Memorial Day on the Northern Plains of Mars

Vacation snaps from the plains of the Martian arctic - there are some folks with wonderful hangovers in Pasadena (Arizona, UK, and elsewhere) today.

Reminds me of the Viking 1 landing on in western Chryse Planitia on July 4, 1976 - excellent timing for a space faring nation to celebrate its own 200th birthday. Remember watching images beamed from Viking later that week while eating at a cafe near Penn Station.

Morning on earth here in southern California - scrub jays Smith & Hawkins have visited and started the day's caching of peanuts. Grassy Knolls is looking wild and now wet thanks to a good hosing down. Now it's off to a short run of errands and then back to spend the day with family.

ERRguitar Set to Strum

An act of consolidation. Unite the efforts, integrate the various threads and revive ERRguitar. Hell, celebrate the glorious break in the weather and talk about what's in the oven and grilling on the patio. And what's in the reading queue.

Spawn of Marines (my mother DID wear 'Army boots,' or whatever footwear was issued to Women Marines circa WWII), I'm again pondering how to observe Memorial Day. TCM has been a godsend in the past and I intend to dip into its offering over the next 2 days. I'm drawn to rewatching "Private Ryan" after seeing some clips during a Spieleberg-on-Spielberg special - Hank's Captain Miller's "Earn this" whisper, a call for reflection as my country is again at war.

Back on the homefront, the whole family got haircuts on the same day - a first - with satisfied smiles all round.

And back to the kitchen - time to wrap up the late Saturday dinner. Baked potato stuffed with bacon/anchovy/sage/garlic and steak ala Grassy Knolls... Updates to follow.

Happy New Year 2008!

Been down with a cold during the last week but wanted to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year - and to share this wonderful blog The Record Envelope that collects 7-inch record sleeves. I've scanned and submitted several sleeves yesterday - the Pama Records sleeve above was bought in September of 1980 in London. More on my obsession with 'skinhead reggae' at another time. And on impulse I wanted to share this still from THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE - a great little film by Val Guest that's definitely worth discovering. Expect something from ERRguitar on THE DAY in 2008.

I Am Legend or The Last Man On Earth

Haven't seen Will Smith's I AM LEGEND yet but I'm incredibly fond of the original low budget film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (ULTIMO UOMO DELLA TERRA) was the first of now 3 versions and is the most faithful to the book (Matheson even contributed to the script but was disappointed with the final version). Until recently this public domain title has circulated in inferior copies. Last year MGM released a nice widescreen version coupled with the first DVD release of another neglected gem of mid-60's apocalyptic cinema, PANIC IN YEAR ZERO. You can watch the entire film online through Google Video ...



LAST MAN is not as well known as the bigger budget 2nd adaptation, the enjoyably campy THE OMEGA MAN (1971) which at least retains Los Angeles as its locale (LAST MAN swapped Matheson's own LA suburb of Gardena for Rome's EUR district, site of Mussolini's never completed Fascist urban project). LAST MAN is often cited as a primary influence on George Romero (auteur of the LIVING DEAD). Originally a Hammer film project Matheson's script Night Creatures was to have been directed by Val Guest (QUATERMASS, DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE, etc). A threatend ban by British censors already worked up by Hammer's DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN films had the film property sold to AIP (interestingly Matheson would have preferred Jack Palance to Vincent Price for the role of Robert Neville). Will Smith's LEGEND derives from a script written by Mark Protosevich and John Logan (and now rewritten by Akiva Goldsman) which was planned as a Warner Bros. vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger and once had Ridley Scott attached as director.



Veteran Hollywood composer Paul Sawtell crafted an effective score that employs ethereal female vocals and jazzy themes to underscore protagonist Robert Morgan's (aka Robert Neville) unrelenting alienation.



1000 MISSPENT HOURS AND COUNTING Review: The Last Man on Earth/Wind of Death/L'Ultimo Uomo della Terra/ Vento di Morte

The Coven Organization's Review: Dread Reckoning: Legends of the Fang

GAMMA 1: Acetylene Futures

Apologies for the lateness of my arrival here on GAMMA 1 ("orbiting thousands of miles above the earth, GAMMA 1, the farthest away of the space stations marks the invisible limits of man's expansion in the Universe") but my departure from the Demon Planet proved more difficult than I had planned.

Among the most felonious of my handful of guilty pleasures (others are serving time but are expected to be paroled soon), the European space film of the early sixties was a keystone in my childhood fascination with what I'll call "hard science fiction." It's easy to identify the genre with its emphasis on hardware (miraculous or faulty) and exposition loaded with lingo cribbed (sometimes seemingly at random) from popularized science reporting. Indeed, the first Italian space film of this era, Antonio Margheriti's Space Men (Assignment Outer Space) was promoted with tagline "1000 Headlines into the Future."


Preparing for this post (and there's a lot of 'dead time' on the Demon Planet as you can imagine) I rewatched Battle of the Worlds (Il Pianeta Degli Uomini Spenti), starring an 80-year old Claude Rains, and while not part of Antonio Margheriti's GAMMA 1 quadrology, easily one of his most inspired movies. By most standards these aren't great films but who the hell cares - they can be quite engaging and reward even the casual viewer with some stunning visual or thematic surprises. Battle of the Worlds really deserves a proper DVD release. The exotic setting and the estranged dialogue made me recall J.G. Ballard's Vermillion Sands*. Claude Rains has a standout performance as the brilliant Professor Bernard who is always several steps ahead of the authorities and is another example of the dislocating effect of a cast headed by a foreign lead. I'd love to know what Rains thought of the production as he really seems to enjoy himself. The film's music is credited to Mario Migliardi but I'm unable to locate sources for the score so I've selected a track that is close enough to the main title track and captures this exoticism of the first few minutes of the film.
[*Vermillion Sands ("this overlit desert resort and as an exotic suburb of my mind... celebrates the neglected virtues of the glossy, lurid, and bizarre") is a collection of stories including Ballard's first published story Prima Belladona.]

Margheriti's Space Men (Assignment Outer Space, 1960) boasts an interesting cast that includes a black astronaut (the dubbing makes the spacefarers 'cosmonauts') as well as the beautiful Gabriella Farinon. The spaceships are mostly a gloss white with large stabilizing fins and flaming acetylene fueled engines. Special effects afficiandos will note that Margheriti tricks the skeptical viewer by concealing the inevitable supporting wires by filming his models upside down! As his son Edoardo*, who collaborate with Antonio on his effects, notes "a good special effect, constructed and shot 'live' sometimes has a hint of imperfection that makes it seem more real than those acetic digital images...We always felt more emotion when the special effect seemed real then in front of a screen crowded with hordes of battling cartoons - we just couldn't identify with it." Margherti was sought out to supervise the special effects for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey but declined this as well as Dino DeLaurentis' offer for his remake of King Kong preferring instead to pursue his own passions for films that have been characterized as a "contamination of genres."
[*Edoardo Margheriti's very sweet biography of his father is contained in the deluxe full color liner notes for the GAMMA 1 Quadrilogy CD]


Scifi, 'hard' or otherwise is all about 'what if's' - and embedded in even the flimsiest plot and most impoverished production is always another, more earthbound, set of of 'what if's' - a set of missed opportunities and misplaced potentialites. This a way of introducing composer Angelo Francisco Lavagnino who scored the GAMMA 1 films. As Bruce Eder (All Movies Guide) notes Lavagnino has a "special gift for melody and a talent for orchestration that manifested themselves in the best of those scores, particularly Gorgo -whose folk-based soundtrack is often referred to as the prettiest score ever to grace a dinosaur movie..." The 'what if' in this case is that Lavagnino was in line for scoring Sergio Leone's first "spaghetti western" A Fistful of Dollars but narrowly missed out when a producer introduced Ennio Morricone to Leone and it was revealed that Morricone and Leone attended the same grammar school. I'll leave you to ponder this while enjoying the following selections which include 2 tracks from his Gorgo score as well as a "spaghetti western' main title of his own (for Sergio Corbucci's 1969 Gli Specialisti).

