Well, dear readers, here’s the scenario: Say you were a kid or a teen way back when, seeing Frankenstein and/or Dracula when it first came out. You would have been scared out of your wits and probably screaming at both those hugely influential horror films. Flash forward. Say you were a kid or a teen when The Thing came out back in the early 1950s. You would have been scared out of your wits and probably screaming. Let’s continue that scenario for Psycho in 1960. I WAS there, I DID see it, and I am here to tell you the shock in that theater was palpable – you could feel the terror and the tension – the shower scene had people screaming, looking away and horrified. Later in the film when Detective Arbogast is going up the stairs to talk to Mrs. Bates the tension was unbearable. And finally, when Vera Miles goes down in the cellar and the rocking chair turns around, well, I joined several people in the El Rey theater as we literally jumped out of our seats. That movie was so horrifying I couldn’t even think of seeing it again for over a decade. Of course, in the case of all the films mentioned thus far, there were immediately tons of rip-offs from every studio and independent. Flash forward to 1978. Sit a kid or young adult down in 1978 and have them watch Psycho. And the smart-ass know-it-all kids will tell you how lame it is and how not scary it is, because, as we all know, smart-ass know-it-all kids don’t have the word context in their vocabulary. No, it’s only what scares them CURRENTLY that’s scary. And, in 1978, Halloween scared the pants off people, Halloween had people screaming and squirming and yelling at the screen. And, like Psycho, Halloween was hugely influential on all horror films that followed. Flash forward to now and sit a kid or young adult down now and show them Halloween and the smart-ass know-it-all kids will tell you how lame it is and how not scary it is. Yes, that pesky context again. They’ll tell you today’s horror films are scary – they’ll scream and squeal and squirm at Saw or whatever the hell passes for horror these days, but Halloween? Nah. It reminds me of When a Stranger Calls – that film had people screaming and squirming and cringing in suspense during its opening fifteen minutes or so. I’ve shown that opening to some young people today. Nah. Lame. Not scary. And so it goes and the fun thing will be twenty years from now when this generation will hear from the generation then how lame Saw is (or whatever passes for horror these days).
All that by way of saying that I watched John Carpenter’s Halloween on Blu and Ray last night. The film was extremely low-budget ($300,000), and it was a huge smash. My Nudie Musical co-director was at the very first screening of the film and he left after its prologue because he said it was the most vicious thing he’d ever seen. Is it? Of course not – you don’t see anything at all. And that goes for the rest of the film. As a movie, it’s certainly well made, but the dialogue is not so hot and by the end the film falls into the usual characters doing everything they shouldn’t actually do, or that the director/writer needs them to do. But none of it matters, because the film preys on basic fears and it preys on them very well. It’s really not about anything other than that and in that way the film is wildly successful. I’m not actually sure I’d ever seen it all the way through, but I’d certainly seen most of it. The film was immediately ripped off and kept being ripped off for years and years and is still probably being ripped off. But back then it was fairly original in its style (its style became the ONLY style for horror movies for the next decade, even more) and whatever you may think of John Carpenter’s musical score, it, too, was hugely influential and most horror films of the next decade had those kinds of scores. There has been endless palaver on the usual boards about this new transfer, which was supervised by the film’s cameraman, Dean Cundy. The last DVD, which he also signed off on but no one can actually provide evidence that he was in attendance when the transfer took place, had autumn hues – gold/yellow coloring. Well, the film wasn’t shot in autumn, nor was it shot in Haddonfield, Illinois – it was shot in spring in Los Angeles, California, USA. At the time of its release there would have been no way to color time it so that the trees looked like autumn but the rest of the color remained true. So, the previous DVD, whatever one thinks of it, could not have been true to the film’s original look – nor did ANY of the many other transfers from VHS on ever have that autumn coloring. This new transfer looks exactly right for a film shot for $300,000 and processed at the MGM lab (same lab as Nudie Musical). It’s an excellent job straight down the line.
Prior to that, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled In the House, a French film from France directed by Francois Ozon. I’m a fan of Mr. Ozon and have enjoyed most of his films, which are well directed and which always look beautiful. In the House is a strange film in many ways, about the nature of writing and words and perceptions and the creative process, concerning a teacher (played by one of my favorite French actors, Fabrice Luchini), and his student, who begins writing about a family he’s obsessed with. The teachers’s wife is played by Kristin Scott Thomas, and the rest of the cast is excellent. There are some very funny moments, but mostly it just ambles along its slightly weird way and I enjoyed it. Also very helpful is yet another fine score by Philippe Rombi. Transfer is lovely.
Prior to that, I’d had an okay day doing things. I got a start on the new set of liner notes – finding the way into them is always the hard part, and I got that sorted out so I’m sure I can finish them this weekend. I had a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and a small thing of onion rings, then I picked up some packages, then went to the Apple Store to see if the lines were outrageous for customers wanting one of the two new models of iPhones. I wasn’t eligible for an upgrade until the summer, and I almost got the iPhone 5 then, but I just had a hunch something new was coming soon. So, I got the new 5S, which should do me for the next two years, just as the 4G did me for two years. I sold that to someone who wanted it. The new 5S is very spiffy and fun. I brought it home, backed up the 4G and then configured the 5S from iTunes. Since it’s a new phone, it brings over everything from the old one except for the passwords – those you have to input again for all your mailboxes, plus you create a password for the phone itself. The new phone’s most interesting feature is not having to type in your password every time you unlock the phone – this phone recognizes your thumbprint – it has you push the button on the front of the phone repeatedly – first head on and then holding the phone as you’d normally grip it – I’d say each position you had to do about ten times and then it memorizes it and voila – the damn thing works. I haven’t really explored beyond that, but it’s REALLY fast (much faster than the 4G), better colors and visuals, a better camera and lots more gigs. I’ll play around with it and find all the doodads. Also, Siri seems to work much better and be much more sophisticated, so that’s fun.
Then I had a couple of telephonic conversations, did a three-mile jog, then watched the French movie from France, after which I went to Gelson’s and got some five of their teeny-tiny teriyaki drumettes (hadn’t had them in a ‘coon’s age and now I know why – they look great but aren’t really all that wonderful), and some Wheat Thins. Then I came home, ate the drumettes and watched Halloween.
Today, I’ll do a jog, I’ll try to finish the liner notes or at least most of them, hopefully I’ll pick up some packages, and then I’ll be supping, after which I’ll see Little Shop of Horrors. I’ll be going out after the show, too.
Tomorrow I hope to just relax and do just a few things that need doing. Then we have a very busy week ahead, including two Kritzerland rehearsals, finessing a mix, having meetings and meals, booking two upcoming trips, and I’m told that Sandy’s new CD may be here by the end of the week – that happened much faster than I would have thought possible.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Square Dance, because today is the birthday of our very own dear reader JohnG. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader JohnG. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER JOHNG!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, write, hopefully pick up some packages, sup, see a show, and go out after said show. Today’s topic of discussion: What do you think the most influential movies were – the ones that were copied and ripped off more than any others – in any and every genre? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall dream of influential things.