Of Ninth Waves And Glass Hotels

In 1985, Kate Bush released her fifth studio album, Hounds of Love. Widely regarded as her best album, side A includes such chart toppers as Cloudbusting and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Both tracks enjoyed multi-generational popularity; Utah Saints sampled Cloudbusting on their 1992 electronic dance hit, Something Good, while Stranger Things' excessive use of Running Up That Hill in 2022 introduced sexagenarian Kate Bush to eleven year olds the world over. Side B of Hounds of Love, a conceptual suite subtitled The Ninth Wave, remains one of her greatest achievements in a career that has spanned six decades.

 

The Ninth Wave's seven tracks tell the story of a woman lost at sea, drifting in and out of hypothermia induced sleep. She experiences dreamlike scenarios from her past and future, as well as events witnessed through the eyes of a woman on trial for witchcraft and an astronaut circling the Earth in a satellite.

Each track conjures imagery that almost begs for it to be made into a film; however, doing so would require fleshing out the protagonist's background, her relationships, the events that led to her being lost at sea, and clarification of its resolution. Simply put, it would need to answer two questions - how did she end up floating alone in the middle of the ocean, and at its conclusion, did she survive her ordeal? Emily St John Mandel's 2020 novel, The Glass Hotel, answers both questions in great detail (whether this was her intention or not).

The FAQ of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

 

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mel Gibson's third (and final) adventure in the wastelands of the Australian outback, is widely regarded as the weakest film in the franchise. Many supporters of this sentiment claim that Thuderdome's tribe of children, cartoonish violence and M rating were detrimental to The Road Warrior's R rated legacy. The plot itself might also be responsible for alienating its audience, with its holes and questionable logic. To assuage your confusion and increase your enjoyment of the film, I have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and trawled through Joan D. Vinge's novelisation to answer them in the time honoured format of the 'trading card'.

'Member This?: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome And The Read-Along Record.

In the 70s and 80s, movie soundtracks, novelisations and trading cards could help you relive the events of your favourite film during the years before its release on home video. The Read-Along Record took it one step further. Using audio from the film (dialogue, sound effects, music), they would create an interactive audio/visual experience unlike any other medium.

Unfortunately, very few films made the transition to the Read-Along format. Continuing with the theme of rectifying past pop culture merchandising oversights, I've mocked-up a Read-Along Adventure based on one of the greatest Australian movies of all time – Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Beyond Thunderdome was the first of the original Mad Max trilogy that was clearly attempting to broaden its fan base to include children. Even with its M rating for course language, cartoonish violence and the occasional child buried alive, a Read-Along Adventure based on it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch of the imagination back in 1985.

1985 vs 2015: Were Films Better 30 Years Ago?

There has been a lot of negative talk recently about the state of the film industry (and by recently I mean the past 15 years). From fanboys and film geeks to skinny jean hipsters and wise old Gen Xs, many, including myself, have lamented the lack of original content in cinemas. It feels like every movie released today is an adaptation, sequel, remake or reboot. “Remember the 80s?” we'd cry, “when film makers told original stories that would spawn franchises and potentially achieve cult status?”

For illustrative purposes only.

We are quick to blame the corporations. If movies have taught us anything, it's to never trust the company stooge. Concerned only with brand recognition and profit margins, corporate bigwigs have been known to frequently treat the film industry like some kind of 'business', callously stifling creativity for the sake of a few dollars. 

What if we were to line up the movies of 1985 and 2015 side by side - would the statistics prove the mid-eighties to really be the halcyon days of cinema? Was 1985 truly the greatest year in film history, or are you looking at the past with nostalgia goggles?