This is not Bruce Jenner during his face lift.
For those of you born before this date in 1980, you may not know Kurt Russell. Maybe you’ve seen him in shitty re-runs of Executive Decision, 3,000 Miles to Graceland or Death Proof. Or caught Escape from L.A. on Showtime and thought, well, that’s an interesting concept.
If you don’t know, allow me to educate: Kurt Russell was the FUCKING MAN for a decade. Escape from New York. Big Trouble in Little China. Tango & Cash. Backdraft. Tombstone (You tell ‘em I’M coming… and hell’s coming with me). In the diluted and highly over-rated Arnold and Sly action era, Russell offered a tongue-in-cheek alternative in the on-screen ass-kicking business. His work, particularly in Little China, paved the way for the Bruce Campbell horror-comedy genre. If you don’t know Bruce Campbell, just leave now.
I left out one important contribution. Arguably Russell’s best work, as well as that of his director, John Carpenter. The single-most terrifying movie of its time, and a film that’s aged far better than anything produced before the turn of the century: The Thing.
If you’re 30, chances are you’ve seen The Thing. And you probably remember almost pissing your pants the first time you saw it. The Thing is a masterpiece of story-telling, set design, special effects, pacing and character acting, not only by Russell, but his counterparts who played the last survivors of a doomed scientific and military outpost in the Antarctic.
As I lay dying of H1N1 this weekend (and missing one of my favorite holidays of the year), most of the broadcast, cable and movie channels were running horror movie marathons. Some great DVR material was on repeat for 24 hours: Halloween (another Carpenter masterpiece), Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, The Omen, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and a plethora of Romero’s cult classics.
But amidst these epic contributions, I was forced to rent The Thing over iTunes. For shame, network television, for shame.
If you’re burnt on the over-produced, over-hyped, gore-drenched remakes being pumped out by the Rob Zombies of the world, treat yourself to a night with The Thing. And when you realize you’re a Russell or Carpenter fan, check out Little China, The Fog or Christine.
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Lost Movie Vault: The Thing
This is not Bruce Jenner during his face lift.
For those of you born before this date in 1980, you may not know Kurt Russell. Maybe you’ve seen him in shitty re-runs of Executive Decision, 3,000 Miles to Graceland or Death Proof. Or caught Escape from L.A. on Showtime and thought, well, that’s an interesting concept.
If you don’t know, allow me to educate: Kurt Russell was the FUCKING MAN for a decade. Escape from New York. Big Trouble in Little China. Tango & Cash. Backdraft. Tombstone (You tell ‘em I’M coming… and hell’s coming with me). In the diluted and highly over-rated Arnold and Sly action era, Russell offered a tongue-in-cheek alternative in the on-screen ass-kicking business. His work, particularly in Little China, paved the way for the Bruce Campbell horror-comedy genre. If you don’t know Bruce Campbell, just leave now.
I left out one important contribution. Arguably Russell’s best work, as well as that of his director, John Carpenter. The single-most terrifying movie of its time, and a film that’s aged far better than anything produced before the turn of the century: The Thing.
If you’re 30, chances are you’ve seen The Thing. And you probably remember almost pissing your pants the first time you saw it. The Thing is a masterpiece of story-telling, set design, special effects, pacing and character acting, not only by Russell, but his counterparts who played the last survivors of a doomed scientific and military outpost in the Antarctic.
As I lay dying of H1N1 this weekend (and missing one of my favorite holidays of the year), most of the broadcast, cable and movie channels were running horror movie marathons. Some great DVR material was on repeat for 24 hours: Halloween (another Carpenter masterpiece), Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, The Omen, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and a plethora of Romero’s cult classics.
But amidst these epic contributions, I was forced to rent The Thing over iTunes. For shame, network television, for shame.
If you’re burnt on the over-produced, over-hyped, gore-drenched remakes being pumped out by the Rob Zombies of the world, treat yourself to a night with The Thing. And when you realize you’re a Russell or Carpenter fan, check out Little China, The Fog or Christine.
Like this: