Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
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 Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 1:01 pm Post subject: FEATURED THREADS for 4-25-23 |
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The Doomsday Machine took five years to complete . . . because the producers ran out of money.
Westworld is a movie about robots that look remarkably like actors.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the sequel some people like, and others people hate.
Comments, anyone! 
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The Doomsday Machine (1972)
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This was one of those films which was mostly shot in 1967 but, due to money problems, wasn't finished up with final footage until 5 years later.
It's the story of a space expedition to Venus. It begins on Earth when there are tensions among the world powers. The crew of the expedition later watches Earth being destroyed by atomic war. Despite the fact that the group doesn't get along so well, they bravely face the fact that the survival of the race depends on how quickly they can start making babies.
Exterior shots of the rocket in flight are borrowed from Gorath (1962 Japanese) and interior shots from Wizard of Mars (65).
The cast includes Grant Williams (The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters) in an atypical role (wound too tight), Mala Powers (The Colossus of New York, The Unknown Terror), Mike Farrell (M*A*S*H*), and other faces that are very familiar to film fans in the 1960s — Ruta Lee, Bobby Van, and Casey Kasem. Directed by Harry Hope and Lee Sholem (the new footage).
I have a double feature DVD on which this is paired with Werewolf of Washington, an Elvira's Movie Macabre release (Elvira used to host a program with such films, offering introductions and commentary during breaks; one can watch the film with her hosting it as an option on the DVD).
We see the bare back of a younger actress — I think her name is Lori Scott. Mala Powers plays a slightly older, stern Russian astronaut. Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H* fame shows up in one scene as a reporter.
This isn't that bad in the first three-quarters of the film, but the final act is all but unwatchable — to me at least. I think that's where all the footage from another film was inserted to finally finish the film and it presents what should be one minute of astronauts getting into a space capsule and sitting down as a 10-minute scene, as if in super slow motion. On top of that, we never get to see them reaching Venus — that plot had to be changed for the ending.
___________ Doomsday Machine (1972) SCI-FI
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BoG's Score: 3 out of 10
BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Westworld
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_____________________ Westworld (1973)
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From the prolific Michael Crichton, an early look at how technology — the advancement of such — may have detrimental effects on society, the paradox to the supposed benefits. The new technology simply empowers the populace to new levels of decadence. Crichton's The Andromeda Strain was made into a film a couple of years earlier; for this, Crichton was able to write & direct it himself, as his first film.
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The story focuses on two typical citizens (played by Richard Benjamin & James Brolin) who arrive at the adult amusement park of the future. The park, Delos, is divided into 3 sections or themes: Roman World, Medieval World and . . . Westworld. Each section recreates these past eras, using human-looking robots to interact with the guests.
The two main characters have selected Westworld to romp in. Benjamin is the newbie; Brolin has been there before. Their first moment of real excitement is a confrontation with a sinister gunslinger (Yul Brynner). Of course, there's no real danger for the guests. Well . . . until now. Technology — a two-edged sword?
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I have the original paperback novelization of Westworld from the same year it was released. Of course, it's not really a novelization, just the screenplay in paperback format. Michael Crichton, the writer & director, found that he couldn't work out an actual novel of the story. He includes a preface, titled "Shooting Westworld," in which he explains, in one paragraph, the 'Made-for-TV' look which some find pedestrian.
| Quote: | | In all our planning, my overriding concern was to avoid a bizarre, science fiction appearance to the film. The story was strange and certainly suggested a strange treatment. I could easily imagine using wide-angle lenses, eccentric compositions, and disorienting cutting patterns. I decided to shoot the film straight, playing against the strangeness instead of emphasizing it. |
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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
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There are a few sci-fi fans who consider this 4th film (the 3rd sequel) in the Apes saga to be atrocious and perhaps even the worst of the lot. And yet, there are also a few who consider this one to be the best sequel. In many ways, this one is the most divisive of the 4 sequels. Hard to pin down? Difficult to analyze properly? You say monkey business, I say ape action?
________ Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes
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I believe that this 4th film in the Apes series (after Escape From the Planet of the Apes) has some fans because it's the most ambitious of the sequels. To wit: during the course of the film, we are presented with an alternate version of modern North America (circa 1991), a totalitarian version, and then the planning and execution to overthrow this regime — a full-fledged revolution.
Of course, events such as these should take years, sometimes many years, and everything is compressed into what seems to be a matter of weeks. We may infer that the story is a parable, perhaps not to be taken completely literally.
 
Taking place almost 20 years after the events of the previous film, we learn quite a bit in the first few scenes, courtesy of Ricardo Montalban's character, Armando, who explains all this stuff to the son (Roddy McDowall) of the 2 apes from the far future.
Quite a lot has happened in those past couple of decades, including the death of all cats & dogs due to a plague (back in 1983). Apes have already evolved within this very short time into mankind's latest slave class (perhaps the plague affected them — this is conjecture; the filmmakers don't bother to explain why the apes here already look like the futuristic ones of 2,000 years later — in Planet of the Apes, 1968).
Also, with this oppressive, cruel atmosphere, it's no accident that some of the policemen resemble Nazi storm troopers. I think the film was pretty successful in presenting this oppression. I felt a bit closed in and trapped when I first watched this, as if I was about to be arrested any second.
 
This film tries to make a statement, which can be powerful if presented correctly and all too rare in most science fiction films (especially nowadays). As to how well the film succeeds at this . . . well, that's what promotes debate.
What it proposes is that mankind will always fill the need to possess a slave class. Is it (a) out of plain laziness? (b) The advances in a society in which most free citizens outgrow all menial jobs? Or is it (c) just some need to dominate another class?
What might annoy some viewers is the presumably easy way in which America slipped towards a version of Nazi Germany. This is done to facilitate the story of a rebellion, but no substantial reasons are given for this slip to the dark side. As said, there's room for debate — this film proposes that societies seem doomed to a cycle, as the new lower class eventually rises up and forms the new society. In this case, all that was needed was a new Caesar (McDowall) to organize the worker class. I did like a few of the scenes here, especially where the future ape leader picks out his new name and all his scenes with the fascistic governor (Murray).
The scenes of those multitudes of apes, dressed in basic colors, undergoing mass training, stay in the mind because they really are disturbing. The cinematography is different from the previous films, stressing deep blacks and a coarse palette. Filmed in an area with very modern architecture (even by today's standards), this achieves a nice futuristic feel. Much of the later scenes take place at night, in the dark, including all the climactic battle action sequences during the swift revolution, and this future city forms an eerie backdrop.
I don't pretend to understand how even taking over this one entire city results in eventual global control by the apes, but speaking of battle, the next and final film was Battle For the Planet of the Apes. Maybe that one would explain some of these issues, but I think you would have to approach it with an open mind — a very open mind.
BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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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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