Made for TV movies from the 1970s were fertile ground for schlock, horror and the occasional eccentric masterpiece. From Linda Blair being raped with a broom handle in Born Innocent to Bad Ronald to occult movies like Satan's School For Girls and Race With the Devil, made for TV movies have earned a fond place in the hearts of pop culture geeks. One of the most notorious made for TV horror movies wasn't a full film, but the last story in Trilogy Of Terror, a 1975 film produced by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis and starring quirky, underrated screen icon Karen Black. Ms. Black has appeared in some legendary films (Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Chinatown,Easy Rider), but her most popular and gripping role co-starred a wild-eyed Zuni fetish doll, not an actor. The first two segments of Trilogy of Terror dim by comparison to the final one. The introductory vignette, Julie, casts Black as a prim and proper college English teacher who has an affair with one of her students, played by Robert Burton, Black's husband at the time. For most of the story, the student is a blackmailing date rapist and Julie is the victim, but there's a macabre twist at the end. Millicent and Therese features Black in a dual role as sisters. The repressed Millicent chronicles the sins of evil, slutty sister Therese in her diary. The physical transformation Black achieves as Millicent is amazing, one of the most extreme examples of the spinster ever committed to film. These episodes, written by William Nolan, who later co-wrote Burnt Offerings, (which also starred Black), are taut but predictable psychological horror. While both of these stories were passable entertainment in 1975, they wouldn't even merit a blink now. The final story in the trilogy, adapted for the screen by Peter Matheson from his story, Prey, is the crème de la crème of made for TV horror, and certainly Black's most infamous role. Amelia begins with Black on the phone with her annoying mother, describing a Zuni fetish doll she's just bought for her anthropologist boyfriend. And this is one angry, fugly doll. I doubt all the CGI experts at today's studios could conjure up such a demonic doll, even with all the technical shortcuts at their disposal. A modern-day icon like Chuckie pales in comparison to our Zuni friend. The tiny terror, equipped with a spear and razor-sharp teeth, comes with a scroll that warns the warrior's soul will escape if the chain around its waist is removed. You guessed it, Amelia walks away for a minute and when she returns the chain has fallen off and the doll is nowhere to be found. It reappears reanimated and ready to slice and dice hapless Amelia. The manic fight between Amelia and the doll that follows is one of the most frightening sequences in any horror film released in the 1970s. Hell, ask any kid who watched Trilogy Of Terror when it was first shown and they'll tell you about the sleepless night that followed. The chilling final shot, where Amelia has assumed the spirit-and the sharp-toothed pose-of the Zuni doll as she waits for her mother to arrive, was not in the original script. In the featurette, Three Colors Black, we learn that Black suggested the ending, fangs and all. An interview with writer Peter Matheson and a full audio commentary track for the film by Black and William F. Nolan are included as special features.
"MusiCares Presents A Tribute To Brian Wilson" is similar to the 2001 TV's "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson" in that various artists performed the music of Brian Wilson. And, like the 2001 version, Brian Wilson performs at the end of the show. The MusiCares special was filmed on February 11, 2005 when Brian Wilson was honored as the MusiCares 2005 Person of the year. While the performers represent a wide diversity of artists and styles, there were a few notable standout performances, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers doing "I Get Around" (I would have never pictured the Chili Peppers doing a Brian Wilson song!); Jeff Beck doing a stellar version of "Surf's Up"; and Michael McDonald & Billy Preston performing "Don't Worry Baby" (this must be one of the last performances of Billy Preston since he passed away last year). Other artists in the lineup included: Richie Sambora, Jamie Cullum, Barenaked Ladies (who of course did their own "Brian Wilson" song), John Legend, Backstreet Boys (giving a great version of "When I Grow Up To Be A Man"), Earth Wind & Fire and Darlene Love. Of course the highlight is when Brian Wilson performs the last four songs with his band, and "Heroes And Villains" is slightly different than the usual performance (from the 2004 Smile tour). "Good Vibrations", "Fun, Fun, Fun", and "Love And Mercy" (Brian's traditional encore song) finish out the show. Although I wasn't impressed with some of the artists' renditions, this DVD is a must-have just to see Jeff Beck play "Surf's Up" (he also does "Surfin' USA"). And of course to see Brian Wilson do another rendition of "Heroes And Villains".
Most people think of 1969's Woodstock when it comes to historical rock music festivals - but 1970's Isle of Wight show was even larger (by about 200,000+). While Pete Towshend has gone on record saying that he hated The Who's performance at Woodstock, The Who's set at Isle of Wight was nothing short of amazing. And it is possibly their best concert performance. Captured at the height of their live performance prowess, The Who's set at the Isle of Wight show is every bit as fierce as "Live At Leeds". This being 1970, of course they played a healthy dose of "Tommy" material (this is the only commercially available video of a live "Tommy" performance by the original Who lineup), which was their current blockbuster release at the time. Keith Moon fans will love this disc because you get to see Moonie in all his powerhouse drumming, face-making, stage-antics glory! When Pete announces "Tommy", he introduces Keith as the "conductor", and Keith responds by demanding that the audience be, "quiet, quiet...rock opera...very serious!" During the band's performance of "Tommy Can You Hear Me", the film switches to candid shots of Keith backstage, wearing a clown mask with a fake axe in the head, while holding a brandy and being interviewed! Classic Keith! In the obligatory "bonus" DVD footage, there is an interesting contemporary interview with Pete. Those who know of Townshend's often-contradictory interview statements won't be disappointed. "The Who - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970" is a CLASSIC in every sense, and a must-have, not for just Who fans, but any serious rock 'n roll fan.
By now Paul McCartney has to be neck and neck with the Rolling Stones as to which rock performer has the most live albums/CD's/DVD's released. I've lost count of how many live sets Paul has released over the years - and I've got to admit that I first let out a groan when I heard about this DVD, thinking "God, not another live McCartney disc?". Each documentary Paul has released of his various tours takes a slightly different approach. Some are straightforward performances, others use fancy camera angles and use different concert appearances on the same songs. By far my favorite is 1981's "Rockshow", which chronicles Wing's mega-successful 1976 tour in a straightforward full concert performance. With all this said, I was pleasantly surprised with this DVD. "Paul McCartney-The Space Within US" was recorded during Paul's 2005 world tour. Paul plays a healthy dose of Beatles songs ["Magical Mystery Tour", "Eleanor Rigby", "Drive My Car", "Helter Skelter" - along with the obligatory "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude"] and even a few obscure solo songs [like "Too Many People", in which Rusty plays a killer guitar part]. Some of his solo stuff even sounded better than their recorded versions, such as "Flaming Pie". Paul performs solo piano versions of "Good Day Sunshine" and "Fixing A Hole", which sound a little weak without accompaniment. There are some interesting segments, such as Paul playing guitar on "I've Got A Feeling" [he played bass on The Beatles version]; Paul flubbing the "fish and finger pie" line of "Penny Lane"; Paul giving the astronauts aboard the International Space Station a treat by playing "English Tea" via a live feed from one of his concerts; a funny segment where Paul falls into the hole in the stage where the piano is rising! There are also plenty of shots of audience reactions [you can even see Jack Nicholson in the audience at one point], as well as interviews with such celebrities as Bill Clinton, Russell Crowe and Tony Bennett. While "Paul McCartney-The Space Within US" isn't his best tour documentary, it rates above several of his previous efforts. Those who expect a straight concert film might be a little disappointed, but the inclusion of a few seldom-played Beatles songs makes it worth a view. This film also gets bonus points for NOT including "Cmoon" in the set!
This Rolling Stones documentary is both good and bad. It tells the history of the Rolling Stones using newsreel footage, hokey background music, and annoying interviews with musical "journalists/experts" (none of which I've ever heard of). The film covers the Rolling Stones story from post-war Britain of the '50s right up to the "40 Licks Tour" (it ends just before the "Bigger Bang" release). Some of the most interesting areas covered are: the various Rolling Stones court cases, the Beggars Banquet release party, and a segment on Brian Jones' death. The only blatant error in the telling of their story was when they stated that "Satanic Majesties Request" was issued in January of 1968 (it was actually in 1967). Ahh, but those classic newsreels - these alone make this DVD worth getting! The "bonus" extras of this DVD are the true goldmine, showing several newsreels in their entirety. One of the newsreels shows a pre-famous Yoko Ono in London with her then-husband Tony Cox. Another newsreel covers the Stones notorious drug trials - showing food being delivered to Jagger and telling how much each item costs. Yet another newsreel covers Mick marriage to Bianca - it is fun to see how many rock stars you can spot in attendance. If you can tolerate the stock sixties sounding background music and the annoying journalist interviews this DVD is worth getting for the newsreel coverage.
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"Trilogy Of Terror (Special Edition)"
"MusiCares: A Tribute to Brian Wilson"
"The Who - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970"
"Paul McCartney-The Space Within US"
"Rock Files: The Rolling Stones-Truth and Lies"