Thanks, I'm glad you like my "Animal Farm" comparison! It's often said that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and we see it happen in both movies. In addition, both movies show the paradoxical tendency for people to become like the people they despise or even worse. One thing I've noticed in life is that when people are severely hurt by a loathsome individual, they tend to either become exactly like or the opposite of such a person. There's little in between.
But one thing that makes David in MACH a unique hero is that he never wanted fame or glory and never accepted any. David, from the start, sympathized with the oppressed students. And though misguided, he felt he was doing something righteous when he killed Bruce, Craig and Paul. But after those three were gone, David realized that the problem wasn't merely that they were evil but rather a core problem of humanity.
I haven't seen "Starship Troopers" but I'll check it out via your recommendation. I have often taken notice of the movie upon seeing it in stores, however, because the title reminds me of the Yes song "Starship Trooper."
One thing I like about you is that you seem to dive deeply into movies as much as I do. And our ability to carry on such long discussions about MACH shows how substantive the movie actually is.
Oh, I forgot to mention this in regard to my film "80s Metal Star," but I originally but "Crossroads" from MACH as the song playing in the last scene and opening credits, since the words fit perfectly with the main character at the end. But I decided to instead go for an uptempo song - "After the Rain" by Nelson - because the ending, while bittersweet, is supposed to be more happy than sad and offer a strong glimpse of hope.
But my plan for the DVD case still pays a tribute to MACH - it shows the main character, from the back view, standing at a rural Indiana intersection, symbolzing that he's at the crossroads of his life.
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lazarillo
15 years ago
You're definitely right on with the "Animal Farm" comparioson (I thought the same thing). The Dutch director knew NOTHING about American teenagers and he was just using this genre to make a political allegory. It's kind of hard to find, but look for a book called "Cult Movies 2" by Danny Peary. It has a really good write-up of this movie and the ideas behind it.
Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, was a 70's exploitation legend who was in a lot of 70's cheerleader movies including one with Robert Carradine called "The Pom Pom Girls". She was also a big rock n' roll groupie and also a musician who played drums with Joan Jett. I knew she was an "h" addict who died a few years ago of hepatitis, but I did not know about Lani O'Grady. . .
BTW, the guy that did the music was a mob informant and the big-breasted, (and butt-naked) girl that plays the lead was apparently his real-life step-daughter(!). Andrew Stevens, of course, is the son of Stella Stevens. And everyone knows the Carradine family. The only guy that's kind of mysterious is Daryl Maury.
This actually had a pretty typical 70's drive-in movie cast, but it sure wasn't your typical drive-in movie!
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