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Q (film)
Encyclopedia
Q is a 1982
horror film
written
and directed
by Larry Cohen
and starring Michael Moriarty
, Candy Clark
, David Carradine
, and Richard Roundtree
.
god
Quetzalcoatl
, the "winged serpent", has been resurrected by a cult
in modern New York City
and is flying about, snatching people off the skyscrapers. Carradine and Roundtree are police
detective
s investigating the bloody, entrail-strewn (and strangely mostly-rooftop-set) path of disappearance, death, and dismemberment about whose obvious—but staggeringly aberrant—cause the NYPD, the Mayor's Office, and the Office of the Medical Examiner
, are in complete and angry denial
. Meanwhile a reluctant getaway driver for an ice crew/blues piano player, Moriarty (the actor is also a Blues composer, and is actually playing his own compositions as one of his character choices) hotfooting it away from the uniformed cops after a jewel heist gone bad, happens upon the deity's lair and tries to extort a fat wad of cash in small bills from the city's coffers in exchange for the whereabouts of the wayward Winged God's feathered-dragon-form's nest and home.
and uses the actual interior of the building's cone as a primary set.
The original music score was composed by Robert O. Ragland
.
The film was marketed with the tagline " name is Quetzalcoatl... just call it Q, that's all you'll have time to say before it tears you apart!"
The film's glossy monster illustration was painted by science fiction/fantasy artist Boris Vallejo
.
theatrically in the United States
by United Film Distribution Company in October 1982. It grossed approximately $255,000 at the box office.
The film was later released on VHS
by MCA/Universal Home Video. It was released on DVD
by Blue Underground
in 2003.
Roger Ebert gave the film 2 and 1/2 stars in his original review but was bursting with praise for Moriarty's performance. He relates the anecdote that, when movie reviewer Rex Reed
met Q's producer, Samuel Z. Arkoff
, Reed told him "What a surprise! All that dreck—and right in the middle of it, a great Method performance by Michael Moriarty!" Arkoff replied "The dreck was my idea."
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
and starring Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
, Candy Clark
Candy Clark
Candace June "Candy" Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, a character she reprised in 1979 for the sequel More American Graffiti...
, David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, and Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
.
Plot
The film's premise is that the AztecAztec mythology
The aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology, which contained the many deities and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs. "orlando"- History :...
god
God (male deity)
A god, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, the plural 'gods' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
, the "winged serpent", has been resurrected by a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
in modern New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is flying about, snatching people off the skyscrapers. Carradine and Roundtree are police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s investigating the bloody, entrail-strewn (and strangely mostly-rooftop-set) path of disappearance, death, and dismemberment about whose obvious—but staggeringly aberrant—cause the NYPD, the Mayor's Office, and the Office of the Medical Examiner
Medical examiner
A medical examiner is a medically qualified government officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests....
, are in complete and angry denial
Denial
Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.The subject may use:* simple denial: deny the reality of the...
. Meanwhile a reluctant getaway driver for an ice crew/blues piano player, Moriarty (the actor is also a Blues composer, and is actually playing his own compositions as one of his character choices) hotfooting it away from the uniformed cops after a jewel heist gone bad, happens upon the deity's lair and tries to extort a fat wad of cash in small bills from the city's coffers in exchange for the whereabouts of the wayward Winged God's feathered-dragon-form's nest and home.
Cast
- Michael MoriartyMichael MoriartyMichael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
as Jimmy Quinn - Candy ClarkCandy ClarkCandace June "Candy" Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, a character she reprised in 1979 for the sequel More American Graffiti...
as Joan - David CarradineDavid CarradineDavid Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as Detective Shepard - Richard RoundtreeRichard RoundtreeRichard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
as Sergeant Powell - James Dixon as Lieutenant Murray
- Malachy McCourtMalachy McCourtMalachy Gerard McCourt is an Irish-American actor, writer and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer. He is the younger brother of Frank McCourt.-Personal life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, McCourt was raised...
as Commissioner McConnell - Fred J. ScollayFred J. ScollayFred J. Scollay is an American character actor with dozens of credits in daytime and primetime television....
as Captain Fletcher - Peter Hock as Detective Clifford
- Ron CeyRon CeyRonald Charles Cey |Washington]]) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics . Cey batted and threw right-handed...
as Detective Hoberman - Mary Louise WellerMary Louise WellerMary Louise Weller is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mandy Pepperidge in the popular 1978 film Animal House...
as Mrs. Pauley
Production
The movie was shot on location in and around the Chrysler BuildingChrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
and uses the actual interior of the building's cone as a primary set.
The original music score was composed by Robert O. Ragland
Robert O. Ragland
Robert O. Ragland is an American film score composer.Ragland attended Northwestern University and also earned degrees at the Academy of Music in Vienna. He served as a music arranger for the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in his early years.He turned to film music in 1968...
.
The film was marketed with the tagline " name is Quetzalcoatl... just call it Q, that's all you'll have time to say before it tears you apart!"
The film's glossy monster illustration was painted by science fiction/fantasy artist Boris Vallejo
Boris Vallejo
Boris Vallejo is a Peruvian-born American painter. He immigrated to the United States in 1964, and he currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He frequently works with Julie Bell, his wife, painter, and model....
.
Release
The film was given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
theatrically in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by United Film Distribution Company in October 1982. It grossed approximately $255,000 at the box office.
The film was later released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by MCA/Universal Home Video. It was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Blue Underground
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD....
in 2003.
Roger Ebert gave the film 2 and 1/2 stars in his original review but was bursting with praise for Moriarty's performance. He relates the anecdote that, when movie reviewer Rex Reed
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
met Q's producer, Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Zachary Arkoff was an American producer of B movies.-Life and career:Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa to a Russian Jewish family, Arkoff first studied to be a lawyer. Along with business partner James H. Nicholson and producer-director Roger Corman, he produced eighteen films...
, Reed told him "What a surprise! All that dreck—and right in the middle of it, a great Method performance by Michael Moriarty!" Arkoff replied "The dreck was my idea."