PATTERNS: FORGOTTEN SERLING

For most of us the name Rod Serling brings images to mind of him hosting either THE TWILIGHT ZONE or NIGHT GALLERY. He stepped forward at the beginning of each series to introduce us to various tales of mystery and macabre each week. And while those two series will forever be connected to his name Serling also wrote much more that many of us either forgot or weren’t even aware of.

Serling wrote for numerous anthology drama series. He wrote the screenplay for SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, ASSAULT ON A QUEEN and THE PLANET OF THE APES. Surprised yet? He made a name for himself on many of those early dramatic TV series and from those gained enough support to do the shows he was famous for. But what about those early shows or films?

PATTERNS was one such story written by Serling. Done in 1955 for Kraft Television Theater the screenplay (which won him an Emmy) was then adapted for film to play in theaters. It now arrives on blu-ray from The Film Detective, a company determined to offer classic fare on blu-ray given the star treatment for reasonable prices.

The story itself is about Fred Staples (Van Heflin), a businessman from Ohio who has been tapped to work in the home office of New York City by the head of his company Mr. Ramsey (Everett Sloane). Moving into a fully furnished house with his wife Nancy (Beatrice Straight) and then arriving at the headquarters to find a plush office awaiting him it is easy to see Fred being swept up in all that is going on.

But there is something going on behind the scenes as well. Fred’s direct supervisor is Bill Briggs (Ed Begley), the last remaining board member there since the company was founded by Ramsey’s father. In ill health Briggs has just recently returned and anxious to get back to work. He finds a friend in Fred and as his mentor the two work to promote some changes in the company. What neither counted on was the fact that Ramsey brought Fred in not to aid Bill but to replace him.

Bill and Ramsey rarely see eye to eye. Briggs is also a lone voice when it comes to arguing things being considered by Ramsey. It seems the son is not the man his father was, more intent on creating a conglomerate by buying smaller companies than by actually owning companies that build and provide for workers. No this is not an propaganda piece when it comes to that part of the story but does show that companies need to rely on their employees as much as the business end of things.

As the weeks go by things begin to become more apparent to Fred and he’s uncomfortable with that fact. He likes Bill and considers him a friend. He starts to see what Ramsey is really like. And an eventual showdown between Fred and Ramsey is inevitable. How that comes to take place, the sad state of affairs that leads to it, helps to build the story to a crescendo.

All that being said the movie does offer a solid drama but at the same time moves like what it was, a teleplay that was turned into a feature film. The pacing is slow and the characters are placed on display with little chance to develop them, instead letting us get used to who they are by their actions and deeds and less by the subtle nuances that most films allow. This is not to say it’s a bad movie but know this going in and it will be more enjoyable.

If you love classic television, even though this is a feature film, you’ll enjoy this one. If you’re a fan of Rod Serling you’ll want to make sure this is a part of your collection. As with previous releases from The Film Detective they provide a quality transfer of the film that I’m sure has never been seen this well prior. For that alone, and for the sake of history, it’s good to see PATTERNS arrive this way.

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THE TUBES-LIVE AT GERMAN TELEVISION: THE MUSIKLADEN CONCERT 1981: A MUST FOR TUBES FANS

I always liked The Tubes. As a gift for my 18^th birthday my then girlfriend/now wife decided to let me choose 3 albums for a gift. I decided on three albums by people I’d never heard up to that point in time. One was SIREN by Roxy Music, the next BORN TO RUN by Bruce Springsteen and the third was the debut album by The Tubes. Odd to look back now and consider that all three were critical darlings but never had a hit at the time. So to say I’ve been listening to the Tubes since they began is not just a catch phrase but the truth.

The band had its ups and downs over the years but in 1981, after releasing 5 albums that didn’t sell well, they finally hit it big it big with the album THE COMPLETION BACKWARD PRINCIPLE. The album produced their first hit single with “Talk to Ya Later” and they began making appearances on shows like SCTV. The thing about the band was that their claim to fame lay in their live shows, much talked about stage performances where any and everything could happen. This new release captures some of that.

The show Musikladen in Germany featured numerous bands at the time and The Tubes was one of those. This DVD captures their entire performance on that program in concert format, complete with dancing girls and the off color antics of lead singer Fee Waybil, antics that by today’s standards aren’t quite so alarming.

With the exception of the earlier mentioned single from the album most won’t recognize the songs being performed here. But that’s the thing about The Tubes. While their music was well written, well performed and contained some witty lyrics it wasn’t the songs so much as those live performances that gained them notoriety. That one of these shows is actually captured and available on DVD is something fans should be thrilled with.

That being said there is a down side to this as well. The technology at the time was severely lacking when it came to concert films. Even the most spectacular and popular bands at the time weren’t being recorded live with the best of equipment. Because of that there are moment while watching this DVD that you’ll wonder if it’s a disc playing or if someone broke out the old VHS player to show this concert to you. Yes the transfer is good but the source material was lacking.

But that’s the only bad thing to say about this. As a fan of the group I enjoyed being able to see them live for the first time other than snippets of them on various TV shows. I was glad that a record of their performance was now available. Songs like “Mr. Hate” and “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” are able to be enjoyed in a live version along with other great songs.

If you love The Tubes this will be a must have for your collection. If you’re not familiar with them listen to a CD and then pick this up rather than dive straight into the live area. To do so might scare you off. Then again who would ever have thought Alice Cooper would be considered tame and mainstream. For something just a tad different, enjoy The Tubes and get a glimpse of this concert.

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FRANCESCA: A TRIBUTE TO GIALLO

When this film arrived at my doorstep I was pleased while looking at the box and artwork. In recent months I’d begun to be exposed to more giallo films than ever and have begun enjoying an appreciation of them which I hadn’t in the past, for the most part because of having less access to them. To think I’d now be exposed to another made me happy. I became a tad leery when I learned it was not one of the original films but a tribute of sorts to the genre. But I plunged in headfirst anyway with some hope. Unfortunately the movie didn’t live up to my hopes and expectations.

The film opens with a strange sequence involving a mother taking care of an infant and a young girl who seems to be enjoying stabbing a dead bird. Within moment we see her stabbing into the same stroller the mother was rocking and hear her mother scream. Fast forward to 15 years later.

It’s been that long since the disappearance of Francesca, the young daughter of poet/dramatist Vittorio Visconti. Stabbed by her abductor he is now unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair. Visconti lives with his invalid wife who remains in a seemingly state of shock ever since the kidnapping of their daughter. Other than help they live alone.

When a series of murders in the area begins the police are baffled. Notes left at the scenes of the crime leave no clues with the exception that they are lines derived from Dante’s INFERNO. Visconti was a scholar on Dante and the two police detectives turn to him for assistance in deciphering just what that murderer could be trying to tell them with these notes.

All of the trademarks from the classic giallo are there. The gloved hands of the killer. The viewpoint of the murders as seen through the killers eyes. The police investigating the murders. And yet the movie feels hollow about best and a poor substitute at worst.

Part of this is the decision of writer/director Luciano Onetti to turn this from a standard giallo into a combination of homage and experimental film. Sequences that make no sense are tossed in throughout. Characters that I either forgot or didn’t recall suddenly have important roles towards the end. Clue that should have led us as viewers to a rational solving of the puzzle actually lead us nowhere down blind paths that have nothing to do with a solution or that offer clues that aren’t based in reality.

The cinematography for the film felt truly lacking to me. Most of it had a strange use of color giving almost everything a blue tinge. The sharpness was also so intense that everything from beard hairs to skin pores felt like they stood out enough to take away concentration from the story itself. The gore effects were some of the worst I’ve seen in what should have been a prestige styled film with blood looking more like thinned out jelly.

The acting, even though I understand it was done with a foreign cast, never felt believable to me and it wasn’t due to something lost in translation. I’ve seen far too many foreign films to think that this was the best there was/is to offer from actors in other countries. The death scene of one victim by steam iron strangulation has to be one of the worst death scenes ever filmed and completely unbelievable. The faceless killer felt as unthreatening as possible.

Unearthed Films has a lot of faith in this release. The box art is stunning and great to look at bringing back fond memories of the classic giallo films. It contains not just the blu-ray version of the film but standard DVD as well. It also offers a CD of the film’s soundtrack as well, sounding much like the classic Goblin scores from earlier giallo films. A flyer is included inside the box and extras on the disc include a behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, an interview with director Luciano Onetti and his producer/brother Nicolas and an Unearthed Trailer reel.

I’ve read some reviews that have praised this film. Sorry to say I am not one of those. I call it as I see it. I’m anxious to return to viewing the actual giallo films of the past and remain hopeful that the genre will see a rise in new movies that follow the same patterns they established. This one is filled far too much with its own agenda as opposed to being a tribute for my taste. Some may find this new take refreshing but unfortunately I’m not one.

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