Hmf. Lemme try that Entertainment Weekly link again…
To view the full story there, you have to be a subscriber to either EW or AOL.
That was a great article. I read it before submitting myself to the horror that is Manos. My favorite anecdote from the article: El Paso was so proud of this film (before they saw it, that is), they had a little premiere at a local theatre nad treated the cast like celebrities. There was even a limo- a limo. The limo had to go around, pick one of the stars up, go to the theatre, let the star out and walk down the runway, then go back and pick the next star up, etc.
I can only remember a few things about the film…the bizarre opening driving sequence which seems to never end, the Master’s many wives fighting about what to do with the little girl, and of course, Torgo. He looks like he’s drunk (it takes him about three minutes to tie the husband to a tree) and sounds like he’s talking underwater. And he also has a strange bit of dialog- “Get out of here! There is no room. Get out of here!” And I agree that the final bit in the MST3K version, with Mike Nelson as Torgo, is very funny.
Aw yeah. “The haunting Torgo theme.”
This is one of my favorite MST3ks. The lack of terror. The unending pointlessness that is the first 20 minutes of the film. Torgo. It’s not quite as good as Mitchell, but it’s pretty durn close.
My favorite bit is when the “brides of Manos” are discussing killing the family:
Bride: Man, yes, child no.
Tom: Cheese maybe.
and of course, the mads apologizing for the movie was classic.
I… I… had no i-DEA that a sub-SCRIP-tion was re-QUI-red. I… I’m sorry… if you wish to… seek it out… the article was prin-ted in Entertainment WEEK-ly Issue #824 (June 10 2005)… I… had no i-DEA that a sub-SCRIP-tion was re-QUI-red… The… the MAS-ter would not ap-PROVE…
(fondles cbawlmer’s hair spastically for about 20 seconds, then wobbles off unsteadily to eerie music)
nerk nerk NEEK nerk nerk nerk NEEK nerk nerk nerk NEEK nerk nerk nerk NEEK nerk
Hee hee… This thread inspired me to dig out my VHS copy of **“Manos…” ** Totally forgot about the accompanying short: the epic second half of Hired!
*“We’re gonna have leadership the way my old man told me! You! Put a handkerchief on your head! You! Swat at imaginary elves! You! Rock on the porch all day!”
“AAAUGH!!! Zintar gets the most sales 'cause he’s a shapeshifter!”
“–but he BOUGHT THE CAR!!!”
“Good night! Stay soft, pink and oily!”*
I once had a Torgo screensaver that featured an animated Torgo shuffling around the screen while the theme music played. One night I went home and accidentally left my speakers on and turned up quite loud. My office was at the end of a long dark hall. Long story short, I scared the hell out of the janitor that night.
It really is creepy. Although it’d be scarier if it was less irritating. When I fired up our copy of “MST3K Essentials,” I left the options screen on, complete with Torgo music, for much too long. My mother was going nuts.
Sooooo…
Manos.
The Hands of Fate.
Eeek! Now I need to shower. And put on this gauzy nightgown thing. And wrestle. :eek:
A couple of informative links:
The Agony Booth Recap of the original film.
An informative article/interview with two of the original cast & crew of “Manos”.
There’s also a follow up somewhere with the woman who played the daughter of the Master…
Yyyyep…
Manos.
The…hands of fate. (sigh)
This is a bug hunt man! A bug hunt!
My favorite part of this episode actually comes in a later episode where (the randomness is half the humor so I’ll throw a spoiler around it):
I think it was Operation Double 007 where Torgo comes shambling back with Frank’s Dr. Pepper. Apparently it took him a season and a half to walk out to the car and walk back!
That’s not from “Manos”. That’s from “Eegah!”.
I liked at the end, when:
The two women are driving down the highway, and Servo starts this long rambling monologue about nothing in a twangy falsetto. “Sometimes I get gassy-do you get gassy? Sometimes I do, and then, oh, this rain will just FRIZZ my hair, it just frizzes, and then so I went on a diet, because it was like wearing 20 pounds of butter!”
Actually, that dialog would almost make sense. His actual line is more like, “There is no way out of here. It will be dark soon. There is no way out of here.”
Wow – NetFlix has MST3K films? I’m putting that on my list! Just below, “Get a DVD player.”
Dude, you can get a really good DVD player for under $40. Our $38 one is better than the $179 one.
Tom Servo: “It will be dark soon!”
Don’t listen to him, DVD is just a fad. Beta is coming back, just wait and see.
And “Mitchell.”
My favorite part that nobody’s mentioned yet is when they first show the Master and they flash back to the painting of him and his hellbeast and Joel goes “ohhhh” all knowingly. Cracks me up every time.