The Best Of Film Babble Blog (A Self Indulgent 20th Anniversary/Birthday Post)

Film Babble Blog has been AWOL since my DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE review as things have been hectically busy lately, but I’m back to make a self-indulgent post on my Birthday. I’ve been meaning to do something to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of this blog (first post was March 12, 2004) all year, and I finally came up with compiling a list of my Top 10 favorite posts.

 

Among the movie reviews have been assorted articles, lists, and interviews and this what I consider the cream of the crop. By the way, the pic at the top is from Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY (I just wanted to have a lavish big screen party scene image, the movie isn’t even mentioned in any of these posts).

So let’s get right to ‘em (click on the highlighted titles to read the posts):

1. In Memorium: My Dearly Departed Cat Squiggy (September 14, 2014)

Of course, #1 would be honoring my first adoptive cat, Squiggy, who passed away 10 years ago (Sept. 12, 2014). This remembrance might be too icky for some who are not cat or pet people, but I think most folks will appreciate the sentiment. Squiggy lives!

 

2. William H. Macy Chats With Film Babble Blog About His New Film KRYSTAL (April 12, 2018)

Over the course of Film Babble Blog’s first two decades, I didn’t do many interviews, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to the great William H. Macy. He was promoting his second film as director, the odd Rosario Dawson vehicle KRYSTAL, and it was an insightful, fun phone chat with the acclaimed actor. 

3. Ingmar Bergman: The Woody Allen Angle (July 31, 2007)

 

When the iconic Swedish filmmaker Igmar Bergman passed on 2007, instead of doing a standard obit, I decided to do a deep dive on his influence on the films of Woody Allen. Now Allen is a controversial figure these days, but this film geek’s noting the many elements whether they be thematic, technical, personal, or personnel that Woody Allen has borrowed from the movie master still holds up to me.

 

4. Apocalypse Then (September 11, 2021)

My 20th Anniversary recollections of the week of the tragic events of 9/11, which started off with a Birthday viewing of the then new APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX is one of my favorite pieces as it captures my what my world felt like during that sad, shocking time when it felt like the world stopped.

 

5. That Time Orson Welles Ended His Career (And Life) On An Episode of Moonlighting (December 30, 2023)

I was reminded of the legendary filmmaker’s final moments in front of a camera when Hulu started streaming the hit ABC series, Moonlighting, late last year and I exercise-bike binged it. It’s an interesting tale of how fortunately the late, great CITIZEN KANE actor/writer/director had one last gasp meaning that his ridiculous voice turn in the 1985 animated TRANSFORMERS wasn’t his last credit. The Film Babble Blog favorite Welles was also featured in the posts, A Birthday Tribute To Orson Welles With 10 Welles Wannabes (May 5, 2008), and Classic Cinematic Cameo: Orson Welles in THE MUPPET MOVIE (MAY 6, 2022). 

 

6. That Time THE BODYGUARD Soundtrack Saved Nick Lowe’s Ass (August 12, 2021)

An amusing look back at a happy happening involving the great British singer/songwriter benefiting greatly by the use of one of his classics (albeit a cover) on the best-selling soundtrack of the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner hit, THE BODYGUARD. 

7. The Legacy Of Mrs. James Bond 007 (September 10, 2020)

Much like the Bergman post, I was wanting to pay tribute to a legendary figure who had passed (in this case Diana Rigg), but through an specific angle that most obits mentioned but didn’t fully investigate. Another post in this same vein is: How James Bond Was Indiana Jones’ Father Long Before Sean Connery Played Indiana Jones’ Father (October 31, 2020)

 

The final posts are lists, which I’ve done a lot of over the years. A few of these were featured on the Internet Movie Database when they used to update a “Hit List” on their main webpage. That got my page a lot of action back in the day, which I miss now.

 

8. 20 Great Modern Movie Cameos (6/5/07)

9. 10 Definitive Films-Within-Films (7/4/07)

10. 10 Movie Soundtracks That Think Outside Of The Box Office (9/01/09)

So there you go. Hope you enjoyed this trip down Film Babble Blog’s memory lane.

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INDY 5 Is Better Than CRYSTAL SKULL, But Feels Off

Opening tomorrow at a multiplex near you :

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
(Dir. James Mangold, 2023)

Warning: This review contains major SPOILERS!

