G2KMaster's blog
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| packmule | May 25 2009, 11:17 PM |
Site founder - Your best nightmare
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Tentacles(1977) - Revisited Many of the DVDs in my library of 700+ titles are what I like to describe as "tweeners", those giant monster/horror/sci-fi movies that are, at the end of the day, and when all is said and done, somewhere between lousy and good. Tentacoli doesn't get much benefit of the doubt if the internet reviews it has received are any indication. Tentacoli is an Italian horror film directed by Ovidio Assonitis, which originally opened in Italian theaters in early 1977. It reached American theaters in the summer of the same year as Tentacles. This movie is widely blasted by web critics from top to bottom. I can understand the rampant disdain for this film by the horde of the movie's detractors. That said this film has grown on me over the years. I guess the old adage is true: there's no accounting for taste.  The film's story: partially eaten remains of people wash ashore in the seaside community of Solana Beach. The local sheriff, played by veteran character actor Claude Akins, is understandably perplexed and anxious to know what's causing these fatalities. Akins, as the town's sheriff, has perfected the ability to look flummoxed to an art form. Also on the prowl in this movie is a grizzled, curmudgeonly old news reporter(played by John Huston) whose main reason for living seems to be antagonizing the head of the Trojan Construction Company(played by Henry Fonda...yes, Henry Fonda). Fonda's character, "Mr. Whitehead", is an angry and suspicious man and not really anything else in this movie. Add to the mix an affable marine biologist(played by Bo Hopkins) and the reporter's sister(played by Shelley Winters) and you have one seriously strange group of actors thrown together. The killings, turns out, are the result of a monstrous sized octopus which is apparently disturbed by the underwater pipeline construction of the Trojan Construction Company. In the end, the marine biologist and his pair of specially trained 25 foot long orcas(killer whales) ultimately deal with the giant and ornery mollusk. (no other spoilers) This movie has been released by MGM as a "Midnite Movies" release, paired with 1977's Empire Of The Ants. The aspect ratio for "Tentacles" is 2:35.1 widescreen and the DVD print of this film looks good. This film is widely considered a "Jaws" rip off. I would concur with that assessment but still encourage any fan of giant monster movies to rent Tentacles, or invest in the MGM Midnite Movies DVD release of the film, just to see the cast of actors, hear the sometimes wonky score and watch the decent effects at the end of the film as the orcas and octopus do battle. The film's trailer: The MGM Midnite Movies DVD for sale at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Ants-Tentacles-John-Huston/dp/B0007R4TR6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1243304395&sr=1-5 |
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| Packmule's Picks · Science Fiction - Horror | |
4:23 AM Nov 26
