"Snake Plissken? Me hear you dead." I saw it a lifetime ago but I recall it being rather OTT where I think it would be better served with a subdued Twilight Zone surreal touch. King's stories often remind me of things my little niece comes up with. "What if there were actually monsters in that fog?" "What if the car wouldn't start and we couldn't get away from that dog?". And so on. I can picture King eating at a truck stop looking out the window and thinking "What if no one was driving those trucks?". I remember reading the short story when I was a kid and it worked because it did keep it simple and weird not unlike the movie Duel (waiting for Greg Cox...) where they never show the truck driver and you don't know why it's happening.
You mean "Duel" by Richard Matheson? (Wouldn't want to disappoint.) And this is where I drag out my favorite Stephen King quote: "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson."
I love all the old driverless car films. In Maximum Overdrive, they play some strains of rock music right when someone is about to be hit. While growing up, I had a dream where some mod monster came out of a closet with music--it scared me for some reason--as in how some children shout to drown out the odd tones their parents make when singing happy birthday songs. I'm convinced fear of Santa (staying seasonal) was from some ancestral memory of kids on the slab before a knife wielding druid. I think both King and Carpenter had dreams of giants striding the Earth (before The Mist) I had a similar dream last night--the thing obscured by a tornado. Not unlike a fan piece I had written and forgotten. That's my inner Steven Moffat I guess.
I hope you take that in the spirit of good humor. I saw The Car as a young kid and it freaked me out pretty good especially the scene where it smashes through the living room. I mean, c'mon if you're at home the monsters aren't supposed to be able to get you. [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WIP7eYdP4c#t=0m45s[/yt]
Absolutely! Heck, I was plugging Matheson at Christmas dinner the other day. (Turned out my girlfriend's cousin is a fan.)
A Walking Nightmare sounds right, but it's the actual title sequence of the movie, so it was actually released to theaters under that title.
Sadly, just five days later, January 8, 2015, yesterday (at the time of this posting) we lost Rod Taylor. He would have turned 85 on Sunday, January 11. It's strange because after watching the film for the umpteenth time last weekend, I somehow got it in my head that Rod had died. I accessed the web and to by pleasant surprise, learned that both Taylor and Alan Young, "David Filby", were both still alive. Yet, just a few days later, my suspicions turned a bitter reality. I did notice that of the various news agencies that announced Taylor's passing, the majority of them printed the words "Time Machine" somewhere within the headline. He's remembered "that much" for this film. Sincerely, Bill
Pretty much all of Taylor's obituaries cited "The Time Machine" and "The Birds" as his most notable credits. Not a bad way to be remembered. And I confess that I'd had no idea that he'd been the voice of Pongo in the original "101 Dalmatians."
That's sad. He lived a nice long life and he'll be remembered fondly by countless people, but it's always too soon to die. RIP, Rod.
I started this last Saturday after watching "The Time Machine" upon TCM for the umpteenth time. It started simply as an exercise to update and improve an earlier composition. Little did I know I would gain a new incentive in less than a week, one born from tragedy. Both the Time Machine and the workshop are freebies generously shared by someone named "Morpheus". The period toolbox and its contents are by a friend named Xaa, the blueprints and oil can come from a DAZ product. I know what some of you are thinking. Nothing should be illuminated upon the Time Machine without a pilot. True; but I don't have a likeness of Rod Taylor and the thing just looks more interesting with everything glowing. Sincerely, Bill
Actually, they are Poser based props. They can be found at these links... http://www.sharecg.com/v/65725/browse/11/Poser/Morpheus-1960-Time-MAchine-V10-Final http://www.sharecg.com/v/45498/browse/11/Poser/Morpheus-Time-Machine-Lab Two "slight" issues, the items try to reference a lot of various textures that are not supplied and the mapping coordinates for the lab walls are horribly warped. I used UV Mapper to redo the UV coordinates. and I used the Material Room in Poser to edit out any references to textures not included. But, hey, the items are free, so I can't really complain. Sincerely, Bill
Sweet! Thanks very much. Those issues don't sound like any big deal. And that site looks like a great resource.
You didn't know about ShareCG? It's currently one of the biggest "go to" for Poser, DAZ Studio and misc. format 3D freebies. Even I have some crap there. Ptrope, the modeartor for the fan art forum has some really nice items including the definitive TOS bridge, coded as Poser .PP2 formatted "props". Hmm, maybe I should say TAS bridge as he includes the secondary exit by the viewscreen and the "bridge defense system" phaser array from "Beyong the Farthest Star". Sincerely, Bill
I actually haven't done any 3D work in a couple of years because of computer issues. I've got that site bookmarked, though, and I plan to have a download orgy this weekend.
Sorry, a bit late with the February schedule. Which means I missed listing The Jungle Book at 7:30 this morning and Around the World in 80 Days, which is airing as I write this. Nothing they haven't shown a bunch of times and will surely show again. But for the rest of the month: TUE 2/3 3:30 AM: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ('32): The good one. THU 2/5 8:00 PM: The Adventures of Robin Hood ('38) SAT 2/7 10:00 PM: Here Comes Mr. Jordan ('41): Reincarnation fantasy/comedy, remade as Heaven Can Wait. SUN 2/8 6:30 AM: Tom Thumb ('58) 8:15 AM: The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm ('62) 10:45 AM: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ('68) THU 2/12 4:15 AM: Mighty Joe Young ('49): Harryhausen's big ape. FRI 2/13 9:00 AM: The Picture of Dorian Gray ('45) 3:45 PM: The Birds ('63) 6:00 PM: Poltergeist ('82) THU 2/19 8:00 PM: Dr. Strangelove ('64) FRI 2/20 10:00 PM: Planet of the Apes ('68) SUN 2/22: Here we go. 6:00 AM: One Million B.C. ('40): Not the Raquel Welch version, alas. 7:30 AM: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth ('71): With Victoria Vetri. Apparently the uncut version has nudity, but TCM isn't saying which version they're showing (and they have it listed as a musical for some reason). 9:15 AM: The Time Machine ('60) 11:00 AM: Forbidden Planet ('56) 12:45 PM: 2001: A Space Odyssey ('68) 3:30 PM: 2010: The Year We Make Contact ('84) 5:30 PM: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ('77) TUE 2/24 6:00 AM: Finian's Rainbow ('68): Leprechaun musical. 8:30 AM: 7 Faces of Dr. Lao ('64) 10:30 AM: The Thief of Bagdad ('40) 2:30 PM: A Midsummer Night's Dream ('35) 5:00 PM: Berkeley Square ('33): Time-travel fantasy of a man meeting his British ancestors during the American Revolution. 6:30 PM: It Happened Tomorrow ('44): Fantasy about a newspaper that predicts the future. THU 2/26 9:00 AM: Seven Days in May ('64): Near-future (at the time) cautionary tale about a coup of the US government. FRI 2/27 10:15 AM: Knights of the Round Table ('53): Focuses on the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot love triangle, with Ava Gardner as Guinevere.
Is it that time already? Akita! When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a guilty pleasure I indulge in from time to time. The eye candy, the caveman language and lots of prehysterical, er prehistorical action to keeps things lively. Not super excited about anything this month but some movies worth rewatching if the mood strikes. I'm curious about Berkeley Square and It Happened Tomorrow but only thinking they'll be of marginal entertainment value.
Thanks for posting the list, Christopher. Echoing Mr. Adventure, plenty of great movies that I've already seen but may be worth a re-watch if I have the time or space on my DVR.