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#552 – Marching Out of Time (1993)
Marching Out of Time (1993)
Film review #552
Director: Anton Vassil
SYNOPSIS: Fred Johnson is constantly hearing noises from his neighbour’s house, and is determined to find out the cause of them, much to his family’s annoyance. It turns out his neighbour is conducting experiments in teleportation. However, his experiments seem to interfere with a similar Nazi experiment in 1942 to transport troops to England, and instead they emerge in the teleportation device in suburban U.S. Fred and his neighbour must stop the Nazis from returning to 1942 with all the information they have gathered about all the mistakes that cost them the war, and rewriting history to make themselves the victors…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Marching Out of Time (also known by the debatably better title, Back to the Fuehrer) is a 1993 sci-fi comedy film. The film is set in the suburbs of the U.S., where Fred Johnson is becoming obsessed with noises coming from his neighbours house, much to his family’s annoyance. He breaks into his neighbour’s house and discovers Dr. Memo, his neighbour, is working on a teleportation device made from a pair of fridges. Unfortunately, the experiment goes wrong, and interferes with a similar experiment from 1942, which involved attempting to transport Nazi troops from France to England. The result being that the Nazis, led by von Konst, arrive not in England, but in Dr. Memo’s basement in the 1993 U.S. learning about this, they change their mission, and gather historical information about all the mistakes the Nazis made that cost them the war, and aim to return to 1942 with that information to ensure that they are not made again, ultimately winning the war. The stakes are raised and Frank, Dr. Memo, and a low-level cop must fight to prevent the Nazis changing the course of history. The film is a comedy film so everything is all a bit slapstick and silly. It definitely feels like Back to the Future, but instead of Biff Tannen trying to change history, it’s Nazis. The story is fairly linear and doesn’t really build up to anything, so it’s just an excuse for a bunch of silly scenarios and slapstick violence. There is one scene in the middle of the film in which the serious repercussions of the films events are highlighted, but that’s the only one. There’s other typical scenes like the Nazis “disguising” themselves in tie dye shirts and exploring the local area to “blend in,” but that doesn’t really go anywhere, or provide any funny situations. There’s not much laugh-out-loud comedic moments, I think it’s humour is more situated in the whole ridiculous scenario, and Fred being the last person on earth who should be stopping a Nazi invasion. Also, I guess this is technically a Christmas movie, as Fred is supposed to be going away with his family for the holidays, but stays behind to deal with his neighbour. However, this is the only real reference to Christmas in the film.
In terms of the characters, Fred Johnson is a typical suburban Dad, and a typical comedic lead: one which you’ll feel like you’ve seen in a movie before (but definitely haven’t, because the actor didn’t appear in any films before or after this). His family are tormented by his nosiness and whining, and you do wonder why they put up with him. Dr. Memo is the typical “mad scientist,” and von Konst is portrayed like every nearly every Nazi officer you’ve seen on film before. the acting isn’t bad at all, and the stereotypical characters have a familiarity to them that allows viewers to focus more on the comedic aspect of the film, rather than the characters.
The film, perhaps surprisingly, is made fairly well: it has the look and feel of a low budget film, but actually probably wasn’t: the locations are fairly detailed and full of props and things, and the camerawork is pretty good. There’s even a few stunts and explosions that, while not overly impressive, would still have taken effort to set up. It’s clear the film wants to situate itself in that low-budget parody genre of films, but it has a bit of budget and expertise to make it properly, without making it seem like the film is trying too hard to be a bad film. Marching Out of Time is mostly forgettable, but is made fairly well, and maintains its energy throughout, while exploring the premise of the film well enough. It definitely feels like a film of its time, riffing on Back to The Future a little, with it’s typical characters that are familiar enough so as to not need to dedicate a large amount of time to introducing and developing them. Predictable, but silly and fun enough to not be a waste of time.
