This is one of my favorite cinematic sequences; great musical timing, dramatic build up and they even managed to make it funny.
I love the way they match up on-screen action with the words of the song. The edits are paced appropriately and effectively.
I recommend watching the whole episode, but if you dont want to, here's a little background to set up the premise:
Only a comedy on the outside, a deeper look reveals a drama as Ralph, a school teacher for troubled youth (like Welcome back, Kotter) is given a supersuit by aliens and the tremendous responsibility of helping mankind and occassionally saving the world. In addition to that he is teamed up with "by the book" FBI agent Maxwell who is his opposite in nearly every aspect.
The suit wreaks havoc on his personal life and Ralph struggles with his new-found and forced duties. As any loving patriot would, when a problem arises and only they can do something about it, the unlikely team does what must be done.
From the most basic viewer's standpoint it is a hilarious comedy. Nearly every power of the suit is discovered via a mishap. Ralph constantly crashes into TV antennas and anything else in his path as he "navigates like hit by a can of Raid".
From a writer's standpoint it's brilliant, chocked full of great dialog and layered elements dealing not only just the crime/action story of the episode but also the human condition. The episodes aren't usually about that they appear to be about on the outside.
The acting is superb as the viewer can actually feel what Ralph is going through. Robert Culp plays Agent Maxwell so well that he doesn't really seem like he's "playing" a character at all, but rather IS Maxwell.
Here (circa 1981, Cold War era) the USA is on the verge of unintentionally starting World War III as nuclear missiles are set to launch an attack on the USSR in a number of hours and no one can stop it. With a warning via radio transmission from the aliens, it's up to Ralph and Maxwell to save the world, but how? Maxwell figures a possible way to get to whoever is on the inside, but it will be up to Ralph to follow. That's where the plan runs into trouble as seen here.
The whole episode is tied dramatically as the timer counts down to the impending destruction as the story unfolds.
Shot mostly on 35mm. Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction' is sung is sung by Joey Scarbury and music by industry greats Mike Post, Pete Carpenter and Stephen Geyer.
Enjoy! EDIT: Sorry I can't figure out how to embed the video!
I love the way they match up on-screen action with the words of the song. The edits are paced appropriately and effectively.
I recommend watching the whole episode, but if you dont want to, here's a little background to set up the premise:
Only a comedy on the outside, a deeper look reveals a drama as Ralph, a school teacher for troubled youth (like Welcome back, Kotter) is given a supersuit by aliens and the tremendous responsibility of helping mankind and occassionally saving the world. In addition to that he is teamed up with "by the book" FBI agent Maxwell who is his opposite in nearly every aspect.
The suit wreaks havoc on his personal life and Ralph struggles with his new-found and forced duties. As any loving patriot would, when a problem arises and only they can do something about it, the unlikely team does what must be done.
From the most basic viewer's standpoint it is a hilarious comedy. Nearly every power of the suit is discovered via a mishap. Ralph constantly crashes into TV antennas and anything else in his path as he "navigates like hit by a can of Raid".
From a writer's standpoint it's brilliant, chocked full of great dialog and layered elements dealing not only just the crime/action story of the episode but also the human condition. The episodes aren't usually about that they appear to be about on the outside.
The acting is superb as the viewer can actually feel what Ralph is going through. Robert Culp plays Agent Maxwell so well that he doesn't really seem like he's "playing" a character at all, but rather IS Maxwell.
Here (circa 1981, Cold War era) the USA is on the verge of unintentionally starting World War III as nuclear missiles are set to launch an attack on the USSR in a number of hours and no one can stop it. With a warning via radio transmission from the aliens, it's up to Ralph and Maxwell to save the world, but how? Maxwell figures a possible way to get to whoever is on the inside, but it will be up to Ralph to follow. That's where the plan runs into trouble as seen here.
The whole episode is tied dramatically as the timer counts down to the impending destruction as the story unfolds.
Shot mostly on 35mm. Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction' is sung is sung by Joey Scarbury and music by industry greats Mike Post, Pete Carpenter and Stephen Geyer.
Enjoy! EDIT: Sorry I can't figure out how to embed the video!
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