With its eighth release, Cinematic Titanic switched from recording in studios to using live recordings for its home video releases. There were some trade-offs. On the negative side, it meant no more Shadowrama effect, with the riffers’ silhouettes visible on screen. Instead, Joel, Trace, Josh, Frank and Mary Jo’s faces are all visible on the… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 8, ‘East Meets Watts’
“Blood of the Vampires” was a meaningful release for Cinematic Titanic for the troupe, as well as for me. It was the final studio release for the Titans (more on that in the next entry of this intermittent series), and it was the film I saw Cinematic Titanic riff live back in 2008. I feel like… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 7, ‘Blood of the Vampires’
For its sixth release, Cinematic Titanic returned to the exploitation genre after its brief foray into more child-friendly fare. The Italian film “Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” was also known as “Terror! Il castello delle donne maldedette,” “Terror Castle,” “The House of Freaks,” “The Monsters of Dr. Frankenstein, “Dr. Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” and “Frankenstein’s Castle.”… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 6, ‘Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks’
For its fifth episode, the Cinematic Titanic Crew boldly went where they had gone before: re-riffing the Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic “Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.” In recent years Rifftrax has redone MST3K-riffed films like “Santa Claus,” “Time Chasers,” “Final Justice” and even their own take on “SCCTM,” but back in 2008 this was… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic Episode 5, ‘Santa Claus Conquers The Martians’
After two episodes with films that had a more traditional MST3K feel, Cinematic Titanic returns to a weird and creepy 70s film similar to its first outing, “The Oozing Skull.” Also like “The Oozing Skull,” “Legacy of Blood” had multiple titles: “Will to Die” and “Blood Legacy.” The film also starts with a different note… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic Episode 4, ‘Legacy of Blood’
Mystery Science Theater 3000 and its related projects are pretty jovial, but there always seems to be bits of drama that pop up in the course of movie riffing. There’s Joe Don Baker’s supposed hatred of the show’s treatment of him in “Mitchell,” the fan-generated Joel vs. Mike flamewars and grumblings by former cast members… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic Episode 3, ‘The Wasp Woman’
After the December 2007 release of the first Cinematic Titanic episode, riffing fans had a six-month wait before the next release, “Doomsday Machine.” There are a few changes immediately noticeable, like something of an opening segment with the silhouetted Titans walking into the theater while two unknown figures drop some vague hints about the purpose of… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 2, ‘Doomsday Machine’
With the revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as Rifftrax and The Mads, it feels like we’re in a golden age of movie riffing. But 10 years ago, there was also a mini riffing renaissance going on. Back in 2007, Rifftrax was really hitting its stride, The Bots Are Back cartoons launched on… Read More MSTing Links: Cinematic Titanic episode 1, ‘The Oozing Skull’
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