Out in the Great Beyond…

Since I went cold turkey on Tumblr last year (whoever called it the blogging equivalent of crack was on to something), I often stumble upon extraordinary imagery and text elsewhere that I instinctively want to re-blog at the touch of a button, before remembering that NO, I can’t do that anymore.

But since we’re already on back-up generator / emergency lighting mode here this month, might as well take the opportunity to share with you a few wonders currently available out there in the ether, all in the reassuring form of a nice, old-fashioned links post (the blogging equivalent of a gin & tonic out on the patio, perhaps).

First off, my ongoing investigation of the history of Japanese gothic horror movies was blown wide open by this rather tremendous poster gallery, courtesy of Pulp International. Who knew there were so many films about ghost cats lurking in people’s ceilings? Grow up in a nation that traditionally favours light-weight, single-storey construction for domestic buildings and that probably becomes an easier childhood fear to relate to, I suppose. Awesome were-chicken on the poster for 1958’s ‘Akadô Suzunosuke: Mitsume no Chôjin’(“Red-Armored Suzunosuke: Three-Eyed Birdman”) too. The hunt goes on!

Secondly: you remember The Witchmaker? I still really like that movie. I’ll have to put the effort in to actually find a watchable copy of it one day, but in the meantime, how about these complete scans of the film’s pressbook & promotional materials, via the And Everything Else Too blog? Definitely worth a look.

Next up, Au carrefour étrange gives us a set of illustrations for Jacques Sternberg’s C'est la guerre Monsieur Gruber (1968). What does it all mean? I don’t know, but as is so often the case with French culture, a state of blissful ignorance seems the best approach when faced with such extraordinary pop-arty beauty.

If reading highly detailed and insightful articles on the world of ‘70s British smut and soft porn sounds like your cup of tea, Gav Crimson is your man, with this recent write up on George Harrison Marks’ 8mm epic ‘Aphrodisia’ (1970) being particularly worth your while. It’s odd that whilst I have little interest in actually watching most of the films that emerged from this particular demi-monde, I find reading about the events and personalities behind it quite compelling; go figure.

Staying with the UK, you are all reading TV Minus 50, I trust? A great blog.

And finally, you no doubt heard about what befell The Philippines last week, so, if you've ever thrilled to the adventures of Agent 00, Cleopatra Wong, or, uh, that guy with the moustache in  ‘The Killing of Satan’ - or indeed if you have no idea what the hell I'm talking about - you know what to do.