CineSavant Column
Hello!
As CineSavant slips out of political mode (I was only there out of trepidation) we can once again concentrate on the really important, essential things in the culture — like a page (forwarded by correspondent “B” where you, yes YOU, can read an entire vintage comic book dedicated to our favorite Danish sci-fi marionette lizard, Reptilicus.
Where was this when I was ten years old, haunting the comic book racks? Did my local newstands boycott those inferior Charlton rags? I did get to see the cinematic masterpiece that is Sid Pink’s movie — first run, practically by myself in a theater. I guess the reason I watch the show every three or four years is because it helps me recall being ten again — a smart-yet-clueless, open-minded and very happy kid.
Then, correspondent “B” ushers us toward a welcome Miami Herald article by Sarah Moreno about the creator of Mad magazine’s great Spy vs. Spy comic, Antonio Prohías: A Universal Cuban. Señor Prohías’ experience in Cuba is a good read, before and after Fidel, and it sounds as if he was a heck of a great guy. And I wish we had more accounts of the strange goings-on at Mad magazine!
Finally, advisor Gary Teetzel graces us with two odd links associated with Stanley Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey. An article by Vanessa Thorpe in The Guardian discusses a song written for 2001 that didn’t make it to the final cut. But it was real, it exists, so I guess it joins the eternal lore of monoliths and Star Gates: Space Oddity: Song Rejected by Kubrick for 2001 Released After 52 Years.
And wait, there’s MORE! After reading about the song, you can listen to it on YouTube, in the privacy of your own home: 2001: A Garden of Personal Mirrors. Gary feels secure in the opinion that Stanley made the right choice.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson