Les criminels de la galaxie

My sister and I just caught this on AMC, of all channels, and laughed the entire way through it. I'm still not sure on the details of the plot, couldn't keep track of the characters because of the terrible characterization that focused very heavily on one trait and drove it into the ground (angry! drunk! hysterical!, et cetera), but it was extremely laughable. Definitely one for those of you who adore low-budget, nonsensical fare. The dialogue was extremely poor (this may have been a result of translation? The audio/visuals were unsynchronized throughout): there was a lot of emphasis at the wrong time, and there were some really out-there lines which came off as hilarious instead of meaningful or dramatic. Honestly, thinking about it, Wild, Wild Planet is probably no worse than any other sci-fi films/programs of its era, but if you're like me, you watch these kinds of films for a lark.

Like Plan Nine From Outer Space (which is only slightly worse), Wild Wild Planet is an absolute must-see if only for the unintentional laughs and the I-Can't-Believe-This-Got-Released reaction. The "City of the Future" set is so obviously a model that it took me a while to realize they were trying to fool me into thinking it was a city. The star troopers patrol the city in a flying saucer dangling from a string. Instead of "nit-wit", the insult of choice is "helium head." And the scene that actually made me laugh out loud...when the star troopers get to the planet Doofus...er, Delphus, they are given a tour of the facility, which includes a "space conditioning" room. In it, there are these rotating "steam boxes" with men in them, only their heads are visible, and they slowly go around and around like some goofy little carnival ride. I split a gut! And then there's the Proteo Theatre, which features a gay production of Madame Butterfly or something, set to music by the Ventures...oh, yes, friends, this is a hoot. Grab some popcorn and a glass of Saurian Brandy, and drink a toast to the way we thought things were going to be now, back in the 60's.

I really like this one myself but most will find it a little slow-moving. But this cool-looking New Age Sci-Fi is filled most importantly to me with lots of retro 1950s style spaceships and 1960s style futuristic landscapes. The story is a little bit confusing but the film is a fun watch if one likes to enjoy the stuff in the background..model work, colors and such.

Director Antonio Margheriti's Italian sci-fi / mystery would be the first chapter of the Gamma One quadtrilogy. I have already seen the second addition, which was rather dull.

A doctor practicing biomedicine under the protection of a private own employer uses his henchman / women to go about kidnapping perfect specimens of the human race for his experiments of engineering the ideal race. But his methods are inhumanely twisted, and Commander Mike Halstead of Gamma One goes out of his way to stop it when his Lt. is taken.

However "Wild, Wild Planet" is better paced (though still a little long winded), little more expansive in an economical sense and wrapped around an intriguingly hysterical, if vague (mad doctor theme) plot than its successor. It's crazier! Although it couldn't escape its risible dialogues and kitsch effects, by being bounded by it's low-rent, but richly etched set designs. It doesn't hold back on the vibrant colour schemes to mask its one-dimensional layout. There's an overuse of miniatures, break out the toys and dolls (you'll see when). Some (well the majority) are poorly conceived it becomes laughable, especially during some continuity shifts. The performances are decent for such a show-in. Tony Russel builds a presence and Massimo Serato elicits his devious character's obvious intentions. Lisa Gastoni is headstrong, but annoying. Franco Nero and Carlo Giustini do the job. Margheriti really does camp it up, but that's its charm and there's a rather bold moment or two that surprised me. The combat sequences though do feel like they're on a loop and you got to love there blow torches --- ah I mean lasers. The howling score is quite a psychedelic arrangement, but holding and ominous sting.

It isn't too bad entertainment.

In a future world, people are disappearing. A deranged scientist has been creating clones and using his lab to do experiments on kidnapped victims.

After watching The War of the Planets, this obviously has many of the same sets, costumes, and miniatures from filmmaker Antonio Margheriti. It's two of his four Gamma One films. I like this story a little bit more although the filmmaking is stuck in B-movie mode. At least, they made some futuristic cars although switching from the real cars to miniatures is really hilarious. There is so much crazy sci-fi ideas at work. First, there are the Mr. Smith clone mutant vampire killers. It doesn't get much weirder and sillier than the miniaturized victims and the policeman's reaction to finding them. Back to back, these are fascinating looks into a minor filmmaker who is the Roger Corman of Italy.