Monday, March 09, 2009

Taking a walk on the wild (down under) side.

So now that the FFF schedule is finally posted, what are my thoughts (because I know you are dying to know)? It's a nice, varied slate, I must say. It makes me regret that I'm only going for a weekend.

The one title that I have tagged as a must see is Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!. This sounds like pure film buff bliss:
Free-wheelin' sex romps! Bloodsoaked terror tales! High-octane action extravaganzas! They're the ingredients of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, the wild, wonderful, untold story of "Ozploitation" films of the '70s and '80s. It irreverently documents an era when Australian cinema got its gear off and showed the world a full-frontal explosion of sex, violence, horror, and foot-to-the-floor, full bore action! In 1971, with the introduction of the R-certificate, Australia's censorship regime went from repressive to progressive virtually overnight. This cultural explosion gave birth to arthouse classics, but also spawned a group of demon children rivaling, and even surpassing, their American cousins in sheer outrageousness. Jam-packed with amazing anecdotes from the genre's participants as well as appreciations from fans and foes alike (the former including an effusive Quentin Tarantino), NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD is a fast-moving journey through an unjustly forgotten cinematic era, one unashamedly packed full of boobs, pubes, tubes... and even a little kung fu.
Naturally enough, this will be a midnight screening. Also, in terms of the "B-Grade Cinema History" theme, this ties nicely to one of my FFF favorites from last year, Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story.

As for my other three picks, those are still up in the air. I have until Saturday, when I trek down to Orlando to get tickets, to decide. More to come.

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