Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - Evil masks ravage in Wallace's under-appreciated horror

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Eeriness abounds on this poster for Tommy Lee Wallace's Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Evil Halloween masks threaten national security, and only one cop is on the right track!

 

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is written and directed by debuting Tommy Lee Wallace (Baywatch (1989, TV-series)), with John Carpenter (Escape from L.A. (1996)) and Nigel Kneale (Quatermass 2 (1957)) contributing uncredited writing. It is the third entry in the Halloween franchise (1978-) and the only entry not featuring slasher boogeyman Michael Myers.

Tom Atkins (Masquerade (1983, TV-series)) is good as the protagonist cop. Though Myers is entirely absent, and the story has no connection to preceding or later Halloween movies, the feeling of dread is clear and present in Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is an effective, infernal b-movie horror of its very own ilk.

 

Related posts:

 

Halloween franchise: Halloween (2007) - Zombie's remake is a bloody stinker  

Halloween H20/Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) - Myers spreads fresh terror in Miner's fine sequel 

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) - Myers returns for dull slasher 

Halloween (1978) - Carpenter's haunting slasher classic

 

Watch a VHS trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2.5 mil. $

Box office: 14.4 mil. $ (North America only)

= Some uncertainty - but at least a huge hit (returned 5.76 times its cost in North America alone)

[Halloween III: Season of the Witch was released 22 October (North America, Turkey) and runs 98 minutes. The original Halloween's writers Carpenter and Debra Hill envisioned Season of the Witch as the first film to turn Halloween into an annual anthology horror franchise, each with a wholly fresh plot and characters. Kneale had his name removed from the credits, because executive producer Dino de Laurentiis insisted that more gore be added to the script. Joe Dante dropped out of directing shortly before production to work on his segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), and Wallace was consequently hired. Shooting took place from April 1982 - ? in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release First Blood, to a 6.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#2) and grossed 14.4 mil. $. Regrettably the film's international gross numbers are not made public. It is the lowest-grossing in the Halloween franchise, and this fact turned the filmmakers and studio heads to the opinion that all future Halloween movies must center on slayer Michael Myers. Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches under this one. Wallace returned with The Twilight Zone (1985-86), Max Headroom (1987, TV-series) and theatrically with Aloha Summer (1988). Atkins returned in 6 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in The New Kids (1985). Halloween III: Season of the Witch is rotten at 41 % with a 4.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Halloween III: Season of the Witch? 

Gandhi (1982) - Kingsley illuminates hearts and minds in Attenborough's humanistic biopic

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Unusually many people flock on this poster for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi around the titular character, whom it thoroughly touts

Mahatma Gandhi's life was remarkable, for he was a remarkable man: From the formative rebellion in British-controlled South Africa to his non-violent insistence upon independence for his country India, he was a key figure in 20th century history.

Gandhi is written by John Briley (Enigma (1982)) and directed by British master filmmaker Richard Attenborough (Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)), whose 5th feature it is. Mahatma was an honorific name given to Gandhi in 1914 in South Africa, a Sanskrit word that means 'great-souled' and 'venerable'.
Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast (2000)), who is partly of Indian heritage, gives a masterly performance as the diminutive Indian, who more than once in his life turns to fasting and sticks with it to the point where he nearly dies to remind his fellow man of his wisdom that "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind", - and other such valuable lessons. The principled strength and brilliant logic of Gandhi's humanism inevitably touches most audiences deeply, and Attenborough's vast epic thereby becomes an unmissable film as a cinematic study in the best of humanity.

