June 25

[Marc]

My compliments to Scooter (who correctly got the buffalo reference) and to Mudshark (who PM'd me the correct reference for the "remedied" quote).

This part of Cliffhangers is an homage to the films of Edward D. Wood, with much of the material drawn from or inspired by "Plan 9 From Outer Space". The "remedied" line is a Criswell quote from one of the last films Wood was associated with, "Orgy of the Dead." The buffalo stampede is from the first film Wood directed, "Glen or Glenda" (in which it makes as little sense as it does in Cliffhangers).

For a hilarious introduction to the life and work of Wood, I recommend the 1994 documentary "Ed Wood: Look Back in Angora." The film presents Wood by intercutting material from his own films with interviews and wry comments from the narrator to create one of the funniest documentaries I've ever seen.

The film often splices together bits from several Wood films so that they will play off each other in an entirely new way. In one part, for instance, the narrator declares that Wood tried to put together some new projects after Plan Nine. We then cut to a film sequence where a character (played by Wood) says, "Ah my dear, what I have for you will be a feast for your very eyes." The film then cuts to a character from a different movie snorting, "What have you got this time -- more junk?" Well worth seeing.