“What are you, 80?” Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams cracks at a 65-year old Harrison Ford in the last, least loved Indiana Jones flick, something about a CRYSTAL SKULL. That was a joke, but now it’s the truth as an 80-year old Ford reprises Dr. Jones for the fifth time in the big summer popcorn movie sequel that opens tomorrow.

 

I’ll report right off that INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, which releases tomorrow, is better than CRYSTAL SKULL, but how much is debatable as it is still far from the engaging adventures the original trilogy presented. The fluid Spielbergian touch is noticeably missing in action scene after action scene – it simply doesn’t visually pop like even the last bad one did.

 

It feels off right from the start as it doesn’t have the traditional play on the Paramount mountain that has opened every previous Indy movie. Maybe this is to establish that this is a Mangold take on the franchise, it doesn’t make sense as it’s an established aesthetic, and its omission threw me off. They use the same font for the credits as the others, so why would they change that?

 

Then the next tradition, Indy’s first close-up, which began with one of the most bad-ass shots in the history of cinema with the man with the fedora and whip stepping out of the shadows in the jungle in the opening moments of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, was spoiled months ago with pictures of how the AI de-aging was going to give us a lengthy opening sequence set in 1944.

The version of the younger Ford running around somewhere in Europe (I forget where) in the dying days of the Third Reich, again punching out Nazis, and saving historic artifacts from their grasp, is very convincing, but the sequence itself, which culminates in a fight on top of a train isn’t particularly exciting. It does effectively set up the film’s MacGuffin, Archimedes’ Dial, and the villain, Nazi physicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, who fits perfectly into Indy’s world).

 

Then we’re in New York, 1969, and Indy is a cranky old man, who we regrettably see shirtless, going to tell his hippy neighbors to turn down their stereo blaring the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour.” He’s told it’s “Moon Day,” and we also learn that Marion (Karen Allen) has left him, and his son Mutt is out of the picture (thank the Lord!). Dr. Jones is set to retire from Hunter University where the students are falling asleep instead of fawning over him like back in the day.

 

But the plot doesn’t really kick off until Phoebe Waller-Bridge enters as Indy’s goddaughter, Helena Shaw, who is after the Dial, and wants Indy’s help so she can sell it to the highest bidder – something our grizzled hero doesn’t approve of (of course, because “It belongs in a museum!”).

 

A reluctant Indy gets roped into the action, and we’re soon taken through a series of high-speed chase sequences starting with a Moon Day Parade scene, in which Indy takes down three assailants in succession, pretty good for an octogenarian!

 

I’ll refrain from describing any more of the action on screen, but one can guess the back and forth the Dial goes through from good guys to bad guys back to good guys - Jones: “You stole it.” Voller: “Then you stole it.” Helena: “And then I stole it! It’s called capitalism.”

 

The feared image of Ford portraying a broken-down Dr. Jones who is shown up by Waller-Bridge as his energetic, overly-hip goddaughter who even says in her defense that she’s “Beautiful and self-sufficient,” a cringe-worthy line for sure, isn’t entirely accurate, but I was disappointed that our adventure icon’s confidence was lacking. He’s faced death his whole life, and he’s just giving up to drink and watch TV now? Seems a bad choice for the character.

But Ford’s Indy, with his gruff, but lovable lived-in persona, will still work, and have weight to folks like me who have known him for four decades. I can’t speak for the younger audiences, nor will I make any predictions about its box office - (I’ve never seen the internet so want a movie to flop like this one - if you don't believe me go to YouTube, and search Indiana Jones, and see what vitriol comes up).

 

Of course, since this is an Indiana Jones movie, we’ve got to visit dark, spooky, trap-filled caves, and the tomb of Archimedes in Sicily fits that bill. I don’t think it’s a Spoiler to say there’s a time-travel premise as that’s what Archimedes’ ancient artifact dials up, but I will say that it works well as the MacGuffin – i.e. much better than that Crystal Skull of Akator whatnot.

 

A good choice was bringing Salah (John Rhys-Davies) back for his third time around with Indy, as he gives great gusto to the beloved role, while bringing the movie much needed warmth at times.

 

Another welcome return is composer John Williams whose iconic scores really brought sonic gravitas to the series, and it greatly helps out here – audiences will surely get goose bumps when it first arrives in the opening.

 

While Mikkelsen, and Toby Jones as an old WWII friend of Indy’s fit neatly into the world George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created over 40 years ago, and I’m not sure that Antonio Banderas, playing a boat captain, was necessary. Waller-Bridge was too smug for my liking, and the idea that she would continue these adventures herself is really unappealing – I don’t think that even people who dig her in this will be dying for a Helena Shaw franchise.

 

So with its competent screenplay by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp (who co-wrote CRYSTAL SKULL), and James Mangold, INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY is a good, not great (one of my most used phrases on Film Babble Blog!) film that maybe is most notable for being a big summer movie in 2023 that is headlined by an 80-year old. That was something that was hard to shake at times, as it often felt like an old Harrison Ford film than a true Indiana Jones movie.

 

Mangold’s approach, direction, and tone for the entry just felt off for too much of the film, but maybe that’s because I re-watched all four Spielberg Indy films leading up to the screening I attended of DIAL. And like I said before, it’s better than the fourth one, but it doesn’t look better – cinematographer Phedon Papamichael is no Janusz Kamiński, I guess.

 

But I did enjoy this supposed last chapter enough to recommend, and it ends on a decent, if not fully satisfying note.

 

Now, please, let it end here!

How James Bond Was Indiana Jones’ Father Long Before Sean Connery Played Indiana Jones’ Father

As a young aspiring filmmaker, Steven Spielberg really wanted to direct a James Bond movie. After his successes with JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, he even reached out to the 007 camp, but as he told The Independent, “I called up Cubby (producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli) and offered my services but he didn’t think I was right for the part.”

So, as the legend goes, Spielberg went on vacation with his friend George Lucas in the summer of 1977. Lucas’ breakthrough smash hit STAR WARS had just been released, and Spielberg had just completed CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, due to be released later that year. While building a sand castle on the beach at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (hey, this is how the legend goes), Spielberg told Lucas his dream of making a James Bond movie and how it would probably never come to be.

Then Lucas told his friend he had an idea that was better than Bond.

In a later interview, Lucas explained, “So I said, 'Well, look, Steven, I’ve got a James Bond film. It’s great - it’s just like James Bond but even better. I told him the story about this archeologist and said it was like a Saturday-matinee serial, that he just got into one mess after another. And Steven said, ‘Fantastic, let's do this!’”

Lucas’ character was named Indiana Smith – after his dog’s name. Spielberg disliked the name but agreed it should be an all-American moniker, so they settled on Indiana Jones.

This simple beach chat led to one of the biggest movie franchises in history with RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK , INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE dominating the ‘80s box office.

LAST CRUSADE, the third entry, was especially notable as it featured Sean Connery as Indy’s father, Henry Jones, which brought the Bond connection full circle. Although he was only 12 years older than series star Harrison Ford, Connery convincingly owned the role, playing against type as a nebbish bookworm, and the part introduced the actor to younger generations who had never seen any of the seven films in which he portrayed the suave super spy, 007.

As Spielberg later said to Empire Magazine, “Who else but Bond could have been worthy enough to play Indiana Jones’s dad?”

Spielberg never did direct a Bond film, repeatedly saying in interviews that with his colossal career, “now they can’t afford me.”

Connery retired from acting in 2003, but he did consider returning when the fourth Indiana Jones film was in development later in the decade.

He ended up issuing this statement: “If anything could have pulled me out of retirement, it would have been an Indiana Jones film, but in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun.”

Connery’s role was reduced to his picture being seen on Jones’ desk along with Denholm Elliot (Indy's mentor Marcus Brody) in an early scene. As INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is far from a fan favorite, maybe Connery made the right decision. 

In the scheme of things, Connery’s role as Indiana Jones’ dad is a small part of his lengthy legacy, but it’s still a crucial one as it connects the franchises in a major way. Undoubtedly, many kids sought out Connery’s Bond movies after seeing LAST CRUSADE, and went from there to discover his other work which is getting spotlighted right now on the sad event of the great actor’s death.

In conclusion, Spielberg didn’t get what he wanted (making his own James Bond film), but he sure got what he needed (co-creating an iconic character that was almost as good - sorry, Lucas, but it’s true).

