Aug. 26, 2026

Piranha (1978) - Roger Corman's Jaws Knockoff That Launched Careers

Piranha (1978) - Roger Corman's Jaws Knockoff That Launched Careers
Piranha (1978) - Roger Corman's Jaws Knockoff That Launched Careers
Cinematic Flashback
Piranha (1978) - Roger Corman's Jaws Knockoff That Launched Careers

We’re wrapping up Jawsploitation month with Joe Dante’s 1978 cult classic Piranha! When genetically engineered killer fish are accidentally released into a Texas river, it’s a race to stop them before they reach a children’s summer camp. But behind...

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Season 2

We’re wrapping up Jawsploitation month with Joe Dante’s 1978 cult classic Piranha!

When genetically engineered killer fish are accidentally released into a Texas river, it’s a race to stop them before they reach a children’s summer camp. But behind this low-budget Jaws knockoff is an impressive collection of future Hollywood talent.

Chuck and Matt dive into Roger Corman’s knack for discovering filmmakers, Joe Dante’s early career, John Sayles’ first produced screenplay, and the contributions of future effects legends Rob Bottin and Phil Tippett. We also look at the film’s wonderfully low-budget practical effects, surprising sense of humor, memorable cast, and why Steven Spielberg reportedly considered Piranha the best of the Jaws imitators

Nearly 50 years later, does Piranha still have enough bite to groove through the decades—or has this school of killer fish finally lost its beat?

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WEBVTT

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As fur as they pay, whether it's germ warfare, the bomb,

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chemical warfare, there's plenty of money. Special agencies they pay,

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they pay a lot better than they do in private

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research for raising phish. Oh no, it's a matter of genetics, radiation,

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selective breeding. They called it Operation Rasearch.

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Chiefs.

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Welcome to the Cinematic Flashback Podcast. Get ready to hop

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into the way back machine as we journey through the wild, bold,

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and unforgettable films of the nineteen seventies. Each episode, we

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break down a classic movie or we're gotten Jim, seeing

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how it performed then and now, and wrapping things up

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by asking did a groof of the decades or did

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it lose at beat? I am your host, Chuck Brannon.

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Today we are reviewing Joe Dante's nineteen seventy eight film Perrana,

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starring Bradford Dillman, Heather Mensies, and Dick Miller. This is

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our second and final stop in our Jobsploitation Month, where

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we were looking at two films that are swimming in

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the frenzy that Jaws left in its wake. Joining me

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for this adventure again is Matt Sargent, who graciously agreed

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to spend ninety minutes with a school of genetically engineered

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killer fish man.

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How are you doing, sir, I am doing well. I'm

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just done buckling from the Wayback Machine here and went

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for a ride to see this film. I'm just back

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from Canada where I did some fishing, so probably wasn't

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the best film in the world to watch before we

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went up there to all that fresh water. And I

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have my daughter's wedding upcoming in September, so really we

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have full schedules, as you probably know, Chuck, because you're

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trying to schedule all around my personal life, and I

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apologize for that.

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Well, you know what, last year there were some times

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where I said, you know, Matt is off somewhere, but

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you know, I think our best episodes are where we're

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here together. So I am gonna do my darnness to

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make sure you're sitting right beside me here in the

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Wayback Machine.

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Well, I appreciate it, I really do. You put in

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a lot of work this year laying out our schedule

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and putting together these sort of themed months, which has

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been a lot of fun. Like you said, we saw

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Orca before, and that actually is a pretty decent FPO.

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SOO We had fun with that one. Yeah, it really

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is a good one to watch before we watched Piranha,

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because in a lot of ways, it couldn't be more different. Right.

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You know, when I set out jabsploitation, the reason why

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I did this was because I honestly thought that we

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were going to get two B style movies.

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Right.

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Orca really surprised me because it may not have been

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the best film, but you know what they stood up

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to plate They took a swing at the ball and

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they were going for the fences. Piranha, on the other hand,

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is exactly what I was looking for. I have been

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waiting to see this film again, to be honest, the

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reason is because it's a New World Picture. Growing up

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watching these movies, I would see the New World Picture logo.

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I had no idea that this was Roger Corman's film studio.

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If you look at the logo animation that they did

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at the very beginning, that was all hand drawn by

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Joe Dante. It eventually became something much bigger. Do you

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mind if I once again plug his book?

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Oh go for it?

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How I made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never

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lost a dime. If you don't have this on your

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reading list. I highly recommend putting it on there. It's

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a good read, it's a fun read. You're gonna learn

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a lot about the industry of Hollyoo. You're also going

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to come across maybe some movies that you might want

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to see. Of Roger Corman's I want to recommend his

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movies from the nineteen sixties called The Intruder with none

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other than William Shatner. It's a low budget movie, but

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it is right there making a big statement about racial

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integration in the South, and it's not done tongue in

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cheek like Prana was. It's a very very good movie,

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and I have to say that it may be one

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of my favorite William Shatner roles that I've ever seen.

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Yeah, that's funny. I have not read the book yet,

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but it is on my list, and I'm wondering if

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I can get it as an audiobook, because I typically

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am able to read a lot more books via audiobooks.

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Yeah, I'm the same way. I will need to check

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that out if not. If you ever want to borrow mine,

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I am more than happy to loan it out to.

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You because you have the actual paper box. I actually

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have the back. Oh my goodness, it's not even on

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your kindle. No, it's it's right here in my hand.

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And in fact, it was d Graves from the Surely

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You Can't Be Serious podcast who said, Chuck, you need

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to read this book. It's one of the best ones

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that I've read. When D gives me a book recommendation,

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it is one I can usually take to the bank.

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So this was definitely a good one. Well, Matt, who

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is talking to us this week? This was posted on

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our Facebook page from listener and friend of the show

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James Kirk, for our sting episode back in May. Quote.

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I enjoyed this episode on what is in many ways

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a spiritual sequel to Butch, Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,

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but was astonished to learn that Chuck has never seen Butch.

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It's my all time number one favorite movie and a

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must see for any fan of twentieth century cinema. Where

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do I send the four K disc, Maddie? Thanks to James,

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I am sure Chuck will reach out with an address. Folks,

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we are not above receiving gifts and gratuities in order

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to get your comments read on the air here on

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our podcast, so keep them coming. I mean the comments,

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not necessarily the gifts, but we'll take the gifts. Man.

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This is this is one of my rather flagrant cinema

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sins that you pointed out to me when we made

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that recording. So as soon as I received this four

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K disc from James, I will pop it in and

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have a watch. Maybe maybe I should do one of

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those reaction videos like the first time, where I just

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had the camera watching me making comments and watching the movie.

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Do you think anybody should be interested in that?

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I don't know. We should do it together and do it.

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What is it? A mystery science Theater two thousand in

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two thousand style with just the silhouettes of our heads

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in front of the screen. My dad, Oh my gosh,

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my dad loved that show so much. He used to

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watch it and just bellow with laughter at that robot.

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Oh my god, he loved it, and he loved it

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so much.

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That that actually makes me glad. I You're dad would

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have been happy to know that. Right now, they are

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producing four more with the original actors who played the robots,

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and oh my god, a guy who played Mike who

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was the second host of that show. So your your

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dad would really have liked that.

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He would have and I'm sorry that he's not around

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it anymore to see it because he just loved that. He

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just we used to sit there and he, you know,

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he had this giant laugh which I've described before, especially

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when we went to see Young Frankenstein, and he would

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just bellow with laughter about it. And it's one of

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my more fond memories of my dad. He just loved

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to laugh. So he also was really famous for telling

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shaggy dog stories. If our listeners know what a shaggy

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dog story is, it's like a dad joke, but it

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goes on forever, but it ends like a dad joke,

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you know, with the goofy whatever, and it just it's

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one of those ones that he would start telling this

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story like it was a real live story, like it

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happened to him, and by the end you're like, really

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really a dentist, a priest, and a rabbi? Why were

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you in a bar? Dad? Anyway, I have a question

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for you, Chuck, once you got we know why this

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movie happened because we're in Jaws Playtation month because obviously

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everything that happened, but how did this movie really happen?

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What's the inside Scoop.

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Well, every once in a while we cover a movie

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where the story behind the camera is just as interesting

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as the one on the screen, And I will say

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the story of how Jaws became the movie that it

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is is incredibly fascinating. I'll recommend that you read Carl

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Gottlieb's The Jaws Log, which was released at the same

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time the movie was, and it is a diary of

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the production of the movies with lots of behind the

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scenes stories. I also think Piranha might be one of

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those movies as well, because, just to set the scene,

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after Jaws became what is arguably the biggest movie up

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to that point in history, every studio wanted its own

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killer animal movie. And it didn't matter what kind of animal.

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It could be sharks, it could be bears, it could

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be alligators. Heck, it could even be a swarm of

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killer bees. If it could eat or kill people, somebody

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was going to make a movie about it.

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Everybody wanted the next Jaws.

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Exactly, and Roger Corman wasn't going to let that opportunity pass.

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Now when somebody says Roger Corman, what usually comes to mind, uh,

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low budget drive in movies.

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You know what we would call b movies, kind of

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not what we would call now blockbusters. I guess it

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really wasn't coined by then, was.

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It by the time this movie? Sure, but yes, you're

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hitting all of the telltales of a Roger Korman film.

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He would shoot a movie one week, he would edit

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it the next, and by the third week, he's already

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releasing the film. In fact, sometimes as he's filming one

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movie at a location, he is also filming a second

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movie at the same time. He doesn't know what it's

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going to be, but he's getting enough footage, and then

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he would come up with the idea of a movie poster,

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and then he would build a movie around the movie poster.

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That's just a kind of work that Roger Corman would do.

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But after reading about Urana, about this movie, I am

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becoming convinced that his real gift was finding talented people

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before anyone else realized just how good they were. He'd

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give them a chance, hand them a tiny budget, and

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just let them go and make a movie. And Pirana

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might be one of the best examples of that because

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the director was none other than Joe Dante, but not

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the Joe Dante who had already made The Howling or Gremlins,

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or The Urbs or Innerspace. This was the Joe Dante

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who was mostly cutting trailers for New World and had

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just finished co directing the movie Hollywood Boulevard along with

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Alan Arkish in another nineteen seventy six film for Roger Corman.

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Do you recognize any of those films of Joe Dante, I'll.

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Be honest with you, I do not, not even Grimlins,

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not even Gremlins. No, I didn't I know Gremlins. I

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did not realize it was a Roger Corman or Joe

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Dante film.

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Yeah, Gremlins was directed by Joe Dante. So Joe Dante

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is not a name that you're familiar with, but I

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was very familiar with him. In fact, there was a

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movie that was based on the old Twilight Zone series

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and it was comprised of four segments directed by four

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different directors. One of them had a very horrible ending

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in real life, which resulted in people dying, but that

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wasn't Joe Dante's segment. He had the third segment called

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It's a Good Life, about this little boy who has

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unlimited godlike powers. It was really really good and a

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bit creepy. Now here's another part of this story that

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I found interesting. Roger Corman had already bought the screenplay

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for Piranha from overseas. The problem was it just didn't work,

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so he hired a novelist, not a screenplay writer, a

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novelist named John Sales with no movie credits, and paid

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him the sum of ten thousand dollars. That's it, just

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ten just ten thousand, just ten grand. That's crazy. I

220
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read that Sales wrote movies like Piranha, The Howling and

221
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Alligator so that he could afford to make the independent

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films that he really wanted to direct. A few years later,

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he'd become one of the most respected writers and directors

224
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in independent cinema, with films like Mattawan, Eight Men Out

225
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About the I believe it was about the Black Sox

226
00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:15.000
and Lone Star, earning two Academy Award nominations for Best

227
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Original Screenplay. So when you're watching Piranha, you're actually watching

228
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the very first produced screenplay by one of America's greatest

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independent filmmakers.

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I know I recognized his name, so it seems reasonable

231
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that it was an early something he wrote early in

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his career.

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Not only early in terms of screenwriting, it was his

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first Wow Sales could have just written another film about

235
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keller Fish. But he also came up with this other

236
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idea that Piranhas were part of a secret military project

237
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developed during the Vietnam War. So once again, the shadow

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of Vietnam is overlooming a lot of films, and Piranha

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is no exception. This is par for the course of

240
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a Roger Corman film. Even in his other exploitation movies,

241
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it often sneak in a little social commentary.

242
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.840
Yeah, but it makes some sense. I mean, given the

243
00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.720
time nineteen seventy eight or your post Watergate, post Vietnam,

244
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it makes some sense that that's sort of what was

245
00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:20.759
in the zeitgeist at the time.

246
00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:24.320
Oh yeah, but you know what, Corman wasn't done finding talent.

247
00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.639
I have another name for you, And I'm going to

248
00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:29.519
guess you haven't heard of Rob Boutin either.

249
00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:30.879
No, I have not.

250
00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:36.639
So when you talk about makeup effects artist, the conversations

251
00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:40.480
usually starts with a guy by the name of Rick Baker.

252
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Rick Baker was brought in to do the makeup effects

253
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for the nineteen seventy six remake of King Kong. He

254
00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.840
also went on to work with John Landis, an American

255
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werewolf in London. The next name that you're going to

256
00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.360
talk about is a guy by the name of Tom Savini.

257
00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.480
He did the makeup effects for Friday Thirteenth. But maybe

258
00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.320
a little closer to some stuff you and I are

259
00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.480
going to be talking about in the next few months,

260
00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:09.879
he did the makeup for Donna the Dead. Finally, you're

261
00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:13.240
going to talk about Rob Botein because a few years

262
00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.240
later he had become one of the biggest names in

263
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the business with his work on the John Carpenter film

264
00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:25.960
The Thing. He also did work on RoboCop, Legend and

265
00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.440
Total Recall. Here's the thing. At this time of this movie,

266
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Rob Botein was just seventeen years old.

267
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You're kidding seventeen, that's crazy.

268
00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.279
While you and I were trying to graduate high school,

269
00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:46.279
boutine was already creating makeup effects for a feature film.

270
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And incidentally, at the climax of this film, one of

271
00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.799
his works of himself was actually attacked by the Piranhas

272
00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:58.000
and comes floating up at the end. Pretty funny stuff.

273
00:15:58.399 --> 00:15:59.799
That's funny. That's good.

274
00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:04.039
So I stumbled across one more name, and this is

275
00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:08.440
why you stick around and you read seventies credits because

276
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you remember that little weird stop motion mutant creature in

277
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doctor Hoat's laboratory.

278
00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.240
Yeah, I wondered if that was ever gonna come back

279
00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.039
to visit us in any way. It was supposed to.

280
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It was supposed to.

281
00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:24.320
But that was the work of Phil Tippett, who was

282
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an animator working with George Lucas at Industrial Light and Magic.

283
00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:32.639
Do you remember the holographic chess scene in Star Wars Classic?

284
00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:33.320
Yes?

285
00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.399
How about those Imperial Walkers and Empire strikes back?

286
00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:38.759
Fantastic, so imaginative.

287
00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:42.960
That was Phil Tippett's work. And if you look closely,

288
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.360
he even has a tiny cameo in Piranha as that

289
00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:48.240
unfortunate diver.

290
00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:54.279
Everybody was unfortunate? Do you narrow it down? Oh?

291
00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.399
But you know what, Matt, What really stuck with me that.

292
00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:01.799
Roger Corman was assembled the A team.

293
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Exactly sure, sure, he was making his version of Jaws,

294
00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:10.319
but unknowingly he was giving Joe Dante his shot, John

295
00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:14.119
Sales his first screenplay, Rob Botine one of his first

296
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major jobs, and Phil Tippett an early chance to show

297
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what he could do.

298
00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.599
Maybe Roger Korman's true gift was being able to see

299
00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.039
the talent in people before they themselves or anybody else

300
00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:26.359
saw it.

301
00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:32.200
Piranha might be one of the best examples of just that. Yeah,

302
00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:36.359
that is how this film happened. That is pretty darn cool.

