Cronenberg drops us into the seamy world of television broadcasting which Channel 83 executive Max Renn (James Woods) navigates as he receives a morning brief via video. We instantly see he lives an untidy life, but he’s still committed to looking for the next shocking thing to host on his channel. He’s tired of the soft but still scandalous fare that is scouted for programming. He doesn’t know how much his life, or at least his mind, will change when he’s introduced to Videodrome. This possibly pirate broadcast features material beyond the tasteless, verging to the illegal. However, Max soon learns that once viewed, you become part of Videodrome and Videodrome becomes part of you, perhaps to fatal consequence.

While critics praised the film, the material was likely too weird and extreme for general audiences. Budgeted just under six million dollars, the film failed to recoup its expenses. Still, the resonant themes combined with the compelling acting of the leads and the imaginative visual effects has turned Videodrome into a true cult classic. Often, people assign that identifier to any movie that gets an updated media release. How can a film that focuses on the dead media of VHS say anything to a world of multiple streaming options?

Max Renn is an unsavory character, but Cronenberg doesn’t present him as fully unlikeable. Supposedly he has no limits, but even he’s taken aback by the actions of the mysterious Nicki Brand (Debbie Harry), even as he’s further drawn into seductive visuals of Videodrome. Nicki, introduced to Max on a hosted debate/discussion, reveals herself to be a woman of contradictory layers. Seemingly, she’s the voice of reflection concerning whether society has become overstimulated by the media landscape, but she reveals herself to be a woman of masochistic impulses.

As the attraction of Videodrome draws her in, Max becomes the voice of hesitation. However, it’s too late, as Max learns that Videodrome is more than entertainment, Nicki is both more and less than she seems, and there are greater ideological forces wanting use Videodrome to transform society. Max Renn, as an audience surrogate, is confident in knowing who he is at the start but uncertain of what’s physically tangible and mentally possible by the conclusion.

What most would remember about Videodrome are the odd and often disturbing visual effects. In one bizarre scene, a cold inanimate television set becomes a stirring fleshy object, inviting intimacy with Max. Is it alive, or is it part of Max’s increasingly off sense of reality? Even Max himself becomes an object of mutation as orifices appear without prompting and technology merges with his body. Media prophet Dr. O’Blivion speaks of “The New Flesh.” Max, whether he wants to or not, becomes the latest subject of media/technology/body evolution. At the end you may not understand fully what you’ve seen. The images, being both realistic in composition and fantastic in their presentation, will leave an impression.

Composer Howard Shore’s stylistic choice of music is interesting. He’s known for writing bombastic scores whether working with Cronenberg or with other directors. This time he decided for a more minimalistic approach. Though still utilizing traditional instrumentation, he has overlayed it with synthesizer tones. Rather than dramatic highs and lows, there’s a pulsating droning that occasionally falls away for a plangent flourish of strings. The music serves the film, and there’s nothing incorrect about the placement in the scenes. However, the synthesized orchestra may disconcert the listener. Possibly that was Cronenberg’s and Shore’s intention, but it also likely means for most people that this score won’t be on listening cycle outside the film, unlike other science fiction films and horror films of the 1980s.

Finally, the story development leads to two conclusions that may seem contradictory. First, one can appreciate the various themes that Cronenberg throws to the audience. What are the effects of media on humanity, especially involving extreme content; can one lose touch on reality as one delves further into video world; will increasing immersion in technology mutate us into something beyond what we know is the normal expedience?

However, the second conclusion is tangent to the first. There may have been a surfeit of themes to develop within the film’s running time to the viewer’s satisfaction. By the end, all gives way to Max becoming “The New Flesh” through a series of action sequences. We’re not even sure if he has agency in doing so. Cronenberg’s intentions for Max’s outcome may have influenced his plotting. That still might not be enough for the viewer who feels there’s an unbalanced ratio of questions to answers.

Now that we’ve been in the internet age for decades, Videodrome has the ostensible appearance of quaintness. For many, however, the digital world increasingly has taken the place of reality. This film invites us to reflect on who or what controls what or who as technology, especially as a means of entertainment, becomes ever more intertwined with humanity. Cronenberg presents ideas that he might not fully flesh out. Still, having something to mull over is better than just relying on visual effects to capture your audience’s attention.

I discovered this film on Amazon Prime and sweethearts let me tell you. This movie is one of the best worst films I’ve ever seen. A complete gumbo stew of schlocky 70’s Italian cinema and early 1980’s straight to the VHS bargain bin Grindhouse delight.

I have not seen the MST3K episode featuring this and I have no interest because, there is no way they could enhance what is already one hell of a lunatic frenzy this movie really is. And don’t expect a “Happy Ending” or some type of closure here. If this were remade today (God forbid) this could be a profitable trilogy.

Filmed in The Bronx as well a movie studio in Rome for some of the interior set pieces; you get the full atmosphere and desolation of the South Bronx during the late 70’s and early 80’s; a time I remember the most fondly when I think of NYC (1980’s-1990’s). The 70’s specifically (although before my time) was a vibrant time when HipHop was just born and so much innovation in subculture was being cultivated and building from the ground up in the shadows of bombed tenements and the ruins rubble, abandoned cars, open fire hydrants all due to a city at the brink of bankruptcy … but, still very much alive.

The movie is set sometime after 1990; the Bronx has devolved into a lawless territory run by gangs. The General Construction Corporation has designated the entire Burrough for evacuation and demolition for new condo’s and high-rises. The residents are being forcibly evicted from their homes and incentivized to relocate to New Mexico (“Yeesh”).  The pretext for this being some sort of viral outbreak spread by rats. Could it be a hoax? Who knows.

Trash is the former leader of a biker gang in the area that has become a loner and enemy of the state. His parents are flambéed by Corporate GCC goon squads running vagrants out of their homes and it pisses him off. Trash is on paper a, rugged, take-no-nonsense rogue, with a steel gaze and a wolverine’s tenacity. However, the part is played by an inexperienced young actor that lost a lot of muscle mass between this film and the previous film; an inexperienced actor that saunters around looking off camera like the director is pointing to his marks. It doesn’t matter because the movie works in all the wrong ways.

Trash is thrown together with a troublesome reporter trying to get to the bottom of the GCC and the city’s corrupt plans of gentrification. Later they are joined by the leader of a subterranean confederation of gangs as well a former bank robbery turned mole man and mercenary.

The shit is sure to hit a giant fan by the time the movie ends and I LOVE IT. I LOVE NY.

Escape from the Bronx has a runtime of 89 minutes, was released on August 1983 in Italy and premiered in the U.S. on January of that year. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime and here with subtitles on YouTube.

