Umbrella Entertainment
R4 DVD
The
American Way aka Riders of the Storm was a quirky 1986 political comedy
starring Dennis Hopper. It is one of his lesser known films, still not
available in the US at all on DVD and until recently only released in the
United Kingdom as “Riders of the Storm”. Umbrella Entertainment has released a
clear and impressive print in Australia under the title “The American Way”.
The
American Way is a stridently political, even radical comedy, lampooning
conservative politics, American foreign policy, religious televangelists and
censorship. It centres on a group of Vietnam Vets who run a pirate TV station which
flies around the world in a converted B-29. They are all very eccentric characters
lead by “The Captain” played by Dennis Hopper in his usual off-the-wall manner.
Their television channel is called SM TV (pronounced S & M TV!) and not
only broadcasts all manner of media contraband but cuts into other programs
(especially those on the conservative side of politics) with all manner of
content. They use a barrage of images to disrupt news services, religious channels
and anything else that happens to annoy them. These images range from popular
musical items (such as Jimi Hendrix and Alice Cooper) to stridently political
scenes of war atrocities and violence.
They
notice with alarm the growing popularity of a new up and coming right wing Republican
politician Mrs. Westinghouse. She stands for a return to strong military values
including imposing US values on the world (sound familiar ?). She not only
sprouts militarism but courts the religious right by claiming she has been “born
again” on a popular religious broadcast channel.
As
SM TV begins a campaign against her, she tries unsuccessfully to have them shot
out of the sky and to have their roaming reporter Sam killed. Finally, however,
Sam is able to find out a secret about her which is more than enough to destroy
not only any chance at the Whitehouse, but any political future at all.
The
American Way is incredibly entertaining. For the first twenty minutes or so you
may find yourself bewildered by the barrage of media images, film clips, music
and characters which hurl themselves at the screen. But as the film settles
down and you come to appreciate SM TV’s iconoclastic method of radical TV
broadcasting the film becomes more and more interesting. It is amazing to
realize how timely so much of the political, religious and social criticism is
in this film even though it was made some 23 years ago. While it does that that
typical “mid Eighties” look, the plot, message, humour and significance of the
film stands the test of time admirably. The soundtrack of classic rock is
superb.
The
acting is solid, the plot entertaining and the humour is dark with constant
reflections on Vietnam, war, violence, religious extremism and prejudice. The
way in which violent images are projected on the SM TV screens while humorous
events are happening in the forefront creates quite a jarring effect. You are
amused and laugh at the dark humour, but are also made uncomfortable as you
reflect on the images presented and the political messages they communicate.
I
am very pleased to find this available from Umbrella Entertainment and
recommend it highly as a very unusual comedy with a strong message and a very creative
cinematic style.
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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.4 (2009) of the digital and
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