Nov 26, 2023
Tentacoli (Tentacles, 1977)
"I always heard that octopuses don't attack humans, is that true?"
"It is. I guess he had a reason to do it."
"Is it true that the suckers on their tentacles are as deadly as the claws of a tiger?"
"Claws are nothing compared to those, Turner. Nothing."
#tentacoli#tentacles#italian cinema#1977#ovidio g. assonitis#tito carpi#steven w. carabatsos#jerome max#john huston#shelley winters#bo hopkins#henry fonda#delia boccardo#cesare danova#alan boyd#sherry buchanan#franco diogene#marc fiorini#claude akins#stelvio cipriani#leonard lightfoot#one of the tidal wave of Jaws alikes that Italy pumped out in the wake of Spielberg's gargantuan blockbuster; in fact quite possibly the#most expensive attempt to emulate his film from the Italians (I mean look at that improbable cast of Hollywood royalty they assembled).#John Wayne (blergg) was first choice to star but was too sick (he died soon after) and instead the role went to John 'at this point I'll do#anything for a paycheck' Huston; poor Shelley Winters suffers through both a string of lazy fat jokes at her expense and some horrific#headwear; but surely Fonda is the most surprising presence. in fact he was first choice to replace Wayne‚ but suffered a heart attack and#so took a smaller support role. a chaotic production by all accounts (the biggest investment‚ the giant octopus prop‚ sank immediately upon#being put in the water) but despite the critical savaging this did and continues to receive‚ I found myself having an awful lot of fun#Cipriani's score is a belter too: his leitmotif for the monster is beautifully effective in its simplicity#fx are about what you'd expect but there's a certain charm to the scenes of miniature boats being menaced by an octopus hand puppet