John Beck

A star-studded cast headlines this outlandish spoof on disaster films in which a gigantic nuclear powered bus–containing a swimming pool, a bowling alley, and a piano bar–and goes out of control and nearly crashes while making a coast-to-coast journey. With a cannibalistic driver (Joseph Bologna) and an oil company man who is working overtime to sabotage the bus, the passengers (Stockard Channing, Richard Mulligan, Ruth Gordon, Rene Auberjonois, and more) assured a bumpy ride. Director James Frawley’s (TV’s The Monkees) is an obvious influence on 1980’s AIRPLANE!.Read More »

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In 1973, health-food store owner Miles Monroe (Woody Allen) enters the hospital for a routine gall bladder operation. When he expires on the operating table, Miles’ sister requests permission to cryogenically freeze her brother’s body. After 200 years, Miles is unwrapped by a group of scientists and awakens to a “brave new world” of deadening conformity, ruled with an iron fist by a never-seen leader. Miles is forced to flee for his life when the scientists — actually a group of revolutionary activists — are overpowered by the leader’s police. He eludes the cops by pretending to be an android, and in this guise is sent to work at the home of Luna (Diane Keaton), a composer of greeting cards who thinks that the world of the future is perfect as it stands. There’s more, but why spoil your fun? Sleeper is the most visual of Woody Allen’s earlier films, and demonstrated a more pronounced rapport between Allen and his off- and onscreen leading lady Diane Keaton than had previously existed. The Dixieland score is performed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »