Retro Goodness - Escape From New York (1981)

Classic 80's flick with Kurt Russell ultra cool as bad ass ex-soldier now criminal, Snake Plissken. Set in 1997, he's finally caught and on his way to the maximum security prison which is now the entire state of New York. But  a group of convicts kidnap the President (played by Donald Pleasance) from Air Force One and threaten to kill them unless they're released from prison. So the prez's only hope is Snake, who reluctantly agrees. Russell is perfect as Snake who doesn't say much but kicks a lot of ass. Once he enters New York, he tries to track down the president and runs into a cab driver (Ernest Borgnine) who takes him to The Brain, a smart dude who knows all the angles. But lo and behold The Brain (played by Harry Dean Stanton) is a former partner of Snake who left him high and dry after a job. So Snake is a litte pissed at him. But The Brain tells him he will never find the President without his help as he is being held by The Duke, the self imposed leader of New York (played by Isacc Hayes). Also involved is super sexy Adrienne Barbeau as the Brain aka Harold's lady friend Maggie and Lee Van Cleef as Bob Hauk, the warden who gives Snake a hard time. Directed by ace horror master John Carpenter, who worked with Kurt on other classic 80 films such as The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China. Also John did the very cool music score.

Man, I know I saw this movie like 40 times when I was a kid. And I thought it was the coolest movie ever. Kurt Russell was just all that as Snake. Didn't take crap from no one and did his own thing. The eye patch made him look cool and he was one guy you didn't want to mess with. A sequel called Escape from LA would follow about 15 years later, a little too late I think. While it was great seeing Snake back in action, it just wasn't the same. It was not as good as New York. So I can enjoy Escape from New York anytime I feel like it since I own it on DVD and I think I might be watching it again very soon. The rules are simple once you go in, you don't come out.

B+

Snake meets his old friend The Brain

Snake having a little chat with Hauk

The Duke

Maggie is a little pissed

Man, I am not in the mood to be fucked with..

The President under duress

Retro Goodness - The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) is old school fantasy

Just re-watched this fantasy film and it still holds up today. Some may scoff and call it a cheese fest, but it's one of my favorites. I remember seeing this movie for the first time at age 13 and I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. A swaggering hero, a totally evil bad guy, a  hot princess, a bad ass weapon called the Tri-Sword equals awesomeness! Released at the height of sword and sorcery popularity of the 80's alongside Conan, Krull, and The Beastmaster. While Conan is more loved by the fans, The Sword and the Sorcerer is a fun filled fantasy adventure with a style all it's own.

Popular screen baddie Richard Lynch is wonderfully wicked as King Cromwell, who raises the sorcerer Xusia (a heavily made up Richard Moll) from the dead to help him defeat his enemies to become the one true king of the known civilized world. Cromwell does succeed in killing King Richard and his wife but their young son Talon manages to escape. Now as the one king, Cromwell betrays Xusia and tries to kill him before the sorcerer leaps to his apparent death off a mountainside. Cut to years later as Talon, who has eluded Cromwell's soldiers, returns to this land for some payback. Talon is played terrifically by 80's TV star Lee Horsley and he comes across as a medieval Han Solo. Talon carries the awesome weapon, the tri-sword. It fires detachable blades from it's handle which comes in handy on several occasions during the movie. It's such a cool weapon. Talon rescues a princess named Alana from some of Cromwell's soldiers. Alana is played by the American born but exotic looking Kathleen Beller. Alana has a special knack for getting out of situations involving unsavory men. Let me just say it doesn't feel good to get hit in this area if you're a man. Alana recruits Talon to rescue her brother Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale from TV's Manimal) who is held prisoner in Cromwell's dungeons. Talon accepts and does free Mikah but is captured himself after a frenetic chase and battle with Cromwell's soldiers and then Cromwell himself. This scene has much derring do that will remind you of those days of Errol Flynn.

