COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970) – Episode 221 – Decades of Horror 1970s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
Release Date: 08/14/2024
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
Mexican wrestling, vampires, and the iconic , El Enmascarado de Plata, are the topic for this episode. Jeff has selected , just one of the 50+ Santo movies. While this series may be a niche within a niche, this film is campy fun with excellent cinematography and a whole coven of vampires for Santo to battle. Seriously, it is a blast. And, if you have never experienced a Santo movie SANTO VS THE VAMPIRE WOMEN is the perfect entry point into the iconic legend of Santo and the three decades of films in which he appeared. Give it a shot, you will be entertained. SANTO VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN (1962,...
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he Grue-Crew steps into the theater for STAGEFRIGHT (1987, Deliria), directed by Michele Soavi (The Church, The Sect, Cemetery Man). Part Friday the 13th, part Argento Giallo, all Slasher, Stagefright features an escaped madman donning the Owl Man costume from a stage play to slash and slay the entire cast and crew. What fun! The cinematography looks amazing, the gore is brilliantly executed, and the cast is better than anticipated. The Grue-Crew discuss the cast, the first-time director’s path, and the death count. Do not miss this one. STAGEFRIGHT (1987) Episode 320 – Decades of Horror...
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The Grue-Crew (Jeff, Gregory, and Bill) gather to discuss Mario Bava's film RABID DOGS (1974, CANI ARRABBIATI). The movie, filmed under its original title "L'uomo e il bambino", was shelved before it was finished when the financers died leaving it buried under bankruptcy for decades. From there, its strange road to a DVD release and a subsequent reedit by Bava's son Lamberto Bava continued. Bill, being a massive Bava fan, leads Jeff and Gregory to discuss this strange inclusion in a master director's filmography. Enjoy! RABID DOGS (1974, CANI ARRABBIATI) Episode 277 - Decades of Horror 1970s...
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I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN (1957) is B-Movie gold, perfect for 1950s drive-in nonsense. The Grue-Crew discuss the film's goofy yet gory monster, the mastery of tempered scene chewing that is Whit Bissell, and the extreme lack of teenagers in this teenage monster movie. Is it a good movie? Nah, not really. But that doesn't mean it isn't a brilliantly fun movie of its time. There's plenty to enjoy. And, as Bill noted, somehow when viewing I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN now, it is both better and worse than remembered. Check this review out and enjoy. I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN (1957) Episode...
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For episode 276, Bill picks the early '70s ABC Movie of the Week, THE CAT CREATURE (1973). The TV Horror Movie is directed by Curtis Harrington and features Meredith Baxter, David Hedison, Gale Sondergaard, John Caradine, Stuart Whitman, Keye Luke, and Kent Smith. Written by Robert Bloch, the plot involves a stolen amulet removed from an Egyptian mummy, a deadly black cat, and 40s horror movie homages. What will the Grue-Crew think of this 1970s supernatural throwback? Ah! Check out the podcast to find out. Enjoy! THE CAT CREATURE (1973) Episode 276 - Decades of Horror 1970s Quote: "One thing...
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The Grue-Crew go mythical to revisit and review JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) battling bronze giants, harrowing harpies, a horrifying hydra, and an army of skeletons. He who loves all things stop-motion, Bill Mulligan, steps up with his selection and results are amazing. The film still delivers awe and action all these years later and Ray Harryhausen’s mastery is in top form. As you can imagine, the discussion goes extra long diving into the cast of characters, the creatures, the stop-motion, and Greek legend. Join us for this episode, it is worth every minute. Thank you, Bill, great...
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For this episode of DOH80s, Doc has chosen THE LAST SHARK (1981, L’ultimo squalo) which is also known as GREAT WHITE and THE LAST JAWS. Yeah, if the last name there makes you wonder how Universal let that slide. Well, they didn’t! This is one of the most notorious accounts of cinematic plagiarism in film history. Universal Studios did sue and won which resulted in THE LAST SHARK being immediately removed from theaters and becoming unavailable in the States for decades. Is the film any good? Hell no, it’s a mess. However, it is so bad it’s good. James Franciscus and Vic Morrow lead the...
