Digi-Schlock: TRAILER TRAUMA V: '70s ACTION ATTACK
If you love cinema in that orgiastic, "explore allavenues" way that defines cult movie obsession, there's an above averagechance that you also love the art of the movie trailer. The best ones offer away to capture the giddy rush of a beloved film in a compact, quick-highmanner. Consequently, trailer compilations have always been a staple of videoreleases aimed at cult movie types, with companies often selling multiplevolumes of their own branded line of trailers.
One of the best trailer comp lines today comes fromGaragehouse Pictures, the niche label created by cinematic archivist HarryGuerro. The series is called TrailerTrauma and each volume offers a generous array of coming attractions, oftenaccompanied by a commentary track featuring veteran cult film scribes offeringscads of trivia about the films. Since the second volume, these releases havebeen built around themes like monster movies, '80s horror and t.v. spots.
The latest release in this line is Trailer Trauma V: '70s Action Attack: as the title suggests, thefocus is on films featuring fisticuffs, gunplay, martial arts and more than alittle machismo from cinema's toughest decade. There are 81 trailers in totalhere, offering up 183 minutes' worth of titles ranging from well-known majorstudio items to deep-catalog indie obscurities that have never gotten a properhome video release. They're all presented as one big program, laid out inblocks that highlight a genre or a personality.
Certain filmmakers recur throughout the playlist. Forexample, you get multiple Sam Peckinpah trailers like The Getaway, Junior Bonnerand Convoy: these spots are oftenedited in a baroque, experimental manner like the films themselves and achievethe film trailer ideal of giving you the distinct flavor of the main attractionwithout giving away all its highlights. You also get several Walter Hilltrailers - The Driver, Hard Times and The Warriors - all of which show how Hill's stylish, kinetic stylecould be boiled down to compelling, punchy trailers.
It's also nice to see the underappreciated Jack Starrettget highlighted with trailers like TheLosers, Cleopatra Jones, A Small Town In Texas and, best of all,a rare spot for The Gravy Train(a.k.a. The Dion Brothers). The'heads' of the cult movie scene know that Starrett was one of the most skilleddirectors of his era, a filmmaker who was as adept with his actors as he waswith the action, and the spots included here show off the range of his talents.
For the collectors who yearn for rare material, Trailer Trauma V: '70s Action Attackalso delivers an impressive collection of trailers for seldom-seen films. Forinstance, you get English-dubbed spots for the U.S. releases of the Germancrime flick Bloody Friday and theTerence Hill/Bud Spencer slapstick cop caper Crime Busters. You also get a fun, skillfully edited spot for theJoe Namath-starring biker flick C.C. AndCompany, nice-looking spots for the rare "the man they pushed too far"films Honest John and The No Mercy Man and a chilling promofor the controversial 'hunting humans' film Open Season. A particularlyneat theme woven through the lineup are films that aren't really action filmsthat get promoted with deceptively edited trailers that make them look likeaction films: Payday and Born To Kill (a retitling of Cockfighter) are highlights in thatarea.
Everything included here is drawn from a genuinecelluloid source: quality varies from spot to spot, something to be expectedfor such vintage material, but the bits of debris and occasional discolorationadd to the retro fun. Most of it is impressively rich and detailed, with theoccasional trailer shocking you with how good it looks. Sound quality issimilar: there's the occasional note of tinniness related to age but nothingever becomes garbled or distorted.
One bonus is included: a running commentary for theentire program by Nathaniel Thompson of Mondo Digital and Howard Berger ofDestructible Man. Both participants are veteran cine-addicts so they have noproblem filling the running time. They make an interesting duo act: Thompson isquick with names and history to create a context while Berger is arabble-rouser who brings enthusiasm (note how he responds to a Gordon Douglasfilm here) and personal viewing experiences to the proceedings as well as hisown batch of trivia. When they hit on a subject they love, they can make anexcellent case for things like the oeuvre of Peter Collinson or why Fast Company is not the outlier inDavid Cronenberg's filmography it is often made out to be. Berger also comes upwith a nice tribute to the talents and thespian bravery of the underrated SusanGeorge.
In short, this is a fine addition to the Trailer Trauma repertoire and highly recommended for action fans or any type of '70s film buff. Here's to hoping that Guerro and company keep digging into their archives to create more of these ace trailer compilations.