SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Week 37 Discussion - Maniac

[Xuh]

Oh man, She is the most awesome film of all time. I love that picture to death. It's just one amazing scene after another. Words don't do it justice. Sandahl Bergman playing an Amazon Goddess in a post-apocalyptic world where she has to fight off Frankenstein, Wearwolves, Mutants, The Cult of Nod and fucking Godan man!

don't forget the groovy soundtrack

Sandahl Bergman is just an amazing presence in She. She really holds it all togheter.

I liked Quinn Kessler in it too as her sidekick, too bad she didn't make (m)any other movies, especially ones involving skimpy leather outfits, swords, whipping, and mutant radioactive zombies.
(yeah I'm contributing to the highbrow movie discussion ITT, you better believe it)

In case you recognize her -- Sabrina Siani is another one of my B-movie starlets. She was in a slew of these films as well.

I recognize her of course, though the only movie I think I've actually seen her in yet is Conquest, so I'm not so much familiar with her face in film so much as the rest of her body in its entirety

Also, you HAVE to check out The Blood of Heroes as well. It's a maxpocalypse sports-movie starring Rutger Hauer! I say with no hyperbole or irony -- that it's the greatest sports movie I have ever seen in my life. A really fantastic film.

Thanks. I don't know how to explain this but despite being a post apocalyptic movie, by David Peoples, with Rutger 'fucking' Hauer in it, this movie had not come up on my radar yet
I shall add it near the top of the (already too long) 'to watch' list immediately.
(If it had been by Albert Pyun this error would surely not have occured )

I picked up this (very good) book around Christmas a year ago, cross checked and indeed the author gives it the maximum rating. Judgement confirmed.

The 80's was just a golden age for B-movies in general.

Who says the threat of nuclear annihilation was so bad? It gave is the mostest awesomest genre in movies, vidya gaems, fashion, & even quite a few cool songs.
Wave your nukes around a little more plz, Mr V. Putin

 

[Zer]

To me, the bolded is EXACTLY why I liked this movie.

Cheers!

Maybe check out this film bro

^ Very troubling to watch. That's what you get when you use a legit German to play your serial killer

Fun fact: This was also a major influence on boss director Gaspar Noe

 

[dissolved]

Maybe check out this film bro

^ Very troubling to watch. That's what you get when you use a legit German to play your serial killer

Fun fact: This was also a major influence on boss director Gaspar Noe

I'll have to check that out - thanks!

 

[europe1]

don't forget the groovy soundtrack

Yeah, apperently the director was a musician. So he a lot of connections from the business to draw from.

I liked Quinn Kessler in it too as her sidekick, too bad she didn't make (m)any other movies, especially ones involving skimpy leather outfits, swords, whipping, and mutant radioactive zombies.

Sadly that's the career path of most girls who dabble in that genre. That's a reason to love girls like Sabrina Siani and Lana Clarkson who actually did a few.

But one thing that I like about Sandahl -- that is rather unique to her -- is that she just naturally has a very proud, dignified look. It helps with her character. I'm not going to pretend She is some dramatic masterpiece or anything, but in the ending when Quinn Kessler asks her, "are you coming?" and Sandahl lips barely manages to croak an airy "yes" in reply, that I feel is one of those moments that only Sandahl could have provided.

And despite my previous reassurances -- I'm apperently now treating She as a dramatic masterpiece.

I recognize her of course, though the only movie I think I've actually seen her in yet is Conquest, so I'm not so much familiar with her face in film so much as the rest of her body in its entirety

Haha. When I first watch that film I told myself, "well they can't keep her naked all the time, can they?" Shit yeah they could!

Conquest is another one of my favorites. It's rather idiosyncratic, but it really nailed the mythic, primordial feeling that the director was going for (B-movie uber-legend Lucio Fulci).

(If it had been by Albert Pyun this error would surely not have occured )

I'm not actually that hyped on Pyun actually on the Conan/Mad Max cash-ins, especially in comparison to what else is out there. The first Nemesis is really cool, but the sequels falter (I suppose that people whom are really interested in female bodybuilders would love them, I guess). Cyborg with Van Damm himself is also cool of course, though a bit slow. The Sword and the Sorcerer has some amazing special effects and moments but overall the movie is just... dull man. Which it shouldn't be. Radioactive Dreams has an awesome premise but the actual movie falls a bit short on that. Knights is pretty charming, another post-apocalyptic martial arts movie, but instead of starring JCVD, it stars UFC 1 commentator Kathy Long! How about that?

When it comes to the post apocalyptic, my main-man is Cirio Santiago. And then all those Italian fellows.

I picked up this (very good) book around Christmas a year ago, cross checked and indeed the author gives it the maximum rating. Judgement confirmed.

Damn... that does look cool. It probably spend hours just looking up his ratings for various movies I like and then bitch about them online.

 

[chickenluver]

Sure, but since the art of filmmaking and technology are fundamentally intertwined, it makes sense that films get better as time goes on. In the same way that the top sports cars of today are going to outperform the best cars of the 50s, advances both in terms of physical technology as well as techniques should dictate that today's crop of films are generally better than those of the past.

Eww gross, you just compared science to art

 

[Guestx]

Eww gross, you just compared science to art

Filmmaking is part science, part art, which is exactly my point. Being a film maker isn't like being a writer. You can't just have the ideas. You have to know the wealth of technical skills that go into such things as lighting, operating a camera, creating visual effects (if necessary), color grading, etc.

And the tools to do those things change over time.

 

[chickenluver]

I feel pretty indifferent to this movie. Some parts I liked, some parts I found silly. I agree with a lot of the points made ITT both in favor of and against the movie.

The exact nature of his mental illness and the effect his pills had was confusing. It seemed like he would just get terrible migraines sometimes and the pills would fix him right up but then other times he was compelled to murder women in gruesome ways? Kind of strange.

I thought he could/should have tried to be a tad more subtle in his stalking. The women seemed to notice him right away. That one even ran and screamed just because he was following her. Kind of hard to imagine a woman running away in fear from Elijah Wood.

The way that Anna figured out he was a killer seemed really sudden. I was especially confused because she said it wasn't that he knew where her friend had lived but that he mentioned other girls that had been killed, and she said she didn't know anything about any other girls? wtf didn't he see that on the news? At first I thought maybe he had imagined killing them like in American Psycho, or that he did kill them but only imagined that it was reported on the news? Had she just not seen the news? I seriously have no idea.

That being said I did like the confrontation scene in her apartment quite a bit. Probably the most effective scene, with the escalation of her fear and his desperation. I liked the character of Anna a lot. and really hoped she would lived. Was pretty sad when she got in the getaway car only to get killed in a crash 5 seconds later... I was sure I had seen her before but couldn't place what, then I looked her up and found she was in Mozart in the Jungle.

Her character was totally different and had a different accent so I can forgive myself for not making the connection.

She's certainly very easy on the eyes.

My favorite scenes were any involving him seeing the mannequins as the dead girls. I really wanted more of those scenes, I wanted to see extended interactions between him and the girls and between the girls themselves. In that same vein I also really liked the shot when he was meeting the girl from the internet when he saw everybody in the room looking directly at him. I actually had a similar experience when I was on LSD at a concert a few years ago lmao.

 

[chickenluver]

Virtually identical...

 

[chickenluver]

Never been keen on Schindler's List tbh

Come and See is my go to whenever I need a reminder that Nazism's bad

That's THE European theatre WWII movie IMO. One of the few movies that made me think "that's the greatest film I've ever seen" immediately after first viewing.

You ever see a Chinese film called Nanjing! Nanjing! aka City of Life and Death? That's the only war movie that I've felt was as good as Come and See. Might even be as bleak and brutal.

 

[Zer]

That's THE European theatre WWII movie IMO. One of the few movies that made me think "that's the greatest film I've ever seen" immediately after first viewing.

You ever see a Chinese film called Nanjing! Nanjing! aka City of Life and Death? That's the only war movie that I've felt was as good as Come and See. Might even be as bleak and brutal.

I haven't seen that bro. The only Japanese atrocities type film I've seen is Men Behind the Sun

 

[chickenluver]

I haven't seen that bro. The only Japanese atrocities type film I've seen is Men Behind the Sun

That's a really gruesome exploitation film about the inhumane medical experiments right? Never saw it, sounds pretty gnarly.

Nanjing! Nanjing! doesn't shy away from depicting the atrocities, but it's not the main focus I feel. It was really about what it was like to be in that city during those weeks. Mostly from the perspective of the Chinese, but also some from the perspectives of the Westerners who remained in the city, and the Japanese soldiers. It's bleak, horrific and absolutely devastating, but not exploitative. Also has the greatest black-and-white cinematography since color became the norm.

There was actually a big controversy because one Japanese soldier was portrayed in a sympathetic light. Basically the writer-director chose not to depict every single Japanese soldier as a remorseless rapist and killer, and that was enough to garner death threats from Chinese people. This is a mainland Chinese director btw, getting death threats from his own countrymen because having one sympathetic Japanese character out of dozens of totally unsympathetic ones doesn't make the Japanese look evil enough apparently.

 

[Guestx]

Virtually identical...

Legit LOL!

Did I call it or did I call it?

 

[dissolved]

Virtually identical...

Who is the 2nd pic?

 

[Guestx]

Who is the 2nd pic?

Me

 

[chickenluver]

Filmmaking is part science, part art, which is exactly my point. Being a film maker isn't like being a writer. You can't just have the ideas. You have to know the wealth of technical skills that go into such things as lighting, operating a camera, creating visual effects (if necessary), color grading, etc.

And the tools to do those things change over time.

I'll echo europe by saying that it's how you use the tools rather than the tools themselves. The talent behind the tools is key.

Written language is very much a tool. No art is possible without a tool of some kind.

Did I call it or did I call it?

You mentioned you looked like him recently.

 

[chickenluver]

Who is the 2nd pic?

Our Dear Leader aka the Creator of the club

 

[dissolved]

Delete

 

[dissolved]

Me

I hope you are serious. I could be friends with such a Psycho.

 

[Guestx]

I'll echo europe by saying that it's how you use the tools rather than the tools themselves. The talent behind the tools is key.

Written language is very much a tool. No art is possible without a tool of some kind.

What I am saying is that it's a partnership between the tools and the ideas. Sure, you can make the same argument for other arts, but I feel like filmmaking requires a higher level of technical know-how than most other art forms.

Look at a program like After Effects. It's an incredibly complicated piece of software. What is its sibling in the world of pottery?

You mentioned you looked like him recently.

That's what I'm saying. I called it, right?

 

[Guestx]

I hope you are serious. I could be friends with such a Psycho.

LOL. Yeah, it's really me. I mentioned to chickenluver that I look like Elijah Wood, but with somewhat different physical features. Apparently he needed to confirm.

He and I are about the same same height, same age, same build, etc.