The Warriors (1979)

4 / 5  Jun '11
Tagline:  They are 60,000 strong.
Directed by:  Walter Hill
Written by:  Sol Yurick, David Shaber,
Actors include:  James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Michael Beck
Genre:  Action, Adventure, Crime
Length:  92 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
This really was a fun little underground classic that starts out with a bang and manages to keep up the excitement level throughout.  The production is actually rather impressively epic and the details, lighting and costumes are quite something too.  It's highly stylized and the little cartoonish touches make it seem all the more creative.  It's about a bunch of Gangs who have a meeting about uniting, but when someone kills the Head Honcho the blame is wrongly placed on a group called The Warriors.  From that point on it's a thrillingly violent mad dash through the other Gang territories (as everybody is looking to kill them).  It's pretty neat that a cast of nearly unknowns did such a fantastic job, and well there aren't many Gang films quite like this that is for sure.  Definitely worth checking out, it's lots of fun and it seems like the sort of thing I'll be watching again very soon.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

The Plumber (1979) aka The Mad Plumber

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: The Australian New Wave Has Come
Directed by: Peter Weir
Written by: Peter Weir
Actors include: Judy Morris, Ivar Kants, Robert Coleby
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 77 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So it would appear that The Cable Guy was entirely ripped off from this one. The big difference being that Jim Carrey in his film was just obnoxious, the plumber in this film was disturbing. A couple are adjusting to their relatively new apartment and their new situation (the wife has decided to stay home and study for a bit while the husband works). When the wife is home alone she gets a knock on her door from the plumber, he just needs to check her pipes you see. Next thing you know he's claiming the pipes are rotted and need to be replaced. Before long he's mentally tormenting her in her own home and the bathroom has turned into total destruction. He's writing song lyrics in her shower and performing in her bathroom, watching her change and various other creepy things. Just watching him interact with her is extremely uncomfortable. It's actually a relatively well made film and it was really short (77 minutes) but originally it was shot for tv. Still it packs quite a punch, and well it would make most people think before answering the door to a plumber!

Availability:  On DVD