B-Movie Gazette: "PARIS, TEXAS" TURNS 40 - WIM WENDERS INDIE MASTERPIECE ABOUT A MAN TRYING TO FIND HIS WAY BACK TO HIS MARRAIGE

B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - KLONDIKE FEVER (1979)

Canadian director Peter Carter was best known for the B-movie masterpiece Rituals, which, many movie lovers think beat Deliverance at its own game. He died sadly at 49 of a sudden heart attack but not before leaving us with a few other gems like Highpoint with Richard Harris and this sorely overlooked Western drama. Klondike Fever tells the story of Jack London (Jeff East) and his partner (Robin Gammel) as they journey to stake their claim and hopefully take home their weight in gold. It's adventurous, epic in scope with a huge cast and suitable for the whole darn family. Of particular note is Robin Gammel, excellent and funny, Gordon Pinsent who kills it as the crafty "Swiftwater" and an '80's actress who I never tire of mentioning, the lovely Lisa Langlois. It's super cornball along the way and sometimes feels like an afternoon children's special but this is a great film and surprisingly it won a bunch of Genie awards to back that up. Klondike Fever, playing above and on Tubi which recently uploaded a much nicer version than the VHS transfer that they used to have. 2.75 stars/2.75

Saturday, August 10, 2024

"PARIS, TEXAS" TURNS 40 - WIM WENDERS INDIE MASTERPIECE ABOUT A MAN TRYING TO FIND HIS WAY BACK TO HIS MARRAIGE

The first time Harry Dean Stanton carried a whole picture, he knocked it out of the park with this spot-on portrait of a lost man, both mentally and geographically. His brother (Dean Stockwell, superb) picks him up wondering around in the desert and brings him back home to help him on his feet again. Nobody knows where he's been for four years. This puts him square in the path of his brother's wife (Aurora Clement, an amazing French actress) who has been taking care of Stanton's boy he abandoned for the last four years.

I'll leave it there but that's just the start of an incredible journey which ultimately lands him finding his wife who now works at a strip club. The legendary German actress and dancer Nastassja Kinski is so incredible in this role and the location that they chose for the strip club should belong on some list of top ten best locations ever in a movie.

Indies this great only come down the pike once every five or ten years. On many, many top ten indie films of all time lists. I encourage you to revisit it or if you haven't seen it, that's right, don't pass go and don't collect $200. 5 stars/5