La cattiva sorte di
Near Dark ha certamente contribuito ad innalzarlo al ruolo di cult (quasi) misconosciuto; per il resto, è diventato tale per il semplice fatto che si tratta di un
ottimo film.
Coinvolto nel fallimento della
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, finì con avere scarsa pubblicità ed una pessima distribuzione; difficilmente reperibile in Italia (almeno fino a qualche anno fa, e non sono neppure certo sia mai stato doppiato), si dovette ricorrere al DVD inglese. Sfortunatamente la mancanza di sottotitoli e l'audio in presa diretta, unito al forte accento di molti protagonisti, rendono l'ascolto un po' difficoltoso per chi - come me - non ha un
ottimo orecchio per l'inglese. Per questo mi sono deciso ad una seconda e più attenta visione.
Caleb, giovane texano, si invaghisce di una bella ragazza che - per sua somma sorpresa - lo morde sul collo.
In breve inizia a trasformarsi: brucia al sole e scopre un peculiare quanto inatteso appetito per il sangue umano...
Spaventato, cerca di tornare a casa, ma viene rapito sotto gli occhi del padre e della sorellina dagli "amici" della ragazza.
Ormai deve affrontare la realtà della sua nuova condizione, e per essere accettato nel gruppo dovrà dimostrarsi in grado di uccidere; nel mentre, i suoi famigliari sono sulle sue tracce, e l'incontro lo costringerà a scegliere da che parte stare.
Ottimamente scritto e diretto da
Kathryn Bigelow che già qui mostra alcune chicche registiche, Near Dark è una eccellente fusione di western ed horror.
Magistrale la fuga dal motel e memorabile l'assalto al bar, non ci si risparmia certo violenze ed aberrazioni: il personaggio di
Homer, "bambino" spietato e corrotto è da antologia ed è qualcosa che al giorno d'oggi - 20 anni dopo, durante i quali evidentemente siamo diventati più bigotti della
Famiglia Del Mulino Bianco - sarebbe quasi impensabile portare sullo schermo.
Molto bravi e nella parte gli attori, tra i quali si segnalano tre reduci di
Aliens: il cuoiosissimo
Lance Henriksen, il sempre mitico
Bill Paxton e
Jenette Goldstein (
Vasquez!), oltre ad alcuni caratteristi tra i quali l'immenso
Frank di
ER.
Voto: 9. Un film coi vampiri nel quale la parola con la "
V" non viene neppure mai nominata (ulteriore tocco di classe).
Tags: horror, western, Texas, vampiri, morso, immortalità, forza, sangue, omicidi, assalto, sole, autocombustione, bambino, bar, camper, furto d'auto, rapimento, pistole, fucili, sparatoria, accoltellamento, sgozzamento, gore, esplosione, camion, famiglia, amore, redenzione, strage, motel, bacio, autostop, trasfusione, polizia, cult.
Near Dark (1987)
Buio si avvicina, Il
Regista: Kathryn Bigelow Scrittore: Kathryn Bigelow,
Eric Red Genere: Horror, Western
Valutazione: 7.0/10 (5601 voti)
Durata: 95 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English
Cast:Trama:A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar.
Trivia random: While shooting in the desert, Lance Henriksen relieved the boredom between takes by hopping in his car and taking short drives through the desert, still in costume and often staying in character. According to Henriksen and Bill Paxton, the two were stopped by a policeman who became so unnerved questioning 'Jesse' about his speeding that the officer became visibly uncomfortable, stepping back and placing his hand on his firearm. The obviously flustered officer decided to send them on their way rather than write them a ticket.
Citazione random: [Pale, sweating and in obvious withdrawal, Caleb is being shaken down by a policeman]::Deputy Sheriff: You ain't looking too good, son.::Caleb Colton: I ain't feeling too good, sir.::Deputy Sheriff: What're you on?::Caleb Colton: You wouldn't believe me...
