The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

Introduction

I ran into a review of this a few years ago and was immediately intrigued by the idea. A feature length animated film that predated Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? I didn’t even know that was possible. But here it is, a classic of silent cinema, and one that any animation fan should check out.

Summary:

In the time of the Arabian Nights, Prince Achmed and his family are entertained by a powerful sorcerer. The sorcerer presents a fabulous clockwork horse for the Prince to try out. Well the horse spirits Achmed away to a far land, and the wicked sorcerer abducts the lovely Princess Dinarsade. Now Achmed must return home and save his sister. Along the way he will meet a beautiful woman from the spirit realm, a hideous witch, the Emperor of China, a harem full of lovely, lonely women, and even Aladdin himself. It’s a story full of fantasy and daring called The Adventures of Prince Achmed.

Good Points:

• Amazing silhouette animation with details that astound
• A musical score that creates the perfect background
• The movie throws one in visual delight after another

Bad Points:

• It’s a silent film and if you don’t like the genre you won’t like this
• Some pretty blatant and offensive racial stereotypes
• The story jumps around without a proper arc

Overall:

Looked at in context this is an amazing film. All the animation is stop motion using cardboard and lead cutouts. The use of lighting and special effects is skillful, but it’s the fluidity of the animation especially during the big set pieces that amazes. Fans of silent cinema and animation need to see this movie and enter the dreamland that was created here. Everyone else, I offer a cautious recommendation. The lack of a clear story, characters and dialogue may create a movie too slow to enjoy.

Scores (out of 5)

Animation: 5

Sound: N/A

Music: 4

Voice Acting: N/A

Direction: 4

Story: 3

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

In Depth Review

I appreciate what Disney has done with animation. Walt really pushed forward the art of telling a story with animation back in the day. But Disney needs to stop claiming the title of first fully animated feature. Even The Adventures of Prince Achmed isn’t the first of its kind. But it is the earliest surviving fully animated film. With that sitting out there, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs needs to step down.

I had actually seen something like this before. There is a unique Japanese animated series called Revolutionary Girl Utena. This is an odd show all the way around, but one of its easily identifiable features is a Greek chorus that shows up in each episode with a mini story. This chorus is comprised of silhouette girls that look amazingly like the characters from Prince Achmed. Director Kunihiko Ikuhara must have been a fan of the style and decided to use it in his anime, and it works well in the context of the whole show. But even what he did doesn’t come close to the original.

If you are going to watch this movie, you need to be ready to accept what you are seeing. The silhouette is backlit and tinted comprises the entire animations style. You can get a good idea from the pictures I’ve added here. What is also visible, even more so on a large screen is the depth of the images. Not only are all the characters made in silhouette, but all the buildings and backgrounds. Then using angled light and layering, you get a full world, one that is amazing to see. The idea that someone went to all the trouble of designing, cutting and animating all these figures and buildings is mind blowing. Even Ray Harryhausen would be impressed.

Sequences like the amazing battle between the witch and the sorcerer are jaw dropping. These two beings continue to transform into various creatures in an attempt to kill each other. It’s very similar to the battle that occurs in Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. The fluidity of the transformations is stupendous and the way these transformations take places with pieces folding in and over and growing and flipping is like a dream (and reminded me of the mutation sequences in Akira).

The The Adventures of Prince Achmed uses smoke, sparks and creative lighting effects to add atmosphere and create a true fantasy environment. Maybe that’s what I love most about this movie – its like an Arabian Nights dream come to life, with a definite art deco feel to it. The fully rerecorded musical score does wonders here. Yes it has a definite classic cinema sound, but it fits the film and helps drive the story along. Doing some research I see that other scores have been created and while I’m curious to see how these would work, I wonder if they can match the story as well.

As I mentioned there are some downsides here. The story is really haphazard, seeming to jump all around and never really connect. There aren’t really characters here, just genre stereotypes. The evil sorcerer is just rotten. The hero is bland but good. The princess is lovely but always in peril. There aren’t any surprises in the plot really, but in a way that isn’t the point. The focus is obviously on the visuals and creating the mood. Plot is secondary in this case.

What is hard to overlook are the racial depictions of Chinese and African people in this movie. Keeping in mind when this was made, its something that is pretty common in cinema, but that didn’t stop me from shaking my head and feeling a bit wary about recommending it to people without warning them.

