Times takes its toll on some flicks from the past. :(

[noogies]

"The Party" with Peter Sellers and directed by Blake Edwards isn't as funny as I thought it was when I was a kid. Except for "Birdie Num-Nums" -- that's still pure gold. But the chaotic ending where the party gets crashed by the college kids hasn't aged at all well.

 

[Pio1980]

Caught the orig "Rollerball" (1975) with James Caan in it the other night.

Not going to bash it for an earlier SciFi effort, but to support it to a certain extent. Ironically, they mention the future time period of this savage sport of the future to be this year...2018!

The world this sport of brutal carnage takes place wherein it expresses the need for the masses to be entertained by watching the players attack each other without rules/time outs/or penalties. The huge corporations control all, and the governments have little or no control at this time. Maybe this movie should be retitled from ScFi to Documentary.

This film from the past stayed with me for years. Maybe more so today.

Food for thought, eh?

Q

MMA?

 

[dcreek]

"The Party" with Peter Sellers and directed by Blake Edwards isn't as funny as I thought it was when I was a kid. Except for "Birdie Num-Nums" -- that's still pure gold. But the chaotic ending where the party gets crashed by the college kids hasn't aged at all well.

I agree with you on that one.
After watching the Steve Martin "Pink Panther " remakes with my young sons I dug up copies of Seller's originals and we found them to be surprisingly dull.
(But the whole 'Kato' shtick is still outrageous! )

Had the very good luck to see "Casablanca " on the big screen and in black and white, a few years back, and it was fantastic (on many levels).

 

[ducati_EL34]

As for that scene, as well as the other you mention (both the swedish and the american version) were very disturbing. If you've known someone who has gone thru that, it is not something you can sit thru and not be a bit squeamish.
.

Well I do not know of anyone personally, but I know of someone where I work, who was kidnapped for several days, and raped repeatedly. That was a terrible real life incident. The other is just a movie.

 

[Quadman2]

MMA?

Nope...Roller Derby

Q

 

[Pio1980]

Nope...Roller Derby

Q

Mayhem on skates = Rollerball.
Never saw it, no interest in ultimate nihilism.
Now the fantasy has gone from voyeristic fulfillment to tull participation with "The Purge" franchise. The present day voyeurs get MMA and "ultimate fighting". Whatever goes, goes. Intentional killing not encouraged notwithstanding.
Take that, fake pro wrestling!

 

[Beatnik]

When my daughter was in school she read all the Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings books, Twilight and Hunger Games I believe it was. Seems now there are no book stores left but used.

I guess at the moment it's all about super heroes, so reading would consist of comics ?

 

[Falstaff]

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and To Sir With Love come to mind. But one has to remember that movies are really a snap shot of either what was going on at that time, what people were thinking or, in the case of Science Fiction, what we thought could be someday. To me, Star Trek TOS still holds up. But Star Wars, the first movie from the 70's, does not and I saw it 5 times when it came out.

 

[Quadman2]

When my daughter was in school she read all the Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings books, Twilight and Hunger Games I believe it was. Seems now there are no book stores left but used.

I guess at the moment it's all about super heroes, so reading would consist of comics ?

Comics? I hope not!

We do serve as models for them. We read. They read. Usually.

Q

 

[Quadman2]

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and To Sir With Love come to mind. But one has to remember that movies are really a snap shot of either what was going on at that time, what people were thinking or, in the case of Science Fiction, what we thought could be someday. To me, Star Trek TOS still holds up. But Star Wars, the first movie from the 70's, does not and I saw it 5 times when it came out.

Good points "Falstaff"...love that handle! I wonder where you borrowed it from, eh?

The arts do reflect what's going on in society, and vice versa.

Q

 

[hjames]

"The Party" with Peter Sellers and directed by Blake Edwards isn't as funny as I thought it was when I was a kid. Except for "Birdie Num-Nums" -- that's still pure gold. But the chaotic ending where the party gets crashed by the college kids hasn't aged at all well.

Yeah, a lot of those "period" films ending with a script calling for "guy in a gorilla suit: Hilarity Ensues" weren't that funny even then.
Even through a hazy of cannabis, it was just stupid/bad writing. Check out David Warner in "Morgan" (1966) - ugh!

 

[hjames]

Mayhem on skates = Rollerball.
Never saw it, no interest in ultimate nihilism.
Now the fantasy has gone from voyeristic fulfillment to tull participation with "The Purge" franchise. The present day voyeurs get MMA and "ultimate fighting". Whatever goes, goes. Intentional killing not encouraged notwithstanding.
Take that, fake pro wrestling!

