the dulcedemon writings

On the Beach (1959):
Written by: John Paxton and Nevil Shute
This is my favorite Fred Astaire movie. His character is a perpetually soused scientist and motorsport aficionado. He doesn't dance, and the only song in the movie is Waltzing Matilda.
Although it came out in 1959, the story takes place in 1964, and the future is bleak. Global war spawns a global catastrophe after unspecified countries drop the bomb on each other. The final destination for the radiation that was blown into the atmosphere is Australia.
This is the story of doomed people living what is left of their abruptly shortened lives as best as they can for as long as they can. Some are in denial, some despair, but most of them keep going about their business. They go through the motions of civilization by partaking in cocktail parties, motorsports, picnics, sunny afternoons on the beach. An unsurprising number of them cope by getting and staying drunk as much as possible. What I have said so far spoils nothing. It's all up front.
Ava Gardener plays the beautiful, brandy-soaked Moira Davidson. Gregory Peck is a submarine commander in the U.S. Navy who lost his wife and kids to either a direct hit or the resulting fallout while he survived at sea. Anthony Perkins plays an Australian Navy Lieutenant with a wife and baby at home. We have a father and son on this movie list. Anthony Perkins' father, Osgood, stars in Scarface below.
Waltzing Matilda comprises almost the entire score. It's as inescapable as the fallout. It's in the background as an instrumental and also sung by a group of minor characters. They are a group of men that decided to have one last long weekend of fishing, drinking, and carousing. They sing the song non-stop. It's funny and annoying until it isn't. At that moment, only one singer can be heard. That fabulously distinctive bass voice is that of (Jesse) Delos Jewkes.
On the Beach has been on this list at least once before, but it has been a few years. It became an instant favorite of mine. It's on my greatest movies of all-time list. That's a mental list not a published one. The first time I talked about it, I mentioned how much it reminded me of the Fallout video games. Fans of those games should definitely see it. Really, everyone should see it. It's morbid yet fascinating, and so defiantly hopeful. It makes me cry every time I watch it. The San Francisco fishing scene is probably my favorite. I have not seen the television drama remake which aired in 2000.

Janbaaz (Jaanbaaz - 1986):
Written by: Madan Joshi and K.K. Shukla
The title means daredevil. Welcome to Bollywood Duel in the Sun! That movie from 1946 was featured on the list earlier this year. Instead of Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, and Gregory Peck we have Dimple Kapadia, Feroz Kahn, and Anil Kapoor. Anil Kapoor is probably best known for his role in Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
Kapoor plays Amar Singh. Amar likes to party hard and often. He does all the drugs, drinks all the drink, and chases all the women. He plays dangerous games and takes incredible risks. In other words, he is kind of an asshole. His parents dote on him anyway. He is clearly their favorite son. He knows he can rely on their money and clout to make the consequences of his recklessness disappear. He stands in stark contrast to his police inspector brother, Rajesh Singh (Feroz Kahn).
Rajesh is strictly straight arrow with no exceptions, not even for family. He is no less attracted to danger than his younger brother Amar, but his idea of fun is going after the local drug lord against whom he has a longstanding, deeply personal grudge. The legendary Sridevi appears in flashback scenes as Rajesh's wife. I appreciated Feroz Kahn's resemblance to Joseph Cotton. He was a damn good casting choice.
As for the leading lady, Dimple Kapadia does an amazing job as sultry yet innocent Reshma. In the original, her character faces discrimination and rejection for being mixed race. In this version, it's because she was born out of wedlock. The implication being that her parents were from different castes.
One of the biggest differences between Janbaaz and Duel in the Sun is the songs. There are nine musical numbers spread throughout the three-hour running time. There are a few dance numbers featuring scantily clad, exotic dancers. By exotic, I mean a bunch of white people and a few black people clad in sexy, skin-tight, animal-print, aerobics attire as they gyrate and breakdance all over a nightclub dancefloor. Most of the other songs accompany action montages.
This movie was so epic that it reminded me of Sholay (1975). It then occurred to me that if only Soorma Bhopali were in it somehow, it would be perfect. While it lacks that particular character, it does have the actor. Jagdeep plays Sheru, the esteemed Singh household's clownish butler.
The ending is completely different from that of Duel in the Sun. In my opinion, Janbaaz does it better. I prefer its redemptive ending over the other's just deserts in the desert ending.
A curious thing about the DVD: There are movie previews included on the disc but also attached to the movie itself, including a commercial for basmati rice.

Dishonored (1931):
Written by: Daniel Nathan Rubin and Josef von Sternberg
There are echoes of this film all over The Devil is a Woman (1935), which was the Marlene Dietrich film most recently on this list. Unlike that one, this is good, truly serious, and emotionally gripping. Given a choice of grinning masked men, I prefer Cesar Romero to Victor McLaglen. McLaglen has a creepy Mr. Sardonicus vibe going. Neither actor could pass for a Russian, but who cares. I certainly don't.
It's sort of a spy versus spy versus love story. It surprised me several times. I never imagined a Marlene Dietrich film would make me cry. Her costumes are relatively understated, yet she is still absolutely stunning. The leather trench coat is especially choice. It's refreshing to not see her dressed as a parade float in every scene.

La Muerte Enamorada (1951):
Written by: Ernesto Cortázar, Fernando Galiana, and Jaime Contreras
Several reviews indicated that this movie lacks English subtitles. That it does. My intention was to save it for when I completed my 100th unit of Spanish on Duolingo, which should be a few months shy of a year from now. Since Netflix plans to end the DVD service this September, I don't have that kind of time. This delightfully unique romantic comedy wasn't too hard to follow. Much of the nuance was undoubtedly lost on me, but the heart of the story was easy to grasp.
A relatively young life insurance salesman would prefer more quality over quantity in his years. He is approached by a statuesque and mysterious woman dressed head-to-toe in black. When she reveals herself to be death itself, he quickly changes his tune. He immediately begins bargaining for more time to spend with his wife and young daughter.
Insurance salesman Fernando Rivas (Fernando Fernández) is in luck. It just so happens that La Muerte AKA: Tasia (Miroslava) could use a vacation. Fernando gets a two-week reprieve with death as a houseguest. La Muerte is passed off as Tasia, Fernando's cousin visiting from abroad.
There are a few musical numbers, including a dreamy and elaborate danse macabre that features dancers and musicians in skeleton costumes performing a combined ballet and cha-cha routine. The dance troupe is listed as Ballet Imperial de Oscar Norton. At least one of the songs is performed by a group called Trio Los Cuervos. Information about them is even harder to find than a DVD of this movie. The DVD has a funky menu on which a skull appears next to each highlighted option.

Blonde in Bondage (Blondin i fara - 1957):
Written by: Peter Bourne and Börje Nyberg
I read several negative reviews of this movie before watching it. A few had claimed that it had neither blondes nor bondage. I don't know what movie those reviewers saw, but it couldn't have been this one. Anyway, bondage is meant in a less literal sense.
There is a bevy of blondes and one brief scene of actual bondage in this tight little crime drama. I would peg its genre as a cross between noir and roughie. Setting myself up with low expectations made it all the better. It's not good for a bad movie. It's just plain good. It has some nice old phones and phone booths. It does not have nudity. Even though one of the characters is a striptease artist, there is no nudity. There is no sex in the champagne room, or in this case, the cognac study.
An American publication based in New York City evidently has a big budget for prurient fluff pieces, when it sends its star reporter to Stockholm to write an exposé about Swedish morals and nightlife. He is not there long before he stumbles onto unseemly and illicit activity.
I got a kick out of the editor. His last name is Mulligan. The part is played by actor Ralph Brown. He has only one scene in which he is juggling multiple phone calls while discussing the Swedish assignment with reporter Larry Brand (Mark Miller). He answers every call with "Mulligan!". "Mulligan!... Mulligan!... Mulligan!... Mulligan!... Mulligan!"
Mark Miller is terrific as the reporter. He has the right amount of suave and daring for a heroic lead, yet he is still solidly an everyman. Lars Ekborg is memorable as the sleazy drug pusher and striptease act manager Max. Some might recognize Erik Strandmark from the The Seventh Seal (1957). Here he has a small part as a sketchy nightclub owner. Stig Järrel, a popular Swedish actor who had a prolific career, plays the kingpin of a crime ring. His mansion is password protected. The password is snowflake.
Mistaken identity: I chose this because I thought it was a Something Weird Video release. It's not. It's from Alpha Video. Given the poor quality of so many of their DVDs, which are often murky and have bad sound, this particular title is nearly pristine.

