John Karlsen Movies

This German fantasy follows a young man's quest to understand his bizarre childhood. Much of the film was shot on location in Italy. Daniel has returned to his hometown in Italy with Clara, his lover, for a romantic vacation. Clara is disturbed by Daniel's recently strange behavior which includes sneaking into the estate of Coppola, an enigmatic business Tycoon. Daniel's father was killed in an industrial accident at the company Coppola owned. His flashbacks seem to have lead him to the estate. There Daniel becomes obsessed with Coppola's gorgeous, but remote daughter Olimpia who wafts around the estate wearing slinky lingerie. After Daniel's double obsession shows no sign of waning Clara gets angry and returns to Venice. Daniel finally gets close to Olimpia only to discover that she is a sophisticated robot produced at Coppola's factory--the factory where Daniel's daddy died. Now Daniel is determined to discover Olimpia's inner workings, and kill the obviously demented Coppola. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Legendary low-budget mogul Roger Corman made a somewhat inauspicious return to the director's chair for the first time in nearly twenty years (unless one counts his uncredited participation in "pickup" shoots for several New World Pictures productions) for this quaint sci-fi/horror outing, based on the popular novel by Brian Aldiss. Opening in the year 2031, the story begins with scientist Joseph Buchanan (John Hurt) working on a top-secret military project that creates a rift in time in space, hurtling him and his ultra-high-tech hotrod backwards through time to the early 19th century. Buchanan manages to adapt quite well to his new surroundings, particularly after making the acquaintance of fellow scientist Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia). Curiously, the Baron is presented here as an authentic historical figure, and his monster-making efforts the basis for the famed book by Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda), which was a work of fiction. After ruminating about his situation with Mary and her future husband Percy Shelley (late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) at the villa of mad poet Lord Byron (Jason Patric), Buchanan is approached by the Baron to help construct a mate for his intelligent but homicidal creature (Nick Brimble). Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, leading to an ironic denouement that finds Buchanan pondering the apocalyptic results of his life's work. The film boasts solid production values and some beautiful location photography (most of the film was shot in Italy); however, the classy look and high-profile casting can't disguise the overall feel of an early New World outing, albeit with a much larger budget. The script, adapted by Corman and writer F.X. Feeney, eliminates many of the novel's intellectual twists and turns; much of the remaining dialogue comes off as merely pretentious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

With only a few days before their high-school graduation, it looks like airheaded rock star wannabes Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are doomed to flunk all their finals. The boys' long-suffering teacher (Bernie Casey) gives them one more chance. If they can ace an oral exam on the topic of how a famous historical personality might react to modern times, they will be allowed to pass. If not, Ted's dad will plunk the boy into military school, thereby breaking up the boys' garage band permanently. Bill and Ted receive unexpected aid from a very unexpected source: Rufus (George Carlin), an Emissary from the Future. It seems that in Rufus' time, Bill and Ted's rock music is the basis of all society-and if their band is aborted, Rufus' world will no longer exist. Thus, Bill and Ted are whisked off in a time machine (actually a telephone booth) to retrieve a few historical characters--including Joan of Arc, Abe Lincoln, Napoleon and Beethoven--as "eyewitnesses" for their crucial oral exam. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure inspired both a sequel (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) and a Saturday morning cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Luciano Odorisio's Italian-made exploitation film La Monaca di Monza travels into the deepest and darkest recesses of a Catholic convent, where a nobleman (Alessandro Gassman) and a nun (Myriem Roussel) engage in a passionate love affair. Little can they foresee the dangerous and calamitous consequences that this will yield -- consequences involving betrayal, vengeance, and homicide. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Richard Chamberlain stars in this lavishly appointed adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas adventure story. When Count Edmond Dantes (Richard Chamberlain) is stripped of his wealth and sent to prison for crimes he did not commit, he swears to get revenge against those who wronged him. With the help of Abbe (Trevor Howard), a fellow prisoner, the Count escapes and sets forth to see that justice is done. The supporting cast includes Tony Curtis as Mondego, Louis Jourdan as De Villefort, and Donald Pleasance as Danglars. This seventh of eight film versions of The Count of Monte Cristo was produced for American television but received a theatrical release in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fernando DiLeo, best known for a series of westerns and crime films, tried his hand at horror with this extremely sick little item loaded with nudity and violence. Set at a remote mental institution (inexplicably located in a castle), the film features Klaus Kinski as a doctor whose mostly female patients are being brutally dispatched by a psychopath. Margaret Lee and Rosalba Neri are among the frequently unclothed cast, and there are decapitations, crossbow bolts in the eye, and -- in some foreign prints -- fairly explicit sex. Nothing in the film, however, is as tasteless as its original ad campaign, which played up its similarity to the crimes of Chicago mass-murderer Richard Speck (who actually killed student nurses and not patients). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

For some reason, the elongated figures limned by the highly astigmatic painter El Greco (1541-1614) perfectly suited the grandees of Spain even though they were clearly anything but realistic, and they fascinate even today. The Greek (Cretan, actually) painter's life in Spain could have served as the basis for a fascinating biography, but the makers of this film chose to concentrate on the bad ol' Inquisition and portray the painter as being warned by his girlfriend that he is being watched; as a foreigner, he is suspected of heresy. Mel Ferrer plays the painter in this historical melodrama which is not nearly as bad as it could have been. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A popular British comic strip series served as inspiration for this light-hearted espionage adventure, which if nothing else certainly shows the marks of its origins in the mid-1960s. A large departure for director Joseph Losey, better known for brooding interpretations of Harold Pinter works (The Servant, Accident), the film is emphatically bright and colorful, taking on at times a nearly psychedelic feel. The strangeness is emphasized by the unusual casting, including Italian star Monica Vitti in her first English-speaking role as the title character and Dirk Bogarde, playing against type as her arch-nemesis. Essentially everything is played for its camp value, including the rather convoluted, James Bond-like plot, which concerns the hijacking of a shipment of diamonds heading for the Middle East. Like its mod-era sets and costumes, this unusual, inconsistent effort is certainly intriguing and attractive, but might seem rather dated to some. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

In this spooky Italian-Yugoslavian horror movie, a lovely English bride is possessed by the vengeful spirit of an 18th-century Transylvanian witch on her wedding night and creates all sorts of bloody mayhem for her hapless husband and others. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This serio-comic drama finds a man (Alberto Sordi) in debt with no easy way to alleviate the situation. He conspires to sell one of his eyes to cover his loses and remain a success in the eyes of his wife. The talent of Sordi prevents this film from being labels as glory to gore as he weighs his options and sets his eye on the prize. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This drama, based on a true story, chronicles the exploits of a gorgeous Greek actress who decrees that she will marry the winner of the 26-mile marathon at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens. It will be the first time the race has been run in 2,672 years. The actress does this because she is sure that her true-love will win. The real winner is a poor shepherd. Fortunately, the shepherd would rather marry another. The film contains actual Olympic Games footage. Much of the story was shot on location. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Maciste, here played by Kirk Morris, is instead a legendary Italian superhero of long standing. In this one, the mighty Mr. M journeys to seventeenth-century Scotland (this is Hell?) His foe is a fearsome Scottish witch who holds awesome power over the local wildlife, and for a while it looks like our hero will get killed. As with many other Maciste films, this Technicolor opus was bundled into the "Sons of Hercules" package syndicated to local TV stations in the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide