1970s and 80s Newspaper Movie Clippings

Mad Max 2

2012-02-27T12:01:00.000+11:00

Wow...what an incredible film this was! At this point in 1981 I hadn't seen the first Mad Max movie, but it didn't matter, this movie stood alone perfectly and for me is the only Mad Max film worth watching.

December 1981

On the back of the clipping:

Excalibur

2012-02-26T11:53:00.000+11:00

What a great film this was. Mysterious, atmospheric and beautifully shot. For me it became the benchmark for all following medieval, fantasy and sword & sorcery films (Particular losers in my benchmark comparison were Krull and Legend with Tom Cruise)

June 1981

On the back of the clipping:

Battlestar Galactica: Conquest of the Earth

2012-02-23T07:00:00.000+11:00

Oh dear. A movie cobbled together from episodes of the second and much maligned Battlestar Galactica sequel series. By the time it reached Australia in 1980 I'd heard how bad it was and I decided to skip seeing it to save money for the million other sci-fi movies released that year.

May 7 1981

On the back of the clipping:

Flash Gordon

2012-02-20T11:32:00.000+11:00

Flash Gordon was both completely stupid yet highly enjoyable, with a great Queen soundtrack to boot.

April 1981

On the back of the clipping:

Inferno

2012-02-14T07:00:00.000+11:00

It is extraordinary how many otherwise obscure horror and sci-fi movies got a run in major cinemas in the late 1970s and 80s. It seemed distributors were throwing everything ever filmed into the ring and seeing how it faired. I knew nothing about this Dario Argento film at the time and never saw it. Just loved the spooky poster.

November 20 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Dawn Of The Dead (1980)

2012-02-12T07:00:00.000+11:00

I'd read a lot about this movie in Starlog and Starburst magazines and I really wanted to see it. Alas I was five years away from being of legal age and had to wait until it arrived on VHS tape.

April 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Without Warning / Contamination

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000+11:00

I remember being jealous of my sister who went to see this double at the local drive-in with her boyfriend. They could've smuggled me in! But then who wants to take their nerdy younger brother to the drive-in..

July 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Nightmares

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000+11:00

A z-grade Australian film featuring John Michael-Howson (aka 'Clown' in Adventure Island) which I never saw at the time but I thought the poster was so delightfully trashy I had to add it to my collection.

October 30 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Superman II

2012-02-05T07:00:00.000+11:00

Superman II was a great sequel despite the much publicised behind the scenes problems. As far as I'm concerned the Superman films stopped here - Superman three and four have been erased from my memory banks.

December 29 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Special Edition

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000+11:00

Steven Spielberg 'did a George Lucas' and reworked his sci-fi masterpiece long before George decided to re-jig Star Wars to death. Despite magnificent new special effects I thought this special edition was a bit ho-hum. Just seemed so unnecessary.

January 1980

Star Wars At The Drive In

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000+11:00

An incredible two years after it started, Star Wars was still showing in Australian cinemas and drive-ins in 1979.

May 10 1979

On the back of the clipping: Dimboola, a rather over hyped Australian film.

Jaws

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000+11:00

Being only ten at the time I obviously wasn't allowed to see Jaws, but that didn't stop me from cutting the movie ad of the newspaper. In my opinion it is one of the most effective movie posters of all time.

November 1975

On the back of the clipping:

Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000+11:00

After the success of the movie version of Battlestar Galactica the producers promptly shoved a few more TV episodes together and released them theatrically as Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack. I loved it. It was far better than many of the b-grade Star Wars rip-offs around at the time.

Moonraker

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000+11:00

Moonraker was criticised as being one of the more silly Bond films but I thought it was the best Bond ever. It was a little bit racy (hey I was fourteen), it had lots of spaceships and explosions and it had Roger Moore. Yes, Roger Moore.

On the back of the clipping: remember when shops shut at noon on Saturdays?

Aliens

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000+11:00

This was the Empire Strikes Back of the Alien franchise: an unbelievably good sequel. One of the very few films I went to on its opening day (The others being Star Trek IV and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)

November 5 1986

On the back of the clipping: Pick up some cheap batteries with your baby clothes and cigarettes

Gremlins

2012-01-19T20:20:00.000+11:00

I was never sure what Gremlins was supposed to be: Science fiction? Horror? Comedy? Satire? Dunno. Entertaining? Yes!

December 1984

On the back of the clipping: Brashs audio gear. Wish I'd stocked up on those Sennheisers for $24.95

Android

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000+11:00

I didn't see Android at the time. It had a very short run at Melbourne's Roma cinema. Only later on home video did I discover what a good little scifi film it was.

January 5 1984

On the back of the clipping: Showing at the Dromana drive-in was Jaws 3 and Galaxy of Terror...a Z-grade double if ever there was one!

Poltergiest

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000+11:00

I took my girlfriend to see Poltergeist in 1982. It was entertaining and just scary enough to keep her nice and close (which would otherwise not necessarily have been a given)

August 1982

On the back of the clipping: a three bedroom house in Footscray $24.500. You could buy at least ten of them at today's prices.

Raise The Titanic

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000+11:00

A stupid film but the actual 'raising' was spectacular if you were able to sit through most of the movie to get to it.

May 6 1981

On the back of the clipping:

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000+11:00

One of the best adventure films ever. Action, adventure, comedy, a really cool flying wing and the best actor from Star Wars.

The Sun newspaper July 1982

On the back of the clipping:

Return Of The Jedi

2012-01-09T22:29:00.002+11:00

I hate to admit it, but Return Of The Jedi just didn't have the same magic of the previous two Star Wars films. I still loved it, but something was missing. Perhaps I'd just outgrown it. Or perhaps it was the Ewoks. Yes, it was the Ewoks.


October 28 1983

The back of the clipping:

The Quiet Earth (1986)

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000+11:00

The Quiet Earth started with the usual 'last man on earth' scenario that had already been done to death in the 1970s, but it ended up as something much stranger. The final scene is something I have never forgotten. I paid homage to it in one of my band's videos

July 1986

On the back of the clipping:

Flight Of The Navigator (1986)

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000+11:00

A fun film with great (for the time) special effects. Flight Of The Navigator, like most films I saw in the 1980's was girlfriend friendly. But to see Star Trek IV or 2010: The Year We Make Contact I had to pay by seeing *at least* three John Hughes films!

June 1986

On the back of the clipping: $7.69 for a Tahbilk cabernet sauvingnon. Fetch the time machine, Jeeves

The Terminator

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000+11:00

I regret that I never saw The Terminator at the cinema. I was 19 and much too busy being in love, getting my drivers license and playing in a band. But as always, I still found the time to cut the movie ad out of the paper.

December 1984

On the back of the clipping:

Salem's Lot (1980)

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000+11:00

I saw Salem's Lot on TV rather than this edited cinema version and I remember it being quite scary. I also remember being surprised at how well David Soul could act.

From The Sun newspaper March 20 1980

On the back of the clipping:

Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii / Rust Never Sleeps

2011-12-23T07:06:00.000+11:00

My older brother took me to see this in 1979 or 1980. As an impressionable teenager this was the most mind blowing double feature I've ever seen and hugely influential on my future musical life. I smuggled in cassette player (actually a massive ghetto blaster - the Mayfair cinema was pretty relaxed) and recorded the whole thing.

The Awakening

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000+11:00

An old-school horror film released in 1980 in the midst of a slasher and zombie film explosion. Needless to say it was a box office dud. I didn't see it but I loved the poster enough to add to my newspaper clippings collection.

On the back of the clipping: a bottle of 1976 Wynns Coonawarra Hermitage then for sale at $2.75 recently sold at auction for a grand total of.... $27.50. Like The Awakening it hasn't aged very well.

Urgh! A Music War

2011-12-19T21:30:00.001+11:00

Here's an obscure one for you. The Police were the draw card, but they were only one of twenty eight bands in this film of live performances from mainly UK punk/new wave bands.

On the back of the clipping: note the 'Tandoori Turkey' Christmas dinner from Moghul

Monty Python's Life Of Brian

2011-12-14T09:32:00.000+11:00

After Star Trek: TMP, Alien and uh, Moonraker this was my next favourite movie of 1979. What fourteen year old scifi nerd didn't like Monty Python? The best of the Python movies by far.

The Sun, November 14 1979

On the back of the clipping: the 'You Asked For It' column sounds like a Monty Python sketch itself..

The Shape Of Things To Come

2011-12-12T12:46:00.000+11:00

This was the crappiest of crappy Star Wars rip offs. Made in Canada (not Italy for once). It was bad, not in a 'so bad its good' way, just plain bad.

August 23 1979

On the back of the clipping:

Xanadu

2011-12-09T06:32:00.000+11:00

I have no idea why I cut this out of the newspaper in 1980. I wasn't at all interested in anything related to Olivia Newton-John and I was devastated ELO one of my favourite bands was involved. Still, Xanadu is a very catchy song....

August 1980

On the back of the clipping: cricket, cricket, cricket

Airport '80: The Concorde

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000+11:00

I never saw this film at the time, but I always looked forward to the dramatic 'Airport' movie posters. This one was no exception, promising action and excitement. Much more than the film delivered.

December 5 1979

On the back of the clipping: Riteway supermarkets!

Time Bandits

2011-12-04T09:00:00.000+11:00

Monty Python-esque, funny and surreal, this was one of Terry Gilliam's best films and one of the bright spots of my 1981, a year filled with ever increasing school and family angst.

December 10 1981

On the back of the clipping: cheap furniture when 'colonial' was the design de jour

The Nude Bomb

2011-12-02T07:30:00.000+11:00

I was a huge Get Smart fan so naturally I cut this clipping out but I didn't bother seeing the film. I was too busy seeing the dozens of sci-fi films released in 1980. By all accounts the film lived up to its title. Bomb, that is.


October 30 1980

On the back of the clipping:

The Final Countdown

2011-11-30T07:30:00.000+11:00

No, not the bombastic song by the band with a continent for a name, but the not-very-good 1980 film starring Kirk Douglas. As a financially struggling 15 year old I needed to ration my film viewing for more exciting things in the pipeline so I avoided this one. Loved the poster though.

August 1980

On the back of the clipping: Church of Scientology grand opening, Aker Bilk and Basil's Seafood Restaurant. Ah, Melbourne...

Prophecy

2011-11-28T07:30:00.000+11:00

Anyone remember this one? It came hot on the heels of Alien and was directed by John Frankenheimer. I never saw it and still haven't but I cut out the clipping anyway as I really liked the image (an obvious 'Alien egg' rip off)

September 15 1979

On the back of the clipping: before cutting my Dad's newspaper to pieces, I would always read the 'Rap Around' music news column.

Battle Beyond The Stars

2011-11-26T07:30:00.000+11:00

Another highly enjoyable Star Wars rip off, Battle Beyond The Stars was basically The Magnificent Seven in space.

Battle Beyond the Stars Dec 25 1980

On the back of the clipping:

The Empire Strikes back

2011-11-24T07:30:00.001+11:00

Words can't describe the excitement and anticipation I felt leading up to the release of this. I cut out every article and mention of it in magazines and newspapers. I recorded (on cassettes) every interview and promo piece on TV shows (The Don Lane show in particular) and radio. The movie did not disappoint and in my opinion remains the best of the entire series.

August 9 1980

On the back of the clipping: more fabulously unsubtle Melbourne restaurants.

The Muppet Movie

2011-11-22T12:26:00.000+11:00

Through years of watching Sesame St and later the Muppet Show TV series, the Muppets were well ingrained in my DNA by the time this movie came along. Seeing it was probably an uncool thing to do as an early teenager, but I felt I was never too old to enjoy the Muppets.

From The Herald December 1979

On the back of the clipping: you don't see many too many in-depth record reviews for classical music these days.

The Humanoid

2011-11-20T07:30:00.000+11:00

Another highly entertaining Italian Star Wars rip off. The byline says "the most imaginative film of its kind since Star Wars" Exactly. Check out the Darth Vader look-a-like on the bottom right of the poster.

The Humanoid Aug 23 1979

On the back of the clipping:

Star Trek The Motion Picture

2011-11-18T07:30:00.000+11:00

After Star Wars this film was the biggest movie event of the 1970s for me. What a mind blowing trip it was with stunning special effects and a majestic soundtrack. Pity about the plodding story, but back then it didn't bother me.

Star Trek The Motion Picture December 20 1979

On the back of the clipping: an eclectic collection of films on offer in December 1979

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

2011-11-16T07:30:00.000+11:00

This poster promised more than the film (basically some TV episodes edited together) could deliver but I still enjoyed it. It was from the production team behind Battlestar Galactica and the sound effects, music and special effects were embarrassingly similar.

The Herald Aug 8 1979

On the back of the clipping:

The Black Hole

2011-11-13T19:30:00.000+11:00

The Black Hole, shown in glorious 70mm, was one of the most spectacular films I'd ever seen and the special effects were refreshingly dark and moody. Pity about everything else in the film.

This clipping is from The Sun, May 28 1980

On the back of the clipping: they don't make jobs like these any more...

Alien

2011-11-11T10:50:00.000+11:00

I was enthralled and terrified by Alien in 1979. I knew when the 'chest burster' scene was going to happen but it still gave me an electrifying jolt. I cut this clipping out of The Sun newspaper 20 December 1979.

The other side of it reveals a mixed bag of movies showing at the time. I avoided Meteor but saw Kiss Attack of the Phantoms at least three times.

Warlords of Atlantis

2011-11-09T07:30:00.000+11:00

I never saw this film but that didn't stop me cutting out the ad. I love that 'Are You Being Served?' is the second movie. Guess they thought let's shove on any old mismatched film, no one's going to turn up anyway. And they didn't ...in droves.

Warlords of Atlantis (AKA Warlords of the Deep) clipping from the Melbourne Herald, Aug 10, 1979

The back of the clipping is far more interesting. You can buy a Bay gelding for $500, very handsome and great for kids.

2001: A Space Odyssey

2011-11-08T07:30:00.000+11:00

The ad trumpets "Before Star Wars there was and there will always be 2001: A Space Odyssey." It didn't really need to say that - there was always an audience for 2001. But for a brief period in the post-Star Wars world everything in science fiction had to have a link to that most successful film.

26 August 1978, The Melbourne Herald newspaper.

On the back of the clipping: who remembers the Swagman restaurant with "the floorshow we are famous for"

Starcrash

2011-11-07T07:30:00.000+11:00

The greatest Star Wars rip-off of all was the completely ridiculous and insanely enjoyable Starcrash. I really wanted to see this at the time but yet again my mother and her overactive rip-off radar prevented me.

Starcrash. Clipping from August 23 1979

On the back of the clipping. Anyone remember Waltons stores?

Monster (AKA Humanoids From The Deep)

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000+11:00

Late 1970's shocker from producer Roger Corman about fishy monsters from the deep. With a character called Miss Salmon. Even as an impressionable fifteen year old I knew this one was a turkey. Still, the poster got my attention (the monster).

On the back: now this is much more interesting. The Casiotone M-10 back then was considered more or less a kids toy. Now it one of those semi-revered keyboards searched out for by vintage music gear fans and synth geeks. I had one for a while and recorded a few songs with it in the early 1980s.

Starship Invasions

2011-11-02T07:30:00.000+11:00

Starship Invasions was another film considered to be a Star Wars rip-off, although it was probably more of a Close Encounters rip-off and actually had more in common with an Ed Wood film. I never saw it at the time - my mother wouldn't let me. She said it was a Star Wars rip off and I'd be wasting my money. Smart mum.

April 26 1979

On the back is a bunch of 1970s restaurants with bad names. I can die happy knowing there was a restaurant in this world called "Amorous Prawn"

Battlestar Galactica

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000+11:00

Every mega-successful Hollywood blockbuster is inevitably followed by a flood of knock offs and Star Wars was no exception. It started with Battlestar Galactica. I was lucky to see the movie version and I loved it every minute of it. I didn't know or care that it was in reality a few TV episodes thrown together to exploit a crazed market eager to throw its cash at anything that even vaguely resembled Star Wars. And it was in "Cine-Fi" sound.

From The Herald, May 24 1979

On the back of the clipping - Marcia, Grease and the Shaft 'Sinema.' Yep, it's the 1970s alright.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

2011-10-30T10:49:00.002+11:00

Arguably the second biggest sci-fi movie event of the 1970s after Star Wars was Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It didn't reach Australia until four months after its USA debut, but like many blockbusters of the 1970s it stayed in cinemas for up to a year or more.

From The Herald 18 Jan 1979

On the back of the clipping you can choose between the oddly named (for a restaurant) Tramps or use the courtesy coach (!) to go to La Cocotte, Elgin St Carlton where you can enjoy a 3 course lunch for $6.50. Fetch the coach, Jeeves!

Star Wars

2011-10-29T22:52:00.000+11:00

My newspaper movie clipping collection began with Star Wars back in 1977. Actually this one is from 1978 (imagine a film lasting that long at the cinema these days!) as my original October 1977 Sun newspaper clipping disappeared at some point over the years.

From The Herald (Melbourne, Australia) September 1978

This is the back of the clipping. Note the ad for the very crappy 1970

version of Spiderman and the fun mix of ads for family entertainment and exotic dancers.