Robert Fuest - a stylish approach to horror

Unique visions and eccentric horrors...

Robert Fuest is a director whose name I learned early on in the world of horror movies. I was then very disappointed when his name stopped cropping up. Reports of a third (and fourth) Dr Phibes movie turned out to be rumours and Fuest settled back into TV and TV movies, most of which I haven't seen. Partly because they were rarely shown, but also because I was afraid they'd mar my admiration for his best work.

While he's mostly associated with the stylised world of The Avengers and the two Dr Phibes movies, he also made two straightforward horror films, the original And Soon the Darkness and The Devil's Rain. Between directing episodes of The Avengers and The New Avengers, he directed almost a cult movie for every year.

Fuest had directed eight episodes in the Tara King (Linda Thorson) era of The Avengers in 1968-69, but had been a production designer for many earlier episodes. It had an obvious influence on the visual style of his films and he continued to work with producers and writers from the series.

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970)

A sober change from The Avengers, this was definitely a horror film. No spoofing, but an attempt to do nail-biting suspense in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock. Like the methods of the 'Master of Suspense', Brian Clemens' script created a plot which would play on the audiences' expectations and try to keep them guessing. (My full review is here).

While The Avengers and The Final Programme are set in surreal and stylised universes, The Devil's Rain and And Soon the Darkness are set in the real world. His trademark bizarre set designs are completely absent, but what remains is the sparseness, using empty landscapes instead of soundstages. The French countryside in And Soon the Darkness is open and flat - the cyclists are often alone in an expanse with no one else around. The 'stage' is empty apart from a few key players. There are very few towns or buildings and very few places to hide...

The rocky plains of Lapland at the start of The Final Programme also resonates with The Devil's Rain, set almost entirely in an American desert. Again, wide open flat space with only the key buildings visible. A wooden church literally in the middle of nowhere. The location stripped down to the place 'where it all happens'.

THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES (1971)

A hugely enjoyable black comedy, with Vincent Price murdering his enemies with a variety of themed murder methods. It was fun to see reviews of Se7en remember this film as a possible influence.

Many dark jokes arise from Phibes having had his face burnt off, meaning he has to eat and drink through unseen cavities in the side of his neck, and plug in a speaker to make himself heard.


As I watched this again, I kept catching myself thinking "nothing is happening in this scene". Fuest, like Phibes, makes time for the finer things in life. Beautiful corridors, exquisite women in exquisite dresses, music, dance, fine food and wine. Between murders, and even during murders, Phibes does everything with style. When his assistant Vulnavia appears, she walks down a corridor built especially for a grand entrance. And Fuest takes the time to watch.


Vincent Price is supposed to be stoney-faced - perhaps a technique he perfected for Witchfinder General - but shows just how little he needs to still make it humorous. My favourite scene is when he leaves one murder only after giving the corpse a withering look after sniffing some cheap wine, then re-entering the shot to shake his head at some doubtful art hanging on the wall. Subtle, silent asides.

Fuest demonstrated his comfort with visual story-telling by taking us through the first ten minutes of the film without a word being spoken, by which time we get to know Phibes, the man, his mission and his methods. Throughout the film are many more music-only segments.

In the stripped-down style of The Avengers, he continued to use sets that were sparsely furnished, only containing the elements needed for each scene. In TV, this would have suited the limited budgets and fast shooting schedules. Phibes' main hall contains a (huge pink) organ, his mechanical band, and a dance floor - everything needed for the opening scene, but nothing more.


The second murder in The Abominable Dr Phibes reminds me of the surreal look of The Avengers. On seeing the 'frog mask scene' on DVD for the first time, I was shocked at how little set there was - little more than a staircase and a pillar! But the framing of each shot emphasises the characters and the action, and any object placed close to the camera can easily take up half the screen - why waste money on an expensive set if you can't see it?

But this isn't to say he was always constrained by budget. The gorgeous interior of Phibes' pyramid hideaway, and some of the rooms in Jerry Cornelius' mansion look huge - but still empty of clutter.

Fans of Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter may recognise actor John Cater without his glasses and hunched back, as the detective's furious boss. A role so popular that he's brought back for the sequel.

DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN (1972)

Vincent Price returned as Phibes, wreaking more havoc on the living with phase two of his master plan, moving his operation to Egypt in search of ancient magic. Again, he uses far-fetched methods to eliminate anyone who get's in his way.

This feels more vicious than the first and it's been reported that it was bloodied up at the request of the producers, while Fuest intent on increasing the comedy. The murders end up as more prolonged and nasty, while the plot feels far thinner than the first. Phibes' motivation is well established, but the murders aren't part of the plan this time, and the doctor makes a silly mistake that slows down the plot.

There are still some priceless visual gags (Phibes' head hidden among some skulls) and the wonderful finale. Plus a cameo from Peter Cushing and roles for Robert Quarry (Count Yorga), a young Fiona Lewis (The Fury), a young John Thaw (The Sweeney) and Lewis Fiander (Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde, Who Can Kill a Child?).

THE FINAL PROGRAMME (1973)

At this point, Fuest turned down directing another Vincent Price serial killfest, Theatre of Blood, for fear of being typecast. Though I would have loved to see his version.

Instead Fuest wrote, directed and designed The Final Programme, though I'll vouch that he included an awful lot of Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius mythology. While the author wasn't happy with this presentation of his anti-hero, Fuest's film is still a hell of a homage.

After the death of his father, international playboy and genius Jerry Cornelius inherits the family mansion. Three scientists are very interested in something in dad's safe and employ a troubleshooter to help Jerry break back into the house to get the information and save Jerry's sister from his drug-crazed brother Frank. As the world descends into chaos, Jerry has no idea that he could also be its the saviour...

At the time, just after 2001: A Space Odyssey, it was very hard to sell science-fantasy to an audience for them to take seriously. The film spoofs as much sci-fi as it presents, also portraying the action hero as a clumsy coward. When it's not spoofing, it's a satire on the future of humanity. Full of ideas, many are mentioned and not shown - you have to listen carefully to realise the Third World War is well under way. Much of the best dialogue is almost lost in the mix, "she got absorbed in someone else...".

I enjoy the many references to Moorcock's work, but don't take it as a serious representation of his character. Though it's thrilling to see the central crux of Moorcock's epic Eternal Champion story played out in the second act, as Cornelius returns home to his beloved (I mean truly beloved) sister Catherine to face off against his rival, Frank. My favourite 'facet' of the character were the books about Elric of Melnibone, going through the same motions as Cornelius but in an alternate dimension.

Fuest repeatedly highlights strong, no-nonsense female characters. The mute sidekicks around Phibes are decorative but also deadly. And Soon the Darkness has the fiesty Pamela Franklin. But the strongest of all is Jenny Runacre as the formidable Miss Brunner, a power-driven nasty version of Emma Peel - unnaturally strong, intelligent, scheming and vampiric...

Jon Finch (The Vampire Lovers, Hitchcock's Frenzy, Polanski's Macbeth) looks good as Jerry Cornelius but winds up as a foppish clown and a victim of circumstance. Watch out for a young Sarah Douglas (Ursa in Superman II, Return of the Living Dead III) as Cornelius' sister, bedridden much like Phibes' wife.

THE DEVIL'S RAIN (1975)

While the two Phibes and The Final Programme can be enjoyed as spoofing their respective genres, the last in this batch wasn't intentionally funny. I initially had trouble linking in And Soon the Darkness and The Devil's Rain, which are both played seriously (despite Shatner's over-acting). Fuest can do genuine horror if he wants to - generating unease, suspense and shocks.

The common theme is the remote setting and the barren landscape - like the town in the middle of the desert. A church that god has abandoned, and satanists have moved in. Their quest for power needs only one thing, a mysterious book...



When it was released, The Devil's Rain was one of the squishiest horror movies I'd ever seen. But because the gore was made of wax, it was possible to show gushing fluids pouring out of people at a time when blood-letting was still seriously censored in the cinema.



The images echo Dr Phibes when he's melting the wax busts of his victims after each successful kill. Pointing a blowtorch at each 'face' was another violent image that wasn't actual violence being committed. The use of humour and the outlandish methods in the Phibes films also enabled some nasty murders to escape censor cuts.

The Devil's Rain has an unusual vibe to it, set up during the titles backed by queasy visions of hell as painted by Hieronymus Bosch. While the soundtrack isn't memorable, the mix of unsettling tones and human crying prefigures the music of Suspiria.

