Quentin Tarantino is 63 years old today. He was born on 27 March 1963.

I have criticized Tarantino in the past for plagiarism. But over time, I think I may have overstated the case. In particular, I recently lifted a line from The Happening for a screenplay I wrote. I didn’t need to do it. In fact, I think it should be seen as an inside joke. But that’s probably what he is thinking when he lifts lines from Charley Varrick and Eaten Alive.

I still think he overdoes it. And I think I am quite right when I say, “He makes a particular kind of art film that is clever and easily digestible by his upper-middle-class audience.” And ultimately, I’m more interested in hearing him talk about psychotronic film than actually watching his films. But he does make solid films. I think the quality varies. But he’s never made a bad film.

I like Quentin Tarantino most because of his support for psychotronic films. He was instrumental in getting Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond re-released. Now, I disagree with him slightly on this. Over the years, I’ve come to think that The Beyond is over-valued by fans. City of the Living Dead really is better. But it’s still great!

Hands down, Tarantino’s most psychotronic film is Death Proof. This is probably why people consider it one of his minor works — if not his worst. And sure, I have my problems with the film. It’s too talky. Of course, I don’t blame the man. He writes incredible dialogue. If I did too, I’d write more dialogue!

But what is more psychotronic than this? Make me hate a character; destroy him without mercy?! And I love that they don’t kill him. They turn him into the whiny little man he always has been. And it speaks well of Kurt Russell that he accepted this role.

Image cropped from Quentin Tarantino by pinguino k under CC BY 2.0.

Strother Martin was born on 26 March 1919. He had health problems and died at only 61. But he was in a ton of movies — especially considering his short life.

Martin was a character actor. He actually had a broad range. But he also had a distinct style of speech that causes a lot of people to dismiss him as playing the same character over and over.

But I highlight him today for a different reason. He delivers the iconic line in Cool Hand Luke. And it drives me crazy! I don’t think I have ever heard someone quote the line correctly. It is always, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” But it’s not what he says! He says, “What we’ve got here is [pause] failure to communicate.”

The way he says it, you can easily hear an “a” in that pause. But I suspect that the real issue is that the last thing Luke says in the film is a mocking, “What we got here is a failure to communicate.”

The thing is, when quoting the line, no one says it like Paul Newman. Everyone means to quote Stroher Martin. They just get it wrong.

I’ve been a writer and editor most of my adult life. So I can be pedantic. But the difference between these two constructions is important. Martin delivers the line right after beating Newman for mocking him. Including the article makes the sentence apply to that specific interaction.

Without the article, the sentence refers to everything. The Captain is talking about the totality of the Luke character. But he doesn’t actually mean “communicate”; he means “obey.” And that is Luke’s pickle. Given his character, he must die — either spiritually by complying or physically, as we see in the film.

Regardless, it’s a great film. I love the epilogue where Dragline (George Kennedy) begins the process of mythology for Luke. Although, to be honest, I found this far more appealing when I was younger than I do today. Now, I tend to focus on the cruelty that Luke suffers.

Strother Martin taken from still in Cool Hand Luke under Fair Use.

Sarah Jessica Parker is 61 years old today. She was born on 25 March 1965.

She’s a solid professional actor. But certainly nothing special. I’m shocked that she became a star. But that is hardly new for me. People make a big distinction between actors. But I just don’t see much difference between those making millions per film and those making Basic Theatrical Scale.

But I’m not highlighting her here because of her acting. She once did something, and it is almost unforgivable (not that she ever asked for forgiveness). As you probably know, she played the part of Dolores Fuller in Tim Burton’s biopic Ed Wood. And at some point, the production held a party with the filmmakers and surviving members of Ed Wood’s troupe.

Parker said to the real-life Dolores Fuller, “I just got through telling everybody that I just played the part of the worst actress in the history of film!”

The best I can say for Parker is that she was probably drunk. Fuller didn’t mention this. But drunk people are prone to say that kind of thing. Regardless, it is unacceptable.

Think about this: Parker was 29 at that time and Fuller was 71. What ever happened to showing a little respect to your elders? Or what about showing a little sympathy for the poor and weak? Currently, Parker is worth an estimated $200 million. She didn’t have that much money back then, but she was certainly very wealthy. What’s more, she was at the height of her fame. Fuller was doing okay, but she wasn’t rich, and she certainly was on the far side of her career.

Parker’s statement isn’t even true. I’ve never liked it when people say that Ed Wood was the worst director of all time. For one thing: it just isn’t true. But it is a hell of a lot more true than to say that Fuller was the worst actress ever. In fact, looking back at the films, it is clear that she isn’t a bad actress at all. She wasn’t a great beauty. Producers doubtless cast Sarah Jessica Parker for that reason.

But Parker knows nothing about how independent films are made. It is hard to be great when you are limited to one or two takes. And that is just the start of everything that these actors labored under: poor scripts, bad sets, incompetent co-stars, and much, much more. Parker couldn’t know what it is like to work in these little films, but should have known enough to shut up about it.

What annoys me most of all is that Dolores Fuller wasn’t primarily an actor; she was a highly successful songwriter. She wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, and others. So to have this young know-nothing making a comment about one small part of the life of an older woman who was successful later is just disgusting. And learning that Sarah Jessica Parker acted this way has poisoned me toward all of her work since then.

Sarah Jessica Parker is still alive. Dolores Fuller died back in 2011 at the age of 88. Here is Nat King Cole performing the song “Someone to Tell It To,” which she co-wrote.

Sarah Jessica Parker via Library of Congress. It is in the public domain.

Trevor Jones is 77 years old today. He was born on 23 March 1949.

I find it hard to talk about film composers. Most people don’t. I know a lot of film fans who obsess about film scores. But I feel like a composer has made a mistake if I’m noticing the score — for good or bad. What’s more, the best composers fit their styles to the film at hand.

(Note: I feel the same way about directors. People obsess about directors with distinct styles. But I think, for example, Stanley Kubrick was better early in his career. Later, he ossified. And no amount of screaming “Genius!” will change that. Story bent to his style rather than his style bending to the story.)

Of course, Jones has a style. He’s more tuneful than most film composers. But he isn’t tuneful to a fault like one composer I could name. I like the way he combines this with interesting rhythms. And I can’t think of a better composer when it comes to setting a mood. And that’s even more true when the mood is dark!

Trevor Jones was born in South Africa as a “Coloured” person under Apartheid. But he demonstrated great musical gifts early on in life. And by his late teens, he was in London. He went to work for the BBC. He worked on Ripping Yarns. But John Boorman gave him his first big break composing parts of Excalibur.

Jones composed an amazing score for one of my all-time favorite films, Angel Heart. Typically, it is a soundtrack that is good all by itself. But it sets the tone perfectly for the film. It combines crooner tunes with the dark tone of the story, I doubt the film would work without his score.

But there is another Trevor Jones score that hasn’t gotten enough love from me: Dark City. It too is a fantastic film that all psychotronic fans should see! Jones again captures the essence of the film. He combines an orchestral score with electronic music. Usually, this doesn’t work for me. But it is, as usual, fantastic. Let’s watch it!

(Note: this is the director’s cut. It really is notably better than the producer’s cut.)

Trevor Jones via Spotify under Fair Use.

William Shatner is 95 years old today. He was born on 22 March 1931.

I have difficulty believing Shatner is still alive. Not only that. He’s still active. In fact, he recently shattered his shoulder when thrown from a horse! (People, please! Horses are evil. Stay away from horses!)

I’m not a huge fan of William Shatner. But people often claim that he’s a bad actor. Or that he over-acts. He doesn’t! People are really talking about the roles he plays. But even there, it’s wrong. He performs Captain Kirk with much subtlety when it is called for. But sure, he throws himself into big speeches when the time comes. That is how it should be!

Most people think of him as something of a one-trick pony. There’s Star Trek. And there’s TJ Hooker. But he is so much more than that! Shatner is a star in the traditional Hollywood sense of the word. Yet his credits on IMDb are more like those of a character actor. The man loves to act!

On this site, I’ve written about a number of his films. These include The Intruder, The Devil’s Rain, and The Babysitter. He also, of course, starred in one of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone.

But I like William Shatner best when he is histrionic. And so, we will watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His performance compares so well with Ricardo Montalban’s performance. Montalban is another excellent actor who is often dismissed as overly theatrical. And we get to see the two men interact even though they are literally never in the same location!

Image cropped from William Shatner by Super Festivals under CC BY 4.0.

Russ Meyer was born on 21 March 1922.

People know him primarily for his sexploitation films. But I barely think of that. He first entered my radar when I saw Eve and the Handyman. I loved that it was genuinely funny. And he continued to make films throughout his career that maintained this.

I also appreciate that his films are sex-positive. But this is largely true of the nudie cuties. Compared to films today, they have a breezy charm. But when simply showing women’s breasts was subversive, I guess this makes sense.

All of this is fun. But time has largely passed by these films. They are still good — way better than watchable. But Rush Meyer wasn’t a one-trick pony. He was a serious filmmaker. And we see this most clearly in the mid-1960s. He made three serious exploitation films:

• Mudhoney (1965)
• Motorpsycho! (1965)
• Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Meyer returned to his sexy films for a while. Then Zanuck and Brown hired him to work at 20th Century Fox. He made the interesting Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Then Fox signed a three-picture deal, which resulted in only one film, The Seven Minutes. After that, he made a handful of mostly sex comedies. And he ended his life making millions selling his catalog.

You can celebrate Russ Meyer’s birthday with any of his films. But I most wish that people watched the three mid-60s films listed above. You should really watch them all. But if you are only going to watch one, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is the best.

Image cropped from Russ Meyer by Rebert under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Box Office Spectaculars released Two Thousand Maniacs! on 20 March 1964.

Herschell Gordon Lewis was no kind of artist. But he had a great idea here. As far as I know, it was the first time we get the horror film trope of Northern visitors being harassed by Southerners. And the film does it in a really great way.

Ghosts who were killed during the Civil War reincarnate every hundred years. They use the opportunity to take revenge against Northerners. And the film plays it straight. The Southerners are psychopaths. They just want to harm and kill the Northerners as collective punishment. But Lewis, originally from Pittsburgh, shows no sign of wanting to rationalize this behavior. The Southerners are just evil. Thankfully, he is not part of the vile history of the motion picture business justifying and even celebrating southern treason.

Two Thousand Maniacs! is the second of the Blood Trilogy. They bookended it between Blood Feast and Color Me Blood Red. And it is my least favorite of the three. Sure. The first is, in so many ways, just bad. But it knows what it’s doing. The gore in it is spectacular! And the last features a great central performance and an interesting plot.

But this one? The story’s pretty good. But it’s mostly just a set up for a number of gore scenes. But the gore is pretty tame! Regardless, no one watches a Friedman-Lewis film looking for deep thoughts and complex characters. Because their films appeal to our basest impulses. And this one just lies there on the screen. There is shockingly little blood!

But all psychotronic fans should see Two Thousand Maniacs! After that? I’ve seen it a few times. But I feel no interest in watching it again. I still watch Color Me Blood Red from time to time. I don’t watch Blood Feast. But that’s because I have literally watched it three dozen times! (I’m not insane; I was writing about it.)

If you’ve seen it before, you are excused from watching it again. But if not, well, you know what you need to do…

Two Thousand Maniacs (1964) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Bruce Willis was born on 19 March 1955.

Willis is suffering from frontotemporal dementia and probably is not long for this world. And I think this is incredibly sad. I’d rather people (including myself) just be quickly killed by a car. At the same time, he suffered from survivor bias late in his life. And his choice of films became poor even while his self-image went off the charts.

That was clear as early as 1996. He starred in the wonderful Walter Hill film Last Man Standing. Everything about that film is flawless. Except for Bruce Willis who almost destroys it. It’s still a good film. But with an actor who cared, it would have been great.

The same is true of the Die Hard franchise. The first two films were excellent. The third was watchable but bad. And the last two are crimes against humanity. Willis’ performances aren’t so much bad as nonexistent. And despite his claims to be something of a moderate Republican, we see him again and again choosing roles that glorify reactionary politics.

But there is one film that shows what Willis could do: 12 Monkeys. Terry Gilliam has discussed the problems they had getting a good performance from him. He was shooting Die Hard with a Vengeance at the same time. And they had to throw out a lot of footage because Willis just wasn’t engaging. But the end result is excellent. And combine that with the rest of the cast (which was excellent) and one of the best screenplays ever written, and you get something great.

So let us wish Bruce Willis well. And let’s enjoy what is definitely the high point of his career. When he is gone, it is how I will remember him.

Image cropped from Bruce Willis by Gage Skidmore under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Edison Manufacturing Company released the first Frankenstein on 18 March 1910.

The motion picture industry started around 1890 and got going in the middle of the decade. By 1900, producers released upwards of 1,000 short films. So Frankenstein was late to the party. This is surprising! Producers presented Frankenstein on the stage just a few years after the novel was published. And when they did, they presented many different versions — including melodramas and burlesques.

This first filmed version of Frankenstein runs roughly 12 minutes. The story is closer to the novel than most filmed versions. Dr Frankenstein creates his creature and then returns home. Once there, the creature menaces him. Ultimately, it is trapped within a mirror due to Frankenstein’s love for Elizabeth. Or something.

The film is typical of the time. All scenes are shot with a single master. But the sets are flat, more typical of earlier periods. The creature design is horrific — especially so during its lengthy creation. You should watch the film just for this. It looks like the creature is being burned alive — but in reverse.

Two other silent film versions of Frankenstein were released. Life Without Soul (1915) was the first Frankenstein film that was feature-length. Il Mostro di Frankenstein (1921) was a 40-minute production. Sadly, both of these films are lost.

Thankfully, we do have the first filmed version of the story. And all fans should check it out. It isn’t great. But it also isn’t long. And it is very interesting to see what the producers do with so little.

Frankenstein (1910) poster via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.