***** NEWS FLASH: The sequel to Gods In Polyester, affectionately called Gods In Spandex , is now available. BOTH books can be purchased from the Headpress website . Plus the nice Headpress folks ship worldwide and offer two different postage options to make it affordable for everyone. NOTE: YOU MUST REGISTER AT THE HEADPRESS SITE IN ORDER TO PLACE AN ORDER. IF YOU DO NOT REGISTER, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHOOSE A SHIPPING OPTION TO COMPLETE THE ORDERING PROCESS. SO MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER FIRST. IT TAKES FIVE SECONDS AND WILL MAKE YOU INFINITELY COOLER. Thanks for your support! *****
AND FOR EXTRA GODS IN POLYESTER/GODS IN SPANDEX TRIVIA GOODNESS...check out this behind-the-scenes interview with us at the Nanarland cult film website!
So what is Gods In Polyester? Gods In Polyester: A Survivors' Account Of 70's Cinema Obscura (edited by Suzanne Donahue and Mikael Sovijärvi) is the ultimate cult film book covering obscure, low-budget, and independent horror, sci-fi, blax/exploitation, Spaghetti Western, and action films from 1970-1981. This huge volume (456 pages and over 5 pounds!) is an ultra-comprehensive oral history of moviemaking memories, told entirely in the words of the actors, directors, producers, and cinematographers who made the films. All of the contributors wrote their pieces specifically for Gods In Polyester, so you've never seen any of this interview material anywhere else. The book also includes hundreds of movie stills, posters, and personal photographs from the contributors' private collections, most of which have never been published before in any format. There is also a comprehensive DVD list for the movies mentioned, plus complete 70's filmographies for all contributors, a list of additional film recommendations, web links, and much more!
The contributors to Gods In Polyester, along with the respective films they talk about, are as follows:
William Shatner (IMPULSE)
Richard Harrison (BEAST WITH A GUN, FIREBACK, JOE DAKOTA, ACHTUNG! THE DESERT TIGERS, BOXER REBELLION, MARCO POLO, VOODOO BABY, SEX EXPLOSION, REVERENDO COLT, CHURCHILL'S LEOPARDS, HOLY WATER JOE, DIG YOUR GRAVE FRIEND...SABATA'S COMING, BLACK GOLD DOSSIER, AND MANY MORE!)
Carol Speed (THE MACK, ABBY, SAVAGE, BUMMER, THE BIG BIRD CAGE, DISCO GODFATHER, THE NEW CENTURIONS, DYNAMITE BROTHERS, BLACK SAMSON)
William Grefe (MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH, STANLEY, IMPULSE, WHISKEY MOUNTAIN)
Jack Jones (YES, THE SINGER TALKS ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE COMEBACK!)
John Phillip Law (DEATH IN NOVEMBER, RING OF DARKNESS, THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, THE CRYSTAL MAN, WHISPER IN THE DARK)
Jeff Lieberman (SQUIRM, BLUE SUNSHINE, JUST BEFORE DAWN)
Ed Adlum (INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS, SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED)
Laurel Barnett (THE CHILD)
Leo Fong (THE LAST REUNION, NINJA ASSASSINS, BAMBOO TRAP, BLIND RAGE, MURDER IN THE ORIENT)
Don Dohler (FIEND, THE ALIEN FACTOR)
Donald G. Jackson/Scott Shaw (THE DEMON LOVER)
Norman J. Warren (ALIEN PREY, SATAN'S SLAVE, TERROR, INSEMINOID)
John D. Hancock (LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH)
Manuela Thiess (BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD)
Lawrence D. Foldes (DON'T GO NEAR THE PARK)
Bill Rebane (THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION, THE ALPHA INCIDENT)
Hy Pyke (LEMORA, SLITHIS, NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD, DOLEMITE, THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE AND SANCHO PANZA, THE WAY HE WAS)
George "Buck" Flower (THE CAPTURE OF BIGFOOT, THE ALPHA INCIDENT, TENDER LOVING CARE, CARNAL MADNESS, ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS, ILSA: HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS, CANDY TANGERINE MAN, LADY COCOA, THE EXECUTIONER, THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA, FLASH AND THE FIRECAT, DRIVE-IN MASSACRE)
Lynn Borden (WALKING TALL)
Alan Scarfe (CATHY'S CURSE)
David Sheldon (LOVELY BUT DEADLY, SHEBA BABY, JUST BEFORE DAWN, GRIZZLY, PROJECT: KILL)
Bruce Kessler (SIMON, KING OF THE WITCHES)
Ted V. Mikels (THE CORPSE GRINDERS, BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS, THE DOLL SQUAD)
Bruce Glover (BLACK GUNN, WALKING TALL, WALKING TALL PART II, FINAL CHAPTER: WALKING TALL)
Robert DoQui (COFFY, WALKING TALL PART II)
George Barry (DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS)
Linnea Quigley (DON'T GO NEAR THE PARK, GRADUATION DAY, PSYCHO FROM TEXAS)
Gary Graver (TEXAS LIGHTNING)
George Stover (FIEND, THE ALIEN FACTOR)
Marc Wielage (SATAN'S CHILDREN)
T.G. Finkbinder (THE REDEEMER)
Ron Honthaner (HOUSE ON SKULL MOUNTAIN)
Robert S. Fiveson (PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR)
Ferd Sebastian (GATOR BAIT)
Mel Novak (CAT IN THE CAGE, BLACK BELT JONES, LOVELY BUT DEADLY, THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR, GAME OF DEATH, TRUCK TURNER, TOM HORN)
Margaret Blye (FINAL CHAPTER: WALKING TALL, THE SPORTING CLUB, THE MACHINE GUN KELLY STORY)
Felton Perry (SUDDEN DEATH, WALKING TALL)
John P. Dulaney (SQUADRA ANTISCIPPO, SQUADRA ANTITRUFFA, SQUADRA ANTIFURTO, THE CRYSTAL MAN)
REVIEWS:
The November/December 2004 issue of Film Comment Magazine (published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center) says Gods In Polyester is a "highly entertaining collection relating firsthand remembrances from the creators and performers behind such camp curiosities as Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils (1972), Barn Of The Naked Dead (1973), and other assorted spawn from the golden age of extreme low-budget/no-budget filmmaking...this massive, lavishly-illustrated book, weighing over six pounds, is far superior to standard-issue "where-are-they-nows" and is an invaluable resource for those either reliving or discovering a bizarrely fascinating area of film history that's still often dismissed by many...the energy and passion that lie behind the book and the films it details prove strangely infectious." Get your hands on a copy of this issue for the whole story! You can order it here .
As of December 2004, there's also a review of Gods In Polyester up at the French cult film site Nanarland... "To tell it in a few words, Gods in Polyester is surely one of the greatest books ever made about the underground cinema, both because it is a wonderful object and because its content proved even more exciting than we were expecting. Definitely a nice piece of work." Click here for the full review.
Headpress Magazine calls Gods In Polyester "a free-falling dip into obscure movies of all genres from the golden age of exploitation: the seventies...highly recommended." See the full review here .
Fangoria Magazine says Gods In Polyester is "a remarkable account of a bygone exploitation age." Pick up the July 2004 issue of Fangoria (Issue #235) for the complete scoop by clicking here .
Filmfax Magazine says, "The anecdotal, behind-the-scenes info found inside Gods In Polyester is profuse and refreshingly honest. So, if you're inclined to sit down for hours at a time with a book totally focused on esoterica about exploitation classics such as The Corpse Grinders, Gator Bait, or Black Belt Jones, this is absolutely the book for you." Read the full review in the Special 20th Anniversary Issue (April/June 2005, Issue #106) of Filmfax! You can order a copy by going here .
Psychotronic Magazine editor and cult film expert Michael J. Weldon enthuses that Gods in Polyester contains "many films and people even I've never heard of"! You can read the entire Psychotronic plug by ordering issue #41 (January 2005) here .
Both Shocking Images and the official Rudy Ray Moore website call Gods In Polyester "an essential read for anyone interested in 70's films." See the full reviews here and here .
"Gods In Polyester dives headfirst into the hysterically muddy waters of the most intoxicating movie phenomena of that wild decade."--The Finnish Kauppalehti Press, February 2005
"Nowadays a B-movie costs about 10 million dollars, but in the 70's B really meant low budget. Just how "low" tell the makers of films like The Corpse Grinders and Invasion of the Blood Farmers in the book Gods In Polyester (Succubus Press). This homage to the cinema obscura of the 70's gives a lot of attention to the actors, directors, and technicians who dreamt of a career in film and thought that you could best start small. The way editors Suzanne Donahue and Mikael Sovijärvi put the book together is simple: they sent emails to everyone they could find and they put the responses in the book. These people never get to talk about their experiences and their stories are fun to read. You find out how they coped with small budgets, amateur actors, and unwilling animals--in short, filmmaking is hell and these people know what they talk about. And did we mention that Gods In Polyester looks fantastic?"--PreView Magazine, October 2004
"If you are a fan of exploitation cinema at all, there is no reason you shouldn't have Gods In Polyester and Gods In Spandex in your collection. You really, really cannot live without them."--Director Andy Copp, Exploitation Nation , August 2008
ORDERING INFORMATION:
Want to know where you can order Gods In Polyester? The book is now in stock at all the links below:
1. Headpress
2. American Book Center
3. Boudisque
4. Kult Video
