The Avengers (TV Series)

R.I.P. Dame Diana Rigg.

I'm really sad to publish this review this late. I'd been planning it for months. Unfortunately, this week I was devastated by the terrible news: Dame Diana Rigg, dead at 82...

Emma Peel is one of the earliest memories I have of seeing an empowered woman do justice by herself with a tremendously avant-garde set of skills. Not that anyone cares but, Today,  I'm a 38 years old man, I wasn't even born when the show originally aired, so thanks to the 80s  frequent reruns of old TV shows,I got to meet one of the most important female characters of all time. 

*Bare in mind, today's review is about The Avengers Seasons 4, 5, & 6. The seasons that had an official international release (over 90 countries) and coincidentally, the seasons that featured Dame Diana Rigg's character.

 

"But aren't The Avengers*  the blockbuster superhero films?"

No. The Avengers we're talking about today, is a British espionage television programme created in 1961. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as 46 minute episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, though it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series, The New Avengers (1976–1977), with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2004 and 2007, The Avengers was ranked No. 17 and No. 20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.

 

Mrs. Peel & Mr. Steed.

Spies with class.

Background.

The show was sold to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1965, and The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime-time US television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard-of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, which was high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the US from March to the beginning of September 1966.

The US deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film, rather than the videotape of the earlier episodes, was essential, because British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the US NTSC videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on US prime-time television at the time. The Avengers continued to be produced in black and white.

The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single-camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The use of film production and the single-camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles, and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on Series 4 was shot mute, with the soundtrack created in post-production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.

 

Mrs. Peel Lotus.

Mr. Steed mighty steed.

New female partner Mrs. Emma Peel (Dame Diana Rigg) debuted in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel". Eventually, the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence and a contemporary fashion sense.

After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd. However, after filming one and a half episodes (the pilot, "The Town of No Return", and part of "The Murder Market"), Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale, and it was decided that she was not right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director, Dodo Watts, suggested that producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg (she had earlier guested in an episode of The Sentimental Agent that Clemens had written). Rigg's screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together.

A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth-series episodes for the American broadcasts. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard, a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice-over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers." During this voice-over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together as the screen fades to black and the opening titles begin. 

 

Empowered woman.

Yet very delicate.

Review. 

Dame Diana Rigg said in a 2015 interview "Emma Peel was avant-garde". However, she acknowledged, this was the result of mere causality since none of the producers, writers and people involved in the series production thought "ahead of their time". Implying the industry was at its most sexist (she was under payed. Camera men made more than She did!) back then, this product of causality empowered millions of women that saw themselves reflected in Emma Peel's impressive skills. As a matter of fact, I think that's what made the character remain in everyone's hearts for decades to come.

Although Patrick Mcnee was brilliant as John Steed, the masculine secret agent wasn't an original idea, even by the time the series originally aired. On the other hand, Emma Peel was nowhere near a damsel in distress. She knew Kung-fu, Judo, she was an expert in sciences, quick-witted and never, ever had to answer to a man. She drove her own sports car, had a wardrobe that established new standards in fashion, could easily use any weapon at hand, and didn't exploit her physique to get whatever she wanted. She was the archetype of feminine empowerment and, I, a stinky greasy unworthy male, could see that even when I was a small kid. The industry needs more Emma Peels and less [insert whatever name you can think of here].

Now, the combined talents of McNee & Rigg provided our screen with one of the finest couples ever seen on TV, and it shows. They were so good together, producers allowed to improvise their lines and even write their own dialogs whenever they came across a dead body, and boy did they come across dead bodies throughout the 51 episodes they partnered together.

World famous Emmapeelers.

Ready for action!

Setting aside the above mentioned talent of their protagonists, The Avengers was indeed a marvelous series where genre variety played a key role establishing the show as one of the greatest of all time. Besides the relatively obvious espionage episodes full of Soviet spies and her Majesty's traitors, there were cyborgs, mad scientists, horror stories, Aliens, secret societies, absurd yet terribly dangerous characters, corruption, frame-ups, blackmail, eccentric murderers, feminist killers, butlers, Arabian princes, state-of -the-art  weapons, food poisoning, high tech murdering houses, and amongst all of that 19 gallons of Champagne!

After Rigg decided it was her time to move on from the series, "because She didn't want to play the part forever". She became the only Bond girl to actually marry the fictional character in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  She also continued to work in plays (she acted in 38 plays from 1957 to 2018), 51 TV series (including The Avengers & Game Of Thrones), and 18 movies. The Black Narcisus series will be released posthumously this year, as well as the Last Night In Soho film set to release next year. 

Patrick McNee died in 2015. Legend has it they remained friends long after the series was cancelled. 

 

The Avengers Trivia

 

• Emma Peel's name was taken from the British movie industry expression "M-Appeal", or "man-appeal", which is what the show's producers were looking for in her character. Something that makes total sense considering Dame Diana Rigg said producers made her characer avant-garde by  causality.
• During her first season, Dame Diana Rigg was dismayed to find out that the cameraman was being paid more than she was. She demanded a raise, to put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the U.S. 
• Series writer Brian Clemens noted in an interview the sexual chemistry that particularly existed between Steed and Emma Peel, and the common question of "Will they ever go to bed together?" Clemens' attitude toward the characters was that they already had done, and this was the next day. Patrick Macnee and Dame Diana Rigg confirmed later in interviews that they had decided their characters had a casual sexual relationship, "but just didn't dwell on it."  
• The look and character of Steed is an amalgam of Patrick Macnee's father (a racehorse trainer and dandy), fictional character The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Macnee's commanding officer in the Navy. 
• At least two principal actresses and one principal actor in this show appeared in James Bond movies: Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), Dame Diana Rigg (Contessa Teresa "Tracy" Di Vicenzo Bond) in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and Patrick Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett in A View to a Kill (1985).
• Dame Diana Rigg was the first person ever to do Kung Fu on-screen. In 1965, Ray Austin went to his producers and said, "Listen, I want to do this thing called Kung Fu." They said "Kung what?" and insisted that Emma, like her predecessor, stick to judo. Instead, Austin secretly taught Rigg Kung Fu. 
• Mrs. Peel's maiden name is Knight. We learn more about her childhood and her relationship with her mother and father in an exhibition on the "late Emma Peel" in season four, episode twenty-three, "The House That Jack Built".  
• According to Patrick Macnee in his book "The Avengers and Me", Dame Diana Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the fifth season. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for her personal wardrobe, was suggested by Dame Diana to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe. Pierre Cardin was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. 
• Emma Peel's revolver is a gold-plated, pearl-handled pocket version of the Webley Mk IV chambered for .380/200 (a.k.a. .38 Smith & Wesson).  
• Dame Diana Rigg auditioned for the role of Emma Peel on a whim, without ever having seen this show. 
• This show was the first British television show sold to an American network.
• "The Avengers" became ground-breaking for introducing regular female characters who were portrayed as being just as tough, brave, and tenacious as men.

You don't mess with Mrs. Peel.

Style.

 

Now the influence The Avengers had, and especially Emma Peel's influence inspired several artists to write songs about her. Sit back, and chillax to the following songs.

 

The Pretenders "Don't Get Me Wrong"

The Cretones "Hey Mrs. Peel"

The Allies "Emma Peel"

Dishwalla "Miss Emma Peel"

Matmatah "Emma".

Slot "Emma Peel"

Sadly, the songs by Pussy Galore, Shark Inferno and Babette Novak didn't have an available video at the time this post was made.

Overall, the three seasons featuring the great Emma Peel, are The Avengers at their best. If you still haven't given them a try, do so now. You won't  regret it.

Last but not least, our classic opening and ending section:

Season 4 Opening & Ending.

 

Season 5 opening.

Season 6 opening.

 

Dame Diana Rigg, may you rest in peace...

The Bionic Woman

Bionic teacher, Bionic woman.

What could be better than starting 2017 with a brand new review? Nothing, right? So here we are again revisiting some of the most fantastic and iconic live action series from the 70's: The Bionic Woman, the very first TV spin-off that outdid the original series it spawned from. Starred by the beautiful Lindsay Wagner, the series followed the story of Jamie Sommers, a former tennis player who suffered a tragic parachute accident that had her upgraded into a bionic woman with the same state of the art technology had Steve Austin (Lee Majors) become The Six Million Dollar Man. Unlike any other series at the time, The Bionic Woman had characters from both series interacting throughout the 58 episodes the series lasted, thus creating the first  live action cross-over series (Marvel TV/Film cocksuckers should know better!) The show premiered in 1976 and became a massive success in the USA & the UK. 

