ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, April 19

Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! Put your money where your mouth is and check out Atlanta’s WRFG’s (89.3FM) Spring Fund Drive, through May 1! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. MUSIC BENEFACTORS officially launches and announces first artist partnership with The Latin Dead!

Timeless Tuesday, April 20

Get rocked with Ministry and KMFDM at the Tabernacle! Check out a Free Online Riff of Reefer Madness at 9pm! The Psychedelic Furs share new video for “Wrong Train” out now! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Grunge it up with the Communions‘ new single, “Cupid” and keep your eyes peeled for their new LP PURE FABRICATION out April 23! Lord Huron unveils a new song entitled “Long Lost,” the title track of their fourth full-length album, LONG LOST, out May 21st! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now! Stay Free Recordings releases BARMY LSD ARMY from acclaimed British street artist and Electronic musician Charles Uzzell Edwards!

Way Back Wednesday, April 21

The Last Tuesday Society & The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities gets monsterific during their online event, The Philosophy of Monsters: An Illustrated Lecture by Dr. Stephen Asma at 2:30pm! Or check out the High Museum’s Virtual Talk: Philip Auslander on Ragnar Kjartansson at 6pm! Geek it up and make your way to Battle & Brew’s Mortal Kombat Trivia at 8pm! Dark Horse Records celebrates new Joe Strummer collection, ASSEMBLY, out now! Rock out and get some soul as Atlanta’s Lynx Deluxe’s JUNGLELAND debuts on Drivin N Cryin Records! Grave Flowers Bongo Band share “Down Man” video and their new album STRENGTH OF SPRING is out April 30th! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, April 22

Hey all you cinephiles! The 45th Atlanta Film Festival kicks off today with screenings across town at The Plaza Theatre (indoor screenings), The Plaza Drive-in and Dad’s Garage Drive-In, and is also offering virtual screenings, running through May 2! Boogie down and check out Jazz Beat Productions’ new podcast, Doc’s Jazz Beat with host Doc Robinson! Catch an online screening of Charles Raymond’s BETTA THE GIPSY (1918) at 9am hosted by CINEMATEK! Boogie down during the 80s Alternative New Wave Synth Pop online event every Thursday at 10pm! Check out Profs & Pints Online: The 1814 Burning of Washington at 7pm! Spend the night with Sister Hazel at 37 Main Avondale! Eighties-esque Adult Books share sophomore album GRECIAN URN – check out single, “Florence!” Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents their online Pod-Casket 11, every Thursday at 4pm! Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, April 23

Creep on over to the virtual 4th Annual Rotten Revival hosted by the Nashville Curiosities Collective, through April 24th! Drunken Cinema presents their virtual Goofy Horror Double Feature Night at 7pm! Get folksy with Peter Bradley Adams (two shows) at Eddie’s Attic! Spend an evening with Shawn Mullins at From the Earth Brewing Company! Get wacky ‘n’ retro with The Blibbering Humdingers online at 8pm! Get rocked through April 25th at the SweetWater 420 Festival 2021, rocking out at Centennial Olympic Park! Check out Profs & Pints Online: True Crime’s Story at 7pm! If you need your 70s soul fix, check out EJ Worland’s “Hard To Find” video, and check out his NO ONE LEFT TO BLAME EP out now! New-Wave it up with Ronna Reason’s single “American Queen” and check out her self-titled debut EP out now! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! James Levy shares a new single and video, “Fool” from forthcoming LP SOLDIER out today on Side Hustle Records! Stay Free Recordings has just released a new collaboration and single, “Consequences Coming,” from punk pioneer and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and gamed guitarist Earl Slick! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, April 24

Garage rock it up with Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Have a bloody fangtastic time during the online event, Watch With…Bruce Campbell Presents Evil Dead II at 9pm! Funk You celebrates ten years of funk at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center! Get down and check out The Blues Room’s Journey Through Blues (Part 2) online at 12pm! Support local artists and vendors and make your way to Iron & Anvil’s Artists Alley from 1pm – 8pm! Or check out Cryptid Collective’s Emerald City Marketplace from 1pm – 5pm! Nineties rock it up with a virtual streaming event, Korn: Monumental at 4pm! Jam out with GR8FLDUDE at Steady Hand Beer Co.! The George A. Romero Foundation presents their virtual 40th Anniversary Knightriders Celebration at 7pm! Get your Americana fix with Magnolia Express at Napoleon’s! Check out a Free Online Riff of The Matrix at 9pm! Get rocked through April 25th at the SweetWater 420 Festival 2021, rocking out at Centennial Olympic Park! Violet Island release cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me!

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, April 25

Get rocked at the SweetWater 420 Festival 2021, rocking out at Centennial Olympic Park!  Check out Profs & Pints Online: Pirate Queens of the Caribbean at 7pm! Finnish indie rock band, messier, have released a new song and music video for “Simon Says” and you won’t want to miss their upcoming album, ON MALAISE out May 7!  Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone!” Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

 Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

MADAME CLAUDE – 1977
2.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Françoise Fabian, Dayle Haddon , Murray Head , Klaus Kinski , Robert Webber, Ed Bishop
Director: Just Jaeckin
Rated: R/Unrated
Studio: Cult Epics
Region Free
BRD Release Date: February 9, 2021
Audio Formats: LPCM 2.0 Mono/DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono/Dolby Digital 2.0
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC. New 4K HD Transfer (from original 35mm negative) supervised by cinematographer Robert Fraisse
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Run Time: 109 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Following up on his globally successful films EMMANUELLE and THE STORY OF O, French director Just Jaeckin offered up this ostensible “thriller” based on a true story about a very successful Paris Madame whose stable of women service ambassadors, world leaders, and other government higher-ups caught in a web of intrigue that could topple her empire. The problem is that the plot fails to intrigue and serves mainly to string together a series of sex scenes played out to Jane Birkin’s trilly singing and Klaus Kinski’s forehead menacing the ladies. Along the way, Murray Head (yep, that “One Night in Bangkok” guy) chews scenery, Francoise Fabian smokes too much, Dayle Haddon tries to remember her motivation, Robert Webber collects a paycheck, and Ed Bishop skulks about, looking lost. None of which serves the premise of the film, and Jaeckin’s missed opportunity– to tell the story of Madame Claude herself.

