A diversion from music
I’ve been on a mission lately to find a movie that I have a memory of watching while I was a kid in the 70s. I could swear it was Journey to the Center of the Earth but to my dismay, when I watched it last night, it was not the movie that I remembered so fondly. So I went on a quest today to my co-workers to see if they knew (Dan, you were going to be back up b/c you have that friend who knows all things movies and music — you can still quiz him though.) Here’s my memory: “There was this vehicle that had a drill-shaped thingy at the front. It carried an expedition (a group of people) down thru the middle of the earth where they found a lost civilization that included dinosaurs.” You would think “journey to the center of the earth”, right? However, I was told after 5 minutes of deliberation, it could be “The Land that Time Forgot”. I’m going to rent it from Netflix ASAP.
Here’s some other very memorable childhood movies — do any of these ring a bell? What are yours?
1. Logan’s Run
2. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger – the one with the skeletons that attack
3 The Bermuda Depths (made for TV movie on ABC that even Scarecrow doesn’t have a copy of)
8. Barbarella (well this is more a current sci-fi fave rather than a childhood as it’s not fit for a child!)
9. And my MOST favorite of them all: Flash Gordon Oh it’s so good and a must see for everyone who loves trashy sci fi. It’s the movie with the Queen Soundtrack.
That’s all I can think of now!
Breaking News: (1 hour later) — ok I think I REALLY found the movie that my description matches — it’s “At the Earth’s Core” — sounds horrible but now I have to check it out for sure.
Popularity: 4%
I got one of my childhood faves on boxing day… 50th Anniversary Edition of Forbidden Planet. These movies are pure movie magic and after all these years still hold their charm. Would like to get my hands on the ‘64 version of The First Men In the Moon ($6 from DDD) and They Came to Rob Las Vegas, sadly another classic that is yet to make it to DVD in the UK and US.
I’ve got 4 words for y’all. LAND OF THE LOST. Not a movie, but a wonderous experience all the same. And because I was such a complete Syd & Marty Krofft ho as a kid, I’ll also leave you with ELECTRAWOMAN AND DYNAGIRL, SHAZAM!, AND THE BUGALOOS (they’re in the air and everywhere…)
Feature-length films should be made from all these shows. Immediately.
You know, I should have mentioned I spent my christmas vacation watching a non stop marathon of the old Battle Star Galactica. I loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t mind checking out Buck Rogers again too — you know the one with Twiggy?? and oh my god, I forgot my most favorite sci fi flick of them all. Flash Gordon. I’ll have to edit my post to add it in.
It was “Twiki” acutally. Yes, I remember. Beedie, beedie, beedie.
Oh yeah! I didn’t take the time to confirm :)! Loved it tho.
Logan’s Run freaked me out. I was 7 or so, and I remember watching the dead souls rising above that… “whatever” platform. For a kid with a wild imagination, it was enough to keep me going for a couple months.
Land of the Lost: I remember bits and pieces from it, most notably how they siphoned water from a higher area to a lower area with a hose in one episode. Hmmm.
I own Logan’s Run. It Rules. There is also a remake in development currently. I’m sure it might not suck much at all…
Also, at the Marsbar tonight, there was a spontaneous Queen/ Theme from Flash Gordon sing-a-long that broke out…
“He’s for everyone of us/
stands for everyone of us/
he saved every man, every woman,/
every child in the land/
he’s Flash…”
“Forget it, Ming, Dale’s with me…”
I could go on, but I shouldn’t…
xoxo,
J
Forgot to mention… “Omega Man,” which is a remake of the Vincent Price film “The Last Man on Earth,” is also being remade… starring the Fresh Prince, under the name of the original novel (by Richard Matheson),l “I Am Legend.”
It also probably might not suck.
Oh, and Flash Gordon is being resurrected as a series on the Sci-Fi channel.
Which really only goes to support my theory that there have only been 10 to 20 original ideas in literary (and by some extension, filmic) history, which are repeated over and over, and some how lose all of there power and clarity like an old school xerox copied and recopied.
Was it Kierkegaard or James Hetfield who said, “sad, but true”?
Oh my god, there was a flash gordon theme song sing along? (try saying that 3 times fast!). That is so cool! I was at a friends house and he’s a DJ — he had the soundtrack (original album) and I played it and everyone thought I was nuts! And it’s going to be a series? — that’s even more reason to have cable!