* I used both the regular and the suggested search engines and have only found Meteor referenced in other threads, so here goes…
#403
Watched with my parents via its’ prime time network tv premiere on The ABC Sunday Night Movie - WJLA Channel 7, inWashington, DC.
In 1980, Ed Naha had written a companion book to his Horrors from Screen to Scream, a book with a sci fi focus I had first seen in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum gift shop titled: The Science Fictionary. I purchased it at a bookstore in Dulles Airport while Dad and I were waiting to travel to San Diego. It was from this book that I learned that AIP produced mid-to-late-70’s films like Futureworld, The Island of Dr. Moreau, the Amicus co-productions with giant creatures, The Incredible Melting Man, and Meteor. In his summary of Meteor, Ed said that “cheesy special effects don’t add to the overall clout of Meteor.”
Time would prove that I didn’t know the definitions of the words “cheesy” and “clout.” I thought for certain based on Meteor and the other titles listed in the book that AIP had now hit the big time. Little did I know…
When the Washington Post Sunday paper’s tv guide listed Meteor as being featured on ABC that night, I was surprised that the movie critic only gave the film 1 star out of 4. I thought he or she or they must have been an idiot. I was expecting a big-budget, effects-filled spectacular, given its release in the midst of some serious blockbusters, such as Star Wars, Close Encounters, Superman, and the then-near release of Star Trek – The Motion Picture. I was in the dark as to just what a box office failure Meteor was.
Dr. Paul Bradley is without a doubt Sean Connery’s greatest role.
I enjoy Meteor a lot for what it is as long as I don’t think about it too hard. The physics-defying situations and the “cheesy special effects,” and truer words were never written, just make me smile and shake my head now. From cartoon meteorites floating through the sky in slow motion, to avalanche footage borrowed from Roger Corman’s… uhhh… Avalanche film from the previous year, to a stage light substituting for the sun, to obvious decals in plain view on model rockets, to Martin Landau shamelessly overacting, to… well, you get the point… I enjoy it, and I still watch it every so often. This one’s got it all!
Speaking of Avalanche, Corman may have been the only guy to actually profit off of Meteor because I’m certain he didn’t just give the Avalanche footage away. Sneaky, crafty guy.
To be fair, despite the other laughable special effects, the whole subway flooding sequence is actually quite good.
I like most of Laurence Rosenthal’s soundtrack; especially the anthem that makes up the end credits music.
Poor Natalie Wood. She got to speak her native Russian. This was supposed to be the beginning of her Hollywood comeback…
Brian Keith speaking almost exclusively in Russian is also cool.
Sean Connery’s line about a novel placement of a broom is one for the ages.
As cartoony and over the top as Martin Landau’s character may have been, the thought of Soviets just waltzing into your nation’s Hercules missile platform command bunker would make anyone in the know pause. He wasn’t being unreasonable. Where was the reciprocal invitation?
Over time, I have rounded up the novelization, the “Making of” Meteor scrapbook, the Marvel Comics adaptation, even the RCA View Master Reels.
I remember seeing Meteor trailers on tv. One of the scenes from the trailer included the destruction of the Twin Towers.
I think some fairly elaborate (by AIP standards) effects ultimately weren’t used in the final cut. Judging by some photos included in an article in the 32nd issue of Starlog (March 1980 issue), it looked to me like a very elaborate miniature of Hong Kong was built for the flooding scene, but the finished product appears to me like water is just superimposed on a shot of the harbor as the tidal wave rolls in. That miniature work couldn’t have been cheap.
The US movie poster sucks. I wished they used the art depicting the fleet of missiles headed for the incoming meteor instead.
The best thing about Meteor may have been the awesome pinball machine based off the movie. Seriously. That baby rocks!
So, why have I spent a lot of mental energy writing about Meteor, given that it’s a bit of a letdown? It’s mainly because of what the movie and its timing represented for AIP and my fondness for the studio so much more than the film itself. I was about the right age to get a kick out of every big post-Star Wars blockbuster that came down the pike. It was a great time to be a kid with a vivid imagination and a desire to be an astronaut. Meteor looked like it was going to continue in that vein. We didn’t go to the movies much, but we did venture out (sometimes in the snow) to catch the ones I mentioned. I was disappointed when my parents said “no” to Meteor. After catching the network broadcast premiere, I understand their decision. Still, regardless of the quality of the film, seeing the company’s progress into the late-70’s gave me hope for more fun movie adventures when I would reach my teens and have a car to use. By the time of this tv viewing, I did not yet know of the studio’s demise. I assumed that they would continue making higher profile films I could start seeing in the theaters as they came out. I would only learn in a small blurb regarding possible upcoming AIP remakes from Sam via “Arkoff International Pictures” in a later issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland (number 183, “Swamp Thing” cover) that AIP was gone.
As a result, I only made it to one theatrical showing of an AIP release, and even then, it was about three years after the outfit’s absorption (and quick demolition) by Filmways.
I had such high hopes…
This was not supposed to be a depressing write up…
In another thread, Meteor was used as an example of a feature that helped put AIP out of business. The “scrapbook” says that AIP’s contribution to the $18M (?) budget was only $2.3M… not chump change for Sam, but I can’t imagine the film’s flop performance would have impacted AIP that harshly.
#403
Watched with my parents via its’ prime time network tv premiere on The ABC Sunday Night Movie - WJLA Channel 7, inWashington, DC.
In 1980, Ed Naha had written a companion book to his Horrors from Screen to Scream, a book with a sci fi focus I had first seen in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum gift shop titled: The Science Fictionary. I purchased it at a bookstore in Dulles Airport while Dad and I were waiting to travel to San Diego. It was from this book that I learned that AIP produced mid-to-late-70’s films like Futureworld, The Island of Dr. Moreau, the Amicus co-productions with giant creatures, The Incredible Melting Man, and Meteor. In his summary of Meteor, Ed said that “cheesy special effects don’t add to the overall clout of Meteor.”
Time would prove that I didn’t know the definitions of the words “cheesy” and “clout.” I thought for certain based on Meteor and the other titles listed in the book that AIP had now hit the big time. Little did I know…
When the Washington Post Sunday paper’s tv guide listed Meteor as being featured on ABC that night, I was surprised that the movie critic only gave the film 1 star out of 4. I thought he or she or they must have been an idiot. I was expecting a big-budget, effects-filled spectacular, given its release in the midst of some serious blockbusters, such as Star Wars, Close Encounters, Superman, and the then-near release of Star Trek – The Motion Picture. I was in the dark as to just what a box office failure Meteor was.
Dr. Paul Bradley is without a doubt Sean Connery’s greatest role.
I enjoy Meteor a lot for what it is as long as I don’t think about it too hard. The physics-defying situations and the “cheesy special effects,” and truer words were never written, just make me smile and shake my head now. From cartoon meteorites floating through the sky in slow motion, to avalanche footage borrowed from Roger Corman’s… uhhh… Avalanche film from the previous year, to a stage light substituting for the sun, to obvious decals in plain view on model rockets, to Martin Landau shamelessly overacting, to… well, you get the point… I enjoy it, and I still watch it every so often. This one’s got it all!
Speaking of Avalanche, Corman may have been the only guy to actually profit off of Meteor because I’m certain he didn’t just give the Avalanche footage away. Sneaky, crafty guy.
To be fair, despite the other laughable special effects, the whole subway flooding sequence is actually quite good.
I like most of Laurence Rosenthal’s soundtrack; especially the anthem that makes up the end credits music.
Poor Natalie Wood. She got to speak her native Russian. This was supposed to be the beginning of her Hollywood comeback…
Brian Keith speaking almost exclusively in Russian is also cool.
Sean Connery’s line about a novel placement of a broom is one for the ages.
As cartoony and over the top as Martin Landau’s character may have been, the thought of Soviets just waltzing into your nation’s Hercules missile platform command bunker would make anyone in the know pause. He wasn’t being unreasonable. Where was the reciprocal invitation?
Over time, I have rounded up the novelization, the “Making of” Meteor scrapbook, the Marvel Comics adaptation, even the RCA View Master Reels.
I remember seeing Meteor trailers on tv. One of the scenes from the trailer included the destruction of the Twin Towers.
I think some fairly elaborate (by AIP standards) effects ultimately weren’t used in the final cut. Judging by some photos included in an article in the 32nd issue of Starlog (March 1980 issue), it looked to me like a very elaborate miniature of Hong Kong was built for the flooding scene, but the finished product appears to me like water is just superimposed on a shot of the harbor as the tidal wave rolls in. That miniature work couldn’t have been cheap.
The US movie poster sucks. I wished they used the art depicting the fleet of missiles headed for the incoming meteor instead.
The best thing about Meteor may have been the awesome pinball machine based off the movie. Seriously. That baby rocks!
So, why have I spent a lot of mental energy writing about Meteor, given that it’s a bit of a letdown? It’s mainly because of what the movie and its timing represented for AIP and my fondness for the studio so much more than the film itself. I was about the right age to get a kick out of every big post-Star Wars blockbuster that came down the pike. It was a great time to be a kid with a vivid imagination and a desire to be an astronaut. Meteor looked like it was going to continue in that vein. We didn’t go to the movies much, but we did venture out (sometimes in the snow) to catch the ones I mentioned. I was disappointed when my parents said “no” to Meteor. After catching the network broadcast premiere, I understand their decision. Still, regardless of the quality of the film, seeing the company’s progress into the late-70’s gave me hope for more fun movie adventures when I would reach my teens and have a car to use. By the time of this tv viewing, I did not yet know of the studio’s demise. I assumed that they would continue making higher profile films I could start seeing in the theaters as they came out. I would only learn in a small blurb regarding possible upcoming AIP remakes from Sam via “Arkoff International Pictures” in a later issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland (number 183, “Swamp Thing” cover) that AIP was gone.
As a result, I only made it to one theatrical showing of an AIP release, and even then, it was about three years after the outfit’s absorption (and quick demolition) by Filmways.
I had such high hopes…
This was not supposed to be a depressing write up…
In another thread, Meteor was used as an example of a feature that helped put AIP out of business. The “scrapbook” says that AIP’s contribution to the $18M (?) budget was only $2.3M… not chump change for Sam, but I can’t imagine the film’s flop performance would have impacted AIP that harshly.
statistics: Posted by Heraclevs — 10:01 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 0 — Views 98