One last tidbit is that Connery’s Henry Jones Sr. reveals that his son’s name is Henry Jones Jr., and that their dog’s name was Indiana (obviously inspired by Lucas's dog). This leads to Indy’s long-time pal, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) to mock him for being named after a dog. A few lines later, the original trilogy is done.

R.I.P. Sean Connery (1930-2020)

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Harrison Ford To Reprise Yet Another Iconic Role In FALFA: AN AMERICAN GRAFFITI STORY

After reprising his iconic roles as Han Solo in the STAR WARS series in 2015, Rick Deckard in the BLADE RUNNER franchise last year, and following news that he’ll don the Fedora for a fifth INDIANA JONES film in 2019, and another turn as CIA agent Jack Ryan for an upcoming series for Netflix later that year, Harrison Ford is set to resurrect another classic character in the newly announced FALFA: AN AMERICAN GRAFFITI STORY, set for summer 2020. 

Ford previously portrayed the cocky street racer, Bob Falfa, in George Lucas’ seminal early-‘60s-set 1973 comedy AMERICAN GRAFFITI, Bill L. Norton’s 1979 follow-up MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI, in which we learn that Falfa became a hippy-hating San Francisco cop in the late ‘60s; and in the hit 2016 reboot, Darren Aronofsky’s STILL MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI, which caught up with most of the original cast in a scenario set around the events of 9/11. 

But in the first stand alone film in the rebooted series, FALFA: AN AMERICAN GRAFFITI STORY, the focus is on the elder Falfa’s life as a cranky curmudgeon who learns to love life again in a tale that its director Denis Villeneuve describes as a “mixture of ‘A Christmas Story’ crossed with GRAN TORINO.”

AMERICAN GRAFFITI regulars Candy Clark, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Martin Smith, Bo Hopkins, and Cindy Williams are in talks to be included in cameo roles, and although Ron Howard’s character, Steve Bolander, died in the 2016 AMERICAN GRAFFITI reboot, there are rumors that he may still appear in poignant flashbacks, or at least as narrator a la Arrested Development.

At a panel for BLADE RUNNER 2049 at Comic Con last year, Ford was asked by a fan if he planned to reboot every single franchise that he’s ever starred in. Ford swiftly answered, “You bet your ass!” Going by this new announcement that Falfa will live to race another day, the 75-year old actor apparently wasn’t just having a laugh.

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Re-visiting RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK With My Mini-Remake (Of Sorts)

The Colony Theater's Cool Classics screening of Steven Spielberg's 1981 action epic RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, scheduled for tomorrow night here in Raleigh, reminded me that I once made a video recreating one of its most famous scenes.

It was back in 2008, around the time of the release of the fourth entry in the series, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, that I put some old toys from my youth, and the original soundtrack to work to make this:

Yep, pretty sweet, huh? Take that, you kids that remade the whole damn movie back in 1989!

Also in anticipation of the screening, I put together a slideshow of behind-the-scenes pics from the making of the movie:

Indiana Jones and the Behind-the-Scenes Slideshow (Examiner, 5/20/14).

Anyway, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Spielberg and George Lucas' immortal tribute to the action adventure serials of the '30s and '40s, screens as part of the Colony's Cool Classic series on Wednesday night, May 21st, at 7:30 pm. Admission is $5.00.

Hope to see you there.

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A Couple Of Spielbergers To Go: One With Extra Cheese, One With Extra Action

WAR HORSE & THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Without a doubt, Steven Spielberg is the most celebrated film maker of our times.

With JAWS, he practically invented the notion of the event blockbuster, and his movies, including the iconic Indiana Jones series and the JURASSIC PARK franchise, have grossed billions more than any other film maker could imagine.

This year, along with the usual CGI-saturated multiplex mayhem that owes a debt to the man, Spielberg was paid tribute to in Greg Mottola’s sci-fi fanboy satire PAUL (in which he had a voice only cameo), and J.J. Abram’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS/E.T. homage SUPER 8 (which he co-produced).

‘Tis the season for Spielberg to step up to the plate himself, as the man has 2 movies to unleash on holiday movie-goers: the WW I epic drama WAR HORSE, and the CGI-animated THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN. Both are set in the first half of the 20th century, and both are, you know, for kids!

