movies: Mann Mania continues

Checked out Manhunter, which I hadn't seen since its original theatrical release.

I remember liking it, I remembered Brian Cox being spectacular at Hannibal Leckter, and I remembered the ending being a ludicrous clusterfuck that inspired belly laughs...all memories which withstood the test of time.

A couple of things:

One, there's this thing that happens where you watch a movie years later and say "oh, THAT actor was in it!", because you didn't know who they were the first time you saw it. I got that with Joan Allen & Dennis Farina in this one.

Two, there are a lot of movies from the 80's and early 90's with these awful, cheesy synthesizer soundtracks. It sounded fine at the time, but now it's just ridiculous and it takes a stellar film to overcome the Curse of the Casio Keyboard.
The only people who consistently pulled off synthesized movie soundtracks that don't sound like they belong in a bad porno flick were Vangelis & Tangerine Dream. Mann was lucky enough to land the Dream for his first feature, Thief, but here he's working with some shmucks called 'Red 7' who sound like a thrift store version of T Dream.

On the plus side, several key scenes use real songs by real musicians...I was startled to hear a few Shriekback tunes in the mix, whose Oil & Gold is a classic of atmospheric synth rock.

I think I'll scare up a copy of Thief next, which mightily impressed me in my youth.

It was in heavy rotation during slumber parties at the Pelf's, back in those halcyon days when video stores made you buy memberships and our cinematic holy grail was the banned splatter revenge opus I Spit On Your Grave.

Ah, youth...