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The Grue-Crew head to France (actually Spain) to meet up with Waldemar Daninsky and Countess Wandesa to revisit THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (1971, La Noche de Walpurgis). After decades of watching this classic Spanish wolfman film, seeing the restored 4k version is a revelation. Sure, it's a B-Movie, but it's a fantastic B-Movie. Now it is easy to see why this is Paul Naschy's most successful film, it clearly deserves that honor. If you've never seen THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, seek out a 4K version or a streaming version of it online, stay away from the graining, overly dark...
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The Grue-Crew follow H.G. Wells and THING TO COME (1936) 90 years into the past to predict 10 years into the future. This film is fully politically charged but incredibly fascinating. While it slogs from time to time compared to modern films, it manages to deliver as a movie by the end. The film spans over four distinct dates: 1940, 1966, 1970, and 2036 encompassing a decades long war and the reformation of civilization afterwards. The main character that we follow is John Cabal as he goes from a cynical visionary to a liberator from the skies as part of the Wings Over the World; for the 2036...
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The Decades of Horror Grue Crews stick with the folk horror subgenre and bring in Scott Wells to help explain some of the details. This time, the film is A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987), from Hong Kong producer Tsui Hark and director Siu-Tung Ching. The great Leslie Cheung and Joey Wang create the chemistry necessary to believe this “ghost meets innocent, naive tax collector” love story. Of course, they need the help of Wu Ma’s Monk/Swordsman to overcome the hold the Old Dame has over the two lovebirds. Much wire-work, special makeup effects, stop-motion animation, and mystical shenanigans...
info_outline“This is the voice of World Control. I bring you peace. It may be the Peace of Plenty and Content or the Peace of Unburied Death.” Is that a multiple-choice question? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they check out some apocalyptic science fiction and horror with Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)!
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 221 – Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
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Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.
- Directed by: Joseph Sargent
- Writing Credits: James Bridges (screenplay); D.F. Jones (based on his 1966 novel Colossus)
- Cinematography by: Gene Polito (director of photography)
- Visual Effects by: Albert Whitlock (special photographic effects)
- Selected Cast:
- Eric Braeden as Dr. Charles Forbin
- Susan Clark as Dr. Cleo Markham
- Gordon Pinsent as The President
- William Schallert as CIA Director Grauber
- Leonid Rostoff as Russian Chairman
- Georg Stanford Brown as Dr. John F. Fisher
- Willard Sage as Dr. Blake
- Alex Rodine as Dr. Kuprin
- Martin E. Brooks as Dr. Jefferson J. Johnson (as Martin Brooks)
- Marion Ross as Angela Fields
- Dolph Sweet as Missile Commander
- Byron Morrow as Secretary of State
- Lew Brown as Peterson
- Sid McCoy as Secretary of Defense
- Tom Basham as Thomas L. Harrison
- Robert Cornthwaite as First Scientist
- James Hong as Dr. Chin
- Serge Tschernisch as Translator (as Sergei Tschernisch)
- John Davey as Military officer on phone (uncredited)
- Paul Frees as Colossus (voice) (uncredited)
- Fred Holliday as Military Computer Entry – Missile Launch (uncredited)
- Robert Quarry as Scientist (uncredited)
- Don Ross as Logan US Air Force (uncredited)
- William Traylor as Party Guest (uncredited)
Given the current state of humankind, it makes perfect sense to turn planet management over to a supercomputer, right? Enter Charles Forbin and Colossus, his mountain-size, 70s-style, omnipotent computer. Of course, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy!” (Robert Burns) And they “gang agley” in a hurry!
The Grue-Crew are agog at the cast – Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, and a mountain-full of recognizable character actors, many of whom have horror cred – so there is much fodder for their talkabout! By the way, is it still science fiction if it’s happening today?
At the time of this writing, Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) is available to stream from Vimeo, and is available on Blu-ray formatted, physical media from SHOUT! Factory.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Doc, will be Nightwing (1979), adapted from the 1977 novel by Martin Cruz Smith. Vampire bats, fellow babies!
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