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#551 – Three Supermen in Santo Domingo (1986)
Three Supermen in Santo Domingo (1986)
Film review #551
Director: Italo Martinenghi
SYNOPSIS: FBI agent Brad Scott is once again required to team up with the international thieves known as “The Supermen,” this time they travel to Santo Domingo in South America to disrupt a money counterfeiting operation by some local crime gangs.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Three Supermen in Santo Domingo is a 1986 film and the final instalment in the Three Supermen series of films. The plot is fairly typical and familiar to those who have watched any of the other films: an FBI agent has to team up with the international thieves known as “The Supermen,” this time travelling to Santo Domingo to stop a counterfeiting operation run by a local gang. There’s no time travelling or outlandish elements in this film; it’s just a simple crimefighting, slapstick bit of fun, although obviously the supermen still have their bulletproof suits, that villains never quite work out that they could just shoot them in their uncovered heads. There’s a variety of action scenes (which consist of a fair amount of speeding up and reversing footage instead of actual stunts), and setups involving disguises, and elaborate plans, but nothing too exciting.
As always, the film revolves around the three supermen, and once again, they are played by different actors; all with the exception of one, Sal Borgese, who has been playing the mute superman since the second film (in the ones which you could consider “canon” anyway). The names of the characters also change quite a lot, and this time it seems like they’ve just resorted to calling Sal’s character Sal. The other two actors change every film, and this time the change is quite apparent, as they are obviously a lot younger than Sal. One of them is Stefano Martinenghi, who is the son of the director, and clearly only got the role because of this: he doesn’t really fit the role of the charming, cheeky lead. The actor playing the role of FBI agent Brad Scott also doesn’t really work because he seems way too young, and typically the role goes to someone who is older and more straight-laced, to balance with the supermen’s goofiness. There are glimmers of that personality, but not much. The rest of the cast aren’t really worth mentioning, as the villains don’t really stand out, and the supporting cast barely exist on screen.
It’s perhaps worth mentioning at this point that this film series has been going on for nearly twenty years at the time this film was made; and there is no reason for it to have done so. The original was a cheap b-movie that spoofed sci-fi and spy films that were popular in 1967, but had a somewhat interesting twist by having professional acrobats play the lead roles, which led to some fun action scenes and well-choregraphed fights. The first film, while nothing more than a typical b-movie, did everything it really needed to, but for some reason it became a series that went on to satirise other types of films, such as Westerns, cold war plots, martial arts films, and even got a Turkish rip-off version…which further still, somewhat fused with the Turkish rip-off scene when production of the films moved to Turkey. The whole production of this series is all over the place, but I suppose credit should be given to the films somewhat adapting to changing to cultural trends. Three Supermen in Santo Domingo doesn’t really offer anything special in this regard though, and while it keeps things simple, it definitely feels like a format that is well past its sell-by date in 1986, and since this is the final film in the series, the makers probably knew this too. Definitely deserves credit for going for twenty years, but its last hurrah is uneventful.
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#550 – Three Supermen at the Olympic Games (1984)
Three Supermen at the Olympic Games (1984)
Film review #549
Director: Yavuz Yalinkiliç
SYNOPSIS: The Three Supermen travel back in time to ancient Greece, where they get roped into the service of the Greek Goddess Artemis, who is fighting off some Romans of some sort.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Three Supermen at the Olympic Games is a 1984 film, and yet another film in the Three Supermen series of films. This time, The Three Supermen are sent back in time to ancient Greece, where they meet the Greek goddess Artemis, and are dragged into her service in her conflict with what I think are supposed to be ancient Romans. The story in this film is even less coherent than the others: while time travel is not an unfamiliar concept in this film series, Greek gods is certainly a new one, and I’m not really sure what the purpose of the time travel was, or the source of the conflict between the Greeks and probable-Romans. I was only able to watch the film with partial English subtitles, but I doubt a full translation would have helped: the film is a mish-mash of scenes and flaky ideas that feels like a bunch of unrelated footage stitched together. Also, the film also shoves in parts of the Three Supermen and Mad Girl film at two points; as in it just cuts in parts of that film without warning or reason. On the positive side, at least we get to see one of the worst robot designs ever on screen once again. I think the film was made to coincide with the 1984 Olympics and the hype that surrounded it, but there’s no real relation to the Olympics despite the travelling to ancient Greece. I think the Supermen throw a javelin and a shot-putt once, and there’s stock footage of horse racing at the beginning and end of the film: is that supposed to be the Olympics? I’m not sure horse racing has ever been a part it.
