Aaaaah, 80s cinema. When asked to think about films from the 80s, chances are you recall blockbuster adventures featuring an archaeologist carrying a whip or dancing as a form of rebellion or taking a day off from school and getting into hijinks. If the backers of a film by Allan Arkush hadn't decided to go adopt the Bialystock principle to film
production, it's possible that a chaotic comedy about a rock concert
on New Year's Eve at a theatre modelled on the Fillmore East may also
have been fondly recalled by many people.
Welcome to episode 133 of See Hear.
In 1983, film director and music nerd (and previous See Hear guest)
Allan Arkush wanted to make a film mildly recalling his days working
at the Fillmore East while studying at NYU. He had to make certain
changes to get it financed, but the backers did everything they could
to get that film sunk for tax reasons. That film was Get Crazy. The
story behind it is as frustrating as the film itself is
entertaining...and Kerry, Charlie and I get into both aspects.
The film is a live-action cartoon with the old-fashioned elements of
“let's put on a show” and villains who want to destroy the
theatre the show is playing in at any cost. It's a film that could
only have been made at this time....Malcolm McDowell, Lee Ving, and
Bill Henderson show how to be a front man for a band. There are so
many jokes that don't land...and many more that do. That doesn't
matter. The backers wanted this film to ride the popularity of
Airplane / Flying High....and despite Arkush's original plans for the
film to be a more serious consideration of his early memories, it
works a treat as a musical comedy of bizarre proportions.
If you haven't seen Get Crazy, there's a beautiful blu ray available
from Kino Lorber, or it's on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIRmMNi800&t=504s
It's wonderful to have Charlie of the Stinking Pause podcast on an ongoing basis while Tim is taking a well needed break.
All the best to our listeners as we say farewell / piss off to 2025.
Happy new year to us all.
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