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Goldstein, Jenette
Nome di battesimo: Goldstein, Jenette Elise
Data di nascita: 4 February 1960
Altezza: 5' 3" (1.60 m)
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:Jenette Goldstein is a true chameleon. She is so effective as an actress, it is nearly impossible to recognize her from role to role. Her work has been the highlight of major films, including Aliens, Titanic, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Jenette spent most of her childhood in Los Angeles. Born to theater-loving parents, she attended fine arts-oriented schools, and was the young star of the drama classes. She often competed in citywide drama competitions with soon-to-be famous peers Val Kilmer, Gina Gershon, Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. To hone her craft after high school, Jenette studied at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and at Circle in the Square Theater in New York City, mastering drama theory, physicality, dialects and the classics. It was in London, while performing in local theater productions, where Jenette answered an audition request for American actors with British Equity cards. Thinking it was another play or a small film, she read for a tough, macho Latina character, named 'Vasquez' And shot to fame in James Cameron's iconic film, Aliens. Cameron was so pleased with Jenette's creativity and strong work ethic, he recast her as the loving 'Irish Mother' in the epic, Titanic, and as 'Janelle' in Terminator 2. Her resume is testament to her range and versatility: Living Out Loud, Senseless, Near Dark, Clockstoppers, Lethal Weapon 2, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The edgy comedy of Jenette1s scene with Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, her deep compassion in Titanic, intensity in Terminator 2, and vampy allure in Near Dark illustrate her broad talent. Her characters run the gamut of style and social class, emotion and intellect. In addition to film, Jenette has made several appearances on the small screen. She was a Guest Star on such award-winning shows as Six Feet Under, ER, LA Law, and Strong Medicine. She is the only performer ever cast twice on ER, a show whose policy is never to recast the same actor for a different role. She guest-starred on the 100th anniversary show as a grieving mother, and in a separate episode opposite Anthony Edwards, as a heroic flight nurse. It was only after Jenette was hired for the second role that ER's producers realized she had done the show before. Jenette has continued working in theater throughout her career, appearing plays in New York, London and Los Angeles. She has performed the classics, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, to more contemporary pieces, such as Arthur Miller's After The Fall, which won the 2002 Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production. Currently, Jenette is excited about her latest creation: a one-woman show she is writing herself.
Trivia random: Was up for a role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987). She was one of the candidates to play the Enterprise-D's chief of security.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Bigelow, Kathryn
Nome di battesimo: Bigelow, Kathryn Ann
Data di nascita: 27 November 1951
Altezza: 5' 11½" (1.82 m)
Coniuge: James Cameron::(17 August 1989 - 1991) (divorced)
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in a vault, where she made art and waited to be criticized by people like Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Sontag. She later graduated from Columbia's Film School. She was also a member of the British avant-garde cultural group, Art and Language. Kathryn is the only child of the manager of a paint factory and a librarian.
Trivia random: Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 1990.
Citazione random: [About her 1995 film, "Strange Days"] "If you hold a mirror up to society, and you don't like what you see, you can't fault the mirror. It's a mirror. I think that on the eve of the millennium, a point in time only four years from now, the clock is ticking, the same social issues and racial tensions still exist, the environment still needs reexamination so you don't forget it when the lights come up. "Strange Days" is provocative. Without revealing too much, I would say that it feels like we are driving toward a highly chaotic, explosive, volatile, Armageddon-like ending. Obviously, the riot footage came out of the LA riots. I mean, I was there. I experienced that. I was part of the cleanup afterwards, so I was very aware of the environment. I mean, it really affected me. It was etched indelibly on my psyche. So obviously some of the imagery came from that. I don't like violence. I am very interested, however, in truth. And violence is a fact of our lives, a part of the social context in which we live. But other elements of the movie are love and hope and redemption. Our main character throws up after seeing this hideous experience. The toughest decision was not wanting to shy away from anything, trying to keep the truth of the moment, of the social environment. It's not that I condone violence. I don't. It's an indictment. I would say the film is cautionary, a wake-up call, and that I think is always valuable."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Henriksen, Lance
Data di nascita: 5 May 1940
Altezza: 5' 10¼" (1.78 m)
Coniuge: Jane Pollack::(22 April 1995 - present) 1 child, Mary Jane Evans::(10 February 1985 - 1988) (divorced) 1 child
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:An intense, versatile actor as adept at playing clean-cut FBI agents as he is playing psychotic motorcycle-gang leaders, who can go from portraying soulless, murderous vampires to burned-out, world-weary homicide detectives, Lance Henriksen has starred in a variety of films that have allowed him to stretch his talents just about as far as an actor could possibly hope. One of his latest projects was AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. He also appeared in the TNT original movie Evel Knievel (2004) (TV), directed by John Badham and executive produced by Mel Gibson. Henriksen portrayed "Awful Knoffel" in this project based on the life of the famed daredevil, played by George Eads. Henriksen starred for three seasons (1996-1999) on "Millennium" (1996), Fox-TV's critically acclaimed series created by Chris Carter ("The X Files" (1993)). His performance as "Frank Black", a retired FBI agent who has the ability to get inside the minds of killers, landed him three consecutive Golden Globe nominations for "Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series" and a People's Choice Award nomination for "Favorite New TV Male Star". FOX Home Entertainment has just released the first season of "Millennium" on DVD.Born in New York, Henriksen studied at the Actors Studio and began his career off-Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's "Three Plays of the Sea." One of his first film appearances was as an FBI agent in Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975), followed by Lumet's Network (1976) and Prince of the City (1981). He then appeared in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) with Richard Dreyfuss and François Truffaut, Damien: Omen II (1978) and in Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff (1983), in which he played Mercury astronaut Capt. Wally Schirra.James Cameron cast Henriksen in his first directorial effort, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981), then used him in The Terminator (1984), and cast him as the android Bishop in the sci-fi classic Aliens (1986). Director Sam Raimi, who used Henriksen in his quirky western The Quick and the Dead (1995) opposite Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman, says, "Lance is a brilliant performer who goes way beyond acting. He becomes his character completely, leaving no trace of his former self and making something of every moment on screen."Henriksen's additional feature credits include what is one of his best-known roles, that of the head of a family of murderous redneck vampires in Kathryn Bigelow's cult vampire film Near Dark (1987). He's also appeared in Jagged Edge (1985), Pumpkinhead (1989), The Horror Show (1989), Survival Quest (1989), director Walter Hill's Johnny Handsome (1989), The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) (V), Bruce Robinson's Jennifer Eight (1992), Alien³ (1992), Richard Rush's Color of Night (1994), Powder (1995), Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995), Disney's animated feature Tarzan (1999) and John Woo's first American film, Hard Target (1993), for which Henriksen received a Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actor.He was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in the TNT original film The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) (TV) and had starring roles in PBS' Emmy-winning The Dark End of the Street (1981) and HBO's "Tales from the Crypt" (1989). Henriksen also played actor Charles Bronson in the television movie Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story (1991) (TV).In addition to his abilities as an actor, Henriksen is an accomplished painter and potter. His talent as a ceramist has enabled him to create some of the most unusual ceramic artworks available on the art market today. He resides in Southern California with his wife Jane and their five-year-old daughter Sage.
Trivia random: Was illiterate until the age of thirty. Learned to read by studying movie scripts.
Citazione random: "If I'm going to have a rough time doing it, then that's what I'll do. If I'm in the comfort zone, I can't. I have to get off-balance enough to be alive."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Paxton, Bill
Nome di battesimo: Paxton, William
Data di nascita: 17 May 1955
Altezza: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
Coniuge: Louise Newbury::(1987 - present) 2 children, Kelly Rowan::(2 October 1979 - 22 July 1980) (divorced)
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:Bill moved to Los Angeles at 18 where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his film debut in the Corman film Crazy Mama (1975) directed by Jonathan Demme. Moving to New York, he studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), Bill found steady work in low-budget films and TV. He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including _Fish Heads (1982)_ which aired on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984) followed hard by his very memorable performance as Private Hudson in Aliens (1986) and as the nomadic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987). Bill also appeared in John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), as Wyatt's sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and TV, his big break did not come until his lead role in the critically acclaimed film-noir One False Move (1992). This quickly led to strong supporting roles as Wyatt Earp's naive younger brother Morgan in Tombstone (1993) and as Fred Haise, one of the three astronauts in Apollo 13 (1995), as well as in James Cameron's offering True Lies (1994).
Trivia random: Is one of two actors along with Lance Henriksen to have worked in a Terminator, Predator and Alien movie.
Citazione random: "I support the troops. This is tough time right now. I think a lot of people in our industry are afraid to speak out. I had a drink with Sean Penn the other night. He went over to Baghdad in December just to see for himself what was going on. And that guy is as American as anybody I ever met."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Evans, Troy (I)
Data di nascita: 16 February 1948
Trivia random: Appeared in the pilot episode of "ER" (1994) as Officer Frank Martin. He returned years later as a replacement for Jerry the desk clerk. Frank often talks about his police career to the doctors.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
"ER" (1994)
E.R. - medici in prima linea
Regista: Brett Fallis Scrittore: Sonya Steele Genere: Drama
Valutazione: 7.9/10 (484 voti)
Durata: Netherlands:44 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English
Cast:- Noah Wyle .... Dr. John Carter / ... (249 episodes, 1994-2006)
- Laura Innes .... Dr. Kerry Weaver (246 episodes, 1995-2007)
- Laura Cerón .... Nurse Chuny Marquez (198 episodes, 1995-2007)
- Deezer D .... Nurse Malik McGrath (188 episodes, 1994-2007)
- Anthony Edwards .... Dr. Mark Greene (179 episodes, 1994-2002)
- Goran Visnjic .... Dr. Luka Kovac (177 episodes, 1999-2007)
- Yvette Freeman .... Nurse Haleh Adams (174 episodes, 1994-2007)
- Maura Tierney .... Nurse Abby Lockhart / ... (169 episodes, 1999-2007)
- Eriq La Salle .... Dr. Peter Benton (169 episodes, 1994-2002)
- Alex Kingston .... Dr. Elizabeth Corday (158 episodes, 1997-2004)
Trama:Michael Crichton has created a medical drama that chronicles life and death in a Chicago hospital emergency room. Each episode tells the tale of another day in the ER, from the exciting to the mundane, and the joyous to the heart-rending. Frenetic pacing, interwoven plot lines, and emotional rollercoastering is used to attempt to accurately depict the stressful environment found there. This show even portrays the plight of medical students in their quest to become physicians.
Trivia random: Because the show could make only a couple of location shoots in Chicago each year, the exterior scenes would often have to be filmed in advance of the rest of the episode's shoot back in LA. Sometimes a scene for an episode would have to be shot before it was even written. A famous example of this is the final scene in "Love's Labor Lost," when Dr. Greene cries on the EL. Director Mimi Leder could only give 'Anthony Edwards' a brief description of what was to occur and told him to "find it," "it" being the sadness Greene was experiencing.
Citazione random: Dr. John Carter: Hey, Peter. I'm a good doctor because of you.::Dr. Peter Benton: No, you're not. But keep trying.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Aliens (1986)
Aliens - Scontro finale
Regista: James Cameron Scrittore: Dan O'Bannon,
Ronald Shusett Genere: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Valutazione: 8.4/10 (100018 voti) [#69 nella top250]
Durata: 137 min
Paese: USA, UK
Lingua: English
Cast:Trama:The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors -- if any remain.
Trivia random: The difficulties surrounding Sigourney Weaver's contract negotiations were such that James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd - recently married - announced that if the deal was not done by the time they got back from their honeymoon, they were out. When they returned, no progress had been made - so James Cameron, determined to make the film and wary of the deadline scenario he had created, devised a scheme: he telephoned Arnold Schwarzenegger's agent for an informal chat and informed him that, thanks to his newfound standing in Hollywood following The Terminator (1984), he had decided to make this film entirely his own by writing Ripley out; as James Cameron anticipated, Arnold Schwarzenegger's agent immediately relayed the information to his colleague representing Sigourney Weaver at ICM, who in turn contacted 20th Century-Fox Head of Production Lawrence Gordon; both men, determined that under no circumstances whatsoever would Ripley be written out, wasted no time in sealing Sigourney Weaver's deal.
Citazione random: Hicks: We're all in strung out shape but stay frosty and alert. We can't afford to let one of those bastards in here.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb. 
) si stringe attorno al giovane sacerdote - disperato e ad un passo dall'alcolismo, così come il pubblico - intenzionato a riprendersi la chiesa locale a suon di crocifissi e acqua santa.
(se incontrate questo DVD piantagli un paletto di frassino nel cuore, prima che lui lo faccia a voi!)