303
00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:38.920
It does bring in a new light I did in

304
00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.519
watching the movies. I enjoyed the acting of several of

305
00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:45.680
the actors, and some of the special effects were just

306
00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.599
they were hilarious. They would have been great in a

307
00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:51.920
drive in movie. So that's cool to hear some of

308
00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.440
that backstory, and also to hear these guys go off.

309
00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:58.599
You know, Piranha wasn't the anchor of their career. It

310
00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:02.039
was the launch point. When I tell you something about

311
00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:05.039
Piranha Too, as long as it's not we're reviewing it

312
00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:09.799
like I've done this to you once, you're not gonna

313
00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:15.000
fall forward again. Piranha Too was directed by James Cameron,

314
00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:20.400
who infamously got fired from the movie.

315
00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:24.119
I was probably trying to make it too good. That's

316
00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:25.880
not in. That wasn't in the budget.

317
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.039
Talent was not in that budget. I don't know if

318
00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:32.039
that was a Corman New World flick or not. It

319
00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.400
seems like they sold off the rights. Maybe but yeah,

320
00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:38.519
we are about ready to dive into the production details

321
00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:40.960
of Piranha, but we need to step away for a

322
00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.319
quick break. We'll be right back.

323
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Flash back and flash back.

324
00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.440
What if there was something in the water, something small,

325
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.720
something deadly, something you couldn't see until it was too late.

326
00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.440
What if you went swimming one day and discovered.

327
00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:20.920
Parana. They're here and they're hungry. Piranha rated are.

328
00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:26.359
Welcome back, Matt. We've talked about Joe Dante, Roger Carmon,

329
00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:29.039
and John Sales, so let's take a look at some

330
00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.319
of the other people behind the scenes. The producer was

331
00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:36.079
John Davison. After Piranha, he'd go on to produce films

332
00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:40.880
like Airplane, RoboCop, RoboCop two, and Starship Troopers. One of

333
00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:44.359
the editors was Mark Goldblatt. He got his start at

334
00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:47.759
New World Pictures, where he met Roger Corman's assistant, Gail

335
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:52.279
Anne Hurd. She later introduced him to James Cameron, and

336
00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:55.319
Goldblatt would go on to edit films like The Terminator,

337
00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.759
Terminator to Judgment Day, True Lies, and dozens of other

338
00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.279
action movies. The score was composed by Dino Dinaggio, who

339
00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:08.359
had already written the music for Don't Look Now and Carry.

340
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:13.519
In true Roger Corman fashion, Dinaggio met with the filmmakers.

341
00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:16.759
They spotted the movie, which means they looked at the

342
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.000
movie to see where they wanted to put music in.

343
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:23.240
He returned to Italy, wrote and recorded the entire score there,

344
00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:27.400
then shipped the tapes back to California. Whatever arrived on

345
00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:31.440
that score they used. The budget for Piranha is reported

346
00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:36.200
differently depending on the source, and I'm talking about you

347
00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:38.400
could have two people who worked on this film and

348
00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.880
they reported the amount differently. And when you look at

349
00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.440
this on Wikipedia or other sources, they're usually giving you

350
00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:49.920
a range. But everyone agrees that it fell somewhere between

351
00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:53.640
seven hundred thousand and one million dollars to make. Corman

352
00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:58.240
wanted to spend less than that until United Artists stepped

353
00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:02.960
in with enough money to secure international distribution, and the

354
00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.279
story goes, Corman took some of that made another movie called.

355
00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.319
Avalanche, So he took a little money from one movie

356
00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.839
to do another one. That's classic Corman. He's keeping it

357
00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:16.559
close to this on how much they're spending because that

358
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:19.319
helps him control costs. It's like, well, if you have

359
00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.400
all that money, why aren't you spending more money for

360
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:21.920
the music.

361
00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:25.160
This is one of the reasons why Corman never wanted

362
00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:29.160
to take New World public. As long as he controlled everything,

363
00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.680
he could make these movies for whatever he wanted to.

364
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:35.599
He could make whatever he thought would make money. He

365
00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:39.440
had actually had a pretty good nose for it. Pirana

366
00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:43.480
earned roughly six million dollars in domestic film rentals and

367
00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:47.880
another fourteen million from the international market, making it New

368
00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.839
World's most profitable film up to that point. That is

369
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:52.519
a shocker.

370
00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:54.880
Here's what won't shock you.

371
00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:58.480
Reviews were actually kind of scarce because at the time

372
00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:02.720
there was a newspaper strung Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel,

373
00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:06.920
let's just say they were not particularly impressed with the film.

374
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:11.559
But here's an odd pairing on Rotten Tomatoes. Currently, it

375
00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:14.920
has a seventy two percent on the Tomato meter, which

376
00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:17.559
is what the critics think, and it has a lower

377
00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.680
rating of fifty three percent with the audience rating. Our

378
00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:24.319
last several films that we've been reviewing, it's always reversed.

379
00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:26.920
I thought it was kind of interesting that the audience

380
00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.440
liked it less than those who are critiquing the film.

381
00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:32.799
Do you know who did like it.

382
00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:38.920
Spielberg has reportedly called Piranha the best of the Jaws knockoffs,

383
00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:42.160
and that's a quote that's been following the movie for

384
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.079
nearly fifty years now.

385
00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.920
I mean, we're not exactly talking about a high bar here.

386
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:55.440
It's like, I hear what you're saying. That's cool though,

387
00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:56.240
that he liked it.

388
00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:03.880
Yeah, Well, finally, uns statistic. That still amazes me. Production

389
00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:08.319
was scheduled to begin in February of nineteen seventy eight,

390
00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:11.359
so they were filming during March, so all those water scenes,

391
00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:14.640
those people were cold in the water, but they all

392
00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:17.480
were smiling. It was filmed down in Texas, so that

393
00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:21.880
definitely helped quite a bit. But Piranha was in theaters

394
00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.880
that August, so it was signed and sealed and delivered

395
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.960
all in nineteen seventy eight. That's how fast he turned

396
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.799
around that entire movie in about five months. Consider shortcuts

397
00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:38.319
that they had to take with the effects. That kind

398
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:41.599
of starts to play into why some of those effects

399
00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:42.720
look the way that they do.

400
00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:45.400
Well. I think it's I think it's pretty remarkably get

401
00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.519
a movie out and that amount of time, you know,

402
00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:50.359
they'll be shooting a movie and we're like, Oh, we

403
00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:55.359
hope to see it in you know, twenty nine, looking

404
00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.480
forward to it. Hope I'm still alive.

405
00:23:58.359 --> 00:24:01.759
Here's something that I learned while listen listening to the commentaries.

406
00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:04.319
Have you ever heard of a Q score before? I

407
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:04.759
have not.

408
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.799
Studios use something called a Q store to find out

409
00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:14.519
which actors audiences are going to know and actually like.

410
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:19.359
So when they were casting this film, they were also

411
00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:23.039
thinking about this film playing on TV, and so they

412
00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:27.279
were looking at actors who would be familiar to people

413
00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.400
who would watch television. So if you can't get Redford

414
00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:35.279
or Newman, you can look for other actors that the

415
00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:39.720
audience would recognize. And Dante was well aware of this

416
00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:44.039
when Piranha was cast. Who do we have in this film?

417
00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:48.799
Leading the cast is Bradford Dillman and he plays Paul Grogan.

418
00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:52.880
I actually remembered his face, uh huh in this movie

419
00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.279
and I was like, I know that face. I didn't

420
00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:57.519
know his name, but I was like, this guy is familiar,

421
00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.680
he's been around a long time. Well, his C score

422
00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:02.880
was enough for you. Yeah, absolutely, I would have definitely

423
00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:05.200
recognized him. I would I couldn't if you said, hey,

424
00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:07.759
what else was this guy in you? I might have

425
00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.400
guessed the love Boat No Escape from the Planet of

426
00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.440
the Apes. Okay, I think I remember him from that.

427
00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.240
The love Boat's always a weird one because so many

428
00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:20.079
actors and actresses went through the love Boat. It's usually

429
00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:23.160
on though they're the epigy. We need to keep her

430
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:25.480
running tally well.

431
00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:30.880
Appearing with Bradford Dillman was Heather Menzies as Maggie McEwan.

432
00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.559
She may best be remembered for the sound of music,

433
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:38.440
but by the seventies she was another recognizable face that

434
00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.400
fit perfectly into Roger Corman's cast.

435
00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:44.039
I really liked her in this film. I thought she

436
00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:48.680
was funny, sort of goofy, and sort of skilled person,

437
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.599
you know, detective. She's like a detective sort of. So yeah,

438
00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:53.440
I enjoyed it. I thought she did a great job.

439
00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:56.000
She was great. She was great in this Yeah. So

440
00:25:56.119 --> 00:25:59.880
next up is Kevin McCarthy as doctor Robert who.

441
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:04.880
Yeah, most audiences knew him already from the original Invasion

442
00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.759
of the Body Snatchers, where he gave one of the

443
00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.240
most memorable performances in nineteen fifty science fiction.

444
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.200
Did you see Invasion of the Body Snatchers? I have

445
00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:18.319
to say I'm sure, I have that. I cannot remember it.

446
00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:22.640
I remember it. If I do remember it, it's really disturbing.

447
00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.400
Oh yeah, it's all about these aliens they create pod people.

448
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:32.599
Yeah yeah, And it was remade in seventy nine, I think.

449
00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:38.200
And McCarthy makes a quick appearance in the film as well,

450
00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.319
kind of his character saying the same things yeah at

451
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:42.640
the end of the original one.

452
00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:44.240
So it was pretty cool, very cool.

453
00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:48.079
Hey, guess what what we have Keenan Wynn as Jack.

454
00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.960
We just talked about him in Orca.

455
00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.599
That's right, that's right. They did this standard killer whale jump.

456
00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:59.680
That's funny that he's in two Joss Platation movies. That's funny.

457
00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:07.119
Barbara Steele is another Roger Corman regular, and she plays

458
00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:11.119
doctor Mengers. She was in the movie Black Sunday, not

459
00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:15.200
the one with the blimp, yeah okay, but an older

460
00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:16.880
one from the six sies, and she went on to

461
00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.559
play classics like The Pitt and the Pendulum, which at

462
00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.359
one point Corman was making Edgar Allan Poe films, and

463
00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:27.559
Pitt in the Pendulum was one of them. So casting

464
00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.480
her was just another wink from Joe Dante about the

465
00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.759
horror movies that he grew up loving.

466
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:37.640
I got another one for you, Dick Miller, the Dick Miller,

467
00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:39.960
and I will have to admit to you, Chuck. Yeah,

468
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.440
I thought Dick Miller played both Buck Gardner and the

469
00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:48.279
Mayor Vaughan of Jaws. I thought they were the same guy.

470
00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.519
That's how on the nose this guy portrayed this used

471
00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:55.599
car salesman type person. I thought they were the same guy.

472
00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:59.440
Oh, if you watch enough Roger Corman or Roger Corman

473
00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:03.039
A Jason films, you're going to see Dick Miller. Because

474
00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:06.039
Miller started off as a writer for him and then

475
00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:09.759
became one of his most used actors in all of

476
00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.559
his films.

477
00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.119
I wonder if Roger Corman really work at relationships with

478
00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:17.839
these actors because he could really count on them. You know,

479
00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:19.559
maybe that was part of his secret.

480
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:21.839
Oh yeah, there's one of the things that that Corman

481
00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:25.039
did because when he started directing films, he didn't he

482
00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.599
didn't start off as a director, but when he got

483
00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:31.559
his first chance to direct a film, he realized he

484
00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:35.680
needed to understand how to work with actors better, and

485
00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:38.759
he took Oh I cannot remember the name of the

486
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.359
of the of the actor who he took a course

487
00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:44.240
with who he had a school in New York and

488
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.839
and actors would come to him all the time. And

489
00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:50.519
so Corman took that class, and he had a classmate

490
00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:53.599
in there by the name of Jack Nicholson. And Jack

491
00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:57.880
Nicholson and Roger Corman became great friends. They worked a

492
00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:02.480
lot together. Corman gave Nicholson his first chance to direct films,

493
00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:05.839
and that's really where Nicholson hops off at.

494
00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:08.960
Yeah, that's interesting, and it really tells a little bit

495
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:11.599
of the story about Roger Corman and how he had

496
00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.799
these same actors time and time again, because if you

497
00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:16.240
were a jerk, if you weren't treated fairly, you would

498
00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:19.160
be in their movie again, you know. Oh yeah, and yeah,

499
00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:22.559
they're in small roles, and it's certainly a working actor

500
00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:23.319
wants to work.

501
00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:26.599
But hey, you know one last name I know, I said,

502
00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:29.839
Jack Nicholson. Do you remember when we did Chinatown?

503
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.359
M M.

504
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:35.079
The screenplay for Chinatown is widely regarded and is taught

505
00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:38.279
as one of the perfect screenplays that are out there.

506
00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:43.559
Robert Town worked for Roger Corman as well. All roads

507
00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:49.839
in seventy cinema seems to run through Corman. It's just unbelievable.

508
00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:50.680
That's funny.

509
00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:55.240
We have some honorable mentions here. Belinda Bulaski plays Betsy.

510
00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:58.559
She is a regular in Joe Dante films such as

511
00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:03.559
The Howling and Grim Melody. Thomas Scott plays Laura, and

512
00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:06.640
she went on to fame in the CBS daytime soap

513
00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:11.440
opera The Young and the Restless. And Paul Bartel played

514
00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:15.480
camp counselor Dumont, who is one of the highlights for me.

515
00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.759
He's hilarious. He was the director of one of Corman's

516
00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.400
films called Death Race two thousand and He also directed

517
00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.680
Eating Raoul.

518
00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:28.119
I have heard of Eating Raoul, but I don't think

519
00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:28.920
I've ever seen it.

520
00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:31.480
Yeah, I don't think i've ever seen it either, Matt.

521
00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:33.599
I want you to reach up on the shelf, flip

522
00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:36.960
that case around and tell us what the back of

523
00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:39.799
the box was promising the audiences.

524
00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:42.000
All Right, Well, I'll do the best I can, but

525
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:44.920
I can't really scare you. Like the picture on the

526
00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:47.319
front of the box. I can turn it over. I

527
00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:49.640
can just imagine myself taking it down off the chef.

528
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:53.880
It's been rented hundreds, if not thousands of times. It's

529
00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.480
well worn, the edges are scuffed. People have played it

530
00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:59.839
over and over again. I'm sure when we slip the

531
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:02.160
tape in the player, they'll be a little bit of

532
00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:05.799
snow and maybe a little striping because it's been played

533
00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:10.000
and rewound so many times, and just by peeling up

534
00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:13.920
the please be kind rewind sticker, I can read the

535
00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:17.839
back of the box and here it is. While searching

536
00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:22.960
for missing teenagers, nov Skip Tracer, Maggie McEwan and one

537
00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:27.640
of the locals, a town boozer named Paul Grogan, stumble

538
00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:32.440
upon a top secret Army laboratory conducting genetic research on

539
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:37.839
purana for the sole purpose of biological warfare. When they

540
00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:43.440
accidentally release them from the compound, the deadly school of

541
00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:50.519
Eating machines head downstream and devour everything and everyone in

542
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:53.960
their path. Can Maggie and Paul stop the ravenous swarm

543
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.920
before it reaches a crowded children's summer camp.

544
00:31:57.279 --> 00:32:00.559
Oh man, where is my video card? I am renting

545
00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:04.359
this movie tonight. Pull it down, bring it over here.

546
00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.119
Hopefully it's been rewound.

547
00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:08.640
I hope so.

548
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:10.960
So, this seems like a good time to get out

549
00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:12.759
of the water. We'll take a quick break and when

550
00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:17.400
we come back, we'll dive into our thoughts on Piranham

551
00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:18.559
flash back.

552
00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:29.759
Hey, this is Matt and I'm dark. We're just out

553
00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:31.519
here riding our bikes.

554
00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:34.519
Circle and the could a sac talking about the movies,

555
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:35.880
music and TV.

