Post by jeffan on Feb 26, 2009 10:58:46 GMT -5
Vincenzo Natali Salutes 80s Mashup Madness!
[For this week’s edition of the Twitch Video Salute we welcome special guest saluter Vincenzo Natali, director of classic indie scifi flick Cube and the upcoming Splice.]
Growing up in the ‘80s there was a group of films which captured my imagination but surprisingly were rarely mentioned in the same breath. At their core, they were screwball comedies, rife with outrageous characters and quotable dialogue. They distinguished themselves by fearlessly mashing up B-movie tropes with pop imagery and New Wave attitude. They were all released within a two-year period and seemed to herald a rebellion from the high concept filmmaking that dominated that decade. Sadly, they represented less of a revolution than a quirky blip on the pop radar of the times. But the last twenty some years have been kind to them, and today, legions of fans remain devoted to their lunatic genius. I consider them some of the best films of the ‘80s. As Buckaroo Banzai was apt to say, “Remember, no matter where you go… There you are.”
1. THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984)
Men in Black wishes it were half the film this one is. Directed by the writer of Big Trouble, W. D. Richter’s Banzai is a supreme work of madness. Red Lectroids from the Planet 10, a rock ‘n roll playing brain surgeon superhero, a watermelon in a vice, the list of oddities goes on and on and yet somehow the plot is as tight as drum. Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow and Christopher Lloyd make up one of the most eccentric ensembles of all time. That the sequel, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, was never made remains one of the great tragedies of my youth.
Full article:
twitchfilm.net/site/view/tvs-vincenzo-natali-salutes-80s-mashup-madness/
[For this week’s edition of the Twitch Video Salute we welcome special guest saluter Vincenzo Natali, director of classic indie scifi flick Cube and the upcoming Splice.]
Growing up in the ‘80s there was a group of films which captured my imagination but surprisingly were rarely mentioned in the same breath. At their core, they were screwball comedies, rife with outrageous characters and quotable dialogue. They distinguished themselves by fearlessly mashing up B-movie tropes with pop imagery and New Wave attitude. They were all released within a two-year period and seemed to herald a rebellion from the high concept filmmaking that dominated that decade. Sadly, they represented less of a revolution than a quirky blip on the pop radar of the times. But the last twenty some years have been kind to them, and today, legions of fans remain devoted to their lunatic genius. I consider them some of the best films of the ‘80s. As Buckaroo Banzai was apt to say, “Remember, no matter where you go… There you are.”
1. THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984)
Men in Black wishes it were half the film this one is. Directed by the writer of Big Trouble, W. D. Richter’s Banzai is a supreme work of madness. Red Lectroids from the Planet 10, a rock ‘n roll playing brain surgeon superhero, a watermelon in a vice, the list of oddities goes on and on and yet somehow the plot is as tight as drum. Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow and Christopher Lloyd make up one of the most eccentric ensembles of all time. That the sequel, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, was never made remains one of the great tragedies of my youth.
Full article:
twitchfilm.net/site/view/tvs-vincenzo-natali-salutes-80s-mashup-madness/