Financed by Mercury International for MGM, Margheriti's GAMMA 1 Quadrilogy consists of four made-for-television films produced simulatenously over 3 months in 1965 (two weeks to shoot each one) which were instead released theatrically over the following 3 years. Besides the official Margheriti site, 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting with El Santo has excellent reviews of each (English title links, the Italian titles link to their respective IMDB entry). All of these films delight in wild pop fantasies in their production and costume design. For pedagogical purposes the following musical selections ignores the chronological order of the films and includes tracks from 2 other Lavagnino scores. Among Margheriti almost 60 films are the celebrated Castle of Blood (with Barbara Steele) and Cannibal Apocalpyse (John Saxon).

Wild, Wild Planet (I Criminali Dalla Galassia)

War of the Planets (I Diafandoidi Vendono Da Marte)

Planet on the Prowl aka War Between the Planets (Il Pianeta Errante)

Snow Devils (La Morte Viene Dal Pianeta Aytin)

In the US Turner Classic Movies (TCM) thru its MGM library owns prints of the English-dubbed versions of these films so DVD-R's should be floating around following their broadcasts. It would be wonderful to see these in a definitive DVD release. See TCM's own version of the IMDB for more inf including 2 publicity shots and the original English language ("...science has gone berserk... in the ungodly art of flesh-fusion... The First Space Horror Film... the fusion of male and female, living humans drained of imperfections and grafted together to form a new and terrifying race, the incredible bi-sapien race of the Wild, Wild Planet").

There's no doubt much more to be explored in the 'hard' scifi realm (especially TV's Men Into Space and some Outer Limits episodes). Expect another posting from this future someday soon.

La Morte Viene Dal Pianeta Aytin (Snow Devils) 1965
1 - I Diavoli Dello Spazio 2:39
2 - Come Un Western... 1:20
3 - Aytin 1:36

I Diafandoidi Vendono Da Marte (War of the Planets) 1965
4 - Diafanoidi 1:47
5 - Fluttuanda 4:06
6 - Scontro Finale 1:44

I Criminali Dalla Galassia (Wild Wild Planet) 1965
7 - Criminali Della Galassie 2:10
8 - Galaxy Galore 3:16

Il Pianeta Errante (War Between the Planets) 1965
9 - Ce Ancora Un Futuro 1:43

Gorgo (1961)
10 - Main Title 1:49
11 - On the Island/Inner Room 2:08

Inspired by Battle of the Worlds (1961) main title
Moon Gas - Dick Hyman & Mary Mayo (1963)
12 - Stella by Starlight 3:00

The Specialist (Sergio Corbucci's Gli Specialisti 1969)
13 - Main Title


UPDATE 10/21/2007: Here are the (previously expired) tracks from above for your listening pleasure.

Back to Work on the Demon Planet

Returning from the first working day of 2006 I'm not in the mood for shake beat or cinematique funk. I need something atmospheric (you know, something heavy and oppressive) to unwind to. Long one of my all time favorites films, Mario Bava's gothic scifi classic Planet of the Vampires (AKA Demon Planet, AKA Terrore Nello Spazio) has been patiently waiting for its ERRguitar close-up.

Welcome to the fog-shrouded planet Aura where the crew of the Galliot is fighting for its life against an fleeting and unseen enemy. The Yahoo! Movies summary is impressively economical: "A sexy, creepy space thriller featuring a crew of leather-clad astronauts stranded on a malevolent, mist-shrouded planet who find themselves prey to body snatching aliens."Gino Marinuzzi Jr.'s score was recently released by DigitMovies) and perfectly complements Bava's saturated visuals.

The justly celebrated set design and costumes practically scream 'space fever'. I have very fond memories of watching The Demon Planet in the early seventies on J. Brown's Night Owl Theater, a low budget movies-till-dawn program that catered to "the Night People" on UHF channel 36. This was long before 24 hour TV so choices were slim for "the Night People" of this era. How magic to discover (or revisit) Terrore Nello Spazio in the middle of the night.

