I think part of the reason why we’re so fascinated with post-apocalyptic narratives is the idea that, once civilization crumbles, anything becomes possible. That’s why it’s strange that there are so many post-apocalyptic stories specifically about a jaded curmudgeon being forced to traverse a dangerous wasteland while caring for a child. From Cormac McCarthy’s The Road to The Last of Us and even Telltale’s The Walking Dead adaptation, it’s pretty clear that this recurring setup has evolved from a familiar trope to a full-blown sub-genre.
And among these “dadpocalypse” stories, my personal favorite happens to be a strange little homage to classic rock ‘n roll that rides a chaotic line between genuine genre flick and feature-length Kurosawa-themed music video. Naturally, I’m referring to Lance Mungia’s 1998 low-budget opus, Six-String Samurai. An under-loved cult classic, this offbeat throwback deserves a place among the pantheon...
And among these “dadpocalypse” stories, my personal favorite happens to be a strange little homage to classic rock ‘n roll that rides a chaotic line between genuine genre flick and feature-length Kurosawa-themed music video. Naturally, I’m referring to Lance Mungia’s 1998 low-budget opus, Six-String Samurai. An under-loved cult classic, this offbeat throwback deserves a place among the pantheon...
- 3/3/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Director Lance Mungia’s 1998 cult item, a “post-apocalyptic musical satire”, is a bracing mashup produced with style and substance. With nods to Dr. Strangelove, The Road Warrior, and Elvis himself, this rock and roll fantasia stars Jeffrey Falcon who plays a Buddy Holly-like guitarist with a special talent for swordplay.
Here’s The Movies That Made Me podcast episode with director Mungia.
The post Six String Samurai appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
Here’s The Movies That Made Me podcast episode with director Mungia.
The post Six String Samurai appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 11/22/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Six String Samurai writer/director Lance Mungia discusses the movies that made an impact on him with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Six-String Samurai (1998)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
Seven Samurai (1954)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Frankenstein (1931)
King Kong (1933)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Little Fugitive (1953)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)
The Searchers (1956)
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1969)
Wrath Of Man (2021)
Yojimbo (1961)
Last Man Standing (1996)
Ikiru (1952)
Oldboy (2003)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Gremlins (1984)
Jaws (1975)
Psycho (1960)
Dances With Wolves (1990)
The Postman (1997)
Waterworld (1995)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Day After (1983)
Fail Safe (1964)
Behind The Green Door (1972)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
The Irishman (2019)
Other Notable Items
The Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray of Six-String Samurai
Flicker Alley
Elijah Drenner
Kristian Bernier
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Martin Scorsese
Frank Capra...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Six-String Samurai (1998)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
Seven Samurai (1954)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Frankenstein (1931)
King Kong (1933)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Little Fugitive (1953)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)
The Searchers (1956)
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1969)
Wrath Of Man (2021)
Yojimbo (1961)
Last Man Standing (1996)
Ikiru (1952)
Oldboy (2003)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Gremlins (1984)
Jaws (1975)
Psycho (1960)
Dances With Wolves (1990)
The Postman (1997)
Waterworld (1995)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Day After (1983)
Fail Safe (1964)
Behind The Green Door (1972)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
The Irishman (2019)
Other Notable Items
The Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray of Six-String Samurai
Flicker Alley
Elijah Drenner
Kristian Bernier
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Martin Scorsese
Frank Capra...
- 6/1/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
"I say - 'no more secrets.'" "Let this information out...!" The Orchard has debuted an official trailer for an appealing new documentary titled Third Eye Spies, a film that is supposedly going to reveal that psychics and Esp are real. From director Lance Mungia, Third Eye Spies tells the story of two Stanford physicists who discover that psychic abilities are real, only to have their experiments co-opted by the CIA and their research silenced in the name of secrecy. The film contains a few compellingly cinematic re-enactments of actual remote viewings done at Stanford Research Institute for the intelligence agencies, amazing new data retrieved from recently declassified documents via Freedom of Information Act, and over 30 interviews with every top player involved and how those discoveries are being used today. The main character is Russell Targ, one of the original researchers, who has decided that it's time to come out...
- 12/14/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
From City of Angels to Stairway to Heaven, Alex Proyas’ cult horror flick The Crow inspired a smattering of sequels across screens big and small.
None of them were particularly memorable, of course, as they failed to capture the look and feel of their predecessor – not to mention the fact that the late Brandon Lee left some pretty big boots to fill. But that didn’t stem the tide, and in 2005, director Lance Mungia whipped together The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which is arguably the worst sequel of the lot.
But had things panned out differently, and Miramax green-lit James O’Barr’s original pitch, film fans may well have received a follow-up to The Crow that was worthy of the 1994 classic. As O’Barr tells Screen Geek, the proposed sequel would’ve taken things in a “completely different direction.”
My intention was to take it to a completely different direction.
None of them were particularly memorable, of course, as they failed to capture the look and feel of their predecessor – not to mention the fact that the late Brandon Lee left some pretty big boots to fill. But that didn’t stem the tide, and in 2005, director Lance Mungia whipped together The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which is arguably the worst sequel of the lot.
But had things panned out differently, and Miramax green-lit James O’Barr’s original pitch, film fans may well have received a follow-up to The Crow that was worthy of the 1994 classic. As O’Barr tells Screen Geek, the proposed sequel would’ve taken things in a “completely different direction.”
My intention was to take it to a completely different direction.
- 10/31/2017
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...
- 9/18/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Seeking to breathe new life into its Crow franchise, Dimension Films has tapped David Boreanaz, Edward Furlong, Dennis Hopper and Tara Reid to topline Wicked Prayer, the fourth installment of the series produced by Edward R. Pressman and Jeff Most. Lance Mungia (Six-String Samurai) is directing the project, which goes into production in June. Emmanuelle Chriqui, Danny Trejo, Marcus Chong and Tito Ortiz round out the cast. Set in the Southwest, Prayer tells the story of ex-con Jimmy Cuervo (Furlong) and his girlfriend, Lily (Chriqui), who are murdered by Luc Crash (Boreanaz) and his satanic gang Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as part of a ritual for Crash to become an immortal demon. The rest of the gang is played by Chong, Ortiz and Reid, with Reid playing Crash's evil love interest. Hopper plays El Nino who marries Crash and Lola.
- 4/30/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal are looking to put some zip back in their careers, they'd do well to hire Lance Mungia to direct their next movies.
The fresh talent behind "Six-String Samurai" -- a sort of "Mad Max"-meets-"Monty Python" take on the post-apocalyptic, sci-fi martial arts picture -- Mungia, along with collaborator and star Jeffrey Falcon, brings a loopy kinetic energy to the screen that's tough to resist.
While the plotting may be as barren as the film's Death Valley backdrop, there's a great deal of visual creativity on a minimalist budget that bodes well for the filmmaker's future. The present, meanwhile, holds some nice cult potential.
Applying a little revisionist history, "Six-String Samurai" reworks the Cold War, contending that the bomb was indeed dropped and Russia ruled what was left of America. Among the less mutant survivors is a high-kicking Buddy Holly (Falcon), making his way through the desert en route to Lost Vegas to claim the title of King of Rock and Roll, previously held by the recently departed Elvis.
First, however, he must contend with marauding bounty hunters, the Russian Army and a tag-along orphaned kid (Justin McGuire), not to mention a big final showdown with Death (Stephane Gauger). Buddy is armed only with his trusty electric guitar and trustier samurai sword.
The bad guys keep popping up with a repetitive, video game frequency and dialogue is used sparingly, but Mungia, like "El Mariachi"'s Robert Rodriguez, deftly fuses visual elements of humor and violence to original effect.
As the bespectacled Buddy, Falcon, an American who has appeared in more than a dozen Hong Kong martial arts actioners, gets the job done without breaking a sweat or further scuffing his saddle shoes, and young McGuire uses his highly expressive face to supplement his extremely limited dialogue.
Cinematographer Kristian Bernier gets a lot of surreal mileage out of all the sand and Blue Sky, as the film's whimsical juxtapositions are neatly summed up by the music of The Red Elvises, a band that corners the market on Siberian surfer songs.
SIX-STRING SAMURAI
Palm Pictures
Director: Lance Mungia
Producers: Michael Burns & Leanna Creel
Screenwriters: Lance Mungia & Jeffrey Falcon
Cinematographer: Kristian Bernier
Production/costume designer: Jeffrey Falcon
Editor: James Frisa
Music: Brian Tyler
Casting: Ross Lacy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Buddy: Jeffrey Falcon
The Kid: Justin McGuire
Death: Stephane Gauger
Russian General: John Sakisian
Little Man: Gabrille Pimenter
Clint: Zuma Jay
Running time -- 81 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
The fresh talent behind "Six-String Samurai" -- a sort of "Mad Max"-meets-"Monty Python" take on the post-apocalyptic, sci-fi martial arts picture -- Mungia, along with collaborator and star Jeffrey Falcon, brings a loopy kinetic energy to the screen that's tough to resist.
While the plotting may be as barren as the film's Death Valley backdrop, there's a great deal of visual creativity on a minimalist budget that bodes well for the filmmaker's future. The present, meanwhile, holds some nice cult potential.
Applying a little revisionist history, "Six-String Samurai" reworks the Cold War, contending that the bomb was indeed dropped and Russia ruled what was left of America. Among the less mutant survivors is a high-kicking Buddy Holly (Falcon), making his way through the desert en route to Lost Vegas to claim the title of King of Rock and Roll, previously held by the recently departed Elvis.
First, however, he must contend with marauding bounty hunters, the Russian Army and a tag-along orphaned kid (Justin McGuire), not to mention a big final showdown with Death (Stephane Gauger). Buddy is armed only with his trusty electric guitar and trustier samurai sword.
The bad guys keep popping up with a repetitive, video game frequency and dialogue is used sparingly, but Mungia, like "El Mariachi"'s Robert Rodriguez, deftly fuses visual elements of humor and violence to original effect.
As the bespectacled Buddy, Falcon, an American who has appeared in more than a dozen Hong Kong martial arts actioners, gets the job done without breaking a sweat or further scuffing his saddle shoes, and young McGuire uses his highly expressive face to supplement his extremely limited dialogue.
Cinematographer Kristian Bernier gets a lot of surreal mileage out of all the sand and Blue Sky, as the film's whimsical juxtapositions are neatly summed up by the music of The Red Elvises, a band that corners the market on Siberian surfer songs.
SIX-STRING SAMURAI
Palm Pictures
Director: Lance Mungia
Producers: Michael Burns & Leanna Creel
Screenwriters: Lance Mungia & Jeffrey Falcon
Cinematographer: Kristian Bernier
Production/costume designer: Jeffrey Falcon
Editor: James Frisa
Music: Brian Tyler
Casting: Ross Lacy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Buddy: Jeffrey Falcon
The Kid: Justin McGuire
Death: Stephane Gauger
Russian General: John Sakisian
Little Man: Gabrille Pimenter
Clint: Zuma Jay
Running time -- 81 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/18/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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