Cool News
Rest In Peace John Phillip Law
Hey guys. Quint here. Word has come out that actor John Phillip Law has died at the age of 70. There are many great films to his credit, his most famous probably being THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, where he played the title character, and BARBARELLA, where he played a scantily clad blind angel.
He was great in both films. I have one-sheets for 'em both around the house, but I'd like to point out a couple other films not getting as much attention.
A few years back the Alamo Drafthouse screened a beautiful IB Tech print of DANGER DIABOLIK, directed by Mario Bava. In the flick, Law played the title character, a badass anti-hero... a man of few words and a kickass outfit. Lush '60s decor and vivid colors that could only be brought to the silver screen by the Technicolor process really made this a stand-out, even if it hasn't been pumped into the mainstream.
As a stand alone performance, Law's turn in DIABOLIK is probably his best, but of his films my favorite is probably DEATH RIDES A HORSE.
I'm a sucker for a good Spaghetti Western and DEATH RIDES A HORSE is a fucking great one. Lee Van Cleef starred, but the story really belonged to Law's character. As a child he watched his family get gunned down and in true Spaghetti Western fashion he grows into a young man obsessed with revenge.
You'll remember the theme song was used by Tarantino during the House of Blue Leaves sequence when the Bride calls out for O-Ren.
If you haven't seen it, it's a must. Track it down if you can.
My thoughts are with Mr. Law's friends, family and fans. He will be missed.
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shame to see great actors go... =0(
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...and it was Golden VOYAGE of Sinbad not 'adventures'...*fail* on the geek litmus test...
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For the catch. I've had many ignorant slips before, but I DID know the name of that movie. I have the one-sheet up in my home (signed by Harryhausen, no less). Brain fart and it's fixed now, but again... thanks for the catch.
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i had just bought 'Death Rides a Horse' on dvd..
wow, rest in peace, Mr. Law -
Have never seen Danger Diabolik. I wonder if that character was inspiration for the original version of Snake Eyes?
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but Death Rides A Horse sounds like a blast. The tag-line! Lee Van Cleef! This poor man recently deceased! Thats my sunday morning hangover viewing sorted
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Oh that man was simply the most beautiful creature. I remember just sitting there enraptured by his angel on Barbarella. Wasn't that character in Grant Morrison's run on the X-Men meant to be a dedication to him and Danger Diabolik? Can't recall the character's name but he wore a white version of his costume.
Well, rest easy fella - you gave us some lovely movies and made me smile from ear to ear. Beautiful. -
Shame just watched sinbad the other week... not his best performance, but it did have Martin Shaw and Tom baker..!! Probably best in Danger.D. Better that Modesty Blaise for sheer 60's nutzoid colour.
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My favorite Sinbad film of all time is Golden Voyage of Sinbad. I own it on DVD. I watched it with my dad growing up. It's probably the first film that made me fall in love the fantasy genre. His Sinbad was so badass! He's gone now, but he'll forever live in these wonderfil movies.
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..Terence Hill..not familiar w/ him too?..well the hell w/ you!! May Bud Spencer kick your Alzheimer's ridden ass!!.. Anyway RIP Mr. Law..
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In the Speed Racer threads and wondering if the guys at AICN knew about it or liked it. It appears so.
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thoughts go out to his family.
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Love that film. Great performance, despite or even due to the fact that Law hardly speaks.
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Actually he is my favorite Sinbad at of all those RHH movies. RIP sir.
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Best Sinbad. Kali fight is greatness.
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Who else can dive out of a plane, have a fight in mid-air and nick the parachute off his opponent? It really is too bad he can only die once.
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Danger Diabolik was one of the best films ever. There is a great tribute over at Tim Lucas' Video Watchblog with a couple of cool pics of them recording the DVD commentary.
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reference to his role as Flight Cmdr. Elijah Kalgan in Space Mutiny?? I thought you were geeks. I wonder if his hearse will have a waxing compound. Is it too early for those kind of jokes?
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Bought Danger: Diabolik on a whim at a used movie store and it has since become one of my all time favorite movies. I have been on a quest since then to see as many of his movies as possible. May your cars always be fast, your women easy, and your bed covered with money. Truly a loss.
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Was a classic Spaghetti. Not in league with the more popular Sergio Leone films mind you but still. Yes he does look like Terence Hill, another icon for spaghetti, albeit quirky. John Law was too young to depart from us but leaves us with handsome memories! RIP
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Nolan, I can see from that Youtube clip why you thought he looked like the guy in the TRINITY westerns close but no dice. RIP. JPL leaves behind a good body of work for us to enjoy. He was the first Sinbad I saw in a theater as a kid and who could forget the Angel from Barbarella, who needs viagra when... Damn we will miss you : ( I hope he left some audio commentaries about his work on films like Danger and Sinbad as it would be nice to know his thoughts on those projects. I hope someone took the time to ask him before he passed.
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Stupid question, but is he related to Jude Law? They have the same eyes.
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Sort of a nasty womanizer named Robin Storm? (love the name)
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Damn... the best Sinbad ever. What a shame, and not very old either. He will be missed.
R.I.P. -
Does anyone know why Law wasn't in Eye of the Tiger?
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You should do all the obits on this site, man.
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He was interviewed at a Mario Bava double bill at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood where they showed "Danger: Diabolik." He looked a little tired, but was very talkative. He brought his son on stage saying that he was the next "Diabolik" that got a laugh because the kid is ten! He was a gracious man who had many more movies to film. Its sad he's gone.
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I must have seen that movie 20 times on HBO when I was a kid. John Phillip Law, Mel Gibson, and Sam Neill, shooting Nips in the South Pacific. It plays kinda cheesy now, but when I was growing up, it was one of the most badass movies I ever saw. I think I was scarred - in a good way - during the scene where the commandoes had to kill one of their own injured team members in order to safeguard the mission. That was when I understood that military leaders have to make hard decisions in the field, which got me out of my wanting-to-be-a-soldier phase. I still love war movies, but I've never looked at them the same.
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Loved SINBAD, loved ATTACK FORCE Z... but to me, DIABOLIK will always be a highlight of MST3K -- a movie so utterly, spectacularly bad, you can't help but love it and everyone in it. And you still gotta tip the cap to Law for that. He'll be missed...
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I'm blaming him for my fondness of men with big-ass angel wings. :(
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He was the heart-throb in this truly funny 1968 movie starring Alan Arkin. Watch it now; it was decades ahead of its time.
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Truly sad when we lose someone whose work we enjoy. This fellow was the best of Harryhausen's three Sinbads. He now slays monsters in the beyond.
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I always thought he was a cool guy. Nosferatu Jones, I couldn't agree more. Movie posters these days look like they belong to video games. Disgusting, really.
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...the image of you riding a go-cart in Space Mutiny will live on in our hearts forever!
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Danger Diabolik is my favorite movie of all time and John Phillip Law one of my favorites. This causes me physical pain. Horrible, horrible news... I hope he had a great life because he never got the due he deserved.
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Don't forget that Diabolik has the distinguished honor of being the last episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000!
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I remember a family friend having his posters all over her walls. He was quite the heartthrob back then. Sympathies to his family and friends!
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what a shame
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Terence Stamp..but DAMN! 70? That is hardly old nowadays. Pity.
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don't forget that he was Calgon in Space Mutiny!
Loved him in CQ as well -
at one of the Chiller Theater shows a few years back. Seemed like a nice guy and was very appreciative to the fans that came to his table for an autograph. That's how I'll remember the man.
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... who will write "Behind The Mask"?
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Cool guy. Unfortunate. He was my favorite Sinbad.
Thanks, Quint, for the info on those two films. They are now at the top of my queue over at Netflix. -
Better than many James Bond films (I'm looking at you Live & Let Die). R.I.P. Diabolik. It was great to see him IN CQ a few years back. He still looked really good at age 66. His work will live forever.
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Goddamn.
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You looked like few others good sir. It's why you made the roles of Diabolik and Pygar so incredible. I cannot let it pass that The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad stands in my mind as one of the best Sinbad films ever made, and largely due to Law's portrayal of Sinbad. It's one I own and watch on a regular basis. (I also own Diabolik and not only watch it regularly, but also have introduced it to friends who now love it.) When I was a kid and saw Diabolik floating around on Saturday afternoon television... I wanted to BE Diabolik. And why WOULDN'T you? He had it all and at the end of the day he lived in 60s neo-art-deco lair that shamed even the fanciest Batcave and had the most beautiful partner around, and he slept on a pile of cash for celebration. JFL you will be missed incredibly.
Diabolik was one of the first MST3K episodes I also converted from VHS to DVD for repeated viewing as well. I love Dibolik and the MSTie of it equally. My wife and I were discussing that it's hard to explain how we can love something dearly enough to be able to laugh with it or even at it sometimes. Diabolik is one of those things, I do so love it for what it is, but I also can't help but cracking a smile at the audacious silliness of it too. It's equally the world I fantasize living in and the world I'm glad I don't live in. :) -
We will miss Mr. Law. This man was fortunate enough to star with some of the most beautiful women on the planet in his career. Obviously Marisa Mell in Diabolik was the absolute goddess. Now, if you want to see a truly remarkable side of John, do yourself a favor and check out his turn in "Open Season," if you can find a print. (and don't purchase the shitty "Recon Game" VHS they released in the '80s of it...that thing's so damn cropped and washed out, you can't tell what the hell's going on in the film!) Together with the incomparable Peter Fonda and the snivelling Richard Lynch, Law and those two guys put on a harrowing show of unhinged suburban dudes committing "The Most Dangerous Game" scenario on the lovely Cornelia Sharpe and her lover. This movie is both savvy and nasty, but with a dark sense of humor in tow. And shit, William Holden's in the damn thing too at the beginning and end! Anchor Bay, Blue Underground, Dark Sky, somebody(!) put this friggin' masterpiece out on DVD already!!! And while you're at it, put it on a double release with John's masterful turn as "Docteur Justice." He plays a very cool badass in that, and yes, there's another beautiful babe...Nathalie Delon. RIP John.
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Fly on, Pygar the blind angel.>p>"An angel doesn't make love.""An angel IS love."
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..but trapped in molten gold? MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
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