You can’t do that – at least not back then!”

Beam Her Up, Scotty!

Bouchon also had a role in a TV episode of “Star Trek” – as you can see here in here scene with Capt. Kirk:

Mostly, Bouchet’s career flourished in Europe, where she starred in a number of hit movies, like this euro thriller:

Cry Of A Prostitute!

Barbara starred in this italian thriller which really doesn’t have much to do with prostitution – but it’s a gritty film that gives the Actress a chance to act.

Well, hard not to imagine what they were thinking when Barbara ate this banana…this is a classic slice of euro-sleaze…which leads to one of her biggest hits:

The Italian Giallo, “Caliber 9″!

A gritty italian crime thriller made Bouchet a star…not only was Director Fernado Di Leo’s movie a huge box office hit, but it showcased the Actress in a perfect way…

Bouchet played a go go dancer, and the camera loves her as she dances…as she told Shock magazine:

“I did that dance scene in a real nightclub, and it was closed to the press…next thing you know, a picture of me on that dancing cube all over the newspapers. Somebody took it and printed it.”

Here is a youtube clip of the infamous scene, but I also encourage you to buy the film, which has been remaster on blu-ray:

Bouchon went on to star in a number of classic italian thrillers, including “Black Belly Of The Tarantula!”

This is a classic italian thriller – a great title, lots of sex and violence, and a distinct filming style…and the added bonus was that Bouchet was nude for much of the film…

As Bouchet tells SHOCK:

“Nudity has never been a problem with me. Nor was it a problem at home…”

Bouchet also starred in the italian giallo, “Don’t Torture A Ducking”, which is also considered a classic…

If you want to know about this amazing genre of film, click on my primer here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/07/09/time-to-strip-nude-four-flies-and-baba-yaga-to-you-yes-its-classic-italian-giallo/

Bouchet’s popularity continued for decades before she retired from film…but many of her classic performances live on blu-ray!

She now owns and operates a fitness studio, but a legendary Director coaxed her back onto the big screen…

Martin Scorsese was a huge fan and put Barbara in “Gangs Of New York!” Here is what he said to her on the first day of filming:

“Miss Bouchet, thank you very much for accepting your part in this picture. I’ve seen a lot of your films.” It stunned her…and she looks great in the movie!

So dip into Bouchet’s movie catalogue – there are some great performances here from one of the 70′s most under-rated actresses!

RIP Bob Hoskins! Celebrate This Great "Long Good Friday" Star!.

I have a question for you:

Don’t be frightened, but it’s been on my mind:

What Makes A Movie “BAD”? This?

Well, this is clearly a film that can give you a splitting headache…

Maybe This?

Let’s see: George Burns, Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees dressed up as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”…you know what, I’m beginning to feel a bit “unwell”….

Or Without A Doubt THIS!

If you just shouted out:

“You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!”

Well, then you know what I’m talking about – these are images from five of the worst films ever made – and also the greatest films because there is something really fun about viewing them!

Bad movies have a special place in my heart – because I paid good money to see these! And now I own them all as well, allowing me to have a “bad movie marathon” anytime I want…

Time For A “Bad Movie Marathon!”

We will begin overseas, on a beautiful island where people are terrorized by severed heads!

Mystics In Bali!

Yep, every bad movie marathon has to begin with a possessed severed head movie….

Here is the plot of “Mystics In Bali”: researching a book that takes her to Bali and the black magic cult of Leák, Cathy meets an evil witch which promises to train her in the dark arts. Tricked, Cathy is turned into a Penanggalan:

a flying vampire with internal organs hanging from her neck!

It is now up to the local holy men who are then enforced to do battle with the forces of evil. And look at these amazing special effects they must fight off!

Folks, this is a delight to behold…”MYSTICS IN BALI” has to be seen to be believed!

The film is a strange blend – with some genuine creepy moments and others that will have you unintentionally laugh out loud.

And let’s be honest – don’t you HAVE to see this movie now to see what happens to this pregnant lady next?

Next up: the most recent “camp classic”, thanks to the magic of Tommy Wiseau!

