EL PELICULLERO:

upholding the Indie Code

 in the life

and allegorical film art

of Alex Cox

by Gary W. Wright

        Since striding confidently and impishly out of the obscuring mists of legend, no film artist has tragicomically upheld the Indie Code quite like the other artistic, brash, confident, creative, original, iconoclastic, indomitable, pop music and satire luvin’, and always lean, lanky, and laconic Liverpudlian Alexander “Alex” Cox.  However, while unique in his courageous, resolute, unswerving, indomitable, and inspiring commitment to the Indie Code, Cox implicitly shared the shocked outrage of audiences and film artists caused by the helicopter crash that killed actor/director/writer Vic Morrow and illegally hired and used child extras Renee Chen and Myca Le around 2:20 am in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982 on the George Folsey jr. produced John Landis set of the twilit, allegorical, computer graphic imagery (CGI) enhanced, Kathleen Kennedy associate produced, Frank Marshall produced, and Landis and Steven Spielberg executive produced Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller docufeature film TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983).  However, unlike most other twilit film artists, Cox was not obsessed with the CGI that was quickly perfected after 1982 so as to implicitly prevent any more film set disasters.  As befitting an uncompromisingly indie film artist, Cox was also not obsessed with mainstream film success or beastly blockbuster profits, instead embracing small, low budget, gritty, grimy, satirical, anti-commericial, and anti-mainstream indie docufeature film art that was dismissive of CGI.  An indomitable commitment to the Indie Code and to small, low budget, and CGI dismissing indie docufeature film art that Cox affirmed in his fittingly edgy and kooky look at Los Angeles in the allegorical, and indie docufeature short film EDGE CITY (1982), and that he implicitly reaffirmed when he donned the writer/director hats and collaborated with MONKEE man Michael Nesmith and Edge City Productions to create his first twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film REPO MAN (1984), released on February 24, 1984.

“As soon as I find that Chevy,

I’m going indie!”

        Curiously, after an Universal Studios intro that featured the Earth spinning slowly, serenely, and silently in a star speckled expanse of space, fittingly enshrouded with legendary mist and at one with the universe, that was in complete and ironic contrast to the mischief and mayhem that followed, and after the red and punchy opening titles flashed and flickered over a background composed of a digital green montage of the maps of Arizona, California, and New Mexico to the relentlessly rockin’ sound of an instrumental version of the twilit, allegorical, and Iggy Pop written Pop main theme “Repo Man” (1984), the film began with a crap brown 1964 Chevy Malibu weaving along a lonely desert road in California.  Soon a California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer-played by Varnum Honey-began to pursue the dangerously weaving car.  Significantly, the CHP officer resembled Charles M. Smith, who played teenaged nerd Terry “the Toad” Fields in the allegorical, Ozian themed and implicitly Ralph Bakshi roasting George Lucas indie docufeature film AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973).  This was the first of many allusions to that film and the rest of the film art of Lucas in the film, implicitly affirming that Cox was addressing Lucas in part in the film. 

Indeed, the license plates of the two Malibus used in the sequence were 127 GBH and K8B 283, openly linking one of the cars and the film not only to the TZ disaster on July 23, 1982, but also to 1983, the first year of the dread allegorical Zone Wars, the year of the release of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, and the year Lucas crashed and burned forever with the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, and implicitly Spielberg roasting Richard Marquand indie docufeature film STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983).  A spectacular demise evoked soon after the CHP officer pulled over the Chevy Malibu and its middle aged and heighted, greying brown haired, handsome, bespectacled, kooky, incoherent, and implicitly Stanley Kubrick and Great Oz linked driver Doctor J. Frank Parnell-his name evoking L. Frank Baum, author of the allegorical and implicitly Queen Victoria roasting indie children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (1900) to implicitly affirm the Ozian theme of the film, and played by Fox Harris.  For the officer was promptly vaporized when he opened the trunk of the car, a powerful and implicitly creative Rebel Sixties linked vaporizing Force that evoked the equally powerful and vaporizing Force of God that exploded out of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, Marshall produced, and implicitly William Friedkin roasting indie docufeature film RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981).

        After this mysterious and tragicomic prologue, the scene shifted to Los Angeles, where the mysterious and Forceful ’64 Chevy Malibu then spent the rest of the film drifting in and out of the life of the young, short, slim, handsome, spiky blonde haired, clean cut and shaven, bored, angry, disaffected, frustrated, blue jeans and punk rock luvin’, and implicitly David Lynch and Scarecrow linked suburban Los Angeles Gen X teen punk Otto Maddox-played by Emilio Estevez.  An angry and despondent young man like most teens in those days, who was first met working as a minimum wage grocery clerk in a no name grocery store with the young, tall, slim, blonde, bespectacled, big eared, clean cut and shaven, geeky, goofy, gangly, gawky, and implicitly Lucas linked clerk Kevin Humphries-played by Zander Schloss-until he was fired by the middle aged, short, blonde, bespectacled, clean shaven, implicitly John Ford linked store manager and Kevin’s father “Humph” Humphries-played by Charles Hopkins-for “inattention”, indifference, and obscenity spewing insubordination.  Maddox then spent a frustrated and fitful night slam dancing with his punk friends, including the young, short, slim, nutty, boozed, drugs, mayhem, and Sid Vicious t-shirt luvin’, recently released from prison, and implicitly Mel Brooks and Nikko the Monkey King linked skinhead Duke-played by Dick Rude-before heading off on his own and angrily walking the streets. 

Curiously, the following morning while walking down the street, Maddox was conned by the middle aged, slim, medium heighted, messy haired and clean shaven, booze, cigarette, and credit luvin’, and even more angry, disaffected, wily, knowing, good credit luvin’, Christian hatin’, and implicitly Tin Man linked veteran con man Bud-played by Harry Dean Stanton, who ironically but fittingly when on to appear in three Lynch indie moving paintings-into helping him repo a car, luring the unsuspecting Maddox into joining him at the ironically named Helping Hands Acceptance Corporation (HHAC) and helping him and his fellow equally irascible and indomitably indie repo men like the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, moustached, intimidating, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked Lite-implicitly also linked to James E. Jones, who supplied the memorable and electronically modified voice of the tall, creepy, intimidating, black helmeted, armoured and caped, and implicitly Kurosawa Akira and Nikko linked Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith (played by David Prowse) in the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy, and played by Sy Richardson-get their hands on the “blockbuster” commission profits to be had by “ripping” cars luvingly cared for in their lot at the HHAC HQ by their middle aged, short, slim, wild receding haired, grease covered, genial, strange, spacey, and implicitly Slava Tsukerman and Great Oz linked mechanic and time travellin’ UFOlogist Miller-his theory of a “latticework of coincidence” underlying everything pointing the way to understanding the implicit allegorical intent of the film, and played by Tracey Walter-and protected by the middle aged and heighted, chubby, handsome, thick black haired and black moustached, bespectacled, knitting luvin’, and implicitly George Miller linked “rent-a-cop” Arnold Plettschner-played by Richard Foronjy-all to the grim and wry amusement of their old, medium heighted, chubby, balding grey haired, and implicitly Freddie Francis linked boss Oly-played by Tom Finnegan, who was implicitly linked to Freddie Francis, the director of photography (DOP) on the allegorical Lynch indie moving painting THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)-and their young, medium heighted, slim, beautiful, and long suffering secretary Marlene-played by Vonetta McGee-who resembled the middle aged medium heighted, slim, dark haired and eyed, dangerous, sexy, steamy, perhaps Queen Elizabeth II linked, and Wicked Witch of the West evoking Beautiful Woman Across The Hall-played by Judith A. Roberts-in the allegorical, black and white, stop motion animation enhanced and dream filled and dream-like indie moving painting ERASERHEAD (1977).    Significantly, this tragicomic luring on the part of Bud reaffirmed the implication that Maddox was linked to Lynch, for it reminded us that shortly before the release of REPO MAN the indie Lynch was persuaded by indie Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis and his daughter Raffaella to leave behind the indie film artist ranks and collaborate with them to create the blockbuster twilit and allegorical indie moving painting DUNE (1984), inspired by the classic Frank Herbert indie docufiction novel Dune (1965).  Thus, Cox implied that he was roasting Lynch and his decision to leave behind his small and low budget indie moving painting life to join Dino and Raffaella De Laurentiis and create the big blockbuster DUNE on one level in REPO MAN. 

Curiously, the sight and sound of Bud leading Otto away from his ordinary dull life with his stoned, listless, tv hypnotized and Spielberg and Amy Irving resembling and implicitly linked suburban Boomer pod people parents-played by Jonathon “Tree” Hugger and Sharon Gregg, respectively-and on to the intense and ultra indie repo man path also evoked the film art of Kubrick admirer and disciple Sir Ridley Scott, particularly the sight and sound of the middle aged, short, slim, small pox scarred, hat and flashy suit wearin’, and implicitly Scarecrow linked Gaff-played by Edward J. Olmos-leading the middle aged and heighted, slim, handsome, muscular, strong, cynical, resigned, and future ex-Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Rick Deckard-played by Harrison Ford-back into the Replicant hunting “Blade Runner” ranks at the beginning of the equally ultraviolent, nihilistic, and eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Los Angeles set, and implicitly Peter Hyams and Matthew Robbins roasting Sir Scott indie docufeature artbuster BLADE RUNNER (1982), openly linking REPO MAN to the twilit and disastrous summer of 1982.  Indeed, the sight and sound of Bud driving Otto through the 2^nd Street Tunnel in L.A. while solemnly explaining the tragicomic and implicitly Indie Film Art linked Repo Code to his young protégé evoked the sight and sound of Deckard driving his spinner police car through the 2^nd Street Tunnel in BLADE RUNNER to openly link REPO MAN to BLADE RUNNER and to implicitly affirm that Cox was indeed replying to Sir Scott on one level as well as Kubrick, Lucas, Lynch, and Miller in REPO MAN. 

In fact, the fact that Stanton played the lean, laconic, baseball cap and Hawaii shirt luvin’, and implicitly Lucas and Scarecrow linked mechanic Brett in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Lucas and Spielberg roasting Sir Scott indie docufeature artbuster ALIEN (1979) openly linked REPO MAN to ALIEN and Sir Scott, and implicitly linked Bud to Sir Scott.  Thus, it was fitting that Lynch implicitly addressed Sir Scott in the implicit form of the middle aged and heighted, slim, handsome, moustached and bearded, intelligent, educated, confident, and dedicated Doctor Frederick Treves-played by Sir Anthony Hopkins-in THE ELEPHANT MAN, a film on which Brooks was overall producer, and in which his English wife Anne Bancroft played famed English actress Mrs. Kendal.  Fitting, indeed, for throughout the film the perpetually stoned and/or drunk Duke and Duke’s two equally booze and drug addled and out of control punk associates, his beautiful but deadly “girlfriend” the young, short, slim, sexy, English accented, and implicitly Bancroft and Wicked Witch of the West linked Debbie-played by Jennifer Balgobin-and the young, medium heighted, muscular, black mohawked, vainglorious, and implicitly Francis Coppola linked “King” Archie-played by Miguel Sandoval-were seen running around L.A. robbing stores and even Dr. Parnell with wild and ultraviolent abandon.  Curiously, these exuberantly ultraviolent and carefree interludes evoked the equally ultraviolent and carefree escapades of the young, medium heighted, slim, nasty, and Beethoven luvin’ teen Alex-played by Malcolm McDowell-and his droogs in the allegorical Kubrick docufeature artbuster A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971), affirming that Kubrick was being addressed on one level in REPO MAN. 