Honestly I can’t imagine any fan of animation or silent cinema missing out The Adventures of Prince Achmed. If you can find a copy to rent (Netflix has it for digital download!) give it a try. The actual DVD contains some neat extras including a documentary that goes into detail on how the film was made. This is an impressive film and one that influenced many other creators over the years. Its also entertaining in its own right and you can’t ask for more than that.

Let the Right One in (2008)

Introduction

When this movie came out a lot of comments were made that this is how a real vampire movie should work – you know as opposed to “Twilight”. Well you can say that about a lot of vampire movies. I was still intrigued because the story sounded like it could provide some creepy moments.

Summary

Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) and his mother live in an apartment in Stockholm. Oskar has it rough; he’s bullied at school, doesn’t seem to have any friends and is at an age where everything about him seems off (middle school I’m guessing). Then Eli (Lina Leandersson) moves in and things change. Eli befriends him, but she only comes out at night and her skin is cold to the touch. Then strange murders and attempted murders start occurring in their neighborhood. Oskar begins to suspect that his new friend is much more than she appears – but is that really going to change their friendship?

Good Points

• Excellent portrayals by both child actors
• Filmed in a way that keeps things cold and creepy
• Doesn’t pull punches with vampire lore

Bad Points

• A slow moving film
• Some viewers might find the relationship too creepy
• Not enough horror for fans of that genre

Overall

The movie’s main focus is on Oskar and his relationship with Eli. The fact that she’s a vampire puts a spin on it, and the movie never shies away from what that may mean. It makes the movie more creepy and disturbing, as it should be. In the end that is the main goal of the film, to get under your skin and it does so very well. I wouldn’t call it a horror film, but something more like a dark romance. I recommend it to anyone who likes some vampires in their foreign films.

Scores (out of 5)

Visual: 4

Sound: 4

Acting: 4

Music: 4

Direction: 4

Script: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

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District 9 (2009)

Introduction

I kept seeing benches at bus stops with a strange icon telling me that the bench was for humans only. I thought it was for a videogame of some kind. When I finally started to see ads for "District 9" I was even more curious. I finally got around to watching the film and the memory of the benches made me snicker. It was only too appropriate.

Summary

Earth is finally visited by aliens, and land in South Africa. They are brought to earth and end up becoming a type of second class citizen, even though the technology on the ship has helped humans. Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is in charge of moving the undesirable aliens from their current slum of District 9 to an all new ghetto. Some of the aliens resist moving, and during a struggle Wikus is injured by an alien device. Now it appears that Wikus is slowly mutating into some kind of hybrid human/alien. Desperate for a cure, he becomes a hunted man, on the run from government agents, gangs, and a mysterious alien. It is obvious that his fate is tied to the people of "District 9".

Good Points

• Sharlto Copley is superb in the part, creating a believable character
• The world of the film is excellently realized, with believable technology and aliens
• The actions sequences are intense and executed very well

Bad Points

• The documentary aspect of the film is distracting in places
• Pacing is a bit off in the first half
• Some of the more violent sequences may disturb viewers

Overall

This type of movie is rare, a science fiction film that fuses high-octane action with interesting ideas. It makes for excellent entertainment that you can talk about after it’s done. Copley really sells his role and that combined with special effects that go for realistic over flashy, and you've got a movie worth checking out.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 5

Music: 3

Acting: 5

Script: 4

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

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Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)

Introduction:

Time again to delve into the 100 Sci-fi Classics movie pack. This movie has the words “prehistoric” and “planet” in the title. The last time I saw that combination of words in a title it was for a MST3K episode that included dorky cave men and provided the catchphrase “Hi-keeba”. Would this film be an improvement, and would it provide us with a better catchphrase? Grab your clay-mation dinosaur and get ready to find out.

Summary:

Earth has sent a three rocket expedition to Venus. Along the way a meteor destroys one of the rockets. The remaining crew decides to land on Venus in a smaller force. The first is comprised of Dr. Kern (Georgi Tejkh) the creator of John (John Bix) the robot, and Allen Sherman (Yuri Sarantsev). In the dense cloud layer the landing party is lost. So the remaining explorers descend leaving poor Dr. Marsha Evans (Faith Domergue) in the orbiting rocket and in touch with the lunar base and Professor Harman (Basil Rathbone). The rescue party of Andre (Gennadi Vernov), Hans (Georgi Zhzhyonov) and Commander Lockhart (Vladimir Yemelyanov) must face all kinds of dangers on Venus, including lizard men, exploding volcanoes, dinosaurs and a mysterious voice that may be a siren song to doom. Can the expedition survive their Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet ?

Good Points:

• Once the astronauts get to the planet things move pretty quickly
• Is filled with all kinds of adventures
• The special effects range from “not bad” to mind-bendingly goofy

Bad Points:

• Obviously a dubbed film with padding in English
• Some of the characters are aggressively annoying
• A confusing dub script renders logic useless at times

Overall:

You’ve got another rocket movie that will probably remind you of a host of other films. In most cases it’s a fun little movie, but there are moments where things get too tedious or confusing. I stopped trying to keep up with the plot and just enjoyed the ride of silly antics on Venus. You’ve got a robot, hopping lizard men, a couple dinosaurs, a hover car and rockets galore. If only the dubbing scriptwriter and dubbing actors had put in a little more effort (and the print was in better shape) this would have been a solid space exploration adventure. Adjust your expectations and you should get a kick out of this.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 2

Music: 2

Script: 2

Direction: 2

Entertainment: 3

Total: 3

In Depth

Venus has fascinated filmmakers for many years, and while it might not eclipse the allure of the red planet, Venus was often the target for early space adventures. This was because for the longest time, Venus was known to have an atmosphere and was assumed to have many similar qualities to earth. The cloud layer hiding the surface was intriguing, and heck – it’s name after the Roman goddess of love. How could it not be hospitable?

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet gives us a glimpse of a movie called Planet of Storms, a Russian film made a few years earlier. According to IMDB, Roger Corman and company grabbed the rights to this film and packaged it for release in the U.S. They hired Mr. Rathbone and Miss Domerque to provide some actual acting and then dubbed the hell out of it. This same type of process was used in the film The Magic Voyage of Sinbad which was actually a Russian fairytale adventure called Sadko. Just like it’s fantasy brother, this dubbed film suffers a bit in the translation.

What doesn’t suffer is the imagination and excitement of space travel. Much like the similar First Spaceship on Venus another Russian coproduction, this movie throws in as much technical and visual effects as it can manage. Much of it looks primitive to us now, but it’s got a spirit of adventure and fun that rings through the rough script and poor dub acting.

The movie opens with a blast of rockets as they hurtle through space. One is struck by a meteor and destroyed – all in the first few minutes, Michael Bay would be proud. From there you get a tentacled flower of death a strange siren song a hover car, a stop motion dinosaur, a flying dinosaur a submerged ancient city, hopping lizard men (some of the funniest sequences in the movie), a waterfall that almost overwhelms John the Robot, and an volcano.

So you can see, this movie is jam packed with crazy adventures and otherworldly goodness. Visually the look of the space suits and rockets is pretty well executed. A lot of location shooting went into the filming and the sequence with the waterfall is pretty impressive. Most of the work with sets is limited to the interior of the rockets. It is certainly more convincing than a lot of low budget rocket adventures I’ve seen, but it lacks some of the panache of the ship from First Spaceship on Venus. Then there’s John the Robot. He’s definitely influenced by the robot from Forbidden Planet, with his cumbersome body and whirling antenna. He moves very slowly and while he’s dubbed with a very annoying voice, he actually serves a valuable member of the landing crew. Just don’t expect R2-D2 or even the android from Metropolis.

In stark contrast are the padded scenes with Rathbone and Domerque. The sets are obviously thrown together, lacking the detail of the Russian counterparts. The costumes look more futuristic as opposed to the more conventional outfits of the astronauts. The scenes with Dr. Evans work a little better. She seems to be in a different part of the rocket, maybe a more streamlined and less cluttered part. Even if the dubbing was a lot better, you’d still know she was filmed at a different time. The whole print I saw was very faded with drab colors that made everything look brownish. This is a shame I suspect there was a lot of color in this movie. It probably looked much cooler when it was first released in Russia.

The sound isn’t too bad. The music is another beast all together. The score takes away from the film, distracting at times and not seeming to be married to the actual scenes in many cases. I’m not sure if this was an addition made by Corman’s crew or this was original to the film, but it’s not effective.

Rathbone is given top billing but he’s really nothing more than a glorified cameo. Dr. Evans falls into the same boat. I think she was added so a woman could actually appear in the film. Marsha is left on the rocket, so she can fret, make log entries, communicate with Rathbone and fret some more. I feel bad for saying it but Domerque’s performance is so vague and spacey I wonder if she was bored or a little high (or both).

The rest of the cast is hard to judge, because the Russian actors do a decent enough job as far as I can tell. They seem to be into the parts as the brave and adventurous heroes. But the dubbing is horrible. At its best the actors inject a little emotion into the parts, but most of the time you get bored sounding voices droning on and on (reminding me of the MST3K episode of Hamlet). The worst is the robot, John, who does the typical …I… AM… A… ROBOT… voice. He gets really annoying really fast.

