By John Seal
September 9-15, 2002
Welcome to TiVoPlex, a new weekly column here at Box Office Prophets. Each week I'll be looking ahead at the next seven days of televised movies and giving you my viewing recommendations. I'll be searching for the slightly odd, the somewhat obtuse, and the scintillatingly obscure, so Star Wars, Jaws, and Titanic won't be featured films in this column. There's a lot to choose from and it's easy to miss the goodies hidden in the vast wasteland of cable channels. ALL TIMES ARE PDT, so please adjust accordingly. Let's get started!
Monday 9/09/02
12:30pm Sundance
Driver 23 (1998 USA): If you enjoyed American Movie, you'll want to catch this film about an aspiring heavy metal guitarist. Respect is due to those who defy the odds and try to live out their dreams, no matter how foolish they may appear to the rest of us. Also airs 9/14 at 9:00am.
7:00pm Fox Movie Channel
Joanna (1968 GB): It's a stretch to call this one watchable, as it's an incredibly dated and stilted look at love in swinging London. Nonetheless, the film has a bizzaro song-and-dance finale and features the Scott Walker song, When Joanna Loved Me, both of which are sufficient reason to sit through the rest of the film.
9:35pm Starz!
Session 9 (2001 USA): Every now and then I'm going to recommend films I actually haven't seen, and here's one of 'em. The presence of Ken Loach regular Peter Mullan in a horror movie is one of the attractions. The film garnered a good review in the spring issue of The Phantom of the Movies Videoscope, so I'll be tuning in to see if it delivers the scary goods. Also airs on 9/10 at 12:35am.
10:45pm Encore Action
Beyond the Mat (1999 USA): An immensely enjoyable and thoroughly interesting look at the wonderful world of pro wrestling. Fans of Terry Funk and Jake "The Snake" Roberts have already seen it; now it's your turn. Also airs 9/15 at 10:00am and 7:00pm.
Tuesday 9/10/02
1:40am Showtime Extreme
Diamonds (1975 ISR): Showtime is showing a very nice letterboxed print of this unheralded caper movie. Richard Roundtree teams up with Robert Shaw to pull off one of those "impossible" heists, perhaps explaining why this film was re-titled Diamond Shaft for some markets. There's a very fine soundtrack by Roy Budd (Get Carter, 1971), too. Stay tuned on Extreme for Born Losers (1967 USA) at 3:30am, the first of Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack movies.
3:15am The Movie Channel
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1973 GB): If you ever wondered where Monty Python got the idea for Holy Grail, look no further than this film. You will truly be amazed. Also of marginal interest to pop music fans for the appearance of Murray "One Night in Bangkok" Head as Sir Gawain. Nigel Green is the best part of the film, but his Green Knight is sadly absent for all but about ten minutes of the film. Also airs at 6:15am.
7:10am Showtime Extreme
Riot on Sunset Strip (1967 USA): Move along kids, nothing to see here. EXCEPT an opportunity to catch one of the great garage bands of the '60s, The Chocolate Watch Band, in their element. The film itself is a hopelessly conservative take on youth rebellion, but the music is what matters. Also airs at 3:35pm.
3:00pm Turner Classic Movies
The Haunting (1963 GB): It's one of the scariest movies of all time and it's shown in wide-screen. If you haven't seen it before, you must see it now. If you have seen it before, watch it again - with the lights on.
9:30pm The Movie Channel
Hi, Mom! (1970 USA): An opportunity to see a vital early Brian De Palma work with a young Robert DeNiro, this film captures the atmosphere of late-'60s New York City brilliantly. The final 20 minutes of guerrilla theater are thought provoking and hilarious. Also airs 9/11 at 12:30am and 9/13 at 12:30am and 3:30am. Stay tuned to TMC at 11:00pm for Backbeat (1993 GB), the best Beatles movie not starring any real Beatles. Stephen Dorff is great as Stu Sutcliffe, Ian Hart plays John Lennon for the second time (he was also uncanny as Lennon in The Hours and Times, 1991), and Sheryl Lee makes a fine Astrid Kirchherr. Backbeat also airs 9/11 at 2:00am.
