| October 27th, 2004 12:17 PM |
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| caro |
I thought this could probably interest some people here. The story line sounds cool...
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Long-Lost Final Film by Ed Wood Rediscovered
2 hours, 38 minutes ago Movies - Reuters
By Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Considered the worst film maker of all time, Ed Wood won a cult following after his death and now fans can see his long-lost last film "Necromania," a work some say shows he was so bad that he was brilliant.
But it's not for the faint-hearted. The 1971 movie is a porn film documenting the sexual enlightenment of a young couple at the hands of a coven of witches.
The much maligned creator of enduring cult classics such as "Bride of the Monster," Wood was himself the subject of Tim Burton's 1994 biopic, the lead role played by Johnny Depp (news).
That film shows the making of Wood's most famous film -- "Plan 9 From Outer Space" from 1956 -- in which actors screw up their lines and "special effects" include pie tins for flying saucers.
"Necromania" -- the last film Wood directed -- was filmed over two or three days with a budget of no more than $7,000 and the only copies went missing soon after it was made. The movie tells the story of Danny and Shirley, a young couple who visit the mysterious Madame Heles for help with their flagging sex life. The lessons they are taught involve skulls, spells and sex in a coffin.
Rudolph Grey, author of a biography of the director, and a fellow Ed Wood enthusiast, movie distributor Alexander Kogan, unearthed "Necromania" in a warehouse in Los Angeles after more than 15 years of detective work.
A year ago they contacted the editors of a pornography Web site called Fleshbot, which this week will start selling the DVD by mail order for $19.99.
"I knew of its existence since about 1982 and it intrigued me because it was supposedly one of the last feature movies that Ed Wood did, so naturally I wanted to see it," said Grey.
At one point Grey and Kogan were frustrated to be told the only person who might know the film's whereabouts was in jail -- as a result of a porn bust in Florida.
They waited until he got out and resumed the search, striking gold in 2001.
PURE GENIUS?
"This is something more than just porn," said Fredrik Carlstrom, executive producer of the DVD featuring two versions of the film, one soft core, the other more explicit.
"This is an old film. It's in the '70s, they're hairy, they don't look the way we are used to now," Carlstrom said.
"It has a story, it has ambition ... It's like all his films, like anything that's so bad it becomes good. Or maybe it's pure genius. That's the appeal of Ed Wood."
Struggling to find backers for more mainstream work, Wood turned to smut in the 1960s, making a string of films and "loops" -- short porn flicks shown in coin-operated booths -- up until his death in 1978.
Grey, author of the biography "Nightmare of Ecstasy," said those who dismiss him as naive and talentless are plain wrong.
"These movies seem to exist in another plain of existence where nobody pays any attention to them whatsoever, and that must have been frustrating to Ed Wood," Grey said.
He says "Necromania" displays Wood's wit and style and he points to a scene where the main character Danny is struggling to untangle a pair of red pajama bottoms to put them on.
"The guy's fumbling for about 15 seconds and he's starting to laugh -- the actor, he can't get the pajama bottoms on and he's laughing," Grey says. "He could have cut that out but Ed Wood left that in intentionally. He was having some fun."
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| October 27th, 2004 12:18 PM |
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| jb |
Thanks Caro!!! |
| October 27th, 2004 12:27 PM |
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| caro |
Hi jb!! It's been a long time. |
| October 27th, 2004 12:35 PM |
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| jb |
quote:
caro wrote:
Hi jb!! It's been a long time.
Indeed...been very busy and with Joey over 1k posts ahead of me, it's hard to compete anymore....You have to give the guy his due...he has "staying" power. |
| October 27th, 2004 03:03 PM |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Well now!
That's something for the ol' Xmas list!
I've only ever seen bits and parts of Necromania. I gotta have this. |
| October 27th, 2004 03:47 PM |
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| kath |
love ed wood. gotta have this!! |
| October 27th, 2004 03:53 PM |
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| jb |
Edward Scissor hands was really way ahead of it's time...Winnona Ryder(Horowitz) was really stunning.... |
| October 27th, 2004 03:54 PM |
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| F505 |
quote:
jb wrote:
Edward Scissor hands was really way ahead of it's time...Winnona Ryder(Horowitz) was really stunning....
 |
| October 27th, 2004 03:57 PM |
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| jb |
jb1690 |
| October 27th, 2004 04:01 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
kath wrote:
love ed wood. gotta have this!!
Been an Ed Wood fan for years (before the movie bio) and love porn!
I never knew he'd made a porn film, though! Christ, I can only imagine what thats like!
And I always understood the 'flying saucers' in Plan 9 from Outer Space were actually hubcaps from '57 Chevrolets, not pie tins!
Police Officer: "Inspector Clay's dead. Murdered. And ONE thing's certain. SOMEBODY is responsible! |
| October 27th, 2004 05:01 PM |
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| kath |
oh,
wait first i have to say that EDWARD SCISSORHANDS HAS NOTHING...I REPEAT NOTHING TO DO WITH ED WOOD......
there. i feel much better. anyway, ed was dabbling in soft core for quite some time, as early as "Jail Bait" and "Sinister Urge" he was doing some mini-porn.
then there was that weird jungle-esque movie he did with that "psychic guy" as narrator. i can't remember the name of that one..it was awful.
i have quite a few ed wood movies, actually. "look back in angora" included. love that title.
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| October 27th, 2004 05:07 PM |
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| Nasty Habits |
Necromania has been available on bootleg for years. It's twisted, but it's hardly the holy grail of bad horror porn. Although truth to tell I don't know what title I would offer in its stead. But I like his "Orgy of the Dead" a lot better.
Ed Wood was actually QUITE the pornographer after he failed to make it in Hollywood straight films. He wrote many a work of mid 60s lesbian and transvestite sex pulp fiction, some of which, mind-bogglingly, are back in print in "prestige" editions. The prose is what one would expect from the man who created the Solaranite Bomb.
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| October 27th, 2004 05:20 PM |
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| kath |
"orgy of the Dead"..yeah, that's the one i was thinking of (or trying to!) thanks! |
| October 27th, 2004 07:02 PM |
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| FPM C10 |
Yeah, "Necro" has been around for awhile. It's painful to watch. Ed is in it, very bloated and drunk. At least I think that's "Necro" I'm thinking of.
I agree with my esteemed colleague - "Orgy of the Dead" is far better, and, although he didn't direct it, more of an Ed Wood movie. (He wrote it and was a "production assistant" - they sent him out for cold cuts for the wrap party, and he came back with several fifths of booze.) And the hero is SO transparently ED - it's great!
"Torture! Torture! It pleasures me!" - Criswell, Orgy of the Dead |
| October 27th, 2004 07:12 PM |
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| kath |
criswell, now THERE was a piece of work..... |
| October 27th, 2004 08:00 PM |
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| not bound to please |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
Well now!
That's something for the ol' Xmas list!
I've only ever seen bits and parts of Necromania. I gotta have this.
SS - I've never bothered unsubscribing from the Campus Theater email list - while deleting it saw this - and thought you and friends may be interested:
Halloween Blood Drive
Saturday October 30th 10am - 2pm
We will be showing Nosferatu continuously during the blood drive.
Give us your blood!
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Don't know if it's a 16mm or 35mm print - but it's great to see up on the big screen...
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| October 27th, 2004 10:00 PM |
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| kath |
nosferatu is actually my third favorite version of dracula. it's pretty good, especially if you are lucky enough to see it in a theater where it is accompanied by organ music...it's fun!! |
| October 28th, 2004 12:05 AM |
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| not bound to please |
quote:
kath wrote:
nosferatu is actually my third favorite version of dracula. it's pretty good, especially if you are lucky enough to see it in a theater where it is accompanied by organ music...it's fun!!
I saw the Carl Theodore Dryer's Vampyre, newly restored, with live organ soundtrack at the Fine Arts Theater years ago. It was amazing.
[Edited by not bound to please] |
| October 28th, 2004 03:36 PM |
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| kath |
i love seeing the silent flicks accompanied by a real organist. they have one here is salem, a beautiful old organ in the elsinore theater and the guy who donated to the theater plays it on silent movies nights.... |
| October 28th, 2004 05:05 PM |
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| not bound to please |
quote:
kath wrote:
i love seeing the silent flicks accompanied by a real organist. they have one here is salem, a beautiful old organ in the elsinore theater and the guy who donated to the theater plays it on silent movies nights....
that is very cool. Do they project at silent speed?
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| October 28th, 2004 05:35 PM |
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| Joey |
quote:
not bound to please wrote:
Do they project at silent speed?
No , not like the way you " UnCake " . |
| October 28th, 2004 06:26 PM |
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| kath |
if you mean does it kinda "flicekr", the answer is no. they used to use a projector and old 35mm films, so that was pretty neat. but now they use discs and disc players. too bad, really. |
| October 28th, 2004 07:46 PM |
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| not bound to please |
quote:
kath wrote:
if you mean does it kinda "flicekr", the answer is no. they used to use a projector and old 35mm films, so that was pretty neat. but now they use discs and disc players. too bad, really.
they project compressed dvds - yet have live piano? Weird.
But better than nothing.
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| October 28th, 2004 08:18 PM |
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| kath |
live organ. one of those huge old theater ones with the pipes that run up into the arch over the stage.
i've been up in that ceiling to see all the chimes and pipes and stuff, since terry used to be technical director there. they've just finished a huge restoration project at the theater. built in 1926, it is the only remaining tudor gothic theater in the country.
incredible place. |
| October 28th, 2004 09:50 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Back to the topic, thanks for the news. |
| October 28th, 2004 11:14 PM |
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| luridchief |
If you like Ed Wood's flicks, then check out my CineTrash epics!
http://lurid.com/wayne/index.html |
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