Dennon Rawles Movies
Mel Brooks does it again with this send-up of vampire films. That Leslie Nielson plays the great blood-sucking count gives viewers a good idea as to what they are in for. This Dracula takes himself very seriously despite the fact that he's a bit of a klutz with a tendency to slip in the bat guano that adorns his castle floor. Staying very close to Bram Stoker's original story, Brooks also pays sly homage to other major vampire film classics, including Nosferatu. Though silly but subtle gags abound in this outing, Brooks has taken great care to recreate the late 19th-century atmosphere in rich detail and harkens back to Hammer horror movies popular during the '50s and '60s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, (more)
- 1988
- R
Phillip Schuman's women-in-prison film is an account of a group of female prisoners who decide to organize a variety show. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Remember all those 1940s collegiate musicals, where the finale came down to "Swing vs. the Classics"? Replace "Swing" with "Modern Jazz and Rock", and you've got Body Beat. A tradition-bound ballet academy is invaded by a bunch of free-form dancers. Rather than form a united front against these interlopers, the teachers begin taking sides! Outside of this little twist, nothing much new here. Originally titled Dance Academy, this Italian/American film features Julie Newmar in an extended cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Dean Fields, Galyn Gorg, (more)
- 1987
- PG
When a collection of alien rock stars descend to earth, a young teenage couple finds themselves caught up in an unusual adventure. The film was shelved for quite some time, hence the presence of octogenarian Ruth Gordon, who died in 1985. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pia Zadora, Tom Nolan, (more)
- 1985
- R
King of the City died on the vine when it was released under its original title in 1985; conditions hardly improved when it was reissued a year later as Club Life. Merely a recycling of the disco films of the 1970s, King of the City is lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing: one prominent TV reference book gave up on reciting its plot line, choosing instead to review the neon lighting! For what it's worth, the story involves Tom Parsekean (the idol of millions), who comes to LA to be an actor but winds up a bouncer in a disco owned by Tony Curtis. If you remain awake during the first minutes of King of the City, you'll get a kick out of Pat Ast, playing a lesbian bar owner. What Dee Wallace, who still had a career in 1985, is doing in this film is anybody's guess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Sylvester Stallone proves you really can't go home again in Staying Alive, the absurd sequel to Saturday Night Fever. The story finds Tony Manero (Travolta) six years later working as a waiter in a nightclub while he tries to realize his dreams of dancing on Broadway (what tough street kid from Brooklyn doesn't?) He eventually makes the cut as an extra for "Satan's Alley" (billed as "a musical trip through Hell") and immediately sets his sights on the show's snooty prima-donna star (Finola Hughes, decidedly unsuited for such dancing as her role requires). Meanwhile, the nice girl he's been seeing (Cynthia Rhodes) stands by her man, waiting patiently for him to come around. When the male lead can't cut it, Tony is offered the part, and tensions rise. The action culminates in the show itself and Tony's ultimate realization that he needs to please only himself. Indeed, the horrific dancing combined with Frank Stallone's inane musical score makes one wonder just how accurate the show's billing of "a musical trip through Hell" actually is. As long as one disassociates this film from its predecessor, Staying Alive is highly enjoyable for its schlock value; it may well be an inadvertent camp classic for Travolta's sweaty thongs alone. As for Stallone's direction and screenwriting abilities, he proves he is better off to remain an underdog prize-fighter/ commie-killer/mercenary cop/ double-fisted union leader/etc... ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, (more)
- 1981
- R
- Add History of the World -- Part I to QueueAdd History of the World -- Part I to top of Queue
Mel Brooks produced, directed, wrote, and starred in this episodic comedy in the spirit of Monty Python and the 1957 studio travesty The Story of Mankind. The film is divided into five sequences that play like blue-toned Eddie Cantor vaudeville sketches -- "The Dawn of Man," "The Stone Age," The Spanish Inquisition," "The Bible," and "The Future." Also included is a Brooksian depiction of The Last Supper and a long-winded sequence about the French Revolution. The film starts with a 2001: A Space Odyssey parody, narrated by Orson Welles, in which a collection of ape-men learn to stand erect (in more ways than one). The Stone Age reveals the origins of both the first homo sapien and homosexual marriages. Brooks then appears in an Old Testament sequence as Moses, descending from Mount Sinai with three heavy stone tablets bearing the 15 Commandments; after he drops one of these tablets, the laws of God become 10 Commandments. The Roman period picks up with Brooks as Comicus, attempting to get a gig as a "stand-up philosopher" at Caesar's Palace. The Spanish Inquisition is a musical production number with monks torturing Jews to lively Broadway musical strains. The final French revolution section is a broad parody of The Man in the Iron Mask story. The film closes with coming attractions of "History of the World, Part II" that features a rousing Star Wars parody (anticipating Space Balls) called "Jews in Space" that includes a jaunty theme song. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, (more)
