Cool News
MEGAFORCE coming to DVD!
Harry here... ya know... it ain't much that I come on here to celebrate a DVD release... Sure we'll do the occassional speculation about the original Star Wars series or Indiana Jones coming out on DVD, but what I like to save these announcements for is DVD. Ya see, there are titles of such a deep personal interest to me that... well... it makes me all teary-eyed just thinking about it. But soon... MEGAFORCE is coming to DVD... the DVD is in the works, we ain't got a date yet, but it's all on the wheel, it all comes around... ya know what I'm saying? This film is just a reminder that the good guys always win, even in the eighties!
Harry, Chen here from HK. I love your site and i just know in my heart of hearts that the fanboys will go crazy over the news that MEGAFORCE is coming out on DVD.
I just placed an order for a VHS of the film but my dealer in HK told me to wait, BECAUSE THE DVD VERSION WILL BE COMING OUT SOON !
Apparently the enduring popularity of this groundbreaking flick and its legion of faithful fans were enough to convince the powers that be that this classic deserves its own DVD.
not sure about the special features but i would bet good money that it is narrated by Hunter himself.
I have my fingers crossed.
if you use this, call me "ACE" YIONG.
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Man that movie sucked
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i remember wanting to watch it as a kid cuz the motorbike looked cool but even then I remember it sucking ass.
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still.....i do remember enjoying it in my youth....not sure i would pay more than $10 for it...but hey....it really seemed to spawn all those special forces type movies that followed....it was fun...can we get a double disc set with Timerider?...sort of remember seeing both of these on HBO at about the same time....
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Upon further reflection of this movie I remember a RICH childhood friend having all the toys the week this movie came out. I remember thinking that Hollywood was trying to manufacture something like Star Wars. This was only a couple of years after the Star Wars Holiday special with Bea Arthur and the dancing wookies. Oh and Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harison Ford too. Now every major event film that comes out is considered a failure if you can't make a franchise out of it.
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This is one of the most gleefully shitty movies ever made, and frankly, I can't wait! For all you Barry Bostwick fanatics out there, the dorky headband that he sports throughout Megaforce is NOTHING compared to the rainbow colored metal skirt, I shit you not, that he wears in the original episodes of The LEXX.
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I was TWELVE when I first (and last) saw this stinker... I was TWELVE and I KNEW it was a stinker. You guys are ALL ON DOPE if you think this was in Any Way Shape Form or Fashion, cool!
How I can get this on DVD and NOT The Adventures of Ford Fairlane is an outright travesty. -
This movie has legions of fans? Hardly likely, I'm afraid. Hal Needham was a barely acceptable film-maker when he did Burt Reynolds chase pictures, but this was just too much of a stretch for the guy. Not a good movie, people. I'm actually old enough to have seen this dog in the theater, and I'm warning you; don't listen to these people. Run, damn you! Run for your sanity!
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May 27, 2003 2:24:51 AM CDT
How about Hal Needham's other classics, Body Slam and RAD?
by declan_swartz
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You guys are missing the point. For all of us who are in their mid-thrities now, movies like this hitting DVD are a great and wonderful thing. It's all about Nostalgia. In my mind it is perfectly acceptable to "dig" a movie that in all actuality SUCKS for the sake of nostalgia. When you start getting old and gray you remember movies that somehow sparked your interest, that, at the time, seemed "magical". Now, when you watch them with Eyes from today's standards they are just horrible crap. People don't own movies like Megaforce for a "great" flick. They just want to be taken back to a mindset where a steaming pile of filth like Megaforce (or any other Hal Needham movie for that matter) is seen as "great". I mean for years I thought THE LAST STARFIGTHER was like the greatest movie EVER. Watching it with today's eyes sure does shake things up though. Its crap. BUT I still have a special place for it since when I was younger I thought it was so great (especially the graphics). The same can be said, for other crap. I love and want to own crap like THE BAD NEWS BEARS MOVIES, SGT. PEPPERS, CORVETTE SUMMER, etc etc.. not because they are good but because they have nostalgic value to me personally.
You younger guys won't get it. But I can guarantee you that dvds like Megaforce sell for nostalgia reasons above all.
There is ALSO the idea that a movie can suck so hard and so bad that it becomes CLASSICALLY bad. I mean so bad that it is a riot to watch. You can't believe that these people wanted you to take them seriously. I mean look at the popularity of something like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. People freakin LOVE IT!! Why, because it's good? No way.. because it is so utterly pathetic that it is laughable. I, and I'm sure many people own "bad" movies on purpose. Megaforce is like a KING CHAMPION of this attitude. Megaforce I have heard for many many years might quite possibly be one of the absolute worst movies EVER!!! But THAT in itself makes it a classic!!
BRING ON THE CRAP !!! WE LOVE IT !!! -
Yeah, this film ain't Shakespeare, but it has a "Wild Geese" meets "Buckaroo Banzai" vibe to it that gives a little extra flavor to the cheese. And Rev., "Megaforce" was actually made into an Atari 2600 game--and surprisingly, it was pretty good (for the time, mind you).
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Now that's magic. And by the way, Apostle X, while I admit that there are a lot of people who do what you're saying, I'm not one of them. Yes, movies are often a nostalgia trip for me, but I prefer to collect the good ones. I mean, why should I watch "Megaforce" to remember 1982 when I can as easily watch "Star Trek II", "Conan the Barbarian", "ET - the Extra-Terrestrial", "Blade Runner", or a host of other films that have the same nostalgic value, plus the added bonus of actually being watchable? I just find that odd. And by the way, I actually think "The Last Starfighter" is a good movie.
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Forget Brad Majors, the other star of MEGAFORCE is the late, lamented Persis Khambatta (Ilia from STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE), with a full head of hair no less. I really, REALLY miss this flavor of cheap-ass Eighties movie -- all location-shot, with cheap props and vehicles and crap actors spouting shit dialog and no computer-color filters. Spandex and blowdryers, headbands and faux-satin dresses off the rack from Penney's. Its what I thought adulthood would be like. I will be first in line for the MEGAFORCE DVD.
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BLADE RUNNER, TRON, SWAMP THING, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, POLTERGEIST, THE BEASTMASTER, THE DARK CRYSTAL, THE THING, MEGAFORCE oh and E.T. I guess. If 1982 hadn't happened, AICN wouldn't exist.
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He looks like Chuck Norris. Are you sure he's not Chuck Norris?
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To St. Buggering - Yes, I agree with you. BUT I own all the films you mentioned on DVD (Star Trek 2, ET, Blade Runner and Conan 1) because they are simply GREAT films. (Well, ET is ight) BUT a great film is timeless. I truly don't even notice or care to notice the date when it's a great film. Some movies, however, are hopelessly dated. (Megaforce and others) and truthfully those movies are often great because they mark the time.(see BREAKIN) BUT on the other hand look at a flick like ESCAPE FROM NY. Back when it came out the future date of "1997" seemed so ominous. Now we laugh at that since we have long passed that date in history. BUT that doesn't diminish that film at all. It is still a great and classic (and often cheesy) flick, BUT it is timeless. Megaforce, however, is so base and shallow that the thing that we remember is the hairdos and outfits. That chesse is all it has to offer. So it marks the time of bad fashion. I mean look at STAR WARS: A New Hope. The hairdos are so classic 1970's, but does it really bother us that bad? Naa..not really. But in Megaforce since it offers nothing else, that is it's only claim to fame.
I own a few movies for nostalgia's sake alone. BUT I own many GREAT movies just because they are great movies. I can be nostalgic as well about them BUT they mean more to me because I love them on 2 levels rather than a simple base level nostalgia. Just because a movie makes you nostalgic doesn't mean it has no worth. Some films have the double whammy of being great and memorable to that age.
Oh and sorry....The Last Starfighter is cheesy big time. It's fun but so bad is so many aspects especially acting wise.. BUT that doesn't mean I hate it. I love it! SO.. again I repeat.. we can DIG bad movies too!! -
May 27, 2003 7:14:33 AM CDT
And, as Harry's alleged credibility sinks slowly into the west..
by filker-tom
... we must, unfortunately, admit that this is, indeed, genre news -- the type that reflects a still-sizable mainstream view of the genre, i.e., people could (and still can) slap a "sci-fi" label on any piece of odious junk, advertise the bejaysus out of it (as was done with MEGAFARCE -- those of us who did see it first-run almost certainly heard about it because it was the back page ad for every damn comic there was for about six months) and get fanboys to shell out the bucks. They might market this DVD "release" ("emission" seems more appropriate) in any of several ways -- SF, nostalgia, "part of the glorious Sci Fi Summer of '82", bad movies, "the late Persis Khambatta", "Barry Bostwick (star of Rocky Horror and Spin City)"... the list, and the cheap rerelease of awful movies goes on. Christ on a bicycle, we can't get CHARLY on DVD, but we get this....
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May 27, 2003 7:45:35 AM CDT
I don't suppose Criterion has made the official announcement, t
by rufus_t_firefly
I suppose "crappiest film ever made" certainly secures it's role in ciunematic history. Look! It's the Mayor form "Spin City"! Wearing Erin Grey's catsuit from "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"!! And he looks like Barry Gibb!!!
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which features MEGAWEAPON, and the ultimate: Persis Khambatta and Robert Ginty's Dreadful Paralyzing Kiss of Extreme Woe. *friendswithbenefits.com*
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Truthfully I wasn't a fan of MEGAFORCE, but I do respect that some people would like the nostalgia of it. I wasn't a fan of any of the Hal Needham "stunt" movies. Well ok.. maybe I liked CANNONBALL RUN 1 a little... those spandex chicks were hot!!!
But I actually didn't see MEGAFORCE until I was much older. But I did laugh at how pathetic it was. Hal Needham has a cemented place in the hall of shame with me and a buddy of mine. Even today he is the focus of many jokes. So in a twisted way we love the guy.. only, if for any reasons because he gave us such SHITTTE!!!
YES.. KING KONG 76 rules!!! I own it on DVD. That was actaully a film I bought for nostalgia sake that was also just a great movie overall. -
We have to wait for REAL genre favorites like the original "KING KONG", but "MEGAFORCE" is on the way?? Woo-hoo!!! To me, nostalgia means that you enjoy something "now" because you grew up with it and you enjoyed it in your youth, ie: "STAR WARS", the "PLANET OF THE APES" films, "STAR TREK" (The Original Series), etc. Nostalgia is not looking forward to DVD's of movies that we all knew were crap upon being released back in the day. Believe me, I'm old enough to have seen this turkey in a theater when it was released, and I wasn't a little kid either, I was about 16. My friends and I howled and laughed at the dialogue & effects back then. We also saw all the other "genre" films of that era, "THE THING", "STAR TREK II", "CONAN", etc. and we knew the difference between those of some quality and "MEGACRAP". How this can be "long-awaited" on DVD, or even have fans is beyond me. Those of you, who have never seen it, take my advice & don't waste your time. I'd just as soon watch "BATMAN & ROBIN" again. Yes, it's that bad.
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When they had the digital countdown in the corner of the screen and they went in and blew up that whole town. That was pretty sweet. Dune Buggies w/ lasers and motorcycles that did wheelies and shot machine guns at the same time. Excellent. This movie was beyond cheesy though. I mean, how many skin-tight uniforms (for men and women!!!) and headbands can a movie have??!?!? But, it was the 80's. Definitely the cheesiest part was when Barry Bostwick gave that girl a "thumbs-up!" while he was flying his motorcycle and she him a "thumbs-up" back. I think he may have even kissed his thumb. That was pure cheese.
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Actually, it IS the cover of a bad Atari game, one that I must confess I owned...
http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/atari2600/games/megaforce.html -
I saw this with my dad when I was around 10 years old. I thought it was so great! Then a couple of years later I watched it again on HBO, and realized how much this movie truly sucked! It has a bad plot, bad cast, terrible acting, and some of the worst special effects. The scene with the flying motorcycle was the worst! Couldn't they have found a background that matched the landscape he was flying from?
This movie is only good for a bunch of drunk college guys to watch for laughs. -
www.jabootu.com/megaforce.htm
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This was the very first movie I walked out on... at the tender age of 11! Boy this movie is incredibly lame. But its cool. I think I left this movie and snuck into The Thing... not sure though.
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How could she bread a little boy's heart like that? I was only 17! sk
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Inquiring minds would like to know, BROTHER!
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I picked up a Copy of Logan's Run featuring Michael York on DVD for about 5 bucks. It had some previously unseen (by me) naked sceens. Apartently we weren't ready for prime-time nudity in the early eighties when this movie made it to TV. This DVD brought back all kinds of memories of what Sci-fi was before "Star Wars" changed everything. I remember wanting to see MF in the theatres when it was released but never did.
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Ok...it must have vampires and werewolves in it. I don't remeber them, though.
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The nostalgia point is absolutely correct. I miss when I was a kid, because every film was "GREAT" or "REALLY GOOD." How often does a kid leave a movie theatre saying "Gee, the script really sucked" or "Did they realize that the last hour of the film has no momentum?" NO KID DOES, EVERYTHING IS GOOD. This explains why I was excited over "Tron", "Megaforce", "Red Dawn" (remember that one? Horrible, Godawful film, but cool way back when). Also, how many of your childhood movie theatres are still around? Most theatres from 1982 are long gone, now replaced by more homes, more development, and other things. I miss the mall movie theatre, with its "Stereo sound" and lack of decent seats. There also used to be many $1 movie theatres, where I could see "Return of the Jedi" day after day during the summer break. 1982 seems so far away now.
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Wow... Being 35, I do remember when this thing first came out in 1982. Even at the tender age of 15 I remember feeling uneasy seeing the pics of MegaForce in Starlog a few months before it came out. I knew it would be utter shit. Yet, how wonderfully horrid it would ultimately prove to be I could never have guessed in a million years.
The lame "tactics" used by the MegaForce in fighting Henry Silva's tanks reminded me of playing with plastic soldiers in the sandbox as a kid, only I was like General Montgomery compared to MegaForce.
Favorite bit: when "Ace Hunter" jumps into the back of the cargo plane and pivots in order to say farewell to Khambatta. We're talking silent movie level overkill in the emoting department.
Oh yeah, I'll be all over this disc like...er... spandex on Barry Bostwick. Doc out.
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So who wants to call them up and ask where all the flying motorcycles are at? sk
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It sucked. Never saw the movie, but Barry Bostwick is cool. Too bad he was in "Weekend At Bernie`s II".
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You whack foo's don't know nothin' 'bout the true hahd-core '80's sci-fi. Dat shiz-nih be all up in the "Solarbabies" Starring Jason Patric as this kid in an orphanage in the future all f'in around wid dis mad flyin' ball that could read his mind. Word to your mother!