Related post:

Richard Attenborough:  Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

A Bridge Too Far (1977) or, Epic Shit Hits the Fan

Watch a 6-minute trailer for the film here

Cost: 22 mil. $
Box office: 127.7 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 5.80 times its cost)
[Gandhi premiered 30 November (New Delhi, India) and runs 191 minutes. Attenborough was contacted by an Indian-born civil servant and devout Gandhi follower in 1962, who persuaded him to pursue a film of the man's life. 18 years passed before it came to fruition: India's prime minister Indira Gandhi was by the late 1970s persuaded to put up the first 10 mil. $ of the film's budget from the country's National Film Development Corporation of India fund. Shooting took place in the UK, including London, and in India, including Delhi, from November 1980 - May 1981. SPOILER More than 300,000 extras were used in the funeral scene, setting a new Guinness World Record. The film opened #14 to a 131k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #2 (on President's Day weekend), spending a total of 11 weeks in the top 5, grossing 52.7 mil. $ (41.3 % of the total gross). It was the year's 3rd highest-grossing film outside of North America, the highest-grossing film of the year in the UK and one of the highest-grossing imported films in India ever, adjusted for inflation. It was shown tax-free in Mumbai and Delhi. Goldcrest Films made a profit of 6.3 mil. £ on their participation in the film. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning 8: For Best Picture, Actor (Kingsley), Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography (Billy Williams and Ronnie Taylor), Art-Set Direction, Costumes and Editing. It lost Best Makeup to Quest for Fire, Score (Ravi Shankar and George Fenton) to John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Sound to also to E.T.. It also won 5 Golden Globes, 5/16 BAFTA nominations, 3 David di Donatello awards, was nominated for a Grammy, won 3 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The film has been criticized for idolizing Gandhi and leaving out his less flattering sides and development as a person. Attenborough returned with A Chorus Line (1985). Kingsley returned in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982, TV movie) and theatrically in Betrayal (1983). Gandhi is certified fresh at 85 % with an 8.15/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gandhi?

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - Heckerling's popular high school portrayal debut

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Rebellious, perky fun is promised on this bright and youthful poster for Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High

We follow a girl, who loses her virginity, and the boys around her for a period in and around Ridgemont High School, - and not least the nearby mall.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is written by Cameron Crowe (Roadies (2016, TV-series)), based on his own same-titled 1981 book, which in turn was based on undercover work done at a San Diego high school, and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker Amy Heckerling (Clueless (1995)), whose debut it is.
It is a charming and enjoyable youth picture with Sean Penn (This Must Be the Place (2011)) as what must be the ultimate California surfer dude character, Jeff Spicoli. Watching the film, Penn's authenticity as Spicoli almost makes it hard to grasp that he wasn't actually this character in real life.
A lot has changed in and around high school life since Fast Times at Ridgemont High, - and a lot hasn't. It is no Dazed and Confused (1993), which may have beat it in its game a decade or so later, but it is a fine, empathetic film all the same.

Watch a clip from the film here

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 50 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 10 times its cost)
[Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released 13 August (USA) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including in Los Angeles, from November - December 1981. The film opened #7 to a 2.5 mil. $ first weekend in 498 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #3, ultimately spending 6 weeks in the top 5 (#3-#3-#5-X-#4-#5-#4) and grossing 27 mil. $ (54 % of the total gross). The 50 mil. $ final gross is asserted in Peter H. Brown's LA Times' article We're Talking Gross, Tacky and Dumb (1985). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1/4 star review, translating to 4 notches worse than this one. Heckerling returned with Johnny Dangerously (1984). Penn returned in Bad Boys (1983), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Road to Perdition (2002)) in The First Time (1982, TV movie), ABC Afterschool Specials (1983, TV-series) and theatrically in Easy Money (1983). The film inspired a short-lived CBS TV-series called Fast Times (1986). Fast Times at Ridgemont High is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.75/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

Fitzcarraldo (1982) - Herzog's mad Amazonian opera monument

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A colorful, chaotic poster for Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, which captures the heightened fever dream sensation that the film portrays

Don Fitzcarraldo is an Irishman in Peru early in the 20th century, a man with a plan: The jungle around the continent's Amazon river desperately needs an opera! In this imaginary cultural hot-spot his great hero, Enrico Caruso is meant to give a concert.

Fitzcarraldo is the 9th feature from great German writer-director Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn (2006)), based on real-life Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald.
Klaus Kinski (Heroes in Hell/Eroi all'Inferno (1974)) shines with madness in the title role and stands out as a prototype of the crazy but visionary, morally unscrupulous imperialist. As fascinating, intriguing and charismatic as Fitzarraldo is, as ruthless, deeply repelling and obviously amoral (rainforest was chopped down and indigenous peoples exploited for his megalomanic project) is he at the same time.
Claudia Cardinale (La Révolution Française (1989)) is surprisingly good as Fitzcarraldo's German brothel owner lover and madwoman. - Kinski's Fitzcarraldo also seems very German, but his announced Irish heritage really doesn't seem too important at all. The last half hour of the film drags in my opinion, which is my only real complaint against it.
Thematically, the drive of intense spite and the baffling extremes of human endeavor radiate from the fantastic images (cinematography by Thomas Mauch (Die Hitlerkantate (2005))) down the mighty river and up the jungle mountain, where Fitzcarraldo orders his colossal steamship to be pulled with ropes. - Just about everyone in this deeply perplexing film seem mad.
Fitzcarraldo also metaphorically stands as a cinematic monument over the destruction that lies behind the development of Western civilization.

Related posts:

Werner Herzog: Jack Reacher (2012) - Highly entertaining, dark hero-vehicle for Tom Cruise (supporting actor) 
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) - Herzog and Vasyukov invite us to meet a remote, tough Siberian people 
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans/Bad Lieutenant (2009) or, Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant
Cobra Verde/Slave Coast (1987) - Herzog and Kinski's final work delves into the madness of slavery   
Even Dwarfs Started Small/Auch Zwerge Haben Klein Angefangen (1970) - Herzog teases us to react with uniquely odd experimental drama

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 14 mil. DM
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[Fitzcarraldo was released 4 March (West Germany) and runs 157 minutes. The production of the film has become cinema folklore; it is chronicled a bit in Herzog's autobiographical Portrait Werner Herzog (1986), in his Klaus Kinski documentary My Best Fiend (1999) and in most depth in Les Blank's terrific behind-the-scenes documentary Burden of Dreams (1982). Initially proposed star Jack Nicholson was thrilled with the script but wanted too much money to play the lead. Herzog then shot roughly 40 % of the film with Jason Robards in the title role and Mick Jagger as a later deleted character. Robards contracted dysentery and was told by his doctor to not return to film in the Amazon. Herzog also inspired anger from the many jungle Indians hired to the production, who burnt down the set in December 1979. Recasting the lead with Kinski, whom Herzog feared would go bananas in the jungle, the film was reshot from scratch. Shooting took place from January - November 1981 in Brazil and Peru. A Catholic priest urged Herzog to hire prostitutes for the production's hired local men to keep them calm during the ordeal, which was subsequently done. Herzog insisted that the 320 ton steamship be actually pulled over the mountain manually and named himself the 'Conquistador of the Useless'. Cinematographer Mauch's hand was split open during filming of this, and he suffered through a 2½ hour operation without anesthetics. During a scavenger attack on the film camp by the tribespeople, a woman was shot in her abdomen with an arrow. Herzog assisted in the 8-hour emergency surgery and subsequently decided against a revenge attack. Filming of the ship's going through the river rapids was also dangerous, and 6 besides Herzog volunteered for the shoot, of which three were harmed in the mission. The film mixes footage from this endeavor with a miniature ship model shot in a studio. Kinski threw tantrums regularly on the set, screamed and even attacked people, it is said. One famous anecdote is that Herzog was offered by one of the Indians that they would kill Kinski for him, as they hated the actor vehemently. - Herzog declined the offer, as he needed his film in the can. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal to a notch better than this review. The film was West Germany's Oscar entry but was not nominated. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and won Herzog the Best Director prize in Cannes as well as 1/2 German Film Award nominations. Herzog was also accused of exploiting the indigenous tribespeople for his film; upwards of 1,000 of them worked on the film for about 2 $ a day under poor conditions, (which Herzog claimed were worse for them, when they were not working on his film.) Herzog returned with Where the Green Ants Dream/Wo die Grünen Ameisen Träumen (1984). Kinski returned in The Soldier (1982); Cardinale in Bankers Also Have Souls/Le Cadeau (1982). Fitzcarraldo is fresh at 77 % with a 7.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fitzcarraldo?

First Blood (1982) - Stallone and Kotcheff's powerful Vietnam War classic

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Sylvester Stallone, a star so great at the time that his first name is simply left out on the top of this poster, poses with a machine gun against a thundering sky on this dramatic poster for Ted Kotcheff's First Blood

John J. Rambo, a Green Beret veteran of the Vietnam War, gets into a deadly fix back in his own country, when an uncouth sheriff targets him, and his survival skills and commanding officer get involved in the affair.

First Blood, written by Michael Kozoll (Hill Street Blues (1981-87)), William Sackheim (The Competition (1980)) and co-writer and star, great New-Yorker filmmaker Sylvester Stallone (Zookeeper (2011)), based on the same-titled 1972 novel by David Morell (The Naked Edge (2010)), and directed by great Canadian filmmaker Ted Kotcheff (Life at the Top (1965)), is an excellent Vietnam War movie. I esteem it at level in quality with Michael Cimino's great The Deer Hunter (1978), only whereas Deer Hunter is a war drama, First Blood is a war actioner.
Stallone is terrific as Rambo, a character who experiences getting treated as trash in the country he went to war for, and one that allows him to react by striking a proper punch again; (First Blood was released after his three first, wildly successful Rocky boxing movies, which came out in 1976, 1979 and 1982.) First Blood is gripping because it portrays so forcefully how completely inefficiently society treated, - and in some cases still treat, - returned war veterans.
In First Blood's supporting parts, Richard Crenna (Joshua's World (1980)) plays Rambo's colonel with subtle refinement, and Brian Dennehy (Welcome to Paradise (2007)) is good as the mean sheriff.
First Blood is a true classic. 

Related posts:

Ted Kotcheff: Weekend at Bernie's (1989) - Kotcheff's morbid gaga silliness 
Mentioned movie: The Deer Hunter (1978) - Cimino's great, colossal Vietnam epic 

Play this video to listen to a great piece from Jerry Goldsmith's score for the film

Cost: 15 mil. $
Box office: 125.2 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[First Blood was released 22 October (USA) and runs 93 minutes. Morell's novel's rights were sold for 75k $ in '72, and several big names tried to put together a film of it, before Stallone and Kotcheff began filming, among them Richard Brooks, Martin Ritt, Sydney Pollack, John Badham, John Frankenheimer, countless stars and writers, and reportedly 18 script versions. Stallone decided that Rambo must survive at the end of the film. Shooting took place in British Colombia, Canada from November 1981 - ?. More than 50 of the firearms that were imported into Canada for the shoot were reportedly stolen from the set. The film opened #1 to a 6.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for 3 consecutive weeks and spent a further 4 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#2-#3-#3) and grossed 47.2 mil. $ (37.7 % of the total gross). It was the 13th highest-grossing film in North America of the year. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. It was neglected completely in terms of awards. Kotcheff returned with Uncommon Valor (1983), and Stallone with an uncredited walk-on in Staying Alive (1983) and a starring part in Rhinestone (1984). First Blood started the Rambo franchise that continued with Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988) and Rambo (2008), all with Stallone, who canceled a 5th Rambo film in 2016 and said that he was retiring the character. An animated series, Rambo: The Force of Freedom, was released and canceled in 1986, and an Indian remake is in the makes for a late 2018 release. First Blood is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of First Blood?

Fanny and Alexander/Fanny och Alexander (1982) - Bergman's treasured mammoth drama farewell

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Carefully arranged on a portrait photograph, the title characters of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander attract attention for the film on its Swedish poster

Fanny and Alexander are siblings in Sweden in 1907, born into the large upper middle-class Ekdahl family. After they lose their father, their mother turns to the local bishop for a second, respectable husband. Life has its good and bad times for her and her children.

