tobyradloff

I saw "Up Tight" yesterday (3/25/08) at the Cleveland Cinematheque. It is an interesting, but violent, story about a person who "snitched" on a criminal. The 1968-vintage scenes from Cleveland, ranging from downtown to the steel mills to a post-riot Hough, as well as other east side inner city scenes, is both historic and breathtaking. As a lifelong Clevelander, I enjoyed comparing the 1968-vintage east side scenes to what they look like today, especially the scene at East 55th and Woodland, which is desolate today compared to how it looked in 1968-the Cleveland Trust bank building is now a vacant lot, the Shell station is currently on its third rebuilding, the Sohio station now the site of a post office, the "Saveway" gas station...which advertised 28.9 cent gas!!!...now the site of a fish and chicken restaurant-that was once a Burger King...so many changes over 40 years. Seeing "Tank" going out on the town, buying everyone rounds at the bar with the stolen money, then staggering drunk all over Cleveland broke, makes this film a must-see. I also liked the scene where guns were stolen from a warehouse, with the old-geezer security guard chasing them, then falling. I also liked the scenes, as well as the old pinball machines and shoot-em-up games, at that arcade in the film, which, I believe, was once at East 105th and Euclid. A lot of easily recognizable locations if you are a lifelong Clevelander, or have once lived in the area around the time this film was shot. Sadly, this film was rarely seen since its December, 1968 theatrical release...I would love to see Paramount release this piece of Cleveland cinematic history to DVD someday. I highly recommend it.

After seeing "A Dirty Shame" twice, I was awed at how far John Waters has pushed the envelope with his trademark trashy fun. Also, whenever I hear the Ray Anthony classic "The Hokey Pokey" any more, I now think of what Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) did...not to give the story away, but it involved a water bottle. That scene has to be up there with Divine's eating doggie-doo-doo in "Pink Flamingos". "A Dirty Shame" will be a classic, in the same league as Waters' pre-"Hairspray" films. Still, the concept of getting horny just by banging your head is weird, to say the least. Especially as the movie goes on, more and more people are realizing that "fact". I would highly recommend "A Dirty Shame". Can't wait for the DVD to come out.