Phantom of the Opera – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Marked For Death, 1990

Welcome back to a proper martial arts edition of Kung Fu February on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion & Blake are back and taking on a cult classic, featuring the man, the myth, the legend, Steven Seagal, in his 1990 iconic film, Marked For Death!

The boys unpack the 3rd film in Steven Seagal‘s catalog, discussing his backstory and more importantly, they discuss the martial art he practices, Aikido and it’s history, and Dion‘s connection to it. They then take the way-back machine way down the alley to 1990, and analyse the movie/marital arts scene at the time, and how bad-ass Seagal was. They lay out the argument of why we need a director’s cut of this film, on this all new proper Aikido installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS!

Here, here and here is Dion back in 2010 when he met Seagal.

Check out the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba aka O-Sensei, doing unbelievable looking things, using his martial art.

Have a look at some early footage of Seagal before he was famous and in his prime, using some insane Aikido.

And here’s some more footage of him in Japan, in the late 80s.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Category: Action, Classic, Crime, Gangster, Martial Arts, Thriller | 2 Comments

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.

Jones 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.)

Category: Film, Horror, Interview, Slasher Film, Thriller | LEAVE A COMMENT

October 9

Mad Love, 1935

The boys are back for week 2 in their October month of horror! This time around J. Blake and Dion Baia are going back to the basics, doing a true B-side from the Golden Age of Horror that stars one of their favorite actors of the day, the great Peter Lorre. Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers gets into their DeLorean to have a hand (pun intended) at the cult classic film Mad Love, from 1935.

Mad Love, 1935

Certainly the oldest film covered to date, Dion and Blake chat about the ground-breaking wave of American Horror in the 1930’s from studio’s like Universal or in this case MGM and discuss how it set the bar, its influence still even seen today. They set the stage by going through the mindset of Post-WWI Europe, a time when German Expressionism was first seen, a movement that played a huge role in Horror cinema and explain the context of the mass exodus from 1930’s Western Europe; the artists of which eventually landing in Tinseltown, and how their unique visions of the world gave Horror the foundation that it was built upon, which still continues to thrive over 85+ years on. They go into the history of Peter Lorre and this underrated and little-known film (his inaugural to American audiences) which contains a scene that might possibly be one of the most horrific and frightening images from the era(!). How the heck could this film actually help usher in a complete ban of the Horror genre in the United Kingdom, culminating eventually in Hollywood actually abandoning the genre entirely almost until after the Second World War? How many of the actors in this film alone met a sad demise due to alcohol and substance abuse, echoing the sad times of the day within Hollywood? And how the heck is this film connected to the 3 Stooges? And while you’re at it, learn about the faux-James Bond film that was never shot Blake and Dion devised, involving Cary Grant, James Mason, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Stewart and Vincent Price, directed by Alfred Hitchcock! It’s an all new fun, fact-filled, old school, Halloween edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS

Here’s the boxset Hollywood Legend’s of Horror Collection that contains Mad Love.

Straight out of the SNMS Archive and mentioned in the cast, have a look at an original autographed 8×10 of the legendary Conrad Veidt!

Another treasure in the SNMS Archive, is an original newspaper ad for (Dion’s recommendation this week) The Beast with Five Fingers, as well as an original cardboard printing plate used by newspapers to print the same ad.

Take a look at the picture that saved the life of Peter Lorre‘s daughter from the Hillside Stranglers!

Check out Peter Lorre lounging around, smoking and hanging out with a huge dog before introing the trailer for Mad Love! Boy, those were the days!

For more on the beloved Peter Lorre, have a look at this documentary on the iconic actor.