Saturday Music pour les Petit Boudins

A little French retro music from the 1960s is on slate for this weekend. THE FUTURIST! likes the look of this music video. He likes the white open set with the figures parading in and gyrating to the beat in their skirts and their bobbing hair. Oh, so happy and bouncy. And what about that 60s leisure suit garb on the singer! He seems very cool. And the title? Oh, according to a French speaking friend of THE FUTURIST!, a "bourdin" is French slang for a not so pretty girl who is never asked to dance at a party. Really? Who cares! Dance, Girls! DANCE!!

LES PETIT BOUDINS

performed by Dominique Walter

Crime Stopping from Japan and Seagal

Wow. Doesn't this shot
of Joe Shishido and partner from
A COLT IS MY PASSPORT look really good?
(kind of like the poster for Hickey & Boggs -1972)

and

Doesn't this look so bad ...
that it's going to be really good?
(This is going to be a REAL show. No joke)

Woody and Hope

A rare find! Recently unearthed while cleaning out The Seussonoras Time Tunnel Garage (patent pending) ... THE FUTURIST! presents to you The Tonight Show from 1971 with guest host Woody Allen. This was interesting to watch since the main guest was a comedy inspiration for Woody ... namely Bob Hope. Woody attributes most of his earlier film characters' attitudes and comic delivery as being influenced by Hope's style. If you have the time and patience, watch these selections. You'll get to see Woody laugh quite a bit (a rarity), question one of his comedy idols, conduct an interview with a somewhat annoying James Coco, and do commercial lead-ins for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Reynolds Aluminum Wrap.

THE FUTURIST! Asks ...

What if Hitler's hopes were dashed regarding James Cameron's upcoming

AVATAR film and he were able to express his disappointment to his closest aides?

See You Next Wednesday!

Mel Brooks' THE CRITIC (1963)

* 1963 Best Animated Short Subject Academy Award Winner

Bad Movies that Can Be Loved

On August 16th The Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles showed a reported pristine print of a film that was reviled by critics in 1973. The film is Lost Horizon, a musical version of the James Hilton novel that was filmed once before in 1937 by Frank Capra, but at that time, it was done as a straight drama. Hollywood producer Ross Hunter had the grand idea of taking the story and adding an entire musical score to sing and dance to ... and he chose actors who were not known to sing and/or dance. Peter Finch, Liv Ullman, George Kennedy, Michael York, John Gielgud and Sally Kellerman were the principal actors and the sole song and dance veteran was Bobby Van (featured once in an earlier post). Mr. Hunter wanted a lush romantic Broadway type of score, but the studio was wary due to the fact that the musical motion picture was nearing extinction and would cost a fortune to mount a production. The studio suggested that the score be hipper and more pop-ish to entice a new audience. They selected Burt Bacharach and Hal David to write the score. The movie did cost a fortune and was highly anticipated ... and then it crashed and burst into flames much like the plane that strands the passengers in the Tibetan mountains outside of Shangri-La in the original story.

Below you will find a video that an audience member took during the August 16th showing at The Egyptian. The section of the film shown is of Olivia Hussey and Sally Kellerman each expressing their desire to lead the other's life. Olivia wishing to live in the modern outside world and Sally wanting to stay in Shangri-La. The song is The List of the Things I Will Not Miss. You will see evidence of the production's mis-steps in casting and odd choreography. Keep your eyes peeled for the clumsy footwork, the cute point of view to audience head shots that were quaint in old MGM musicals, and the climb up the library shelf ladder.

What THE FUTURIST! loves about this video is the laughter and joy exuded by the theater audience. They are reveling in the pure unintended camp of the film. THE FUTURIST! read that the film was enjoyed thoroughly by the packed audience and was applauded at its finale. Interesting. They loved this failed film. And truth be told THE FUTURIST! has heard the soundtrack and doesn't think all the music is that bad ... but the voices singing? ouch (!) .... oh, if only THE FUTURIST! could have been there with friends to see this! A Burt Bacharach oddity on that massive screen with all that audience mojo going on! Movies can provide strange magic for the soul. That's what THE FUTURIST! calls Shangri-La!