Village of the Giants
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Movie Reviews of Village of the Giants
Movie Review: "I Was Big Before" ~ Oversized Go-Go Dancers Gone Wild
Summary: 3 Stars
Synopsis: A group of delinquent teenagers out looking for a good time steal a secret growth formula from a kid genius (Ron Howard) and expand to gigantic proportions. Just for kicks they decide to terrorize the local town folk and dance up a storm until someone can discover a way to shrink them back to size.
Critique: `Village of the Giants' from '65 is one of those films that fall into the often times embarrassing category of guilty pleasures. For lack of a better way to describe the storyline you might say it's a cross between the Frankie and Annette `Beach Party' movies with a heavy dose of the television series `Land of the Giants'.
Yes, this is a pretty bad flick that looks worse now some forty-three years later. It does however have some very well known names in the cast along with the offspring of some other film and television personalities. Personally speaking my attachment to this film was for the inclusion of two lovely young ladies in the cast; Joy Harmon (the girl washing the car in `Cool Hand Luke') and Gail Gilmore. Ah yes.., childhood crushes are difficult to overcome and I definitely had one on these two.
My Rating: Don't expect much and you won't be too disappointed: -3 Stars-.
Movie Review: Main Title Music re-used in Tarentinos Grindhouse "Death Proof"
Summary: 5 Stars
The awsome main title music by Jack Nitsche has be re-used by Quentin Tarentino in his film Death Proof but its called The Last RaceMovie Review: A 1950s Drive-in Movie Style Film
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this movie was made in 1965, it feels more like a 1950s 'drive-in movie!' The story is so totally ridiculous that it comes off as a genuine fun movie. It is also interesting to see some quite big-name stars as teens (e.g. Beau Bridges, who didn't even get a listing on the DVD cover!) or children (Ron Howard, then known as Ronny Howard). If you want some very light, comical entertainment with nothing that would offend most traditional values families, this is one movie to watch.Movie Review: Village Idiots
Summary: 3 Stars
Film notable for featuring a pre-teen Ron Howard (at the height of his "Opie" fame)and a young adult Beau Bridges (son of Lloyed, older brother of Jeff, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS). Howard as "Genius" (a child-scientific-chemistry-wiz)develops a potion to make humans and animals grow to titanic proportions. A bunch of delinquent teens (headed by Bridges) get a hold of the "Food of the Gods" (the H.G. Wells story upon which it is based) and terrorize the town. It is up to the local "good teens" (headed by Tommy Kirk of Disney fame: i.e. OLD YELLER, THE SHAGGY DOG) to stop them. The plot is basically very sophomoric with some social commentary of delinquent teens of the period, mixing the mentality and look of the "beach party" movies with very light sci-fi. The only thing missing is Frankie, Annette and Eric Von Zipper. The cheesy special effects fits the mentality of the film. One aspect of this are the giant animals superimposed on the screen with the human counterparts and a hilarious sequence in which Beau Bridges giant legs are being attacked by various characters: it looks totally fake and unrealistic. The film is fairly entertaining and their is a provacative sequence after the "delinquent teens" take the potion. As they grow, their clothes don't grow along with them (at least the filmakers showed some plausibility and logic in the film). Then they make some "revealing" makeshift clothing, and before they terrorize the town, they "go-go" dance in front of everyone. Overall, a brainless and harmless film with some some future stars in the cast. Note: Look for actress Joy Harmon in the cast as one of the delinquent teens. She was in the famous car-washing sequence in COOL HAND LUKE. Also, look for actor Johnny Crawford in the cast as one of the good teens. He was in tv's THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB, THE RIFLEMAN and cult film, THE GREAT TEXAS DYNAMITE CHASE.Movie Review: it took a village to raise these damn idiots
Summary: 3 Stars
Beau Bridges leads a less than all-star cast of misfits in this flick that mixes H.G. Welles's "Food of the Gods" with the AIP bikini-beach movies. When Bridges and company (a group of like-minded delinquents) get into a fender-bender outside the mythical town of Haynesville, they decide to head in and party. These aren't the sort of kids to let a smashed car get between them and fun. Unbeknownst to them, a young kid named "Genius" and played by an Opie-era Ron Howard, toils away in his lab (beakers, Bunsen burners and all) on whatever young geniuses toil on, and accicentally creates the mysterious "goo". Whatever eats the goo grows to forced-perspective style gigantic size. (They test the stuff out on a couple of giant geese which promptly become the main course at a town BBQ; faster than you can say "shouldn't we test this stuff on laboratory convicts, Haynesville are munching on mutated foie gras.) Realizing the possibilities of the goo, Bridges and Co. steal the goo. Running out of ideas, they eat the goo and become the giants of the title - swelling out of their clothes in a scene that has become the stuff of MST3K. Exerting their will on the town, Bridges's gang enslave those who live there - forcing the diminutive population into serving them tons of fried chicken and cola. It's up to Genius and Tommy Kirk (who plays the guy putting the moves on Genius's big sister) to save the day. Will he succeed and cut Bridges down to size, or will Haynesville remain beholden to a gang of 90-foot teenagers in home made bikinis (made out of theater curtains?Okay, you're thinking - who cares? As 60's fun, "Village" has less entertainment than say "Ghost in the Invisible Bikini" but doesn't go out for easy laughs. Most of the time you'll be watching the screen thinking "no way!" It's a thin flick with some re-play value (watching the younger Beau Bridges act horribly; watching Ron Howard in the script's least important role, knowing the bigger and better things he went onto) but would have done better with the Harvey Lembeck treatment. Also, watch out for a fiery-haired dancer played by Toni Basil of "Oh Micky" fame, and Joy Harmon, the car-wash girl from "Cool Hand Luke", as a fellow giant who thought she was big enough to begin with.
The DVD transfer isn't anything special - let's face it, this isn't the flick you got a DVD player for. There are no extras (this flick wasn't made with a "making of" documentary in mind) but the menu hearkens back to the go-go `60s and highlights that this is a fun light flick.