556
00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:38.440
Shows that we all love and remember, but just as

557
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.880
easily could have fallen by the wayside and been forgotten.

558
00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:44.920
These are the tales of creative chaos, last minute miracles

559
00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:48.599
and lightning strikes no one saw coming. So settle in,

560
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:53.319
because every legend has a backstory, and sometimes the best.

561
00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:54.279
Ones start by mistake.

562
00:32:55.079 --> 00:32:58.519
This is where we talk about and discuss the accidental

563
00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:03.519
legends and.

564
00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:06.079
A manic slash back.

565
00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:16.640
Is he still out there? Then you don't have to

566
00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:17.599
distract him?

567
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:19.160
Why so I can get away?

568
00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:20.640
So you can get away?

569
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:21.400
What about me?

570
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:22.440
All right?

571
00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:24.960
Suit yourself. But first you're gonna have to distract him.

572
00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:26.759
Well, how would I know?

573
00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:29.079
We'll just get him with his back to the opening there,

574
00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:35.920
you know, come on to hi. Hi?

575
00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:44.039
Uh, nice night, Huh listen?

576
00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.000
Are you gay?

577
00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:45.640
What?

578
00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:48.880
Oh?

579
00:33:48.920 --> 00:33:52.559
Well, I was just reading this article in this magazine

580
00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:53.960
and what did.

581
00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:54.680
You ask me before?

582
00:33:55.839 --> 00:34:01.000
Up in the sky?

583
00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:03.880
Welcome back. From here on out, we're going to be

584
00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:07.559
talking about our personal thoughts on Piranha so if you

585
00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:11.039
haven't seen it yet, consider this your spoiler warning. We

586
00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:15.559
may tell you how it ends, inadvertently while talking about

587
00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:19.599
what we liked it didn't like, or purposely purposely. As

588
00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:22.679
of this recording, you can watch Piranha for free on

589
00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:26.519
twob and Pluto TV. It's also available for rent or

590
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:28.920
purchase through the usual digital services.

591
00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:32.320
Also, I have to recommend the Blu ray because it

592
00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:36.880
has two really good commentaries. One is with Joe Dante

593
00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:40.719
and producer John Davison, and they share their behind the

594
00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:44.920
scenes memories about making of this film, and in fact,

595
00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:47.599
if I know any bits of trivia on how they

596
00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:52.079
made the film, it comes from this particular commentary. And

597
00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:56.039
the second is also good because it is an interview

598
00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:59.199
with Roger Corman. The movie plays on in the background,

599
00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:01.519
but they never talk about the movie. They just talk

600
00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:06.199
about his whole career and it is very very similar

601
00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:08.239
to a lot of the stories that you will read

602
00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:12.639
inside his book. So both of them are really really.

603
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:14.519
Good, nice, So you might have to hook me up

604
00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:17.400
with that disc or a similar disc in the future

605
00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:20.199
if you have access to it. Absolutely I do have

606
00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:23.519
a DVD player here that absolutely never gets used except

607
00:35:23.559 --> 00:35:27.159
for to provide the sound from the TV. Well.

608
00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:30.239
One of the stories, as we said earlier, that has

609
00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:36.119
followed Urana around for decades, is that Steven Spielberg called

610
00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:39.920
it one of the best of the Jaws ripoffs. What

611
00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:43.280
do you think he was seeing in this movie.

612
00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:47.480
I think he was seeing kind of the justifixation of

613
00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:52.000
you know, a danger coming down and threatening children in

614
00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:55.320
the water, you know, and that threat was them being

615
00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:59.079
eaten or basically turned into what looks like a giant

616
00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:02.679
blender taken it, Yeah, taken them apart. I think there's

617
00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:05.960
that tension of there's somebody in the water at the

618
00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:07.880
Prana is going to get them? Is the shark going

619
00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:10.119
to get them? You know? Just that was really classic

620
00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:13.800
in Jaws, like when it's okay, they're just on the

621
00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:16.840
boat in the pond, then a kid starts yelling that

622
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:19.840
the shark is going into the pond. Same sort of

623
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:22.280
vibe in my opinion on that sort of thing. When

624
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:25.320
it finally gets to the point where the children are

625
00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:28.119
being threatened, it takes a while to get there. I

626
00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:30.079
will have to say, yeah, it does.

627
00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:32.840
And I think it's that scene where the children are

628
00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:36.159
in the inner tube. Yes, for Spielberg, I have to

629
00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:41.079
imagine that there were things in the Alex Kittner scene

630
00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:43.760
at the movie that was filmed but he wasn't able

631
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:46.760
to use. Like, for example, at one point the shark

632
00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:49.119
was supposed to actually come out of the water and

633
00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:52.360
grab Kittner, and that was all filmed. It's just that

634
00:36:52.440 --> 00:36:54.880
they couldn't make it look good enough because of the

635
00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:58.320
shark at the time. Now you take Joe Dante when

636
00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:00.960
it gets to the scene at the camp where the

637
00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:03.159
piranha are coming down, I think he just took all

638
00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:05.840
of his chips and he said, Okay, here we go.

639
00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:09.719
I'm doubling down on what Spielberg did, and I'm going

640
00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:13.000
to put all of these children here inside and put

641
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:15.199
them in complete danger.

642
00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:17.599
Right Yeah, which.

643
00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:20.079
May have been offensive in some degrees that you're putting

644
00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:22.239
children in danger like that, But a drive.

645
00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:25.000
A movie, for God's sake, I know that's what people

646
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:27.639
were playing to come and see. I will say, though,

647
00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:30.760
this is to me, this is the takeaway. Yeah, And

648
00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:35.920
we talked about this before. In Jaws. Inadvertently, they did

649
00:37:35.960 --> 00:37:40.519
not show the shark very often. Sure very very quick

650
00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:43.400
shots of the shark. You never really got a clear

651
00:37:43.440 --> 00:37:46.679
shot till the very end of the Shark, And it

652
00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:49.280
was for technical reasons, it was for other reasons, but

653
00:37:49.320 --> 00:37:52.360
what it really was in the movie, it builds up

654
00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:56.480
this app in your imagination. They are far worse than

655
00:37:56.519 --> 00:37:59.119
when you actually get the view of the shark. I mean,

656
00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.199
the shark's pretty bad jaws when you see it. You know,

657
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:05.119
the dolls eyes, you know that whole thing. Yeah, But

658
00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:10.119
they show these these piranhas uh huh pretty early and

659
00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:14.159
they're just not that scary when you see them, because

660
00:38:14.199 --> 00:38:19.119
they're clearly plastic fish tied to someone and the person's

661
00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:22.559
then shaking them yep, and then they're putting a bunch

662
00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:27.159
of movie blood in the water, haroo syrup and food color.

663
00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:30.079
Who knows. It was just terrible. But the funny part

664
00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:33.239
is it's like these plastics, they're clearly plastic fish. Yeah, yeah,

665
00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:36.920
technically rubber. Like they didn't even have real fish anywhere, Like,

666
00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:38.920
they didn't even go to a place that had piranhas

667
00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:41.360
and put some chicken in it and and and film

668
00:38:41.400 --> 00:38:43.800
them and enlarge them and maybe slow down the motion

669
00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:46.719
or something into any of that. So to me, I

670
00:38:46.760 --> 00:38:49.079
think they would have been better to not show them

671
00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:52.119
almost the entire time. It would have been more horrifying.

672
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:55.039
In fact, they were rubber fish that they had like

673
00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:58.039
the old puppeteer stick that they you know, have to

674
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:00.880
trigger the back so that it would flick the tail

675
00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:04.519
and articulate the jaws. And of course then they would

676
00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:07.400
have prosthetic stumps or legs or arms or whatever that

677
00:39:07.440 --> 00:39:09.760
would just pull apart in the water. I said that

678
00:39:09.800 --> 00:39:12.840
Martin Goldblack was one of the editors. The other editor was,

679
00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:15.559
of course Joe Dante, and the way that he was

680
00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:19.920
able to make the scenes very intense with the fish,

681
00:39:19.960 --> 00:39:22.239
and also one of the reasons why you don't get

682
00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:24.840
to see him quite as good as you might would

683
00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:27.360
like to is because he keeps doing these really really

684
00:39:27.400 --> 00:39:31.000
fast cuts. Yeah, and there are sometimes though, where there's

685
00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:33.360
something where it looks like they maybe had a picture

686
00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:36.400
and they kind of animated it swimming towards the screen

687
00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:39.599
or jumping out of the water on the camp counselor dumont.

