Lights... Camera... ACTION!!: A Hollywood Quest

[Kaiser Chris]

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki, Haruya Yamazaki
Produced by: Tetsuo Katayama
Production Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsa
Distribution Studio: Toho (Japan)/Buena Vista Distribution(International, North America)​

Spoiler: Cast

Lupin III: Yasuo Yamada/Tony Oliver
Princess Clarisse de Cagliostro: Sumi Shimamoto/Bridget Hoffman
Count Lazare de Cagliostro: Taro Ishida/Kirk Thorton
Chief Inspector Koichi Zenigata: Goro Naya/Kevin Seymour
Daisuke Jigen: Kiyoshi Kobayashi/Richard Epcar
Fujiko Mine: Eiko Masayuma/Edie Mirman
Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Makio Inoue/Steve Kramer

Quality: D100 + 300 => 377
Audience: D100 + 300 => 382
Critics: D100 + 300 => 351
Budget: $2,300,000
Japanese Domestic Gross: $5,171,949
United States/Canada: $40,051, 083
Total: $45,223,032
VHS: $140,334,223​

Welp, you always knew that sooner or later there'd be a new challenger to defy Dreamworks and try to place themselves as the king of animation. With Blue Sky Studio's floundering failure in Ice Age, you and Dreamworks kind of got a bit arrogant and hyperfocused on the rivalry and Disney. All the while, one man was determined to stand out in the rising crowd of animation and make his mark as a legend unbeholden to Sunrise and Dreamworks. That man's name was Hayao Miyazaki, and with his debut film Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, the man had already proven himself a peer to all of Dreamworks' directors. All of this coming from a film that was part of the same series where it's live action counterpart was a pretty meh slapstick when released by Lucasfilms. And by Toho of all people!

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro followed the continuing adventures of Arsene Lupin III, a gentleman thief and legendary criminal mastermind who is the grandson of legendary thief Arsene Lupin of French literature. This Lupin seems to follow the same continuity as Lupin III: Part 1 (A Part 2 was produced from 1977-1981) with the film featuring a seasoned and more heroic Lupin from the beginning of Part 1. Origins out of the way, Lupin in the beginning conducts a great heist with his partner Jigen, but the two are dismayed that the money they stole was all counterfeit. Wanting both revenge and to commit the heist of the century, Lupin leads Jigen to the origin of the counterfeit money, the tiny Italian nation of Cagliostro where he plans to rob the Count of Cagliostro from his massive fortune. On the way, the two run into a runaway bride who is actually the princess of Cagliostro being forced into a marriage by its sinister count. The princess also has history with Lupin where years prior she saved his life after a heist gone wrong and helped set Lupin on a better path. When Princess Clarise is kidnapped by the count, Lupin becomes determined to be her hero and rescue her, turning his heist into a rescue operation with the aid of Jigen, the stoic samurai Goemon, the femme fatale thief Fujiko Mine, and his traditional nemesis Inspector Zenigata.

So the live action Lupin III that Lucasfilms released in its early pre-Star Wars days was simply a goofy slapstick fess that was more silly nonsense than a heist film, a point which turned many potential viewers off as "Japanese weirdness". Castle of Cagliostro was the complete opposite in that it was a genuine work of art. Oh it's not like there was no comedy, there was plenty with Lupin's antics. But it was simply a part of the film instead of dominating and and there was so much more with the movie being a great action/heist thriller, like a true modern adaptation of the Lupin books andgiving you similar vibes to Indiana Jones from the cuts you managed to see.

First off what has to be mentioned is the animation which is simply GORGEOUS. Miyazaki seemed to take Dreamworks films being a painting per frame and turn it up a notch in terms of quality. While the character design and animation is a bit plain, the majority of the craft goes to the background with the setting having animation frames that seem like real high quality impressionist paintings. What's even more impressive is how Miyazaki throughout the entire film does something that Dreamworks mostly left for critical scenes, drawing high detail in wear, tear and texture on the surfaces of backgrounds, making the film feel truly lived in and alive. It's also to great benefit that the film is set in Italy, one of the most beautiful nations in the world with the film reminding you a lot of the good times you and the family had.

You're overall a high fan of the design with the color palettes in the contrasting light and dark motifs along with the mixture of medieval and fantasy elements for the setting and Cagliostro cast giving the effect of watching a fairy tale live on screen thanks to the whimsical adventure. Makes sense that the design is the best part because apparently Miyazaki writes his scripts after drawing the storyboard, so the story literally revolves around the art.

The animation maintains a consistently fluid and fast paced style that lends itself great to the choreography while in slow and dramatic scenes the camera focuses on lingering wide scale shots which make sure to incorporate the beauty of the backgrounds. Your two favorite scenes from the movie are the car chase and the climax of the final battle, the former probably being the best vehicular chase you've seen period outside of Star Wars' scenes and the latter being a very intense and high stakes duel across the castle. It makes a lot of sense why John and Ron chose this to influence Basil. The combination of a gorgeous and intricately detailed setting with fluid high quality sakuga make Lupin III a masterclass in both adventure and heist films.

The plot and characters are were the story strays from perfection and where John Henry, Hiawatha and even Basil is undeniably superior. It's not as if both are bad, but it's not as perfect as it could be. It's hard to describe, but while the plot is some of the best work for its genres, it's hard to stand out on its own without the animation and tone enhancing it if it makes sense, with the story stripped of its franchise ties being a bit generic and lacking the grand epicness of Star Wars.

The characters, at least the Lupin side of the cast while good on their own do have a case of franchise ties where if you go into Lupin III blind, then depending upon your tastes it can be difficult to get invested without experiencing the rest of the franchise. Lupin himself is a standout character with a lot of charm and coolness as the dashing and witty gentleman thief who always manages to outthink and outfox his way out of any bind. He's a really likable and engaging character you can't help but root for supported by this Tony Oliver's performance. Lupin's friends and Zenigata are all entertaining and likable rogues (hero for Zenigata) on their own, but they are rather static characters who don't get to stand out on their own too much save for Zenigata and his mission to bust the counterfeit. The Count and Clarisse play their roles well as the scheming evil noble and the virtuous damsel, but they don't step beyond their roles. Excellent for carrying the plot, but not the same level of iconic as Lupin and the gang. When you compare the characters to the deeply human and relatable cast of Dreamworks movies, it's clear the latter comes out ahead, though that being said Lupin III is still leagues better than many animated casts.

Castle of Cagliostro came out in Japan around Christmas season of '79 to a respectable 5 million, something which would be abysmal in America even in the '60s, but respectable here with more than double its budget and having very strong critic and audience reception. It was absolutely insane that this gorgeous masterpiece was done on 2.3 million, but you had to remind yourself that Dreamworks paid its animators damn good wages and Castle of Cagliostro was an extreme outlier from a genius and dedicated workers, not the norm. That would have been the end of it since with the live action Lupin's meh box office performance, Toho didn't have faith with international distribution. Of course, like the last time, Disney had to meddle again with your agenda, particularly with Basil's distribution.

The last time Dreamworks released Hiawatha and John Henry, Disney tried to blunt the ticket sales with a re-release of one of their classics, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan respectively. This did jack shit to stop Dreamwork's success and their re-releases made less than a million in gross each. Disney would likely go three for three with their strategy if applied again regardless of Basil's quality. However, Miyazaki himself had apparently been hounding Disney to distribute Lupin III in the states, and Disney just formed a major partnership with the film's distributor in Toho. Wanting to further bonds with treacherous Toho as well as to test what people will like in anime, Disney decides to support its distribution at the same time as Basil of Baker Street. If nothing else, it would draw away some money from Basil as well as serving a test case for what kind of anime people want in America.

While Lupin III didn't overshine Basil, it did share some of the spotlight with a healthy 40 million gross, making it have a better performance to Ice Age. Audiences and critics were in agreement that it was an excellent showcase of animation and a fantastic and whimsical heist thriller that like many Dreamworks movies, was a great showcase of the medium's potential and how animated films can go beyond the traditional Disney tropes, with particular praise for the animation and Lupin himself. You have a gut feeling that it prevented Basil from crossing 200 million at the box office, but you can understand and honestly it was well deserved, later being accompanied by 10 million across the greater globe. Probably the main reason why it wasn't a direct financial peer to Disney and Dreamworks was due to the fault of Lupin being the latest addition in a decade long franchise and most Americans not being aware of Lupin III's existence before the film's release. Plus there were the factors of Lupin III not having a direct Disney or Dreamworks brand and being more adult in appearance than the traditional Disney or Dreamworks film. The fact that it did so great was just impressive in and of itself.

Also, Mary seems to like it a lot. As a thank you for taking her family along to the red carpet for Basil, Cat took Mary with her children to see Lupin III in theaters after some assurance that it was acceptable for kids from Roy. Mary had a pretty good time, even if it wasn't a "Daddy drawing movie" and for a while she included heists in her games where her and Kermit were master thieves working with the twins and pets to steal cookies or other sweets and toys from you and Carrie. Cute, and at least Mary was safer this time.

And of course, Disney had to have the last laugh by teaming up with Toho to produce a VHS run for Castle of Cagliostro. Done in response to John Henry and Basil's VHS successes and what you suspect to be internal politics at both Toho and Disney, the former to work with Sony for massive VHS release of their catalog in the West and the latter to further push the board to open the Disney vault. Like Basil, Lupin III took on a life of its own on VHS releases. It was a must have for animation fans and weaboos as a cool action movie and even adults without kids could rent the movie and have a good time. It would draw in 140 million in VHS sales over the 80s as one of the most popular non-Dreamworks Japanese films, proving that you didn't have to be under the Dreamworks umbrella to make good anime.

In spite of its somewhat humble success, Castle of Cagliostro has proven to leave a huge footprint and legacy even so soon after its release. It's hailed as being one of the Four Horseman for the Animation Renaissance along with War of the Worlds, Mobile Suit Gundam, and John Henry. No longer was animation just cutsey, wholesome family magic that only caters to little kids. It's a medium for all ages with any and every story up for being told with bold, experimental and mature storytelling being welcome while animation itself can no longer just exist, but be a beautiful art as it was in the early days of Disney.

Castle of Cagliostro seems to have a huge assortment of fans in American animation who labor with it as an inspiration and try to match the potential and wonder of Miyazaki. One major case within your own company is John Lasseter who outright states that Castle of Cagliostro is his favorite movie period and he wants to start making Pixar films that can be just as good and innovative. Disney is taking further notes for their ongoing and future productions, reminding themselves that they don't have to be just Dark and there's all kinds of magic in storytelling. They've also expressed heavy interest with Toho for a continued sponsorship of the Lupin franchise with Disney securing the broadcast rights for Lupin III Part 2, which was also worked on by Miyazaki. Something tells you that they want the show as part of a block for older audiences.

Blue Sky has even more pressure for Transylvania. Dreamworks is pumped and eager to make Zeta Gundam even more awesome. And in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki has become something of a rockstar in the anime industry for finding massive success on his own without being a member of Sunrise or Dreamworks, even if his financial and global acclaim occurred two years after release.

Miyazaki was the current topic of your conversation with Tomino as you were taking a break from your latest line recording, the two of you watching Michael Kospa and Mark play off each other for an episode.

"So this Miyazaki guy, he hates my guts?" You ask Tomino in Japanese as you take a sip of tea from a thermos. You usually hate tea, but it was Carrie's suggestion to help with any voice strain. It wasn't the best flavor, but damn did it help calm your vocal cords after a session.

Tomino bobbed his head side to side, unsure of how to phrase it, "Well...I...um-yes." Tomino said simply, making you laugh.

Tomino was sharing with you a story of how when he was in Japan working on Astro Boy with Sunrise, that he saw Castle of Cagliostro and after being amazed, personally went to Miyazaki's home and tried his best to recruit him from Dreamworks. Apparently, it was a spectacular failure, mainly out of Miyazaki's apparent hatred and loathing for you.

"Why? Is he a Communist or something?" You were definitely public enemy number one for any followers of Marxism, the worst thing to happen to the ideology since the Paris Commune.

Tomino shook his head, "No, not that. He said and I quote, 'Bruce O'Brian is a warmongering self-righteous imperialist hypocrite'. He heavily despises your work with the O'Reilly Foundation and your political adventures, along with loathing the existence of Dracula and the death it caused."

You gave a confused and disgusted look at that information, "So he hates that I support veterans who serve their country and help them and their families survive, along with Dracula helping a nation to throw off the shackles of tyranny? He is aware of the absolute nightmare that Ceausescu's Romania was right? Warmongering Imperialism? I help families get away from wars and I want strong and healthy partnerships with our foreign subsidiaries and partners. It was Toho who stabbed us in the back." You ranted.

Tomino nodded, "I know. I don't think he hates the existence of America or denies the charity you do. It's just....Miyazaki-san like me is a child of the war. We all react differently to the pain we endured in our childhood. I want to make stories of ordinary people standing up against evil, humans reaching understanding with one another and moving forward, and rising above pain and suffering. Miyazaki-san seems to hold a strong distaste for all things with war and violence. He was rather...colorful in his criticism about how Gundam's story was a vehicle for the American military."

"I mean, Gundam has many themes and plots of how the Federation is flawed and its aggression and poor treatment of the colonies is partially responsible for the war. War is not meant to be glorious and Amuro and his friends are forced to fight against an ultimate evil when there is no other choice, and the fact there is a war is a tragedy." You state, with Tomino smiling at your media literacy and understanding of his work.

"I don't get that, he hates violence and yet Lupin III has a ton of violence in it." You state with annoyance.

"Ah, but never once in the movie does Lupin or his friends kill. Lupin wins by using his mind and outthinking the Count whose demise was of his own greed while Lupin's motivations were noble and purely heroic. The movie has violence, but it is not a violent movie." Tomino explained, and you couldn't help but agree with that analysis.

"Plus there may be some genuinely irrational dislikes, like how Miyazaki-san thinks you are a horrible actor, which is just insanity." Tomino says in scandal, making you laugh at the absurdity.

"Please for the love of the Lord, tell me this man is not gonna work for Disney." It was bad enough your genius author sister was with the house of mouse, but Cat's writing with Miyazaki's animation would be a nightmare.

Tomino shook his head, "No, he is currently working on a manga and told me he wants to found his own anime studio, though there is always the chance Disney may distribute his other films like Lupin. I've read the manga's three volumes, it is rather good so far, though a strange setting." Tomino informed.

You breathed a sigh of relief, that was definitely a major bullet dodged. Though unfortunately, whatever films he makes will probably lead to Disney getting some nice fat stacks in revenue. Oh how you long for the days when the House of Mouse was ignorant of foreign animation.

"It is quite a shame, as he is a talented artist and he did say he liked John Henry and wanted more animation to follow our creativity and quality. I think he respects the labor but is clouded by personal sentiments. If he just worked with us or Sunrise, he could see the good of the company and that you are a good man." Tomino said, then gave a heavy sigh.

"O'Brian-sensei, what do you wish to do about this?" Tomino asked you.

You looked at the Director in the eye, "What do you mean?"

"About Miyazaki-san, he is a rival, the best in Japan outside of Sunrise, and he hates you with a burning fire. We may do battle with this man for many years to come." Tomino warned.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Just let the man work, our films will compete with his, and we'll win through our quality." You say simply, slightly surprising Tomino.

"I don't mind competitors, it's natural in film and TV. I used to despise Universal's existence just as much as Miyazaki hates me, but now I accept that they aren't going to just go away, and I treat them as a foe to best. The only people I really hate in this world is the Chinese Communist Party. So long as someone doesn't try to hurt me and my family and friends, then they are just a rival.

I don't want our competition to be more successful than us, but having good competition I think is good for everyone. It inspires us to never be content, keep innovating and being at our best like Dreamworks' rivalry with Disney. When they do succeed and through stories we didn't think of, we learn and grow from it and move forward as better and learned artists. We're learning much from Lupin III, and if Miyazaki continues being rigid that means we shall make the art he refuses to."

Tomino nodded in appreciation, "Well said O'Brian-sensei."

