Ghostbusters

Who ya gonna call?

Sony Pictures Entertainment is currently commemorating the 30^th anniversary of the “Ghostbusters” franchise with special events and home entertainment releases, including a theatrical re-release of the original 1984 film.

A restored and remastered version of the blockbuster is currently on the big screen in over 700 locations in the U.S. and Canada for a limited engagement beginning Aug. 29, just ahead of Labor Day weekend.

On Sept. 16, the “Ghostbusters” 30th anniversary edition will be available on Blu-ray as well as the “Ghostbusters II” 25th anniversary edition, marking the sequel’s Blu-ray debut. For a limited time, fans will also be able to purchase the two-disc anniversary edition Blu-ray digibook, including both films and a limited edition gift set that features an exclusive collectible Slimer figurine.

Since the S.P.A.M. Alternative team of connoisseurs  has made a vow in the name of cult movies, they felt it was about time to add the movie to selected list of magnificent reviews handcrafted and made freely available to you in this humble corner of the internet (if the internet has any corner)

The first idea that comes to mind whe it comes to the Ghostbusters film, is that it's possibly one of the funniest films ever made if not, the most. This film holds up the aging test better than any other alike comedy from the 80's. You know how there are those movies that you see that are hilariously funny the first few times you see them? Well, this one just keeps on coming. I remember when I was a kid, I would ask my dad renting it for me time after time. At that time, I thought Ghostbusters was a horror movie (Being told about ghosts when you're a kid you're most likely to see it that way, aren't you?) so despite watching it many many times, I never realized what it truly was about. I hadn't yet caught on to a lot of the humor.

Ready to save New York.

Mr. Stay Puff!

This movie has something for everyone. Director Ivan Reitman said that he found a comedic formula for films...it works as follows: There's the brain, the heart, and the mouth. Ghostbusters scored with all of them. As the brain of the bunch, and as my personal favorite  Egon Spengler's (Harold Ramis also co-wrote it) use of witty humor is hilarious. If you have the right mind set, almost everything Spengler says is laugh out loud funny. At the heart of the Ghostbusters is Dan Aykroyd's (Who created the idea for the film) lovable fool, Ray Stantz. Ray has a tenacity for saying simple minded things and using very little logic and yet somehow the man got a P.H.D. (Probably through studying habits, despite ignorance.) There's a line that he says involving a smell in the beginning of the movie that I am chuckling at just thinking about it. This of course leaves Bill Murray (He was nominated for a Gloden Globe) as the sarcastic Peter Venkman (The mouth of the beast.) Peter is likely the one that gets the most laughs because he, being the mouth that he is, never stops making fun of everything. The film also produces some laughter out of the minor characters as well. The scatological humor toward the end of the film between Rick Moranis (In a role intended for John Candy) and Sigourney Weaver is quite laughter inducing. Ernie Hudson in one of his first big roles has a few good lines as the other Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddmore (The only one who's not a doctor) and William Atherton of Die Hard fame plays the ultimate annoyance as Walter Peck. Not to be forgotten in the mix is Annie Potts as Janine who has some rather memorable humorous lines. Numerous other well known faces are seen on screen too, which includes John Belushi (Or rather his continuation of the character Bluto, from Animal House) as the principal image used for the now famous 'Disgusting Blob,' Slimer. Like any good comic will tell you, good comedy is generally about setting up the other guys around you. Well, it just so happens that the characters all work well with each other to set the great comedic moments staged in this film.

4:20 eyes!

How demons should look.

Ghostbusters was nominated for numerous awards including Oscars for best song (Courtesy of Ray Parker Jr.) and special effects, which are now slightly dated but possibly work even better with the wacky style being consistent with the rest of the movie. Along with Parker, there are numerous other great songs including a song by The Bus Boys that climbed charts and a rather creepy seeming song (But works well) by Mick Smiley. Another thing that should not be forgotten is the horror elements of the film. Though purposely outrageous, the effects do serve as some potential scare moments. Among the most frightening involve stop motion animated puppets called Terror Dogs. Though the scares are few, they do work fairly well (They had me convinced as a youngster) bringing enough threat to the ghosts that haunt New York City. The story itself is interesting as well, involving some intriguing mythology of Sommeria among other countries.

Where some films tend to only work a few times, Ghostbusters is consistent. Although the 80's did produce a significant amount of important comedy films (Airplane, The Naked Gun, Police Academy to name a few) that later would become classic franchises in their own right, this one still makes me laugh even after seeing it hundreds of times. From the opening scares to the ending credits, it will almost surely reel you in. I've laughed harder at some moments in other films but it's rare that I find one that's funnier throughout. Even those films lose their edge after you see them a few times...this one just doesn't. If you haven't seen it, do so. You will almost certainly be glad you did. If you have seen it and didn't like it, try watching it again in a few years. It's almost sure to grow on you eventually. I dare anyone to sit through this movie and not laugh once, no matter how many times they've seen it. If you don't laugh, you're either trying really hard to hold back, have a very odd sense of humor or are dead! It's just that funny. Although I don't rate films, I would easily rate this one a five out of five, placed among the classics. Believe it or not, I think that it belongs alongside The Godfather and Star Wars. 

Ghostbusters headquarters, simply iconic!

The mighty ECTO-1.

I knew a guy who once said that the only thing wrong with this film is that it wasn't the highest grossing movie of all time. In fact, there is nothing wrong with this film. The timing is perfect, all the actors are on the ball for the duration of the film, and the effects, for their time, are unparalleled. But it's not just that the film is well-made and technically proficient, it's also that it's obvious that a lot of time and energy went in to actually making it great. It's obvious from the opening at Columbia University that everyone involved with the production is having fun, and they want us to have just as much fun. Luckily, it works. I have never seen a film that is more fun, not to mention endlessly quotable, than "Ghostbusters." It's become a film that people go back to again and again for the simple aim of enjoying themselves. It's a film that makes people feel good and have a good time. Of course, this also extends to the film's life outside the cinema. Nine times out of ten, you can make a person born in the 70s or 80s crack up laughing simply by saying "Important Safety Tip," or "It would be bad," or "If someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" There are hundreds of other quotable lines from the film, but hopefully you get what I'm aiming at. The film is a joy to watch, and is one that you'll want to rewatch countless times. 

The S.P.A.M. Alternative team made a list of their top ten favorite quotes from this epic classic. Do you agree with the list?

'Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "yes!"'

-- Winston

 

 

2

"We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!"

--Peter

 

 

3

"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab."

-- Egon

 

 

4

"I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me."

-- Peter

 

 

5

"Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance."

-- Peter, after hearing about the demon dog in Dana's fridge

 

 

6

"Well, this is great. If the ionization-rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we can really bust some heads... in a spiritual sense, of course."

-- Ray

 

 

7

DANA: That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there. VENKMAN: What a crime.

 

 

8

"I've quite better jobs than this. [Answers phone] Ghostbusters, what do you want?"

-- Janine

 

 

9

"[tickling piano keys] They hate this. I like to torture them."

-- Peter

 

 

10

"We came, we saw, we kicked its a$$!"

Read More: 10 Funny ‘Ghostbusters’ Quotes | http://thefw.com/funny-ghostbusters-quotes/?trackback=tsmclip

1.  "Ray, If someone asks if you're a God, you say Yes" -Winston Zedmore.
2. "We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's OK! He's a sailor, He's in New York, we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble" -Peter Venkman.
3. "I feel like the floor of a taxi cab" -Egon Spengler
4. "I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me"-Peter Venkman.
5. "Generally, you don't see that kind of behaviour in a major appliance"-Peter Venkman,
6. "That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there"-Dana Barrett. "What a crime!"-Peter Venkman.
7. "Well, this is great. If the ionization rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we can really bust some heads...in a spiritual sense, of course"-Ray Stantz.
8. "I've quite better jobs than this. Ghostbusters, what do you want?"-Janine Melnitz.
9. [Tickling piano keys] "they hate this, I like to torture them"-Peter Venkman. 
10. "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"-Peter Venkman.

Don't cross the streams!

the 1986 animated sequel, The Real Ghostbusters.

Now, to pay homage properly, our dedicated team of professional researchers have chosen the most interesting Trivia facts you probably didn't (or did) know about the Ghostbusters:

Ghostbusters hot line.

In the middle of the film's initial release, to keep interest going, Ivan Reitman had a trailer run, which was basically the commercial the Ghostbusters' use in the movie, but with the 555 number replaced with a 1-800 number, allowing people to call. They got a recorded message of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd saying something to the effect of "Hi. We're out catching ghosts right now." They got 1,000 calls per hour, 24 hours a day, for six weeks.  

The phone number shown in the Ghostbusters ad that Dana sees on television is 555-2368, a "fictitious number" originating from early Bell Telephone ad illustrations. It is interesting in this case that the number 2368, familiar to numerologist theologians and mystics, is the sum of 888 and 1480, which together denote "Jesus Christ" in Greek gematria, a coding system that assigns a specific number value to each letter of the Greek alphabet.

Ghostbusters choir.

The lively chorus shouting the words "Ghostbusters" through the song were made up of the only people Ray Parker Jr. could find quickly enough to help him meet his deadline: his young girlfriend and her friends. 

Cameo.

The music video for the song "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr., directed by Ivan Reitman, featured a number of celebrities who did not appear in the film. They included Chevy Chase; Irene Cara; John Candy; Melissa Gilbert; Ollie E. Brown; Jeffrey Tambor; George Wendt; Al Franken; Danny DeVito; Carly Simon; Peter Falk and Teri Garr. In addition, the Ghostbusters themselves (in costume) danced down Times Square right behind Parker Jr. Cindy Harrell played the girl in the haunted house. 

Deborah "Debbie" Gibson, was an extra in the Tavern on the Green restaurant scene where Louis (Rick Moranis) is chased to by The Keymaster beast. She is barely visible with only the top of her head showing but is sitting at a table adorned with balloons. She is the patron with a pink ribbon in her hair while a terrified Louis screams "Let me in!" from the outside. 

Onionhead (?)

Though never referred to in the script, the green ghost the guys bust in the hotel was dubbed "Onionhead" by the crew, because of its horrid smell. A scene where the ghost haunts two newlyweds showed this characteristic, but it was cut. Since it was never referred to in the movie, the writers of the animated show came up for a different name for the green ghost: Slimer.  

Gozer, the entrepreneur?

Gozer was originally going to be played by Paul Reubens, who turned down the role. In the original script, Gozer took on the form of Ivo Shandor (the ghost building's architect, who started the original Gozer cult), who resembled a pale, slender, unremarkable man in a business suit. 

Gozer is based on several things. There's a Gozer Chevrolet dealership in upstate New York. Gozer was also a name related to a documented haunting in England, during which the name Gozer appeared mysteriously throughout the house, written on walls and things.  In addition, The demonic voice of Dana/Zuul was performed by director Ivan Reitman. The voice of Gozer was provided by Paddi Edwards.

No Egon Spengler?

Harold Ramis really had no intention of starring in the film, only writing it. But he decided to star in this film as Dr. Egon Spengler after he felt he was the best person suited for the role. 

Proton Pack.

The term 'proton pack' was never actually used until the middle of Ghostbusters II (1989) when Spengler, in the subway tunnel said "before we go any further I think we should get our proton packs." 

Winston Zeddmore's Resume.

When Janine is interviewing Winston for the job, the scene originally began with Winston listing his qualifications. According to Ivan Reitman in the DVD commentary, Winston's qualifications included: An Army veteran (which meant he would have the courage to face ghosts), a former paramedic (which meant he would be able to go on call 'at a moment's notice') and that he was also a construction worker. They decided to open with Janine's questioning instead as it was considered a funnier opening. Incidentally, in the cartoon series, The Real Ghost Busters (1986), there is an episode where the Ghostbusters fight spirits on a construction site run by Winston's father and he chides Winston for quiting the construction business to become a Ghostbuster. 

 

Shaving cream marshmallow. 

The "marshmallow" goo was actually shaving cream. More than fifty gallons was dumped on Walter Peck (William Atherton), almost knocking him to the ground.  

Improvising.

The party scene where Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) mingles with his party guests (commenting on the price of the salmon, and so on) is not only taken in one continuous shot, but is almost entirely improvised.  

Headquarters by two.

The firehouse used is actually two different firehouses that are in two different cities. The exterior is in NY, while the interior is in downtown Los Angeles. The LA firehouse is very popular with filmmakers and has been used in many movies. 