Yes, let’s take a moment to behold the majesty of…”The Room.” This 2003 cult film is a movie sensation – it routinely plays all across the country as a “midnight movie” offering…with audience participation much like that “other” midnight cult classic:

Rocky Horror Meets The Room!

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” flopped when it was originally released, but has since become a cultural phenomenon….and now “The Room” has followed in its footsteps…Tommy Wiseau’s seductive gaze and all…

“The Room” was written by Tommy Wiseau, directed by Tommy Wiseau and stars Tommy Wiseau…it is widely regarded as the worst film ever made…and its popularity grows by the year….more on that in a moment, but first, a quick recap on the movie:

Tommy Wiseau stars as “Johnny”, a successful banker who lives happily in a San Francisco townhouse with his fiancé, Lisa.

“You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!”

Yes, THAT LISA.

One day, Lisa decides to seduce Johnny’s best friend, Mark. From there, nothing will be the same again…and yes, THIS IS MARK…

After enjoying all that “The Room” is, you’ve had a few questions – including this very important one:

“Where did this movie come from and how did it get out?”

To find out the answer to that question, the story of Greg Sestero’s amazing book that details the inside story of the film’s production can be found here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/10/27/tommy-wiseaus-classic-the-room-now-a-book-tommys-secrets-revealed/

Kudos to Sestero for writing a hilarious yet affectionate look at Tommy Wiseau!

Now, speaking of “DISASTERS:

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band!

Yes, it is widely considered the greatest album ever made – and I love everything about The Beatles….but I’m not talking about the fab four right now!

Producer Robert Stigwood optioned the music and made this amazingly misguided attempt to bring the Sgt. Pepper Band to life, courtesy of the Bee Gees, Peter Frampton -

AND GEORGE BURNS!

While you take a moment to settle your nerves, you can check out the trailer!

Take a moment to absorb this: a film was made using rock’s greatest album of all time. And the decision was made to turn it into a musical comedy starring Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees and George Burns…

But That’s Not All!

Yes, they also managed to book Steve Martin, Alice Cooper and Earth,Wind & Fire! It was a mid-70′s greatest hits team that must also share the blame for agreeing to star in this 1978 disaster! And yes, here is MORE high stepping!

Needless to say, this movie was one of the biggest bombs EVER – and as for reviews – well, Newsweek’s David Ansen called Sgt. Pepper “a film with a dangerous resemblance to wallpaper.”

“And In The End…”

For the finale of the film, it was decided that they’d assemble an enormous roster of celebrities to sing the reprise of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Formal invitations were engraved and sent to virtually everyone in the entertainment industry; the many who RSVP’d were treated to first-class transportation to Los Angeles, limos, luxurious hotels, champagne, a lavishly catered dinner and private tents for each of the stars in the studio’s garden room.

What more can be said? How can anything be worse than the butchering of The Beatles? Well…

Behold The Magic Of Andy Milligan!

If you don’t know Andy, you have missed out on cinema created by a Director who gives Ed Wood a run for his money!

“In Cranium-Cleaving Color!”

How can you resist a movie that offers this tagline?

Let’s begin with the fact that is one great poster – it almost promises to deliver an awful movie – and guess what? Director Andy Milligan did!

The Ghastly Ones!

Check out the “Doctor’s Warning” on the poster – a classic “come on” for the suckers at that time…love it! Now, back to why we are here: “The Ghastly Ones” is one of the world’s WORST exploitation films ever made! Check out this legendarily bad trailer!

Here is the plot: Three married couples spend the night in a Victorian-era house where they start getting killed off by a deranged psycho who’s bent on claiming an inheritance they are all entitled to.

Sure, that’s a servicable plot: but under the Direction of Andy Milligan, it’s a debacle! Here’s a great bit of trivia, thanks to IMDB: In several of the fight scenes of the film, the crew and their cameras and sound equipment are visible.

There are also moments when the director can be heard softly reminding the actors of their lines!

Now THAT”S film making! As one reader on IMDB stated:

“This is an absolutely horrible film in every way possible.”

