Matt Connarton Unleashed: George A. Romero's Martin

My name is Martin. I'm eighty four years old. People think I'm crazy

when I tell them how old I am. I'd like to be normal.

I just have a sickness. The only way I can survive is by drinking

blood. It's not easy living the way I do. I have to be

careful all the time. I'm pretty good at it. I think as I

get older, I get better. I haven't been caught yet, Martin.

Another kind of terror. I see people don't understand what's wrong. They think

that I'm a monster. I think i'm a van higher People don't realize that

those things I see in the movies are not really I don't have a whole

lot of women. It's nice to watch them. I watch them a lot

all the time. I have to to be sure that nothing goes wrong.

I follow them, I plan. I'm very careful. I have needles now.

I can use them. I can put them to sleep and it doesn't

hurt Martin. Another kind of terror. I would like to be like everyone

else. I have to do things that I don't necessarily like that. I

want to stay alive. I do need blood. From the director of Night

of the Living Dead, nos Feratu Dracula, night walkers, or vampires.

No matter the verbiage, these creatures have been a major part of horror cinema.

The argument could even be made that it is what brought horror to film.

Many horror artists have put their own spin on the blood sucking lore that

includes the man of Honor for Classic film Reviews the month of September George A.

Romero, released in nineteen seventy seven. Martin follows the titular young man.

This is the debut role of frequent Romero contributor John Amplus, who believes

himself to be a vampire due to his thirst for blood and an old,

outdated family myth. This causes him to travel to stay with his cousin,

who does believe him to be an old world vampire. Complicating the situation is

when Martin falls for a lonely housewife in the small town. When one looks

at the career of Romero, you can find many amazing works. A common

question of filmmakers is what is their favorite film or their favorite work. For

Romero, he has said many times it is this film. Our first brief

flip is Romero explaining why and how this film began is much longer than the

ninety minutes that was brought to the screen. And then we will hear from

horror film effects king Tom Savini. This was his first collaboration with Romero of

many more he would do, and also this was his first time doing more

than just basic makeup. He did the effects in the film. He was

a stunt man and he also had his first theatrical role. It's still my

favorite of my movies. You know, I think the cast and crew,

I think number fifteen in total. Everybody just put out one hundred twenty percent.

We just had a great time. It was originally a lot longer over.

I had a lot more narration, and you know, I was back

in the cutting room that we decided, well we don't need this, we

don't need that. But it's still I think it's very, very close to

what my original idea was, you know what was originally under page and now

Tom Selene. I was in college. I heard that George was doing another

movie, a vampire movie. I went down to audition for the Vampire.

I wanted to be Martin the Vampire. I went down there and he was

already cast during Anthless of course, but I had my portfolio. So I

remember following George around flipping page if he was so busy, I was following

around flipping pages to my portfolio. Hey, yeah, we'll use your hearing

new makeup effects. And Martin is the first film I've ever done, fair

George, And it was the first time that I had to think of makeup.

See before Martin, makeup was putting makeup on it for characters for age.

It was the first time I thought of makeup and a special makeup effects,

special effects involving makeup. This is before this bladder craze, you know,

after Dawn of the Dead and Friday to the Thirteenth where all the movies

sort of became to see. Tom and I had met years before when we

were the first film that we were going to try to make, and we

needed two young people, and so we went around and looked their high school

plays and I met Tom. He was in a high school play. That

movie never happened. And then Tom went off into his own world and came

back having done a couple of things and came to visit one day and said,

Hey, I'm doing effects now and I'd like to do some acting.

It was the beginning of something that just stood fast for the whole All the

rest of the movies, I was doing the makeup effects on but he cast

me in a role. I wound up doing stunts as well, and he

had his typical enthusiasm, and you know, I said, great man,

you're just in time. We got this project gone, and it was the

first time we got to work together. The main darkly comedic elements of this

film is that of Martin and his Lithuanian Old World cousin talk to us Kuda.

