Lifeforce (1985)--
You'd never get a film like this made today, not to mention released.
Big budget, major studio, wide theatrical release, talented practical special effects team, some prominent actors to appear (such as Patrick Stewart, among others).
And the premise? Totally nude "space girl" walks through metropolitan London draining the "lifeforce" from people.
Nope, it'd never get made, not today.
Sure this movie flopped upon release, but it WAS made and it WAS (widely!) released.
One of the things which makes this film so entertaining was that it was trying so hard to be serious but in fact had loads of dialogue which came across as unintended innuendo ("What's five miles long?") or was just plain corny ("A naked girl will never get out of HERE!").
Oh, and Mathilda May's beauty must be remarked upon. I think it would be tough to find an actress nowadays willing to take on such a role-- even if she was brand-new to the scene, as May was, and presumably desperate to be involved with such a large project --and who was not rail-thin (May had a healthy physique, and I'm not just referring to what all the guys probably think I'm referring to), or who didn't have some kind of augmentation surgery (May was all-natural at the time-- chest was hers, mouth was hers [no Angelina Jolie botox lips], derriere was hers, etc.), or who didn't have tattoos (May had none).
Anyhow, just some random thoughts on Lifeforce; feel free to add your own:)
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Reply by FlyingSaucersAreReal
on March 25, 2017 at 3:44 PM
Hilariously insane wild movie. The whole movie is just so relentlessly histrionic, and the practical effects are mostly great.
Reply by bluersun
on March 25, 2017 at 7:45 PM
Good fun film! I've got the bluray - found it in a second hand shop and it had been signed by Tobe Hooper, Patrick Stewart, Steve Railsback and Mathilda May - not bad for a couple of quid!!
Reply by northcoast
on March 25, 2017 at 9:37 PM
That's awesome, bluersun.
Yeah, I've got the bluray, too-- surprising improvement over the DVD, and contains brief yet informative interview with Mathilda May; but I don't have the autographs:(
Reply by bluersun
on March 25, 2017 at 10:09 PM
Cheers, yeah a massive improvement on the dvd![grinning](/assets/emojis/v8/1f600.svg)
Reply by Howard Burns
on March 26, 2017 at 4:10 AM
Totally agreed. Movies like this are a true treasure now. I keep going back to a lot of stuff around '84-'85, it's like another world that got smacked with a magic wand. Pure escapism awesomeness.
Reply by acf
on March 26, 2017 at 3:16 PM
you make this sound like a must-see! it's now on my watchlist.
Reply by ultraviolet
on October 20, 2017 at 6:22 AM
Just started watching this on Netflix, last time was in the early 90’s. Lovely to re-watch this again, so refreshing
Reply by tmdb82469342
on December 5, 2021 at 9:26 AM
I have the blu-ray too and she is still stunning, isn't she? 😍
Reply by tmdb82469342
on December 5, 2021 at 9:27 AM
Nope.
I miss Cannon Films 😢
Reply by northcoast
on December 5, 2021 at 11:58 AM
Hi, there, Gus!
Funny you should revive this older thread-- I've just watched "Lifeforce" again last night, it's in my Winter film rotation.
And yes, she's still pretty, and it's too bad they don't have outfits like Cannon around anymore:(
Reply by rooprect
on December 5, 2021 at 3:58 PM
Great flick but I disagree that it couldn’t be made today. There are tons of big studio erotic scifi flicks bordering on camp, I’d say around every 3-5 years one hits the theaters. There was the Species franchise that started in the late 90s and took us up to 2007, and if you really want to see some twisted erotic scifi there’s Splice. More recently (although I haven’t seen them) there’s Her and Ex Machina which center around a sexy android/alien/sexdoll, there’s also Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin which is about a hot alien who seduces men so she can eat them, or something like that. And don’t forget the Battlestar Galactica remake which updated the 80s tin can cylons to a sultry Tricia Helfer whose spine glows red when she has an orgasm lol. Never fear, the spirit of Lifeforce will be alive & well as long as undersexed scifi nerds keep demanding it ;)