Kojak, Damnation Alley, Batman Begins......

trekgeezer · October 23, 2005, 05:39:35 PM

What do they have in common? I watched them this last week.

We have a new station in town RTN(Retro TV Network) and there afternoon schedule includes Rockford Files, A-Team, Magnum PI, and Kojak. Anyway, I've been watching Kojak at 5:00 after I get home from work , and man I didn't remember it being such a gritty show. For one thing it was actually filmed in 1970's New York (a lot of which at the time looked like Beirut during the 80's), and they deal with some pretty heady subjects.

Damnation Alley (1977) - Caught this on FMC (yes, not AMC) the other night. George Peppard and Jan Michael Vincent both had very very promising careers at one time. Peppard was a real up and comer with some fairly prestigious roles and Vincent was a pretty big deal in the 70's (he was in a lot of movies). By the time they made this film both their careers were heading downward.

We've discussed this film at length before and the coolest thing about it was the vehicle.

One question I have for everyone. Who didn't know the black guy (Paul Winfield) was going to buy the farm first?

A little trivia from IMDB, Damnation Alley was released by Fox in 1977 and they expected it to make more money than another SciFi film they were releasing that year. A movie which cost just a little over half what Damnation Alley did. Everyone here should know what the other film was without me naming it.

Batman Begins (2005) - In my opinion the best Batman committed to film. And, speaking of vehicles, I ponied up for the two disc SE set which includes a lot of extra information about the making of the film. It includes a great feature about the Tumbler vehicle (it will make you want one).

One thing a lot of folks should be happy about, is that the overwhelming majority of the effects were of the practical type. They built a large portion of Gotham in an airship hanger in England. The set was huge and even had a section of freeway in it .

I really like this movie and hope they can match and surpass it in the sequel.

Andrew · October 24, 2005, 12:34:09 AM

I always really dug the Landmasters. Talk about a neat vehicle design. Too bad that the film it was in was so poorly executed. I think that the basic plot was flawed, in any case.

Peppard ends up being fun to watch in whatever film I catch him. I do not know what it is, perhaps his general affable nature.

Scott · October 24, 2005, 08:21:00 PM

I've seen a only a small part of DAMNATION ALLEY and remember a manican on the back of a motorcycle and I thought it was a cheap stunt double. I was beat over the head on this site long ago for the error. : ) Haven't had a chance to catch it all. I also want to finish CHERRY 2000.

Alan Smithee · October 25, 2005, 12:36:40 AM

I'm reading the original Roger Zelazny short story of "Damnation Alley" and it's so much better than the chintzy movie version (which Zelazny has always dismissed). I've always wanted to see the movie from start to finish but have only seen bits and pieces on cable tv. Speaking of Star Wars, apparently Lucas considered Jan Michael Vincent for the role of Luke or Han (don't remember which).

Gerry · October 25, 2005, 12:37:36 PM

Sad part about it is that I'd rather watch DAMNATION ALLEY again than revisit STAR WARS (which I've seen so many times I'm literally sick of it).

Shadowphile · October 25, 2005, 08:04:42 PM

Is it just my imagination or was the Damnation Alley short story the inspiration for the film 'Hell Comes to Frogtown'? It's been a while since I've read it. All I can remember is the main character's first name is Hell (because that is what his father said when told by a nurse he had a son).

lester1/2jr · October 26, 2005, 04:56:17 PM

I saw this on FMC this other night as well or part of it. That channel has no standards other than it has to be garbage and it has to be like xandadu in some way. I didn't understand damnation alley at all. Just no idea what was going on. But it did have that "bad movie" thing which made it sort of colorful.

Shadowphile · October 26, 2005, 05:57:20 PM

How can you not understand Damnation Alley?

1. Military guys survive a world ending apocalypse

2. Some time later, it is discovered that they are not 'the only ones left'

3. Travel to rejoin humanity, killing off the black guy in the process.

4. Some random event triggers a shift in Earth's axis, restoring everything to it's rightful place.