To read more about this master of bad taste and “unique” filmmaking, click on my whole story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/02/13/fleshpots-rats-cranium-cleaving-color-meet-andy-milligan-sexploitations-ed-wood/

But there is, in my opinion, one movie that rises above them all in its purity of awfulness – the legendary “you can call it a film but it isnt in any stretch of the imagination” classic:

Psyched By The 4D Witch!

I have written about this film before. That is of course if you can really call it “a film.” But it was in movie theaters, and yes, they took my money without shame…you see, it’s not so much a “bad movie” as it is a series of b-roll shots with a poorly written narration laid over it…and shots of this actress…

As you watch, you begin to notice things, like the fact there is NO synched sound at all, meaning it’s all b-roll and voiceover of her “thoughts and reactions”! And by the way, it is the worst voiceover narration ever recorded, with pointless scenes of her in a room followed by random footage of traffic and city streets – all strung together to fill time…in fact, it was described by Something Weird Video (who was smart enough to release it on DVD) as:

“the most maddening, jaw-dropping, mind-bending piece of celluloid lunacy ever to play American theaters!”

You understand that is EXACTLY why I love the folks at Something Weird Video – because they saved this film!

To read all about Something Weird Video, and their passionate attempt to keep the world’s weirdest films alive, click here:

http://johnrieber.com/2014/01/07/something-weird-wild-wild-cinema-celebrating-a-weird-genius-rip-mike-vraney/

Now put in some movie badness and have a great weekend!

“The sun is spread, hot and arched, above the reef like a woman in abandon, sky shimmering like glistening skin…”

Yes, it is paradise: this picture of a resort in the Solomon Islands…a gorgeous escape, the adventure of a lifetime…but getting to paradise is another matter….

“Only two hours ago I’d been living through some of the worst moments I’d ever experienced, during which an understanding of the precariousness of life had been borne in me with frightening force.”

Time For Another Amazing Island Adventure!

Both of the quotes above are from an amazing book that continues the adventures of one of my favorite Authors!

First of all, what a beautiful cover for a book. Welcome to Pigeon Island, surrounded by many other, smaller islands like the one on the cover. I have posted before about the exotic adventures of Lucy Irvine, who began the adventure of a lifetime when she answered this want ad:

She not only answered the ad, her bestselling book “Castaway” documented her year on a deserted island with the man who placed the want ad, and the book was also made into a film! After all of the acclaim, Irvine returned to a “regular” life, until the Author found herself with a unique opportunity for a sequel!

In 1999, Lucy Irvine took her three children to the farthest corner of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific to live for a year on remote Pigeon Island…look at the center of the map above and notice the tiny mark for Pigeon island next to Reef Islands…

Irvine’s invitation to live in this isolated paradise came from an intrepid 80-year-old Pigeon Island resident, Diana Hepworth, who set sail from England years earlier with her family in their own search for a faraway paradise.

“Faraway” is not only Irvine’s story, it is the story of the Hepworth family and their amazing adventure years earlier…the two stories are intertwined, and both are fascinating…

“Faraway” tells the story of Irvine’s latest adventure – and what it was like to take her three boys with her, settling into a completely different life in the middle of the south seas…

“Faraway” also is the story of the Hepworths – an adventurous young couple who raised a family in a faraway land – and “Faraway” beautifully captures what life on a south seas island is like…because few islands are more isolated than this one…

Lucy Irvine is a beautiful writer, expertly capturing life in this secluded paradise, without forgetting all of the hardships and dangers that south seas life entails…

“Only two hours ago I’d been living through some of the worst moments I’d ever experienced, during which an understanding of the precariousness of life had been borne in me with frightening force.”

Irvine is a perceptive writer as well, capturing the joys and hardships of “roughing it” on an isolated island with her three sons, as well as learning the local culture and customs…and this book offers an insider’s look at life in the south pacific…

If you’ve ever wanted to escape to a tropical island, Irvine shows you what it is really like…

And of course, this terrific memoir follows Irvine’s previous masterwork:

The Brilliant “Castaway!”

I first got hooked on Irvine’s writing when I came across her memoir in a used bookstore.