Wednesday 9/11/02
1:15am Showtime
The Godsend (1980 GB): Minor but creepy British horror film about an evil child intruding into the tranquility of family life. Also airs at 4:15am.
3:00am Turner Classic Movies
The Crowd (1928 USA): It's not King Vidor's greatest - that honor would be reserved for 1926's The Big Parade - but The Crowd is a superb example of work from America's foremost director of silent dramatic film. (Sorry, D. W., but your films were more about epic stories and less about characters.)
5:50am Encore Action
Godzilla 2000 (2000 JAP): The most recent kaiju eiga to receive a release in American cinemas is a step up from Godzilla 1985 and features some amusing and unkind references to the awful Devlin/Emmerich film that hit the big screen the previous summer. Give me a man in a rubber suit over CGI any day! Also airs at 12:05pm.
9:35am Encore Mystery
Thief of Paris (1967 FRA): Here's another one I haven't seen, but I can't miss anything with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Directed by Louis "Murmur of the Heart" Malle.
Noon Showtime
Take the Money and Run (1969 USA): After the scattershot effort that was What's Up Tiger Lily?, Woody Allen took his time before directing his first original feature film. The wait was worth it, of course, as Take the Money and Run is a hilarious parody of crime and prison movies. Janet Margolin is radiant as Woody's love interest, though she does seem to burn the toast rather badly. Also airs at 3:00pm.
1:30pm Turner Classic Movies
42nd Street (1933 USA): I really shouldn't HAVE to recommend this to anyone, but this is my favorite movie musical of all time. All singing, all dancing, all Ruby Keeler!
5:00pm IFC
Central Station (1998 BRA): Walter Salles' drama of poverty and family is simply gorgeous to look at and is a bit more of an upper than Ladybird Ladybird, so if you need to prepare yourself for that film (see below!), you might want to tune in for this one. Also airs 9/12 at 3:00pm.
6:45pm Turner Classic Movies
Sweet Smell of Success (1957 USA): Another stunningly obvious choice, but what the heck; Ernest Lehman's acerbic screenplay has lost none of its bite and the film is probably the finest moment for both Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Incidentally, Lehman, who is also responsible for North by Northwest, is still with us, aged 86.
9:00pm Flix
Ladybird Ladybird (1994 GB): From the social realist camera of Ken Loach comes this absolutely heartrending drama about family, child custody laws, and the working classes. Superb from every perspective, but impossible to watch without developing lump-in-the-throat syndrome. Stay tuned to Flix for an 11:00pm broadcast of Castaway (1986 GB), one of Oliver Reed's few decent roles of the '80s. A tip of the hat to director Nicolas Roeg, and kudos to co-star Amanda Donohoe, an actress who deserves to be more well known than she is. Castaway - which has nothing to do with Cast Away (2000) - also airs 9/12 at 9:00pm.
Thursday 9/12/02
1:00am Turner Classic Movies
Midnight Cowboy (1969 USA): Will TCM cut anything from the notorious John Schlesinger film, first movie to garner the dreaded X rating from the MPAA? If they do, skip it. If not, well, it's one of my ten favorite films of all time.
4:00am Sundance
Postman Blues (1997 JAP): A marvelous fantasy film about a mailman who becomes accidentally involved with yakuza. I don't much go for films with heartwarming conclusions, but this is one for which I make an exception.
5:00pm Turner Classic Movies
Zombies on Broadway (1946 USA): A showcase for the dubious talents of comedy team Carney and Brown, Zombies on Broadway would be totally forgotten if not for the presence on a down-at-heel Bela Lugosi. The film actually isn't that bad and does have a few laughs, as well as another appearance by Darby "I Walked With a Zombie" Jones as, er, a zombie. Its title alone warrants your attention.
11:00pm Fox Movie Channel
Legend of Hell House (1973 GB): It's a great week for scary movies. Roddy McDowell is in this one, but don't let that make you reach for the remote. He's really good, and the film is really scary. I don't know why Fox never shows this in wide-screen (that format is readily available on DVD), but it's worth watching anyway.