Enjoy this gift I’ve found for you. Keep yourselves safe, nasty and disobedient …. But, above all else “Keep your finger on that REWIND button”.

What makes a film art? Is it subtext? The collage of mediums blanketed onto film with music and mood layering the textures, emotions and the suspension of disbelief? Well, the time has come. Yes, I did forget but, I remember now. 

This month’s Retro Movie is Panos Cosmatos’ debut psychedlic science fiction feature
– BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (2010).

Spawned out of the grief of losing both his parents, Swedish sculptor Birgitta Ljungberg-Cosmatos and film director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra), and funded from residuals from his fathers last film TOMBSTONE (1993). Beyond the Black Rainbow is a 35mm surreal mind-screw of colors, prolonged shots and transitions in lush panavision colors.

A young girl (Eva Allen) being studied and tested on by a mysterious scientific research corporation that is supervised by a mysterious and somewhat unhinged head of research scientist (Michael Rogers) for her untapped psychic potential. Yes, this was made before STRANGER THINGS. The runtime is 110 minutes and will feel longer due to the slow drip of tension and visuals. The shots are mostly long, giving the film a very claustrophobic and unnerving mood.

Jeremy Schmidt, keyboard player for Vancouver-based rockers Black Mountain, was invited by Cosmatos to compose the film’s soundtrack. “Evil Ball”, a track from Schmidt’s solo project, Sinoia Caves, was used by the movie’s director on a private screening held for Schmidt. A mutual appreciation for Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter soundtracks and Giorgio Moroder‘s music for Midnight Express (1978) and American Gigolo (1980) cemented their bond.^[25] Schmidt also pointed out the background music from The Shining (1980) and Risky Business (1983) as musical blueprints for the Beyond the Black Rainbow score.
– Wiki

There are themes of control woven into the drama. Control being presented here via Adults controlling the young or Masculine over the feminine. Barry Nyle at the start of the film seems like a scientist with an almost paternal affection towards his test subject but, as the film progresses that veil is removed to be nothing of the sort and his true and mutilated nature begins to bubble to the surface.

There is a very lovely film here with hints of all the films that were mentioned as musical influences to the score. The director being a fan of Michael Mann’s MANHUNTER and THE KEEP, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and the rest. The story of a young girl discovering her past and her strength and finally her liberation is a haunting, uncomfortable, acid-trip of a journey into the subconscious and the dark side of the third eye. Conspiracy Theorists will find a lot to chew on here within, with references to MKULTRA and a lot of the experimentation of psychedelics on human test subjects and research into psychic potential that has long been declassified by the C.I.A.

This is recommended viewing for anyone looking for something left-of-center. And a perfect start to a film career that was continued with MANDY (2018)

Keep your fingers on that Rewind button and stay loose, and stay easy…. and wear your masks.

If you were born and raised in any period from the 70s to the 90s, odds are that you had some fantastic cartoons on your television. Odds are even greater that you had one you loved especially. One you never missed if you could help it. One that you would hum the theme song to or daydream about in school. If not, then I envy you. Life in a cave must have been amazing too.

Mine was a little tale about a place called Eternia, where swords and magic met technology and one ripped-as-fuck hero fought tooth and nail to keep a buff, angry skeleton from ruling the world. Not Predator. That’s a horror movie. I’m talking about He-Man, the superhuman punk-destroying pillar of righteousness who has endured as a pop culture icon for 37 years so far.

I was fascinated by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as a kid, since I was perhaps three years old. I watched most of it on syndication, but I was devoted. The toys, the books, all of it. I even had a sort of pup-tent that went over my bed frame bearing the logo and likeness of the Blonde One himself.

The real story of Eternia began, surprisingly, in 1976. Mattel was in the throes of a classic struggle that many toy buff and kids would insist continues today: The search for the next big action figure line. Lots or R&D, along with some concepts similar to He-Man (that didn’t go far commercially) led up to the final product in 1981. Instead of “Masters of the Universe,” the toy line was meant to be called “Lords of Power,” but members of the team suggested that might sound “too religious in nature.” I guess I see what they meant, but have you ever been to the Church of the Lords of Power? I haven’t. It sounds awesome. Odd nitpicking aside, Mattel was ready to ride into battle. In 1982 the toys hit the shelves, and on September 5^th, 1983 the episode “Diamond Ray of Disappearance” aired on television. He-Man had hit the big time, and history was made.

Diamond Ray of Disappearance, the very first episode to air. Enjoy.

The cartoon incarnation of He-Man was made by Filmation, a production company that did both live-action and animated programming for TV. Founded in 1962, the folks at Filmation had serious experience, serious chops, and a fantastic end product. The show ran for 163 episodes, which his a testament to the impact it made on its audiences.

Let’s start with this sick fucking intro. I mean, just the music alone – a chest-welling, uplifting rock-orchestra piece worthy of a galactic superbowl – is colossal in its weight and cheeseburgery beefiness. Then here comes Prince Adam, a guy who is built like a brick shit-house and yet somehow convinces everyone that he’s the biggest pussy on Eternia. I mean, he does still live with his mom and dad… but it’s a little different when your parents are monarchs. “Fabulous secrets” were revealed to him, however, and so he can turn both himself and his pet giant cat into total, rampaging badasses by calling on the power of Castle Greyskull.

The source of the aforementioned “fabulous secrets.”

Not a bad thing to have in your back pocket when you have shitty neighbors; the evil sorcerer Skeletor craves not only the secrets of Greyskull, but rule over Eternia as well. The cackling, imperious dickhead and his gang of hooligans are constantly flexing on King Randor, He-Man, and the Sorceress who guards Castle Greyskull. Both sides of this epic conflict fill their ranks with numerous allies… I mean, this is a cartoon meant to sell toys, right? Adam (and He-Man) usually rolls around with a minimum entourage of the following homies: Man-at-Arms, the royal arms-master with a super-sweet stache; Teela, Man-at-Arm’s daughter, a serious ass-kicker who has no patience for Adam’s bullshit but just adores He-Man; and Orko, the addle-brained court magician who always seems to fuck things up but sometimes manages to save the day with his poorly-controlled spells. Of course, Skeletor has some friends, despite being a serious douche. He has a tense but workable relationship with Evil-Lyn, a sorceress whose main magical strength seems to be conniving fuckery. A roster of goons including Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Mer-Man and Tri-Klops serve as Skeletor’s vanguard (read: cannon fodder) in the long war against Eternia.

The classic clusterfuck poster, in all its glory. I don’t know if this is the full final roster, but it’s a lot of them.

