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Lifeforce (1985)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:47 pm    Post subject: Lifeforce (1985) Reply with quote

____________
_____________________

_______________ A film by Tobe Hooper
_________ starring STEVE RAILSBACK * PETER FIRTH

FRANK FINLAY * PATRICK STEWART and introducing MATHILDA MAY

_________ Lifeforce (1985) ORIGINAL TRAILER


__________



LIFEFORCE — I understand that a good DVD of this film exists, but I have an old Laserdisc from the nineties and didn't bother getting the DVD.

This sci-fi horror film throws a lot of stuff together. It begins in outer space, and the first 15 minutes are similar to the early scenes in ALIEN (1979). Later the 'vampires-from-space' scenes on Earth resemble such zombie films as DAWN of the DEAD (1978) and other similar monster films.

Later scenes recall moments from POLTERGEIST (1982) — suggesting possession, spirits in movement, the light shows, and the last act is an apocalyptic end-of-the-world scenario.

In light of all I just described, the film has to be at least somewhat interesting. But the first act may be a bit derivative of ALIEN Here's what I mean.




Well, except for the nude 'Space Girl' — there was nothing like that in ALIEN.

And though the film, like a few others in the eighties, seemed to follow in ALIEN's footsteps, it also may have influenced later films like [color=darkred]EVENT HORIZON[/color] (1997) and SUPERNOVA, not to mention the HELLRAISER films and others I can't think of now.

This was written by Dan O'Bannon — yep, the ALIEN writer (based on a novel The Space Vampires. Hmmm, wonder if the sixties film PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965) had any influence? O'Bannon was really on this 'Horrors From Outer Space' kick, but might have been a big influence on the direction sci-fi films took in the eighties & nineties.

However, whereas all these other films stayed in their outer space region where we expect them to — astronauts encounter threat in deep space and so on — this one switches to Earth early on and only returns to outer space in a few flashbacks.



LIFEFORCE also presents a few interesting ideas. Besides suggesting the 'true' origins of the vampire legend, it also hints about the true nature of what many think of as a soul. In the context of this film's story, life is more malleable than we think. It can be drained from a person but then returned, thereby returning the person to life (the essence of vampire mythology in the movies).

The scene that sticks out to me is the one of the young soldier returning to life after draining a doctor. He looks as surprised as anyone else, but also elated in the first few seconds about being alive again and maybe a bit mad. It's a memorable few moments.



Also, I'd forgotten as to why the three aliens found on that alien spaceship looked like humans. As I watched this again, I found that an explanation is provided (now, now, we don't want to give everything away). The female-shaped alien is the one we see the most of (can't complain — oh, yes, another later film I'm now reminded of — SPECIES in 1995, which featured a nude Natasha Henstridge in several scenes. Mathilda May spends most of her scenes in the nude in LIFEFORCE. Ah, Mathilda, Mathilda . . . if only you weren't a space vampire. Rolling Eyes



Patrick Stewart, soon-to-be Capt. Picard on TNG, appears only after the 2nd hour begins and his scenes are rather brief; he spends much of them on his back, semi-conscious. He plays the enigmatic head of an asylum, of all things.

This isn't all that great a film, however. It gets a bit murky at some points — near the end, the hero (Railsback) is told by the Space Girl that he is like her, that he always has been (wha..?). The film is on the slow side for about half-an-hour near the middle and the conclusion is anti-climactic, abrupt and unclear.



BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus


Last edited by Bogmeister on Sun May 19, 2019 12:16 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Strangly enough, this isn't at all the kind of movie I usually like, and yet I enjoyed it very much. It was such a skillful blend of horror and science fiction, so it kept me entertained from start to finish.

BoG, however was a bit less enthusiastic than I expected, although his rating of 6.5 seems about right to me.

He's right about the ending being unclear, and the whole idea concerning the astronaut (played by Steve Railsback) being somehow connected to the vampire girl (Mathilda May) was confusing. Until I read the Wikipedia summary today, I still didn't get it. Wikipedia says that at some point early in the movie (in a scene I don't think we actually see), Railsback gives some of his "lifeforce" to the girl, which leaves them with a psychic connection.