Irvine answered a want ad, and spent a year on a deserted island! To read all about the book, as well as the british film that was made about it, click on the entire story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/10/04/castaway-amazing-dangerous-real-life-island-escapes/

The Author just recently added a Facebook page in anticipation of her newest work, so go and support her!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucy-Irvine/387523681385725

Summer 2014 Will End With A Superhero Blockbuster!

Marvel is bringing one of their most unique, and therefore much beloved comic books to the silver screen!

Kudos To Director James Gunn!

This new blockbuster is a result of the tireless effort of Director James Gunn, who was passionate about the special nature of this franchise. He assembled a terrific cast, and Disney has unveiled some great marketing materials – including the cover of the latest GEEK magazine!

The new issue of GEEK is available now, and I’m excited about it for two reasons: first, Director Gunn and the film deserve the attention. Second, the aricle includes one of my James Gunn photos!

Yep, there it is, clear as day in the upper right box…OK, here is the picture, full sized for your enjoyment:

The Writer asked to use it, and since I thought it was a fun picture, and have posted it on my blog before, said “sure.” I also know James saw the picture and didn’t raise an objection to it…more on the story of the picture in a moment, but first, back to Gunn’s new film:

Behold The “Guardians Of The Galaxy!”

There has been a ton of press hitting, along with great stills and some really fun trailers like this one:

What a great trailer! And yes, you will NEVER get Blue Suede’s classic 70′s version of “Hooked On A Feeling” out of your head – and we are all the better for it!

A great cast, terrific sense of humor, and what appears to be amazing action sequences make this a “must see” for me. Here is what Cinemablend.com just posted:

“It will prove to be the final comic book movie of summer 2014, but don’t think for a second that we’ve forgotten about James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The film ranks extremely high on our most anticipated list, and today we not only have a closer look at the sci-fi adventure itself, but also into its future. Marvel Studios has just unveiled two brand new stills from the August release, and Disney CEO Bob Iger has revealed that the studio is already thinking about a sequel.

To focus on the images first, which come to us via the Guardians of the Galaxy Facebook page, while Star-Lord – played by Chris Pratt – has certainly been a big part of the marketing for the film so far, what these new stills provide are some cool closer looks at the character’s costume. For example, his helmet:”

As you can tell, CinemaBlend is VERY excited about the upcoming “Guardians” release…check out their website for even more coverage!

The advance buzz on “Guardians” is very strong, and Gunn is doing lots of press to support it. In fact, the Director recently hosted a screen and live discussion of his previous film, “Super!”

This was Gunn’s “anti-hero superhero” film. Here is the plot: after his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills.
James Gunn directs a tight, effectively shocking look at the everyday man who wants to rise up against those who do him wrong!

Writer-director James Gunn does a terrific job with a cast that is up for anything – Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Gregg Henry and Michael Rooker.

And how about this for trivia? Towards the end of the movie when Liv Tyler is in her rehab group session, she is heard stating “f**ked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional”. This is a reference and nod to her rocker father Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) and his 1980′s song “FINE” which is an acronym for the same line.

Lots of great moments, grisly grindhouse exploitation, and heart. LOVE James Gunn’s work and terrific performances by the entire cast!

James Gunn has a great, colorful history in film, and I wanted to celebrate that as well. So here is the story of my Cannes film festival shoots with James and the wacky Troma team!

Welcome to Cannes!

Yes, Troma and James Gunn owned the “unofficial” Cannes film festival, and I had the chance to have some fun with the gang in one of the most beautiful places in the world!

THE CANNES INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL DU FILM!

Oh, as it turns out, one of the most beautiful places in the world just happens to be home to the world’s most prestigious film festival!

This is the Palais du Festival, where the world’s greatest filmmakers arrive to showcase their movies to the world. Cannes 2014 begins on May 15th, and this is a look at the festival and the fun I’ve had there – this is me one year – in a meeting…

I was lucky enough to go to Cannes a dozen times, where I saw the world premieres of “Pulp Fiction”, “Breaking The Waves”, “Moulin Rouge” and many more…and interviewed a bunch of great film makers and stars…it is one of my favorite spots in the world… a place where, at any time, someone can take their top off and get a crowd to take a picture…

I witnessed shoving matches and fistfights as these photographers fought for the perfect shot of a big star – or a topless starlet…it is a delirious madhouse…

Alex was with me many times – like this picture of us taking a break during filming one year for E!

