WWII Watch: Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Watched:  06/25/2019
Format:  TCM on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

A fascinating oddball of a movie - part epic, part recreation, part disaster film, part meditation on the futility of war, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) is an all-star retelling the of the real life events leading up to, and a recreation of, the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Originally this was supposed to be two separate movies, one Japanese and one American.  And it almost is - the Japanese parts were directed by Japanese directors (Kurosawa was notoriously fired off the film!), and the American parts: an American director.  I can only wonder how that would have worked in practice, perhaps better.  Both sections reflect the mistakes made along the way - failure of diplomacy, duplicitous use of diplomatic formalities, bureaucratic loggerheads, etc...  Each section reflects back the stance of the home country on what happened at Pearl Harbor in tone and approach, which can make for something of a split-personality to the film that doesn't always work, but probably informs the viewer in 2019 what was felt a generation after the war.

PODCAST! "Live and Let Die" (1973) - Bond Watch 05 w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  05/26/2019
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1970's

We get back to Bond with 1973's "Live and Let Die" - the one with the voodoo. James Bond heads to New York, New Orleans and the Carribbean in a herky-jerky thrillride! We take a look at what was going on when this movie was made, from the state of the States to our third Bond's debut - and, of course, how this looked in 1973 vs. 2019.




Music:

Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney, Live and Let Die OST


Bond Watch Playlist:

Comedy Watch: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Watched:  03/26/2019

Format:  Netflix

Viewing:  Unknown

Decade:  1970's

It's been decades since I last watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).  I'm glad I took the break, because it was genuinely fun watching the movie again.  Honestly, the movie was something both myself and every nerd around me had managed to kind of ruin at some point after high school.  

The version on Netflix looks amazing - literally the best I'd ever seen it - and while I still knew every joke, it was fun to see them again and see Monty Python at the height of their powers.

And, yeah, it was weird to realize how many things I say by reflex these days that came from quoting the movie once upon a time, so often, it seems, I'd forgotten this was where it came from.  (example:  I'd forgotten the origins of "and there was much rejoicing", which I do drop from time to time.)

Anyhoo...  you've all seen this numerous times.  I assume you either love it or hate it at this point, and I hope nerds didn't ruin it for you in the long, long ago.  But if they did, give it a go again - it's still remarkably great.

MST3K Watch: The Day Time Ended (1979)

Watched:  03/02/2019
Format:  MST3K on Netflix
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970s

This movie is a bizarre mess with no story.  Now, sometimes MST3K cuts these movies for time, so its possible we lost some key moments or elements on the floor, but...  I don't think so. 

The MST3K episode DOES feature an astonishing musical number lifting music from The Music Man.  The current crew has really hit their stride.  And - there's a Kim Cattrall callback.

But, yeah, it's a bunch of unmotivated special FX and a cast that I can't not talk about. 

Valentine's Day Watch: Coffy (1973)

Watched:  02/14/2019
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Jamie and I went out for a lovely dinner for Valentine's Day, followed by catching up on Star Trek: Discovery, and then - somehow - I wound up watching this movie, and I think for the fashion choices alone, Jamie didn't object.  I thought I'd previously seen Coffy (1973) when I started it - because it's currently streaming free to Amazon Prime subscribers, and, I didn't intend to actually watch it.  But I hadn't seen it and the next thing I knew I was an hour in.

PODCAST! It's High School Musicals with "Grease" (1978) and "High School Musical" (2006) - Maxwell, Mrshl and Ryan

GREASE (1978)
Watched:  01/28/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  Easily my 15th or 16th, maybe more
Decade  1970's

High School Musical (2006)
Watched:  02/08/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2000's

Maxwell and Ryan welcome Marshall to the PodCast as they discuss "Grease" and "High School Musical", two movies that are about finding love and finding out who you are in the nightmare factory that is the American Public High School.  One of these films is definitely for kids, and the other... really, not for kids, no matter what America wants to think.




Music:

Summer Nights - Grease OST - cast
We Go Together - Grease OST - cast
Grease - performed by The Signaltones

High School Movies:

Relevant Watch: All the President's Men (1976)

Watched:  02/09/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  third
Decade:  1970's (obvs)


It's too hard to unpack both the film All the President's Men (1976) and the actual events of the Watergate scandal without writing a full treastise, so I won't.  But in 2019, the events of this movie have both an echo that sounds all too familiar, but one which it is difficult to believe would actually register with at least half the voting population.  If the movie is *about* anything, it's showing how goddamn hard it is to build a newspaper story that will stick, the near-impossible job of the press, and, of course, the responsibility of the press in a free and open democratic society, something this blogger firmly believes in.

PODCAST: Noir Watch: "The Long Goodbye" (1973) - w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  02/01/2019
Format:  Kino Lorber BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Simon and Ryan delve into Film Noir via Neo-Noir, Altman-directed entry "The Long Goodbye" (1973), an oddball of a film with a lot to offer. We explore the role of Philip Marlowe in the world of fiction, some of the mechanics of noir, and whether or not any of this actually works as a movie.




Music:

The Long Goodbye - Music by John Williams/ Lyrics by Johnny Mercer/ performed by Jack Sheldon

Links:

For more about The Signal Watch PodCast
The Signal Watch Patreon

PODCAST! "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" (1970) - It's a "New to me" extravaganza with AmyC and Ryan

Watched:  01/06/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970
Country of Origin:  Czechoslovakia

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We welcome you to join Ryan as he bears witness to a "new to him" movie as Amy brings a 1970 film from former Eastern bloc nation, Czechoslovakia! A meditation and tone poem on the transition from girlhood to womanhood - forces internal and external, allegorical and real, secular and religious. Vampires, live human bonfires, magical earrings and a polecat.

This movie has everything.





Music:
The Magic Yard - Luboš Fišer, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders OST


AmyC Cinema Select Series

Burt Watch: Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Watched:  12/19/2018
Format:  Streaming Amazon Prime
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1970's

Today Marks the 40th Anniversary of the release of the "Star Wars Holiday Special"

If I'm reading the internet correctly, today marks the 40th Anniversary of the release of The Star Wars Holiday Special.

We look back now at the Star Wars Holiday Special as the trainwreck that it, indeed, is.  But I also think it's worth mentioning what a @#$%ing miracle Star Wars itself was when it was released, and that these same actors in the same wardrobe were totally capable of making something absolutely, insanely awful.

DISNEY HISTORY PODCAST: EPCOT - Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow! NathanC and Ryan talk about the park! Yesterday, today and tomorrow!

Walt Disney had a vision for an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, a city he'd build from scratch with businesses, living spaces, arts, science, universities, etc... And we got an amusement park. NathanC and Ryan delve into the history of EPCOT from concept to execution to today to tomorrow! Are we nostalgic for the future?
 

Music
Here Come the Warm Jets - Brian Eno
Innoventions - Future World - EPCOT park soundtrack
The Universe of Energy - EPCOT park soundtrack
Promise - Leaving EPCOT song - EPCOT park soundtrack
On Some Faraway Beach - Brian Eno


Disney History with NathanC

Halloween Watch: Countess Dracula (1971)

Watched:  10/28/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Hammer Horror Watch: Twins of Evil (1971)

Watched:  10/19/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

Twins of Evil (1971) is the third in the Karnstein Trilogy of vampire films from Hammer, the two previous films included The Vampire Lovers (which I really liked) and Lust For a Vampire (which I swore I'd rewatch more closely and haven't done, so...  I'll get on that).

Halloween Watch: Vampire Circus (1972)

Watched:  10/12/2018
Format:  Amazon Prime Streaming in my hotel room
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970's

PODCAST! SIgnal Watch Halloween Horror Watch: Horror Express and Death Line (both 1972)

Watched:  09/08/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade: 1970's

In the spoooookiest of all Halloween themes - SimonUK and Ryan settle on "Christopher Lee + trains + 1972".  Two wildly different takes on the horror genre from the same year, each with a lot to offer, but offering up chills - one featuring a drunk Donald Pleasance as a policeman, and one Telly Savalas as a vodka-swilling Cossack.  But, honestly, both well worth a viewing this Halloween season.




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
Bound for Hell, Love and Rockets
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky

Playlists:

Featured:  Signal Watch Halloween 2018



More Playlists:

PODCAST! A SIGNAL WATCH HALLOWEEN! "Psychomania" (1973) w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  07/21/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970s

Watch ALL of Psychomania!

A Signal Watch Halloween BEGINS!

 SimonUK brings Ryan a spooooky film of his youth. The Easy Rider scene reaches the British suburbs as a crew of hooligans cause mischief, dabble in the occult and plan for world domination by generally making a nuisance of themselves. Frogs, the undead, shallow graves, lousy hippie music, motorbikes and locked rooms converge in a film that dares to ask: are you really going to watch all of this?




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Psychomania Theme by John Cameron
Riding Free from Psychomania
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky


Get your audio episodes at:

PODCAST! A Burt Reynolds Tribute via "Hooper" (1978) w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  09/15/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing: First
Decade:  1970s


In honor of Burt Reynolds, who passed September 6, 2018, SimonUK and Ryan watch "Hooper", a 1978 Hal Needham directed action comedy about the life of a Hollywood stuntman. And Ryan learns... Simon knows *a lot* about Burt Reynolds.


Get your audio episodes at:

Super Watch: Superman - The Movie (1978) at Austin's Paramount Theatre

Watched:  07/29/2018
Format:  Paramount Theater Summer Classic Film Series
Viewing:  I believe we are northwards of 40 at this point.  Maybe the 50th.
Decade:  1970's


The past few years, I haven't had the wherewithal or ability to get downtown much for Austin's Classic Cinema Series at The Paramount Theatre.  This year's programming fit the bill for showing "classic film", and while I understand *some* grumbling from friends who don't love the line-up, if you're part of the TCM twitter crowd, as these things go and for the audience it's aimed at - honestly, it's one of their better years.  Have I made it down there?  No.

I wasn't sure I'd actually bother to go down and see Superman: The Movie (1978) as part of their family film sub-series, either, but Jamie cut me loose to go with PaulT, so I made an effort.  Unfortunately, I got my times wrong and I was buying my soda, thinking I had 30 minutes to leisurely find Paul and chat for a bit, they shut the doors.  I ran up to the balcony and got to my favorite seat in the theater.

I'm glad I did.

Horror? Watch: Psychomania (1971)

Watched:  07/21/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  so, so 1970's

Watched for a podcast we're saving for the Halloween season