These anarchic and chaotic robberies were also jarringly contrasted and interwoven with Otto’s tragicomic repo misadventures and his lackadaisical attempt to romance the young, short, slim, pretty, sweet but feisty, Judy Garland resembling but implicitly Raffaella De Laurentiis and Dorothy and L.A. linked Leila-played by Olivia Barash-an intrepid alien investigator for the United Fruitcake Outlet (UFO), an organization that believed that an extraterrestrial was hidden and mouldering away in the trunk of the ’64 Chevy Malibu.  An alien and UFO obsessed organization in an embattled Los Angeles that sarcastically evoked and alluded to the extraterrestrials and UFOs in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau roasting Spielberg docufeature film CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), the equally embattled Los Angeles in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Spielberg indie docufeature film 1941 (1979)-making it fitting that Luis Contreras played the security guard in the no name grocery store, for he played a rebellious and riotous Zoot suiter in 1941-and the lone and lonely extraterrestrial left behind on Earth in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Terry Gilliam addressing Spielberg docufeature film E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL (1982) to reaffirm that Cox was also implicitly roasting Spielberg on one level as well as addressing the twilit and disastrous year of 1982 in REPO MAN.

        Tragicomically, as part of his welcome to Helping Hands and as they cruised the daytime and nighttime backstreets of L.A. like the teen cruisers of AMERICAN GRAFFITI, Maddox was taught the Repo Code by Bud, an earnest but kooky, anti-mainstream, anti-“ordinary people”, and freedom luvin’, but disciplined, law abiding, always intense, and implicitly Indie film art linked Code that summed up the earnest, anti-mainstream and freedom luvin’ but disciplined, law abiding, and always intense code of all indie film artists, that promised commission financial rewards that differed for each vehicle, reminding us that the financial rewards for film artists differed according to whether a film failed or succeeded, and that etched itself as much on the bodies, hearts, minds, and souls of audiences as it did on Otto.  Equally tragicomically, these kookily earnest sermons slowly transformed Maddox into a dedicated and secret agent resembling Repo Man complete with black suit, black tie, and Lynchian white dress shirt and tan pants, driving a long and cool ’76 Cadillac Eldorado.  But not necessarily for the Good, as only the dangerous Dark Side mirrorworld reflection of Otto was seen in the window of the office of the HHAC HQ midway through the film, implying that he had become one with his Dark Side and reminding us that the sight of the dangerous reflection of a character in a mirror or window was the implicit signal that a character was embracing and releasing their dangerous Dark Side and heading off on an equally dangerous and dark direction in the film art of Sir Scott and Richard Rush.

Just as tragicomically, as he was transformed into an intense Repo Man, Otto was also caught up in the quixotic and tragicomic quest to track down, capture, and keep the mysterious ’64 Chevy Malibu and its equally mysterious driver and win the $20,000 reward for its capture that evoked the equally film long battle to track down, capture, and keep the Lost Ark of the Covenant in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.  This quixotic quest not only pitted Otto against Bud, Lite but also against and an ultra top secret government agency led by the middle aged, short, slim, auburn haired, pretty, icy, metal left handed, crystal ball evoking and all knowing computer screen consultin’, and implicitly Kennedy and Glinda the Good linked Agent Rogersz-her constant computer surveillance of everything evoking the subterranean computer surveillance state of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and implicitly Stanley Kubrick roasting Lucas indie docufeature film THX 1138 (1971), and played by Susan Barnes-and the diabolical duo comprising the young, nefarious, and implicitly Folsey jr. and Landis linked rival repo brothers Napoleon “Napo” and Lagarto Rodriguez-played by Eddie Velez and Del Zamora, respectively-who were hell bent on seizing the implicitly primal Sixties Rebel linked creative Force of the ’64 Chevy Malibu and ending the freewheelin’ repo era as surely as Folsey jr. and Landis extinguished the primal Sixties Rebel creative Force and ended the freewheelin’ New Hollywood era with the TZ disaster, while the middle aged and heighted, slim, gleefully greedy, and implicitly Marshall linked Reverend Larry-played by Bruce White-did his best to save everyone’s souls, as long as everyone paid in full for their salvation, of course. 

Curiously, however, Dr. Parnell died along the tragicomic way, and in the end it was not Bud, Lite, or Otto but the HHAC’s mysterious and mystic mechanic Miller who beat everyone and evaded the twilit LAPD helicopter NC2802 to claim the ’64 Chevy Malibu in the company repo lot, now ominously glowing a radioactive green that evoked the digitally green map of the southwestern states that accompanied the opening credits, and recapture and master the implicitly primal and Rebel Sixties linked Skyrockin’ creative Force of the car that had once flowed so freely, confidently, exuberantly, and indomitably in New Hollywood circles but had gone missing since the TZ disaster, implying that Cox was fond of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas, Lynch, and Spielberg roasting Tsukerman indie docufeature film LIQUID SKY (1982).  Indeed, sitting happily at the wheel and mischievously motioning to Maddox to join him, Otto indifferently abandoned his shocked, disappointed, frustrated, and furious sweetie Leila and joined Miller in the passenger seat of the primal ’64 Chevy Malibu.  Dynamic duo complete, Miller, as at one with the universe as that legendary mist shrouded Universal Studios intro, flew the terrifying mystery car slowly, serenely, and silently up into the air to the sound of the wistful allegorical Plugz instrumental tune “Reel Ten” (1984), evoking the tiny but implicitly Great Oz linked flying saucer rising up and away into the New York sky at the end of LIQUID SKY, Deckard and Gaff rising into the air in a spinner in BLADE RUNNER, and the old, medium heighted, slim, suit luvin’ and humbuggin’, and implicitly the Right Honourable R.B. Bennett, then leader of the Canadian Conservative Party and Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition Party in the House of Parliament, linked Great Oz-played by Frank Morgan-rising up and away in his wayward hot air balloon at the end of the allegorical and implicitly Canadian Prime Minister William King and Chancellor Adolf Hitler roastin’ Victor Fleming film THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) to affirm Miller’s implicit links to Tsukerman and the Great Oz. 

Thus, the tragicomic sight and sound of Maddox and Miller then blasting off like a space/time travelling UFO into hyperspace to the heart of the galaxy like two cosmic Repo Blues Brothers in an effect straight out of the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy in a last wry and satirical goodbye to the Skyrockin’ Lucas era, in the end, implied the hope of Cox that Lynch, Tsukerman, and even himself would not be brought down by the TZ disaster or by DUNE but would instead abandon addictive and f/x filled blockbuster beasts like DUNE and the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy and use their primal creative Force to head off to better and more meaningful and intense indie film art for film art’s sake, an implicit allegorical intent affirmed by the film’s allusions to A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, ALIEN, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, BLADE RUNNER, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, Dune, DUNE, ERASERHEAD, E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, LIQUID SKY, 1941, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy, THE ELEPHANT MAN, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THX 1138, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Coppola indie docufeature artbuster APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), the allegorical and implicitly Old Hollywood roastin’ Kubrick docufeature film DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964), the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Landis docufeature film THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980), the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly David Cronenberg addressing Miller indie docufeature films MAD MAX (1979) and THE ROAD WARRIOR (1982), and the allegorical Robert Aldrich feature film KISS ME DEADLY (1955). 

Alas, Lynch would almost destroy himself with the release of DUNE, and Tsukerman never made another feature film after LIQUID SKY.  As for Cox, while REPO MAN was a fine and funny first film manifesto with a memorable and popular original punk soundtrack whose courage, creativity, originality, shrewd and knowing understanding, scathing satire, naturally light, low budget, and indomitably indie docufeature style shot guerilla-like by mixing cast and crew with real people on the real back streets of L.A. set the tone and prepared the way for every Cox film to follow, affirmed that Cox was a mischievous and confident Coxman, indeed, and a film that influenced other indie film artists like Kathryn Bigelow and Richard Kelly, the final cut was, alas, not as enthusiastically embraced, marketed, or distributed by Universal Studios, the studio that oversaw the film (Cox, X Films, 73-6).  As a result, REPO MAN was not as successful as it should have been, given that it accurately summed up the mood of equally outraged, disaffected, and scornful Boomer brat Generation X audiences at the time of its release.

Not surprisingly, this lack of appreciation or support from the scousers at Universal displeased Cox, leading to a second Indie Code upholding film that was more disaffected and anti-mainstream than REPO MAN and again implicitly roasted Lynch and Sir Scott when Cox donned the co-writer/director hats, collaborated again with Harris, Pop, Richardson, Rude, Sandoval, Abbe Wool-video coordinator on REPO MAN and now back as co-writer-and Ed Pansullo and Biff Yeager-who played Agents E and B, respectively, of that ultra secret U.S. government agency headed by Agent Rogersz in REPO MAN-and this time also with Embassy Home Entertainment, Initial Pictures, MGM, and Zenith Productions and embraced more anarchic punk energy and music tempered by a more traditional and linear structure in the twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film SID AND NANCY (1986), released on May 14, 1986.

“!Exterminate!

!Exterminate!”

        Significantly, after the lion roarin’ MGM intro, three opening titles composed of white capitalized letters on a black background, none of which mentioned Cox, one title stating “SID AND NANCY” in ominous blood red letters on a black background, the film began with the New York Police Department (NYPD) responding to a 911 call regarding domestic violence in a room at the Chelsea Hotel on Seven and 23^rd Streets in New York, immediately and implicitly linking the film to the fateful and fatal events of 72382.  Here in the room NYPD officers and a detective-played by Yeager-found the young, tall, slim, pale, spikey black haired, black shirt, and black jeans wearin’, Duke evoking but Frankenstein resembling, and implicitly Scarecrow linked Sex Pistols bassist John Ritchie aka “Sid Vicious”-played by Gary Oldman-sitting in shocked silence and did their best to question him as a Wicked Witch of the East evoking body was stretchered out in a black body bag.  Then the film travelled back in time and across the pond to London, where Vicious stalked the streets, attacked parked Rolls Royces, and menaced Toto evoking dogs with his equally anarchic and fiendish friend and Sex Pistols lead screamer, the young, medium heighted, slim, bored, cynical, disaffected, and implicitly Lynch and Cowardly Lion linked John Lydon aka “Johnny Rotten”-played by Andrew Schofield-his orange hair fittingly evoking the red hair of twisted and Evil House Harkonnen in Dune and DUNE. 

