Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott)

"More human than human" is our motto.

I was in my last year at school when I first saw, then become obsessed with, Blade Runner. I watched it every night for almost a month. Only stopping because I had exams coming up and had to get down to revising like a good boy. But it still stuck in my head. So I partly blame Ridley Scott for my poor grades.

A lot has been written about this film and one of the best about the making of it is 'Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner', which became my bible.

Electra Glide In Blue (1973, James William Guerco)

He's a 5' 4'' cop in a 6' 4'' world.


I have to thank one of my older brothers for switching me on to this classic.
The opening scene of  man cooking his breakfast had me thinking maybe it was time for my bed and sleepytime. But, what shortly happened next in the scene made me reconsider.

Brilliantly directed by first-timer, and if I'm not mistaken his only time as a director, James William Guerco. The cinematography is a treat for the eyes, with lots of shots of Monument Valley which was also the background for many a western.

Robert Blake plays the coolest cop in FILM, yes even more than Dirty Harry himself. He crops up in another cult favourite, David Lynch's Lost Highway, but I don't think he has done any better than in this film.

P.S. Anyone know where I can find a copy of Busting also starring Robert Blake? It also stars Elliot Gould and is directed by Peter Hyams. Your help would be very much appreciated.

The Ninth Configuration (1980, William Peter Blatty)

If God existed, he's a fake. Or, more likely, a foot. A giant, all-powerful, all-knowing *foot!*

Let's kick off with what has to be top of my list of film cultdom, the brilliantly crazy The Ninth Configuration. I will give no review nor synopsis. I will just beg and implore you to see this before your time on this earth ends.

I caught this while flicking through the tv channels some years ago on Channel 4 (God bless'em). The name William Peter Blatty came on screen (yes he of The Exorcist) and immediately my interest was pricked. It will make you laugh, cry, laugh again and consider your own existence.

I sometime later tracked  it down on import DVD but I believe it is now available on Region 2. Mark Kermode helps out with the bonus features and you get some really good insights on the making of this great film.