I probably don't have to tell you, but Big Trouble in Little China is one of the greatest action/adventure movies of the 80s. It's wild, over-the-top, and full of humor and heart. If I ever run another modern campaign that doesn't involve superheroes Big Trouble will be one of the big inspirations, along with The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.Big Trouble in Little China was directed by John Carpenter. I don't think I've ever had a bad time watching one of his movies. The Thing, They Live, both Escape from... movies, Vampires. They're maybe not masterpieces of the cinematic artform, but they're a lot of fun.
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DEAR JEFF:
ReplyDeleteWhere is the universe?
Love,
Egg Shen
Bastage! How much for your Six-Demon bag?
ReplyDeleteIt's all in the reflexes.
ReplyDeleteWhile arguments can be made for other films (Monty Python & the Holy Grail being the biggest contender, with good showings from films like Ghostbusters, The Princess Bride, and many others) I personally regard Big Trouble as the single most quotable gamer-movie in the history of gamer-movies.
Certainly, with my groups back east, we could go for half an hour and speak in nothing but Big Trouble quotes and actually have a conversation that way. Well ... sometimes Marty couldn't resist throwing in some Hawk the Slayer, but that's Marty for you.
Re John Carpenter: Another fun thing to remember about him is that he also composes the music for a lot of his films. He did (or co-did) the electronic music that graces Big Trouble, Escape From New York, Halloween, etc.
ReplyDeleteSome of his later films aren't solid gold, but all of his work has a signature blend of humanity and charisma.
S. John: For my crew it was definitely Ghostbusters. We were young enough that Venkman was a naughty god to us. Grown men behaving badly often have that effect on the youth, don't they? Also: Sigourney Weaver! Yowza.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people sing the praises of Carpenter's synth work on Halloween, but for me Escape from New York is the tops. It's so sparse and intense in places, perfectly reflecting the one man in an island of chaos situation.
Ghostbusters (both the first film AND the first edition of the RPG) is a religion for me, so I'm with you there. Although, for whatever reason, I usually find myself to be pretty much the only regular GB quoter in any gaming group I'm sitting with. My most used Venkman line is "They hate this." And Sigourney was smokin' but that student chick in the opening psychic-testing scene still does it most for me, eighties hair and all.
ReplyDeleteNo comment on the 2nd movie or the 2nd edition of the game apart from: _They deserve one another._
Oh, and Janine. I'd totally hook up with Janine Melnitz any day of the week. Sandra might get mad, though.
ReplyDeleteI feel his best musical work was the tune from Dark Star, "Benson Arizona".
ReplyDeleteDark Star overall is a fairly solid bit of carpentaria if you can catch it.