Just a quick note to accompany this clip of Ray Harryhausen’s work.
Being able to see moving images of the fantastic was a rare thing for the general populace before VHS rentals became ubiquitous. These wild visions would show up regularly on broadcast television, either late at night, or during the weekends, but by regularly, I mean you could see a particular movie twice a year if you were lucky. Or you might be able to catch them in a midnight movie, or a revival house. Organizations could rent 16mm prints of movies and show them, so sometimes you’d get lucky at summer camp or a school auditorium on a rainy day. (I know devotees would collect 16mm prints, too, and 8mm reels were available, but I’m talking about the non-collector, non-devotee type. Not everyone owned a movie projector.) Cable TV was only starting out.
So, when I went to The Ritz one night with some friends to see, um, Marianne Faithful?, Adrian Sherwood’s Tackhead?, sorry can’t remember. I was absolutely transfixed by the video DJ-ing that was going on pre-show.
One of the clips shown was Kali.
Fantastic!
I saw this film after Marvel did a two-part adaptation with great George Tuska art. Of all the Sinbad films — actually, out of all Harryhausen’s work — this one has the best story and most warmth for its characters. Even the villain and his devoted servant are treated with empathy. In fact, the baddie turns out to be so sympathetic that when a Saturday afternoon matinee audience in Britain started cheering for him, a BBC producer in the audience realized they’d found an actor to play the fourth incarnation of the Doctor, and so Tom Baker became a star.
Very cool, Richard. Worthy of a Paul Harvey tagline!
It’s true like the savings you’ll find and your local True Value hardware store!
I think it was Tackhead with Konk opening up, Jimmy Lee on gtr…
Sounds right!