Tribute Volume IV Issue 3, Winter 1983

Unlike Marquee, Tribute is a Canadian movie magazine that is still being published and widely circulated, distributed in Canadian theaters six times a year. Its first issue came out in 1981 with a cover featuring the movie Reds and I still have a bunch of them from the 1990s. On their webpage their magazine archive only goes back to 1999 so I’ll be sharing some stuff you won’t see anywhere else!

This particular issue is a rarity as it was early days and the format was a bit different than other similar magazines at the time. There’s 20 pages of coverage of Gandhi, with profiles of the cast and crew as well as historical background. And part of the (contemporary) historical background can be seen in the ads. Like this one for Medallion Ultra Milds. I don’t know how popular these were. From the Cigarettespedia web page: “The big problem with the first generation of light cigarettes was that smokers noticed that they couldn’t get enough nicotine from them to satisfy their craving, unless they changed the way they smoked. ‘Sucking air’ was how many described the experience of smoking Imperial’s Medallion brand.”

And who can forget the Mark VI Lincoln Continental Town Car? With a hood like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier I’m pretty sure you could drive these straight into a brick wall at 80 mph and have time to eat a sandwich before the shock wave from the impact reached you. Who needs airbags with that kind of protection up front?

As for movies, Tootsie was obviously a big deal. Other full-page ads in this issue were for Lovesick with Dudley Moore and Elizabeth McGovern (no recollection of that) and Without a Trace with Kate Nelligan and Judd Hirsch. I sort of remember hearing about that one but I don’t think I ever saw it. Something about a missing kid.

Movie Mag index

 

Marquee Volume 7 Number 5, September/October 1982

Unlike the previous Marquee magazine I featured, this issue was filled with a bunch of movies I haven’t seen. Or that I can’t remember seeing. I know I never saw Yes, Giorgio, but that’s something a lot of people can say. I didn’t check, but I don’t think this issue is quite as sought after as the one with Harrison Ford on the cover.

I also missed Tex, Hammett, and Love Child. Do these movies even still exist? Somewhere? I think I did see My Favorite Year at some point.

I know I didn’t see The Dark Crystal. I’m pretty sure I saw Fast Times at Ridgemont High on TV, but I can’t be sure. Hey, this was over forty years ago!

Movie Mags index

Marquee Volume 7 Number 4, July/August 1982

I think this is the oldest issue of Marquee magazine that I have, and it was a good idea to hold on to it as the summer of 1982 was a banner year for movies, making this quite a collectible. I checked on eBay and apparently I could get $60 for it, maybe more given what good condition it’s in.

Here’s some background on Marquee that I got from McMaster University’s library page:

Marquee Communications (sometimes known as Marquee Media Inc. and Marquee Productions) was founded by David Haslam in 1976. The aim of Marquee Communications was to provide complete and up to date information on new feature films (Canadian, American and international), and to comment on the evolving world of film production in an entertaining manner. Due to the overwhelming dominance of Hollywood on this part of the entertainment industry, Marquee published a large proportion of American content. However, Haslam made a concerted effort to publicize and examine Canadian production as well.

Haslam’s flagship publication, Marquee magazine, was active between April/May 1976 and Spring 2004. It typically ran for 30-40 pages and was heavily illustrated. Originally published 4 times a year, it went to 6, then 8, then 10 and finally became a monthly. It was made available primarily in motion picture theatres across Canada, and as a newspaper insert to national and campus newspapers. Its circulation went from 135,000 in its first year to 700,000 at its peak. In 1991 Marquee moved into the field of merchandising and promotions, handling the licensing for many internationally prominent corporations in the Canadian territory. In 2004 Marquee ceased operations. David Haslam passed away in 2011.

What was big news in 1982? Well, E.T. for one.

And a less friendly alien visitor.

Hanky Panky. I don’t remember that one at all.

But who can forget Brooke Shields in her Calvins? No one who was there at the time.

Movie Mags index

 

I so rarely go to the cinema these days that I don’t know if they still have free movie magazines. But back in the ’80s and ’90s they sure did, and for some reason I held on to a bunch of mine. Looking over them again recently I felt quite overcome with nostalgia. I was also surprised at the number of movies, or “major motion pictures,” from back then that I only dimly recalled or had forgotten entirely. It was a real trip down memory lane.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some covers and random page spreads with you. If you were of a movie-going age back in the day maybe you’ll feel the same glow.

Marquee Volume 7 Number 4, July/August 1982
Marquee Volume 8 Number 5, September/October 1982
Tribute Volume IV Issue 3, Winter 1983
Marquee Volume 9 Number 4, May 1984

Just had some fun responding to a couple of troll comments I received over at Alex on Film. Sometimes people have raised good points correcting things I’ve said about movies, but more often it’s just randos on the Internet popping off. Still better than spam, but perhaps not up to today’s AI-generated commenting. Anyway, this time the strays I was catching came in response to my notes on Bunraku. And if you’re interested here’s an earlier exchange I had in the thread following my take on Key Largo.

Just a note to let you know that I’m back updating at Alex on Film, for how long and how often I’m not sure. I just don’t watch as many movies as I used to. And you do get to a point where you start repeating yourself, a rut which is made easier to fall into by how repetitive and formulaic the movies are. But I’ll keep posting notes for a little while longer anyway.

I also noticed that my traffic to Alex on Film is now experiencing another surge, akin to what I got from the Chinese bots a year or so ago. I think I had over 6,000 visits yesterday alone, which is quite high. I don’t really care because none of it is real, but it does have the unfortunate effect of making the traffic reports that WordPress gives me meaningless. I don’t think there’s any way of stopping it though, even if I cared enough to try.

Over at Alex on Film I just posted my notes on Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh film in a franchise that has made loads of money without ever being good. I know some people have a soft spot in their hearts for the first movie, but even at the time I found it overrated and on my most recent re-watch I wasn’t any more impressed. As for the rest of the line-up, I never thought the series went downhill but only stayed on the same level. And as I say in my most recent set of notes, they’re all bad in the same way. Here’s the list.

Jurassic Park (1993)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Jurassic World III (2001)
Jurassic World (2015)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Over at Alex on Film I just wrapped up my notes on a trio of movies about rich psychos who trap car thieves in specially designed automobiles: Captured (1998), 4×4 (2019), and Locked (2025). Watching them, I couldn’t help but think of what Hitchcock would have made out of such a set-up. He liked challenges like pretending a movie was shot all in one take, or setting a whole film on a lifeboat. Alas, none of the directors involved in these films made much out of the idea, either in terms of generating suspense or having a political message, even though each makes gestures in that direction.

Over at Alex on Film you can read my annual awards for the movies of the year. Not much to choose from this year as November-December were really rough and I didn’t watch many movies. Oh well.