The film bombed at the box office here in the US, but it did well in England and other countries, in part because those audience saw the original director's cut by Toby Hooper, which was fifteen minutes longer, with a more dramatic opening credit sequence and Henri Mancini's rousing theme. The US version was whimpy by comparison, and some of the dramatic opening scenes shown in the four-minute video below were edited out! Shocked

By the way, I have no idea why the Youtube thumbnail below shows Mathhilda May (present day and clothed . . . ), because she is NOT in the video.

Amazon has the newly released Blu-ray/DVD of the director's cut (116 minutes) for $16.96. By gum, I'm mighty tempted . . . Confused

One Amazon customer's review of the Blue-ray says the original director's cut was 128 minutes before Hooper cut it down before release.



_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:57 am; edited 4 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

TCM aired this amazing movie on Saturday July 20th, 2019. The print was excellent, the aspect ratio was widescreen, with black bars top and bottom.

Sadly, that has become increasingly rare these days when movies are shown on TV, because so many clueless viewers don't care about missing portions of a film's carefully composed frame as long as their damn big-screen TVs are all filled up! Rolling Eyes

Ah, but I digress . . .

During my recent viewing of Lifeforce I was impressed anew by this unique film, with its astounding special effects, its complex plot, and its excellent direction by Toby Hooper.

I watched Mr. Hooper's other 1980s film, Poltergeist a few days ago from another TCM airing, and it impressed me much less than on prior occasions. Sad

Poltergeist is an enjoyable ghost story the first few times you see it, but frankly it's beginning to "look it's age" — just another typical 1980s Speilberg-produced crowd pleaser which pieces together skillfully shot scenes involving drama, humor, and shocks to make a movie that fits together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Don't get me wrong, your wallet doesn't feel cheated when you buy a ticket for a movie like that . . . but your brain is a bit disappointed. Rolling Eyes

Lifeforce, on the other hand, rewards your wallet and your brain. You don't just walk out of the theater let the daylight chase away the creepy feelings a movie like Poltergeist caused. With this movie, you can't get it out of your head because it planted seeds that grow in your psyche and keep you awake at night!

But that's not a bad thing, because you're probably smiling at the ceiling in your darkened bedroom, pondering new ideas that are fun to chase around in your head until you fall asleep —

— and then you experience a few pleasant dreams about this young lady. Wink

____________

Don't feel guilty, guys. It's just the call of nature. Cool

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat May 23, 2020 2:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 04, 2019 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saw the film when it first came out.

Immediately became a Mathilda May fan and remain so to this day. Thank you so much for that lovely picture of that lovely actress, Bud.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2020 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has 125 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text. Very Happy
________________________________

~ Mathilda May had rubber soles glued to the bottom of her feet, in order to avoid cutting them, during the scene in which she walks out of the building, after breaking the glass windows.

Note from me: Gee, and all this time I thought she was totally naked! Rolling Eyes

~ Tobe Hooper's Director's Cut was two hours and eight minutes, then the movie was cut down to one hour and fifty-six minutes, the cuts being mostly scenes set on the spaceship Churchill.

The original unedited European version contains more violent and erotic footage, which Tri-Star Pictures cut from the domestic U.S. version. It also contains the full Henry Mancini score, in place of the occasional Michael Kamen music cues placed at the last minute for U.S. prints.

This version is now available on video, and runs one hour and fifty-six minutes.


Note from me: It's been my experience, when viewing "directors cuts" with deleted scenes reinserted, that skilled directors do not include much that isn't worth watching. I'd like to see the version that's two hours and eight minutes.

~ Editor John Grover said in the Blu-Ray feature that when they delivered Tobe Hooper's original version to Golan and Globus, it was a little bit long, but it was a picture that worked. But the distributor said the picture was too long and they wanted it shorter. But Tobe didn't want it shorter. Grover left to work on Labyrinth (1986) and Golan and Globus called somebody else in to edit and they just slashed it.

Note from me: Like I said, if the director doesn't want it shorter, the studio execs should probably butt the hell out!

~ The filmmakers briefly considered waxing Mathilda May, in order to make her appear less nude. This idea was ultimately rejected, because it had the opposite result of its initial intention.

