Episodit
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In this sizzling episode of Cultpix Radio, we're diving horns-first into Satanic September, our devilishly delightful themed month. Prepare your souls (and your eyeballs) for a hellish ride through our infernal collection!
We kick things off by bragging about our recent documentaries, including some fancy-schmancy lectures from the Wickman Week film festival - we managed to persuade several professors and international academics to come all the way out to rural Sweden to discuss vintage smut. We've even added subtitles to Christina Lindberg's Swedish chatter - because nothing says "exploitation cinema" like educational content!
Then we descend into the fiery pits of Satanic September, featuring such unholy gems as:
1. "Satan in High Heels" (1962) - Because nothing says 'devil worship' like fabulous footwear!
2. "To Hex with Sex" (1969) - A comedy about making deals with the devil. Spoiler: It doesn't end well (but it's hilarious).
3. "Enter the Devil" (1972) - A budget so low, even Satan wouldn't touch it.
We also gush about our eternal flame "Alucarda" (1977) and wax poetic about regional exploitation films. Who knew Texas and Florida were hotbeds of cinematic sin?
Looking ahead, we tease you with upcoming theme weeks that'll make your head spin (maybe literally):
- "31 Nights Until Halloween" - Because 31 days just isn't enough spook for your buck.
- "Art-sploit" week - Where we pretend exploitation films are high art. Bring your beret!
- Joe Sarno week - Swedish-American co-productions that'll make you say "Uff da!"
- A Dutch treat with Just Jaeckin and Sylvia Kristel - Prepare for an Emmanuelle overload!
- Irving Klaw week - Betty Page, anyone?
We wrap up by sharing the most hilarious excuses members have given for unsubscribing. Our personal favorite? "I was drunk and horny when I signed up." Hey, we've all been there, buddy!
Remember, at Cultpix, we're adding new films faster than you can say "Hail Satan!" So stick around, sinners. It's gonna be one hell of a ride! -
We're back! After a bit of a hiatus, we're back on the airwaves with a brand new episode of Cultpix Radio. It feels good to be back, and we've got a lot to catch up on. This episode is all about filling you in on what we've been up to during our break, the incredible events we've hosted, and the exciting content we've been adding to Cultpix.
First up, we dive into the recently concluded Wickman Week. This was an event like no other—a celebration of exploitation and genre cinema that took place at a truly unique location in Sweden. We screened films on 35mm, welcomed guest speakers from around the globe, and even handed out our very first Torgny Award to the one and only Lisa Petrucci from Something Weird Video. Lisa's contributions to the world of exploitation cinema are unparalleled, and we were thrilled to honor her in this way. We also streamed all the non-film content live on Facebook and YouTube, and it's still available to watch on our YouTube channel, though we'll be moving it to Cultpix soon.
Next we take you through the recent themed months on Cultpix. We wrapped up Amazonian August, where we dug deep into the Something Weird Video archives to unearth some truly bizarre new jungle films. There’s also the ongoing Italian Genre Maestros week, featuring cult classics like "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (1985) and several works by Enzo G. Castellari. These films are quintessential examples of the Italian exploitation genre, and we're excited to showcase them, even if some are geo-blocked to Scandinavia.
Speaking of what's coming up, we're especially excited about the impending arrival of Satanic September. This month, we'll delve into the dark and twisted world of satanic cults and rituals with a carefully curated selection of films from Something Weird Video and beyond. We’ve got everything from "My Tale Is Hot" to "To Hex with Sex," and it’s going to be one hell of a month!
We’ve also been hard at work on something many of you have been asking for—apps! Yes, we are finally developing apps so that you can enjoy Cultpix on more than just your web browser. First an app for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, which will make it easier for us to roll out apps for Android TV as well. Roku is also on our list, and after a few bumps in the road, we're optimistic about launching a Roku app by the end of the year. We’re even eyeing smart TVs and Apple TV as future platforms.
We wrap up the episode by reflecting on the films and events that have made the past few months so memorable. From our juvenile delinquency-themed June to the Swedish Sin celebration in July, we've been busy curating and bringing you the best of cult cinema. And don’t worry—this episode isn’t a one-off. We’re committed to returning to more regular programming, with more episodes, more themed weeks, and more deep dives into the wild and wonderful world of cult films.
So, sit back, relax, and let us take you on a journey through what’s new, what’s coming, and what’s making Cultpix the ultimate destination for exploitation and genre cinema fans. We’ve missed you, and we can’t wait to share all the exciting things we have in store.
Also, enjoy the five-hour (!) Spotify playlist from our recent book launch - order the book HERE! Outro: "Let's go rent a video -
Puuttuva jakso?
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Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are thrilled with the reception to the Mike Vraney Memorial Month, with a wealth of new films from Lisa Petrucci - the first Theme Month when we did TWO films each day - and an influx of new members. (There will be more news from Something Weird Video soon.) 'Roughies' such as "Unholy Matrimony" (1966) were definitely a favourite of Mike's.
We discuss why we don't have any 'subscribers', but only MEMBERS, how we do the Jewish Mother guilt trip to get them to stay and why Cultpix is amazing value at $4.92 if you sign up for a whole year, while some people pay $6.66 to just watch one film.
The theme week is the Scopitone, an amazing machine, described as "If a Wurlitzer Jukebox and an old tube television had a love child, it would look like the Scopitone," by Between the Liner Notes (BTLN). It was the tall and grown up version of the jukebox, placed in cocktail bars, where people were prepared to pay a quarter to see a precursor to the music video. The $3,500 machine ($26,000 in today's money) was expensive, but often paid for itself in as little as three months. There was mobster, Kennery and Debie Reynolds connections, all of which we discuss. If you want to dig deeper, look out for Stevenson’s essay, “The Jukebox that Ate the Cocktail Lounge”, in his book "Land of a Thousand Balconies: Discoveries and Confessions of a B-Movie Archaeologist", and while we are on the subject of Jack...
Cultpix is having a bunch of IRL events in the next month, including:
Scandinavian Sin at the Offscreen Film Festival at Cinema Nova 7th March in Brussels, with Jack Stevenson and Christina Lindberg;
Nordic Horror Fest at Husets Biograf in Copenhagen, 17th February;
We will be at the Berlin Film Festival, so drop us a line if you want to meet up and have a beer.
February's theme is Filthy 50th, in which we celebrate the adult films that were released in 1974, right in the middle of the so-called "golden age of American pornography" or 'porno chic'. We kick off with a porn film by Roberta Findlay called "Angel on Fire" (1974), aka "Angel 9", called "The first erotically explicit film ever made by a woman". At least 20 of the films are new to Cultpix.
Also in February, we will have a take-down of Ingmar Bergman (with his black sheep daughter Anna Bergman), some cool and culty films from the Estonian Film Institute (Nazis!! In a lunatic asylum!) and a Spotlight on Echelon Studios.
We finish with the intro music to "Libahunt / Werewolf" (1968) from Estonia, directed by Leida Laius. "Tiina, the daughter of a woman burned as a witch, grows up on a farm with the orphan girl Mari and Margus, the son of the Tammaru family. Margus loves the hotblooded, energetic Tiina, but his parents want him to marry Mari. Mari thinks Tiina has bewitched Margus, and spreads a rumor that her stepsister is a werewolf." -
The Top 10 films on Cultpix in 2023.
Top 10 Nice:
10. Eve and the Merman (1965) - A 60s nudie, with no (famous) talent behind or in front of the camera!
9. Alucarda, the Daughter of Darkness/Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas (1977) - An actual classic! Demonic forces and obsession.
8. Killer Workout (Aerobicide) (1987) - Cheesy 80s outfits in a Jane-Fonda-meets-Jason slasher.
7. Skräcken har 1000 ögon/Fear Has 1,000 Eyes/Sensous Sorceress (1970) - “A study in fear, sex and magic!”
6. Takin' It Off (1985) - 80’s sex comedy, where Kitten Natividad as a stripper who wants to be an actress, but her boobs get in the way.
5. Zero in and Scream (1971) - An extremely obscure film about a lunatic shooter, killing couples in the Hollywood Hills.
4. Kyrkoherden/The Lustful Vicar (1970) - Finally! A restored film! Wonderful nudie classic, in a historical setting and Cinemascope!
3. 42nd Street Forever, Vol. 1 - Trailer compilation with a mix of genres: horror, sexploitation, blaxploitation, mondo, roadshow, Euro sleaze…
2. Inkräktarna/The Intruders (1974) - Low-budget and all but forgotten sexploitation film by Torgny Wickman, the Swedish sex-ed pioneer.
1. Colour Correct My Cock - Trailer and clip compilation by the Canada's Vagrancy Films.
Top 10 'Naughty':
10. Den k... familjen/Happy Family (1976) - Yet another shoddy Swedish low budget film, by the crappy Heinz Arland (who did Summer With Vanja).
9. Jag vill ligga med din älskare, mamma/Swedish Confessions (1977) - Andrei Feher is an interesting name in Swedish erotic movie history. This is his debut.
8. SexWorld (1978) - A sex parody/spoof of the films Westworld (1973). Sex animatronics satisfy every need…
7. Teenage Fantasies II (1980) - Rene Bond! Of course, she has to be on the top 10.
6. Debbie Does Dallas (1978) - A true classic!
5. The Young Like it Hot (1983) - From Bob Chinn theme week.
4. Sweet Young Foxes (1983) - Vintage 1983 smut! Also Bob Chinn, also Hyapatia Lee! Are we seeing a pattern here?
3. Pretty Peaches 3: The Quest (1989) - Here’s a real erotic classic directed by Alex de Renzy.
2. The Summer With Vanja/Sommaren med Vanja (1980) Bad, late Swedish sin porn film. Why, oh, why, did you people want to watch this crap?
1. Den svenska synden/The Swedish Sin (2000) - A compilation of scenes from Swedish sexploitation films from 1969 to 2000. -
Santa Nudo and the Smut Peddler (aka Satan's Little Helper) are back in the studio after a long break. Lots of things has been happening while we were of air and busy with other (Cultpix things), including finances, applications and great plans for 2024!
We had a second Rene Bond Theme Week and there are enough of her films to come for two more weeks.
In October we had 31 Days of Halloween, which inspired us to have regular theme months where we highlight existing films and include some new ones.
As part of the October Halloween theme we had a Theme Week of UK Horror and Fantasy in co-operation with our good friends at Stream Go Media. This gave us the chance to show great titles suc as Blood of the Vampire, Circus of Horrors, Devil Girl from Mars, The Gamma People, The Snake Woman and many others.
Also in October we had the second week of South African exploitation films made during the Apartheid era. This is a slice of film history never screened/streamed anywhere else before.
Last week of October we tried something different with a Theme Week of The Golden Age of Gay Erotica, which we thought might upset some members, but which was wel received and (more importantly) watched.