Walter Peck sucks.

In the DVD commentary, Ivan Reitman says he received a call from William Atherton complaining that the movie ruined his life. The character of Walter Peck was so hated that people would talk Atherton as if they were giving the character Peck a piece of their mind. Apparently more than once, physical fights had been started with Atherton in bars.  

Rush hour.

The schedule for getting the movie into theatres for its scheduled release date in summer 1984 was so tight, director Ivan Reitman said that the final print included incomplete special effects shots and errors like "wires showing" but, "remarkably, people didn't care". 

Deleted Scenes.

Many sequences were shot but removed from the film (most of them were released as bonus material on laser disc and later on DVD) :

• Several shots in the sequence where Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler are thrown off campus were cut.


• Several scenes throughout the film with Janine and Egon were cut.


• The first time Venkman leaves Dana's apartment, he says to Louis "What a woman."


• The "green slimer" ghost is discovered by two newlyweds at the Hotel Sedgewick. Also cut was a Ghostbuster inspection of the room.


• A policeman tries to ticket the Ectomobile, but the car won't let him.


• Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd play two bums that witness Louis being chased by the terror dog. This scene was removed because the filmmakers felt the audience would be confused by seeing Murray and Aykroyd in different roles in the same movie.


• Ray and Winston inspect Fort Detmerring, where Ray dresses in an old General's coat and falls asleep. When he awakes, he sees a female ghost above his bed. This part of the sequence was kept and used in the montage in the middle of the film.


• Louis encounters two muggers in Central Park during the ghost montage.


• Venkman and Stantz discuss matters with the mayor outside City Hall.


• The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man sequence ends with his large hat falling to the ground. Some deleted shots appear in the film's trailers.

 Now, we'll finish today's review with some audiovisual material that will appeal ghostbusters fans for sure.

 Here's the original movie trailer:

Here's the 30th Anniversary trailer:

The unforgettable Ray Parker Jr. signature song:

The opening for the classic The Real Ghostbusters cartoon:

 

'Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "yes!"'

-- Winston

 

 

2

"We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!"

--Peter

 

 

3

"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab."

-- Egon

 

 

4

"I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me."

-- Peter

 

 

5

"Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance."

-- Peter, after hearing about the demon dog in Dana's fridge

 

 

6

"Well, this is great. If the ionization-rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we can really bust some heads... in a spiritual sense, of course."

-- Ray

 

 

7

DANA: That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there. VENKMAN: What a crime.

 

 

8

"I've quite better jobs than this. [Answers phone] Ghostbusters, what do you want?"

-- Janine

 

 

9

"[tickling piano keys] They hate this. I like to torture them."

-- Peter

 

 

10

"We came, we saw, we kicked its a$$!"

Read More: 10 Funny ‘Ghostbusters’ Quotes | http://thefw.com/funny-ghostbusters-quotes/?trackback=tsmclip

'Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "yes!"'

-- Winston

 

 

2

"We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!"

--Peter

 

 

3

"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab."

-- Egon

 

 

4

"I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me."

-- Peter

 

 

5

"Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance."

-- Peter, after hearing about the demon dog in Dana's fridge

 

 

6

"Well, this is great. If the ionization-rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we can really bust some heads... in a spiritual sense, of course."

-- Ray

 

 

7

DANA: That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened in there. VENKMAN: What a crime.

 

 

8

"I've quite better jobs than this. [Answers phone] Ghostbusters, what do you want?"

-- Janine

 

 

9

"[tickling piano keys] They hate this. I like to torture them."

-- Peter

 

 

10

"We came, we saw, we kicked its a$$!"

Read More: 10 Funny ‘Ghostbusters’ Quotes | http://thefw.com/funny-ghostbusters-quotes/?trackback=tsmclip

La Derniére Femme: The Last Woman

The Last Woman is here.

