The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
List Price:
Our Price: $17.99
You Save: $2.00 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks
Buy Used: from $3.98 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bill Corbett, Film Crew, Kevin Murphy, Mike NelsonBrand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Vivendi
Movie Reviews of The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
Movie Review: Script writing with a magnetic poetry kit
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I was a little late to the Film Crew party. I heard about the series back when it was announced but for some reason it flew under my radar.
Recently I read some good reviews of the series, especially ones that compared it favorably to the seasons of the sci-fi channel run of MST3K. I decided to break down and pick up a couple. "Hollywood After Dark" was the first one I popped in.
Right off the bat I can say that this episode is very much like a MST3K episode, especially during the movie segments. The film is a dreary tale of good people gone bad in Hollywood. There is stripping. There is a caper. There are good intentions gone wrong. It all ends with three dead bodies and money scattered on the side of the road.
The writing is probably the worst part of the movie. There are whole lines that make no sense at all. The Film Crew points out some of their favorites and wonders at one point if the script was written using a magnetic poetry kit.
The camera work and direction are attempting to be arty and noir in several places but all this ends up doing is slowing the movie down and making things look harsh and cold.
The acting is not horrible, but not quite average. Rue actually isn't bad, but the real find are the strip scenes. They are bizarre and seem to go on forever! There is no complete nudity here, but it gets uncomfortably close on a number of occasions.
With all that said, the movie is solidly bad, but unfortunately doesn't have quite enough for the Film Crew to work with. The result is that riffs come at a measured pace. It's not a bad track, because the riffs are solidly funny, but the movie is so dreary that it doesn't offer enough for them to work with.
There are three host segments. The introduction gives us the premise of the series, and reveals why this film in particular is chosen. The middle segment occurs with Bill wanting to conduct a lunch meeting in a very corporate way, Mike and Kevin are not amused. The concluding segment has the three of them attempting to recreate the final battle at the end of the film with other props. It's about as goofy as what you had in MST3K, so if you enjoyed the host segments there you'll probably like them here.
What struck me most was that watching this episode of Film Crew really felt like a natural continuation of MST3K. I kept waiting for the exiting the theater sequence. The humor was solid and while the movie didn't offer the best material to work with it was bad enough to make me laugh.
For a first effort in a series this is four stars easily. Compared to other MST3K episodes or Rifftrax material, this is closer to a three star effort - so I say 3.5.
Summary of The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark
Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett-three of the brilliantly insane minds behind the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000-finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew. Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary tracks, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, starting with Hollywood After Dark.Rue McClanahan (Golden Girls) stars in this drama from 1968 as a young actress attempting to make her Hollywood debut, who falls into the seedy underworld of stripping when she's exploited by her unsavory producers.MiSTies rejoice! Three of the brilliantly cracked minds behind the Peabody Award-winning comedy program Mystery Science Theater 3000 have reunited for The Film Crew, a DVD-only series that provides a similar skewering to some uproariously bad B-movies. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (the voice of MST3K's Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (who replaced Trace Beaulieu as Crow T. Robot) are the Film Crew--three affable guys who've been hired by a jovial yet clueless billionaire to provide "commentary" for atrocious films. Of course, the Crew's "commentary" is more cutting than informative, and for the most part, the guys' jabs are as smart and pop culture-savvy as the ones on MST3K, and it certainly helps that their target, a miserable 1968 slice of sexploitation starring a youthful Rue (The Golden Girls) McClanahan, is nothing short of atrocious. Parents should probably note that the gags are a little more "adult" than the ones on MST3K, but for the most part, this is harmless-- if hilarious--stuff. The disc's sole extra is an amusing poem by Corbett which extolls the virtues of lunch in verse. --Paul Gaita
Comedy DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Blake's 2008 DVD List Part One
Day Watch (Unrated)Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $7.61
Price in other shops:
The Film Crew: Hollywood After DarkUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION; Release date: 2007-07-10; DVD
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Comic Book Pajama Party: Women Who Love Comic BooksRelease date: 2005-11-01; DVD
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
The Darwin AwardsTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2007-07-31; DVD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops:
LolliLoveRelease date: 2006-03-14; DVD
Best price: $10.93
Price in other shops:
The Film Crew: Wild Women of WongoUni; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
GhostbustersRelease date: 2002-02-05; DVD
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season (Slim Set)Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
SunshineTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-01-08; DVD
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops:
Buffy the Vampire SlayerRelease date: 2001-09-04; DVD
Best price: $4.26
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - Volume 10.2 (Giant Gila Monster / Swamp Diamonds / Teenage Strangler / Giant Spider Invasion)Release date: 2008-02-05; DVD
Best price: $35.60
Price in other shops:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVRelease date: 2009-07-07; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (Widescreen)Universal; Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $12.28
Price in other shops:
![Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition] Image](/images/Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Limited-Edition-B001B73PPS-X.jpg)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition]Release date: 2008-10-28; DVD
Best price: $62.97
Price in other shops:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIVUni; Release date: 2009-02-03; DVD
Best price: $31.99
Price in other shops:
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 11 (Ring of Terror / The Indestructible Man / Tormented / Horrors of Spider Island)Ryko Distribution; Release date: 2007-06-26; DVD
Best price: $34.75
Price in other shops:
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12 (The Rebel Set / Secret Agent Super Dragon / The Starfighters / Parts: The Clonus Horror)Ryko Distribution; Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $34.75
Price in other shops:
The Film Crew: The Giant of MarathonUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION; Release date: 2007-10-09; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
The Film Crew: Wild Women of WongoUni; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
The Film Crew: Killers From SpaceUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION; Release date: 2007-08-07; DVD
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops: