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Straight To Hell (1987, Alex Cox) 
I hadn't seen this film in 15 years, and it was pretty bad then. An, ahem, homage to just about every Spagetti Western made (particularly the Django films), the most interesting things about Straight To Hell are the extras - an Alex Cox/Dick Rude commentary and a retrospective doc.
Apparantly the movie came about because Cox had booked Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello and The Pogues to play a series of concerts in Nicaragua to support the Sandinistas. The money didn't appear so the whole crew disappeared off to Spain, wrote a script and filmed Straight To Hell on the set of the 1973 Sturges/Bronson Picture, Chino.
It shows...
Courtney Love has a role, methoding 'most annoying person alive' superbly. Indeed, one might even suspect that she isn't acting, as Cox & Rude remember her 'difficult' behavior on the commentary.
The Pogues (the reason for me watching the film all those years ago) look drunk, not surprising since their day would consist of waking up in a gutter beside the set, drinking tequila and collapsing at sundown - good work if you can get it.
I like Alex Cox, one of the true mavericks and a better director than his body of work would suggest. Straight To Hell though is messy and often takes the idea of homage a stage too far into 'rip-off' territory. Still, it you've paid a bunch of drunken singers for 6 weeks work, what else do you do?
File this one under - It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Interesting soundtrack though...
A shambolic
I hadn't seen this film in 15 years, and it was pretty bad then. An, ahem, homage to just about every Spagetti Western made (particularly the Django films), the most interesting things about Straight To Hell are the extras - an Alex Cox/Dick Rude commentary and a retrospective doc.
Apparantly the movie came about because Cox had booked Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello and The Pogues to play a series of concerts in Nicaragua to support the Sandinistas. The money didn't appear so the whole crew disappeared off to Spain, wrote a script and filmed Straight To Hell on the set of the 1973 Sturges/Bronson Picture, Chino.
It shows...
Courtney Love has a role, methoding 'most annoying person alive' superbly. Indeed, one might even suspect that she isn't acting, as Cox & Rude remember her 'difficult' behavior on the commentary.
The Pogues (the reason for me watching the film all those years ago) look drunk, not surprising since their day would consist of waking up in a gutter beside the set, drinking tequila and collapsing at sundown - good work if you can get it.I like Alex Cox, one of the true mavericks and a better director than his body of work would suggest. Straight To Hell though is messy and often takes the idea of homage a stage too far into 'rip-off' territory. Still, it you've paid a bunch of drunken singers for 6 weeks work, what else do you do?
File this one under - It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Interesting soundtrack though...
A shambolic