WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema: The Dungeonmaster 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.120 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:15.320 Hey you welcome to Weird House Cinema. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.079 This is Rob Lamb and this is Joe McCormick. And Hey, 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:22.000 we're back from our break with a brand new episode 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.800 of Weird House Cinema. Today we're going to be talking 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:31.080 about the nineteen eighty four sci fi fantasy action anthology 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:37.000 film The Dungeon Master aka Rage War aka the Charles Band. 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:41.920 Sampler platter, that's right, and I think sampler platter is key. Okay, 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:43.879 I'll come back to this time and time again, but 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.320 this movie really does feel like they are saying, Hey, 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:50.520 what can what does Charles Band have to offer to you? 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.519 Are you thinking of financing a load of mid budget 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.640 genre film? Consider all that Empire Pictures has to. 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:01.160 Offer exactly, consider all the props in costumes we already have. 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.520 Yeah you need some desert apocalypse vehicles, we got them. 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:08.360 Yeah you need some Gromlins, Oh we got gromlins. 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:12.039 Oh my god, this movie has great gromlins. Now. I 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:14.800 wonder if you were able to find out the answer 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.880 to this, are the gromlins in this film also leftovers? 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:22.360 The same way the Metal Storm props are reused or 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.559 is it were these original monsters, Like did John Carl 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:27.399 Beechler make original monsters? 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:32.120 I don't know for certain on this, but I suspect 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:36.320 Beekler created something custom here. I feel like Beechler's segment 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:39.160 he is one of the he's one of the special 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.360 effects guys in general for this picture, but also he 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:43.920 wrote and directed one of the segments. I get the 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.120 impression that he put a lot of energy into this, 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:48.960 and I think these are this is a fresh Gromlin 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:49.320 that we have. 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:54.760 So this movie is sometimes build as an anthology film, 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.920 and I think that is correct in a sense, but 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:00.480 it could also be misleading because when you think of 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:06.520 an anthology film, usually you think of like three to 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:11.400 five self contained stories that each sort of have a beginning, middle, 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.440 and end, and they are chained together by some kind 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.760 of framing narrative. This is not like that. Instead, this 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:23.200 is chaining together something like seven different roughly five minute 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.280 little things in the movie they referred to as challenges. 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.480 So the main premise here is that there is a 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:33.400 man played by Jeffrey Byron who is so good at 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:37.000 computers that the devil or some wizard that seems to 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:40.400 be somewhat equivalent to the Devil says I'm going to 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.920 challenge you to a series of contests, and each of 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:48.120 these contests is by a different director affiliated with the 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:49.960 Charles Band Cinematic Universe. 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:52.880 It would kind of be like, and now that I 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:55.760 think about this potential comparison, I really like this idea 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:57.720 and I kind of hope someone does it. It's like 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:01.119 if you did a film The Labors of Hercule, and 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.880 each labor was a segment directed by a different director, 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:08.600 written and directed by a different filmmaker, and at the 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:12.640 end you had like a complete film. But it's also 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:16.200 less than that because it's you can't really take each 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:20.720 individual challenge or segment out of this movie and enjoy 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:22.360 it on its own. For the most part, Icaus you 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.560 sort of can, but like they're not really self contained units, 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:31.760 and even as a whole, they don't necessarily build much 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:34.240 one to the other. In fact, different cuts of the 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:37.720 film have included them in different orders and it doesn't 0:03:37.760 --> 0:03:38.400 really matter. 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:43.240 Yeah. Yeah, this movie, also, I will say, has big 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:45.440 written by a thirteen year old boy. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.720 Energy it does, which is one of its charms. It's 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:50.840 like there is an there's an innocence to it in 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:54.680 that regard, and it has this in common with a 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:57.760 number I think of these sort of Charles Band produced 0:03:57.920 --> 0:03:59.320 pictures from this time period. 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.440 Yeah, so that's very much true. It has the sort 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.800 of desires and sensibilities of like a thirteen year old 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.520 Nintendo addict. But also it is a really fun movie. 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.160 Yeah. Absolutely, It's a terrifically fun film, full of goofy moments, 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:17.760 ambitious special effects on a budget and a time constraint. 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:19.400 I want to say, I want to say that this 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:21.400 was all shot in like five weeks or something, you know, 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.440 that makes sense, and it mostly good natured charm for 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:29.000 the you know, on the whole. It's it's also a 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:31.440 place where you have a lot of first time directors 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.480 really going at it, guys who would continue to grow 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:39.320 up in the Charles Band Empire pictures Full Moon Universe, 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:42.800 and here they are like hitting the ground running, you know, 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.080 doing the best they can. Again with limited resources, limited time, 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:49.000 and having to work with the constraints of this picture. 