What classics did you see last week ? (22 Dec - 28 Dec 2019)

Brewster McCloud - Very strange film, but the location shooting all over Houston (circa 1970) was great, especially the interior shots of the Astrodome, the Houston Zoo, and Astroworld. Shelley Duvall was great in her (I think) first role. She's beautiful in this film, especially when she's behind the wheel of the '70 Roadrunner and it's my new avatar on this site. The references to Bullitt were obvious, Frank Shaft the big time San Francisco detective being called in to solve the "Houston Strangler" mystery. The car chase even had some shot for shot homages to that film. The music during that sequence even had a Lalo Schifrin vibe. The main plot of the kid building a flying machine and having a guardian angel was interesting. Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West) even makes an appearance.  Lot of messages here that I don't think I fully picked up on with my first viewing, I'll definitely see it again.



Sugarland Express - I had to see this one again after watching Brewster McCloud as it also has some Houston area location shooting (although the majority was shot elsewhere in the state). Goldie Hawn and William Atherton are fun together and the car chases are great. Spielberg did a wonderful job with his debut theatrical film.



Destination Tokyo - one of my favorite wartime produced WW2 films, I've seen this one so many times I can't really count. Grant, Garfield, Hale, etc. So many great actors make this one a winner. The intensity throughout the film is high, especially when the Japanese dud bomb is defused off the coast of Alaska, and getting through the Tokyo Bay submarine net, as well as the final riding out a barrage of depth charges.



Goliath and the Sins of Babylon - I love these old sword and sandal (peplum) films. They are typically cheesy with bad dubbing but so much fun. I actually have a decent copy of this one as most are faded and damaged prints that are pan/scan for TV viewing back in the pre widescreen TV days. This one was actually in good shape, the colors mostly vibrant and presented in its original widescreen glory. Lots of action, a decent plot (Babylon's client state is being exploited for its virgins once every year), and a widely copied torture scene (Goliath is strapped to a rack with spears above him that when dropped can either randomly miss him or hit a vital region of his body).