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The movies have always provided
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a safe place to face our fears.
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In that dark movie theater,
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we deal with the monsters
terrorizing us in our real lives
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00:00:23,632 --> 00:00:27,812
by seeing them defeated up there
on the big screen.
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00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:31,550
Horror films like Dracula,
The Invisible Man,
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00:00:31,683 --> 00:00:34,433
and The Wolf Man
provided a useful catharsis
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for a frightened populace.
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Those movies
gave audiences a place
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to share their collective fears,
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00:00:40,736 --> 00:00:44,606
or even national traumas
brought on
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00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:48,480
by financial instability,
World Wars,
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00:00:48,613 --> 00:00:51,703
and the global tensions
that followed.
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00:00:51,834 --> 00:00:53,494
The financial fears
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00:00:53,618 --> 00:00:56,488
and the wartime terrors
of the '30s and '40s
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00:00:56,621 --> 00:00:58,671
were soon followed
by new threats.
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A nation horrified
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00:01:01,844 --> 00:01:05,464
at the thought
of nuclear destruction,
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00:01:05,587 --> 00:01:09,807
of scientists going too far
and wreaking havoc with nature,
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00:01:09,939 --> 00:01:14,639
and by a Cold War between
the Soviets and Americans
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that threatened
global destruction.
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National fears
of nuclear annihilation,
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Communist infiltrations,
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and an even more destructive
global conflict
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than World War II
resulted in horror films
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about science run amuck,
alien invasions from the skies,
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and extraterrestrial
body snatchers
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right here on Earth.
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The public, more than ever,
were drawn to movies
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that help them confront
those anxieties.
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00:02:38,810 --> 00:02:42,730
The drive-in movie
takes care of everything.
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Courtship, babysitting, shelter,
Marilyn Monroe, food and drink.
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00:02:48,864 --> 00:02:53,304
There's hot, delicious popcorn,
lots of candy, and cold drinks.
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00:02:53,434 --> 00:02:54,394
Now...
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It's showtime.
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00:02:59,614 --> 00:03:02,534
I grew up in the '50s,
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so those were my formative years
as a moviegoer
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and somebody who loved movies
at the time.
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So I saw a lot of
science-fiction films
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and all the giant
monster movies,
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a lot of radiation-did-it
movies,
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that type of thing.
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1951-- went to a theater
in Rochester, New York.
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I saw It Came from Outer Space
in 3-D.
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In the opening of that movie,
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this big ol' meteor
comes out of space,
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comes right into the screen
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and out of the screen
into the audience
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and blows up in your face.
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And it blew up in my face,
and I jumped up and ran.
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But then I stopped,
and I thought,
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"That's the greatest thing
I've ever seen.
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I've got to go back
and see more."
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So that was the beginning
of it all.
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Well,
when I was growing up,
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horror meant whatever
monster movies were on
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00:04:03,591 --> 00:04:04,811
on a Saturday
on the local station.
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00:04:08,944 --> 00:04:12,694
I grew up in Northern Virginia,
so we had WDCA, channel 20,
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00:04:12,817 --> 00:04:15,647
and that was,
Saturday afternoons,
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00:04:15,777 --> 00:04:16,997
there was a monster movie on.
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00:04:17,126 --> 00:04:19,736
I've never seen venom
in such quantity before.
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00:04:19,868 --> 00:04:21,568
You know, there's more venom
in this test tube
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00:04:21,696 --> 00:04:23,516
than you'll find
in 100 tarantulas.
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00:04:23,654 --> 00:04:25,834
As a movie fan,
it offered me something
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00:04:25,961 --> 00:04:27,881
beyond watching
two adults talking.
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00:04:28,006 --> 00:04:29,786
It was, two adults would talk,
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00:04:29,921 --> 00:04:33,711
and then some kind of crazy,
engineered creature--
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00:04:33,838 --> 00:04:35,878
somebody in makeup
or in a costume--
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00:04:36,014 --> 00:04:39,154
would show up and bring mayhem.
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And that, to me,
was hilarious.
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00:04:45,763 --> 00:04:47,593
To me, monsters were scary.
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00:04:47,722 --> 00:04:51,812
A giant mutated ant,
a lizard man,
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00:04:51,943 --> 00:04:54,953
fish man coming out of a swamp
or lagoon to kill you.
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00:04:59,081 --> 00:05:01,951
For me growing up,
you know, in my mind,
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00:05:02,084 --> 00:05:04,914
Godzilla or one of
the half-dozen monsters
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00:05:05,043 --> 00:05:07,663
that were on Monster Island
were going to, you know,
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00:05:07,785 --> 00:05:10,915
come tramping across
the Northern Virginia suburbs
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00:05:11,049 --> 00:05:12,699
and wipe everyone out
for some reason.
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00:05:18,056 --> 00:05:20,016
Horror films in the '50s,
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00:05:20,145 --> 00:05:23,755
I believe their popularity
came from the fact
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00:05:23,888 --> 00:05:25,888
that there was
a changing perspective,
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00:05:26,021 --> 00:05:28,591
that it was a world
that was saying,
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00:05:28,719 --> 00:05:30,679
"It's time to look
at the entire world
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00:05:30,808 --> 00:05:32,848
differently than it's ever
been looked at before."
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00:05:32,984 --> 00:05:35,124
And that was heavy.
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00:05:40,252 --> 00:05:43,042
And I think horror films,
just like movies in general,
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00:05:43,168 --> 00:05:47,908
provided a level of escapism
that was unparalleled.
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00:05:48,043 --> 00:05:49,913
I think in this country,
there were people,
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00:05:50,045 --> 00:05:51,525
especially with
the nuclear threat,
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00:05:51,655 --> 00:05:52,915
the nuclear scare,
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00:05:53,048 --> 00:05:55,008
there was this unparalleled fear
among everybody,
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00:05:55,137 --> 00:05:57,527
and so you've got
a heightened audience already.
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00:05:57,661 --> 00:05:59,711
A short time ago,
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00:05:59,837 --> 00:06:04,057
an American airplane
dropped one bomb on Hiroshima
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00:06:04,189 --> 00:06:06,839
and destroyed its usefulness
to the enemy.
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00:06:06,975 --> 00:06:08,755
As the world
was reeling from
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00:06:08,890 --> 00:06:11,980
the frightening destruction
caused by the hydrogen bomb,
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00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:14,720
horror films
in the post-nuclear era
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00:06:14,852 --> 00:06:16,682
began to focus less
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00:06:16,811 --> 00:06:20,081
on the fantasy
of supernatural monsters
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00:06:20,205 --> 00:06:24,685
and more on the real-life terror
that man creates.
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00:06:24,819 --> 00:06:27,869
I think a lot of horror
borrows from its culture
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00:06:27,996 --> 00:06:31,126
and borrows from its time
and makes movies about it
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00:06:31,260 --> 00:06:34,830
and fashions points of view
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that we didn't have
when I started.
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00:06:37,222 --> 00:06:39,792
Got this heightened
kind of terror
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00:06:39,921 --> 00:06:42,051
already instilled
in these people,
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00:06:42,184 --> 00:06:44,754
and now you show them
a fucked-up horror movie,
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00:06:44,882 --> 00:06:47,762
and it strikes a nerve.
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But I think that the commentary,
especially back then,
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00:06:50,801 --> 00:06:52,671
allowed people
to kind of examine
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00:06:52,803 --> 00:06:54,763
what struck that nerve in them,
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00:06:54,892 --> 00:06:57,942
what nerve was struck,
how it made them feel.
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00:06:58,069 --> 00:07:01,989
And I think it allowed people
to kind of look at things
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00:07:02,117 --> 00:07:03,807
a little bit differently
and also have some fun
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00:07:03,945 --> 00:07:06,075
in a time when there wasn't fun.
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00:07:06,208 --> 00:07:11,078
Everybody was scared
all the time, every day,
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00:07:11,213 --> 00:07:12,653
and there was no fun.
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00:07:12,780 --> 00:07:14,610
And I think we need to have fun.
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We're built for it.
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00:07:15,783 --> 00:07:17,003
Aah!
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00:07:17,132 --> 00:07:20,702
As a people,
we need to have fun.
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00:07:27,316 --> 00:07:31,666
In 1954, the horror
genre was forever changed
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00:07:31,799 --> 00:07:34,929
with a Japanese kaiju,
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00:07:35,063 --> 00:07:39,243
a giant monster film
called Godzilla.
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00:07:39,371 --> 00:07:42,071
The now iconic monster
was originally envisioned
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as a larger-than-life octopus,
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00:07:44,942 --> 00:07:47,862
but was redesigned
as a mash-up of traits
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00:07:47,989 --> 00:07:50,079
from prehistoric dinosaurs.
