Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Hammer Film

Moon Zero Two A Groovy Space Western Surprise

With a dry name like “Moon Zero Two” (1969), I was expecting the worst. But you know what? It turned out to be a damned entertaining movie!

Groovier than “Barbarella” and less somber than “Journey to the Far Side of the Sun,” “Moon Zero Two” is a compelling adventure that pits Bill Kemp (“The Andromeda Strain”s James Olson) – an on-the-rocks, faded American hero, the first astronaut to land on Mars, now reduced to collecting space junk – against a nefarious millionaire, who presents him with an offer he can’t refuse.

Along for the ride is “Space: 1999”s Catherine Schell (here billed as Catherina von Schell), as Clementine Taplin, who also enlists Kemp for what he thinks will be a quick side-job. Their efforts to reach her brother’s claim on the far side of the moon prove to be a source of friction against Kemp’s previous arrangement.

Any movie that sports Pink Panther-esque opening credits animation and intergalactic go-go dancers (the Go-Jos!) can’t be all bad. With a whacked-out jazz score by Don Ellis of “The French Connection” and a title song sung by Julie Driscoll, this is one crazy Hammer film.

Marketed in the U.S. as a space western, there are also noir elements, but little of the grit desired by the writers. Personally, I think it would make a satisfying double feature with “Outland” (1981), Sean Connery’s “High Noon”-in-outer-space.

All in all, one of the less-deserving targets of “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” “Moon Zero Two” is wholly self-aware in providing an hour-and-forty-minutes of diverting entertainment.

Check it out here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEftsDL4Shc), and let us know what you think in the comments section, as we livestream on Facebook. We’ll salvage what we can in our discussion on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, this Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT!

(PLEASE NOTE: Because of the upheaval of Hurricane Ida – and the resultant worn nerves – there will be no show tonight.)

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September 3, 2021
Devil Rides Out Hammer Film Discussion

Here’s the video of last night’s show, in which Roy and I engage in a spirited discussion about “The Devil Rides Out” (1968), a.k.a. “The Devil’s Bride.”

The film starred not just one, but two singers of talent: Christopher Lee – whose experiences with opera I explore in a separate post – and Leon Greene, who sang professionally with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and the Sadler’s Wells Opera (later the English National Opera). Greene also enjoyed notable success with a couple of Sondheim musicals: as Sweeney Todd, in an acclaimed 1985 revival, and as Miles Gloriosus, both on stage and in the 1966 film incarnation of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Ironically, for whatever reason, for “The Devil Rides Out,” Greene was dubbed!

As a teenager, future Hammer house composer James Bernard received encouragement from Benjamin Britten. Their friendship blossomed, and Bernard wound up working with Britten, Imogen Holst, and Peter Pears. He won an Academy Award NOT for any of his music (for which he was never even nominated), but rather for a screenplay he wrote with his partner, Paul Dehn, for “Seven Days to Noon.” As if all that weren’t remarkable enough, during WWII, Bernard assisted in the cracking of the Enigma code.

There’s so much talent and so many interesting anecdotes associated with this movie, one of Hammer’s best, that we couldn’t possibly talk about everything, but we touched upon what we could in roughly 90 minutes.

Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner live-streams on Facebook every Friday and Sunday evening throughout October at 7 p.m. EDT. This Friday, we’ll wrap up our month-long celebration of Halloween with special guests Michael Rizzo and Marybeth Ritkouski of SciFi Distilled. The four of us will discuss Mel Brooks’ affectionate parody of Universal Studios’ classic creature-features, “Young Frankenstein” (1974).

As an added bonus, there will also be a virtual costume party, so if you want to get in on the act, be prepared to join us on Zoom following the discussion, when we’ll be puttin’ on the Ritz!

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October 26, 2020

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