Charles Band is at it again...
Forces of light and darkness
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Forces of light and darkness
Now that engineered, so-called "crop circles" are a minor industry, one would be hard pressed to explain the ancient sources of what the UFOlogists have recently commandeered as ext
ra-terrestrial messages.
Whirlwinds and eddies long carried symbolic import, and what came to be known as "fairy mounds" were actually burial places too old to be readily identifiable. So rushing winds, disturbed objects and isolated spots were consid
ered "otherworldly."
The figures of "the wee folk" came in handy when people had so little to go around, that good fortune might cause friction among neighbors. So you were always warned not to brag about what the fairies brought you, because they wou
ld come in and bite your toes at night to shut you up!
Canterbury Tales/I Racconti di Canterbury
(1971) Pasolini opted for an international cast instead of his beloved amateurs, and played Chaucer himself. The bawdier elements of the stories are right in your face.
109 min., Color, $79.95
Leapin' Leprechauns!
(1994) When the production supervisors are listed in the credits as "Teeny" and "Weeny," you know everyone was in a tongue-in-cheek mood. Director Ted Nicolaou sprinkled Romanians (?) throughout the cast, and some don't eve
n try for brogues! Check the baby Stonehenge straight out of Spinal Tap. You should recognize the cheery if somewhat baffled face above left: it's of Sylvester McCoy, one of the many Doctors Who. Another of those odd children's films rated PG f
or a reason no one fully understands, about an Irish grandpa who brings
his little friends along for an American visit, and all the slapstick
trouble they cause.
84 min., Color, Out now, $92.99
Leprechaun
(1993) Warwick Davis, as a shamrock-bedecked but ornery little guy, gleefully wrecks the joint in search of his missing pot 'o' gold. If you noticed that open ending for the planned sequel at the end of this horror film, you should b
e satisfied (or chagrined) to know the series is now on movie number three.
92 min., Color, $14.99
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb
(1995) The bolexbrothers studio
is responsible for this animated "nursery crime of epic
proportions." Title theme by Led Zep's John Paul Jones, music by Sheep On
Drugs and Startled Insects, production team of Bristol/South Wales talent
led by auteur Dave Borthwick - tons o' talent that grabbed 14
international awards.
(Out now, $29.95 for video, laser unannounced)
tom thumb
(1958) George Pal and his Puppetoons keep Rusty Tamblyn on his toes. Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas are the villains who want to take poor Tom from his adoptive parents and exploit him. Shiny 50s innocence still bubbles.
98 min.,
Color, $14.99
Troll
(1986) The resemblance to Gremlins is remarkable -- and duly remarked upon. Yet the antics of invading "pod people" trolls, and a loopy cast of apartment-dwelling victims (including those comic lovebirds Brad Hall and Julia Louis-D
reyfus) proved irrestistible to even British critics.
86 min., Color, Rated PG-13, $14.99
Willow
(1988) Ron Howard and George Lucas tried to invoke the Star Wars formula without the Star Wars characters, and didn't quite make it. Val Kilmer and his future Mrs., Joanne Whalley, and the old trouper Warwick Davis seemed to have fun wit
h Jean Marsh's evil Queen Bavmorda, though.
125 min., Color, Rated PG,
$14.99; but getting the laser box set treatment now: THX Widescreen,
side three CAV, Closed Captioned with production essay for $69.95 (Canada
$79.95)
Wizards
(1977) Another of Bakshi's trouble-plagued adult cartoons, about evil fairies of the future who muster Hitler's Nazi propaganda to fight their civil war. There's a sort of punk subversion in the works, but not very animated due to lack
of funds.
80 min., Color, $19.99
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Haven't seen any yourself? Well, Chaucer filed a second-hand report way back...
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