Big Al's Place: Dark Valentine

In A Nutshell

Years after his release from Alcatraz, bedeviled by hallucinations fueled by untreated, late-stage syphilis, Al Capone wanders the overgrown grounds of his Miami Beach estate, ruminating with ghosts. Tomorrow will bring his forty-eighth birthday and one week later he will be dead. Between then and now sprawls an epic life, from the wild streets of turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, to a bloody Saint Valentine’s Day that shocked the world; here is the glamorous ascent and shocking decline of America's true king of crime.

Some History

Jim VanBebber's 2004 feature, The Manson Family, was hailed as, "Crucial," by Peter Travers in Rolling Stone's four-star review. It inspired Roger Ebert to proclaim, "...it has an undeniable power and effect...it exists in a category of one film - this film." The film's successful theatrical release brought further critical acclaim and Manson then went on to thrive on home video, including as the centerpiece of Visions of Hell: The Films of Jim VanBebber, a mid-career retrospective DVD box set released in 2008.

Capone first met VanBebber at Wright State University when both men were enrolled in the Motion Pictures Production program headed up by Academy Award nominated documentary filmmakers Jim Klein and Julia Reichert. When, in junior year, the class was divided into small groups with the purpose of producing a short film, VanBebber, with partners Marcello Games and cinematographer Mike King, decided to shoot a full length feature. That film, 1988's Deadbeat at Dawn went on to earn true cult status, playing to crowds on 42nd Street and on many waning drive-in screens before landing on cable's The Movie Channel where it debuted on Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs, who had singled out Deadbeat in his nationally syndicated four-star review.

With funds derived from the sale of Deadbeat, King, Games and VanBebber began their follow up production, The Manson Family, which brings us full circle

11/15/09

Dark Valentine

Here's CAPONE's own Jim VanBebber swinging a wicked chain at actor Daniel Buran on location in Joshua Tree, CA while shooting Valentine a week ago. This gritty low budget flick features a brutal, show-stopping battle between Jim and Buran, choreographed for maximum, tactile mayhem by the JVB. We have it from an unimpeachable source that Jimmy was inspired by this claustrophobic corker from From Russia With Love:

And this bad boy from 1970's little seen Darker Than Amber - with Rod "Time Machine" Taylor as John D. MacDonald's popular literary hero, Travis McGee!

VanB planned an unpredictable mix of chaotic, parking-lot kung fu and unique props, utilizing staff, chain, iron bar and the obligatory booted-feet and bloodied knuckles. It looks like nasty business.

As most of you know Jimmy's been kicking butt since his backyard filmmaking days, busting out mini martial arts epics and insanely detailed handmade special effect epics all over his boyhood burg of Greenville, Ohio. This was a time we remember well, when the Super-8 home movie format was in it's prime and the hills were alive with budding autuers crudely emulating the great Harryhausen or breaking out their best Tom Savini on a basement full of eleven year olds. Unlike the point-and-shoot of today's digital age, Super-8 filmmaking required real technical skill and absolute precision simply to capture a usable image. When you add in the complexities of synch sound recording and even rudimentary special effects, well, safe to say it was the perfect proving ground for future film directors.