Let he who hath wisdom count the number of the film, for it is the number of a sequel and that number is two.... click link to read more.
#1978 #blogging #damientheomenii #damientheomeniireview #dontaylor #elizabethshepherd #horror #jonathanscotttaylor #lancehenriksen #leegrant #lewayres #lucasdonat #mikehodges #movieblog #nicholaspryor #robertfoxworth #sylviasidney #theomen #thecraggus #williamholden
Tonight I saw Black Rainbow, a 80s film about a spiritual medium in urban-decay Florida who predicts a series of deaths in a manner that is very inconvenient to the boss of the local evil nuclear company. It's a good film and well worth watching if you either love Tom Hulse or have any interest in ghosts (I would tick both of those boxes!) Gerry Fisher's wonderful cinematography makes imaginative use of festive greens and reds, with Hulse's journalist character dressed like a particularly sombre elf. He's terrific in the film, and Roxanna Arquette is also decent, though she struggles to deliver some of the more clunky didactic passages where the film's social themes are stated in a much too open manner. This failure of Hodges (who also wrote the script) to allow the viewer to come to the underlying messages on their own seriously damages the film's vibe of mystery, though it does recover by the end.
I was also interested by what the author of the linked review has to say about the portrayal of Southern black churches, and how they would normally never allow a medium of that kind to perform. I obviously know nothing about it, but the use of gospel choirs to create emotion is a trope that pisses me off, especially when there are once again no significant black characters, just nice singing folk in robes who are rolled on and off as needed.
The film does drag in the middle, mainly as it seems to hover somewhat ineffectually between the interpersonal relationships of the three main characters (the journalist, the medium and her exploitative father) and the union politics stuff. But the first third and the end third are terrific, and I loved the eerie ending, which was pure Southern Gothic but still unexpected.
#80sFilms #HorrorFilms #Occult #TomHulse #MikeHodges #RosannaArquette
https://cinemasentries.com/black-rainbow-blu-ray-review-a-spiritual-thriller/
Happy anniversary to Dino De Laurentiis’ campy motion picture, ‘Flash Gordon’. Released this week in 1980. #flashgordon #dinodelaurentiis #queen #mingthemerciless #samjjones #maxvonsydow #mikehodges
I just watched Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980) and rated it 6/10 ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Gordon_%28film%29?wprov=sfla1 #films #cinema #cinemastodon #FlashGordon #MikeHodges
Directed by (the fired) #MikeHodges and #DonTaylor, and featuring another marvellously malevolent #JerryGoldsmith score, 20th Century Fox released the excellent sequel Damien: Omen II in U.S. cinemas #OnThisDay, in 1978.
#DamienOmen2 #TheOmen #Damien #SixSixSix #HailSatan #Occult #Antichrist #Satan #SatanicCinema #HorrorMovies
2/2
Tonight's film:
#GetCarter (1971, dir. #MikeHodges, 112 min.), an all-time best UK film, wherein #MichaelCaine plays a London gangster gone north to investigate his brother's death, uncovering corruption crime & sleaze amid gritty evocative eerie 1970s Newcastle...just staggering
My #review for #dvdcompare of #ArrowVideo's excellent new #Bluray release of #MikeHodges' superb CROUPIER (1998) can be found at the link below:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=7242
Happy #Christmas Eve Eve wonderful mastodonians :)
Trying to decide which film to watch this afternoon - #HarryPotter #StarWars #Narnia or #FlashGordon. Think maybe Flash Gordon in tribute to #MikeHodges. Can watch one of the others this evening.
Rewatched Mike Hodges' (RIP) CROUPIER, Clive Owen at his smooth best in a neo-noir that makes the gamble of a writing career look improbably cool (and seamy), while positing we're all failed writers deep down, narrativizing our lives to imagine an ending where we might win against the odds.
God damn, RIP #MikeHodges. Amazing guest at The Space in Brighton 5 years ago, signed some bits for me. What a fantastic diverse list of films he directed. Such sad news. Not sure Morons From Outer Space will ever get that critical reevaluation he seemed to think it could get (saw it a few years ago, didn’t work for me but pretty sure I read it was 10 minutes shorter than what he wanted…which could have made all the difference with comedy timing)
Flash Gordon (1980) directed by Mike Hodges (Born: July 29, 1932; Died: December 17, 2022)
Sad to learn we lost Mike Hodges
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64050014
#MikeHodges #film #cinema #GetCarter #MichaelCaine #BritishFilm #RIP
Rest in Peace Mike Hodges, director of "Flash Gordon", the bestest movie ever made.
Tributes paid to Get Carter director Mike Hodges, who has died, aged 90 https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/news/2022-12-21-mike-hodges-dies-at-90-news-story-by-amber-wilkinson #MikeHodges #obituary #GetCarter #film #RIP
So sad to hear that #MikeHodges has passed. The Bristol-born film / TV director, screenwriter, playwright and novelist had a truly eclectic screen career, including seminal British gangster movie Get Carter (1971), unloved but brilliant Michael Crichton adaptation The Terminal Man (1974), the initial incarnation of Damien: Omen II (1978) and the sublime Flash Gordon (1980).
This one hurts. British director Mike Hodges has died. He helmed so many brilliant films, but perhaps none more iconic than GET CARTER (1971) or beloved than FLASH GORDON. He should've been far more celebrated than he was.
Vale #MikeHodges, the great British director best known for UK noir classic Get Carter. If you’ve yet to see his films with Clive Owen, Croupier and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, they’re well worth a watch, too — as is the always entertaining Flash Gordon.
