Phantom of the Opera (1943) – Arthur Lubin

It’s the first color Universal Monster movie! Phantom of the Opera is presented in gorgeous technicolor, this is the only one of the original Universal Monster movies that won the Oscars it was nominated for, Best Cinematography (Color) and Best Art Direction (Color). While one could argue that the Universal Monster series started with the…

Saturn 3 (1980) – Stanley Donen, and John Barry

Gorgeous set and production design can’t save a film with a number of top drawer stars (Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett, and Harvey Keitel) thanks to a heavily edited final cut, and flawed story. Not to mention some miniature and model work that may have worked in the 50s but looks incredibly bad in the 80s,…

Dragonslayer (1981) – Matthew Robbins

Vermithax Perjorative. Was there ever a better name for a dragon ever? DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book brings me this classic film from ’81 as I continue my exploration of the dark chapter on dragons and dinosaurs. Boasting some fantastic creature effects, Vermitax may be the best looking dragon to ever be presented…

The Twilight Zone (1963) – Jess-Belle, and Miniature

There’s the road sign up ahead, it’s time to take a weekly turn into The Twilight Zone, as I delve deeper into Season 4 of The Complete Series on blu-ray, now available from Paramount Pictures. First up is a tale of love, jealousy and witchcraft with Jess-Belle. Written by Earl Hamner Jr. this spooky little…