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As Good As It Gets

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

During the 1960s, the Italians proceeded to make impressive strides in their historic cinematic output. The old-master auteurs such as Fellini, Antonioni, De Sica, Visconti and Pasolini continued to put out quality product (to put it mildly, in the case of the first two), while up-and-comers such as Mario Bava and Sergio Leone helped to jump-start the nascent genres of Italian Gothic horror, the giallo film, and the so-called "spaghetti Western." The Italian comedies continued to flourish, as did the country's truly one-of-a-kind "sword and sandal" films. But there was one area in which the Italians, try as they might, just couldn't seem to make much of an impressive dent, it seems to me, and that was in the arena of sci-fi. Case in point: the 1967 film "The Snow Devils." Despite its ambitious story line, a top-tier actor in front of the camera and a respected director in charge of the production, the film, to my not-so-great surprise, fails to deliver in most departments. And yet, like all those inferior Italian sci-fi films of the period, cheesy as they are, this one remains good fun, somehow, nevertheless. My beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia," which usually has a high tolerance for this sort of dreckish fare, deems the film "very boring," but I somehow managed to be entertained by it. Certainly not anyone's idea of quality cinematic fare, the picture, cheesy as it is (I still have not decided whether it is more asiago, fontina or robiola in nature!), is yet one that you might comfortably settle down to watch with your favorite 8-year-old nephew sitting beside you. In the film, we learn that the weather station near Mt. Kangchenjunga, in the Himalayas, has somehow been destroyed, and all its inhabitants killed. Sent to investigate is granite-jawed hunky dude Rod Jackson (played by Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, who many will recall from Bava's classic film of the previous year, "Kill, Baby, Kill), commander of the orbiting Gamma 1 space station, which itself is part of the UDSCO (United Democracies Space Command). Along with his second in command, Capt. Frank Pulasky (Goffredo Unger, who both looks and functions here like Scott Grimes' Lt. Gordon Malloy character in the new and hilarious TV program "The Orville"), and Lisa Nielson, whose fiance had gone missing after the Kangchenjunga disaster (and played by the lovely Ombretta Colli, here, unfortunately, sporting a hairdo of singular atrociousness), as well as a good dozen mountain porters, Jackson treks to the region of the weather station, near which a "high-energy proton field" has been detected that is, alarmingly, altering the very climate of the Earth. The polar ice caps have started melting, followed by the inevitable worldwide flooding. Ultimately, the team discovers the cause of the disasters: Blue-skinned, white-furred aliens from the planet Aytia, whose century-long presence in the mountains has been the source of the local yeti legend, are changing the Earth's temperature to adapt it to their own uses! Jackson and Co. manage to wipe out the aliens' installation, only to later discover a more shocking truth: An entire outpost of the cyanotic-looking aliens has been established on the Jovian moon Callisto, from which they plan to continue their attacks on our planet! And so, Jackson and his allies suit up and blast off for Jupiter, to attempt one do-or-die battle in outer space.... "The Snow Devils" starts off promisingly, and I must say that its first half--especially the scenes in which we see our brave team hiking through the Himalayas--is fairly well done. The film's theme song, by composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, is also striking; almost like a cross between a spaghetti Western tune written by Ennio Morricone and some psychedelic rock effort. But the picture falters in its second half, and the special effects that are utilized to showcase our team in space are of a truly embarrassing nature; almost on an Ed Wood level of awfulness. Trust me, you will be howling at the meteor swarm that our heroes pass through, a swarm that looks like some sparklers thrown at the camera lens. Director Antonio Margheriti, who had previously impressed me via his Gothic horrors "Castle of Blood" and "The Long Hair of Death," both starring the great "Queen of Horror" Barbara Steele, and who had already helmed such sci-fi outings as "Battle of the Worlds," "War of the Planets" and "Wild Wild Planet," does his usual competent job here, but he is ultimately let down by the cheapjack nature of the production. Special FX surely are not everything in a motion picture endeavor, but when they are as laughably bad as these are here, they can unfortunately torpedo a viewer's suspension of disbelief. "The Snow Devils" is surely not the worst way to spend 90 minutes, but as I say, it is surely an exercise in cheese. The Italians, by the way, would do a LOT better a few years later, with their classic sci-fi outing "The Green Slime." That one is surely an exercise in camp and cheese as well, but at least the FX are better, and it also features the great Luciana Paluzzi, who is undoubtedly a special effect in her own right....

