1972

Films from 1972

Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast From Hell

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My pick for this week’s Criterion Channel movie club was a no-budget short, Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast From Hell, from 1972.

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Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast From Hell

Where to watch: Just Watch

Why a short? After everyone has had a movie pick, our Friday night film club has a short-film festival, as it were. Before starting a new cycle of picks, we have an interstitial week where everyone suggests a short film, typically no longer than 15 minutes.

The silent Zorgon runs about 9 minutes, so it gets right to the action. Someone — or some thing — is killing people in a Southern California valley. When the police aren’t acting quickly enough, neighbors band together to find the killer. A la Scooby-Doo, the villain is a throwback humanoid with legs that awkwardly split into feet and tentacles.

According to IMDB, the movie was a class project for director Kevin Fernan, who also played one of Zorgon’s first victims. (It also appears that this was his only film production.)

Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast From HellPlease click to continue reading…

Across 110th Street

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Say “New York City in the 1970s,” and I immediately think of the gritty, blighted city that was the backdrop for movies such as The French Connection, Serpico, Report to the Commissioner, The Seven-Ups, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

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Across 110th Street

Where to watch: Just Watch

As a teenager in a mid-size city in the South at the time, that New York had a certain appeal. It was familiar, yet very different. Bustling, lively, multicultural.

I had a chance to pinch-hit and pick this week’s movie for film club. Shaft (1971) had been on my short list several weeks ago, but it left the Criterion Channel at the end of March.

Looking for something similar, I came across the trailer for Across 110th Street. It had the vibe I was looking for, plus it starred Yaphet Kotto.

Across 110th StreetPlease click to continue reading…