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6
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Roger
Corman, king of the '50s B-movie directors, had gained respectability
with his well-received "Poe Cycle" (starring Vincent
Price) in the early 1960s. A die-hard capitalist, he was always
on the lookout for sensationalistic subject matter that could
be filmed cheaply. Motorcycle gangs like the Hell's Angels were
making headlines at the time. Never one to pass up a cultural
trend, Corman turned to the world of outlaw biker gangs for
exploitation movie material. With The
Wild Angels he made the first, and one of the best, flicks
of the genre.
Fonda plays Blues, president of a SoCal chapter
of the Hell's Angels. He and his gang's total reason for living
is having a good time — getting loaded and getting laid. His
best bud, the aptly named Loser (Bruce Dern), is fired from
his job on top of having his bike stolen. Blues thinks he knows
who ripped off the hog; a rival Mexican biker gang whose headquarters
is in a small desert town called Mecca. The Angels, with assorted
Mamas, Old Ladies and hangers-on in tow, head en masse for the
desert. They set up camp and throw a party while Blues, Loser
and five other toughs head to Mecca to confront the Mexicans.
In the midst of some very politically incorrect dialog (by today's
standards) with their Latino rivals, Loser finds a part stripped
from his beloved bike. A "stomping" ensues in which
the Angels proceed to kick the crap out of the Mexicans. But
the "Man" (i.e., the fuzz) shows up and the Angels
scatter. Loser — remember, he's aptly named — freaks and steals
a CHiP officer's machine, tearing out of Mecca with another
motorcycle cop in hot pursuit. Blues and the others get away
clean; Loser ain't so lucky. The idiot cop wings the Angel with
his .38 but loses control of his own bike, plunging over a cliff
to his death. Stopped by a police roadblock, Loser collapses
from his wound and is taken into custody.
Concerned for his friend and swayed by the
entreaties of Loser's wife Geisha (Diane Ladd, in a very good
performance), Blues decides to lead the gang in at attempt to
spring Loser from the hospital, where he's being treated
before transport
to jail. Blues' girlfriend Mike (singer Nancy Sinatra, who's
a better actress than I thought) helps in the scheme by posing
as Loser's straight arrow sister. She distracts the nurse and
police guard while Blues and the other Angels not-so-stealthily
spirit Loser out of his hospital room. In the process Loser's
I.V. bottle is broken and the gang's resident lecher, Frankenstein,
attempts to rape the nurse. Everyone gets away and Loser is
brought back to the clubhouse. Unfortunately he dies soon after,
but not before making a final request: he wants to get high.
One good toke on a doobie and he snuffs it.
Out of respect, the Angels transport Loser's body north to his
home town of Sequoia Groves. There they take over a church,
draping the alter with a Nazi flag and beating up the pastor
(The
Intruder's
Frank Maxwell). The Angels throw a wild bacchanal in the church,
smashing up the pews, dancing, drinking, toking
and rutting. In loving memory of dear departed Loser, he's taken
out of the coffin and propped up with a joint in his mouth while
other gang members rape his widow. (Charming folks, these.)
This biker wake is a 15 minute-long sequence that seems to just
go on and on; Corman's exercising his considerable skill at
padding out a film here. (At least it's better than the interminable
"walking" sequences that pad most of his black and
white efforts of the '50s.) The whole thing is accompanied by
a frenzied, non-stop bongo track played by what sounds like
a jackrabbit on crack. Your patience may be tested.
Once the party peters out it's time for the
burial, so Loser's put back in his box. In a cavalcade of Harleys
the Angels escort Loser's coffin to the cemetery. A crowd of
curious townspeople follow them there and a kid throws a rock
at the scruffy pallbearers. A massive riot breaks out with the
Angels laying into the crowd and busting heads. When approaching
police sirens are heard the townsfolk and bikers split — all
except Blues, Mike and another Angel. Blues and Mike break up.
Mike rides off on the back of the other guy's chopper as Blues
picks up a spade and begins burying Loser. Then the movie ends.
That's it.
OK, so there's not much of a plot here. Nothing unusual about
that in the biker film genre. WiId
Angels
is much better than similar flicks of the era
(Hellcats,
Wild
Rebels)
for its surehanded direction by Corman. Incidents of padding
aside, this is a well-made film with some interesting shots.
(We particularly liked the pre-credits opening.) At times the
movie takes on an almost documentary feel as real bikers of
the Venich Beach, California Hell's Angels club appear on camera
as gang members. And Peter Fonda is in his youthful, übercool
prime here, three years before Easy
Rider.
While playing on the exploitation circuit here in the States
the movie was winning awards at European film festivals. A still
of Fonda's Blues character straddling a chopper and puffing
a joint became a hot selling poster there and helped make Fonda
an international star.
Oh, by the way... It just wouldn't be a Corman
flick without Dick Miller in it. Watch for him as the oil worker,
an Anzio vet in WWII, who's pissed by Fonda and Dern's wearing
of Nazi medals. "We used to kill guys wearing that garbage!"
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| MGM
has released Wild
Angels
as part of its "Midnite Movies" line of DVDs. Picture
quality is very good though seemed a tad soft at times. The disc's
Mono audio track was perfectly adequate; we were groovin' with
some of the '60s guitar tunes used in the film. Alas, the only
extra is a trailer. I really would've dug an audio commentary
from Corman and the principal actors on this one. (A lost opportunity.)
5/12/01 |
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