Friday 9/13/02
3:40am Encore Mystery
Last Man on Earth (1964 ITA): The good folks at Encore are bringing us a double bill of films based on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, as they're also airing The Omega Man (1971 USA) at 6:50am. (For some reason they're not back-to-back, as something called Beyond Obsession intrudes into the proceedings). Both films dispense with the novel's strongest point - its conclusion - but they're both good in very different ways. In Last Man on Earth, Vincent Price is the title character, while The Omega Man is, of course, Charlton Heston, and both deliver top-notch performances. Last Man on Earth will suffer from a pan-and-scan print - you'll have to go the bootleg route to see it in its correct 2:35 aspect ratio - and Omega Man has its cheesy '70s moments, but I love 'em both. Omega Man also airs at 6:40pm.
3:50am More Max
Rock and Roll High School (1979 USA): Sadly not the wide-screen print aired earlier this year by AMC (before the annoying commercial breaks kicked in), but this isn't the sort of film you'll enjoy any the less for some minor cropping. Just good old-fashioned punk-rock fun!
3:00pm Fox Movie Channel
Modesty Blaise (1966 GB): This big screen adaptation of the popular-in-Britain comic strip stars Monica Vitti in the title role and has juicy parts for Terence Stamp and a bewigged Dirk Bogarde, doing his best to out himself after a career of handsome hetero roles. It's not particularly good, but its pop art trappings are wonderful and you won't want to miss the tuneless duets sung by Stamp and Vitti at key points in the film. Also airs 9/14 at 5:00am.
Saturday 9/14/02
1:15am Encore
Sister Street Fighter (1974 JAP): Only peripherally related to Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter films, this feminist take on martial arts mayhem is not to be missed by action movie fans. Unfortunately not being aired in wide-screen, but still essential. Also airs at 4:15am.
3:00am IFC
The Celebration (1998 DEN): Thomas Vinterberg's tale of family secrets is probably the best film to come out of the Dogme movement. Disturbing and riveting.
8:45pm IFC
Assault on Precinct 13 (1973 USA): John Carpenter at the peak of his powers, after Dark Star and before Halloween. As usual, it features one of his haunting and unusual electronic scores. Good cast, and the film doesn't outlast its welcome, clocking in at a perfect 91 minutes. Also airs 9/15 at 3:00am.
10:00pm Starz! East
Series 7: The Contenders (2000 USA): Yes it's a gimmicky movie, but it's a better gimmick than Blair Witch and someone actually took the time to write a screenplay. Contains genuine characters you might give a damn about and some funny tributes to goth rock and Joy Division. Also airs 9/15 at 1:00am.
Sunday 9/15/02
5:00am Encore Mystery
Blood and Lace (1971 USA): If one film provided the blueprint for the masked slasher movies of the late '70s and early '80s, this is it. Melody Patterson stars as a young lady sent to an orphanage after her mother is murdered. There she encounters Gloria Grahame as the hard-as-nails superintendent and Milton Selzer as her somewhat effeminate male assistant. And, of course, there's someone stalking the campus. Not as violent as advertised, but a necessary precursor of the mayhem to come.
5:20am Showtime Extreme
Electra Glide in Blue (1973 USA): It's hard to remember when Robert Blake was a talented actor (and even harder to watch him in 1967's In Cold Blood in light of his recent problems), but he's in tip-top form here in this quirky tale of a motorcycle cop who takes his job very, very seriously. Typical of the character-driven films of the '70s and shown in wide-screen to boot. Also airs at 12:10pm.
9:00pm Turner Classic Movies
Mysterious Lady (1928 USA): It's Silent Sunday at TCM, and all you need to know is that Garbo is in it. So's Conrad Nagel, but I don't imagine he sold many tickets in the '20s.
9:00pm Fox Movie Channel
The Innocents (1961 GB): Topping off a brilliant week for British horror films, here's Jack Cardiff's terrifying version of Henry James' Turn of the Screw. Deborah Kerr is excellent in the lead role and the two nasty (?) children are ably portrayed by Pamela Franklin, who went on to The Nanny and The Legend of Hell House(!), and Martin Stephens, who had been in Village of the Damned a year earlier.
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