I be all like, "Yo, be bussin' out wid' de Solarbabies DVD up in this piece, word!" -
Yes this movie BLEW! But when I saw it at like 7 it was the coolest thing EVER! I am not one for nostalgia (in fact I HATE it!) but I dig this movie in a whole new way as an adult. It's right up there with Staying Alive. I am also pleased to see a talkback dissection of Hal Needham. God, who let that hack near a camera? It never fails to amaze me the people who get to work on big budget movies. Him and Buddy Van Horn. I think both were stunt guys! Also, isn't it weird what makes it to DVD? I mean Millers Crossing finally came out (scratch that one off the list) but I can't get Once Upon a Time in the West, Kenneth Braunaugh's Hamlet, or Point Blank. But if I want fucking Vamp or whatever I can go blow 10 bucks and it's mine. Still Megaforce was on that list (WAYYYYY at the bottom) so that's kinda cool. You gotta love it. I mean the funniest is the end when they LEAVE all the vehicles. Also those big streams of colored smoke. And that classic line about the good guys! Deeds! Not Words, you pussies!
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May 27, 2003 1:50:55 PM CDT
Watch for the swaztikas on the hubcaps of the dune-buggy-vehicle
by the smell
There are spinning swaztikas on the hubcaps.
I also like the moment with Bostwick and Persis in front of the screen, in silhouette, where he's holding his hand in front of his crotch during the conversation.
He deliberately points his thumb and makes his silhouette look like he's pulling his tube at her.
Go Barry.
Or that "I am so HIGH" expression when his bike finally "flies" in front of the projection screen. Mount that bike - Go Barry! -
Yeah, I'm sure they're getting a lot of movies any day now, dubbed from VHS and LD.
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I miss that show...
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dammit, where's the summer replacement reviews? Keen Eddie look slike it has potential. More than FIREFLY, anyway. ___________ sigh. I miss 24.
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And I thought the AOL dvds were crap!
This is the WORST movie I ever saw. The only one I ever got my money back from.
Maybe Barry wants residuals SO badly, since he passed on them for that little art flick... "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" -
I remember seeing a preview for this in the theater, which was immediately followed by a preview for the Road Warrior. It was like watching a demonstration of the wrong way to execute a particular movie idea, followed by an example of the right way to execute that same idea.
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Bad movies are like wine, they have these bad bacterias in them that are indeed toxic, and time does nothing but make these things stronger and more potent. Seriously, if you have a team of friends, invite them over and watch a movie like Mega Force. You can have a great time, chuckling things up, and laughing at all of the action. There is nothing better than a movie that is so bad it starts to cause your brain to melt inside your skull. Here are a list of movies I can recomend for you people to watch with your friends if you can find them (none are on dvd yet.) "Loose Screws"- Crazy low brow 80's sex comedy that makes American Pie look like it came from the mind of Mother Theresa. Really stupid shit about a group of kids who are so pre-occupied with trying to get laid that they fail the 12th grade 4 times. If they put half as much time into trying to get laid as they do their school work, they could graduate. I mean they create a chemical which causes girls clothing to disolve, but they cant pass high school. They get kicked out of school, but instead of trying to cook up a scheme to graduate, they show the whole school a movie of the principle fucking, and suddenly play on these instruments that came out of nowhere ("WE ARE, LOOSE SCREWS, BREAKING AWAY!"). "Joy Sticks" is the 80's movie. It has Joe Don Baker as a corrupt business owner who tries to shut down a sleezey video (or as he pronounces it, "videa") arcade where underage girls go to take off their clothes. There is this gigantic fat dude in the movie named McDorfus who is a living furnace who uses chili dogs instead of coal, and farts on command (seriously, he calls it the "McDorfus Manuver"), great movie, with this song that is really stupid, in a catchy way ("TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO GAMEZZZZ!") next on the list is "Thrashin" and "Rad" the first is a lame Skateboarding movie starring Josh Brolin (goonies) and has a cameo by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The second one is a BMX movie of almost the same formula. These movies do have flair though. You will laugh at both, and think parts in both are cool too. Thrashin is actually due out on dvd pretty soon itself. Other great movies that are acidically bad films are "The Party Animal", "Better off Dead", "Screw Balls", oh, and crap, "The Lost Empire" which is a great movie that has the largest pare of bared breasts in the history of non porn movie history. Here is the plot summary from imdb "After officer Rob Wolfe is killed trying to stop a gang of ninjas from robbing a jewelery store, his sister, officer Angel Wolfe, vows to avenge his death. Her investigation leads her to the mysterious Dr. Sin Do, who is supposedly in league with an undead wizard named Lee Chuck. The doctor is holding a martial arts tournament on a secret island fortress, so Angel, after rounding up some of her martial-artist friends, enters the tournament in the hopes of finding Sin Do and Lee Chuck and bringing them to justice." Its a classic, and when Raven De La Croix takes off her shirt in some weird snake filled dream sequence, you and your friends will all go home and jerk off to her that same night. Well, good night folks, and if any of you have seen these movies and would like to talk about them, email me at Thetaoofjoe2@aol.com or im me at thetaoofjoe. Good luck, rock on. ToJ out.
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Dear Nostalgia God, bring back the drive-in movies. I'm in the last generation to appreciate those things. I was a small kid in the late 70s and early 80s, and there were many times when the family would head to the drive-in. I loved it, because I could watch movies and run around, play on a swing, eat junk food, and not have to sit still the whole time. I had four drive-ins in my local area....every single one is now a darn housing or condo development...every last one. And then people complain that "quality of life" is down, congestion is everywhere, and they're basically living in one big housing tract. NO WONDER. We had housing, open spaces, drive-ins, more parks and "untouched land," now it's all houses and boring-as-hell Starbucks-burger-Jamba Juice shopping centers. Well, back to the drive-in. I remember bothering my folks to take me to see "Goonies" at the drive-in. As a bonus, I got to listen to my dad complain how the movie sucked so badly. We saw "Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom" at the drive-in, and I still remember the woman in the car next to us yelling "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" when that dude got his heart taken out. If I ever earn my first billion, I'm buying off my city council, getting some zoning laws changed, bulldozing a housing tract, and creating a four-screen drive-in for my local area. I guarantee within a year, we'll be profitable. And I get to check out movies in summer weather again. Notch out.
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This is one of the best films ever made by the human race. I'm gonna celebrate by making a Megaforce cake and decorating it with my Megaforce Hotwheels toys, then ramming my face into it. Best title sequence of any 80's film easily. They should call it the MEGAFORCE Pure Gold Edition and have the DVD look like gold.
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Yes, I remember well the many "American Pie"-type films of the 1980s, like "Hardbodies" and "Hardbodies 2", "Spring Break", "Joy Sticks", "My Tutor", and other independent films. Even as a kid, I knew these films were disposable, because in the newspaper, they had ads that were about one square inch big. You had an "007 Octopussy" ad that took up half of a page, then you had a thumb-sized ad with "SPRING BREAK" and some showtimes. The problem I see nowadays is that the field is less even, with the big studio films basically owning the whole market. How often does a multiplex carry a film NOT from a major studio? Back in the 80s, my local theatres and mall theatres always had space for the "cheap studio" films. Sure, there was plenty of garbage (Xtro, Treasure of the Four Crowns, Parasite), but there was more choice. Now, even the "cheap films" are made by the big-money studios. So when people say there is a healthy independent film movement, they should go back to the 70s and 80s, when cinemas were a bit more democratic. Notch out.
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May 27, 2003 7:19:01 PM CDT
Incidentally, this guy owns the Megaforce bike AND the Megaforce
by nocturnaloner
The freakin' original Green Hornet car, for God's sake! I hate him. http://www.theblackbeauty.com/sell_items.cfm?GroupID=17 The Megaforce stuff is for sale though, surprise.
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May 27, 2003 8:02:59 PM CDT
Oh yeah, baby! Megaforce! Oh yeah honey, that is one great fil
by smeg for brains
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but you people have piqued my interest in it. I'll give it a rent.
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I only saw that film for the first time recently. It's got a few "so-bad-it's-funny" moments (e.g.: the robot soldiers and the R2-D2 rip-off's). Character development? Look elsewhere. Logic? If it was there, I couldn't find it. Worth a rent for a few chuckles, I guess.
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May 27, 2003 8:55:26 PM CDT
When they say the independent scene is "healthy", they mean it's
by margot_tenenbaum
Everybody sucks up to the Sundance Channel or IFC nowadays. I want the Corman Channel, The Cannon Channel, the AIP Channel... I want more movies financed by shady Europeans with coke habits, shot in some God-forsaken corner of the Earth that otherwise would never make it on to film. I want Jean Claude Van Damme to kick his way on to the set of a Neil LaBute film and have a half-naked karate battle with a crying Gwyneth Paltrow. GYMKATA!
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"Loose Screws" and "Joy Sticks" (which I passed up a few days ago), are definitely on my "must-rent" list now.
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that gullwing VW that guy has is fucking awesome.
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"schizoid", "the apple", "last american virgin", "happy hooker goes to hollywood"...the classics don't stop!!!!!
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Good guys nearly *always* won in the eighties.
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May 27, 2003 10:45:51 PM CDT
I agree...the Summer of 1982 was the best summer of movies ever.
by red raider
However, MegaCrap aint one of 'em!!!
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May 27, 2003 10:48:30 PM CDT
I do, however, defend those who want to own dvd(even if the movi
by red raider
I own the collector's edition of Big Trouble in Little China on dvd. Everyone in my family thinks the movie is crapola, but I like it. Screw what they think!
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true, true. I love that thing. Can't remember what movies I saw it in though.
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Oh Yeah. Wack-ass little gremlin thingies that came out of the mines to kill, kill, kill copulating teenagers. Without looking it up, that's all I remember.
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Even though the page is over a year old: http://thx-1138-web.hp.infoseek.co.jp/reco/s-m/megaforce.html WARNING! SCARY TEETH AND HEADBAND ALERT!!
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Yeah, I love that I can go out and collect DVDs of all the movies I saw in the summer of 1977, the first time I was able to go the movies by myself. So far I have Star Wars (import bootleg, natch), The Spy Who Loved Me, Exorcist II, Sorcerer, The Deep, The Island of Dr. Moreau, A Bridge Too Far, Smokey and the Bandit, and ROLLERCOASTER (my first solo film experience...with cameo appearance by Sparks). Did I forget any other biggie from the summer? Close Encounters doesn't count, it came out in the fall.
