#17 Gremlins (1986)

Gremlins (1986)

Remember, don’t feed them after midnight!

Saving the best until last (just about) Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus and Joe Dante bring us the ultimate movie fanboys movie. Packed with just about enough film references to make a film scholar blush this is without a doubt one of the most famous cult films in modern Hollywood. In fact do I really need to tell you what it’s about. Even those who have not seen it (shame on you) should get an inkling on what this film is about – the clue is in the title – and instead of me drowning on about how awesome and cool it is I thought I would do something different and give you 10 random facts about the film that I have managed to scurry off the internet, and hopefully by the time you’ve finished reading it you’ll be like me, wanting to watch again. Me and my nan on Christmas Eve – it’s on! So in no particular order. . . .

1. The cinema marquee at the start of the film shows the titles ‘A Boys Life’ and ‘Watch the Skies’ These were the working titles for Spielberg’s (producer for this film) ET: The Extra terrestrial (1982) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

2. There are plenty of film references in this movie, most notably Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) which the gremlins watch in a movie towards the climax of the film – and they like it. Other notable films playing on the television set include Clark Gable’s racing film To Please A Lady (1950), Orpheus (1950), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and of course. . . . .

3. As well as the name of the town, Kingston Falls being similar to Bedford Falls, the movie shares a lot of similarities with It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) For one there is an evil miser in both films that seem to interrogate the hero; Mrs Deagle is very much the female version of Mr Potter, both desire to fore-close on things and both desire to make money, even out of other people’s misfortune. Also Chris Columbus who wrote the film went on to direct Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2 (1992) – both films also have It’s A Wonderful Life being played on television (missed it? It’s in French in the first film, Spanish in the second)

4. The town set is the same used in Back to the Future (1985) which was being filmed parallel to this. In both films the cinema blows up due to a car accident, and unfortunately all the buildings burned down in the fire following the filming of Back to the Future 2 (1989) 

5. An homage to Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) That and Gremlins are credited for being responsible for the introduction of the PG-13 rating, as both were considered to be too shocking for a PG rating, but not shocking enough for an R rating.

 

6. Despite being too shocking for a PG rating Gremlins could have been a whole lot darker. Earlier scripts included the Gremlins eating Billy’s dog and decapitating his mother, but both Joe Dante and Warner Brothers executives wanted to dumb down the violence for a more family-friendly comedy. Also the kitchen scene where Billy’s mother microwaves one of the Gremlins had to be shot twice as the first cut was considered too gory. 

7. The chainsaw scene in the department store was not in the script. Joe Dante added this in as a homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

 8. Joe Dante had to petition to Warner Brothers to use the old shield logo that had not been used for years. This was also the first film to use Spielberg’s E.T. style Amblin Entertainment logo. 

9. Outside Mr Wing’s mysterious store there are four Mandarin symbols that translated into English mean ‘Gods and monsters’ Also the word mogwai in Cantonese is the word for ‘demon, devil or gremlin’

10. The cameos; did you spot them? In the bar scene where Billy is drawing his comic strip legendary Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones is sitting next to him, and in the convention scene where Billy’s father is speaking on the phone – cameo overload – Steven Spielberg drives past in a cart, composer (of this films soundtrack as well as countless others) Jerry Goldsmith is standing to his right, and to his left is Zach Galligan’s (Billy) stand in dressed as Joe Dante. You might also have noticed Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956) and the time machine from The Time Machine (1960) in the background, which when it cuts back to the scene in the convention has dissapeared, either into the future or the past.