The Bionic Woman was not only the show that pioneered and paved the way for shows with strong female leads, but did so at a time when The Women's Movement was knocking down walls and breaking stereotypical barriers like never before (much like Jamie Sommers did!!). The irony is that this all happened by accident, as the Sommers character was supposed to die off in the original Six Million Dollar Man series. Well that might have worked in some shows with some characters – but enter Lindsay Wagner who stole America's hearts overnight. Every man wanted to marry her, every woman wanted to be her. If you are of a…eh hem…a certain age, you'll remember that time when the nation immediately fell in love with Ms. Wagner. In fact I know we were all in love with her because I'll never forget being so incredibly heartbroken as a little kid when Jaime Sommers "died" in the show.

a life changing accident.

State of the art technology.

Well it turns out I wasn't the only one with a bionic crush. Families and kids everywhere bombarded ABC with fan mail to keep Jaime and the series alive. As clever as studio execs think they are, they had no idea what they had on their hands and did not foresee how the series would have such a tremendous impact on a generation - and go on to become a tour de force in television pop culture for women and men alike.

As a kid I wouldn't be born until 1981, so I watched The Bionic Woman during re-runs in Chile, my home country. You see, the sick dictatorship that had our country by the balls from 1973 to 1989, was so powerful, they controlled all the media, which in a way, was the very thing that allowed millions of Chileans to discover and/or revisit series from the 60's, 70's and of course the 80's. Our son of a bitch dictator didn't want any form of art to be related to what was going on back then so, he agreed on broadcasting everything foreign just because. Little did he know, many shows discussed the very issues he tried to keep from the country. He's fucking dead now, so let's move on to our review...

Jaime & Co.

Rock lifting.

This show was so dynamic it resonated with both kids and adults alike; there was something for everyone. It was clever, funny, thoughtful, exciting, and quite possibly most of all – 'dark'. The thing that was so intriguing about these cyborg characters was that they were humans who ended up with some special strengths and gifts, but they were extremely flawed compared to your stereotypical 'super hero'. In our minds it was very easy to relate to these characters because all of us saw ourselves in their position if we had a horrible accident and woke up one day with super strengths and a ton of responsibility to our fellow mankind. We watched Jaime get amnesia and forget about her love Steve Austin. We watched her reject her bionics and almost die from the very same gifts that she would go on to battle the evil forces of the world with. We watched her struggle from leading a normal life as a school teacher on one day, to battling fembots and saving the world the next.

But unlike the types of strong women you find in most film and television series today, this woman's key gift was her 'girl next door' flare. And that was her greatest appeal. In fact it's important to note that unlike superhero stories today, the bionics were a secondary character to the show (which is exactly why the re-launch of The Bionic Woman miserably failed on all levels). The bionics may have been a fantastic eye catching weapon; but they provided so much more; for instance – 'comic relief; (cut to Jaime using her bionic arm to whip up an omelet or clean her house). The writers were insightful enough to understand that if any of us wound up with these special gifts, they would probably be used in unsophisticated ways to get us through a painstakingly typical boring rough day. 

You better do your homework kiddo.

Max, the bionic dog.

Unlike the highly sexualized female leads we see on film today, Lindsay Wagner was a combination of incredible beauty and cool sweet charm. Whereas hair and wardrobe take center stage to female characters in our post-modern era, her gifts revolved around her inner strengths the most notable being her magnetic personality. Her smile was her deadliest weapon. And it were these exact traits along with her incredible acting skills that enabled her to win an Emmy for this iconic role. In fact you could easily relate this win to the Oscar nominations Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie received for Stephen King's "Carrie". These were the types of television and film genres that would most likely be overlooked for such prestigious awards – but were handled so brilliantly by the actors that nobody could deny giving credit where credit is due and offering accolades that the performers greatly deserved no matter what the genre.

As above mentioned, The Bionic Woman had crossover characteristics that went far beyond the crossover episodes we've been seeing lately in superhero shows. The characters of Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) & Doctor Rudy Wells (Martin E. Brooks) appeared playing significant roles during most of the 3 seasons the show ran. Also, When the series changed networks from ABC to NBC for its third and final season, Anderson and Brooks became the first actors in history to play the same characters on two different TV series on two different networks as they continued to appear in The Six Million Dollar Man which remained on ABC.   In addition, when the series changed from ABC to NBC, Lee Majors no longer guest starred on The Bionic Woman because he was still under contract with ABC. Since he was the main character ABC would not allow the crossover, and vice versa with Lindsay Wagner.