As you can see, Alex caught Michael Castner relaxing before a shoot…and Alex also ran into John Lithgow once!

It a madhouse, one of my favorite jobs ever, and I vow to go back next year with good friend Steve Kmetko, who not only interviewed big stars for us every year, but also hung out with our friends from Troma…

And while the official film festival was underway, so was the “unofficial” Cannes film festival!

All The Love You Cannes! Full disclosure: I am in this movie. I am. It might be a single b-roll shot while Lloyd mentions me in passing, but hey, I’m a Troma star!

Here we all are in Cannes one year: E! News Host Steve Kmetko, who allowed my wife Alex, along with James Gunn, turn him into “Dolphinman” for “Sex On The Riviera”. Lloyd is on the left, by the way…

Every year I was in Cannes, Lloyd and his Troma team were up for any shenanigans…and their tireless energy is captured in Lloyd’s documentary about life at the Cannes film festival.

Tiffany Shepis on the left and James Gunn on the right were always ready to film special stunts with us to capture the craziness of Cannes…we had a lot of fun with them, and they are terrific people!

If you want to see the best documentary about the pomp, circumstance, and sordid underbelly that is Cannes, “All The Love You Cannes” is the movie for you!

Places like Cannes are crucial to an independent studio like Troma – they attract international buyers, they get screenings for their films – as well as lots of press.

The Troma Team is willing to try every stunt imaginable to get a little publicity, including walking the streets of Cannes dressed as various Troma heroes, staging lesbian make-out sessions, hilariously crashing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s “press conference,” where JCVD shows up for about 2 seconds.

So congrats to James Gunn on the upcoming release of “Guardians Of The Galaxy”, and here’s to great memories of Cannes brought back to life by Geek magazine!

To honor the opening night of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, I present you three people who, at one time, OWNED Cannes!

All Hail The Last Action Heroes – And Their Restaurant!

Here’s a story of how I got to hang out with the world’s biggest stars – at a time when their careers were at all-time highs, a more innocent time when “theme restaurants” like Hard Rock Cafe, The Fashion Cafe and Planet Hollywood were the rage…

There was a time when these guys ruled the world. And I got the chance to hang out with them at the greatest place in the world for movie buffs:

Cannes France!

Welcome to the French Rivera, one of the most beautiful places on earth…and it just happens to host the world’s greatest film festival as well:

The Cannes Film Festival!

2014 Cannes is now officially underway! For two weeks a year, the great film makers in the world showcase their greatest work for the world’s film critics…

The Legendary Carlton Hotel!

It was a time when we got to interview big stars at places like this:

My great Host Michael Castner called it his “home away from home” when he was at the festival – the Carlton hotel housed us, and hosted tons of stars, parties, and all things film festival…

The great thing about attending Cannes was the chance to see movies months before anyone else – as we did when we got to see “Pulp Fiction” a full five months before anyone else…even if that meant hanging our in stairwells waiting for the screening to begin…

The Cannes Color Code!

Still, that was all part of the adventure of Cannes – the crowds, the police, the passes that were distributed in different colors – and if you had a pink pass, you got in before the people with a blue pass….and oh my, you didn’t get in ANYWHERE with a lowly yellow pass…

As the latest festival gets underway, it’s fun to look back at the fun times I had working in Cannes, along with Alex, Michael and a number of great people!

Of course, for every moment of down time, there were dozens of interviews to conduct, and photo shoots to cover – like the interview we did with one of my favorite Actors, Malcolm McDowell…

We even covered the more salacious photo shoots that took place on the beach, the ones that usually included a topless starlet trying to get some attention…

I was lucky enough to work with two other amazing professionals over in Cannes as well: E! News Hosts Jules Asner and Steve Kmetko…

We filmed E! News Daily in Cannes during the festival, and Jules and Steve had dozens of interview to conduct and parties to cover – as it really is a film festival that never slows down….still, we always managed to find time for a few fun photos…

When Michael wasn’t trying to hide, he was talking to some of th biggest stars in the world…

Michael With Jean-Claude Van Damme!

Speaking of action heroes, here’s Michael at the famed Hotel du Cap outside Cannes with Jean-Claude Van Damme – at the time one of the hottest action stars in the world!

Of course, while he was doing the interview, Alex had a moment to grab a candid shot with our co-worker Gary Snegaroff…

We had a great time hanging out with these stars, but sometimes, things got a bit dicey…

The Classic Interview – Michael With Arnold!

So here is how my first Arnold Schwarzenegger encounter played out: we were filming at the film festival, and there was a HUGE press event with Arnold – to announce the very first Planet Hollywood restaurant!

More on Planet Hollywood in a moment! After the huge press event at the Carlton – where Arnold announced the concept of the restaurants and posed for thousands of pictures, a select group of media were allowed to meet Arnold personally for a very short interview behind the hotel.

As you can see, Michael spoke to Arnold first, while I watched from the left…that is our great friend Carl Allman filming it by the way…

After a very short interview, our friend Ed Flaherty, who was also filming for CNN, asked if he could jump in and ask one question as we were still rolling…and he did, but then he asked another, and another, and another, until Arnold looked over at his Press rep Charlotte and said – very loudly, and in a very recognizable Ahhh-nold tone:

“What’s this? First one question, then two questions, now six questions. Charlotte, I’m leaving in ten minutes. PLAN YOUR TIME.”

EVERYONE FROZE. I looked around and saw 5 other entertainment outlets waiting to interview Arnold – needless to say, we got yelled at later for sabotaging everyone else’s time….but that is what Cannes was all about – getting your interview no matter what!

Oh, and that wasn’t Arnold’s first time in Cannes…he was there in 1977 as well!

Arnold was always gracious, professional, and focused on his job – selling whatever he was promoting – and he did it well!

Welcome To Planet Hollywood!

As I said, I was at the first press event to announce Planet Hollywood. It was the beginning of a long friendship with Arnold, Sly, Bruce and the other stars.

While I was at E!, we produced specials on the openings of a myriad of Planet Hollywood restaurants, including the first ones in New York and London!

As you can see, we were a hard working group – there is Michael Castner of course, and Alex, along with George, Gary and Oscar too!

If you want to read more about the Planet Hollywood opening in London, read my “Mel Gibson encounter” as well as the great Joe Ezterhas e-book “Heaven And Mel” – click on that story here!

http://johnrieber.com/2013/08/14/heaven-and-mel-shocking-mel-gibson-book-my-mel-encounter/

We were inside the opening of Planet Hollywood London – interviewing all of the stars for a one hour special – we also cooked with Arnold and Sly before the doors opened…it was a lot of fun, and those early specials were very popular – helping fuel the worldwide expansion of the chain…

More Planet Hollywood Memories – With Jenna Jameson!

A few years later, I ended up at the opening of Planet Hollywood in Singapore and Bangkok – with Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jackie Chan and more!

And this time, I had a more unusual choice for host…

Jenna Jameson Interviews Sly and Bruce!

And if you haven’t read my post about my trip to those Asian outposts with my Host Jenna Jameson, then click on here to read about that very funny adventure!

http://johnrieber.com/2013/12/31/wild-on-jenna-jameson-my-worldwide-jenna-adventure-starring-bruce-willis-and-sylvester-stallone/

Jenna hosting our E! coverage was a great memory from my time at E!, and as always, Planet Hollywood turned the stars out for us – here she is interviewing Bruce Willis!

At one point, Planet Hollywood was one of the most successful restaurant chains in the world! They were always terrific to work with, and I still have several jackets from various locations…

I got to hang out with Schwarzenegger many more times, but I will always remember the first interview, when Charlotte had to “plan her time!”

And here is Michael Castner’s great photo from Cannes 1994 when he was mobbed by fans:

Michael claims the crowd thought he was George Michael – but I say they were cheering him! He was very recognizable in Cannes after the first few years of our festival coverage…and we always had a hectic, intense, and hilarious time there! And of course, I got to hang out with a number of other unique people in Cannes as well – such as the night we partied with Prince Albert of Monaco!

