Part Two - The Esther Project

One of the (many) mistakes we made during the filming of this dramatic photoplay, was when we decided to 'lose' one of our best props before the movie was even 3 minutes old. I'm referring to the brown, touristy suitcase Don started off with. In retrospect, the main character should have been kept 'whole' from start to finish in this story. When the suitcase was eliminated (after hitchhiking in the yellow sports car) we lost what could have been the best ongoing visual element of humour. Don should have been required to drag that thing around with him everywhere he went.

If only we'd thought to have Paul (the sports car driver) toss the tattered suitcase back out onto the road behind him as he sped off in that final scene (from part one). He didn't really want it anyway; he wasn't a thief. Having the suitcase available for Don's frantic chase scenes in the film's second half, would have raised the laugh level of this movie from a paltry two stars to SIX!

In this second of five installments, we follow our hero again as he continues in his quest to reunite with Esther. It's unclear to us at this point exactly how long they've been apart, but we're starting to get the hint that Esther ain't fondly remembered by the simple folks in this dusty town. Part two today features a totally convincing fight scene with Dan (wearing my sister's old red kimono) during which, unfortunately, we lose yet another good comedy prop that should have been kept in - Don's squaresville smoking jacket. Thankfully, Dan's red kimono will make another guest appearance later on.

Part One - The Esther Project

That's me sitting on the ground and Don (in his final role) walking towards the camera during our first day of principle shooting for the 'Block Blazer' blockbuster "In Search Of Esther" - a 1975 whodunit which still manages to draw crowds whenever it plays late at night on the local home theatre screen. And thanks to some devoted fans (groupies) of the super 8 film medium of the time, a few photographs from that day (taken from a respectable distance) have been uncovered that capture the art of moviemaking in the act.

This was a rushed production. With a deadline fast approaching of Don's departure for Australia, there was little time for rewrites or second takes or even a coherent storyline to stitch the project together. As I recall, my main objective was just to make a long movie. The longer the better. Ideally, I wanted something approaching the running time of an actual Hollywood movie - about 90 minutes! But what I settled for, with outtakes and bloopers, was around 20 minutes. Still; a sizable investment of time and effort.

Since the edited version of this movie is currently being torn down from its perch on the Youtube website, the new home for this epic feature should be right here at Blazer Central. But it should be offered up in chunks, rather than as a full meal deal. Starting today with part one; the opening scenes as Don returns to his hometown after a long absence. (Art would soon be imitating real life as we would eventually discover.)

What's STILL missing from this opening, was the original plan I had to run all the text credits over a few still photos I'd taken of Don at the airport pretending to have just arrived (while wearing those icky striped pants). Those pictures still exist (in slide format) and may eventually be employed for their original purpose. But not for this showing.

Big Al; Small Mention - UPDATED!

Perhaps it's time we finally gave the little runt (Big Al) a blog entry of his very own. Right here, right now. A short acknowledgment (while we wait for more films to be processed) to concede that yes - just as with Wonderful Wanda and the neighbor with the missing arm - our block was a tiny fraction of a measurement more interesting than it would have been without Big Al being a part of it.

And altho we don't see the little scamp much anymore (if ever) and he has yet to watch even ONE of these old NRP films in which he appears, we know that sooner or later he will show up again, probably when we least expect it; and probably right back on the sidewalks of our old neighborhood. Probably peddling that stupid bicycle of his with the colorful streamers poking out the handle grips.

Until then, we'll simply stop for a brief moment in our hectic day, to salute the nosey little intruder with the impish smirk. "Sa-lute!" we shout. As if this blog was more like an episode of "Hee Haw" than the respectable home showpage for all things Block Blazerish.

NEWS UPDATE: A new viewer to this No Relevant Point website accidentally stumbled upon our posting about Big Al and felt the need to assist us by supplying us with what appears to be an officially updated photograph of the one time pre-teen Blazer-in-training. A full THIRTY YEARS after his image was last captured on super 8 film.

