You think youve seen one-of-a-kind movies?
Forbidden Zone, theres nothing like it.
If it werent for the snatches of dialogue, it might be considered the greatest prog rock opera.
Forbidden Zoneis a work of pure originality.
It is a fever dream from the mind of a musical interloper that has no peer.
Characterizations mean nothing inForbidden Zone.
Neither does storyline or continuity.
The basic laws of physics dont apply so why should the rules of cinema?
Its not just thatForbidden Zoneis a one-of-a-kind movie, its that there is no other movie like it.
This would make more sense if you spent more time inForbidden Zone.
It was in defiance of nothing and yet everything.
It was a good hearted jab at political correctness with a kinky center.
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And you could dance to it.
Thats becauseForbidden Zonewas made as a kind of long-form music video for theMystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boing went home with the grand prize of $516.32.
Bright would go on to writeShrunken HeadsandModern Vampires(akaRevenant…not that one) and write and directFreeway.
Steve Bartek was the orchestrator.
Elfman would eventually score, among other things,Batman,Desperate Housewives, andCharlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But he is probably best known as the guy who wroteThe Simpsons theme.
Richard Elfman directedShrunken HeadsandModern Vampires.
The Elfmans were a musical family.
Their father was a jazz trumpeter.
Richard put the band together in the early 70s.
He was the creative director and percussionist.
His brother Danny was four years younger and a self-taught musical prodigy.
Then he picked up a violin and figured out the backing.
Savary wrote the song Pleure forForbidden Zone.
The sensual song Witchs Egg was written by Georg Michalski and Susan Tyrrell.
One thousand years and I still cant get enough of you.
I didnt seeForbidden Zonewhen it was first released.
It is one of the most colorful black and white movies ever made.
This is also one of the greatest musicals rendered visually.
It harkens back to the surrealistic jazz cartoons Max Fleischer shot in the roaring twenties.
), and, as discussed above,Minnie the Moocher(1932).
What could this world offer hatched out of witches eggs?
Life imitating art making fun of life.
Toshiro Boloney plays both Squeezit and his twin sister Rene.
Danny Elfman plays Satan.
Former vaudeville actor Phil Gordon plays Frenchys brother Flash.
Gene Cunningham plays Huckleberry P. Jones.
Hyman Diamond is Gramps.
Warhol Superstar Viva appeared on the condition that she could write her own lines and not pull her punches.
The film was shot in a kind of forbidden zone.
The actors didnt do it for money.
He was much more than just his Tattoo character.
What Happens Beyond the World of the Sixth Dimension?
Ma and Pa Hercules warn Frenchy to steer clear of the spooky portal in the basement.
Their daughter recently returned from France.
And, well, thats when things get really weird.
Why does it feel so good to be so bad?
Films that come from a place the viewer isnt normally invited or from an askew angle.
Flawed masterpieces likeThe Rocky Horror Picture Showcarry this off with a sense of self-assured fun.
Forbidden Zonewas politically incorrect before anyone had even finished reading Chairman Mao.
The film was banned by the University of Wisconsin.
Elfman said the movie was a human cartoon and nobody was painted more cartoonishly than anyone else.
The film didnt spare anyone.
Certainly, it was very liberal with its offense.
The classroom even has a chubby Hitler dancing with the pimped out thugs.
It isnt really so much dangerous or threatening as it is absurd and childish.
But it is also childlike in its sense of wonder.
It captures such simple beauty.
Maybe its the music that transforms ugliness into aesthetics.
you’ve got the option to hear snatches of nightmare in the music.
The dancing is funky, frenzied and acrobatic.
The pacing is always quick.
The lines are hysterically timed.
Dont go through any trouble over me, one character says while a torturer readies her instruments of pain.
The performances are over-the-top parodies of acting.
They are cartoonlike and so very broad.
That doesnt mean you dont get into the characters and have a real feel for them.
When the fake queen dies, I choke up.
Everything looks different but nothing has changed.
For a movie that deals mainly in the sixth dimension,Forbidden Zonedoesnt mind folding in on itself.
The first take on documenting Hercules Family, was an hour-long experiment shot on 16 mm.
Elfman added another 20 minutes in 35 mm.
Then he replaced the original Hercules Family footage, because it didnt look right together.
I went broke way before the slow boat arrived in China.
I havent really started anything for it yet, Danny toldRolling Stonea few years ago.
And Im like, All right.
Our relationship hasnt changed.
I was like, OK, I guess so.
Its like getting called up into active duty.
Living without protection really sucks.
Moving in the wrong direction brings bad luck.
At one point the sequel was threatened to be calledThe Sixth Element.
There have been unofficial trailers and an official YouTube channel.
But there has still never been anything like the originalForbidden Zone.