One really cool thing about MOTU – and perhaps a lost art in all but the softest-themed toons today – was the moral message at the end of each episode. Sure, this show was a consumerist vehicle for an extensive line of kid’s toys, but why not drop some wisdom on the kids? This would always be a theme presented in the story itself (like sharing, responsibility, safety, etc), and more often than not, it was He-Man or Man-at-Arms sitting down for the fireside chat moment.

The animation is remarkably smooth for a timetable-produced toon, and characters are shown running, jumping, etc. in a very natural way. In the tradition of Filmation (and by spiritual sisterhood, Hanna-Barbera), the backgrounds are lush and skillfully colored, on par with motion picture matter paintings sometimes. But what really does it, what really sells the product, is that music.

A total of 72 figures and toys were released, and the series made Mattel insane amounts of money. As for the cartoon, it ran in syndication until 1988, when USA Network bought it and ran it until 1990. The heroes and villains of MOTU briefly returned in a new 1990 series (with its own new toy line), and He-Man resurfaced once more in a new show on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. This show was presented more seriously in tone, and also delves more into the history of Eternia (including an origin for Skeletor). In 1987, Cannon Films released a movie under the MOTU banner, with a more cosmic focus and a somewhat darker tone. This film starred 80s action bull Dolph Lundgren as He Man, and also featured Frank Langella as Skeletor and Courteney Cox as… A normal woman.

If you have a taste for cheese, it’s great. Definitely up there with any other awesomely ridiculous Cannon film.

Needless to say, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has secured itself a high spot in 80s pop culture. Even now, in the digital age, it can be seen on Netflix, as well as on YouTube. Mattel markets high-end versions of the original figures as collectibles, perfect for the nerd who always wanted a more poseable, articulated sci fi barbarian. There have even been video games; the two that come to mind are the Intellivision (naturally) and Game Boy Advance versions.

Perhaps the war on Eternia will never end. After all, without one another, good and evil have no meaning. He-Man taught us a lot of things, but perhaps that was the bigger message.

We’ll see you next time, barring any technical difficulties due to Orko’s bullshit. Stay Retro!

Written for his daughter, “Little Angel ” is the final passionate track of FM Attack’s set – and the final track of the Human Music 2 synth festival.

It’s an odd feeling – being nostalgic for a moment happening in the present. The melancholic realization that something beautiful is about to end.

Three days earlier I awoke with a start.

Late. Shit!

A quick, cold shower – the flurry of clothes flying into unpacked bags – a gag of artificial stimulation and a final pat of the pockets – and I’m ready for my nine hour drive. I have to make up for lost time or I’m likely to catch rush hour near Philly, a special kind of hell. Peeling away I remember some things I’ve forgotten – but there’s no time to turn back now.

It’s not until I’m a hundred miles away that I begin to feel truly awake. Running on empty, I make a quick stop for gas and splash of water on my face. I’m jittery – perhaps a bit too much of the stimulants. I shrug my shoulders. Better to be too awake than tired.

Soon again I’m back on the road, screaming down I-70, with Gost’s “They” pumping through the speakers as loud as they’ll go without clipping. Just as I settle into my seat, I realize the car in front of me is nearly stopped. I slam on my breaks a second too late and have to squirm into the burm to make sure I don’t rear-end the poor fucker in front of me. Suddenly I’m thankful for my jitters.

Deer. At Noon. In the middle of an eight-lane highway.

Quickly the hooved rats pass and traffic starts up again. It’s rare to see them out this late in the day – and on a highway this size. A glance at my rear mirror reveals they’re heading back towards the road. As the minute mark nears on “They” and the high pitched horror synths begin to peal, I watch as a ruby red semi slams full speed into the creature – which in turn explodes into a literal mist of gore and viscera. As the darksynth swells I wonder if this is a bad omen – or a good one. Then I remember I don’t believe in omens.

The rest of the drive is relatively uneventful – though as I hit New Jersey I’m reminded that everyone here drives like they want to die. Soon I pull into my friends garage. I’m late, but I’ve made it.

DAY 1

Click Here for a full gallery of photos from Human Music 2!

The next day I arrive to the venue a bit late as well. QXT’s sits on edge of the industrial Ironbound neighborhood and on the corner of the street – the perfect spot for a venue dedicated to “Alternative, EBM, New Wave, Industrial, Darkwave, Goth, and Punk.” The outside walls are made of ribbed concrete and painted a dutiful shade of black – save for a large set of double doors which are braced open and manned by a well-built bouncer. I give him a nod as I make my way inside, were brick and mortar walls exude a gothy industrial vibe which plays well off of cyberpunk transhumanist art which has been prepared for Human Music 2. The venue staff are extremely caring – and the only thing more marvelous than them seems to be their liquor prices.

Photo By Matthew Sperzel, Artwork By Jen Biro

The artist meet and greet is winding down as I don my various wristbands and grab a drink. I decide to make the most of the leftover time and dive in. It’s always fantastic to put a face to a name. In a scene where much of the correspondence happens online, I had already spoken with probably half of the artists in attendance – but never met in person. Being able to communicate face to face instantly changes my perspective as for the first time I feel a real sense of community.

For now though there’s only time for brief introductions before the lights dim and and portent plumes from the fog machines signal the show is about to begin.

When the lights come back up, a wash of soft technicolor illuminates the stage and the stunning artist GlitBiter from Los Angeles along with it. Her beautiful blend of dreamwave and synth begins, the intro followed with lush soaring vocals – the perfect start to the festival. I have little time to dawdle and soon I’m snapping photos with an older DSLR which I borrowed surreptitiously from my dayjob.

“It was so much fun and such an honor to play with so many incredible Synthwave artists. Human Music brought together so many people (both fans and artists) from around the world, and I’m so grateful I was able to be apart of it.”– GlitBiter

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Her set ends with a great applause, and it’s only a few minutes before the next artist – just enough time to step outside for a cancer stick. The first thing I’ve noticed is that the sound in Q’s is absolutely pristine – somehow even sounding better than if I were listening through a pair of headphones. Before long I hear the next act announced and scurry back inside.

Next on stage is Korine – a duo from Philly that specializes in a solid mix of energetic synthpop and gloomy new wave. I haven’t heard them before and I’m instantly a fan. This set is filled with a palpable emotion that fills the venue and really gets the audience moving.