Fabian’s character is interesting enough to be the focus of the film, but it’s not. Instead, the barely credible story of Head trying to blackmail princes and prime ministers and getting caught in a CIA operation takes center stage. Much preferable would have been Jaeckin’s intimate tale of a women so divorced from society and the concept of romantic love that she builds walls between herself and the world, letting only one or two men into her private life (but calling all of her clients “friends”) – and even then she hasn’t the ability to make love to them herself, pawning them off on her new recruit, Haddon. Haddon’s Elizabeth is a doll for Claude to play with, acting out her fantasies of trust and sex and love – everything she has put behind her and can’t face…but clearly she craves contact and relief from the isolation to which she’s consigned herself. Can she learn to trust again? That’s the story I wanted to see, and what the director and writers missed.

Cult Epics’ Blu-ray presentation is the best it can be – sourced from a new 4K scan of the original negative – however, the picture is disturbed by infrequent digital density anomalies. The visuals are otherwise acceptable, but I was expecting more from a new transfer. Audio is pleasing, except for Birkin’s singing. Serge Gainsbourg’s score is memorable if a bit dated. Both the original French audio with English subtitles as well as the English dubbed versions are present. Supplemental features include an audio commentary from author Jeremy Richey, a new interview in HD with Jaeckin, a vintage French theatrical trailer, Cult Epics trailers, and a double-sided sleeve for the first printing only.

Madame Claude is a bunch of sexy people playing contrived spy games, but could have been so much more. A remake of the film has just been released and I’m curious to see what story that version will tell.

PUMP UP THE VOLUME – 1990
3.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Christian Slater , Samantha Mathis , Ellen Greene , Annie Ross
Directed By: Allan Moyle
Studio: Warner Archive Collection
BRD Release Date: February 15, 2021
Region: A, B
Rated: R
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Run Time: 102 Minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

At the climax of Allan Moyle’s PUMP UP THE VOLUME, Christian Slater’s Happy Harry Hardon, teen pirate radio provocateur, urges his suburban high school audience to take the airwaves for themselves, to make their own voices heard, and to tell their own truths. He couldn’t possibly have predicted the utter wasteland of self-proclaimed media moguls, influencers, and voices-of-their-generations spawned by reality television, and later by the open mic night that is YouTube and the internet. Luckily, there are some lights shining in that darkness if you’re willing to look for them.

Honestly, it’s hard to hate a movie about teens speaking truth to power at great personal peril. Especially when the soundtrack is jammed with amazing songs; this film introduced Leonard Cohen to a much broader audience, and if for nothing other than that it gets a salute from me. Slater acquits himself well, but several other performances are shaky including Samantha Mathis as the object of his affection. The adult characters are more aptly called caricatures, drawn from extremely broad stereotypical cloth; the clueless parents, the young teacher who “gets it,” the evil school principle, and the snidely guidance counselor. Authority is much harder to topple when it’s relatable, apparently.

Warner Archive’s new Blu-ray presentation is a fine watch, though sadly void of supplemental features. Only the theatrical trailer is included. Picture is well saturated and appropriately grainy, with dense blacks. Audio is a joy, especially while Harry plays Cohen, the Beastie Boys, Peter Murphy, Sonic Youth, the Pixies and more greats.

The problem with PUMP UP THE VOLUME is that it never truly punches through the archetypes it portrays into the hearts of its characters the way THE BREAKFAST CLUB did, and it’s not as cleverly written or as paradigm-shifting as HEATHERS. It’s a good film and worth watching, but it’s not the classic it might have been.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video*WatcHDog, and more.

*Art Credit: Anthony Taylor as Dr. Zaius caricature by Richard Smith

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, April 5

Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. MUSIC BENEFACTORS officially launches and announces first artist partnership with The Latin Dead!

Timeless Tuesday, April 6

The Psychedelic Furs share new video for “Wrong Train” out now! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Grunge it up with the Communions‘ new single, “Cupid” and keep your eyes peeled for their new LP PURE FABRICATION out April 23! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now! Stay Free Recordings releases BARMY LSD ARMY from acclaimed British street artist and Electronic musician Charles Uzzell Edwards!

Way Back Wednesday, April 7

Kaiju it up and make your way to Battle & Brew’s Godzilla & Friends Trivia! Dark Horse Records celebrates new Joe Strummer collection, ASSEMBLY, out now! Travel the world from the safety of your own home and catch a Virtual Tour: Vatican City at 5pm!  Grave Flowers Bongo Band share “Down Man” video and their new album STRENGTH OF SPRING is out April 30th! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, April 8

Bluegrass it up with Cory Chambers at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Or stomp on over to Eddie’s Attic and get countrified with Ward Davis (2 shows)! Check out Profs & Pints Online: A History of India’s Magic at 7pm! Eighties-esque Adult Books share sophomore album GRECIAN URN – check out single, “Florence!” Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents their online Pod-Casket 11, every Thursday at 4pm! Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, April 9

Get retro-futuristic and check out the virtual Steampunk CommuniTea Weekend through April 12! The Cogkneys get monsterific with their virtual The Call of Cogthulhu concert at 3pm! Cosplay it up and catch the virtual costuming convention, AradaniCon! Get 70s rocked with Swami Gone Bananas at High Card Brewing in Tucker! Get old-timey with the Hibbs Family Band and Brianna Bass’ Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Check out Profs & Pints Online: Goddess of Spring and the Underworld at 7pm! Get virtually rocked with Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals: A Vulgar Display of Pantera at 7pm! If you need your 70s soul fix, check out EJ Worland’s “Hard To Find” video, and check out his NO ONE LEFT TO BLAME EP out today! You won’t want to miss the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry’s virtual Representing Alterity Through Puppetry and Performing Objects Symposium through April 10! New-Wave it up with Ronna Reason’s single “American Queen” and check out her self-titled debut EP out now! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! James Levy shares a new single and video, “Fool” from forthcoming LP SOLDIER out today on Side Hustle Records! Stay Free Recordings has just released a new collaboration and single, “Consequences Coming,” from punk pioneer and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and gamed guitarist Earl Slick! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, April 10

Support local artists and make your way to the Historic Oakland Cemetery’s Bell Tower Boutique from 10am – 4pm! Take a Tour of Intrenchment Creek and The Old Atlanta Prison Farm from 10am – 1pm! Catch Brother Sam’s Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop from 12-2:30pm followed by Blood on the Harp at 6:30pm! Make a trek into the spooky woods during Fernbank’s Forest Night Walk at 7:30pm! Get down with Erykah Badu’s virtual concert at 8pm! Or rev it up with Kook Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho Devilles at the Dixie Tavern! Cash Unchained pays tribute to the Man in Black at 37 Main Avondale! Violet Island release cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me!

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, April 11

Have an epic good time and catch a 70mm screening of David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) indoors at The Plaza Theatre at 3pm! The George A. Romero Foundation presents their virtual 40th Anniversary Knightriders Celebration at 7pm! Park Tavern presents their Sunset Sessions featuring Slow Parade and Mermaid Motor Lounge! Check out Profs & Pints Online: Spring’s Bird Migrations at 7pm! Finnish indie rock band, messier, have released a new song and music video for “Simon Says” and you won’t want to miss their upcoming album, ON MALAISE out May 7!  Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone!” Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, March 22

Retroformat Silent Films Los Angeles presents an online screening of John Ford’s THE IRON HORSE at 10:30pm! Check out Profs & Pints Online: How Diseases Drive History at 7pm! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! MUSIC BENEFACTORS officially launches and announces first artist partnership with The Latin Dead!

Timeless Tuesday, March 23

Celebrate ALL THINGS KAIJU and support our local artist community at Battle & Brew during their Kaiju Art Show at 5pm! Check out Somersault Strings online here at 7pm! Catch a Cuban-Inspired Meal with a Side of Hemingway online at 7:3opm, with a special preview screening of Ken Burns’ documentary, HEMINGWAY (2021)! The Psychedelic Furs share new video for “Wrong Train” out now! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Grunge it up with the Communions‘ new single, “Cupid” and keep your eyes peeled for their new LP PURE FABRICATION out April 23! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now! Stay Free Recordings releases BARMY LSD ARMY from acclaimed British street artist and Electronic musician Charles Uzzell Edwards!

Way Back Wednesday, March 24

Spook it up with the online Ghosts of YORK – Live Ghost Tales at 5pm! Kryptonite it up and catch a free Online roast of Smallville at 9pm! Dark Horse Records celebrates new Joe Strummer collection [ASSEMBLY – out March 26] with release of never-before-heard recording of “Junco Partner!” Grave Flowers Bongo Band share “Down Man” video and their new album STRENGTH OF SPRING is out April 30th! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, March 25

Get really retro and check out The Rosenbach Museum’s online event, Mary Shelley: The Godmother of Goth at 6pm! Alamo Drafthouse Cinema presents Fellowship of the Ring Cast Reunion, hosted by Stephen Colbert at 6pm, through March 28 at 9:30pm! Check out the Randall Bramblett Band Live Stream from Hendershots Coffee (Athens) at 7pm! Get alt-rocked with Collective Soul at the Coca-Cola Roxy! Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents their online Pod-Casket 11, every Thursday at 4pm! If you need your 70s soul fix, check out EJ Worland’s “Hard To Find” video, and check out his NO ONE LEFT TO BLAME EP out April 9! Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, March 26

Honky-tonk it up with Webb Wilder online here at 8pm! Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents an online presentation of STRICTLY SHERLOCK at 3pm, running through March 28! Jam out with Perpetual Groove at From the Earth Brewing Company in Roswell! Get vintage  with Bernadette Seacrest’s Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop! The Plaza Theatre presents a remastered screening of Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) indoors! Prog rock it up and pre-order Kansas’ live concert album, POINT OF NO RETURN LIVE & BEYOND, today! New-Wave it up with Ronna Reason’s single “American Queen” and check out her self-titled debut EP out now! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! James Levy shares a new single and video, “Fool” from forthcoming LP SOLDIER out today on Side Hustle Records! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert! Stay Free Recordings has just released a new collaboration and single, “Consequences Coming,” from punk pioneer and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and gamed guitarist Earl Slick! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, March 27

Have a bloody fantastic virtual time during That BIG 80s Party: Lost Boys Edition at 5pm! Support our local artists and vendors and check out the Bizarre Bazaar Night Owl Market in Avondale, 5pm – 9pm! Esotouric’s Secret to Los Angeles presents their online webinar, “Art Deco Leisure Suits: How Los Angeles Preserved the 1930s in the 1970s” at 3pm! The Blues Room presents an online Journey Through the Blues with Adamo and special guest Kenneth Shipp at 1pm! Cryptid Creatives Collective presents their Solar Marketplace 2pm – 6pm! Get old-timey and catch Hutcheson’s Ferry’s Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Jam out with a second night of Perpetual Groove at From the Earth Brewing Company in Roswell! Get your science on and make your way to Fernbank’s Museum Chills & Science Thrills event! Back in Black pays tribute to AC/DC at 37 Main Avondale Estates! Violet Island release cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me! Check out Profs & Pints Online: When Pirates Prowled the Chesapeake at 7pm!

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, March 28

Funk it up and catch Jess Goggans online at 3pm! Or catch Wynonna Judd Unplugged (2 shows) at City Winery! Get down during the Beads, Blues & Beer Festival online, benefitting Beads of Courage, from 5pm – 7pm! Get adventurous and check out Profs & Pints Online: Adventures of Victorian Aeronauts at 7pm! Finnish indie rock band, messier, have released a new song and music video for “Pollyanna!” Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone!” Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, March 15

Check out a virtual Lecture by Lola Arias: Theater as a Remake of the Past at 1pm! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! MUSIC BENEFACTORS officially launches and announces first artist partnership with The Latin Dead!

Timeless Tuesday, March 16

Hey all you monster lovers, check out Battle & Brew’s Call For Art – Kaiju Art Show! Art should be dropped off March 16-21! Check out Profs & Pints Online: The St. Patrick’s Day Revolt of 1741 at 7pm! The Psychedelic Furs share new video for “Wrong Train” out now! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Badlands shares “Let Go” video via Big Takeover and new album, DJINN out now! Grunge it up with the Communions‘ new single, “Cupid” and keep your eyes peeled for their new LP PURE FABRICATION out April 23! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now! Stay Free Recordings releases BARMY LSD ARMY from acclaimed British street artist and Electronic musician Charles Uzzell Edwards!

Way Back Wednesday, March 17

Get old-timey countrified with The Waymores at Mulligan’s Food & Spirits in Marietta! Dark Horse Records celebrates new Joe Strummer collection [ASSEMBLY – out March 26] with release of never-before-heard recording of “Junco Partner!” Check out Profs & Pints Online: Intro to Irish Gaelic at 7pm! Get soulful with Mutlu: The Good Trouble Tour with Julia Bhatt at Eddie’s Attic! Grave Flowers Bongo Band share “Down Man” video and their new album STRENGTH OF SPRING is out April 30th! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, March 18

Check out the WRAS 50th Anniversary Broadcast – The 1990s online through the 19th! Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents their online Pod-Casket 11, every Thursday at 4pm! Get rocked as Atlas Touring Presents The Great Peach Music Series with The Vegabonds and Womz (Future Birds) at Park Tavern! If you need your 70s soul fix, check out EJ Worland’s “Hard To Find” video, and check out his NO ONE LEFT TO BLAME EP out April 9! Atlanta-based rock band glimmers announce new EP WORLDS APART and share new single “Not Good At Goodbyes!” Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, March 19

Celebrate and support Count M’Butu with Webster at From the Earth Brewing Company in Roswell! Spook it up with the online Ghosts of YORK – Live Ghost Tales at 5pm! Get fiddled with Sweet Young Twang’s Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop! The Plaza Theatre presents a remastered screening of Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (2002) indoors! Rock out with Guardians of the Jukebox (80s Party featuring Members of Fozzy) at 37 Main Avondale Estates! New-Wave it up with Ronna Reason’s single “American Queen” and check out her self-titled debut EP out today! Check out Profs & Pints Online: Gender Stereotypes on the Menu at 7pm! Boogie it up and check out Virtual Friday Night Blues at 8pm! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! James Levy shares a new single and video, “Fool” from forthcoming LP SOLDIER out today on Side Hustle Records! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert! Stay Free Recordings has just released a new collaboration and single, “Consequences Coming,” from punk pioneer and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and gamed guitarist Earl Slick! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, March 20

The Niles Film Museum brings you twelve Christie Comedies online through March 22! Make your way to a vintage Spring Market at Waller’s Coffee Shop from 10am to 3pm! Celebrate spring’s arrival at the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Garden Party at 5pm! Get rocked ‘60s/’70s-style with The Rainmen at Tin Roof Cantina! Folk rock it up with Angie Aparo at 37 Main Avondale Estates! The Plaza Theatre presents a remastered screening of Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (2002) indoors at 7pm! Violet Island release cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me! Check out Profs & Pints Online: The Tale of Sea Shanties at 7pm!

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, March 21

Get intergalactic and check out Profs & Pints Online: Cosmic Blasts at 7pm! Finnish indie rock band, messier, have released a new song and music video for “Pollyanna!” Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents an online presentation of The First Men in the Moon at 5pm! Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone!” Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, March 8

Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! MUSIC BENEFACTORS officially launches and announces first artist partnership with The Latin Dead!

Timeless Tuesday, March 9

The Psychedelic Furs share new video for “Wrong Train” out now! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Badlands shares “Let Go” video via Big Takeover and new album, DJINN out now! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now! Stay Free Recordings releases BARMY LSD ARMY from acclaimed British street artist and Electronic musician Charles Uzzell Edwards!

Way Back Wednesday, March 10

Cinema Arts Centre presents their online event, Silent Comedy Shorts with live accompaniment by Andrew Simpson at 7pm! Dark Horse Records celebrates new Joe Strummer collection [ASSEMBLY – out March 26] with release of never-before-heard recording of “Junco Partner!” Check out Profs & Pints Online: Lessons from Animal Rituals at 7pm! Stomp on over to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Carolina Story! Catch an FxF Panel Discussion – The Watermelon Woman at 6pm! Grave Flowers Bongo Band share “Down Man” video and their new album STRENGTH OF SPRING is out April 30th! Catch The Earl Smith Strand Theatre’s VOD Donny Most – Mostly Swingin’ featuring the Orlando Jazz Orchestra! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, March 11

Hammonds House Museum Digital presents Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions with host Carl Anthony at 7:30pm! The Plaza Theatre presents a remastered screening of Olivier Assayas’ DEMONLOVER (2002) indoors at 8:30pm! Get down with The Bluegrass Kings at Steady Hand! Get rocked as Atlas Touring Presents The Great Peach Music Series with Stop Light Observations and Little Bird at Park Tavern! Catch the online event, Hemingway, Gender and Identity at 7pm! Atlanta-based rock band glimmers announce new EP WORLDS APART and share new single “Not Good At Goodbyes!” Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, March 12

Get retrotastic with The Entertainment Crackers’ Outer Space Series concert at Waller’s Coffee Shop! The Plaza Theatre screens Hal Ashby’s HAROLD & MAUDE (1971)! Check out Profs & Pints Online: How Films Imagine CreativeWomen at 7pm! Rumours pay tribute to Fleetwood Mac at Napoleon’s! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! James Levy shares a new single and video, “Fool” from forthcoming LP SOLDIER out today on Side Hustle Records! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert! Catch an online screening of HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE at 1pm! Stay Free Recordings has just released a new collaboration and single, “Consequences Coming,” from punk pioneer and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and gamed guitarist Earl Slick! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, March 13

The George A. Romero Foundation presents their online event, The Howling 40th Anniversary Celebration at 7pm! Shop local ‘n’ weird at The Bizarre Bazaar at The Clermont Lounge from 3pm – 8pm! The Creative Cryptid Collective presents a Wanderlust Marketplace from 2pm – 6pm! Catch a remastered screening of Peter Jackson’s THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) at the Plaza Theatre indoors at 8:30pm! Violet Island release cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me! Check out Profs & Pints Online: The Tale of Sea Shanties at 7pm! Check out Shamrock Fest with Flannel Nation and Noonday Sons at Park Tavern! Have a laugh and catch a Free Online Roast of Big Trouble in Little China at 9pm! New Jersey based power pop rock group The Mylars announce the release of their high energy rendition of the 1970’s Pilot smash hit, “Magic!”

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, March 14

Georgia Vintage Goods presents their Vintage and Handmade Pop-Up at 97 Estoria from 12pm – 6pm! Finnish indie rock band, messier, have released a new song and music video for “Pollyanna!” Check out Profs & Pints Online: Ireland and American Revolution at 7pm!  Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents an online presentation of Mum’s The Word with Oscar Wilde at 5pm! Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone!” Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, March 1

Rialto Center for the Arts presents their virtual “Sisters in Song: Saluting Jazz’s Greatest Divas” at 8pm! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! 

Timeless Tuesday, March 2

Nerd Union presents a screening of Joss Whedon’s SERENITY at 8pm! Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now!

Way Back Wednesday, March 3

Reggae it up during a livestream of Bandwidth Live Featuring Natti Love Joys at 7pm! Have a bloody good time at Battle & Brew during their Buffy the Vampire Geek Trivia at 8pm! Get horrorfied and catch the online event, Feminine Macabre ft. Alex Matsuo & Cherise Williams at 8pm! Guac y Margys presents their FRIENDS Trivia Night at 7pm! Catch The Earl Smith Strand Theatre’s VOD Donny Most – Mostly Swingin’ featuring the Orlando Jazz Orchestra! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, March 4

Make your way to the Plaza Theatre for an indoor screening of Andrei Tarkosvsky’s MIRROR (1975) at 8:30pm! The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and California Antiquarian Book Fair present the California Book Fair through March 6! Life’s a mystery, so why not check out the virtual event, A Look Into the Life of Sherlock Holmes at 1pm! Elton Live! pays tribute to Elton John at Park Bench! Check out Profs & Pints Online: Fairy Tales as American Scripture at 7pm! Atlanta-based rock band glimmers announce new EP WORLDS APART and share new single “Not Good At Goodbyes!” Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert!

Freaky Friday, March 5

Catch Drivin N Cryin at the Coca-Cola Roxy! Get your Americana fix during Eddie Owens Presents: Shawn Mullins LiveStream at 7pm! The Plaza Theatre screens SHREK (2001) and Sidney Lumet’s THE WIZ (1978) starting today! Get the blues with Mike Veal at Napoleon’s! Drive-By Truckers‘ Jay Gonzalez shares duet with Michael Cerveris, “Crying Through the Wall” streaming now with new album, BACK TO THE HIVE out today! The Wild Wild West Con presents their virtual Wild West Steampunk event through March 6! ‘84 pays tribute to Van Halen at MadLife Stage & Studios! Get retro ‘n’ weird with The Blibbering Humdingers’ online Positively Gruntled Show at 7pm! Departure pays tribute to Journey with special guest JACKWAGON at 37 Main Avondale Estates! The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and California Antiquarian Book Fair present the California Book Fair through March 6! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! A.A. Williams shares cover of The Pixies “Where Is My Mind? and her SONGS FROM ISOLATION covers album is out now on Bella Union! Goth it up with Athens GA’s Entertainment’s new single, “Voyeur” on their upcoming EP HORROR PT. 1! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, March 6

Get your reggae and ska fix at Park Tavern during the Oyster Crawfish Festival with Beauregard & the Downright and more! Southern Soul it up as Rissi Palmer Comes to Red Boots Roots online at 7pm! The Purple Madness pays tribute to Prince at Madlife Stage & Studio! Rock out with Asphalt Valentine at 37 Main Avondale Estates! Magnolia Express brings The Good Time Show back to Napoleon’s! Jazz it up with the Larry Fuller Trio with special guest Warren Wolf online at 8pm! IRON Mullet delivers a night of historical hard rock and classic metal at Dixie Tavern! Get smooth 70s and 80s-style with Dock Rock Radio at Hi-Tops in Cumming! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Michelle Malone! Experience a Virtual Guided Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem at 7pm! The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and California Antiquarian Book Fair present the California Book Fair through today! Eighties it up with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade at Rock N Taco in Roswell! New Jersey based power pop rock group The Mylars announce the release of their high energy rendition of the 1970’s Pilot smash hit, “Magic!”

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, March 7

The Creative Cryptid Collective presents their Sunday Funday Markets, every Sunday in March from 1pm – 5pm! Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta presents their Sunday Cinema & Lunch featuring Disney’s THE LION KING (1994) at 1pm! Get down with The Bluegrass Kings at Steady Hand! Don’t Go Into the Cellar Theatre Company presents online STRICTLY SHERLOCK at 2:30pm as part of the Leeds Lit Fest! Catch Cobra Kai & Karate Kid (1984) Trivia online at 8:30pm! Frenchy and the Punk (check out our AnachroCon Performer Spotlight here) release their cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone” today! Check out the Music of the African People online at 4pm, a twelve week virtual program that explores the contributions of African people! Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, February 22

In honor of Black History Month, Retroformat Silent Films presents a virtual screening of Richard E. Norman’s THE FLYING ACE (1926) at 10:30pm!  The Bessie Smith Cultural Center brings you a virtual Oral History Project Featuring Moses Freeman at 10am! The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival continues through Feb. 28, with their new Virtual Cinema, Q&As with film artists and other experts, a Virtual Lobby and a shared night at the drive-in! Experience a Virtual Guided Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem at 7pm! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! 

Timeless Tuesday, February 23

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents a 35th anniversary screening of Gene Saks’s BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS (1986) virtually here at 12pm (available for 72 hours only)! The Plaza Theatre screens James Bond III’s DEF BY TEMPTATION (1990) indoors at 7pm! Get rocked with Counterpunch’s new 7″ “Handbook For The Recently Debriefed” via Thousand Islands Records (North America) and SBÄM Records (EU). Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available now!

Way Back Wednesday, February 24

Get your horror fix and catch LIVE with The Filmmakers of Worst Laid Plans featuring Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright [Women in Horror Film Festival], Samantha Kolesnik and more at 9pm! You won’t want to miss A Celebration of Octavia E. Butler online at 7pm! Catch The Earl Smith Strand Theatre’s VOD Donny Most – Mostly Swingin’ featuring the Orlando Jazz Orchestra! Future Horizons presents The Autistic Brain – Temple Grandin Webinar at 5pm! Catch Profs & Pints Online: When the Enslaved Sued at 7pm! Or check out Charis Books’ virtual event Chronicling Stankonia The Rise of the Hip Hop South at 7:30pm! The Bessie Smith Cultural Center brings you a virtual Oral History Project Featuring Reverend Paul McDaniel at 10am! Check out an online dance event, Back to Blues Part 2 at 8:30pm! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out now! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, February 25

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents a 40th anniversary screening of Jeremy Kagan’s THE CHOSEN (1981) virtually here at 12pm (available for 72 hours only)! Check out Profs & Pints Online: How Chess Ruled the World at 7pm! Catch an indoor screening of Anna Biller’s THE LOVE WITCH (2016) in 35mm, at the Plaza Theatre! Atlanta-based rock band glimmers announce new EP WORLDS APART and share new single “Not Good At Goodbyes!” Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, February 26

Spook it up as Ghosts of Britain bring you their virtual event, The Ghosts of YORK at 4pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 8pm! Rev it up as Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt goes acoustic at the Red Clay Theatre! Make your way to the Winter Fernbank Forest Walk at 9:30am! Scott Crawford’s SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE documentary follows the political journey of D.O.A.’s Joe Keithley and explores connections between music and activism. Film launched its Kickstarter Campaign and features Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Beto O’Rourke, Ian MacKaye, Duff McKagen and more! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! A.A. Williams shares cover of The Pixies “Where Is My Mind? and her SONGS FROM ISOLATION covers album is out now on Bella Union! Goth it up with Athens GA’s Entertainment’s new single, “Voyeur” on their upcoming EP HORROR PT. 1! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, February 27

Get morose and boogie down virtually during the nineteenth CRYFEST – The Cure vs. The Smith Dance Party hosted by Black Cat DC at 9pm! Cryptids Creative Arts Markets brings you their Shop Small Saturday Market from 2pm – 6pm! Lindy Hop it up and check out the virtual Recognizing Black Dance History at 2pm! Get buggy and catch the 38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival Featuring Fleas online at 6pm! Eighties it up with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade at The Wing in Marietta! Get ready for a laugh and catch a free online Roast of Labyrinth at 9pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 8pm! The Fernbank Museum gets really retro and unveils their newest exhibit, “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed” opening today, through May 9th, and don’t forget to catch their Museum Chills & Science Thrills event today at 6pm! Throughout the month of February, the Historic Oakland Cemetery is providing a free African-American Burial Grounds Tour! New Jersey based power pop rock group The Mylars announce the release of their high energy rendition of the 1970’s Pilot smash hit, “Magic!”

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, February 28

Check out Profs & Pints Online: Looking at Laughter at 7pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 2pm! The Historic Oakland Cemetery is providing a free African-American Burial Grounds Tour! Check out the Music of the African People online at 4pm, a twelve week virtual program that explores the contributions of African people! Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! Atlanta indie-pop singer/songwriter K Michelle DuBois (The Wire, Louder Than War, Northern Transmissions) releases new single “The Fever Returns” and new solo LP out February 12th! Shop local and support small businesses during February Sunday Funday Markets every Sunday in February from 1pm – 5pm! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our next installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of hootenannies and shenanigans you can experience straight from your couch and safely socially distanced!

Manic Monday, February 15

The Bessie Smith Cultural Center brings you a virtual Oral History Project Featuring Diane Mason at 10am. Check out Profs & Pints Online: George Washington’s Legacies at 7pm! Space Cadet release new song/video for “Bad Luck” out on their debut album LION ON A LEASH out March 26, produced by The Bouncing Souls‘ Pete Steinkopf! Get folk-rocked as Athens, GA’s Adam Klein releases new EP LITTLE TIGER! The legendary Tom Jones recently shared his cover of Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues” which you can listen to here. Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! 

Timeless Tuesday, February 16

Celebrate Mardi Gras in true L5P style with Seed and Feed Stampede stomping their way through the neighborhood with their Fat Tuesday in LFP event! Get rocked with Counterpunch’s new 7″ “Handbook For The Recently Debriefed” via Thousand Islands Records (North America) and SBÄM Records (EU). Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Get your Americana fix as Envoy Records announce their debut release, a split single featuring “Phoenix” by Elijah Ocean and “Let’s Go” by Peter Donovan, available today!

Way Back Wednesday, February 17

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) kicks off today and runs through Feb. 28! They’ve launched their new Virtual Cinema, where you can now experience the films from the comfort of home, augmented by expanded Q&As with film artists and other experts. Their Virtual Lobby allows audiences to join the conversation around some of the festival’s most talked about films. For those craving a bit of throwback fun, you can also enjoy a secure, shared night at the drive-in, compliments of an exclusive partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and The Home Depot Backyard! The Bessie Smith Cultural Center brings you a virtual Oral History Project Featuring Irvin Overton at 10am! Spend the night with Rufus Wainwright at City Winery! Geek it up at Battle & Brew during their Greek Mythology Trivia at 8pm! Check out an online dance event, Back to Blues at 8:30pm! Get your Swing fix in the comfort of your own home every Wednesday, with WE Swing Dance’s Online Dance at 7pm! Or swing on down to 57th Fighter Group Restaurant for West Coast Swing Wednesdays at 6:30pm! Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) shares “What Are You Gonna Do” video via Brooklyn Vegan, with BORN STUPID out Feb. 12th! Get jazzy and live stream the Gordon Vernick Quartet hosted by the Red Light Café at 9pm! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! 

Throwback Thursday, February 18

Check out a special broadcast and celebrate half a century of WRAS during their WRAS 50th Anniversary Broadcast  – The 1980s at 9am! Or make your way to the Winter Fernbank Forest Walk at 9:30am! Get intergalactic as the Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars at 2pm! The Atlanta History Center and A Cappella Books present their online event, Thomas Holt in Conversation with Virginia Prescott at 7pm! Join Eagle Eye Bookshop for their virtual event, Ben Montgomery Discusses A SHOT IN THE MOONLIGHT at 7pm! Rev it up as Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt goes acoustic at Smokin’ Cues! Get classical and check out the virtual Behind the Curtain: Mozart and the Violin at 8pm! Atlanta-based rock band glimmers announce new EP WORLDS APART and share new single “Not Good At Goodbyes!” Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced the premiere of her new single. “Tender Heart” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for their retrotastic Thursday Throwdown! 

Freaky Friday, February 19

The Plaza Theatre mushes it up and kicks off the weekend with some retrotastic films: David Lynch’s WILD AT HEART (1990); Norman Jewison’s MOONSTRUCK (1987); Anna Biller’s THE LOVE WITCH (2016) in 35mm; and Theodore Witcher’s LOVE JONES (1997)! Boogie down and get the Virtual Friday Night Blues at 8pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 8pm! Join Professor Dennis Doyle as he discusses the Illinois Regiments at Gettysburg online at 8:30pm! Get your ‘80s rock fix with Sunset Strip at the Dixie Tavern! Get rocked with The Nixons online at 8pm! Scott Crawford’s SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE documentary follows the political journey of D.O.A.’s Joe Keithley and explores connections between music and activism. Film launched its Kickstarter Campaign and features Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Beto O’Rourke, Ian MacKaye, Duff McKagen and more! Mock of Ages pays tribute to Def Leppard at Madlife Stage & Studios! DJ FernandoF brings you Flashback Friday, with a live video blend of 70s, 80s, 90s and more at Hot Betty’s Breakfast Bar in Tucker! A.A. Williams shares cover of The Pixies “Where Is My Mind? and her SONGS FROM ISOLATION covers album is due out today on Bella Union! Goth it up with Athens GA’s Entertainment’s new single, “Voyeur” on their upcoming EP HORROR PT. 1! Echo releases a limited-edition print series of Jimi Hendrix, available now! Catch A Rufus Retro Wainwright-Spective 2021 online concert! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here! 

Swell Saturday, February 20

Have a hellacious good time at Metropolitan Studios’ outdoor Halloweentown Craft Market from 12-5pm! It’s tribute night at the Coca-Cola Roxy with Rumours (Fleetwood Mac) and Neon Queen (ABBA)! Pigs on a String perform acoustic Pink Floyd at Napoleon’s! Get ready for a laugh and catch a free online Roast of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at 9pm! Rock out as Back N Black pay tribute to AC/DC at Dixie Tavern! Catch a livestream screening of Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM (2003) with Commentary by Greg Sestero at 10:30pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 8pm! The Fernbank Museum gets really retro and unveils their newest exhibit, “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed” opening today, through May 9th! Throughout the month of February, the Historic Oakland Cemetery is providing a free African-American Burial Grounds Tour! New Jersey based power pop rock group The Mylars announce the release of their high energy rendition of the 1970’s Pilot smash hit, “Magic!”

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, February 21

Rockabilly it up with Dex Romweber’s free Live Stream Concert at 7pm! Check out the online LIVE Event with Alan Arkin: Out of My Mind at 2pm! The WCU Bardo Arts Center presents a free online screening of Salome Chasnoff’s documentary, CODE OF THE FREAKS (2020) which presents a reframing of the use of disabled characters in film, and debunks well-worn tropes and more at 12am! Catch Profs & Pints Online: Romance in Bridgerton’s Regency Era at 7pm! The Albans Art Center brings you their virtual event, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at 2pm! The Historic Oakland Cemetery is providing a free African-American Burial Grounds Tour! Check out the Music of the African People online at 4pm, a twelve week virtual program that explores the contributions of African people! Get monsterific and catch The Rosenbach Museum’s Sundays with Frankenstein at 2pm through May 2, an online event exploring Mary Shelley’s masterpiece! Atlanta indie-pop singer/songwriter K Michelle DuBois (The Wire, Louder Than War, Northern Transmissions) releases new single “The Fever Returns” and new solo LP out February 12th! Shop local and support small businesses during February Sunday Funday Markets every Sunday in February from 1pm – 5pm! 

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

 Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

ISHIRO HONDA DOUBLE FEATURE: THE H-MAN & BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1958-59)
3.5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Yumi Shirakawa , Kenji Sahara , Akihiko Hirata  / Ryô Ikebe , Kyôko Anzai , Minoru Takada
Director: Ishiro Honda
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Eureka!
Region: B
BRD Release Date: November 16, 2020
Audio Formats: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Run Time: 79/90 minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

If you’re a fan of giant monsters stomping Japanese cities flat, then you know the name Ishiro Honda, the man who directed GODZILLA, RODAN, MOTHRA, THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, and most of the rest of Toho Companys’ kaiju faire from the 1950s up through the year 2000. Now two of Honda’s other pictures for the studio have gotten the Masters of Cinema Blu-ray release treatment from Eureka! Video in the UK. One is a monster film of a different stripe, the other a sci-fi actioner whose tropes were later refit for a beloved British children’s television series.

THE H-MAN is essentially a proto-psychedelic noir/procedural about radioactive snot monsters invading Tokyo and dissolving the population. Hey, who doesn’t love a good snot monster, am I right? Starting at sea and moving into the city via the sewers, the snot gives the local gendarmes a run for their money but are (of course) defeated in the end. Or are they? This was 1958, before that particular trope was so overused as to have become offensive. I feel that cinematographer Hajime Koizumi’s highly-saturated color motifs may well have influenced Mario Bava, at a nascent point in his directing career but already well-respected as a cinematographer himself. A few of the sequences look as though they might have been shot by Bava himself – an impossibility, of course. Though director Honda and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya were already masters of the visual, the lack of suspense during a slog of a second act brings the film down a notch in comparison to much of their kaiju work.

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE has much to recommend – Tsubaraya’s effects are front and center from frame one, and rightfully so. Compared to much of the American sci-fi cinema of the time, the model work here is of the highest quality and the recipient of Koizumi’s deep, colorful lighting, making it stand above the pack. Strip-mined for premise as well as art direction by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS (1967) television series, the film is honestly a joy visually, but suffers a similar fate as THE H-MAN when the second act unfolds. Both films are stuffed with what author and film commentator David J. Schow calls “shoe leather;” unnecessarily long shots of mundane action, dialog that could easily be excised, etc. Essentially, padding to expand the running time of the film which adds nothing to the viewing experience. BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE does accelerate once the U.N. forces reach the moon and attack the alien base there, however.

I do recommend this set, even though both films would benefit from the editor having a stern talking-to by say, Akira Kurosawa. It comes in an “O” card slipcase for the first 2000 copies and includes both Japanese and English versions of each film, presented across two Blu-ray discs. Other extras include a brand-new audio commentary with authors and Japanese sci-fi historians Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski on THE H-MAN, as well as one on BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE with film historian and writer David Kalat. Further, included are stills galleries and a collector’s booklet featuring essays by Christopher Stewardson and Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp.

The Masters of Cinema package by Eureka! is definitely worth a pick up if you’re in the UK or Ireland, or have a region-free player.

MISTER ROBERTS – 1955
5 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon
Directed By: John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy
Studio: Warner Archive Collection
BRD Release Date: December 15, 2020
Region: A, B
Rated: Unrated
Audio Formats: DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 – English (48kHz, 24-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: New 2020 1080p HD Remaster from 4K Scan of Original Negative
Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1-16×9 LETTERBOX
Run Time: 121:00 Minutes
CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Some films are classics because of writing, some because of their performances, or direction, or cinematography. MISTER ROBERTS is a classic for all these reasons and more. Based on the play by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan  (itself based on Heggen’s novel), the film is simply a masterpiece of cinema and of storytelling.

A character study of a man desperate to be a part of something bigger than himself and to make a real difference in the Second World War, the film features Fonda‘s pitch-perfect performance as Lt. (j.g.) Douglas Roberts, stuck aboard a dreary naval cargo ship in a Pacific backwater, far from the fighting. At constant odds with his Captain (Cagney in bravura performance of pure, hilarious evil), Roberts takes solace in his relationship with Powell’s Doc, a sympathetic veteran too tired to complain any longer, and his bunkmate, Ensign Frank Pulver (Lemmon), a braggadocious schemer who never quite follows through on his plans. Executive officer of the boat, Roberts is also popular with the crew for his passive-aggressive war with the Captain, who terrorizes them regularly.

It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like on the set of this movie, but man…what an amazing place it must have been. Fonda was on the upper curve of his peak, with 12 ANGRY MEN a mere two years in the future; Lemmon gives his breakthrough performance as Pulver. Powell, Cagney, and Ward Bond  were all on the downward slide and past their leading man days but give wonderful performances…and imagine the tales they had to tell. Rounding it all out is a cadre of young actors playing the ship’s crew, many of whom were on the way to distinguished careers, like Ken Curtis , Tige Andrews , Buck Kartalian, and a wide-eyed and fresh-faced Nick Adams , whose future looked very bright, but would fall short of his expectations and end tragically. Rumor has it that director Ford was replaced after socking Fonda in the jaw during a heated discussion, though it was more likely due to emergency gall bladder surgery.

Warner Archive Collection’s Blu-ray presentation is absolutely breathtaking. Remastered from a new 4K scan, the picture is truly one of the best I’ve ever seen in this format, with little to no film grain visible throughout, colors balanced and saturated well, and deep blacks supporting a generous midtone range. The only flaws I saw were minimal focus issues near the vertical screen edges occasionally, artifacts of the original CinemaScope projection process most likely. Sound is also above expectation, and a real joy in 24-bit 5.1 surround. Extras include the original theatrical trailer and a scene-specific audio commentary by Jack Lemmon, carried over from a previous release.

Honestly, this is the best restoration I’ve seen all year on a film that I recommend everybody should own. Do yourself a favor and grab it while Warner makes it available. You never know when they might decide to go to an all-streaming model and ditch traditional media sales.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video*WatcHDog, and more.

 *Art Credit: Anthony Taylor as Dr. Zaius caricature by Richard Smith