[grps3]

it is an awesome film , nick cotton was in it too

didnt get the weird dream with the nazi monster things though...wtf is that part about

[Cylinder]

Possibly my favourite film of all time.
Watched it over and over when I was a young teenager.

My favourite scenes are the dream within a dream, when you think he as woken up - but then the Nazi zombies burst through the window of his hospital room, and he wakes up for a second time. (It was the first time I'd ever seen anything like this).
And seeing his friend Jack keep reappearing, in worsening states of decomposition

But there are so many other great moments in this film.

[zooooooooooooo]

Originally Posted by Cylinder

Possibly my favourite film of all time.
Watched it over and over when I was a young teenager.

My favourite scenes are the dream within a dream, when you think he as woken up - but then the Nazi zombies burst through the window of his hospital room, and he wakes up for a second time. (It was the first time I'd ever seen anything like this).
And seeing his friend Jack keep reappearing, in worsening states of decomposition

But there are so many other great moments in this film.

"Can I have a piece of toast"

[lil lexie]

Originally Posted by Chasing Shadows

Naughty Nina Carter - Page 3 girl and former wife of Rick Wakeman, keyboard player out of Yes and grumpy old man who used to work in Dictionary Corner on Countdown.

thanks for that, every time I see that film I always have a chuckle at Naughty Nina but didn't have a clue who she was or even if she was a real person.

And Rick Wakeman pulling a page 3 stunner.....well, I never.

[ArtyAttack]

A fantastic film that I could watch again and again. The soundtrack is great too. Perfect mix of humour,scares and gore. Best transformation scene in movies and no CGI which had yet to ruin many a film. My only complaint has always been the ending.

Spoiler

Being killed far too easily and not by a silver bullet.Especially considering how true the movie kept to popular werewolf folklore throughout.

[MeicY]

Originally Posted by ArtyAttack

A fantastic film that I could watch again and again. The soundtrack is great too. Perfect mix of humour,scares and gore. Best transformation scene in movies and no CGI which had yet to ruin many a film. My only complaint has always been the ending.

Spoiler

Being killed far too easily and not by a silver bullet.Especially considering how true the movie kept to popular werewolf folklore throughout.

Spoiler

Ah but in the cinema scene David says "Don't I need a silver bullet or something?" and Jack replies "Give me a break!" so perhaps they were deliberately playing up to expectations and subverting them

[jrmswfc]

Spoiler

Whereas in The Howling for example, "your classic werewolf can change shape any time day or night", yet a silver bullet (or fire) was still required.

[Ella Nut]

I think this is my favourite ever film. I adore it.

Do you have any...uhhh... soup? No.
Do you have any...uhhh.... coffee? No.
Do you have any...uhhhhhh..... hot chocolate? No. We've got spirits and beers, if it's something hot you want, you can have tea.
Then you have tea? No. But I can make some for you. If you like.
(In unison) Oh yes please!

I love every character. Especially Lila Kaye's, as you can tell.

And the little comedy touches by "Undead" Griffin Dunne..... scratching his nose in the porno theatre, even though he's almost a skeleton by this point. Smelling the flower in Alex's flat whilst walking towards the living-room.

[zooooooooooooo]

Originally Posted by Ella Nut

I think this is my favourite ever film. I adore it.

Do you have any...uhhh... soup? No.
Do you have any...uhhh.... coffee? No.
Do you have any...uhhhhhh..... hot chocolate? No. We've got spirits and beers, if it's something hot you want, you can have tea.
Then you have tea? No. But I can make some for you. If you like.
(In unison) Oh yes please!

I love every character. Especially Lila Kaye's, as you can tell.

And the little comedy touches by "Undead" Griffin Dunne..... scratching his nose in the porno theatre, even though he's almost a skeleton by this point. Smelling the flower in Alex's flat whilst walking towards the living-room.

I love when he picks up the Mickey Mouse toy and says " Hi David".

[Ella Nut]

Originally Posted by zooooooooooooo

I love when he picks up the Mickey Mouse toy and says " Hi David".

Haha, yeah. There's even a tiny cutaway to the Mickey Mouse toy during the werewolf transformation scene.

[zooooooooooooo]

Originally Posted by Ella Nut

Haha, yeah. There's even a tiny cutaway to the Mickey Mouse toy during the werewolf transformation scene.

Yeah I always loved that bit.

[Tiwttmos]

The opening scene with the bleak cold windy moors, and the song blue moon playing in the background gets you involved straight away. Chilling!

[balthasar]

Originally Posted by Ted Cunterblast

One of the very few films to get the blend of comedy and horror right.

Also notable for one of the best on-screen transformations ever...and done in broad daylight, which was unusual for the time...they were usually shot in dark, smoky backlit rooms (see the transformation from The Howling from the same year...clearly a lifeless puppet with rubber bladders being pumped full of air)

I actually worked in the cinema that was featured in the end (Eros Picadilly), though the actual cinema was only seen in a long shot, the foyer and inside of the cinema was recreated on a set.

Was that the cinema showing see you next Tuesday? I always remember the place showing adult movies, walking by of course and thinking of werewolves.

[Iggyman]

Originally Posted by grps3

it is an awesome film , nick cotton was in it too

didnt get the weird dream with the nazi monster things though...wtf is that part about

David and his family were Jewish, so he had an ingrained fear of Nazis due to Hitler and his attempted extermination of the Jews during World War 2. Combine that with his Werewolf 'infection' and you have the nightmare sequence.

Superb film, one of my all time favourites.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

I can't believe we've got to 40 posts with no-one mentioning Jenny Agutter's tits. This really is a nerd board, isn't it?

Absolutely brilliant film. One of the few horror films that I rate. Superb blend of comedy, horror and pathos. We've all been to a pub like The Slaughtered Lamb (well, you have if you lived in Cornwall 20 years ago).

[Iggyman]

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

I can't believe we've got to 40 posts with no-one mentioning Jenny Agutter's tits. This really is a nerd board, isn't it?

Well, they've been discussed so often I guess the posters thought they'd discuss the film for a change.

[Ted Cunterblast]

Originally Posted by balthasar

Was that the cinema showing see you next Tuesday? I always remember the place showing adult movies, walking by of course and thinking of werewolves.

See You Next Wednesday, actually. It's a little gag that Landis always inserts into his movies. It comes from the last line spoken by astronaut Frank Poole in 2001 A Space Odyssey during a 'vidphone' conversation with his father.

Mostly the title is seen in the background on posters, advertising, cinema marquee's etc. For this film Landis actually shot footage of a fictitious porn movie.

The Eros cinema had been on that site for years...it was a former news theatre, then became a sex cinema. It was bought by the Cannon chain, which is who I worked for, and I was often called to work there for an odd day or a late night show on a relief basis.

It was a very old, grotty run down place...most of those type of cinemas were...well, the clientele rarely complained.

But it had character...the staff were like something from the Addams Family!

And don't get me started on the 'bucket on a rope' security system...

[balthasar]

Thank you Ted for your reply, did they show Russ Meyer films around 84-87 ?

Could you tell me more about "bucket on a rope"?

[Ted Cunterblast]

They did indeed show Meyers repertoire...which was my first introduction to those movies, and how utterly bizarre and fascinating they were! How people ever call them sex films is beyond me..very little sex, and what there was is usually simulated, innocuous and with the occasional rubber prosthetic thrown in!

The bucket...welll...

The cash desk/kiosk at the entrance was very small, it had a window facing onto the Circus where passers-by could buy cigarettes, sweets etc, and the cash desk itself was inside the small entrance for people to purchase tickets.

But...it also had a metal ladder, which led to the office which was directly above...which had a hatch which opened. I think it was designed years back so that the person in the cash desk could escape in case of a robbery etc.

But what it was used for was something different. Someone had the idea to have a bucket on a piece of rope in the office, and when the cashier had collected a decent amount of money (An elderly, world-weary, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed lady called Lil), she would shout

SENDTHEBAACKETDAHHN!

And I would duly lower the bucket for her to deposit the cash, and pull it up as instructed

AWWWIGHTPULLITAAAAAPPP!

I would tell friends about this and they did not believe me, so I would invite them round to see it, and they could not believe it.

Then there was the manager, who looked image of Boris Karloff and actually walked with a limp.

Two projectionsts...Joe who was enormous, and would come out and sit on the stairs while the film was on, fall asleep actoss them and would have those white bits of spittle at the corners of his mouth...I swear he was the inspiration for Jabba The Hutt.

The other projectionist...Ricky...nice guy, but had some sort of rash and was always scratching...and disconcertingly would always want to shake your hand.

The usherette...June...lovely woman, though not blessed in the looks department...grey, straggly hair, and a single tooth in her head. She was Ricky's boyfriend...always telling him to stop scratching...

One Sunday afternoon she actually cooked me a roast dinner...which was nice...or would have been if Ricky had not brought it to me...

Customers were primarily tourists...a faceless, furtive bunch who rarely stayed long once they realise they had paid 2 quid to watch innocoous 'sex' movies which were basically Carry-On style fare with a bit of tits and ass...but certainly no sex.

Apart from the Meyer films, the fare was usually imported and badly dubbed European films along the lines of Swedish Au Pairs On Holiday etc...with all of the raunchiness removed. Or the standard 3 English made films that starred Mary Millington, a host of has-been Brit actors and no-name entities...and shamelessly re-released as the same film under different titles for years on end. Like I say, that sort of clientele rarely complained.

Same company also owned the Moulin cinema round the corner in Windmill Street...never actually worked there, thankfully.

After a few years the company closed those places down, wanting to present a more quality, family-orientated, respectable image...yes, I did say Cannon films...

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Originally Posted by Ted Cunterblast

They did indeed show Meyers repertoire...which was my first introduction to those movies, and how utterly bizarre and fascinating they were! How people ever call them sex films is beyond me..very little sex, and what there was is usually simulated, innocuous and with the occasional rubber prosthetic thrown in!

The bucket...welll...

Ha ha! Great story, Ted. Sounds like a fun time (ish). I'd love to have worked in a cinema and a rundown fleapit has so much more character than the soulless multiplexes every where now.

[Ted Cunterblast]

It's true about those old places having character.

Find the same is also true about music venues...throughout the late 90's until it was knocked down, I used to frequent the Astoria 2/Mean Fiddler (the medium sized of the 3 venues within the Astoria venue at the top of Charing Cross road in London). I worked close by so it was almost a second home for us.

And yes, it was grotty, paint peeling off the walls, not that clean, dark, dingy...but it had tons of atmosphere and was a proper rock venue. Saw hundreds of rock and prog bands there over the years.

A lot of regular people went as well,so it was a great get together with like-minded souls, and I made a lot of friends over the years.

Gone now, and not many of those types of venues left these days sadly...

[barneyboy]

Loved your story Ted! You should write an article or a book about it.

[ASIFZED]

Get the bluray of the film. Top notch documentary on the making etc.

[PopRocket]

Great movie

[Andy Birkenhead]

"WHAT'S THAT STAR ON THE WALL FOR ?"
Thud !
"You...made me miss. I've never missed that board before"