John Carpenter directs Kurt Russell, Season Hubley and Shelley Winters in this biopic of Elvis Presley’s life.

John Carpenter’s name promises lean, intense and ominous adventures. So this project is a real curveball. Expansive, laidback and ominous anecdotes from the life of The King. That’s right… still ominous… Carpenter the director can’t shake his horror roots and there’s frequent scenes where characters bid farewell, or drive fast, or get into a scuffle where you expect violent tragedy to strike. I watched one impromptu car chase full of dread, thinking “I don’t remember Elvis losing a limb in a pile-up!” This is down to Carpenter’s house style, he accidentally falls back into the visual mode of suspense even when it’s wholly inappropriate. That’s not to say his mastery doesn’t imbue other mundane or stock moments with a rock ‘n’ roll energy or visual elan. He exceeds the TV movie origins of the production with his talent. But in the main you watch this for Russell. His impersonation of Presley is keen, even when the lip syncing flubs. He has a sweet chemistry with Season Hubley, his Priscilla. Where is Season Hubley now? If you can’t be bothered reading a doorstop biography of Elvis then this gives you the whitewashed highlights, with a few hints at acceptable controversy. A fun, if uncomplicated, afternoon killer.

6

Fred M. Wilcox directs Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen in this space opera about a crew who land on a planet with no inhabitants except a shipwrecked scientist, his foxy daughter, a haughty robot and strange, deadly projections.

I enjoyed Forbidden Planet far more as a kid than I do as an adult. It is just too talky. We move repetitively onto different sets to endure another 10 minutes of exposition that could be covered in five minutes of action. Ignore the talk, enjoy the pleasures. The Eastmancolor vision of the galaxy has its retro charms, Anne Francis looks delectable as the young lady fuelling her father’s id monsters and  there’s a perverse pleasure in watching Leslie Nielsen play it straight.

7

 

My Top 10 Space Operas

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
2. Planet of the Apes (1968)
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)
4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
5. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
7. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
8. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (1980)

9. The Fifth Element (1996)
10. Flash Gordon (1980)