I’m going to go on the record here before I write this one up. This is the first time I have watched The Guns of Navarone. I watched the semi-sequel, Force 10 From Navarone because it was Harrison Ford, sure, but never saw the original. I buckled up and settled in for an incredibly tense,…
Tag: j. lee thompson
Cape Fear (1962) – J. Lee Thompson
The classic Robert Mitchum/Gregory Peck thriller is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Point Blank. I’m ashamed to admit I had never seen the original before now, I’d seen the remake with Nolte and De Niro, but not this one. So going in, I…
The Guns of Navarone (1961) – J. Lee Thompson
Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn bring World War II excitement to the big screen in The Guns of Navarone, a recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Dam Busters. Based on the novel by Alistair MacLean, and adapted by Carl Foreman, the story follows…
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) – J. Lee Thompson
After the darkness of Conquest, the final film in the original Apes series is a little more family-friendly, and is my next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Caesar (Roddy McDowall) is trying to keep his people safe, as he rules the apes, after the consequences of the war that was hinted at during…
King Solomon’s Mines (1985) – J. Lee Thompson
Cheesy lines, poor pacing, editing and uninspired action sequences that are poorly shot, and some even lifted from Raiders and the serials of the 30s weigh this film down that not even a score by Jerry Goldsmith can save. Shot back to back with its sequel Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold, the…
Trailer Tracks: King Solomon’s Mines (1985) – J. Lee Thompson
In the early 80s, thanks to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the high adventure movie was seeing a huge comeback, and everyone was trying to cash in on it. And they thought it would be a great idea to bring back H. Rider Haggard’s Alllan Quartermain to the screen again. Starring Richard Chamberlain, Sharon…
Firewalker (1986) – J. Lee Thompson
The goofy 80s adventure movies continue with this goofy, campy clunker starring Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett Jr. and Melody Anderson. Stealing from the vein of Raiders of the Lost Ark (right down th an appearance by John Rhys-Davies) and Romancing the Stone, the film pairs up Chuck as Max Donigan and Louis as Leo Porter, a pair of adventurers who…