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00:07:50,208 --> 00:07:51,948
You know, Godzilla,
just to me,
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he just represents
something from my childhood
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00:07:54,735 --> 00:07:55,735
more than anything.
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00:08:00,915 --> 00:08:02,915
I mean, like,
it's one of these characters
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00:08:03,047 --> 00:08:05,697
that I'll never be able
to remember
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00:08:05,833 --> 00:08:07,013
the first moment that I saw him,
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00:08:07,138 --> 00:08:09,008
because he was just
always around.
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00:08:09,140 --> 00:08:10,970
He always existed.
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00:08:11,099 --> 00:08:14,669
And being obsessed with
dinosaurs and things like that,
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00:08:14,798 --> 00:08:16,318
he just--
he fit perfectly in that
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00:08:16,452 --> 00:08:19,502
'cause he was a dinosaur with
a personality and with a name.
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00:08:21,849 --> 00:08:23,979
As a kid, when you watch movies,
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you're not just watching
what's in front of you.
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Your imagination is still going,
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so the monsters in the suits
and the costumes and stuff,
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00:08:33,295 --> 00:08:35,165
they don't just look
like guys in suits.
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00:08:35,297 --> 00:08:38,867
You feel like they
are 100% real monsters.
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00:08:46,308 --> 00:08:49,878
I think that whenever I was
making Godzilla vs. Kong,
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I remember the debate out on
the schoolyard when I was a kid,
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00:08:53,358 --> 00:08:55,268
and I remember my best friend
at the time,
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00:08:55,404 --> 00:08:58,974
he came in there, and he was
talking about how, you know,
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00:08:59,103 --> 00:09:00,893
King Kong would win
in the fight and all this.
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00:09:01,018 --> 00:09:02,188
And I just thought he was crazy.
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00:09:02,324 --> 00:09:03,894
I just couldn't believe
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00:09:04,021 --> 00:09:05,331
that he would think
that King Kong would win.
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00:09:05,457 --> 00:09:08,977
I'm just like, "Godzilla
is Godzilla." You know?
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00:09:09,113 --> 00:09:11,293
"He's not gonna lose
to a big monkey."
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I think as a filmmaker,
it's very important
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to always be half in touch
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with that sort of
half-formed part of your brain
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00:09:18,993 --> 00:09:22,003
when you're a kid,
because there's still like--
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there's a magic there
that you can't replicate.
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Seeing Godzilla
come up over the mountain
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for the first time
is terrifying.
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He's one of my favorite monsters
of all time.
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I think what audiences love
about monster movies
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is seeing how characters react
to this monstrous threat
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and how they all have
to come together
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00:09:47,412 --> 00:09:51,112
to face this thing
and understand the rules.
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00:09:51,242 --> 00:09:54,162
There's always kind of a whole
process to a monster movie.
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It's like, "What is it?
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Oh, my God,
that thing can never exist.
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00:09:58,467 --> 00:10:01,907
Holy crap, it does exist.
What are the rules to kill it?"
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00:10:04,255 --> 00:10:08,165
You know, I think
the monster movie as we know it
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owes a lot
to that original Godzilla.
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00:10:10,566 --> 00:10:12,916
The original Godzilla
was an allegory
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for post-war Japan.
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00:10:14,744 --> 00:10:18,054
Nine years earlier, during
the culmination of World War II,
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00:10:18,182 --> 00:10:20,322
the United States
had dropped atomic bombs
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00:10:20,445 --> 00:10:23,315
on the cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
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00:10:23,448 --> 00:10:26,278
killing more than 200,000.
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00:10:26,408 --> 00:10:29,018
It remains
the only time in history
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nuclear weapons were used.
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00:10:31,326 --> 00:10:33,146
The original Godzilla
was all about
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00:10:33,284 --> 00:10:36,334
Japan post-World War II trying
to reclaim their identity,
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00:10:36,461 --> 00:10:39,291
trying to process
the aftermath of the atom bomb.
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00:10:39,421 --> 00:10:41,951
And it really felt like
Godzilla was this response
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00:10:42,076 --> 00:10:44,816
to man's hubris
in creating the ultimate weapon.
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00:10:57,526 --> 00:11:00,826
I can only imagine that watching
the original Godzilla
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00:11:00,964 --> 00:11:02,234
in the '50s in Japan
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00:11:02,357 --> 00:11:04,097
would have been
a pretty intense experience.
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00:11:04,228 --> 00:11:05,878
I mean, there's images
in that film
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00:11:06,013 --> 00:11:08,153
that are, like, exactly taken
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00:11:08,276 --> 00:11:12,056
to emulate the aftermath
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
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00:11:12,193 --> 00:11:14,283
the explosion
of the atomic bomb there.
195
00:11:14,412 --> 00:11:17,892
The atomic bomb was dropped
on Japan in, what, 1945,
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00:11:18,025 --> 00:11:21,635
and the original Godzilla
came out in '54.
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00:11:21,768 --> 00:11:24,378
I mean,
that's not very long after.
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00:11:24,509 --> 00:11:28,079
Godzilla embodied
the fear felt by the Japanese
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00:11:28,209 --> 00:11:30,209
in the wake of these attacks.
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00:11:33,127 --> 00:11:36,387
A destructive beast that,
once unleashed,
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00:11:36,521 --> 00:11:40,571
could never really be
fully controlled again.
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00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:42,180
It's a cautionary tale
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00:11:42,310 --> 00:11:45,310
that has taken on new meanings
over the years.
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00:11:45,443 --> 00:11:47,053
What I think is really
interesting about Godzilla
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00:11:47,184 --> 00:11:49,404
is he kind of went from
representing the atom bomb
206
00:11:49,534 --> 00:11:52,194
to now kind of being
the defender of the earth.
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00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,150
Like, there's a lot of allegory
for climate change
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00:11:54,278 --> 00:11:55,758
in the monsterverse right now.
209
00:12:01,372 --> 00:12:03,422
And you can really see that
evolve from the '50s.
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00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:07,340
I think
the monster movie as we know it
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00:12:07,465 --> 00:12:10,635
has changed significantly
over the decades.
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00:12:10,773 --> 00:12:13,123
Throughout the years,
monster movies have followed
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00:12:13,254 --> 00:12:15,394
the evolution of Godzilla,
214
00:12:15,517 --> 00:12:19,217
reflecting what people are most
afraid of at any given time.
215
00:12:19,347 --> 00:12:22,217
Mutations are prevalent,
216
00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:27,010
and because of our dabbling
in science and playing God,
217
00:12:27,137 --> 00:12:28,307
giant monsters
are going to eat us.
218
00:12:28,443 --> 00:12:31,233
And those giant monsters
ranged from tarantulas
219
00:12:31,359 --> 00:12:33,539
to giant ants
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00:12:33,665 --> 00:12:37,315
to giant vulture-looking
creature things.
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00:12:37,452 --> 00:12:39,542
I mean, like, there was just
so much out there
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00:12:39,671 --> 00:12:42,851
that wanted to eat us
because of our atomic testing.
223
00:12:53,381 --> 00:12:55,641
One of my favorites
from special-effects movies
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00:12:55,775 --> 00:12:58,255
in the 1950s is 1954's Them!...
225
00:13:01,215 --> 00:13:02,385
...in which we have
a group of ants
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00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,570
that get hit
with atomic radiation,
227
00:13:04,696 --> 00:13:07,256
and all of a sudden,
they go to extreme proportions.
228
00:13:13,357 --> 00:13:14,837
The movie
is incredibly effective,
229
00:13:14,968 --> 00:13:18,148
with these giant ants coming
after tiny, little people.
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00:13:18,275 --> 00:13:20,925
Get the other antenna!
231
00:13:21,061 --> 00:13:22,501
Get the other antenna!
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00:13:22,627 --> 00:13:24,407
He's helpless
without them.
233
00:13:24,542 --> 00:13:26,502
It stood out because, suddenly,
it was this idea
234
00:13:26,631 --> 00:13:29,631
of the tiniest thing
that you can possibly imagine,
235
00:13:29,765 --> 00:13:33,325
an ant, is what is going to
stomp on your house.
236
00:13:33,464 --> 00:13:34,774
Like, we did not have
237
00:13:34,901 --> 00:13:38,121
a lot of giant-creature films
at this time period,
238
00:13:38,252 --> 00:13:40,252
and so the idea of taking
something really small
239
00:13:40,384 --> 00:13:43,214
and blowing it up on screen
was awesome.
