Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I watched chapters from the "Buck Rogers" and "Green Hornet" serials (1939 and 1940) over the weekend, so now I've seen something from every decade from the 1930s to the 2010s. (Most of my entries, so far, have been from the '80s and 2000s, rather unusual for me.) Still have to do the 1920s. I've got MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1929) and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924) on tape.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Huh, I didn't realize people were coordinating viewings here, though I saw some reference to it earlier and figured someone was joking. Not that I can coordinate with anyone as my free viewing time tends to start at 11 p.m.--well, maybe Travis when he's having a bad night. :(

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I've got 1900, 1920, and believe it or not, 1960 to go. I think I've got an awesome choice for the 60's. Will fill in a foreign language selection as well... Werner Herzog's Even Dwarfs Started Small! For the 20's I only have a few selections to choose from... I'll probably go with Lost World, since I've recently watched Metropolis. Or I could watch something off the Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary set like Travis did.

I really don't have anything I can choose from for the 00's though. Guess that one will have to go blank.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

That'd be me and Travis. We chat a lot off forum and he knew I picked up the BRs of ST:TOS in Jan/Feb and he persuaded me to get TAS as well not too long ago. At the end of last month, he suggested we watch them together. It's been a lot of fun. We use Facebook's chat to chat and sync up our watching. We're both night owls so for about 3/4 of it, we've started later (9ish) and go through a disc or so at a time. Usually between 3 and 5 episodes.

Finished up Prince Caspian and I did upgrade it's rating. Maybe because I hadn't just read the book so the inconsistencies didn't jump out as much to me. I like the CGI-it doesn't feel "fake" like a lot of movies do.

I also have watched The Wizard of Oz (1933) and it was a quick look into that universe. Travis is right, it starts off as the traditional Oz tale, but then quickly devolves into randomness. I do have to say, to his comments about Dorothy's undies, that I think they're more bloomers than underpants. Meant for young girls almost as a short under a short dress. In the original book, Dorothy is about 5 or 6 and I think this cartoon is focusing on that age rather than the more well known 16 or 17 with the MGM Wizard of Oz.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I used Jack and the Beanstalk (1902). I found it on Youtube here. It's about 10 minutes.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Here's a link I posted a while back:

http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/silen...a-sci-fi-films

There are several from the 20s from which to chose although only one from the 00s (A Trip to the Moon). You can also use archive.org for many of those as well as others. Last year I used Jack and the Beanstalk (1902) that I watched on archive.org. It also has A Trip to the Moon and a few others.

I'm always looking for "new" stuff from those years as I get tired of watching the same one(s) year after year. Maybe we could change that to a subset of years or just drop the early years in the future as the choices are so slim.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Hmmm...I'd forgotten about those two and I have them on tape also and I haven't seen either in a long time.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

So I designated today "just finish the damn checklist already" day.

Now I watched Clash of the Titans way back in the early 80s when it originally came out but I haven't seen another Ray Harryhausen film until today. A friend loaned me his Harryhausen box set and told me to start with Jason and the Argonauts so I did. What a cool film. The skeletons at the end were pretty awesome. I can't wait to make my way through the rest of the set.

I know they're probably going to revoke my sci-fi/fantasy geek card when I type this but I had never seen the original Frankenstein film until this morning - I read the book when I was a kid. You see all the cliches that are contained in every subsequent film. I snagged the Legacy Collection disc from the library which contains like four sequels...I'm going to be watching Frankenstein films for the rest of the week.

Continuing with my films I'm ashamed I've never seen I also watched The Fly. I had seen the remake years ago but never the original. Vincent Price was pretty cool and the "help me" cry at the end of the film freaked me the hell out.

I watched the original Little Shop of Horrors for this challenge a few years ago but I felt compelled to watch it again - hey, low budget checklist item. I'll probably watch the remake tomorrow (it's not listed as fantasy so I'll use it as a wildcard). The two films are so different from each other that they're hard to compare. The remake gets the slight edge but that's mostly due to Levi Stubbs who just killed as Audrey II. A young Jack Nicholson plays a cool masochist in the original but Murray just seems to go over the top with it in the remake. I seem to remember there was talk several months ago of them remaking the film yet again but I don't remember if anything's come of it.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I watched The Fly with Price for the first time as well this month and was also impressed with it. I was thinking it was truly going to be a low budget horror film and instead it was very well done and really got you involved with the characters.

You mention the cliches that show up in every Frankenstein film...I was thinking about that earlier this month with a different series. It's funny what people will take from the source material every time it's remade. It's also fun to see what people DON'T put in and how what does and doesn't go in changes from film to film. I'm not sure if the period of the film, when it was made, has any affect on what is chosen and what's not, but it'd be an interesting study!

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Thanks for the help, folks. I never think of using on-line sources because I own SOOOO many discs and tend to only think "What do I have?"

Also, I wish Netflix up here in Canada had even a fraction of the selection that the US has available. We are extremely parsed down up here.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I'm speechless. You have such awesome viewing in your future!

Okay, now I'm speechless and my jaw is on the floor! Tell me you've seen The Bride of... at least!
:jawdrop:

You really have revealed a lot about yourself here! I don't even know what to say, except that I remember how cool it was seeing that final scene myself so many years ago! Now, it's come clean time! What other classic movies have you NOT seen???

Okay, now it's admission time for me... I've never seen the original LSoH, but I wouldn't call us even! :) I actually have owned it for over 10 years but never got around to watching it. Also, there's no way you should have to wildcard the remake! It is clearly appropriate for this challenge!

Classic Movies I've Watched For The First Time This Month:
The Shining
Robocop
Things To Come

Obviously, who am I to criticize! :)

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Definitely!

Yeah, I knew they were bloomers and her age and all that. It just struck me as odd just how many shots in an 8-minute short there are of her showing them off.

Be careful, because there were crossover movies that were split up among the Dracula and Wolf Man Legacy Collections. The continuity isn't strictly mandatory, but it will feel like things have skipped around if you watch just what's in any one collection.

As far as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein are concerned, at the risk of being in bad form and/or banned, last year I penned a piece on the two for Flickchart that I think covers everything I might have to say about them.

Karloff is the definitive Creature/Monster, and yes Colin Clive's manic "It's alive!" is just as iconic, but I think it's important to give those two films credit for establishing the paradigm and not holding them accountable for the emulations that have followed.

Oh, just count it. It's another so-obvious-there's-no-reason-to-debate movie.

I'm told that Frank Oz's director's cut of the remake is the way to go, but I've not yet seen that version. Like many, I saw the remake first. My half-brother got a kick out of it so one weekend when our dad rented movies, he played it several times. I finally saw the original version a few years ago (Horror Challenge '09 or '10, maybe?) and yeah, they're quite different in tone. It was nice to see Nicholson before he became "Jack" the near-self-caricature we know today.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Nope but it's next on the disc. I've seen Young Frankenstein and the 94 Branagh version and that's it for my foray into Frankenstein land.

In my own defense, I've avoided many of the classic monster movies because I'm a total wuss: movies that are supposed to scare people actually scare me and I don't actually enjoy being scared. You'll never see me participating in the Horror Challenge! That being said I've seen The Shining before and it did scare the crap out of me but I'm a huge Stephen King fan so I sucked it up. Robocop is awesome but I've never heard of Things to Come so I have to look that one up. The only other classic "monster" films I've seen where Dracula and The Wolf Man which I watched for this challenge in 2011.[/QUOTE]

I'll see if I can track down the other Legacy Collections so I can keep the continuity (I'll also read your piece after I watch Bride). I am going to post this in the Challenge Thread but my viewing is limited to what's in my local library and what's available via Amazon Prime streaming. You would think a classic like The Fly would be easy to find but no library near here carried it and I only got to watch it because someone posted a $3 Amazon credit in the Hot Deals section.

I haven't seen the director's cut; I've only read about the alternate ending. I can't tell if the director's cut is available for Amazon streaming but I guess I'll find out.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Here, by the way, is the continuity of the Dracula/Frankenstein/Wolf Man universe:

02/14/31 Dracula Dracula: The Legacy Collection
03/11/31 Dracula (Spanish Version) Dracula: The Legacy Collection
01/21/31 Frankenstein Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
04/22/35 Bride of Frankenstein Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
05/11/36 Dracula’s Daughter Dracula: The Legacy Collection
01/13/39 Son of Frankenstein Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
12/12/41 The Wolf Man The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection
03/13/42 Ghost of Frankenstein Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
03/05/43 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection
11/05/43 Son of Dracula Dracula: The Legacy Collection
12/01/44 House of Frankenstein Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
12/07/45 House of Dracula Dracula: The Legacy Collection

The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection includes a couple of other movies that are outside this shared continuity. WereWolf of London is really good; She-Wolf of London is terrible. Dracula's Daughter also isn't strictly part of the shared universe, but worth seeing.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I watched A Trip to the Moon for my 1900 check. Who knows how many times I've watched that short! I would be down with getting rid of the earlier years in subsequent challenges.

Decided a few days ago that I probably won't finish up the checklist. Got sidetracked with television shows. With the exception of a couple challenges, there is always that moment when I realize I've got too little time to get to everything!

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Once you see Bride of Frankenstein you'll be able to better appreciate the humor in Young Frankenstein!

I honestly don't know what to say about your revelation about the many true classics of SF/Horror you've never seen! Wow! In many ways I envy your journey in viewing these classics. I grew up on the stuff. In the 60s it was very common for local stations to run the old SF and Horror films late at night and on weekend afternoons. One station here regularly aired SF/Horror films on Saturday afternoons after the weekly Tarzan/Shirley Temple movie fix while another aired one every Friday at 10:30pm and a double feature on Saturday starting at 10:30pm. Both these stations aired the uncensored versions of many of the old classics. I saw the censored nude swimming scene in Tarzan the Ape Man, the Frankenstein monster throwing the little girl into the pond, and more, all on Saturday afternoon TV. I remember the first time I saw the edited Frankenstein and wondered what happened to that scene. I *knew* it was missing because I'd seen it enough times I practically had the film memorized! It was years later before I discovered I'd been watching scenes that had been removed from most prints.

