Ghoulish Delights Forthcoming!

They're coming to get you, reader...

Yes, lovelies, HALLOWEEN is rearing its horrifying, awesome head, which means it's time to re-imagine those gran guignol faves of mine with the stars of today! Why? Because at the rate moviemaking is going, they're going to remake them anyway, so why not throw in my two cents at the outset?

But what would this be without you telling me what you want? I've already got four of the films in mind; now you're gonna tell me what to finish with. And here's the best part: no matter what you choose, I've never seen it before! I'll be reviewing a new (to me) film and offering a Casting Coup! Hooray!

poll by twiigs.com

 

You can also see this poll on the sidebar.

Of course, I'll also try to put up reviews of the horror flicks I watch this month, so feel free to recommend your own favorites!

Oh, and before I forget, the other four Casting Coups for October:

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

October 2

 Strait-Jacket

October 9

Young Frankenstein

October 16

 Theatre of Blood

October 23

YOUR PICK

October 30 

The 1975 Hollmann Awards: The Second, Final Half

And one week later, here's the rest of my personal awards for the films of 1975! Last week saw Nashville leading with three wins, followed closely by Monty Python and the Holy Grail and its two victories. Honors also went to Amarcord, Barry Lyndon, Dark Star and Dog Day Afternoon.

The 1975 Hollmann Awards: The First Half

Finally, the first part of my Hollmann Awards for 1975! Nine of the eighteen categories are represented here, along with five previous nominees and one previous winner! I tell you, though, I needed those extra days just to finally whittle everything down to these choices. 1975 may not have been the strongest year, but it still hurt to leave some things out (Sorry, ensemble of Switchblade Sisters! Better luck next time, screenplay for Teenage Hitchhikers!). Luckily, though, I managed to find a slate of nominees and winners I really like. Hopefully, you'll feel the same; hopefully, too, you'll disagree and we can have a heated discussion in the comments.

The Finalists of 1975

The longlists are here!

For those of you who don't know, every year the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) release a "longlist" of contenders for their awards before nominations are finalized. Each category has been boiled down to fifteen finalists, and it is from that list that members can pick their five nominees. It's actually one of my favorite parts of awards season, allowing us a clue into how the voters are thinking, and I'm sure allowing them to gather their thoughts, as well.

But that's all over. A recent rule change has eliminated the longlists from existence...leaving me to carry the flame.

As stated previously, I have watched a total of 60 films released in 1975. This breaks that down to 15 movies in 16 categories. This year, I'm ignoring the Academy rules of '75 and offering nominees for Makeup and Visual Effects, but since they were easily whittled down to five, you'll just have to wait to see.

How'd I Do?

Ok, so I didn't hit 70....is 60 all right?

When I think of my first go-round at the Retrospectives, I am amused at what I considered "good enough": 47 films. I would never consider such a low number acceptable, but in those early days, I felt I had to accept the fact that not every film released then would be readily available now. If I had pushed more, I could have seen more.

Still, 60 really is good enough (those 13 make a difference!). Usually, I don't see more than 75 new releases a year, anyway, and when one factors in all the things that went wrong -- unavailable films, wonky Internet that interfered with Netflix, migraines, 8-day work-weeks -- 60 is not half-bad. I still got to see the masterpieces, the top-earners, and the cult classics; who cares if I missed out on Olivier's Three Sisters or The Happy Hooker or Emmanuelle? I still managed to get hold of Messiah of Evil, Teenage Hitchhikers and The Story of O!

The complete list of films is below. Tomorrow, I'll start on my famous longlists, followed by the Retro Hollmann Awards of 1975!

Act of Vengeance (aka Rape Squad)

Amarcord

At Long Last Love

Barry Lyndon

The Black Gestapo

Bite the Bullet

The California Reich

Coonskin

Dark Star

The Day of the Locust

Death Race 2000

The Devil's Rain

Dog Day Afternoon

The Eiger Sanction

Escape from Witch Mountain

Farewell, My Lovely

Friday Foster

Funny Lady

Galileo

Give 'Em Hell, Harry!

Hedda

The Hindenburg

Jacqueline Susann's Once is Not Enough

Jaws

The Land That Time Forgot

Lies My Father Told Me

Lisztomania

Lost in the Stars

Love and Death

The Magic Flute

Mahler

Mahogany

The Man in the Glass Booth

The Man Who Would Be King

Mandingo

Messiah of Evil

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Nashville

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Other Side of the Mountain

Pick-Up

Prisoner of Second Avenue

Race with the Devil

The Return of the Pink Panther

Rhinoceros

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Scent of a Woman

Shampoo

Sheba, Baby

The Story of Adele H.

The Story of O.

The Sunshine Boys

Switchblade Sisters (aka The Jezebels)

Teenage Hitchhikers

Teenage Tramp

Ten Little Indians

Three Days of the Condor

Tommy

The Wind and the Lion

The Yakuza