Chirashi Files: The Exterminator

Chirashi Files: Christiane F.

I used to have to have the riveting book upon which the film was based, but it was sadly lost in an apartment flood several years back. Unfortunately, the U.S. edition of the book is long out of print. The film has never been treated very well in this country, either. The VHS release from Media was dubbed into English and the only DVD released in Region 1 was Image's dubbed, non-anamorphic disc. The non-anamorphic British disc from Second Sight features the original German soundtrack with English subtitles, in addition to production notes and lobby cards; this is the version I own.



I have this LP, but no turntable to play it, or any of my hundreds of others records, at the moment. I like what I hear from these two clips, but then I'd have a soft spot for anything with a vaguely disco - Post-Punk beat and female German vocals laid over it. Both songs are reminiscent of some of my favorite Post-Punk acts: the Au Pairs, the Raincoats, Delta 5, Gang of Four, PiL, Kleenex / Liliput, the Slits, the Pop Group, Essential Logic, and others of that ilk.

Japanese Herald Gallery: The Mechanic

For some reason it just seemed appropriate to post images from this particular movie program today:

Chirashi Files: Private School

Surely not Pretty Poison director Noel Black's finest moment. Though let's give credit where it's due...if made today, you can bet that the infamous shower scene would have been filmed from the shoulders up and Betsy Russell would have rode that horse with a bra on...


Perhaps Orange Road creator Izumi Matsumoto saw this flyer when he conceived his popular '80s anime series, which used Cates as a visual inspiration.

Chirashi Files: 48 Hrs.

The "men with guns" series continues...

Chirashi Files: The Dogs of War

Legendary d.p. Jack Cardiff, who earlier directed the superb '60s mercenaries-in-Africa film Dark of the Sun (aka The Mercenaries), returned to shoot this not quite as good John Irvin-directed early '80s mercenaries-in-Africa film, based on a novel by Frederick Forsyth...

Chirashi Files: ...All the Marbles

Exhibited here under its international title The California Dolls...

Japanese Herald Gallery: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Chirashi Files: Fort Apache, The Bronx

"I fire-bombed a bowling alley."

Did you see the cover for Lionsgate's upcoming Bad Boys Blu-ray? They've recycled and photo-shopped the familiar key art image of star Sean Penn from the original U.S. theatrical campaign. Fine. They've added a new title design, an image of Esai Morales and his gang, and black and white head shots of some of the major cast...Reni Santoni, Ally Sheedy, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Robert Lee Rush (Tweety), and Dean Fortunato (Perretti). Robert and Dean who? Shouldn't Jim Moody (Mr. Gene Daniels) and Eric Gurry (Barry Horowitz), who both play much bigger and pivotal roles than Rush and Fortunato, be on the cover before those two?


The Blu-ray will be arriving the first of February and is slated to hold the same extra features as previous DVD editions from Anchor Bay and Lionsgate--trailer and commentary from director Rick Rosenthal. I'm guessing we won't have the nifty mini-poster insert of the Style B campaign that came with the original Anchor Bay DVD:


Bad Boys cellmate Gurry, as he appeared with Brent Spiner in the original Broadway run of Table Settings:


Penn on set with someone who might be producer Robert H. Solo. It's not director Rosenthal. Penn, Solo, and screenwriter Richard Di Lello would later collaborate on Colors. That film would be relocated from Chicago to L.A. and re-written by Michael Schiffer:


Penn in a scene with Ally Sheedy that does not appear in the final film:


Penn in a still I had not seen before from the courtroom scene:


Penn and Morales reunited years later at an event in San Francisco:

"Yes, Mr. Daniels."