Terminator Is Out There

[IdleRich]

WG: Yeah, like Escape from New York never made it big, but it's been redone a billion times as a rock video. I saw that movie, by the way, when I was starting "Burning Chrome" and it had a real influence on Neuromancer. I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the Warden says to Snake: "You flew the wing-five over Leningrad, didn't you?" It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked like the best SF, where a casual reference can imply a lot.

An Interview with William Gibson

project.cyberpunk.ru

Same in the sequel where they keep going referring to something he did in Cleveland which I believe (I wasn't really watching to be honest) is never explained further but it adds nicely to the mythology.
But I came in and I was flicking through the channels and I saw a crowd of camp leather guys shouting and I thought "I bet that's The Warriors or Escape from NY or something" and I wasn't far away.
Someone was moaning about the first Mad Max lately but I think it does that aesthetic but far more gritty and it's more successful. The film is slow but the moments that matter seem more real than most of those camp things to me. The first Mad Max is not camp like all those.

 

[luka]

The Mad Max films have an advantage because of what Australians look like. Extraordinary inbred convict faces. Even the little kid in 2 looks authentically grizzled

 

[version]

I watched LA for the first time quite recently,

Escape from L.A. (1996)​

What the fuck was going on there? Peter Fonda as a surfer. Pam Grier in a very iffy role. Hangliders which never touch the ground. A slow-mo basketball challenge. Kurt Russell surfing a tsunami after being shot in the leg. The whole thing was completely ridiculous. The least ridiculous aspect of it was the religious conservative declaring himself president for life and turning LA into a prison. Appalling special effects too. Some of the worst CGI I've ever seen. The more money people throw at Carpenter, the worse his films seem to get.

 

[IdleRich]

It's a brilliant film one of the best films but definitely very very long.

I told you that part (which was also all) of my analysis was gonna be inarguable.

 

[IdleRich]

I watched LA for the first time quite recently,

The surfing sequence is.... and this is less controversial than my Scarface deep dive, it's... very bad.

 

[IdleRich]

The Mad Max films have an advantage because of what Australians look like. Extraordinary inbred convict faces. Even the little kid in 2 looks authentically grizzled

But every country can find a few like that. After Die Antwood loads of countries - Ireland, Russia etc - threw up a few bands filed with people with tattoos on their face, scars on their chest and three fingers on their best hand.

 

[IdleRich]

Maybe those countries are ones that can Oz close in terms of those lawless crank cooking criminal underclass types I dunno. Well Russia more than Ireland.

 

[muser]

Someone was moaning about the first Mad Max lately but I think it does that aesthetic but far more gritty and it's more successful. The film is slow but the moments that matter seem more real than most of those camp things to me. The first Mad Max is not camp like all those.

Mad Max 1 is essentially a really bad film, so is Mad Max 2 but I think it's better because its more ridiculous and it was made in the 80s.

 

[IdleRich]

It's not a great film (the first one), it's slow and boring but it kinda has some cool bits. But yeah my point was it avoids the ridiculousness of Mad Max 2 - for better or worse I dunno.

 

[IdleRich]

Or depends on your point of view. Or mood.

 

[Leo]

I enjoy the OTT element of mad max 2 but there's also something to said for MM1. I like the low-budget feel, and it was pretty mental for its time. it was kind of ruined here by dubbing Mel's dialogue, wtf was up with that? it's not like an Australian accent is that difficult to understand.

 

[version]

My dad told me about the bit with the boomerang years before I ever saw the film.

 

[luka]

"And then the silly cunt tries to catch it and it takes he's fucking fingers off Edward it's hilarious you wait till you see it"

 

[version]

Could've come straight from that Burial interview in The Wire.

 

[IdleRich]

My dad told me about the bit with the boomerang years before I ever saw the film.

Me also. Well not my dad but someone.

 

[version]

Me also. Well not my dad but someone.

Probably my dad.

 

[luka]

I like those moments of gratuitous gore in eighties films. Like in commando he chops some cunts arm off at the elbow with an axe.

 

[IdleRich]

Probably my dad.

I remember seeing the film and thinking "finally, that was what that bloke was talking about all those years ago".

 

[muser]

That boomerang scene was very important in mad Max 2. Starting to think a lot of these movies relied on a few extreme scenes that people would talk about. Like having nudity/ sex scenes. It's not so important now people in school can watch real life beheadings and porn at the click of a button.

 

[muser]

Terminator 2 was the metal spike through the milk carton.