Everyone will admit to the importance of casting but there's something wonderfully displaced (when it works) about a sole American actor headlining a European production, especially those modest-to-low budget affairs that aren't afraid to be ambitious in their story telling. Maybe it's that small bonus of alienation (dubbing is generally present too) that trips up or distracts from a contrived plot, or maybe it's watching in the dead of night.

Veteran actor Barry Sullivan (he has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for TV) is no nonsense as the captain who takes charge in the chaotic descent and aftermath. His co-star is the shapely former Miss Brazil Norma Bengell who has gone on to a long career in the Brazilian cinema. Sullivan was no stranger to working overseas and was already a seasoned veteran of American TV (he starred in the 1960-62 NBC-TV western The Tall Man (75 half hour episodes) as Sheriff Pat Garrett to Clu Gulager's Billy the Kid, with original music credited to Juan Garcia Esquivel).

There's more to share but it's getting late. Not "Night People" late, but late enough. When we return to the Demon Planet we'll bring along tales of Ib Melchoir and Sidney Pink (and draw some connections to Arch Obler, Gerald Mohr, and Greta Thyssen, among others).

Terrore Nello Spazia does has a neat trick ending, nothing too original or earthshaking (so to speak), just pleasantly appropriate: "It is a young, a primitive world..."

Main titles - 1:14

Astronaut lands on the surface - 0:54

Another macabre discovery/ ship's abandoned bridge - 1:27

The living dead - 1:15

Inside the starship - 1:06

A new victim/Tiona attacked by the living dead - 0:46

"I know they're dead"/empty grave - 1:18

The living dead appears - 1:04

"A young, primitive world..." - 0:38

End titles - 0:53

Files should be available for 7 days.

The Day The Fish Came Out

Happy New Year from Karos!

"Karos - the obscure Greek isle that became an instant international happening... Over the rocky slopes the goatherds wander. On the beaches the Beautiful People swing. Like a psychedelic cloud the Big Beat from transitors - and far more intimate sounds from pleasure-hungry lips - fill the air, while a trembling handful of secret squares from the States go hunting for a box that contains... that contains... Well, let's just call it the living end."

Join me as we indulge in the unexpected opportunity for reflection presented by 2005-2006's leap-second and journey back to the bow shock of the international counterculture in 1967 to savor an cinematic obscurity, The Day The Fish Came Out (Michael Cacoyannis). How do you follow an Oscar-winning international box office hit like Zorba the Greek? How about writing, producing and directing (as well as designing the costumes) a somewhat obvious futuristic satire based on a recent event (a US B-52's accidental H-bombing of Spain AKA the January 1966 Palomares "broken arrow" incident where 4 unarmed H-bombs went on holiday before being retrieved at great expense). Except for its inclusion in the CONELRAD 100 list of Atomic Films The Day The Fish Came Out has been generally regarded as "conspicuously and even offensively campy" (Bosley Crowther, New York Times).

That's too bad. ERRguitar doggedly celebrates this swinging "agit-pop" ("BeyONd THE BEACH") with all its flash and flaws. Zorba composer Mikis Theodorakis' score, playfully alternating between traditonal and electric instrumentation has to be credited with a memorable telegraphic dance theme in "The Jet" (and he's not afraid of some good analog feedback!).

Despite banking on the fleeting satirical potential of the Palomares incident ("Support Our Oops"?) Cacoyannis showed excellent taste in casting a vibrant young Candace Bergen as the sexually-liberated archaeologist Electra Brown ("shall I get my whips?"). While her screen time is limited she does her best to illuminate Cacoyannis' vision of a professional jet set fashionista.

Unfortunately the film remains unexploited for now in any format. The Fox Movie cable channel recently broadcast a respectable print but its otherwise unavailable except in unauthorized VHS and DVD copies. The sole source for the soundtrack remains the reliable Studio 52.

Please enjoy the following tracks that combine bouzouki, trombone and electric organ in a throbbing trance beat worthy of island hopping hedonists of any era.

