HOLY NUKE

A peculiar 80's Post-Apoc cheesy rarity

2008-02-03T08:12:00.000+01:00

Most Post-Apoc films from the earlier decades tend to all look the same : punks on motorcycles, huge shoulder pads, cheap cardboard-armored cars, etc.

There are some exceptions to the PA traditions, and Radioactive Dreams is one of them.
Here's the story : two private eye brothers who spent all their life in a nuclear shelter (here we go...) decide to see the outside world, and, most of all, meet some chicks in their convertible. What ensues is a non-stop cheesy 80's mess, ending with a dance scene that strangely reminds me of Footloose.
The director, Albert Pyun, is better known for movies like Kickboxer 2 and Cyborg (the latter being a classic cheapo PA flick starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and one of the two main characters is portrayed by Michael Dudikoff, better known for being THE American Ninja! Why those people went on making/participating in this rather obscure 80's PA comedy that contains no martial arts is a mystery.
For the common man, the movie is crap. But I strongly recommend the others (the Chosen Ones), to watch this enjoyable piece of nonsense.

Here's a video of Sue Saad (a sadly forgotten Siouxie/Blondie prototype), performing her title "Guilty Pleasures" in the middle of the movie :

Life in the Vault is about to change...

2007-11-24T13:33:00.001+01:00

Because we geeks know we all need our fix every once in a while :

& the new one :

Licorne French Test

2007-11-12T05:48:00.001+01:00

Here are four incredible shots of the Licorne French Thermonuclear Test, that took place in the 70's in (guess) Mururoa.
Original Link here.
Click on the pictures to drastically enlarge your penis :

The Atomic Cafe

2007-10-07T20:20:00.002+02:00

To all Fallout fans who don't know it already : you must see The Atomic Cafe. If you don't know Fallout, I bet you don't play computer games, but pay attention anyway!
This 1982 film is a collage of news, interviews, footage, and propaganda, starting with Hiroshima & Nagazaki. As the Bomb travels through history, the documents show its psychological effect on U.S. population (and its direct effects on innocents, too). Including the "duck & cover" thang and the idea of building fallout shelters.
The film oscillates constantly between the terrifying and the happily insane, nicely wrapped up in black humor. Damn, it may be the ultimate video document on this subject. It's like I can close this blog now, there's no more searching to do!

Here's a nice link, mostly about the soundtrack. And the Wikipedia article.

Little Update : here's the Wikipedia article about Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, who passed away recently. He's the man speaking in the first of the above videos. May his soul finally rest in peace.

New!
I just uploaded my favorite moment of The Atomic Cafe on YouTube. The song played during the clip is from Jackie Doll and His Pickled Peppers. Here ya go :

Just to get ready

2007-10-04T22:33:00.000+02:00

that :
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/2008_Presidential_Election
and that :
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp

I Have No DOS And I Must Scream

2007-09-23T13:46:00.000+02:00

Joy, everyone!
Another DOS-only adventure classic has been salvaged by the ScummVM team. It's now possible to play I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream on modern PCs! And certainly soon on Nintendo DS!
You'll need to download the latest test version of ScummVM until official version 0.11 comes out, so it might still be buggy. The game itself is pretty rare, but you can get it (for a rather high price) on Harlan Ellison's Website Shop.

Harlan Ellison is the writer of the original short story the game was based on. He was actually also highly involved in the making of the game, writing fresh material and giving his voice to AM, the omnipotent supercomputer who destroyed all humanity except five individuals he keeps torturing for eternity. That's just the beginning. Expect strong and grim subject matter, difficult puzzles, and probably deep afterthought. Yes, it's pretty much a true game for adults.

For more info about Ellison, check those Wikipedia pages : in english, et en français!

Oh, and the game was published by Cyberdreams, of Dark Seed fame.

- ScummVM website : official post

Here's a 10 minutes video of the game. Don't watch it if you don't want the game spoiled, because it's the walkthrough for the first half of Gorrister's journey. Gorrister is one of the 5 characters you will play throughout the game :

The Radscorpion Lives!

2007-09-22T12:32:00.000+02:00

Now boys and girls, here's some serious proof that the Fallout games were influenced by Damnation Alley, the only movie based on a Roger Zelazny book. He was so pissed off at the shittiness of the result (what? I don't understand why!) that he wanted his name erased from the credits. Strangely, the fillmakers did NOT obey this will.

The movie stars George Peppard (Hannibal in the A-Team) and Jan-Michael Vincent (Springfellow Hawk in Airwolf. He was also in X-Tro 2). Check the link titled "The Landmaster," it's a fan page about the movie's Vehicle. Goofy shit.

Now, the proof : meet the Radscorpions in flesh (video taken without even asking to a fellow from Nanarland.com forums)

Giant cockroaches were also used in Fallout, as well as in the movie :

And, if you didn't have enough, here's a boring video of life inside the Landmaster, featuring the character with a mustache, baptized "Stiff" by our Department Of Names. We might soon be involved in the making of a story featuring Stiff :

Update : After reading the book, Zelazny's reaction to the movie becomes clear. The original work could very well be a film script, since it follows a pretty straightforward narration, with almost no hard-to-visually-represent delirious sci-fi elements one could expect from the author.
Basically, Zelazny had a good story for a film, and other people messed it up to make a cheesy, less gritty, friendlier movie with familiar stars. Maybe one day someone will decide to make a more proper adaptation.

In the meantime, Damnation Alley is still an enjoyable film, and is part of Fallout's history. So let's not get angry, shall we?