688
00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:41.760
Some of those look cheesy, or if they were swimming

689
00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:43.840
from left or right. Yeah, you know, as a school

690
00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.400
that was kind of cheesy. But hey, listen, do you

691
00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:49.119
know what other movie was out in nineteen seventy eight

692
00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:53.360
and opened up right before this movie. No what Jaws two,

693
00:39:54.559 --> 00:40:00.360
there were some strange similarities between Jaws two and piranhas Ample.

694
00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:05.480
In Jaws two, children and teenagers are the victims who

695
00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:10.079
are in danger of being eaten. Jaws two also features

696
00:40:10.440 --> 00:40:15.000
a water skier who unfortunately is eaten. It also features

697
00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:19.400
a boat that explodes due to the improper handling of

698
00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:24.280
gasoline and flame, and it also has divers that are

699
00:40:24.320 --> 00:40:29.280
attacked inside the water. Now, I don't know if somehow

700
00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:32.519
John sales knew that this was happening and he wrote

701
00:40:32.519 --> 00:40:35.960
these into it. In fact, Universals tried to sue New

702
00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:39.280
World to not release that film at that time just

703
00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:40.599
due to the similarities.

704
00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:45.280
I think it's probably more due to low hanging fruit. Right, Yeah,

705
00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:48.320
it worked with Jaws one. You know, the original Jaws

706
00:40:48.360 --> 00:40:51.760
that putting kids in danger, and you know anytime you're

707
00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:54.519
on water, you're gonna see water skiers because it films

708
00:40:54.599 --> 00:40:58.320
real well, yeah, you know it's it's it's action. And

709
00:40:58.639 --> 00:41:03.800
again go back to seeing it at the drive in right, perfect,

710
00:41:03.880 --> 00:41:05.280
it's a perfect drive in movie.

711
00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:09.400
Oh, I agree with you so much. Well, before you

712
00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:12.079
sat down to watch it and we were talking about it,

713
00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:15.400
did you have any expectations more than a drive in film,

714
00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:19.920
and you know at the end, were the expectations more

715
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:20.760
or less met.

716
00:41:20.960 --> 00:41:24.559
Yeah, I had a pretty low opinion starting which people

717
00:41:24.679 --> 00:41:27.760
might have already gotten that I did not think it

718
00:41:27.760 --> 00:41:30.480
would amount to much. And I was pleasantly surprised that

719
00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:34.079
it absolutely met my expectations. And how right you were.

720
00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:39.760
I felt so smart now. Actually, the part I did

721
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:42.519
not expect is the comedy, because I did laugh out

722
00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:46.280
loud quite a few times, sometimes at points where it's

723
00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:49.360
supposed to be funny, and some points or maybe it

724
00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:52.199
wasn't supposed to be funny. But again, when I was

725
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:55.239
young in high school, drive in movies were really going

726
00:41:55.320 --> 00:41:57.880
the way of the Dodo. There was like two in

727
00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:00.719
my area, and then there was just one. Before when

728
00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:02.719
I was young, we used to go all the time.

729
00:42:03.239 --> 00:42:05.960
We would all pile into the car, my brother, sisters

730
00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:08.480
and everybody, and we'd all pile into the VW bus

731
00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:11.079
because they charged by the car. Back then, we'd have

732
00:42:11.199 --> 00:42:13.880
like ten people and we'd bring lawn chairs. Could go

733
00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:16.159
set up the lawn chairs down in the lawn chair

734
00:42:16.199 --> 00:42:18.400
area and they had swing sets and the whole bit.

735
00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:19.880
But when I was in high school, we used to

736
00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:22.360
do the same thing. We would pop ten tons of

737
00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:26.480
popcorn with the new fangled air popper and we would

738
00:42:26.519 --> 00:42:29.480
go and back. Then the drinking age was eighteen, so

739
00:42:29.559 --> 00:42:33.639
you could stop and get some refreshing beverages before the movie.

740
00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:35.559
And a friend of ours had a pickup truck and

741
00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:37.920
we would put park it backwards and you'd sit in

742
00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:40.159
the back of the pickup truck and watch the movie

743
00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:42.519
and just have a great time. It's one of my

744
00:42:42.639 --> 00:42:45.840
best memories. But this is a perfect absolutely would have

745
00:42:45.840 --> 00:42:47.000
been a perfect movie for this.

746
00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:49.239
Oh yeah, I was thinking that this would be a

747
00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:50.559
great midnight movie.

748
00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:53.679
I have a better idea. There's a thing called a

749
00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:58.559
dive in movie. So you basically I saw this. They

750
00:42:58.639 --> 00:43:02.119
show movies at the resort where a bunch of people

751
00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:06.000
have boats. You take your boat and you go watch

752
00:43:06.039 --> 00:43:08.400
the movie. But you also everybody gets out and sits

753
00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:10.960
on floats. Now in the water. Now this be the

754
00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:11.920
perfect movie for it.

755
00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:15.679
Now if you hear a little chittering noise and then

756
00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:18.320
all of a sudden, the bubble machine starts starts going,

757
00:43:18.320 --> 00:43:20.239
and all of a sudden, red caro SYRP.

758
00:43:20.519 --> 00:43:22.960
Just think dive in movie. I think it's perfect.

759
00:43:24.239 --> 00:43:27.400
Oh boy, was there any one of the characters of

760
00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:29.280
the actors that really stood out for you?

761
00:43:29.519 --> 00:43:32.199
I enjoyed the girl who was the detective. Yeah, the

762
00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:35.239
skip Tracer's the skip tracer. She was funny. She was

763
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:38.000
so funny in the whole film. Yea, even in the

764
00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:40.679
parts where it was like, you know, it got dicey

765
00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:44.400
because you know she's in danger and everything, She's still funny.

766
00:43:44.440 --> 00:43:46.519
And I enjoyed her, and I'm I'm glad to know

767
00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:49.000
that she was in the Sound of Music before.

768
00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:52.840
I really enjoyed both the two leading actors. I thought

769
00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:54.199
they had a great rapport.

770
00:43:54.440 --> 00:43:56.639
The one thing I will say about the film that

771
00:43:56.719 --> 00:43:58.960
drives me a little bit nuts is that that guy

772
00:43:59.039 --> 00:44:02.559
is a total drum, totally useless, right, didn't want to

773
00:44:02.599 --> 00:44:05.960
do anything. Yet he has like this sweet daughter. So

774
00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:09.719
that was just that just rang so false. Right. They

775
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.480
should have just made it his knee sneeze or something

776
00:44:12.639 --> 00:44:15.400
something like that. Or or the old man who came

777
00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:19.960
to visitors granddaughter somebody who mattered but wasn't his kid.

778
00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:22.960
Yeah. I thought the actress who played that little girl,

779
00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:26.000
I thought she was yeah the entire time. I really

780
00:44:26.239 --> 00:44:30.960
I really liked her. Was there a particular Piranha kill

781
00:44:31.239 --> 00:44:33.800
that you found particularly gruesome.

782
00:44:33.960 --> 00:44:37.280
No, not really, I mean the old man. Yeah, that's

783
00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:39.400
what I was thinking of. The old man getting pulled

784
00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:42.960
into the water, the dog barking. I mean it was frustrating,

785
00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:44.400
but he was like, just pull your legs out of

786
00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:47.480
the waters with you. Oh, that was such a great thing.

787
00:44:47.519 --> 00:44:50.639
You know, he's dragged himself up on land where he's died,

788
00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:53.840
and then like his everything below his kneecap is denuded.

789
00:44:54.920 --> 00:44:58.599
I think Piranha and jaws have taught us that if

790
00:44:58.639 --> 00:45:01.920
you're with a really good life looking young lady and

791
00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:06.519
she wants to go swimming, just leave let her, let

792
00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:09.159
her do her thing. I mean, don't don't follow her

793
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:10.199
into this water.