Gérard (26 year-old G.Depardieu in a star-making, César-nominated performance) is the he-man single father of a little baby boy who meets carefree, sensuous Valérie (ravishingly beautiful 21 year-old Ornella Muti). They feel instantly attracted to each other, she moves in with him on the spot, they fall in love, she fancies playing stepmother to the baby, he gets jealous, she wants freedom, he gets enraged, she no longer fancies constant love-making, he gets desperate, they quarrel and fight, and things disintegrate until the totally shocking finale knocks you OUT! (Yeah,  the shortest plot review ever made on this blog)

This film was banned mostly everywhere outside Europe, including the US - and you won't find it in VHS or DVD for sale on Amazon, or for rent in your local store. Fortunately, you can always rely on the internet, which is always an endless source of culture. La Derniére Femme AKA The Last Woman is a film that is well known for its shocking power and sexual frankness (You've been warned momma's boy) In this film, director Marco Ferreri questions issues like "couple", "love", "sex", "relationship", "family", "woman" and especially "man". He tells a love story exclusively from a macho point of view: the male characters (primitive, childish Depardieu, phony Piccoli, stupid Salvatori) are shamelessly misogynous and speak out their minds with no censorship or morals. Actually, Gerard Depardieu's character is one you quickly learn to hate as soon as he starts doing his thing in the early scenes.

Parenting, the 70's edition.

Remember, perversion is in the eye of the beholder.

Gérard eats, drinks, bites, sucks, spits, burps, shouts, fucks, harasses, fights, you name it - his bodily needs rule. And most of all, Gérard wonders what is the purpose of having a penis in women lib's times. The male organ is very much the center of the film, visually as well as metaphorically, representing men's questionable appendix in a world (Europe in the sassy 70s) where family, marriage and male-female roles were being seriously questioned. In Gérard's character's own words, as he holds his son's penis in his hand: "All we are left with is the right to go around sporting one of these. But now they want to take away our pride in having them - we're not even allowed that anymore! So what are we supposed to do with them now?"

Depardieu was soon after to become France's biggest star since Delon/Belmondo. You can really think of no other actor more suitable to portray this childish-gross-larger-than-life he-man than Gérard, with his imposing figure and shameless physicality, total emotional assessment and unbelievable boldness - he's completely naked most of the time, is shown in explicit masturbation and has some 2 or 3 full erections, one of them in close-up, no body double!! (This was way before Viagra, mind you, and before Oshima, Bellocchio, Von Trier, Breillat, Larry Clark etc.) He was very probably the first major Western star to be shown like "that" in a non-porn film. The final scene in which he finally finds a way to "deal" with his manhood is one the most shocking EVER done.

Family love.

Self discovery time.

Ornella Muti's nude beauty is also largely available here in some daring scenes, though her face is perhaps even sexier than her body - the combination of her catlike, dreamy green eyes, full lips, dark long hair, that lovely gap in her front teeth and the naughty girl-woman expression is very much a promise of liberated but life-changing sex.

"La Dernière Femme" belongs to Italian director Marco Ferreri's great films, dealing with some of his favorite themes: destruction of male-female stereotypes, flesh/sex/ physiological urges as symbols of life and mortality, physical disability/decay/deformity/mutilation , all of them treated with highly acid sarcasm, a touch of surrealism, another of depression and a lot of dark humor. Ferreri belongs to a very selected group of rebel, risqué and subversively poetic filmmakers, along with Buñuel, Pasolini, Fassbinder, Portuguese João César Monteiro and very few others(We could add Michael Bay to this list, he's a risqué destroying everything he touches) A one-of-a-kind, he attracted great European stars who worked for him over and over again (Mastroianni, Tognazzi, Noiret, Piccoli, Salvatori, Depardieu, Girardot, Deneuve, Vlady, Schygulla, Muti, Romy Schneider etc etc) because they knew they would be given offbeat, once-in-a-lifetime roles. 

Here, have some pussy.

The astonishing Ornella Muti.

Sadly, chances are you won't probably see a copy of "La Dernière Femme" anywhere, unless you look really hard for it. It contains extremely daring scenes, including Depardieu and Ornella having sex in bed with the baby around; nude Depardieu having his nude infant baby explore (I mean, REALLY explore!) Ornella's nude body; and another in which he proudly grabs his baby's willy and points it right at her bemused face. But don't be mislead: beyond the pleasure of shocking his audience, Ferreri firmly shoots us his uncomfortable questions: what is a modern man to do with/without his penis in (post-)feminist times? What the heck do women WANT from men, after all? If you thought "Sex and the CIty" you're galaxies away from "La Dernière Femme".

If you are a Ferreri fan and liked "La Grande Bouffe", "The Ape Woman", "The Queen Bee" or "Tales of Ordinary Madness"(a review is on its way), you should REALLY try to see this one - I guarantee you will NEVER see anything like it!! Not for the prude, humorless, conventional or romantic. 

Here's the deal:

The Incredible Hulk

"You wouldn't like me when I'm angry"

Despite the success of The Adventures Of Superman(1952-1958), superheroes at the time were thought of being silly and campy, and basically being like a Saturday morning cartoon. Their were a few mild success's with Batman(1966-1968),and Wonder Woman(1976-1979), and their was Spider-Man(1977-1979) Which was luckier then Captain America and Dr. Strange which both didn't even see a season. That is were The Incredible Hulk comes in, but you are asking yourself why did this show succeed, where so many others have failed. Simply the show took itself seriously, David Banner was cursed after an experiment goes awry, now whenever he gets mad, he becomes a 7 foot green monster, with incredible strength, and he is on the run hoping to find cure for his transformation, and not be captured by Jack McGee, the reporter who is obsessed with capturing him. The late Bill Bixby was great as David Banner, no good actor could have pulled it off the way he did. and Lou Ferrigno was also good has the angry but sensitive monster. And Jack Colvin is terrific has the noisy reporter Jack McGee. Just remember this show brought back the superhero genre.

So, where can we begin to describe this magnificent made for  TV gem? I know, let's do a brief review of each of the five seasons the show lasted (boy, I'm so brilliant! NASA take me with you!)

Season 1  (1977, 12 episodes plus the pilot)
The 1st season stand-out is the 1st for obvious reasons, add the 2nd episode and you are all sorted and ready for this monster of a journey. Another is Never Give A Trucker An Even Break which uses a LOT of stock footage from the Steven Spielberg Duel movie, also we have...well...pretty much all of the 1st season is a highlight as its all still new and fresh. Essentially, Doctor David Bruce Banner is introduced to the audience as a sorrowed man made of nothing  but good intentions. His dark side, or green side in this case, is also presented as an innocent creature who clearly distinguishes good from bad and even though Doctor Banner may disagree, the beast is full of good intentions as well.

Excelsior approves!

The Hulk & David Banner.

Season 2 (1978, 22 Episodes)

Season 2 starts with Married a 2 parter and earned Mariette Hartley an Emmy as Best Actress in a Drama series. Another 2 parter i have to mention is Mystery Man part 1 and 2 where David Banner and the ever present Reporter Jack McGee spend most of the time together but with David's face covered in bandages Jack never gets to see him in this one. The Hulk does save Jack in this one and i think it may be the start of the turning point for Jack starting to believe.....just a little...that this green monster isn't so much of a monster after all like he 1st thought. Kindred Spirit is another one worth mentioning where David joins an expedition that found evidence that there may have been another Hulk many many years ago.

Season 3 (1979, 23 Episodes)

The 3rd season doesn't have the cracking start like the 1st 2 had, i think Mystery Man would have been a good one to start season 3 but again we are treated to the mini mysteries with lots of scenes of David always loosing a a fight and then lots of shirt ripping and The Hulk taking care of business just how we love it to be. In this season we have David loose his sight in Blind Rage, we see David be a Magician's assistant in My Favourite Magician and mention that he knows nothing about being a magician (Little amusing as he place a Magician in another good and successful series), we get to meet David's Sister and Father all of which makes season 3 also a must see.

McGee, a pain in the ass.

Season 4 (1980, 18 Episodes)

 
WOW season 4 starts with a cracking opener Prometheus a 2 parter that is more like a movie than a TV series. Here we get to see David stuck half way between David and The Hulk, then getting captured and then...oh you will have to watch to find out. We get the gangster style episode Goodbye Eddie Cain directed by Jack Colvin.The episode we thought we would never see, King Of The Beach where top billing goes to Lou Ferrigno, not just as the hulk but as Lou with a speaking role and doing what he does best, working out. What a treat we get, we get Lou AND The Hulk in the same shot...brilliant...and they still managed to make it look like The Hulk is much taller than Lou.

Still with season 4 we are again given a great 2 parter called The First where we get to see another Hulk and the 2 Hulks go head to head. I have to say the other Hulk is awful and way too camp but very tall...i won't give any more away than that...but this would have been entertaining enough to be a good season opener. This is followed by The Harder They Fall where we see David paralyzed, so what will happened with him in this state and he turns into The Hulk?? watch it and see. Then we have Interview With The Hulk where Emerson Fletcher, a colleague of Jack McGee at the National Register manage to get a lead on The Hulk and convinced David to do an interview which he captures on tape. Now i thought these tapes may surface again in a later episode but we don't know what ever happened to them other than Emerson had them again. A future story could have been made from this one. The rest of the season is OK and nothing special...maybe because we had been spoiled so much with earlier episodes in this season but still remains the best season.

Why did they cancel the series?!

Season 5 (1981-1982, 7 Episodes)

Season 5 starts as OK like season 4 ended which led me to believe that these episodes were just left over from season 4 and i read somewhere that they were apart from the final 2. This season's last 2 episodes Slaves and A Minor Problem felt like they may have been the real season 5 episodes. A Minor Problem was the final episode of The Incredible Hulk, it was a good one but certainly not a series ender. I understand that everyone was keen to carry on with the series but no one really said why it ended, maybe it was costing too much?

It's Sad that both Bill and Jack are no longer with us. There was talk of other episodes that had been thought about, i think Bill or Lou may have mentioned one about The Hulk talking and director Kenneth Johnson had an idea about bringing David's Sister back into it and needing a blood transfusion from David. Love to see those two...

A primary complaint about this TV show is that it wasn't like the comic book. Whether or not the TV show was like the comic book is irrelevant. The Hulk performed physical feats in the comic that would have been impossible to duplicate when this series was running. Then, the producers decided to give the series a more realistic feel that would appeal both adult & young viewers, hence that is why The Hulk is seen performing a limited amount of damage, close to a real life thing rather than the gigantic force he displays in the original Comic Books (The Avengers Hulk is perhaps the closest to Comic Book there's been to date. Nope, the crappy CGI movies made before don't count)

Two sides of a Hero.

Brush your teeth everyday kids!

That said, the Incredible Hulk was a good TV show with strong acting by Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno that was, mostly, harmless fun for the whole family. The Hulk represented a kind of "Elephant Man" character, who certainly looks scary, but is genuinely kind and gentle and wants to help people in trouble (sort of a one man A-Team). I don't remember him ever seriously hurting anyone, and most of the physical parts involved him bending gun barrels so they couldn't be fired or turning cars over on their roofs. With the kind of strength the Hulk had, he could have torn people in half, but he settled for bending steel piping around them and leaving them helpless for the police to take to jail. He was gentle with animals and young people as well as old.

The story is a very sad one: Bixby, playing scientist David Banner, is stuck in a life on the run from an obsessed reporter who wants to become famous by photographing the Hulk. Banner and the Hulk represent the ultimate misunderstood hero/antihero: someone who is a better person than most of us are, yet is persecuted because of other people's misunderstandings.

Harmless fun for the whole family, and some good lessons for youngsters about kindness and not judging others for their appearance. 

Here's the legendary opening:

What does Stan Lee think of this classic series?

Leonor, Mistress Of The Devil

Till Death do us part?

Leonor is a 1975 art romance horror film directed by Juan Luis Buñuel. The film premiered two years later outside of Europe and was also known as Mistress Of The Devil. This medieval tale revolving around a Satanic pact that results in resurrection and a spate of vampire killings was considered too atypical for either sensibility and consequently fell through the cracks over the years; then again, such disparaging remarks by popular critics as Leonard Maltin – who labeled it "idiotic", even awarding the film his dreaded (but undeserved) BOMB rating – has not helped the chances for a proper reappraisal much! Indeed, most seemed to be of the same opinion as it prematurely terminated the director's career in mainstream cinema – he would go on to make just one more feature-length film in 1986, an obscure Western entitled THE REBELLION OF THE HANGED – and was restricted to work exclusively in TV thereafter!

Now, reviews from this movie are only based on prejudice and preconceived cliches of what a horror film should look like. Believe you me, this movie has horror within but,  explained in a non-graphic scheme that requires bone heads to pay close attention.

