Matt Connarton Unleashed: Erich Pilcher reviews George A. Romero's Knightriders

Once courageous Knights roam the land, searching for adventure, ready to brave any

challenge. Night Riders. The Knight is a fighting machine, disciplined in mind

apart, and noble to the death. Night Riders and action, adventure,

romance, heraldry, pageantry and magic that he got to do with the soul,

one of those old god destiny night Riders. They ride for the crown,

they fight for Hunter. That kid thinks I'm Evil Knevil. That kid

thinks you're William the Night. You're his hero. I'm not trying to be

a hero. I'm fighting the dragon, following a dream as far as it

will take them, because a legend lives as long as someone believes. This

isn't just a roadside carne anymore. Not for some of us. It's a

lot more than that. It's a whole lot more. You know that,

Morgan, You guys is most fun I got in my life. I just

don't see all break up. You think it's breaking up. It's money,

Billy. It's all we'll do is money. Money makes the world go around,

even your work. Small town jails is uncomfortable places, damn uncomfortable.

Throw down the gauntlet, take up the challenge, a new age begins romance

and adventure Live Nightwriters, the legend is born. Renaissance fairs have long been

a part of American culture. It attracts millions of people every year across the

nation. In many feel it is one of the inspirations for comic book conventions

and cosplay for this week's Romero film. The fare is seen as an allegory

for the ultimate divisiveness of society and what truly makes Romero one of the greatest

filmmakers. Night Riders, which was released in nineteen eighty one, introduces us

to a traveling troop whose participants joust on motorcycles in battles to determine the king

of the group. The group has two differing views. That of the leader,

King William, who this is his life. To him, there is

no other way to live. Then there is Sir Morgan, the chief rival

of King William, played by longtime Romero collaborator and horror special effects guru Tom

Savini in the battles, who looks at the troop as a business in entertainment

and wants to see the group becomes something bigger to generate more money. This

film goes against the pale of films that George A. Romero is known for

horror, I feel it is best to start this review with an explanation from

the man of honor this month himself. In our first two clips, Romero

explains how Night Riders came to be, and then his thoughts on the film

and how he felt his fans would respond to it. Sadly, Romero has

often had an unfathomable self depreciating view of his work, and it comes out

in our second clip. It was funny. I had written a script about

basically the same story, but I had them on horseback. I modeled it

after there was a group called Society for Creative Anachronism that stages these jousts,

and I was pitching it around and it was actually sam Arkoff. We pitched

it to sam Arkoff and he said, he, I'll tell you what.

Put the guys on motorcycles, and maybe I'm interested in typical sam Arkoff's style.

And I just I fumed over that, you know, for months,

and then finally I I had the script basically, and I finally came around

to seeing, you know, maybe that's not so crazy and it would modernize

it and bring it up to date, and so I decided to go with

it. And all I basically did was rewrite the script and Sawahassan and he

gave us a three picture deal, but he said one of them must be

sequel to Dawn and so fab So we wound up under that deal doing Night

Riders, Creep Show, and Day of the Day. And I never had

so much freedom ever in my life, my career whenever I mean salad basically

let us make the movies. I really felt when when I was making the

film that it was important. It was important to me. That meant that

I put my best into it. So I just I know that I was

sort of at my best when I was on that set. And now how

we're Meryl felt his fans would react to this change. No, I have

forever in my career tried to look for something new that I could do.

I've always wanted to make Tarzan of the Apes, I mean, you know,

and yet I'm stuck in this sort of niche with horror. I don't

know that anyone who is a fan of my horror work, my zombie films

is going to look at Night Writers and get much out of it. Only

I think people that are either personally interested in me or in interested in what

makes me tick. Maybe, but I think basically fans today audiences will react.

General audience will react pretty much the way they did back then, which

is not respond very positively. I feel, and many film critics agree,

that William, who is played by Ed Harris in this film, is in

a way a characterization of Romero, a man that has a vision in a

way he chooses to live his life and do things. Romero, for most

of his career had that same ethos that his films would be done his way,

and if it meant not having major studio support or big budgets, then

so be it. That is evident in our next clip, over a camp

fire, William is speaking with Steve, the Troop's legal representative. Why I

chose the scene is I want you to hear William's dismissiveness over getting TV executives

involved. And then at the end one of William's loyal members makes a case

for him to consider taking the deal. If that wants to handle us,

what do you mean he wants to handle us? I thought, that's what

you did. Yeah, I can get you in alarms. I can get

you in the Brower. You but I don't know the big circuit. I'd

still be with you for legal and all the big circuit. You're gonna pull

fifteen k out of Brower. You can pull thirty or forty out of some

of these big county fairs. Hell, Billy, I can't even get those

folks on the telephone. They book acts from guys like this guy that they've

been dealing with all along. We're not an act. Well, neither's bull

rope. And you know what I mean. You do three or four of

these big gigs of summer, you can do whatever the hell you wanted for

the rest of the year. Tell this guy's talking about setting up with all

fantsy new costumes. He's even talking about setting up some deal with some cycle

man. In fact, I'm surprised you even brought this guy around, Steve.