Scarface (1932):
Written by: Armitage Trail, Ben Hecht, Seton I. Miller, John Lee Mahin, W.R. Burnett, Howard Hawks, and Fred Pasley
It must be that many movies have been based on the same organized crime story. A few of its themes were instantly familiar to me and not because of Scarface (1983). I have yet to see the Al Pacino movie. My knowledge of that one is entirely derived from pop culture references. It's familiar to me because I have seen Miller's Crossing (1990) and several other gangster movies depicting the same time period, which may or may not have included a character either loosely or closely based on real-life gangster Al Capone.
Themes:
1) Things are going swimmingly for the Italian mob and its various enterprises until some hothead young upstart gets the bright idea to mess with the Irish.
2) If the Irish mob doesn't get him, one of his dames just might.
There is no, "Say hello to my little friend!", in the original. The closest it comes to anything like that is: "Get out of my way, Johnny! I'm gonna spit!"
I really liked Paul Muni's performance as Tony, but it was the supporting cast that convinced me to rent this title. Boris Karloff was the main draw. He doesn't have many scenes, but every scene he has is good. Osgood Perkins is excellent as the new crime boss elect. I had seen him before in a supporting role in the musical Gold Diggers of 1937. He was known for his work on Broadway more than his movie roles. He is probably better known for being Anthony Perkins' father than anything else. George Raft has a pretty plumb role as Tony's best friend and number one henchman Rinaldo. He also appears in Skidoo below. Vince Barnett provides comic relief as Tony's loyal to the bitter end secretary Angelo. Inez Palange was a bit part actress who most often played an Italian mother. Here she plays Tony's Italian mother. She had an uncredited role as a maid in A Night at the Opera (1935). Ann Dvorak is a treat as Tony's wild and fun-loving kid sister. Poppy, the highly coveted moll men would kill for, is played by Karen Morley whose turbulent career was brought to an end in 1947, when she was blacklisted after testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
The DVD included an alternate ending that was created to placate the censors. I liked both endings. The outcome is more or less the same. The original ending is quick and dirty justice. The alternate ending serves due process justice.

Skidoo (1968):
Written by: Doran William Cannon
Warning:
"This DVD and its content cannot be used for streaming, remote streaming, rental streaming, free streaming or streaming to purchase. The viewer must have the physical DVD disc present in order to view its content."
With that out of the way, here we are back in 1968 again. The top two movies on the previous movie list were from 1968. Skidoo can be thought of as a sort of counterpoint to both of those.
It's similar to Head in some ways. If Head had been presented from the perspective of the cops and politicians involved in the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the bridge with the Monkees as peripheral characters, it might have been Skidoo. Both have music by Nilsson in common. Nilsson also has a cameo as a prison guard. Alexandra Hay, who plays Darlene Banks, appeared in one episode of The Monkees television series.
This movie also has a connection to the Batman television series of the same decade. Several connections actually, three actors who played Batman villains and a couple of bit part players appear in Skidoo. Even the director appeared on Batman. Otto Preminger did two episodes as Mr. Freeze.
It begins with a succession of changing television channels as Flo Banks (Carol Channing) and her husband Tony Banks(Jackie Gleason) fight over the remote control. The first cordless television remote control was created in 1955. There is an interesting assortment of remote-control devices and gadgetry in this movie.
God (Groucho Marx) calls his best wise guy (Jackie Gleason) out of retirement and sends him to jail on a mission to kiss Mickey Rooney. While he is away, his daughter takes off with a contingent of hippies, and Carol Channing plays the cool mom, possibly, the coolest mom. There is an underlying message about bridging the generation gap and giving trust and agency to young adults, while still being there for them when they get into trouble.
There is not much in the way of anti-war messaging despite all the hippies apart from a draft dodging cellmate (Austin Pendleton) and an anti-war poster he puts up in his cell. Prison proves to be a transformative experience for all concerned. My favorite moment out of those scenes is when Slim Pickens, who plays a prison switchboard operator, sings Home on the Range over the PBX before collapsing in a fit of laughter.
Three more noteworthy actors from this everybody is or was a somebody cast:
Arnold Stang - The voice of Top Cat and the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee of the 1980s plays Harry, Tony Bank's best friend, secretary, and henchman.
Frankie Avalon - The pop star plays Angie, the dutiful son of wise guy (Cesar Romero).
(Donyale) Luna - Billed as the world's first Black supermodel, Luna plays God's secretary/bodyguard/mistress. She was ahead of her time. I think she would have had a brilliant career if then were now.
As for what I had said about gadgetry, in addition to the television remote control battle, there is Angie's swinging bachelor pad with remote activated lights, music, and bed. On God's yacht, Groucho uses a crude rendition of a video phone connected to a network of cameras to talk to and spy upon his guests and crew. There is also some goofiness in which televisions are used as short-wave radios in the prison scenes.
Why this movie?
This is not my first time with Skidoo. Sentimental value? As to why this movie at all: Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie borrowed character names from the Marx Brothers for his first two movies. That's how it started. That's what led me to Animal Crackers (1930). If Zombie hadn't included information about Skidoo in a scene in The Devil's Rejects (2005), I might never have known about it. The scene in question is sometimes affectionately referred to as "F*** Groucho!" on streaming sites.
As for why I didn't see my first Marx Brothers movie until 2004 or so, when I was plenty years old:
1) I didn't have Netflix until 2004.
2) I wasn't allowed to watch the Marx Brothers as a kid. Their movies were on television from time to time when I was very young. I did most of my television viewing at my great grandfather's house. I was allowed to watch The Three Stooges, but if the Marx Brothers came on, my great grandfather would change the channel while muttering something about them being "too radical".

Shalako (1968):
Written by: James Griffith, Hal Hopper, Scot Finch, and Clarke Reynolds
Based upon a novel by Louis L'Amour. I seriously don't know WTF the deal is with movies from 1968 on this and last month's list. I didn't plan it.
I was tempted to describe this as a white people yelling at white people as they make one bad decision after another until there are no white people left production, but it wouldn't be entirely accurate. There are several white people left at the end of the movie. They think with their privilege instead of their brains, and it gets them in deep shit with the Apache. Not real Apache, there are none in this movie. The story is set in New Mexico, but the movie was filmed in Spain. The Native Americans are actually Romani.
Some European aristocrats and a U.S. Senator go big game hunting in frontier New Mexico. The group hires an unscrupulous guide who shows little concern for their safety. When they get into trouble, a former cavalry colonel who calls himself Shalako (Sean Connery), comes to their aid. He has his own theme tune and everything! Initially, he meets only one member of the hunting party, Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot). The chemistry between them is pretty good. Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), has a standout supporting role. I have read that there is an uncut version in which more of her character's ordeal is shown. That was not the version I received.
Major deduction for having to fast forward through the opening scene... The countess is hunting a mountain lion. It's an ugly, raucous scene with a crowd of men screaming and making other loud noises to frighten an old and emaciated looking animal into position so that she may shoot it. Even with knowing that Bardot later became an animal rights activist, I couldn't take it. No matter how it was staged, it was clearly unpleasant for the cat.
I didn't hate this movie, but to say that I liked it would be a bit much. It jogged my memory as being one of the old Westerns I had watched with my grandparents many years ago. It's good for Sean Connery or Brigitte Bardot completists. Theirs is an interesting pairing, and Honor Blackman is a nice bonus. The scenery almost makes it worthwhile. The terrain is majestic, austere, rough, and unforgiving.

