Accion Mutante
D: Alex de la Iglesias; with Antonio Resines, Alex Angulo, Frederique Feder,
Juan Viadas, Karra Elejalde, Saturnino Garcia.
Luminous Film and Video Works.
Produced by art-house fave Pedro Almodovar, the passionately off-beat
Accion Mutante marks the debut of Spanish director Alex de la Iglesias,
whose style clearly follows in the maniacal tradition of John Waters, Peter
Jackson, and (early) Sam Raimi. An action/comedy/sci-fi/horror epic with all
the stops pulled out, de la Iglesias’ film is set in an unspecified but
presumably distant future, and chronicles the exploits of “Mutant Action” – a
renegade terrorist faction made up of a motley crew of “physically challenged”
misfits dedicated to waging war on the so-called “normal” human population. Led
by the hideously scarred Ramon, this crack team of handicapped soldiers sets
about on its most ambitious mission yet, namely kidnapping and ransoming off
the virginal daughter of a rich business tycoon. While this plan more or less
goes off without a hitch, things get (literally) sticky for our heroes when
Ramon begins gruesomely murdering his comrades one by one, in hopes of keeping
the ransom money all to himself. This mayhem eventually leads to a climax that
sees Ramon in a violent firefight with a virtual army of police, one half of a
Siamese twin out for revenge (his brother, still joined at the shoulder, is
dead), the hostage who is falling in love with him, her well-to-do father
turned suicidal lunatic, and a bunch of bullet-riddled corpses rising up for an
impromptu musical number. An outrageous bit of nonsense directed with style and
gusto by newcomer de la Iglesias, Accion Mutante effectively
re-interprets genre clich�s in an affectionately crazed manner and more
than delivers the goods for those foreign film fans looking for a fun,
hilarious walk on the wild side. Despite the overall quality of the film
coupled with Almodovar’s international appeal and generally great production
values, it has yet to nab an offical U.S. distributor, making this
pan-and-scanned release from Luminous (the damage of the compromised 2.35:1
compositions is noticeable), for the moment, the only game in town. (Available
at I Love Video’s Airport location.) -Joey
O’Bryan THE MARIO BAVA COLLECTION
D: Mario Bava; with Elke Sommer, Telly Savalas, Joseph Cotton.
Elite Entertainment
Elite Entertainment, the enthusiastic new company that recently blessed
us with their wonderful, eye-opening laserdisc set of The Night of the
Living Dead, serves this exquisite double-feature platter, consisting of
two films from legendary director Mario Bava. Placed together, the pictures
Baron Blood and Lisa and the Devil, neatly manage to express
Bava’s dual approaches to filmmaking – the former displaying the inventive
showman who manages to breathe life into what might have been tired genre
“product” in lesser hands, the latter offering a portrait of a visionary,
taboo-breaking artist in the mold of Roman Polanski or Alfred Hitchcock. Both
movies are dripping with visual style and moody atmosphere, and while Baron
Blood provides a number of chilling sequences and makes for great spooky
fun, Lisa and the Devil is a far more memorable picture, filled with the
kind of startling, ironic images and subversive spirit that mark the best of
Bava’s films. Beyond their obvious importance to serious aficionados of the
horror genre, these discs also represent an important first step toward the
highly underrated Bava getting a bit of the respect he so richly deserves. In
keeping with the standards of excellence set with past releases, Elite doesn’t
stumble in presentation. Both films exist (for the first time domestically) in
their uncut versions and look considerably better than they ever have before,
with Bava’s trademark use of color a particular joy to witness with such
clarity. Nicely letterboxed at an appropriate 1.85:1 ratio, with the addition
of theatrical trailers and, in the case of Lisa and the Devil, a
collection of deleted footage, there really isn’t much here to complain about.
One small thing, however, is the virtual ignoring of the troubled history of
Lisa and the Devil, which suffered from enough severe post-production
tampering to render one of Bava’s most fascinating movies a laughable,
incomprehensible mess. A supplemental section detailing the changes forced upon
Lisa and the Devil would have not only made for some resonant background
information, but would have helped to foster an understanding as to why this
marvelous film wound up as one of Bava’s most obscure works. Nevertheless, this
thoughtfully affordable set (only $60) is an unquestionably worthy addition to
any laserphile’s collection, as well as being (dare I say it) one of the most
important releases of this year. -Joey
O’Bryan JOHNNY SUEDE
D: Tom DiCillo; with Brad Pitt, Catherine Keener, Alison Moir, Tina Louise,
Nick Cave, Samuel L. Jackson.
Miramax Films
DiCillo’s new film, Living in Oblivion (opening at the Dobie
Theatre on August 25), is the buzz of the indie film world, so moviegoers who
like to do their homework should check out the director’s earlier effort with
Brad Pitt as the indescribable Johnny Suede. Sporting a heavily
lacquered pompadour with the aerodynamics of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Suede’s
visual appeal is almost reason enough to rent this film. Johnny Suede is a
loner in search of a soulmate; a singer in search of a band; a fashion victim
in search of style, and incidents both strange and sometimes inexplicable occur
during his quest. The film can be quite funny; one-liners are thrown out with
abandon, and the characters are all winningly eccentric. While the story itself
leaves a little to be desired (think of an overextended TV episode of Twin
Peaks), the characters truly make the film worth watching. Appearances by
Nick Cave, Tina Louise, and Samuel L. Jackson are scattered throughout the film
like jewels. The film’s narrative develops around the relationship between
Johnny and Yvonne (Keener), a woman who works as a kind of social worker,
struggling to find a place in her life for a man with huge hair. Their
love/hate courtship provides some of the more entertaining scenes, and the
situation in which they meet is symbolic of the misunderstandings that
characterize their relationship. Pitt makes a terrific Johnny, playing the role
with tongue-in-cheek bravado, and Keener (who also appears in Living in
Oblivion) is smart, funny, and on target as Yvonne. Although Johnny
Suede lacks a consistently strong narrative, it is well worth watching for
its other elements: the characters, the deadpan dialogue, and the
Fifties-inspired sets and music. In addition, Pitt eschews a stunt double and
does his own singing, which is an event in itself. And did I mention his hair? – Alison Macor
This article appears in August 18 • 1995 and August 18 • 1995 (Cover).