Pink Floyd's The Wall (1980)

Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1980)

Director: Alan Parker

Cast: Bob Geldof, Bob Hoskins, Jenny Wright

As a film buff, sometimes important movies escape my all scanning, all seeing eyes. Truth is there’s just so much to see; a life time isn’t enough.  So for whatever the reason, probably because I was never really into Pink Floyd’s music, I had never seen Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Man am I kicking myself in the ass for not having seen this one before! This movie is not just a movie, it’s an experience! An audio visual tour de force!

This is the story of ‘Pink’, a young man that’s not to happy about the worlds his born into, we follow him through the different phases in life, so in many ways it’s a life story. In this sense, it is similar to Ken Russell's Tommy (1975), because its also a life story, it's also a critique on society and it's also a film fueled by Rock and Roll. In Pink Floyd's The Wall, we see Pink go from growing up in an abusive and unproductive education system, to becoming comfortably numb through watching television and doing drugs in order to ignore the crazy world that surrounds him. Pink manages to become part of a famous rock band, but even with success nothing makes sense to him. Will he snap and go totally insane? Or will he join the ranks of Big Brother?

This film is very special, and I’m going to have to ask anyone out there reading that hasn’t experienced this film yet to do so at the earliest possible convenience. I mean, if you love film and the range of emotions and themes that you can express through it, then go on and find a copy of this amazing movie and watch it. It’s a wonderful achievement, an amazing marriage of sight and sound. All gushing aside, what actually makes this film so special? Well, let me count the ways.

One of the things that stands out about this movie is that it hardly uses any dialog to tell its story. Its main character hardly utters a word throughout the entire film! Other characters around him speak, but Pink himself remains with his lips sealed for most of the film, even though a lot seems to be going on inside of him. Yet, what he doesn’t say through words, he conveys through facial expressions, through performance and through action. Like Chaplin, here’s a character that says a lot without saying a word! Pink is a guy that has grown sick of the mind numbing stupidity that society occupies itself with. He hates television, the dumb masses, he hates money, war, material things, Pink basically dislikes everything he sees. Where will this abhorring of the world take him? Bob Geldof’s performance is a good one; a lot is conveyed through performance, which to me is one of the films major achievements. This films modus operandi is “a picture speaks louder than a thousand words”. And boy, the imagery we see on this film truly speaks for itself!

In order to tell their story through surrealistic, symbolic images, the filmmakers put a lot of effort into marrying the perfect images with the lyrics to Pink Floyd’s songs, which are just amazing. Songs and images gel together so perfectly here! The songs are every bit as subversive as the visuals, which hold nothing back, these songs tell a story. I mean, here’s a movie that tells us that today’s education system treats students like meat to a grinder…every student grinded into one same piece of meat, without anything to make them individuals, without uniqueness. Here’s a film that says that television can drive you mad, that war is death, that bad parents are something to drive us mad, that we will eventually turn into a piece of the machinery, into another senseless clone.  Here’s a film unafraid to say that governments can turn into fascist regimes, basically, this is a movie without any filters or restraints. Yet it says everything so artistically, with such emotion and intensity. It’s impossible to ignore it, or the truth within it.

The talent in the film is obviously a huge part of what makes it such a wonder to behold. Here we have Alan Parker in the director’s chair; a director whose films have always been thematically strong, like a punch to the gut. If you don’t believe me then go and watch Midnight Express (1978). Watching that movie for the first time is like getting a bucket of ice cold water poured down your back! I dare you not to be inspired by Parker’s Fame (1980), or be freaked out by Robert Deniro’s Satan in Parker’s satanic thriller, Angel Heart (1987). Point is that Pink Floyd’s The Wall has an excellent director behind it, which is probably why the visuals are so memorable. But then again, Pink Floyd has always been a band who pays as much attention to their music videos as they do to their songs; their music videos are always a joy to watch. The film was written by Pink Floyd’s own Roger Waters, but the basic jist of the film is that the songs from their conceptual album ‘The Wall’ are the driving force behind the plot of the film. These songs tell us the story of a young man in disgust with society, and the songs are truly special, and this comes from a new fan. Thanks to this film, I am now a Pink Floyd convert/fan, the same thing might happen to you if you’ve never been a fan of Pink Floyd. I dare you not to have some sort of emotional reaction to the images that accompany the song ‘Comfortably Numb’, one of Pink Floyd’s biggest hits. With this song, the film also comments on the sometimes nightmarish lifestyle of a rock and roll star, as if the film wasn’t already commenting enough. And yet another great element in the film are Gerald Scarfe’s amazing animated sequences, which are mind blowing! This movie wouldn’t be the same without Scarfe’s imaginative animation, it is an integral part of the equation. Scarfe’s animation is so fantastic that various sequences, like the hammers marching, the teacher grinding the students into a meat grinder, or that screaming face emerging out of the brick wall have all become part of this films iconic imagery. So what we have here my friends, is a nonstop onslaught of talent. This is definitely one of the movies you should see before you croke, put it on your must watch list, you won’t regret it.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Suburbia (1983)

