Motörhead: Overkill (1979)

Motörhead: Overkill (1979)

Note: post is dedicated to my cousin, for reasons that he'd understand.

Motörhead's eponymous début album came out in 1977 and established the band's sound well-enough, but two years later the classic line-up of Lemmy Kilmister on vocals and bass, Eddie Clarke on lead guitar, and Phil Taylor on drums delivered unto the world Overkill - the first truly great Motörhead album. I'm listening to it right now, for the umpteenth time.

Side One is a mini-masterpiece all by itself. It opens with a thunderous drum track that's so good it could make Apollo weep with jealousy. Lemmy's bass kicks in after a few seconds and thunders along like Odin on a pub-crawl. Then the guitars break, shredding the air like the pains of Osiris slain. When Motörhead play, even the Gods pay attention.

Doctor Who: Classic Era Davros (1975-88)

Doctor Who: Classic Era Davros (1975-88)

NOTE: there are SPOILERS for a number of Classic Era Dr Who stories below this paragraph. It would be advisable not to read any further if you're not okay with that.

The Doctor had encountered the Daleks more than once before, as far back as his first onscreen incarnation (William Hartnell), during the second multipart story of the first series (1963-64), but he didn't come face-to-face with their tyrannical creator Davros until the fourth serial of the twelfth series (1975).

The duo met four more times over the next thirteen years, and you'll find thoughts on each of those meetings in the text below the cut. Once again, SPOILERS are present.

Rocky: Films (1976-2006)

Rocky: Films (1976-2006)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Dir. Robert Wise

TOS's transition from TV to big screen certainly was spectacular, but not in a good way - it was a spectacular disaster. By making the established world more cinematic, the warmth and personality of the TV Series was severely compromised.

Often referred to as 'The Motionless Picture' affectionately by fans and from the opposite viewpoint by haters, writer Alan Dean Foster's final draft (screenplay by Harold Livingston) forgets that it's supposed to be Star Trek.

The final product is closer to the cold and clinical end of the science-fiction spectrum, the kind that puts its emphasis on science over characters.

That approach is fine in theory, but TOS has always worked best when its characters were put up front; I feel it's more relatable, and therefore more successful, that way. I'd even go so far as to argue that it's the human/emotional side of things that really defines Star Trek, at least for me.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979)

Dir. Bill Meléndez

As a child I was never very fond of the first half of the animated version of C. S. Lewis' most famous work. Even now, as an adult, I feel the same.

And while the traditional static backgrounds are fine, the actual character animations atop them are very poorly done, especially the eyes.

The second half of the film, however, despite the same dodgy line work and the overpowering Christian allegory, I loved and even today I feel it's the best part. It's then that the story really picks up the pace and the Pevensie siblings, with their four different hair colours, are no longer required to be the main focus of the story, a task for which they aren't particularity well-suited.

The script is adapted from the revised US edition of the novel. If you're stuck with the Region 1 disc, then you have a different voice cast than the rest of the English speaking world - except for Aslan, the best of the bunch, who's voiced by British actor Stephen Thorne in both versions.

Meteor (1979)

Meteor (1979)

Dir. Ronald Neame

A disaster movie that doesn't have just an ocean liner or skyscraper under threat, it has the entire world! Even so, it's mostly standard fare, except for an unexpected edge that I won't reveal. It doesn't prevent the script from being predictable, but it does provide a viewer with an interesting angle from which to examine certain events.

Sean Connery is the practical, opinionated and steadfast Scot saving the world from a natural disaster in an ever-decreasing time frame. A solution may exist, but dare they use it? Ooh.

In the process, Sean even manages to build a cultural bridge between the American/Russian divide using his renowned sex-appeal. If he could bottle that he could make enough money to buy all of England and cast it off into the sea.

Sapphire and Steel (1979-82)

Sapphire and Steel (1979-82)

Dirs. Shaun O'Riordan (Assignments 1, 3, 5)  /  David Foster (Assignments 2, 4, 6)
34 episodes, approx 25 minutes each.

"All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life. Medium atomic weights are available: Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver and Steel. Sapphire and Steel have been assigned."

I saw Sapphire and Steel first when I was a kid. I don't remember what age exactly, but it blew my young mind. I saw some of it again in my twenties. It blew my mind once more. You can guess where this is going... yup, and again in my thirties: mind blown.

In all that time I've not encountered anything else quite like it, so in my experience it's unique. It's so unique that I could easily skip the introduction (and indeed the middle section) and go direct to the recommendation, but I won't. Instead, I'll try to give an overview of just what the hell it's all about.

Mad Max Trilogy (1979-85)

Mad Max (1979)

Dir. George Miller

As enjoyable as the first Mad Max film is on its own, in hindsight it works better if you look upon it as an extended prologue to the more entertaining sequel, The Road Warrior (1981), where the world is no longer on the verge of going to shit, as it is here, but has actually tipped over and fell face-first into it.

It has the feel of a B-Movie, but the on-the-road carnage is much better than what you'd normally get in that kind of commercial venture, and it's not without some black humour to keep it from sinking under the weight of its own gloomy subject matter.

The crew is to be applauded for making the scenario believable. Max (Mel Gibson), however, is kind of boring as a family man/highway interceptor. It's not until he gets his 'mad' on that he becomes interesting.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Dirs. Ronald Neame / Irwin Allen (uncredited)

Revellers on board the luxury cruise liner Poseidon enjoy their New Year's Eve party oblivious to the giant party-pooping wave that's thundering toward them... until it hits!

Produced by master of disaster flicks Irwin Allen, Poseidon is a thoroughly enjoyable but admittedly pretty awful journey from the bowels of hell to the light of day for a small and varied collection of individuals who realise that they must band together if they're to have any hope of escape.

With plenty of rationalising and moralising along the way the ensemble cast do their best with the material, and by the end we know exactly why each character was included and what basic emotion they were required to appeal to, a task that most of them do rather well, I'm happy to say.

I know that it's basically trash given the big screen treatment, but I love it. Ernest Borgnine, Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters and Roddy McDowall all together on a sinking ship? Hell, yes.

The Brood (1979)

The Brood (1979)

Dir. David Cronenberg

A film that explores the manifestations of human rage and the violent impact it has on society, in particular the family unit.

Nothing about the story is conventional, even if on the surface it might seem to be.

It’s a candid blend of autobiographical realism and fantastical psychological horror that turns the intimate into something terrifyingly perverse, as only David Cronenberg can.

Professional drunk Oliver Reed is perfectly cast as a doctor who dabbles in some rather odd therapy techniques. His primary subject, Samantha Eggar, gives a performance that will shock and repulse most viewers.

I shudder to think how Rule 34 might apply.

John Carpenter: Films: Part I (1974-79)

Dark Star (1974)
Dir. John Carpenter

Unless you're a hopelessly dedicated John Carpenter fan, then you'll likely want to stay far away from Dark Star. It's his low budget student film expanded to feature-length.

It's pretty terrible, really, but it's also interesting for a number of reasons. Most notably the script was co-written with Dan O'Bannon and plays like a prototype of his later success, Ridley Scott's Alien (1979).

Also, the music has that cheap and creepy Carpenter vibe. I love Carpenter's music.