I was at the mall picking up my LOTR extended DVD and I saw Bad Taste for $15 (it even had the middle finger, not the stupid backwards peace sign, with an advisory sticker covering the finger), and it got me to thinking: How many people have seen the "From The Director Of Lord Of The Rings" headline on BT or Dead-Alive, and soon the AB disc of Meet The Feebles, and thought, "Hmmm...I bet this is a stirring adventure romp for viewers of all ages" and been completely horrified by what they saw? After Spider-Man the same goes for Sam Raimi.
I've been a big fan of Peter Jackson since I first saw Braindead a few years ago, it was the movie that got me into cult/b-movies. I've recently spoken to people who say he's one of their favourite directors of all time and talk about him like Lord of the Rings was his debut film, or some may know about the Frighteners or Heavenly Creatures. I personally went to see Lord of the Rings, because it was from the director of Braindead, Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles, which I think should have been in LOTR's tagline.
And same goes for Sam Raimi, people talk about the Evil Dead films like they were his amatuerish 'practise' films before he started making 'real' movies, while I'd rather watch ED2 over Spiderman any day of the week.
Pete
everyone in my dorm loved lotr so i wanna shock them and show them his past films
Just imagine watching those three movies... back-to-back. I'm serious. You'll get sued for mental anguish. I've seen all three over a period of about ten years and I not the same person I was before the experience ;-)
my video stores dont carry them, im too cheap (and have no money) to buy them, and cant find them on dc or mirc. ive only seen bad taste, tho its one of my fav films of all time
There's a reason, Joe Bob, that the universe has not yet allowed you access to all three... It's for your own good... ;-)
You know, when BAD TASTE and BRAINDEAD debuited in American theatres they actually got some rave reviews (The Hollywood Reporter even praised BRAINDEAD) and said some great things about good old' Peter Jackson. I for one feel that his earlier films are quite an achievement more than THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Why? Because Peter went at an angle that directors wouldn't touch (imagine Steven Speilberg making a zombie horror/comedy-the results would be horrid) and turned them into fun B-movies with INTENDED HUMOR that have their own grisly charm. That, and the fact that these earlier films opened the doors to PJ's career due to their success (both internationally and U.S. release).
It's a shame that his earlier films are not looked at. Most critics now look at the covers of BAD TASTE and write them off very easily. Some even say he made them just to get it out of his system. I really doubt that. Now at your typical movie megaplixes you will see the slide show asking the question "Who directed THE LORD OF THE RINGS" and the answer is always "Peter Jackson, director of HEAVENLY CREATURES and THE FRIGHTINERS"! I guess some can't accept Peter Jacksons better past features.
PJ is still proud of his earlier work and should never be ashamed of his first beginning features. And if it were not for these earlier hits of PJ, he would not have gotten to make LORD OF THE RINGS and would be at his usual job as a photo lithographer at local New Zealand newspaper like he was back when BAD TASTE was in production.
By this time, the scars on all the people who went out and rented Pink Flamingos after being charmed by Hairspray have probably healed over-- Finally, something new to tear them back open! >:)
for the record, I liked Frightners
I was the only person in the theater who actually cheered when the Wingnut Films logo came up on the screen. When I picked up the special edition of Bad Taste last year from Best Buy, it had a hologram that switched between both the American AND British "f**k you" hand signs, and the alien is wearing the One Ring, which I thought was pretty damn funny.
Brother R