Curiously, with his spiky black hair and black leather jacket, Vicious looked and dressed like a punk rocker seen amongst the extras as Deckard frantically chased the medium heighted, slim, auburn, beautiful, curvaceous, strong, and renegade Replicant Zhora-played by Joanna Cassidy-through the crowded streets of future L.A in BLADE RUNNER, immediately affirming an implicit interest in Sir Scott again on one level in the second Cox film and openly linking SID & NANCY to BLADE RUNNER and the summer of ’82 like REPO MAN.  Just as curiously, the two raucous young Sex Pistols, a punk rock group whose anger, disaffection, and rebellion anticipated that of Generation X after 1982, were on their way to the swingin’ flat of the young, short, slim, slinky, sensual, black haired, eyed, man cut, and skimpy leather clad, exuberantly nasty, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the East linked dominatrix Linda-played by Anne Lambton-where Vicious unfortunately met the young, short, slim, blonde, Debbie evoking, and implicitly Dorothy linked American bimbo groupie girlfriend Nancy Spungen-played by Chloe Webb-who led him astray by introducing him to heroin, sometimes supplied by the middle aged, short, slim, London based, and implicitly Terry Gilliam and Great Oz linked American drug dealer Rock Head-played by Stuart Fox. 

Even worse, this addiction was tolerated by Sid’s older manager, the middle aged and heighted, callously exploitative, loot obsessed, and implicitly Sir Scott and Tin Man linked Malcolm McLaren-played by David Hayman-and his young, medium heighted, slim, beautiful, auburn haired, men’s clothes luvin’, and implicitly Kathryn Bigelow and Glinda linked right hand man Phoebe-played by Debby Bishop-reminding us that “blade runner” was slang for an addict shooting up heroin with a needle, reaffirming the film’s implicit interest in roasting Sir Scott and BLADE RUNNER on one level.  Curiously, after establishing themselves in London with the help of such anti-Boomer, anti-capitalist, anti-corporatist, anti-establishment, anti-mainstream, and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Lydon, Paul Cook, Steve Jones, and Glen Matlock written tunes as “Anarchy In The U.K.” (1976) and “God Save The Queen” (1977), the Sex Pistols, which included the young, short, chubby, baby faced, and brunette drummer Cook-played by Perry Benson-and the young, tall, slim, handsome, and brunette lead guitarist Jones-played by Tony London-went on a raucous tour of the United States that saw a shirtless Sid try and fail to play his white Fender Precision Bass with enough reliable skill, leading to the breakup of the band. 

Significantly, at this point there was a curious dream sequence that had Vicious lip synching a mocking and punk rock version of the allegorical and Paul Anka written Frank Sinatra tune “My Way” (1969) on a stage before gunning down the audience which included McLaren, Phoebe, and Spungen to the tolerant amusement oevoking the mass shootings inflicted on terrified citizens and LAPD officers by the tall, handsome, muscular, strong, callous, pitiless, relentless, black sunglasses wearin’, black leather jacket clad, and implicitly Lucas and Wicked Witch of the West linked CSM-101 cyborg Terminator from the future-played by Arnold Schwarzenegger-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas and Lynch addressing James Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster THE TERMINATOR (1984), implicitly linking Vicious to Cameron, and Spungen to Linda Hamilton, who played the young, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, courageous, determined, and indomitable waitress Sarah Connor in T1.  Terminating dream sequence over, Spungen and Vicious washed up free of McLaren and Phoebe at the Wicked Castle evoking Chelsea Hotel, bringing the film full circle back to the future past of New York, evoking the time travelling from future to past in T1 to reaffirm the implicit link of Vicious and Spungen to Cameron and Hamilton.  Here at the Chelsea, Sid and Nancy shot up heroin provided by the tall, slim, black clad, black hatted, genial, all too accommodating, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked Bowery Snax-played by Xander Berkeley-heroin shooting scenes that evoked similar scenes in the also New York set LIQUID SKY, reaffirming an implicit fondness for that film on the part of Cox. 

Thus, the sight and sound of Spungen leading Vicious astray into heroin addiction and then Sid stabbing her to death-a deadly stab to the stomach that reminded us that Deckard killed Daryl Hannah’s equally blonde but taller and more beautiful but less than human renegade Replicant punkette Pris by shooting her in the stomach at the end of BLADE RUNNER-before he died of a heroin overdose, in the end, implied that Cox felt that Cameron had been led astray by blonde bimbo Hollywood and its addictive visual effects laden films and had already destroyed himself and his film art with the effects filled, nightmarish, and ultraviolent T1.  Indeed, the film ended with a dreamy and surreal sequence where Vicious wandered through a ruined area of New York or Jersey City with the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings and the World Trade Center Towers, frequent sights in LIQUID SKY, seen behind him in the distance before being ironically picked up by a bright and shiny yellow taxi with a ghostly and angelic Spungen wearing a skimpy white wedding style dress or lingerie in the back seat and driven off to Heaven or to Hell, a dreamy and surreal sequence that reminded us that REPO MAN ended with Miller and Otto disappearing in the primal Sixties creative Force powered ’64 Chevy Malibu and that evoked the twilit nightmares of the ruined and blockbuster beast battling future Earth that plagued the young, short, slim, handsome, blonde, muscular, strong, courageous, determined, devoted, and implicitly Lynch and Scarecrow linked future time traveller Kyle Reese-played by Michael Biehn-in T1, reaffirming the implicit link of Vicious and Spungen to Cameron and Hamilton, implications affirmed by the film’s allusions to A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, BLADE RUNNER, Dune, DUNE, LIQUID SKY, REPO MAN, T1, THE BLUES BROTHERS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, the brilliant, madcap, twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, addictive special and visual effects filled, and implicitly Landis roasting Gilliam indie animaction artbuster BRAZIL (1985), and the allegorical George A. Romero indie docufeature film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) in a fine and fearless feature film that was as filled with dangerous Dark Side mirrorworld reflections usually involving Sid that affirmed that he was indeed heading off on a dangerous path with Nancy, particularly just before their final fight and the fatal stabbing, that again evoked the dangerous Dark Side mirrorworld reflections in the film art of Rush and Sir Scott as they did in REPO MAN to reaffirm the implicit interest in both film artists on one level in SID AND NANCY. 

Alas, while another fine, funny, fearless, memorable, moving, and naturally lit indie docufeature film with another equally memorable and mostly original soundtrack, SID AND NANCY was as unsuccessful as REPO MAN.  Making it ironic, indeed, that two months after unsuccessful release of the second indomitably indie docufeature film of Cox, Cameron achieved great success with his second equally indomitably indie docufeature film, when he followed in the innovative footsteps of Sir Scott and reassured audiences, particularly young, angry, and disaffected Gen X audiences, that he could be trusted and won them over to his side forever with the righteously furious, twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Dante roastin’ indie docufeature Zonebuster ALIENS (1986).

However, despite the lack of popularity of SID AND NANCY, the film allowed Cox to implicitly affirm, like Bud in REPO MAN, his pragmatic belief that an indomitable commitment to the Indie film art Code had to be grounded in self-discipline, moderation, and reality in order to escape the tragicomic, addicted, and deadly fates of Sid and Nancy (Cox, X Films, 108).  The film also gave Cox more experience that he brought with him, along with more independent financing and distribution and his indomitable commitment to the Indie Code, when Cox donned the co-writer/director hats and rejoined Balgobin, Berkeley, Contreras, Harris, Pansullo, Richardson, Rude, Sandoval, Schloss, Yeager, Zamora, and Sue Kiel-who played the young, slim, beautiful, brunette, fearless, indomitable, and implicitly Bigelow linked Ms. Magruder, respectively, in REPO MAN-Kathy Burke, Graham Fletcher-Cook, Courtney Love, Sara Sugarman, Edward Tudor-Pole, and Michele Winstanley-who played Brenda Windzor, Wally, Gretchen, Abby National, a U.K. Hotelier, and Olive McBollocks, respectively, in SID AND NANCY-Joe Strummer-who created the twilit and allegorical tune “Love Kills” (1986) that played over the closing titles of SID AND NANCY-and the Pogues-who created the twilit and allegorical tunes “Haunted” (1986) and “Junk” (1986) for the soundtrack of SID AND NANCY-and now also with Initial and Island Pictures to complete his Punk Trilogy, to again implicitly roast the battling Zone War film artists of the beautiful but deadly town of Hollywood and their tragicomic lust for fame and beastly blockbuster loot as in REPO MAN, and to pay exuberant and ironic homage to the equally allegorical and implicitly Hollywood roasting spaghetti Westerns that brightened his staid and colourless existence in dull, dreary, and desolate Liverpool in his happily misspent youth and that he paid exuberant tribute to in 10,000 Ways To Die (2012) in his next courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film, the twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film STRAIGHT TO HELL (1987), released on May 14, 1987.

“What brings you killers to town?”

Curiously, after four white opening titles on a black background, none of which mentioned Cox, accompanied by the howls of lonesome wolves, the film began with the short, slim, brunette, clean cut and shaven, shirtless, checkered pants wearin’, and implicitly Toto linked Willy-played by Rude-sleepily drawing back the curtains of the window of his room at the Almeria Hotel in Almeria, Spain, an action that mirrored and lampooned the smoother mechanical movement of the curtains rippling silently back from the screen of a cinema to implicitly begin the film.  That implicitly cinema curtain opening point made, Willy and his two roommates comprising the middle aged, medium heighted, slim, handsome, moustached, black suit and tie and white dress shirt wearin’, and implicitly Jones and Cowardly Lion linked Norwood-played by Richardson-and the young, short, slim, handsome, rock n roll haired, black suit, grey tie, and white dress shirt wearin’, and implicitly Lucas and Scarecrow linked Simms-played by Strummer-were discovered to be hitmen when they bungled a hit on “Mr. Greenberg” in their hotel.  A bungled hit that led to the twilit trio of tragicomic hitmen fleeing the Hotel Almeria and robbing the nearby Banco Central de Almeria with their companion, the young, medium heighted, curvaceous, pregnant, Spungen evokin’, but implicitly Hollywood and Dorothy linked peroxide blonde bimbo Velma-played by Love.

Fleeing with four battered suitcases stuffed with filthy lucre from the law and from the young, tall, slim, grey haired and eyebrowed, clean shaven, white suited and black shirted and gloved, sinister, deadly, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the East linked Mr. Amos Dade-his surname an anagram for “dead”, and fittingly played by indie film artist Jim Jarmusch, who openly linked the feckless foursome to film artists-the quixotic quartet drove into the desert hills outside of town that evoked the equally stark Jundland Wastes on Tatooine in STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI and the allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg roasting Lucas indie docufeature film STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977).  Here in this desert wasteland that mirrored their moral wasteland, their car broke down, causing the Ozian quartet to grab their battered suitcases full of filthy stolen lucre and walk up a desert hill and then down into a desolate valley as the blood red and Western film-style opening titles appeared on the screen, including one that read “…SEX and CRUELTY CONSULTANT MARTIN TURNER”, all to the ominously wistful sound of the twilit, allegorical, and Dan Wool composed Pray For Rain instrumental tune "The Killers".

Down below the furtive foursome found themselves walking to their surprise into a decaying wooden nineteenth century American Western town straight out of a Western film that was indeed actually built for a Seventies Western starring Charles Bronson, making this decaying Hollywood Western film town a natural and literal symbol of the twilit and decaying state of Hollywood by 1987.  Here in “Helltown”, the Ozian quartet soon met the young, sweet, eccentric, furtive, and implicitly Gilliam and Glinda linked Chuch-played by Sugarman-the young, tall, slim, dorky, despised, bespectacled, and implicitly Tim Burton linked wiener boy Karl-played by Schloss-and the middle aged, medium heighted, slim, black haired, eyed, moustached, and bearded, bitter, despondent, wistful, jealous, and implicitly Kubrick and Tin Man linked general store owner and manager George-played by Sandoval-and his young, short, slim, and sexy wife Fabienne-played by Balgobin.  The four strangers also did their best to come to grips with the equally lawless, fresh brewed coffee luvin’, and mostly Pogues played Clan McMahon gang led by the middle aged and heighted, heavyset, white cowboy hat and suit, and red vest wearin’, and implicitly Luc Besson and Nikko linked Frank McMahon-played by Yeager-that ran the troubled town. 

Curiously, Norwood, Simms, Willy, and most everyone else, including the old, grey haired and moustached, wheelchair bound, and implicitly Ford linked Granpa McMahon-played by Jem Finer-the young, tall, slim, black haired, eyed, moustached, and bearded, black clad and hatted, and implicitly Jean Reno and Wicked Witch of the West linked Preacher McMahon-played by Berkeley-and the young, slim, and implicitly Landis linked Stupid McMahon-played by Martin Turner-openly despised with amused contempt the young, tall, slim, bespectacled, geeky, gawky, and now implicitly Tim Burton linked Karl the weiner seller-played by Schloss-implicitly due to Burton having inflicted on audiences the twilit and allegorical animaction feature film PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985).  Not surprisingly, most were killed over the course of four bloody days in Helltown or in the bloody shootout that ended the film, a shootout helped along by a suitcase full of guns, automatic rifles, and ammunition provided by the middle aged, short, slim, brunette, handsome, clean shaven, gleefully duplicitous, mysterious, and implicitly Great Oz linked oilman I.G. Farben-played by Dennis Hopper.  Frank and Velma also died when their getaway car ran off a cliff and exploded on impact with the canyon below.  Only Norwood was left alive but apparently trapped in a vicious circle of violence when he tried but failed to drive off with most of the town’s deadly ladies, including the young, medium heighted, slim, fearless, and implicitly Bigelow linked Louise-played by Winstanley-the young, short, slim, brunette, sexy, and implicitly Marcia Lucas linked Slim McMahon-played by Cait O’Riordan-the young, short, heavyset, wild brown haired, and implicitly Amy Heckerling linked Sabrina-played by Kathy Burke-and the young, short, slim, and implicitly Susan Seidelman linked Leticia-played by Kiel-reminding us that Miller and Otto blasted off in the primal Sixties ’64 Chevy Malibu at the end of REPO MAN and Sid and Nancy drove off in a New York taxi at the end of SID AND NANCY, and implying that Cox believed that if they did not let go of the twilight and embrace the daylight, the furiously battling film artists of the dread allegorical Zone Wars were either going to wipe themselves out as well, or be trapped forever in the Twilight Zone, in the end. 

Significantly, as the film ended with Chuch, the only person in Helltown to avoid guns and gunfighting, surviving the final battle and trying to drive away a truckload of bleeding and bullet riddled bodies while workers employed by Farben Oil rebuilt the town, Cox also implicitly hoped that Gilliam would not fall prey to lusts for beastly blockbuster fortune and glory, and also implicitly warned film artists and audiences that the only ones to benefit from the dread allegorical Zone Wars would be the big oil companies like Gulf + Western that owned Hollywood film studios like Paramount Pictures at the time.  For they would make money on Zone War films, and when the film artists of the Zone Wars burned themselves out or died, they would just recruit a new crop of naïve, innocent, and eager beaver film artists fresh out of post-secondary film schools to rebuild and start Hollywood over again, an implicit allegorical intent affirmed by the film’s allusions to the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy, THE WIZARD OF OZ, the twilit and allegorical Besson indie docufeature film LE DERNIER COMBAT (1983), the allegorical Sergio Leone feature film THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (1966), and the allegorical Leone feature film ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968).

Curiously, the experience of making STRAIGHT TO HELL in and around Almeria during a fiesta week inspired the allegorical and Shane MacGowan written Pogues tune “Fiesta” (1988) on their recording IF I SHALL FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD (1988).  As for Universal Studios, the film’s overseer and distributor despised STRAIGHT TO HELL and its great original soundtrack as much as they despised REPO MAN and its soundtrack, causing them to again refuse to advertise the film or distribute it to many theatres.  An embittering, frustrating, and infuriating neglect that ended any chance the fine and funny feature film had of succeeding, and that reaffirmed the implicit conviction of Cox that film art was going straight to hell.

An implicit conviction that was implicitly reaffirmed when Cox donned the director/co-editor hats and returned with Berkeley, Contreras, Harris, Pansullo, Richardson, Rude, Sandoval-who also acted as Second Unit Director-Schloss, Strummer-who also created the memorable soundtrack-Tudor-Pole, Yeager, Richard Beggs-sound man on REPO MAN-Charlie Braun and Spider Stacey-the roguish Pogue who played Blacksmith McMahon and Angel Eyes McMahon, respectively, in STRAIGHT TO HELL-and Pam Tait-costume designer on STRAIGHT TO HELL-and now also with Incine and Edward R. Pressman to the Temple Theatre in 1987 with yet another courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film that was also ironically overseen by Universal, the twilit, allegorical, CGI free, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film WALKER (1987), released on December 4, 1987.

“No one will remember Walker.

No one will remember men who lose.”

Curiously, but fittingly, after another Universal Studios intro that featured the Earth spinning slowly, serenely, and silently in a star speckled expanse of space, fittingly enshrouded with legendary mist and at one with the universe, that was also in complete and ironic contrast to the mischief and mayhem that followed, the film began with a blank black screen like a Spielberg film punctuated by shouts before a film long voiceover (VO) narration by Ed Harris began that set the scene by informing audiences that in 1853 American Rebels led by William Walker invaded Mexico and tried to liberate that country from a corrupt dictatorship at Sonora.  Then the black emptiness was replaced with daylight and the shouts became the cries of Mexican soldiers and cavalry attacking and overrunning the commandeered Sonora villa turned fort of the equally vocal and shouting American 1^st Independence Battalion, an attack to the sound of the ironically lively, exuberant, upbeat, and fittingly Latin American themed instrumental tune “Filibustero” (1987), the first of many fine and memorable tunes composed by Strummer for the film, and an attack interspersed with two blood red opening titles, one reading “THIS IS A TRUE STORY” and the second reading “WALKER”, and a desperate defense led by the middle aged, short, slim, balding blonde, grey eyed, dark grey suit clad and hatted, naïve, patriotic, quixotically idealistic and vainglorious, casually callous and brutal, corporate punishment, execution, and slave luvin’, ironically devout and Bible luvin’, readin’, and quotin’, and alcohol, cigarette, and booze abstainin’, and implicitly Lucas and Tin Man linked American Colonel William Walker, the Grey Eyed Man of Destiny-his birth in May and his Skywalker evoking surname affirming his implicit link to Lucas, and played by Harris-and commanded by the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, shaven headed, clean shaven, and implicitly Jones and Scarecrow linked Captain Hornsby-played by Richardson-a disastrous debacle that reminded us that THX 1138 was an equally disastrous debut for Senor Lucas.  While Col. Walker and his surviving men managed to escape with their lives with the help of a divine and fortuitous wind and sandstorm and flee back safely back over the border to the United States and escape punishment and imprisonment there, the Colonel alas soon lost his life’s luv, the young, short, slim, beautiful, hearing and speech challenged, sign languaging, and implicitly Marcia Griffin and Wicked Witch of the East linked Ellen Martin-played by Marlee Matlin-to malaria like Lucas lost his life’s luv Marcia in the Great Divorce of ’83.

A loss so devastating that Walker allowed himself to be persuaded by his “friend”, the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, dark brown haired, eyed, moustached, and bearded, genial, grey suit luvin’, and implicitly Spielberg linked Ephraim Squier-played by Richard Masur-and his “great and powerful” boss, the old, tall, chubby, bald, big eared, grey mutton chop sideburned, power and money mad, and implicitly Alfred Hitchcock and Great Oz linked Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt-played by Peter Boyle-to team up with Capt. Hornsby, the middle aged and heighted, slim, wild auburn haired, moustached, and bearded, eccentric but dedicated, and implicitly Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) visual effects wizard John Dykstra and Cowardly Lion linked Major Siegfried Henningson-played by Rene Auberjonois-his young, tall, slim, bug eyed, eccentric, and implicitly Ralph McQuarrie linked English artist and chronicler Doubleday-played by Tudor-Pole-his young, short, slim, naïve, innocent, and implicitly Smith linked younger brother James Walker-played by William O’Leary-and his implicitly film artist linked and exuberantly lawless “Immortals” to establish an American republic in mid-nineteenth century Nicaragua before it was swept away after wacky Walker aroused the ire and bitter opposition of Commodore Vanderbilt, an initially sound, good, and earnest but ultimately unsound, dictatorial, violent, enslaving, and failed attempt at a new American republic in Nicaragua that evoked the equally failed attempt of Lucas and his fellow exuberantly lawless film artists to sweep away Old Hollywood and establish a New Hollywood.  Indeed, weird Walker’s failed fling while in Grenada, the capital of Nicaragua, with the middle aged, short, slim, beautiful, black haired and eyed, voluptuous, fiery, duplicitous, often black clad, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked Dona Yrena-played by Blanca Guerra-evoked the brief fling that Lucas had with the equally beautiful and curvaceous Linda Ronstadt after the Great Divorce to reaffirm the implicit link of Lucas to Walker. 

        The sight and sound of the wacky Walker gathering his mischief and mayhem luvin’ Immortals and supplies in San Francisco before sailing down the west coasts of North and Central America to Realejo, Nicaragua reaffirmed the implicit link of Walker to Lucas, reminding us that the Skywalker Ranch film facility of Lucas was located just outside of San Fran.  The animated map visual straight out of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, Kennedy and Marshall produced, and implicitly Friedkin roasting Spielberg indie docufeature film INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984) that was used to convey this coastal voyage also affirmed the film’s implicit interest in Lucas and Spielberg.  Indeed, the fact that Walker was accompanied on his expedition by the old, tall, slim, imposing, greying black haired, moustached, and bearded, and implicitly Kubrick linked Doctor Jones-played by Rene Assa-whose name evoked that of the middle aged and heighted, slim, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, courageous, determined, intelligent, educated, patient, shrewd, and knowing but adventure, fortune, and glory luvin’ archaeology professor Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones jr.-played by Ford-affirmed the link of WALKER to INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.  The sight and sound of the middle aged and heighted, slim, blonde, handsome, and goateed Prussian officer Bruno von Namzer-played by Braun-pledging himself to the wacky Walker cause in Nicaragua reaffirmed the implicit link of Walker to Lucas, for von Namzer resembled Gary Kurtz, producer of AMERICAN GRAFFITI, STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE, and the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, and implicitly Spielberg roasting Irvin Kershner indie docufeature film STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980).

Tragicomically, the fine film ended with an outraged and righteously furious Nicaraguan uprising that led to the deaths of most of the Immortals and the burning down of Granada, the capital of Nicaragua and the new Helltown, in the bloody and STRAIGHT TO HELL evoking gun battle at the end of the film, all to the pensively tinkling piano notes of the allegorical Strummer instrumental tune “The Brooding Side Of Madness” (1987), and, eventually, after an odd but fittingly twilit helicopter filled with mid-Eighties American troops that landed amidst the chaos of Grenada refused to rescue wacky Walker and carry him back to safety in the United States to remind us that everything went straight to hell for Lucas after the fateful and fatal helicopter crash on the Landis set of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, to the abandoned Walker being fittingly executed by an Honduran firing squad in 1860 to implicitly link him to a betrayal of primal Sixties creative Force and reaffirm the implicit link of Walker to Lucas.  This uprising and the execution of Walker evoked the equally righteously furious uprising of audiences-particularly young Gen X Boomer brat audiences-who were offended by the decision Lucas made shortly after the TZ disaster to work again with Kennedy, Marshall, and Spielberg on INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, a decision that outed him as Lord Stinkious, stinkiest of the Dark Lords of the Sith, and by the equally infuriating STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI disaster, both of which killed the reputation of Lord Stinkious in the outraged opinions of equally vengeful and liberating Gen X. 

Thus, Cox implied again as he already had in REPO MAN and STRAIGHT TO HELL that he was one of those righteously furious young audience members and that he was furiously roasting the rise and fall of Lord Stinkious from the heady and Skyrocking heights of STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE in ’77 to the dismal and Skyfalling depths of WALKER in ten depressing years, a scathing implicit summation of the life and film art of Lucas that was affirmed by the film’s allusions to the INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, STAR WARS Classic Trilogy, STRAIGHT TO HELL, and THE WIZARD OF OZ, and a scathing implicit summation of the life and film art of Lucas that was also implicitly made by Bernardo Bertolucci that year in the twilit, allegorical, and implicitly Lucas roasting indie docufeature film THE LAST EMPEROR (1987).  Curiously, however, and despite the furiously anti-Lucas spirit of ’87 that contributed to the success of THE LAST EMPEROR, WALKER and its fine and original Strummer soundtrack, like REPO MAN and STRAIGHT TO HELL, was again not embraced by film overseer and distributor Universal Studios, who again gave the film little advertising or theatre bookings.  Audiences also showed scant interest in WALKER, apparently not noticing or understanding the implicit Lucas roasting intent of the film and fixating angrily instead on the film’s acerbic allusions to then contemporary nefarious U.S. involvement in Central America (Cox, X Films, 127-28 and 170-73). 

This dismissal of WALKER only confirmed the already low opinion that Cox held of Hollywood studios in general and of Universal Studios in particular.  Thus, Cox was delighted when Mexican sympathizers reached out to him, allowing him to leave American and Hollywood scousers behind forever and head to Mexico to fully realize his always intense and exuberantly iconoclastic and anti-mainstream but dedicated and disciplined commitment to the Indie Code (Cox, X Films, 175-95).  A cinematic self-realization that was made implicitly clear when Cox donned the director hat and collaborated with Braun, Sandoval-who also worked as one of the dialogue coaches-and Schloss-who, in addition to acting, had also contributed to the soundtracks of REPO MAN and STRAIGHT TO HELL, particularly Karl’s immortal goofy allegorical jingle “Salsa y Ketchup” for the latter film, and now composed the entire soundtrack-Pedro Armendariz jr.-who played Nicaraguan General Munoz in WALKER and was now back as a supporting actor and in charge of “Actuaciones Especiales”-Lorenzo O’Brien and Carlos Puente-producer and co-editor of WALKER, respectively-and now also with Cable Hogue, Together Brothers Productions, and Ultra Films to create another courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film, the twilit, allegorical, CGI free, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film EL PATRULLERO aka HIGHWAY PATROLMAN (1991), released on December 28, 1991.

“Patrolmen never rest.

Always looking down the barrel of the gun.”

For after an Exterminating Angel intro on a black screen the white opening titles appeared on the screen as a Mexican police car roared toward the camera through an imposing Mexico City main square and then down several city streets with its roof lights flashing and siren wailing to finally stop at the Patrulla Nacional de Carreteras (PNDC) or Mexican National Highway Patrol (MNHP) cadet training centre and disgorge a middle aged, tall, burly, black haired, eyed, moustached, intense, and intimidating PNDC Comandante Sanchez-played by Mike Moroff-who hunted down and introduced us to two cadets and future PNDC officers, the young, short, slim, handsome, naïve, innocent, dedicated, tenacious, lonely, solitary, devoutly Catholic, Emerald City green VW bug luvin’, and implicitly Gilliam and Scarecrow linked PNDC Officer Pedro Rojas-played by Roberto Sosa-and the young, short, slim, handsome, and implicitly Eric Idle and Cowardly Lion linked Officer Anibal Guerrero-played by Bruno Bichir-the resigned determination of Officer Rojas to relocate to Mapimi and, despite constant bribes, uphold the Highway Patrolman Code-Orden!  Honor!  Y Servicio!-by patrolling the lonely, isolated, and dangerous Sectors Four and Forty-Four of Highway 82 in the Northern Zone-a desolate stretch of highway that evoked the equally desolate stretch of highway seen at the beginning of REPO MAN-and ridding it of drug dealing Evildoers while also avenging the murder of his good friend Officer Guerrero and freeing the young, short, slim, beautiful, unhappy, drug addicted, often black clad, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked prostitute Maribel-played by Vanessa Bauche-from the control of her brutal and drug dealing pimp implied not just the hope of Cox that Gilliam would steadfastly uphold the Indie Code despite his current problems which included being forced to make dreaded Studio Mandated Films (SMFs) after the lack of success of the daylit, allegorical, fantastic realist, madcap, satirical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron toasting Gilliam indie animaction artbuster THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988).  The problems of Officer Rojas also implied the equally resolute and tenacious determination of the lonely and solitary Cox to uphold the Indie Code-Intelligence!  Originality!  And Satire!-and defeat beastly blockbuster loot lusting Hollywood film artists so as to save and preserve film art for film art’s sake.  Indeed, the fact that the name of Maribel’s drug dealing pimp was Emilio-played by Towi Islas-implicitly affirmed that Cox was breaking free and finally achieving self realization as an indie docufeature film artist in EL PELICULLERO, for the name reminded us that Emilio Estevez played Otto Maddox in REPO MAN, the first dispiriting experience that Cox had with the scousers of Hollywood. 

The success of Rojas in meeting and marrying the young, short, slim, beautiful, black haired, intelligent, determined, feisty, spirited, indomitable, and implicitly Mercedes Ruehl and Dorothy linked indie farm girl Griselda “Zeldita” Marcos-played by Zaide S. Guttierez-also implicitly affirmed that Cox was using the film to both address Gilliam and to reaffirm his commitment to the Indie Code, and also implied the hope of Cox that EL PATRULLERO would succeed enough to allow him to finally settle down with a wife and family.  In fact, as the film ended with Rojas quitting the corrupt and dangerous NHP for safer work on the farm of his wife’s family after being shot and left with a permanent limp in his left leg Cox even implied that he was not only hoping that Gilliam would give up on the corrupt studios and their SMFs and return to indie form, but also thinking of giving up on the difficult, embittering, infuriating and unrewarding life of the indie outlaw film artist himself and heading off into a new vocation.  Indeed, the fact that Cox showed up in a brief cameo as a patron in a roadside bar affirmed the implication that Cox was also using the film to comment on his own life on one level in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to AMERICAN GRAFFITI, MAD MAX, THE ROAD WARRIOR, THE WIZARD OF OZ, the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg roastin’ Gilliam indie animaction film JABBERWOCKY (1977), and the daylit, allegorical, fantastic realist, darkly satirical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Gilliam animaction film THE FISHER KING (1991), in which Ruehl won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing the young, beautiful, brunette, statuesque, strong, fearless, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked Anne Napolitano.

        Significantly, the fact that many scenes in EL PATRULLERO were unusually shot in long and unedited moving master shots rarely seen in Hollywood film art that were known in Spanish, or, at least in Mexico, as plano sequencia-a long and unedited style already seen in the film art of Cox, particularly WALKER-signalled that Cox was not just cutting ties with Hollywood but also with its trademark film style.  The title of EL PATRULLERO also inspired an equally distinct name to describe Cox and his disciplined indie outlaw approach to life and film art.  For when El Patrullero was fused with “pelicula”, the Spanish word for film, the fittingly iconoclastic and indomitable result was “El Pelicullero”…aka the legendary film artist with no name.

        Uno El Pelicullero who clearly enjoyed making EL PATRULLERO and decided to challenge himself by leaving behind the disappointing, frustrating, and enraging world of film art and applying his indomitable commitment to the Indie Code to telefilm art.  For he briefly returned to England to team up with the BBC before heading with them back to Mexico City where he donned the co-writer/director/actor hats and collaborated again with Armendariz jr., Bichir, Boyle, Braun-now back as a co-producer-Guttierez, O’Brien, Rojas, Sandoval, Sosa, Miguel Garzon-director of photography (DOP) on EL PATRULLERO-Pray For Rain-who provided songs for the soundtracks of REPO MAN, SID AND NANCY, and STRAIGHT TO HELL, and now composed the entire soundtrack-and again with Cable Hogue and now also with Estudios Churubusco/Azteca-the studio in Mexico City where Lynch created the ill fated DUNE-and KHB/PSC to create another courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, often naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film and to complete the Latino Trilogy in the twilit, allegorical, CGI free, Ozian themed, Indie Code upholding, and plano sequencia flowing indie docufeature telefilm DEATH AND THE COMPASS (1993), released on May 26, 1993 and inspired by the allegorical Jose L. Borges short story “Death And The Compass” (1942).

“!No one is innocent!”

        Curiously, the film began with a brightly lit, big, golden, and Batman logo evoking two headed eagle crest against a black background that was in in a book and memento filled study where we met the old, short, chubby, balding grey haired, moustached, and goateed, haunted, canary yellow robe wearin’, and implicitly Kubrick and Tin Man linked retired Ambigua City Police (ACP) Commissioner of City Detectives Treviranus-played by Sandoval-who set the scene by giving a brief introduction to a still annoying, baffling, frustrating, haunting, and contentious case from his past.  Then the opening titles in familiar red letters flashed on the screen, ominously bleeding blood red titles that were intercut with still shots of a blue lit maze that evoked the sight of the opening titles flashing over a blue lit maze that was slowly revealed in the end to be the bat chest logo of the young, short, slim, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, traumatized, troubled, haunted, vengeful, and implicitly Lucas and Scarecrow linked “indolent” Gotham City playboy Bruce Wayne aka “Batman”-played by Micheal Keaton-at the beginning of the twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas toasting and Jean-Luc Godard roasting DC, Warners, and Burton super satirical animaction filmmercial BATMAN (1989), implying that Cox was replying to that film in DEATH AND THE COMPASS. 