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.560 I will say, you know, again, very disjointed, challenge segments 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.240 that don't necessarily build one to the next. But at 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:01.000 the same time, this film takes place almost entirely within 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:05.160 the dreamscape, and therefore it's almost kind of fitting that 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:09.200 there is this. There's sometimes a feeling of like weird 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:13.320 repetition that things don't make a lot of sense. There's 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.080 a lot of dream logic, either intentional or unintentional. 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.800 The solution to most of the challenges is the same, 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.640 and it's not a very interesting one. 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.400 Yeah, Like, imagine if you were a dungeon master, as 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.240 the title suggests, and the solution to all the puzzles 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.560 who gave your players was blasted in the gym with 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.440 a laser you know that would do. 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:37.719 A little do a little beat boop on your computer 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.320 and then it shoots a laser that was it. 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.200 Was the seven more times than you got it. 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:45.800 I think this movie should also be taken as a 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:49.760 tribute to long suffering girlfriends everywhere. You know, they love 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.320 their dude even though he's somewhat irritating and gets them 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.359 into insanely unappealing situations, like Jeffrey Byron, this is the 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.680 third time this week that your relationship with an artificial 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.320 computer woman has gotten me kidnapped by the devil. 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:09.080 Absolutely well, that kind of leads nicely to my elevator 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.120 pitch for this is Ladies and gentlemen. The following contest 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.400 is a seven round competition for the dominance of reality. 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:19.640 In the Black Tides, representing magic and immortality, it's Mestima 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.840 the Devil. In the red Shorts, the very short red 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:28.400 running shorts, we have Paul Bradford representing computers and the 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:33.280 teachings of Wayne Dyer and girlfriend having so ring the bell. 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:37.320 Oh man, I'm ringing it. If you can't hear, I'm 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:37.920 ringing it. 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.320 All right. Let's you know, we don't have to promote 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.160 the film. Let's let the trailer audio promote the film 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:46.600 a little bit. I don't know if we'll run the 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.839 whole thing. This one repeats itself a little bit, but 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:57.800 let's have a taste. 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:08.200 He is a warrior in a wasteland without mercy. He 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:14.400 has survived where countless others have died. He has destroyed 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:19.160 all that would kill. He is the only one who 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:25.120 can face the challenges of. 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:24.280 The Dungeon Master. 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.440 You are a worthy of Doonet. 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:35.440 Bring the Dark. 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.520 The Excalibrate. 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:46.840 A warrior trapped in a timeless void, locked in mortal 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:51.000 combat against the Overlord, to the agonies of strange beasts 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:57.680 and lost souls prepare for the end. The Dungeon Master 0:07:58.720 --> 0:07:59.400 rated PG. 0:07:59.560 --> 0:07:59.840 Thirty. 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.040 All right, So the Dungeon Master. One word, how do 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:07.760 you find it? How do you watch it for yourself? 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:11.360 If you would like to? Well, For physical media enthusiasts, 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:15.320 I highly recommend the excellent Aero Video Blu ray release 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.520 from I Believe twenty twenty three, if you can find it. 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:22.200 I rented it from Atlanta's own video drome, but it 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:24.160 seems like it's harder to get a hold of right now. 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:26.120 I don't know if it's out of print or it's 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:28.680 like there's some sort of rights thing or what have you, 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:30.760 but I couldn't find a place where you could actually 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:31.160 buy it. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:35.400 So I watched two different versions of this movie. The 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.200 first time I saw it was a few weeks ago 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:39.200 because a friend of mine showed it to me that 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.240 was on some kind of disc. I don't know which 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:43.520 disc release it was, but I figured it took me 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:45.360 a while to figure out which cut I was looking 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:51.360 at where, But originally I saw the theatrical cut, and 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:53.600 then when we picked it for the show, I went 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:57.160 back and rewatched it on to B which is the 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.960 only mainstreaming option I'm aware of now where you can 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.720 watch this movie. And it turned out that was a 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:06.240 different cut of the film, the extended cut, which has 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:10.120 a long sequence at the beginning, grossly violating the film's 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:14.240 theatrical PG thirteen rating. And then also it has a 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.200 different order of the challenges. 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.800 Yeah, that's right. There are at least three main releases 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.000 of the film, three main cuts. There's the US theatrical cut, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.840 there is the original Rage War cut that was the 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:32.040 original title for the picture, and then there's the Euroage 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.880 War cut. So the US theatrical cut, in my opinion, 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:39.400 sadly chops off the excellent opening dream sequence directed by 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:43.640 Charles Band in order to secure that precious PG thirteen rating. 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.240 More on that sequence in a bit. The Euroage War 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.319 cut edits out some of the nudity in that sequence, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:54.160 along with apparently part of Mestima's cat torture monologue from 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:57.200 later on in the film, which is not come on, 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:01.439 not a great loss, but also not like that terrible. 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:05.120 It's just a monologue. He's not doing anything other than 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.480 chewing up the scenery. And like you said, also the 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:12.240 challenge sequence differs between Rage War and Dungeon Master cuts. 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:15.200 But again for the most part, it doesn't really matter 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.800 what order you see the different challenges in. But in 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:22.560 my opinion, I think you're best off with the Rage 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.960 War cut. This is available on the Arrow Disc. This 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.200 is seemingly also the version on two B, but again 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.439 the Arrow disc has like all three versions, so you 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.720 can sort of mix and match, pick and choose and 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:34.240 so forth. 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.000 Now I can't remember, because I know we talked about 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:39.080 this off mic as well, But did we already mention 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:43.240 in this episode that neither of the titles have anything 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:44.080 to do with the movie? 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.560 Oh? Yeah, Like, there's not really a Master of Dungeons. 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.440 There's absolutely there's not. You might assume from the title, 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.600 as I long did, that this was going to be 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:57.240 some sort of a Dungeons and dragonsploitation film, you know 0:10:57.280 --> 0:11:00.599 about the dangers of dungeons and dragons. You know, at 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:02.720 the time period, there are no dangers of dungeons and dragons, 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:07.280 of the danger of having a good time. But there's 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:11.360 none of that. Yeah, there's very arguably a dungeon master 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:13.840 in this. And there's not a Rage War either, whatever 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:15.080 a rage war would be. 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.280 There's a little bit of rage, there's really not a war. 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:20.360 I mean there's like a fistfight. 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.080 Yeah, and that's pretty much yet. But I have no 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.280 better title suggestions here, so really really, I mean they're 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:38.920 both find titles from the Empire Pictures standpoint. All right, 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.079 let's get into the people behind this picture. So we're 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:44.120 gonna have to approach this one a little bit differently 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:49.000 because this film has eight credited directors due to its 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:54.680 various multiple dream sequences and the connecting material. So instead 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.440 of listing them all right here up top, we're going 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:00.360 to touch in on those individual directors and write as 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.319 we roll through the plot later on. But I will 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.920 go ahead and just cover the rest of the connections 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.160 as usual, because again, this is not a true anthology film. 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.679 The core cast remains the same throughout the picture, but 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:16.720 we do have to just at the top just acknowledge that, Yeah, 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.760 this is very much a Charles Band production. And Charles 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.240 Band is credited as one of the directors. I think 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.760 he directed all of the connective tissue in the picture. 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.720 He has an original story credit and he was also 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:28.400 the producer. 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.640 Oh yeah, I loved how based on a story by 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:33.760 Charles Band. What was that story? 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:33.960 Like? 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:35.480 Did he write this out as fiction? 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:39.400 I mean they one of the things that they asked 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.600 I should mention that that excellent Arrow release has a 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:47.640 nice extended interview with Jeffrey Byron, who plays Paul Bradford, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.160 our hero, and one of the questions they asked him 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:52.440 is like, was there actually a full script? And he's like, yes, 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:56.160 there was a full script for this film, though you know, 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:58.760 I guess portions of it were of course written by 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:03.520 different rectors, because each director also wrote their segment, and 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.960 presumably Charles band like wrote out the connective tissue as well. 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.920 So so yeah, I guess he just he had this 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.520 idea one day, what if you were so into computers 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:17.040 and so good at it that the Devil himself took offense. 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:19.400 I guess you could take this as a sort of 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:23.280 update on the like, I don't know, Merlin or Doctor 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:24.440 Faustus kind of thing. 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.400 Yeah, Devil went down to Georgia, right. 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.600 Yeah, you're at you're at the edges of human knowledge 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.520 and skill and experience, and then, like you, you receive 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:38.640 a contact from the world beyond. Except Mistema doesn't primarily 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:42.080 tempt Paul. He does at one point, but he's not 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.640 mainly there to be a Methistopheles saying, like, you know, here, 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:48.560 let's make a deal. He wants to fight Paul. He 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:52.720 wants to say, like your computer against my monsters. 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.640 Right, but he doesn't even really fully understand like computers 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.240 as like technology as a as like the opposite of 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.559 magic or anything like. He seems to think that technology 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.920 is magic and he is here to prove his own 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.120 magical superiority. All right, Well more on the plot here 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.000 in a bit. But yeah. Charles Band born nineteen fifty one. 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:14.360 We've talked about him before in the show Prolific B 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:18.040 movie writer, director and producer. Active since the early seventies 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:20.680 and still pumping him out. He's often compared to the 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:25.360 late Roger Corman, recently passed rest in peace, but I 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.720 think he's I think it's largely an accurate comparison. As 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:31.200 a producer, he's known for various eighties films under the 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:34.560 Empire Pictures banner, such as this one, followed in nineteen 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:37.720 eighty eight after its closing with Full Moon Productions, which 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.480 gave us some of the most memorable nineties video rental 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:45.240 store selections, and continues to give the world such later 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.040 day Full Moon franchise titles as Evil Bong in the 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.000 Ginger dead Man's film series. 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.520 Now, my impression of the arc of this career is 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.800 that in both cases it leans heavily on horror movies 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.280 that are funny, but the difference being that, like as 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:07.680 time went on, the jokes became more overt and explicit, 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.440 whereas earlier on most of it was like horror movies 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.760 that you know, were funny, but they weren't winking at 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.920 the camera. They were just like playing it mostly straight 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:19.000 but being silly. 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:21.520 That's right. Yeah, And you know, there's something to be 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:25.080 said for like the Empire Pictures period, you know, actually 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.880 getting some theatrical releases such as Metal Storm, which we've 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.680 talked about on the show, and then later on it 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:34.840 becomes increasingly like video rental store aimed, and then you know, 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.520 ultimately in the modern era it's more about a digital 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.840 film and so forth. So yeah, yeah, there's a lot 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.760 of analysis one could do about, like the changing business 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.040 of motion pictures. And certainly there's something to be said 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:49.960 for a company that's been able to stay around this 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.360 long in some form or another and still making you know, 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.800 some some level of profit, even if it's I don't know, 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.200 I was going to say something about like maybe not 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.600 making as much of a cultural impact, But who am 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.200 I to doubt the cultural impact of the Evil Bong series. 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.600 I doubt the Evil Bong series will have any lines 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:11.160 of dialogue that entered the public consciousness the way I 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.560 reject your reality and substitute my own has. 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:17.400 That's right, that one has has its own reach for sure. 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.080 Yeah, well we'll get to that later. 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:21.280 So I'm not going to go through all the Charles 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.080 Band stuff here, but I do want to sort of 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.120 place the Dungeon Master in contact. So this was Band's 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:32.880 sixth directorial effort, following seventy three's Last Foxtrott in Burbank. 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.280 This was his first film, a sex comedy, edited by 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:39.600 John Carpenter. Then there was seventy six's Crash, starring Jose 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.200 Ferrer and John Carradine. There was nineteen eighty two's Parasite 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.400 with Demi Moore. Then came nineteen eighty three's The Alchemist. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.320 In nineteen eighty three's metal Storm The Destruction of Jared 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.920 Sin a theatrically released three D motion picture that we've 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.200 talked about on on Weird House Cinema. 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:59.600 Metal Storm The Destruction of Jared Sin was wonderful because 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.000 it has such a complicated title, but once again, much 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:08.080 like Dungeon Master, the title is misleading. There is a Jaredson, 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.240 I don't know if there's a metal Storm, and Jaredsen 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:14.440 is not destructed in the film. He escapes at the end. 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.919 He's fine, that's right, but still kind of a fun time. So. 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.359 But the interesting thing though, according to Jeffrey Byron, is 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:27.680 that production on Rage War began the next day after 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.040 they rap production on metal Storm. So like they had 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:34.200 the rap party, everyone went home at eleven pm, and 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.919 then the next day six am, everyone's up and working 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:38.840 on Rage War. 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.360 Beautiful, and it's clear that they're not just reusing some 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:46.719 sets and costumes and props and all that from Metal Storm. 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.480 But it's got the same hero. So if you'll recall, 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:54.720 in metal Storm, Jeffrey Byron played the Luke Skywalker character, 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.320 it was Tim Thomerson who played the Han solo character. 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.720 There's sort of a sort of Star Wars meets Mad 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:05.679 Max is the concept of Metal Storm, and Jeffrey Byron 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:09.000 returns this time to be our computer geek turned hero. 