November was our Noir-vember, with classic titles (some even considered 'quality') and some titles not previously on Cultpix. Sadly the big blog post about it was wiped by the system.
After that we had an interesting find, again thanks to Stream Go Media, in the form of the super-productive Hong Kong director Godfrey Ho, who gave us one-legged hopping Chinese vampires in "Robo Vampire" (1988) in and Cynthia Rothrock in "Honor and Glory" (1992).
IN early November we paid tribute to the great Michael Weldon, by looking back of his touring Psychotronic Films festival in Stockholm and Europe at the very start of our careers. He was and remains a huge influence.
The Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) became our 50th content partner when we signed the deal with them in Lyon, giving us access to two great 1960s films.
December was the Cultpix Christmas Calendar theme month, with hand-picked selections of films good enough to hang in your Christmas tree.
December was also the René Cardona Jr theme week, famous for ripping of big blockbusters and for using real animals in a way that Hollywood would never dare.
Last for December was a bit of a break - an intermission, if you will, with Hey Folks, It's Intermission Time! compilation films.
In Januari 2024 we will have a Mike Vraney Memorial Month, to remember 10 years without him, with Lisa Petrucci curating 62 films! Also next year we will have an IRL post exhibition, a new posters coffee table book, the Wickman Week get-together, more theme months/weeks and lots more!
We will also get better at doing the podcast and newspetter, we promise.
So for now, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, you beautiful Cultpix freaks, geeks and c -
Count von Nudo and Schmutt P. Eddler do the time warp back to the musical that started a cult phenomenon exactly 50 years ago - The Rocky Horror (Picture) Show. We celebrate the opening song "Science fiction/Double Feature", which name-checks some of the greatest science fiction and horror films of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
We have been able to include six of the 11 films mentioned in this theme week. The other five, such as King Kong (1933) and The Invisible Man (1933) belong to big Hollywood studios, making it more difficult for us to get the rights to show them (but we will keep trying).
Tony Sokol over at DenofGeek.com has a great overview of each song and film reference, from which we have stolen, sorry, quoted extensively. Do read his original article for more context and in-depth insights. It is remarkable how well Richard O'Brien knew his B-movies, given that there was no Internet or IMDb back in the days, but that is a sign of true geek fandom. Respect!
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - “Michael Rennie was ill the day the Earth stood still, but he told us where we stand.” A science fiction film with a message for earth to get its s#!t together, by the great director Robert Wise. “Klaatu barada nikto”.
Flash Gordon (1936) - “And Flash Gordon was there in silver underwear”. An episodic cinema serial with Buster Crabbe fighting Ming the Merciless. Familiar from television re-runs and of course the more famous 1980 re-make.
It Came From Outer Space (1953) - “Then at a deadly pace it came from outer space.” An alien spaceship crash lands in the Arizona desert and people start acting strange. More Cold War paranoia, by director Jack Warner. Originally in 3D but shown here in boring 2D.
Doctor X (1932) - “Dr X will build a creature.” Doctor Xavier doesn't actually build a creature (Frank N Further does tho), in this pre-code color film by Michael Curtiz, who later directed Bogart again in Casablanca (1942).
“See androids fighting
Brad and Janet
Anne Francis stars in
Forbidden Planet…”
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
At the late night
Double Feature picture show”
The Day of the Triffids (1963) - “And I really got hot when I saw Janette Scott fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills.” Or as Tony Sokol put it, "Vegetarians eat vegetables. Humanitarians, like Doctor X, eat humans. Triffids are vegetables that eat humans, vegetarian or not." So don't look up at meteor showers, or you'll wake up all "28 Days Later." Freddie Francis co-directs.
Curse of the Demon aka Night of the Demon (1957) - “Dana Andrews said prunes, gave him the runes, and passing them used lots of skills.” Jacques Tourneur, of Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943) fame, directs this British demonic chiller.
A special shout-out to RKO Radio Pictures.
We have our biggest Spotify playlist EVER, with over 100 songs. -
Denmark might not be the first country you think of when it comes to science fiction films, but Django and Smut put it on the space map with the latest theme week, celebrating two film makers that made their mark on the genre: Ib Melchior and Sidney W. Pink. The Dane Melchior was a distinguished World War II hero who was awarded the Bronze Heart, before embarking on writing and directing. He met American producer Sidney W. Pink, who moved to Denmark in 1959, as related in this interview by Ib late in his long and rich life. The two would form an un-easy creative partnership that spanned Denmark and the US across several films - and all because of union issues.
Already on Cultpix:
"Reptilicus" (1961) - Denmark's first and only Kaiju film sees a giant lizard re-grown from a frozen tail rampage downtown Copenhagen, creating un-Hygge feeling. Dirch Passer sings a song with a bunch of kids about Reptilicus, in a scene cut from the US releases of the film.
"Death Race 2000" (1975) - This car race cult classic was based on the short story "The Racer" by Ib Melchior, which you can hear a great reading of in this radio series episode form MindWebs, which aired on WHA Radio in Madison, Wisconsin from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s.
"Candidate for a Killing" (1968) - Euro-thriller produced by Pink. Ib said Pink eventually became a personan non-grata in both Denmark and Spain.
"13 Demon Street" (1959) - Echoes of "Reptilicus", "Terror in the Midnight Sun" (1959) and "The Thing" (1951) in this TV episode about a women frozen in ice.
New on Cultpix:
"The Angry Red Planet" (1959) - CineMagic was the process to give this tale of astronauts fighting off carnivorous plants, giant amoebas and a bat-rat-spider-crab creature on Mars a distinctive look. It wasn't quite 3D, but gives the film a unique look.