I’m not sure what director Curtis Harrington actually did, other than shoot the footage with Domergue and Rathbone. He certainly didn’t film the bulk of the movie, but maybe he helped edit the film together. I do know he worked on the script and to be honest it stinks. Some of the dialogue makes no sense and only confuses the plot. The injection of Dr. Evans forces the story to warp not in the Russian version. It’s a real mess, one that increases the problems with the dub.

In the end, I can’t condemn the movie too much. I know what it was trying to do and the Russian elements are inventive and fun. At the time of its release this movie would not have been shown in the US. It was the middle of the Cold War and Russians are still the enemy. So this may be the only way a fun movie like this could have been released. But now, Corman’s take seems like a relic and makes me curious to see the original version. If you enjoyed First Spaceship on Venus then check this out. They would make a fun double feature. Just get ready for some riffing on the horrible dub.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Introduction:

This is one of those movies that I’d heard about since I was a kid. I read about it in books. I’ve seen the poster in a number of 50’s style diners. I’ve even heard portions of the iconic musical score. But being the sci-fi fan that I am, I’ve never seen the movie… until now.

Summary:

The people of the earth are stunned when a flying saucer lands in Washington D.C. Out of it emerges a mysterious visitor Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his robot Gort (Lock Martin). Because of some confusion, Klaatu is shot by a soldier and taken into custody. He reveals that he has a special message for the leaders of earth, and will only deliver it to them. When he is told that this is impossible, Klaatu escapes into the city. But his wandering is not pointless; Klaatu is on a mission, to gather information necessary to make a decision that will affect the whole planet. The whole world is about to learn a lesson “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.

Good Points

• An interesting examination of how earth would respond to an alien visitor
• Bernard Herrmann’s score is a classic – love that Theremin
• Michael Rennie makes Klaatu both alien and accessible

Bad Points

• Some may find the visual effects too dated
• Robert Wise’s direction may be to slow for some viewers
• The movie’s message is not subtle at all

Overall:

Yeah, this is a classic for a reason. Sure it’s a message movie with a sci-fi wrapper, but the message still makes sense today. In fact the reaction to Klaatu’s arrival will probably obtain the same result if it happened tomorrow. The cast is solid, and I found Robert Wise’s direction to actually be perfectly suited for the film. In fact watching this movie I realized how much it ended up influencing so many 50’s invasion movies that followed it. All the parts work well and make for a fun evening of Theremin filled entertainment.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Music: 5

Acting: 4

Script: 4

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

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Planet of the Apes (1968)

Introduction:

How many times has this movie been parodied, referenced and just plain imitated? Too many to count. Most people forget that the original film actually had an edge to it, something the sequels gradually lost in place of silliness. Many consider it a sci-fi classic. But just as many think of it as a camp classic. Where will I fall?

Summary:

Colonel George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his crew find themselves marooned on an alien world. At first they struggle just to survive the crash and find a place where they can get fresh water. They are eventually captured by the native people of the world - apes who speak and walk like humans. Taylor is injured and unable to communicate, but Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) feels that he is no mere animal (like the other humans on this world) but an intelligent creature. She enlists of the help of her companion Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and tries to convince Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) of the fact. But most of the apes don’t want to acknowledge that a human can be intelligent. When Taylor gets his voice back things go from bad to worse. What is the secret of the “Planet of the Apes”?

Good Points

• An interesting concept at the heart of the story
• Jerry Goldsmith provides an innovative and intense score
• Impressive costumes and effects for the time

Bad Points

• A bit heavy handed in places
• Some of the acting is over the top
• Overexposure has hurt the film for modern viewers

Overall

In a way this movie is tough to judge from a subject stance. Its so familiar that the ending is even telegraphed on the DVD cover! They figure you already know the twist. But beyond that, there is a lot of interesting ideas about human nature at the heart of the story, and they make this a little more than a simple adventure story. It may be over the top and a little silly, but there is a darkness to it, one that the end really brings home. While the first 15 minutes were on the slow side, things get interesting very quickly and overall I enjoyed the film.

Scores (out of 5)

Visual: 4

Sound: 3

Music: 4

Acting: 3

Script: 4

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

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El Hazard : The Magnificent World (1995)

Introduction:

Back in 1992 Japanese animation studio AIC and Pioneer combined to make a fun and clever sci-fi romp called Tenchi Muyo!: Ryo Oki. It was a hit and propelled a similar concept, but this time with a bent more toward fantasy. The result was a series that surpassed its inspiration, but never really was as popular as its creators hoped.

Summary:

One night a strange woman appears in the bizarre ruins recently found under a Japanese high school. She speaks to student Makoto Mizuhara (Eddie Frierson) and tells him that she’s slept for thousands of years only to awake at this moment to see him again and send him to El Hazard. Before Makoto can ask her what the heck she’s been smoking, the woman blasts the entire school with a blue beam of energy. Makoto finds himself in another world along with his teacher Mr. Fujisawa (Michael Sorich). The two are picked up the royal family of Roshtaria, and soon find themselves on a quest to save the kingdom. Along the way they find that two other students have been transported over. Nanami Jinnai (Lia Sargent) is grateful to be alive and with her friends. But her brother Katsuhiko Jinnai (R. Martin Klein) has joined the enemy and is bent on domination of El Hazard. Adventure and antics quickly ensue, and each of the earthlings finds that they have some special power to use. But will they ever be able to return home from El Hazard: The Magnificent World?

Good Points

• Keeps a spirit of fun and humor throughout
• Has one of the funniest dub scripts written for a 90’s anime
• Lots of female anime gals in skimpy clothing

Bad Points

• Suffers from padding in certain places
• Some of the sex jokes and cross dressing can get old
• None of the characters ever get fully fleshed out

Overall

El Hazard: The Magnificent World is one of the most fun and entertaining anime series of the 90’s. Most of that has to do with the hilarious dub script and actors who are up for it. Everyone gets into the parts and throws themselves in with Klein nearly stealing show as Jinnai. A clever final act twist adds a bit of poignancy to the series and gives it a good ending. While not a sterling example of Japanese animation, it is always entertaining and knows exactly how to deliver the goods.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 4

Music: 3

English Voice Acting: 5

English Script: 5

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 5

Total: 5

In Depth Review

I’ll admit right away to having a certain bias toward the show. It was one of the first anime series viewed when I delved back into the medium in the mid 90’s. So it generates a lot of nostalgia. However, I can say that every time I watch it, I find it almost as entertaining and fun as the first time I popped it into my VCR. These days, I see that the show is out of print on DVD in the U.S. and hardly anyone talks about it. Part of that is because of the dismal sequels and spin offs that followed the first series.

In many ways El Hazard isn’t groundbreaking or new. The concept of humans being pulled into another dimension and attempting to survive has been around since the early days of fiction. Japanese animation went to this story well numerous times, with another successful series in the 90’s called The Vision of Escaflowne. But what makes this series so entertaining is the combination of script and voice acting. Just watch the Japanese dub to see what I mean.

The world design of the series is a unique combination of Arabian Nights, meets giant bugs, meets energy weapons, swords and sorcery. There are robots and technology, but no one on El Hazard really knows how to use it. Most of the combat is hand to hand or magic based. This type of world is very popular in Japanese animation and video games. Not only do you get our robots and laser guns but you get magic and marital arts. It works here a bit better than other incarnations I’ve seen. We are told that the world of El Hazard was technologically advanced but destroyed itself with its super weapons: The Eye of God and the Demon Goddess. The survivors abandoned the technology and embraced magic.

However there are certain deign elements that aren’t so interesting. The Eye of God is basically the Death Star from Star Wars with a few more protrusions and not filled with Stormtroopers. Some the vehicles are also inspired by George Lucas’ famed trilogy. It doesn’t help that the production company seemed to mine Skywalker Sound for many of the sound effects used in the series. The costumes are designed around the lines of Arabian Nights with that special anime ability to show off enough curves and skin for the females to keep male viewers drooling. It gets a bit gratuitous at times, but the creators knew who would be watching.

The music takes the Arabian Nights theme further sounding like it could have been composed for The Thief of Bagdad in places. It’s all done on synthesizers and sometimes gets into a droning style for suspense moments. The mixture works really well at times and less at others. The two end themes will test the endurance of even the most ardent fan of Japanese pop. They are performed in English but go from annoyingly cute to gratingly shrill.

For the most part the series director keeps the story moving along. There are a few moments of padding here and there, but nothing to stop the story cold. The first episode takes a little time to really get going, but be patient. The second episode hooks you with the adventure and comedy blend.