794
00:45:10.480 --> 00:45:11.840
At that age, I probably would have had a hard

795
00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:14.519
time not following that girl in the water. She was

796
00:45:14.719 --> 00:45:16.800
she was ready to go skinny dipping pretty much at

797
00:45:16.800 --> 00:45:18.639
the drop of a hat.

798
00:45:19.079 --> 00:45:23.119
When they first got to the military base at night,

799
00:45:23.239 --> 00:45:26.119
and that the young couple goes swimming in the water,

800
00:45:26.199 --> 00:45:28.800
they referred to it as a pond, right, yeah, but

801
00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:32.079
obviously it's a swimming pool, right, And it looks like

802
00:45:32.119 --> 00:45:35.000
it's got all these little cages, which obviously in the

803
00:45:35.079 --> 00:45:37.840
light of day turns out to be volleyball nets. And

804
00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:40.559
then they have these rusty barrels that they put for

805
00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:43.159
set dressing in the back. And then on the ground

806
00:45:43.199 --> 00:45:46.800
they took these barbecue grill lids, painted them orange and

807
00:45:46.880 --> 00:45:49.480
just stacked them around the place to look like ports

808
00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:51.519
that would open up that you can go down into

809
00:45:51.559 --> 00:45:55.320
the Yeah.

810
00:45:54.679 --> 00:45:57.639
That's actually the funnest part of sometimes, Like, I don't

811
00:45:57.679 --> 00:45:59.800
know if I remember. If I told you I might,

812
00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:03.199
you might remember. But I worked doing the lighting on

813
00:46:03.239 --> 00:46:05.639
a play in college. Oh yeah, yeah, so I was

814
00:46:05.679 --> 00:46:07.360
on a lighting crew. And I'll be honest with you,

815
00:46:07.440 --> 00:46:10.679
one of the funnest things of doing a play is

816
00:46:10.840 --> 00:46:13.840
doing the set dressing and then using the lighting to

817
00:46:13.960 --> 00:46:17.639
kind of adjust the mood or make the scene change completely.

818
00:46:17.719 --> 00:46:19.920
It's super fun. And I can see in a movie

819
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:22.480
they're like, well, just got a bunch of Weber grills

820
00:46:22.519 --> 00:46:27.840
and spray paint the top. They'll look perfect. You know.

821
00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:34.440
Growing up, there was a advertisement of AWL who would say,

822
00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:38.679
give a WoT, don't pollute. The way in which they

823
00:46:39.199 --> 00:46:45.199
are trying to control the fish is by polluting the river. Yeah,

824
00:46:45.239 --> 00:46:48.000
whether it's by the military drops in some kind of

825
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:51.760
chemical or Paula is trying to get some sludge out

826
00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:54.400
of an old processing plant. I just thought, what a

827
00:46:54.559 --> 00:46:59.480
very seventies thing we have Vietnam. We have government conspiracies,

828
00:47:00.159 --> 00:47:04.079
we have pollution where pollution is the answer to the problem.

829
00:47:05.119 --> 00:47:08.039
So Chuck, if you're good, probably need to step away

830
00:47:08.039 --> 00:47:09.400
for a quick break.

831
00:47:09.800 --> 00:47:17.760
At flash Back and at flash.

832
00:47:17.400 --> 00:47:23.320
Back and welcome back, Matt. I don't know if I

833
00:47:23.360 --> 00:47:26.679
have much else to say about Piranha, which means that

834
00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:30.920
it's time for the question we ask every episode. Did

835
00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:34.760
Piranha groove through the decades or did it lose its beat?

836
00:47:35.119 --> 00:47:38.719
Well, this one is not as nuanced as it might be,

837
00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:42.039
but I will say that in watching this film, and

838
00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:44.880
I did not mention before that this was a first

839
00:47:44.920 --> 00:47:48.840
time watch for me. So I can't say much about

840
00:47:49.239 --> 00:47:52.840
that film seeing it in the past, but I can

841
00:47:53.400 --> 00:47:56.679
relate to the times that it was released in and

842
00:47:56.719 --> 00:47:59.639
the fact that I really think it is the perfect

843
00:48:00.159 --> 00:48:04.039
drive in movie movie, and I think it grooved in

844
00:48:04.199 --> 00:48:08.280
that respect back sure the old days, I think clearly

845
00:48:08.320 --> 00:48:10.880
from the money it made, it made money, and thirteen

846
00:48:10.920 --> 00:48:13.519
million dollars on a one million dollar budget has nothing

847
00:48:13.559 --> 00:48:17.360
to sneeze at. So that's great. It is entertaining to

848
00:48:17.480 --> 00:48:22.039
what nowadays, especially when you keep that in mind, you

849
00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:24.519
keep that the time it came out of and the

850
00:48:24.639 --> 00:48:28.159
Joss plantation part of it, it's entertaining to watch. It's

851
00:48:28.239 --> 00:48:34.000
funny in parts. It's not very scary, really, But do

852
00:48:34.079 --> 00:48:37.559
I think it grooves now? I will give it half

853
00:48:37.559 --> 00:48:39.800
a groove, and it bumps out of the groove every

854
00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:43.159
now and again and then bumps back in. So if

855
00:48:43.199 --> 00:48:45.599
you have a chance to watch it on two B

856
00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:48.000
or one of those others for free and you have

857
00:48:48.079 --> 00:48:50.840
a little spare time, it's funny. If you have a

858
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:55.000
pool and a big screen and projector, it's the perfect

859
00:48:55.199 --> 00:48:58.360
dive in movie to watch because you could literally get

860
00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:01.480
up and get some more snacks and you wouldn't miss

861
00:49:01.480 --> 00:49:05.920
a thing. So yeah, I think it grooved in the

862
00:49:05.960 --> 00:49:10.159
old days, mainly because it does not take itself too seriously,

863
00:49:10.199 --> 00:49:13.559
which is I appreciate that. That contrasts with Worko, which

864
00:49:13.559 --> 00:49:16.639
I think took itself a little bit seriously. This one

865
00:49:16.679 --> 00:49:18.880
does not do that. So it is what it is

866
00:49:19.239 --> 00:49:22.639
and it's proud of it. And nowadays it's fun to

867
00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:25.679
watch because it's just so goofy. But would I go

868
00:49:25.880 --> 00:49:27.920
out of my way or pay a lot of money

869
00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:30.000
to see it. I think maybe no. So I have

870
00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:33.000
to say it grooved in the old days, and like

871
00:49:33.039 --> 00:49:36.760
I said, it grooves now with the occasional skip or

872
00:49:36.800 --> 00:49:38.199
bump out of the groove.

873
00:49:38.559 --> 00:49:42.719
Okay, okay, that needle is kind of going eat exactly

874
00:49:42.760 --> 00:49:44.719
and you have to kind of ur you have to

875
00:49:44.760 --> 00:49:45.360
hit it.

876
00:49:45.400 --> 00:49:49.519
You tape some pennies on it. There you go.

877
00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:52.199
The first time I ever saw this film, like I said,

878
00:49:52.199 --> 00:49:54.679
I think earlier, was that it came on HBO and

879
00:49:54.760 --> 00:49:57.840
my dad was watching it and he invited me to

880
00:49:57.840 --> 00:49:59.920
come in and sit down and watch it. And then

881
00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:02.360
and I think he told me to never tell my

882
00:50:02.440 --> 00:50:08.800
mother that he let me watch reasons so it's just

883
00:50:08.840 --> 00:50:11.679
between me and you, suh. So up until now, my

884
00:50:11.800 --> 00:50:14.360
dad and I have had this secret that is now

885
00:50:14.519 --> 00:50:18.039
out in the open. I have to say that I

886
00:50:18.119 --> 00:50:22.480
unabashedly love Roger Corman movies. They are what they are,

887
00:50:22.519 --> 00:50:27.679
and you know this Jaws cash In is absolutely no exception,

888
00:50:28.159 --> 00:50:31.840
even if it was three years too late. But just

889
00:50:32.039 --> 00:50:34.719
look at who made this movie. I mean, Joe Dante,

890
00:50:35.159 --> 00:50:40.280
John Davison, Phil Tippett, Rob Bouteen, Mark Goldblatt and John Sales.