Title: Suburbia (1983)

Director: Penelope Spheeris

Cast: Chris Pedersen, Christina Beck, Flea

So there I was last night at a punk show, listening to a band that’s been playing for 15 years (but I’d never heard of in my life) and suddenly it dawned upon me how I’ve been following the Puerto Rican punk scene for more than 13 years; going to the shows, enjoying the energy, but never being a “punk” perse, kind of like that character in SLC Punk! (1998) played by Jason Segel, you know, the one who didn’t look punk but was the craziest of the bunch, well, I wasn’t the craziest of the bunch, but I’ve always been there, as an observer of human behavior, documenting with my video camera as much as I could. So anyways, I asked the lead singer of one of the bands what he thought punk was all about, he told me it was a mentality, then he went on about how audiences had changed, the violent mosh pits still occur, but with less frequency, audiences are not so much into hurting themselves in the mosh pit anymore. Apparently, Punk Rockers are more into listening the music and lyrics than jumping up and down like mad men, in a way, audiences are more ‘cerebral’. It was good to hear from a true punk rocker, that one thing hadn’t changed about the scene, it’s all about the mentality which is always, inevitably infused with the music. Another element remains a constant: punk rockers are outcasts of society. The ones who turn their backs on a world they don’t agree with, just like the kids in Penelope Spheeris’s seminal punk rock film Suburbia (1983).

Like SLC Punk! (1998) or The Doom Generation (1995), Suburbia is another one of these films that depicts angry, angst ridden youths rejected by the very society they despise, the atypical outcasts. Most of the time, these films take place in dilapidated neighborhoods, forgotten by society and ignored by their governments. Suburbia feels almost post-apocalyptic in nature with its rundown, abandoned  neighborhoods that feels like something out of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981). The director of this film, Penelope Spheeris, filmed the whole thing in a completely abandoned neighborhood in L.A. The neighborhood chosen for the shooting of the film had been emptied in order to make way for a freeway that was going to be built there. The place looks like a lonely ghost town filled with empty houses with broken windows and walls filled with graffiti, a lonely, ugly place to be sure, but not entirely empty. The gang of punks that we follow in this film who call themselves ‘The Rejected’or the 'TR's' for short; all live inside one of these abandoned houses, they’ve gone and made it their home. They are all running away from something in their lives, be it abusive or alcoholic parents, a dysfunctional household or simply “society as it is”. One way or another, society has kicked the TR’s in their collective asses; it is this quality that brings them together.

The film sets its bleak aura from its very first frames when we first meet this punk girl hitchhiking in the middle of the night. A car stops and gives her a ride; unfortunately they immediately get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere! This neighborhood they’ve stumbled upon isn’t a pretty place, packs of wild dogs run around the neighborhood looking for humans to munch on! And they seem to have a craving for babies because they immediately attack the ladies baby and eat him up! Seriously! That’s how this movie begins! So Suburbia grabs your attention right away, it immediately sets the mood for the kind of film you can expect; just so you know what you’re getting yourself into. The symbolism in that scene didn’t pass unnoticed for me, this is a movie about youth under attack. A film about young people who feel the world is wildly chewing them up and spitting them out. So just so you know, this isn’t going to be a sweet old tale with a happy ending, Penelope Spheeris made a film about young people striving to survive in a harsh, violent world that turns its back on them and attacks them every chance it gets. The shock continues as we discover the sorry state in which these kids live in, surrounded by roaches and rats, actually, one of the characters actually has a rat for a pet!

The Rejected are the result of a world where everything is done for them, everything is pre-packaged, prepared, there’s no joy for these kids in a world where everything is bought, especially when they have no money to buy anything with. They don’t want a job that will chain them down; they want their freedom to do whatever they want to do, when they want to do it. In this respect, I feel them. I wish I could roam around the world aimlessly, trying to have as much fun as possible (actually this is still my mentality whenever I’m not working!) but I have to eat and I have to have a roof under my head and these things don’t pay themselves. Unfortunately, the truth is that this care free lifestyle is intimately entwined with poverty. The T.R.’s want their freedom, but the price to pay for leading this lifestyle is going through life without money, which inevitably leads to stealing. One of the more memorable scenes involve the kids breaking into various suburban households raiding refrigerators and stealing from convenience stores and supermarkets. Sure this is a question of survival, but they probably also feel they are kicking “the man” squarely in the balls. You want to take away our freedom? You reject us? We take your food! If you want to create a harsh world, then its dog eat dog, only the strongest survive! 

In many ways, Suburbia feels more realistic and authentic than other punk films. One of the elements that aids the films authenticity is that with the exception of one or two actors, most of the characters are performed by real life punk rockers or band members from real bands, for example Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers plays ‘Razzle’ the dude who attempts to eat a live rat. So these are punk rockers as actors, not actors trying to portray punk rockers, which in this case, works like magic. Another asset to this punk rock anthem is that it was directed by Penelope Spheeris the director behind the celebrated documentary on the L.A. punk scene called The Decline of Western Civilization (1981). According to Spheeris, many of the situations that we see depicted in the film are based on real life events she witnessed herself in the L.A. punk scene, or are based on news articles she read. I wouldn’t doubt this to be true, from my own personal experiences; I’d say the way the punk rock lifestyle is depicted here is pretty accurate. It doesn’t glamorize the lifestyle, it shows it like it is, or at least how it was in the early 80’s in L.A. Still, I’ve found some similarities with the Puerto Rican Punk Scene, so if you’re a punk rocker, you will more than likely find some similarities with the scene in your country/area. Another positive aspect of the film is how low budget it feels. Suburbia was a Roger Corman production, a producer who’s always prided himself in producing low budget cinema; Suburbia only cost 1 million bucks to make! This low budget quality of the film fits perfectly with the subject matter, it makes everything that much darker and grittier. Finally, this is a tragic tale that focuses on the lives of a group of extremely troubled kids trying to make sense of the world they are living in, I highly recommend any punk rocker out there to check this one out! It is essential Punk Rock Cinema.

Rating: 4 out of 5  

Penelope Spheeris, setting up a scene

SLC Punk! (1998)

Title: SLC Punk! (1998)

Director: James Merendino

Cast: Matthew Lillard, Michael A. Goorjian, Christopher McDonald, Devon Sawa, Jason Segel, James Duval

SLC Punk! attempts to explain what living the Punk lifestyle and being an Anarchist is all about. It takes you to the shows and the parties and the mayhem filled nights and all the stories and dramas behind them. It achieves this by having its main character -a Punk Rocker and Anarchist named Steve-O- break the fourth wall and speak directly at us, explaining to us the ins and outs of the anarchist/punk lifestyle. Kind of like the way that Ferris Bueller would show us how to “fake out parents” in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). In SLC Punk! we have Matthew Lillard, not Matthew Broderick taking us on a tour of the Punk Rock World. It deconstructs it, analyzing what’s bullshit and what isn’t, the benefits and the downsides. Just what is Punk Rock? Is it the music? Is that what drives it? Is it the clothes you wear? Your hair style? Is it just a state of mind?  

On SLC Punk! we follow Steve-O through the landscape of Salt Lake City Utah’s Punk scene. We meet his friends, we go with him to a wild and crazy punk show, we go with him to a house party, we see the drugs they take, the booze they over do and we see them not give a fuck. Basically, these are a group of kids, who say they are anarchists, who say they hate the status quo, who say they hate posers, yet their actions sometimes contradict them. Steve-O, the main character in the film, is going through an existential dilemma, and we go on the ride with the guy. He is questioning everything, even himself. He is a character who unlike 80% of humanity, is fully awake, so, what comes next?