This film is not actually a part of the Three Supermen “canon,” with none of the usual cast or production staff returning: it’s a Turkish knock-off film, but given that the film series moved to Turkey in the previous film to appeal to a different audience, it is a bit confusing. The Supermen consist of one of them being mute, so I guess that is one bit of consistency. The supermen are not the usual international thieves his time though, and seem to be actual supermen, as at least one of them is seen flying through the air like the real superman. They also (in the Three Supermen and Mad Girl footage) have the superman logo emblazoned on their uniform. Oh, and if that isn’t enough copyright infringement, the fighting scenes are constantly accompanied by the John Williams Superman theme, which makes the fights more interesting only because that theme can make anything more interesting. A lot of the disjointed scenes are stitched together by close ups of the characters standing in front of a white background, which are clearly filmed after the other scenes, and are meant to stitch this mess together, but it is so clear what the purpose of these scenes are that they only serve to further highlight the ad-hoc constitution of this film.
Three Supermen at the Olympic Games is even more of a mess than the usual Three Superman films: the very thin main plot is surrounded by a bunch of unrelated scenes and nonsense which don’t add anything, and only serve to extend the runtime. The characters are almost completely different, and the whole thing is just a general mess without direction or ideas.
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#549 – Three Supermen Against the Godfather (1979)
Three Supermen Against the Godfather (1979)
Film review #549
Director: Italo Martinenghi
SYNOPSIS: A scientist has invented a time machine, and uses it to travel back in time in Turkey to the fall of Constantinople, to learn the location of the treasure hidden before the city was sacked. The two thieves known as the supermen learn of this, and decide to try and take the time machine for themselves. But they’re not the only ones interested in it, as an Italian mafia boss, foreign powers, and once again, FBI agent Brad is sent to work with the supermen (against his will) to secure the time machine and protect the inventor…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Three Superman Against the Godfather (released as Süpermenler in Turkey) is a 1979 film and another instalment of the Three Supermen series of films. This time, the supermen are after a time machine invented by a scientist (not the same one who invented a similar time machine in Three Supermen in the West, of which there is no mention), with the aim of going back to the fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth century, to find out where the royal treasure was buried before it was lost. The two international thieves known as the supermen learn about the machine and decide they want to steal it for themselves, but an Italian mafia boss and some foreign powers are also after the device and the professor; and as always, FBI agent Brad (or whatever his name is this time) is sent by the U.S. to secure the professor and the machine himself, and is ordered to cooperate with the supermen, which he is reluctant to do because of the constant shenanigans he gets caught up in whenever he meets them. The film feels like a return to the classic formula of the films; after the Hong Kong co-production Supermen Against the Orient, which was more of a typical martial arts film that substituted the classic acrobatics with said martial arts, and also messed up what little continuity the series had. While it is a return, it should also be noted that this “original formula” was itself all over the place: some films were science-fiction based others were parodies of spy films, westerns, and so on. With this one, it’s obviously riffing on The Godfather and mafia films, and the sci-fi element of time travel doesn’t really factor into the film at all: they only travel once in the beginning to demonstrate that it works.
As always with the Three Supermen films, the main actors have a bit of a shake up, with only Sal Borgese as the mute superman keeping his role as he has through most of these films. To make things even more confusing this time, Aldo Canti, who played one of the supermen in the first film, returns to the series, but he is instead playing the role of the FBI agent this time, with the other role going to prolific Turkish actor Cüneyt Arkın. The choice of actors doesn’t really make too much of a difference, as their characters aren’t too developed in any particular way, but it’s just interesting to follow this revolving door of casting. The reason for Arkin’s casting is because the film’s production has moved from Italy to Turkey, and I guess his casting would have some appeal to the local market.
The reason for the move from Italy to Turkey is fairly interesting: Italian media became more focused on television, and moved away from cinema in the mid-late 70′s. As such, there was an exodus of sorts of Italian filmmakers to Turkey, where their type of cinema was still more popular. Nevertheless, it would seem this film was hardly released to any cinemas at all, and is probably the most difficult to get a hold of in the franchise. While the film does have the usual slapstick moments, scantily-clad women, and some stunts, we don’t get the typical acrobatics we usually do, probably because the newer cast aren’t actually acrobats, and the older cast probably can’t pull the feats off anymore (remember that this franchise would have been twelve years old in 1979). Overall, Three Supermen Against The Godfather is, for better, or worse, a return to the typical Three Supermen formula that is full of a heap of different ideas and directions that don’t really cohere, but it’s still just a bit of silly fun.
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#548 – Bruce Lee Against Superman (1975)
Bruce Lee Against Superman (1975)
Film review #548
Director: Wu Chia-Chun
SYNOPSIS: A scientist, Dr. Ting, has invented a formula that can produce food out of petroleum, thereby potentially solving world hunger. A foreign country has their eye on the formula though, and hire a crime boss to kidnap Dr. Ting and secure the formula for themselves. There plans are being thwarted however, by the superhero The Green hornet, and in response, the villains hire the martial artist Superman to deal with him…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Bruce Lee Against Superman (Also called Superdragon vs. Superman) is a 1975 martial arts film. The story is a fairly standard one, with a scientist called Dr. Ting inventing a formula that will apparently solve world hunger by making edible food out of petroleum (although I’m not sure using more fossil fuels will really solve the world’s problems). Anyway, Dr. Ting’s inventions have drawn the attention of a foreign country, who wants the formula for their own nefarious purposes. For this reason, they hire a crime boss and his goons to kidnap Dr. Ting and force him to hand over the formula. It’s all very typical for a martial arts film that came out around this time, as the popularity of the genre exploded, and companies were eager to crank as many of these films out as possible to capitalise on that popularity. But here’s where things go beyond that “standard”: The villains are stopped by none other than the Green Hornet (yes, the superhero) and his sidekick Kato, who after the opening scene, are instead dressed up in the red and black jumpsuits used by the Three Supermen in the film series of the same name (albeit with a hornet on the front). With the villains frustrated, they turn to hire Superman (no, not that superhero), a highly skilled martial artist, to defeat the Green Hornet, who barely appears in the film. The whole experience feels like it is a bunch of Western characters and names put in a blender with some martial arts action stringing them together.
To be fair, there is some justification to most of these things, but the sheer complexity of it all for a simple martial arts film is enough to make your head spin. Bruce Lee starred as Kaito in the 60′s Green Hornet TV series, which was edited into a feature-length movie, which explains why the Green hornet shows up. The “Bruce Lee” in Bruce Lee Against Superman is actually Bruce Li, a lookalike for the actual Bruce Lee who starred in a number of knockoff films due cash in on the popularity of the real deal. The red and black jumpsuits that Kato and the supposed Green Hornet wear occasionally are clearly, as mentioned, the suits worn by the main characters in the Three Supermen films, with the picture of a hornet on the front. These were probably left over from one of the Three Supermen films that had been released before which were produced as an Italian/Hong Kong co-production. The Superman thing…I have no justification for. he doesn’t even look like Superman: he’s just a martial artist with a black and white cape and some goons wearing masks.
The martials arts and action is underwhelming for the most part: the choreography in the fight scenes is fine, but bad camera angles and being unable to frame a shot makes watching them difficult. The car chase has the cars going really slow, as clearly no one knew how to do them properly. There’s also a bizarre scene halfway through the film where a guy is chased through street after street for about five minutes, resulting in the anti-climax of the hero just jumping on him from above when they reach an abandoned building. The film is a wild ride in terms of how mixed up and janky it is, and for that reason it might be worth a watch; just don’t expect anything amazing or serious.