Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Richard Fleischer

Vikings 1958 Epic Adventure & Livestream

This week on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, we’ve got the need for mead!

“The Vikings” (1958) is the kind of film they just don’t make anymore, an overheated historical adventure built on sibling rivalry, cosmic irony, Wagnerian tragedy, and ultimate redemption, with plenty of old-school romance and rip-roaring action along the way.

Richard Fleischer, who directed some terrific genre pictures in the 1950s and ‘60s, including “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Fantastic Voyage,” helms the definitive film about the Norsemen.

This is one movie that still grips and entertains, even as it educates (sort of) with its meticulous reconstruction of Viking dragon boats (built using actual medieval Viking plans) and period-accurate village setting in the actual fjords of Hardanger, Norway.

Kirk Douglas produced the film, which is certainly a showcase for his physical fitness. So we see him riding bareback, running across oars, and climbing a closed drawbridge on an impromptu ladder of hurled battle axes – while co-star Tony Curtis looks on sullenly in his short shorts. At least Curtis was married to the leading lady, Janet Leigh. That said, no one looks like he’s having more fun than Ernest Borgnine. But you just know Ernie was like that in real life.

“The Vikings” stealthily draws you into a relatable human story even as it offers up the vicarious enjoyment of Viking excesses. And Mario Nascimbene’s haunting score, evocative of a spirit of grandeur and adventure – now seemingly (and sadly) a thing of the past, as today’s movies become increasingly mired in claustrophobia and neurosis – is not easily forgotten, a thing of beauty and nobility.

Grab your drinking horn! There will be wenching and pillaging galore in the comments section, as Roy and I trade blows over “The Vikings.” Our brawny exchange will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!

There’s “Nor-way” you’ll want to miss it!

ODINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!

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Enjoy a recent recording of Nascimbene’s music here:

February 22, 2024
Soylent Green Edward G Robinson’s Final Role

Is this the end of Rico?

Edward G. Robinson, who was propelled to stardom as Caesar Enrico Bandello in 1931’s “Little Caesar,” made his final screen appearance 42 years later, in “Soylent Green.”

Richard Fleischer’s adaptation of Harry Harryson’s dystopian novel “Make Room! Make Room!” is that rare film that can be spoiled by revealing but a single line. So we’ll save it for tomorrow, when Roy Bjellquist and I will be joined by special guest – and Roy’s wife – Shari Bethman-Bjellquist, for a discussion of this ‘70s sci-fi classic, a horror story set in the year 2022, now getting just a little too close for comfort.

Robinson’s scenes are lent an added poignance, when you realize he was already aware that he was terminally ill. In fact, he died only twelve days after shooting his final scene. His character, Sol, is a cultivated dinosaur, much like the real-life Robinson, an art connoisseur who spoke seven languages. Sol the librarian puts on a recording of Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” Trio as he introduces Charlton Heston’s Frank Thorn to honest-to-goodness vegetables and beef stew. Then, when it’s time to “go home,” he departs to a medley of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Grieg.

Interestingly, a few years earlier, Robinson was cast to play Dr. Zaius, opposite Heston, in “Planet of the Apes,” but already, health concerns caused him to drop out.

Climate change. Greenhouse gases. Dying oceans. Pollution. Poverty. Overpopulation. Depleted resources. Corporatocracy. And gruesome solutions. If anything, this film has become more chilling – and more likely – with the passing of the years, than it ever was in 1973.

All hail plankton! Green is the new black, on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Join us for this special three-way conversation. We’ll be looking for your comments, when we live-stream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT.

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner/

October 22, 2020

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