With so much going for it, the film's main drawback is the lack of story development or urgency, especially in the middle. Also having John Travolta in a bit part and a half-naked William Shatner co-star are distracting for any serious viewers. But Ernest Borgnine is effective as a resurrected devil-worshipper - a formidable villain with some nasty powers, looking suitably demonic before the make-up effects kick in. Also interesting to see Tom Skeritt before he tackled Alien.

THE NEW AVENGERS (1976, TV)

But after that Robert Fuest mostly returned to TV, including two episodes of The Avengers reborn, both of which are recommended. The Midas Touch features one of the tightest TV car chases and the creepiest of murder methods. The Tale of the Big Why is one long mysterious chase and features actress Jenny Runacre from The Final Programme.

But that was the end of Fuest's busiest and most creative period. There are a couple more films of his that could be interesting which I hope to see soon, but the above list includes his most surreal work and all of his horror films. If you've liked any one of this list, you should see the rest.

I guess And Soon the Darkness was the most straightforward film of Fuest's to be remade, maybe The Devil's Rain would be the next (anyone?). It was interesting to learn (in the DVD notes on Dark Sky's edition of The Devil's Rain) that Fuest also turned down The Legend of Hell House (hmm) and The Neptune Factor (thankfully)!

All of the above have made it to DVD and I'm sure will continue to entertain.

THREE DANGEROUS LADIES

(1977, segment 3 'The Island')

The rest of his directing jobs were mostly in TV. This half-hour section of Three Dangerous Ladies is the strongest of the three, and Fuest recalls Graham Crowden (The Final Programme, O Lucky Man) and Jenny Runacre, opposite Charles Gray and John Hurt! 

A rich wall-to-wall soundtrack, recalling the vocal elements of Dr Phibes, and a gorgeously shot journey to the island lead up to a large house with enigmatic occupants. A great build-up to a pay-off you'd expect in a Victorian short story. But for anyone desperate for every last drop of Fuest, this is worth a look. 

REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES (1980, TV)

Not necessarily a must-see, but Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a taut, and occasionally nasty, TV movie, the first sequel to the 1975 film, directed by Bryan Forbes. Sharon Gless plays a reporter, drawn to the too-good-to-be-true statistics of Stepford residents. She befriends a young couple, played by Don Johnson (between A Boy and his Dog and Miami Vice) and Julie Kavner (between Rhoda and The Simpsons) and locks horns with Arthur Hill (Mission Impossible, The Andromeda Strain) about Stepford's new, deadly secret...

I enjoyed this more than the original movie (where even the poster is a spoiler), because I didn't know where it was going to lead. It has no tell-tale, Fuestian hallmarks, but is effective like his other straightforward thrillers.

This is only currently available on VHS in the US.



 

It's surprising that one hasn't arrived sooner, but there's now a book out about Robert Fuest, but, it's only available in Italian!

Author Michael Moorcock talks about his experience of the adaption of The Final Programme in his recent public interview at the BFI. Though as movie connections go, he prefers The Land that Time Forgot (1975) which he scripted! Now that's a different beast altogether...

(Updated August, 2013 - to include Revenge of the Stepford Wives review.)

Best Of 2010 - Television

I normally do not watch a lot of TV, but things changed a tad in 2010. TV is now a great medium to get some original ideas and I started watching a few more shows since I got a DVR (if you do not know what that is, look it up and get one... now). So here is a list of my favorite shows from 2010, if you have some time check them out.(not listed in any order)


Lost (ABC) - Probably one my favorite shows of all time, Lost ended what was a great all around series. A lot of people I know who watched the show complained about how the ending did not answer all the small questions while others like me just enjoyed the show and all that it gave to the viewers. I can't say the show was ever predictable and the ending held true to the entire series while the finale left me with much sadness to see one of my favorite shows come to and end, I miss the characters and the island with all its mysterious. Goodbye Lost, you shall be missed.



How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - HIMYM continues to please the viewer with good running gags and some great comedy. This season did get a little off target with giving us the down-low on who the mother may be. They introduced a new character (a possible future love interest or just a new part of the gang?) who is a friend to the group. Overall the show continues to deliver to the 25-25 year old crowd and if you are in that age range this show is for you and you should be watching it.


The League (FX) - Quite possibly the best show about a fantasy football league ever! Okay possibly the ONLY show about fantasy football ever. Sometimes I feel this show is made for me. The humor can be crude yet also very well crafted. The cast continues to bring its A game. I hope this show can continue to build and last a few more seasons, I think its one of the best comedies out there today.


The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - I was not a huge fan of the show before this year, previously I had only seen a handful of episodes but this season really got to me. I like the jokes and the dynamic of the show. The writers really know how nerds think and they do their research when it comes to mentioning something small that only a few fanboys would know. I think acting is very well done and I am glad a show like this actually exists, who would of thought a show about nerds and outcasts would be a hit!



The Event (NBC) - A show that had some potential, I started to watch it in my post Lost haze, hoping that the show would have some mystery and intrigue. The Event started off well enough but towards the end it started to lose its luster. WARNING SPOILERS-- The show is about an alien race that crash landed in Alaska in the 30's and they are now trying to get back home-- END SPOILERS. The show sort of gave away too much to early and while I still enjoyed the episodes I am not sure if I will want to watch it unless it is able to step up in terms of story. As of now the show is on hiatus (never a good sign) for 9 months.


Pawn Stars (History Channel) & Hollywood Treasure (Syfy) - I group these reality shows together because they are somewhat related. Pawn Stars is about a pawn store in Las Vegas and all the dealing they do on a day to day basis. They show is great because they go into the history of the things people bring in and often time they show things you may never see. The personality of the 4 main people who run the shop is also very funny and entertaining.

Hollywood Treasure is similar reality show in which a group works for an auction house. The show is about making connections and finding old pieces of Hollywood memorabilia that they can auction off for a nice profit. I enjoy seeing the people on the show find these old film relics (like the golden ticket from Willy Wonka, Gremlins from the movie, and much more cool stuff) that interest a movie nerd like myself.


Saturday Night Live (NBC) - I still watch SNL but only because of the DVR, if it was not for that I would most likely skip the show. I often skip the musical acts (when I have no interest) and the show has a ton of commercials that I have no interest in waiting through. The show has some good cast members and will always delve into politics or current event. Of course it is very hit or miss and often the best parts of the show are the digital shorts and the weekend updates. I do enjoy seeing Bill Hader and a few other who always seem to do a good job.



The Walking Dead (AMC) - The Walking Dead is a new show which was based off a comic of the same name. I really loved this show, they have some great stories and the acting was really top notch. Of course the premise of the story is that zombies have taken over and only a handful of humans remain. We follow Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he searches for his family. I am not surprised the show became the hit series that it did and I like many other cannot wait to see what they do next, they only had a 6 episode first season and it will be interesting to see the stories they come up with next.


Well those or some of the best shows I saw in 2010, I hope you enjoyed the list and please feel free to comment below.

Another year over and what have you done?

A LOOK BACK

After posting twice-weekly throughout 2009, this year was total upheaval as we moved out of the house for six months of building work. I kept up with weekly posts but am still struggling to improve on that frequency while my reference collection is still in disarray. I used to cope with two movie reviews a week, but I've been getting (over)ambitious in the scope of each post.

It was fun to talk about my earliest horror film books and magazines. I'm planning several more time capsules of 1970s' movie memorabilia and cinema-going...

I also wrote more cross-comparisons of films based on the same source material, like Dante's Inferno, and the Jonestown mass suicide. But those articles took weeks to prepare. Simple reviews turning into three-in-one epics. The idea is always to try and not repeat what's already out there. Why post reviews of Avatar or Inception and compete with a thousand other writers?

Perversely, I've enjoyed writing about movies that aren't currently available, to raise awareness (and demand) for older films that haven't made the 'leap' to DVD yet. It feels wrong to recommend films that you can't easily see, but at the same time it's about putting out information that's missing from the net, and showing love for the films being left behind. Thankfully this year there's been a fairly steady stream of DVD releases to tick off my 'most wanted' list, most notably The Green Slime!