You do know I'm faster, right?

Boring work out.

In the last episode ("On the Run"), Jamie is called "Robot Lady" by a little girl who has learned about her bionics. Like Steve Austin in the original book Cyborg, she has to come to terms with the fact that she is not quite human. After three years with too many assignments to allow her time to herself, she resigns. However, the people in charge decide that she cannot just be allowed to leave and want to put her into a safe community where they can keep their eye on her. She goes on the run but later realizes that she is still the same woman, despite her mechanical parts and goes back to work for the OSI, but with fewer missions and more time to herself. The final episode was acknowledged to have been inspired by The Prisoner as Jaime is similarly being pursued by entities concerned about the secret information she possesses.

Despite being on different networks, both The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man were simultaneously cancelled in the spring of 1978. Unlike The Six Million Dollar Man, which ended with a standard episode, "On the Run" was written and filmed as a resolution to the series.

Send in the fembots!

Hi-tech can look really ugly.

Later, Three made-for-TV movies were produced that expanded the "bionic family" and explored a rekindled love between Jaime and Steve.

In the first reunion, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987), Jaime and Steve are reunited after nearly ten years of living separate lives. Jaime's memory is fully restored (according to Oscar, Jaime was involved in an explosion at the American Embassy in Budapest and "she remembered everything" after she recovered from her concussion) and she tries to reconcile her feelings for Steve while at the same time helping train Steve's son Michael in the use of his own recently acquired updated bionics. Jaime challenges Michael to a friendly race. He overtakes her and she makes the comment that she feels like an "obsolete model". Michael is kidnapped by Fortress. Steve and Jamie along with the Air Force infiltrate the abandoned glass factory to "rescue" Michael.

The second film, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, (1989) introduced Sandra Bullock as paraplegic Kate Mason who becomes a next-generation bionic woman and Sommers again helps train the neophyte cyborg.

In the final reunion film, Bionic Ever After? (1994), a computer virus corrupts Jaime's bionic systems. Dr. Wells informs Steve that "she may never be bionic again," but Steve's main regard is he wants her alive above all else. She undergoes a major upgrade, which not only increases the power of her bionics but gives her night vision. Finally, after so many years of waiting around, the bionic couple say their "I Do's".

Natural beauty.

Super women from the 70's.

Like its parent program The Bionic Woman spawned its own line of toys. Kenner produced a 12-inch doll of the character, with similar features to the Steve Austin version (bionic modules and removable bionic limbs), except instead of a bionic eye the doll's head would click when turned, simulating the sound of Jaime's bionic ear. Accessories for the doll released by Kenner included additional fashions, and a Bionic Beauty Salon playset.

A metal lunchbox for children was available, as was a vinyl story record produced by Wonderland Records. Kenner produced a series of stickers and temporary tattoos featuring Jaime Sommers individually and with Steve Austin.

A board game based on The Bionic Woman series was also created. It was sold by Parker Brothers in the US, and was a 2–4 player game suited for children between 7 and 12 years of age.

In July 2016, prior to Comic-Con International, the New York Times ran a story about Dynamite Entertainment. In it, best-selling author Andy Mangels was revealed to be writing a prestigious new intercompany crossover mini-series for the company, in conjunction with DC Comics: Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman, bringing together the Lynda Carter television character with Lindsay Wagner's fellow 1970s television super-heroine. 

 

Barbie who?

Retro poster.

Overall, The Bionic Woman stands tall among some of the greatest Sci-Fi TV series from the 70's and from any decade. The charisma Wagner had as the leading role, plus the supporting cast and the variety of stories that ranged from weekend camps to stopping nuclear missiles from falling in L.A. guarantee a show that even on 2017 can entertain the most avid Science Fiction/Comic Book fans of all ages. 

Here's the original opening from the series:

Some TV ads promoting the wonderful Kenner toyline:

The original TV bumper from ABC:

The DVD advertisement:

A brief behind the scenes featurette:

And last but not least, a collection of bloopers:

The Fifth Element

There is no future without her.