Indeed, the fact that after the opening titles were over, the scene shifted back to the study of the pensive ex-Commissioner Treviranus, whose presence evoked that of Gotham City Police Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon-played by Pat Hingle-affirmed the implication that Cox was replying to BATMAN in DEATH AND THE COMPASS.  Thus, the troubled tale that Treviranus had to relate about how, in his active commissioner past he had teamed up with the old, tall, chubby, bald, big eared, brilliant, award winning, chess, black and grey fedoras, white overcoat, and blue suit luvin, and implicitly Hitchcock and Great Oz linked ACP Detective Erik Lonnrot-played by Boyle-and tried, but failed, to hunt down and capture the violent, mysterious, red mask wearing, and implicitly Spielberg and Wicked Witch of the West linked super villain gang leader Red Scharlach aka the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, bespectacled, mild mannered, Wicked black coat wearin’, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked newspaper editor A. Zunz-who evoked the implicitly Godard linked Jack Napier aka “the Joker” played by Hugo E. Blick as a young man and Jack Nicholson as a middle aged man, respectively, in BATMAN, and was played by Christopher Eccleston-a failure accomplished by the fact that the “facts” of the case were in fact red herrings planted by Red Scharlach that had led to his murder of Det. Lonnrot at the huge, dark, creepy, cobweb filled, labyrinthine, gothic, and Wayne Manor evoking Villa Triste LeRoy at the diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic end of the film implied that Cox believed that Spielberg had murdered true indie film art such as that of his idol Hitchcock with the creation and success of the shamelessly commercial, exuberantly dumb, and woefully bad filmmercial E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, inspiring DC, Warners, and Burton to create BATMAN, in which Walter played Bob the goon, in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to BATMAN, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the allegorical Godard indie docufeature film ALPHAVILLE (1965).

Curiously, ironically, but fittingly, not long after the release of DEATH AND THE COMPASS, Spielberg implicitly addressed El Pelicullero in the implicit form of the middle aged and heighted, slim, handsome, intelligent, educated, dedicated, and child hatin’ indie dinosaur expert and “digger” Doctor Alan Grant-played by Sam Neill-and implicitly hoped that the non-CGI enhanced and fully human film art of dedicated indie film artists like El Pelicullero would triumph over CGI enhanced blockbuster beasts like Dr. Grant and some other fully human and dedicated companeros triumphed over a twilit trio of CGI raptors with the help of a huge CGI tyrannosaurus rex at the end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed filmmercial JURASSIC PARK (1993), released on June 9, 1993.  Which was a contrary and ironic implicit hope, indeed, given that JURASSIC PARK was the biggest CGI enhanced blockbuster beast ever made up to that time, and given that it shamelessly promoted an avalanche of movie tie-in merchandise.

Curiously, the following year Quentin Tarantino implicitly hoped that Cox would not give in to an insidious lust for beastly blockbuster profits and would instead stick to his indie docufeature film art path like the young, dumb, and implicitly Cox and his film art linked Ringo aka “Pumpkin” and “Hunny Bunny”-played by Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer, respectively-turned down a chance for beastly blockbuster profits in a diner robbery and returned to their indomitably indie robbery path at the end of the daylit and twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film PULP FICTION (1994), a film released on May 21, 1994 that affirmed its implicit allegorical interest in Cox and his indie film art on one level with allusions to REPO MAN, STRAIGHT TO HELL, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  For his part, Charles Russell implicitly roasted the uncompromisingly idiosyncratic and indie El Pelicullero in the implicit form of the equally idiosyncratic and indie “superhero” Stanley Ipkiss aka “the Mask”-played by Jim Carrey-in the exuberantly and raucously twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical docufeature film THE MASK (1994), a film released on July 28, 1994 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with the Mask’s fondness for Latin rhythms, the resemblance to Strummer of Ipkiss friend Charlie Schumaker-played by Richard Jeni-and the film’s allusions to REPO MAN, as well as to the Toronto created and allegorical Julian Roffman indie docufeature film THE MASK (1961). 

The following year, Bigelow also implicitly addressed Cox on one level in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas addressing indie docufeature artbuster STRANGE DAYS (1995), a film released on September 3, 1995 that affirmed its implicit interest in Cox with allusions to DEATH AND THE COMPASS, REPO MAN, SID AND NANCY, and STRAIGHT TO HELL.  For his part, El Pelicullero then left behind the towering, crumbling, labyrinthine, and centuries old buildings of Ciudad Ambigua with its incongruously neon lit Liverpool Club brothel for the towering, labyrinthine, and centuries old buildings and hotels of Liverpool when he donned the actor/director hats and rejoined Beggs, Pray For Rain, Sandoval, and Schofield and now also collaborated with Filmfonds Rotterdam and VPRO just in time to gently and pensively ponder and usher in the neo millennium in his next courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film, the twilit, allegorical, CGI free, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film THREE BUSINESSMEN (1998), released in October of ’98.

“Is this story actually leading anywhere?”

        Curiously, after four opening title in fluorescent green on a black background and a fifth ominously blood red title stating “LIVERPOOL” on a grey cloudy background that set the scene, the quietly quirky film saw two indie art dealin’ businessmen, the middle aged, tall, lean, clean cut and shaven, handsome, long faced, big eared, silent, pensive, newspaper, tweed jacket, and white overcoat luvin’, and implicitly Lynch and Scarecrow linked Francis “Frank” King and the middle aged and heighted, chubby, handsome, dark eyed, balding grey haired, moustached, and goateed, genial, exuberant, talkative, light grey suited, book, dog, Plutonium card, and technology luvin’, and implicitly Kubrick and Tin Man linked Benjamin “Benny” Reyes-played by Cox and Sandoval, respectively-arrive in the city and soon meet up in the otherwise deserted and food and service lacking dining room of a labyrinthine and equally deserted hotel in El Pelicullero’s hometown of Liverpool, a huge and labyrinthine hotel that evoked the equally huge and labyrinthine Overlook Hotel in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly Richard Donner addressing Kubrick docufeature artbuster THE SHINING (1980) to affirm the implicit interest in Kubrick on one level in the film.  Just as curiously, King y Reyes then left this creepy Overpool Hotel and spent most of the rest of the film wandering around the city looking for a good place to eat a hearty plate of shrimp and discussing life, the universe, and everything.

Unbeknownst to them, Liverpool quietly transformed during their peripatetic peregrinations into several other world cities, including Rotterdam, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, uniting them all into one lost and confused film city on the cusp of, and unsure of where to head in, the neo millennium. Eventually, the pair left behind the cities altogether and wound up in familiar El Pelicullero territory in Mexico, where they met another lost and confused and middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, shaven headed, moustached and goateed, dark grey suited, amiable, and implicitly Spike Lee and Cowardly Lion linked indie businessman named LeRoy Jasper-played by Robert Wisdom-a sight that evoked Norwood, Simms, and Willy in STRAIGHT TO HELL, a link strengthened by the fact that the Mexican environs evoked the Almeria, Espana location of the third Cox film.  After finally finding a place to eat, they soon enjoyed a humble but filling repast provided by the young, short, slim, pretty, short dark haired, and Sofia Carmina (SCC) Coppola resembling and possibly linked and older and implicitly Eleanor Coppola and Glinda linked Josefina-played by Isabel Impudia. 

Curiously, as they rose to pay their bill and leave, noises led the three to a back room in the restaurant where the twilit trio of businessmen paid humble homage and gave gifts to a newborn Mexican infant-played by Alicia W. Soesbergen-held in the loving hands of her young, slim, beautiful, long dark haired, and implicitly Dorothy linked mother Guadalupe-played by Ina Hernandez-like the three magi did to the baby Jesus, absolving and cleansing them and freeing them to begin anew and without CGI in the neo millennium, as El Pelicullero implicitly hoped that Kubrick, Lee, and Lynch would do, in the end, and reminding us that Rojas visited Maribel and pledged to financially support her and her daughter at the end of EL PATRULLERO in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to STRAIGHT TO HELL, THE SHINING, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the allegorical and Ozian themed Kubrick docufeature artbuster 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). 

Making it ironic that El Pelicullero chose not a daylit, art and life affirming, and reborn indie beginning but a twilit, duplicitously deadly, and old Elizabethan play for his first film of the neo millennium when he returned to Liverpool, donned the director/actor hats, and collaborated again with the BBC, Eccleston, Schofield, and Tod Davies-producer/writer of THREE BUSINESSMEN-and now also with the Film Council and Northcroft Films to sombrely commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the TZ disaster with his next courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, indomitable, often naturally lit, and Indie Code upholding film, the twilit, allegorical, and slightly CGI enhanced indie docufeature film REVENGERS TRAGEDY (2002), a film released on August 6, 2002 that was inspired by the allegorical and possibly William Shakespeare roasting Thomas Middleton play The Revengers Tragedy (1606) and that was fittingly co-produced by Margaret Matheson, given that Richard Matheson wrote telescreenplays for the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series and also wrote or co-wrote three episodes of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.

“Let the man who seeks revenge

remember to dig two graves.”

• Chinese proverb

     Curiously, the film began with the young, tall, slim, buzz cut, handsome, haunted, vengeful, and implicitly Spielberg linked Vindici-played by Eccleston-returning to the ancient future of Liverpool and teaming up with his middle aged, short, slim, grey haired, big eared, and implicitly Lucas linked brother Carlo-played by Schofield-and his young, short, slim, beautiful, and implicitly Angelina Jolie linked sister Castiza-played by Carla Henry-to kill the old, short, heavyset, grey haired, ponytailed, and implicitly Gilliam linked Duke-played by Derek Jacobi-so as to avenge the murder of his young, tall, slim, beautiful, red haired, and implicitly Kennedy linked newlywed wife Gloriana-played by Jean Butler.  A murder Vindici accomplished, but which killed him in the process, along with the implicitly Cameron linked Lussurioso-played by Eddie Izzard-and the implicitly Bono and Sting linked Ambitioso and Supervacuo, the equally duplicitous and vengeful brothers of Lussurioso-played by Justin Salinger and Marc Warren, respectively-implying the hope of Cox in the twentieth anniversary year of the TZ disaster that the vengeful and embattled fiction and film artists of the dread allegorical Zone Wars would finally stop fighting each other and head off to a daylit and Twilight Zone free neo eon of Skyrockin’ film art in the new millenium.

