Moviedrome - John Carpenter's "The Fog"

[lantaplowden]

HE SAYS EVERYTHING AS IF IT'S A QUESTION!

[allaboutdmagic]

What is Mark Cousins' problem? His narration for Story of Film is the aural equivalent of ambien.

I'm sure he makes some good points but your attention span just slithers away from that voice.

[zeroheadroom]

this is pretentios twaddle and worthy of nothing

[mmontebello1193]

Mark cousins is back on tv. On channel 4. Where's Alex Cox??

[frivaboosha]

I've never posted on youtube, I quite happily read and enjoy the videos but this geezer is a prize prick, bring back Alex Cox at least he knew and appreciated good film. If anyone sees this twat lamp him

[fdantheman]

I saw this dickhead at the Tyneside pictures. All these moviemaker wankers try to hide their accents (Alex Cox, Ridley etc). Why are theya shamed?

[MrByronDunbar]

I thought this was way scarier than Halloween and I saw Halloween first.

[martynblackburn1977]

I had a crush on Mark years ago. I still fancy him.

[bumblebert]

Creepy film.

[coolerking99]

John Carpenter not satirical? Hasn't Cousins seen THEY LIVE? Or IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS?

As Alex Cox once said "Sometimes you wonder just how many films these critics have seen."

[redsuspiria]

anyone have the intro to leon? think it was in 1998, cant find it anywhere

[wandererlain]

This critic is obviously not a hardcore Carpenter fan comparing Abbott and Costello to a nightmarish figure. What a wanker. This film scared the fuck out of me as a kid and I still respect it for it's chilling atmosphere and believable characters, unlike some of the glossy Hollywood idiots today, who I could never respect.

Maybe I'm old-school in some ways, but nothing could send shivers up my spine like this movie.

[TroyDouglas917]

@wandererlain I agree, John Carpenter's The Fog has always been savaged by critics for reasons best known to themselves. It's a really good ghost story with a terrific cast and even some humour in it, the awful remake made it look even better.

[skysearcherblue]

The lack of cinematic appreciation here is staggering. Mark Cousins is an extremely insightful critic with a refreshing and colourful style. Give him some credit. His book 'The Story of Film' is also a treasure.

[TroyDouglas917]

@skysearcherblue Your comment shows a lack of "cinematic appreciation" in that it fails to acknowledge that everything to do with film is subjective. You might think Cousins is God, others might not necessarily agree. I've seen Cousins try to bully filmmakers in interviews about the films THEY made, Christ what arrogance! He's on okay film critic, I don't agree with everything he says and that's healthy for cinematic debate.

[TheUltimoLee]

@skysearcherblue The pleasure being you don't have to listen to his fucking voice

[deanvideo]

I'd much rather hear his thoughts and that of alex cox over the Mark kermodes of the world. At least they gave you the sense it was exactly that, their opinion not THE ONE TRUE VOICE!! Statement of fact that you get from kermode. He's undeniably a passionate critic but his frustrated cynical tone does get the better of him sometimes.

[ToolManDan82]

Whenever I watch something Cousins does, I find myself thinking, this would be better if you were Mark Kermode lol

[TroyDouglas917]

@ToolManDan82 It would certainly be better with Kermode's voice, Cousins draaaggss eeeevvverrrryyyy woooordddd ouutttt, annoying.

[ToolManDan82]

@TroyDouglas917 - Yeh, it is frustrating to listen to; I remember this guy introducing cult movies on Channel 4 years ago, around the same time as Kermode introducing the controversial films. Thing is, Cousens seems to know what he's talking about a lot, but often seem to eithe over-think (see his Lynch interview), or completely miss the point (as is the case here, where I honestly think he just doesn't "get" Carpenter)

[TroyDouglas917]

@ToolManDan82 To complain about the ghosts of pirates looking like "big dafties" is pointless. They're movie monsters, but Cousins does make some good points about John Houseman's background and involvement. Most movie introductions just tell you the plot.

[donnyab]

regardless of what this twit says its a great film

[quatz1981]

This film is way up there with Carpenters greats. His early work from 1975-1988 was by far his best.

[joiner123]

put mark cousins back on tv!!!!!

[YouMeandFresnoBob]

"Michael Jackson's ridiculous Thriller video". Mmm, I think that's a ridiculous statement! Thriller is a landmark video. I also love Carpenter's early work including the Fog which is brilliant.

I loved the early Moviedrome series - I think Alex Cox was more interesting and gripping than this chap, but what a great way to learn about new films. Shame modern TV is so vacuous - nothing as good as Alex Cox's Moviedrome would be allowed now.

[TroyDouglas917]

Yeah, I agree with you. I think he's afraid to say he likes Thriller in case his arty-farty friends disown him. He does have a very irritating voice too, but I like listening to film opinions even if I disagree with them.

[britishcub]

thanks for posting this. i remember this very well, havent seen this clip for years.

[dfjanus]

Interesting intro. I don't agree with everything the host said, but he did offer some neat insights and a few tidbits that I didn't know.