"Journey to the Seventh Planet" (1962) - Cue jokes about probes being sent to 'your anus'. But this film has echoes of 'Solaris' in terms of the UN astronauts' memories creating flesh and blood women appear suddenly. Set in the year 2001.
"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964) - Daniel Defoe's classic story re-told on the red planet. Byron Haskin directed the Ib Melchior screenplay with great use of Death Valley. Victor Lundin, one of the stars of the film, wrote an eponymous song that he played at sci-fi conventions.
"Keep Off the Grass" (1970) - Ib's anti-marijuana information film from the era of Nixon's 'War on Drugs'.
Don't miss the next Theme Week: films name checked in Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Science Fiction/Double Feature" song.
There is of course a Danish Dudes Spotify playlist. -
Smut and Django are back from their summer breaks, though the films still kept on coming. In this episode, they go over some of the themes, films and fun that happened while Cultpix Radio was off the air.
There was no episode on Hungarian 'Easterns' (aka 'Goulash Westerns') or about director Bob Chinn, which might still get their own dedicated podcasts in the future. Meanwhile we have split the Top 10 lists into two - one 'Naughty' (adult) and 'Nice' (scifi, horror and everything else). We were written about in Variety and had a full spread in Scandinavia's largest broadsheet newspaper Dagens Nyheter. We signed deals for more German sex comedies and a brand new genre of South African blaxploitation films.
We give a taster of the Bob Chinn Theme Week, the porn director who inspired the Burt Reynolds character in "Boogie Nights" (1997), with an intro clip from "Hot & Saucy Pizza Girls" (1978), with John Holmes interviewing Desiree Cousteau for the part of roller skate pizza-delivery girl. We will definitely return to him, not least with many more of his films beautifully restored by our friends at Vinegar Syndrome.
We had a season of martial arts/kung-fu films with two weeks of 'Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting', with Django Nudo's favourite "Black Samurai" (1976), which is martial arts-meets-blaxploitation and features jet-pack flying. Smut Peddler picks "The Vixens of Kung-Fu" (1978), which is martial arts mashed up with porn. We have knock-off Bruce Li in "Edge of Fury" (1978), but also the real Bruce Lee in "Martial Arts Mayhem Vol 1" (1970), Vol 2 and Vol 3.
Thanks to our partner Echelon Studios and as part of our Theme Week - The 70's Horror Decade, we had two of our biggest films ever, including the original "Halloween" (1978) and David Cronenberg's "Shivers" (1975). We will have a future Rocky Horror 'Science Fiction - Double Feature' films mentioned in the song.
We concluded our Zatoichi third theme week, a film series mentioned in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" novelisation. There was the Sweden Abroad theme week and Science Fiction Classics, with a current season of Sappho Darling- Lesbian 60's.
There is a great Spotify summer playlist. -
Django and Smut celebrate Cultpix being named on of the 10 Best New Streaming Services, talks about the next two episodes before the summer break, highlight the launch of the LGBTQ+ sub-genre and mourn the demise of Network Releasing.
We have held what is probably the world's most comprehensive retrospective of the films of Ed Wood Jr, including films that he directed, wrote the script or book on which it is based. All-in-all 20 films, TV shows and shorts that Wood is linked to.
While Ed Wood is often derided as the 'worst director ever', an image that Tim Burton's loving biopic "Ed Wood" (1994) only partly dispels, there is more to him than midnight screening of "Plan 9". We talk to writer and film expert Jim Knipfel, whose article "Ed Wood: Not Actually The Worst Director in History" goes a long way toward re-appraising Ed Wood, noting that "his films have a unique energy and charm that should be appreciated."
"Glen or Glenda" (1953) - It could be argued that G/G is an art film because it has a visual flair and style of its own that would not shame Bunuel. The film is a heartfelt please for compassion and understanding.
"Jail Bait" (1954) - Wood's juvenile delinquent film sees several Woods regulars, such as Lyle Talbot, Steve Reeves and Dolores Fuller, with Herbert Rollins replacing Bela Lugosi, only to die on the last day of shooting.
"Bride of the Monster" (1955) - Despite what Tim Burton would have you believe, the giant octopus was not broken and Lugosi gives a great performance despite being in bad health by this stage.
"Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959) - This Ed Wood film has been screened and discussed to death, but it is far from the worst film ever made.
"Night of the Ghouls" (1959) - A semi-sequel to "Bride of the Monster" and "Plan 9", which completes Wood’s sci-fi/horror trilogy and his Kelton the Cop trilogy. It is a perfectly serviceable horror film.
"The Sinister Urge" (1960) - Considered Wood's last legitimate film, this crime 'roughie' is fairly bleak, rough but also more sophisticated, as Wood was getter better at his craft, even as he fought with alcoholism and setbacks.
"Orgy of the Dead" (1965) - The film is "an insane, almost artsy, nudie horror picture featuring an endless stream of zombie strippers." In Sweden it was cut up into loop-style single strip numbers. Criswell is also there, but looking worse for wear.
"Necromania" (1971) - An early and interesting example of "soft X" film, where genitals and erect penises are shown, but there is no touching them or action.
While he will probably always be known as 'the Worst Director of all Time', Ed Wood Jr. is having the last laugh, because we are still watching and discussing his films long after his death.
There is a Ed Wood Spotify playlist. -
Smut and Django are at the Cannes Film Festival (technically the Marche - Market) to meet with distributors and sign deals. There was a great article in Variety about the latest batch of Cultpix deals, which mean that we have over 250 more films to add later this year, with some real cult classics.
This episode is the third devoted to Doris Wishman, focusing on the sun-soaked 'Daylight Years' and early nudist films. As one of the most prolific women filmmakers in the history of American cinema, "writer-director-editor Wishman created collisions between surrealism and exploitation that feel like they materialized from an alternate universe."Smut interviews film historian Michael J. Bowen who met and knew Doris, as well as having researched her career for years as her biographer.
The films of The Daylight Years are gorgeously restored by AGFA + Something Weird Video. They include:
"Nude on the Moon" (1961) - Wishman's dreamlike sci-fi triumph about a trip to a nudist-inhabitet moon.
"Blaze Starr Goes Nudist" (1962) - The famous burlesque dancer discovers the joy in nudism and escapes down to Florida.
"Hideout in the Sun" (1960) - A crackpot nudie-noir in which two gangsters on the run decide to hide in plain sight at a nudist resort.
"Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls" (1963) - Tom is fired from his real-estate job when his boss discovers that he is a nudist, but he hatches a very nudist revenge plan.
"Diary of a Nudist" (1961) - Newspaper editor stumbles on nudist camp and commissions young female reporter to write exposé about the sordid lifestyle.
"The Prince and the Nature Girl" (1965) - A prince escapes his castle and falls in love with a woman who turns out to be a nudist.
Enjoy all these films and the other Doris Wishman films on Cultpix.There is a Spotify playlist of 13 nudie songs from Doris Wisman's films and three clips where you hear Doris speak.
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Django Nudo reports live from sunny California, while the Smutpeddler sits in the cold north of Sweden, discussing with Luca Balbo, in the hopefully sunny Paris!
We celebrate our second anniversary, and discuss how the value for money only increases, great news in this world of recession.
Cultpix is forming new relationships with amazing rights holders and DVD companies all over the place. Recently we’ve had films from Japanese Kadokawa, US Deaf Crocodile, the German label Rapid Eye Movies and this week’s theme week partner – French company Le chat qui fume.
The theme week consists of 10 French erotic classics from the Seventies. Django Nudo and the Smutpeddler discuss four of them, especially enjoying the title "Love Brides of the Blood Mummy" (1973)!
But this episode’s main course is the great, knowledgeable author Lucas Balbo, who’s written among other things about Jess Franco and the French VHS era, but foremost – for this episode of Cultpix Radio – about the French auteur Michel Lemoine (1922-2013), in the book “Michel Lemoine: gentleman de l'étrange” (2020).
Lemoine liked to speak in riddles and keep people guessing about his age, when interviewed. Lucas had the chance to meet the director and to talk to him at length.
Lemoine lead an interesting life, starting out as a theatre actor, then some French films, until he became big in genre films in Italy, Spain and Germany, for favorite directors like Antonio Margheriti, Mario Bava and Jess Franco. Coming back to France he redefined himself as a screenwriter, producer and director, occasionally also acting in his own movies.
Lucas Balbo talks about the many aspects and faces of Michel Lemoine, and goes into detail about the six Lemoine films on Cultpix.
"Les désaxées" (1972) - Michel Lemoine 's first official film, filmed in 1972, in the midst of sexual liberation, Les Désaxées takes a look at free love, fulfillment in sexuality and the mores of the bourgeoisie. Lemoine’s wife Janine Reynaud came back in The Bitches, The Erotic Confidences of a Bed too Inviting and Don’t Rip My Tights.
"Les chiennes" (1973) - Erotic drama against a background of decadent bourgeoisie.
"Les confidences érotiques d'un lit trop accueillant/Les Frôleuses" (1973) - Sexy bed stories anthology."Les petites saintes y touchent/Jeunes filles en extase" (1974) - Sexy omnibus film.
"Les weekends malefiques du Comte Zaroff" (1976) - Lemoine’s only horror film, initially banned by the board of censors in France.
"Tire pas sur mon collant" (1978) - Innocent holiday comedy about seduction.
French erotica also on Cultpix, but not by Lemoine:
"La révélation" (1973)
"Le sang des autres" (1973)
"Les mantes religieuses/Les garces" (1973)
"Et avec les oreilles qu'est-ce que vous faites?" (1974)
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Zatoichi Week 1 - In which we invite our guest, Swedish film professor Johan Nordström, who's been living in Japan for the past 15 years, to discuss Daiei Studios, Japanese cinema in general and specifically the Zatoichi films, the one-of-a-kind star of the films, Shintaro Katsu – and Japanese society.
Cultpix owes a lot to Johan-san, as he has been the door-opener to both Kadokawa-Daiei and Nikkatsu in Japan, two major studios with very exciting films. Cultpix is doing three big themes with Daiei films in the Spring of 2023, the Daimajin trilogy, eight Gamera films (the giant flying turtle) and 21 Zatoichi films!
These are the initial Zatoichi films (Scandinavia only for now, unfortunately, but we hope to expand them to more countries in time). Zatoichi is the longest-running action series in the history of Japanese cinema. Zatoichi is an iconic figure, played by Shintaro Katsu. It inspired Rutger Hauer's "Blind Fury", 1971 Spaghetti Western "Blindman", a remake by Takeshi Kitano and Donnie Yen in both "Rogue One" (1916) and "John Wick: Chapter 4" (2023).
"The Tale of Zatoichi" (1962) - The film that kicked off the hugely popular series about Zatoichi, a humble masseur who livesd by a strict moral code. Two rival yakuza clans are at war. One hires an ailing ronin as their protector, while the other hires Ichi, Zatoichi! Lead actor Shintaro Katsu instantly made the lovable Zatoichi his own.
"The Tale of Zatoichi Continues" (1962) - Zatoichi becomes the masseur to a powerful political figure who turns out to be mentally ill. This needs to be kept secret at all cost. Featuring bigger action scenes, a tighter plot, as well as the introduction of the mysterious one-armed swordsman (played by Katsu's brother Tomisaburo Wakayama).
"New Tale of Zatoichi" (1963) - The first Zatoichi film in color! Zatoichi wants to lead a quiet life, but is forced back into action when villagers are being squeezed dry by a corrupt clan leader. Zatoichi picks up his sword and upholds his moral code, as well as dispensing kick-ass justice."Zatoichi the Fugitive" (1963) - The yakuza are unhappy because Zatoichi unexpectedly wins the sumo wrestling match in the village. They hire a ronin to kill him, but it turns out they both have a romantic link to the same woman.
"Zatoichi on the Road" (1963) - Zatoichi is asked by a dying man to bring back a girl to Edo. He agrees, but unwittingly ends up in the cross-hairs of two rival yakuza gangs, who both want to kidnap the girl.
"Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold" (1964) - Zatoichi is falsely accused of having stolen the villagers' sizeable tax collection. In order to clear his name, Zatoichi is forced to fight corrupt officials, several hired assassins and a giant with a bull whip (played again by Katsu's brother Wakamaya). The stunning cinematography is by "Rashonom" cinematographer Kazuy Miyagawa.
Look out for a further 14 (!) Zatoichi films later this spring and early summer. -
Django Nudo and Smut Peddler are excited to have new films this week from two of their favourite companies that specialise in the beautiful restorations of lost classics: Denmark's Another World Entertainment and Deaf Crocodile.
From A.W.E. we have "Pornography - a Musical" (1971), a series of erotic vignettes with music by amongst others jazz legend Dexter Gordon. (NB: the Bodil scene is NOT included, for obvious reasons.). "Dear Irene" (1971) is an erotic love triangle drama by a director better known for his books on great cinema directors. Lastly there is "The Sweet Life on Mallorca" (1965) about the naughty things that your grandparents got up to when the Danes first embarked on package holidays to the Balearic islands.
Separately we also have "Love in Three Dimensions" (1973), which actually does work in 3D, but only if you have those old red-blue glasses in the bottom of some drawer. It is one for Christina Lindberg completionists, as she has a small part in the film.
We then talk to Dennis Bartok and Craig Rogers, the co-founders of legendary boutique restoration, post-production and distribution label Deaf Crocodile. The company has specialised in finding forgotten gems and putting them out in gorgeous new versions on DVD, BluRay and DCP. Recent films include 1980s Romanian animated sci-fi "Delta Space Mission" (1984) and they are currently wrapping Kickstarter campaign for Jiří Barta’s stop-motion masterpiece "Pied Piper" (1986).
Cultpix is thrilled to present no less than six Deaf Crocodile films this spring, with two now and four later this spring. Dennis and Craig talk about their and the company backgrounds, method of finding and restoring films, as well as their cult following.
Don't call "Solomon King" (1974) a 'blaxploitation' film, because the black leads are not pimps or pushers but a super secret agent action hero. The only film by director and entrepreneur Sal Watts it was long-lost, until Deaf Crocodile managed to locate a surviving print.
In "The Unknown Man of Shandigor" (1967) you get Serge Gainsborough headlining an amazing cast in a Swiss spy-action thriller about nuclear secrets and international intrigue. Marvelous and surreal, part-Dr Strangelove, par-Alphaville, with some The Avengers and Dr Who mixed in, this is a gorgeous restoration.
Keep an eye out for four additional films from Deaf Crocodile in the next few months.
There is a special Deaf Crocodile Spotify playlist with songs from and relating to this week's films. -
This week it's all about Czech Cult Classics!
Cultpix is proud to present seven digitally restored Czech cult classics with English subtitles in cooperation with the Czech Film Archive. An eighth film will be uploaded in June, with new English subtitles.
Czechoslovakia (as It was back then) was home to some of the most innovative filmmaking in the 1960s, led by the likes of Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel. But there were many other great films in different genres that seem fresh and fun even today.
Joining us to discuss these we had Martin Kristenson, author, researcher, pop cultural expert, with a fascination for Czech culture; film, literature and music!
"Ikarie XB 1" (1963) - The sci-fi classic that inspired Kubrick's "2001" is a great film in its own right. The year is 2163. The giant spaceship Ikarie XB1 carries colonists to a new planet. The journey is filled with unexpected dangers, like a strange abandoned ship. Too good for MS3K to make fun of.
"Love Harvests in Summer" (1964) - Impressive counter-culture musical, which deeply affected the kids in Czechoslovakia. It is the story of forbidden love and lots of great music - call it "Hop Side Story".
"Lemonade Joe" (1964) - A.k.a. "Lemonade Joe and the Horse Opera". Crazy western parody with blackface (bad) and Olga Schoberová (good), who was on the cover of Playboy the same year as Olinka Berova. She also has an un-credited role in "Ikarie XB 1" and a role in "Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet," before appearing in Hammer Horror films.
"Wedding Under Supervision" (1967) - An absurd comedy that takes places over 24 hours, when two bumbling policemen investigate an alleged rape in a small Czech town.
"Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" (1970) - A fantasy cult classic that has a fanatic following. Surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world, based on a classical Czech novel of the same title.
"Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet" (1978) - A giant flesh-eating plant! Sounds familiar? The famous detective Nick Carter visits Prague in this thriller/spoof. He gets involved in strange case of a missing dog and a carnivorous plant. Also a celebration of Czech beer, pilsner.
"The Vampire of Ferat" (1982) - Is there such a thing as a vampire racing car? Doctor Marek is shocked when his beloved nurse Mima signs with a foreign car manufacturer to work as a rally-driver. The car is supposed to run on human blood. Oscar-winning Czech director Jirí Menzel in the lead role here.
There’s a Spotify playlist with 67 tunes, including complete soundtracks for "Ikarie XP1", "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" and "Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet." -
Djang00 Nudo and Smut Peddler moan (as usual) about Roku's uselessness, but celebrate a productive Berlin Film Festival, with plenty of films in the proverbial bag. They then parachute into the theme week of Euro Spy films, also known as Spaghetti Spy films.
These are film produced by 1964 and 1968, mainly in Italy, in response to the success of the first James Bond films. More than 50 of these were made, though few as good as Bond.
There are two trailer compilation films: "Operation: Secret Agents, Spies & Thighs" (1965) and "The Late Late Late Show" (1965). These are perfect backgrounds for almost any party.
There are three 'Kommissar X' films: "Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill" (1965), "Death is Nimble, Death is Quick" (1966) and "Death Trip" (1967), based on the popular German novels. Christa Linder, star of Swedish erotic film "Bel Ami" (1976), pops up in two of them.
"Operation Atlantis" (1965) is a perfectly spy caper right until the (spoiler) science fiction ending.
"Last Plane to Baalbeck" (1964) is a labyrinthian mini epic, with Yoko Tani (French-Japanese) and George Sanders in one of his last roles.
"Baraka X77" (1966) was called "Baraka X13" in the original, but was mauybe too unlucky in this scientist-secret-formula-fuel caper.
"Passport to Hell" (1965) has karate chops, lots of bad karate chops, with sound effects to compensate. Much better is the music by Piero Umiliani, who composed the 'Manah-manah' song form "Sweden Heaven and Hell" (1968).
"The Beckett Affair" (1966) stars Lang Jeffries and features 'shapely lesbian heroin addicts' - what more do you need?
"Desperate Mission" (1965) is Yoko Tani again, paired with German Cobos of Spaghetti Western fame, but British colonial Hong Kong is the real star of this film.
Ridiculously titled "Man on the Spying Trapeze" (1967) has false teeth containing micro cameras with nuclear secrets. Play Euro Spy key word bingo with that one.
"The Narco Men" (1968) is a surprisingly grim and fatalistic Euro spy film, but with "hippie" nightclubs. Remember those? No?
"Operation White Shark" (1966) stars Janine Reynaud who was in many Euro spy and also Jess Franco films, whose husband Michel Lemoine will be an erotic film theme week this spring.
"Password: Kill Agent Gordon" (1966) is an unusual spy film in that the VietCong are the bad guys, trying to obtain a mysterious stolen cigarette lighter.
There are x77 swinging Euro Spy songs on this week's Spotify playlist to listen and sip your martini to. -
Smut Peddler and Django Nudo cover two big film topics for the price of one, while also cursing Roku for still not having sorted out the missing Cultpix films.
First up is Daimajin, the giant demon god stone statue that comes alive and wrecks destruction on the unjust. Daiei produced no less than three Daimajin films in the span of one year (1966): "Daimajin", "The Return of Daimajin" and "Daimajin Striked Again". They are firmly in the Kaiju tradition and trace their roots to an unrealized sequel to the original Gamera, which will also be shown on Cultpix later this spring. They also have a kinship to the North Korean "Pulgasari" (1985). The plot of the first two are fairly identical, with Daimejin saving peasants from an evil feudal lord, but the third has an added kids-on-a-quest sub-plot that elevates it.
Interestingly this trilogy was made the same year as several of the films from Doris Wishman's 'Moonlight' period, that is the second season of her films on Cultpix. This is when the maverick cult director moved from the nudie-cuties of the early 60s to roughies, resulting in darker films, but still with tell-tale Wishman touches, like cut-aways to shoes and lamps.
These hard-nosed, sex-focused noirs stand tall as some of her greatest, most perverted work. AGFA calls them “triumphant DIY treasures”. We are in debt to AGFA, Something Weird Video and Vinegar Syndrome for these remarkable films being available to share with you.
Included are "The Sex Perils of Paulette" (1965), a twist on the The Perils of Pauline films in Wishman's first 'roughie'; adultery and betrayal in "My Brother's Wife" (1966), with Wishman's signature downbeat conclusion; the housewife-on-the-run-forced-into-prostitution-classic "Bad Girls Go to Hell" (1965), considered to be “Wishman’s formula perfected,"; the non-cannibal "A Taste of Flesh" (1967), with lesbians and political assassination attempts; a rare male lead in the form of a gigolo in
"Too Much, Too Often" (1968); a respectable middle class woman is forced into prostitution in "Another Day, Another Man" (1966) after her husband falls ill; super natural powers over a woman in "Indecent Desires" (1968) leads her to question her sanity. There is also the two Greek film re-edit oddities "The Hot Month of August" (1966) and "Passion Fever" (1969), featuring new dialogue and insert soft-core shots of drama films bought form Greece.
We have a Spotify playlist that is full of musical gems and more from the Doris Wishman films. -
The Swedish film director Arne Mattsson was active in the film industry across eight decades (if you count him carrying beer to the film crew at a shoot when he was 6 years old).
He made his last film in 1990 and passed away in 1995. In 2019 Mattsson would have been 100 years old. But this was not celebrated at all in the gigantic way Ingmar Bergman’s 100th was celebrated the year before. Shame!
In the 50’s, however, Mattsson was truly fetted, with multiple awards at film festivals, and actually bigger than Bergman. Most famously for "One Summer of Happiness" (1951), which won the Gold Bear at the second ever Berlin Film Festival. But his career went downhill, and there’s a rumour that his never-published autobiography had the working title “I skuggan av en skitstövel” (“In the Shadow of a Bastard”) – referring to I.B.
Arne Mattsson was probably Sweden’s most prolific film director ever, with his 60 films (Bergman 'only' made 40). He was an extremely versatile film maker, in genres like drama, action, thriller, comedy, musical, children’s film, horror, juvenile delinquent, sexploitation…
With the second theme week of Mattsson’s films for the production company Nordisk Tonefilm, Cultpix now has 24 of his 60 films.
To discuss this amazing roller coaster career on Cultpix Radio, we have invited Jan Lumholdt – journalist, film historian, and author of the anthology "Lars von Trier: Interviews" and "Harriet Andersson – Conversations with Jan Lumholdt".
Here is Jan Lumholdt's article on Arne Mattsson, written for his centenary:
https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/sv/arne-mattsson-100-ar-for-tapperhet-i-film/
It's in Swedish, but can easily be translated online.
There is an intro discussion about upcoming films (Japanese!) and the outro is the music from Mattsson's film "The Killer" (1967). -
Django Nudo and the Smutpeddler discuss this week’s theme of 80’s American horror films, and why they can only be watched by our North American members. (Clue: rights issues.) But there will also be upcoming themes where the US audience won’t be able to watch some films, so it kind of evens out. But, Cultpix's main goal is as always, to be a truly global streaming platform and cult.
However, the main theme this week is our prominent guest, filmmaker and artist Robert Flanagan, with both New York and Guatemala as his playgrounds!
And more specifically his 1996 film "4 O’Clock", an amazing, no-budget film noir comedy, shot in grainy 16mm!
We give him third-degree interrogation, questioning him on the film; the inspirations, the ideas behind it, the budget, the cast, the music, the cinematography, the dialogue, the editing, the props, the legalities of some locations, and New York as a character of its own in the film.
And also about the film’s recent restoration/makeover from the original 16mm negative!
There is mention of Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Edward D Wood Jr, Tommy Wiseau, European spy movies, Doris Wishman, surf music and lots more!
You don’t want to miss out on this well-hidden gem, which is finally reaching a global audience, after having been shown theatrically only in New York back in the day.
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Django and Smut welcome Kitty back to the Cultpix Studio to look back (slapping alert) in 2022 and ahead to 2023. We start off with what we did over the holiday, mainly the Christmas and Swedish films that were posted, plus a shout out to our three last pod guests: Jimmy, Adrian and Lisa.
We go around the proverbial table to pick out personal favourites from the past year, whether film, theme week, podcast guests, event or other. We do an In Memoria of some of the Cultpix greats that passed away in the past year, including funny/sexy Kitten Natividad, "Cannibal Holocaust" director Ruggero Deodato, Tim Lucas' wife, muse and partner Donna and even Olivia Newton John.There is self-congratulation galore as we note how Cultpix has grown over 150% in the past year, even as the like of N****ix lost 500,000 members in UK alone.
We count down the top ten most watched film on Cultpix in 2022, all of them with a sexy theme, with a fierce battle for the top medal position between Danish erotica compilation and Swedish erotica compilation, but the winner is a film that 'gives porn a good name.'
We look at the top films that people find on Cultpix from sites like Letterboxd, JustWatch and PlayPilot, including "Anita - Swedish Nymphet" (1972), Fleischer Studio's "Superman" serial (1941-1943), and Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" (1935). There is also a good story abput how that last one ended up published on DVD and on Cultpix. A special mention to our biggest fans and members on social media and IRL - would you believe we get letters sent to us? And you won't guess what's in them. A special mention of members Tightsbury, Lee Bailes, Karen R, Dr Retro, John Corbyn, Cousin H, Disapproving Swede and many more.
Looking ahead to 2023 we already have lots of theme weeks and films lined up. We will have more theme weeks with Herschel Gordon Lewis and Doris Wishman. Films from Japan's Daiei studio (NB: Scandinavia only), including Gamera - gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle; Daimajin – a giant stone statue comes to life; and Zatoichi the blind masseur, gambler and sword fighter.
There will be more films by the extremely productive Swedish director Arne Mattsson, who single-handedly started the myth of 'Swedish Sin' with his film "One Summer of Happiness" (1951). We will feature All Channel Films (NB: USA only): Theme week 1: 7 80’s horror/slasher/gore films. Theme week 2: A mixed bag of cult movies from 1969-1991, including classics like I Drink Your Blood (1970) and three Vice Academy comedies – basically Police Academy ripoffs. We also have Czech classics (wonderful films from the 60’s; vampires, sci-fi and fantasy) and more films from Hungary (Hungarian westerns!!!). That's just a little taster of things to come on Cultpix.
It's going to be a fun 2023. Please be sure to get in touch with us, because unlike most DJs, we DO take requests. - Näytä enemmän
