The Cube
In the grand tradition of other twisted, difficult to summarize, psychological mindfuck movies like 12 MONKEYS and A ZED AND TWO NOUGHTS, THE CUBE is a surreal, brilliantly enigmatic masterpiece of weirdness and depravity which debuted in 1969 on NBC's aptly named showcase "Experiment in Television." . Co-written by Muppeteers Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl, directed by Henson and featuring fellow Muppeteer Jerry Nelson in a small but memorable role, the film focuses on a nameless man (referred to as "Martin" in some press releases but not in the movie itself) who's trapped in a "cube" of a room with no idea how he got there. Soon the panels in the walls begin to open and an assortment of oddballs wander in, seemingly conjure furniture at will, and play mindgames with our hero (Richard Schaal), making him question reality and doubt his own sanity. Visitors include a chummy janitor with a vast supply of chocolate rabbits and ramadars, a monk who speaks in gibberish ("All is all. Is is."), an increasingly hostile "black militant," cops, doctors, nymphs, wacky old ladies, clowns, scientists and more! Unfortunately, the man isn't allowed to leave because he doesn't have a door of his own.
The film aired on television a grand total of two times, but it left an indelible impression on those who caught it, and it's alleged to be the inspiration for several other films (most notably the three CUBE horror flicks). The film got further exposure throughout the '70s and '80s in classrooms, of all places. Yep, somehow the movie wound up being made available to high schools through AV libraries. In 2003, several people with vividly vague memories of the film banded together to try to find some information about it. Their efforts paid off, and prints of the movie were found and eventually leaked on the internet. There, it gained the attention of legions of Muppet and cult movie fans (myself included). That could have been the end of the story, but not in this instance...
Being a talky, stagy film, THE CUBE seemed like a perfect candidate for a transition to the stage. There have been two live stage productions of the show thus far: the first was in America and the second in Germany, under the title "Kubus." The German production garnered some notoriety -- there's an elaborate "synopsis" video (which is essentially an overlong trailer/condensed version of the play) and several news stories that are available on YouTube.
With an ever expanding cult audience, it's hardly surprising that THE CUBE has even gotten the Pink Floyd treatment. A version of the film dubbed "Inside of a Dark Dream" is circulating online, complete with a Pink Floyd sync-up. With all of this attention there's no telling what the future holds for the little film that was lost and forgotten for decades...
Although the rights for the film (assuming it's still under copyright, which is questionable) reside with the Henson company, they've shown very little interest in the movie. On one hand, it's frustrating because the film cries out for a new digital transfer (they've put it on i-tunes, but it's the exact same print that fans unearthed); on the other hand, since it's slipped under the radar, it's had a pretty illustrious life on online video sites, getting far more exposure than it ever would have on DVD.
The first print that surfaced online was in black and white, but a few years later a color print became available. While the color print is of a higher quality, the film almost plays better in black and white -- the colors are a bit askew (I personally find the colored lights outside of the doors distracting) and the handful of blue-screen special effects aren't as impressive in color. There's an easy fix though: just turn off the color! Instant retro TV!
LINKS
Watch It Now!
Google Video (Black and White Version)
Torrents/Downloads
i-tunes (buy color version for $9.99)
The Pirate Bay (Color Version)
The Pirate Bay (Pink Floyd Version)
Websites:
Jim Henson's The Cube - Yahoo Group
Kubus:
Synopsis (Video)
(lots of Kubus goodies scattered throughout)