'The War Game' is chilling look at consequences of nuclear war

Today is the 65th anniversary of the A-bomb being dropped on Nagasaki, the second such weapon to so far ever be used in war. This is perhaps one of the most appropriate reviews I could post on this day.

The War Game (1964)
Starring: Michael Aspel and Peter Graham
Director: Peter Watkins
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

"The War Game" is an extremely well-done docu-drama depicting what a Soviet nuclear strike might have done to a small British town located between two targets for enemy missiles. It is perhaps the most real-seeming film I've ever seen of this kind.

Originally produced for TV but eventually only released in movie theaters because the British censors thought the film too intense, this is a bone-chilling exploration of the hell that those who survive a nuclear strike will suffer.

While the filmmakers annoyingly show their political leanings during the course of the film ("by jove, those peace-loving Soviets won't have a choice but to fire nukes at heavily populated areas if those eeeevil Americans and their NATO allies use a small-scale nuke on the battlefield") the vast majority of the film is gut-wrenching and very difficult to watch.


Because this film is difficult to watch, it's tempting to turn it off and dismiss it with the thought that it's outdated--a historical artifact that now can only serve as a time-capsule to give us a glimpse into the attitudes of people during first decades of the Cold War. Unfortunately, this is untrue. We still live under the threat of suffering the sorts of horrors that this movie depicts. Equally unfortunate, though, is that an increasing number of people who control nuclear weapons would actually desire to inflict the horrors in this movie upon the world... they might even see it as their divine duty. It's imperative that the civilized peoples of the world do what they can to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, so we may avoid scenes like those in "The War Game" becoming reality.

Or, for that matter, have a repeat of what happened 65 years ago today in Nagasaki.

Oh, another reason to watch this film is that it won the Best Documentary Oscar for 1964. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" is therefore not the only work of fiction to win in the wrong category.

Action almost unknown in 'Unknown World'

Unknwon World (aka "To the Center of the Earth") (1951)
Starring: Victor Kilian, Bruce Kellogg, Marilyn Nash, and Otto Waldis
Director: Terry O. Morse
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A group of obnoxious scientiest and their boorish, wealthy patron hop in their nifty drilling, amphibeous under-earth ATV--the Cyclotram!--to explore deep underground, hoping to find a place where humankind can retreat to in case of a nuclear disaster.


Never has so little happened during a "let's go looking for the underground world"-type movie. I think I can safely say that, despite the high bodycount among expedition members, the enterprise undertaken by the characters in "Unknown World" is the least eventful, most uninteresting, and ultimately pointles journey to "inner-earth" that any fictional characters have ever undertaken.

There's no much here, exept a slighly more scientific take on what explorers might find deep underground--as in, no monsters, no nubile, scantily clad queens of Atlantis, no nothing. And, frankly, if you're going to make a movie about guys drilling their way to the center of the Earth, you better damn well give me some monsters and nubile barbarian queens at the far end! ("The Core" would have been better if there had been babes in loinclothes and little else at the end of that trip, too.)

Nazi scientists plot revenge on England

Counterblast (aka "The Devil's Plot") (1948)
Starring: Mervyn Johns, Robert Beatty, and Nova Pilbeam
Director: Paul Stein
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A Nazi scientist (Johns) escapes from a British prison camp and murders and assumes the identity of a bacteriologist recently returned to Britain after decades abroad. In this guise, he continues developing deadly biological weapons as part of a plot to avenge Germany's defeat in WW2. Pressure on him grows, and risk of exposure becomes ever greater, as another scientist (Beatty) becomes suspicious, he is forced to take a well-meaning woman (Pilbeam) on as an assistant, and other Nazis start to press him to speed up his research. Will something give before a deadly plague is unleashed upon the English countryside?


"Counterblast" is a well-acted, well-written thriller. The complexity of the characters, particularly Johns' Nazi scientist, makes the film even more engaging and elevates beyond so many other similar films. Pilbeam, in one of her last roles before her retirement from screen acting, puts on an excellent show as always, as the young woman who travels half way around the world to take a position with the man she believes to be an old and good friend of her father's, only to find herself increasingly isolated and ever deeper involved in a deadly and monstrous research project. As in other roles she played, she projects a charming mix of vulnerability and independence. She is the perfect foil for the handsome, romantic Beatty... and it's easily believable that the young doctor would fall in love with her as quickly as he does.

"Counterblast" is a rarely seen post-WW2 drama, but I think it's worth tracking down, particularly if you are a fan of Nova Pilbeam (an actress whose work isn't given the recognition it deserves).

'The Mistress of Atlantis' is a stylish early fantasy film

The Mistress of Atlantis (aka "The Lost Atlantis") (1932)
Starring: Brigitte Helm, John Stuart, and Mathias Weimann
Director: G.W. Pabst
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

French Legionaires on a mapping and intelligence gathering expediton in the sandy wastes of Africa's Sahara desert find themselves trapped in the last vestiages of the ancient Atlantean civilization and at the mercy of the mysterious Antenia (Helm) and the strange people who inhabit the hidden village and underground kingdom she rules.



"The Mistress of Atlantis" is a fascinating, suspenseful fantasy film from the eariest days of talking picutres. It's the sort of film that usually annoys me--it's a film with far more style than substance, and when it's over, you will be reflecting on the coolnest of the camera-work, the quirky characters, and the great settings, costumes, and sets... but you'll may be finding yourself wishing there had been a little more to the story.

However, in the case of this movie, the acting is so impressive, the setting so exotic, and the presentation of events and characters so sucessfully dreamlike that I think any lover of the strange and creepy movies will enjoy it. (The one major mistake the filmmakers make is set the movie up so it's being told in flashback... that undercuts some of the suspense.)

'Maciste in Hell' is one of the best fantasy movies ever made

Maciste In Hell (1925)
Starring: Bartolomeo Pagano, Franz Sala and Lucia Zanussi
Director: Guido Brignone
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

When a group of devils decide to leave Hell to spread temptation and misery on Earth, they make the mistake of approaching the pure-hearted, strong-willed and just plain strong country gentleman Maciste (Pagano) in the hopes of tempting him to cause of evil. Maciste, who doesn't take guff from terrestial nobles and who cares even less for the supposed Lords of Hell, refuses their offer and promises to beat them senseless. The devils respond by sending Maciste to Hell... but they soon regret their choice. Even the hordes of Hell can't stop Maciste when he sets his mind to dishing out an ass-kicking!

There is a word that perfectly sums up my reaction to this film: Wow.

Although a silent movie, with all the emoting and Snidely Whiplash costuming that entails, "Maciste in Hell" features some of the most amazing sets and tableaus featuring hundreds of extras writhing in demonic costumes that have ever been committed to films. This film features visions of Hell more impressive and mindblowing that anything I've seen in any other film, despite the fact that this film is over 80 years old, and they didn't have nearly the level of technical sophistication we have now when it comes to effects.


Yes, the score is irritating and wildly inappropriate at times. Yes, sometimes the acting is overly melodramatic. However, turn the volume down, put Mike Oldfield's "Five Miles Out" and "Tubular Bells II" in the CD player, crank up the volume, and sit back and watch one of the greatest movies EVER unfold before your amazed eyes.

The presense of "Maciste in Hell"--which is fairly rare on DVD near as I can tell--makes "Nightmare Worlds" boxed set worth owning almost by itself. It's a MUST SEE for anyone who enjoys horror and fantasy movies