The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #349: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Highlander (1986) Part 2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #349: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Highlander (1986) Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-349/Podcast%20349.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Highlander.   You can listen to the first part of this episode here  and, if you have not seen the film, you can actually watch the entire film for free on Tubi as well as some sequels, like the director’s cut version of the sequel, the animated series, and the TV show, which a kind soul also uploaded to Youtube).  After the conversation with Jeremy is done, I pop back in for a bit to give a few thoughts on the sequel and the cartoon.

Amazon.com: Highlander : Movies & TV

Like last week, I thought I’d post some period specific articles on Japanese swords since the movie cites their history and borrows from the mythos even though it’s superficial.  This article comes from the June 1980 issue of Black Belt magazine and talks more about the swordmaker Masamune, who is cited in the film:

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As much as folks rag on the sequel (and for good reason – just don’t take it too seriously), I have to say, I really like this quote, the bits with Sean Connery, and the bagpipes in the background.  RIP, Sir Connery / Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez and Godspeed!

And check out the music in the intro of the animated series.  Always loved the electric guitar lead mixed with the symphonic backing track.  I think I only watched the show a few times as a kid and had no clue what was going on (since I hadn’t seen the movie yet, not that it matters; they’re only tangentially connected), but after poking around on Youtube, I found this clip of the ending theme.  I don’t remember it at all, but it sounds a bit like The Thirteenth Hour theme in a different key, which is maybe why I like it).  Love the guitar there.  Possible unconscious reference?  

It was really nice to be able to share this little slice of the 80s with my brother, since he not only did he remember a lot more than I did, but he’s one of the few people who knows the influence films like this, however obscure, had on the writing on The Thirteenth Hour books (more next week).  Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG.  You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here.   If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  For those on Patreon, stay tuned for a bit for you guys!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #348: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Highlander (1986) Part 1

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #348: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Highlander (1986) Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast-348/Podcast%20348.mp3

 

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Highlander.   This was a film I watched in high school I believe for a history class report on 1980s movies, and I recall watching the cartoon series probably a few years earlier.  While there are quite a few sequels and associated properties (like a TV show), this is probably the best of them, highlighted by a great soundtrack done by Queen with a score by Michael Kamen.  (You can actually watch the entire film for free on Tubi as well as some sequels, like the director’s cut version of the sequel, the animated series, and the TV show, which a kind soul also uploaded to Youtube).

Amazon.com: Highlander : Movies & TV

The film starts in quite dramatic fashion:

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It was interesting watching this film in over 20 years.  This clip is one of the few parts I actually remember.

This week and next, I’ll post some period specific articles on Japanese swords since the movie cites their history and borrows from the mythos even though it’s superficial.  This article comes from a 1982 martial arts magazine:

img_7013img_7014img_7015img_7016img_7017img_7018img_7019

It was really nice to be able to share this little slice of the 80s with my brother, since he not only did he remember a lot more than I did, but he’s one of the few people who knows the influence films like this, however obscure, had on the writing on The Thirteenth Hour books (more next week).  Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG.  You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here.   If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  Look for more in part 2 next week!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #75: My Brother Visits – Reflections on 80s Movies Part 2 of 2 

Episode #75: Reflections on 80s Stuff Part 2: Video Games, Miniatures, and More Movies

https://archive.org/download/Podcast75_201701/Podcast%2075.mp3

We talk more sci-fi and fantasy movies from the 80s this episode … like this one:

Image result for howard the duck

My brother, who you may remember as my first phone guest in Episode #30, recently visited for the holidays.  We did an in studio recording while trying to paint little plastic miniatures for the sequel to The Thirteenth Hour while discussing 80s movies and games we’d both enjoyed as kids.  This is part 2.  You can find part 1 here.  We continue reflecting on 80s films in this episode and touch on a few favorite video games from the 8 bit era as well.

Here are some of the movies and games we talk about:

-Ladyhawke

-Legend (see the Tom Cruise running clip here)

-Highlander

-Highlander: The Animated Series (you can watch the series on youtube)

-E.T.

-Earth to Echo (a modern homage to E.T.)

-The Iron Giant (80s in nature)

-The Back to the Future trilogy

-Howard the Duck (here are some clips set to music from the movie with vocals by Lea Thompson and appearances by Jeffrey Jones and Tim Robbins – Don’t Turn Away and the ending song where Howard pulls some Marty McFly guitar riffs onstage).

-Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (that scene where the Jennifer Grey character kicks the Jeffrey Jones principal character in the noggin a few times)

-Conan (scenes where Conan abuses the quadrapeds)

Conan the Adventurer cartoon

-Quest for Glory

-Gauntlet …

As I mentioned last week, while were having this conversation, we were trying to paint little miniatures from Hero Forge, a site that allows you to create more or less custom miniatures (I made Logan and Aurora for the sequel to The Thirteenth Hour).  We had no idea what we were doing, really, though I got a lot of good tips from Mhawkinsart and Knives_mcdougal on Instagram.  Here are some pics of the process:

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It was messy …

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My first attempt at painting Aurora …  She kind of reminds me of an amphibian here.

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Doing the faces was really hard …

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Yup … none of these guys are going to win beauty awards … not that appearances are everything …

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My second attempt at doing Logan – now he looks like a burn victim.

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The final attempt – now Logan looks like Mickey Mouse!  But I’ve lost patience to it again …

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…but Aurora I think looks a bit better … the whole process of painting these little guys reminds me of soldering electronics (never was great at that) or trying to pipet things in a lab (bad memories from college), but it was cool to see the final effect.  There’s one more figured to go … you’ll see periodic updates on Instagram.

You can follow Jeremy on Twitter and Instagram as well to get real-time updates and his unique insights into games and how we play them.  He’s written a number of insightful articles on his Tumblr blog.  Here are some representative articles on the Lone Wolf game books and Quest for Glory (also here). 

 

Happy New Year, and thanks for listening!

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