 

[overmind]

Clash of the Titans
Directed by: Desmond Davis
Written by: Beverley Cross
Produced by: Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen
Production Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and Charles H. Schneer Productions
Distribution Studio: United Artists
Starring: Harry Hamlin (Perseus), Judi Bowker (Andromeda), Burgess Meredith (Ammon), Maggie Smith (Thetis), Siân Phillips (Cassiopeia), Claire Bloom (Hera), Ursula Andress (Aphrodite), Laurence Olivier (Zeus), Pat Roach (Hephaestus), Susan Fleetwood (Athena), Tim Pigott-Smith (Talio), Neil McCarthy (Calibos), Vida Taylor (Danaë), Jack Gwillim (Poseidon) and Donald Houston (Acrisius).

Quality: D100 + 100 => 181
Audience: D100 + 50 => 79
Critics: D100 + 50 => 91

Budget: $15,000,000
Domestic Profits: $28,979,749
International Profits: $61,633,759
Total Gross: $90,613,508​

When you heard about the movie you'd been deep in work on Dune. At the time you'd been frankly exhausted, perhaps it was your imagination, but the preparations for this film seemed to be more extensive than the ones for Conan and Star Wars combined! And perhaps it was fitting, considering what you were trying to bring to film. You know that the idea of the Force had been a simple and easy to understand concept for audiences to understand, but you never thought how much George had managed to simplify it when you suddenly had to find a way to show the Bene Gesserit abilities in the big screen and make sure they made sense! And that's without counting the Mentats, the Space Guild Navigators, the Wierding Way, or even the philosophical and ethical concepts of breeding and Gene-Engineering to create a supreme being that is supposed to highlight the failure of putting all hopes on a single savior during Paul's journey!

You were tired, that's what you were trying to say....and this was for half of the movie!

Regardless, the point was that you were deep in work when you first heard about the film. Both George and Steven were talking like...well, like a couple of school children to be honest, that excited they were as they spoke about seeing the movie involving some guy called Ray Harryhausen, as well as what else he would be showing this time around. Upon this, your curiosity got the better of you, as you asked a simple question, not knowing the deep hole you were about to be thrown in.

"Who Ray Harryhausen?"

Both George and Steven looked at you as if you'd asked the dumbest question in the world. And when seeing you were serious sat down and spend the entire rest of the day giving you a detailed accounting about who the guy was, his body of work, the stop motion work he pioneered for special effects, his ideas for fantasy movies that managed to break the mold, etc., etc. It was enough to get the gist of the matter; Harryhausen was to the 50s what George was to the 70s, a pioneer in special effects.

And this somehow was what got you were you were right now, in the middle of the cinema seats with both Steven and George, as you made ready to (in their words) enjoy a treat for the senses. Frankly, you did not see the appeal. Perhaps it was how you were revolutionizing both special effects use and the technology to improve them, but Science Fiction and Fantasy films from before was not something you tended to watch much as they always seemed a bit too goofy and outright bizarre.

Whatever Harryhausen may have done, you did not think would impress you much.

Coming out of that theater and speaking excitedly with both George and Steven, you could say with certainty that you were wrong, and Harryhausen had not been called a "Wizard" by George for nothing. Because from beginning till the end of the film, aside from ana mazing and tight story, you were not able to take your eyes aways from the astounding stop motion effects that depicted Pegasus, the Kraken, and monsters from literature come alive in a way that seemed so utterly realistic as well as charming, terrifying as well as beautiful, and striking as well as detailed. It was official, from this day forward, you were going to watch all his movies in order to find what other gem you might have been missing from your life. However, for now, you could only gush and speak about the experience you'd just lived through, one that would certainly remain in your mind for quite some time.

Sure, you will admit that the monsters don't look fully convincing, but they look a hell of a lot more convincing than what you can do in computer animation at the moment, or whatever else you can do so far! The Medusa sequence is done way better than you had ever expected, with Harryhausen's stop-motion technique and the resultant odd way in which the monsters move, adding to the sense of their mythic status, their unreality, the sense that these are creatures from another world and plane. Harryhausen's excellent stop-motion creations dominate the entire film and, according to George, there are some of his finest models in his entire filmography in this film. The Medusa, a ferocious-looking creature who through the use of shadow actually manages to look quite terrifying. After Hamlin cuts off the monster's head (a great-looking prop too), you got to witness oozing blood from the neck wound, an image both disgusting and outright fascinating to watch.

There is also a "good" creature here, the Pegasus, a well-animated beast which you have to admit might be slightly overused. But there is also a giant vulture (amazingly detailed), a horned troll-creature (almost devilish in look, yet something that you would not wish anyone to miss), a trio of nasty scorpions, a two-headed dog (incredibly realistic) and to top it all, a gigantic Kraken which threatens to kill Andromeda and destroy its entire city until Perseus arrives on Pegasus and uses Medusa's head to turn it into stone. The full commitment and detail of that entire scene would have been more than enough to justify the movie, yet it gives you so much more with different scenes and effects; skeleton boatman Charon rowing across the river Styx, the destruction of Argos, complete with tidal waves and falling masonry...simply awe inspiring! You'd thought Lucasfilms had already dominated other studios in special effects, but if anything this showed you that you were playing with them at best instead of showing their true potential. Harryhausen was a master showing what one could do if properly applied tools were used to their full capabilities.

Paired with an amazing story to boot. Beverley Cross is sone of those writers who seem to enjoy making movies about mythological or classical times. Fomr your research, he's made sure to study the Greek Myths extensively...even if he might miss here and there as some of the characters do not seem to fit their historical roles, but despite rearranging them like pieces on a puzzle, the result is still so undeniably Greek and heroic that not many people seem to care about it...though you're sure some of the children who've seen your show will cry foul at the Kraken. Nonetheless, this has clearly been his passion project, as he spared no expense in making it something more than just the "Sword and Sandal" type of films coming from Europe about Hercules and other stories of the sort.

To start with, the movie begins In Mount Olympus, where Zeus, played by Laurence Olivier, destroys the city of Argus with the Kraken (a Titan of the sea...though you're sure that is from Norse myth) in order to punish King Acrisius for having sentenced his daughter Danae and her newborn son, Perseus (who is also Zeus' son), to death in the sea. Zeus then orders Poseidon to save them, with Perseus growing up in a paradisiacal island with his mother. Years later, Zeus punishes Calibos, the evil son of the goddess Thetis, and fiancé of Princess Andromeda, turning him into a monster doomed to live in the swamps. The vindictive Thetis then curses Andromeda with a spell so that every suitor should solve a riddle; otherwise he would be sentenced to death by the bonfire. Further, she then brings Perseus, who was sleeping half-naked, to the City of Joppa. But Zeus gives him a magical helmet, as well as a shield and sword for his self-protection. When Perseus sees Andromeda, he falls in love with her and uses the magic outfits and Pegasus (who he finds and manages to tame) to discover the answer of the riddle with Calibos. But during the wedding ceremony between Perseus and Andromeda, Thetis dooms her to be sacrificed to the Kraken, otherwise the City of Joppa and the inhabitants will be destroyed by the Titan. Perseus now has to defeat Medusa and the Kraken to save his beloved princess.

And thus, the saga of Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus, and the intrigue among the Gods of Olympus, is thus brilliantly presented in this magnificent movie. Filming was done in nearly all locations available; Spain, Italy, Britain, many and all scenes were filmed near, making this a joint project between the U.S. and the UK. You'd even heard that they had been planning on casting Arnold for the role of Perseus. Now what a movie that would be! You'll be the first to acknowledge the man's dedication and potential...but you're not sure how well he'd do now with his accent as it is. Still probably better than the actor they got for sure.

But the rest of the cast truly impressed, that's for sure; Laurence Olivier IS Zeus. You just can't imagine anyone else being as stern and authoritative in the role as he showed himself to be. You'd heard some of the other moviegoers complain about him feeling wooden or flat, but you just don't see it. Basically, the entire role seems like it was written just for him, and it fits him like a glove. Zeus' companions are played by Maggie Smith, who is just perfect at playing the "evil" goddess, Claire Bloom as Zeus' wife, and an almost unnoticeable Ursula Andress as a "Goddess of Standing Around in the Background and Looking Beautiful". The scenes with the "gods" serve to give the movie a heavyweight backbone and act as a basis for the plot, which is basically a string of action scenes where Perseus and his companions battle whatever twisted creation comes next from the genius mind of Ray Harryhausen.

Harry Hamlin is cast as Perseus, the toned hero...and if the movie ever had a single weak spot then that would be him. Hamlin is probably one of the most wooden heroes in a film of this variety, and almost totally lacking in charisma too. Thankfully they managed to recognize this flaw and so give him little emoting to do, instead just run around a lot, fight the monsters, and retain a stoic look through every time he needs to speak. Meanwhile, Andromeda is played by Judi Bowker, a beautiful woman who nonetheless seems to have little to do in the films have just wait for the Kraken and Perseus to take the scene.

Also cast as a sidekick is the inimitable Burgess Meredith, who is still quite good even though he really doesn't have anything to do. Frankly, you think they wasted the character, and the actor. But what truly got you into paroxysms of laughter must have been what also shocked George in a way when it appeared; Bubo, the mechanical owl of Athena that spoke in beeps and boops similar to R2-D2. You're not going to lie, the sudden appearance of a clearly Sci Fi inspired version of Athena's Owl got you into such a giggling fit that you were nearly asked to step outside. You've heard afterwards that many found him annoying, but you can't believe that for such a cute and funny creature. As for George, you think he was in between outraged and proud that Harryhausen had copied his work. Though letter sent afterward clarify that the design had been worked on before Star Wars, both you and George were not fooled for a moment.

In the end though, you just let it be. It was a good enough price for such an amazing movie.

The audience seemed to think so as well. Many a member described the film with the most glowing compliments, praising the labor of love as well as the clear improvements Harryhausen had done in the years since. Many are claiming that this is clearly his Magnum Opus, his masterpiece, and are excited to see what he will do next. Praise for the actors seems limited, though you can clearly see why. Int he end, the true star of the film were the special effects, with the actors just carrying the film to move along to the next. Despite that, there were more than enough compliments thrown at Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith, the couple dominating the entire scenes they were in, and their enmity and confrontation being the clear motivation of the entire film.

However, despite how much you enjoyed the film (and you will forever be grateful to George and Steven for introducing you to an unknown master), the movie, which was well on the way of receiving the accolades and audience numbers to become a blockbuster ran into a sudden wall that had their flood of people reduced to a trickle...a wall of your own making in a way.

For this was also the month when Raiders of the Lost Ark was released...and the results were telling.

Suddenly, plans were redrawn, halls were needed for the flood of people demanding to see Lucasfilms new masterpiece, word of mouth could only hype the movie more and more, previous halls were movies were being shown were suddenly repurposed for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Clash of the Titans, so close to being a true Blockbuster, staggered just close of the finish line.

You did not know how to feel at first. This movie had given you some of the most amazing effects you'd seen, along with an incredibly fun afternoon, as well as teaching you a valuable lesson on not resting on your laurels. Yet, you were also proud of what Lucasfilm had managed to create, that it had managed to once more show why it was that you were at the forefront of film making in Hollywood. Still, you were somewhat sad of the results, a bitter victory as it were.

For critics it was easy to know how they felt, as they heaped praise upon Harryhausen's latest work, his stop motion special effects and his monsters. The master had returned and shown the young whippersnappers just how things were truly done. Yet no other review came as close as Roger Ebert's in describing the film, as well as giving both thumbs up: "Clash of the Titans is a grand and glorious romantic adventure, filled with grave heroes, beautiful heroines, fearsome monsters, and awe-inspiring duels to the death. It is a lot of fun. It was quite possibly intended as a sort of Greek mythological retread of "Star Wars" (it has a wise little mechanical owl in it who's a third cousin of R2-D2), but it's also part of an older Hollywood tradition of special-effects fantasies, and its visual wonderments are astonishing."

Now, if only you could find a way to contact Harryhausen. You're sure that there's much Lucasfilms could learn from him.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan
Produced by: George Lucas
Production and Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott


Quality: D100 + 400 => 500
Audience: D100 + 300 => 398
Critics: D100 + 300 => 367

Budget: $30,000,000
Domestic:832,412,944
International:469,201,551
Total Gross: $1,301,614,495
VHS: $693,848,596​

You were honestly this close to just not attending the premiere for Indiana Jones. It had been a rather long and busy month as Francis was throwing you into the grinder for Dune and the homefront though wonderful and blessed could be a handful as the twins were becoming really hyper and there was Ginger's kittens, making the O'Brian house very active and full. Fortunately, with the end of the NBA season (The Lakers having been denied a back to back Finals return by the Houston Rockets who managed to narrowly beat the Celtics 4-3 in spite of entering the playoffs with a losing season), Carrie was active as a full time mom and was a blessing to help you through this mess.

There were very strong personal reasons for you to attend though. Steve was your friend and you never wanted to miss out on one of his movies unless you absolutely had to. The story was George's creation and from your talks with him, Indiana Jones was a child near as dear as Star Wars. The two men would both be working with you for Return of the Jedi and you didn't want to sour things leading up to it. And perhaps most intriguing, George booked the Chinese Theater. He only booked the Chinese Theater for movies that he thought were going to change cinema the way Star Wars did, such that involved Conan and Rocky.

Thus you went, this time with Carrie and Debbie while Cat did you another sisterly solid and watched over the kids and Wally with William and Shannon being brought in as an extra hand for the large gathering. You really wanted to bring Mary along, but apparently Marcia had put her foot down on George bringing Wally despite him earnestly wanting his son to come tonight for his first red carpet, something about the ending scene being too intense which was a good enough signal to Carrie to leave Mary home.

"You know, you can be selfish for once and just not attend a film premiere. You've been to more than enough and it's not like a Spielberg and Lucas film is gonna bomb without you being present tonight." Carrie said sweetly as you finally finished the round of interviews and headed into the theater doors, a bit late for said conversation though Carrie was likely bringing it up for future events.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Eh, I got a good feeling about tonight. Besides, why would I want to miss an opportunity to strut the red carpet, arm in arm of the sexiest woman in the world in one of her most beautiful dresses." You whisper flirted the last part into her ear, making Carrie slap you with a look of mock scandal and tip toeing for a kiss which you reciprocated.

"Well, well, if it isn't her royal highness and her stalwart scoundrel." Said a suave voice interrupting the moment, you turned and saw the film's star and your old co-star Harrison Ford approach you, Harrison having existed the red carpet before the three of you could do a group session.

"Harrison, good to see you again." You say, extending your hand for a shake which Harrison reciprocated firmly. While Harrison had been somewhat of an arrogant ass in production, he had definitely been the best actor in Graffiti and it was a thrill to compete against him both character and performance wise. For about five years he sort of orbited around the Hollywood periphery, finding bit and supporting roles in minor films and tv shows. Then came Blade Runner where he was a household name overnight and if George and Steve were to be believed, undoubtadly an A-lister rubbing shoulders with your social standing in the years to come. Another acting rivalry along the likes of Sly, Arnold, Richard, Mark and John.

"Mrs. O'Brian, you look as stunning as ever." Harrison complimented, giving Carrie a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Carrie rolled her eyes at the faux chivalry though you narrowed yours at slight annoyance. Even though you trusted Carrie completely, something about hers and Harrison's interactions threw you off a bit.

"Nice to see you again Harrison. Did you ever imagine that you would go from Bob Alfa to an adventuring archeologist?" Carrie asked.

Harrison shook his head, "No, honestly until a couple of years ago I was willing to take just about anything, spent a fortune printing portfolios. I'm really thankful to you and George for giving me lots of chances to prove myself." Harrison said earnestly to you.

You nodded, "Well the pleasure's all ours to work with such a talented and charismtatic star like yourself. You know, auditions for Return of the Jedi are at the end of the year. Want to participate in front of the camera instead of behind it this time." You asked, Harrison having helped out for the previous two.

To your surprise, the man shook his head in a very strong and resolute refusal, an action no actor in their right mind would do for a Star Wars film. "I'll have to pass on that. No offense, but for some reason I just can't really see myself in a Star Wars movie, I'm not sure I would really fit with any type of characters needed for the materials. Great movies, just not for me."