Punks have always been portrayed as stupid, angry, and lazy. In films, they are always depicted as alcoholics, drug addicts, with nothing better to do than sniff some glue, or break a couple of windshields with a bat. Though this depiction of the punk rock might be a generalization, I have to admit that for the most part, this portrayal is dead on. I mean, I was part of the Puerto Rican Punk scene back when it was thriving, and this is pretty much how it went down. I didn’t dress like a punk, but I went to the shows, I hung out, and as I always do, I analyzed human behavior, I was a little bit like Steve-O in many ways, always observing and commenting. The   impression I got from my observations of the punk scene during the early 00’s was that most of these kids were pissed off at the world; they knew the world was upside down and they hated that fact with a passion. And so, the mentality was “fuck the world, let’s party and burn ourselves out while we’re young!” The mentality was also, no job, no money and no plans for the future, a “let the chips fall where they may” stance on life. The angry nature of punk music only fueled the anger and the discontent in the air. I get the punk scene and I understand where the anger comes from, we live in a pretty messed up world, being angry at it seems like a natural reaction. And I love the energy in these shows, I still go to them for this very same reason, I want to see people reacting to the world! At times the whole thing feels cathartic. The mosh pits, the head banging, the beer flying through the air, the screaming; sometimes these shows feel like going to the church of Punk Rock in which the lead singer preaches it like it is and the audience jumps and screams as if the Holy Spirit has possessed them! The way I see it, we need to vent out that anger and frustration, punk rock gives you away to do that because at the heart of punk rock beats with anger and rebellion. The punk scene still exists in Puerto Rico, only not as intensely as I remember it. I guess the Punks grew up, got jobs…they joined the system after all.

And that’s why I enjoyed SLC Punk! so much, it feels genuine. While the film can be seen as a homage to what being a Punk is all about (warts and all) it also criticizes the Punk lifestyle and sees many faults in it. The film goes to great lengths to identify the ‘posers’, the fakes that aren’t really punk, they just want to look cool. It also asks the question, should being angry be the only thing that you do? Or can you do more than that? What I got from the film was that yes, the punk/anarchist lifestyle is directly entwined with the music, because the music, speaks about the frustrations and concerns of the world we live in. In many ways, Punks are awake and conscious about many of the harsh realities of the world we live in, the injustices, this is where the anger stems from, which is something I like about the whole thing, these are characters that don’t like to take things for granted, they question, they fight, they protest. Matthew Lillard’s Steve-O is an angry young dude, who hates his town, hates his parents, but loves his friends, loves to party, he is basically a guy looking for happiness in a very unhappy world. But he’s going through a process. He analyzes everything; he is always being inquisitive, always questioning things. Actually, there’s this cool moment when he states “I am wide awake!” I love how he is constantly questioning himself. Why am I who I am? Where am I in life? How can I bring forth some true change to this world and how can I go about it? I like the fact that Steve-O is an individual who is a punk rocker, an anarchists, but is intelligent enough to question his own beliefs, which is something we should all stop and do at various stages of our lives.

SLC Punk! Functions in the same way that Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (1996) does, it’s the kind of film that’s about a bunch of messed up dudes and dudettes, some do lots of drugs, some are inclined towards violence, some are crazier than others, some are gonna die, some are going to choose life, grow up and change. Because at the end of the day, no matter how punk rock you are, you’re gonna have to face the facts that you have to eat, you have to have a place to live, you have to find some sort of way to give something to society and the only way to do that is to make some money, somehow. Matthew Lillard by the way, turns in a good performance, this is probably the role for which he will be most remembered by, he comes off as likable, and there’s actually a scene where the dude got to me with his performance.  Interesting how the proposed sequel will be called Punk’s Dead. I don’t know if it will ever get made or not, but it would sure be interesting to see where these characters have gone to after all these years. Did they mature? Did they join the system? Did they end up dead in a ditch somewhere? Did they leave Punk rock behind or is it still a part of their lives? James Merendino, the director behind SLC Punk!, mentions that the sequel will have all the previous actors reprising their roles. Merendino says he owes it to the fans of SLC Punk! To do a worthy sequel, I’m looking forward to seeing where Steve-O has ended up in his post punk years.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Streets of Fire (1984)

Title: Streets of Fire (1984)

Director: Walter Hill

Cast: Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Bill Paxton

Review:

Streets of Fire isn’t all that different from director Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979), it’s an alternate world created by the filmmakers, the rules created by the screenwriter, the director and the actors. In The Warriors, Walter Hill mixed fantasy and reality into a world all its own. The first time I saw The Warriors, it struck me as strange because I asked myself, “who the hell dresses up like clown baseball players?” To me, that wasn’t real, gang members wouldn’t be caught dead in that attire, but then I realized, this is an exaggerated representation of reality. It was Walter Hill’s way of addressing his frustrations and thoughts on the whole gang scene that was destroying the lives of young people during the 60’s and 70’s. And so, if we take The Warriors as an exaggeration of reality, a comic book like fantasy world if you will, then it works. You just gotta let yourself go and dive deep into this cinematic world, suspend your disbelief and just go with it. The same can be said of Streets of Fire, it’s a world into itself, the characters and situations depicted here are not meant to be taken as “reality” but a mere exaggeration of it, a Rock and Roll Fable that takes place in “Another Time, Another Place”.