Although I'm not a massive fan of Luc Besson's work, it's undeniable that he's delivered some pretty interesting & assorted amount of films during his career. Films like La Femme Nikita and Leon, are part of the lucky few movies that are considered as "timeless masterpiece flicks". 1997's The Fifth Element it is a comic, pulp, sci-fi film that is more of a futuristic comedy rather than a serious driven story in the likes of the above mentioned. In retrospective, Besson has proven himself to be a versatile director & writer. Praised by some, hated by others but what the hell, any publicity is good publicity. Anyways, if you don't like him, he will find you and will kill you (yeah, a gratuitous Taken reference I wanted to make)

As far as sci-fi goes, The Fifth Element is a very interesting installment that aged like wine. With its mythology, creatures, action, and special effects, the movie has everything going for it. The humor that's infused just makes it better, vaulting it through genres (cyber punk, anime, comic books, sci-fi, western, comedy, etc) and making it accessible to almost everyone who gives it a try.

The end is near!

We're all gonna die!

Like any 90's apocalyptic films (yes, there were many), the story revolves around an evil force about to devour Earth and the rest of life itself as it increases in size and power with each influx of destruction and hate thrown at it. Every opportunity to blow it up only makes it stronger. Through a series of fortunate/ unfortunate happenings, (depending on who you are aligning with), we have the paths crossing of a priest who holds the answers for survival, an ex-military, cab driver bent on having some fun and excitement, a strange woman from another place at the center of it all, an evil mercenary out for money, and the government of the galaxy trying to save face in front of inevitable extermination. It is good versus evil traveling through space in order to either shed light or death out to the universe as victory.

In what is a nice little introduction to the myth of the fifth element that will unite with the more common four to wipe out evil, we learn of those who keep the secret of its location. We don't quite know if these aliens are good or not until later, but we do find out the impetus for their coming to the temple on display. A cut forward in time introduces us to the president of the galaxies, (played in what would seem to be horrible casting, but ends up being pretty good with Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), and our head priest in the guarding of the truth, Ian Holm. Holm explains what the dark force coming after them is and goes on the quest to find the fifth element and her four stones needed to combat it. This supreme being, played wonderfully by Milla Jovovich with a childlike glee and discovery, falls into the unwitting hands of cabbie Korben Dallas—Bruce Willis at his sarcastic bad-ass best. Willis must join with Holm and Jovovich on a mission to recover the stones and find a way to save the world.

Get me outta here!

So, this girl will save the world?

A lot of the success lies with the man behind it all, Luc Besson. His script is made up of a pretty solid plot line as far as the world destruction goes. Everything makes sense and is explained in a way to not bore us, but instead in tidbits culled from the numerous characters running about it this singularly unique landscape. The art direction is spectacular and for being a 19 year old movie, it still has nice special effects that stand up the pace of time. I've always been a proponent for prosthetic, when able, at the expense of computer graphics. Reactions are always better from actors who have something real to play off of and the lighting and environments just become more realistic. Even so, when computers are used, the effects are more subtle than flashy and never take away from the story that is being told. No matter what spectacle is on display, the script is what is important.

All the personalities on display also lead to much of the greatness that The Fifth Element has to offer. Bruce Willis is the king of this kind of role. His quips and rapport with those around him are priceless. Other standouts are Chris Tucker, in an early role for him, and the great Gary Oldman. Tucker takes loud and obnoxious to a whole new level, but it works flawlessly. His radio DJ has no shame when it comes to working a crowd or chasing the ladies, but his utter fear of danger is hilarious. As for Oldman, I have to believe Besson just said create something fresh. This villain is a pastiche of so many crazy components. His futuristic hair, complete with plastic half shield, is plain weird; the southern accent and buck teeth look is just the right amount of hillbilly; and the disposition of greed and ambivalence is perfect for a bad guy. When he explains how destruction allows all the little machines that man created to finally have work cleaning up the mess, it's fantastic. The real beauty, though, is that no matter how many strong lead roles are here, the little guys steal scenes as well. Singer Tricky is great as Oldman's "Right Arm" and Mathieu Kassovitz partakes in one of the best scenes in the film when he attempts to mug Willis at his apartment.

Multipass!

"So that is a porn website"

Now it's Trivia time! everything you didn't (give a shit) know about the Fifth Element right here, right now and completely free!

-The hero Korben Dallas and the villain Jean Baptiste Emanuel Zorg never meet, nor do they communicate in any way. They are, in fact, unaware of each other's degree of involvement. 

-Luc Besson wrote the original screenplay when he was in high school.  

-The language spoken by Leeloo was invented by director Luc Besson and further refined by Milla Jovovich, who had little trouble learning and developing it, as she was already fluent in 4 languages. By the end of filming they were able to have full conversations in this language. 