Fanny and Alexander is a wonderful, warm film about sorrow and death, childhood and religion. - Its thematic range could even be expanded to simply be: Life. It was the first film by Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (The Magician/Ansiktet (1958)) that I saw, and this only makes it more special for me. Bergman wrote and directed the film, which is semi-autobiographical.
Fanny and Alexander is a drama in epic length, which narrative charts a different course than most traditional films. - Still, the way the story is told is masterful, and the actors of the large ensemble carry the film admirably.
The storytelling of Fanny and Alexander is thoroughly evocative, making us feel as though we can almost sense the heat of the crackling fire in the hearth we are watching. The production design in the film, - from the flamboyant Christmas party of the Ekdahls in the first part of the film to the bare, grimly cold home of the bishop, - is detail-oriented and outstanding. Fanny and Alexander is an experience one shouldn't rob oneself of.

Related post:

Ingmar Bergman: The Magician/Ansiktet (1958) or, Fool the Townfolk

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 6-7 mil. $ (different sources)
Box office: 6.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain
[Fanny and Alexander premiered 17 December (Sweden) and runs 188 minutes (theatrical version) and 312 minutes (TV miniseries version, - which I regrettably still haven't seen). Bergman wrote the script in the summer of 1979, intending it to be his last film, explaining; "I don't have the strength any more, neither psychologically nor physically." The film was molded around his own childhood in Uppsala, Sweden, which he termed "happy and privileged." The film's 40 mil. SEK budget made it the most expensive Swedish film up to that time. Swedish stars Liv Ullmann and Max Von Sydow ditched the film for different reasons before shooting and were replaced, which they both later regretted. Shooting took place from September 1981 - March 1982 in Uppsala and in Stockholm studios, Sweden. Gunnar Björnstrand (Filip Landahl in the film) acted despite suffering from Alzheimers, and Gunn Wållgren (Helena in the film) suffered from cancer and was secretly in pain but acted anyway. The film has 60 characters with lines, employed 1,200 extras and featured 1,250 costumes. Bergman intended Fanny and Alexander as a miniseries but for commercial reasons was obligated to cut a theatrical version, which he did with many pains, calling it "to cut into the nerves and lifeblood of the film." A year after the release, the 312 minute full version was released in Swedish cinemas, later recognized as one of the longest films in history. Audiences were large in Bergman's native Sweden for both versions, and it became his biggest hit there. It made 6.7 mil. $ in North America, where it played in the summer of 1983 and was later (in 1991) recognized as the 5th biggest Swedish film in North America up to that time. A world gross is not made public, but the film drew the following crowds; 374k (France), 165k (Germany) and 70k (Denmark). - Whether it became financially successful theatrically is hard to decipher based on these numbers alone. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this one. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, the 3rd most nominated film of the year: Best Art Direction (won), Cinematography (Sven Nykvist, won), Costume Design (won), Director (lost to James L. Brooks for Terms of Endearment), Foreign Film (won) and Original Screenplay (lost to Horton Foote for Tender Mercies). It was barred from the Best Picture race due to Sweden's nominating it for the Best Foreign Film category. The film also won 1/2 Golden Globes, 1/3 BAFTAs, one César award, 3 David di Donatello awards, 3 Guldbagge awards, 2 National Board of Review awards, the Venice Film Festival's FIPRESCI award and many other honors. Stage adaptations of the film has been played in many countries in the new millennium. While Bergman continued to work on especially TV movies, Fanny and Alexander is his last theatrical feature. Fanny and Alexander is fresh at 100 % with an 8.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of Fanny and Alexander?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Spielberg's greatest accomplishment, the ultimate in movie magic

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One of the marvelous posters for Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which references Michelangelo's classical painting The Creation of Adam and underscores the film's religious undercurrent

In a nice suburban neighborhood near Los Angeles lives the boy Elliott with his big brother, little sister and mother. Their father/husband has left them for Mexico. A creature from space meets Elliott, they bond, and it benefits from his warm child's heart.

E.T. is the second masterpiece of master Ohioan filmmaker Steven Spielberg's (Saving Private Ryan (1998)) incredible career, the first one, of course, being Jaws (1975). Every time I have watched it, it has moved me tremendously, like no other film. E.T. is a film that is made with such technical and visual mastery, humanity, artfulness and forcefulness, - it makes you swell up with warmth inside, and after seeing it feel positively purified. - What other films can you name that does all of that?
John Williams' (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)) Oscar-winning score is sheer perfection, musically storytelling in the best possible way, boosting every moment of the film with wonder, adventure and emotion.

The story, developed by Spielberg with recently passed, great screenwriter Melissa Mathison (The BFG (2016)), is wonderful. Henry Thomas (The Last Ride (2012)), Drew Barrymore (Blended (2014)) and everyone else are fantastic in it. Thomas is especially phenomenal, and so, of course, is Carlo Rambaldi's legendary creature design of E.T.
E.T. can be enjoyed as a religious reminder of the existence and importance of goodness and innocence in the world, with E.T. interpreted as a Jesus-like character or a symbol of childhood. At the same time the film's entirety works as a unique allegory of the full passage of life; with its dangers, mysteries, losses, adventures, unity and love.
E.T. is Spielberg's greatest accomplishment to date, one that is impossible to top. An absolutely spectacular film.

Related posts:

Steven Spielberg: War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Amistad (1997) or, Must... Free... Slaves! 
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock  
Duel (1971) - Spielberg's truck terror is ideal afternoon fare

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 10.5 mil. $
Box office: 792.9 mil. $
= Blockbuster
[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial premiered May 26 (Cannes) and runs 117 minutes. The story is inspired by the divorce of Spielberg's parents in 1960, his estrangement from his father and development of a fantasy friend. E.T. began development as Spielberg's darker sci-fi project Night Skies, about evil aliens, collapsed. Columbia Pictures made one of the great errors of movie history when their management at the time passed on E.T., calling it "a wimpy Walt Disney movie." The E.T. puppet took 3 months and 1.5 mil. $ to make, but was still so ugly, in the nervous eyes of some, that Mars, Incorporated refused the use of M&Ms in the film. The Hershey Company then jumped in, and their profits rose 65 % after the release of the film, prominently featuring their Reese's Pieces candy. Filming took place from September - December 1981, mostly in Culver City, LA. The shoot was mostly chronological, especially to help the children's performances, and production wrapped four days early. It was the first film on which Spielberg did not use meticulous storyboarding. The film premiered at the closing gala of the Cannes Film Festival, a screening that has gone down in Cannes history as among the greatest the festival has ever enjoyed. The film opened #1 with an 11.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, fluctuating between #1 and #2 in October and returning #1 once again in December. By 1983, E.T. surpassed Star Wars (1977) as the highest-grossing film of all time (unadjusted for inflation). It had grossed 359 mil. $ in North America and 619 mil. $ worldwide. E.T. was re-released in 1985 and 2002, adding 60 and 68 mil. $, respectively, to its gross. The film held its top-grossing spot for 11 years until Spielberg bested it with Jurassic Park (1993), although it stayed #1 in North America until a 1997 Star Wars re-issue beat it. The North American gross stands at 435.1 mil. $ (54.9 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets are Japan with 66.9 mil. $ (8.4 %) and the UK with 29.6 mil. $ (3.7 %). E.T. is still the 4th highest-grossing film in North America ever, adjusted for inflation, only bested by Gone with the Wind, Star Wars and The Sound of Music. Bengali master filmmaker Satyajit Ray has claimed that Spielberg plagiarized his 1967 script The Alien, which Spielberg has refused, although Martin Scorsese and Richard Attenborough have substantiated the claims. Spielberg has addressed the Christian undertones of the film and made clear that they are unintentional on his part, pointing to his being Jewish.  Despite much pirating of the film was reported, it made an additional 75 mil. $ on VHS sales in North America alone. E.T. was nominated for 9 Oscars, winning for Best Score, Sound, Visual Effects and Sound Effects. It lost Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing to Attenborough's Gandhi. It was nominated for 5 Golden Globes, winning for Best Picture - Drama and Best Score. A 20 year anniversary edition of E.T. was released with some minor changes made using CGI, which prompted controversy. Spielberg has decided against doing so in the future releases of his past films and recommends watching the original 1982 version of E.T. Atari, Inc. released a video game based on the film in 1982, which is widely regarded among the worst video game ever made. A 40 mil. $ theme park ride based on the film was created for the Florida Universal Studios park in 1990. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is certified fresh at 98 % with a 9.2 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Do you agree that it is Spielberg's greatest achievement?