The legend of the Himalayas abominable snowman gets some verification in this Italian made science fiction film Snow Devils. Earth's climate is changing and there have been more sightings of the shy and legendary creatures than usual. Some other scientific phenomena have recorded from the 'Roof of the World' than normal.What to do but find out as earth's expedition goes to the world's highest mountains and finds some rather large hairy aliens who are directing some climate control equipment that are making the polar ice caps melt causing record flooding. When there's enough water out there, why we freeze things again making the climate just right for us snow dwellers from another solar system.After dealing with the Himalayan advance expedition, the same group of intrepid astronauts go into space to deal with the alien base which is located on Callisto one of Jupiter's moons. You got to see how they do it as the futuristic world is saved.I'm sure right now among climate change deniers there's a plan to market Snow Devils to a new generation as this says that any phenomena that scientists have recorded in this film is the real reason for climate change. This film is going over big in the EPA of the Trump Administration.I've sometimes wondered, but never for very long whether if one is fluent in Italian whether these films might make more sense in the original language. I kind of doubt it though.The subject has been better dealt with in much better films.

The fourth entry in Italy's "Gamma One" spaghetti sci-fi series does have a rather amusing story. When a weather station in the Himalayas is attacked, and its employees killed, intrepid space captain Rod Jackson (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) is dispatched to find out what happened. In the company of his faithful sidekick Frank Pulasky (Goffredo Unger), a guide (Wilbert Bradley), and assorted porters, they venture into the mountains, and encounter the title culprits: the yetis of legend, who just so happen to be aliens!Series director Antonio Margheriti (who also co-wrote the screenplay) has some fun with the far out premise - for a while. While "Snow Devils" isn't as engaging as earlier entries, it's still goofy enough to work, with villains who helpfully give the audience and the heroes all the exposition that they could need. While it will strike its viewers as being cheap and cheesy (the Snow Devils are pretty tacky looking), it's this "quality" that makes the movie moderately charming. The performances are adequate from all concerned, and the ladies - Ombretta Colli, Halina Zalewska - are lovely. Enzo Fiermonte once again essays the role of the steadfast General Norton.The problem is that Margheriti can't steer the story towards an effective finale. Things actually get too slow and too quiet instead of building up the tension and excitement. But at least we eventually get rewarded with a couple of explosions.This movie does offer a reasonable amount of fun, even if it's not altogether satisfying.Followed by an unofficial series entry, the notorious "The Green Slime".Six out of 10.

**SPOILERS** Another attempt by aliens from another world trying to destroy the earth in order to take it over minus the human race left still living on it. With Yetis attacking a IDSC weather station on the ice capped Himalayias and killing everyone in it except it's commander Let. Harris has the head of IDSC Gen Norton send his best man Commander Rod, together with his top kick Capt. Pulasky, and a team of local mountain climbers to scale the Himalayan mount. Consent Junga in order to find what exactly happened. Sneaking on the climbing team is Harris' girlfriend Lisa Nielson disguised as a Sherpa guide trying to find out what happened to her lover Let. Harris. Attacked by a group of Yeti's and taken prisoners the climbers find out from the Yeti's leader Agron that their not really Yati's Bigfeet or Abominable Snowmen at all. In fact their from another planet Attina who have been on the planet earth for over a hundred years.With all the electronic equipment in working order the Attina's are now going to put the squeeze on the polar ice caps and cause them to break up and flood the earth and then lower the earth's temperature to below freezing and turn the surface of the earth into a solid sheet of ice. this would create a world for the Attina's to survive and thrive in. Commander Rod & Co. escaping from the Yeti's or Attina's and later tries to destroy their base in the Himalayias where the melting of the ice caps still continue with the coast cities of earth going under the waves. It turns out that the Attina's are using a power source in deep space to bombard the earths polar region's and it's up to Commander Rod to not only find where that source originates from but to go out with a fleet of space ships and destroy it. Bottom of the barrel special effects with a hackneyed storyline is the order of business in "Snow Devils" that has the viewers trying to keep from dozing off as they desperately try to watch the movie. The Snowmen Yeti's or Attina's had worked so long and hard to get were they were in the film. Just when they were about to achieve what they worked for all these years all they got for their efforts is nothing but a good old hot foot for their big feet or their "Bigfoot" as their known in these parts.