arthaupt1

When I saw 'Black Widow' in a theater in the '80s, my first thought was: This seems just like the great Noire novel 'The Eye of the Beholder' (1980) by Marc Behm. That book was made into a tolerable French movie in 1983, directed by Claude Miller; then an American-made remake in 2000 with the same title as the novel, starring Ewan Mcgregor.

I confess I could only bear 5 minutes of the Mcgregor version before hitting the remote. (Not your fault, Ewan!) The plots in 'Widow,' the novel, and the Mcgregor version are similar: a solitary detective (Winger's part) tails a female serial killer; the former getting ever more involved with his/her quarry as they traverse the landscape and time rolls by. It's an unusual detective plot that would need a very delicate director to make it work. Hasn't happened yet.

Two things I still remember of 'Widow': (1) Serial killer Theresa Russell's self-hating meltdown in her car, just perfect; and (2) the filmmakers' taking advantage of an actual erupting volcano in a Hawaiian scene. Alas, the volcano steals the scene.

"Outlaws" was a very charming show while it lasted. It was the "A-Team" with Western attire and time-travel mixed in. Maybe the upcoming Summer 2011 movie "Cowboys & Aliens" will have the same Western-plus-SF charm.

Things I remember:

Rod Taylor talking ruefully about how everyone he ever knew (a century ago) was now dead and buried.

Also, the time the team rented horses at an urban-park riding stable so they could chase the fleeing bad guys: "Now don't run the horses," the stable manager admonished. "Yeah, right," our heroes replied before galloping off at top speed. (Because horses are for running. Every horse person knows that.)

But the thing I liked best in "Outlaws" was the music score by Joseph Conlan. It was an exceptional Western score, with many facets--rousing action, wistfulness, Americana. I always try to champion this score, and hope someday one of the soundtrack CD companies specializing in old scores will give it a chance.

I saw this movie in the early '80s and found it artsy and messy yet with staying charm. Have just seen it again on DVD and still like it. The disregard of reality and logic are almost Lynch-like. The cast is quite good, and the messy households are like something from A Streetcar Named Desire.

I dimly recall that director Beineix was going to follow this movie with an extravagant production of Marc Behm's vampire novel "The Ice Maiden." (Behm a favorite writer of mine.) But "Moon" bit the dust at the box office, and as a result, the "Ice" project got scrapped. Maybe it'll get made someday.

Per the 'Net, "Moon"'s much-in-evidence red car is an early '60s Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder.