Escape to the Movies: Heavy Metal

[Eclectic Dreck]

Wait... Moviebob is trying to say that it was hard to for kids to see boobs in the 1980s?



Okay, thinking back to the 1980s it occured to me that this was the golden age of the PG-13 "boobie flash" movie. We had films like "Zapped" which used telekinesis as a gimmick to have a dude rip girl's shirts open (more or less). Then we had the whole "Porky's" thing and tons of other movies. Oh yes, and then there was "Revenge Of The Nerds".

Indeed the "nudity" and ultra-violence lead to the entire European "Video Nasties" list and an attempt to basically engage in massive censorship. This leaked into the US somewhat but eventually died out. It reminds me vaguely of the entire scare over sex and violence in video games (and like the video nasties is mostly pointed at horror it seems).

While it's true that not everyone had a VCR and TV in their room, most families DID have one and this was also the golden age of both video piracy, and mom and pops video rental businesses which were literally opening up everywhere as one of the big business booms due to the popularity of the format.

As the "Video Nasties" pointed out most people running these places didn't much care what kids rented. One of the reasons why they make such a big deal about carding kids trying to get "R" rated movies and such nowadays.

The point being that kids could just walk in rent whatever they wanted, mom and dad probably didn't pay that much attention if the kids wanted to go rent a couple of movies and watch them while they were at work or whatever.



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At any rate as far as Heavy Metal goes, I can see the criticisms despite being a big fan myself. I think one of the problems with it is that it hasn't aged well. While it IS true that there was animation and such that was much better, there was also a lot of it that was worse. For example Ralph Bakshi might be remembered for "Fire and Ice" and working with Frank Frazetta to make it, but he also produced things like "Street Fight", and "Wizards".

While there were similar things I believe Heavy Metal largely succeeded because it was dealing with concepts (science fiction, etc..) that were still uncommon, even if not totally original. I think this is also the appeal of "Wizards" which is another cult classic.

Basically I think there is more to it's status than "it showed tits" but it simply hasn't aged gracefully. Nowadays you can find anime that outdoes it in pretty much every way, BUT that wasn't the case at the time, and also if you look at what the anime of the time period looked like in many cases, it actually held up fairly well in comparison.

If your arugment is that boobs were available to be seen, then you'd be correct. However, if anyone else's parents were like MINE they would go to great lengths to ensure I was not allowed to come into contact with such things. I was born in 1983 and didn't see any real nudity in any media until I was eleven and my dad let me rent The Terminator. Of course, at this point it was only a few short years until the internet was widespread enough to be a viable source of nudity and whatnot, but I digress. Just because such things were available doesn't mean they were commonly being shown to children. And, for the record, the movies you cite all recieved ratings of R or higher. The first time I ever saw a movie with nudity that recieved a PG-13 rating was Titanic (which I never quite understood how it got away with such things).

 

[J-Alfred]

That's right suckers. I was born in 1991. By the time I had any interest in that sort of thing boobs where readily available at the click of a button. God I love this day and age.

Damn straight. I was born in 1991 too.

Now, back to Bob. While I can't talk about how your opinions hold up to reality as I've never seen this movie, I must say I laughed my ass off listening to your fond memories of the boob hunts of late. I was recently at a friend's house, watching Wanted, and my friend's older brother (late 20s) came in during the scene where you get to see Jolie's ass, and without irony said 'in my day, that kind of porn would have taken months of careful planning to obtain'.

Nice review, Bob. Always a pleasure to watch your work.

 

[J-Alfred]

Back in my days, to pirate music you needed a radio and a tape recorder!

nowadays you just need a friend, iTunes, and a blank disk.

 

[Rigs83]

Therumancer, you are wrong on almost everything you said. When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to use the vcr. We had one tv, and you watched whatever the parents wanted to watch. And saying that sci fi was uncommon in the 80's? Ever hear of a movie call star wars? It came out in 1977.

And don't forget such unforgettable classics such as LaserBlast [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserblast]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRaXI8O1IKM[/youtube]

 

[Rigs83]

Oh sh-

is that all pubescent boys think about? boobs?

*shakes fists at sky* YOU NEVER TOLD HUMANITY WAS SO PATHETIC!! AGH!!

Sometimes we think about robots with guns for arms shooting at a plane made of guns that shoots guns.

 

[The Great JT]

It made sense back then. We were all doing blow.

 

[Spiner909]

Now I understand what I saw on hulu that day...

 

[sunpop]

I managed to grow up right around the time the internet was becoming big and computers were becoming very common. I didn't have access to computers outside of school (later in life that would not stop me nor would I get caught) and my dad had a few nude mags so I had to work with what I got.

Now when I first saw ghost in the shell the movie and ninja scroll the movie I shat bricks about the fact there was a movie with nudity and managed to get my grubby mits on it because my video store didn't know how to judge an anime on content I was allowed to rent it.

So those 2 movies have always had a place in my heart as have the series but now it's more for the story aspect because porn is everywhere. So later I got a computer and from that point on learned every trick in order to get to the sites I wanted. Long story short by the time I saw heavy metal at age 18 it didn't strike me as some godlike movie for there was nudity but this point the internet had desensitized me so much it didn't phase me nor do I remember half of it.

But I always have known the reason behind it's popularity is because of the massive amounts of nudity violence and the soundtrack and I know how hard it was to get back in those days but now it's nothing special.

Come to think of it ninja scroll the movie is the driving force behind my desensitized nature and if you have seen the movie you know exactly why it would do that to you if you saw it at a ripe young age lol.

 

[H311DUCk]

great review i actually have that movie on DVD.

 

[MovieBob]

The only thing I want to put out there is, I'm a fan of Ralph Bakshi's earliest work, how do you feel about his films?

I think Bakshi is a fascinating and important figure in animation history who - if only animation was as "easy" (comparitively) to produce independently in his day as it is now - would have been much more successful. However, looking at his career as a whole I'd inclined to conclude that he's also an example of an artist who's passion greatly exceeds his ability. Of all his work, I think only "Wizards" and his Mighty Mouse cartoon in the 80s stand on their own without serious technical and storytelling flaws. His technical skill and vision are unquestionable (despite it's ultimately empty story, the sheer artistry of "Fire & Ice" is breathtaking) but... "undisciplined," is the word I'd use. Still, I'll seek out and watch ANYTHING he's done, which is something I can't say for some of his more "consistent" peers.

I'm guessing that MoveiBob isn't going to review The Princess and the Frog. Oh well.

I'm really surprised that THIS has turned out to be the most-frequently requested review. For what it's worth: I thought it was good, not great, more valuable for historical import (i.e. first black Princess, return to 2D, etc) than as a stand-alone piece. The strict adherence to Disney formula hurts it, but I understand it's a conscious decision to make sure that Tiana was full-on in the "pantheon." A MAJOR problem is the fact that Prince Naveen is much too thin and predictable of a character, even among the famously empty-vessel ranks of the Disney Princes, and the two comic-relief animal sidekicks don't really "register" until it's almost over. Keith David as the villain is AWESOME, but not well-developed enough - the fact that we don't really grasp the stakes involved in what he's up to until after the story is over lessens his impact - and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the occultism (full-on Satanism?) hovering over his backstory was reduced to make him less frightening. Also, while I was HUGELY thankful that Charlotte (Tiana's white girlfriend) didn't go in the route I was expecting, it's kind of "funny" that after all the buildup about Tiana's "first-ever" status, Charlotte is A LOT more fun/memorable of a character.

 

[H311DUCk]

took me a month to find the DVD

 

[dex-dex]

dang i feel so out of place with this one.
late eighties and when i came of age when the interest switched from barbies to guys i already had google. but Bob i enjoyed on how it is now all you need is two girls and a camera phone. and you guys had to actually work for it. dam do we got it easy.

 

[daxterx2005]

This movie, was added to my "soon to be watched" movie list, thank you bob.

 

[DigitalSushi]

I grew up in France, where the Timotei adverts had boobs in them, brilliant.
God bless the French and our love of the female form.

My 8th birthday present off my Dad was a porn mag, or was it my 7th?, can't remember.

 

[Brett Alex]

If you ever have a break in movies you need to fill again (Maybe next New Years) and you feel like filling it with not very good movies that are almost cult classics, please take a look at Southland Tales.

 

[El_Tordo]

I think it's awesome that mr. Bob mentioned the genious behind Renee Laloux...maybe one day he will review one of his works? (Me personal favourite: "Gandahar"!)

With the original music, mind you, not that crappy - voiceover you americans have.

 

[skeanthu]

Spot on Bob, may I suggest next to do a report on something even MORE ancient?:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076929/


/brother in 'old-movie' arms