“Human Music was an amazing experience. So much unique talent in one room. It was great to meet fans and artists alike in a truly humbling and exciting atmosphere.”- Korine

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Next up is New Jersey based The Encounter – the first act that is more traditional synthwave. He has a wealth of material to choose from with various influences, and he chooses his tracks well. Each piece flows into the next perfectly, bringing an unbridled energy to the dancefloor. He announces halfway through that his set that his mother is actually in the audience – to great applause and whoops from the crowd. In a genre that capitalizes on nostalgia, I can think of no greater challenge than playing for family. He absolutely kills it.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Aeon Rings takes the stage. Hailing from Brooklyn, this is the first taste we get of the darker side of synth. This sound is a deft blend of synthpop, new wave and darkwave that really gets the crowd amped. They’re dressed to kill and bleed cool. The animated duo are no strangers to performance and consistently strike fluid, engaging poses, stoking the spectators to a fever pitch.

“Human music is a great festival that Damian Hrunka has worked very hard to organize and give synth wave fans and dark electronic music fans alike the opportunity to see some of the best bands in the scene all come together for a 2 day fun in the sun Memorial Day weekend. The comradery amongst the fans and bands is incredible and I haven’t seen that much support in a long time. It gives a chance for lesser known acts to get the boost they need to expose themselves to a proper audience that is open to their art. Would love to see it keep going and growing for sure. They work hard on it and the curation is top notch.” – Aeon Rings

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Next on stage is the bombastic Belgium based Neoslave. His set is unbridled energy and the first to really delve into pure darksynth territory – though there are elements of outrun and disco interlaced. Veins bulge in his face, threatening to burst as the synth grows deeper and more intense. His arms swing back and his form exudes pure energy. His sound is fantastic, and the crowd is electrified as his set draws to its conclusion. The audience releases an amped applause.

“Human Music 2 was a BLAST to the past, retro-futuristic goodness wrapped up in the perfect setting that is QXT’s. I was thrilled to be a part of this sick fest that embraces both darksynth and synthwave and hope to be back soon! Shout out to all involved.” -Neoslave

Photo by Andrew Zistler

The marvelous Cali based Protector 101 is on next – and he dons the stage wearing his eponymous mask based on the horror film “Chopping Mall.” Twin red beams stream from his mask, targeting the audience for dance this time instead of destruction – and he succeeds greatly in this prime directive. At times the venue is so filled with fog you could only see his mask and the beams emanating from it – a radical sight to behold.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Cooling things down a bit with a return to OG retrowave is Pittsburgh based Betamaxx – and boy is he fucking thrashed. Full disclosure – it’s probably my fault – I’d bought him more than a few drinks. Any worry is quickly dispelled though as he rocks out an astounding set that connects deeply and emotionally with the crowd. For many of us Betamaxx is some of the first synth we heard, and his fingers seem fueled by our nostalgia, racing across the keyboard and never missing a note. His newer sounds are just as good as his classics – and the end of his set is marked by emphatic shouts of joy from the audience.

“My experience at human music was a blast, as it was my first year playing. I got to meet some really amazing artists for the first time, and catch up with some old friends from last year. My highlight was getting to meet and hangout with Shawn, from FM Attack. He’s always been one of my ultimate favorites in the scene, and he was a super awesome guy as well. I really enjoyed all the performances, and the fans were all really into it. Needless to say, I will be back again for Human Music 3.” – Betamaxx

Photo by Andrew Zistler

The final act of the first night is Timecop1983 – who hails from the Netherlands. Filled with romance and a truly cinematic feel, the audience reaches a fervor-peak during his set. The vibe is overwhelming, and for a time I forget I’m supposed to be taking photos. Swinging from sentimental to groovy and everything in between, he rocks the house. The applause echoes in our ears as the first night of Human Music 2 winds down.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

But the fun isn’t finished yet – it continues late into the morning with NIGHT.WAV afterparty – a monthly synthwave dance party usually held at Saint Vitus Bar – but exported to QXT’s especially for the Human Music 2 festival. These folks absolutely kill it, showing off some expert mixing and production skills. As I slink deeper into my drinks, I find myself wishing there was a monthly like this in Ohio.

DAY 2

I wake up the next day facedown on a cold wood floor, back stiff but surprisingly not hungover in the least. I’d made it back to my friends apartment. Picking myself up, I start to go through the photos I’d gotten the night before. The day is a warm fumble of Indian food and street vendors in China Town and it eventually ends in a quick nap before I’m back at QXT’s.

Photo By Matthew Sperzel

Everyone seems a bit worse for wear after the late night that ended just over 12 hours ago. The conversations are a bit sluggish but you can tell there isn’t a soul there who would rather be sleeping. The best cure for a hangover is more booze – and the bar is serving up hair of the dog like cucumber sandwiches in a fat camp.

As everyone settles in, Shredder 1984 takes the stage – guitar strapped to his back. If anyone was drowsy before they certainly aren’t after his music starts. A mash of cyberpunk, darksynth and metal, this Frenchman rocks the stage with some fantastic guitar work – truly expert riffs. Halfway through his set he pulls back his hood revealing a large mane of righteous black hair  which he windmills in proper metal fashion. Brutal is an understatement.

Photo By Matthew Sperzel

After the last guitar chords fade, Tokyo Rose rises to the stage. Wearing a mask with his eyes marked as two big X’s, he performs his first ever live set and absolutely destroys it. His themes range from darksynth to outrun and dreamwave and nearly everything inbetween, but somehow he retains his own fantastic sound. The melodies he deploys swirl into one another with seemingly effortless ease – infusing the audience with adrenaline. He dismounts the stage to a cheering crowd.

“Human Music 2 was definitely a fun experience. It was an honor to have performed my first live show at HM2. The love and support from my fans and artist was out of this world and I would love to do it all over again!” – Tokyo Rose

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Soon after Virginia based The Rain Within takes the stage. Their sound is a heavy synth pop deliciously drenched in new wave vocals – really groovy stuff. Partway through their set their mohawked frontman activates a laser gauntlet which streaks neon through the dancing onlookers. If looks could kill we’d all be dead.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Teeel is next to bat at the synth extravaganza – and their setup is truly an amazing thing to behold. Numerous synths old and new line the duo in a semi-circle, backlit by their own light setup. Donning the stage in sunglasses and cool, their guitarist rips licks for the crowd like he’s breathing – his bandmate beside him belts out some fantastic retro vocals as he rips up the keyboards like only a professional could.

“I’ve waited in anticipation all year since the first Human Music Fest to rock out again. Where else can you hear so many amazing Synthwave artists under one roof? I had an absolute blast playing and watching all of the other artists and hope they continue this fest into the future. QXT nightclub sounded fantastic and the staff rocked. The highlight to the weekend for me was seeing FM Attack. We’ve been digital friends for years but it was amazing hanging in person and his set was phenomenal. I can’t wait for next year.” – Teeel

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Arcade High, another duo this time from Pittsburgh, takes the stage side by side with an array of radical controllers. The light show for this one is truly spectacular, blowing beams of colored cool through their concentrating faces. The lights are nothing though – compared to the their signature arcade chiptune dreamwave sound and the clear fervor the artist have for their music. This set is fills the room with passion and draws a clamor of ecstatic shouts from the crowd.

