Tag Archives: Gary Graver

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Fred Olen Ray Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the one and only Fred Olen Ray!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Fred Olen Ray Films

Alien Dead (1980, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Fred Olen Ray)

Scalps (1983, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Larry Van Loon and Cynthia Webster)

Cyclone (1987, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Paul Elliott)

Alienator (1990, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Gary Graver)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Allan Arkush Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been the 76th birthday of Allan Arkush, the director who started his career with Roger Corman and who went on to direct some of the best cult films of the 70s.  Though Hollywood never quite figured out what to do with Arkush and his quirky sensibility, he still had a long career as a television director and, thankfully, he lived long enough to see several of his films rediscovered and appreciated by movie lovers.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Allan Arkush Films

Hollywood Boulevard (1976, dir by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante, DP: Jamie Anderson)

Deathsport (1978, dir by Allan Arkush, DP: Gary Graver)

Rock and Roll High School (1979, dir by Allan Arkush, DP: Dean Cundey)

Get Crazy (1983, dir by Allan Arkush, DP: Thomas Del Ruth)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Fred Olen Ray Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the one and only Fred Olen Ray!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Fred Olen Ray Films

Alien Dead (1980, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Fred Olen Ray)

Scalps (1983, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Larry Van Loon and Cynthia Webster)

Cyclone (1987, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Paul Elliott)

Alienator (1990, dir by Fred Olen Ray, DP: Gary Graver)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Orson Welles Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today we celebrate what would have been the 106th birthday of the great Orson Welles!  It’s time for….

4 Shots from 4 Orson Welles Films

Citizen Kane (1941, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Gregg Toland)

Touch of Evil (1958, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Russell Metty)

F For Fake (1974, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Gary Graver)

The Other Side of the Wind (2018, dir by Orson Welles, DP: Gary Graver)

What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: Orson Welles’ THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (Netflix 2018)

Posted on by gary loggins

gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

The day has finally arrived. November 2, 2018. I ordered a free trial of Netflix specifically so I could watch the completed version of Orson Welles’ final film, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND . Welles worked on this project for over a decade, and the footage sat for decades more before finally being restored and re-edited. A film buff’s dream come true – perhaps. There were questions I needed answered. Was there enough salvageable material to make a coherent movie? Does it follow Welles’ vision? Would it live up to the hype? Was it worth the wait?

The answer: OH, HELL YEAH!!

Welles shot over ten hours of film, utilizing different film stocks (Super 8, 16mm, 35mm), switching back and forth from color to classic black and white, to create his movie, which is a documentary about the movie-within-the-movie’s director – a movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie. It took six years (from 1970-76)…

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Horror on the Lens: Dracula vs. Frankenstein (dir by Al Adamson)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Zandor Vorkov is Dracula!

John Blood is Frankenstein’s monster!

Together … THEY SOLVE CRIMES!

No, actually, they don’t.  If anything, they cause crimes to happen.

First released in 1971 and directed by Al Adamson, Dracula vs. Frankenstein may not be a good film but it’s definitely an unforgettable film.  Yes, it may be thoroughly inept but it’s also perhaps the strangest take on the Dracula/Frankenstein rivalry that you’ll ever see.

Plus, it’s one of the final films of Lon Chaney, Jr.  Unfortunately, Lon doesn’t exactly look his best in Dracula vs Frankenstein...

Speaking of slumming celebrities, long before he played Dr. Jacoby and inspired America to shout, “Dig yourself out of the shit!,” Russ Tamblyn played a biker named Rico in this movie.

Also, like every other exploitation film made in 1971, Dracula vs. Frankenstein features hippies, leading to the age old question: who needs the supernatural when you’ve got LSD-crazed hippies running around?

Another age old question: Is Dracula vs. Frankenstein merely inept or is it a classic of bad filmmaking?

Watch below and decide for yourself.

Enjoy!