I've started introducing my grandson (age 9) to these classics and he *loves* them. A couple of days ago he came in as I was starting Star Trek: First Contact. He became fascinated by the Borg and what they were as well as the Star Trek universe. We had a long talk about the everyday stuff he uses that was inspired by and created because of the original Star Trek. That sequed into watching the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers followed by the original The Fly. I'm happy to say he liked all three films. He's a bit too young for the remake of The Fly but I think he'll be OK with the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers and have promised him he'll get to see it soon. So far he's enjoyed *all* the classic Universal Monster films we've screened and wants to watch more. The biggest problem is keeping his little sister out of the room. She's 6 and had to leave the room with Frankenstein a few months back so the "scary" stuff has to be put on hold when she's around. Unfortunately it seems that many of the "classic" SF films are also Horror films or have horror elements so it leaves little we can safely watch when she's around.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Nice story. Thanks,for sharing that. I agree that it would be so cool to experience Bride again for the first time. Even Young Frankenstein for that matter! I recently shared that with my two teenage children, who loved it, of course! "You take the blonde, I'll take the one in the toyban! " :)

Have you shown your grandson any of the Harryhausen stuff? He'd LOVE Sinbad or Jason I bet!

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I've always had a soft spot for the '60s TV show Lost in Space. However, I had avoided the 1998 film based on the show until tonight. I remember it looked like a mess when it was released and the reviews for the movie were horrible.

I was pleasantly surprised. Not by the film--it wasn't very good, despite an entertaining performance by Gary Oldman. The moments I enjoyed were the cameos by many of the stars of the old television show. And I loved that they used the same guy from the tv show to provide the voice for the robot in the movie.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Anyone having trouble finding films from the 1900s, 1910s (or 1890s) should take a look at THIS LIST of Silent Sci-Fi/Fantasy films. (Almost) all those that survive - i.e. those with screenshots - are on YouTube.

And/or watch The Invisible Thief (1909) for some really rather great special effects.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Yesterday, I fully intended to watch exactly two episodes of Doctor Who's second season. Of course, I ended up watching six (and right after doing the same thing with The Batman). I would have probably watched more, but decided to hang out with some friends instead.

I'm really enjoying David Tennant, and as I suspected he has completely shed the character traits I disliked in the Christmas Special that introduced the new Doctor. In fact the very first episode of the second season has him reacting in a completely opposite, more sensible manner. For me, the genius of the show rests in its pacing; the characters and situations are fully developed, but the narrative jets along (slowing only for reflective pathos) so fast that I don't notice when things don't make sense. How does the time travel, the screwdriver, the TARDIS, the paradoxes, the parallels, etc. work? Hell if I know! But I just don't care, and I don't find myself asking pesky questions while watching. Yet, I know the rationale behind most of the characters' actions. It makes for compelling, just-complicated-enough television.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

We watched Jason a while back. I selected that one as a start for Harryhausen because of the skeletons. He really liked it but there's so much in my collection he wants to see that we've not yet gotten back to Harryhausen. He's currently hooked on the classic Universal Horror films and wants to see them all. Like most (all?) 9 year old boys he wants to watch them repeatedly to the exclusion of all else. :)

Sometimes I wish he could experience films the way I did by watching on Saturday afternoon TV never knowing if you'd ever see the film again. I think we paid more attention to the films because of that uncertainty. That experience really makes you appreciate the ability to simply pull a film out of your collection to watch whenever you wish.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

I have only 1 episode of the BBC's Life On Mars to go. Why am I getting the really bad feeling they are NOT going to reveal why this guy ended up in 1973? If they do, it's going to have to be one heck of an episode.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

One that I haven't noticed in any of the lists posted of early Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies is Alice in Wonderland (1903), which is available on youtube. I have it on two discs, the 1966 BBC Alice in Wonderland and Jań Švankmajer's Alice, although I haven't seen it yet. Hopefully, I'll have time to get to it with the BBC version during this challenge.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Hmm, I've always avoided the movie for the same reason. I might have to give it a try sometime.

Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
 

Where did you grow up? What stations ran the uncut prints? I only saw the cut versions of these films on TV when I was a kid and Famous Monsters of Filmland wasn't writing about different versions back then, as far as I can recall.

I was 6 or 7 when I started watching the Universal horror films on TV as a child and I don't remember ever being scared by them. At that age, I found real grown-ups scary, so I tended to identify with the monsters in each film. It bothered me that Frankenstein and the Wolf Man had to fight each other and not team up to fight the pitchfork-wielding hordes of crazed villagers (scary angry grown-ups).