Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes cartoon, the 1943 Bob Clampett directed, Falling Hare :
In the early 1940s Walt Disney was developing a feature film based on Roald Dahl's book Gremlin Lore, and asked the other studios to refrain from producing gremlin films. While most of the studios complied, Warner Bros. already had two cartoons too far into production - this cartoon and Russian Rhapsody (1944). As a compromise, Leon Schlesinger re-titled the cartoons to remove any reference to gremlins. The original title was Bugs Bunny and the Gremlin.
We here at The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour will celebrate any holiday at the drop of a hat; we will break out the hats and hooters over Geek Pride Day. As I'm sure you are aware, Geek Pride Day, started in 2005 by a Spanish Blogger, German Martinez known online as Senor Buebo, celebrates of all things geek - sci-fi, fantasy, board games, video games, comic books, cosplay, anime, steampunk, and zombies, and much more. The holiday coincides with the anniversary of the day the first Star Wars movie was released on this date, in 1977, as well as Towel Day, in honor of Douglas Adams classic novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Now that Disney controls the Star Wars franchise, (talk about the Evil Empire,) there's no way we are going to show Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope today but we can discuss some the things that influenced George Lucas on his way to creating the classic film. Two of the many films that have been sited as influences are Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film, The Hidden Fortess and the Saturday serial movie, Flash Gordon. Today The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching both films - first up, The Hidden Fortress. So get comfortable (you're going to be here awhile,) find a comfy seat and join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching our first feature.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope features the exploits of C-3PO and R2-D2. The plot of The Hidden Fortress is told from the point of view of two bickering peasants, Tahei and Matashichi. The two peasants are first shown escaping a battle, while C-3PO and R2-D2 are first shown fleeing an attack in Star Wars. Additionally, both films feature a battle-tested General - Rokurota Makabe in The Hidden Fortress and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, who assist a rebellion led by a princess and engage in a duel with a former rival whom they fought years earlier. Lucas also features many horizontal wipe scene transitions in Star Wars, a technique used thoroughly by Kurosawa in his films. Similarly, the Princess trades places with a slave girl in The Hidden Fortress, with the slave girl acting as a decoy for the real Princess.
I'm guess we could all use a break, right about know. So you can run into the kitchen and get a beverage refill or run into the bathroom and replenish the eco-system, while we watch another Gremlin-related Looney Tunes short, the 1944 Bob Clampett directed, Russian Rhapsody:
Many of the gremlins are caricatures of Warner Brothers cartoon studios staff, including Leon Schlesinger, Mel Blanc, Michael Maltese, Friz Freleng. Chuck Jones, and even Robert Clampett himself. The original title was going to be Gremlins From the Kremlin.
Welcome back to The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour and as you remember we're celebrating Geek Pride Day by watching some of the films that influenced George Lucas and Star Wars. Next up we're going to watch the 1940 serial film, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. The film was originally show in theaters in 12 separate weekly "chapters". We have found it in one conveniently packaged more than 3 hour feature (do not feel obligated to watch it all in one seating, unless you have nothing else to do - Oh wait, you're celebrating Geek Pride Day.) So sit back, relax and enjoy our second feature.
The character Flash Gordon (created in 1934), inspired many elements of Star Wars, mostly from it's 1936 Universal serial Flash Gordon, the original property which George Lucas had sought to license before making the first Star Wars film and its sequel, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. The basic plot involving the infiltration of a megalomaniacal outer-space Emperor's fortress by two heroes disguised in uniforms of soldiers of his army is drawn from Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo filling the roles of Flash Gordon and Prince Barin, respectively, and Ming the Merciless/ the Emperor. The Emperor's deadly, hostile planet (the Death Star/Mongo), a sometimes scantily-clad brunette space Princess whom the hero defends (Princess Leia/Princess Aura), a big, strong, hairy, animal-like ally (Chewbacca/Prince Thun of the Lion Men), a fearsome monster found underground and/or fought in an arena by the hero (the Rancor/the Gocko or Orangopoid), a city in the sky ruled by someone who originally works with the villains but later joins the heroes (Lando/ Calrissian of Cloud City), ray-guns, and dogfighting spaceships were all elements retained from the first Universal Flash Gordon serial. The opening text crawl of Star Wars is in the same style as the text openings of each chapter of the Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe series.
Demand Euphoria!
No comments:
Post a Comment