CineFile Video

From Nate Thompson’s now-defunct soundtrack blog 7 Black Notes:

“After officially buying Cannon Films from its British founders in 1979, Menaham Golan stepped behind the camera again for a colorful, widescreen musical spectacular, shot in Germany with a bizarre international cast including newbie Catherine Mary Stewart (’Night of the Comet’), future BBC staple Grace Kennedy, Joss Ackland (’Lethal Weapon 2′), and the wonderfully hammy Vladek Sheybal (’From Russia with Love’) as Mr. Boogalow, a satanic record producer who controls the world of pop culture in the futuristic year of 1994. The end result, ‘The Apple’, appalled audiences worldwide with its glam-rock fusion of biblical symbolism, dirty disco, and dieties descending from the sky in pimpmobiles, though it has more recently become a perpetual revival house and midnight movie favorite. The, uh, unique songs are the brainchild of Israeli popster Coby Recht and American composer George S. Clinton (who also appears onscreen as a mind-controlled reporter), later known for much bigger titles like ‘Austin Powers’, ‘Wild Things’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’. ‘Xanadu’ ain’t got nothin’ on this one, baby.”

Before it enjoyed its current midnight-movie revival and late night cable TV status, “The Apple” languished on Cinefile’s “Modern Musicals” shelf, thoroughly unwatched until one day, former Cinefile employee Cris noticed its colorful cover box, and popped it in, unaware of what he was in store for. Needless to say, he was instantly bowled over, and he proceeded to hound every last co-worker until we’d all seen it. I quickly became infatuated with the film’s jaw-dropping lyrics and faux futuristic inanities, and cobbled together an ad hoc soundtrack CD by ripping the audio from our old VHS rental tape. Eventually we tracked down an LP copy of the official version, probably the only album to have ever been released by Cannon Records! In comparing the two, I was disappointed by the LP version’s tendency to bathe every note of every song in a torrent of phase and flange effects, whereas in the video version, those effects are almost completely invisible. Also, the LP version does not contain every song, bit of extraneous dialogue or extended music cue that the video version does.

Later, I thought of re-recording the video version when “The Apple” finally came out on DVD, but decided against it. I guess I like that thick layer of tape hiss too much; it reminds me of that bygone era when VHS was king! Here, we offer both versions for download. You decide which one you like best.

“The Apple”, VHS audio version (ZIP file)
“The Apple”, LP version (ZIP file)

The Kingdom

Lars von Trier’s Danish television miniseries reaches the “Twin Peaks”-like peak of weirdness, standing out as possibly one of the most warped things to have ever been broadcast on network television anywhere. 99% of all the action takes place in the neurosurgical ward of Denmark’s biggest hospital, and while the overall tone of the series is quite disturbing, the mood at the head of each episode is momentarily broken by the opening credits sequence and its accompanying militaristic theme song —

“The Kingdom” opening credits theme (MP3)

Alien

Jerry Goldsmith’s spidery, frigid orchestral score for “Alien” is the perfect compliment to what’s rightly considered one of the most powerful films in both the sci-fi and horror genres — but it’s difficult to piece together just what music cues from the “Alien” soundtrack LP actually appear in the film itself. On the subject, Wikipedia sez:

“Director Ridley Scott and editor Terry Rawlings became quite attached to several of the cues they used for the temporary track while cutting the movie. As a result they moved around much of Goldsmith’s score and had many sequences rescored. (Interviews on the ‘Quadrilogy’ DVD release of this film document the viewpoints of Goldsmith, Rawlings and Scott in regard to this situation and why it occurred.) Two cues from Goldsmith’s earlier score for ‘Freud’ appear in the film, and a section of Howard Hanson’s second symphony, ‘The Romantic,’ replaced the end credits. As a result, Goldsmith’s original soundtrack LP represented more the original score he wrote than what ended up appearing in the film.”

In any case, the one mystery credit, when it comes to the music of “Alien”, is who scored the film’s theatrical trailer? Judging by Goldsmith’s work elsewhere on sci-fi films like “Logan’s Run” and “Outland”, it’s quite possible he did it, but there seems to be little info available on the subject.

“Alien” theatrical trailer (MP3)

Murphy’s Law

I always love it when a singer or band mentions their own name in song lyrics — Bo Diddley is the king of this practice — but it’s an extra special treat to hear a movie theme song that repeatedly uses its own name. In this case, we have the end credits theme to the ‘85 Charles Bronson crime drama “Murphy’s Law”, in which once again, Bronson plays, um — Bronson. Here, the theme of the film is sung by Bronson’s co-star Kathleen Wilhoite. These lyrics have to be heard to be believed, but yet, the logic of them seems typical for a Golan-Globus production.

“Murphy’s Law” theme song (MP3)

Death Promise

What is there to say about ’70s kung fu cinema that hasn’t already been said — except that it’s nearly impossible to stop watching any picture that opens with a piece of audio like this! As they say in the song itself, “That’s a promise! That’s a promise…”

“Death Promise” opening theme (MP3)

Plot outline: Peter O’Toole is Jack, a man who is cured of his belief that he is God, only to turn into Jack the Ripper. The movie, an indictment of Britain’s class system, peers behind the closed doors of English aristocracy and deals with everything from sadistic sarcasm to insanity to black comedy… as well as a touch of the Hollywood musical.

This lengthy and willfully incoherent slab of weirdness features O’Toole doing a handful of vaudeville-type numbers, the highlight of which is “The Varsity Drag”. At times both whimsical and terrfying, due to what I think is a spot-on representation of the the depravity of aristocracy, these songs are effective punctuation throughout the film. This vinyl rip of the LP, unfortunately, is not track-listed; it is only two tracks, a Side A and a Side B.

Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk sez:

“‘The Ruling Class’ sneaked onto the scene as one of those off-the-wall things that hipsters said you had to see, even if they couldn’t explain it. (My two friends and I at a Westwood screening seemed to be the only people in the audience not smoking dope.) A combination of sophomoric sub-Monty Python jokes and bizarre Lewis Carroll-like speeches, this is basically a drawing-room comedy on acid.

There are laughs. Peter O’Toole’s manic delivery sells his gibberish lines in much the desperate but effective manner of ‘What’s New Pussycat?’. He’s very likeable as the lost-lamb Jesus, and terrifying as the bloodless-faced Jack of the final reel.”

“The Ruling Class” soundtrack LP (ZIP file)

Plot outline: A “Decline of Western Civilization” covering the Icelandic scene in ‘82! How specific!

The film chronicles 19 different bands, and has much performance footage, but one major complaint some I know who’ve seen it have against it is that there’s not enough cultural background. I don’t have that big of a problem with that specific issue; I think it’s equally as fun as “Urgh! A Music War”. The film was produced for Icelandic television, and I can only imagine what Icelandic housewifes and captains of industry must’ve thought about it — but then again, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be Icelandic at all, given my rotted-out American brain.

Some random Bjork fan site sez:

“It took punk two years to travel across the Atlantic all the way to Iceland back in 1979. ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’ is an ambitious 2CD-compilation that gives you a great overview of the Reykjavík-anarcho-scene as it contains contributions from lots of different punk-bands ranging from many different directions. It was recorded in 1982, when the era was about to fade and a lot of bands split up. You’ll find some quite traditional, left-wing-radical UK-type three-chords-aggro-stuff performed by bands such as Vonbridgi and Fraebbblarnir. Some other bands are heading in a more pop-oriented, guitar-solo-based direction. The Björk-fronted Tappi Tíkarrass adds elements of funk and jazz to their music, which makes it a good counterpart to the more traditional UK-oriented acts. Another band worth mentioning is Q4U, a riot-grrrl-combo in the vein of Siouxsie & the Banshees, with very humourous lyrics. ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’ also contains contributions from some experimental, freaked-out surrealist acts like Sjálsfróun and Purkur Pillnikk, fronted by a very young Einar Örn Benediktsson (later with The Sugarcubes.)