In Japanese El Hazard is a fun adventure with some humor, mostly mined from the fact that Mokoto happens to look just like the missing Princess Fatora. After some negotiations, he masquerades as the princess. The idea of a young Japanese man dressing as woman and pretending to be a princess holds a lot of humor to a Japanese audience as opposed to an American one. We see it as funny, but not in the same way a Japanese audience might. When you watch it in its original language the jokes center around the fact that he’s in drag. That’s it.

Another element of comedy comes from Fatora’s servant girl Alielle. Turns out she’s more than just a servant; she was Fatora’s lover. With Fatora gone Alielle is… well horny. She ends up hitting on and groping all the women she encounters. Again most of the jokes center on Alielle saying “ooh she’s cute” and then grabbing the woman’s breast. Some of it is funny, but most of it just kind of sits there.

Then there is the romance angle. Mokoto is a nice enough guy and this causes a few of the gals in the film to fall for him. Back on earth Nanami has a few lines about how she likes Mokoto. But there is also the fire priestess Shayla-Shayla, who has conflicted feelings about Mokoto. And then there is Ifurita, the deadly weapon. She’s a machine in the shape of a women (of course) who can blow up cities with a single well placed burst from her staff. But Mokoto, who’s special ability is to be able to operate El Hazard technology is able to understand her. And this creates a bond between the two, something that drives the finale and creates a very cool twist at the end.

Now usually I’m all for a direct translation of a Japanese script into English for anime. Get it as close as you can and keep it understandable. But with comedies, I’ve found that Japanese humor doesn’t always translate, especially the dialogue. So I’m willing to let the English dub get a little more freewheeling. It worked well from Ranma ½ and it works wonders here.

In English Mokoto’s discomfort dressed as Fatora is very funny with his voice actor Eddie Frierson capturing all the angst and embarrassment with his voice. His struggle to stay in character even when things are going horribly wrong is played with great skill. He even allows the character to show a bit more emotion when he discovers the only way to save El Hazard from destruction. It’s a powerful moment and Frierson really gets into it with his voice.

Alielle also gets a lift with her dialogue. When she first sees the priestess Shayla-Shayla standing on the cliff in kick-ass mode, in Japanese she said… “cute”. In English she purrs “Ohhhh, red hair!” This turns into a joke later when Fatora asks if Alielle has been faithful to her. “What about the red head?” she asks, as if this has come up before.

Those are the most basic examples and I could go on and on. Mr. Klien’s performance as Jinnai trumps his Japanese counterpart easily. He adds an extra bit of insanity to the voice and the laugh, transforming the young man from a power hungry jerk into a deranged nut job. It actually fits the animation of Jinnai a lot better and creates some hilarious moments all based on the over the top performance. Anyone who’s seen this series will always remember Jinnai and that laugh.

I also love Lia Sargent as Nanami. She’s got a very cute voice and she gets some hilarious lines when she deals with Mokoto and her brother Jinnai. Sargent worked on anime voice -overs for years and she’s always excellent, usually conveying innocence, kindness and perkiness just with her voice. Nanami isn’t her juiciest role, but it’s one of my favorites by her.

Last but not least is Michael Sorich as the drunken schoolteacher, Mr. Fujisawa. He gets so many good lines and delivers them with energy. He practically steals all the scenes he’s in and maybe one of may favorite comic characters in anime. Again, his acting seems to fit the character animation better than the Japanese voice actor and just elevates the humor to a new level. Great stuff.

You’ve got a great combination of adventure and comedy. They mix well and even when things get serious in the final episodes, the writers don’t forget to have Fujisawa or Jinnai get a couple good lines in.

I see some mediocre reviews for El Hazard and it usually turns out that the reviewers watched the Japanese version. I can see how it just doesn’t have the same appeal. Some of the animation isn’t the best. You get that panning over still frames that anime uses so often. You get reused power-up scenes for the priestesses. And some of the battle scenes happen off camera. These flaws melt away when you see it in English and it fires on all cylinders.

If you can rent it or find it, give the series a try. I hope it becomes available again, with that dub, because it still remains one of the most entertaining concoctions in anime and one of the reasons this medium flourished in the 1990’s.

And because I didn't have enough to say - check out my Nostalgia Nugget about the demise of the this show due to poorly executed sequels.

Nostalgia Nugget - The Demise of El Hazard

AIC and Pioneer created Tenchi Muyo and El Hazard and got two popular shows out of the deal. Both series were ended with enough wiggle room to create more adventures and explore the worlds. Instead the studios took a different path that ended up degrading the memory of these stories. In the case of El Hazard it was fatal.

A second Original Animated Video was commissioned after the popularity of the first. It was released in 1997 and called El Hazard the Magnificent World 2. Elements of the story were funny, with Mr. Fujisawa getting married to the priestess Miz, and Nanami and Mokoto trying to adapt to life on a new world. But the main thrust of the story has to do with Jinnai finding another ancient weapon and trying to destroy the kingdom of Roshtaria again.

This is a case of serious rehash, with very little material that wasn’t already explored before. The relationship between Mokoto and Ifurita is abandoned and we get more of what we saw before, but with less comedy and less adventure. Even the English dub cast can’t do much with this. It’s a poor sequel that did nothing to further the story; just let the wheels spin some more.

Next up was a television series in 1995 called El Hazard: The Wanderers. I had hoped this would be a series of adventures that follows Mokoto in his quest to find a way to get back home. Instead it’s a retelling of the first story! It starts with the four humans at the high school, and follows as they get sucked into El Hazard.

What’s the point of that? Well a few things are changed. First off all the characters got a lot cuter and lot dumber. Mokoto who was always a little dense when it came to women is downright moronic here. He’s good with machines and creates the machine that sucks them into El Hazard. Ifurita is around, but she's a total ditz and doesn't show up till around halfway through the series. Jinnai is crazier, but stupider turning him into a villain who is not threatening at all. Really suffering is the Princess Rune Venus, who was noble but soft hearted in the original story. Here she’s younger, dumber, and so cute you want to slap her. All the sexual jokes and comments are gone. Alielle is still around, but she’s just a servant in the castle. She really serves no purpose at all other than to make obvious comments and act cute.

Again the English voice actors make this worth watching, but barely. They get into the parts and have some funny lines. My favorite moment is when Mokoto gets so fed up with Jinnai’s threats that he mocks him, even down the laugh. But the series is so bland in the adventure and comedy department that it feels like a waste. Tenchi Muyo had a similar transformation when it was brought to television, but it managed to work because the main villain was a real threat and the adventure worked most of the time.

Finally the creators went back to the original continuity with a new television series El hazard: The Alternative World in 1998. This picks up after the second OAV with Fujisawa and Miz married and a new priestess being trained in the ways of water manipulation. The series stars off well with a lot of the old humor coming back and Alielle’s horny brother showing up. Ifurita even has a cameo appearance, driving Mokoto to find a way to get to her.

Then it all derails as our main cast including Alielle, the three priestesses and the novice and the Jinnai are transported to another world! Seriously? Of all the adventures you could come up with this is where you decide to go? What about the Phantom Tribe? What about finding clues to getting back to earth? Nope. We go with another world and more fish out of water antics. The new world isn’t terribly interesting, kind of a steam punk world combined with 1600’s look to the armor and weapons. The resolution of the story is rushed and lame. Even lamer is the tepid romance between Mokoto and the novice priestess. The final episode turns into one series of endless jokes about Fatora and Alielle trying to grope and rape the rest of the females in the cast. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I found it to be a rotten cherry on this nasty Sundae.

That series pretty much killed the show and El Hazard hasn’t had any new adventures. In a way I’m glad. If that was all the creators could come up with, than I’ll just watch the first series and enjoy that. But it annoys me that this story with so much potential was so mutilated in its other incarnations. Comparing to the other AIC juggernaut Tenchi Muyo which not only got two theatrical films, one direct to video film, and three television series up to 2002, I wonder if maybe El Hazard got off easy.

Check out the full review of the original show here.

The Beatniks (1960) – MST3K Review

Summary:

This episode starts with a short “General Hospital”. Yep, that “General Hospital”. We get a bit at a birthday party where the soap opera antics make everyone very awkward.

In the movie, Eddy (Tony Travis) and his crew love to race around and rob mom and pop stores. While going over his loot he is discovered by a talent agent. You see Eddy can croon like the best of them, and so he begins his ascent to stardom. Unfortunately his gang lead by the unstable Mooney (Peter Breck) wants to keep hanging out with him, and everything they touch – they destroy. Will Eddy be able to keep his singing contract and get the girl, or will “The Beatniks” land him in the big house?

Movie Review

The short is actually very grey and very dull. These are moments taken from the 1963 episodes of the show and boy are they a snooze. Everyone talks slowly, like they are all on downers and the music… wow. Not much else to say about “General Hospital” other than it was a long way from the 80’s version my grandma used to watch.

I watched this fine film right after watching “Walk the Line”, the biography about Johnny Cash. They both have similar stories, a young man from a messed up background struggles to make it in the music industry. A history with a bad crowd threatens to destroy them. The light at the end of the tunnel is the good girl who wants to help them. Of course, I don’t think we’ll see “Walk the Line” on Rifftrax any time soon. But it’s odd how nearly 40 years later we are still seeing similar stories.

So what is so wrong with this film? Well it’s not horrible it’s just not terribly good. First off Eddy never strikes us as the kind of talent that would get noticed and exploited. He’s an OK singer, doing a kind of crooning similar to Sinatra in style, but without the smoothness. He’s a bit of a jerk, although Helen (Joyce Terry) is able to get him to lighten up. Still, we never buy into the fact that he’s supposed to be a singing heartthrob. He’s more like your pal who sings along with the radio and no one tells him to shut up.

None of the songs really catch you. Writing this I can’t remember the title or melody for a single one of them. Again, nothing really stinks here, but they are so bland that they enter one ear and leave the other.

No the real issue here is the gang. Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat. Eddy’s gang are not beatniks. They are a bunch of thugs and ruffians. You wanna see a real group of beatniks in a MST3K setting? Check out “The Rebel Set”, those guys are a lot closer to the beat lifestyle than these clowns.

My two favorite characters of the film are found in this little gang. Iris (Karen Kadler) is a catty woman who manages to be clingy as well. She starts the film hanging all over Eddy. When he grabs the interest of the talent scout, she pressures the reluctant Eddy to sign with him. We can see the stars in her eyes. When Eddy starts to fall for Helen, she gets very jealous and this causes her to be even more abrasive. I feel a little bad for Iris. She’s not a likable woman at all; maybe these jokers are the only ones that could tolerate her.

Of course it could be the simple fact that Mooney is a complete nut job. Maybe he hopes that Iris will turn into a more annoying character than him. Well that’s not going to happen. Breck chews all the scenery he can from the moment we see him. He’s aggressive, and yet whiney and stupid all at the same time. He reminds me of the leader of the gang in “Zombie Nightmare”. My favorite Mooney moment is when he breaks down in the hotel. It’s so over the top and shrill that you have to see it to believe it.

This movie was written and directed by Paul Frees. It’s the only movie he did either of these jobs. Don’t judge Mr. Frees by this film. He was an excellent voice actor providing his talents for nearly 40 years. Joel and the bots ask you to remember him as the voice of Ludwig Von Drake and not the director of “The Beatniks”.

Episode Review:

Crow, Tom and Joel have been on this type of road before, with the film “Daddy-O”. That turned out to be a fan favorite, so I think they felt pretty comfortable with this movie. The riffing is easy and good-natured for the bulk of the film, with most of the comedy coming with the songs and Mooney’s antics. It’s the other scenes that seem a bit blasé by comparison.

But the “General Hospital” shorts never really grabbed me. MST3K tackled three of them. While there are moments of comedy, I always forget about them as short subjects. The funniest part of this episode is when Joel and the bots improvise a commercial from “The Booze Council” explaining how booze would make the dull party more fun.

This is one of those episodes that I enjoy when I watch it, but after a while I don’t remember any really great riffs or fun moments. Ok, this movie is the source for the frequent riff “Shut up Iris! I said shut up!” used in later shows when a male character gets snappy with a female character. You also get Mooney’s meltdown which give us the “I killed the fat barkeep!” line that Frank will blurt out once in a while. So maybe it does have some memorable moments, but those are mostly because of the callbacks and host segments that riffed on them later.

Speaking of host segments, things start off with Joel being very mean while playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with Crow and Tom. This is really bizarre, because Joel is usually very nice to his bots. Luckily Gypsy comes in and squishes him. For the invention exchange the Mads dress like good luck trolls and Joel shows off his literal version of pocket pool. At the first break Joel and the bots discuss whether what we are watching are real beatniks. The next segment has Gypsy, Tom and Crow throwing a slumber party in full P.J.s and dishing about Tony Travis. Next up is Tom Servo in a behind the music documentary about the 50’s rocker. It’s very silly. After the movie finishes Crow and Tom are inspired by Mooney and go insane! The Mads are super popular because of their Troll costumes… yeah I didn’t believe it either.

I think the cast and crew of the series enjoyed this film a lot more than I do. Compared to the similar “Daddy-O” it’s a better episode. But it pales to the season 6 classic “Girl’s Town”. This is making it sound bad, and it’s not. I enjoyed watching it again, but it falls into the average grade for me. If you love 60’s delinquent films, you might enjoy it a bit more than I did.

I give it 3 fat barkeeps out of five.

Available on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume XVIII.