RRR (2022):
The grandiosity of it is something of a marvel. Everything is high velocity and maximum intensity. Don't let the singing and dancing fool you. This is a hardcore action movie. The style of action is not unlike a popular anime series from the 1990s that featured two high-powered mutants with spiky hair. In other words, it's cartoonishly over-the-top. At the heart of the story is a bromance which is forged and tested under extraordinary circumstances. Their improbable pairing is reflected by the fire and water motif which can be found throughout the movie.
When I saw the song Naatu Naatu performed at the Academy Awards, I knew nothing about the story. At the time, I wondered what was up with all the white people. Well, the story begins in 1920. The scene for that award-winning song is a dance battle between natives and colonists. Although the characters are based on actual historic figures, the story is pure fiction. In reality, these two heroes of the Indian revolution, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, never met.
Despite all the action, its epic length coupled with the fact that the audience knows things from the start that the main characters don't makes it kind of a slog. It's also one of those movies that starts the action before finishing the title sequence. The opening credits conclude about an hour into the action by slowly revealing the meaning of each "R" in the title.
It's almost but not quite a Valentine's Day movie. February 14th is mentioned, but it's not a holiday in India. It's the date on which the party where the dance battle takes place is held.

Romeo & Juliet (1968):
I can't remember if I was nine or ten. I remember that it was June. It was a week or so after school had let out for the summer. Our last class activity was a field trip to a local amusement park. That might have been where I caught the cold, which turned into bronchitis, which verged on pneumonia, and so I began my summer bedridden.
One afternoon of my two weeks in bed, my grandmother came in and woke me up, turned my television on, and said there was a movie coming on that I could watch until dinner was ready. This was the movie. It lent itself well to my bleary-eyed and breathless situation.
I'm no judge of Shakespeare. As to whether this production is good, bad, accurate, or taking wild license, I neither know nor care. I was entertained by it enough to want to read Shakespeare. Though I opted for the comedies over the tragedies.
When I saw it back then, I was most impressed with the costumes, and Olivia Hussey. I really can't think of any other Juliet. This time around, I was more taken with John McEnery as Mercutio, and Michael York as Tybalt.
I don't recall if I saw a censored version back then. It's hard to understand the fuss over such brief nudity. They were young but age appropriate for the story, and they didn't do anything sexual.
The only thing I found alarming was an interview from 1967 in which Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting seem to get drunk. They are drinking what appears to be orange juice for the entire interview, but judging from the change in their demeanor, I suspect it was spiked with booze. I also noticed that the more stressful it got the more they drank, especially when questions were asked about the nude scene and how it might affect their future prospects. I'm glad it was included in the bonus features because it gave me some perspective on why those two actors are suing for child abuse over fifty years later.