WAR HORSE evokes the golden age of Hollywood, when movies were first making the change from black and white to vivid Technicolor. A friend, Will Fonvielle, said it was “like a John Ford” film, and that nails it precisely – so much so that it looks like every other critic is making the comparison. In telling the simple story of a horse named Joey, who leaves a small farm in the English county of Devon to serve in the first World War.

Through a series of extremely well orchestrated battle scenes, Joey goes from serving the British to aiding the German army, before finding his way back to his original owner Jeremy Irvine.

Emily Watson and Peter Mullan play Irvine's parents, with Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis, and Benedict Cumberbatch portray solidiers in the trenches, but, hey, you know it's all about the horse, as we can see in lots of Joey's close-up reaction shots.

Spielberg heavily lays on the sentiment, John Williams’ score leaves no moment unpunctuated by swelling strings, and long-time Spielberg cinematographer Janusz Kamiński fills the screen with gorgeous scenery that looks like it was all shot at golden hour.

In other words, WAR HORSE is another powerfully cheesy crowd pleaser by the master of powerfully cheesy crowd pleasers.

Based on the world popular, yet not so well known in America, series of comic books by Belgian writer/artist Hergé, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN is also a crowd pleaser, but one that tries way too hard. I read the Tintin books when I was a kid, and I really don’t remember them being jam packed with high octane action, yet that’s what you get in Spielberg’s first animated film as director.

Spielberg was reportedly turned onto Tintin when a critic made a comparison between RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and the globe-trotting tales of Hergé’s boy hero, and therein lies the problem – even with the involvement of purist Peter Jackson (co-producer), Tintin and his world is too Indiana Jones-ified.

Tintin, voiced by Jamie Bell, and his white fox terrier Snowy (who like all animals in Spielberg movies is as smart or smarter than the humans - a trait he must’ve learned from Disney), join with the crusty boozing Captain Haddock (a hilarious but often indecipherable Andy Serkis), and the bumbling cops the Thompson Twins (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), on a wild treasure hunt involving scrolls found in model ships, which are sought by the sinister Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig).

The performance capture imagery has come a long way since THE POLAR EXPRESS, with beautifully brisk vistas flashing by as Tintin engages in chases, fights, and all kinds of frantic, fast paced fury, but it’s way too busy to be truly engaging.

The plot may be impenetrable to those unfamiliar with the books, John Williams’ score cribs too heavily from his Indiana Jones soundtrack work, and it has a way too blatant set-up for a sequel, a la the end of BACK TO THE FUTURE (which, of course, Spielberg executive produced), but a franchise is what Jackson and Spielberg have been planning for ages, so that’s a given.

That said, the fun witty spirit of the original Tintin does rear its head every now and then. If only they slowed down the onslaught of nonstop thrills enough to get a better glimpse of it.

It’s funny to note that even in an animated Spielberg feature there’s lens flare going on. Old habits die hard, huh?

Despite their ample defects, WAR HORSE and THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, are both prime popcorn pictures that don’t care about anything but entertaining tons of people.

That they will do this Christmas weekend, when many folks will be looking for a good excuse to get out of house. Spielberg’s brand of family friendly fare will surely suffice.

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10 Blink And Miss Them Movie Cameos

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Followers of this blog may have noticed that I have a fondness for film cameos. Film Babble Blog has featured lists like 20 Great Modern Movie Cameos, The Cameo Countdown Continues, and more recently Without A Hitch - 10 Definitive Directors' Cameos In Their Own Movies, but this list is a bit different because many people may not have noticed these cameos at all.

They can be difficult to catch as they go by fast but they're there just waiting for some film geek like me to point them out. So here goes:

1. George Harrison in MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (Dir. Terry Jones, 1979) Harrison helped finance this film solely because he was a big fan so it stands to reason that they'd throw him a bit part. He can be seen in a crowd scene and although he is uncredited he actually has a character name: Mr. Papadopoulos. He has one word of dialogue ("ullo") spoken to Brian (Graham Chapman) as he is introduced by Reg (John Cleese) as "the owner of the mount" they are planning to rent. It's brief but worth looking for - if only so you can point out to your friends: "Look! There's a Beatle!" Speaking of the Beatles...

2. Phil Collins in A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (Dir. Richard Lester, 1964)

This is kind of a cheat because Collins wasn't a well known celebrity at the time (he was 13), and you can barely see him in the audience shots of the concert climax but I just couldn't resist listing it. Collins has often bragged about being one of the 350 teenage extras screaming at the Beatles, especially when he hosted You Can't Do That!: The Making of "A Hard Day's Night" (1995). Though as you can see his visage is impossible to recognize, even when enlarged, he is listed in some movie guides as being one of the stars of the film.

3. Alan Ladd in CITIZEN KANE (Dir. Orson Welles, 1941) This is a pretty infamous one - Ladd is one of the reporters in the screening room after the opening newsreel. It's a smoke filled shadowy shot but he can be clearly seen, though it took Roger Ebert's commentary on the DVD for me to identify him. He can also be seen at the end of the film smoking a pipe and even has a few lines.

4. R2D2 in STAR TREK (Dir. J.J. Abrams, 2009)

This cameo/Easter egg was rumored when the film opened last summer (there was even a Paramount sponsored contest centered on finding it) but it was pinpointed by fanboys all over the internets when the film hit DVD/Blu ray last month. It works as a funny little visual joke as well as a shout out from one science fiction franchise to another.

5. Dan Aykroyd in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1984) It may have seemed strange to see the former SNL funnyman hawking Crystal Head Vodka in advertisements that refer to the last INDIANA JONES film, but Aykroyd actually has a legitimate connection to the series. He appears in Indy's second installment as Weber, a British cohort who arranges a getaway plane for Jones (Harrison Ford), Willie (Kate Capshaw), and Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan). It's easy to miss him as it's a sweeping long shot and he's such an incidental character but he still makes the most of his 18 seconds in this film.

6. Dennis Hopper in HEAD (Dir. Bob Rafelson, 1968) This one is priceless because Hopper looks like he can't wait to get out of the studio, get on the road and shoot EASY RIDER (Monkees money funded EASY RIDER you see). Jack Nicholson, who co-wrote HEAD, is also in this scene which has the movie break down around Peter Tork with many members of the film's crew coming into the shot including director Rafelson. When he swoops behind Tork to get to Rafelson I'd like to believe he's asking "hey man, how long is this gonna be? We gotta get going!"

7. Christian Slater in STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (Dir. Nicholas Meyer, 1991)

I know, I know - another STAR TREK cameo but this one baffled me when I first saw this film. When Slater pops up it's a dark shot and I distinctly remember the murmur in the theater as everybody seemed to collectively wonder "was that Christian Slater?" Credited as "Excelsior Communications Officer" Slater appears in a doorway, has a few lines, and then he's gone. What was he doing there? In an interview with DVD Playground he answered that question: "My mother cast that film and needed someone to fill in. Yet even so, that was probably the most nervous I had ever been in my entire career."

8. Richard Dreyfuss in THE GRADUATE (Dir. Mike Nichols, 1967) Again, this might be playing loose with the definition of cameo too, but Dreyfuss' smart part as "Boarding House Resident" always makes me laugh when I watch this film. Over the shoulder of landlord Norman Fell, Dreyfuss's delivery is unmistakable on his only line: "Shall I call the cops? I'll call the cops."

9. Sigourney Weaver in ANNIE HALL (Dir. Woody Allen, 1977) She only appears in one shot, and it's a long one, as Alvy Singer's (Woody Allen) very tall date to yet another showing of THE SORROW AND THE PITY but if you ever see this film on the big screen you can see her features better. It was her first film and I bet nobody involved could predict that only 2 years later she would break through big in ALIEN. From "Alvy's Date Outside Theatre" with no lines to science fiction icon/feminist heroine Ripley is quite a leap considering.

10. The Clash in THE KING OF COMEDY (Dir. Martin Scorsese, 1982) From the IMDb Trivia section for this film: "In the scene where Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernard argue in the street, three of the "street scum" that mock Bernhard are Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, and Paul Simonon, members of the British punk rock band, The Clash." There are many pictures of Scorsese directing RAGING BULL wearing a Clash t-shirt so there's obviously a connection between the master film maker and "The Only Band That Matters" (as they were billed at the time).

Okay! There goes another patented Film Babble Blog list. If you have any other blink and miss them movie cameos please drop me a line.

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10 Movie Soundtracks That Think Outside Of The Box Office

Welcome to Soundtrack September! All month long, with the help of some special guest bloggers and readers, I’m going to be celebrating the world of original motion picture soundtrack recordings. There will still be the usual array of reviews of current movies and other whatnot but they will be surrounded by soundtrack centered posts.

I’m kicking off Soundtrack September with this list of soundtracks that weren't content to just be simple collections of score selections or pop song tracks. They featured dialogue excerpts as tracks - sometimes full chucks of audio from the composite track of the film instead of the standard isolated music track.

Often these albums contain material that's not in the movie they represent - different versions of songs, cut lines from post production, and new voice-overs. In their reshaping of the movie material they became works of art in their own right. Here are my 10 favorites from the many soundtracks out there that think outside the box office:

1. THE MONKEES: HEAD (Colgems Records 1968/Rhino 1994) The Monkees only theatrical release was a critical and commercial flop on original release but it’s picked up a well deserved cult following over the years in no small thanks to its psychedelic soundtrack (pictured at the top of this post). 

It's a merry mishmash in which seven songs (including “The Porpoise Song,” “As We Go Along,” and “Can You Dig It”) emerge out of the chaos of sound effects, repeated out-of-context lines (as if there's a context in the film) and assorted trippy effects reportedly under the influence of Frank Zappa (who has a cameo in the movie and the album). The original album did not feature Mike Nesmith's “Circle Sky” performed live in the film - it substituted an inferior studio take of the song. Happily, a ‘90s Rhino re-release restored the ferocious live version as well as a nice handful of bonus tracks (including a cool radio spot).

The icing on the cake? The Original Album Coordinator who did the bulk of the vigorous editing on this project: Jack Nicholson (co-screenwriter and producer of HEAD seen above with the Monkees).

2. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE MOVIE ON RECORD (Columbia Records, 1981)

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s a lot of “story of” albums were produced of the STAR WARS films, Disney features, Muppet movies, etc. that feature audio excerpts with a ‘40s style narrator guiding listeners through. For the first Indiana Jones adventure a soundtrack was released separate from the one of the score by composer John Williams. 

Billed "The Movie On Record,” it was an album described as containing “Actual Dialogue, Music, and Sound Effects” but most importantly - no narration. Four time Academy Award winner Sound Designer Ben Burtt (creator of the voice of WALL-E among other iconic work) admitted in an interview that much of this album was made from little of the original soundtrack; he recorded new effects and recreated the dialogue with the film's cast as voice actors much like old radio shows. The album won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word LP in 1983.

3. THE ALBUM OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE TRAILER OF THE FILM OF MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (Arista, 1975) This is only a soundtrack in the loosest sense - approximately 40% of it is movie material; the other 60% has the Pythons bogusly broadcasting from a fictional theater (The Classic Silbury Hill) for the “premiere” of the film. John Cleese plays a reporter who talks over the opening scene with patrons telling him to shut up, the production is halted while the projectionist fights a grizzly bear for the next reel, an announcer (Graham Chapman) repeatedly tells us that this is the “Executive Version” of the record, and so on.

The records of the Monty Python films that followed - LIFE OF BRIAN and THE MEANING OF LIFE had a bit of this embellishing but not with the whole team and to the extreme of this supremely silly yet essential soundtrack.

4. APOCALYPSE NOW (Warner Brothers, 1979) This soundtrack is pretty much the full composite track of the motion picture spread over two records. It’s a trippy absorbing listen that's worth seeking out. The soundtrack for the REDUX version (2001) removes the dialogue bits and presents composer Carmine Coppola's score, along with The Doors “The End” and Flash Cadillac's “Suzy Q,” but I prefer the original recording. It reminds me of the days before home video when a soundtrack was all one had to invoke the mood of one's favorite movie.

Removed from the imagery, Martin Sheen’s voice over narration works just as well on record as it does in the film, the jungle sounds surround the listener, and Marlon Brando's haunting “the horror...the horror" evocation echo in the psyche. Or maybe that's the Thai sticks talking...