Though the film is a Spanish/Italian/French co-production, the copy I watched featured audio in English, Spanish & Italian.The only problem being, that in both English and Spanish there were several missing portions of dubbing that forced you to listen to the original Italian track missing some important dialogue. Of course, if you speak Italian that won't be an issue for you. 

Leonor has a thing for kids.

Catherine.

The presence of Michel Piccoli(Richard, the main character) and Liv Ullman(Leonor) drew obvious parallels with the works of Bunuel's own more renowned father and Ingmar Bergman respectively; the obsessive love lasting beyond the grave shared by the protagonists and the general sense of godlessness on display was clearly up the Spanish Surrealist's alley, while the character-driven downbeat nature of the whole is akin to the austere Swede's chamber dramas.

Ornella Muti co-stars as Piccoli's young and lovely second wife Catherine who, failing to replace his affection for the late Leonor, will take the worst part in the film. 

Leonor, despite the movie title, is more about Lord Richard, a powerful hero who lives in a big castle and owns wide lands while holding big reputation amongst those around him. Unfortunately, no hero could fight the black death during the middle ages so, his lovely wife Leonor succumbs to it very quickly. On the same day his wife is buried, he immediately goes after Catherine (Muti) for a marriage proposal, and since he's respected in town, She & her family instantly agree. Ten years go by, and they have two young kids and a peaceful and happy life. 

Things change when Richard starts seeing her late wife everywhere he goes. The visions become clearer than daydreaming so he decides to search for a sorcerer that would allow him to revive his late wife.   

So, you're tell me I Shouldn't fuck a death woman?

"I just love your cum dear Richard"

The vampirism angle is not rendered explicit and even abruptly handled: no sooner has Leonor re-awakened – the ten-year period is itself seen passing at the bat of an eyelid – that there are a dozen or so kids missing from the village (the inference being that she drains them of blood); in fact, she at first rejects Piccoli's advances but, once she has been nourished, feels quite ready to express passion – this recalls the Sadean credo perhaps best exemplified by the horror classic THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932), when Count Zaroff states something to the effect of "Kill, then love – only then will you have known true ecstasy!". The Inquisition/plague elements which come into play during the latter stages also tie LEONOR to THE MONK (1972), adapted by the elder Bunuel and Jean-Claude Carriere (who also co-wrote this) from Matthew Gregory Lewis's classic novel; incidentally, the protagonists' children here are named after that particular author! 

Why is Leonor a horror film?

Now, to make things even, I will explain you why this is actually an art-horror flick. 

1. Richard sells his soul to Satan in order to bring her beloved back from the death.
2. Richard murders Catherine despite having two kids with her!
3. Leonor can only enjoy life after feeding off of children blood.
4. Richard protects Leonor compulsively. The whole town is aware she's a vampire and he just doesn't give a flying fuck about it.  
5. Many kids are murdered during Leonor's return to life.
6. Leonor kills Richard's sons and he still doesn't give a fuck!
7. Richard represents horror in the film, seriously! I mean, he has his whole family killed just for a couple of good fucks with her old lady.

Penetrate me with your dick, not your sword.

I swallow and you still wanna kill me?

Apart from the afore-mentioned Muti, there are three other notable Italian credits – screenwriter Bernardino Zapponi (who was just coming off Dario Argento's DEEP RED [1975]), as well as cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and composer Ennio Morricone, both of whose contribution is essential to the film's stunning recreation of a distant and harsh past. Still, if the film does not emerge a complete success, it is because of the rather unsympathetic characterization of the central figures (the boorish Piccoli in particular), a general lack of incident (as already mentioned, the introspection and feeling of dread would have doubtless gained from a better exposition detailing Piccoli's solitude and Ullman's depredations) and the fact that, frankly, it seems not to have much idea how to end (after being lured into a trap by the locals, the female bloodsucker escapes and makes it back home, where she kills one of her former husband's children and even seems to attack Piccoli but, now presumably afflicted himself, the two of them take off on horseback, one suspects, to spread the vampire plague even further: as with the two versions of NOSFERATU (1922 and 1979), this much-abused horror device is equated with an all-pervasive - and very real - disease). 

Here's a movie excerpt, where the church blames the wrong woman for the killings: