The Naked Truth About Naughty Nina

"Those sheep shit on my pack."

"What are you worried about Debbie Klein for, anyway?
There are gonna be plenty of girls on this trip."
"Yeah, we're off to a great start."

"She means in the cinema... that film with John Wayne."
"Right! With Laurence Harvey. Everybody dies in it. Very bloody."
"Bloody awful, if you ask me!"

"YOU... made me miss.
I've never missed that board before."

"There's no food 'ere!"

"Beware the moon, lads."

"Where to now, Kessler? Duck's Breath?"

"That was a weird fuckin' place!"
"It was man. But, boy, they could play darts."

"Heathcliff didn't howl!"
"No, but he was on the moors."

"It's a cold and-a wet outta here!"

"It's a full moon. Beware the moon..."
"And, stick to the road. Oops."

"These dumbass kids.
They never appreciate anything you do for them!"

"Shall I be forced to feed you, David?"

"Life mocks me, even in death."

"Have you tried talking to a corpse? It's boring!"

"The wolf's bloodline must be severed.
The last remaining werewolf must be destroyed.
It's you, David."

"I'm a... werewolf."

"I will not be threatened by a walking meatloaf!"

"Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum... I smell the blood of an Englishman."

"I didn't mean to call you meatloaf, Jack."

"I can assure you this is not the least bit amusing."

"Yes, love?"
"A naked American man stole my balloons."
"What?"

"Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a faggot!
Winston Churchill was full of shit! Shakespeare's French!
Fuck! Shit! Cunt! Shit!"

"What you doin' 'ere?!
You promised never to do this kind of thing again!"
"I never promised you any such thing!"
"Not you, you twit. Her!"
"I've never met you before in my life!"
"Oh. Sorry."

"Good movie."
"Mm-hmm."

If you haven't figured it out by now, these are a few of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite films, John Landis' masterpiece...



The "Full Moon Edition" 2-disc DVD released last week and being the "AmWolf" nut that I am, I triple-dipped. Obviously, this release was designed to coordinate with Universal's remake of THE WOLFMAN (also featuring make-up effects by Rick Baker) which was supposed to release mid-October of this year, but has been pushed to February, 2010. At any rate, this edition succeeds Universal's previous "Collector's Edition" and cancels it out as it features all of the supplemental material from that disc, plus a new Rick Baker featurette and an all-new documentary...



This 100 minute retrospective exceeded my expectations, beautifully. Unlike an American-based retrospective that might only secure stateside talents like Landis, Baker, David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, this one's made by a Brit (John Davis) who has access to a great degree of the additional cast (i.e. Jenny Agutter, John Woodvine, David Schofield, et cetera), crew and, above all, the locations. (To see Davis walking down the same country roads, shot from the exact angles used for the film, really is a marvel.)

About the only two living actors missing from the documentary are Rik Mayall and Frank Oz. Nearly all other bases are covered. Amazing stuff and it's always a joy to hear Landis recount his experiences. Baker, Dunne, Schofield and Naughton are also quite entertaining.



Paul Davis (seen above with Naughton, Landis and Dunne) is a passionate fan after my own heart. Thanks, mate!

As for everyone else...
See You Next Wednesday!

"The Nude Bomb"

As much as I did enjoy the latest film based on the GET SMART series, I quickly realized one thing: I'll forever miss Don Adams. Credit goes to Steve Carell for not completely trying to ape Adams' brilliance and lending his own style to the role, but still...

Anywayz...

The good thing when it comes to remakes is that the mass audience hasn't the slightest clue that their witnessing a remake (that's not the good part) and Hollywood must then tap into the exploitive vein by reissuing those prior influences (the good part). As is the case with Universal's big screen 1980 film, THE NUDE BOMB.

The VHS has been out of print for several years (I should know since I sold it for a nice chunk o' change on eBay a long while back) and this is the first release to DVD. Over the past few months, the film has received a few airings on HBO and I've caught fragments of it, causing me to want to see it again. It was never a great film, doomed from the start by it's lack of connection to the original series, but it is a chance to see Adams revisit his iconic character of Maxwell Smart, which, to me, is worth the price of admission alone.

Upon purchasing the DVD and viewing the film all over again, it still seems like a combination of light-hearted and somewhat half-assed entertainment, yet now with Adams' passing a few years ago, the end result is bittersweet. If handled properly (i.e. employing the talents of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry in some capacity), this film could have been greatness. Adams wins all the laughs here (not too many, really) and his fellow female agents, played by Andrea Howard, Pamela Hensley and Sylvia Kristel, are definite eye candy. Kristel receives second billing here, but is barely used (not in that way) and her role here is a direct result of her appearance in the previous Jennings Lang production, THE CONCORDE: AIRPORT '79.

My favorite moments of this film still hold up. Without question, the chase sequence taking place at Universal City Studios is the one element that grabbed me when I first saw the film as a kid. For me, Universal City Studios spells PSYCHO and JAWS and you get to see a bit of both here. My other favorite scene involves Agent 86 attempting to rescue Agent 22 (Howard) in the film's finale. 22's legs are "numb" and is helpless to run away, from the mere-moments-away explosion, on her own. 86 lifts her up into his arms, exclaiming, "Jesus!" as he cannot hold her weight. She begins to fall through his arms while he continues "trying" to help by unsuccessfully lifting her over his shoulders, faintly pushing her and eventually resigning to dragging her across the floor. Finally, she says, "Max, I think I'm getting some feeling down there!" to which 86 brilliantly responds, "There's no time for that now, 22." Dead-pan, uncomfortably awkward comedy. I loves it!

The DVD boasts a fine 1.85:1 transfer with the original mono soundtrack intact, unfortunately there are no supplemental features available. The theatrical trailer would have been nice.

Also, I've often wondered if this film served as some sort of inspiration to David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker when titling the big screen adaptation of their POLICE SQUAD! series, THE NAKED GUN. Probably not the case, but an interesting comparison.