Post subject: [2010-01-19] "Kingdom Of The Spiders: Special Edition" DVD (Shout! Factory)
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:33 pm
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24 Sep 2006
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Yeah baby! One of my faves from the 70's even though I'm totally an arachnophobe. Always a well-liked and respected Sci-Fi/Horror flick. Shatner rules. I'm watching it right now on IFC and was always wondering if a legit DVD release was on the way, and boy is it!
Bonus Features
All-New Interview With William Shatner
Jim Brockett: Spider Wrangler Featurette
Audio Commentary By Director John Bud Cardos, Producer Igo Kantor, Spider Wrangler Jim Brockett And Cinematographer John Morrill; Moderated By Hostel Producer Scott Spiegel And Lee Christian
Kantor told Fangoria magazine in 1998 that the film did indeed use 5,000 of the large, hairy spiders, though a number of rubber model spiders were also used during production. The live tarantulas were procurred by offering Mexican spider wranglers US$10 for each live tarantula they could find; this meant that $50,000 of the film's $500,000 budget went towards the purchase of spiders.
The large amount of tarantulas kept on-hand led to some unusual production difficulties. Not only did each spider have to be kept warm, but because of the creatures' cannibalistic tendencies, all 5,000 spiders had to be kept in separate containers. Additionally, tarantulas are usually shy around people, so fans and air tubes often had to be used to get the spiders to walk towards their "victims". Indeed, in a number of the scenes where the tarantulas are "attacking" people, it is obvious to the viewer that the spiders are merely moving around, usually away from their intended victims.
Another common notion about the film is that it could not be made today due to the increased attention paid by animal rights organizations to film production. Indeed, many tarantulas died during production. This was partly because some of the creatures could not handle the constant changes in temperature and climate during the production process, but more because of the nature of the script. During the scenes where the survivors are trapped in the lodge, many spiders were stomped and crushed because the script called for the characters to kill them (as the spiders were supposed to be so dangerous to humans). Further, many more were crushed inadvertently during the scene where the creatures attack the town; several were stepped on and many others were run over by vehicles. In the scene where Gene Smith drives into town, the squad car's wheels clearly run over several spiders right in front of the camera.
At the time of filming, Shatner was married to Marcy Lafferty, the woman who plays his sister-in-law in the movie. The couple has since divorced. Altovise Davis, who plays Birch Colby, was the wife of Sammy Davis Jr.
Woody Strode, who plays Walter Colby, was probably best known to film audiences for his role in the Lee Marvin/Burt Lancaster western film The Professionals. Sports historians know Strode as one of the first two African-American football players to break the National Football League's color barrier in the 1940s, when he joined the Los Angeles Rams.
In the Warren Zevon Song 'Life'll Kill Ya' Zevon says "its the Kingdom of the Spiders" in the opening verse referring to the movie.
_________________ "We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors."—College Basketball player Weldon Drew
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