Well, damn it. There, I'm just trying to help you along.

You guys, is most funny I get in my life. I just

don't see y'all break up. Damn it, Billy, y'all Stone broke most

of the time, and then you're taking every damn long hair that knows how

to make a pair of sandals and you want to pick up the Blue Cross

tab. Do you have the slightest idea with gas is selling for or two

by fors or Hamburger or anything else you think it's breaking up. It's money,

billy. It's all we do with money. Money makes the world go

around, even your world. No, it's just getting too tough. It's

tough to buy the code. I mean, it's real hard to live for

something that you believe in. People tried it and then they get tired of

it, like they get tired of their diets or exercise, or their marriage,

when their kids on their job with themselves, when they get tired of

their God. You can keep the money you make up the sick world,

Lord, I don't want any part of it. Anybody wants to live more

for themselves. It doesn't belong with us. Let me go out and buy

some pimpy psychiatrists. Favor Back says it's okay. Don't ask me to say

it's okay. It's not okay. Once I was in a jail in Alabama

and I got my ass kicked, just like I did last night, only

then it was because I was in there. Well, I woke up in

the morning, and I didn't even have an energy enough to lick my wounds.

I found out I'd given up, So I tried to kill myself,

try to cut my wrist with a bed spring. See, I found out

like giving up on it all because of where I was, what was all

around me. Well, last night I get my ass kicked. I came

up laughing because nah, I'm in Camelot. God. See the way I

see it is this, you got two separate fights, the one for truth

and justice and the American way of life and all that that's gotta take a

back seat to the one per stay and alive. You gotta stay alive.

You can have the most beautiful ideals in the whole world, and if you

die, your ideals are gonna die with you. The important thing is we

got to stay together. We got to keep the truth together. And if

keeping the Troup going means it we have to take some of this promoter's money,

well then I say let's take it and get some sleep. As I

mentioned in the opening, at the crux of this film is the conflict between

William and Morgan. Many film critics have analyzed this film and tried to find

the metaphor to it. What is the major conflict or what does the conflict

stand for? That is something that Ramero is known for. I feel it

is simple. It is the battle between those that simply want to live their

life the way they want without compromise and interference, the side of William,

and then the side of making it big, being successful, wealthy, in

quote unquote normal, the side of Morgan. Our next clip shows this as

William and Morgan have a heated argument over joining with a television executive. Again,

at the conclusion of this scene, I want you to hear the two

TV execs joking and salivating at the drama as this group, or some would

say family, splinters in two different directions to get your food and your supplies.

And it is right that everybody gets the same. On spending money,

all the decisions are made here, but the merchants they're like serfs. You

know. Only the Knights can make decisions. The King makes the final decision.

On the advice of the knights. We can all take it a little

more cash if we didn't spend so much on weapons at less himself. Oh

yeah, the gods damn knights have cush My god, he's hurt I mean,

we all understand their big brave manchos, but things are getting out ahead.

They don't care what they smash up. We blow five bikes a week,

parts cost the fortune and those lances. Then they let the town he's

ride with the stuff. How you look? You all like it got out?

Do you think the people? You think the people show up in a

play your part? Damn jewelry, your parts of corn? What't you gonna

sell them some shopping mall somewhere. I just spend last night in jail with

the man who God has had braid and for something they believed there and if

they don't believe it, they didn't get the hell out of here. But

brother, you don't even know we were talking about. All we were saying

is just like, what is this? What is this a council meeting?

Huh? This is a council meeting. You can't have a council meeting without

everybody being here. You cannot have a car to mee they without everyone being

here. Let's go shove you a back damn council meeting. Yeah yeah,

that's that's a twenty dollars fine. That is a twenty dollar fine, you

companion, right, now you can get your ass right out of here.

Oh man, we're already gone, bully, Hey, Billy, We're just

trying to get some things together for you. Man, where's none? Well,

it's not here. I'm not here. I'm not here. You know

who's you know? Where's tuck? Where the hell is stuck? Now,

this is a picture I'd like to get my photographer caught with their pants down

to that. At this point, I feel it goes without saying that I'm

a major fan of Romero's work. Through the years, I have the been

able to explain exactly why or go into major detail other than I know he

makes great films and such. But what I have learned through my years of

watching his films is that it is his independence. He never compromised. That

is what I want from a director. I want someone that, no matter

what, they stick to what they feel as best. To me. That

is what makes his films, as well as those done by John Carpenter,

Quentin Tarantino, and Sergio Leone great, and those are some of my other

favorite directors. It is because their vision is always what is put on film,

and anything less is a compromise. They are unwilling to make much like

King William, and that is truly heroic and worthy of the crown. I

hope you join me next week when we continue our month long tribute to George

A. Romero, we will look at one of his genre bending films,

the nineteen seventy eight release Martin for WMNH and Matt Connerton Unleashed. This has

been a classic film review with Eric Pilcher