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Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)
The original show is all that matters to me. Ever since I was a kid (when it originally aired), I've watched it throughout my life and is my favorite thing ever created for TV. Somehow, I even managed to see a screening of the Battlestar Galactica movie (the first couple episodes edited together thing) at some walk in theater when I was a kid. I'm a huge supporter of the original cast and story. Though I never made it to any conventions or did much online about the show, the new show was built on bodies and hard work of the original shows supporters. What a terrible thing to do. I watched that happen online. But I'm not judging the new show itself as I have never seen it and have no desire to. The original show is enough for me and the characters and stories, etc., are all that I care about. As a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) series, I have collected the old novels that Glen A. Larson did, and the new ones that Richard Hatch has done, along with other print stuff related to that great 1978-1979 series. I cant begin to even describe how much the original Battlestar Galactica means to me.
Tag: The Assassination Game (1982)
TAG has a lot going for it
Jaded viewers imposing current film standards and expectations may want to look elsewhere, but if one has an appreciation for 80's movies and other movies of this type and pace, then it's clear that Tag has aged well for what it is. Tag is a dark comedy-thriller that takes place on a college campus during the 1980's. Think of something along the lines of Terror Train (1980 with Jamie Lee Curtis), except with comedy and a tongue in cheek quality to it, at least in the films first half.
TAG, The Assassination Game (1982) is a great little film that has gained a strong, though seemingly small fan following over the years. I've watched it many times since I discovered it in the early 80's (after which I got a few people together in my high school so we could hunt each other down with rubber band guns –not recommended). A lot of people simply don't appear to know much about this dark comedy/thriller. Most people who've seen this film give it decent reviews, but the reviews themselves are few and far between. So, here is a little more information about this great flick. The plot is simple. At a college campus the latest pastime is a game called TAG. TAG players are given lists of targets (consisting of other players in the TAG group) that they chase after all over the large college campus with fake plastic suction tipped dart guns. The last man or woman who hasn't been hunted down and successfully tagged in the end, wins. There are a few rules to this campus game (game play stops at 12:00 midnight, etc.), but that's about it. It's all a fun pastime with a chance to meet new people. That is, until things go wrong.
The reigning champion (played wonderfully by Bruce Abbott in his first film role) gets so upset over getting tagged and losing that he decides to use real bullets instead and continue on with the game. The movie is a decent paced 80's film with a noir like tongue in cheek quality to it that develops into the dark and serious, contains a fair amount of suspense, and pulls it all off with nice style for a little film. Its ending is serious, but with a wink, and an homage to those noir films of yesteryear. It also shows that gore, tons of violence, etc., is not necessary to make a good thriller. Though I've never seen anything else really like TAG, there are a few other movies that one might like if they like it, such as Silver Streak (1976), and Foul Play (1978). I hope some day TAG gets remastered to DVD. Till then, I guess its out of print VHS tapes. TAG, was written and Directed by Nick Castle. Castle was involved in helping his friend, Director John Carpenter write Escape From New York, and TAG was Castle's first Directing project. Castle would later go on to direct more commercially honed films (for that time period) such as The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, and others. He's still working today. He was also the original man behind the mask in Halloween.
Having already been in a number of films before TAG, (most notable to me is The Big Red One as a cigar smoking writer named Pvt. Zab), Robert Carradine appears in Tag as a dashing cigar smoking journalist who falls in love with the movies heroine. After TAG, Carradine went on to do Revenge of the Nerds in 1984 as Lewis Skolnick. He's still active in his long career.
Aside from a couple of TV roles and minor work, TAG is Linda Hamilton's first real film. Her role as Sarah Connor in Terminator (1984) was still two years away. One can tell from watching her in TAG that she already had a good grip on her craft. She's beautiful here, and thankfully we would see a lot more of her skill and beauty in the years to come, and still do. (Incidentally, Bruce Abbott apparently did "get" Linda Hamilton in the end after all, in reality that is. They were married from December 19, 1982 till they were divorced in 1989. They had one son together Born October 4, 1989, Dalton Abbott.)
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire (1981)
Snake men rock, release this to DVD!
I saw this movie many years ago in the 80's on TV and those snake men stuck with me. Their laugh/hissing and other mannerisms really brought them and the movie to life. Then, in the early 90's, I rented it some place and still found it to be an interesting, strange movie that seems more faithful to the look and feel of medieval fantasy than a lot of other movies at the time, or since! I could not care less about magic and whatnot in these movies but the snake men rock, no question about it. I recently won a copy on ebay and watched it. It still holds up. Yes it's dated, but it has an interesting sort of artsy feel to it. They made the most out of their budget on this one (think of the movie Laserblast), and the acting ranges from passable and good enough to pretty cool. The snake men STILL look great, as do plenty of other things in the movie, and for an 80's medieval fantasy flick it has an interesting, semi-complex story line that's not as cheesy as some far worse attempts at the time. A very dreamy like quality flows through the movie, with interesting camera affects here and there, including a sort reverse negative look (yet in color) if that's what it could be called. Another one of the things that helped this movie is that the cinematography is well done throughout, with some above average striking images here and there. No this is not Conan, or Dragonslayer filming quality, and it does have a made for TV feel to it (it was in fact a TV movie pilot for a series that did not happen). Even the electronic synthesizer score seems to get better as the movie goes along. The overall style of The Archer still is just enjoyable to watch. Indeed, in some places I far prefer it to the pacing of some recent flicks. They really try to immerse people here. This is very much a quest/adventure flick that seems greatly influenced by the rise of Dungeons and Dragons at the time. With the recent DVD release of so many other 80's medieval fantasy flicks (even Hawk the Slayer), I see no reason not to release The Archer to DVD. It was far more of a serious and well done attempt (by Universal Studios in 1981) at the medieval fantasy genre then many other medieval fantasy flicks were back then. Needs to be released on DVD!!
Farewell to the King (1989)
One of the greatest movies ever.
Farewell to the King is one of the greatest war movies, and simply one of the greatest movies ever. I've seen and own dozens of WWII movies and this is one of the best. The story unfolds in a grand sweeping fashion reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia, even Lost Horizon. At the same time it manages to capture a reality of life and loss that rarely sees the light of day on film or anywhere else for that matter.
It's great to see so many people here at IMDb and elsewhere have so much good to say about this film. Nick Nolte is fantastic as the soldier turned king and turns in one of his strongest performances ever. The film is breathtaking, the acting, story, and music is top notch. It's a gripping film, very necessary and old school/Hollywood in a time filled with dime a dozen action hero types.
Perhaps where some of the few critics get thrown is by the near fantasy nature of the story. If they would follow through with the stories presentation, intent, and the directors molding (done wonderfully by John Milius), they could find in fact that it works great on every level. It starts with a romanticized viewpoint of war and the "Flare of our youth" that many soldiers could look back on, to descend into the depths of hell and the realities of war that all should remember and none should forget. All of this of course is presented in a grand old tale container. The container has of that nature and large enough to hold some of the narrative information and striking, barbaric realities that the film so accurately presents, along side the beauty and normalities of what people could have in life. It's not easy to portray a vision of hell and a vision of Shangri-la (of sorts) in the same picture. This film is saying a great deal on many levels. One thing is that real freedom and a real Shangri-la is worth fighting for. Yet it's also one of the few films to even dare begin to unfold the true nature of how barbaric the Pacific War was. After years of studying the Pacific War, I can tell you that as well done as this movie is, it only skims the surface. But what a picture it gives.