Twittering has been fun, but I'm not sure that it has fed many readers back into this blog. I've also found it impossible to get reliable recommendations about films from the other Twitterers! There's a lot of excitement and promotion involved, and it's much harder to 'read' where people are coming from. I find it a useful way to get news out quickly, and for posting mini-reviews of stuff that I'm not going to blog about.

Stepping back to look at the site as a whole, I'm planning to restructure it (slightly) to make the archives more navigable. Instead of displaying a list of every film review in the sidebar, I want to turn each category into a more helpful page of recommendations. The idea being that the site is somewhere to come for ideas about what to watch in your favourite genre.

In any case, thank you for reading. I've still got a thousand things I want to write about.

Finally, a word from the cat sitting on the keyboard... xdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

The cat sat in front of the Shat

Happy Christmas, Earthlets!

As you can see, the festivities will continue even in the far future, despite the efforts of Mega-City One's most hardworking lawman, Judge Dredd.

More future festive cover art can be viewed here on Pete Wells' site 2000AD Covers Uncovered.

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970) ...they were lost in France

AND SOON THE DARKNESS

(1970, UK)

Tense thriller from the production crew of The Avengers

(This is an updated review, first posted in 2007.)

This is a good companion piece to Blind Terror (US title See No Evil) also written by Brian Clemens. There's a slow-burning set-up that carefully builds up atmosphere, and never telegraphs to the audience where the story will go next.

Again, I was first frightened by this film as a teenager. It's still intriguing and suspenseful, capturing the atmosphere of a hot continental summer. There's a hundred films where people are stranded in the unwelcoming wilderness of middle America, but how many are set in rural France?

Although this is one of my favourite psycho-thrillers, I still want to see the new remake that stars Karl Urban. It won't need much tweaking to work really well today.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice play two friends on a cycling holiday in the French countryside. The girls cross paths with a mysterious stranger, and soon afterwards get separated. Michele thinks she's being watched. But when Pamela tries to find her again, she can't... either they keep missing each other, or there is a mystery here, and the local people (those who talk English) talk about other local disappearances...

With Brian Clemens writing and producing, Robert Fuest directing, and Laurie Johnson composing, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was an episode of The Avengers (the series had just been cancelled). Together, they successfully make a Hitchockian thriller, inverting the setting of a psycho-thriller from a cliched storm-drenched, haunted house into sunlit open fields, a little like the famous cropduster scene in North by Northwest.

Talking on the US DVD commentary track, Clemens must have had a lousy holiday in France to inspire the menace of the deserted roads and the unfriendly locals. All the French spoken in the film remains untranslated (by subtitles), siding us with the confused English holidaymaker. We are as much in the dark as she is.



Perfectly cast, Michele Dotrice and Pamela Franklin both look great in hotpants (tight, short shorts). Franklin was already a horror veteran, as a child star in The Innocents (1960), The Third Secret (1964) and The Nanny (1965), and soon appeared in the The Legend of Hell House (1973) as a psychic. Oh and let's not forget she was then in the fairly awful The Food of the Gods (1976), a sign that her film career was slowing down - what a terrible waste. I'll watch her non-horror roles - she's such an interesting actress.

Michele Dotrice (daughter of actor Roy), is better known in the UK as a sitcom star, but had also done horror in Hammer's The Witches (1966) and soon appeared in Tigon's extraordinary Blood on Satan's Claw (1971).

  

Sandor Eles' character roams the countryside, appearing here between his two famous Hammer horror roles, The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) and Countess Dracula (1971). Like most of the main cast, British actors at this time couldn't afford to turn their noses up at TV work or horror films. Though Sandor's Hungarian accent often restricted him to playing villains.

Director Robert Fuest is always interesting, pushing for unusual but effective cinematography, set design and story ideas. Here there aren't any of his usual stylish sets, instead he uses the sparse locations, constantly achieving dramatic effects with subtle lighting and framing. He was the perfect choice as a director for many episodes of The Avengers, and his next few films are among my favourite ever - The Abominable Dr Phibes, Dr Phibes Rises Again, The Final Programme and The Devil's Rain.

I'm sure that the music is supposed to remind us of Hitchcock's films, but mostly it reminded me of The Avengers, until the intense climax where composer Laurie Johnson complemented the action with unique and eerie sounds.

The region 1 DVD is 16:9, but the 1.33 aspect I'm used to seeing on British TV looks better off unmatted. For example, some scenes of the girls cycling are so tight that you sometimes can't even see they're sitting on a bike - surely not the intention. But the DVD has a great commentary track with both Brian Clemens and Robert Fuest. Clemens' "necrophiliac" comment is a classic! There was a UK DVD release from Optimum soon afterwards.

More on the genre films of Robert Fuest here.

Childhood Favorites: A Second Look

I have been focusing a lot on sports in the blog but want to change things up. I recently viewed some movies that I always held in high praise because they were special to me when I was a child. Having not seen some of these movies for many years I felt like I was seeing them with new eyes and had some new feelings on these movies.




Major League (1989):
This was always a favorite of mine because it was a sports comedy. On my recent viewing I felt it held up very well. I enjoyed the swearing a tad more when I was a kid because saying fuck was hilarious, and I feel that why it was still funny it wasn't as hilarious as previously remembered. I think I did enjoy more of the scenes with Bob Uecker as the Indians play by play man Harry Doyle.

Now having more insight into baseball, as I watch in more now then I did when I was a kid. I can see the players the movie was making fun of like high priced free agents past there prime (Corbin Bernsen) like Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox, young speedsters (Wesley Snipes) like Michael Born of the Houston Astros, pitchers past there prime that rely on junk/craft rather then speed (Chelcie Ross) like Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies, young pitchers who only rely on speed and can amass tons of strike outs (Charlie Sheen) like Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals, old catchers that have bum legs but are great team players (Tom Berenger) like Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox, and guys who can hit for power but not else (Dennis Haysbert) like Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox.



No matter I still think the ending of the movie is great, it holds up really well. I like that the Indians only get into the playoffs with the win and its not the World Series ( I believe that was touched on more in the disappointing sequel). I was happy to learn that many actual major league players watch this movie in the club house and appreciate it. I still think after all these years the movie is hilarious and makes me long to watch a baseball game.

Grade: A-




Back to the Future (1985):
With the 20th anniversary of the movie Back to the Future was getting a lot of press lately. I know Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd appeared together at an award show, Yahoo had a front page story about how Eric Stolz was originally cast and replaced by Fox and that they just released the trilogy on Blu-Ray, I guess all the talk made me want to go back and re-visit the original film.

It has been a few years since I last visited the world of Hill Valley and I must say besides some dated special effects (the fire between Doc and Marty's legs looks pretty bad) the movie is still as awesome as ever. The story once seemed confusing me to as a kid but now I totally get it and all the little jokes.



I was also noticing they say the word shit in the movie more then a few times and I was wondering how much I understood about terrorists shooting Doc Brown and how that seems pretty adult in nature. But besides those few things i just totally enjoyed watching Michael J. Fox at the top of his game back in 1985. Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson give great supporting parts as high schooler and adults. I don't really need to go on, this one is a classic for a reason.

Grade: A


The Goonies (1985) :
Seems like 1985 was a great year for long lasting movies. The Goonies, Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science were among the movies released that year that I consider to be true modern classic movies. The Goonies is a movie that everyone I know that is 25-35 years old seems to love. I decided it had been a long time since my last viewing so it was high time to watch this one again.

Another movie that I could see easily getting a PG-13 rating today, you have some great humor and I think most people (including myself) love that Goonies doesn't take itself too serious. It really has a child's outlook and I believe that is the reason of it success. You feel like a Goonie when you watch the movie, you just enjoy the adventure just as much as it looks like Mikey, Mouth, Data, Chunk and the rest of the kids do.




Grade: A-

SKY RIDERS (1976) - best ever hang gliding action movie...

SKY RIDERS(1976, USA)


This article has now been updated - with news of the widescreen DVD release

What's the most dangerous way to liberate hostages?
A definitely 70s action movie centred on a fad, that's not related to disco or skateboarding. With a great cast and a Lalo Schifrin score, shot in 2.35 widescreen, this movie could still fly today (if it were ever given the chance of a DVD release).

A gang of Baader-Meinhof (style) terrorists, disguised in hockey masks, invade a wealthy industrialist's home and kidnap his wife (Susannah York) and two kids. For a lot of money and ammunition he can buy them back, but the Greek police (led by Charles Aznavour) don't want to give in to their demands. So while the husband (Robert Culp) is dealing with the police, ex-husband (James Coburn) tries to sneak into the baddies' hideout, high in a mountain-top monastery, and free the hostages by himself. How on Earth is he going to do that?

Hang gliders. For a while they were everywhere. James Bond had a high-flying stunt in Live and Let Die (1973). But the film that top hang glider experts recommend is Sky Riders for some of the best and most dangerous footage of the sport in its early days, before the fliers wore parachutes!

The skateboard movie 'genre' was aimed at kids and teens (encouraging them to try dangerous stunts like riding under moving lorries on their skateboards). But this pitches itself as a tough, adult thriller, completely contrary to the serene feeling of flying high in the sky without an engine. Hang gliders as action vehicles are also limited by their close resemblance to sitting ducks.

The opening kidnap is dramatic enough, with a detectable censor cut excising the death of one of the staff. There's then a long lull in the action as the rescue mission is planned, practised and mounted. Though it's fun to see some experts pretending to glide badly, standing in for Coburn's character as he's learning how to fly.

The fantastic, barely accessible location of the monastery, surrounded by natural sheer-walled mountains, is visually spectacular. Note that in the above photo there is more than one monastery. According to the Wikipedia entry, there are actually six surviving clifftop monasteries in the Greek valley of Meteora, each one perched on a natural sandstone pillar. One was used in the finale of For Your Eyes Only (1981) and maybe the same one was in the live action Tintin and the Golden Fleece (1961). Horror fiction fans take note that Max Brook's novel World War Z also uses Meteora, a very handy place for hiding from zombies. I'll leave you to work out which monastery was in each - the Wikipedia article has handy photographs of each one.

The gliding mission would be more exciting if we knew how technically dangerous it all is. No real hints are given as to how hard these flights are as they glide between the mountains, and luckily the armed guards seem oblivious to the whole exercise, as they sneak up to the fortress. Unluckily, their escape plan gets complicated.

The action ramps up as the police decide to storm the fortress as well, regardless of the fact they're endangering the hostages, oblivious to the rescue plan already underway. This loophole logic is purely to get as much firepower on the screen as possible. An astonishing 'high' point of the movie is James Coburn performing a perilous stunt hanging off a helicopter hundreds of feet in the air.


Not essential cinema, but a reminder of when big action scenes had to be shot for real. The story of the making of the film would probably be equally interesting. But this has a strong cast, stronger than the storyline anyway, and a gung-ho finale.

Robert Culp (the original star of the TV show I Spy) looks convincing on the big screen, at a time he was fighting to escape endless TV movies, and the story starts as if he's going to be the central character. But James Coburn (Our Man Flint, A Fistful of Dynamite) sneaks in later to steal the movie and all the best scenes! Seventies Brit-chick Susannah York (The Shout, Gold, Superman - The Movie) gets good mileage out of facing up to her female captor. Eccentrics Kenneth Griffith and Harry Andrews pep up the cast list but only get one scene each. Hunky John Beck (between supporting roles in Rollerball and The Big Bus) is largely wasted, despite being in the rescue squad.

I'm not a slave to auteur theory, but director Douglas Hickox did give us several cult movies that still endure - Brannigan (1975, John Wayne as a Dirty Harry-style cop wreaking havoc in London), Behemoth the Sea Monster (1959, another dinosaur wreaking havoc in London) and the marvellous Theatre of Blood (1973, Vincent Price as a Shakespearean serial killer wreaking havoc in London).

After catching most of Sky Riders on TV in the eighties, I wanted to try the whole film again, only to discover the VHS was going for silly prices on eBay. I can only blame the hang gliding fans, but it also renewed my interest. It isn't on DVD in the UK or US but I'd really like to see it in the original 2.35 widescreen. I've only ever seen this as a cramped pan-and-scan version on TV and on laserdisc.

The best pictures and posters online, used for this review, are also for sale at MovieGoods...
Everard Cunion's hang gliding site reviews the film with notes about the hang gliders and stunt pilots.
This might be available as a legit DVD release in Spain, but there's no clues if it's widescreen, otherwise I'd pounce on it, like tiger.

The only clip on YouTube is this hang gliding display that gives Coburn's character the idea of how to rescue his family...