The picture attached at this juncture then, is none other than THEE little squirt himself 'BIGish ALish'; as he would appear today if spotted out riding his bicycle on the street - assuming he would ever come back and do such an odd thing.

Still Photos - Retarded Cousin Of The Movies

When did I ever find the time to snap all these old still pictures? I thought I was far more into the movie making schtick back in the 70s.

I've got miles and miles of super 8 film stored in canisters that are stored in big boxes that are stored in the storage room where they reach for the ceiling - and yet I also continue to bump into a never ending supply of photo albums that are filled to the brim with images that were obviously captured during the same time period (1972-78) using one of the three still cameras I had in my possession back then.

Fast forward to the modern day. While I might use my new digital camera to snap the occasional digital photograph every now and then, I'm nowhere NEAR to matching the totals that were reached by my younger self using my younger cameras with old fashioned Kodachrome. And that's a good thing I guess. Better to capture the good old days of my youth than to capture the weary 'old man' days of the present.

So that's our plot for tonight's show, kids. Yet another salute to the past. But this time, we'll be viewing results from the super 8 movie camera's slightly retarded cousin; the Brownie box still camera.

Winds Of Change

Here's another short collection of filmbits that have been carefully transported by bicycle over from Youtube to this Blog showcase; including a quick-paced opening flurry featuring the 1988 softball team that, up until now, has only been seen on the special collector's bonus edition DVD I made for long time coach Al J. Very few of the faces on that team from 20 years ago have bothered to continue playing all the way thru to this just completed season of 2008 - but there's a few.

The rest of today's package is pretty familiar stuff for any regular visitor to these pages. The little Alan kid is back. So is Billy and his Bug. Bartholomew almost flips his shoe into a river, and a summer stroll for Paul and Hanklin comes to a sudden stop when they both hear the winds of change sneaking up from behind.

Have we already watched the 'Kung Fu You' footage on this blog yet? Man, that's old stuff. Hard to believe that it was an official entry in the prestigious 1975 Philum Festival - the highest rung on the ladder of local filmmaking achievement. The judges must have been accepting any and all entries that year.

A Thud Heard 'Round The Block

As promised in last week's episode, the footage of Don's 1975 farewell speech to the throngs at YVR (Vancouver Airport; just prior to his flight to freedom) has been faithfully regurgitated here (below) on this blog page from its previous place of employment - which for the past year or so has been over there on Youtube.

And when I say 'faithfully regurgitated' I mean of course, that many scenes were altered or tinkered with, the running order was mixed up, the music was changed, and a few scenes were tossed out during the four minute transport between websites. Although I've never been one to embrace the sentiment, I've always understood that 'change is good' and maybe that applies here.

So what we're left with now is the streamlined version of events from that prehistoric day so long ago. This is an important memory within the collective mind of all true Block Blazers - a day that STILL calls out to us in echoes and half heard whispers. This was the day we realized that Blazerville - as we'd come to know it - had finally reached the end of the road with a sudden and resounding thud.

Replanting

A few of the videos that I've compiled of the old Quebec street gang during the past few months, are currently residing over there in that very popular 'Youtube' location. I've now decided that those films should be chopped down from Youtube ASAP and replanted in this more appropriate blog address. Rather than splitting them up onto three or four different video sharing websites (as I've been doing) they should all be collected here under one roof in order to keep better track of the mammoth project.

However, before I begin distributing the reruns (starting with a repeat showing of: 'The End' aka: "Don's Australian Decision") I'll quickly upload a mixed bag of super 8 scenes from yet another satisfying DVD transfer; which starts off with a quick visit to England (and Abbey Road Studios) for Sandy and myself exactly 25 years ago. I guess it's pointless to add that I find it hard to believe how fast time continues to race by us. Using my own sense of inner clock time, we shouldn't be living and breathing in any year later than 1996. '97 at the utmost. Yet I understand by TV and newspaper reports that it's nearly 2009!

And what's the deal with the crappy sound on this video? Like it's trying to blow up my speakers or something. You'd be smart to slide the volume lever half way over to the left to kill the distortion before you push the play button.