Note from me: I'm not sure what this means, but I'd sure like the mental image of a few guys applying the wax and then buffing it to high gloss! Laughing

~ Tobe Hooper came up with the idea of using Halley's Comet in the screenplay, rather than the asteroid belt, as originally used in the novel, as the comet was going to pass by Earth one year following this movie's release.

Note from me: Three cheers for Mr. Hooper! The idea that Halley's Comet has a hidden spacecraft in the tail and comes back around every 76 years is an added bit of elegance to this imaginative movie. (The next item is related.)

~ Tobe Hooper came up with the idea of incorporating Halley's Comet into the screenplay. Dan O'Bannon was displeased with the end result, as he disliked the addition.

Note from me: Wait a minutes . . . the author thought the alien ship should have been way out in the boring old asteroid belt , where you can't actually see one asteroid from another because they're so far aparts — despite Hollywood's flamboyant way of positioning them so close together they collide with each other every thirty seconds? Shocked

The film's change to the tail of Halley's Comet was brilliant, for multiple reasons! Dan O'Bannon is nuts! Rolling Eyes

~ The dummies used as dissected corpses were used in The Mummy (1999).

Note from me: And yet they say it's hard for dummy mummies to find work! Laughing

~ For the shot of Space Girl walking up the stairs naked, shadows were added in post-production to censor Mathilda May's body to avoid getting an X rating.

Note from me: I completely agree with our societies nudity taboo when is comes to average people who aren't real attractive when they pad around in the buff. Rolling Eyes

On that note, remember when you were 13 years old and thought that being invisible would be fun because you could sneak into the girls rest room and see sexy females! Wink

Later, when you grew up, you realized that watching the most beautiful girl in world sitting on a toilet, pooping and peeing, would be about as erotic as watching your sister vomit into a bucket! Shocked

However, watching Mathilda May walk slowly down a flight of starts is poetry in motion. So why should that scene earn this movie an X-rating? Confused

~ Olivia Hussey left the movie, because she mistakenly thought that she was playing the role of Space Girl, which required too much nudity. She was then replaced by Nancy Paul.

Note from me: "Olivia, sweetheart, buttercup! You're leaving that movie because you think you have appear naked? Trust me, Baby, you got nothin' to worry about! Those zoomers of yours are definitely NOT what got you the part!" Cool

~ First movie in Director Tobe Hooper's three-movie deal with The Cannon Group, Inc. and Golan-Globus Productions. The others being Invaders from Mars (1986) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986).

Note from me: I like this movie, along with Mr. Hooper's Invaders from Mars! But movies with "chainsaw" in the title are own my No Fly List, without exception . . .

~ Over one thousand actresses were considered, or interviewed for the role of Space Girl. Tobe Hooper said it was incredibly difficult to find an actress willing to play the role because it was basically just walking around totally naked most the time and then having sex.

He said in a Blu-ray feature that many of the other auditioning actresses refused to fully disrobe for the part, even conspiring against him at one casting session.

Associate producer Michael Kagan said the reason they met with French actress Mathilda May, who couldn't even speak English, was because they couldn't find an English actress that was willing to strip completely.


Note from me: Several thoughts:

~ Was it really such a chore to interview 1,000 gorgeous girls who had to show their knockers to qualify for the role?

~ Since Mathilda didn't speak English, did she really understand that she'd have to waltz around in her birthday suit?

~ Did Mr. Hooper and company address the assembled women before the individual interviews and make this announcement?

"Ladies, this role will require total nudity and a few sex scenes. If that bothers you, please go home now."

If they didn't do that, I can't help wondering if perhaps they had . . . ulterior movies. Wink

~ This was promoted and filmed under the title "The Space Vampires" (the title of Colin Wilson's novel).

However, Producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus' Cannon Films reportedly spent nearly twenty-five million dollars, in hopes of creating a full blown blockbuster. They felt that this title made it sound like a typical Cannon low-budget exploitation movie.

The title was changed to "Lifeforce", and it was released in the United States in an edited version — which brought in less than half of its production cost!


Note from me: Wait a second, does anybody really think the movie would have done better with a hokey title like "Space Vampires"? Shocked

Seriously? Confused

~ The Churchill scenes at first took up the first thirty-five minutes of the movie.

