I first saw Woody Allen's slapstick sci-fi satire, Sleeper, on network television around '76 or '77. I had very little idea who Allen was, but it was set in the future and had robots, so I wanted to see it. I remember being confused by some of it, but really enjoying the physical comedy and futuristic stuff. I honestly can't recall if I've seen it since... so, clearly, I need to watch it again.
While I go hunt down a copy, here's the phenomenal poster art by the great Robert McGinnis.
Robert McGinnis is a national treasure.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Robert McGinnis design the Black Hole robots? Beautiful artwork, totally unlike today's synthetic-looking Photoshop crud. I saw Sleeper for the first time on my 14th birthday in 1984. I was spending the summer with my grandparents in Ohio and a local station showed the film that afternoon, followed later that night by a double feature of THX 1138 and Dark Star. For a kid obsessed with cult science-fiction movies it was total bliss.
ReplyDeleteI saw it at the drive-in with my parents, probably around 1975. I would have been in kindergarten, so needless to say some subtleties probably eluded me.
ReplyDeleteTim that sounds like an awesome time. Recently I was watching an old VHS tape that was transferred to DVD and there was a commercial for an all day sharksplotation marathon on TBS. They were playing Tentacles, Piranha and Orca. When I saw that commercial I thought to myself "Dang I really missed out on not having TBS back then." Now, after reading your post I am thinking the same thing. Anyway, Woody Allen scares me more than the Alien from Alien. Having said that I will now hunt down this film and watch it in a state of terror that only someone as creepy as Woody Allen can make me feel.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, it was a great way to spend a birthday, glued to the big console TV down in my grandparents' basement. Had that station managed to squeeze Silent Running into their sci-fi Saturday lineup, I might have died from overwhelming happiness.
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