The Bad Movie Tarot

[Fausto]

Whether you see the tarot as a serious tool for divination or as a taboo artifact from the dark ages, the deck of 78 cards has become a popular form of artistic expression. Since the 1960's, more than 2000 different decks have been created, each with different themes, including the baseball tarot (with cards such as "Home Plate" and "MVP"), the Lord of the Rings tarot, and even the Housewife's tarot. One thing I havent seen, however, is the B-movie tarot. If I could create a major arcana (I wont even bother with the minor) using film images, it would look something like this:

0 The Fool - Stephen King's character from Creepshow
1 The Magician - Merlin from Excalibur
2 The High Priestess - Aphrodite from Clash of the Titans
3 The Empress - Childlike Empress from Neverending Story
4 The Emperor - Emperor Palpatine from Return of the Jedi
5 The Hierophant - Father McGruder from Dead Alive
6 The Lovers - Sil and Patrick (as aliens) from Species 2
7 The Chariot - De Lorean from Back to the Future
8 Strength - Hercules (Lou Ferrigno)
9 The Hermit - Obi-Wan Kenobi from A New Hope
10 The Wheel of Fortune - The wheel from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
11 Justice - Billy Jack
12 The Hanged Man - Flat guy from Beetlejuice
13 Death - Grim Reaper from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
14 Temperence - Margaret White from Carrie
15 The Devil - Darkness from Legend
16 The Tower - Castle tower from Rocky Horror Picture Show
17 The Star - Meteor from Creepshow
18 The Moon - Eclipse from Inferno
19 The Sun - Planet Arrakis from Dune
20 Judgment - Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
21 The World - Earth from Superman 2

What would your picks be? (if you want, you can choose four suits for the minor arcana, although I wouldnt go through each card)

[Scott]

Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors (1964) has the most memorable scene involving the Tarot.

The clip below has Peter Cushing explaining the Tarot at the 5:00 mark and does his first reading at the 8:43 with the cards The Chariot, The High Priestess, The Moon, and The Enchantress being revealed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5asCYDOBP4

Might make for a different and perhaps profitable business idea, but beware of divination. Though the results don't turn out as promised playing with the supernatural is very very real. It opens doorways that are extremely hard to close. Once one initiates such an action only things from beyond enter through. Only God closes these type doors.

Instead let God alone guide us. This is best.

[GLKnight]

0 The Fool - Stephen King's character from Creepshow
1 The Magician - Merlin from Excalibur
2 The High Priestess - Aphrodite from Clash of the Titans
3 The Empress - Childlike Empress from Neverending Story
4 The Emperor - Emperor Palpatine from Return of the Jedi
5 The Hierophant - Father McGruder from Dead Alive
6 The Lovers - Sil and Patrick (as aliens) from Species 2
7 The Chariot - De Lorean from Back to the Future
8 Strength - Hercules (Lou Ferrigno)
9 The Hermit - Obi-Wan Kenobi from A New Hope
10 The Wheel of Fortune - The wheel from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
11 Justice - Billy Jack
12 The Hanged Man - Flat guy from Beetlejuice
13 Death - Grim Reaper from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
14 Temperence - Margaret White from Carrie
15 The Devil - Darkness from Legend
16 The Tower - Castle tower from Rocky Horror Picture Show
17 The Star - Meteor from Creepshow
18 The Moon - Eclipse from Inferno
19 The Sun - Planet Arrakis from Dune
20 Judgment - Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
21 The World - Earth from Superman 2

Hierophant should be Dr. Phibes or Boris Karloff from the Mummy.
Colwynn and Lyssa from Krull for the Lovers.
The Wraith should be the chariot. "Sufferage only the subject must bear" type of thing?
Strength should be Steve Reeves as Hercules.
Petey Wheatstraw should be the Wheel.
Jotaro from Ninja Wars should be Justice.
Torquil from Krull movie should be the Hanged Man.
Kaz from My Demon Lover should be Temperance.
The House from House II should be the Tower.
The Star should be the Night Sky from Shocker.
The setting or rising sun (I forget which) from Conan for the Sun.
Roddy Piper from They Live for Judgement.
Earth from The Day After Tomorrow for the World.

Others you selected work too...

[WyreWizard]

I'd use the lightsabre battle scene between Luke and Vader in Empire Strikes back. as the 2 of swords.  For the 3 of swords, I'd use the lightsabre battle of Qui Gon Gin and Obi Wan Kenobi against Darth Maul.

[Menard]

I'll make suggestions as I get to them.


Strength - One thing to take into account is that the card has to deal with overcoming a greater force; through strength of character, willpower, or simply standing up against something. The representation of Hercules as strength would suggest something inherent and physical, and not a challenge to the representative figure.

That aside, now, I would put the dancing scene of Alan Young and an alternating stuffed lion and actor dressed as a lion, from Androcles and the Lion (1953), on the strength card. This stays more in character with the card and also keeps a lion on the card.

[Menard]

The Magician - One thing to consider is that the magician of the Tarot of old (Marseille and variants, including the Visconti-Sforza which preceded them) was a practitioner of legerdermain and not the Hermetic Arts. The magician, like our stage magicians today, would use misdirection and other tricks to dazzle an audience by making things that were impossible appear to be possible.

I would pick Tom Savini as the magician; both a creator of cinema magic and a showman.

[Menard]

That aside, now, I would put the dancing scene of Alan Young and an alternating stuffed lion and actor dressed as a lion, from Androcles and the Lion (1953), on the strength card. This stays more in character with the card and also keeps a lion on the card.

Thought of another possibility for strength that may fit better and be more current.

Perhaps a cap from a scene like in Just Before Dawn where the petite Deborah Benson brings down the mountainous John Hunsaker by shoving her fist down his throat until he suffocates to death. Possibly any similar type of scene from a b-movie where a smaller woman takes down a much larger opponent, or perhaps a woman having a large man in a headlock.

[Menard]

The Fool - The constant definition that keeps ringing a bell with me is 'without direction'.

Perhaps a director who, unlike Ed Wood, is instantly recognizable as producing nothing but bad movies that are tedious to watch.

Eh, maybe Andy Milligan?

[Menard]

No particular rationale for this...

The Emperor: Godzilla!!!

[Patient7]

No particular rationale for this...

The Emperor: Godzilla!!!

If you want rationale then for The Emperor put in Ming the Merciless.

[Menard]

No particular rationale for this...

The Emperor: Godzilla!!!

If you want rationale then for The Emperor put in Ming the Merciless.

Ming would be a better fit for The Devil card

[Patient7]

No particular rationale for this...

The Emperor: Godzilla!!!

If you want rationale then for The Emperor put in Ming the Merciless.

Ming would be a better fit for The Devil card

Noted.