And God Created Woman (Et Dieu... créa la femme - 1956):
For one thing, it's an Easter movie. I spent considerable time trying to think of a gentle and intelligent way to explain why I enjoyed this deeply chauvinistic movie. Not misogynistic, chauvinistic, there is a difference. As far as my explanation goes, all I can offer is a shrug and sorry not sorry. This was not Brigitte Bardot's first film, but it's the one that made her an international sensation. It's the reason why my grandfather and my great uncle would smile at each other at the mere mention of her name, and I don't blame them.
A grand old sugar daddy, a thirtysomething cad, and the cad's twentysomething brother finagle a way to keep the sweetest, most succulent, young lady in the town of Saint-Tropez from being shipped back to the orphanage by her pearl clutching, morality policing, foster mother. Stunningly gorgeous Juliete (Brigitte Bardot) lives with her foster parents and works at a local bookstore. It's baffling that although Juliete is eighteen, she is not yet considered an adult. So for whatever reason or law, she is not permitted to live independently, even though she is employed. She is beholden to the orphanage until she turns twenty-one.
She likes to go barefoot. She likes to go dancing. She likes sunning herself in the nude. All of which causes a great deal of consternation on the part of her custodians. She has a sugar daddy, Eric Carradine, played by Curd Jürgens. Although the actor is in his early forties here, his character comes across more like a man in his fifties. She lusts after the somewhat younger Antoine Tardieu (Christian Marquand), but he doesn't take her seriously. Antoine's shy younger brother, Michael (Jean-Louis Trintignant), has a major crush on her.
The first thing that struck me about this film was its musicality. From the scintillating, slow burn opening credits to the intensely sensual dance number, if you can stop ogling long enough to listen, it has a terrific jazz score. The other thing is its beauty. Juliete is pretty. The beaches and the ocean are pretty. The boats are pretty. The town is pretty. It's a beautiful little film. The restoration effort paid off.
Isabelle Corey has a small role as Juliete's best friend, Lucienne. I saw her not too long ago as Anne in Bob le Flambeur (1956). Her role here is quite similar but far less prominent. I have few negative things to say about it other than the aforementioned chauvinism. Two out of three guys are selfish horn dogs. There is also a kissing scene that goes on a little too long. It's adorable at first, then less so, then weird. Hint: It doesn't involve any of the men.

Vermillion Pleasure Night Vol. 1: Optic Erotica (2006):
I came across this Japanese variety show featuring sketch comedy, performance art, musical acts, animation, and claymation not long after its original release, so this is a revisit. It's irreverent, salacious, and downright bizarre.
Even though it's barely twenty years old, I doubt a show of its nature would be made today. It commits too many social and cultural offenses that present day audiences are forbidden from finding amusing.
Some bits have aged better than others. A few are too unnerving to be funny. Of the two episodes in this volume, the first one is by far the better. This volume delivers on its eye candy title. The cast appears to be comprised almost entirely of beautiful women showing off a parade of spectacular fashions.
My favorite sketches are Midnight Cooking (the one with the singers not the shaky hands one), One Point English Lesson, and Six Singing Girls. I didn't like the mannequin comedy then, and I don't like it now. Unfortunately, there is a lot of it. There is also a sketch called Cathy's House in which actors play mannequins or life size dolls.

The Devil is a Woman (1935):
"I should like some coffee before I die, and in your soothing company if possible."
One preposterous headdress after another crowns Marlene Dietrich in her final collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg. I would be done with these movies by now if I had watched them in order, but I have one more to go.
It's Carnival time in Spain, and all the stores had a big sale on party streamers, so much so that the actors have to wade through them. There is a movie somewhere under all that festive set design. The masks and costumes are quite good, and the parade scenes are delightfully chaotic.
The handsome and dashing Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero) dares to flirt with the lovely and alluring Concha Perez (Marlene Dietrich) as she rides by on a parade float. After a quick exchange, they agree to a late-night rendezvous, but first, Antonio has drinks with his older, wiser friend and mentor, Capt. Don Pasqual Costelar (Lionel Atwill). The good Captain is all too familiar with Concha. His cautionary tale framed in flashback begins the story.
I've read that Dietrich considered this one of her finest performances. I can't say that I agree. It's certainly her most animated. Her exaggerated affectations have an almost unhinged quality. It's a jiggling, shimmying, eye-rolling, rump-shaking, foot-stomping good time. Some of it is just typical Dietrich, but the rest...
Most of her other films offer a brief explanation of how she came to be in any given exotic locale. This one does not. Presumably, she is playing a Spanish woman. It annoyed me because sauerbraten is not paella no matter how you serve it (or how impetuously she stamps her feet). I'm thankful that they didn't resort to brownface.
Romero and Atwill make it bearable. Both actors turn in stellar performances. Cesar Romero also provides a bit of eye candy both with and without the bat mask that he sports for Carnival.
Another highlight is character actress Tempe Pigott. She plays Concha's pimpish manager. She delivers the absolute best old hag cackle. She cackles more than she utters actual lines, and it's flawless every time.
I loved Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but Tempe Pigott now reigns as the cackle queen supreme in my estimation.
Compared to some of Dietrich's other films, this one is a little light on musical numbers. Originally there were two songs, but one of them was cut. If It Isn't Pain (It Isn't Love) is the one that was cut. It was included as an extra on the DVD. Better off without it in my opinion. The remaining song is Three Sweethearts Have I. It's a comedy song done up in a playful burlesque number for the film.
https://youtu.be/HoeAtGDseMc

