If you were a regular moviegoer during the 1980s, you'll no doubt be very familiar with the fifty trailers presented by Televista on its ATTACK OF THE 80s DVD. I don't know much about Televista--I suspect it isn't a company well-known for going the extra mile to present top-quality product--but I don't have much negative to say about this disc. The trailers have not been remastered, as Synapse or Ban 1 would do, but they are all presented at approximately 1.85:1 (I didn't measure), which appears to be their original ratio. They are in pretty good shape with a few scratches and fades. They look better than a Something Weird trailer tape, but not as good as a Synapse or Ban 1 disc, if that gives you any indication as to the trailers' quality.

I placed the thread on Cult & Exploitation, though it could almost go on any other Mobius board (well, Jackie Chan is in THE CANNONBALL RUN). If you'd like to know what's on the DVD before you buy it, I'll list the fifty titles below. I presume you'll recognize them, but I'll chip in with an occasional comment. I don't think any of them were released after about 1984, so maybe a sequel is in the works.

PORKY'S

AN EYE FOR AN EYE
Chuck Norris vs. Christopher Lee in San Francisco in an entertaining trailer and film

KRULL

SILKWOOD

HARDLY WORKING
Jerry Lewis is "the original JERK."

RETURN OF THE JEDI

TARZAN THE APE MAN
Bo Derek eats a banana while telling Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe), "I'm still a virgin. I don't know if that's good or if that's bad. Are you a virgin? I guess you'd have to be, wouldn't you?"

SIX WEEKS
Dudley Moore and Mary Tyler Moore star in a weepie that looks like the schmaltziest film ever made. I can't imagine sitting through this Tony Bill soap.

THE THING

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
Danny Dark voices the spot for a John Belushi/Blair Brown romcom that did not turn the raucous SNL star into the next Cary Grant.

HARD TO HOLD
It's hard to believe anybody ever gave a damn about "Rick Springfield in his first motion picture." Hey, that's the '80s!

CONAN THE BARBARIAN

EDUCATING RITA
Good movie. Rotten trailer.

WHOLLY MOSES
William Schallert voices the trailer for a religious satire directed by Gary Weis, who made some funny shorts for SNL. It was a flop, and I don't think Weis ever directed another feature film.

THE SHINING
This is the terrific "elevator" trailer that scared the crap out of me as a kid. I think the film is boring, but the trailer is great.

HONEYSUCKLE ROSE
Willie Nelson "in his first starring role in a major motion picture" plays Willie Nelson.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES II
Looks like LA CAGE AUX FOUL.

INCHON
Laurence Olivier in his BOYS FROM BRAZIL period looks hilariously miscast as General MacArthur. The trailer has Sun Myung Moon's name all over it.

UP THE ACADEMY
"Say it agaaaaaaaaain!"

SOME KIND OF HERO
I remember this as an uninteresting mix of lame comedy and turgid drama, not the wacky Richard-Pryor-takes-on-the-system romp the trailer indicates. Second-billed Margot Kidder is neither seen nor mentioned.

PERSONAL BEST
The winner of the DVD's "Most Deceptive Marketing" award goes to this trailer, which barely hints that the movie has anything to do with lesbians.

RECKLESS
I don't recall this film as being good, but it might be fun to revisit it to see what Aidan Quinn, Daryl Hannah and Adam Baldwin were like 25 years ago (good, I imagine).

DIVINE MADNESS
A Bette Midler concert movie. I can't imagine watching this.

CANNONBALL RUN

DEATH WISH II
"Do you believe in Jesus?"

HEARTBEEPS
It destroyed director Allan Arkush's film career, and it's easy to see why. Does anyone like this film?

THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS
No hints that it's a musical, but Jim Nabors narrates the trailer.

THE RIGHT STUFF

HERCULES
With "the incredible Lou Ferrigno!"

AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION

THE LAST UNICORN

THE AWAKENING
Charlton Heston in a mummy movie!

STAYING ALIVE
A sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER about Broadway musicals written, produced and directed by Sylvester Stallone? How could it miss?

LOVESICK
One of a zillion Dudley Moore movies here.

EASY MONEY
Rodney Dangerfield and Joe Pesci. This is actually funnier than the trailer lets on.

VICTOR/VICTORIA

USED CARS
No wonder the film failed at the box office with a lemon of a trailer like this one.

LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER
Hal Ashby directs a Rolling Stones concert movie I used to watch over and over.

YENTL

OUTLAND

THE VERDICT
One of the top ten dramas ever made, in my opinion. "He drinks."

NO NUKES
Regardless of your opinions on the subject matter, you'd have to love the music: Jackson Browne, Springsteen, CS&N, James Taylor, Carly Simon...

DRESSED TO KILL

SWAMP THING

GLORIA

THE FINAL CONFLICT

THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN INVINCIBLE
Not a good trailer, but I don't know how one would market this movie any better. This spot makes the movie look like ROCKY HORROR MEETS CONDORMAN.

WARGAMES
A teaser spot, I think. No Dabney in this one. "Now, why don't I believe you?"

THE BIG CHILL

MAD MAX 2
I remember seeing this trailer and thinking, "What the heck was MAD MAX 1?" How long did this run in U.S. theaters before it was retitled THE ROAD WARRIOR?

How are the rights for such a disc handled? I ask because a number of these trailers do not appear on the existing DVD of said film (Used Cars, being an example off the top of my head). I suspect some of the other Columbia trailers on the Televista disc also do not appear on the corresponding Sony DVD. I say this because Sony, along with Paramount, tends to leave trailers off their films, which has been attributed to music rights issues.

This is a big guilty pleasure of mine. It's by no means a terribly original film, but it's done with a style and sincerity that redeems it considerably in my mind. This was James Foley's first feature film and it got a tougher critical reception than it warranted. Reviews accused it of riding the coattails of other blue-collar teen fables of the period such as All the Right Moves and Flashdance. The flaw in this criticism was the fact that Reckless sat on the shelf for some time prior to its release and was in production and completed before, or at the same time, as the other films. Reckless's delayed release may have been due to soundtrack issues (Vision Quest, another teen drama of the era, was shelved for nearly a year while its Tangerine Dream score was replaced by pop tunes).

In any event, Reckless has the advantage of an appropriately New Wave-sounding score from Thomas Newman, which is augmented by some great INXS tracks and Romeo Void's sublime "Nvr Say Nvr." In addition, Michael Ballhaus's superb photography is evocative and stylish and shows off the Rust Belt locales to beautiful effect. The editor was music video vet Albert Magnoli (Purple Rain) and I think his touch shows in the sequences set to the INXS songs (off of Shabooh Shoobah).

Quinn, offering his best mumbling amalgamation of Brando & Dean, is fine in his debut. Hannah is lovely and, for better or for worse, mostly appears frightened of Quinn. That being said, their love scenes are very convincing and handled well by Foley. As for Baldwin, he handles his rather limited role as Quinn's romantic rival as well as can be expected. Cliff DeYoung (whatever happened to him?) was well into his streak of essaying smarmy, antagonistic types (F/X comes to mind) and he has some good moments as the football coach who repeatedly gets in Quinn's face. The late Kenneth McMillan is Quinn's cliched drunken Irish lout of a father. In spite of this, their scenery chewing sessions together are alternately moving and entertaining. The rest of the rather impressive cast includes Dan Hedaya, Lois Smith, Jennifer Grey, Haviland Morris, Billy Jacoby, Toni Kalem, Pamela Springsteen, and Adam LeFevre.

This is a worthwhile film, however Warner Home Video has stated that it has no plans to release a DVD at this time. I suspect if Quinn and Hannah's stock was higher, the film might warrant more serious consideration for DVD. As it is, their halcyon days are long gone...

Televista (aka Jef Films or Substance) has no concern for legalities whatsoever as they are a huge bootleg operation. This is simply another unauthorized release in their huge bootleg catalog. That said, their trailer comp does sound quite intriguing as I am a trailer nut, but I still hate supporting bootleggers so I will most likely resist.

Because this is Televista, a/k/a Jef Films, a/k/a Substance, a/k/a New Star, a/k/a WHAM! USA...they're a bootleg operation. By forum rules, we should not even be mentioning their name here.


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So let it be written, so let it be done.