5. NATURAL BORN KILLERS: A SOUNDTRACK FOR AN OLIVER STONE FILM (Interscope Records 1994)

“I suggested to Oliver (Stone) to try to turn the soundtrack into a collage-of-sound, kind of the way the movie used music: make edits, add dialogue, and make it something interesting, rather than a bunch of previously released music.” - Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor in an interview with MTV.

As producer/compiler Reznor provides another absorbing listen and one that introduced many to Leonard Cohen via two stellar songs off of his 1992 album “The Future.” My only complaint is Reznor mixing a bit of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis dialogue on top of Bob Dylan's cover of the '50s standard “You Belong To Me.” Such a thing just should not be done.

6. THE ADVENTURES OF BOB & DOUG McKENZIE IN STRANGE BREW (Polygram Records, 1983) The album cover denotes “Excerpts From The Original Sountrack” so much like the MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL album this functions as a comedy record in its own right. The success of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas's “Great White North” record paved the way for the SCTV characters of Canadian descent to enter the world of movies, so it’s kind of funny to have Moranis stress more than once that this that this is not their second album - it's the soundtrack album.

Funny because they never made another album and with all the additional material here they might as well consider it their second album. As a comedy record it's a good one - some bits from the movie work better disembodied from the visuals and the track “Shakespeare Horked Our Script” amusingly calls attention to the fact they stole the basic narrative from “Hamlet.” It's never been released officially on CD but like much on this list it can be found on the internets or in used record bins.

7. PULP FICTION (MCA Records, 1994)

From RESERVOIR DOGS to DEATH PROOF, Tarantino's soundtracks have featured dialogue tracks (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is the first that doesn't) but PULP FICTION is by far the most popular - it seems everyone I knew had this in their CD collection in the ‘90s. It's a hip movie mix; tracks by Urge Overkill, Dusty Springfield, and Kool & The Gang rub shoulders with John Travolta's “Royale with cheese” bit, Bruce Willis’s immortal "Zed's dead, baby", and Samuel L. Jackson's “Ezekiel 25:17.” 15 years after the movie, these tracks are still effective - program them into an iPod shuffle and see for yourself.

8. GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (A & M Records, 1988) Sure, the comedy of Robin Williams is far from hip these days but back in the day (the late ‘80s) his routines were quoted ad nauseum. The rapid fire lines from his starring turn in Barry Levinson’s Vietnam-set dramedy were no exception. The dominance of James Brown’s “I Feel Good (I Got You)” in family feel-good comedies (or at least their trailers) can be traced to this film but don't hold that against it. Era songs by Louis Armstrong, The Marvelettes, and the Beach Boys make up the playlist of Williams as Armed Forces Radio Services DJ Adrian Cronauer. Incidentally the weekly NPR program Sound Opinions uses the sound bite of Williams’ “This is not a test, this is rock 'n roll!” in their opening to this day.

9. UHF: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK AND OTHER STUFF (Warner Brothers, 1989) Nobody would expect a soundtrack from a Weird Al Yankovic movie (his only movie) to play by soundtrack rules and this hodgepodge sure doesn’t. It makes this list because of tracks directly from the film like the commercial parody “Spatula City” and the phony trailer for “Gandhi II” which make great compilation fillers or fodder for college DJs. However the non movie related tracks like a spoof of R.E.M.'s “Stand” called “Spam” and “Generic Blues” are just throw-away Weird Al but they still don’t disqualify it.

10. BONNIE AND CLYDE (Collector's Choice, 2009) Though it’s not the first soundtrack album to feature dialogue - that would be THE GREAT ESCAPE - BONNIE AND CLYDE provides the template for the composite movie mix that Reznor and Tarantino would run with. The dialogue tracks offer cushioning and punctuation for the musical score - as spare as they are. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway’s exchanges are enhanced by the then very innovative presentation on vinyl. It’s a hard to come by record nowadays, but again, one worth seeking out.

Okay! There are many more soundtracks that feature dialogue in an inventive mix (PATTON, ANIMAL HOUSE, BLADE RUNNER, etc.) so if you have a favorite - please send it on. 

Also if you have soundtrack favorites of any kind (classical scores, pop songs, musicals, etc.) please email me (filmbabbleblog@gmail.com) your favorites (instead of leaving them as comments on this post please) and I may include them this month during Soundtrack September! 

More later...