The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
by Jacques Tourneur, Mario Bava
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Actor: Beth McKeever, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Michael J. Nelson, Steve ReevesDirector: Jacques Tourneur, Mario Bava
Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
Writer: Bill Corbett
Writer: Kevin Murphy
Writer: Alberto Barsanti
Writer: Augusto Frassinetti
Writer: Bruno Vailati
Writer: Ennio De Concini
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Shout Factory Theatr
DVD Reviews of The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
DVD Review: Imagine Thunderball with men in diapers
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I was a little late to the Film Crew party. I heard about the series back when it was announced but for some reason it flew under my radar.
Recently I read some good reviews of the series, especially ones that compared it favorably to the seasons of the sci-fi channel run of MST3K. I decided to break down and pick up a couple. "The Giant of Marathon" was the second one I popped in.
I'm a fan of the Hercules episodes of Mystery Science Theater, so I figured this one would be right up my alley. However instead of a mythical epic, this is a historical epic detailing the turmoil in Athens leading up to the first battle with the Persians climaxing in the battle of Marathon. Now, I've read my Herodotus and I'm pretty sure that all the stuff that happens to Pheidippides in this movie didn't come from history.
In contrast to most of the Hercules movies most of the action in the film is loaded to the final third. For most of the first half or so you get lots of political maneuvering and dialogue. Now the movie is dubbed, so the voice acting is pretty lousy. This makes these long talky scenes particularly painful.
Once the action kicks in, things get better, with lots of laughs being generated by the horrific stage fighting, the horse abuse and the extended underwater battle that looks like "Thunderball" BC.
This movie appears to have a pretty large budget, so there are some impressive sets, costumes and lots of extras. The ship battle is probably the most impressive in scope. There are actually a number of ships on screen and lots of extras doing battle in and out of the water. It's fairly impressive to tell you the truth.
One of the strange things about the film is the fact that there are a lot of mostly naked men running around in it. Now, I know that most of the sword and sandal films have lots of oiled up half naked guys in them, but usually there is a voluptuous evil queen or sexy slave girl to balance it all out. Not so much in this film. Sure the main girl Andromeda is curvy and pouty, but she's hardly in the flick. Instead you get an extended scene of two hairy men wrestling or lots of underwater scenes with guys in what appears to be diapers swimming around. I'm not kidding.
Of course all this fodder give the Film Crew plenty of ammo for lots of homosexual humor. They end up going a bit overboard, but at the same time the movie seems to be really courting it. Seriously the amount of bare man flesh is really odd for a sword and sandal flick from the 60's.
For me this adds up to a pretty average outing for the Film Crew. The movie is pretty slow for the first half. They do a good job with what they are given, but it isn't until the battle of Marathon really kicks in that the jokes start flying. The last twenty minutes or so of the film are absolutely hilarious (even the scenes with the horse abuse. Warning to animal lovers, these look pretty brutal and while the Film Crew makes light of it, try not to think about it too much).
There are three host segments. The intro has the Film Crew discussing the film with Bob Honcho. During the lunch break Bill uses everyone's lunch to recreate the battle of marathon for Mike. Kevin is not amused. The finale has everyone creating super goofy hats (with Kevin's being the most disturbing of all), and Mike insulting ancient Persians.
This leads to the extras, which include Mike apologizing for insulting ancient Persians but insulting Italians instead. This continues with Mike digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself with Kevin and Bill trying to bail him out in the end. It's actually pretty funny. There is also a mini-commentary by an extra from the film (who sounds a lot like Mike). It starts off goofy and ends up going right over the top for some good laughs.
I have to admit it, I was a bit disappointed in this episode. I think my love of the Hercules episodes raised my hopes a little too high and the movie was just too slow in the beginning. Like I said the last 20 minutes are top notch material, but it's a little dull getting there.
DVD Review: The MST3K crew still got it
Summary: 5 Stars
I never feel quite right unless I don't get at least a few of the references made in MST3K and this reprise of the franchise, and that's why I was glad to see Mike, Bill and Kevin return to top form in Giant of Marathon. Although I enjoyed "Hollywood After Dark," it felt a little thin on the good one-liners and too relaxed compared to MST3K...I laughed, but not much out loud. This one, on the other hand, shows that the old gang still has a lot of comedic gems up their sleeves. It starts out a little slow, but the pace quickens throughout, and near the end I was frequently huddled over in extended episodes of guffawing (there's a several minute sequence that begins with Bill's line "Excuse me Anasazi Indians, coming through..." where the entire team is on fire). The references are often more topical, but there are still quite a few obscure ones that sent me to wikipedia for a good half hour. If you're an MSTie like me and are looking to see the gang return to their former splendor, check out Giant of Marathon!DVD Review: Without Crow and Servo, the magic isn't quite there
Summary: 3 Stars
Much of the reason MST3K worked so beautifully was that the premise (poor shlub stranded in space with two wiseacre robots) made the central absurdity of the whole concept just click. As a fan of the series only slightly less devout than Pat Robertson is towards Jesus, I'll start by acknowledging how much I appreciated that the core SciFi-era riffing team of Corbett, Nelson and Murphy did their level best to give MSTies everywhere at least something approximating a revival/reunion.
The problem is that, with Jim Mallon owning the full rights to the old show and apparently being (to quote the popular insult quite often thrown about in the classic era) a dickweed about any chance at a proper reunion, the Film Crew gang is forced to come up with a weaker replacement concept: three schmoes working in the basement of a company run by a honcho named Honcho, who require them to riff on movies. Meh. Still, at least the Film Crew HAD a framing concept of some kind going in, whereas the other post-MST project, the Joel-led "Cinematic Titanic," stumbled on that account and didn't really establish one until three episodes in.
The riffing itself takes place as simple voice-overs, so it's like watching the old show, simply without the "Shadowrama" silhouettes of the gang in front of the screen. Yes, in its best moments, this comes pretty dang close to recapturing the magic. As you're simply hearing the voices, you can just imagine Mike, Crow and Servo back to their old tricks again -- an illusion occasionally shattered when you hear them refer to each other by their real names.
But here we run up against another disappointing issue: Guys, where the heck did that awesome RAPID-FIRE RIFFING that made the best MST3K episodes so gut-bustingly hilarious go? The riffing here feels very uninspired at times, with long pauses between each wisecrack. Often the jokes just mock some obvious things onscreen, like a nude statue in the background with prominent genitalia. No mistake, when the guys are on, they're on, as in the opening few minutes of the movie. But quite often, they miss prime riffing opportunities. Frequently I would wonder, "Why didn't they say something THERE? It was wide open!" They're on their game at times, and way off at others. It's uneven and never as consistently hysterical as the best of the original show.
On the whole, MSTies will want to own this, mainly to support the guys, and for the fact that, yes, here and there are snatches where the old lightning strikes. As a fan, I'm glad to see new material from them, even if this show feels at times like an MST3K knockoff that oddly happens to star the cast of the original. It's a shame that only four episodes were produced, too, because with a little time to work out the kinks, and get back into a comfortable writing groove, the Film Crew eventually could have gotten around to creating new direct-to-DVD episodes that would easily have been the equal of the better SciFi MST episodes. But if this is all we're getting, there's just enough here that works all right for fans to be appreciative.
DVD Review: Getting my MST3K fix...
Summary: 4 Stars
Since it's tragic end (MST3K could've done another TEN more Years!!!) I'm grateful that the actors have come back together of another go at it.
Sadly, the show seems to of not made the money they had hope to get and only four where made. So to all you other misties out there, grab up these bargain bins now before they're gone for good!
DVD Review: I really wanted to like this.
Summary: 2 Stars
The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon I am one of the biggest fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 that you can get. So when I found out that three of the guys from the show were back in action I wet my pants (not really) and bought the episode that I thought would do the best job in taking me back to the good old days of Joel/Mike and the bots. The simple fact of the matter is that MST3K HAD MANY WRITERS AND THE FILM CREW HAS THREE! They have also been there and done that over and over again and again. Further, I would like to see Mike and the others from this "crew" go back to MST3K's seasons three through six at random and get a healthy reminder of what funny and clever really is/was. There is not much to this I am sorry to say and I do not plan on getting any more of The Film Crew's lackluster hastily put together show that is also full of childish "humor" and not much else. However there is a show called "Cinematic Titanic" that stars the original crew from MST3K and that means 5 writers instead of 3 and yes it is much funnier and much more clever...I will be keeping an eye and my money on that instead.
Description of The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, three of the brilliantly insane minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000, finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew. Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, continuing with Giant Of Marathon. Refusing to die without a fight, Athens greatest athlete and hero, Phillipides, Steve Reeves, leads the Greeks in a magnificent battle against the invading Persian army. Includes An Apology From Mike Nelson and Selected Scene Commentary by Walter S. Ferguson.General DVDs
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