Electric Movie Preview: Prometheus (2012)

First image..

IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU GO "Hmmmmm..."

Not a huge fan of mainstream Ridley Scott, but when he dabbles in electric sci-fi and plays with retro future gizmos and hardware I'll be there first night, front row, and with anticipation set at 11. So this is the first image release from Prometheus, the film set in an ALIEN unverse that's not really about those ALIENS at all. Electric Pix shall be keeping a beady monopitcal on this one..

Electric Movie Preview: John Carter of Mars (2012)

From the preview trailer...

 HELIUM VESSEL AND A THARK.

Looking good. Impressed with the pulp hardware design and the tone of the trailer. Thark a little cartoony maybe? We'll see. Overall impression is positive and John Carter is still a must see for me in 2012.

Cult Icons: the Pearl and Dean Intro.

BAH BAAAA BADABAHHHHH BAH !!

Everyone hates adverts at the movies. They're usually the signal to go stock up on mars bars, a can of tizer and a packet of crisps before the main movie. What's worse is they seem to go on forever and forever. There's only so many times you can sit through that Cinzano advert no matter how hot the babes are. But, as with all things timeless, nostaglic and retro, you remember things and realise you miss them like hell. One of those things was the intro to those adverts by a company called Pearl and Dean. 

My cinematic age was the late 60's, through the 70's to the early 80's, and one of the things I recall the most was this intro and especially the music to it. This always makes me smile whenever I hear it and takes me back to my outback home town and the Wallaw Cinema with its rusty red velvet chairs and sticky linoleum whilst watching Jason and the Argonauts on the big screen...

Electric Cinematic: "Abbot and Costello go to Mars" 1953.

EVEN SPACE PRINCESSES LOVE A LOSER.

I remember when Mars looked like Venus and space women were hotter and more exotic than anything I'd seen in my local neighbourhood. Maybe it was the lack of clothes and visible belly button that did it. Bud and Lou defined Saturday mornings during my childhood. Regular as clockwork, there they were in all their black and white glory having cool adventures. Keeping me in fits and giggles until fish and chips for dinner. I loved when they met Frankenstein, got chased by a mummy and discussed bad hair days with a werewolf. But I loved them most when they went to Mars and got the girl. Every loser has their day...

Electric Cinematic: "Planet of Storms" 1962.

BLASTERS RUSSIAN STYLE in PLANET OF THE STORMS

Now this is old school retro sci-fi and brings back memories of watching this on BBC2 on a wet sunday night when they used to have movie seasons based on various themes. Even though it was dubbed, I can still remember it because of its cool designs and hardware. Think the Russian version of Gerry Anderson and you get the idea.

The movie begins with a shot of three immaculate Soviet spacecraft nearing Venus – one of which is immediately atomised by a just happened to be passing meteor.The surviving cosmonauts decide to press on to Venus at great risk. We then embark on a surprisingly madcap story of interplanetary exploration. There are giant carnivorous plants, man-size dinosaurs and octopus things. The cute robot fells trees and plays big band music. And in its final minutes, Planet of Storms takes an amazing turn. It turns out there is intelligent life on Venus after all, which is revealed in a clever and surprising way. I shall not spoil the secret, but it's worth the wait.

Planet of Storms had an unfortunate subsequent history. It was bought for US distribution by Roger Corman, who proceeded to cut it up and use the pieces for two other films, an act of cinematic cannibalism that gave us Curtis Harrington's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet and Peter Bogdanovich's equally classic Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.Planet of the Storms is one of those bonkers movies you see as a kid and never forget.

Electric Cinematic: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." 1977

"TOYZ!!"

Close Encounters is my all time favourite movie. I saw it one dank November day in late '77 and the sheer magnificence of it has stayed with me till this very day. Other than what I read in the old UK sci-fi magazine Starburst, I had no idea what to expect. Back in those days there was none of the media blitz that most movies receive today upon release so I came to this one unspoiled - other than knowing it was about flying saucers. It was a Saturday, and to see it meant a trip to the big city to an old art deco cinema called the Empire. We arrived early, did the burger thing, and planned our attack because also showing was Star Wars which had been released to huge success a couple of months earlier and was still showing at the nearby Odeon picture house. The plan was to see CE3K first, then run for the late showing of Star Wars. No problemo.

So we arrived at the Empire and stood in a huge line to see what the guy who frightened the crap out of us in Jaws had come up with next. A couple of hours later I came out of the cinema in a daze. I was an emotional wreck inside. My mind was a whirlpool of moments, recollections and impressions which I was trying to get my 16 year old head around all at once. Sometimes in life something comes along which knocks you sideways and leaves you there with a sense that something wonderful had happened and the world is a better place for having experienced that something. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was that something for me. I wanted to be Roy Neary. 

Whilst the whole movie up to the last 20 minutes or so is a wonderful collection of inspired moments, it's those last 20 minutes which lift this from a great movie to an unmatched classic. Watching those last 20 minutes I remember feeling a deep sense of peace inside and awe at what I was living through onscreen. Even 34 years later I can still feel that sense of peace when I watch this movie. The moment Neary takes that first step into the Mothership is the moment I truly began to look up and beyond my own small world.

As planned we saw the late showing of Star Wars. I'd already seen it a couple of times and loved it, but this time was different. All I could think of as the Millenium Falcon blasted out of Mos Eisley spaceport was to wonder what Roy Neary would be doing right now..

Electric Cinematic: "Man Made Monster" 1941.

Lon Chaney jr as the Electric Man.

A classic horror movie that, even though it only lasted an hour, scared the heebiejeebies out of me when I was 10. A love of mad scientists and their laboratories crackling with all kinds of pre-steampunk gizmos arcing electricity and magic was born.