Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Steven Spielberg

Gremlins Movie Discussion Livestream This Week

I will not be participating in the last Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner of 2021 – for one thing, it will past my bedtime – but if you don’t mind risking your mogwai getting fed after midnight, consider joining Roy and his son Ryan for a discussion of “Gremlins” (1984).

The Steven Spielberg-produced, Joe Dante-directed black comedy is technically a Christmas movie. Whether or not it gives you the warm fuzzies depends on how much you cotton to cuddly Gizmo and the softer edges of Jerry Goldsmith’s score (his biggest bait-and-switch since Carol Anne’s theme from “Poltergeist”).

Otherwise, it’s pretty nasty business. Sharpen your teeth in the comments section, as Roy and Ry talk about “Gremlins.” The cross-generational mayhem will be livestreamed on Facebook, at a special day and time, this Thursday night at 10:00 EST. (UPDATE, 12/20/21! Just received word that the show will now air at 8 PM!)

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

PLEASE NOTE: I haven’t thrown in the towel altogether. Roy and I will reteam to kick off 2022 with a “Twilight Zone” doubleheader – a conversation about classic TZ episodes “Walking Distance” (1959) and “Nick of Time” (1960) – on New Year’s Day, this Saturday evening at 7:00 EST.

Stay healthy, and have a Happy New Year!

December 29, 2021
Jaws Still Bites A Look at Spielberg’s Classic

As the proto-summer blockbuster, “Jaws” (1975) gets everything right. Part horror movie, part suspense-thriller, part swashbuckling adventure, it’s also chock-full of subversive social commentary. Steven Spielberg’s breakout hit delivers most of its real bite beneath the dazzle of Great White teeth. Replace the shark with COVID-19 and see if you don’t find the same foibles exhibited all over again nearly 50 years later.

Of course, it’s the comradery on the boat that secures the film’s place in our hearts. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss are all first-rate, as is John Williams’ music, in this, one of the must-see films of the 1970s. Would that someone could make a movie like this again, in any genre.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. “Jaws” puts the bite on our ass, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Your comments are on the menu. We’ll count you among our friends, even as we make you our chum, when we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

July 2, 2021
John Williams’ J

At last, an article about John Williams’ music for “Jaws” that looks beyond the shark theme. (Follow the link below.)

Granted, that two-note motive is destined for immortality, memorable in a way few other movie themes are, and will likely outlive anything else the composer ever wrote – even “Star Wars,” if you can get your head around that – but there is so much more to this masterful score.

The determined “shark cage” fugue, the high-spirited nautical theme, the neo-Baroque tourist music, all serve to elevate “Jaws” and lend it dimension. In other hands, this might have played as a straightforward horror film. Spielberg’s suspense-thriller is transformed in large part through its music into an exhilarating summer entertainment – a genuine good time at the movies.

Roy and I will discuss this seminal summer blockbuster, to kick off the Fourth of July weekend, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, livestreamed on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT.

Be forewarned: the article at the link contains spoilers, and so will our show. (Also, it is advisable to avoid all sequels!)

An appreciation of John Williams’ “Jaws” here:

https://www.rogerebert.com/features/revisiting-john-williams-score-for-jaws-45-years-later

A definite high point from the film (you might want to watch the movie first, if you haven’t seen it):

Alas, Williams couldn’t save “Jaws 2,” but it was not for want of trying:

June 30, 2021
Jaws Next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner

A clean shave, a clean shirt, and sparkling repartee made for another enjoyable evening with Roy, despite the questionable value of our subject matter, the time-hopping espionage yarn “Dimension 5” (1966) – and the fact that a three-inch spider crawled into sight just as we were about to go live. The spider is now living outdoors, and the episode is now living in our archive, so definitely check it out, even if I can’t recommend the movie (streaming free on YouTube, if you really want to groan).

Next week, we’ll try to make amends with a conversation about one of the most perfectly constructed blockbusters ever made – further highlighting the ineptitude of “Dimension 5” – Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” (1975). A seafaring trinity of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss take on Bruce the shark, after he puts the bite on a New England beach community.

Part suspense thriller and part swashbuckling adventure, what does it all have to do with science fiction? Well, I guess Dreyfuss’ Hooper does get to play around with some high-tech equipment as the team’s marine biologist. But who cares?

What can be more “Fourth of July” than a trip to the beach? Leave your shark repellent in the comments section, as we be swimmin’ with bow-legged women, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. There’ll be tourists on the menu, when we livestream on Facebook, next Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

June 26, 2021
Indiana Jones 40th Anniversary

Indiana Jones first cracked his whip on the big screen on June 12, 1981. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s smart homage to cinematic serials of yore, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” took off like a shot to become the year’s highest-grossing film and a cultural phenomenon.

This week on “Picture Perfect,” as we anticipate the release of “Indy 5” in 2022, we’ll celebrate four decades of fedoras and five o’clock shadows. Tune in for selections from John Williams’ classic scores for the series, including “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008).

Remember, it’s not the years – it’s the mileage. Join me for a highly subjective hour of music and reflections on the Indiana Jones series, to mark the 40th anniversary of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org!

June 12, 2021

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