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Yeah, I love that I can go out and collect DVDs of all the movies I saw in the summer of 1977, the first time I was able to go the movies by myself. So far I have Star Wars (import bootleg, natch), The Spy Who Loved Me, Exorcist II, Sorcerer, The Deep, The Island of Dr. Moreau, A Bridge Too Far, Smokey and the Bandit, and ROLLERCOASTER (my first solo film experience...with cameo appearance by Sparks). Did I forget any other biggie from the summer? Close Encounters doesn't count, it came out in the fall.
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Beck in 1990, I was visiting the "Planes Of Fame" Museum in Chino, CA. In one of the hangars, nestled between an old Soviet biplane transport and an ME-109, was one of the actual vehicles from the film, all covered in dust and forgotten.
I dared to go behind the ropes (hey, if they didn't want people to go behind the ropes they should have electrified them. ), snuck a few quick photos (including the interior, which WASN'T filled with a bunch of hi-tech displays like the film showed). Since I've never had an excuse to show these pix off till now, here's the URl for checking them out, if you're interested:
http://members.cox.net/mhirtes/MEGAFORCE/MF001.jpg
http://members.cox.net/mhirtes/MEGAFORCE/MF002.jpg
http://members.cox.net/mhirtes/MEGAFORCE/MF003.jpg
http://members.cox.net/mhirtes/MEGAFORCE/MF004.jpg
http://members.cox.net/mhirtes/MEGAFORCE/MF005.jpg
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May 28, 2003 4:02:05 AM CDT
Give me 1984's "Runaway" with Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons
by god of forkery
Yes . . .that Gene Simmons. And written and directed by Michael Crichton no less! This is good 80's beef.
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Wow, thought I was the only person to see "The Boogens". Way, way back in the 1980's, I used to write movie/concert reviews for my school newspaper (Hey, it was a great way to get the school to pay for tickets), and there was another "Naked teens who have sex and die" monster flick just about every weekend. Anyway, me and a group of friends/dates took in "The Boogens" one weekend, and it was one of those "so bad it inspires" movies. I wrote a hilarious review with phrases like "Terminal hickey, boogens-style". The editor thought it was my best work ever, but the faculty advisor wouldn't let us run it. Within a few months, the "Joe Bob Briggs, drive-in movie critic" phenomenon took off in the Dallas newspaper. One more case of me being ahead of my time...........................................Anyone pick up the latest Entertainment Weekly with the 50 greatest cult movies? "This is Spinal Tap" was their Numero Uno pick. They also included "Office Space", "BladeRunner", "Buckaroo Banzai" (I'm not typing out the full title), and about 46 others.
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I got so excited reading this article that I did review for it that will appear on http://www.laststory.com this coming Sunday. My editors were like "I have never seen this movie. What are you thinking? This sounds stupid." I told them that it was a masterpiece of cinema that deserved recognition of the highest order. It has got Barry Bostwick in a tight, gold jumpsuit with a blue bandanna! Makes me hot.
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www.user.fast.net/~mongiovi/magicgarden/
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As a person who mentioned "Banzai" and "Megaforce" in the same post, I want to make it clear that I don't think the two films are equals. Not at all. "Megaforce" is the special needs cousin of "Buckaroo Banzai" in every way one could think of. "BAnzai" is a true cult film. "Megaforce" is just a bad film that might be somewhat entertaining if one has a certain sense of humor. Loved your Spinal Tap line to sum it up so well, Triumph!
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Lightning video is responsible for the video release of some of the greatest horrible movies ever made. One of which is the half made comedy The Party Animal. The reason I call The Party Animal, "Half-Made" is because it is book ended by something that makes no sense to the rest of the movie whatsoever. But anyways, it is a funny outrageous comedy when its engines get roaring, because of the stuff that it considers to be humorous is quite tastelss and tragic. THe movie is about a cornpone redneck named Pondo, who, like many stars of 80's sex comedy, wants nothing more than to get laid before he graduates college. He has a suave playboy friend who always tries to give him advice, but it never works. So Pondo does what many a stupid love crazed comedic hero did in the 80's, he resorts to science. He tries to create a love potion, and the funniest thing about it is that there are a few misfires first. One formula causes a girl to have bad gas, and explode, another one causes a girl to turn into a hairy ape, and another one causes a girl to turn into a mutant monster very akin to the alien in This Island Earth. Pondo gets in trouble for his crimes against god and nature, as the dean lines up all of his disfigured girlfriends, a skeleton, an ape, and amutant together, and I got to tell you people, I exploded with laughter. There are few things as funny as that scene. The thing is, you got to mine through alot of other parts that make no sense whatsoever to get to it. The movie also has good music by the buzzcocks, and an old school ska band who actually appears in the movie. Everyone see this movie, with some beers and friends, it is after all the only movie that tries to milk laughs out of a guy who accidentally shoots a girl in the head, killing her.
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There is only one movie from the 80's that stands out as the true guilty pleasure classic by which to measure all other 80's films. and that film is "THE WRAITH", starring Charlie Sheen, and a young tan brunette (and oh so naked) Sherilyn Fenn.............. Now why can't I get that on DVD? And "Valley Girl" while you're at it. (At least "April Fool's Day" made it to DVD).