Let's Dance the Jet: What hooks you is the electric organ playing the bouzouki part!

The Jet Rock: The trombone really drives this slinky version of The Jet.

The Jet: A wrapped up, rolled up version of The Jet.

Sex on the Rocks: Traditional intruments giving way to a recap of the pounding Jet beat.

The Sonic Boom: Crash of analog reverb starts the closing theme as the promise of the title is delivered up.

UPDATE 10/21/2007: I've decided to pick things up again and have these Day The Fish Came Out tracks to share below (via a Box widget). Please enjoy and use sensibly.

La Decima Vittima

In honor of sci-fi writer Robert Sheckley who passed away earlier this month please turn your attention to Piero Piccioni's soundtrack for the most famous film made from one of his stories, The Tenth Victim (La Decima Vittima). Elio Petri's 1965 Italian/French production starred Marcello Mastroiani, Ursula Andress and Elsa Martinelli in a 21st century homicidal battle of the sexes and feature a memorable (and still fresh) 'futuristic jazz' score. I was lucky enough to see THIS FUTURE as a young teenager sequestered in the nuturing darkness of the Scotia Art Theater (where other fine foreign films were screened for the benefit of Schenectadians, young and old alike) and to this day hearing the main theme or Mina's scat vocals in the Spiral Waltz just sends me - across time, to somewhere between THIS YOUTH and a future that still beckons.

I don't know that much about Piero Piccioni (1921-2004) but he was a profilic film composer and I want to know more, much more (his organ playing is captivating). To those in the know he's considered second only to Ennio Morricone and his Smoke Over London (Alberto Sordi's 1966 Fumo Di Londra) is especially recommended.

Another intoxicating theme (The Rendezvous) is introduced in The Trap. It received a fine revival by the incredibly talented Tipsy (Zenith on Trip Tease, The Seductive Sounds of Tipsy - Asphodel, 1996). Tipsy are David Garner & Tim Digulla and they crafted another dark cinephonic gem in Evil Guitar, a reworking of bits and pieces of German composer Peter Thomas' soundtrack recordings for the European cult sci-fi TV series Space Patrol (aka Raumpatrouille, 1965-66). The Peter Thomas Sound Orchester (Neo Astronautic Sound) tribute project yielded Warp Back to Earth - 66/99 (1998 Bungalow Records), a two-CD set of compositions by 17 modern artists with an affinity for retro-futurist sounds together with the 29 archival sound scraps that were the seeds for the reworked tracks.

Quiet Interlude (Take 2) is a sentimental organ-led track whose melody reminded me of some of the memorable Hong Kong films I saw (and listened to) on screen at the Pagoda Palace, World, and Great Star Theatres in the early in '90's while still living in San Francisco. Maybe it's that big Wurlizter sound that wraps it up that suggests movie palaces from the past.

Spiral Waltz - Piero Picconi with Mina

The Trap - Piero Picconi

Quiet Interlude - Piero Picconi

La Decima Vittima - Piero Picconi

Zenith - Tipsy

Evil Guitar - Tipsy

Files are available for 7 days.

Deep Down - Deep, Deep Down

How to kickoff ERRguitar? Go with a neglected classic of course. Ennio Morricone's film score to the 1968 Mario Bava cult classic Danger: Diabolik clearly fits the bill. If you're not familar with this Italian/French pop gem starring John Phillip Law as the criminal mastermind/hero from the popular Italian fumetti (comic book) series, get busy. After years of enduring inferior VHS copies it can a great relief to finally enjoy in a proper presentation in DVD.

Here's the haunting psychedelic theme song Deep Down sung in Italian (the opening title renders it in English).



Deep Down - Ennio Morricone (Parade 5052)

And the theme two more times as Emerald Bikini and The Pyrite Wink.

And finally a swinging number (very Morricone too) Under Wah-Wah (the "wah-wah" referring to a scheme to extract Au from H2O).

UPDATE 10/21/2007: Here are the (expired) tracks from above shared via a Box widget.