Joe Powell Movies

The second of Zucker-Abraham-Zucker's theatrical-feature spoofs (Airplane was the first, discounting the patchwork Kentucky Fried Movie), Top Secret! lampoons practically every film genre. Specifically, however, this is a hybrid of an "Elvis" movie and a World War II "underground resistance" thriller. In his film debut, Val Kilmer plays Nick Rivers, a Presley-like American rock idol sent behind the Iron Curtain on a goodwill tour. Before long, he is involved in a complex espionage scheme thanks to beautiful Lucy Gutteridge, the daughter of a scientist (Michael Gough) held captive by the Communists. Also essential to the action is flamboyant resistance leader Christopher Villiers, who behaves like Victor Mature in Betrayed (1954) and talks like James Mason. Adhering to Z-A-Z's cheerful disregard for people, places and events, the East Germans are depicted as Nazis, while the Underground is comprised of Frenchmen. The plot is mainly an excuse for the Z-A-Z team's fondness for joke-a-minute lampoonery, skewering cinematic targets ranging from The Blue Lagoon (1980) to The Wizard of Oz (1939). As in Z-A-Z's other efforts, Top Secret! scores its biggest yocks when invoking cliches that we never realized were cliches-and falls on its face whenever attempting a too-obvious gag (the biggest clinker: that pigeon statue in the park). Everyone has his or her favorite bits in this film: our faves include the resistance fighter named Deja Vu ("Haven't we met somewhere before?"), Kilmer's horrible nightmare while being tortured (he arrives too late to take final exams), the army-booted cow, the sensitive Pinto, and the East German National Anthem, sung to the tune of the Shorewood (Wisconsin) High School marching song. But let's say no more: comedy of this nature is designed to be seen, not written or read about. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Most Inspector Clouseau fans regard The Pink Panther Strikes Again as the best of the clumsy Parisian detective's "comeback" films of the 1970s. Driven insane by the stupidities of Clouseau (Peter Sellers), ex-inspector Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom) transforms into a master criminal. Kidnapping the inventor of a death ray, Dreyfuss threatens to use the demon device indiscriminately unless Clouseau is offered as a "sacrifice." A hunted man, Clouseau is forced to adopt one transparent (but hilarious) disguise after another. He is rescued from being incinerated by Dreyfuss when Soviet spy Olga (Leslie Ann Down) falls in love with him and strives to protect him. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Noted novelist and sometime film director James Clavell, wrote, directed, and produced this adaptation of J.B. Pick's novel, set during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648. During the chaotic confrontations and shifting alliances of the war, a hidden valley protected from the outside world becomes an oasis of peace. Vogel (Omar Sharif), a one-time school teacher now on the run, travels into the peaceful valley. Following Vogel a short time later is a rag-tag and exhausted army, led by The Captain (Michael Caine). Utilizing Vogel as a mediator, the Captain arranges a truce with the valley population -- pledging to protect the people of the valley from invasion in return for food and shelter during the cold winter months. At the end of the season, the army leaves to fight another battle, Vogel is asked to depart from the hidden valley, and the valley and its population continues on and endures. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Filmed on a grand scale, Zulu is a rousing recreation of the January 22, 1879, siege of Rorke's Drift in Natal, Africa. An army of 4,000 Zulu warriors have already decimated a huge British garrison; now they are on their way to the much smaller Rorke's Drift. A Royal Engineers officer (Stanley Baker) is determined to stand his ground, despite having only a skeleton garrison at his command. His steamroller tactics are constantly at odds with those of a by-the-book lieutenant (Michael Caine), who feels that a retreat is called for, but it becomes clear that if the garrison is to survive, they'd better pay heed. Jack Hawkins and Ulla Jacobsson are also on hand as an idealistic missionary and his somewhat more pragmatic daughter. Richard Burton provides the narration for Zulu, closing the film with the observation that 11 of the 1,344 Victoria Crosses awarded since 1856 were bestowed upon the survivors of Rorke's Drift. Zulu was followed in 1979 by a "prequel," Zulu Dawn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Character actor and cult hero Timothy Carey wrote, produced, and directed this one-of-a-kind parade of the unusual, in which Carey stars as Clarence Hilliard, a seemingly content insurance salesman who undergoes a remarkable transformation. Hilliard, bored with his job and certain fate has bigger things in store for him, begins telling customers that insurance is pointless, which leads to him being fired. Hilliard then declares that "There's only one God, and that's Man," and with the help of his loyal gardener, Alonzo (Gil Barreto), forms the Eternal Man party and throws his hat into the political arena. To attract attention to his crusade, Hilliard learns to play guitar (well, sort of), hires a rock & roll band, and stages frenetic shows in which he throws himself about with a frantic abandon like a cross between Gene Vincent and James Brown. Hilliard drops the name "Clarence" and proclaims himself "God," and begins attracting a fanatical legion of followers. A mysterious political kingmaker offers his services to Hilliard, and "God" soon finds himself a serious contender for the office of President of the United States. Growing crazed with his own power, Hilliard tells his followers that they are "super human beings" (one who does not live up to Hilliard's high standards is forced to commit suicide), seduces both 70-year-old grandmothers and 14-year-old groupies, and tells potential voters that if elected, he can make all people millionaires and bring eternal life to those who follow him. Hilliard's long-neglected wife and children are taken aback by Clarence's transformation, urging him to turn his back on his blasphemous crusade and return to the Catholic faith of his earlier days. Facing a crisis of conscience, Hilliard challenges the Supreme Being to prove its existence. Shot on a shoestring budget over a period of four years, The World's Greatest Sinner is, if anything, even more bizarre than a recounting of its plot would lead you to expect, and has inspired a surprisingly large fan following considering the fact the film never received a nationwide release (Carey chose to distribute it himself). Frank Zappa, who was 22 when the film was released, composed the musical score and wrote the title song ("As a sinner he's a winner/ Honey, he's no beginner"); noted voice-over artist Paul Frees narrates; and Ray Dennis Steckler (who later developed a cult following of his own for The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies) was one of the cameramen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi