The Keep

[SlipNet]

I found this movie on a hard disk on my old Xbox the other day, it was a very pleasant surprise. It stars Ian McKellen and Gabriel Byrne in a very atmospheric ww2 Romanian landscape. An ancient evil force is unleashed when the Nazi occupiers unearth the grounds of the local castle keep. Really good movie about madness, addiction, corruption, duty, all with a hefty whiff of the occult. The vid I link below features the main baddie in this film, kinda reminiscent of 4d STS really. Enjoy this little highlight reel if you have the time, maybe it'll pique your interest to watch the full movie.

 

[SlipNet]

Below I link a 30min review from Quentin Tarantino. Apparently the film was shot originally as a 3hr epic, but was cut down to a 90min film upon its eventual release. I'd love to be able to see director Michael Mann's vision(whose crowning glory was 1995's Heat), and how his original vision for the movie took shape. and brought greater context and depth to the movie. I guess, 40 years on, we'll never know. Still, at a 90min flick, this is still a killer movie. Lovers of the video games Wolfenstein 3d and Doom, owe this film big time. And the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, well it's fantastic.

 

[SlipNet]

I was surprised by Tarantino's slating of the film in the vid linked above. I totally disagree with him, although learning how a 3hr film got slashed to half its length is bound to takes its toll. I first saw it back when I was a student, and found it unique stylistically. Very 80s, and the music completes this effect. Maybe I'm biased but I can't help but enjoy this movie. I link another clip from the movie below, showing the enemy in development.

 

[Alejo]

Thank you for sharing,

I watched that last clip and I can clearly see Gandalf speaking. Might look it up and watch it. And yes I concur, I like Michael Mann's work, I would've also liked to see his vision of this script.

 

[SlipNet]

No probs, you're welcome @Alejo. Finding it on my old games console was a great bonus for not throwing old stuff out. I'm a bit of a hoarder. I have 3 guitars, 4 synths, and 3 games systems. I love them all for different reasons, and they all have specific content which I value. On my old Xbox for instance I found a file of around 30 classic movies. It'll keep me entertained for years to come.

Ian McKellen has a tremendous, resonant voice. He brings gravitas to the simplest of gestures. I think one day this week I'll re-watch "Heat" as well, I loved that film upon its release, and watched it every summer for years on end back in the day. My elder brother, god rest his weary soul, well he loved it, it was one of his favourite films and we'd often watch it together. Great memories evoked by enjoying the works of a master craftsman.

It's frustrating however that the only print of this particular movie is the 1hr 30m edit, because I know for a fact that the original vision was for a 3hr epic which really got into the nitty gritty of its occult themes. McKellen's character is a frail and somewhat bitter old Jewish man, who is corrupted by the promise of vengeance against the Nazi thugs as promised by a strange devil, which is awakened from a kind of slumber by Germany's finest psychopaths.excavating the area. In the film much is implied but it's a little frustrating that character depth was sacrificed for a leaner, more commercially stylised iteration.

As it stands, "The Keep" exists as a fascinating curio, a lost cult classic which helped usher in the synth-laden glam fantasy movies of the 80s. Well worth a watch in my opinion.

 

[SlipNet]

Thank you for sharing,

I watched that last clip and I can clearly see Gandalf speaking. Might look it up and watch it. And yes I concur, I like Michael Mann's work, I would've also liked to see his vision of this script.

Yeah, the sheer power and commitment in his voice, it's priceless! Makes me think of Castaneda, and the sheer force of will to confront a 4d entity without fear, what we all wish we could do, but we may have to prove it one day, we never know. The devil in this film is a soul-eater, he consumes their fear, with the hate he sees in the Nazis. I've got to be honest, I'd love to see a director's cut version released by Mann some day. The story is so deep, but it's only hinted at in the final release. I might try and get some traction talking about it on X actually, it's worth sharing. Its depiction of evil, in the Nazis, in the devil, in McKellen's corruption fuelled by vengeance, this film had it all, and it makes you feel more yourself, it's a kind of "Heart of Darkness" like that. Gotta try and get it a popular reappraisal, I bet loads of people have never seen it.

 

[SlipNet]

One final thought on the film and I'll leave it at that. The heroic figure is a somewhat bland avatar, he lacks for example the grit that made Michael Beihn's character in the original "Terminator" movie, some more grit would have been welcome. The actor Scott Glenn does his best with a limited hand, but I'm convinced a 3hr version of this film makes a whole lot more sense than the truncated version on general release. Even a remake would be a nifty idea too, with modern effects and a longer length, covering Mann's original vision for this picture. As it stands it's still a quality film, but the scope is there to make a genuine, deep classic movie out of the source material. I hope that maybe one day someone will give it a go....

 

[Talas]

One final thought on the film and I'll leave it at that. The heroic figure is a somewhat bland avatar, he lacks for example the grit that made Michael Beihn's character in the original "Terminator" movie, some more grit would have been welcome. The actor Scott Glenn does his best with a limited hand, but I'm convinced a 3hr version of this film makes a whole lot more sense than the truncated version on general release. Even a remake would be a nifty idea too, with modern effects and a longer length, covering Mann's original vision for this picture. As it stands it's still a quality film, but the scope is there to make a genuine, deep classic movie out of the source material. I hope that maybe one day someone will give it a go....

It's certainly film of it's time and like yours and old favourite of mine and it seems many others to as there's been a few fan edits of a 35mm version of the film going around in places like fanres.com and it certainly gives the film a more cinematic edge even with all the crackles in the film from it's source,there is also a 4k Grindhouse version which looks great and uses the 35mm print.
Sad indeed it was never released in its 3hour form.

 

[SlipNet]

It's certainly film of it's time and like yours and old favourite of mine and it seems many others to as there's been a few fan edits of a 35mm version of the film going around in places like fanres.com and it certainly gives the film a more cinematic edge even with all the crackles in the film from it's source,there is also a 4k Grindhouse version which looks great and uses the 35mm print.
Sad indeed it was never released in its 3hour form.

Its depiction of evil and the sheer will and commitment required to face up to it was unique for its time. Honestly it stands up as one of the peak visual stories I've seen since watching horror and sci-fi movies since 1981 or so. It's a film that a great many more people need to see in my humble opinion, especially as it expertly hints at a kind of "the devil is real" vibe throughout. So many people go through their lives questioning whether God is real, and they never stop to wonder if, on the other hand, the Devil is real? Thanks to Hammer studios horror franchise, I got to this quandry fairly early in life. I'm chuffed to hear that you're a fellow fan of this underrated film.