Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner

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!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

Enjoy a recent recording of Nascimbene’s music here:

February 22, 2024
David Frankham Celebrates 98th Birthday on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner

On the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, Roy and I will welcome back actor David Frankham, who has graciously agreed to join us on the occasion of his 98th birthday.

On previous visits, Frankham regaled us with colorful anecdotes about Vincent Price, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Barbara Stanwyck, Ernie Kovacs, his guest appearances on “Star Trek” and “The Outer Limits,” and more. His recall is enviable and his joie de vivre, even as he draws nigh to his centenary, is palpable.

As a bonus, we’ll also be joined by filmmaker Ben Wickey, who was on the team of animators responsible for the Academy Award-nominated feature, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” (2021). Wickey directed Frankham and employs his voice talent in a stop-motion adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The House of the Seven Gables” (2018).

Not coincidentally, there are some Vincent Price tributes in the film. Price, with whom Frankham co-starred in “The Master of the World” (1961) and “Tales of Terror” (1962), appeared in an earlier adaptation of the Hawthorne classic with George Sanders.

The scenes are imaginatively executed and the production design is morbidly fun. If you enjoy the stop-motion films of Tim Burton or the Brothers Quay, you’ll definitely get a kick out of this. I think you’ll agree, it’s 30 minutes well-spent.

Also returning will be Jonathan David Dixon, who voices the role of Mr. Holgrave in the film and who provided its pitch-perfect score.

Bring your questions to the comments section, or simply enjoy the conversation. There with be plenty of gab about the Seven Gables and more, when we welcome David Frankham. Join us as we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

One of Frankham’s past appearances archived here:

If you like it, there’s plenty more in his memoir, “Which One Was David?”

https://www.amazon.com/Which-One-Was-David-Frankham/dp/1593932189

BOTTOM CENTER: Frankham and Wickey at work on “The House of the Seven Gables”

February 15, 2024
Sci-Fi Heroes Livestream Tonight

Yeah, I know it’s an off-night. But any night we do this is bound to be an “off” night.

Roy and I have rescheduled Friday’s “Heroes of Sci-Fi” episode of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner for tonight, Monday, at 7:00 EST.

Again, the focus will be on our favorite sci-fi and fantasy heroes. Neither Roy nor I will share our top ten choices prior to the livestream – not even with one another – hopefully resulting in a spirited, spontaneous discussion, both on-camera and in the comments section, as we explain and defend our selections against all comers.

Friendships will be forged and broken, when we choose the hills we die on. It will be a hero sandwich full of sci-fi cheese and baloney, on the next “Roy’s Sci-Fi Tie-Dye Corner.” The proof will be in the provolone when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., THIS MONDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

Summon the heroes!

February 5, 2024
Roy’s Sci-Fi Hero Showdown Livestream Friday

No specific movie to view this week for Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Rather, the preparation will be all ours, as the focus will be on our favorite sci-fi and fantasy heroes. Neither Roy nor I will share our top ten choices prior to the livestream – not even with one another – hopefully resulting in a spirited, spontaneous discussion, both on-camera and in the comments section, as we explain and defend our selections against all comers.

Friendships will be forged and broken, when we choose the hills we die on. It will be a hero sandwich full of sci-fi cheese and baloney, on the next “Roy’s Sci-Fi Tie-Dye Corner.” The proof will be in the provolone when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

February 1, 2024
Coma 1978 A Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Rant

Last week, Roy and I enjoyed a digression-filled discussion about Michael Crichton’s “Runaway” (1984), which starred Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons and was full of speculative tech we now take for granted. I guess this put Roy on the scent of “Coma” (1978), Crichton’s adaptation of the novel by Robin Cook, as it’s our topic for the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.

This post-Watergate hospital thriller scores points for reflecting the nation’s growing distrust of institutions and the observation that medical care has become big business. But oh, what a great film it would have been had it been directed by Alfred Hitchcock (with Judith Anderson in Elizabeth Ashley’s role)!

But everyone does a good job with what they’re given: Genevieve Bujold is a resourceful heroine, again reflective of the times – plucky and determined and alternately dismissed as hysterical or uppity by the men, even boyfriend Michael Douglas, who are clearly troubled by this “new woman.” She doesn’t want to be called “honey,” so everyone keeps telling her to relax or sending her to therapy. Of course, you know in the end it’s going to be Douglas who’s going to get credit for blowing the lid off the conspiracy. It’s what he does. (Think “The China Syndrome.”)

Rip Torn is reliably menacing (after all, this is the guy who hit Norman Mailer in the head with a hammer) and Richard Widmark is given a good role for an actor who broke into Hollywood playing sociopaths in the 1940s. Look fast for Lois Chiles, Tom Selleck, and Ed Harris (as Pathology Resident #2).

We’ll be raging against the machine, if we don’t go comatose, on the next “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” Brace yourselves to be ripped and torn in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

Here’s a link to last week’s show. Every once in a while, we even talk about the movie!

January 25, 2024

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