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| The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen |
It’s all too easy to lose your head at the movies these days. "Remove the head or destroy the brain" is the key thing to remember in most zombie films, but when we looked into the subject, we found examples across a wide range of genres. Unfortunately Sam Peckinpah classic Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia is not presently screening, and you’ll have to invest in the new box set to see Feng Huang’s take on it in The Himalayan or hunt down Louis Fauillade’s Les Vampires. We wanted to steer clear of well-trodden ground like Re-Animator, and although we did give animal severed heads their moment, we felt that there wasn’t really enough meat on that plot point to justify including The Godfather. Still, we hope that this collection will entertain, or at least keep you nodding along.
Highlander - NOW Cinema, StudioCanal Presents, Apple TV
There’s an astonishing number of severed head films out there even if horror is excluded, but when it comes to films in which the severing of heads is the whole point, stand aside Marie Antoinette – there can be only one! Russell Mulcahy’s Queen-infused tale of immortal warriors challenging each other to single combat in pursuit of a mysterious prize (which basically seems to be the internet) is something quite singular, despite the tragic attempts at [a href=22250]sequels[/film] which followed. A French Canadian plays a Scot, a Scot plays a Spaniard by way of Ancient Egypt, and Clancy Brown chews up more scenery than any actor before or since – but if your head comes away from your shoulders, it’s all over.
The Thing - Amazon Prime, Google Play, Sky Store
One of the reasons that severed heads have grown more commonplace in cinema over time is that they used to cost a small fortune to make. Technology has gradually helped with that, but John Carpenter’s 1982 classic stands out for its amazing practical work. It also features the only severed head we’re aware of that grows its own legs and runs around. To be fair, it is really an alien lifeform – or lots of little ones working as a team – but it’s one of the more memorable monsters of the era, even if it can’t do much in that form. It’s hard to imagine Christian Nyby having anticipated it when he made the film’s 1951 predecessor, The Thing From Another World, but it’s now celebrated as one of effects legend Stan Winston’s greatest achievements.
Seven Veils - Amazon Prime, Rakuten TV, Sky Store
Amongst the oldest documented tales of obsession with a severed head goes back to the Old Testament and Salome’s desire for John the Baptist. Atom Egoyan’s film follows a fictional cast and crew engaging with Richard Strauss’ opera Salome, itself based on Oscar Wilde’s version of the story. Here the head is overtly a prop, and one whose construction we observe, but its symbolic weight is still significant as we watch a female director with a troubled past trying to wrest back power from a story which has always objectified its erstwhile heroine. Her dance of the seven veils takes place as shadowplay but reminds us of the power of faces, the suppression of women’s expressions both figuratively and literally, and what it means to move beyond the male gaze.
The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen - Google Play, Apple TV, Amazon Prime
Sticking with heads on plates, we travel all the way to the Moon to meet a royal couple for when the separation of heads and bodies can be achieved, and reversed, with no apparent harm – a wise plan for post-revolutionary royals. We’re not quite in Mars Attacks! territory as everyone’s head is their own, and we are pleasingly spared the dog mutilation, but there are still plenty of complications for the film’s dandy hero (John Neville) as his dalliance with the Queen of the Moon is discovered and his child sidekick Sally (Sarah Polley) must use all her wits to get things back on track. This is just one of the challenges that stands between them and saving a city in Terry Gilliam’s most extravagant cinematic work.
Hausu - BFI Player
In the decades since that last film was made, it has emerged that its young star was poorly treated on set, but when it comes to this cult Japanese creation, girls were very much in control. It was the 11-year-old daughter of director Nobuhiko Ôbayashi who came up with the central idea and many of the scenes, which may account for them being so very peculiar, and nothing like what can generally be found in adult imaginations, at least without the influence of strong psychedelics. A finger-eating piano, a flying cannibal aunt and an exceedingly curious cat are just some of the attractions, but you won’t forget the severed head which pops up out of a well and floats around the screen, nor the heroine’s delighted reaction to seeing a schoolfriend so transformed.
Clash Of The Titans - Sky Store, YouTube, Amazon Prime
Going back to Ancient times, another classic severed head narrative concerns that of Medusa, which Perseus cut from her body by way of a trick. In Desmond Davis’ wonderful 1981 take on the tale, he is played by Harry Hamlin, very much in the sword and sandals tradition of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and is tasked with retrieving the gorgon’s head in order that he might use it to save the princess Andromeda by slaying the Kraken, to which she is about to be sacrificed. For some reason this Kraken is not itself and is played by Godzilla on an off day, but Medusa is very much herself, thanks to the loving care of effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, and even after death she has a petrifying stare.
Labyrinth - Amazon Prime, ITVX, YouTube
At first glance a gentle film to finish on, this Jim Henson favourite has that touch of fae magic which keeps those who are paying attention from getting too comfortable. David Bowie is unforgettable as the playful and sometimes sinister Goblin King, Jennifer Connelly gives heroine Sarah a sweetness which will wow fans of the Bad Behavior that typifies her characters today, and then there’s special effects genius Toby Froud, who went on to make puppets for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, as the babe (with the power). There is also the fire dance. Akira Kurosawa pointed out the strong severed head game that foxes have in Ran, and here it’s on full display, as body parts are hurled around – all fun and games until it’s Sarah’s turn.
