An attempt by motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel to jump the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Upon landing on the opposite ramp, Knievel lost control of his bike and got busted up pretty bad. He was in a coma for nearly a month.
Blog
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A COLD NIGHT’S DEATH – 1973
A disquieting tale of the destruction of a remote research station by unknown forces. The culprits are right under our noses but we don’t find out until the very end of the movie. Dread and paranoia in abundance as Robert Culp and Eli Wallach attempt to put a halt to the rapid erosion of the human community at a snowbound scientific research center. Will they find a solution in time? Similar surroundings and situation to “The Thing” but without an other worldly threat. An ABC Movie of the Week entry.
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THE HAUNTING – 1963
Very unnerving, black and white film of the book by Shirley Jackson. Things go bump in the night, frequently, in a gloomy mansion being investigated by ghost hunters. The creepy surroundings are dimly lit and expansive, ghostly, unintelligible conversations are overheard. Shadows crawl. Effective, tense direction provided by Robert Wise. Are the hauntings real or simply created by our imaginations?
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PLANET OF THE APES – 1968 – TRAILER
Classic science fiction film starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut stranded on a planet where apes rule and humans are slaves/brutes hunted for sport and used for medical experimentation. The proceedings move along at a fairly steady pace thanks to Franklin Schaffner’s able direction. Ground breaking makeup work by John Chambers and a pun-filled, satiric script by Rod Serling. This movie caught the public’s imagination and four sequels, each weaker than the last, were spawned as a result. Very striking beginning to this film as Heston is the last astronaut to enter hyper sleep and the space ship passes through star fields and time before entering the Planet’s atmosphere. The scenes with the three astronauts traversing an arid landscape in search of water and any signs of life are marked by visuals of spectacular vistas of vast emptiness. Very haunting. My favorite film of the “Apes” series.
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HEAVEN AND HELL – “CHILDREN OF THE SEA” – (2009)
I always liked this song by Black Sabbath but being performed here by the essentially the same band with a new moniker, “Heaven and Hell” to avoid infringement with Ozzy over the BS name. Tony Iommi’s finger picked guitar alternates with a sledge hammer guitar riff. Very sinewy, melodic bass work by Geezer Butler, too. And, of course, Iron Lungs Ronnie James Dio, in a performance shortly before his death. Epic.
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KING CRIMSON – “LARKS’ TONGUES IN ASPIC PART 1” – 1970’s
A phenomenal band live is augmented by percussionist Jamie Muir for more aural madness. The band performs “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part 1”. Muir flirts between hammered percussion, drum set, referee’s whistle, bird call and bike horn. Wonderful.
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KING CRIMSON – “STARLESS” – LIVE – 1974
Wow. Who else every played like these maniacs? King Crimson circa 1974: David Cross, Bill Bruford, John Wetton and Robert Fripp. Mellotron, violin, viola, electric piano, guitar, bass, drums, percussion. A rock chamber orchestra. Scathing.
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THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH (1964)
After watching this trailer, you may well surmise that I added this as an example of one of the worst movies ever made. On the contrary, this movie once had a major impact on my life. Yes. There are a lot of surf bands playing and kids dancing and carrying on and there is a story line about a leaky, radioactive waste filled barrel in the ocean which interacts with a human skeleton and other sea debris and somehow mutates into one of many absurd, rubber suited sea monsters which walk on two legs. It is the scenes involving the marauding monsters chasing after humans in the dark that terrified me as a child of 9 or 10. Anything can be out there lurking in the dark ready to grab you. This thing gave me nightmares. I’m just saying. A late entry in the cycle of 1950’s monster movies which blamed atomic power related contamination as the culprit in the creation of horrific monster mutations. See “Godzilla”, “Tarantula”, “The Amazing Colossal Man”, etc. Precursor to the equally campy “Humanoids From The Deep” and its reboot.
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20 OF THE CREEPIEST PLACES IN THE WORLD
Danger Dolan is at it again with a smashing documentary on 20 of the creepiest places to visit in this strange world of ours. There are segments on Chernobyl, Winchester Mystery House, and Prague among others. I tend to observe these type of locations from afar. Safer that way. I have been to the Winchester Mystery House, though. Hehe.
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NEKTAR – “A TAB IN THE OCEAN”
“A Tab In The Ocean”: a 16 minute opus from the band Nektar. This is in many ways as much a rock opera as The Who’s “Tommy”. Riffs and phrases repeat throughout the extended length song. Monster riffs, guitars, a majestic organ line, and impassioned singing make this a truly memorable track. Did Rush get inspiration from this number and apply it toward their own epic composition, “2112”? You betcha.
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ROXY MUSIC – “EDITIONS OF YOU”
Roxy Music, with their original lineup, perform “Editions of You”. Lovely stage performances by Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno. This band appeared around the era of ’70’s British Glam Rock and the costumes lent themselves to that genre. Roxy, though, was able to progress artistically beyond the confines of that particular music style and continue its career. Eno would leave the band soon after this performance.
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INVASION – 1966 – Cool British B&W Science Fiction Film
I love this flick. Atmospheric, indeed! An otherworldly craft touches down in the British countryside. Three aliens are variously seen in the shadows. A military unit picks up the craft on radar and begins to search for whatever appeared on the scope. One of the aliens is struck by a car when the fellow tries to dash across a fog enshrouded road at night. He is taken to a hospital where he is looked after. The other two aliens track his whereabouts and put an invisible barrier in place around the hospital. What are the aliens’ intentions? A lot of engaging night time photography and mysterious goings on.
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THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS (1957) TRAILER
An enjoyable time filler fantasy picture that follows a team that captures a live abominable snowman or yeti. Forrest Tucker plays a sham naturalist who talks of sharing the capture of a yeti to the world as a scientific wonder. As the movie progresses, we find out that he is in fact a P.T. Barnum in the making who wants to parade the beast around the world at fair and make a killing at the box office. Peter Cushing is a more traditional scientist who comes to detest the intentions of Tucker. Very atmospheric music and sets when the team actually manages to catch one of the elusive beasties. Dread, then sets in for the human party.
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HALLOWEEN 5 TRAILER (1989)
A sad excuse of a cash in, Halloween 5 is full of screeching teenager and kid victims. Scares, interest and originality are lacking. Michael Myers, the unstoppable bogeyman of the Halloween franchise, lumbers in the shadows and then emerges to massacre the human fodder who pass for characters in this dreck. Repetitive, noisy, cliched, wretched. The “creative” team behind this mess were willing to pass off this trash for a quick buck. Since Michael will never die, expect this shambles of a series to continue on indefinitely.
