Stray Cat Rock: Films (1970)

Stray Cat Rock: Films (1970-71)

Dirs. Yasuharu Hasebe / Toshiya Fujita

There are five movies in Nikkatsu's Stray Cat Rock / Alleycat Rock series, but they aren't connected in any meaningful way other than being thematically similar and each one having actress Meiko Kaji in a lead role.

In the first, 01. Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970 / Dir. Yasuharu Hasebe) a group of street-savvy women, really just 'chicks' with knives and razor blades, fight for a purpose when a sukeban (delinquent girl) rides into town and provides guidance.

It's interesting seeing the traditional roles of the sexes reversed in a 70s setting, and exploring how rules are applied and disregarded in the contrasting arenas of the street and the boxing ring, but, ultimately, Delinquent Girl Boss is 80+ minutes of style over substance played out to a soundtrack of funky jazz and psychedelic rock. If Dir. Hasebe had further indulged his willingness to explore a film frame's role in the telling of a story, then things might've been better.

Godzilla: Shōwa Era Films (1954-74)

01. Godzilla (1954) 

Dir. Ishirō Honda

NOTE: for simplicity's sake I've used English language titles for each of my Godzilla reviews, but it's always the original Japanese language versions of the films that I refer to.

The monstrous growl that's heard over the film's opening credits foreshadows what's to come, which can be summed up as the Japanese people facing a monstrous terror that the rest of the world has never seen. It begins at sea and then moves inland.

The creature responsible for the inhuman roar — the monarch of kaijū eiga — is a force to be reckoned with, for sure, and is more than just an excuse to have a guy in a rubber suit trash tiny models. You don't need to be a history scholar to pick out the many wartime parallels: nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific, irradiated wells, air raid sirens, and footfalls that sound like distant bombs impacting and exploding are all highlighted.

Tales From The Crypt (1972) + Vault of Horror (1973)

Tales From The Crypt (1972)
Vault of Horror (1973)

Dirs. Dir. Freddie Francis (TFtC) / Roy Ward Baker (VoH)

A Double Feature put out by Scream Factory that contains both Tales From The Crypt and its sequel, Vault of Horror (also known as Tales From The Crypt II in some regions).

I have issues with Scream Factory's price-hiking and shameless lack of integrity, but they licence some damn fine feature films.

Both are typical of the Amicus anthology format, each collecting five short stories set within a larger narrative framework. The locales for each story are different but all are set in the modern era (i.e. the 1970s).

The Studio even managed to lure some big name stars to appear in the works, such as Peter Cushing, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott, Joan Collins and Sir Ralph Richardson.

The Big Boss (1971)

The Big Boss (1971)

Dir. Wei Lo

TBB was Bruce's first major film. In it he plays Zheng Chao-an (alternatively spelled Cheng in some previous editions), a Chinese man fresh off the boat and working in a Thailand ice factory. All goes well enough for the new worker until he discovers that the ice factory is more than it initially seems.

It successfully established the template for much of what followed, while also highlighting his quiet, respectful persona that resorts to violence only when all other practical options have been exhausted. As such, it's not until well into the running time that we get to see the martial arts star in blazing action. But before too long there’s some WOOO-oooo-OOOO-WAHHH! and Bruce ends up angry, shirtless and bloody.

HAMMER: Mummy Films (1959-71)

The Mummy (1959)

Dir. Terence Fisher

HAMMER had successfully set Lee against Cushing in Dracula (1958) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), so it made sense to have the pair return for a third year running with classic horror's third big hitter. But the franchise quickly ran out of steam, reaching only four films, in comparison to Dracula's nine and Frankenstein's seven.

Archaeologists (i.e., sophisticated thieves) forcibly enter the well-lit tomb of an Egyptian high priestess and in so doing invite the wrath of a centuries old curse upon their educated heads. Their transgression was in the name of education not profit, but the distinction is unobserved by certain parties, one of which is a very bandaged Christopher Lee who has every right to be pissed off.

Planet of the Apes: The Original Films (1968-73)

01. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner

The original Apes movie that started the hairy ball rolling is the best of the lot.

Charlton Heston is our guide. He's Taylor, the everyman; albeit an everyman who can pilot a spaceship, has a cynical disposition, a will of iron and some well-groomed chest hair.

He and three other crew members are testing a scientific theory about time dilation aboard a US space shuttle. But something goes wrong, and they crash-land on the titular planet.

The story, based on Pierre Boulle's novel La Planète des Singes (1963), isn't just sharp social commentary (including powerful observations on such topics as the crippling consequences of having a government that places science and religion in the same bed, and the murky moral waters that too much pride can place a people in), it's also cold, hard science fiction that holds a mirror up to modern life, showing self-evident truths that, despite having been made in the late 60s, are still a part of how we live today.

I Am Legend: Filmed Versions (1964-2007)

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Dirs: Sidney Salkow / Ubaldo Ragona

The first filmed adaptation of Richard Matheson's celebrated I Am Legend (1954) novel is more faithful to the book in comparison to what followed. It even has the pit.

Vincent plays the titular man. He walks as if the weight of what's left of the world is on his shoulders, a visible sign that he's a man for whom routine has become a kind of prison.

There's a lengthy flashback to a happier time that could've and should've been emotionally powerful, but some painfully bad dubbing issues leave the scenes feeling cheap and insincere.

Had they been rectified it would've been a better film, because the sense of isolation the story requires is captured well-enough.

Gamera: Shōwa Era Films: Part Two (1969-80)

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

Dir. Noriaki Yuasa

NOTE: Shōwa Era: Part One is HERE.

Film number five features a trio of plucky under-tens investigating a spaceship that landed not too far from their location. The 'plot' develops and after much chicanery the blade-nosed Guiron goes pointy-head to turtle-head with the titular, heroic kaijū, who spends more time getting to the actual battle location than he does engaging in it.

There's flame-breath, boyish heroics and city destruction for kids; space-ladies in figure-hugging polyester for dads; and, no, there's nothing much of note for moms, unless reinforcing the belief that moms are the only women you can trust counts.