Chi-ying’s excellent cinematog- raphy. Very minor damage pops up on the source material and only adversely effects a couple of shots. The sync sound Can- tonese version can be monitored in 2.0, 5.1, and DTS-ES, while the Mandarin dub is in 5.1 only. The mixes are well-conceived and executed, delivering the ap- propriate degree of atmosphere and sonic jolts (the optional sub- titles are in English and Tradi- tional Chinese). A 15m “Making of...” segment offers on-set foot- age and interviews with the prin- cipals and director, but is, alas, in Cantonese with permanent Traditional subs only. Also in- cluded are a music video with Karena Lam singing the film’s theme song (in both Cantonese and Mandarin), and the theatri- cal trailer in both languages. All in all, a fairly good package that represents one of Panorama’s bet- ter releases to date. We definitely could have done without the pair of toothpaste commercials that open the DVD, however.
VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SERPENT
1957, Direct Video Distribution/ Xploited Cinema, DD-2.0/+, $22.95, 65m 21s, PAL DVD-0 By Tim Lucas
This early Roger Corman film,
his only directorial foray into the realm of mythic adventure, is more interesting and accom- plished than its “bottom of the barrel” reputation suggests. It predates Richard Fleischer’s THE VIKINGS (1958) and, af- ter watching it, one can easily imagine Mario Bava being in- spired equally by Fleischer and Corman to make Gli invasori [US: ERIK THE CONQUEROR, 1961], with the Corman film being the more decisive view- ing of the two. Bava had just as few resources as Corman at
Susan Cabot seduces Richard Devon to realize her dreams in Roger Corman’s foray into mythic adventure, VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SERPENT.
his disposal, but he had the tech- nical prowess to conceal any such limitations; Corman’s film would have shown him that it was possible to make some kind of epic with more imagination than funding. Despite some accomplished matte paintings by story writer Irving Block, Louis DeWitt and Jack Rabin which lend an aspect of scenic class uncommon in Corman’s early filmography, Corman and his crew (led by SCIENCE FIC- TION THEATER cameraman Monroe Askins) don’t have the finesse to conceal their thread- bare budgeting. Therefore, it’s basically left to the viewer to de- cide whether or not they are go- ing to suspend disbelief and follow where the movie means to take them. For those capable of
making this leap of faith, VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SER- PENT delivers a fair return in terms of performance, directo- rial determination, and common themes with Corman’s other work.
When their menfolk fail to
return from an exploratory voy- age, a tribe of Viking women vote to take to the high seas in search of them, braving a whirlpool known as the Vortex and the frightful sea serpent that patrols its waters. Abby Dalton is the adventuress Desir; June Kenney (breathtaking in what might be the world’s first miniskirt and go- go boots ensemble) is her virginal kid sister, Asmild; Betsy Jones- Moreland is Thyra, a forbidding Amazonian; Sally Todd is the non-descript Sanda; and Susan
69
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