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If you have a region-free, PAL-converting player. Available in R2 UK and R4 Australian flavors. Valley Girl is coming out in R1 on
August 5th. -
Someone above brought up a good point about Harry being "disappointed" with Matrix: Reloaded and making "Megaforce" sound like it's golden shit. Wires must be crossed in his fucking head. So what if Matrix: Reloaded didn't live up to your expectations? Maybe if Neo and the rest of the gang dressed up in Megaforce uniforms and rode flying motorcycles with mismatched screen scenes behind them, Harry would've like Reloaded better!
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the reason Harry would hold megaforce to a lower standard than The Matrix Reloaded and the star wars movies can be resolved in a simple analogy. A guy and a monkey were locked in a room together for several hours by a group of scientists. The monkey, to pass time, would grab scoops of his feces off the ground, and lob it at the walls. He did this many times, and suddenly, the guy drops his pants, craps on the ground, picks it up, and throws it onto a wall. The scientists open the door and say WHAT THEY FUCK ARE YOU DOING! The guy looks at the scientist and replies, Well, he did it. Harry holds star wars and Matrix Reloaded to different standards because They deserve it. A, they are made now, when digital technology's capabilities appear limitless (I believe they are not though), B, Lucasfilm and Aol Time Warner had unlimited funds, time, and talent potentials at their fingertips. Movies like megaforce are made on the fly for the most part. They keep filming and do the best they can until money is up, then they stop. Movie over, and they edit and show whatever they got. They also dont have access to the same pool of talent. How many crappy movies made on shoe string budgets could have benefeited from hiring say Robert DiNero and Christopher Walken to appear in them? Probably all, but they can, so its not an issue. Great googum moogum. On top of this, no one wants The Matrix and Star Wars movies to be a great when you are drinking a ton of beers with your friends movie. Also, man, I keep going, but also, Megaforce and other shitty drive in style movies have a heart, an organic quality that is a result of their humble versions. if any movie did what they do in a trama film, I would be pissed, but trama gets off clean, because they make their movies for shit, so long as their titles and posters DO have something to do with the actual movie, I am pleased (ex. "Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid" doesnt have a fat guy going nutzoid at any point in the picture). Big studio films are made through such a sterile well budgeted process that heart and effort do usually go unnoticed. Just as if you were to go to high school, and watch a production of Macbeth, and then go to broadway, and watched Kelsey Grammer butcher Macbeth, even though he might have faired better than the high school performers (he may not have to tell you the truth though), but we just dont feel the heart or effort from the intimacy of a high school production in a major broadway production. ToJ out.
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May 28, 2003 8:25:11 PM CDT
here's a review to make you all teary eyed with nostalgia
by jackburtonlives
What
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Our picture begins. Actually, it began with a pre-credit title card (which is also read aloud, for the film
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May 28, 2003 8:28:14 PM CDT
ahh.. i can't go on anymore. if you want the complete review...
by jackburtonlives
Meanwhile, the bikers use the machine guns and missiles (!) mounted on their bikes to take out balloons floating above, which then burst into flames. Fire and smoke fill the screen as the music pounds away. This is all lovingly filmed, complete with the obligatory slo-mo shots, and is obviously supposed to be an action "showcase". But it just
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...even those inflicted by bad films, apparently. This movie was an eyesore from start to the half-way point, at which I changed channels. Hal (Smokey & The Bandit) Needham couldn't direct traffic and Barry Bostwick...well, there's a reason he toils in obscurity. And they're putting this on DVD! A movie without any redeeming merit! (sigh...whips out samurai sword...kill self)
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My Phillips DVD player plays anything, so I'm gonna' have to dig up one of those region 2 copies of "The Wraith". Anybody got a lead? Good news about "Valley Girl" too. Can "The Boogens" be far behind? Actually I saw an ad awhile back with a bunch of old Horror films 2-to-a-disc (I was looking for Motel Hell for a buddy that said it would be his only reason toget a DVD player), and I think "The Boogens" was on one of the discs.
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...they'd hired MEGA-FORCE. Or is it MEGA-FORCED. As in rammed up your spandex loving ass. Take that Saddam ! It's like Staying Alive plus The Wiz meets Rat Patrol. Way to go Manero !! How the fuck are you suppose to fight these guys when you're laughing your ass off?? How can you fight camel toe or cucumber bulges? You can't, not even American Ninja 1 through 4 can. If the French could fight they'd look like La'Mega Force. Ah but it's only a sick Hollyweird fantasy. This isn't the Citizen Kane of Hal Needhams career. That would be Smokey and The Bandit. But it's worth seeing 20 minutes of it for free after an info-mercial at 5 am. Nooooo... fucking way should anyone drop a dime on this shit. This is not entertainment people...it's anal probe pain.
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Henry Silva was the guy who played the baddie named, I think, Guerrera? He and his legion of badass tanks. Lol...I remember this movie now.
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May 29, 2003 7:57:33 PM CDT
If you think you're cool for pointing out that it's uncool for a
by margot_tenenbaum
...if by "totally cool" you mean "asshole", which brings us back to Brad "Barry Bostwick" Majors. We need to rent a theater and start dressing up in spandex and decorating our ten-speeds with cardboard and shouting at the movie as if we were tourette's victims from Greenwich Village. We can then get very self-important, act like we're the cast of a show, come up with a snarky name for ourselves and fuck each other silly. Of course, the guy who gets stuck with the Bostwick role will be the most sad of our lot, while the one who takes the role of the super-fruity Edward (Knight Rider) Mulhare will be lusted after by all.
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I always thought it was Chuck Norris in Megaforce... because ( And someone please stop me if I'm wrong ) but isn't Megaforce simply a kid's version of Delta Force?
Right down to the "Bike Chasing Transport Plane" scene at the end? OK, the Delta Force bike doesn't fly, but as far as I remember, Megaforce was pretty much scene-for-scene the same movie except with lasers instead of bullets.
It HAS been a good while since I've seen it - so can someone who's seen both recently confirm or deny? -
I just remember reaching a higher level of consciousness by playing the ATARI 2600 game for 4 hours straight when I was 8 years old. I swear, I was dizzy for hours. I can't be the only one who remembers this game.
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"Damnation Alley" and "Megaforce" on a double bill...mmmmm.
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Hey Smash Drama,
Don't forget "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" from the summer of '77. And who could forget "The Incredible Melting Man"? Although, that may have been later that year. -
For years, it felt like. But I'm saving my money for the Battlestar Galactica DVD box set.
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DAMN, thanks for reminding me of that one, Redd! Another person wrote me that they think "Tentacle," and "It's Alive!" were also out the summer of 1977, but what I really need to do is go to my local libary, look through the microfiche files of newspapers from the summer of 1977 and confirm what was out. I also saw "Black Sunday" at the drive-in that summer (the Bruce Dern killer blimp movie) but I think it was released earlier. Thanks again REDD!
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Yo I remember seeing Megaforce when I was 5 years old and i never got tired of it. I see it now and I just laugh my ass off, it's probably the greatest B movie of all time. I say that for that time the special effects where state of the art. I think the soundtrack is pretty good, buut you can't compare it to the soundtrack of Buckaroo Bonzai. Speaking of which what ever happened to Buckaroo Bonzai's next adventure "versus the World Crime League", does anyone know? Maybe they should throw it out.
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THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN was released in December 1977 according to imdb.com, although I don't recall it hitting the NY City area until '78. TENTACLES came out in 1977 and IT'S ALIVE! in 1974
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this classic from the golden year 1982: The Sword and the Sorcerer? Lee Horsley palyed a Conan-type hero but his sword had three parallel blades. The two outer blades would shoot off with little rocket motors. Good lord that was bad. lol I loved it back then.
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I saw in an interveiw like a year ago with Matt and Trey that they were working on getting the rights to do Megaforce II. And I don't think they were kidding.
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They said they always wanted to do a sequel to a movie that should never have one. They said they actually tried for Baseketball but universal said no. They wanted to get barry boswick and make it a musical.
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This was one of the best talk backs that I have ever had privy to being apart of on my 5 years of being on this website. I want to thank everyone who cared to dish on some retro cheesey coolness. It was a great time to read what you people thought about the whole extinct drive in movie genre. It is my goal to perhaps make a movie website that is solely dedicated towards the love of bad movies. My feelings for them are genuine. Probably call it Uncle Joe's Bad Movie Barnyard, and have a picture of me with a cowboy hat on and a peice of straw sticking out of my mouth. I do not know anything though about how to run or maintain a website. If anyone does know anything, and would like to get maybe 150 dollars to set me up, email me at thetaoofjoe2@aol.com
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I'm still waiting for that one be dragged kicking, and screaming into the digital age. It may not be up there with Spider-Man, or X2, but it sure is A fun movie if you give it A chance. However, If A new movie based on Howard ever gets made, (weather it's A seule, or A remake), Steve Gerber must have at least 80 percent creative controle of the film.
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Jun 04, 2003 9:31:56 AM CDT
Will this be a Special Edition with all the bad optical effects
by monkey_king
Sadly, that hottie Persis Kambatta is no longer with us. She looks damn good in that film and without that bald head from Star Trek the Motion Picture. It's G.I. Joe without the Joe's. I'm really hoping they improved the piss outta this film. They marketed the shit out of it back in the early 80's and it tanked due to the crappy wire work and opticals(some other cheesy stuff as well). Perhaps they reworked it into something more palatable.
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Jun 04, 2003 1:32:36 PM CDT
Good God! This is one movie that doesn't need to be released on
by wardog
Especially considering all the great but little known films that still aren't on DVD. Like The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood, goddammit! And THIS gets a DVD release! Criminy, Harry, why don't you nudge whoever has the rights to some classic pirate movies to make them see what a friggin' gold mine they're sitting on and RELEASE THEM ON DVD!!!!
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fuckin rad
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I once said that the perfect cheesy shitty 80's double feature would be to sit down and watch Flash Gordon and Megaforce back to back. I never thought it would happen ...
But they've released Flash Gordon on dvd and Megaforce isn't far behind ...
How sad is it that I'm waiting for Megaforce to be released so I can sit through 2 shitty movies at once?
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