Kings and Desperate Men (1977)
DIRECTOR: Alexis Kanner
STARS: Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner, Scanners), Alexis Kanner (Goodbye Gemini), Andrea Marcovicci (Spacehunter, The Hand), Margaret Trudeau, Peter MacNeill (A History of Violence), Frank Moore (Rabid), August Schellenberg (Drying Up the Streets)
SYNOPSIS: A small terrorist group takes over a Canadian radio station on Christmas eve. The activist leader (Kanner) and his shotgun wielding sidekick (Marcovicci) take a popular talk DJ (McGoohan) hostage. At the same time other members of the group secure McGoohan’s wife and child as well as a judge. This is for insurance that McGoohan won’t make any moves to escape. They use the radio station to get across their message: an associate of theirs got a raw deal by the courts and now he’s in prison. They want to use the public audience to “retry” the case. As the plot unfolds, everyone in Canada is glued to their radios. In some public areas the show is broadcast on loudspeakers. The bulk of the plot is McGoohan and Kanner in a battle of wits. I know the plot might sound a bit dry but all the actors do a fine job with the late great McGoohan really giving his all— you can’t take your eyes off him. The memorable camerawork and editing was done by co-star Kanner as well. But it’s his energetic direction that really shines here. The film occasionally will cut to a montage of people and places while we hear the DJ talk or music play on the soundtrack. It reminds me of experimental and playful filmmaking from the 70’s. Movies like Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, End of the Road, etc. It’s very effective and much better than you think. The folks at “Shock Cinema” love this one: read the review.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R
DIRECTOR: Alexis Kanner
STARS: Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner, Scanners), Alexis Kanner (Goodbye Gemini), Andrea Marcovicci (Spacehunter, The Hand), Margaret Trudeau, Peter MacNeill (A History of Violence), Frank Moore (Rabid), August Schellenberg (Drying Up the Streets)
SYNOPSIS: A small terrorist group takes over a Canadian radio station on Christmas eve. The activist leader (Kanner) and his shotgun wielding sidekick (Marcovicci) take a popular talk DJ (McGoohan) hostage. At the same time other members of the group secure McGoohan’s wife and child as well as a judge. This is for insurance that McGoohan won’t make any moves to escape. They use the radio station to get across their message: an associate of theirs got a raw deal by the courts and now he’s in prison. They want to use the public audience to “retry” the case. As the plot unfolds, everyone in Canada is glued to their radios. In some public areas the show is broadcast on loudspeakers. The bulk of the plot is McGoohan and Kanner in a battle of wits. I know the plot might sound a bit dry but all the actors do a fine job with the late great McGoohan really giving his all— you can’t take your eyes off him. The memorable camerawork and editing was done by co-star Kanner as well. But it’s his energetic direction that really shines here. The film occasionally will cut to a montage of people and places while we hear the DJ talk or music play on the soundtrack. It reminds me of experimental and playful filmmaking from the 70’s. Movies like Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, End of the Road, etc. It’s very effective and much better than you think. The folks at “Shock Cinema” love this one: read the review.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R
DIRECTOR: Alexis Kanner
STARS: Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner, Scanners), Alexis Kanner (Goodbye Gemini), Andrea Marcovicci (Spacehunter, The Hand), Margaret Trudeau, Peter MacNeill (A History of Violence), Frank Moore (Rabid), August Schellenberg (Drying Up the Streets)
SYNOPSIS: A small terrorist group takes over a Canadian radio station on Christmas eve. The activist leader (Kanner) and his shotgun wielding sidekick (Marcovicci) take a popular talk DJ (McGoohan) hostage. At the same time other members of the group secure McGoohan’s wife and child as well as a judge. This is for insurance that McGoohan won’t make any moves to escape. They use the radio station to get across their message: an associate of theirs got a raw deal by the courts and now he’s in prison. They want to use the public audience to “retry” the case. As the plot unfolds, everyone in Canada is glued to their radios. In some public areas the show is broadcast on loudspeakers. The bulk of the plot is McGoohan and Kanner in a battle of wits. I know the plot might sound a bit dry but all the actors do a fine job with the late great McGoohan really giving his all— you can’t take your eyes off him. The memorable camerawork and editing was done by co-star Kanner as well. But it’s his energetic direction that really shines here. The film occasionally will cut to a montage of people and places while we hear the DJ talk or music play on the soundtrack. It reminds me of experimental and playful filmmaking from the 70’s. Movies like Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, End of the Road, etc. It’s very effective and much better than you think. The folks at “Shock Cinema” love this one: read the review.
Fullscreen / Color
Region Free / Code Free DVD-R