     For his part, Kelly implied his support for El Pelicullero and the Indie Code by implicitly linking him to the young, short, red mohawked, tattooed, muscular, ultra indie, and implicitly Cox linked punk rocker Jimmy Hermosa-played by Aaron Dillar-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film SOUTHLAND TALES (2006), a film released on May 21, 2006 that affirmed its implicit interest in El Pelicullero on one level with allusions to KISS ME DEADLY, REPO MAN, REVENGERS TRAGEDY, STRAIGHT TO HELL, STRANGE DAYS, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  As for El Pelicullero, cautioning against vengeful grievances as in REVENGERS TRAGEDY returned along with two men on another meandering and tragicomic journey as in THREE BUSINESSMAN when he donned the writer/director/actor/editor hats and collaborated again with Beggs, Pansullo, Richardson, Zamora and BBC Films and staunchly upheld the Indie Code in his next courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, naturally lit, and uncompromising indie docufeature film, the twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film SEARCHERS 2.0 (2007), a film released on August 31, 2007 that was the first El Pelicullero film shot with digital cameras and that was inspired in part by the allegorical Ford docufeature film THE SEARCHERS (1956).

“And anyway, Delilah,

there is a Western

 where the hero doesn’t gloat

and triumph the way you said.”

        Intriguingly, the film saw another gringo, the middle aged, short, slim, grey haired, and implicitly Cameron and Tin Man linked Frederick “Fred” Fletcher-played by Pansullo-meet up with another Latino, the middle aged, short, heavyset, greying black ponytailed, and implicitly Gilliam and Scarecrow linked Melvino “Mel” Torres-played by Zamora as an adult and Brandon Carlos as a boy, respectively-at the El Rey apartments in California at the beginning of the film, evoking the meeting of King and Reyes at their hotel in Liverpool at the beginning of THREE BUSINESSMEN.  Discovering to their surprise while chatting that they were both verbally and emotionally abused by the same mysterious and intimidating screenwriter, the old, tall, slim, grey haired, moustached, and bearded, and implicitly Lucas and Great Oz linked Franklin Fritz Frobisher-played by Richardson-while working as Chen and Le evoking child extras on a Hollywood Western known variously as DOC HOLLIDAY VERSUS BUFFALO BILL and BUFFALO BILL VERSUS DOC HOLLIDAY, they suddenly decided to drive east to Ford and El Pelicullero territory in spectacularly and hauntingly beautiful and lonely Monument Valley National Park and confront-and perhaps kill-Frobisher there in revenge for their childhood trauma while attending a free showing of DOC BUFFALO VERSUS BILL HOLLIDAY on an inflatable outdoor screen.

On the way to Arizonay, they picked up Melvino’s young, short, curvaceous, beautiful, and implicitly Jolie and Dorothy linked daughter Delilah-the latest feisty, spunky, indignant and indie Coxwoman, and curiously played by porn “star” Jeanette Benardello, better known by her nom d’porn of Mariah Milano but calling herself Jaclyn Jonet as if to disguise her identity-and her SUV with the ominously twilit license of SUOS812-or was that SUDS812?-to drive them to their vengeful destiny.  Luckily for all, Delilah helped the twilit trio avoid the deadly ending of REVENGERS TRAGEDY and STRAIGHT TO HELL by replacing it with a peaceful and tragicomic three way Sergio Leone film trivia showdown between Fletcher, Frobisher and Torres in the spectacular desertscape of Monument Valley that evoked and spoofed the more bloody shootouts of the film art of El Pelicullero and Leone, particularly the three way duel between the implicitly David Lean linked Angel Eyes, the implicitly Sam Peckinpah linked Blondie and the implicitly Elia Kazan linked Tuco-played by Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach, respectively-that ended the allegorical Leone indie docufeature artbuster THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966).  Thus, El Pelicullero freed himself and perhaps Cameron, Gilliam, Jolie, and Lucas from the futile cycle of twilit revenge, allowing all to start anew again. 

Curiously, the tragicomic sight and sound of Fletcher revealing himself to really be Franz Fierberg, Intellectual Property Enforcement secret agent of the Motion Picture Producers of America (MPAA), in the end, also evoked Pansullo’s time as the equally secretive Agent E in REPO MAN and anticipated a wistful homage to that film in the next El Pelicullero film.  Last but not least, El Pelicullero also implicitly hoped that Benardello would succeed in reinventing herself as Jonet and leave porn and Milano behind, given that the last of the bios for the four main characters that ended the film before the start of the closing titles revealed that, hopefully, and ironically, given her film long feuding with her father and Fletcher, that “…Delilah Torres became an actor”.  Indeed, El Pelicullero implicitly hoped so much that Benardello would succeed as Jonet that he donned the writer/director/co-producer/editor hats and collaborated again with her and Balgobin, Barash, Beggs, Berkeley, Jonet, Sandoval, Schloss, Velez, Webb, Wool, Yeager, Zamora, Cy Carter and Zahn McClarnon-who played the director and Rusty Frobisher, respectively, in SEARCHERS 2.0-and DOP Steven Fierberg-also from SEARCHERS 2.0-to implicitly reply to SOUTHLAND TALES when he and brought his film art career full circle with his next courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, and uncompromising indie docufeature film, the twilit, allegorical, mostly all green screen and wryly CGI enhanced indie feature film REPO CHICK aka PIXXI DE LA CHASSE’S BIG ADVENTURE (2009), released on September 8, 2009.

“Pixxi can be a repo man!”

Indeed, after the paper street films intro and the fluorescent pink opening titles appeared on the screen overtop a montage of shots of model sets to prepare audiences for the ultra cheap mischief to come, the sight and sound of Balgobin, Barash, Sandoval, Schloss, and Zamora as Nevada, a railroad employee, repo man Arizona Gray, the Doctor and Lorenzo, respectively, openly affirmed that El Pelicullero was coming full circle with REPO CHICK, reminding us that the five thespians played Debbi, Leila, Archie, Kevin and Lagarto, respectively, in REPO MAN.  The appearance of El Pelicullero in a cameo as the madcap Professor reaffirmed the full circle intent of the film, evoking his bit part as a gas station attendant in REPO MAN.  The main difference was that this time, after being cheated out of her inheritance by her middle aged, and implicitly Pierre Trudeau linked father Aldrich Del La Chasse-played by Berkeley-with the help of her old, hectoring, and implicitly Queen Elizabeth II linked Granma-played by Frances Bay-it was the young, short, slim, beautiful, curvaceous, frustrated, and implicitly Pamela Anderson Lee linked teen celebrity bimbo heiress Pixxi “Pixxita” De La Chasse-played by Jonet-rather than a bored and disaffected young punk who joined the Velvet Glove Acceptance Corporation repo firm and who strove determinedly to uphold the uncompromisingly indie Repo Code with her equally uncompromising Repo Chic. 

Tragicomically, Pixxita-who also evoked Paris Hilton and Sarah M. Gellar’s indomitably clueless porn “star” Krysta Kapowski aka “Krysta Now” in SOUTHLAND TALES, a fitting link to the latter film given that Pixxita was played by a real porn “star”-also thwarted a group of determined but madcap vegan anti-golf activists led by the middle aged, short, heavyset, ponytailed, and implicitly Gilliam linked Lorenzo-played by Zamora-saved L.A., and won a million dollar reward by hunting down and preventing an elusive, and primal Force filled three car California Zephyr ghost train that evoked the Fluid Karma powered blockbuster CGI enhanced beast the Jenny Von Westphalen Megazeppelin in SOUTHLAND TALES and that drifted through the film like the equally elusive, mysterious, and implicitly primal Sixties creative Force filled ’64 Chevy Malibu in REPO MAN from crashing into Union Station, in the end, thus triumphing over the downer ending of SOUTHLAND TALES, and implying that El Pelicullero was satirically roasting and toasting the CGI enhancement that had “saved” Hollywood film art by preventing more fatal film set disasters, an implication affirmed by Pixxi’s pixel evoking name and by the ironically dismal and wretched CGI that constantly “enhanced” REPO CHICK.  Indeed, the sight and sound of the middle aged, short, slim, big red haired, and implicitly Kennedy linked Sister Duncan-played by Webb-and the middle aged and implicitly John and Deborah Landis linked Justice Espinoza and Rikki Espinoza-played by Velez and Linda Callahan, respectively-amongst the passengers on the ghost train affirmed that Cox was implicitly roasting the CGI that had prevented further TZ disasters in REPO CHICK. 

Alas, and at any rate, and despite presciently anticipating the financial wrongdoings involving mortgages that collapsed the American economy the following year, REP CHICK was as unsuccessful as REPO MAN.  A lack of success on top of the lack of success of SEARCHERS 2.0 that implicitly disappointed Benardello/Jonet so much that she gave up on indie film art and returned to her role as Milano in porno world.  A tragicomic transformation implicitly addressed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, who had the Jonet resembling and implicitly linked Princess Snow-played by Lily Collins-and her winterswept realm Spring back to health and happiness by triumphing over the Evil and implicitly porn film linked Wicked Queen-played by Julia Roberts-and her literally horny blockbuster CGI enhanced beast, allowing Princess Snow to marry the handsome Prince with the Alex Cox evoking name of Alcott-played by Armie Hammer-implying the hope of Dhandwar that Benardello/Jonet would leave behind porn and return to indie film art at the eucatastrophic end of the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced film MIRROR, MIRROR (2012), released on March 15, 2012.

For their part, Disney, Marvel, and Jouncin’ Joe Johnston implied in the tragicomic sight and sound of the middle aged, tall, slim, short haired, big eared, clean shaven, and then grotesquely facial skin lacking, bloody skulled, and implicitly Cox and Wicked Witch of the West linked Doktor Johann Schmidt aka “Red Skull”, the hideous and the Mask/Red Scharlach evoking head of the Nazi’s HYDRA science division-inspired by a character created by Jaunty Joe Simon and Jolly Jack Kirby for Timely Comics, the predecessor of Marvel Comics, and played by Hugo Weaving-being transported off into interstellar limbo after he tried and failed to grasp the powerful blue Tesseract Cube after battling the young, tall, handsome, blonde, muscular, strong, and ironically innocent, virtuous, polite, patriotic, and implicitly Clint Eastwood and Tin Man linked Steve Rogers aka “Captain America”-inspired by a character also created for Timely/Marvel by Kirby and Simon, and played by Chris Evans-and his Howlin’ Commandos including the young, tall, handsome, dark brown haired and eyed, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, and implicitly Gilliam linked patriotic U.S. soldier Sergeant James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes-inspired by a character also created by Kirby and Simon for Timely Comics, and played by Scowlin’ Sebastian Stan “the Man”-in Europe during World War II for control of the world that they believed that Cox was unable to grasp the importance of blockbuster CGI enhanced beasts to advance one’s film art career, which also implied that Dis, Marv, and Johnston did not understand the intense and undying commitment of El Pelicullero to the Indie Code, at the end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), a film released on July 19, 2011 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to DEATH AND THE COMPASS, the Matrix Trilogy, REPO CHICK, REPO MAN, THE MASK, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. 