240
00:13:43,344 --> 00:13:45,524
1954's Them!
241
00:13:45,650 --> 00:13:47,520
was one of the first
nuclear monster movies
242
00:13:47,652 --> 00:13:49,312
to be produced in America,
243
00:13:49,437 --> 00:13:52,437
paving the way
for countless others to follow.
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00:13:52,570 --> 00:13:55,400
Released at almost the same time
as Godzilla,
245
00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:57,580
the American kaijus
were inspired
246
00:13:57,706 --> 00:13:59,526
by newsreels of atomic testing
247
00:13:59,664 --> 00:14:02,494
as countries fortified
their nuclear arsenals.
248
00:14:02,624 --> 00:14:04,374
Well,
I think a movie like Them!
249
00:14:04,495 --> 00:14:06,315
is just kind of like
250
00:14:06,454 --> 00:14:11,374
that archetypal
Atomic Age monster movie.
251
00:14:11,502 --> 00:14:15,642
You know, it's our meddling
with atomic testing
252
00:14:15,767 --> 00:14:17,377
out in the middle
of some desert.
253
00:14:17,508 --> 00:14:19,598
It's like, Mother Nature, man.
Don't mess with it.
254
00:14:19,728 --> 00:14:22,428
Let Mother Nature do its thing.
255
00:14:22,557 --> 00:14:25,557
Horror films tend to revolve
around emotional storytelling,
256
00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:29,000
and the emotion that
they focus most on is fear,
257
00:14:29,129 --> 00:14:30,219
and fear is a response.
258
00:14:33,568 --> 00:14:35,178
You know, as far back
as the 1950s,
259
00:14:35,309 --> 00:14:37,179
there was a fear expressed
in horror movies
260
00:14:37,311 --> 00:14:40,491
of the horrors of what
atomic radiation might do
261
00:14:40,618 --> 00:14:44,268
and how that might
corrupt nature.
262
00:14:44,405 --> 00:14:46,575
Here, gentlemen,
is your villain.
263
00:14:46,711 --> 00:14:49,191
They almost never come up
unless they're disturbed.
264
00:14:49,323 --> 00:14:51,113
Disturbed? By what?
265
00:14:51,238 --> 00:14:52,408
Hydrogen bombs.
266
00:14:52,543 --> 00:14:55,243
H bombs have been blamed
for every freak accident
267
00:14:55,372 --> 00:14:57,162
that's happened since, up to,
and including...
268
00:14:57,287 --> 00:14:58,417
Fire!
269
00:14:58,549 --> 00:15:00,639
...great monsters
being disturbed.
270
00:15:00,769 --> 00:15:02,289
Some of that
was quite laughable.
271
00:15:02,423 --> 00:15:03,553
Like, we watch those movies now
272
00:15:03,685 --> 00:15:07,425
about giant spiders or ants
or whatever.
273
00:15:07,558 --> 00:15:10,738
But what we're dealing with now
is, around us, we see
274
00:15:10,866 --> 00:15:13,386
what happens when
you slowly poison the earth.
275
00:15:13,521 --> 00:15:14,871
Like, what happens
276
00:15:15,001 --> 00:15:20,531
when you just pump
toxic effluents into the water.
277
00:15:20,658 --> 00:15:23,838
Like, things die, things mutate,
they stop breeding.
278
00:15:23,966 --> 00:15:28,276
Let us face without panic
the reality of our times--
279
00:15:28,405 --> 00:15:29,615
the fact that atom bombs
280
00:15:29,754 --> 00:15:32,284
may someday
be dropped on our cities.
281
00:15:32,409 --> 00:15:34,459
And let us prepare for survival
282
00:15:34,585 --> 00:15:36,625
by understanding the weapon
that threatens us.
283
00:15:36,761 --> 00:15:38,591
Here is
the motion-picture spectacle
284
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:40,290
of all time.
285
00:15:43,551 --> 00:15:47,561
A million tons of water
alive with deadly rays.
286
00:15:47,685 --> 00:15:50,335
Awe-inspiring
in its significance for man,
287
00:15:50,471 --> 00:15:52,261
who learned
how to control the atom,
288
00:15:52,386 --> 00:15:54,516
but must now learn
to control himself.
289
00:15:54,649 --> 00:15:58,219
There was a lot to be
afraid of after World War II.
290
00:15:58,348 --> 00:16:00,088
You know, the Atomic Age
wasn't just relegated
291
00:16:00,220 --> 00:16:01,830
to giant monsters.
292
00:16:01,961 --> 00:16:07,711
There was also stories
about atomic experimentation.
293
00:16:07,836 --> 00:16:10,096
You were dealing with mutations.
294
00:16:10,230 --> 00:16:11,410
And that fear,
295
00:16:11,535 --> 00:16:13,575
that fear of radiation
because of power plants,
296
00:16:13,711 --> 00:16:15,451
because of atomic testing,
all of that,
297
00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:18,413
that wasn't just exclusive
to the '50s, I feel.
298
00:16:18,542 --> 00:16:20,372
Like, even growing up
in the '80s,
299
00:16:20,501 --> 00:16:22,111
there were two things
I was afraid of--
300
00:16:22,242 --> 00:16:24,292
quicksand and radiation.
301
00:16:24,418 --> 00:16:25,588
You know?
302
00:16:25,723 --> 00:16:27,293
'Cause you just never knew,
303
00:16:27,421 --> 00:16:29,601
like, when there might be
an accident
304
00:16:29,727 --> 00:16:31,857
or if you were gonna get bombed.
305
00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:34,821
Horror films have
always stood as a warning,
306
00:16:34,950 --> 00:16:38,210
like, "This is what happens
if you transgress."
307
00:16:38,345 --> 00:16:39,555
And it's one thing
when it's like,
308
00:16:39,694 --> 00:16:41,574
"Don't go into the woods,
young teenagers,
309
00:16:41,696 --> 00:16:44,736
because the ax man
will chop off your heads."
310
00:16:44,873 --> 00:16:46,793
But, really, ecological horror
311
00:16:46,918 --> 00:16:49,228
has been telling us
for years now
312
00:16:49,356 --> 00:16:50,836
that we are going
into the woods,
313
00:16:50,966 --> 00:16:54,186
and we are going to get
our species' head chopped off
314
00:16:54,317 --> 00:16:56,187
if we don't take notice
315
00:16:56,319 --> 00:16:59,579
and behave in a more kind
316
00:16:59,714 --> 00:17:02,634
and responsible manner.
317
00:17:04,893 --> 00:17:08,203
Them! is regarded as kind of
maybe like a step up
318
00:17:08,331 --> 00:17:09,461
from the other stuff because
319
00:17:09,593 --> 00:17:12,683
there is a little bit of
horror filmmaking
320
00:17:12,814 --> 00:17:14,214
that really works,
321
00:17:14,337 --> 00:17:15,767
like that whole opening scene
322
00:17:15,904 --> 00:17:19,604
where there's this little girl
left behind,
323
00:17:19,734 --> 00:17:22,174
and all we hear is
that high-pitched sound
324
00:17:22,302 --> 00:17:23,562
of the ant making its noise,
325
00:17:23,694 --> 00:17:25,004
and you don't know
what's attacking
326
00:17:25,131 --> 00:17:26,351
this little girl's family
and whatnot.
327
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,530
Really scary stuff.
328
00:17:28,656 --> 00:17:30,606
It ended up getting nominated
for an Academy Award
329
00:17:30,745 --> 00:17:32,655
and lost to
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,
330
00:17:32,790 --> 00:17:34,710
but still one of the landmark
special-effects films
331
00:17:34,836 --> 00:17:36,316
of the 1950s.
332
00:17:39,232 --> 00:17:42,502
Everything that we see
in the 1950s is about paranoia.
333
00:17:42,626 --> 00:17:45,666
It is about our sweet,
little, bucolic society
334
00:17:45,803 --> 00:17:48,333
somehow being infiltrated,
335
00:17:48,458 --> 00:17:50,768
whether it be via
atomic radiation,
336
00:17:50,895 --> 00:17:53,325
monsters from space,
monsters from the deep,
337
00:17:53,463 --> 00:17:55,343
the neighbor that
you didn't know was evil
338
00:17:55,465 --> 00:17:57,335
who's been living
next to you for years.
339
00:17:57,467 --> 00:17:59,727
It was all about
paranoia and fear,
340
00:17:59,861 --> 00:18:02,731
and it came out in
many different ways on screen,
341
00:18:02,864 --> 00:18:06,394
but it all links back to us
just being scared of everything,
342
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,520
scared that everything
that we believe in,
343
00:18:08,652 --> 00:18:10,612
that we hold true
as American values,
344
00:18:10,741 --> 00:18:12,401
it's all nothing.
345
00:18:17,487 --> 00:18:18,657
There's a great deal more
346
00:18:18,793 --> 00:18:20,973
to this American way of life,
of course,
347
00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:24,020
and it's all familiar enough.
348
00:18:24,146 --> 00:18:27,846
The Main Street of any town
is almost a symbol of America.
349
00:18:27,976 --> 00:18:31,496
That's where the stores are.
That's where we go shopping.
350
00:18:31,632 --> 00:18:33,762
Candy and ice cream,
buy all you want.
351
00:18:35,723 --> 00:18:37,643
Movies-- come early
and get the best seat.
352
00:18:39,030 --> 00:18:41,510
The raw, harsh,
unpleasant fact
353
00:18:41,642 --> 00:18:43,732
is that communism is an issue.
354
00:18:43,861 --> 00:18:45,781
Don't let the communists
use you.
355
00:18:45,907 --> 00:18:48,777
Please, don't be a dupe.
356
00:18:48,910 --> 00:18:51,650
With the onset
of the Cold War,
357
00:18:51,782 --> 00:18:55,702
tensions between the U.S.
and Russia began to rise.
358
00:18:55,830 --> 00:18:58,490
Americans were petrified
by the notion
359
00:18:58,615 --> 00:19:01,965
that communism was everywhere,
hiding in plain sight,
360
00:19:02,097 --> 00:19:04,577
threatening to destroy
their way of life.
361
00:19:04,708 --> 00:19:06,098
Many feared that
362
00:19:06,232 --> 00:19:08,932
a Soviet nuclear attack
on U.S. soil was imminent
363
00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:10,540
and that
their-- their neighbors
364
00:19:10,671 --> 00:19:12,851
could be communist spies.
365
00:19:12,977 --> 00:19:16,677
The mass panic opened the door
to horror films
366
00:19:16,807 --> 00:19:21,547
that reflected this
escalating national paranoia.
367
00:19:21,682 --> 00:19:24,772
As we move into the 1950s,
we see film itself
368
00:19:24,902 --> 00:19:26,512
trying to push into new areas.
369
00:19:26,643 --> 00:19:28,343
We've all been sitting
in theaters
370
00:19:28,471 --> 00:19:29,911
for decades at this point,
371
00:19:30,038 --> 00:19:32,558
so the filmmakers and the
exhibitors are really looking
372
00:19:32,693 --> 00:19:34,873
for ways
to get more people in the seats.
373
00:19:34,999 --> 00:19:36,909
And especially with
the advent of television,
374
00:19:37,045 --> 00:19:39,735
they have to find a way
to get you off your couch now.
375
00:19:39,874 --> 00:19:41,484
So what we see them doing
376
00:19:41,615 --> 00:19:43,355
is really bringing in all
of these new innovations.
377
00:19:43,486 --> 00:19:44,836
Tony, this is important.
378
00:19:44,966 --> 00:19:47,486
And the audience
that embraced the innovations
379
00:19:47,621 --> 00:19:50,451
and the gimmicks
were America's teenagers.
380
00:19:50,580 --> 00:19:52,150
Shh!
381
00:19:52,278 --> 00:19:53,668
"Let's make
the screen wider.
382
00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:56,371
Let's make it bigger.
Let's make 3-D.
383
00:19:57,718 --> 00:20:02,028
Let's let you sit in your car
so you can watch stuff."
384
00:20:02,157 --> 00:20:04,807
And so we see all of these
different new kind of gimmicks
385
00:20:04,942 --> 00:20:08,082
coming into play
to bring in theatergoers.
386
00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:13,037
In 1953,
Vincent Price's House of Wax
387
00:20:13,168 --> 00:20:18,698
became the first color 3-D film
released by a major studio.
388
00:20:18,826 --> 00:20:21,866
3-D movies reached out
and grabbed moviegoers,
389
00:20:22,003 --> 00:20:24,533
attracting the growing
teenage audience
390
00:20:24,658 --> 00:20:26,918
and making them
jump from their seats.
391
00:20:27,051 --> 00:20:29,921
In the America of the 1950s,
392
00:20:30,054 --> 00:20:35,714
everything was consumable,
from fast food to fast cars.
393
00:20:35,843 --> 00:20:39,373
But the one thing that teenagers
couldn't get enough of
394
00:20:39,499 --> 00:20:41,019
were horror movies.
395
00:20:41,152 --> 00:20:44,682
They were going to
the pictures in droves.
396
00:20:44,808 --> 00:20:47,858
Horror producers were happy
to accommodate with a series
397
00:20:47,985 --> 00:20:49,895
of in-theater experiences,
398
00:20:50,031 --> 00:20:53,031
hoping to find
the next 3-D-like craze.
399
00:20:53,164 --> 00:20:57,434
And one of the more, uh, bizarre
gimmicks of the '50s
400
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,040
was Smell-O-Vision,
401
00:21:00,171 --> 00:21:04,831
which began and ended with the
film The Scent of Mystery.
402
00:21:04,959 --> 00:21:06,609
In short, it stunk.
403
00:21:06,743 --> 00:21:07,483
Oh.
404
00:21:07,614 --> 00:21:10,144
Then there was The Tingler
405
00:21:10,269 --> 00:21:14,879
which used a device embedded
in a seat called Percepto!
406
00:21:15,012 --> 00:21:16,972
This would immerse you
in the film
407
00:21:17,101 --> 00:21:22,111
by tingling your seat
during an on-screen fright.
408
00:21:22,237 --> 00:21:24,937
It turned out that there were
only two senses people
409
00:21:25,066 --> 00:21:28,936
wanted at the pictures--
sight and sound,
410
00:21:29,070 --> 00:21:34,030
and the only gimmick that stuck
was the drive-in movie,
411
00:21:34,162 --> 00:21:37,952
a place where families could
eat popcorn and drink malts
412
00:21:38,079 --> 00:21:41,909
while watching a movie in their
comfortable bucket seats,
413
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:43,949
and where a guy could hug
his girl
414
00:21:44,085 --> 00:21:48,385
during the ultimate camp
drive-in horror film The Blob.
415
00:22:13,375 --> 00:22:16,675
So The Blob is a really
good example of the Red Scare
416
00:22:16,813 --> 00:22:17,773
being exemplified on-screen.
417
00:22:19,903 --> 00:22:23,993
This thing drops
in the middle of our town...
418
00:22:24,125 --> 00:22:26,035
Boy, that was close.
419
00:22:26,170 --> 00:22:28,000
...and just starts consuming us,
420
00:22:28,129 --> 00:22:30,959
just starts eating us up,
and there is no way to stop it.
421
00:22:31,088 --> 00:22:33,218
Steve McQueen's The Blob
comes out,
422
00:22:33,352 --> 00:22:36,442
and it's a whole different thing
that's scaring you right now.
423
00:22:42,056 --> 00:22:43,746
It's not the goofy Mummy.
424
00:22:43,884 --> 00:22:46,634
It's not Frankenstein anymore.
425
00:22:46,756 --> 00:22:49,496
That no longer
touched the same nerve.
426
00:22:49,629 --> 00:22:50,499
But the Blob...
427
00:22:56,026 --> 00:22:57,716
What's the matter?
428
00:22:57,854 --> 00:23:00,424
Something that you can't
even wrap your head around.
429
00:23:00,553 --> 00:23:04,693
Something from space. Something
like-- I don't know--
430
00:23:04,818 --> 00:23:08,038
maybe a missile from Russia,
is also from space.
431
00:23:08,169 --> 00:23:11,999
And that Blob is very red,
just like our enemies.
432
00:23:15,916 --> 00:23:17,956
And suddenly
they're in our hometowns,
433
00:23:18,092 --> 00:23:19,662
in our movie theaters,
434
00:23:19,789 --> 00:23:22,399
in our homes coming after us.
435
00:23:22,531 --> 00:23:25,231
Don't go in, Jim.
This won't do any good.
436
00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:27,710
It's the most horrible thing
I've ever seen in my life.
437
00:23:27,841 --> 00:23:30,711
The Blob is
super-campy, but, you know,
438
00:23:30,844 --> 00:23:33,024
through all of its kind of
drive-in,
439
00:23:33,150 --> 00:23:35,020
pure drive-in spectacle...
440
00:23:38,242 --> 00:23:39,682
...at its core, and what people
441
00:23:39,809 --> 00:23:41,249
kind of latch onto
about its silliness,
442
00:23:41,376 --> 00:23:47,556
is that it is literally
a red blob attacking Americans.
443
00:23:47,687 --> 00:23:48,907
Aah!
444
00:23:51,952 --> 00:23:55,042
Kate, stand still. Don't move.
445
00:23:55,172 --> 00:23:56,962
It must have absorbed
the old man completely.
446
00:23:57,087 --> 00:23:59,697
So you couldn't be
any more obvious
447
00:23:59,829 --> 00:24:02,749
about the Red Scare than that.
448
00:24:05,269 --> 00:24:10,139
The personification of the
Red Scare is an amorphous blob
449
00:24:10,274 --> 00:24:14,544
that will just roll around
and absorb you.
450
00:24:17,020 --> 00:24:19,630
- What happened?
- It's all over us.
451
00:24:19,762 --> 00:24:20,722
What do you mean,
it's all over us?!
452
00:24:20,850 --> 00:24:22,110
- Take it easy.
- What's the matter?
453
00:24:22,243 --> 00:24:26,643
I think it put a face
or a blob face on the thing
454
00:24:26,769 --> 00:24:28,029
that scared us most
455
00:24:28,162 --> 00:24:30,822
and gave us an enemy
we could fight against.
456
00:24:30,947 --> 00:24:32,947
What are they gonna do
with that thing, Dave?
457
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,910
Well, the Air Force
is sending a Globemaster in.
458
00:24:35,038 --> 00:24:36,998
They're flying it
to the Arctic.
459
00:24:37,127 --> 00:24:38,127
It's not dead, is it?
460
00:24:38,259 --> 00:24:40,259
No, it's not.
461
00:24:40,391 --> 00:24:42,741
Just frozen.
462
00:24:42,872 --> 00:24:44,442
I don't think
it can be killed,
463
00:24:44,570 --> 00:24:47,140
but at least
we've got it stopped.
464
00:24:47,268 --> 00:24:49,748
Yeah, as long
as the Arctic stays cold, huh?
465
00:25:04,546 --> 00:25:08,196
The Cold War and the Red Scare,
well, they seeped into horror
466
00:25:08,332 --> 00:25:09,902
through movies like The Blob
467
00:25:10,030 --> 00:25:11,770
and Invasion
of the Body Snatchers.
468
00:25:18,691 --> 00:25:20,871
During that time, Invasion
of the Body Snatchers,
469
00:25:20,997 --> 00:25:25,787
the original, was sort of a take
on McCarthyism of the time,
470
00:25:25,915 --> 00:25:28,305
you know, the conformity
of the family unit.
471
00:25:28,439 --> 00:25:30,829
You know, it was a good thing
to conform, it was a good thing
472
00:25:30,964 --> 00:25:33,014
to live in suburbia
with your two-car garage
473
00:25:33,140 --> 00:25:35,140
and your station wagon
and have your two kids
474
00:25:35,272 --> 00:25:36,802
and the perfect American family.
475
00:25:36,926 --> 00:25:39,796
I think Invasion of the Body
Snatchers sort of sent that up
476
00:25:39,929 --> 00:25:41,629
and sort of played with it
and the idea
477
00:25:41,757 --> 00:25:44,147
that, no, it's not a good thing.
It's a really, really bad thing.
478
00:25:44,281 --> 00:25:46,151
I am not insane!
479
00:25:46,283 --> 00:25:48,853
You tell these fools
I'm not crazy!
480
00:25:48,982 --> 00:25:50,852
Make them listen to me
before it's too late!
481
00:25:50,984 --> 00:25:54,814
The Invasion of
the Body Snatchers was the film
482
00:25:54,944 --> 00:25:56,904
that scared me the most
when I was a kid.
483
00:26:01,037 --> 00:26:03,257
It was a fascinating concept.
484
00:26:03,387 --> 00:26:08,257
I had never seen something
where something is buried
485
00:26:08,392 --> 00:26:11,792
in this thing
and it percolates in there,
486
00:26:11,918 --> 00:26:14,438
you know, until it's ready.
487
00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:17,923
And it decides when it's ready,
you know, not you.
488
00:26:18,054 --> 00:26:20,844
So that's pretty scary.
489
00:26:20,970 --> 00:26:23,060
It's like kids being afraid
490
00:26:23,190 --> 00:26:25,320
something's in their closet,
you know?
491
00:26:25,453 --> 00:26:27,023
There's nothing in the closet,
492
00:26:27,150 --> 00:26:29,410
but it's just as real
as if there was.
493
00:26:29,544 --> 00:26:32,594
Stay here and pray they're
as human as they sound.
494
00:26:34,331 --> 00:26:37,771
Communism in reality is not
a political party.
495
00:26:37,900 --> 00:26:39,120
It is a way of life.
496
00:26:39,249 --> 00:26:41,819
An evil and malignant way
of life.
497
00:26:41,948 --> 00:26:45,208
It reveals a condition
akin to disease.
498
00:26:45,342 --> 00:26:48,222
Their goal is the overthrow
of our government.
499
00:26:48,345 --> 00:26:54,085
The Communists are red fascists.
500
00:26:54,221 --> 00:26:56,481
Joseph McCarthy was a senator
from Wisconsin
501
00:26:56,615 --> 00:26:59,875
who definitely became, like,
the face of the Cold War.
502
00:27:03,622 --> 00:27:08,582
And he became the face of this
brigade to rid out Communism,
503
00:27:08,714 --> 00:27:10,504
that Communism
is everywhere in the U.S.
504
00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:12,199
and they are trying to take over
505
00:27:12,326 --> 00:27:14,416
our more capitalistic
way of life,
506
00:27:14,545 --> 00:27:16,195
and we have to rid it out
at its roots,
507
00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:18,250
and it is everywhere.
508
00:27:18,375 --> 00:27:20,505
Today, the free world
and the Communist world
509
00:27:20,639 --> 00:27:24,379
are locked in a peculiar
struggle for the minds of men.
510
00:27:24,512 --> 00:27:27,172
We should remember
that practically every issue
511
00:27:27,297 --> 00:27:29,127
which we face today,
512
00:27:29,256 --> 00:27:32,996
from high taxes
to the shameful mess in Korea,
513
00:27:33,129 --> 00:27:37,259
is inextricably interwoven
with the Communist issue.
514
00:27:37,394 --> 00:27:41,014
Frightening, isn't it?
515
00:27:41,137 --> 00:27:42,437
We see McCarthyism
and the Red Scare
516
00:27:42,573 --> 00:27:45,193
really coming into horror films
in the 1950s
517
00:27:45,315 --> 00:27:47,135
in the form of paranoia,
518
00:27:47,274 --> 00:27:49,234
that we are scared
of everything,
519
00:27:49,363 --> 00:27:52,193
from aliens
coming down from above,
520
00:27:52,322 --> 00:27:55,942
things coming up from beneath,
to our next-door neighbors.
521
00:27:56,065 --> 00:27:58,285
The Red Scare was us
being scared to death
522
00:27:58,415 --> 00:28:01,325
that Russia was somehow
infiltrating American society,
523
00:28:01,462 --> 00:28:04,942
that Communists were here,
that they were a part of us,
524
00:28:05,074 --> 00:28:06,864
that they could be
the government officials,
525
00:28:06,989 --> 00:28:08,079
that it could be, you know,
526
00:28:08,208 --> 00:28:09,248
this person
that you know from work.
527
00:28:09,383 --> 00:28:11,953
It could even be
your next-door neighbor.
528
00:28:12,081 --> 00:28:14,391
And so not only do
we see horror films
529
00:28:14,518 --> 00:28:17,998
about a fear of each other,
but it's very much
530
00:28:18,131 --> 00:28:21,051
like that we ourselves
could be accused for this.
531
00:28:21,177 --> 00:28:24,007
We see these fears come out
in a lot of our alien movies,
532
00:28:24,137 --> 00:28:26,267
and it's very much
this belief system of,
533
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,320
we're running our normal,
everyday lives.
534
00:28:28,445 --> 00:28:29,965
Oh, look how serene it is.
535
00:28:30,099 --> 00:28:32,889
But at any time, boom,
aliens are here,
536
00:28:33,015 --> 00:28:33,965
and we're all destroyed.
537
00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:35,153
Listen carefully.
538
00:28:35,278 --> 00:28:37,318
The Martians
are coming this way.
539
00:28:37,454 --> 00:28:39,854
We must evacuate the city.
540
00:28:45,724 --> 00:28:49,684
As Americans became
increasingly paranoid,
541
00:28:49,815 --> 00:28:53,115
a new otherworldly terror emerged.
542
00:28:53,253 --> 00:28:55,043
After years of investigation,
543
00:28:55,168 --> 00:28:57,168
I believe that
the flying saucers
544
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:59,910
seen by veteran airline
and Air Force pilots
545
00:29:00,042 --> 00:29:01,522
are objects from another planet.
546
00:29:01,652 --> 00:29:03,922
A wave
of UFO sightings
547
00:29:04,046 --> 00:29:05,126
throughout the country,
548
00:29:05,265 --> 00:29:06,525
which began with the infamous
549
00:29:06,657 --> 00:29:09,567
Roswell, New Mexico
flying saucer crash,
550
00:29:09,704 --> 00:29:13,584
invaded America's collective
psyche during the 1950s.
551
00:29:13,708 --> 00:29:16,058
The Air Force itself
has officially admitted
552
00:29:16,189 --> 00:29:17,629
that flying saucers exist.
553
00:29:17,756 --> 00:29:22,016
I'm here to discuss
the so-called flying saucers.
554
00:29:22,151 --> 00:29:23,981
There have been
a certain percentage
555
00:29:24,110 --> 00:29:26,420
of this volume of reports
556
00:29:26,547 --> 00:29:30,157
that have been made
by credible observers
557
00:29:30,290 --> 00:29:32,470
of relatively incredible things.
558
00:29:32,596 --> 00:29:34,336
With all due respect
to the Air Force,
559
00:29:34,468 --> 00:29:36,118
I believe that some of them
will prove to be
560
00:29:36,252 --> 00:29:37,822
of interplanetary origin.
561
00:29:37,950 --> 00:29:41,340
And soon the Cold War
reached new heights,
562
00:29:41,475 --> 00:29:43,515
literally,
when the Soviet Union
563
00:29:43,651 --> 00:29:47,831
launched the world's first
artificial satellite, Sputnik.
564
00:29:49,657 --> 00:29:52,697
Sputnik marked the beginning
of mankind's space race
565
00:29:52,834 --> 00:29:56,324
and paved the way for a new
spate of sci-fi horror films
566
00:29:56,446 --> 00:30:01,226
that played directly upon
Red Scare-era fears.
567
00:30:01,364 --> 00:30:05,154
The 1950s were
a spectacular era for sci-fi.
568
00:30:05,281 --> 00:30:07,371
Ray Bradbury had published
The Martian Chronicles
569
00:30:07,501 --> 00:30:10,201
in the '50s, and magazines
were publishing sci-fi work
570
00:30:10,330 --> 00:30:12,330
from different writers
in the genre.
571
00:30:12,462 --> 00:30:15,122
The decade saw a wave
of horror films set in space
572
00:30:15,248 --> 00:30:18,078
or films
that had aliens attacking Earth.
573
00:30:34,615 --> 00:30:37,485
Between the atomic bomb
and Roswell,
574
00:30:37,618 --> 00:30:41,488
where we're talking about
the first UFO sighting,
575
00:30:41,622 --> 00:30:44,022
people started kind
of freaking out, going,
576
00:30:44,146 --> 00:30:46,496
"Oh, my God, we're not alone.
577
00:30:46,627 --> 00:30:49,277
Not only do we have to worry
about World Wars,
578
00:30:49,412 --> 00:30:52,592
but there is another threat--
again, the other.
579
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,460
But the other is coming
from outer space. Holy shit."
580
00:30:55,592 --> 00:30:57,422
During a three-year
investigation,
581
00:30:57,551 --> 00:31:00,211
I found that many pilots
have described objects
582
00:31:00,336 --> 00:31:02,466
of substance and high speed.
583
00:31:02,599 --> 00:31:04,689
One case, pilots reported
their plane was buffeted
584
00:31:04,819 --> 00:31:07,389
by an object which passed them
at 500 miles an hour.
585
00:31:07,517 --> 00:31:09,817
Obviously,
this was a solid object,
586
00:31:09,955 --> 00:31:11,565
and I believe it was
from outer space.
587
00:31:11,695 --> 00:31:14,655
There's nothing more
intimidating than another person
588
00:31:14,785 --> 00:31:17,525
to a certain degree,
and horror is,
589
00:31:17,658 --> 00:31:20,488
by and large, I think,
a reflection of that.
590
00:31:20,617 --> 00:31:24,527
You know, like UFO invasion
movies from the '50s.
591
00:31:25,448 --> 00:31:27,538
- Where did they come from?
- I don't know.
592
00:31:27,668 --> 00:31:29,838
Those films have
a very consistent, you know,
593
00:31:29,975 --> 00:31:32,455
sort of Cold War
kind of vibe to them.
594
00:31:32,586 --> 00:31:34,366
You can tell, like,
the version of people
595
00:31:34,501 --> 00:31:36,421
being scared of each other
was very much
596
00:31:36,546 --> 00:31:39,506
based on that sort of like,
"Are you a Communist,
597
00:31:39,636 --> 00:31:42,336
are you not a Communist"
kind of thing.
598
00:31:49,777 --> 00:31:52,257
I think people in
general are just afraid of UFOs
599
00:31:52,388 --> 00:31:56,568
because they're afraid of things
they can't understand.
600
00:31:56,697 --> 00:32:00,307
So naturally
Hollywood tapped into that,
601
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,140
and we started seeing
horror evolve
602
00:32:04,270 --> 00:32:08,060
from kind of
classic Gothic romps
603
00:32:08,187 --> 00:32:11,927
to sci-fi-infused stories.
604
00:32:13,714 --> 00:32:15,504
Look at it, will you?
605
00:32:15,629 --> 00:32:18,069
Beings from another world.
606
00:32:20,634 --> 00:32:23,594
War of the Worlds
was already a well-known story
607
00:32:23,724 --> 00:32:27,124
before the film
was released in 1953.
608
00:32:27,249 --> 00:32:29,559
The H.G. Wells 1898 novel
609
00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:31,726
is considered
to be one of the earliest
610
00:32:31,862 --> 00:32:34,692
to envision
an alien race invading Earth.
611
00:32:34,822 --> 00:32:39,312
And the 1938 Orson Welles
radio play was so realistic
612
00:32:39,435 --> 00:32:41,995
it created a widespread panic
throughout the nation.
613
00:32:42,134 --> 00:32:48,184
I'm, of course, surprised that
the H.G. Wells classic,
614
00:32:48,314 --> 00:32:50,754
which is the original
for many fantasies
615
00:32:50,881 --> 00:32:56,151
about invasions
by mythical monsters
616
00:32:56,278 --> 00:32:58,318
from the planet Mars,
617
00:32:58,454 --> 00:33:00,634
a story which has become
familiar to children
618
00:33:00,761 --> 00:33:02,811
through the medium
of comic strips, novels,
619
00:33:02,937 --> 00:33:07,247
and adventure stories, should
have had such an immediate
620
00:33:07,376 --> 00:33:09,596
and profound effect
upon radio listeners.
621
00:33:10,727 --> 00:33:12,897
The film version
took the story and updated it
622
00:33:13,034 --> 00:33:17,214
to reflect the fears that
gripped America in the 1950s,
623
00:33:17,343 --> 00:33:18,693
winning an Academy Award
624
00:33:18,822 --> 00:33:21,222
for its use of special effects
in the process.
625
00:33:21,347 --> 00:33:22,567
It is incredibly terrifying.
626
00:33:22,696 --> 00:33:26,606
After the pods crashed
into the countryside,
627
00:33:26,743 --> 00:33:28,703
you've got three guys,
including, like, a priest,
628
00:33:28,832 --> 00:33:30,492
and they're waving the white
flag, and they're like,
629
00:33:30,617 --> 00:33:32,617
"See? We're waving
the white flag. We're friendly."
630
00:33:32,749 --> 00:33:35,579
And you just see this giant eye
on a tentacle
631
00:33:35,709 --> 00:33:36,709
come up out of the ground.
632
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:38,410
- We welcome you.
- We're friends.
633
00:33:38,538 --> 00:33:40,408
And it just blasts.
634
00:33:42,629 --> 00:33:46,759
Footage looks like sparklers.
I was freaked out.
635
00:33:46,894 --> 00:33:50,904
I was, like, gripping my seat,
like, "What is that thing?"
636
00:33:51,029 --> 00:33:54,419
When you saw the Martian war
machine come up out of its shell
637
00:33:54,554 --> 00:33:55,604
and start flying
across the city,
638
00:33:55,729 --> 00:33:57,429
I was just, like, in awe.
639
00:33:59,472 --> 00:34:00,732
But that's what
they were selling.
640
00:34:00,864 --> 00:34:02,654
They were selling, like,
the other
641
00:34:02,779 --> 00:34:06,609
is no longer, you know,
in some remote castle.
642
00:34:06,740 --> 00:34:09,050
It's gonna come from the stars,
and it's gonna mess you up.
643
00:34:10,309 --> 00:34:11,829
It's dead.
644
00:34:11,962 --> 00:34:13,662
I think audiences
were scared of UFOs
645
00:34:13,790 --> 00:34:18,620
because it was the totally
unexpected plot twist
646
00:34:18,752 --> 00:34:20,672
of their lives
after World War II.
647
00:34:20,797 --> 00:34:23,447
There would be
no more peace in our time.
648
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,370
Imagine surviving World War II
649
00:34:29,502 --> 00:34:30,632
and going through
the devastation
650
00:34:30,764 --> 00:34:33,424
and emotional journey
of all of that.
651
00:34:33,549 --> 00:34:35,729
And then all of a sudden,
652
00:34:35,856 --> 00:34:39,466
you get word
that there are flying saucers.
653
00:34:40,948 --> 00:34:42,728
We have come to visit you
in peace
654
00:34:42,863 --> 00:34:44,603
and with goodwill.
655
00:34:44,734 --> 00:34:47,654
People have always
needed an outlet for their fear.
656
00:34:47,781 --> 00:34:50,391
I think every generation
657
00:34:50,523 --> 00:34:53,613
has their own sort
of external terrors.
658
00:34:59,488 --> 00:35:00,658
Well, I think in the '50s,
659
00:35:00,794 --> 00:35:02,584
you're talking
about a generation of people
660
00:35:02,709 --> 00:35:05,449
that are around
right after World War II.
661
00:35:05,581 --> 00:35:08,671
So there's been a break from
real terror and real tragedy
662
00:35:08,802 --> 00:35:10,802
and people coming home
in body bags,
663
00:35:10,934 --> 00:35:13,764
and then they're surrounded
by this suburbia,
664
00:35:13,894 --> 00:35:17,514
this new thing,
this Baby Boomer generation.
665
00:35:17,637 --> 00:35:19,597
And yet they're
hardwired for fear.
666
00:35:19,726 --> 00:35:21,856
You know, movies
like War of the Worlds
667
00:35:21,989 --> 00:35:23,729
and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
668
00:35:23,860 --> 00:35:25,690
are two examples of movies
669
00:35:25,819 --> 00:35:28,819
that I think did well
with the fear of UFOs
670
00:35:28,952 --> 00:35:31,782
because War of the Worlds,
the Martians showed up
671
00:35:31,912 --> 00:35:34,002
and they just started
eliminating stuff,
672
00:35:34,132 --> 00:35:36,962
which is, at the time,
I'm sure what was prevalent
673
00:35:37,091 --> 00:35:40,701
in everybody's mind, was,
"If aliens come to Earth,
674
00:35:40,834 --> 00:35:42,794
they're just gonna,
like, go to war with us."
675
00:35:42,923 --> 00:35:45,453
Bilderbeck has calculated
how long we have got
676
00:35:45,578 --> 00:35:47,748
until Martians
take over the entire world.
677
00:35:47,884 --> 00:35:49,764
You know,
The Day the Earth Stood Still
678
00:35:49,886 --> 00:35:53,926
is an alien coming to Earth
and basically saying,
679
00:35:54,064 --> 00:35:56,594
"Get your shit together,
human race.
680
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:58,849
If you don't,
it's not looking good."
681
00:35:58,982 --> 00:36:02,812
It is no concern of ours
how you run your own planet.
682
00:36:02,943 --> 00:36:06,903
But if you threaten
to extend your violence,
683
00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:09,784
this earth of yours will be
reduced to a burned-out cinder.
684
00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,480
You know, a lot of these movies
that we saw during that era,
685
00:36:16,609 --> 00:36:19,699
it was not just aliens
coming to us.
686
00:36:19,829 --> 00:36:22,309
It was us heading
out into space.
687
00:36:23,877 --> 00:36:28,797
So you saw films like
Forbidden Planet, you know,
688
00:36:28,925 --> 00:36:35,715
where it was, in an effort
to advance the space race,
689
00:36:35,845 --> 00:36:39,805
we went exploring and came upon
something unknown.
690
00:36:39,936 --> 00:36:41,806
You know, an unknown threat.
691
00:36:41,938 --> 00:36:44,678
So it was kind of like the movie
692
00:36:44,811 --> 00:36:47,511
was a direct result
of our greed
693
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,250
and need to beat the Russians
at their own game
694
00:36:50,382 --> 00:36:54,432
and get to space first resulted
in something catastrophic
695
00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:56,690
or discovering something alien.
696
00:37:03,525 --> 00:37:04,785
In the '60s,
697
00:37:04,918 --> 00:37:06,828
you start getting to
the serial killer fear.
698
00:37:06,963 --> 00:37:08,793
It's someone who looks
just like us,
699
00:37:08,922 --> 00:37:12,672
who seems nice and polite
and does horrible,
700
00:37:12,795 --> 00:37:14,705
horrible things
when we're not looking.
701
00:37:14,841 --> 00:37:17,451
And it's that idea
of a human predator,
702
00:37:17,583 --> 00:37:19,593
someone who lives amongst us.
703
00:37:26,156 --> 00:37:30,546
After the sci-fi wave
of the 1950s started to wane,
704
00:37:30,683 --> 00:37:33,823
horror films began
to look closer to home,
705
00:37:33,947 --> 00:37:38,077
at the terror
in our own backyard.
706
00:37:38,212 --> 00:37:42,832
In the early 1960s,
stories about serial killers
707
00:37:42,956 --> 00:37:47,046
began to creep their way
into the news,
708
00:37:47,177 --> 00:37:52,837
pushing an already tense nation
closer to the edge.
709
00:37:52,966 --> 00:37:54,576
Ghosts are scary, yeah,
710
00:37:54,707 --> 00:37:56,487
but what's really scary
is that guy next door
711
00:37:56,622 --> 00:37:58,102
or that guy
you're hitchhiking with.
712
00:37:58,232 --> 00:38:00,632
There was Melvin Rees,
the Clutter family killings
713
00:38:00,756 --> 00:38:02,536
that became In Cold Blood,
714
00:38:02,671 --> 00:38:04,851
the Boston Strangler
in the early '60s.
715
00:38:04,978 --> 00:38:06,588
And these were all crimes
716
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:07,849
where people were like,
"What is going on?"
717
00:38:07,981 --> 00:38:09,501
These people weren't killing
for a reason.
718
00:38:09,635 --> 00:38:10,805
They weren't doing it for money.
719
00:38:10,940 --> 00:38:12,590
They weren't doing it
for profit.
720
00:38:12,725 --> 00:38:14,595
They were doing it
because they seemed to enjoy it.
721
00:38:14,727 --> 00:38:16,467
These were crimes of passion,
not profit.
722
00:38:21,864 --> 00:38:25,914
That coincided with Ed Gein
getting arrested.
723
00:38:26,042 --> 00:38:28,872
He was a killer who was arrested
for a murder in '57
724
00:38:29,002 --> 00:38:31,442
in a small Wisconsin town.
725
00:38:31,570 --> 00:38:32,750
Police searched his house,
726
00:38:32,875 --> 00:38:34,615
found all these body parts
and trophies
727
00:38:34,747 --> 00:38:36,007
and things he made out
of his victims
728
00:38:36,139 --> 00:38:39,489
and bodies he'd exhumed
from a local cemetery.
729
00:38:41,057 --> 00:38:44,627
He became sort of this--
this bogeyman.
730
00:38:48,238 --> 00:38:52,068
Ed Gein would be the inspiration
for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
731
00:38:52,199 --> 00:38:54,979
And that really threw everyone
for a loop.
732
00:38:55,115 --> 00:38:57,765
Psycho is the beginning
of modern horror.
733
00:39:04,037 --> 00:39:05,997
I mean, Psycho is
absolutely brilliant.
734
00:39:06,126 --> 00:39:08,776
All of this comes
from Hitchcock's Psycho.
735
00:39:08,911 --> 00:39:11,481
That was arguably
the first slasher film.
736
00:39:15,875 --> 00:39:19,965
Psycho brought a level
of terror to film
737
00:39:20,096 --> 00:39:22,006
that I'd never seen before.
738
00:39:22,142 --> 00:39:26,542
It was the first time that
I realized there was editing.
739
00:39:26,668 --> 00:39:28,498
It was because of the montage.
740
00:39:30,106 --> 00:39:32,536
That was the whole
change of film.
741
00:39:32,674 --> 00:39:35,204
I'd never seen anything
742
00:39:35,329 --> 00:39:40,859
that was as violent as Psycho
was, or as terrifying.
743
00:39:40,987 --> 00:39:43,687
And it was because of the
brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock.
744
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,000
The first horror
film I saw ever was Psycho,
745
00:39:49,125 --> 00:39:52,645
which I saw on television
at a slumber party of girls.
746
00:39:55,915 --> 00:39:58,045
And I remember being terrified.
747
00:39:58,178 --> 00:40:01,958
It began the serial killer,
the lone murderer,
748
00:40:02,095 --> 00:40:04,655
the senseless killer genre
749
00:40:04,793 --> 00:40:07,193
with at least one scene
with extreme gore.
750
00:40:07,317 --> 00:40:09,667
It's a pretty great film, actually.
751
00:40:09,798 --> 00:40:12,408
It's one of the best
horror movies ever made.
752
00:40:14,977 --> 00:40:16,887
The thing I like
about Psycho is that--
753
00:40:17,023 --> 00:40:18,983
I mean, obviously Hitchcock
is a master of storytelling,
754
00:40:19,112 --> 00:40:20,772
but he was also
a master of marketing.
755
00:40:20,896 --> 00:40:22,066
And so you had Janet Leigh,
756
00:40:22,202 --> 00:40:23,812
who was this huge movie star
at the time.
757
00:40:23,943 --> 00:40:24,943
She's all over the posters.
758
00:40:25,074 --> 00:40:26,824
She was top billing
of the movie,
759
00:40:26,946 --> 00:40:28,726
and then she's murdered
at the end of the first act
760
00:40:28,861 --> 00:40:29,991
in that very famous
shower scene.
761
00:40:30,123 --> 00:40:32,173
"Aah! Aah! Aah! Aah!"
762
00:40:32,299 --> 00:40:34,869
And really,
that hadn't been done before,
763
00:40:34,997 --> 00:40:38,037
and audiences were fully,
completely taken by surprise.
764
00:40:38,174 --> 00:40:39,704
And after that moment,
you're like,
765
00:40:39,828 --> 00:40:41,608
"Anything can happen
in this movie.
766
00:40:41,743 --> 00:40:44,143
All bets are off."
767
00:40:44,267 --> 00:40:46,097
Psycho has a totally
brilliant opening.
768
00:40:46,226 --> 00:40:49,576
It spends a great deal of time
with Janet Leigh.
769
00:40:50,317 --> 00:40:54,057
And you're worried
because she's stealing money.
770
00:40:54,190 --> 00:40:58,500
She steals some money
in the office and then she runs.
771
00:41:00,066 --> 00:41:01,976
So it's like you're already
worried for her.
772
00:41:02,111 --> 00:41:03,681
She's on the run.
773
00:41:03,809 --> 00:41:05,719
What's she doing?
This is very strange.
774
00:41:05,854 --> 00:41:08,294
And then, you know,
the Bates Motel
775
00:41:08,422 --> 00:41:11,992
is not the most reassuring place
with all those stuffed animals.
776
00:41:12,121 --> 00:41:13,651
You know it's not
going to go well,
777
00:41:13,775 --> 00:41:15,075
but you don't know how.
778
00:41:15,211 --> 00:41:17,001
The idea of getting murdered
in the shower, like,
779
00:41:17,126 --> 00:41:19,776
when you're at your most
vulnerable is very terrifying.
780
00:41:21,174 --> 00:41:23,924
It's tied, of course, to nudity,
to vulnerability,
781
00:41:24,046 --> 00:41:27,526
to being naked in the shower,
but interestingly, not to sex.
782
00:41:27,659 --> 00:41:30,879
It's more to the fact of the
moment you're most vulnerable,
783
00:41:31,010 --> 00:41:32,710
alone in a shower,
you're naked, you know,
784
00:41:32,838 --> 00:41:34,708
have nothing to defend
yourself with.
785
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,670
After that,
I think that it's waiting
786
00:41:37,799 --> 00:41:39,889
for the next bomb to explode.
787
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:45,199
Psycho broke out as being
incredibly violent
788
00:41:45,328 --> 00:41:48,068
in the one shower scene,
but if you watch the film again,
789
00:41:48,201 --> 00:41:49,991
it's really
a psychological portrait.
790
00:41:50,116 --> 00:41:52,376
There isn't that much
constant violence in it.
791
00:41:52,510 --> 00:41:56,120
And in fact, it is possibly
the beginning of the fascination
792
00:41:56,252 --> 00:41:58,822
with the psychology
of the killer.
793
00:42:02,781 --> 00:42:04,171
It was voyeuristic,
794
00:42:04,304 --> 00:42:08,874
and so it violated
all kinds of social codes
795
00:42:09,004 --> 00:42:12,094
because you were in the position
of being the voyeur.
796
00:42:12,225 --> 00:42:13,965
And there was
something else he did--
797
00:42:14,096 --> 00:42:16,926
he made you sympathize
with Norman Bates.
798
00:42:17,056 --> 00:42:19,886
He made you sympathize
with a psycho killer,
799
00:42:20,015 --> 00:42:24,275
because you knew his mother
had driven him to it.
800
00:42:24,411 --> 00:42:29,941
The reviews were so negative,
so outraged at Psycho,
801
00:42:30,069 --> 00:42:32,029
that Hitchcock almost pulled it.
802
00:42:32,158 --> 00:42:34,028
He almost thought about
pulling and recutting it
803
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:37,160
and using it as an episode
on Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
804
00:42:37,293 --> 00:42:39,433
he was so crushed
by the initial reviews.
805
00:42:39,557 --> 00:42:44,127
And then they opened it, and
the lines were around the block.
806
00:42:44,257 --> 00:42:46,297
That changed everything.
807
00:42:46,433 --> 00:42:48,913
It also changed filmmaking.
808
00:42:49,915 --> 00:42:52,305
Nobody ever thought about doing
what Hitchcock did--
809
00:42:52,439 --> 00:42:56,049
moving from the point of view
of the killer
810
00:42:56,182 --> 00:42:58,142
and making you feel sorry
for the killer.
811
00:42:58,271 --> 00:43:01,751
It was just shocking
on every level.
812
00:43:01,883 --> 00:43:03,323
And the acting was just great.
813
00:43:03,450 --> 00:43:05,970
The reveal that he's actually
his own mother
814
00:43:06,105 --> 00:43:07,715
is pretty frickin' great,
let's face it.
815
00:43:09,238 --> 00:43:12,018
I also loved the twist ending,
as everyone did in Psycho.
816
00:43:12,154 --> 00:43:13,294
It's now so overdone,
but at the time,
817
00:43:13,416 --> 00:43:15,236
obviously, revolutionary.
818
00:43:15,375 --> 00:43:18,025
We have that shot
from outside where he's saying,
819
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,290
"Mother, Mother,
you shouldn't have done it."
820
00:43:19,422 --> 00:43:22,122
So you think it's his mother
that's doing it.
821
00:43:22,251 --> 00:43:24,301
Then it's not until the very end
that you realize
822
00:43:24,427 --> 00:43:27,257
he's stark raving mad
and he's mummified his mother.
823
00:43:27,387 --> 00:43:29,777
And, you know,
and the chair swings around
824
00:43:29,911 --> 00:43:31,741
and there's Mother!
825
00:43:34,524 --> 00:43:39,754
I mean, every code
that he could have violated,
826
00:43:39,878 --> 00:43:41,228
Hitchcock violated.
827
00:43:41,357 --> 00:43:42,967
And he did it
with his television crew
828
00:43:43,098 --> 00:43:45,358
in black and white for no money.
829
00:43:45,492 --> 00:43:48,102
It felt like after
Psycho horror films shifted
830
00:43:48,234 --> 00:43:51,764
much more into kind of
the naivety of society.
831
00:43:51,890 --> 00:43:53,200
This is an ax.
832
00:43:53,326 --> 00:43:55,326
The naivety
that we all believe
833
00:43:55,458 --> 00:43:59,938
that we live in this perfect
little suburban bubble
834
00:44:00,072 --> 00:44:02,472
or that our little
upper-middle-class lives
835
00:44:02,596 --> 00:44:04,636
are so sweet.
836
00:44:06,426 --> 00:44:08,296
But they're not.
837
00:44:08,428 --> 00:44:12,038
...that a ghoul can be
killed by a shot in the head.
838
00:44:12,171 --> 00:44:14,131
They're coming to get you, Barbara.
839
00:44:16,566 --> 00:44:18,046
Terror and violence
are just knocking at our door
840
00:44:18,177 --> 00:44:19,267
at any time.
65119
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