Approximately twelve minutes of these were cut, plus some scenes were moved to later in the movie and turned into flashbacks. All this was done against Director Tobe Hooper's wishes.


Note from me: When I saw this movie after it was first released at the theaters, I remember being frustrated by the confusion caused by the story elements we had to wait for in the flashbacks.

In a way, it works, because we eventually learn the answers to puzzling questions posed by the first part of the movie. But with such a complex concept, we don't really need MORE confusion caused of the rearranged scenes.

I'd have enjoyed the story more if they hadn't juggled around the events the way they did. Rolling Eyes

~ Based on behind the scenes photos of a very naked Mathilda May chatting with cast and crew while waiting to film, she was very comfortable with the nudity and didn't bother wearing a robe. In fact, some people joked it was more awkward for them because they had to force themselves to keep looking at her eyes the entire time, and that wasn't easy.

Note from me: Well . . . uh . . . like, duh, guys! What did Miss May expect? (She expected exactly what she got, I'm sure.) Rolling Eyes

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2020 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
… if the director doesn't want it shorter, the studio execs should probably butt the hell out!

My dad, Pye-rate informed me that that American movie theaters won't go for that, as they want 5 or more showings per day to maximize profits
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
________________________________

~ A Question for the Members: After London was devastated by the space vampires and thousands of Brits were killed, would mankind initiate a global effort to create one-or-more mega-missiles which could overtake and destroy the alien ship after it reentered the coma of Halley's Comet?

~ My Theory: Well, they certainly should, in view of the danger the vampires pose — and we'd probably try . . . in spite of the extreme challenges this would present. Sad

For example, the ship is 150 miles long and built by an advance race of beings. Destroying such a large vessel made of unknown materials (and now repopulated by a large crew of revitalized demonic creatures) might be more than we can manage with our current technology. Sad

And then there's the problem of catching up to the damn thing after it's rounded the sun and headed back towards deep space!

Let's assume that it takes only one year to complete a fleet of mega-missiles and launch them.

When Haley's Comet goes past the Earth (during both it's final approach towards the sun and the early part of its return trip), it's velocity is 157,838 mph.

_________

_________

Shown above ~ The orbital path of Halley, against the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (animation)

According the animations above, Hally's comet takes about six months to cross Earth's orbit the second time before heading back into space.

That means it will be traveling about 3,788,112 miles each day during the six months after crossing Earth's orbit the second time and racing away from Earth! Shocked

And six months after crossing Earth's orbit — when Earth's mega-missiles are finally ready to launch — the vampire ship will be about 681,860,160 miles away . . . and still going like a bat outta hell! Shocked

Obviously mankind doesn't have a chance in hell of catching up with these soul-sucking bastards and blowing them up! Very Happy

Therefore, mankind's best chance to deal with these evil creatures is to spend the next 76 years getting read to nuke the bastards when Haley's comet comes back!

Come on, guys! Figuring out stuff like this takes a few hours and some serious online research, but isn't that what science fiction fans are supposed to love doing! Very Happy

Heck, I do! I hope I'm not the only one!

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Nov 06, 2022 2:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

An automated Orion spaceship could catch up to Halley's Comet. Being automated, they wouldn't have to worry about acceleration forces like with a living crew. They could just keep chucking A-bombs out the tail until they reached the velocity they wanted.

BUT! The Orion spaceship wouldn't be there to attack the alien ship, but rather to see if it were still there and if so, to observe it. This would allow Earth time to develop and build an arsenal to assault the Alien ship on it's return. Imagine the Alien ship meeting a barrage of thousand, or millions of nuclear missiles on it's return to the inner system. Maybe even several waves of missiles.

If the Earth governments tried, who knows what new weapons of destruction could be developed to assault the Alien ship.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

David, you've definitely addressed the problem and offered the best solution.

Bravo! Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never realized but our very own Hazell is in this movie!!! I saw it a couple of times years ago but not since so Nicholas Ball turning up as one of the main stars is very strange indeed especially as TPTV has just finished showing Hazell for the second time!
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

A little clarification is need, Johnny. Who is Hazell, and what it TPTV? Confused

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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