The ORIGINAL Rollerball was epic - Bread and circuses to amuse the masses,
and no real heroes allowed, to show the people that resistance is Futile!
Jonathan Houseman was never better!
Who cares about American Gladiators, American Ninjas, or any of that rah rah crap that passes for "competition" these days ...

 

[Quadman2]

As already mentioned...the film, "Rollerball, looked to 2018 for the futuristic setting...like this year!

And ya, hjames, you gotta get past the brutality of this film as in other copy cat films that followed to appreciate the message of this movie. Different cultures have tried to placate/defray the masses with different events/formats from the Romans and even before until modern times.

If anyone who's seen both the orig "Rollerball" and the remake of this movie could comment on how it compares...would be appreciated.

Q

 

[Pio1980]

The ORIGINAL Rollerball was epic - Bread and circuses to amuse the masses,
and no real heroes allowed, to show the people that resistance is Futile!
Jonathan Houseman was never better!
Who cares about American Gladiators, American Ninjas, or any of that rah rah crap that passes for "competition" these days ...

Not having seen it but familiar with the subtheme as parable, no doubt the ruling forces see themselves as heroic as do their supporters, others see them as opressors and their enablers. The times and point of view may determine which is which, and how the message is recieved and interpreted.

 

[Pio1980]

I just saw most of Avatar (second time view), and am wondering, in spite of it's spectacular production value, if it is out of step or too "preachy" with the present attitude. Would a sequel do well nowadays?

 

[MaxxVolume]

Once in a while, you get a remake that stands up well when viewed against the strength of the original. For me, one of those was "Point Blank", the 1967 original starred Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Carroll O`Connor, Keenan Wynne

A criminal named Walker (Marvin) is double -crossed and left for dead during a heist, but survives, and spends his days extracting revenge on those who wronged him.

At the time, it was considered to be an above-average crime drama.

The remake was titled "Payback", and starred Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, and Maria Bello, with cameos by Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn. This film followed the original formula quite closely, and turned out well, IMHO.

 

[ducati_EL34]

Once in a while, you get a remake that stands up well when viewed against the strength of the original. For me, one of those was "Point Blank", the 1967 original starred Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Carroll O`Connor, Keenan Wynne

A criminal named Walker (Marvin) is double -crossed and left for dead during a heist, but survives, and spends his days extracting revenge on those who wronged him.

At the time, it was considered to be an above-average crime drama.

The remake was titled "Payback", and starred Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, and Maria Bello, with cameos by Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn. This film followed the original formula quite closely, and turned out well, IMHO.

Yes indeed!

Porter - “Dirty cops. Do they come any other way?”

I always thought this line delivered by Gibson was perfectly done. Now that I am an LEO, I still find it funny.

 

[KiM3Ce]

A while back I saw "Good Morning Vietnam" with Robin Williams. While I'm sure that in the 1960s there was plenty of macho gay-bashing humor, now it seems cringe-worthy. It seems hard to believe this film was made in 1987, five years after "Victor, Victoria."

 

[soundmotor]

Caught the orig "Rollerball" (1975) with James Caan in it the other night.

Not going to bash it for an earlier SciFi effort, but to support it to a certain extent. Ironically, they mention the future time period of this savage sport of the future to be this year...2018!

The world this sport of brutal carnage takes place wherein it expresses the need for the masses to be entertained by watching the players attack each other without rules/time outs/or penalties. The huge corporations control all, and the governments have little or no control at this time. Maybe this movie should be retitled from ScFi to Documentary.

This film from the past stayed with me for years. Maybe more so today.

Food for thought, eh?

Q

The original Rollerball is fantastic and prescient in so many ways. (It is also a great back to back viewing with A Clockwork Orange too.) There are production details that stand out. The actual game play was refined and documented as the film progressed. Cast & crew would get on the track between takes and worked out the rules until it made sense as a competition. It's one of the more striking aspects in that the game has the feel of a real sporting event. I really love this film.

"In the Special Edition DVD of the film, Jewison said the cast played the game over and over until they figured out how it should work."

Rollerball background -

http://speedrally.net/?page_id=1078

 

[Quadman2]

A while back I saw "Good Morning Vietnam" with Robin Williams. While I'm sure that in the 1960s there was plenty of macho gay-bashing humor, now it seems cringe-worthy. It seems hard to believe this film was made in 1987, five years after "Victor, Victoria."

Keep in mind the audience that Robbins was playing to at the time in the movie...military. Another world within itself, and it was an active military event which probably intensified things.

Q