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Troma

Started by Famous Mortimer, October 16, 2020, 03:08:56 PM

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Famous Mortimer

I felt like watching "They Call Me Macho Woman" today, but Troma's Youtube page has stopped putting their movies on there for free. Anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUos9xvPOQ0

This is the most recent upload on their channel, a comedy sketch mocking safe spaces. The sort of thing that an old man who used to bang on in his DVD commentaries about how unions were just as bad as fascists would think was cutting edge satire.

They still luck into distributing decent movies ("The Slashening") but their original output is pretty much nil these days. Still, any favourites from their catalogue, how much do you hate their stupidly retitled movies from overseas, etc.

Sebastian Cobb

I was quite chuffed to see Kaufman crop up in Hal Hartley's Ned Rifle.

I like the ones I caught quite young when watching 4later; Chopper Chicks from Zombietown, Tromeo and Juliet, Redneck Zombies and of course Toxic Avenger.


Egyptian Feast

I've enjoyed most of the films Kaufman has directed, but the recent two-part Class of Nuke 'Em High remake wasn't his finest work. I've chatted briefly with him at the Prince Charles Cinema when each of them (and Essex Spacebin) were shown there and always found him and Mrs Kaufman a delight.

My favourite film of his is Terror Firmer and he was pleased to hear that I'd shown the incredible set-piece with the naked micropenis ginger fella running around with his head encased in a mould to my classmates in a seminar at college. They weren't impressed, unsurprisingly, but they were as square as I was an obnoxious twat, and it was relevant to my presentation. That whole sequence
Spoiler alert
(from where micropenis ginger fella is enjoying a sensory deprived blowjob until an actress gets her tits shot out and all hell breaks loose up to the bit where his head gets squashed by that car from the Sgt Kabukiman stunt Kaufman has been reusing in every subsequent film, which then explodes, killing some bystanders laughing at his micropenis and vomiting on each other)
[close]
is truly masterful and Lloyd's finest work.

I can't say I've seen that many non-Kaufman joints, but I enjoyed Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid, Father's Day and the aforementioned Essex Spacebin a good deal.

Shit Good Nose

Combat Shock is the obvious contender for genuinely decent release.  Not well liked or particularly regarded at the time, but has become increasingly prescient.

Cannibal The Musical is right up there of course.

Does Mad Dog Morgan count?  They only picked up home video distribution rights, but it's still officially part of their roster I believe.


I've seen all of the main franchises - yer Toxies and Kabukimans - but they're not really my thing.

For years though, if not decades, I thought the Killer Tomatoes franchise (of which I AM a fan) was from Troma.  It was only a few years ago (possibly when Arrow released Return on blu ray over here) that I found out it wasn't.

thenoise

Troma were kicked off YouTube for a while for some kind of copyright violation, even though they were only showing their own movies. They releases a statement on twitter. Their channel is back in some form but another of great stuff gone, the movies but also specially made youtube content too.

I watched about a hundred of the troma films on youtube when they were there,almost all stinkers but enjoyable enough. There was a dinosaur film where they literally waved about children's toys as the special effects.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: thenoise on October 21, 2020, 04:51:43 PM
Troma were kicked off YouTube for a while for some kind of copyright violation, even though they were only showing their own movies.

Music rights IIRC, as in some of the films had copyrighted music that was only clear for theatrical and home video releases but not streaming.  And then Lloyd - bless him - went on some Netflix nonce meltdown.

thenoise

Makes sense. Good old uncle Lloydie sticking it to the man, even when he's in the wrong :p

Sebastian Cobb

It's definitely one of those things in some cases we like the idea of more than the product innit?

It makes me glad he's out there doing this stuff, it absolutely should be done.

Chriddof

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on October 22, 2020, 06:01:18 PM
It's definitely one of those things in some cases we like the idea of more than the product innit?

I'd agree with this. There is some intriguing anti-charm to the original stuff they made, but the ineptness and bad writing (and naff humour) sink it. Although I did enjoy the "Make Your Own Damn Movie" book, which almost ends halfway through due to an argument between the three authors (Kaufman and two other important Troma people, who I now forget) conducted through email. They only resumed writing it when the publishing company threatened not to pay them.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Chriddof on October 22, 2020, 10:57:45 PM
I'd agree with this. There is some intriguing anti-charm to the original stuff they made, but the ineptness and bad writing (and naff humour) sink it.
I think most of their original movies (up to Terror Firmer) are fine, but their endless scamming of their own fanbase with rotten buy-ins that they gave lurid names to is the thing that put me off them. But they still give a home to some interesting stuff ("The Slashening", to name one).

itsfredtitmus

used to enjoy the harmony korine clone films from giuseppe andrews

thenoise

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on October 23, 2020, 04:18:00 AM
I think most of their original movies (up to Terror Firmer) are fine, but their endless scamming of their own fanbase with rotten buy-ins that they gave lurid names to is the thing that put me off them. But they still give a home to some interesting stuff ("The Slashening", to name one).

They got a bit of a poor reputation early in the dvd game for poor VHS pan&scan transfers, plentiful but irrelevant extras including the same stuff across multiple discs, and even releasing censored versions of films by mistake. I dare say their blu rays are fine, certainly the ones they have loaned to other companies are, but these things stick in the memory.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: thenoise on October 30, 2020, 08:03:11 PM
They got a bit of a poor reputation early in the dvd game for poor VHS pan&scan transfers, plentiful but irrelevant extras including the same stuff across multiple discs, and even releasing censored versions of films by mistake. I dare say their blu rays are fine, certainly the ones they have loaned to other companies are, but these things stick in the memory.
I found a pile of their DVDs in the "take one, leave a donation" box at my old workplace, and the list of special features looked substantial but turned out to not be much.