Curiously, Jolie implicitly responded to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER and implicitly came to the defense of Gilliam by having the young, short, slim, handsome, dark brown haired and eyed, clean cut and shaven, muscular, fit, courageous, and real life “…fastest runner in American high school history” and 1936 Berlin Olympics track star and implicitly Gilliam and Scarecrow linked USAAF Bombardier Captain Louis “Louie” Zamperini aka “the Torrance Tornado”-played by CJ Valleroy as an indie Italian outsider wild child at the twilit family home at 2028 Lumberjack Avenue in Torrance, CA, and as Jack O’Connell as an adult, respectively-triumph over his Japanese tormentors at prisoner of war and slave labour camps during World War II by surviving his brutal treatment, treatment witnessed by the young, tall, lean, lanky, blonde, handsome, big eared, and implicitly Cox linked English POW Miller-played by Luke Treadaway-implying her hope that Gilliam would triumph over his many detractors as well at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature artbuster UNBROKEN (2014), a film released on November 17, 2014 which was inspired by the daylit and allegorical Laura Hillenbrand book Unbroken (2010) and that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  Curiously, two years later Mel Gibson continued the embattled Second World War allegories, implicitly saluted El Pelicullero’s efforts to fight the Zone Wars and save film art in his own idiosyncratic way without compromising the Indie Code, and also implicitly hoped that Cox would receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the august Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his services like the young, tall, slim, high foreheaded, big eared and lipped, and implicitly Cox and Tin Man linked real life enlisted American soldier Private Desmond Doss-played by Andrew Garfield-who, after contributing to the Pacific War as a combat medic so as to not compromise his pacifist Christian beliefs and went on to save the lives of some 75 of his fellow soldiers of the 77^th Infantry Division, particularly at the notorious battle-read massacre-at Hacksaw Ridge on Okinawa Island, became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor from his grateful nation and President Harry S Truman at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film HACKSAW RIDGE (2016), released on September 4, 2016.  As for El Pelicullero, he donned the director/writer/co-producer caps and collaborated with Dan Wool-of Pray For Rain-to implicitly link duelling film artists to duelling gunfighters at the OK Corral in the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film TOMBSTONE-RASHOMON (2017) released on April 8, 2017.

Contarily, after being unable to grasp blue Space Infinity Stone power at the end of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, Dis, Marv, and Amiable Anthony and Jovial Joseph Russo then banished the ragged dark robed and hooded, grotesquely facial skin lacking, bloody skulled, humbled, despondent, solitary, lonely, forlorn, wistful, and all too knowing ghost of the implicitly El Pelicullero linked Doktor Johann Schmidt aka “Red Skull”-played by Ross Marquand-to cinematic limbo on the purplish blue, soulfull but soul killing, and all CGI planet of Vormir and had him sadly inform the towering, muscular, purple skinned, universal balance obsessed, all CGI and implicitly ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Wicked Witch of the West linked mad Titan, Thanos-played by Josh Brolin-that he would have to kill his adopted daughter, the young, green, slim, strong, sweet but deadly, and implicitly Lilly Wachowski and Dorothy linked Gamora-played by Zoe Saldana-so that the gift of her soul would allow the Titan to acquire the Orange Soul Infinity Stone implicitly symbolizing the soul of the Walt Disney Company in order to lay waste to half the life in the multiverse in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Dis, Marv, and Amiable Anthony and Jovial Joseph Russo indie super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), released on April 23, 2018, before also sadly informing the middle aged, short, handsome, brunette, lean but muscular, strong, shrewd, knowing, experienced, indie, and implicitly Sir Ridley Scott, Scarecrow and Earth linked father Clinton “Clint” Barton aka “Hawkeye”-played by Jeremy Renner-and the young, short, slim, sexy, but strong, shrewd, smart, deadly, unusually peroxide blonde, and implicitly Sofia Carmina (SCC) Coppola and Dorothy linked ex-Russian assassin and dedicated SHIELD Agent Natasha Romanoff aka “the Black Widow”-played by Scarlett Johansson-that one of them would also have to die so that their soul would allow the survivor to acquire the Orange Soul Infinity Stone implicitly symbolizing the soul of the Walt Disney Company to acquire the Orange Soul Infinity Stone in order to bring half the life back to the multiverse on their own memorable, fateful, and fatal visit to the purplish blue, soulfull but soul killing, and all CGI limbo planet of Vormir in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), released on April 22, 2019, both films affirming their implicit allegorical intent with allusions to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE IRST AVENGER, DEATH AND THE COMPASS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and WALKER. 

Curiously, the following year DC and Warners collaborated with a variety of film artists to have the middle aged, tall, slim, blonde, handsome, smart, icy, suit luvin’, and implicitly Cox and Evil Great Oz linked Jordan Mahkent aka “Icicle”-played by Neil Jackson-return to the idylic, peaceful, and Woodholly cadenced town of Blue Valley, Nebraska to reboot the Injustice Society of America (ISA) with the middle aged and heighted, heavyset, handsome, grey haired, moustached, and goateed, confident, jovial, and implicitly Sandoval and Evil Cowardly Lion linked Steven Sharpe aka “The Gambler”-played by Eric Goins-the middle aged, tall, slim, blonde, handsome, cerebral, psychic, controlling, and implicitly Tarantino and Evil Tin Man linked Henry King sr. aka “Brainwave”-played by Christopher J. Baker-the huge, primal, nasty, Hulk evoking, all CGI, and implicitly Evil Scarecrow linked Solomon Grundy-played by A.I. Smithee-the middle aged, short, slim, black haired, pretty, muscular, strong, fit, exercise and sport luvin’, and implicitly Sofia Carmina (SCC) Coppola and Evil Dorothy linked Paula Brooks aka “Tigress”-played by Joy Osmanski-the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, blonde, muscular, strong, fit, also exercise and sport luvin’, and implicitly Spike Jonze and Toto linked Lawrence “Crusher” Crock aka “Sportsmaster”-played by Neil Hopkins-the insidious, mysterious, hooded, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked Dragon King-played by Nelson Lee-and his malicious and duplicitous daughter, the young, medium heighted, curvaceous, long black and grey haired, black eyed, sexy, nasty, and implicitly Jennifer Lopez and Nikko linked teen ISA wannabe Cynthia “Cyndi” Burman aka “Shiv”-played by Meg DeLacy-in their secret and fittingly underground lair and battle the young, short, curvaceous, long curly blonde haired, cute, perky, and implicitly Miley Cyrus and Dorothy linked Blue Valley High School (BVHS) teen Courtney Whitmore aka the red, white, and blue and star spangled “Stargirl”-inspired by a character created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder for DC, and played by Brec Bassinger-and the rest of the rebooted Justice Society of America (JSA) including her stepfather, the middle aged, tall, slim, brunette, and implicitly Estevez and Great Oz linked Pat Dugan aka the huge CGI battle bot commanding “S.T.R.I.P.E.”-played by Luke Wilson-the young, short, heavyset, cute, bespectacled, exuberant, intelligent, and implicitly Richardson and Tin Woman linked Elizabeth “Beth” Chapel aka “Doctor Mid-Nite II”-played by Anjelika Washington-the young, medium height, slim, brunette, handsome, muscular, strong, and implicitly Strummer and Scarecrow linked BVHS teen Richard “Ricky” Tyler aka the time management obsessed “Hourman II”-played by Cameron Gellman-and the young, tall, slim, black haired and eyed, pretty, disgraced, and implicitly Megan Fox and Cowardly Lionness linked BVHS teen Yolanda Montez aka “Wildcat II”-played by Yvette Monreal-over the course of the first and third seasons of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and pop music luvin’ super satirical animaction telefilm soap opera series STARGIRL (2020-22), a series first released on May 18, 2020 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to DEATH AND THE COMPASS, REPO CHICK, REPO MAN, STRAIGHT TO HELL, THE WIZARD OF OZ. the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Tarantino indie docufeature film KILL BILL (2003-04), and the daylit and twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Paul Verhoeven animaction film STARSHIP TROOPERS (1998), which made it fitting that Amy Smart played Courtney’s mother, the middle aged, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, intelligent, luvin’, and implicitly Sarah Polley or Sonja Magdevski and Glinda linked Barbara Whitmore, given that Smart played the young, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, intelligent, educated, courageous, gung ho, indomitable, and implicitly and presciently Polley linked teen CGI bug buster Federation Pilot Cadet Stack Lumbreiser in STARSHIP TROOPERS.

Curiously, three years later Joseph Kosinksi wistfully implied his hope that Estevez, who had started his film art career on a good punky indie note with films like REPO MAN and but then went on to dull mainstream success, would be persuaded to reunite with Cox like Bud persuaded Otto to join the Repo team and create another great indie film like REPO MAN that would beat DC, Warners, and STARGIRL like the middle aged and heighted, slim, blonde, handsome, muscular, strong, and once successful Formula One and now peripatetic loner and indomitably indie race car driver Sonny Hayes-played by Brad Pitt, also a co-producer of the film-was persuaded by the middle aged and heighted, heavyset, black haired, eyed, moustached, and goateed, exuberant, genial, and implicitly Sandoval linked Ruben Cervantes-played by Xavier Bardem-to join the Repo cadenced Apex racing team after thirty years away from the F1 ranks and help the young, medium heighted, slim, handsome, big eared, moustached and goateed, and implicitly Cox linked Formula One driver Joshua Pearce-played by Damson Idris-win their first big F1 race in Abu Dhabi at the triumphant end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed animaction filmmercial F1 (2025), a film released on June 23, 2025 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to REPO CHICK, REPO MAN, STARGIRL, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Kosinski and Walt Disney indie animaction film TRON: LEGACY [2010] that was implicitly inspired in part by the sight and sound of the middle aged, tall, slim, brunette, long nosed, suit luvin’, and implicitly Kosinski linked Richard Swift aka “the Shade”-played by Jonathan “Birthday” Cake-battling the new teen JSA in Seasons 2 and 3 of STARGIRL.  An implicit hope that would fittingly bring the film art life of El Pelicullero full circle but an ironic and grimly amusing implicit hope, indeed, given that the blockbuster, CGI enhanced, and hyper-commercial F1 beast was the complete antithesis of the anti-commercial, courageous, creative, original, iconoclastic, low budget, and indomitably indie film art of the legendary El Pelicullero, who refused to sell out to the loot lusting scousers of Hollywood and their CGI enhanced blockbuster beasts, continued to steadfastly uphold the always intense Indie Code with satirical and iconoclastic but disciplined and coherent indie docufeature films that kept him always on his feet rather than on his knees and with his head held high and his credit rating sound, enjoying a plate of hot, delicious and cosmically harmonious shrimp washed down with a cool Cerveza while listening to Strummer or the Pogues in his hidden, impregnable, and mist shrouded redoubt somewhere high in the hot and haunted hills of Almeria or the Sierra Madres, with his loyal compadres Richardson, Sandoval y Zamora by his inspiring side, his conscience clear, his sleep deep and rejuvenating, at one with the universe, the world and its all too ordinary people, and himself, with nothing to prove more and content that always would he be known as the legendarily and defiantly indie and indomitable film artist with no name…!El Pelicullero!

Cox, Alex.  X Films.  New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2008.

-----.  10,000 Ways To Die: a director’s take on the spaghetti western.  Harpenden, Herts, UK: Kamera

        Books, 2012.