My name is Martin. I'm eighty four years old. People think I'm crazy
when I tell them how old I am. I'd like to be normal.
I just have a sickness. The only way I can survive is by drinking
blood. It's not easy living the way I do. I have to be
careful all the time. I'm pretty good at it. I think as I
get older, I get better. I haven't been caught yet, Martin.
Another kind of terror. I see people don't understand what's wrong. They think
that I'm a monster. I think i'm a van higher People don't realize that
those things I see in the movies are not really I don't have a whole
lot of women. It's nice to watch them. I watch them a lot
all the time. I have to to be sure that nothing goes wrong.
I follow them, I plan. I'm very careful. I have needles now.
I can use them. I can put them to sleep and it doesn't
hurt Martin. Another kind of terror. I would like to be like everyone
else. I have to do things that I don't necessarily like that. I
want to stay alive. I do need blood. From the director of Night
of the Living Dead, nos Feratu Dracula, night walkers, or vampires.
No matter the verbiage, these creatures have been a major part of horror cinema.
The argument could even be made that it is what brought horror to film.
Many horror artists have put their own spin on the blood sucking lore that
includes the man of Honor for Classic film Reviews the month of September George A.
Romero, released in nineteen seventy seven. Martin follows the titular young man.
This is the debut role of frequent Romero contributor John Amplus, who believes
himself to be a vampire due to his thirst for blood and an old,
outdated family myth. This causes him to travel to stay with his cousin,
who does believe him to be an old world vampire. Complicating the situation is
when Martin falls for a lonely housewife in the small town. When one looks
at the career of Romero, you can find many amazing works. A common
question of filmmakers is what is their favorite film or their favorite work. For
Romero, he has said many times it is this film. Our first brief
flip is Romero explaining why and how this film began is much longer than the
ninety minutes that was brought to the screen. And then we will hear from
horror film effects king Tom Savini. This was his first collaboration with Romero of
many more he would do, and also this was his first time doing more
than just basic makeup. He did the effects in the film. He was
a stunt man and he also had his first theatrical role. It's still my
favorite of my movies. You know, I think the cast and crew,
I think number fifteen in total. Everybody just put out one hundred twenty percent.
We just had a great time. It was originally a lot longer over.
I had a lot more narration, and you know, I was back
in the cutting room that we decided, well we don't need this, we
don't need that. But it's still I think it's very, very close to
what my original idea was, you know what was originally under page and now
Tom Selene. I was in college. I heard that George was doing another
movie, a vampire movie. I went down to audition for the Vampire.
I wanted to be Martin the Vampire. I went down there and he was
already cast during Anthless of course, but I had my portfolio. So I
remember following George around flipping page if he was so busy, I was following
around flipping pages to my portfolio. Hey, yeah, we'll use your hearing
new makeup effects. And Martin is the first film I've ever done, fair
George, And it was the first time that I had to think of makeup.
See before Martin, makeup was putting makeup on it for characters for age.
It was the first time I thought of makeup and a special makeup effects,
special effects involving makeup. This is before this bladder craze, you know,
after Dawn of the Dead and Friday to the Thirteenth where all the movies
sort of became to see. Tom and I had met years before when we
were the first film that we were going to try to make, and we
needed two young people, and so we went around and looked their high school
plays and I met Tom. He was in a high school play. That
movie never happened. And then Tom went off into his own world and came
back having done a couple of things and came to visit one day and said,
Hey, I'm doing effects now and I'd like to do some acting.
It was the beginning of something that just stood fast for the whole All the
rest of the movies, I was doing the makeup effects on but he cast
me in a role. I wound up doing stunts as well, and he
had his typical enthusiasm, and you know, I said, great man,
you're just in time. We got this project gone, and it was the
first time we got to work together. The main darkly comedic elements of this
film is that of Martin and his Lithuanian Old World cousin talk to us Kuda.