Pretty odd to say, you could see Harrison working in excellently for something like Han, Lando or Boba Fett, but if that was what he wanted who were you to insist, "Sure, it happens. Steve was so sure that I'd be gunning for Indy, but I just wasn't feeling it myself, felt it would work better in the hands of a different actor."

"And my bank account is all the more grateful for it." Harrison joked, to which you and Carrie laughed, "By the way, I've got to ask, do you really do your own stunts and action choreography, even for stunts like Batman and Conan?" Harrison asked. While he saw your work in Graffiti, the Bruce of '73 was practically a pup compared to your current strength.

"Yeah, basically anything that's not an insane jump or high speed vehicle crash, those are practically the only stuff I leave to my guys. Why do you ask?" You say, to which Harrison looked like you sucked the life out of him.

"Well, it's just that I wanted to be a bit adventurous this movie and do most of my own work. By the time I was done, my whole body felt like it went through a tour in Nam and I had to take a break for a couple of months. How the hell do you do all that on a yearly basis and do crazy stuff like jousting and fighting Ali?"

You just shrugged your shoulders, "Dedicated training, lots of grit and hard work, being taught by some of the best masters in the world, with just a pinch of luck."

"Mary likes to say that her Daddy is 'built different' like a Superman and that's why he's so strong." Carrie added, making you laugh at your daughter's sense of wonder.

"Well I can agree to that. I think I speak for half of Hollywood in that we'd like you to do more romantic comedies or cartoons to stop putting so much pressure on the rest of us to catch up." Harrison said, half joking and serious.

"Well when we greenlight an Indy sequel or you want to do more action films, just stop by the Bruce Lee gym. They'll make sure you shoot like Clint Eastwood and fight like Chuck Norris." You offer.

"I'll be sure to apply for a membership."

Later as you and Carrie were walking into the theater room, you stop to pause and look at the poster, focusing in on Harrison and Karen being tied together for one of the final scenes, "You know how you were competing against Karen for Leia?" You asked Carrie.

"Yeah." Carrie responded a bit blankly. While Leia was her favorite role, she felt slightly guilty tonight for being casted as her while Karen struggled for a few years to get some major roles in comparison to Jodie and Linda's existing success, thus she tried her best to avoid her past competitor for the red carpet.

"Well, from what I remember, George told me that if I was gunning for Luke or didn't want to act, that his backup plan was to have Harrison be Han Solo. So in a way, we're Han and Leia, attending the premiere of a movie starring those who could have been Han and Leia." You inform in amusement.

"Huh, Carrie O'Brian as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as Han Solo." Carrie hummed, trying to imagine the scenario. "The action scenes would have been nowhere near as good, but I could have made something decent with Harrison for the chemistry. He is the second most attractive man I laid eyes on." Carrie teased.

"Whose the first?" You ask dumbly

"This Irish stud of an A-lister whose incredibly cute when he gets jealous." Carrie teased, giving you a kiss on the cheek then pulling you in.

---

Steven Spielberg is ready for Return of the Jedi. Sure it's a belief you've held firmly for a while, but now it's unquestioned by the world and the hype for Return of the Jedi is even further after the masterpiece of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Every now and then there comes a movie which no matter its comparative quality to other greats in the long history of cinema, is an objective movie of its genre and method of storytelling. Such is the case with Indiana Jones, the perfect action-adventure film that in many ways was even superior to Star Wars and Flash Gordon in invoking the atmosphere and type of storytelling of the classic film serials of the 40s and 50s.

The story of Indiana Jones follows the titular Indy, an archeologist and adventurer in 1936 always in the pursuit of lost artifacts so they may find proper homes in museums in the name of history. In the beginning of the film, Indy while in South America is bested by his rival Rene Belloq, narrowly managing to escape a score of booby traps and the indigenous. Returning to the states, Indy is contacted by the US government who inform him of Hitler's obsession with the past and occult, with his new target being the Lost Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament, which Hitler and the Nazis believe will grant them great power to conquer Europe. Indy's pursuit reunites him with an old flame in Marion Ravenwood, the daughter of his mentor, and the two must team up to locate the Ark before the Nazis do.

A lot of people like to claim that you are the best Director in Hollywood, but you think that Steve is far worthier of the title. Every time the man does a new production he manages to increase and improve his quality exponentially, learning from his old mistakes and incorporating new tricks that enhance his strengths in storytelling. The cinematography was perfect and gorgeous, extensive widescreen pan shots that give a sense of awe and great scale for the adventures and historical fantasy, then cutting to close and dynamic shots for Indy's action scenes. The set design was intricate, every moment of acting forwarding the story and serving its special role, lots of smartly implemented comedy, drama and thriller. Steve made a damn good film and recreated the same sense of pure awesomeness that came from the adventure serials.

Of course, half of that responsibility also lies with George, the man whose love of said serials gave birth to the greatest film of all time in Star Wars. Indiana Jones may not surpass Star Wars, but it's pretty close and undoubtedly being written on many people's Top 10s, if not their favorites depending on taste. George knew how to write his favorite genre and gave it the same style of treatment and quality as Star Wars, serving as a love letter to the stories while adding new elements to make it original and iconic. You can see a lot of great influences from Star Wars, Flash Gordon and even Conan taking place in here for the greatest epic of our time. George has been really humble about it all though. Lawrence Kasdan did do his fair share of labor on the script which helps evoke a lot of similar emotions to audiences with Empire from a year prior. Marcia also did another fine job of editing with Steve's style of crafting a film only out of the best shots and building it out of a puzzle of sequences going well with her immense talent in editing, definitely worthy of a second Oscar for her.

Out of all of the films in Hollywood, Indiana Jones is probably the closest to a Bruce O'Brian action film save for the martial arts films coming from Japan and Hong Kong. Steve may not have been an action man like you, but he learned some cool stuff by watching you handle the action scenes on Conan, and failing that importing a lot of Bruce Lee Gym trainers and letting them take the reigns of scenes proved to be a good call. The action scenes are simply awesome with plenty of back and forth between the heroes and villains, fun and creative stunts and parkour, nice subversions here and there like Indy shooting the swordsman, and lots of cool integration of the environment and keeping the action scenes mobile. Plus, how could someone talk about Indiana Jones without mentioning his iconic whip and how it's become one of the coolest and most versatile tools and weapons in cinema. While you would probably have been more ambitious, this is admittedly close to what you might have done with the script. Part of the praise for Indy actually came to how the action was fun and exciting yet grounded, making it feel like real people were engaging in these and anyone could have seen the fights happening. A bit of a backhanded insult to how some people are basically saying your films are fantasy, but when you get to the insanity of Batman vs 100 man or the Batmobile chase it's easy to see why some people might find Indy more relatable than Batman.

Speaking of, everyone in the cast does a great job at their roles, but while most simply play the part to their best as part of the adventure tropes, Harrison Ford is the definitive star and icon of the film as Indiana Jones. The man radiates confidence and charisma and even in low stakes and quiet scenes he kind of overpowers everyone just based off of sheer screen presence alone. Harrison couldn't help but remind you of yourself in a lot of respects, and he did an amazing job turning Indy into such a cool and iconic character who wears a lot of hats throughout the film. From one moment Indy can go from fearless action man to a nerdy and intelligent archeologist. A soft spoken romantic to a hardened and stubborn adventurer. Harrison shows a lot of variety to his performance and Indiana Jones is already one of the most iconic characters of all time.

Everyone else for the most part did a pretty good job. Karen Allen proved that she was worthy of playing Leia with her grit and spirit providing a fun presence for the adventure where she kicked ass against Nazis and helped the story with important plot moments and helping Indy to loosen up and change for the better. She had really great chemistry with Harrison and a lot of people liked to call them the "Adventure Han and Leia", because now most couples in film couldn't be helped but inevitably compare them to you and Carrie. Not to mention the ever popular rumor that Harrison and Karen were casted because you and Carrie were busy with parenthood that was a common belief despite how much you denied it. John Rhys-Davies is a fun comedic presence as Sallah. Paul Freeman makes for a frustrating and devilish foil to Indy as Belloq. And Ronald Lacey delightfully hams it up as a vile Nazi agent. Pretty good stuff that plays to the standard tropes and makes it fun for all audiences.

A highlight of Indiana Jones was ILM's involvement and how this was probably their best showcase outside of the science fiction and superhero genres. The set design was some of the best you've seen with the recreation of ancient ruins giving plenty of mystique and majesty, the great set design and integration of location shoots helped as well. All of the booby traps are pretty cool special effects, most of all the snakes and the iconic boulder ball. The vehicles were all pretty good restorations of 30's cars and plans and they were done excellently in the chase scenes. And who could forget the terrifying horror sequence at the end where God ushers his wrath on the Nazis and melts them to smithereens, then damning their souls to hell. Some really awesome biblical stuff lifted straight from Exodus and the practical effects of the dummies and explosions provided equal parts terror and catharsis. Although that being said, it's not surprising that after this and Batman that films next year would now see the addition of PG-13 for little kids to not be present in too intense stuff while the teens have fun. Not that it didn't stop many kids from dragging their parents or elder siblings and having a good time.

Last and never least is another fantastic score from John Williams who masterfully conducts his orchestra to give a fast paced and powerful soundtrack that evokes the booming thunder of the old serial scores. From now on you can't think of adventure stories without the iconic Indiana Jones theme song playing in your head and the action music really enhances the sequences like rich frosting on an already delicious cake. The Academy performed perhaps its biggest crime last year of denying John's Oscar for Empire Strikes Back, so you hope they give them one for this.

When you and Carrie went home, you were expecting at least a couple hundred million in the box office, high reviews and plenty of great audience support. What did you not expect in the weeks to come was how Indiana Jones just blew up and became another Star Wars level movie, joining the billion dollar club and making this Steve's first billion dollar gross from theaters alone. You could tell the sheer intensity when in Mexico, the towns were filled with half its people forming long lines to the local theater just to see Indiana Jones and the locals literally excitedly sharing with you how much it was just like Star Wars.

Audiences couldn't help but rave and give high praise to Indiana Jones as one of the best films ever with extensive praise for Harrison's performance, the action, Steve's directing and the awesome story that harkened back to the rest of Steve and George's filmography. Honestly, you were pretty naive to expect anything less than strong universal praise grandiose success to be the norm from the men behind Conan and Star Wars. Everyone said it was the perfect action adventure film and people your age and George's who grew up with the serials but missed out on Flash Gordon got an awesome chance to relive their childhood. One of the best films of all time, but surely just another example of the excellent near perfect Lucasfilms standard.

Critics can't help but give general acclaim with high praises all around and whispers of plenty of Oscar nods, most especially to Harrison, Steve and John. There's no denying it's one of the greatest adventure films ever made and perhaps would have been a guaranteed best film of the year were it not for Batman and perhaps the surprised challenger of Tron based off of technical specs alone. The main difference between critics was how they gave their praise and where there was a stark divide on why Indiana Jones was good. Was it the best entertainment, fulfilling its job perfectly of providing spectacle to the masses with escapism? Was it magic and fantasy, providing wonder and pure childlike joy that evoked the likes of Walt Disney? Or was it true high art and equal of intellectual merit to recent greats like Star Wars, The Godfather and Conan? You think Indiana Jones has a little bit of all three, though it's fun to see critics debate and argue over why its good rather than if it's good or bad.

Then there were the financials which just blew your mind upon ending Dune's production and getting the full rundown from Mike. 1.3 billion dollars. Surpassing Batman and Superman, even all of the standalone Napoleon releases and just barely below the original theatrical release of New Hope. Even with the recent Stagflation hike that saw everything with a price tag shot up, Indiana Jones manages to outperform Gone with the Wind when adjusted for inflation along with the other billion dollar films. Honestly, each time a film manages to cross this mark, you can't help but shed happy tears on how that awful racist garbage of a film is made irrelevant as the years go by. May you one day erase it from the public consciousness completely.

Anyways, back to Indiana Jones, it had amazing showings across the world with uniform popularity in all regions where it wasn't banned. Still, even with high overseas turnout with strong public engagement in the usual suspects like the UK, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Romania, etc. it paled to the magnitude of the domestic release which pulled a reverse Napoleon with dominant, near monopoly of a box office turnout in comparison to weaker foreign markets. Not that $470 million was chump change at all, but to put it into perspective, Empire Strikes Back and New Hope both had a difference of $100 million in favor of domestic. Here Indiana Jones was $370 million, and it was the second highest domestic showing of all time, sandwiched between Empire Strikes Back and New Hope.

Last year when Empire Strikes Back was released, the theaters just became dry as nobody wanted to be so dumb and suicidal as to risk their productions against the unstoppable force that was Star Wars. Only Superman II was brave enough to stand against it, and that was because it was a sequel to the billion dollar Superman, and it came out defeated thanks to it not being Star Wars. Well, 700 million is still damn good, but not the back to back billion dollars that Alan had wanted. All the movie studios thought the summer of '81 would be a safe year with no Star Wars, then Indiana Jones came and exploded and Hollywood would hate him just as much as the Nazis. In its first week of release, life in corporate and middle America ground to a halt as everyone took time off to see Star Wars. It being a summer release meant there were plenty of families starving for a good time at the theaters so that got a major boost in and of itself. After the first week there was no sign of slowing momentum, if anything there was growth from all of the second, third and fourth time viewers and so on. Once again mile line theater lines were the norm in America's cities as no heatwave was gonna stop someone from watching Indiana Jones.

At the same time as Indiana Jones release, Hollywood had a bunch of different selections of films they wanted to push in the summer profits, and their success ran into the brick wall of Lucasfilms like a car going 100 mph crashing into a building. There were some decent films, but no one was as good as Indiana Jones and many potential blockbusters simply became high performing films as people simply wanted to see Indy. The hardest hit was United Artists whose Indie films could barely make back their budgets but even the big boys like Universal were being hit bad. The film industry probably lost tens, maybe low hundreds of millions of dollars from Indiana Jones just existing. Not making matters better were how many theater chains just decided to play Indiana Jones for the reliable money printing like Star Wars and not show anything else and how it continued to have high longevity, to the point where by Christmas time it was still in a couple of showtimes per theater and could reliably make a couple million per week.

Of the Summer releases, the only non-Lucasfilm/non-Batman films that were hugely successful and made more than twice their budget were UA's Clash of the Titans, Fox's Cannonball Run, Disney's Escape from New York, and Columbia's Stripes. None could be classified as blockbusters, but at least made back tens of millions, 120 million for Fox and Cannonball Run, to ensure that the Summer wasn't a complete disaster for them. Many major films were outright postponed by months and you could have sworn you heard collective screaming across LA when George said on a late night appearance he had a whole trilogy planned out for Indiana Jones.

VHS' income was a blockbuster performance in and of itself with near 700 million in sales. Lucasfilms had seen a score of VHS successful releases, but it was Indiana Jones that somehow acted as the magic switch which would convince American households to go out and buy a VCR for their home because movies like Star Wars weren't going to be a once in a lifetime event, they were exciting new norms and everyone wanted to own their favorite films to watch again and again from the comfort of their own home. Come Christmastime, the VCR was the must have household item with radioshack on Black Friday being swarmed by mobs who wanted it for a Christmas gift.

The rest of the decade would see JVC and Sony launch one of the greatest corporate wars ever in the clash of the VHS and the Betamax, though all your money was on VHS as that was where the majority of home sales were. Raiders of the Lost Ark became a must have for any film watcher at home whether casual or cinephile. Heck, some stores had special "Classic Packages" that had films like Star Wars and Indiana Jones bought in a bundle. There were a lot of traditionalists angered with this newfound sesnation, MPAA President Jack Valenti even trying to wage a pointless outrage war and get Congress and the courts involved somehow. However, the film studios saw how a movie's profitability went beyond release and they could get more money on VHS than in theaters, and everyone in town promptly told Valenti to shut up and accept the change (While he was also reminded of how the moralists lost their congressional war against you, a firm VHS Supporter) and now corporate Hollywood is trying to think in the real long term of how to get their Blockbusters to be VCR busters in a sense.