My Night In Cannes With Prince Albert Of Monaco!

You can thank Carl Allman for this adventure as well – and you can read all about it here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/05/21/my-night-with-prince-albert-of-monaco-more-cannes-cannes-memories/

Those trips to the Cannes Film Festival were some of the greatest trips I’ve taken – in one of the most beautiful places on earth!

And here’s a look at more of my adventures in Cannes – including my look up Jack Nicholson’s NOSE!

http://johnrieber.com/2012/05/15/big-stars-bright-lights-cannes-cannes-cannes-the-film-festival-up-close/

Let me know what you think!

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

It’s a movie that you can’t turn off….because “no good thing ever dies…”

Behold The Beauty Of “Zihuatanejo”!

Few times in the history of film has a single film location meant so much to the audience…and if you know what “Zihuatanejo” means, then you know one of the greatest, most intense and uplifting films of all time!

There are so many great moments in this film – one of the greatest movies ever – and it is easy to forget that it began as a Stephen King novella! Time to explore the majesty of “The Shawshank Redemption!”

The Shawshank Redemption – Directed by Frank Darabont – released in 1994

Just how beloved is this movie? Well, consider this: the classic British film magazine Empire voted “The Shawshank Redemption” the best movie OF ALL TIME!

There are few movies that have a more satisfying conclusion than this one…

First, a quick recap of the plot: Tim Robbins is Andy Dufresne – a young and successful banker whose life changes drastically when he is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover. Set in the 1940′s, the film shows how Andy, with the help of his friend Red, the prison entrepreneur, turns out to be a most unconventional prisoner.

Morgan Freeman’s narration helps propel the story, and also provides an additional layer of empathy and sadness to the story…like when he watches the new convicts arrive at the prison…

Red: “The first night’s the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing shit they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell… and those bars slam home… that’s when you know it’s for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.”

Morgan Freeman befriends Andy and narrates the film, including some tough sequences when Andy is set upon by the prison’s sexual predators:

Red: [narrating] “I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile – prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him – sometimes he was able to fight ‘em off, sometimes not. And that’s how it went for Andy – that was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him.”

Yet this brutal scene only serves to make the ultimate “redemption” even more uplifting…

Interestingly, in Stephen King’s original story, “Red” was written as a white Irishman. In the movie, they left the line, “Maybe it’s ’cause I’m Irish”, in as a joke, even after they had cast Morgan Freeman as “Red.”

Cue Zihuatanejo!

And of course, Zihuatanejo plays a big role in the film, even when they are in prison…

Andy Dufresne: “You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
Red: No.
Andy Dufresne: They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.”

You don’t want to know anything going into this for the first time, but it plays better every single time I see it…it is without a doubt one of the best movies of all time…

Andy Dufresne: [in letter to Red] “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

“The Shawshank Redemption” is one of those films that, if you happen upon it while channel surfing, you watch it to the end. Let me know what your favorite scene is!

Boy Wonder: OK, Miss Cake, let us see exactly how far down into it we can get.

Cathy Cake: Uh, into what?

Boy Wonder: Into the valley of indecency.

Sex! Nudity! Big Stars! Hollywood’s 70′s Sexcapades!

If you are a fan of Jessica Harper and Richard Dreyfus, then you MUST search out their forgotten movie about making porn! It was a time in the mid-70′s when Hollywood was trying to stay relevant – and that meant taking chances like THIS!

You should know Jessica Harper for two of the best cult films EVER – “My Favorite Year” and “Phantom Of The Paradise” – and of course Richard Dreyfus for everything from “Jaws” to “American Graffiti” and “The Goodbye Girl” – so imagine them making a film about porn movies!

Movies in the 70′s were going in many interesting directions: controversial films like “A Clockwork Orange” competed with mainstream blockbusters like “Star Wars” and yes, “Jaws”. So what was a successful Actor to do – go “arthouse” or “mainstream”?

Truth Is Stranger Than Porn!

I am going to take a look at a film that featured big stars trying to be artistic, and an obscure documentary that looks at someone’s attempt to MAKE an adult film in the 70′s!