Kuda will only refer to Martin as Nosferatu. When Martin first comes into

the home of Kuda, they have a confrontation when Kuda tells him the rules

that Martin must abide. Lost in this being audio is the religious imagery that

surrounds Kuda. There is garlic on his door to protect him from Martin In,

a cross within arm's reach in many areas of his room. This aspect

of dark comedy is one of the major ways this film defies being a specific

genre. You may come and go, but you will not take people from

the city. If I hear it a single time, I will destroy you

without sounvation. You may not enter my room when I wish to speak with

you. I will. My granddaughter stays with me. You will not enter

her room. I have told her not to speak with you, but she

will. You will not answer tomorrow. You may rest next day you work

in my shop. I've been told you are imbecil. Can you speak?

Speaks so I can hear your voice? Speak? Does Ferrato my great eggs

form is eat aim with stars? He resists you. You will learn in

my room. You will listen. That is your person, Justice north Fell,

I fool nord Fella. I am your cousin. I am your cousin,

Martin. You see you see, you see you see. It isn't

magic that I know that it isn't magic. Throughout this month long analysis of

Romero's work, we have found that most of his films have an underlying or

in your face social commentary. One would think in a film like this it

would be hard to add one. However, that is a part of Romero's

genius. Even in a genre bending film like this, he is still able

to put in that commentary. The commentary of this film is old world beliefs

and traditions versus new world ideas. That is evident in the scenes of Kuda

and his family. In our last clip, we hear an argument between him

and his granddaughter Christine. He goes to old family lore to explain his belief

in Martin being a vampire and even defends it. Then we hear Christine take

the modern approach to Martin's issues, that he simply needs psychiatric help. It's

crazy. I can't believe this is happening. It's a nightmare for you and

him. Your father was, that's from my part of the world. Your

mother knew, she believed. If she did, then thank god I was

too little to know her. Martin had his father until he was thirty two.

Grandfather. He is just a boy. Look at the book, Christina.

We had the books of the family. Did you ever look? Of

course the books. The books will show it. Those damn books. They

shall be burned. That's where you get your horble ideas asked the boy himself.

As he will tell you. He's unbalanced, he's mad, and you

and those books have driven him to it. He is not fat. He

was born to Ardini Buessa and the Rudy Matthias in the Old Country in the

eighteen ninety two. He is young from Nos Ferrato. There have been nine

such a person in the family. There are three still alive. Martin is

wife Caldamaldoli is the eldest in the family. Now from the whole country.

He sends the letters telling who will take the plump blame to their house?

Will obey first for the family's shame, and again because to defy the evil

ones is for being a curse upon oneself. I will not shame the family,

but the devil. You devil can take my soul. I would have

destroyed the children the moment there's old designs, and then the good lesson took

her own life instead. Now Martin comes to me. People cannot come to

other people's beliefs. It's hard for you. I know it's hard for anyone

young. Do you believe that God's whole world runs by the launch of the

few scientists we have been able to discover, Oh the Augustina, that is

more. People are satisfying. They know so much, they think they know

all, and that makes it easy for those facts. That makes it easy

for to all the devils. I will say this review was not an easy.

One reason being is this film doesn't really have a genre. A major

following and is mostly unknown even to Romero fans, but to those that have

seen it, it truly is a memorable film, and once you do see

it, it is easy to see why it is Romero's favorite film. I

feel that is because it's just like Romero. It defies conventions and norms.

It takes what people feel works best and throws it to the wayside and allows

the creator to have their own vision. It marches to its own b It's

comedic, gory, scary, and thought provoking. This film serves as the

perfect example of a Romero film and what makes Romero films great. And if

you are a fan of his work or merely just being introduced, it makes

for a great twist on an ages old legend. I hope you join me

this Friday when we conclude our month long tribute to George A. Romero by

looking at his first film, the groundbreaking, trendsetting, all time great horror

film classic, the original Night of the Living Dead. For WMNH and Matt

Connerton Unleashed, this has been a classic film review with Eric Pilcher