Lastly was the really fun sensation in the world of history education where kids and young adults were actually really excited to learn about history from Indiana Jones and many other historical greats in films and TV like Small Giant, Classical Tale and more. Archeology in particular has seen a major swing where classes that once only saw a dozen or two students at its best were now swelled with hundred plus classrooms packed to the brim as everyone wanted to be like Indiana Jones. Leading to vast exacerbation and many colorful anecdotes as archeology professors had to explain that no, they did not fight Nazis like Indiana Jones and most work was academic. Still, a lot of genuine archeologists and historians would get their love born from Indiana Jones, so that's a nice thought.

Steven Spielberg has hit another grand slam with an excellent masterpiece. Now you're really hyped to see how the other Indiana Jones films play out and just what kind of finale Return of the Jedi will be.

 

[overmind]

Batman Returns
Directed by: Bruce O'Brian
Written by: Frank Miller
Produced by: Kathleen Kennedy
Production Studio: Columbia Pictures
Distribution Studio: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Bruce O'Brian (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Clint Eastwood (Captain James Gordon), Detective Sarah Essen (Faye Dunaway), David Patrick Kelly (Edward E. Nygma), Alec Guiness (Alfred), Bob Hoskins (Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin), Jodie Foster (Barbara Gordon), Tom Cruise (Dick Grayson), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Cindy Morgan (Sophia Falcone), Dennis Hopper (Salvatore Morani), Robert Redford (Harvey Dent), Billy Crystal (Gino Santana), Dick Van Patten (Robert Rains) and Richard Mulligan (Gil Colson).

Quality: D100 + 300 => 400
Audience: D100 + 300 => 387
Critics: D100 + 300 => 366

Budget: $40,000,000
Domestic Profits: $424,312,305
International Profits: $190,650,249
Total Gross: $614,962,554​

When the first script for Batman was introduced you were frankly spellbound by it. For during the entire production, if there had been an abundance of, it was scripts that had Batman either as a continuation of Adam West's adaptation, to more dark and gritty tones of the Golden Age of comics, stories that involved Joker, Two Face, the Penguin, and more that had Catwoman as a romantic partner, or even just went and had Robin right there with Bruce from the beginning. In fact, you'd had your eye on two other scripts before Miller's appeared; One where Batman was already established and fought the Joker, and one where they showed his origin story during nearly half the movie, having him fight the Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul (one of the newest villains in his Rogue's Gallery).

Yet in the end, neither of those could bring what Miller brought in when he delivered his script; a feeling of sincerity, of realism, of understanding Batman's mind and thoughts as he begins his crusade against crime.

The first movie was a hit beyond what you had imagined. Star Wars had been the first movie ever to go over a Billion dollars, with Superman following on its heels, yet Batman had soon joined them becoming the third film, and even managed to outperform Superman if the gross was anything to go by! The audience loved it, the Critics loved it, they praised your interpretation of Bruce Wayne...even if they also mentioned how dull you take on Batman was. Many fans recognized the hints you were leaving with Redford playing Harvey Dent, showing Jodi Foster as Barbara Gordon, and of course Robert Shaw as the Penguin. All of them soon became household names as their careers took the newfound fame (or just added fame for the veterans) with the entire cast willing and promising to come back for the sequel.

Yet losing Shaw just as you were about to start was a heavy blow, and a reminder that for all your plan, in the end, you could not account for everything.

It took time for everyone to recover, but as they say; the show must go on. And go on it did. With Frank Miller coming back from his work at Marvel (with your blessings) to once more try his luck at another story that may be able to rival his previous masterpiece. It was a bit of a tall order, but one that you're happy to see come true, for the story that came out was one that perfectly complemented the previous entry, that explored new angles of the batman mythos, and introduced the newest villain for Batman in a subtle and insidious way, to the point that he did justice to the character of the Riddler, turning him from a simple thief who used riddles, to a true arrogant mastermind that could, and did, outthink nearly all of Gotham into destroying itself had it not been for the quick intervention of Batman, Gordon, his daughter and the future Robin.

Heck, he even managed to take in the change of actors for the Penguin and make it a somewhat part of the film. Now that's talent!

But it would all be for nothing if the audience did not accept the film and the changes made to it. On the one hand you know you're being pessimistic, probably because of what happened to so many films just last month when Raiders made its debut. Not many halls are being given now since Theaters want to basically own their own printing machine in the form of Lucasfilm's latest entry, and on many other days you would be right there with them supporting them. And yet, Batman Returns is a film you want to see succeed, not only because you worked on it, but because you're sure that everyone who worked on it deserves to have their time in the sun.

You wonder if this is how the other directors and producers feel. Then you remember most of them are assholes, so fuck them.

But it seemed that in the end your fears were for naught, for if there is one constant in America, it's that in the end, nothing can stop a dedicated batman fan when they want to see their favorite hero on screen. The outright outpouring of letters sent to theaters in order to make at least some space for Batman were enough to at least give three halls to satisfy the demand...at the expense of other films of course, but every studio now has gotten the message that trying to fight both you and Lucasfilms would be futile at this point. Hell. from what you've heard Sydney is already planning to scrap films for next year as he does not want to risk it without a sure hit.

Couldn't happen to better guy.

The result was everything you'd hoped for. Audiences coming in excited to see your rendition of the Black Knight once more, and leaving even more hyped at what they were shown; actions scenes not seen in any other film, a nuanced story and theme that made one think without taking away any enthusiasm nor enjoyment. Once more the amazing ensemble cast that could appeal to nearly anyone that saw the film, an aesthetic that moves towards the Gothic and gave the city its own personality, making it nearly its own character. Heck, everyone even praised Bob's take on Oswald Cobblepot, finding a logical continuation of the Penguin in the continuing storyline.

And you haven't even mentioned the excitement at seeing both Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson taking center stage for the first time on film.

The tale of Batman continues some years where it left off, Batman now a more established presence in Gotham, with both supporters and detractors; Gordon and Essen respectively, as they now have to deal with the remains of the Falcone family, the returning Maroni Family who has now allied through marriage to the Falcone's, not to mention the rising "Penguin Gang" who is slowly but surely taking over the Gotham Underground. It is during this tumultuous period when a new player, calling himself "The Riddler" introduces himself by killing many members of the newly formed alliance, using complex plans that give a hint of hope of escape, but only if they're able to find the answer to many of the riddles employed.

Underneath it all however, there is also the subplot including both Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson, a recently orphaned teenager who are trying to find Batman's real identity for different, yet similar, reasons. How they get entangled and how they eventually aid in the Riddler's capture is one of the cleverest pieces of writing you've seen.

What truly makes it intriguing though, is how during the entire film, there is always the question about Vengeance and Justice, where does one begin and one end? On which side of the strata are the main characters on? It makes you think and wonder about whether each is correct, or if one is the right path against the other. Many of the characters such as Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and even James Gordon struggle with the idea, as each of them have suffered so much at the hands of the criminals of Gotham, some of them believing them to be altogether linked to each other, and that one cannot exist without the other. it is somewhat Ironic that the ones who are the most critical of Batman are the ones who have a clear idea of the difference between them, such as Essen and Alfred, the former doing it out of disgust for what the city is doing and wishing to take James out of it before it can sink its claws on him. While the latter does it out of paternal love and care for his ward, seeing how much Bruce has already lost and not wishing him to lose even more.

Perhaps it's your won bias as a director, and as having worked with such talented actors for the last two movies, but to you the highlight is the clear acting prowess and emotion that each of the characters bring to the tale. The story itself can be seen as a thriller mixed with a mystery in it, but it would be worthless if the characters could not bring in the emotion, the cues, and the reactions necessary for each of the scenes in. On more than one occasion you've felt that this movie rides on the shoulders of each and every one of them, and for that you will forever be grateful.

You just have to look at the main antagonists to understand; David Patrick Kelly worked as a perfect Edward E. Nygma in the first film, an awkward forensic scientist trying to go by, yet with a simmering rage in him as he feels himself above all others due to his high intellect. That is translated perfectly in this film as Nygma, now as the Riddler, makes fools out of every single one of Gotham's finest as he leads them in circles with no one being sure who the Riddler is or how to catch him. Some well put shots from behind him to hide his face, or moments where he is nearly covered with glasses and a face mask also enhance the mystery for those who are seeing the movie for the first time and don't know who he is. During the entire film it's a complete delight to see a man so full of himself being able to back up what he says, with him being smug all the way to prison when they catch him, knowing that in the end they could not even figure out the truth until he spelled it out for them. A megalomaniac of the highest order, and one of the best adaptations in your opinion of what the character should be.

But Bob Hoskins did not remain behind. He knew he was the best one to replace Shaw, but he also knew he had some big shoes to fill, especially since he could not act the exact same way Shaw had done for the Penguin, managing an air of pomposity and civility which bellied the deep cruelty and darkness within. Bob's response was to simply peel it off, show the Penguin with all darkness revealed, with a level of coarseness that outright shocked all former viewers of the first film, insinuating that this was the real Oswald Cobblepot, the man behind the facade in the first film. The man who could speak with the new Falcone alliance about needing to work together, while funding Riddler's campaign of terror against them and Gotham in the next breath. Bob gave the character the development necessary to avoid being a rehash, but it was also respectful enough to Shaw's interpretation that no one could say they were just throwing him away once it served its purpose.

Both villains represent the dark aspect of Gotham that Batman faces against, and this time you made sure to take all the criticism for the character from the first movie and translate it into a more nuanced character, one that would be its own beyond Bruce Wayne, and one that brings the fight to the criminal element with both brains and brawn. Your action scenes were of course as high and ambitious as you could make it (fighting one hundred men in a single shot was nothing short of grueling), but you also made sure to add some nuance to the Dark knight; making sure that for the acts of vigilantism and fear he brought to the criminals, that he also was seen as compassionate towards those who were victims. The fact that he was only a man was highlighted in the theme of the film as he debated whether his struggle was for vengeance or Justice, and the final moment, when he finally acknowledges what he must stand for is one of the best in your opinion.

Not that you were the only one to be seen as such, as many of the other actors gave some of their best work in ages.

Clint had told you beforehand that acting as James Gordon was something that was not in his range, but you, and nearly the entire audience, think that this his best role so far. After all, whether Clint acknowledges it or not, James Gordon in the film is a logical continuation of many of his previous western roles; the lone man fighting for his own code against an entire town/city. Faye gave an amazing portrayal of a tough as anils detective, yet also one that remains feminine and wants to bring in a good life for her man and step-daughter. Their eventual relationship breakdown is tragic because both work perfectly for each other, yet their own principles demand that they must separate. In the end, there is no drama, no tears, just the sadness as they go their separate way.

God, so many have already praised that scene in how mature it was handled.

And of course you can't ignore both Jodi Foster and Tom Cruise as both Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson respectively. The story and adaptation of Robin came at the last minute, but having him be a teenager on the cusp of adulthood is just what you needed to explain both his rashness and impulsive anger, as well as to not show a child battling criminals. He had such an amazing chemistry with Jodi as well, both of them just bouncing of each other whenever they shared the screen. Jodi was on top form as the future Batgirl, displaying her smarts and analytical mind when trying to decipher who Batman is, and later on just where the bombs are when they finally decipher Riddler's clue. The final scene where she and Dick confront Bruce, having discovered his real identity, is one of the most amazing moments of deduction that frankly had everyone in the audience surprised. Meanwhile Tom took your advice and went to the Gym you'd recommended him for. There they gave him just the right amount of discipline and training so that when he finally showed his fighting prowess, he did not disappoint any of Robin's fans.

Finally, both Alec Guinness and Robert Redford managed to bring to light some of the most poignant and tragic aspects of the characters they played as. For Guiness, Alfred may have been a step down when you consider his long and storied list of performances in both Britain and America, yet you have to say, you think this will be the one he'll be remembered for. Alfred, for all that he is a butler and an assistant, is more than that under Guinness' direction; he's a family member, a surrogate father to his ward, the one man who looks after him when batman does not, the man who went to Maroni himself and threatened him to leave his ward alone after being let go by him...and the one person Bruce could not do without, in the end heeding his advice to not fall under the allure of vengeance and fighting for Justice against all criminals.

Redford had a reduced presence in this film, but he made do in every single scene he had, showing the duality within Dent, bursting into anger whenever he had to let a criminal go, the quiet solemn moment which, when approached with the right light, could almost show a divide in his face, and the slow muttering whenever he thought he was alone, giving the impression he was speaking to someone else. In the hands of a less experienced actor they might have seemed as overly dramatic, but with Redford at the lead, they showed a tortured mind who's desire to do good was slowly being undermined from within by a rage and anger that was slowly, but surely swallowing him whole.

In the end, it was an amazing film.one that actually managed to put in a good battle against Raiders. Alan was both satisfied that he managed to get some money, yet also furious that he once more managed to lose by trying to go against Lucasfilms. Further discussions with mike are being held, as Alan wants to make sure to get advance warning for both Star Wars and Indiana Jones in order to make sure he doesn't try to fight the inevitable net time (He's also told Kathleen to get Harrison for Wonder Woman). Sydney is once more with his team in trying to revive Universal's Monsters Franchise to be able to fight more evenly, and Disney...well, they seem to be sitting down and looking at the chaos.

Just what are they up to?

Critics praised the film as a worthy addition to the burgeoning Batman Franchise, and an excellent addition to the growing Cinematic Universe. Though there have been other that decry how Batman has been perverted from what it truly was, a children's show with Adam West as the true Batman interpretation. Many are quick to correct how Batman is mostly returning to its roots once more, with none other than Adam West writing that though he enjoyed his time on Batman, he has nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for the movies, as they seem to be doing an excellent job. This shut most of the critics quickly enough, though there are still some who keep on making a nuisance of themselves.

The Post credit scene having Batman and Alfred speaking in the Batcave about the upcoming event for a Greek Exhibition. Where batman looks at the files of the Curator, Diana Prince, and compares it to a photograph showing Wonder Woman along with some soldiers in WWI. The resemblance between both being uncanny. While not something completely new like the previous post credit scene from Superman II, it still managed to add an additional piece to the puzzle; Bruce was at the Exhibition to spy on Diana, already knowing her identity before she introduced herself to both him and Clark. it may be small, but it's the little details that keep the hype up for fans, as many of them are already discussing it and adding their own spin to the entire tale.

All in all, an excellent film, and one that you're proud of being a part of.

---

Culture: D100 => 62
​

Well... You're not exactly sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, you did not think that your movie would be that good as to make an impact beyond entertaining, yet from the letter you've just received you've actually done more than that.

It's because Batmania has returned to the country, and it's come back with a vengeance.

lunchboxes, cereal boxes, drawing books, pens and pencils, cups, glasses, dishes, clothes and shoes, all kinds of jewelry and decorations...and that's without even mentioning the toilet paper, disposable plates, art and comedy sketches...the list goes on and on. The mania that had once been thought of as a fad from the 60's is now making its mark in the 80s. Furthermore, it's not only adults or children that are the most affect, but teen culture as well. No longer are teens being harassed, mocked or outright bullied for enjoying comics, as suddenly it's become acceptable to not only read them, but wear all kinds of clothes that showed the Bat Logo in front.

That's not all though, you never thought it possible despite how much Marvel had begun to flaunt it, but nowadays the entire Comic Codes Authority has lost what little power it had as both Marvel and DC have begun publishing their comic without that hated seal once and for all. What would once had been a death knell for any comic company has now become utterly obsolete as Stan tells you how the new writers have begun experimenting on new entries and comics; There's talk of reviving the old Horror comics with a new Anthology series called "Night Mind" and a new Cyberpunk series called..."Bubblegum Crisis"?...has entered the mainstream, gaining huge popularity among the Cyberpunk fans.

It's something that's beyond what you'd once thought. John had once told you he'd bullied those who read comics, and now such action is being seen as unthinkable as everyone wants to read comics. Both Marvel and DC are reporting increase distribution and production for their titles as the audience increases, with new ideas being introduced just as many are discarded.

Alan and DC Comics, the main beneficiaries, are already making plans to take advantage of this newfound fascination with the Dark Knight. Aside from the films there are already plans to include different comics to increase the character's appeal. Frank Miller, who went back to his work on Daredevil, is suddenly being scouted to write for DC, and there are rumors that Columbia might try for what many thought to be impossible; a Batman Animated Series. Stan is already trying to rush the MCAU into production to get ahead of the curve, as Mike is once more seeing dollar signs as he tries to convince Alan that DreamWorks has just the right people to make it a reality.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

The Great Muppet Caper
Directed by: Jim Henson
Written by: Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Jerry Juhl, Jack Rose
Produced by: David Lazer, Frank Oz
Production Studio: ITC Entertainment, Henson Associates
Starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Jack Warden


Quality: D100 + 250 => 278
Audience: D100 + 250 => 314
Critic: D100 + 250 => 263

Budget: $14,000,000
Domestic: $41,033,758
International: $50,381,426
Total: $91,415,184​

After the immense success of The Muppet Movie, it was never any question that Lucasfilms and the Jim Henson Company would continue their partnership for the near future in any sequels. Still, even if The Muppet Movie had been a total box office bomb, you would have still continued with the partnership because it was Mary's favorite movie and she had such an amazing time with it.

Leading up to the film, Mary was really eager to go see it in theater, so much so that in the weeks leading up to it, save for some wild moments like the impromptu dinner party and her brocoli protest, she was a model child and did her best to behave and be a good big girl by helping Carrie around the house and helping with the twins and kittens so she could be taken to premiere night. Carrie and you had intended to take Mary all along, but it was adorable how Mary was determined to earn her night. However, it did serve as great ammunition for Mary to coerce you two into bringing Sarah and Joseph to the movies, Mary being quite adamant that the first movie her siblings would see in theaters would be a Muppet movie. The week before, Mary had informed the twins of the Great Muppet Caper's existence and both of them had begged in their own way to take them to the theater.

You had intended for Return of the Jedi to be Sarah and Joseph's first movie so they could be decently socialized by that point to behave. Although, the Muppets were a great debut as well and with how much Mary had gotten them to fall in love with Kermit and the gang, it'd be a crime to say no. Thus, the premiere became an O'Brian family movie night with you, Carrie and Debbie taking the kids out. Fortunately, there wasn't any mess leading to the movie's start. Carrie and Debbie took the twins in quickly, and you supervised Mary for a while who had some fun interacting with the Muppets on the red carpet, wiggling Kermit O'Brian as a movie reporter and all the Muppeteers present being really good sports about it and playing along with the presence of Mary and Kermit's Irish cousin. This was definitely going to be one of Mary's favorite nights ever.

The Great Muppet Caper was an interesting direction to take after the last one. Rather than be a narrative of the Muppets continuing their adventures in Hollywood or some sort of sequel to the recently ended Muppet Show, the Great Muppet Caper was a heist movie where Kermit, Fozzy and Gonzo were journalists for a newspaper, Kermit and Fozzy in paritcular being "identical twins" that were indistinguishable when they had their newspaper hats on (A joke which got lots of laughs from Joe and Sarah). When someone stealas jewels from the world renowned fashion designer Lady Holiday, the trio are sent to London to cover the story with Kermit determined to catch the thief at the same time so they can become famous and keep their job as journalists. Traveling to London, the trio meet the rest of the Muppets gang at the hotel they're staying along with Miss Piggy who has become Lady Holiday's secretary and is pretending to be her to impress Kermit, who she has fallen in love with at first sight. Along the way the way they run into the real criminal, Lady Holiday's brother who has been stealing her jewels along with his evil Charlie's Angels parody of a gang. Thus, classic Muppets shenanigans ensue.

Well....you honestly have to admit that even if the critics are far overblown with unnecessary scrutiny, they are somewhat right in that the script for the Great Muppet Caper is weaker than the first movie. It doesn't feel like a true Muppet movie, more a heist movie that just happens to have the Muppets thrown into the case, with the overall story being a rather generic plot that would be no different from the live action Disney schlock of the 70s.

Except for Kermit, Fozzy, Gonzo and Piggy; everyone else is kind of just there and doesn't contribute anything to the story, just doing comedy bits being themselves. Thus it really doesn't feel like a true ensemble like the original nor does it have much story significance to the Muppet name. The conflict is very low stakes and half the movie it doesn't really matter as most of the story is focused on a Kermit-Piggy romance, somewhat repeating the beats of the first film just with Piggy living a Cinderella-esque fantasy. Mike likes to describe it as a TV movie masquerading as a theatrical release, and you can agree somewhat with the sentiments.

Still, while the plot is weak and doesn't have the dramatic weight of the first movie, it's not a bad movie persay and the Great Muppet Caper more than makes up for its flaws with its strengths. The comedy is still as excellent as the first movie, with lots of hillarious meta humor on it being the movie, the Muppets personalities making each one a joy to watch, and tons of great slapstick and cheeky dialogue like the show. The cast while mostly static, are their same lovable selfs and everyone does a good job in acting, with even better puppetry than the first by some of the impressive stunt work that makes the Muppets really mobile with lots of action and expressiveness. The movie is a musical with a lot of fun songs sprinkled throughout that are more than worthy of an Oscar, and lots of great performances that'll probably guarantee that you buy the cassettes for the kids. The cameos are pretty solid with your favorite being Peter Falks hilarious Columbo-esque scene with Kermit. Jim does a pretty good job as a Director with the cinematography and organizing all the Muppets and effects. You're really looking forward to what he can do.

All in all, a fantastic family film and you're proud to add Muppet Caper to the Lucasfilms library. It was also a successful movie night as Mary had an absolute blast watching another Muppet movie in theaters, laughing along and beaming with pure joy for every second with Kermit O'Brian in hand. The twins also thankfully had a good time and were relatively well behaved. Any fussiness or anxiety at all the people in the theater disappeared when the movie started and they behaved well with laser focus attention on the screen, having a similar reaction to Mary with the first Muppets. No crying or screaming, just pure childish laughter and happiness.

Overall, a really great night and another happy O'Brian memory. It was really nice to go to the movies with the whole family and bond with the kids over their favorite show. Taking the twins also served as a nice exit excuse rather than deal with any crazy after parties or media nonsense, though Lord knows they might be a little cranky tomorrow. When you returned home you tucked in the kids to their crib and Mary in her bed, who gave you and Carrie the biggest "Fozzy Hugs" along with kisses from Kermit O'Brian.

"You two are the best Mommy, Daddy in the whole wide world ever!"

You're welcome Mary.

Commercially, the Muppets was a box office success with a steady 91 million across the globe, with even distribution outside of the United States. Still, Muppet Caper took sequel syndrome hard with less than half the amount of box office returns from The Muppet Movie despite having a comfortable summer spot and being one of the only family movies. It seemed like even after a month of release, people just really wanted to watch Indiana Jones again and again, and those who wanted something else would rather look more cool and mature with Batman. Still a great success, but not the blockbuster it might have been in the absence of Indiana Jones. You apologized profusely to Jim for the unintended sabotage, though fortunately the muppeteer took it all in good stride, being more than happy with the outcome and joking that if this was a failure, then he'd gladly fail for the rest of his life. Probably helped to keep him in good spirits that you reserved Dark Crystal for Christmas of next year.

In terms of reception, audiences seemed to enjoy it just as much as the first Muppet Movie, with a minor debate on which one was better. Families of all ages had a good time in general with something for everyone and lots of praise for the acting, comedy, puppetry, and an overall fine debut for Jim as a Director. Unfortunately, while critical reviews as a collective seem to be generally positive, there are a lot more vocal criticisms of the movie with a weird minority of critics trying to pan it and get people to stay away for some reason. The general sentiments are that Muppet Caper is a generic heist movie that doesn't care much about the heist and is just the Muppets doing silly stuff for an hour and a half, lacking the edge and wit of the Muppet Show so that it was just another safe kiddy movie.

Honestly, you could agree that the script wasn't going to win an Oscar, but people were just way too harsh on the Muppets. Jim didn't come in making grandiose promises of matching Star Wars in storytelling, he was making a fun heist movie with the fun and charm of the Muppets. What happened to just having a good time with the movie and having a nice emotional connection? Perhaps its your fault in a way, as people expect Lucasfilms to be the absolute best of the best so when a movie, either in-house or distributed, isn't the absolute best of their genre or innovates filmmaking radically then they must be bad or mediocre. Well, this was one case where the critics were clearly wrong, because The Great Muppet Caper was a darn good movie, and any movie that makes your kids happy and smile is a great one in your books.

The week after the premiere, you ran into a very curious sight early in the morning when you woke up and took Natalie to go to the bathroom in the backyard. As you let the dalmatian back in, you made your way back to Carrie and then paused as you saw Mary sitting on the couch, the nearby phone that rested on a table having been dragged to a cushion next to her while Alfred the cat dozed peacefully on Mary's lap.

Mary with all of her intelligence was more than capable of using a telephone, but you and Carrie did your best to stress to Mary that she should ask permission first so that way she didn't talk to any strangers. It didn't usually cause problems before, as she usually liked to talk to Wally, Milly or your parents and wasn't really adventurous, save for one night where she tried to get out of eating her vegetables by ordering a pizza which earned her some timeout.

Curious on what your daughter was doing and if she had asked Carrie permission before, you snuck your way back into the kitchen and quietly picked up the landline to listen in and see what Mary was doing.

Thankfully, she wasn't calling any strangers or creeps when the dial ended and George's voice answered, "Hello, George Lucas speaking."

"Uncle George, this is Mary." Mary said firmly.

Aww, that was cute, she just wanted to talk to Wally again.

"Oh hi Mary, do you want to talk to Wally? He's still asleep but I can call you back when he wakes up." George said.

"No Uncle George, I want to talk to you. Maybe Aunt Marcia as well since she's co-owner and editor." Mary said firmly.

That confused you and it seemed George as well, "Oh, do you want to make a movie with Lucasfilms Mary?" George asked in amusement.

"NO." Mary said rather forcefully with a bit of annoyance. "I calling to complain about you and Uncle Steve's movie, the Indiana Jones."

That was rather odd since Mary shouldn't have seen Indy so far. You hadn't brought home a VHS copy, she didn't go to the premiere with you, and you were certain that neither Carrie Debbie had taken her yet. George was still trying to push Marcia to have a movie day with Mary and Wally for Indy at their home, mainly because he really wanted to share this with Wally. For now George was still somewhat hopeful since Wally was tag teaming in asking his mom to watch a "Daddy movie".

"Oh, do you have any criticism for it?"

"You did bad thing Uncle George by releasing Indiana Jones before Muppet Caper, Uncle George. I read in LA Times that Indiana is selling most tickets and not sharing the theaters. Because of that, less people go to Muppet Caper, which means less money for Kermit and friends. Muppets are most important, not Indiana Jones. Take Indiana Jones out of movies right now so Muppets make more money, it's best movie." Mary commanded George.

Facepalming over another Maryism and glad you were up before things became too awkward for George, you interrupted, "Sorry George, Mary's just too passionate about her favorite movies, I'll call you back." You joined in.

"Daddy?" Mary asked, then you hung up and dashed to the living room before Mary did anything more silly, finding yourself with Mary still barking her will,

"You gotta tell Mr. Mike to have every Kermit Box show have Muppet commercials. Every movie needs a Muppet trailer. I'll have Daddy get the President to tell everyone to watch in a speech."

You then pressed the cancel button before Mary got any more wild ideas. Your daughter gave you a strong pout.

"That's rude Daddy. I'm on the phone, I no hang up you or Mommy." Mary protested, such a sight made cuter by the adorable yawn of Fred on her lap.

You give Mary a knowing Dad look she was all too familiar by this point, "Is that so Mary? So that's rude, but it's not rude to tell Uncle George that his movie isn't important and it should be taken out of theaters?" You ask, with Mary looking away and trying not to feel guilty.

"That's different, the Muppets are more important than some adventure movie. Indiana Jones is taking away Muppet money, less Muppet money means Kermit won't have budget to make movies, or maybe no more Muppet anything on Kermit Box." Mary said, seemingly truly believing that Indiana Jones could kill off the franchise.

Mary then gave you a sharp glare, "You no help Daddy. Now everyone who has seen Indiana Jones is going to see Batman. Batman already bad because it another Daddy adult movie, now it take money away from Muppets. Then there's stinky critic people who say it not good, it's super amazing great sequel. Just like Mommy and Daddy in Empire!" Mary ranted, becoming rather flustered and drawing tears in her eyes.

The sight tugged at your heart a little as you remember well how Mary became really depressed when she found out a while ago that the Muppet Show had ended. Thankfully, nothing horrible came long term thanks to Jim pulling a favor for you and coming over as Kermit, giving a little pep talk to Mary that helped her to accept that it was a good change and there'd still be the Muppets. Mary, who was too young to understand the nuances of Hollywood, probably thought this was a do or die moment for the Muppets even though the franchise had staying power that could last for decades.

You placed the phone back on its table and then sat and hugged Mary, giving her a kiss on the top of her head, "Mary, I understand you're upset, but nothing bad is happening at all. The Muppets mad their budget opening weekend, so that means that all the money going forward is gonna be profit, so Kermit's not losing any money and that means he'll probably have more movies in the future."

"But it could make even more with no Batman or Indiana Jones." Mary argued.

"Mary, I can't force people to go to the movies and watch the films I want them to watch." You said.

"But that's what you and Mommy do with Star Wars." Mary countered.

You shake your head a bit mirthfully, "That's not how it works Mary. People will just watch whatever they're interested in. Sometimes it means a lot of people will watch a movie, and sometimes it means only will watch it. Right now, more people may like Batman or Indiana Jones-"

"Why? Muppets the best, and Superman is better than Batman." Mary cut in.

You released a sigh, "I don't know Mary. But I will tell you, that your Daddy and Uncle George did a lot of hard work for Batman and Indiana Jones to make the best movies we could. Would you want us to fail?"

"No." Mary whimpered, looking down at Alfred and petting the kitten to calm herself.

"And I also want Jim and Kermit to succeed and make the best movie they can. Lots of people love the Muppets, especially you and the twins, and it'll make enough money that Kermit can make whatever movie he wants to next. Not to mention Mr. Jim is going to make a cool puppet movie for next year's Christmas. Nothing bad is happening Mary, movies just act a little silly sometimes when they're in the theaters." You say, hoping you calmed Mary and prevented any issues from popping up.

Fortunately, it seems to be the case with Mary slowly nodding in understanding, if a bit reluctantly. "Okay Daddy. Am I in trouble?" Mary asked innocently.

"We'll just call Uncle George after breakfast and have you say sorry, okay Mary." You suggest, with Mary giving a more comfortable nod at that.

"I won't say sorry to critics though, they're stupid meanie bullies wrong on everything!" Mary said resolutely, making you laugh.

"Yeah, they're pretty silly people, they get movies wrong half the time and sometimes they like really weird stuff."

"Why do people read and listen to them if they're stupid?" Mary questioned.

You shrugged your shoulders, "I don't know Mary, I don't know."

 

[overmind]

A Classical Tale - Season 4
Created By: Dave Allister
Directed By: Brad Bird
Animation Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Distribution: Public Broadcasting System
Original Release: June-September 1981

Quality: D100 + 250 => 318
Audience: D100 + 250 => 318
Critics: D100 + 250 => 335

Revenue: 66,334,212​

Your meeting with Congress went as well as one could have expected when you're trying to defend the right of the artist and the animator to be able to have freedom to express oneself. One would think that a nation built on the principles of freedom of expression would not need such a thing, but what can you expect from politicians in the end. Seriously, they would probably need an entire week to debate that water was wet if left to their own devices.

The sad thing is that you are probably giving them too much credit.

Still, at the very least you've once more managed to secure another season for Classical Tales, with the blessing of PBS as they are now fully on board with what you can bring to the table with such an old and storied tradition...if only Dave had not bitten more than he could chew when it came to this specific myth!

To begin with, Hinduism, when looking back, could very well be the world's oldest religion, with over 5 thousand years of history and a tradition that is still in practice today. There are nearly a billion people in India who still worship these supposed gods, and with al traditions they have managed to change so much of it overtime that there are contradictions on nearly every single one of their deities, creation myths, stories of heroes, there is even a tale that's supposed to be told in nearly three different ways and all are supposed to be valid...just what the heck?!

