7 replies to this topic

[Safari Suit]

For those who don't know what Tales From the Crypt was, it was an anthology series (based on an infamous and groundbreaking line of EC comics from the 50s) not unlike The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories or The Outer Limits (more the revival than the original), and followed a similar format of bizzare stories that usually worked their way towards an ironic twist. Unlike those shows it aired on cable and was more or less given free range with language, violence and sexual content. Given the gothic bent of the show the gore was quite extreme at times, perhaps even unrivaled in mainstream television even today. It was probably the first HBO show to enjoy massive popular recognition, and developed a reputation for being transgressive, but like the Evil Dead movies it was all pretty innocent really. Each episode was hosted by a character called "The Cryptkeeper" whose deliberately terrible puns would shame Freddie Krugger and took him to equal or greater fame (both had their own rap singles). It attracted a lot of (then) big names in front and behind of the camera including Michael J. Fox, Demi Moore, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger and our own Timothy Dalton. It was so popular it even spawned a mis-conceived Saturday Morning animated adaptation!

By the mid-90s that was all kind of drawing to a close however. Two big-screen films, Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood, failed to scare audiences into "coughing up" much cash at the "spook-office". For the seventh and (as it turned out) final season, depending on who you believe the producers either "felt they had exhausted the supply of American talent" for the series and decided to look further afield, or wanted to save money and moved filming to England. For whatever reason the season featured a lot of up-and-coming British talent including Ewan McGregor, Steve Coogan (still up and coming 15 years later!), Eddie Izzard and, you guessed it, Daniel Craig:

The episode is called Smoke Wrings, and is set in the world of advertising! Woooooohooooooooo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxCoDIS8JM
Part 2
Part 3
(Warning: Contains Strong Language, Violence, Sexual Content, Cheap Keyboard Music and Graphic Use of Puns)

Not one of the show's all-time best, but pretty good for this stage in the game.

Scream your comments below!

[Mr_Wint]

Interesting, the one with Dalton is also worth watching:

TFTC Werewolf Concerto Part 1/3
TFTC Werewolf Concerto Part 2/3
TFTC Werewolf Concerto Part 3/3

Check out the scene starting at 4.25 in part 2 - Bond vs Gogol...

[Binyamin]

Daniel's acting -- though not the script -- is quite good here. I can't help but think that in his years before Bond, Brosnan was perfecting his *smarmyness*, while Craig was perfecting his *cockiness.* The latter works far better for Bond.

[David Schofield]

Binyamin, not sure how Brosnan deserves a kicking from shows in which he doesn't appear?

But hey, at least I can now see where Babs got the idea Craig was good-looking from; in this he actually looks male-pretty. (Christ knows what he must have put in his system between here and CR to get that, er, lived in face). I've always reckoned he was a hightly talented actor, however.

But these Tales from the Crypt are really about Dalton, the "real, cool" James Bond. Don't you just love his line to Gogol: "I never lose"? Classic.

Shows where Dalton's charisma had got him by the early '90s (can't see Craig's novice, mistake-making Bond handling that line) and why the absence of Dalton's third movie is the biggest regret in EON history, surely.

[Binyamin]

Binyamin, not sure how Brosnan deserves a kicking from shows in which he doesn't appear?

This is one of the earliest pieces I've seen Craig in. It was an observation of early Craig versus early Brosnan in, say, Remington Steele.

[Matt_13]

Wow. He's so talented. He was actually cool in that clip, and this is wayyy before Bond. Thanks for showing this!

That Dalton clip was rather good, as well. The two best actors for the role hands down.

[JCRendle]

Happy Halloween guys! Thought I'd bring this back to everyone's attention for the spookiest day of the year...

[Peckinpah1976]

A friend of mine interviewed Craig on the set of TFTC for a horror magazine he used to write for and still has a photo he took of the actor caked in blood - said he was very friendly and down-to-earth; he'd not long finished making Our Friends in the North and it hadn't been broadcast yet so he was still a relative unknown.