Need advice
I know there are some old SciFi b-movie aficionados on this site, so here’s my dilemma. I just got an alert from a DailyKos front pager that the 1964 flick “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” has passed into public domain and can be watched online. Since I’ve really got no seasonally appropriate material for the family to enjoy I thought maybe I’d treat them to some classic fare. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to appreciate this flick. It’s rated #77 on IMDB’s bottom 100 list meaning there are only 76 worse movies out there. The first external review seems to disagree. They think it’s #1:
To sum up, this is quite possibly the worst film ever made. Throughout, one felt an urge to hurl buckets of foetid offal at the screen. Avoid, unless you collect bad films or have a strong stomach.
I guess I’m looking for a second opinion.
It IS ridiculously bad! It even features a very young Pia Zadora as a Martian! It has some über goofy moments however…
By all means find the MST3K ‘MSTified’ version!
Comment on December 23, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
That didn’t take long.
Comment on December 23, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
I’d also recommend Tim Burton’s (well) off the beaten path ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’…
Also has fun quasi-pseudo-operatic music by Danny Elfman… I love the ‘Uggie Boogie Man’ bit!
Comment on December 23, 2009 @ 2:41 pm
Another good family-friendly film that I like is Disney’s ‘Fantasia 2000′, recommended for kids of all ages!…
I particularly enjoy the vignette of the whales to the music of Resphigi’s “Pines of Rome”… also very nice is the finale with a Gaia-like Earth goddess to Stravinsky’s lovely ‘Firebird’…
Comment on December 24, 2009 @ 2:08 am
We have the VHS and used to watch it a lot. Loved the Firebird interpretation.
BTW- the family mutinied and would not consent to watching Santa Conquers the Martians. I stressed that it had made a prestigious list (IMDB’s bottom 100) to no avail. What’s with these people?
Comment on December 24, 2009 @ 9:40 am
BTW: The ‘Bottom 100′ is hugely skewed by the MST3K treatments of them!
Many of these films would have (mercifully perhaps) pass quietly into celluloid obscurity had it not been for the dubious fame conferred upon them by Mystery Science 3000 Theater… ‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ being a prime example.
Just two of many ‘masterpieces’ that have been (alas) demoted (promoted?) from the ‘Bottom 100′:
Plan 9 From Outer Space: Ed Woods’ magnum opus!
Mesa of Lost Women: Tandra Quinn’s ‘Tarantula dance’ at the cantina must be seen to be believed!
I LOVE both of these milestones in the art of the cinema!
Comment on December 25, 2009 @ 12:29 pm