Thursday, February 7, 2013

THE FANTASY FILM WORLDS OF GEORGE PAL (1985) movie review


Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, The (1985) d. Leibovit, Arnold (USA)

The tragedy is that despite being name-checked in Rocky Horror’s “Science Fiction/Double Feature”, most folks on the street today are sadly ignorant of who George Pal is or of his notable contributions to cinema. Thankfully, this affectionate tribute to the Hungarian-born filmmaker by Arnold Leibovit puts the spotlight on a Tinseltown figure whose list of influential and beloved films include such fantasy and sci-fi classics as 1950’s Destination Moon (the first true Hollywood sci-fi epic), War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Tom Thumb, The Naked Jungle, and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, not to mention his groundbreaking work in animation with "George Pal’s Puppetoons" (7 Oscar nominations).


Leibovit’s documentary is filled with numerous eye-popping scenes from the films themselves, as well as insightful, loving interviews from the likes of Joe Dante, Forrest Ackerman, Charlton Heston, Ray Harryhausen, Russ Tamblyn, Tony Curtis, and more. Well worth checking out.

No comments:

Post a Comment