Sunday 9 October 2022

Gas! - Or, It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order To Save It (1970 Roger Corman & prod)

Anarchic, crazy and funny drive-in road movie, in which kids journey across New Mexico pursued by football jocks in beach buggies, in search of some 'Oracle', set to Country Joe and the Fish rock music, with Edgar Allen Poe as a hog-riding commentator on the action. Some of it's almost Godardian - the shoot out where names of cowboy stars are called out as 'shots'. Nice and short, too - 85 minutes.

Written by George Armitage. Featuring Bob Corff, Elaine Giftos, Bud Cort, 'Tally' Coppola, Ben Vereen, Cindy Williams.

AIP cut Roger's last scene - an epic track back to view the whole of the cast on a pueblo at a magnificent mesa. Which caused their final fall-out.

Funny scene with Native American Indians:

'Everything you gave us you can have it all back. A shitty doll - made in Fire Island. Hope rug, woven in who-knows-where - Japan. Take it all back. Your schools, your God, your food, your silly smallpox and especially Columbus Day. Thanks for everything , but we can live without it. Ashkina! Whoeye!'

'I think he just gave us back the English language.'

And - coming up with better words for love-making - 'Arrowfeather'.

And - 'Was that a bang I heard?'
'It sounded more ironic than that.'

In typical Corman student style, future cinematographer Dean Cundey (Halloween) is acting as makeup man!


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