This is a world where cops allow street gangs to fight, a world in which a biker gang can walk into a rock and roll concert, kidnap the lead singer and terrorize concert goers in all sorts of violent ways. And they can get away with it just fine! This is the premise of Streets of Fire, a film in which we have two gangs of young kids that for whatever the reason hate each other. Willem Defoe and his gang of bikers, who all dress like they belonged in The Village People, kidnap Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) right smack in the middle of her concert and it’s up to Tom Cody (Michael Pare) to rescue her from the clutches of Rave Shaddock (Willem Dafoe) and his gang. The plot is that simple, but we need to keep in mind that Streets of Fire is the classic example of style over substance and I mean that in a good way! Streets of Fire is meant to be enjoyed from a purely visceral point of view, the film is clearly aimed to pleasure our senses and our instinct rather than our minds. Not that it’s a stupid movie; it’s just that its emphasis lies in sensory input because it’s a film about passion and violence, and getting things done. This is a film about action, not about talking. The sensory input comes in the form of enhanced colors, and the awesome Rock and Roll soundtrack, speaking of the soundtrack, this is part of the reason why I say that this is a film that creates its own rules because the film seems to take place during the 50’s but some of the music is very 80’s. I mean, some of the songs were written by the great Jim Steinman (from Meatloaf) and what’s more 80’s than his style of operatic rock and roll?

In a way, the whole story behind Streets of Fire reminds me of Homer’s The Iliad, in which a whole war is sparked by the abduction of a woman, Helen of Troy. In Streets of Fire everything starts because Rave Shaddock and his hoodlums abduct Ellen Aim, now that I think about it, Helena sounds a lot like Ellen,  maybe the similarities between Streets of Fire and The Iliad aren’t that far off, it looks to me as if the writers were partially inspired by ancient epic poem. And yeah, there’s some epicness to this film, there’s this really cool seen in which Tom starts shooting with a modified shotgun at all the bikers motorcycles and the motorcycles start blowing up in balls of flames! Awesome scene! The ending is this clash between two gangs, the evil bikers vs. Tom Cody and his friends, and the battle is like a battle between two rock and roll gods, they even battle with freaking metal hammers! I was like what? Metal hammers? Who thought that up?

The cast is excellent, Michael Pare is great as Tom Cody, he's the guy you don’t want to get mixed up with, he’s a loner, a rebel. Ellen the up and coming rock star, is his old flame; he broke up with her because he doesn’t consider himself the kind of guy who would tag along with her carrying her guitars. Nope, he’s too much of a loner for that. He talks very little, broods a lot and wears a trench coat. He’s a war hero that steals cars, fights for the love of his life, fires shotguns, fights with hammers, and rides motorcycles! This is the ultimate tough guy. Like Pee Wee Herman in Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985) or Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Tom Cody is too much of a rebel to get tied down by a relationship. But he doesn’t mind a night of passion! Michael Pare’s career was starting to take off, he was apparently going to be the next big thing in Hollywood, unfortunately he filmed another Rock and Roll themed film called Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and then he went and filmed Streets of Fire and they both tanked at the box office! Yet, the cinematic gods have smiled upon him! This double death at the box office didn’t kill his career completely, he’s continued his career making b-movies and even one or two studio films. And then there's Diane Lane, wow, she really portrayed a girl worth dying for! Every time she was singing on stage, I was transfixed by her persona, totally captivated. Seeing her on this movie is totally worth the price of admission. Rick Moranis is on this film as well, if you can believe it he plays Diane Lane’s agent/fiancée, and some feel he was miscast in the role. I have to admit he does stick out like a sore thumb amongst all the tough guys and gals. Super sexy Diane Lane with a nerdy dude like Moranis? I didn’t buy it, but whatever, it’s a minor flaw in the movie, plus Moranis is always entertaining.

One of the most interesting characters in the film was a girl named McCoy (Amy Madigan) a tomboy who has as much attitude as everyone else on the film. Willem Defoe is a cartoon of a villain, even his facial expressions are exaggerated emotions, he wears this leather bound attire that’s straight of an S&M magazine or something. My only gripe with the film is the motivations for kidnapping Ellen were not fleshed out , Raven Shaddock says that he’s kidnapped her simply to have his way with her for a couple of weeks, and that’s it. Is that enough to warrant an all out destructive war between two factions? Apparently it is. If a woman is good enough to start a war in The Iliad, then I guess it’s good enough of a reason in Streets of Fire as well and like I said earlier, she is to die for in this movie.

