Luana Anders' Underwear Blooper in "Dementia 13" (Francis Ford Coppola, 1963) (video)

"Dementia 13" was Francis Ford Coppola's first movie (not counting a nudie flick or two).

It's a terrifying tale starring the sublime Luana Anders (Easy Rider, The Last Detail).

The scariest scene...

(besides the one with the obvious boom-mic shadow)

...is Luana's midnight swim in a dark, murky pond.

So scary, in fact, that we almost don't notice...

...that her underwear changes color when she goes underwater.

Read our review of DEMENTIA 13


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Luana Anders' Underwear Blooper in "Dementia 13" (Francis Ford Coppola, 1963) (video)

FOG CITY MAVERICKS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/1/08

 

As a history of the San Francisco movie scene, Gary Leva's 2007 documentary FOG CITY MAVERICKS offers endless unfavorable comparisons between the artistic freedom of the Bay Area community and the impersonal, factory-like atmosphere of Los Angeles, where creativity is stifled by bean counters in suits who want to control every aspect of the filmmaking process and churn out bland Hollywood "product" for mass consumption. We're given several examples of the different sensibilities and priorities of these opposing mindsets, and in hindsight are able to see how utterly wrong the studio heads were in their negative reactions to such innovative works-in-progress as AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE GODFATHER, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, and STAR WARS.

This story of San Francisco as a hub of creative expression begins about as far back as one can go, with Eadweard Muybridge and his photographic studies of horses and people in motion. Next comes the founding of Essanay Studios by Western star "Bronco Billy" Anderson, who wisely snatched Charlie Chaplin away from Mack Sennett and gave him full control over his own movies. Chaplin later compared the different creative settings: "In San Francisco, one felt the spirit of optimism, of enterprise. Los Angeles, on the other hand, was an ugly city, hot and oppressive."

As one might expect, the two main subjects of this documentary turn out to be Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, whose frustrating experiences within the studio system early on prompted them to seek more independent means of cinematic expression. Coppola tells of how the opportunity to direct FINIAN'S RAINBOW for Jack Warner while still in film school gave him a taste of the kind of regimented filmmaking he wanted to avoid, leading him to establish his American Zoetrope studio in San Francisco as a haven for film artists such as Carroll Ballard, John Milius, and George Lucas. When the new studio went into debt, the cash-strapped Coppola was forced to direct a quickie gangster flick for Paramount based on a sensational novel. After a long, difficult struggle to make the film his way against constant pressure from the studio, Coppola's epic THE GODFATHER went on to sweep the Oscars and become the highest-grossing film to date.

George Lucas, meanwhile, was having his own problems, with brilliant early films such as THX-1138 and AMERICAN GRAFFITI being misunderstood, mishandled, and badly edited by the studios. Despite this, the latter proved so lucrative (to the tune of over a hundred million 1973 box-office dollars) that Lucas was able to get a new sci-fi project off the ground amidst still further adversity from the suits, who grumbled that there was "no future in science fiction." The incredible success of STAR WARS revolutionized filmmaking and allowed Lucas total artistic freedom and independence from that point forward. This led to his creation of Lucasfilm, Skywalker Ranch, Industrial Light and Magic, and the development of computer graphics and digital filmmaking, motivated by his conviction that "an entirely new approach was needed to expand the boundaries of cinema."

FOG CITY MAVERICKS goes on to showcase the creative exploits of other cinematic pioneers such as Phillip Kaufman, Pixar's John Lassiter, actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood, and, representing the next generation, Coppola's own daughter Sofia. The career of legendary "maverick" producer Saul Zaentz, whose creative vision inspired such classics as ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, AMADEUS, and THE ENGLISH PATIENT, is also explored in depth. One reason for the success of Zaentz, who often gambled on his projects by financing them himself, is summed up by director Anthony Minghella: "A Saul Zaentz movie isn't going to be like any other movie because...it hasn't gone through a machine."

Rather than presenting each filmmaker's story in a series of isolated segments, writer-director Gary Leva weaves them together as integral, interlocking elements of San Francisco's collective moviemaking history in the 20th century and beyond. Stunning location footage is intercut with a wealth of interviews, film clips, photographs, and movie scenes to add to Leva's portrait of the city as a veritable utopia of creative expression.

FOG CITY MAVERICKS is a lovingly-crafted documentary that succeeds in both drawing a clear distinction between the artistic and purely commercial aspects of cinema, and celebrating the joy and wonder one can derive from it. The first aspect of the film's message is clearly stated by Zaentz: "Studios are like flies...they'll eat both honey and sh** with the same enthusiasm." The second is contained in Coppola's boyhood motivation for joining together with like-minded artists to make movies--the idea that "filmmakers could play together like children, making magic."

 

FOG CITY MAVERICKS -- DVD Review by Porfle

DEMENTIA 13 -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 2/27/16

 

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of accompanying my older brother to a Saturday screening of a new horror movie with the puzzling title, DEMENTIA 13 (1963).

The stark black-and-white photography and dreary Irish castle setting were spooky enough, but it was this film which would introduce me, for the first time, to genuine, grueling screen terror.

The credit "Directed by Francis Coppola" meant nothing to me or anyone else at time--the future creative genius behind the GODFATHER films was merely an aspiring Roger Corman protege' helming his first "real" movie--and neither did the rather mundane plot about an eccentric Irish family, the Halorans, who were obsessed with the drowning death of the clan's youngest child Kathleen several years earlier.

I wasn't yet a fan of the wonderful Luana Anders (EASY RIDER, THE LAST DETAIL, NIGHT TIDE) who played Louise, John Halloran's scheming wife.  In the opening scenes, we see John die of a heart attack and Louise dump his body into a lake lest his death be discovered and she lose her share of the family fortune.

Nor did I know that William Campbell, playing oldest Haloran son Richard, would later guest star in two of my favorite episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series" (he was Trelane in "The Squire of Gothos" and Koloth in "The Trouble With Tribbles"), or that Patrick Magee as family doctor Caleb would feature so prominently in Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi classic A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

All I knew at the time was that part of Louise's inheritance scheme involved stripping down to her bra and panties and taking a creepy late-night swim in the same murky pond in which little Kathleen had drowned. 

What happens when she resurfaces--and the spoilers are right there in the poster and trailer themselves--is one of the homages to the likes of PSYCHO that Corman instructed Coppola to include in his script.  (Corman also got Jack Hill to write and direct additional scenes to pad the running time and gore content, to Coppola's dismay.) 

It's also the first-ever movie scene that really and truly scared the ever-livin' crap outta me.

But DEMENTIA 13 isn't done yet, because later there's a beheading (also a first for me) and other creepy goings-on thanks to an axe-wielding maniac who seems to be stalking the Halorans. 

Unfortunately, much of these doings have lost their edge over the years--the leisurely-paced story is dishwater dull at times and most of the scares no longer chill the blood quite like they used to. 

But the film still has a strong Monster Kid watchability factor and (thanks largely to the authentic Irish locations) eerie, Gothic atmosphere to burn.

Hearing music maestro Ronald Stein's creepy, harpsichord-based theme music kick in during those pleasantly-morbid opening titles always makes me want the soundtrack CD.  Come to think of it, I feel that way about all of his film scores. 

After seeing DEMENTIA 13 that first time back in '63, I found its double-bill companion (Ray Milland's colorful PREMATURE BURIAL) a relief for my jangled nerves much the same way DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS would help me recover from the traumatic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD some years later. 

Modern viewers may find this hard to imagine since the film now plays as a slow but satisfying murder mystery with some mildly effective scares.  But it was my PSYCHO, and lovely Luana Anders' midnight swim was my shower scene. 

Read our review of ROGER CORMAN HORROR CLASSICS VOL.1

DEMENTIA 13 -- Movie Review by Porfle

Amazing New "Tornado Siren" Ending To "THE GODFATHER PART III" (video)

 

They've recently re-edited "The Godfather Part III" in an attempt to improve it.

But in my opinion they seriously missed the boat when they failed...

...to edit Michael's climactic silent cry of anguish to sound like a tornado siren.

It is a failure that we, in our own humble way, have now rectified.



I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Amazing New "Tornado Siren" Ending To "THE GODFATHER PART III" (video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "THE GODFATHER" (1972) (video)

Many consider "The Godfather" to be Francis Ford Coppola's best film...

...and one of the greatest gangster movies of all time.

It won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (Marlon Brando).

But how much do you remember about it?


Question: What is Don Corleone holding in the opening scene?

A. Dog
B. Cat
C. Grandchild
D. Orange
E. Gun

Question: In the restaurant, Sollozzo tells McCluskey to try the...what?

A. Gnocchi
B. Rigatoni
C. Veal
D. Pesto
E. Lasagne

Question: Who betrays Michael in Sicily?

A. Vitelli
B. Calo
C. Don Tommasino
D. Fabrizio
E. Fredo

Question: Don Corleone laments, "Look how they ______ my boy."

A. Executed
B. Massacred
C. Annihilated
D. Murdered
E. Brutalized

Question: Moe Green tells Michael, "I made my bones when you were going out with..." What?

A. Beach bunnies
B. Cheerleaders
C. Homecoming Queen
D. Suzy Homemaker
E. Debutantes

Question: Carlo tells Michael that he was approached by...who?

A. Tattaglia
B. Barzini
C. Cuneo
D. Stracci
E. Zaluchi

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "THE GODFATHER" (1972) (video)

The Godfather Monster Mash ("The Godfather", 1972) (video)

The best scene in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" (1972)...

...is the one where Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) uses an orange peel to make vampire teeth...

...and terrifies his grandson, Anthony.

The only trouble is, this precious scene just too brief.  It needed to be longer.

And now, that problem has been wonderfully, delightfully solved.

Because now we have, for current and future generations to cherish...

...The Godfather Monster Mash.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

The Godfather Monster Mash ("The Godfather", 1972) (video)