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:14.560 That's right. Jeffrey Byron born nineteen fifty five, Star of 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:17.080 metal Storm. Like we said, he was already a reasonably 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:20.480 experienced TV actor prior to his work with Band. Started 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:22.600 out as a child actor and actually appeared in the 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:27.760 nineteen sixty three john Ford film Donovan's Reef. Interesting fact two. 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:32.159 John Ford was his godfather, and he was also in 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.840 an episode of the original Twilight Zone. He continued to 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:40.080 work extensively in television after these two Band productions, occasionally 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.000 with film roles, and in twenty twenty two he worked 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:46.679 with Band again on the band produced mini series The Resonator, 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:48.000 a Full Moon production. 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:49.480 The Resonator. 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:51.840 Yeah, I don't know much about it, but I think 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:54.480 for a while I was subscribed to like the full 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.159 Moon channel on Prime and I saw it featured there 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:58.280 about it? Never push play? 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.960 Okay, I'm going to make a face comparison that did 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.919 not occur to me until just this very moment. But 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:10.040 close your eyes and picture this Jeffrey Byron, remove the hair. 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.640 Just look at the face. A little bit like a 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.119 more baby faced version of Vigo Mortensen. 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:18.840 Do you see do you see? Yeah? Yeah, a bit 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.760 a bit. In this film he has the he's wearing 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:24.000 glasses a lot because he's supposed to be a nerd, 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:26.680 but he's one of these. He's like a glasses on nerd, 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:31.359 glasses off hunk, which we often see in pictures, especially 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:34.520 this time period. You also see the you know, the 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.040 female variation of this as well, but he's got those 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:42.280 glasses on. I have to say, I think I think 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:44.000 he's really fun in this. He brings a lot of 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:47.320 energy and enthusiasm to the role, and I found that 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.680 he's the extras with him on the arrow disc or 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:51.200 rather insightfully, he has a lot of great things to 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:53.240 say about the production and the folks that he worked 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:56.199 with kind of sums up the like the feeling that 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:58.200 a lot of a lot of the people involved here 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:00.240 were getting to do things for the first time. I'm 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:04.760 you know, first time directors. Byron got to got to 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:08.280 write one of the segments as we'll discuss, got to 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:10.400 work with his brother on that segment, and also got 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:14.840 to bring in various like friends from acting school that 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:17.639 he wanted to work with, So you know, everybody was 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:20.040 really excited. People got to do a lot of fun things, 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:23.440 and it seems like it was a pretty pretty fun 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:25.879 production for the most part. So it's always nice to 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:26.680 hear those stories. 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:29.200 This is one of the reasons I imagine people are 0:20:29.280 --> 0:20:31.840 skeptical about the idea that this movie had a full 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.479 script because it feels so much like they're just doing 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:38.399 whatever they could think of or whatever they wanted to 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:41.440 do with what they had. You know, it seems very 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:46.520 much a It has an intense feel of improvisation. 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:48.960 It really does, so I too kind of take that 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.840 full script with a grain of salt. I wonder how 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:54.520 much of it was, like, you know, like scene five, 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:56.920 we do something with the cars from metal Storm. 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:00.960 Yeah, yeah, maybe the full script had had markers like 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:03.560 Jeffrey Byron fights a troll. 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:07.240 Yeah, because yeah, there's not a lot that goes on 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:08.800 beyond that in some of these segments. 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:11.320 Oh no, no, I meant like there is, but like 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:14.040 what would be filled in later as well? What access 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:16.600 to locations do we already have, what sets do we have, 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:18.879 What props and costumes do we have? What kind of 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.480 troll makeup can we get together? And it has that 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:24.400 feel of that it was either something that was from 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.840 a previous movie or somebody was on set wanting to 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:29.720 try something and this is what they did. 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:34.080 Yeah, absolutely, all right. We've been talking about Masteema the 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:36.600 demonic figure in this kind of a devil, kind of 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:40.440 a wizard, played by the terrific Richard Mole, who lived 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.840 nineteen forty three through twenty twenty three. Mole sadly passed 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.879 away since we last talked about him on Weird House Cinema. 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:50.520 He had a role in Metal Storm, but yeah, towering 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:53.840 I believe. He's six ' eight classically trained actor, best 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:57.880 known for his role as the good natured giant bailiff 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:00.760 Bullshannon in all nine seasons one hundred and ninety three 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:03.960 episodes of the sitcom Night Court from nineteen eighty four 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:07.840 through nineteen ninety two. So this film and Metal Storm, 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:10.960 which again he was also in in a reduced part, 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:16.080