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (2009):
I must have misread the synopsis. I thought this was going to be a straightforward documentary about an entomologist who specialized in beetles. The title led me to erroneously conclude that the entomologist was a woman.
The entomologist is not a woman. There is no entomologist. There is Dr. Takeshi Yoro, a physician and anatomist, whose hobby is insects. This documentary isn't about him. It alludes to an interview with him, but most of it was cut and dumped in the bonus features. He periodically spouts pseudoscientific spiritualism over scenes of Tokyo's skyline, busy streets, nightlife, and rushing trains. When he isn't talking, a woman narrator offers us tidbits of poetry, history, and lore with similar backdrops but also waterfalls and other scenes of nature.
The bulk of the footage shows bug hunters for profit, and a sampling of their customers. None of it offers any meaningful information about the subjects shown. The worst part of it for me was all the bug torture and murder. It juxtaposes the poetry and reverence for nature narrative with scenes of grade school kids being taught how to pin and mount specimens, profit-driven bug hunters kicking trees to make beetles fall into their ready nets and setting up massive floodlights and white sheets to trap flying insects at night.
It was infuriating to see so many endangered Luna Moths being lured to their deaths. They live for only one week as adults. They don't even eat during that last week of their lives. Their sole focus is mating before they die. Several are shown obviously distressed by the intense light and being damaged from mishandling by the bug hunters and their kids. I didn't learn about Luna Moths from this documentary. Those were things I already knew.
In another scene, one of the bug hunters shows off a Ferrari he bought with his fat stacks of beetle money. It doesn't say how much he makes. It shows a small child in a pet store. The child's father buys a beetle for the equivalent of fifty dollars, but there is nothing to say whether that price is high, low, or average.
It goes off on a tangent about crickets, and another about fireflies, but yet again, it fails to go deeper than aesthetics. I would characterize this as an amateur art film masquerading as a documentary. The only insect that I had hard time feeling sorry for was the Murder Hornet, yet I wouldn't have minded if it had nailed one of the tree-kickers.

The Cat from Outer Space (1978):
Other than the cat, the pretty glowing collar, the spaceship, and a host of actors bound to trigger nostalgia in those of a certain generation, this isn't worth the time. I think I saw it once when I was a child.
Apparently, I didn't think too much of it then either.
I rented it because Tim Holt wasn't in enough movies. Tim Holt is not in this movie. In fact, he died years before it was even made. I recently enjoyed Tim Holt in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), and I wanted to catch a glimpse of him later his career.
I decided upon the wacky sci-fi horror movie The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), but I couldn't rent it. While reading down its cast list, I spotted an actor who looked vaguely familiar. That actor was Hans Conried. In trying to figure out what I knew him from, I rented this very silly Disney movie. It wasn't until after I had subjected myself to it that I discovered I could watch a colorized version of The Monster That Challenged the World at the Internet Archive. Perhaps another time.