But what truly burns at you, what truly made you feel for the first time ever if something like this should be presented to children, was the very message that these stories were trying to impart. You defended the Norse Myths because at the end of the day you felt that despite the violence and goriness of the situation, this was still something that people should learn, know what happened in the past and how they justified it. It's a different thing altogether when it's still a living religion that people believe in and you have to explain how one of their main deity's, who is supposed to be one of the good ones at that, happens to break oaths, kill family members, and commit adultery!

Just what the hell Indra!!

That was the main Millstone around David's neck; he wants to do a good job on this, he wants to present this "Mythology" to his daughter and children around the world in a respectful and entertainment manner. Yet the subject material is just so out there, even more than the Norse and Egyptian myths, that he struggles with it. And that's without even mentioning the entire amount of information there is as well. Dave has to pretty much pick and choose which of them to use, and make sure that it fits with the tradition while also being understandable.

And why the heck does this mythology have so much emphasis in numbers?!

But if this was a problem with David, then it was nearly nothing when compared to Brad. He once more thought to try and be part of the series, perhaps thinking to create a new tradition and make it so that directors work on two season like John and Ron had done before him. Well, this season did not help his perfectionist tendencies at all! Ever since he spoke to Don he's been trying to find a balance, but even so he still tended to want his work to be as faithful and as detailed as possible.

Try doing that when the description includes a ten headed man with twenty arms along an army of shape shifting cannibal demons!

But the worst of the worst is how the myths find a way to express support and encouragement of one of the most horrible systems there is; the caste system, the idea that one can never be anything more than what you were born as, that you could never try to climb above your station, that everything is predetermined and can never, and should never, deviate from the path already established by one's betters. That the entire idea is giving support by one of the winning sides in their epics just fills you with disgust.

The sad part is that in said book there is also one of the most interesting concepts as well, that of Dharma and goodness, how it can be used to do good deeds and be rewarded for it. It's actually fascinating to see it being explored further in the tales of Rama and Sita (A pair of lovers who you would not mind making a movie out of one day) but also with the tales of Karna, the Prince of Generosity who did all right actions and helped anyone and everyone who needed it...yet because it was predetermined he would lose, he does and dies as well.

It's...it's been a challenge. The entire message that it tries to bring is somewhat ambiguous, yet there is clearly an idea of good and evil, just...not one that can be easily understood, or one that seems to fit with the traditional mores that you've so far managed to adapt. Heck, Zeus was pretty scummy, Loki was...well, Loki. And don't even get you started with Seth. But this adaptation took more out of Brad and David than they ever expected to; long nights just trying to find the right script to use, finding just the right model to display the Rakshasas, finding just the right tone of blue for the Avatars of Vishnu (and why the heck where they Blue!) ...

But, in the end, they finally managed to bring it home. And boy did they do it with style.

Beginning with the host, this time they eschewed a single one, and instead decided to go for a different framing; in which there is a group of Brahmin friends who pass the time telling each other stories while being caught in home during a particularly strong storm. Each follows a different tradition (Vedas, Upanishads, etc.) in order to avoid giving more favor over another. The stories, beginning with the birth of the Universe through the creator gods Dyaus (Sky) and Prithvi (Earth) gave birth to Surya (sun), Agni (Fire) and Indra (Warrior King of the Gods) who helps keep the parents separated as they argued all the time. He also supplanted Varuna, may once have been the ruler of the Gods, and faced Vritra (giant Snake or Dragon), kills him and creates sun, dawn and sky while also giving form to chaos.

An abridged version, yet one that nonetheless managed to convey so much of the beliefs of the time, as well as showing the adventures of Indra in all his glory through a more epic and action-oriented animation style, one that eschews the Disney style and goes for a more imaginative and diverse, being both minimalistic yet grandiose at the same time, showing the characters almost larger than life, with the background of exotic locales and magnificent sceneries.

And this is barely the first episode!

Each Brahmin has their own version that at the same time they debate, showing amazing and diverse myths; the three great deities of Brahma (Creation Deity) Vishnu (Preserver Deity) and Shiva (Destruction Deity), as well as the more abstract version of Brahma, the idea of oneness with God and the Universe, all of it detailed and displayed in such an esoteric light that it nonetheless is more than just simple lights thrown around. it all follows a motive and purpose that you can't just take your eyes away.

You once said in Congress that children are not dumb, and this kind of presentation aims to prove it. It makes one think, it makes one reason, it makes one recognize that there are different versions to each tale, and it's up to the one listening to decide which is the one most likely, the one they would think bring the most detail, while at the same time making it fun to just watch and enjoy the many different stories coming at them. In the end, both Dave and Brad managed to turn what should have been an incredibly difficult to understand myth, and summarized it enough to be both respectful while it also keeps to the spirit of the myth.

And there are so many stories to be told as well; the tale of Krishna, the Avatar of Vishnu, during discovering the idea of trade for goods, saving his parents from a tyrant king and participating in a wrestling tournament. The tale of Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who becomes the foremost to be worshipped as the remover of obstacles. Durga, an aspect of Parvati (and seriously, how can an aspect also be a god) as she fights against Mahisha and his army of demons while riding a tiger...it's all there in a glorious and amazing fashion!

But, if there's ever any two high spots of the show, then it has to be the tales of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

The Mahabharata is basically a succession crisis with kings who have different wives, their descendants doing the same (including some who are Demi-Gods) who then turn against each other as they can't decide who should be the ones to rule India. The Pandavas are friends with Krishna, which gives them the advantage against the Kauravas, yet nonetheless it's the former who have to go into exile due to a rigged game, have many adventures while their army and allies grow, including a promising young Prince named Arjuna, until they're finally able to come back...only to find that their belongings will not be returned. Once the war begins they manage to win (Big surprise there, they had Krishna on their side), but the world starts declining to the point that nearly all of them die as they go on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, save for one survivor that manages to go to their heaven after passing a test of character.

It's an amazing tale full of treachery and honor on both sides. You were not able to present every single part in this series, but you hold on to hope that perhaps one day you can try and bring it to life in a movie or TV Show. It was so engrossing seeing the rivalries, friendships, heroes on both sides, yet clearly it has all been predetermined that the side of the Pandavas is going to be victorious as proclaimed by Krishna (and if there's one single downside on this series, is the discussion between Krishna and Arjuna. The animation is top notch, but nothing can make that entire discussion of the origin of the Universe seem fun).

But if the Mahabharat is political intrigue and war, the Ramayana is a story of love and adventure, a simple story of good and evil, of fighting against the forces of the Rakshasa and their kings, a story of devotion, of Dharma, and of finding new friends through good and ethical actions.
Sita and Rama (another Avatar of Vishnu) find love when Rama is traveling with his brother Lakshmana and the Sage Vishvamitra fighting Rakshasas. They arrive at the neighboring Kingdom where after meeting Sita and falling in love, they agree to marry. From then, Sita follows on their adventures, yet all the while following the traditional mores of Dharma.

Through their many adventures, which include Rama's exile after his father chooses his younger brother to be King over him, we also learn of the Rakshasa King Ravana of the Kingdom of Lanka, who gained boons from the gods (near invulnerability from Brahma and a sword from Vishnu) thanks to his "devoted" acts like cutting off his heads (and regrowing them, getting 10 heads and 20 arms). This is told in parallel to Rama's exile to the Dandaka Forest where, along with Sita and Lakshmana, he has adventures and fights against the Rakshasa for 10 years (which include defeating Viradha (a demon), visiting a hermitage, getting a magical bow with infinite arrows from the Sage Agasthya Rama, and making friends with a celestial eagle named Jatayu). It's in this moment where both stories interconnect, as Ravana kidnaps Sita, and Rama with his brother must find her, rescue her, and kill Ravana once and for all, along with the help of Hanuman the Monkey God and his army of Varanas.

It's fantasy at its finest, legend at its greatest, and a magnificent tale of bravery, sacrifice, and love. That they managed to do such a magnificent work out of the material only made you feel proud that in some small way you were able to make this come true. You are not ashamed to admit that this was your favorite section of the tales. Heck, Mary, Sarah and Joe agreed with you, as for the first time in a long time they wanted to watch the "Kermit Box" for something more than the Muppets.

And what else can you say that the audience did not? Parents heard your advice when speaking to Congress and spent time with their children watching the show. Discussing it and growing closer as a result, with many of their letters thanking you for putting on such an amazing story for their kids. Rama and Sita soon becoming favorite, and household, characters for nearly everyone to enjoy. Names like Arjuna, Karna, Vishnu and Brahma have made an impact as college students find themselves fascinated by such a rich and detailed world that is alive and kicking to this day. The government's new international policy of rapprochement with India has found a new well of supporters among those who have watched the show and find such a culture worthy of being discussed and befriend.

...So long as no one tries to mention the Caste System. At least it's no longer practiced save in the most remotes areas of the country.

Critics, for the first time in a long while, have actually come around to the show, finding that the message and teachings of the lands and cultures beyond America are truly worthy of being presented, warts and all, to the children. The animation style is to be praised, along with the script who does its best to show the myths without "Disneyfying" it completely (is that a word?). Once more, the show continues to be reliable as one of the "Big Three" of PBS, bringing both joy and entertainment to children everywhere, helping the channel stay afloat and relevant as well.

Not to mention the merchandising opportunities that Mike made sure to capitalize on; T-Shirts, notebooks, lunchboxes of all kinds along with backpacks, small figurines, and posters of the different characters now dotted the stores, selling more than enough to once more pay for next season without the need to dip into the coffers.

Overall, a success, now let's see if it can be repeated next year, as Brad leaves and another takes his place.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

The Bros
Directed by: Paul Schrader
Written by: Dave Alister
Produced by: Francis Ford Coppola
Production and Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Peter Weller, Jessica Lange, Tom Hanks, Griffin Dune, Steve Guttenberg Sally Field


Quality:D100 + 200 => 230
Audience:D100 + 200 => 234
Critics:D100 + 200 => 235

Budget: $10,000,000
Domestic: $11,343,112
International: $3,212,442
Total Gross: $14,555,554
VHS: $103,223,445​

Were it not for the fact that Steve was Jewish, you would be tempted to call a priest to exorcise whatever curse he's inflicted upon Hollywood with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Almost every film has underperformed their hopes and expectations, even the profitable UA and Disney shy of hopeful blockbusters. The Muppets and Batman did decently, but Lucasfilms received its first major L in quit a while with The Bros, Lucasfilms's second box office bomb after Steve's 1941. You could more than stomach the loss of 10 million dollars, and admittedly the movie could have been made with a lower budget, but it did suck that you had a bomb just after the high of Indiana Jones, and there's a decent chance The Bros might be debated among the "Worst" of Lucasfilms for a while due to lukewarm audience and critical reception. Where did it all go wrong?

The movie was about a Navy sailor named Robert "Red" Foreman who has just returned to the states after many years of service with the GI Bill, attending the Milwaukee branch of the University of Wisconsin. Finding himself out of touch with the youth who aren't that much younger than him, Red struggles to fit in at first but then finds a tight knit group of friends, the titular Bros, who bond with one another and go on many adventures and struggles of love throughout the freshman year, discovering the meaning of life and love, and sticking to each other through thick and thin as Bros and boys.

The movie is overall decent, but it's not what it could be and far from its full potential with the concept. Probably the greatest issue that you had to guess was that Dave's script didn't really have a traditional focus or structure. Instead of a three act story, it was more a sequence of stories and vignettes throughout the school year, a rough narrative of growing friendship and adapting to the real world, but little tying all the stories together. This in and of itself isn't bad and it can work well, but the script isn't as tight as it could be and the editing lacks the signature Marcia Lucas flair and tight storytelling that people are used to from Lucasfilms blockbusters. To a layman who doesn't fall in love at first sight, the movie can give off an impression of being boring or about nothing, not helped by the low stakes.

From a technical level, everything across the board is decent but no one is really at the top of their game. Paul's direction was not close to the excellence of Taxman Cometh or Hardcore as he played everything very safe and didn't really go too far with the cinematography or acting. You suspected that Paul thrived on intense character-driven dramas or high stakes stories, and while he had a blast experimenting with the different genres and absurdism of Taxman Cometh, this production is very by the books and lacks any signature touch. At the very least, nothing is wrong with the camerawork, editing or sound, just a standard movie you would find at the other studios.

With the actors, everyone has decent performances but no one really shines. Although, you do have a very strong feeling about this Tom Hanks guy, the highest quality actor and the funniest, someone you should definitely keep an eye out for. Everyone tried there best, but it didn't really seem like anyone's heart was in the characters or story to really go all out save for Tom. In relation, the comedy was frequently said to be hit or miss based on individual taste, especially since it was built on character chemistry and had a strong casual vibe based on relatable situations and normal absurdities, like a quiet standup.

Personally, you overall enjoyed it as it was in your opinion funny with its own unique brand of humor and had a really engaging story of friendship with lots of the boys antics giving you laughs and good times, yet still keeping you in focus and attached to their struggles and the trials of adulthood. Red was a really compelling character in how he struggles to move on from wartime and embrace normalcy along with some cute romance subplots with Sally Field as Eloise and Jessica Lange as Kitty. Peter Weller definitely did a good job as the protagonist, and you were happy for him since he was a close friend of Carrie's and you two had some decent times when engaging in Hollywood events.

You knew that The Bros was one of the more weaker Lucasfilms movies in presentation, but you did not expect it to outright bomb, especially within a summer spot. The movie made barely 11 million dollars at home, only making five million in opening weekend and then shrinking exponentially to the point where it was outright pulled after Labor day, one of the shortest theatrical runs for a Lucasfilms project. It was barely nonexistent overseas with even your traditional favorites barely showing up in attendance, the best performance being Japan for $900K.

From Mike's research into the issue, part of the blame seemed to be on the marketing team as they didn't really know how to advertise such an unorthodox film or who it could appeal to. No one seemed to really engage with the trailers or commercials and the demographic who could have had the best time, college students, would much rather go to Indiana Jones, even if it was their third or fourth time. So Indy definitely took another hit its siblings performances, but it wasn't entirely Harrison Ford's fault as the general audience reception seemed to be pretty mixed on The Bros with it being "Alright" or just "Decent". Even when no one had anything bad to say about the movie, the fact that a Lucasfilms movie didn't have piles of praise and wonder attached to it seemed to be damning enough as if it was bad, nevermind that there was genuinely a sizable pool of people who thought it was mediocre or didn't like it.

Unfortunately, there is the damning factor where even where Universal wasn't out to fuck you, Sid still somehow got the last laugh and sabotaged this film's release. This was mainly due to the existence of National Lampoon's Animal House, a very successful comedy from 1978. Apparently, people took one look at the trailers and for better or worse assumed it was just an Animal House ripoff, turning away people who hated Animal House or were just convinced they wouldn't see anything new. All because it's a college comedy of an older guy joining a fraternity. Nevermind that The Bros was more of a wholesome coming of age story whereas Animal House was a raunchy frat comedy featuring a war between the students and Dean. It was a real shame too since Dave had written the script long before Animal House's release, yet it seems that The Bros would be considered Lucasfilms' first "Copy" film.

The critics were sure as hell no hope for the film's performance. There was mixed reviews across the board with praise for the movie's themes, acting and the chemistry between them met with critiques on the pacing, writing and direction. Honestly, the worst you could give the movie was a 7, but it seemed that critics were more harsh in their treatments because they expected better of Lucasfilms. Seemed like your "High Art" reputation was being used as a crutch for once.

Fortunately, the rise of the VHS seems to have saved the legacy of The Bros as throughout the 80s, it would slowly rise in popularity for video rental stores and purchases to the point where it became a genuine cult classic. Those who genuinely weren't aware of The Bros or missed out due to preference for Indiana Jones and the other competition, would be able to freely be engaged at their local video store where the VHS box design guys did a damn good job in giving the box art an eye-catching aesthetic that really grabbed attention like a Star Wars VHS. When a decent amount of people saw it and realized it was pretty good, word spread around and it slowly began to rise in popularity for rental and purchases. Perhaps most importantly, The Bros would be saved by its target demographic as teenagers and young adults would engage and be the ones to really be drawn to the characters and their journey and experiences, finding a lot of relatability and really resonating with their own struggles. Thus somehow, The Bros became one of the defining movies of Generation X in spite of it being set in the 50's as the themes seemed to resonate with them most about a changing world and their place in it. Who knows, maybe Mary and her siblings will really like it when they get older.

