May 4

Color of Night, 1994

Welcome back to another exciting episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are tackling new ground, taking on the erotic genre, specifically the erotic thriller, and what better vehicle to discuss this topic than to cover the legendary Bruce Willis film, Color of Night, from 1994.

Color of Night

The boys attempt to set the table and lay out the era back when the erotic, the sizzler, and specifically the erotic thriller fed a need for audiences, especially to an adolescent coming to age. In the period of the early 90s, films like Basic Instinct, Sliver and Body of Evidence were big news because of the controversy they generated. Blake and Dion analyze this forgotten genre, and (while some of it may seem tame to today’s standards), they try to illustrate an era where nudity and NC-17 films attracted major stars, and why this particular genre was very important to the history of cinema. The fellas discuss the amazing ensemble cast in Color of Night, as well as the controversy it generated, and the similarities to Giallo or even Hitchcock plots. So come down memory lane as Dion and Blake reminiscence about a genre that has virtually disappeared in recent decades, in another informative and fun installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Corrections and Amends:

(When discussing Shirley Temple, the boys referenced the 1947 film she and Cary Grant starred together in, as “Bobby and the Bobby-Soxer “, when they actually meant The Bachelor and Bobby-Soxer.)

(Also, while discussing Color of Night, Dion referred to the killer’s car as a Camaro, when it actually was a 1978 Pontiac Firebird.)

(One more: While discussing the actor Steve Railsback in the possible casting in the Lance Henriksen role, Dion (again!) mentioned “Dangerous Games“, when he was actually referring to the 1982 horror film Deadly Games.)

Extras!

Check out the original trailer for Color of Night!

Have a look at the original TV spot for Color of Night!

Here’s Blake with the man, the myth, the legend himself, Lance Henriksen!

Take a gander a this 1994 interview with Bruce Willis, while promoting Color of Night!

Have a listen to the Golden Globe nominated song, The Color of Night!

 

December 15

Star Wars, 1977

Welcome! In the midst of holiday madness, Dion Baia & J. Blake have decided to open a gift just a tad early – a special bonus, intergalactic episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! With 2017 coming to a close, the boys take a deep-dive into a 40-year-old film that forever changed popular culture, the motion picture industry, the lives of millions of people and the world – 1977’s Star Wars!

Written and directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, Star Wars-mania swept the world in the late-1970s and early-1980s and became the quintessential blockbuster and landmark film for an entire generation of movie-goers. With time working against Blake and Dion for a topic so immense, the boys get right to business, discussing how the socially and politically turbulent decades of the 1960s and 70s, as well as what was going on in Hollywood at the time, led to Star Wars becoming the ultimate cinematic phenomenon. Among the many other topics at hand, they chat about its young filmmaker, speculate as to why the film appeals universally to so many people and of course, get into the radio drama that hit the airwaves in 1981. So, what was it about the 1970s that made Star Wars so special? How did George become Hollywood’s “great and powerful” Lucas? Why didn’t anybody working on the film, besides George Lucas, take it seriously? What the heck is a “parsec” and why is Han Solo’s use of the term actually not incorrect in the film? Why can’t Darth Vader get any respect? The boys attempt to answer all of these questions and more on this particularly dense…yet only scratched the surface…edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Here’s the original theatrical trailer!

Take a listen to The Star Wars Radio Drama…as discussed in this episode.

Check out the documentary “From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Sage,” as discussed in this episode.

Take a gander at some deleted scenes from Star Wars.

And here is a funny video that Dion brings up – the Throne Room scene “Minus Williams.”

June 24

Alan Jones: Dario Argento & Beyond…

As a little added bonus to last week’s Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers‘ podcast on Dario Argento’s Deep Red (1975), this week we’d like to present a conversation that our very own J. Blake had, way back in October of 2013, with British film critic, journalist, author and Argento expert, Alan Jones.

cinefantastiqueJones runs the Frightfest film festival in London, has contributed to many publications (Empire, Premiere, Fangoria and the iconic Cinefantastique to name only a few), can be heard on numerous noteworthy Blu-ray and DVD audio commentaries and is the author of The Rough Guide to Horror Movies and the definitive Dario Argento guide, Profondo Argento: The Man, the Myths & the Magic (with its latest edition being titled Dario Argento: The Man, The Myths & The Magic).

A few years ago, actually on the eve of an unforgettable sold out Goblin concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn NY, Mr. Jones was nice enough to take Blake’s call and chat about his passions for horror movies, Argento, disco and the Sex Pistols; an odd combination I know, but he is a complex and interesting guy.

So take a few moments, sit back with a glass of wine and read forth…if you dare!

(The interview is presented in an alternate font, to make it easier to read.)

Continue reading

November 4

The Bruce Campbell Podcast – SNMS Presents: Side-Cast: The Fake Shemp

SNMS Side CastA brand new addition to the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers rotation is the Podcast that started it all, Dion and Blake‘s Side-Cast. Originally airing on the sister site Podwits.com, the Side-Cast was the catalyst for what became SNMS. To showcase where it all began we are reissuing this series, highlighting the anthology podcast that covered a variety of topics, so they can breath a second life, and because eventually it will be a new off-shoot of the regular SNMS Podcast, where brand new podcast content will be generated for SNMS website.

(This podcast was originally published on July the 30th of 2014, we hope you enjoy!)

Dion and J. Blake are back for an all new, exciting episode of The Podwits’ Side Cast! The topic today is the man, the myth, the legend…. Bruce Campbell; and all things Mr. Campbell! The boys get into the nitty-gritty and talk about his mainstream successes like The Evil Dead and Burn Notice, but also get into some lesser known gems like Moon Trap, Running Time and Crime Wave, and even some forget beauties like The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.and Bubba Ho-Tep. A mandatory listen for any Campbell or Raimi fan, or any Film fan for that matter!!! Come on down and have a listen!

Footnotes:

Please check out J. Blake’s exclusive interview with the man himself, Bruce Campbell!

Have a listen to SNMS Podcast on Campbell‘s 1992 classic Mindwarp !