Being a kid in the 1970's was a bit odd.
Stuff on tv and in the cinemas seemed determined to create an entire generation of children too traumatised to try sleeping without at least one fully operational World War 2 anti-aircraft searchlight stationed in the room pointed directly at the wardrobe. Tales of the Unexpected, Sapphire and Steel, Dr Who stories like Horror of Fang Rock, Talons of Weng Chiang, and Pyramids of Mars. Even the Ripping Yarns story The Curse of the Claw was out to get us. How we made it out with even a vestige of sanity beggars belief. (Quiet at the back. I'm perfectly sane; my mother had me tested.)
Example.
I've always been a big Star Wars fan, being of the generation that queued around the block to see that film that had looked so very cool in the clip shown on Michael Rodd's Screen Test. Fast forward to 1980. The 70's was done, we thought. Must be safe to venture outside. Let's go see the new Star Wars film. The Empire Strikes Back will be as a salve to our badly grazed psyches. A cinematic Savlon.
Aye, right.
Coming out of the film, my dreams were not filled with AT-ATs and Boba Fett. No, they were filled with images of mouldering death knights and drowning. Major league mental scarring, though quite cool with it.
For years, no one else believed me, seeming to have escaped the joys of Roger Christian's Black Angel. It's the story of a knight returning home from 'The Wars' to discover, in proper bleak 1970's style, that everyone was dead, his castle had aged two centuries in an evening and fallen down, and there was a plague. Oh, and raiders were mentioned. He falls into an inexplicably deep river for reasons, nearly drowns, but is saved when a pert wee lass in a sheet (I didn't appreciate 'the pert' when I was a kid - one of the advantages of age) demands of Lord Death to swap with the knight. She must have been a 70's Goth or something, having one of those days. Anyway, the knight is having none of it, runs off to rescue the maiden in the sheet, follows an old man doing Terry Gilliam impressions and trying to hide his walking boots under bits of cloth, passes a car park, goes up and down the same hill a few times, then meets and fights Lord Death. He finally figures out what's happening, then we get a proper 1970's ending. The kind they don't make any more, unless it's a Russell Crow film.
 |
| Richard! (He's the one on the right.) |
Black Angel, which lasts about 20 minutes, was sponsored by George Lucas. Never forget that he was into experimental film making, something that informs all of his work - yes, even the Prequels. It was dropped in on limited release as a short before Empire Strikes Back, but only in some cinemas. At times, I think it was only the cinema I went to as no one I know will admit to having had the same fever dream. It was lost for a long time, rediscovered, restored, and is now on iTunes for pennies.
Looking at it now, Black Angel is an odd mix. The sinister, almost alien in their organic-ness locations of the Scottish forests around Eilean Donan castle are beautifully shot. The atmosphere is moist and cloying, rotting even, helped by an eerie 70's Hammer-style soundtrack, and it all conjures the best of Excalibur. A little unfortunately, the script, acting, and fight choreography, and the fact that the knight's horse is called Richard, ensure the whole thing stumbles very close to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That said, for a 'U' certificate, the Black Angel himself is pretty creepy even now, helped by all the afore-mentioned atmosphere. I'd hesitate to show it to my kids. Well, hesitate a little. I don't see why they should escape a proper 1970's trauma. Never did me any (lasting) harm.
 |
| And people wonder why I turned out this way... |
Richard!!
Supplemental!
A very talented chum, Richie Morgan, interviewed Roger Christian recently about Black Angel. Here's the video. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment