Smokey Bites the Dust

GEORGIA PEACHES/FOLLOW THAT CAR, SMOKEY BITES THE DUST & THE GREAT TEXAS DYNAMITE CHASE (SHOUT! FACTORY, 2011)

Georgia Peaches

The lowest cost levitra no prescription canada latest release in Shout! Factory’s “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” series is an “Action Packed” Triple Feature, which features three lesser known New World-era Corman production and offers more Southern car levitra mastercard europe chases and explosions than any other DVD in the collection so far!

Georgia Peaches

Initially supposed to be a television pilot, Georgia Peaches (1980), also known as Follow that Car in its theatrical release version – sadly the only version available on this disc, for lack of ‘usable material’ from the broadcast version – follows Sue Lynn (Terri Nunn, from New Wave band Berlin), her moonshine-smuggling boyfriend Dusty (Dirk Benedict from the A-Team and Battlestar Galactica) and sister Lorette (country singer Tanya Tucker) as they are coerced into becoming undercover agents to bring down the Southern crime of a certain Dragon Lady, played by Sally Kirkland. This slick, kind-of made-for-TV special, has all the great elements of a strong TV pilot and is available canadian pharmacy cialis generic here for the first time on DVD. This is Corman’s own Dukes of Hazzard and every bit as fun as it sounds.

Also making its DVD debut is Smokey Bites the Dust (1981), directed by Chuck B. Griffith, Corman’s longtime collaborator and screenwriter of classics such as The Little Shop of Horror and Bucket of Blood, is perhaps the most characteristically grindhouse of the three, but also the more redundant. When car thief Roscoe, played by a very likeable Jimmy McNichol, kidnaps the sheriff’s and homecoming queen daughter Peggy Sue (the very cute Janet Julian), a feature-long pursuit ensues, punctuated by the expected amount of insane car crashes, goofy situations and absurd one-note characters – 3 of the most stereotypical Arab sheikhs ever put on screen and 2 cigarette-smoking 8-year-old delinquents, amongst others. Chuck B. Griffith is a much better screenwriter than he is a director – and sadly he did not write this one – but one can quickly accept the madness and roll with it. The whole thing culminates in a mess of meat-headed humor that will enchant some but most likely exasperate many and the credits roll over a montage of the best car collisions, as they should.

The Great Texas Dynamite Chase

The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976) is arguably the better film of the bunch and follows dynamite-totting bank robbers Ellie-Joe and Candy, interpreted by Jocelyn Jones and a sultry Claudia Jennings, who walk the fine line between objectifying and strongly characterizing women, as many Corman heroines did at the time. Later joined by a male acolyte, the film takes a brief sex comedy turn but doesn’t fail to return to everything bank robbery exploitation has to offer. Certainly, it’s a welcome change of pace after the stupendous stupidity of Smokey and the clean aesthetic of Georgia Peaches and a great balance of the two.

The transfer quality is not great on Smokey, which looks like it taken off an old VHS, but one could argue it adds to the charm. Dolby 2.0 audio is standard and unremarkable but the lack of subtitles is painfully felt in those moments where deciphering intense Southern chatter is needed. Similarly, the two discs are devoid of any type of special features, but at such a low price, it is understandable. The only thing painfully missing is the TV cut of Georgia Peaches, but at least that is justified in the liner notes.

Not an essential set by any stretch of the imagination this affordable “Action Packed!” triple-feature is nonetheless everything it promises and will provide a great deal of entertainment to the nostalgic and curious cinephile alike. These films are snapshots of a specific time and place in Americana and moviemaking that are well worth exploring on that basis alone.

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– Ariel Esteban Cayer

About the author:

Ariel Esteban Cayer

Ariel Esteban Cayer is a film student, programmer for the Fantasia International Film Festival, writer for Panorama-Cinema and an occasional contributor to Fangoria Magazine.