-The explosion in the Fhloston main hall was the largest indoor explosion ever filmed. The resulting fire almost got beyond control.  

-The flying traffic created by the visual effects team at Digital Domain allowed artists to create personalized license plates. Though never visible in the film, the state slogan printed on all license plates reads, "New York, The F***-You State." 

Where's my phone call?

Out of this world opera.

-When composer Eric Serra showed soprano Inva Mula (who dubs the voice of the Diva) the sheet music for the Diva Dance, she reportedly smiled and relayed to him that some of the notes written were not humanly possible to achieve because the human voice cannot change notes that fast. Hence, she performed the notes in isolation - one by one, as opposed to consecutively singing them all together and they digitized the notes to fit the music. There are a few moments when you can hear the differences in the vocal tones of The Diva's voice.  

-At the time, it was the most expensive film ever produced outside of Hollywood. 

-When filming began, the production decided to dye Milla Jovovich's hair from its natural brown color to her character's signature orange color. However, due to the fact that her hair had to be re-dyed regularly to maintain the bright color, Milla's hair quickly became too damaged and broken to withstand the dye. Eventually a wig was created to match the color and style of Leeloo's hair, and was used for the remainder of the production.

Singer, model, actress, all woman!

Sci-Fi beauty.

-Luc Besson cast Milla Jovovich as Leeloo, because "Milla has the physical thing, she can be from the past or the future. She can be an Egyptian or a Roman. She can be Nefertiti and she can be from outer space. That was one thing that I liked physically about her."

-Leeloo's full name is "Leeloominaï Lekatariba Lamina-Tchaï Ekbat De Sebat", as sourced by various media including Luc Besson's film diary (The Adventure and Discovery of a Film: The Story of The Fifth Element), a French promotional poster used in subways to advertise the film, and the video game manual. "Lekarariba" is a misspelling based in the script and thus transferred to the video subtitles as well. Leeloo speaks her "second" name with a hard "T" sound.  

-Luc Besson, an admitted comic book fan, had two famous French comic book artists in mind for the film's visual style when he started writing the movie in high school. Jean Giraud (Moebius) and Jean-Claude Mézières. Both artists have long-standing comic book series in France. Moebius is best known for "Blueberry" and the (French) Magazine and (US) movie Heavy Metal (1981). Mézières is best known for the "Valerian" series. Both series are still in production today. Moebius and Mezieres, who attended art school together but had never collaborated on a project until The Fifth Element, started renderings for the film in the early '90s and are responsible for the majority of the over all look of the film, including the vehicles, spacecrafts, buildings, human characters and aliens. However, only Giraud is credited, and even then he wasn't even granted a premium when the movie was eventually produced.

Divine jump.

Overall, The Fifth Element will fit like a glove with those who love a good unpretentious Sci-Fi film. Bruce Willis was at his peak (thanks to Pulp Fiction maybe) and would start 1998's blockbuster apocalyptic film Armageddon (directed by hated by everyone's Michael Bay) Gary Oldman is perhaps, one of the most versatile actors of all time, so no comments on him here, his work is flawless. Milla Jovovich, was developing a serious acting career back then and today is worshiped as one of the sexiest Sci-Fi beauties alive.  Havent' watched it yet? what are you waiting for! this is a 90's classic!

Here's the movie trailer:

Three The Hard Way

Action gets bigger by the trio.

The blaxploitation has a wide list of blockbusters which I've watched already but haven't got the time of reviewing most of them. Hell! I even own Pam Grier several reviews of hers! Today's entry, Three The Hard Way, a 1974 non stop action flicker directed by Gordon Parks Jr, written by Eric Bercovici & Jerry Ludwig, and starred by Jim Brown (as Jimmy Lait), Fred Williamson (as Jagger Daniels) and martial arts superstar Jim Kelly (as Mister Keyes) Although this film may not be everyone's cup of tea, one thing is guaranteed: you won't want to miss a single minute of the film. Three The Hard Way is pure action from start to finish, bloody shootings, ass kicking a la martial arts style, dangeroues Neo-Nazies and even more dangerous female threesomes (no pun intended)

When diabolical racist/fascist/evil white cracker Monroe Feather (Jay Robinson), with the help of fellow evil whitey, scientist Dr. Fortrero (Richard Angarola) invent a red serum that is harmless to whites and lethal to blacks and plan to dump it in the water supplies of Washington D.C., Detroit and L.A., they didn't count on one thing - the awesome power of Jimmy Lait (Brown), Jagger Daniels (Williamson) and Mister Keyes (Kelly)! Can this team of righteous soul brothers take down Feather's budding, red-beret wearing neo-Nazi organization, or will millions of African-Americans perish? They really, truly do not make them like this anymore. Films like this should be treasured. Just look at the tagline on the poster above. Can you imagine a movie coming out today that proudly, in big red letters, proclaims that they are going to save their race? 

We kick your ass in style.

Did someone say white cracker?

Three the Hard Way, besides being a clever title (three dudes, three cities that must be saved, and three dominatrixes, but more on that later), is a golden age of blaxploitation gem. It is filled to the brim with jive talk, fly threads and funky tunes. It also has plenty of action, and who better to dispense it than the three coolest men in cinema at the time - all in one place! Jim Brown as Lait is a successful record producer. He's so good at what he does, his collars are bigger than pizza slices, he drives a Rolls Royce with "LAIT" as the license plate, and tells the Impressions what to do in the studio. He even produces his own theme song, sung by the Impressions! The action kicks off when Feather's goons kidnap his old lady, Wendy (Frazier), and Lt. Di Nisco (Rocco) is more interested in Lait than in the bad guys. So Lait calls in his buddies Daniels and Keyes to dispense some justice with a blue van filled with automatic weapons. Mister Keyes even predates Mr. T as being a legal name, and they even have the same reasons ("so people will have to call me Mister" - although T might have the edge because his legal middle name is a dot).

Kelly gets to make more of his trademark, pre-Billy Blanks funny faces and noises, and there's even a scene which must have fulfilled the fantasies of the urban, inner-city audiences this played to at the time, where a bunch of cops harass him and try to arrest him and he beats them all up with style and aplomb and rides away. Fred Williamson is as cool and charming as ever as the cigar-chomping Daniels. A standout scene occurs when three women, Countess (Pamela Serpe), Princess (Marie O'Henry) and Empress (Tsu) ride in on red white and blue motorcycles, with outfits to match. It seems they are a team of dominatrixes and this is how our Three the Hard Way boys get the information they need. Perhaps this was such an appealing concept it inspired the movie Ebony, Ivory and Jade (1976).

The coolest female biker team.

Not afraid of using their weapons.

Three the Hard Way is a much better version of the team-up concept than the much later Williamson/Brown outing On the Edge (2002), and provides a lot of the obvious inspiration behind the parodies I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Black Dynamite (2008). Additionally, besides the impressive on-screen talent (we didn't even mention an appearance by TNT Jackson herself, Jeannie Bell), there are some big names behind the camera as well - director Gordon Parks Jr, cinematographer Lucien Ballard, and a stunt department that includes Hal Needham, Bob Minor and Buddy Joe Hooker, among others...you can really learn a lot if you read the credits! All of this came together in the end to produce an above-average blaxploitation film.

While it does start to drag a bit right before the climax, travel back in time to when cars were gigantic and boatlike, and when Williamson, Brown and Kelly were the undisputed kings of soulful action. 

Racist pigs.

The Impressions!

The film has its flaws though, and they're mostly edition issues. The following list explains the most notable goofs in Three The Hard Way:

-In the Chicago sequence, Jimmy and Jagger are chasing one of the white supremacists through town and they pass the same man twice.

-When Mister Keyes fights the corrupt police officers, his shoes go from brown boots to brown basketball shoes and back between shots.

-The blue van alternates from shot to shot between two very different models.

-When Jimmy is talking to Wendy from the phone booth he is clearly inside the booth while the gravel truck is charging the booth (0:54:04).Yet,seconds after the gravel truck hits the booth Jimmy isn't inside the booth and he is hanging from the back of the truck instead(0:54:09).

-In the lengthy shootout at the end of the movie, there is snow everywhere on the mountainous terrain, then no snow at all. Also, the action shifts back and forth from day to night and back again. 

 

Martial arts never looked cooler.

Watcha lookin' at?

 

Overall, Three The Hard Way is an action roller coaster from start to finish, and that makes a likable film for all audiences (who doesn't like guns, fights and boobs?) If you're a fan of the blaxploitation genre you've probably watched the movie already, but if you're not a fan of blaxploitation this movie can be an excellent starter.

Here's the movie trailer: