The Towering Inferno

The Towering Inferno

Considered by many to be quite possibly the greatest disaster picture ever made, The Towering Inferno followed (and transcended) the success of The Poseidon Adventure, becoming the gold standard of the genre. For its efforts, the Irwin Allen-produced film scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and become the highest-grossing film of 1974.

Continue reading...

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Wonka Bars and golden tickets, Oompa Loompas and a chocolate river, snozzberries and lickable wallpaper, golden eggs and seven-course gum, Everlasting Gobstoppers and the Wonkavator. In a world of pure imagination, all things are possible. This was the world of Willy Wonka - candy man, inventor, and scourge of naughty children. Like the Roald Dahl book on which it was based, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was a dark fantasy with strong ideas about the nasty habits of children. It is also one of the most beloved children's films ever created. Let's take a stroll to the chocolate factory and revisit this childhood classic.

Continue reading...

Young Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein

Part spoof, part homage, all comedy, Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, released in 1974, did for old-fashioned horror what his Blazing Saddles had done for westerns earlier that year. Shot in black and white, with a spooky score from John Morris, and even using the lab set from 1931's original Frankenstein, Brooks' film looked and sounded every bit the serious horror film ... at least until the first slapstick gag. Let's take a look back at this classic 70s comedy.

Continue reading...