The case for Japanese paper

File #1

The remarkably gorgeous, psychedelicised poster designs for the release of ground-breaking (at home for style and in American obscenity laws) Swedish art-film, I am Curious (Yellow) from 1967.

Here we see the two styles (maybe there are more?) for the standard Japanese B2 (20" x 28") poster and the tatekan style which is a tapestry of two B2-sized posters together vertically.

I think it's safe to say that America needed a little stimulation in their lives when you compare these to the US release poster at the end and which we've seen in these pages before but is here again for the purpose of illustration.

SUPERNATURAL TECHNICOLOR!

From an early issue of Creepy (#2 or #3, I can't recall)

everyone is dying to meet...

the lost art... 007

Which poster would inspire you to pull out your wallet or reach into your purse and buy that ticket...?

On this day

Happy Birthday to...

Antonio Fargas!
August 14th, 1946




Wim Wenders!
August 14th, 1945




Candace Hilligoss!
August 14th, 1935






And although he wasn't really involved with movies, a special wish for a special day to Larry Graham, born August 14th, 1946 and one hell of a goddamned bass player!




If you know anybody who is celebrating their birth today, give them a generous gift and many wishes for all things great because they likely deserve it and they're probably good looking.

which is better? now or then?

Someone just asked me if, with the number of specialty cinema theatres/projects that are appearing on the Toronto landscape, if there has been a better time to be a movie fan in this city?

I'd argue yes, there were better times. And better movies.

Here are 4 different pages from The Toronto Star from '68, '72, '79 & '81.Have a look at the listings today and which would you prefer?

Hard to imagine today a major cinema doing a revival screening of a film released over 30 years prior, like the Famous Players Theatre at the Eglinton was doing with Chaplin's The Great Dictator. All we get now is a release of Avatar, with extra bloating! And on the same page, is Peter Watkin's Punishment Park at the Avenue Cinema, in amongst the 31 other films to choose from including Prime Cut.

The answer, I think, is obvious.

(click on the pages to look at the images bigger)

Purple patches

En Français

late late show

As a kid/early teen growing up in rural Ontario, our family used to get the Toronto Star on the weekends and I combed through the TV Guide looking with envy, for all those films that the big city kids got to watch. Reception in the country only offered us 3 stations. My hobby at the time was clipping the listings for B-movies and putting them in the pages of my database - The Psychotronic Movie Guide. One of them fell out of the book and onto my scanner.

1965

A crown jewel in my longstanding and, sadly, slow-growing collection of girl and gorilla paper. But what a piece! Outstanding, if I may say so myself.

DR. BUTCHER MD screens in Toronto June 25th

Vagrancy Films & Terry Levene present
DR. BUTCHER MD
aka ZOMBI HOLOCAUST

"He's a depraved, sadistic rapist; A bloodthirsty, homicidal killer...and He Makes House"

FRIDAY June 25 2010 - 9:30PM
RESTRICTED - Must be 18+ (13 Denmark Only)

Toronto Underground Cinema
186 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON, M5T 3B2

Tickets $10.00 @ the Door or available in advance @ EYESORE Cinema

Advanced ticket buyers will qualify to win 2 tickets to see the original I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE on August 28th as well as a personalized autograph from I SPIT STAR CAMILLE KEATON a $60.00 value!

Peter Chandler and Dr. Lori Ridgeway come across a gruesome flesh-eating cult in New York. Determined to uncover the origins of this mad corruption, they set out on an expedition to the primitive island of Keto. The two are soon trapped in the wilderness, surrounded by a tribe of cannibals and the insane scientist, Dr. Obrero. The doctor captures Chandler, and prepares him for a series of experiments designed to bring about the end of human mortality. In turn, Lori is captured by the murderous tribe and subjected to their bizarre rituals. In the tradition of the classic film, Zombie, Ian McCulloch reprises his role of a New Yorker faced with primal horror. Italian gore schlock cheese don't come any finer - THE ULTIMATE DATE MOVIE

creeping from the vault

There is this joint down the street from us that tends to show much more respectable fare and over the next few months they have a series that might be better to take a date to that what we offer in our establishment. If you live in Toronto and call your self a film fan, then you have no excuse not to miss the opportunity to see some of these films. Visit the Fox Theatre for more info.

installation of HORROR

...but yielding

Dude, raunch!

"maybe one of her parts came from your street"

The Rip to end all R.I.P.s

Dennis Hopper.

No link is necessary. For the last two years, I was deliberating on writing an essay entry here about how I feel about hippies and Hollywood and the drug culture and a myriad of things I obsess over that would have all tied into the wonder that I hold when I think of Dennis Hopper. Also, I was going to mention how The Kinks are the greatest fucking band to ever hit your ears and they never pandered to any of that psychedelic paisley shit that the Beatles/Stones did, thank Heavens. Maybe Ray wore a Nehru shirt and maybe songs like Fancy employed a sitar-ish slant to them but it was never like the overt comedy that the other two should be embarrassed by. But, I digress...

There goes a fascinating and deeply creative individual who worked across so many eras and genres and with so many incredible people that I could argue he had the greatest mind-full of memories on this whole fucking planet. It's astounding to consider this one man's experiences in life and ridiculously humbling, especially to someone like me. The world is noticeably a great deal lousier with this loss even though we knew it was coming. I will miss his irreverence and his laugh and smile and knowing he was doing what Dennis Hopper does. In my eyes, truly an immeasurable giant in every possible way.

John Huston is scared of things

From a 1979 Variety

Moody selection

Titus Moede



1969




1974




1962




1970




1976




1967

GALLANTS trailer rocks the old school style

Glorious tribute to old school kung fu comedies. It took HK long enough to do this! I missed this in HK and can't wait to catch up with it.

R.I.P.

Alan Sillitoe


To be fair, I only read the first two (and most popular) novels but I do love them and the films they spawned are both well above outstanding with this one, in particular, an all-time favourite.

DREAM HOME in NYC

(Double-dipping from my other blog, Kung Fu Fridays, but this has good sleaze crossover value)

If you missed the world premiere at the Undine Far East Film Festival and are in the NYC area, be sure to check out Pang Ho-Cheung's Dream Home, easily the bloodiest film in the line-up at the Tribeca Film Festival.

It's a gruesome throwback to the Category 3 films of the early 90s that had social commentary on local HK issues buried amongst the sleaze and the violence. Starring Josie Ho (Exiled) the film has stand-out brutal set pieces choreographed by one of my favourite, if not one of the most underrated HK stunt people, Chin Kar-lok. I got to see a very rough version of this last summer and was impressed, but am curious to know how the new cut is following a legal battle regarding editing between the director and his actress/producer Josie Ho. It plays tonight and has more screenings throughout the week.

I have embedded the trailer (via Twitch) below.

Sun, Apr 25, 10:00PM - SVA Theater 2
Mon, Apr 26, 9:30PM - Village East Cinema 6
Tue, Apr 27, 9:30PM - Village East Cinema 6
Fri, Apr 30, 11:45PM - Village East Cinema 2