So the day would be saved thanks to VHS, proving once and for all the greatness that home media releases could have for the movie industry. Still, the fact that it bombed at all was not a good sign of things to come. If Lucasfilms was to stay ahead of the game, then you needed to stop resting on your laurels and go back to the drawing board.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

Astro Boy: Pluto
Created By: Yoshiyuki Tomino
Directed By: Yoshiyuki Tomino, Mamoru Oshii
Stuidio: Sunrise, Tezuka Productions
Distribution: Paramount Television Service
Original Release: August 1981-November 1981

Quality:D100 + 250 => 349
Audience (Japan):D100 + 250 => 324
Critics (Japan): D100 + 250 => 273
Audience (America):D100 + 250 => 287
Critics (America):D100 + 250 => 284

Profits: $234,445,321​

Spoiler: Cast

Astro Boy/Atom: Mayumi Tanaka/Brianne Brozey
Gesicht: Akira Kamiya/Steve Kramer
Montblanc: Shōzō Iizuka/John William Galt
North #2: Shūichi Ikeda/Mark Hamill
Brando: Tesshō Genda/Pat Fraley
Hercules: Tōru Furuya/Richard Epcar
Epsilon: Miyuki Matsuoka/Morgan Lofting
Sahad/Pluto: Ryōichi Tanaka/Michael Dorn
Professor Abullah/Dr Goji/Bora: Kaneto Shiozawa/Derek Jacobi
Brau-1589: Ryūsei Nakao/Steve Buscemi
Dr. Churchill: Yūji Mitsuya/Jim Cummings
Professor Ochanomizu: Rokurō Naya/Alec Guiness
Dr. Tenma: Hideyuki Tanaka/Keith David
Professor Hoffman: Jōji Yanami/Stan Wojno
Prime Minister Alexander: Keiichi Nanba/Alan Young
Paul Duncan: Michio Hazama/Burgess Meredith
Adolf Haas: Osamu Saka/Nigel Hawthorne
Helena: Kazue Ikura/Libby Audrey
Uran: Hiromi Tsuru/Heather O'Rourke

​

Just as LucasTV was beginning its proper transformation into a subscription TV channel, Lucasfilms' brief but lucrative partnership with PTVS, having helped launched the channel to become the proper fourth network, is coming to a close. To the detriment of Barry Diller, this sendoff does not involve the Gundam sequel as Zeta Gundam is reserved for the channel debut, along with Super Dimensional Fortress Macross which will act as Zeta Gundam's more optimistic galactic mecha twin in primetime. instead, the last anime for now on PTVS will be Astro Boy: Pluto, Tomino's thrilling reimagining of the famous Astro Boy franchise, particuarly the "Seven Greatest Robots" arc.

In the not too distant future, mankind has progressed rapidly in the world of technology, particularly robotics where robots are now a common sight like droids and vastly integrated into human society. Recently, after "Robot Laws" were put into place to mandate and regulate the prime functions of Robots to help them coexist with humans, robot civil rights acts were passed the world over to integrate Robots as near true beings and equals, even being given citizenship and the right to form families. However, it is a tense situation as many humans are fearful of robots or feel they are stealing their jobs and potential. Helping to keep the peace are the "Seven Greatest Robots", seven of the most advanced robots on Earth who in their own ways bring joy and do great works for robot and man alike. The latest one of these robots being Atom, known as Astro Boy in the West, a Japanese robot created by Doctor Tenma to replace his deceased son with Atom being the closest robot to humanity.

However, grief sparks the beginning of the series when one of the Seven Greatest Robots, the beloved nature love Montblanc is murdered along with his human creator in the Swiss Alps by something said to resemble a tornado. What makes the matter more confusing is that all signs point to the murders being committed by a robot, something that should be impossible as robots are created with a central command not to kill humans, even the Seven Greatest. In this enters Inspector Gesicht, one of the Seven Greatest who works as a German inspector for Europol. Gesicht in his investigations uncovers a greater conspiracy to destroy the Seven Greatest Robots for their role in the 39th Central Asian War along with whispers of other conspiracies and movements intertwined. Working alongside Atom and the other Great robots, Gesict must uncover the truth before not only they are all destroyed, but humanity itself is in danger of being wiped out.

It's a hell of a premise not only for going above and beyond what most people assume animation to be as "Silly kids stuff" but also for being so divergent from the source material in art style and story. Apparently, the original "Seven Greatest Robots" arc was just a couple of episodes of a rather standard "Superhero" story of Atom fighting the big bad Pluto to save the day and teach him the value of life and being himself. The main character of the Pluto anime, Gesicht was just a minor obstacle character in the original, just being in a few chapters of the manga. So why did Tomino want to create such a radical and divergent series? Well, here was the saga of how Astro Boy: Pluto was made.

So it all started when Tomino moved to America, and he was aghast when he learned that not only did most Dreamworks employees never see Astro Boy, but that it had only played half of its episodes in America. So Tomino imported the manga for both nostalgia and to share its greatness with Dreamworks, making him fall in love with it again and do his own interpretations in art and story in his free time. Pluto was apparently Tomino's favorite, and after talking with Brad Bird, Tomino came to the belief that Pluto was not a battle story, but a tragedy of the senselessness of war, where Pluto and the other Greats met their demise because of their design when they could have been so much more. Thus right after Gundam was done, Tomino thrust himself into writing Pluto as his next project, and when Sunrise was officially integrated into Lucasfilms, began his own initiative of bringing Pluto to life.

Thus, without consulting you or George, Tomino traveled to Japan to pitch his series to the Astro Boy creator himself, Osamu Tezuka. Such an action would be considered mad in Japan for Tezuka was worshipped in the nation as the "Japanese Walt Disney" and godfather of manga. To present Pluto to him and seek his blessing would be like going to Walt Disney and trying to pitch a mature detective Mickey series. To the shock of the anime industry, Tezuka actually fell in love with the concept and gave it his blessing, thus after a period of intense negotiations, Pluto was given the green light for production at Sunrise as a collaboration with his own Tezuka Productions, with such an honor becoming sort of a holy grail for Sunrise employees, with actual fights breaking out in the studio to get the privilege of working on the project.

Incidentally, this also caused something of a bit of drama with Disney. Apparently, Tezuka in befitting his status as "Japanese Walt Disney" had actually met Walt in 1964. The two hit it off and Walt promised he wanted to work on some sort of Astro Boy movie with Tezuka personally, but life prevented the project from starting, and after Walt died Tezuka backed off after feeling that there wasn't really anybody at Disney who could do his work justice. When Gundam premiered after the height of Lucasfilms' partnership with Toho, Disney made investment in Japan a top priority and Roy went to Tokyo to try and finally get that Astro Boy movie with Tezuka. Unfortunately for Roy, he was too late as it was right after Tezuka agreed to work with Tomino, thus putting an Astro Boy movie on hold indefinitely, nevermind that Tezuka already had a reboot of Astro Boy series proper he wanted to do before Tomino came along, although Roy is being very persistent in generous that Disney would give its full support to the series reboot and given primetime on Disney Channel.

You would like to say that for now you've got Tezuka in your court, but he's also a huge Disney fanboy at heart and has already agreed to do a manga adaptation of Disney's Bambi, his favorite movie and a promise he made to Walt himself, and wants to do manga of Mickey and the Looney Tunes in the future. So maybe you'll have to fight with Disney for the rights to animate Tezuka's bibliography like a schoolyard love triangle, but with the masterpiece of Pluto you think you've firmly got Astro Boy locked in your corner.

Tomino once again proves himself to be one of the all time greats of storytelling with Pluto being one of the best noir/mystery thrillers of all time, showing no weakness in the transition from real robot mecha of Gundam. Even though it's a different interpretation of an arc deep into the Astro Boy plot, one doesn't need to be a fan of Astro Boy as Pluto does a good job of standing on its own and both helping new viewers to settle in and experience the world while providing great fanservice to true fans and building on what has come before. You watched Pluto before reading Astro Boy, deeply loved it despite never having read or watched Astro Boy before and once it was finished, you borrowed Tomino's Astro Boy volumes and really appreciated how Tomino strengthened the core themes of Astro Boy in all new ways.

There are so many fascinating layers to this story that really compliment each other well. There's the first front of the Noir, with the audience immediately being hooked by the intrigue of Pluto and the rich and wonderful world of Astro Boy, how humanity is developed and robots place in it. There's some cool superhero moments as a call back to Astro Boy with Gesicht hunting down criminals or Atom and Uran performing acts of kindness, not to mention the Robots and their fight against Pluto. It's sort of a travel adventure with a rich portrayal of different cultures around the world. A strong and powerful drama carried by the amazing characters, the high quality performances of the Voice Actors who are Emmy Worthy in their own right. And above all else a strong entry into the legends of science fiction, probably the best work of fiction since I,Robot to really explore the full potential and wonders of robotics and how man evolves and stays the same.

At the heart of Pluto are two really powerful themes. The first is the senselessness of war and the terrible scars and open wounds it causes long after its over. The whole plot is due to the Seven Greatest Robots participation in the 39th Central Asian War where the United Kingdom and its allies invaded authoritarian "Persia" for creating robots of mass destruction, a war born out of misunderstandings and fear that traumatized the Seven Greats and ruined Persia, leading to the birth of Pluto in its twin hatred of humanity and robot kind alike along with the secondary/true antagonist of Supercomputer Dr. Churchill who was created to prevent another bloody war, only to develop a strong hated for humanity. A plot that was written well before the bloody Iraq-Iran War, it was meant to be a critique of Vietnam and senseless interventionism and wars of aggression, how war inherently creates suffering and hate and damages the souls of those involved. Definitely more effective than the likes of Gundam which is more Tomino's take on necessary and just wars against ultimate evil and how one creates evil through poor treatment. The journeys of each Great Robot and how they cope with the trauma of the war is sad yet beautiful, and everything ties up wonderfully with the revelation of Pluto's origins and his brief friendship with Atom which helps Pluto to heal and return to his true purpose.

The secondary theme, is of humanity, how it is lost and gained, and how even robots can develop humanity and become more than what they were made, even in some ways more human than human. Definitely present in the original Astro Boy, but expanded upon greatly here with a lot more nuance and details. Instead of fighting for equal rights, robots have already achieved it and now are fighting for normalcy and integration in a world where many are so suspicious. Lots of great parallels to the American Civil Rights movement and also unique in its own right for the distinct issues of robots. How do robots live like humans when they have trouble experiencing emotions? Are some robots inherently better based off of their design, in how strong or human they are? How can robots be equal when they have inherent commands in regards to humans? What happens to humans whose jobs are replaced by robots and aren't able to keep up in this dynamic world? Lots of complicated questions handled with great tact and care, emphasizing compassion, love and empathy yet still leaving enough open questions to challenge the audience not just for this hypothetical future, but how they treat other people.

The characters are perhaps the best highlight of the show, with even the minor supporting characters having a lot of depth and nuance while the main characters shine brightly in beautiful stories full of hope and tragedy. Gesicht is a pretty great protagonist, your standard Noir detective hitting the genre's beats in all the best ways while presenting a new spin as a robot trying to live and dealing with so many complex emotions in the midst of his work. Reminds you a lot of Deckard if those Replicant theories were true. Even though Atom is a deuteragonist instead of his traditional heroic role, he's still the same kind hearted and noble kid that shows the best of humans and robots, just doing his best in a messier world. You really rooted for him without the context, and with its nice to see the hero in something truly great. The same can be said for other characters of the greater series, Uran reminding you a lot of Mary, Ochanomizu being an amazingly compassionate and wise mentor figure who thankfully didn't die from this hero's journey. Perhaps most fascinating of the changes was Doctor Tenma, a lot more gray compared to his more visibly evil depiction in the manga and original anime, but really thriving from the complications and nuance, having some love for Atom but it being hard to express it due to his memory of Tobio and being right in many respects of the future for Robots, but going about it the wrong ways.

The rest of the Great Robots each have their own unique personalities and respectives that really show the full range of the human experience and how people or even robots can cope from war and move forward. Your favorite was perhaps North #2, the end of his episode definitely made you and Carrie cry a bit and it's a shame the Academy is so resistant to Emmy winners for animation because his episode definitely deserved one. Pretty well rounded cast with everyone playing their roles well, though you have to admit that the villains aside from Pluto and Adolf (whose name is censored to Herman in the German dub despite it being meant to be a critique on bigotry) kind of suffer slightly due to the mystery aspect of the show which keeps their motivations and plots largely obscure until the last two episodes.

Voice acting was once again top notch all around in English and Japanese, though admittedly the Japanese had a slight edge in quality, partly due to major passion from the project. You were deeply surprised on the English side that Tomino had spent a decent budget on getting so many fairly well known B and A listers for the project, both Dreamworks veterans and new like Burgess Meredith, Alec Guinness and Steve Buscemi who were more than amneable due to the Dreamworks quality and small degrees of separation with Lucasfilms. Apparently Tomino wanted the best, and he certainly got it, especially with the heavy dramatic moments that convey all the negative emotions beautifully. By this point, you've honestly come to fallen in love with voice acting as an art of its own and you hope you can not only do more, but perhaps convince Carrie to join in.

Animation is the best quality as previously, probably Sunrise' best standalone work and being an equal of Pacific Rim and Gundam. What Pluto manages to do best is fluid animation and dynamic action scenes that show the full potential of mecha on the other side of the spectrum where real robot is abandoned in favor of fantasy and magic. Color palette is really rich and tells a story of its own, and Pluto has perhaps the best background animation in its portrayal of future Earth. Also Tomino did something clever where he sort of designed the humans as messy and a rough sort of "ugly" while the Robots, both human and non-humanoid, are sleek, beautiful and powerful.

You were very worried when it came to the reception of Pluto. In Japan, it might be met with intense backlash for being so heavily divergent from the source material of their beloved hero, even if Tezuka gave his personal blessing. In America, Pluto was uncharted waters that went beyond even the boldness of Gundam, probably the most mature animation ever put on the small screen that dealt with themes and darkness that even most police shows on the air wouldn't come close to. Thankfully, while Pluto wasn't the universal hit that Gundam was, it was by all metrics a strong success and met with approval across the board, even if there were critics and some audiences fighting back.

Most American audiences went in very blind thanks to Astro Boy's relative lack of impact, only being seen by a few of the last Boomers. Despite this, the series had several strengths that made it stood on its own and it was a hit with many demographics due to its variety of genres, but Sci-Fi and noir fans certainly got a kick. It didn't have the overwhelming popularity of Gundam or Pacific Rim, but Pluto did stay in the bottom tiers of the Nielson Top 30 with high praise for the characters, setting and animation. You did notice a sizable drop at the beginning from 21 million to around 13 million before a slow rise from many who quit due to not being comfortable with the tone for a "Cartoon" with what they thought to be a kid's show, but the rating was pretty clear and most general audiences are able to enjoy it.

Japanese audiences were far more receptive with Pluto constantly remaining in the top 5 of Japanese broadcasts and were it not for Pacific Rim, would have been hailed anime of the year. Of course, there are some diehard fans uncomfortable with the changes, but most of the fandom is appreciative of the differing interpretation and it has even managed to rope many new fans into the Astro Boy franchise as a whole, particularly teens who may have missed out on Tezuka's golden age. Japanese companies fought top billing for the limited commercial space and already there was high demand for future VHS orders.

Critics for the most part praised the show for its bold innovations in both storytelling and animation and how it can make serious and dramatic stories with heavy weight to make of the annual Hollywood greats. There are two camps across the Pacific who are hostile from the get go, Astro Boy purists and Puritans who shriek from the children, but they're more preaching to empty air at this point. However, the rave reviews are not flawless with a collection of critiques that remain the same in the West and East. Mainly claims that the pacing fell apart towards the end with some believing that the storylines converged in a clunky way, some characters like Braun and Dr. Churchill not being relevant til the end, and the fight scenes in the first half being brief and lacking in direct physical impact. Frustrating, but nothing that brings down the show and you think people will only grow in appreciation for Pluto over time.

Thus enters another masterpiece in the Sunrise library and the great march for animation to gain its proper respect as equal to live action moves forward with a couple of major strides. There is the obvious success in monetary gain, a quarter of a billion in advertising and small amounts of merch (mostly t-shirts and Sunset figures), and growing popularity of Sunrise and Dreamworks. Yet there are greater effects at play.

While the takeover of Sunrise by Lucasfilms and the new work culture has been met with broad positivity from the company, the chance to work with Tezuka on an Astro Boy project and making such standalone greatness has erased any shreds of doubt or hostility from Sunrise who display a Samurai like loyalty to Lucasfilms. In the animation industry, studios are looking at the greatness of Sunrise and wondering if they should make changes with a growing reform movement spreading so they don't get left behind. Tezuka himself has seen the light and has transformed his anime and manga studio in a lite model of Sunrise thanks to his pool of the profits. It's not close to the Sunrise dream, but a steady $25k per year, two weeks vacation, no overnighter bullshit and a more inclusive environment is still a godsend for the gilded age nightmare of the industry. Hopefully the other studios will make such strides by the end of the decade.

The Ministry of Culture sent you a note saying they were very pleased with the success of Astro Boy: Pluto which has lead to a renaissance in the sales of the Astro Boy franchise across the seas and another great showcase of Japanese ingenuity. The Culture Ministry is reaching out and wondering if maybe you can show more Sunrise shows on LucasTV that didn't have a US release and if necessary, they can help act as an intermediary to secure the rights for live action shows for import.

With Disney, they have experienced another grave mistake where they let a past opportunity go into Dreamworks hands. First Hiawatha, now Astro Boy. Cat has shared that they are scouring every inch of the Disney offices to find out any old ideas they may have overlooked, especially stuff Walt wanted to do so that way they can do it first before Dreamworks "Steals" their potential. This also involves opening a branch of the company in Tokyo to network with Japanese entertainment and look for imports for Disney Channel or stuff to adapt, so you must be vigilant. Also while their more "Mature" sections of Disney Channel may be based off anime and live action, they're looking for domestic sources of teen and adult orientated cartoon shows.

Lastly with Pluto being an immense success, interest in an Astro Boy reboot is at an all time high. Tezuka and his studio are going to the drawing board, trying to see what they can incorporate from Pluto and whether there's any old arcs that can also be reimagined, though perhaps less dark and intense. When it does come out, you hope you can proudly release it on LucasTV.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

Accident
Directed by: Sergiu Nicolaescu
Written by: Dumitru Carabat
Produced by: Ion Floroiu, Lidia Popita
Production and Distribution Studio: House of Films 5
Starring: Vladimir Găitan, George Mihăiță, Ileana Popovici, Dan Ivănesei, Ștefan Mihăilescu-Brăila, Amza Pellea, Colea Răutu, Sergiu Nicolaescu

Audience:D100 + 200 => 230
Critics:D100 + 200 => 299
Domestic: D20 => 13
International:D20 => 11
Global Gross: $24,000,000
​

Something that made Nicolaescu's films a bit frustrating to pick from for distribution was that due to the limitations of free speech and art in Communist Romania, most of his library is either historic Romania or modern films that portray the Communists in a sympathetic light as either protagonist or agents of stability. Not that his films were ever outright propaganda, but America was in no mood for any positive depictions of Communism in general. With this and the rather strong backlash to Dacii, you and Mike had to do some digging, and thankfully you found a neat crime thriller that honestly would have probably been an iconic hit if it was made in America in the 70s.

The film starts with a trio of friends driving into Bucharest on a rainy weekend, acting reckless and slightly intoxicated without a care in the world. Due to a combination of poor weather and bad driving, the trio hit a young girl and while her injuries are non serious, the fact that they did such with a policeman witnessing the act causes the driver to panic and drive away. A chase then ensues, which leads to more accidents as they try to escape arrest for the hit and run, causing more accidents, ultimately culminating in the car falling off a bridge and the female member of the trio entering into a coma, but the other two men think they were killed. It is later revealed through police investigation that the main driver, Tudor had most likely ran because the car he hit the girl with was stolen and he had already been in prison for theft. Thus begins a national manhunt with the two remaining criminals, Tudor and Dan having a conflict of conscience and guilt while all the run, leading to even greater escalations until a tense climax.

The film is brilliant in its writing by not showing criminals proudly engaged in evil like the mafia movies. It's a strong showcase in recidivism, how crime no matter how noble or petty it starts off with will inevitably lead to a greater escalation and plunge into darkness both in and outside of someone's control, as seen particuarly by Tudor's descent who acts like a desperate animal right until the last second where him being saved by the detectives from drowning makes him realize the full extent of his actions and take shame. It's a dark everyman story that many can relate to or see themselves as, further enhanced by the terrific acting and Sergiu styling his cinematography in a very similar fashion to Francis' works, particularly The Godfather which was one of the few films allowed in Communist Romania, adding a sense of gravitas and yet claustrophobic discomfort in the thrills and tension.

The movie due to it being a low concept film lacking the gravitas of Dacii wasn't exactly a smash hit, being a reliable presence in US theaters for a few weeks and seeing some modest gains in Europe. Not exactly the highs of the Toho partnership, but 24 million is better than nothing and it's a result that Nicolaescu is happy with. Most audiences are generally content with the movie as a good thriller with praise centered around the acting, though some criticism is given to the police being a bit vanilla in their scenes through lacking any colorful personality like cops in American movies.

Once again, the critics are head over heels in love with a Lucasfilms foreign import. Critics by and large call it one of the most perfect crime movies, capturing a more refined and realistic portrayal of the genre in the midst of its move to grittyness, violence and excess in recent years. Roger Ebert praises Nicolaescu's storytelling as a strong showcase of "The duality of man in its good and evil and how common people can rise and fall, even in Romania's authoritarian past." Sergiu is hailed as a genius of character work and modernism with critics eagerly awaiting for his first post-war film to see it potentially earn Romania's first Oscar.

....Okay, seriously what the hell is up with critics and foreign films? Don't get it wrong, you do agree that Accident is a genuinely great movie, but everytime you release a foreign film, either bad or good the critics praise it like it's the first movie that they've ever seen. First Kurosawa, now Nicolaescu are seen as some of the greatest masters of cinema. Honestly, at this point if it weren't for your disdain of critics, you'd be tempted to revoke your American citizenship and be a full fledged Irishman for the blank checks in praise and worship of your films.

At the very least, Sergiu is happy with things and simply hopes Lucsafilms can distribute more of his work in the future. You're really looking forward to his first post-war movie, although you may need to fight for the rights because apparently he's trying to get NBC to let him do a Columbo movie?!

 

[overmind]

Devil's Hour: Dead Man's Gold
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Written by: Felix Graves and Isaac "Ike" Cullen
Produced by: Francis Ford Coppola
Production and Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Ben Kingsley (Dr. John "Jack" Seward), Kevin McNally (Donovan MacCool), Billy Barty (Graudy Pernell), Kenny Baker (Niall O'Riely), Jack Purvis (Liam "Big Red" Deugall), Zelda Rubenstein (Millicent Deugall), David Rappaport (Malocolm Crawkins), and Candy Clark (Melodia)

Quality: D100 + 250 => 318
Audience: D100 + 250 => 254
Critics: D100 + 250 => 301

Budget: $30,000,000
Domestic: $103,443,213
International: $100,445,232
Total Gross: $203,888,445​

If you were going to be honest with yourself, then you'd have to admit that Francis' choice of movie did not seem to make much sense to you. Sure, perhaps the premise seemed interesting and unique while also working with his own strengths of mystery and suspense, along with a good helping of inter-family politics...but it was a movie about two men going to solve a murder mystery in an urban fantasy setting as they faced leprechauns, trolls, spriggans and all sort of different manner of folklore creatures without it being some sort of action or adventure story.

It was a bit too out there, and this was coming from you!

To begin with, the story of how the film was created comes down to Dave and his friends, Felix Graves and Ike Cullen, when they first started working for Lucasfims and they thought that they would try and impress you with a movie about Ireland, celebrating its mythology and folklore by tying up some of the most interesting knowledge about the many mystical creatures, whether they came from the Emerald Isle or Western Europe. It was supposed to be a simple story, one that would perhaps have at best a single entry while not trying for more. Yet the combination of their imaginations, as well as many trips to the library to find more information about just what exactly where Leprechauns, Pookas, etc., just expanded the script into what was basically a more political take on a murder story.

Francis seemed to love it though! He could not wait to begin work on it, calling dibs from the very beginning on the tale.

It involves a duo of investigators who at first glance seem to just be there for a regular investigation, nothing new or out of place, but it's only when secret phrases and emblems start showing that one gets the feeling that there is something more to it, and when they meet an honest to goodness leprechaun who then takes them to a hidden community for all manner of folklore creatures who live their own lives separate from human interference...well, then you know that you're no longer in Kansas when it comes to the movie.

It continues from there watching as our intrepid pair explore this new land, and yet it's not with eyes of wonder and unbelief that they move through the "Auldport" as it's called, but with a more carefree attitude, the likes of men who have done this perhaps over a thousand times before, implying that this is not their first rodeo when interacting with the creatures of myth. Their investigation, what one would call mundane in any other detective story, is thus enhanced by the novelty of seeing humans interact with the different organizations and traditions from those so different, yet so similar, to humanity itself. Clearly a lot of effort has been given to both the exploration of old tales as well as customs one most keep when dealing with the unnatural, that they added not only Leprechauns but all sort of different creatures calls to that, but it's also the small touches of environmental storytelling that allows one to just let itself be taken in by the gorgeous displays of sceneries and sets that have their own tales to express.

After meeting an entire assortment of colorful characters, all with their own depths and personalities like Niall, the cowardly leprechaun that turns to stealing from the other great clans (including his own), or Liam, the most angry, yet oddly honorable, Leprechaun there is, and not to mention Malocolm, a family man through and through that nonetheless has committed crimes, yet accepts his punishment with dignity and grace, you finally get to the finale of the tale. And these are just some of the cast of characters that managed to make an impression on you, as you've yet to mention Melodia, who Dave once told you was only supposed to make a single appearance, and yet grew even more through the writing.

The finale...there are no words that can make justice to seeing it. Just like any good detective story, the moment where the detective finally unveils it all and finds the culprit is a classic, and yet many others just botch it all. It is a critical moment that needs the gravitas, entertainment and originality so as to not simply copy what others are doing. And the movie delivers just that; the reveal doesn't happen among a selected group of people, but among a gathering of the most influential, along with reporters who tend to interrupt, but also help in moving the reveal along.

The explanation, the flash backs and callbacks to the often-ignored scenes that nonetheless no one can claim were just added for that reason alone, the final reveal and the pure vindictive glee on the main investigator's face as he pushes the real culprit for the murder to confess, the very Leprechaun that had brought them to investigate, the victim's own brother, makes for a magnificent tense moment where the it all feels just so cathartic to have the truth finally come out. The final gratitude and respect from those who'd doubted them, and a celebratory drink just enhances what was one of the best experiences you've ever seen in cinema when it comes to detective stories.

Frankly, you'd expected much less, and yet you were given so much more. The small details that were clearly there but you never noticed until rewatching the film, how every conversation and every scrap had a logical reason and purpose, how each of the characters were played to perfection by the actors selected, even to the perfect chemistry between the leads played by Ben Kingsley and Kevin McNally, two rising stars of British cinema (and Hollywood along with Lucasfilms if you have anything to say about it!) who Francis was lucky enough to pick.

The pair play Dr. John "Jack" Seward and his assistant Donovan respectively, a duo that clearly takes inspiration form the iconic duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, though their interaction tend to be a bit more emotional, with Dr. Seward being a more reserved person, the more intellectual and sophisticated of the duo, while Donovan however is the muscle, the more simple-minded man who wears his emotions on his sleeves and does not shy from letting everyone know about it. Normally one would think this is just another of the many copies that one creates when making detective movies, yet it's the interactions and many idiosyncrasies that they are given that just make them unique and charming to see; like how Donovan tends to love his drink, yet knows that there is a time and place for it, or how Dr. Seward always seems to have pen and paper on hand to take constant notes of everything he sees and speaks with.

Above all however, are the excellent performance from most of the dwarf actors that clearly displayed their range and ability when it came to working on an excellent script; Billy Barty made an excellent job as Graudy Pernell, the actual murderer who hid himself so well so as to bring both Dr. Seward and Donovan. A man used to playing more comedic and jokester roles, he made excellent use of his experience to play the part of the innocent man, yet when the time came managed to put on an excellent take of a rat being cornered, along with the rage of being caught, making many wonder if they ever knew him at all. Kenny Baker, whom you've worked in all Star Wars films so far, has managed to add another feather to his cap of great performances as Niall O'Riely, the cowardly m leprechaun thief who nonetheless manages to find his courage in the end and finally own up to his own mistakes and crimes.

Jack Purvis and David Rappaport, both men who've worked together before, played Liam "Big Red" Deugall and Malocolm Crawkins respectively, and each was suitable casted for the task at hand. Purvis could ring on the rage when it was called for, yet could also show his honorable side when he allowed the investigation and accusation for his crime on consorting with the Pookas to be revealed. And David Rappaport, oh man you were nearly in tears when he injected so much emotion in his goodbye to his son, not being melodramatic, but being so human as he tried to explain he would need to go for a long time.

Of particular surprise to you was Candy Clark. You know that Dave told you her role was to be a small one before it grew, yet she did not seem to balk at the challenge, but rather take it head on; near every scene she's in she steals it, her mannerisms, attitude, the way she just moves into everyone's personal space to knock them off center, as well as play with their minds with her expressions and word play. it all so perfectly adds up to show just why Melodia is one of the top crime bosses of Auldport, and why for a human, even if she's a witch, she's still clearly respected and feared among every mythical creature.

The music clearly helped as well. Francis went with composer Patrick Gowers, a man who had already proven himself many times over in his films, TV shows, and even theatrical plays. Patrick at first did not seem sure as this was somewhat beyond what he usually worked with, but was willing to take on the challenge. The result is a beautiful mix between Irish traditional instruments, along with classical music and occasionally some Scottish thrown in as well. It certainly evokes feelings for the old mother country in you whenever you hear it.

Instruments which made their greatest contribution when the Pookas made their first appearance. Francis really made an excellent job by making sure to highlight the tension when the vile creatures were mentioned, yet never once show what they looked like until the very end. When they were shown with all their nastiness, their wickedness and uglyness, there was no one who could deny that these were creature of evil incarnate, and that to make deals with them one would have to be as wicked as they are, or truly desperate with nothing left to lose. That they mentioned "Kings, Princes and Lord Protectors" as those who had once bought their services did not go over the audience's head either; after all, there has only been one "Lord Protector" of Ireland.

And in the end, the audience loved it all; the setting, the characters, the music, the overall originality and the pair of investigators braving the supernatural to bring justice to even the most unusual of creatures. Both the domestic and the International Office brought great earnings, with Ireland and Great Britain being among the biggest watchers of what many of them hope it may become a franchise. It was the care and love shown for the old traditions, as well as the amazing work by your Magicians that showed that not everything had to be glamourized or even put by the same lenses as Hollywood to make it great. Heck, Ardmore Studios actually agreed to the buyout you'd been in negotiations for after seeing the film, recognizing it as a work of love for the old Irish traditions and understanding that you were not just going to turn them into just another copy of Lucasfilms.

Now, where the hell did they got that idea from? Well, after getting over that hurdle they went on to ask to allow them to continue making more movies for Devil's Hour. If not for America then for Ireland, where Dr. Seward and Donovan have been elevated to near hero status and many want to see their adventures continue.

On the critics' side, many are praising the return to cinema of Francis once more. After Apocalypse Now (whose production really deserves its own movie if what Francis tells you it's true!) Francis had been mostly quiet when it came to filmmaking, with many articles already proclaiming him as being "burned out" or just trapped in a contract with Lucasfilms that he could not get out of (as if you were in the habit of doing such). But this movie once more reminded both audience and critics alike that for all that George, Steven and Martin had managed to take on the spotlight at Lucasfilms, he was still a force to be reconned, and one that was to be watched when he made an even greater debut later on with Dune.

You expected a single movie, and what you got was a beginning of a franchise. Not bad at all Francis.