In the meantime Xusia makes his move on Cromwell seeking much sought after revenge. Oh and Alana is captured herself and is forced to marry Cromwell. Everything will come to a thrilling climax with sword fights, damsels in distress, magic, a prisoners escape, tongue in cheek humor and a final battle between Talon and Cromwell that is pure bliss. Topped off with a rousing music score. The main negative is that this is a low budget film and it shows in several scenes, but I think most people will bypass that and still enjoy this film. The entire cast is great, especially Lynch and Horsley. Their characters despise each other so much that it makes for a wonderful conflict. Horsley gets to do all kinds of heroic things even though he is a bit of a scoundrel ala Han Solo. He also gets to spout some cool one liners. Lynch is in full scenery chewing mode but doesn't go over the top. He relishes the part of the villainous Cromwell. Beller is also good as Alana and quite fetching. In fact there is plenty of eye candy on display with several scenes of scantily clad women and some all nude. It's never gratuitous though. And the violence while exciting is never graphic or excessive like the first Conan film was. A special shout out to actress Anna Bjorn who plays the servant girl Elizabeth in a memorable if all too brief role. She is a woman worth dying for as she comes across so compassionate and understanding. Also look out for Joe Regalbuto(from TV's Murphy Brown) as Darius, Talon's second in command. He oozes sarcasm throughout the whole movie, but he is also handy with a battle axe.

The Sword and The Sorcerer is a cool movie with no pretensions or delusions of grandeur. Just good escapist and thrilling fun.
B

Side note: There was supposed to be a sequel called Tales of the Ancient Empire almost immediately after this one came out. But it never happened, which is strange since Sword and Sorcerer actually earned more money than Conan the Barbarian upon it's release. But original director Albert Pyun has recently done a straight to DVD film finally coming out sometime this year. I saw the preview the other day but it doesn't look good at all. They have added vampires to the mix now. Probably due to all the Twilight hysteria. Anyway, we fans still have the original film to look back on and enjoy.

Retro Goodness - Logan's Run (1976)

Logan and Jessica on the run

Recently watched a childhood favorite of mine called Logan's Run. And guess what, the film actually holds up remarkably well 34 years later. I was expecting it to not be as good as I remembered it, but it actually surprised me. It's the 23rd century and some type of holocaust has decimated the earth, and the survivors sealed themselves into a domed city near Washington, D.C. To maintain the population balance, the computers that run the city have decreed that all people must die at 30. Those who turn 30 must participate in the event called Carousel, in which they expect to be renewed, that is reborn. But no one actually has seen or heard of anyone being renewed. And those that chose not to take part attempt to run. This system is enforced by "sandmen" : black-clad police operatives who terminate (kill) "runners" (those who attempt to live beyond 30). Logan, a sandman, is sent on a mission to find "sanctuary," which is a code- word used by the master computer to describe what it believes is a place to which runners have been escaping. Logan begins to question the system he serves and after seeing for himself that there is life beyond the dome, he returns to destroy the computer. Michael York is Logan, fresh off the Three Musketeers film. His partner and friend Francis is played by Richard Jordan. And both do a solid job. British fan favorite Jenny Agutter is cast as Jessica 6, a woman who helps Logan escape and find the truth. And she is credible in the lead female role. Not too mention beautiful. Farrah Fawcett appears in an early film role as Holly, a doctor's assistant who is gorgeous but a little confused about things. A side note, this film may be rated PG, but there is a brief orgy like sequence where there are several women that are seen topless. The movie may be set in the year 2274, but that scene feels like the 1970's. God bless the film-makers for that.

Those freaky Carousel robes and masks......

I remembered Logan's Run being this cool sci-fi movie and to that effect it is still very cool. Some of the effects may be dated now, but they were state of the art then. And to be fair, the carousel scene is still very striking today. As the participants must wear some freaky robes and masks. Sweet. The sandman's weapon is a very cool blaster that fires 4 energy blasts that form a circle pattern and strikes with deadly impact. I always thought that was a fantastic weapon to have. As are the striking uniforms of the Sandman. The action scenes are still very exciting as Logan and Jessica are pursued relentlessly by Francis, who goes off the deep end a bit. There is also the sensational score by Jerry Goldsmith which is foreboding and intense.

Richard Jordan as Francis looking crazy as hell..........

So I am pleased to report that Logan's Run is still a highly enjoyable piece of sci-fi fun that does not, I repeat, does not need updating. It's one of those few films that film-makers should leave alone. It has stood the test of time. It was even spoofed in the cult comedy classic Free Enterprise but in a good way. And although Logan's Run the movie is still awesome, the unfortunate TV series that followed it, is best forgotten.
B