8mm Forum: Warlords of Atlantis! Ivers 4X400ft

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 06, 2009, 11:13 PM:

I am a sucker for "B" movies, and no one was better than Doug McClure and American International pictures!

Doug McClure did a series of four films in this adventure Genre:

The Land that Time Forgot
The People that Time Forgot
At the Earths Core
Warlords of Atlantis

(Doug McClure actually did one more right after these four, but not with the same film bunch, that being, "Humanoids from the Deep, another great cheap thriller!)

This film, Warlords of Atlantis, was the last of the four films and, in some ways, the best of the four. I'll elaborate later.

This 4X400ft cutdown, (cutting twenty minutes from the original theatrical length), starts, after those great credits of the "Meteor" falling to the earth in the distant past, crash landing in the ocean.

Cut to the future ...

We cut to McClure and Peter Gilmore, entering the diving apparatus to head down into the inky depths, (thereby cutting out about three or four minutes alone in the running time.) Upon heading down, they are first confronted with a fairly realistic aquatic prehistoric beastie, which they deal with by use of electrocution.

Having dealt with the beastie, they then spy a large golden statue, guarding a doorway/cave. They have it sent up to surface and this induces some unscrupulous seamen to mutiny
, wanting the gold for themselves.

A giant octopus begins to surface, but the mutineers cut the lines to the diving bell and are unprepared when the octopus attacks the ship. The evil seamen are dragged down into the water. Meanwhile, the diving bell is sucked down, along with the seamen into an underground world.

They are greeted by an Atlantian who guides them, (by armed solders) into the 5th city of Atlantis, (there are seven cities)
and they find many people from different ages.

Peter Gilmore (the scientist) is separated from the others because of his superior mind and taken to the pleasure palaces of Atlantis. The leader of the Atlantians, (played by Cyd Charisse, who is usually in musicals dancing her heart out, as in the fantasy sequence of "Gotta Dance" from the musical "Singing in the Rain") want to make him one of them and engage his mind in their "mind hive", all sharing everyone's minds as one, (much like the Star Trek Borgs, but a good ten years before Star Trek's Next generation).

Doug McClure and his bunch, who have been imprisoned, end up breaking out when two rather nasty beasties attack this lower city, (they're prison cell is built into the outer walls of the city). They first go to rescue they're brainiac friend, (Peter) and then make they're way out.

The Atlantians pursue them, as they want to get back the brainiac alive, and being that they control the waters and the water beasties of Atlantis, they send them after them, (including some neat carnivorous flying fish!).

They make it back to they're diving bell and with a lady from the city, (which Doug McClure's character has the hots for ... McClure always has the hots for em!), they get away.

... only to find that, once, back upon the boat, the captain himself was one of the mutineers. They lock up the good guys.

Meanwhile, the giant octopus wants a round two! He pounds the boat to oblivion with that very same gold statue they brought up; this time sinking the boat. The captain goes down with the ship, and the last of the two mutineers end up acting as the motor for the rescue dingy, paddling away as the end credits roll.

This film, at it's 70 minute running time, eliminates needless subplot, (do you watch a Doug McClure monster fest for plot?) and gives you everything you really want!

This film actually had fairly decent beasties, which was a big problem with the other three films, (especially At The Earth's Core), the beasties don't have fishing lines holding them together and are so bizarre looking that they are unlike what we have seen before. Even the giant octopus is quite well done, not looking cheap in the slightest! The special effects appear to have a better than average look for a McClure film.

The use of actual location work also helps the look of the film, (another problem with "At The Earths Core", which was mostly shot on set.)

They had a different writer on this film than the earlier ones, and the ideas in the film made for better fantasy that you could actually get into more.

By the way, this is probably the ONLY film where you will see Doug McClure beat the living snot out of John Ratzenberger, who we all know better as the postal worker on the TV comedy "Cheers". No kidding, it's him, a younger/skinnier version of him, but it is him!

But we watch these for beefy McClure, beating the living hell out of bad guys AND prehistoric beasties being naughty!

Now, onto the print ...

This was an IVER'S print, and this one has aged rather well. I received this very well loved print recently from our own Patrick Walsh, (thanks Pat). It was very scratched, but I knew that ahead of time. This Iver's print has that corny "Superboy" (?) cartoon/image at the beginning and ending of the film.

Color was actually quite good, more than passable. I noted the color stock was a good Kodak SP, (not all Kodak SP is made alike); There was the slightest browning to the blacks and I bet this print looked REALLY good when first released.

The print is very sharp, a lovely print. Better than average focus for a late seventies/early eighties print.

Contrast is very good for most of the film. Once or twice did I feel that the print was just the slightest bit overly bright.

Sound was a very booming mono and quite sharp, a good recording!
This film is in magnetic sound!

By the way, this print is in its matted widescreen presentation of it's theatrical release, (it was originally shot in full 35MM frame), so your not missing anything.

Overall, a very good print and for an edited cutdown, very good story telling. The only slight problem was that the editing wasn't always perfection and, in fact, sometimes almost amatuer; but for a film that I wasn't thinking I'd find on Super 8, it was a welcome bit o Fun.

This passes the OSI test. OSI is most gratified. OSI is talking in the third person so OSI had better shut up!

LONG LIVE SUPER 8 !!!

[ March 09, 2009, 08:09 PM: Message edited by: Osi Osgood ]

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on March 07, 2009, 02:21 AM:

Hmmmm, sounds like a good one, now if only there was a complete or near complete At the Earth's Core . I love AIP flicks.....Oh and I am assuming the sound was mag?

Posted by Patrick Walsh (Member # 637) on March 07, 2009, 02:35 AM:

Nice Osi, I hope you enjoy your new film.
I am actually going to have a go at getting it in 16mm or 35mm ( I can dream! [Roll Eyes]

)
One thing I like about those films is the very good special effects, and that everything is set in the 1900s with lots of brass knobs and lots of gauges!
Patrick [Big Grin]

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on March 07, 2009, 06:25 AM:

Great review Osi!

That sounds like a very fun digest.

I have the 400 foot "At the Earth's Core" Ken digest. Its a rediculous movie, but thats what makes it so fun. I think 400 foot (16-20 minutes) is a perfect amount to enjoy these types of movies today, especially if they are well edited.

Do you know if IVER released a 400 foot digest of Atlantis? If so, I'll probably look for that one.

James.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 07, 2009, 07:17 AM:

Four 200ft extracts were released in France by Film Office. They were among the last titles printed on super 8 by the company in 1981 before they switched to video.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 07, 2009, 10:01 AM:

Thanks Pat!

Interesting Jean. I wonder if any of those four 200ft digests had anything to add to this 4X400ft ... that would be awesome!

One thing really funny I noted ...

This digest was one of those partially unmasked widescreen prints, (some scenes masked for theaters, some scenes with special effects not matted).

There were a few shots, two I think, that you could actually see the very top edges of the matte painting, but when it would be masked for widescreen presentation for movie theaters, you'd obviously not see it.

I was impressed with the monster work on this one. You see, the problem with the other AIP monster features was that, in nearly every case, it was obviously a human in a monster costume, (most noticeable in "At the Earths Core"), but these creatures didn't look like a human in a costume, they had a very unearthly look to them.

I have read that as they progressed with making these films, they got down what to do and not do, and it shows on "Warlord".

Raise a glass to the McClure!

Oh, by the way, yes, this is magnetic sound.

[ March 07, 2009, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: Osi Osgood ]

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