Some of the best songs are performed by the band Theyr, which featured the drummer Siggtryggur Baldurson (later with The Sugarcubes), as well as one actual former Killing Joke member. Their music is slower and more gothic-oriented compared to the other punk-acts and the singer has an audible David Bowie-complex. My definitive favorite on the album though, is the dark, haunting and heavily Joy Division-influenced ’Where Are The Bodies,’ performed by post-punkers Bodies. The song was recently covered by Utangardsmenn, the most popular rock-band in Iceland today and it’s so advanced I’m surprised it didn’t give Bodies a breakthrough outside their native country. The CD version of ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’ contains one piece by oddball noise-avant-gardist Bruni BB and some traditional Icelandic Middle Age chanting by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, the founder of the Icelandic pagan-worshipping community.”

“Rock In Reykjavik”, disc 1 (ZIP file)
“Rock In Reykjavik”, disc 2 (ZIP file)

Seems like only yesterday, the streets of Hollywood were filled with billboards depicting a grizzled old Samuel Jackson holding scantily-clad Christina Ricci on a big, chain leash. Little did we suspect from the controversial ad campaign that BLACK SNAKE MOAN was sappy Sundance fare to the core, more LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE than MANDINGO. Oh well, I’m sure those ubiquitous softcore billboards caused Dov Charney to run a few stop signs.

Time to make way for the latest sadomasochistic Hollywood ad campaign! Even by my depraved standards, the billboards for CAPTIVITY are way over the top! As reported in yesterday’s LA Times:

The ad consisted of four panels:

Abduction, in which a terrified young blond woman has either a gloved or black hand over her face, as if she’s being kidnapped.

Confinement, in which she’s behind a chain-link fence and appears to be poking a bloody thumb through the fence.

Torture, in which she is flat on her back, her face in a white cast, with red tubes that resemble jumper cables running into her nostrils.

And Termination, in which her head dangles over the edge of a table, the murder complete.

I wonder how the MPAA gave a pass to the CAPTIVITY billboards, but blocked last year’s much milder ROAD TO GUANTANAMO poster? Was it an act of political censorship? And what to make of the fact that CAPTIVITY is directed by leftist Roland Joffe (THE KILLING FIELDS) and scribed by Larry Cohen, the master of socially-relevant schlock? Willl CAPTIVITY have a Gitmo/Abu Ghraib subtext? Or will it be just another bad SAW clone?

Whatever the answer, Lionsgate has pissed off a lot of parents. The studio is scrambling to remove the offending billboards by tomorrow. So if you haven’t seen them yet, go out and take a gander at the most brazen marketing gimmick since Vincent Gallo got a hummer (little “h”) on Sunset Boulevard.

Perhaps it goes without saying that this poster for HOSTEL 2 doesn’t stand a chance of finding its way onto the bus shelters of Babylon.

Turn up the volume and click here.

Here’s a photo essay of a recent night at Cinefile.

For a seven-month run (June ‘06-January ‘07), Cinefile friend Nate Thompson did a great, great soundtrack blog called 7 Black Notes. At the end of the seven months, Nate grew tired of Rapidshare deleting everything he’d posted, so he gave up the ghost, and now 7 Black Notes is no more — but — he’s graciously let us re-post some of our favorite soundtracks that he’d initially unleashed on the world. First from him is a three-volume Italian soundtrack compilation, called “Italian Blend”. Here’s what he originally had to say about it:

“Here’s a little project I’ve been tinkering with for a while, and it’s a bit different than past posts. Given the huge amount of great film music never commerically released in any format, I decided to cut together a series of suites of some outstanding titles that deserved some notice; here the spotlight turns on some of the great (well, in most cases) Italian composers whose work has often never gotten the credit it deserves. Taken from a variety of sources (video, M&E tracks, or whatever’s handy), these have been tweaked to sound as good as I can make ‘em; hopefully you’ll discover a few new gems in this three-part collection, entitled ‘Italian Blend’. Running times have also been included to give you an idea of how much music to expect.”

Italian Blend: Volume One
1. The Witches (Piero Piccioni) (10:41)
2. Images In A Convent (Nico Fidenco) (9:04)
3. Baba Yaga (Piero Umiliani) (2:16)
4. A Virgin Among The Living Dead (Bruno Nicolai) (12:42)
5. Queens Of Evil (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino) (9:34)
6. Knife Of Ice (Marcello Giombini) (2:56)
7. Burial Ground (Elsio Macuso & Burt Rexon) (3:00)
8. Death Smiles At Murder (Berto Pisano) (7:02)
9. A Blade In The Dark (Guido & Maurizio De Angelis) (5:26)
10. Beast With A Gun (Umberto Saila) (4:15)
11. Plot Of Fear (Daniele Patucchi) (2:59)
12. The Great Alligator (Stelvio Cipriani) (4:11)
13. Do You Like Hitchcock? (Pino Donaggio) (3:26)

Italian Blend: Volume Two
1. Eugenie De Sade (Bruno Nicolai) (8:27)
2. Footprints (Nicola Piovani) (8:51)
3. 2019: After The Fall Of New York (Guido & Maurizio De Angelis) (3:55)
4. A Whisper In The Dark (Pino Donaggio) (13:41)
5. Yellow Emanuelle (Nico Fidenco) (8:30)
6. Waves Of Lust (Marcello Giombini) (2:05)
7. Orgasmo Nero (Stelvio Cipriani) (15:42)
8. Caligula: The Untold Story (Claudio Maria Cordio) (2:08)
9. Patrick Still Lives (Berto Pisano) (2:37)
10. The Man From Deep River (Daniele Patucchi) (5:35)
11. Zeder (Riz Ortolani) (1:30)
12. Body Count (Claudio Simonetti) (1:57)

Italian Blend: Volume Three
1. Suspected Death Of A Minor (Luciano Michellini) (8:30)
2. House On The Edge Of The Park (Riz Ortolani) (4:06)
3. Strip Nude For Your Killer (Berto Pisano) (6:04)
4. The Pyjama Girl Case (Riz Ortolani) (7:18)
5. Nightmares Come At Night (Bruno Nicolai) (9:35)
6. The Lickerish Quartet (Stelvio Cipriani) (11:45)
7. Porno Holocaust (Nico Fidenco) (22:13)
8. Porno Shop On 7th Street (Bruno Biriaco) (9:27)
9. The Big Racket (Guido & Maurizio De Angelis) (6:11)

“Italian Blend”, Vol. 1 (ZIP file)
“Italian Blend”, Vol. 2 (ZIP file)
“Italian Blend”, Vol. 3 (ZIP file)

Here we have two recent films that both deal in depravity: “The Salton Sea” (2002) has Val Kilmer tumbling headlong into the world of meth addiction, and “Feed” (2005) has a “Silence of the Lambs”-like serial “feeder” force-feeding a fat woman chained to a bed while he feverishly masturbates.

The “Salton Sea” cover came first, but I honestly can’t figure out how the image is supposed to accurately reflect what the movie is about. “Feed” came way later, and therefore it’s possible that whoever designed the cover was very aware of “The Salton Sea” — but what’s missing from the “Feed” cover (from the American DVD release, at least) is that the tattooed guy’s left arm that reaches here out-of-frame is supposed to be holding a sandwich (the British DVD cover of the film shows it more clearly.) This is a more direct and effective way of visually presenting the theme of the film — but that’s not how Danger After Dark, the American home video distributor of the film, chose to present it. Looking at these two covers side by side, it’s hard to say whether or not it’s a simple rip-off case, although in the end it doesn’t matter, since both films are probably total shit anyway.

Verdict: undecided

“Flash Gordon”. One of our favorite sci-fi films, with one of the best soundtracks in the history of soundtracks, courtesy of Queen. It’s been out-of-print on DVD here in the U.S. for years now, but it’s still available in the U.K., complete with a director’s commentary track by Mike Hodges, who also helmed “Croupier” and the original “Get Carter.”

On the track, Hodges reveals that he took over for fellow British director Nic Roeg during pre-production, and that during the shooting of the film, basically he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and was making everything up as he went along with the cast and crew day-by-day. Not exactly the kind of thing an uber-fan of a film wants to hear, but we’re still no less entertained by the film after having known this. And — we know this isn’t exactly music, but it’s better filed under the “Movie Music Archives” banner than the other categories we have going.

“Flash Gordon” Region 2 DVD commentary track - Mike Hodges, director (MP3)