891
00:50:40.639 --> 00:50:44.400
This film does not waste time, and that's not surprisingly

892
00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:46.599
because it has a small budget and they had to

893
00:50:46.719 --> 00:50:51.000
keep moving and the practical effects for the most part

894
00:50:51.159 --> 00:50:56.519
are pretty effective. Yes, there are rough edges, but hey,

895
00:50:56.679 --> 00:50:59.360
this is a B movie, you know, and I think

896
00:50:59.400 --> 00:51:03.440
it adds something to the charm. It's never going to

897
00:51:03.480 --> 00:51:07.320
replace Jaws, and it wasn't trying to. And you just

898
00:51:07.360 --> 00:51:11.559
said something about Orca taking itself a little bit more serious.

899
00:51:11.679 --> 00:51:12.440
When we first.

900
00:51:12.280 --> 00:51:15.679
Started doing the Jaws floydation Monk, my idea was I

901
00:51:15.760 --> 00:51:19.079
was going to see two movies that were B movies,

902
00:51:19.280 --> 00:51:21.480
and I didn't get that with Orca, and I was

903
00:51:21.519 --> 00:51:23.639
a little bit disappointed, but I was also kind of

904
00:51:23.679 --> 00:51:28.400
surprised that they really made something like that. This film

905
00:51:28.480 --> 00:51:31.079
was exactly what it was that I was looking at.

906
00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:34.480
And if anyone was to ask me which Jaws knockoff

907
00:51:34.679 --> 00:51:38.039
is actually worth watching, this is the one I'm recommending.

908
00:51:38.360 --> 00:51:43.880
It's funny, suspenseful, occasionally shocking, and nearly fifty years later,

909
00:51:44.119 --> 00:51:48.239
it still is entertaining way to spend ninety minutes. So

910
00:51:48.360 --> 00:51:52.440
for me, Piranha absolutely grooped through the decades. Do you

911
00:51:52.440 --> 00:51:53.920
have any final thoughts on this, Matt.

912
00:51:54.280 --> 00:51:56.880
Yeah, there's a couple of grandmas out there that have

913
00:51:57.000 --> 00:51:59.719
to answer the question, Grandma, how did you spend your

914
00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:05.719
team years acting in a Roger Corman film? Wow, you

915
00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:10.960
looked really good back then, huh mom, Grandma, I know,

916
00:52:11.119 --> 00:52:14.000
I you know, Chuck as usual. You really sum up

917
00:52:14.360 --> 00:52:17.320
the film in a great way. And it's not that

918
00:52:17.400 --> 00:52:19.920
I don't disagree. I just am trying to be real

919
00:52:20.039 --> 00:52:23.400
in terms of, you know, ninety minutes. It's entertaining. Like

920
00:52:23.440 --> 00:52:25.079
I said, I wouldn't pay money for it, but I

921
00:52:25.119 --> 00:52:28.840
totally agree. It's really cool to see what Roger Corman

922
00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:35.000
was doing with these debutante stars and actors and screenwriters

923
00:52:35.039 --> 00:52:37.960
and directors, and that's that's really cool. That's one of

924
00:52:37.960 --> 00:52:40.679
the funnest parts about doing this podcast is we get

925
00:52:40.719 --> 00:52:43.480
to learn kind of those secrets that I would totally

926
00:52:43.480 --> 00:52:47.000
be oblivious to in my normal life. So thank you

927
00:52:47.079 --> 00:52:47.360
for that.

928
00:52:47.679 --> 00:52:51.559
Well, now that we watched both Orca and Piranha, which

929
00:52:51.559 --> 00:52:52.960
one did you enjoy more?

930
00:52:53.800 --> 00:52:57.239
You know, I actually enjoyed parts of Orca because the

931
00:52:57.559 --> 00:52:59.119
you know, and I think we talked about it in

932
00:52:59.159 --> 00:53:03.519
the podcast, that the Orca is actually a sympathetic character. Sure,

933
00:53:03.599 --> 00:53:05.960
up until the point where he wants to murder everyone.

934
00:53:06.079 --> 00:53:09.280
But I would say, in terms of enjoying movies, this

935
00:53:09.320 --> 00:53:10.360
one I enjoyed more.

936
00:53:10.599 --> 00:53:13.199
I'm really glad we watched both of them. I had

937
00:53:13.239 --> 00:53:15.400
more fun with Piranha, but I think maybe I kind

938
00:53:15.440 --> 00:53:17.639
of knew that after I watched Orca, was like, Oh, yeah,

939
00:53:17.679 --> 00:53:20.280
I'm gonna like Piranha more. But Orca I hadn't seen,

940
00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:23.559
and I was really surprised. I thought Richard Harris was

941
00:53:23.639 --> 00:53:26.199
great in it. It took a lot of turns that

942
00:53:26.239 --> 00:53:30.599
I wasn't expecting. I was surprised. So I think that

943
00:53:30.920 --> 00:53:34.679
about does it for this episode. Join us in two

944
00:53:34.719 --> 00:53:38.679
weeks as we kick off our Shades of Noir month

945
00:53:38.800 --> 00:53:43.760
with Arthur Penn's Night Moves from nineteen seventy five starring

946
00:53:43.920 --> 00:53:47.400
Gene Hackman. Then we'll wrap up the month with Robert

947
00:53:47.400 --> 00:53:51.960
Altman's The Long Goodbye, featuring Elliott Gould's take on private

948
00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:56.360
detective Philip Marlow. Together, these two films explore how the

949
00:53:56.440 --> 00:54:00.559
classic film noir tradition evolved in the nineteen sevenies, with

950
00:54:00.719 --> 00:54:05.039
flawed detectives, morally gray worlds, and mysteries that are about

951
00:54:05.119 --> 00:54:08.679
far more than simply solving the case, we'll talk about

952
00:54:08.800 --> 00:54:12.599
Gene Hackman, Elliott Gould, Arthur Penn, Robert Autmann, and why

953
00:54:12.679 --> 00:54:15.719
these two films remain among the finest neo noirs of

954
00:54:15.800 --> 00:54:16.559
the decade.

955
00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:18.440
We want to thank you for taking the time to

956
00:54:18.480 --> 00:54:21.199
tune in. If you've seen Piranha, we'd love to hear

957
00:54:21.239 --> 00:54:23.559
what you think. Reach out to us on Facebook or

958
00:54:23.679 --> 00:54:27.360
leave us a message over at cinematicflashback dot com. Don't

959
00:54:27.400 --> 00:54:30.119
forget to subscribe so you'd never miss an episode. And

960
00:54:30.159 --> 00:54:32.960
if you enjoy the podcast, we'd really appreciate it if

961
00:54:33.000 --> 00:54:35.400
you left us a rating or a review. In fact,

962
00:54:35.639 --> 00:54:38.440
review just might get read on the air. If you've

963
00:54:38.480 --> 00:54:41.199
been enjoying the show, tell your friends and family about

964
00:54:41.239 --> 00:54:44.840
what we still proudly believe is the best podcast dedicated

965
00:54:44.960 --> 00:54:49.280
exclusively to nineteen seventies cinema. Join us next time as

966
00:54:49.280 --> 00:54:52.239
we climb back into the wayback machine and head once

967
00:54:52.280 --> 00:54:56.559
again to the nineteen seventies for another cinematic adventure. Until then,

968
00:54:56.599 --> 00:54:58.639
stay out of the water, and if someone tells you

969
00:54:58.719 --> 00:55:01.800
the swimming pools perfectly safe, you just might want to

970
00:55:01.800 --> 00:55:04.119
think twice. We'll see you next time.

971
00:55:06.639 --> 00:55:09.760
Flash Back in the show again.

972
00:55:13.800 --> 00:55:15.400
Bob, I'm gonna have to get back to you on this.

973
00:55:15.800 --> 00:55:18.800
We've got a we've got a situation down here.