Kuda will only refer to Martin as Nosferatu. When Martin first comes into
the home of Kuda, they have a confrontation when Kuda tells him the rules
that Martin must abide. Lost in this being audio is the religious imagery that
surrounds Kuda. There is garlic on his door to protect him from Martin In,
a cross within arm's reach in many areas of his room. This aspect
of dark comedy is one of the major ways this film defies being a specific
genre. You may come and go, but you will not take people from
the city. If I hear it a single time, I will destroy you
without sounvation. You may not enter my room when I wish to speak with
you. I will. My granddaughter stays with me. You will not enter
her room. I have told her not to speak with you, but she
will. You will not answer tomorrow. You may rest next day you work
in my shop. I've been told you are imbecil. Can you speak?
Speaks so I can hear your voice? Speak? Does Ferrato my great eggs
form is eat aim with stars? He resists you. You will learn in
my room. You will listen. That is your person, Justice north Fell,
I fool nord Fella. I am your cousin. I am your cousin,
Martin. You see you see, you see you see. It isn't
magic that I know that it isn't magic. Throughout this month long analysis of
Romero's work, we have found that most of his films have an underlying or
in your face social commentary. One would think in a film like this it
would be hard to add one. However, that is a part of Romero's
genius. Even in a genre bending film like this, he is still able
to put in that commentary. The commentary of this film is old world beliefs
and traditions versus new world ideas. That is evident in the scenes of Kuda
and his family. In our last clip, we hear an argument between him
and his granddaughter Christine. He goes to old family lore to explain his belief
in Martin being a vampire and even defends it. Then we hear Christine take
the modern approach to Martin's issues, that he simply needs psychiatric help. It's
crazy. I can't believe this is happening. It's a nightmare for you and
him. Your father was, that's from my part of the world. Your
mother knew, she believed. If she did, then thank god I was
too little to know her. Martin had his father until he was thirty two.
Grandfather. He is just a boy. Look at the book, Christina.
We had the books of the family. Did you ever look? Of
course the books. The books will show it. Those damn books. They
shall be burned. That's where you get your horble ideas asked the boy himself.
As he will tell you. He's unbalanced, he's mad, and you
and those books have driven him to it. He is not fat. He
was born to Ardini Buessa and the Rudy Matthias in the Old Country in the
eighteen ninety two. He is young from Nos Ferrato. There have been nine
such a person in the family. There are three still alive. Martin is
wife Caldamaldoli is the eldest in the family. Now from the whole country.
He sends the letters telling who will take the plump blame to their house?
Will obey first for the family's shame, and again because to defy the evil
ones is for being a curse upon oneself. I will not shame the family,
but the devil. You devil can take my soul. I would have
destroyed the children the moment there's old designs, and then the good lesson took
her own life instead. Now Martin comes to me. People cannot come to
other people's beliefs. It's hard for you. I know it's hard for anyone
young. Do you believe that God's whole world runs by the launch of the
few scientists we have been able to discover, Oh the Augustina, that is
more. People are satisfying. They know so much, they think they know
all, and that makes it easy for those facts. That makes it easy
for to all the devils. I will say this review was not an easy.
One reason being is this film doesn't really have a genre. A major
following and is mostly unknown even to Romero fans, but to those that have
seen it, it truly is a memorable film, and once you do see
it, it is easy to see why it is Romero's favorite film. I
feel that is because it's just like Romero. It defies conventions and norms.
It takes what people feel works best and throws it to the wayside and allows
the creator to have their own vision. It marches to its own b It's
comedic, gory, scary, and thought provoking. This film serves as the
perfect example of a Romero film and what makes Romero films great. And if
you are a fan of his work or merely just being introduced, it makes
for a great twist on an ages old legend. I hope you join me
this Friday when we conclude our month long tribute to George A. Romero by
looking at his first film, the groundbreaking, trendsetting, all time great horror
film classic, the original Night of the Living Dead. For WMNH and Matt
Connerton Unleashed, this has been a classic film review with Eric Pilcher