The Worthless/Arvottomat (1982) or, Finnish Futility

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This uninteresting DVD cover is what I was able to scrape together in lieu of an actual poster for Mika Kaurismäki's The Worthless

QUICK REVIEW:

A man owes some thugs money, while his partner has acquired a valuable, stolen painting. On the run the two continue their evenly distraught lives.

At first one might be charmed by what appears to be Finnish dead-pan humor, but one soon learns that all Finlanders are more or less alike in the universe conjured up by brothers, writer Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre (2011)) and writer-director Mika Kaurismäki (Zombie and the Ghost Train/Zombie ja Kummitusjuna (1991)). - None of the personalities put together sparkle in the ocean of inebriated, destitute Finnish souls. And none of them have any appetite for life.
The suspense is non-existing in the strange 'plot.' The unending, futile drinking of The Worthless continues of all places finally in Paris.

In lieu of a trailer for the film, not available on Youtube at the moment, here is a 3-minute interview with Mika Kaurismäki at the Toronto International Film Festival talking of his film Road North/Tie Pohjoiseen (2012)

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[The film was released October 15 and runs 119 minutes. Mika Kaurismäki won the Jussi Award (Finland's Oscar) for Best Direction. On IMDb, 818 users have given the film an average rating of 7.5.]

What do you think of The Worthless?

Creepshow (1982) - Fun, campy horror anthology from King and Romero

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The morbidly festive poster for George A. Romero's Creepshow

QUICK REVIEW:

With a framing story about a voodoo-practicing boy, whose father throws his Creepshow comic out, 5 ghoulish stories are served: SPOILER About a living corpse, who wants his cake; a meteor, which transforms a fool into a Plant Man; a jealous millionaire, who favors monitored drowning; a monster from the North Pole in a crate; and finally one about a neurotic city magnate with a bug problem ...

- Particularly this last story is a true nightmare for all of us who can't stand tingling insects, (in this case cockroaches.) 
Creepshow is an anthology horror movie homage to 1950's horror comic, written by horror maestro Stephen King (Christine (1983)) and directed by master horror director George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead (1978)). Its stories are deliberately corny and sensationalist with some holes here and there.
The film boasts several stars: Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild (2007)), Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)), Ted Danson (Cheers (1982-93)), King gives a highly physical performance as the fool, and E. G. Marshall (Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)) amuses as the unlucky magnate in the final story, which also showcases Romero's keen satirical talent.
The lighting throughout is refreshingly high-key Bavaesque, the animations are cool, and Tom Savini's (Martin (1976)) special effects are somewhat crude but effective. The film is a joy (especially for a horror-fan.)

Related reviews:

George A. Romero: Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death!

Watch the awesome original trailer here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 21 mil. $ (US only)
= Box office success
[The film is labeled a sleeper hit. Including other territories (which I can't find numbers for, except that nearly 350,000 people paid admission in Spain) and video, TV and merchandise, Creepshow must surely have been a great source of income for Warner Bros. It took First Blood's #1 spot at the US box office and was Warner's top horror film of the year. It got one official sequel in 1987 and a direct-to-DVD unrelated sequel in 2007.]

What do you think of Creepshow?
Other horror anthologies that you like or dislike?