When it was released, Streets of Fire failed horribly at the box office. It didn’t manage to make its money back, so the sequels that were planned for Tom Cody were never made, still, when you watch it, look out for that open ending, they kind of hint at the idea of future films. But as it often happens with cool movies that pass unnoticed in theaters, audiences eventually discover them and so the film has garnered its cult following. Streets of Fire was a good Joel Silver production and you can tell a lot of work went into creating this world, which is why I recommend it, it’s a film that deserves to be seen. Walter Hill wanted to make a film that had all the things he considered cool when he was a kid. Cool cars, rock and roll, kisses in the rain, motorcycles, shotguns…basically, it’s an explosion of coolness tinged with a bit of nostalgia coming straight from Walter Hill’s memory banks. Closing statements: I highly recommend this overlooked Rock and Roll Fable; it is a film that aims to remind us what it means to be young and alive, gotta love it for that!       

Rating: 4 out of 5

Rock and Rule (1983)

Title: Rock and Rule (1983)

Director: Clive A. Smith

Review:

You might not have heard of Rock and Rule, the animated post apocalyptic Rock and Roll fantasy, but that’s okay, it’s not your fault, the film got the shaft from MGM during one of those major studio shake ups where a lot of people get fired and some movies get ignored and lost in the shuffle; one of those movies was Rock and Rule. Basically, what happened to Rock and Rule is one of the worst things that can happen to any film: all the work, sweat and tears that went into making it got ignored because another film screwed it up for them. Said film was Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980) one of the most expensive turkeys in the history of cinema. That particular film cost United Artists 44 million dollars; an astronomical amount of money back in those days. The film ended up making little more then 3 million in box office returns. Obviously heads were going to roll over at United Artists. By the time it was all said and done, MGM bought United Artists (which almost went bankrupt over the whole Heaven’s Gate fiasco) and MGM ended acquiring all of United Artists films. Problem was that MGM was not enthusiastic about Rock and Rule, therefore the proper promotional push needed for a film to take off was not given.

A similar situation happened to Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988); an amazing film, but in the middle of a studio shuffle (this time it was Columbia Pictures) the film lost the people that championed it, the ones that cared. The way things work in Hollywood is that when new studio executives come in, they don’t want to market the films that the previous studio executives were producing and so, though Gilliam’s Adventures of Baron Munchausen was an epic fantasy film with some amazing images and effects….the film ultimately got the shaft from the new guys at the studio. As a result, the film tanked at the box office. Not because it wasn’t any good, but because when a studio gives a movie the shaft, it doesn’t get the proper merchandising, and when a film doesn’t get that needed promotional push to get into audiences psyches…well, then the movie tanks because the movie doesn’t exist in the publics’ consciousness. They don’t know about it, because the studio didn’t make sure the public knew; this is what happened to Rock and Rule.

Now I’m not saying Rock and Rule is the best animated film in the universe, or that it’s even any good, I’m just saying it never got the chance to find its audience. What kind of film are we talking about anyways? Well, Rock and Rule is one of these old school animated films. The kind that was painstakingly hand made, without the use of digital anything. This thing was done frame by frame by the efforts and passion of a talented group of animators. Some reports say that over 300 animators worked on the film. The animation studio that produced Rock and Rule was a Canadian one known as Nelvana; they were they guys responsible for doing that animated segment in the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), the one were Boba Fett makes his first appearance. So anyhows, this little animation studio wanted to make it big, so they decide after producing various half hour animated shows for television, that they would make their first full length animated feature film. These guys even turned down Ivan Reitman, who asked them to produce Heavy Metal (1981) for him; I mean these guys were obviously really driven, they really wanted to make their own thing, and that they did.

Rock and Rule tells the story of a rock band that’s trying to make it. Omar, the lead singer, is having a hard time accepting the fact that Angel, the bass player can sing as well, maybe even better than he can. Together they play in a rock and roll bar called Mylar. At the same time, the biggest Rock and Roll god on the planet, a guy by the name of Mok; is looking for a way to open up a portal to another dimension (presumably hell) so he can bring forth a demon (presumably the devil himself) so he can take over the world, or something like that, it’s never really quite clear. Mok’s computers tell him that the only way to open up the portal is by using something called ‘The Armageddon Key’; said key can only be used when certain musical cords are sang by “a very special voice”; that voice is the voice of Angel. So he goes about trying to convince her to sing for him. Will she accept his offer or will Mok have to end up using other methods to persuade her?

