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B Movies


Kevin

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Recently I've started collecting B movies as it has occurred to me that the big hits are often easily available for rental ( though some B's are there also), or are / will be appearing on your cable movie channels,etc.eventually. However, just like the secluded stacks of a library, there are a number of gems out there ( for better or worse) that I get a real kick out of -- especially some of the titles/ acting/ artwork on the covers. Priceless ! Any favorites out there ?

:beatnik: For starters: "1,000,000 Years B.C" - Raquel Welch

" Barbarella" - Jane Fonda

" Frankenstein Must Die ! " - Peter Cushing

" The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" - ?

" Plan 9 From Outer Space " - Bela Lugosi

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Faster Pussycat, die! die!

That title kills me, Jr. I think you mentioned this before in another thread, as well.

The correct title is Faster,Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965).

It was directed by the legendary "King of the Nudies" Russ Meyer (<).

The plot reportedly involves a trio of malevolent large-breasted strippers doing bad, bad things.

In 1970, Meyer co-wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls with film critic Roger Ebert.

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A couple of killer 'B's:

The Hand (1981) directed by Oliver Stone. A horror film/unintentional comedy starring Micheal Caine.

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) Producer Roger Corman's ride on Star Wars coattails, with plot based on Seven Samurai. Starring Richard ("Johnboy" Walton) Thomas. The script is by John Sayles.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Several more to look for:

Robot Jox (1990). Rock-em, sock-em action on a giant scale. The heroic score composed by Frederic Talgorn is performed by the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra.

Puppetmaster (1989). Creepy killer dolls. There are by several sequels/prequels involving ancient Egyptian magic and the Gestapo.

The Philadephia Experiment (1984) Secret tests end up with sailors from 1943 getting time-warped into '84. Fast paced.

Time Rider (1983) More time travel action. a motocross racer winds up in the 1870s.

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Vanishing Point (1971). A Radio DJ (Cleavon Little) makes a hero out of speed-crazed Kowalski (Barry Newman) out-smarting and out-stunting the cops, trying to get a Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours.

Hot Rods to Hell (1967) and The Frozen Dead (1966). Dana Andrews (President of the screen Actors Guild from 1963-1965) stars in both these B-movie favorites. In Hot Rods..., he's a family man harassed by old-looking teen-aged badboys. In Frozen Dead, he's a mad scientist planning to thaw out the WWII Nazi leadership.

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High School Confidential (1958). Russ Tamblyn as an undercover narc. Co-stars John Drew Barrymore (Drew's Dad) and Mamie Van Doren. Jerry Lee Lewis performs the theme song.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Ralph Meeker is a mean Mike Hammer, and he's not keeping out of Cold War-era trouble. With Jack Elam and a young Cloris Leachman.

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Soulgirl, not specifically' straight to video', though many of those could also be considered 'B's. What it means to me are movies that generally have low production values, budgets, etc. Mostly made on the cheap with likely unknown (often also untalented) directors, casts, scripts. Naturally, most are predictably considered awful by mainstream audiences, though there are some surprises . Sometimes their 'badness' is considered a virtue by some -- kind of like a silly song or bad art, I guess, and some even achieve cult status. Many of the 50's monster movies pumped out to feed the growing drive-in crowd would be good examples, silly and not taken too seriously (nor watched in many cases

;)): titles like "I Was A Teenaged Werewolf" or "Earth v.s The Flying Saucers.

I hope that helps, but I'm sure some of the other posters could add to or clarify the definition somewhat. :: :thumbsup:

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You have not seen real cinematic trash unless you've delved deeper in true Eurotrash cinema. That Hammer stuff is bona fide classic horror film making which took itself - and can be taken - seriously. There are some good ones mentioned here and kudos to the poster who named Shannon Tweed. Personally, I liked Joan Severance far better, but Ms. Tweed reigned supreme in the 90s. Anyway, the American midnight movie scene is nothing compared to what the Europeans were filming back in the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s. They were filming stuff which by today's standards would never get made and garner so much controversy as to make it impossible to market properly without having to lose artistic license in the process. One could say Brian DePalma and Adrian Lyne perfected the genre for American audiences with films like Dressed To Kill and Fatal Attraction:

dress1.jpgdvdht080.jpg

The topics were full-on, lurid pulp fiction. Only a guy like Lyne could film Lolita and still keep going, reputation intact. But even then, directors like Louis Malle, Bertrand Blier, and David Hamilton had him beat by about 20 years.

1978_Pretty_Baby.jpgLAURA20DVD.jpgbeau-pere.jpg

Shannon Tweed is fiiiine (very fine ;) ), but Laura Antonelli and Edwige Fenech got there waaaaay ahead of her.

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And this is just Eurosleaze. There is an even bigger amount of horror films ranging from vampires, to cannibals, to nunsploitation, zombis, slashers and stalkers, and the supernatural. Plus all the Italian gangster films, the Spaghetti Westerns, the Sword And Sandal epics, and the Art-House junk.

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Thanks , XXX, for ' fleshing ' out the definition -- a master! Soulgirl, if you wan't the bigger picture pm this guy or Tybalt. I feel like I'm in a small bubble here with my picks.

More to the definition, and back me up guys ( or set me straight) : B movies are often called exploitation films also as they often cling to a current trend in the mainstream (ie. fantasy, action, horror, soft-core, etc.) and try for a quick payday based on the current interest (I guess like the B side of a 45 RPM). For example, think of all the cheap rip-offs following the surprising success of films like "Conan" or "Halloween". Interestingly, though, sometimes a 'good' "B" can set off a whole canon of look-alikes as well !

Also, most "B"'s have their own merits, be it a director, a scene, an actor, a special effect, a catch-phrase, etc. Surprisingly, many big names got their start in B-movies: ex. Jack Nicholson spent much of his early career in B's. Check some out ! :: :drummer: :beatnik:

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Seems to me, you're more interested in just plain bad movies ;) Like the Ed Wood, Roger Corman, and Troma Productions stuff with a smidge of Anchor Bay old skool Horror releases. I'd suggest starting at IMDB's Top 100 Worst Movies Of All Time. They got some real gems in there of pure badness. Then, do a search for MST3K spoofed films and have a blast with 'em :: Troma probably makes the risque, yet still somewhat acceptable b-movies with real cheezy fx, warped storylines, cartoonish violence, and some nudity. They wouldn't be worse than watching the mainstream "teen" comedies such as American Pie and their spoofs. Troma's Tromeo And Juliet is a riot :jester: You will hit paydirt once you search Roger Corman's history. I wouldn't even know where to start 'cause there's so much history behind the guy. Again, I'm thinking you're more into the funny side of the bad production values and bad acting, so I'd start with something like The Wasp Woman, Teenage Doll, Rock And Roll All Night, and Attack Of The Crab Monsters. Something Weird Video carries kooky junk like that, not only by Corman, but by a whole onslaught of unknowns and probably real film directors using pseudonyms. This publication covers just about everything you've talked about when it comes to exploitation films and then some, while this publication is like a bible for film collectors looking for the rarest, most complete print of whatever film he is looking for (let's face it, girls never take interest in this sort of thing :jack: ).

This is all on the other side of schlock cinema. Mainly American productions with their own directors, their own themes, and their own actors and actresses. For me, I prefer the Europeans mainly 'cause of the sleaze and ultraviolence. You'll notice American b-movies have unique genres that include sci-fi and aliens, blaxploitation, motorcycle gangs (Tybalt recommended one of those late 60s biker films and I recalled watching the Billy Jack series. I think there were three or four of them), street and drag racing, film noir, war, teen high school party scenes and drugs, and women in prison (that's one aspect of sleaze Europeans never really did as much!). As you can see, this could only cater to American audiences specifically :: They're all exploitative in their nature and that's one of the reasons they are liked :afro:

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They are, more or less. They don't fit with HK action cinema, so they kinda sit in the middle. I like quite a few of Van Damme's films: Kickboxer, Bloodsport (I can even recite entire dialogues from that one :jester: ), Death Warrant, Lionheart, Cyborg (the first Van Damme movie I've ever seen), and Sudden Death. The real kicker is: Van Damme doesn't know any real martial arts! All he does is dance choreograph on stage, but it beats anything Seagal has done in ages. I think the only movie I ever owned by him was Marked For Death and even then the movie was stale like 4-day-old tortilla chips =:P

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The last starfighter . Video game player with no life gets called upon to defend the universe. A serious guilty pleasure.

The final countdown Aircraft carier gets pulled back to just before pearl harbor. Will they change history, or will a blatant plot cop-out prevent them from doing so?

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Check one out, SSOTS, if for no other reason than it will give you an appreciation of just how much effort, talent, money (usually), a 'good ' movie requires. Depending on what you choose and your tastes, though, you may find yourself liking something in it.

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For me, part of the real charm of b movies is that one gets a better glimpse of the actual movie-making process. Mistakes, poor cast/ costume/ script choices, weaker editing , etc. reveal more to me of what goes into a movie ( and how they could be improved) -- kind of like getting to see the real 'Great and Terrible Oz '. The better ones are truly to be admired for making something entertaining with all these limitations. If you've ever been in amateur theater or like it, you are well suited to view B's ! The big budget A's are better able to correct their mistakes and present more admirable efforts (again , time ,effort, talent, cash) but keep one more at a distance from their 'secrets'.

ex. You'll never see strings hanging from the spaceships in "Star Wars", but you will in "Plan 9 From Outer Space". :thumbsup: (i wouldn't recommend you start with this one though because, as XXX pointed out, this is just bad -- an acquired taste (or lack thereof !) :beatnik:

Just saw this and had to add it:

"Learn to see the 'worst' films:

they are sometimes sublime. "

--Ado Kyrou, Surrealisme au Cinema

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  • 2 weeks later...

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