Director: They wanted 80% sex. I said 20%; after that, you know, it gets boring.

Here is a fascinating documentary AND a legendary “forgotten” film from the 70′s that look at love – and the art of capturing it on film – it’s just as hard as it looks!

This Documentary Is Indeed “A Labor Of Love!”

“A Labor Of Love” tells the story of wannabe film makers who decided to document their porn efforts!

Here is the trailer for the movie – although it is more a collection of short snippets from the film than an actual trailer – take a look:

“A Labor Of Love” is a documentary that was made in the 70′s, as the filmmakers wanted to capture a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of “The Last Affair”, an independent drama that was to feature several explicit sex scenes. After the financial backers had a change of heart, “The Last Affair” was released without the sex scenes and quickly faded away.

Included in the cast of “The Last Affair” were popular character actor Ron Dean (The Dark Knight, Rudy, Code of Silence) and actress/director Betty Thomas, who went on to star in the TV series “Hill Street Blues.”

Private Parts Indeed!

And of course, Betty Thomas is also known for another amazing achievement: she directed Howard Stern!

That’s right, Thomas is now a TV and film Director, and she directed Howard’s movie “Private Parts!” If you haven’t seen it, Howard’s autobiographical film is hilarious, due in large part to her direction!

Even though both Actors went on to more successful careers, it’s fascinating that they were in this film. Important note: Neither of those Actors were involved in any of the sex scenes, but both performers can be seen briefly in “A Labor of Love.”

Director: “They wanted 80% sex. I said 20%; after that, you know, it gets boring.”

This is a fascinating look at film-making!

There are a few scenes that are X-rated in this film, so be warned, but it mostly shows the unglamorous world of low-budget moviemaking. Perhaps the actress in the film captured it best with this quote:

Young actress: “I felt like an animal. I’d never do something like this again.”

Indeed!

Check out this fascinating documentary!

Oh, and I wonder if Richard Dreyfus and Jessica Harper would agree with that sentiment! Let’s see!

Richard Dreyfus Does Porn!

“OK, Miss Cake, let us see exactly how far down into it we can get.”

Oscar-winning Actor Richard Dreyfus, who starred in “Jaws”, “The Goodbye Girl” and “American Graffiti” – also looked into the world of “adult” film making with THIS movie – which is all about porn!

Inserts!

This is one of Hollywood’s most neglected movies – a raw, inside look at a “different” kind of Hollywood! Here is the plot:

A young, once-great Hollywood film director refuses to accept changing times during the early 1930s, and confines himself to his decaying mansion to make silent porn flicks.

X-Rated Inserts!

“Inserts” was written and directed by John Byrum, and starred Richard Dreyfuss, Jessica Harper, Bob Hoskins and Veronica Cartwright. Featuring full-frontal nudity, a drug overdose, and very adult content, it was originally rated “X”. This was very daring stuff for 1975.

Jessica Harper would also star in Brian DePalma’s “Phantom Of The Paradise” as well as the classic comedy “My Favorite Year.”

Talk About Your Double Entendre!

The film’s title takes its name from the double meaning of “Inserts”: it refers to a film technique, as well as sexual intercourse. “Inserts” was filmed like a stage play on one set and filmed entirely in real time!

Boy Wonder: OK, Miss Cake, let us see exactly how far down into it we can get.

Cathy Cake: Uh, into what?

Boy Wonder: Into the valley of indecency.

Cathy Cake: Well, that’s a pretty crummy way of looking at it.

Boy Wonder: The trick, Miss Cake, is not to look at it at all, but simply limp to the edge of patience and let yourself fall.

The movie was a notorious flop, but both Actors bounced back to make big hits – and years later, Director John Byrum discussed making the X-rated movie “Inserts” at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Oscar’s “X” Flirtation!

“Inserts” was a daring look at a certain time in Hollywood. If you want to see a time when the Academy Awards flirted with the “X” rating, check out my story HERE!

http://johnrieber.com/2013/05/07/x-rated-butter-cowboys-droogs-oscars-x-flirtation/

It’s a fascinating look at a more experimental time in film!