“We absolutely adore Human Music. Its currently the largest US synthwave show, two years running, but yet it’s a very humble affair. Artists are expected to rub shoulders with guests and get up close and personal throughout the whole event. You can’t go five feet without meeting somebody who’s supportive of you, or that you’ve known online for years and never met in person, whether it’s a fan or an artist.” – Arcade High

Photo by Andrew Zistler

Before Human Music 2, I hadn’t listened to much Mr. Kitty. I found myself photographic a particularly interesting looking person dressed in all white – with no idea he was about to play a set. His white attire seemingly absorbing the lightshow, Texas based Mr. Kitty is hardly still during the set – his particular blend of blend of electronic synthpop exhilarating the audience and even himself beyond belief. As he leaves the stage sweat drips from his brow – but not a bit shows through his inhuman jumpsuit. The energy in the room is almost crackling.

Photo by Matthew Sperzel

The second to last set is Makeup and Vanity Set – hailing from Tennessee. This synth titan has been quiet and reserved for the past day or so – until he dons his signature balaclava mask. Anyone familiar with MAVS will know that his sound quite eclectic – so much so it’s hard to pin down a description. The set he plays is intricately complex and engaging – all while juxtaposed against Weebls Stuff’s Badger Badger Badger animation. It’s a special kind of nostalgia only accessible to those exposed early internet. These visuals are mixed with a nearly unmatched virtuosity and make for a set I will forget anytime soon.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

The final set of Human Music 2 is performed by FM Attack. As he takes the stage everyone gathers closer. He’s wearing a simple white button down a black tie, standing in the center of the stage. Neon lights dance over his form – but he doesn’t move, completely absorbed in mixing together and playing his tracks. The set is powerful – for a moment everyone in the room feels connected, not by some superficial high but by a sense of shared memories and emotions only the expert tones FM Attack could produce. The final beautiful track he plays, “Little Angel,” was written for his daughter. The speakers bleed their last warm nostalgic tones as the festival draws to a lachrymose close.

Photo by Andrew Zistler

“Human Music 2 was a truly special event for those in the scene. Personally, it was great to see old friends, meet new ones, and meet those in person — finally — whom I’ve been chatting with on Skype or facebook messenger or text since 2014. In that way it was a bit like a family reunion. That alone made it memorable for a lifetime.

But if we’re getting down to the music — which is the most important part, right? — the music was just top-notch quality. Each of the artists put on amazing performances that would defy the stereotype that synthwave live is just a boring person behind a laptop. When you attend Human, it’s pretty clear it goes way beyond a laptop and some Ableton sessions. These were engaging and captivating performances that variously involved dancing, synths, v-drums, guitars, and yes, computers; often paired with laser-wear and theatrics. It was a blast.” -VEHLINGGO

Photo Credits
Matthew Sperzel
Andrew Zistler

Click Here for a full gallery of photos from Human Music 2!

Co-sponsored by Plague Productions and NewRetroWave

Think I couldn’t get any more obscure with my picks. Just hold we’re going home. Back above ground and out of the spotlight. Here I am full time, riding the nostalgic wave of mutilation. I’m back with a bang and presenting this month’s Retro Movie of the Month – Vahsi Kan (Rampage) the 1983 Turkish reimagining, and in most points of view ripping off, of the Sylvester Stallone classic First Blood. 

First, let me make this clear—You Do Not Need Subtitles To Enjoy This Movie! I repeat: You Do Not Need Subtitles To Enjoy This Movie! Why; because you’re not going to get any subtitles. 

Cuneyt Arkin is our lead “Man of Action”, “Lone warrior” who was framed by Hasmet (the evil doer with no arms). The film starts off with a series of executions by Hasmet’s mercenaries. Kicking off the shenanigans with enough devastating Street Fighter combinations and T&A to wet your curiosity; I consider this the prologue to the actual story. A car filled with people is attacked by what appears to be Viagra fueled zombies. The older gentleman is shot in the head, the young boy is thrown from the car and karate chopped in the clavicle before being left to die in a car explosion that kills two soldiers escorting Cunyet Arkin across the countryside to his prison. The only survivor of the wreckage is a young woman; we will call her “Cheetarah”. Cheetarah was dragged into the woods to be I guess “fondled” by the blue pill walking dead; or so they seem. Turns out the zombies were just more henchmen of the evil Hasmet. The commanding officer of Hasmet’s men is Osmen, who looks like Vincent Price’s stunt man. 

Cuneyt Arkin manages to escape and survive in the wilderness with his handy custom bowie knife. He evades danger, he eats land crabs and scorpions, and he makes new clothes out of burlap sacks – looking like a commando Flintstone. He is so focused on what is going on and how to survive that he completely ignores Cheetarah’s sexual advances and flirtations. He’s a man of little words but 100% fast frame rate fury. 

The violence is better than most Blaxploitation films and very laughable at times. They made the best with what they had. It’s all very laughable but, there is some sort of style to be had here. It’s like The Perfect Weapon meets First Blood had a baby and auctioned it off to a midnight grindhouse matinee on 42nd street. 

The music is ripped from First Blood and you might even recognize some music from the Flash Gordon soundtrack sprinkled here and there for no reason what so ever. 

All roads and violence leads up to the lair of the villainous Hasmet, an armless, legless psychopath with connections to our hero Arkin.

You Do Not Need Subtitles. You are encouraged and can very easily just sit back and turn your brain down and just laugh your private parts off. It is that damn entertaining. Now, strap in. Eat your mushrooms. Crack those tall cans of libation. Coors or Cheladas if you got’em. Be cool and chill. And keep your fingers on that damn rewind button.

When we were kids, and we first beheld the wonder of console video games, the entire thing would sometimes seem like one huge river – no, an ocean is more appropriate. One deluge of games would be released, then another, and we’d still be tackling the first. Then here, a whole new system, and there, crazy new peripherals we never even knew we wanted (but we wanted them). It was like we could never run out of choices. The best (but perhaps most bewildering) part: we were duplicating a primary cycle that was approximately 3 years ahead of us in Japan, where all (most) of this stuff was getting made. One thing most of us were guilty of, though, at least until we were older, was that we’d make strong mental associations with the games and characters, but maybe not the great companies creating them. Now, as a grown-ass man writing about video games three times a month, I try to explore what I clearly missed as a child… the mostly unsung sagas of these companies, some of whom came from humble beginnings and seemingly faded away without the public noticing.

Hudson Soft is a tale that begins with Hiroshi and Yuji Kudo. In May of 1973, they opened a simple shop called CQ Hudson, which sold radio equipment and also had some nice art photographs. You know, stop in for a transistor, get a nice shot of the ocean for your mom as a gift. It’s worth noting that the company was named after a train, specifically the Japanese C62 which had been produced originally by Hudson Locomotives. Japan saw a lot of railway growth after the Second World War, which was when the Kudo boys were coming up.

The post-war choo choo that inspired two young Japanese boys to innovate and entertain.

Things went well for the Kudo brothers, and in 1975, they began selling products for personal computers. Around ’78, Hudson began inching into video games. At first, the firm was putting out around 25-30 titles a month, which sounds impossible; given the simplicity of the platforms in that era, however, it was far from it. Needless to say, this clone-vat approach bore only modest fruit, so Hudson leaped at the opportunity when given a shot a developing for Nintendo’s new Family Computer. Let me re-phrase that: Hudson strode confidently into video game history by becoming Nintendo’s FIRST third-party developer. They immediately met with strong success; both their port of Lode Runner and their self-conceived game Bomberman sold over 1 million copies. Bomberman had been released previously for Microsoft’s Japan-geared MSX computer, and Broderbund had done well with Lode Runner in the US and Europe, but the Famicom was the desired platform and the timing was just right.

Two titles that solidified Hudson Soft’s position in the top tier.

From its new office in Midtown Tower in Tokyo, Hudson continued to carve a place for itself in video game history. Starting in 1985, the company began doing something we wouldn’t even think of until the early 1990s: tournament-style video game competitions. Their first one revolved around the Hudson title Star Force in Summer of ’85; its sequel Star Soldier was used in ’86 and even had 2 and 5 minute modes built into its home version to reflect its status as a competitive game. These remarkable yearly events, which took a much less competitive tone after 1992, solidified Hudson Soft’s notoriety and popularity at home.

In 1987, Hudson teamed with NEC to create perhaps the greatest dark-horse console of the 20th Century: The PC Engine. Known in the West as the Turbo Grafx 16. I’ve already written a love letter to that console, so I’ll spare you the gushing… but it’s important to remember a few things. With this platform, Hudson Soft beat both Nintendo and Sega at a few things. The PC Engine set the record at the time for the smallest console. It also achieved graphically what the Mega Drive did, except almost three years earlier. Lastly, the portable version of the PC Engine wasn’t using its own pared-down set of games. This wasn’t some wrap-it-up Game Boy shit. It was using the same media as its mother system. It did this five years before Sega could pull off the same thing by producing the Nomad. There’s more to how awesome the PC-Engine is, but you’d be better served by reading my original article.

You’re not losing a whole lot visually, either.  Sorry, I just like rubbing this in because so many Sega partisans tend to studiously overlook it.

Other memorable titles from Hudson Soft (many of which saw multi-platform release) were Starship Hector, the Adventure Island series, Faxanadu, Milon’s Secret Castle, and my two favorites of theirs… Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu and Felix the Cat.

Hudson Soft’s main bank collapsed during a financial crisis around the turn of the millennium, driving the firm to offer itself on the Japanese stock market. To speed up a sad and tedious tale, Konami bought majority stock in Hudson; the two companies had worked amicably with each other since the early 80s and Konami sought to help give lift to the tired bee’s wings. Hudson still self-published until 2011-2012, when Konami bought what was left and absorbed it into itself. The final vestiges of Hudson Soft vanished in 2014, when its website began redirecting to Konami’s. Officially, the Hudson brand still exists, but it is part of Konami Digital Publishing.

The Hudson Bee about to be taken down from over the firm’s original HQ in Sapporo, 2/29/12.

I tell myself sometimes (And I’m sure someone reading this will laugh at me) that I’m helping preserve and curate history when I write articles like this. I know it’s not terribly significant stuff to the world at large, but it is to me… and to any gamer who likes knowing where things started. Thank you, Kudo Brothers. Thank you for starting a radio parts shop in 1973 and naming it after a train.

Thank you for everything.

More in February! Take care until then!

Alternate Title: “Why I’m Glad They Buried E.T. Out In the Desert”

If you asked a ton of people when console gaming really started, they’d reflexively tell you, “When the Nintendo (NES) came out.” While they’d be wrong, they’re less wrong than we’d like to admit. The NES didn’t start console gaming, but what it did do was swoop into Hades on white-feathered wings and pluck it from damnation.

What this article will attempt to do is illustrate a sequence of events that nearly caved in the concept of video games forever in North America. It’s a tawdry tale featuring cutthroat economics, desperation, stagnation, and E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

Too Much of a Good Thing

In 1982-1983, the Atari 2600 was the done thing in console gaming. Homes across the United States were playing Atari. Some weren’t, but they had something… a ColecoVision, a Commodore 64, a Vectrex, or maybe the Odyssey 2 (which was pretty good for its time). In fact, You could say that there were so many choices, the market was flooded.

Since most of us attended school back when they still taught basic economics, we know that if you flood a market with supply, the demand goes down and so does the price point. Well, there were no less than (and probably more than) twelve (12) consoles on the market by 1983, with more planned for ’84 by many of the same companies.

The Magnavox Odyssey2 (that 2 is supposed to be superscript), a pretty good little game machine, but part of a flooded swamp of a market.

Overabundance can lead to rot and stagnation. Guess what? It did.

Home Computers Muscle In

One of the gaming systems I mentioned up there was the Commodore 64. Now, the C64 wasn’t designed just for gaming. It was meant as a home computer. If you were one of many up-and-coming go-getters in the 1980s, you could use this thing to write business reports, organize your finances, send a letter to your mom, or even play a game.

And you could buy all this functionality for about $499, plus a modest investment in some software.

Out Run for the C64. The graphics alone blow the Atari 2600 out of the water. Not to mention that you can use this very same machine to do your taxes or write the great American novel.

Since the first gaming consoles did very little (if any) third-party licensing to start with, the independents of the day would often work with computer platforms. This led to many of them having more diverse game libraries than some consoles did. You know what else these rogue programmers loved about working with platforms like the C64? The graphics capability was miles above anything in console gaming, not to mention overall processing capability.

So why buy a system you can only play games on, that no one else is allowed to write programs for, and doesn’t want to anyway?

Inflation Craps All Over the Dollar

Signs of inflation had started not long after the Bicentennial, with the value of a dollar slowly dropping. While it can be said that the economy improved in some areas in the early 80s, Many amusement and arcade interests lobbied for a smaller dollar coin in 1979 since the spending power of a quarter was a joke by this point. The end result was the Susan B Anthony coin, worth $1 but around the size of a quarter (and thus more manageable for things like vending machines or arcade cabinets). It was this very similarity to the US quarter that made it a flop; some machines would reject the coin, others would simply treat it as a quarter. Neither result was desirable for arcade owners. This hurt video gaming in the States along with everything else happening.

Even Susan looks pissed. “HOW COULD YOU SCREW THIS UP?” Despite failing to solve any of the problems it was meant to solve, the coin was minted again in 1999, when those problems were long gone for various reasons.

Activision Leads the Way to Freedom

We’re going to take a detour for a moment, into the history of Activision. You know that company now as one of the biggest media companies, let alone video game companies, in the world. It’s a well-known name. Activision has its roots in the time period we’re exploring; in 1979, it was founded by programmers who’d left Atari over a lack of credit given – a lack of true meritocracy. You see, programmers of Atari games were never credited, as there WERE no credits in those games. To boot, there was no kickback if a game you developed sold well. You got no cut, just a (rather modest) salary. Activision was the first third-party development firm in video game history, and it DID credit its developers. Atari attempted to sue and do all kinds of other things to block sales, but eventually even they had to eat humble pie and knuckle to the third party wave. Mattel, maker of the Intellivision, stubbornly held out… and never did much in video gaming after the Intellivision.

When Activision made games like Pitfall, Atari pretty much had to bend over and take it. Activision rubbed Atari’s face in it to the tune of 4 million copies worldwide.

My point here is that, because of how they ran their ships, these captains had regular, quiet mutinies as Activision and other new developers soaked up their talent and directed it elsewhere.

E.T. Phones it In / The Mass Grave in Alamogordo

E.T. The Extraterrestrial is frequently cited as the absolute worst game ever created for a console. It was developed in five and a half weeks, left approximately 3 million copies unsold, and was universally panned by video game critics of the era (as well as modern ones who’ve bravely re-examined it). At the exact moment Atari filled trucks with the E.T. Game cartridge, slapped the backs of them, and shut the gate, they had officially shit the bed with the lights on. They just didn’t know it yet. 

The game was so bad that Atari found itself woefully below their bottom line, with three and a half million unsold cartridges out of four million produced. Not only was Atari in serious financial trouble, but flubbing a sure-ticket licensed game like E.T. Made them look like a draft horse with a shattered leg; anyone they did business with was now considering putting them down out of sheer mercy. Atari also had, well, a metric shit-ton of cartridges to offload somehow. They also had no help doing this; Warner Communications had sold them off. Mommy wasn’t around to clean this mess up.

Alamogordo is a very pretty little town in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico. The scenic Sacramento Mountains border the town to its west, and to its east can be found the White Sands National Monument. Its features include a nearby Air Force base, an amazing zoo, and the corpses of some 700,000 Atari cartridges.

The overwhelming majority are copies of E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

Both he and Elliot look suitably sad. Even remorseful.

Throughout September of 1983, Atari dumped approximately 700,000 cartridges into the dump on the town’s south side. On the 29th of that year, to counter scavenging that had been taking place despite an ordinance banning such, the dump poured a layer of concrete over the buried and crushed games.

They were trying really hard to bury the industry’s biggest turd. But that’s not how the world works. A 2014 documentary, Atari: Game Over, shows the excavation of the long-buried games.

The Aftermath and Epilogue

1983 through 1985 were hard times for video gaming in the US, but the market in Japan was still a fertile ground for ideas. Looking west, companies like Nintendo and Sega had seen what too much “MORE” and not enough “NEW” could do. When Nintendo released the American-market version of their popular Famicom system, the NES… they went gently at first. When soft-launches in NYC and other major markets looked good, the NES (and its contemporaries) waded across the sea to change American gaming forever.

Oh, mighty Saviour!

An era was over, and an era had begun.

Tonight, we’ll be visiting the grave of a daring hero form far-off Japan. It never really made it all the way west, but it had ambitious beginnings and deserves a place in video gaming history. It was Sega’s first earnest attempt to go head-to-head with the mighty Nintendo, and despite its fall, it paved the way for future success by whetting the teeth of those involved. This entry into the Console Graveyard is… the Sega SG-1000.

A bright and sunny little thing, all too blissfully unaware of its imminent fate.

The “third generation” of console video games began a bit earlier than a casual observer may think. When Nintendo broke its champagne bottle over the Famicom and let it set sail, times were actually fairly lean in the console market. Launching a new video game system, no matter how innovative, could have been seen as a rather bold move. However, Nintendo had faith in their device, and it proved to be well warranted; by 1987, Nintendo dominated around 65% of worldwide video game console hardware sales.

Little do many know that Sega made a valiant attempt to compete with the growing monolith. When the arcade market that had been such a comfortable home for them took a downturn in ’82, Sega began developing the SG-1000. The company had recently sold off some licensing, and was split in to a North American R&D arm and its Japanese corporate branch. The president of the Japanese company, Hayao Nakayama, lobbied hard for Sega to apply its proven clout in the arcade realm to a home console. The end result was the stout little SG-1000, a strange creature that sort of bridged the gap between the Atari 2600 and Nintendo’s Famicom system.

A strange but colorful ad for the SG-1000. I say “strange,” but stranger has come and gone, to be fair.

The first iteration of the SG-1000 was a squat, bright white affair, very simple in its presentation but almost cheerful looking. The controller looked a lot like Atari’s, taking the form of a compact little joystick with broad orange buttons on either side. The graphics gently outperformed the 2600, but couldn’t quite compare to those of the Famicom system, with a modest 256×192 resolution and a 16 color palette. Part of the falling-short could be blamed on hardware component choices; the Zilog z80 CPU and Texas Instruments video and sound chips were the same ones used in the ColecoVision… a then-outdated system. In fact, an unlicensed system called the Telegames Personal Arcade was produced later on that could play both SG-1000 and ColecoVision games.

Screens from Flicky and Girl’s Garden, two of the more memorable titles for the SG-1000.

Despite these shortcomings, the system fared decently at very first, at least in domestic Japanese sales. It was also marketed in Spain with some initial success, but the American market never saw the SG-1000. However, a damning set of circumstances brought about the slow demise of Sega’s new baby. First off, much like some later consoles I’ve covered in this series of articles, Sega attempted to address flaws by simply redesigning and re-marketing the console in new forms. In July of 1984, another corporate buyout was followed by the release of the SG-1000 II. This new packaging included slightly improved controls and the ability to play Sega Card games as well as cartridges, but the console sold poorly out of the gate. An additional computer-keyboard style attachment did little to buoy sales, and the SG-1000 series was discontinued by October of 1985. The series was also badly hit by the crash of 1983, not to mention competition outside of Nintendo in its native Japan. While Sega had lost this battle with Nintendo, they learned a lot, and doubled down on their development of console hardware. The Sega Mark III was released that same year, and it evolved into the well-known Master System, a console that was finally able to compete well in the now-growing market. By 1988, the Genesis was emerging on the scene, and the wars of the fourth generation were in full swing.