Rock and Rule started out as a children’s film in the mind of the guys at Nelvana; they were going to call it ‘Drats!’ But as time went by, the project evolved. It got darker and darker, until it became adult oriented and finally ended up being what it is: a post apocalyptic rock and roll sci-fi. This film is often times compared to Heavy Metal (1980) and for good reason; same as Heavy Metal, it mixes the worlds of science fiction and Rock and Roll. They also share the fact that they are animated films made for adults. Both films include foul language, drug use and nudity, both films have trippy visuals. This is probably what made it a hard sell for the guys at MGM. It got what I like to call the ‘assured death formula’ for any film: it was too kiddy for adults, and too adult for the kiddies. Topple that with the fact that Americans were having a difficult time accepting that animated films could be made for adults, and voila! You got yourselves a turkey. The film cost 8 million dollars, yet recuperated little more than 39 thousand at the box office. Ouch!

But that doesn’t mean this is a bad film. Same as HeavyMetal, it’s not the best animated film ever made, but it certainly wasn’t the worst either. Rock and Rule has some cool ideas going for it. For example, the soundtrack for the film was produced by artists such as Debbie Harris (strange, she’s playing on my I-pod right now as I type this…), Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Earth Wind & Fire and Lou Reed. It also has a cool sci-fi angle to it, we get flying cars, and Blade Runner like city landscapes. We get a strong female protagonist in the form of Angel, the girl with the ethereal voice. The best thing about the film though is MOK, the villain; a mix between Mick Jagger and David Bowie, but certainly more Bowie than Jagger. The only problem I had with the film is that it sometimes didn’t transmit some of its ideas in the best way possible. I guess the animation was too crude, or didn’t really show us what we needed to see in order to understand the ideas. For example, the opening scroll tells us that this is supposed to be a post apocalyptic world, yet we have cities and flying cars? Nothing terribly post apocalyptic about it. Mok wants to bring a demon from another dimension, but it’s never really stated why he wants to do so. What’s his purpose? As a viewer, you have to kind of fill in the blanks, which tells you that the film needed some work storytelling wise.

Still, there are times when the film dazzles and shines. What we need to keep in mind is that this film was made in a time when computer animation was in diapers, in fact, computer animation is used sparingly on this film; 90% of the film is hand drawn frame by frame. We need to remember what a painstakingly difficult process this was back in those days! This was a film that started production in ’79 and was finally released in ’83! That’s about four years of production! To animate one of the characters they used real brains! The animation gets really psychedelic and trippy at times, so I guess, visually, the film does have its strengths. But at the end of the day it’s a mixed bag. It might have some cool visuals, but storytelling wise, script wise, it needed work. This is something that the animators themselves acknowledge when they say that they didn’t really have a script to work with. They had a “pool of ideas” but not a script; hence, the uneven, underdeveloped nature of the plot and characters. Across the years, Rock and Rule has garnered cult status, and in my opinion  the film  is a curiosity in the world of American animation. It can proudly stand next to films such as Heavy Metal (1981), American Pop (1981), Wizards (1977) and other American animated films that were trying to break the mold, trying to present themselves as something more than just for kids; and as such, this one succeeds

Rating: 3 out of 5      

Purple Rain (1984)

Title: Purple Rain (1984)

Director: Albert Magnoli

Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Clarence Williams III

Purple Rain is one of those movies that completely captures what it was like to live in the 80’s. I lived in the big apple during the time this film was made and watching it brought back so many memories about the over all experience of living during 1984, a day and age in which people break danced on the streets and break dancing battles erupted during lunch time amongst students. This was also the time when Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper and Prince’s careers were starting to really take of. Purple Rain came during those years in Prince’s career when fame was beginning to engulf him. The film was a brilliant career move  for Prince because it mixed the selling of box office tickets with the selling of the films soundtrack, which of course made Prince’s career and assured him as a main stay in popular culture. Plus, he’s just so damn eccentric! How could he be ignored? The dude was born to be on stage. I loved every second of this Rock and Roll film! When it was first released, I was just a kid; a pre-teen, what the hell did I know about Prince and how awesome this movie was? All I knew about Prince back in those days was how much I kept hearing “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” over the radio, and that I liked these songs. Little did I know that this awesome movie was attached to them!

Purple Rain is all about a character called ‘The Kid’. He has a band called ‘The Revolution’ and they are currently pretty popular in this music club they play in called First Avenue and 7^th Street Entry, which by the way is a real life music club in Minneapolis. According to the manager the club is the hottest place in town to play if you want to start your career. The Kid is enjoying his trip to popularity, but he soon confronts a couple of problems on his way to stardom. Number one, there is a competing act called ‘The Time’ that is trying to muscle ‘The Kid’ and his band ‘The Revolution’ out of the stage. At the same time, there’s a new girl on the block called Apollonia who’s looking for fame and fortune and everything that goes with it. She wants to get her career started, and this club looks like it’s the place to do it. Apollonia is immediately attracted to ‘The Kid’ whom she sees performing up on stage, doing his thing. But Morris, the lead singer for ‘The Time’ thinks this new chick is hot too, so he offers her a position as lead dancer on his band. In the midst of this love triangle, ‘The Kid’ is trying to stay focused on his craft because you know, the dude wants to really make it. Will his ego get in the way? Will Apollonia end up with Morris Day or with Prince?

So first off, this is a rock and roll movie through and through. These are films that examine the Rock and Roll lifestyle from every angle, they glorify it, demonize it, explore it, make fun of it, the whole shebang. Good examples of films of this nature are Almost Famous (200), Still Crazy (1998), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2005), The Doors (1991), Sid and Nancy (1986) and Light of Day (1987) with Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox. These are films about characters that live and breathe Rock and Roll, and die by it as well. They’d give anything for it. In Purple Rain ‘The Kid’ as portrayed by Prince himself is the epitome of a rock star. He is self centered, focused on his career and kind of a pompous prick. But when he gets up on stage, there’s no doubt he is the best at what he does.

An interesting element about Purple Rain is that the whole film is sprinkled with songs from the album. Actually, let me make this clear, this film IS the album. The songs tell the story. During various points in the film, it’s all about The Kid getting up on stage and performing a song. If I’m correct, every single song of the album was played in the film. I don’t know if I should consider this a unique film because of this or if it was just a slick marketing move. It’s probably a mix of both cause I actually enjoyed hearing these songs I’ve heard hundreds of times before through out the whole film. I thought it was cool how the songs actually help to tell the story. It is also a romantic film, Prince falls for Apollonia, but so does Morris Day, so there’s this battle over Apollonia’s affections, yet we all know who’s going to win it right? This reminds me, Purple Rain is sprinkled with lots of sensuality, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows a thing or two about Prince. How sexy is this film? Well, when Purple Rain was first submitted to the MPAA, they gave it an X rating for a sex scene between The Kid and Apollonia, which is quite understandable. I mean, as it is, that sex scene is steamy enough already! So they trimmed it down and got an R. There’s another sex scene that was considered way to over the top which never saw the light of day.  Another element that distinguishes the film is the comedy. Morris Day is one of the funniest things about the movie. Actually many of the characters in the film all have a great sense of humor to them. They had me laughing out loud, this is a very lively film. But the film isn’t all happiness, The Kid has an abusive father who beats him and his mother. At the same time, some of The Kid’s band members hate him because he doesn’t want to hear their ideas for new songs. He only cares about his own music. Will he ever learn to collaborate creatively with others?

This movie was a smashing success for everyone involved. In fact, it was a triple edged success for Prince because at the time he had the #1 film, #1 single and #1 album in the nation, a feat never achieved before by anyone! The film made 80 million at the box office, which I guess was a lot for a film like this one back in those days. Prince actually won an Oscar for the music to the film. And while we are on the subject of film and Prince, Prince has tried his hand in filmmaking more than once! He didn’t direct Purple Rain, but I think it was a stroke of genius to pare the film with the album. This was a formula that Prince tried again and again through out his career. For example he mixed mediums again in one of his world tours where he would sell the ticket to the concert with a copy of his new album included in the price of admission, in this way ensuring that both his tour and his new album were successes! He tried duplicating the album/movie formula with a film called Sign of the Times (1987), unfortunately it didn’t work as well, the concert film flopped only to find some popularity when it was released on VHS. He tried the album/movie formula yet again with a film called Graffiti Bridge (1990), sadly, another flop, which surprised many considering that it was a direct sequel to Purple Rain. Even with this to it’s advantage, the film flopped. I guess it was too little too late, the times had changed. The truth is that outside of Purple Rain, Prince’s films have always flopped or received Razzies. Even when he is paying homage to Federico Fellini he does badly. His homage to 81/2 called Under the Cherry Moon (1986) was panned by critics, because audiences where expecting a sequel to Purple Rain and what they got was a black and white movie about two guys trying to swindle a rich girl out of her 50 million trust account. But forget all about Prince’s other cinematic experiments, Purple Rain is solid entertainment and well worth the watch, this is a time capsule of a movie that will send you directly back to 1984 without the need of a DeLorean!

Rating: 4 out of 5