Dark shadows, youthful sensibilities, deadly gangsters, modern idealism and foreboding film noir atmosphere. These are the characteristics one sees in the films of the Nikkatsu studio during the late ’50s and into the ’60s. The films Nikkatsu produced during this time were elemental sums of all genres, mixed in to a hybrid version of B-grade films. They contracted Japan’s rising new filmmakers and were used to great effect. Suzuki Seijun, Takashi Nomura and Takumi Furukawa were all able to turn out quota quickies to hone their skills in which they would be able to utilize later on in their careers.
Category Archives: MOVIES
Iron Sky: The Coming Race – Potential Sequel Seeks Crowd Sourcing
We all remember Iron Sky right? The very tongue in cheek cinematic experience from 2012 about Nazis on the Moon? In the movie, Timo Vuorensola (director) and Tero Kaukomaa (producer) gave us an alternative version of America, one where the decision to use the moon as an advertising base alerts a bunch of moon Nazis and from there chaos ensues. Well Timo and Tero want to revisit this universe and they need our help to make it happen.
Timo and Tero have teamed up with fundraising website Indiegogo to raise funds for their sequel titled Iron Sky: The Coming Race. Wondering how the team can out do the retro campiness of the original? Well have a read at what they have planned as a synopsis below;
Twenty years after the events of Iron Sky, the former Nazi Moon base has become the last refuge of mankind. Earth was devastated by a nuclear war, but buried deep under the wasteland lies a power that could save the last of humanity – or destroy it once and for all. The truth behind the creation of mankind will be revealed when an old enemy leads our heroes on an adventure into the Hollow Earth. To save humanity they must fight the Vril, an ancient shape shifting reptilian race and their army of dinosaurs.
Much like Iron Sky before it, the film has some great artwork to back it up. The promo poster looks especially enticing, while drawing similarities to the artwork for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds movie.
As enticing as this all is, the cast list looks even better. Returning for duty are Iron Sky stars Julia Dietze and the legendary Udo Kier, with Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States and a shape shifting alien to boot (looks like David Icke may have been right all along!). Joining the team is oddball comedian Tom Green (Road Trip) as a cult leader, and trash fiends around the world can rejoice with the inclusion of Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman, who was seen most recently in this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Finally we have a few video shorts to give anyone unfamiliar with the exciting visual style of the Iron Sky universe a brief taster of that world.
Suffice to say, if a Dinosaur riding Hitler and an enraged gun touting Jesus don’t rev your engines, then this movie isn’t for you. However, for the fans of the original, and new comers who like a bit of humor and silliness to their sci-fi, this could be promising. Now all we need to do is make it happen. With only a couple weeks to go before the deadline, you’ll need to put your hands in your pockets to get this under-way. On the website (as per usual for these fundraising sites) there is a selection of incentives available for people who help out the project. For more videos on the projects progress you can view their YouTube channel and help make this film a reality.
https://www.indiegogo.com/project/iron-sky-the-coming-race–2/embedded
Images: Universal Pictures, Timo Vuorensola, Tero Kaukomaa.
Stop, Police! Exploring the World of the B-Movie Cop
Police movies are nothing new. Since they arrived on our screens in the blundering form of the Keystone Cops, they have delighted us, thrilled us and sometimes downright terrified us. There are so many variations of the cop movie, it seems to fit into any genre. Take Dead Heat (1988) for example, a buddy cop movie that turns into a horror flick with zombies – It indulges us on so many levels! The thrill of cop shootouts, mixed with humorous banter and topped off with zombie policemen.
So what other movies are out there that could indulge in this way? Grizzly Bomb has compiled a few of our favorites.
Continue reading Stop, Police! Exploring the World of the B-Movie Cop
David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick, and Alan Smithee: Directors Disowning Films
Ever watch a movie and see the name Alan Smithee pop-up as the director, or maybe the writer in the credits? Wonder how this one person could possibly write and/or direct so many varied films, and they all…well, happen to not be very good? You may find my questions coy as most of you already know that Alan Smithee is an alias usually regulated to a filmmaker who wishes to have their name removed from a project. This name-change is usually the result of a long, strenuous battle between filmmaker and studio, or when cuts and edits are made to a director’s film against their wishes. Whatever the case, here at Grizzly Bomb it got our gears moving on a new list, this one focusing on the many films in which a director disowned their own film, sometimes using the Smithee alias, storming off set, or staying silent about the film altogether. Some even had the clout (either at the time or later on) to lock the film up away from the public altogether.
Continue reading David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick, and Alan Smithee: Directors Disowning Films
UHF Latest Addition to Impressive Shout! Factory Collection
There are countless DVD and Blu-ray providers out there. Old films are resurfacing every day and new films are automatically getting the digital makeover, as we need top quality releases for our film collections. It really is a great time to be a film collector and there are some great distributors out there. One of the best though is Shout! Factory.
Shout! Factory has been in business since 2003, and they’ve amassed quite a collection of great film releases. What really catches the eye with Shout! Releases is the attention to detail. Not just the DVD and Blu-rays (which are bursting with special features). No, what really catches fans eyes is the cover art which with each new release continues to impress. You only have to look at their latest release, Weird Al’s superb 1989 comedy release UHF to see what we mean.
To honor the 25th anniversary of the classic, we’ve complied a collection of some of our favorites for you to enjoy, and with Christmas hot on our heels, these could be potential presents for a loved ones or just to treat yourself. It’s better than drinking from the fire-hose!
Scream Factory is an offshoot of Shout! Factory, and among genre fans is well-known for putting out some of the more obscure and hard to come by horror flicks in quality releases. Mixing it up with more established movies, it is great that a company can devote an entire section just to genre films. Another selling point is the created covers that have artists giving their personal touch to some great films. Below shows just how eclectic their horror collection really is.
Following on from this appreciation of good art we have a restoration of past art. Below is a collection of releases that have retained their original VHS or poster art. It is a nice look into how films came out in the past, but also it shows how important a good cover really was for distribution of movies.
Finally we have another off shoot from Shout! This time focusing on the still hugely popular MST3k series. The creators may have gone their own separate ways (founding Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax), but fans of the shows never forget how funny they are. So it is lucky for us that they keep releasing the movies, some of which have some great film inspired cover art. They even create artwork for the digital copies you can download. Now that is a commitment to good artwork that goes beyond the call of duty, and when they are creating artwork for cult classic Manos: The Hands of Fate you know you are in good hands.
This is only the tip of the iceberg with regards to Shout! Factory releases (just check out their retro cartoon section to see what I mean). Expect to see more releases in the near future from Shout! as they are on a roll and show no sign of stopping anytime soon. For all the film fans out there I think we can agree that this is definitely a good thing.
Images: Shout! Factory
Pennywise the Dancing Clown: Nightmare Fuel for a Generation
“I’m every nightmare you’ve ever had. I’m your worst dream come true. I’m everything you ever were afraid of.” Continue reading Pennywise the Dancing Clown: Nightmare Fuel for a Generation
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