Left to right: the Mark II, the 1100 keyboard attachment, and the SC-3000 (a last ditch effort to repackage the system as a personal computer).

While researching this article, I was able to find very little information of much detail on the SG-1000, which leads me to believe it is often overlooked out of hand. However, as we pay our respects at this dusty crypt, we see upon closer examination that we stand at the grave of an unsung hero. I hope at least a handful of our readers discovered something they hadn’t seen or known here today. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and may we never forget the little consoles that fell into the spaces between.

Thanks for reading!

Sam Haine is simply a writer born on the East Coast who enjoys cooking. He is the contributor of the monthly Retro Movie Review and the recurring ‘Remember This…’

email: sa*******@**********ve.com

Style Wars Poster (1983)

Originally aired on PBS television on January 18th, 1984, and was subsequently shown in several film festivals to much acclaim, including theVancouver Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. 

            Style Wars was the original Graffiti VHS you had to have if you were into the culture and state of mind. Unless you were a toy then, you probably borrowed it from somebody else. See back in the early 80’s, graffiti began to become notorious in New York City. Not because, it was born there, no; graffiti started in Philadelphia. But, because New York City at that time was still the epicenter of art and sub-culture in the United States. 

 Who knew that so much creativity was bubbling under the surface of abandoned buildings, squats, shooting galleries, pissy gutters, blackouts, illegal tattoo parlors and just utter-desolation and dreary landscapes of New York City. 

            This film is a favorite of mine. Why? – Because I like graffiti. I like going out and engaging in minor late night bombin’ excursions. No, I’m not a modern day Rembrandt. And I’m far from the modern writers capable of autographing their personal hieroglyphic marks on public and private property with lettering and handstyles so esoteric they resemble magic sigils. 

 Style Wars shows both the young artists struggling to express themselves through their art, and their points of view on the subject of graffiti, as well as their views of then New York City Mayor Ed Koch, one-armed, now deceased graffiti writer Case/Kase 2, graffiti writer Skeme and his mother, graffiti “villain” Cap, now deceased graffiti writer Dondi, Seen and Shy 147, graffiti documentarian (and co-producer of the film) Henry Chalfant, breakdancer Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew, police officers, art critics, subway maintenance workers, as well as several “people on the street”. 

            This film is a time capsule snapshot of a time that many people have heard wonderful stories about but, few every experienced. When MTA train fares was $.75 and we used tokens before metrocards. This was the time when you couldn’t see a naked wall on a train car or anywhere on the street. Kids and crews were out wreaking havoc and it was beautiful to think about, when you have to ride the sterile/lifeless public transportation we have now in the city.   

Featured graffiti artists: 

Demon, Se3, Spank, Dez, Skeme, Ces 157, Min 1 (NE), Iz the Wiz, Quik, Sach, Dondi, Seen, Kase2, DUSTER UA, Zephyr, Revolt, Wasp 1, Noc, Kase, D-5, Kosco, Trap, Butch, Zone, Kid 167, Cap, Spooks One, Shy 147, Seen TC5, Mare 139, Daze, Crash, Paze, Cey, Futura, Fred, Duro, Taki 183 

            What is there to say? It’s the documentary to all future documentaries, Graff movies, magazines and definitely worth mentioning in our Retro Movie library and worth your time and attention. 

            So gather around, you daydreaming aeroholics, and fest your eyes on the way things used to be in NYC before the yuppies, bridge & tunnel crowds, transplants, and the wasted opportunity and expensive ways of life came into the city.  Stay fresh, stay chill and keep your four finger rings on that damn rewind button. 

All right, folks. This is a good one. Dragon’s Lair, a 1983 cinematic arcade RPG, was (and still is) considered iconic for several reasons. One of its most (at the time) impressive aspects was that it was a fully cinematic experience, more than just shooting blips on a screen. The player takes the role of Dirk, a “brave” knight, who must rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe, who has locked her up in a wizard’s castle. The movie-like experience of gameplay was achieved by using a LaserDisc (big technology in ’83, though it has since been rendered mostly obsolete) to store all the data and graphics. This allowed the game to achieve a depth and sense of involvement not unlike a feature film; adding to the appeal was the work throughout by famous Disney cartoon master Don Bluth. The game features not only cinema-style animation, but classic voice-acting as well. The game was produced much like a film would be, and had a fairly modest budget of US $1,000,000.

Gameplay is mostly choices, not unlike a text-adventure or other early electronic RPG; some timing is involved in certain scenes, but for the most part, the player must guide Dirk on the correct path to win the game. You’re never directly controlling Dirk’s actions, but you sometimes have to press a button or make a choice at the right time to avoid swift death. The death scenes are varied and hilarious, and I recommend you view them for that reason if nothing else.

While the game is considered a classic and was in fact fairly successful, using a LaserDisc player as the basis for the game had its drawbacks. Typically, LaserDiscs were used to play movies, reading the data off the disc in a linear fashion. The non-linear nature of accessing data for a video game placed new and untested strains on the device, and many failed or broke (and subsequently needed replacement). This was solved over time by improving the overall quality of the components: the gas lasers used to read the disc and the rotor used to spin it.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THIS GAME:

• Don Bluth’s production studio couldn’t afford models on their budget, so they used photos from adult magazines like Playboy as inspiration for Princess Daphne’s character design.
• The base model of the LaserDisc player shipped with the game was a Pioneer LD-V1000 or PR-7820.
• The game’s developer, Rick Dyer, cites Secret of NIMH and the text game Adventure as the main inspirations for Dragon’s Lair.
• Dragon’s Lair is cited by most sources to be the first arcade game to have cost 50 cents instead of 25.
• Neither Dirk’s nor Daphne’s voice was done by a professional voice actor; instead they were done by editor Dan Molina and animation clean-up member Vera Lanpher, respectively. Only the narrator’s voice was done by a professional (Michael Rye).
• The game, in some form or fashion, has been ported to home systems over 60 times. It is even available for the iPhone.

While it may not seem like a big deal today, Dragon’s Lair was groundbreaking and nearly unbelievable in 1983. It combined elements of video game and movie, something that would be touched upon again and again throughout the next 20-30 years with little real success until the dawn of “modern” gaming. It is an item of interest for true VG enthusiasts, fantasy nerds, and lovers of cartoon art.