Hey folks, Harry here… At the beginning of each new year, the news is pretty damn slow as the industry is on holiday and till we get to SUNDANCE each year, it’s a bit of a GHOST TOWN. Ahem… Fancy me using that phrase… ANYWAYS, I figure I would do something I’ve always meant to do, which is to provide a month long heads up on the cool DVDs that you should keep your eyes open for, as I know I have. I have them arranged by weeks of release, and will give ya a tidbit about each one. If you click on the links it takes ya right to the Amazon page for each one. Here we go with today’s releases.
January 6th, 2004
Babylon 5 - The Complete Fourth Season
The fourth season wasn’t really my personal favorite season, which was the 2nd season btw. BUT – JMS’ epic sci fi series was still going strong in the 4 season. If you’ve been getting all the seasons thus far, this is a must get!
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Double Feature(1931/1941)
This has both the Fredric March and the Spencer Tracy versions of DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE… I wish the disc also included the John Barrymore, cuz then you’d have all the worthwhile versions in a single purchase. Personally, I favor March’s, as the Spencer’s is more melodrama than horror, and I’ve always been a passionate supporter of all work by Fredric March! Besides, Wally Westmore’s make-up on March is definitive in my opinion, while Jack Dawn’s just wasn’t enough for me.
I Was a Male War Bride
This is a really damn good romantic comedy with Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan under the direction of Howard Hawks, who could spin a comedy around your head till tears came out. Add to the typical romantic comedy magic, the bureaucracy of international military law in remaining a couple… well, it’s hilarious, and oddly always up to date. By no means the best Howard Hawks, but it buries any Nora Ephron romantic comedy where it stands.
Kinji Fukasaku’s If You Were Young: Rage (1970)
I know nothing about this Kinji Fukasaku flick, only that it came out right before GREEN SLIME, which ruled, and that it is a Fukasaku that I haven’t seen yet, so I must buy it!
Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru - Criterion Collection
Ok, first off… if the name Akira Kurosawa didn’t make you click, then you’re on the wrong site to begin with. But let’s say you have a version of IKIRU already, well… try these extras on for good measure:
* Audio commentary by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa
* A Message from Akira Kurosawa (2000): a 90-minute documentary produced by Kurosawa Productions and featuring interviews with the director on the set of his later films
* A 41-minute documentary on Ikiru from the series, Akira Kurosawa: To Create is Beautiful
Ok? The film is a masterpiece, it fell between RASHOMON and SEVEN SAMURAI, and is a full on equal in greatness. Kurosawa was at his most passionate in many ways with this one, in my opinion, and having it get the Criterion Touch, well… that’s enough for me.
The Pianist (Widescreen Edition)
Polanski’s THE PIANIST is a masterpiece… In my opinion it is possibly the greatest biopic about an artist ever made. The work by Adrien Brody fully earned him that kiss from Halle Berry. Watching Roman take on Oliver Twist next is really going to be something.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
One of the greatest films ever made in my opinion. John Garfield and Lana Turner grab the Noir Genre and make it sweat in this film. Garfield is one of the great, mostly forgotten, actors in the history of film. I’d rank him right there with Paul Muni, another actor that just doesn’t get his due anymore. But John in this flick, you just can’t help but feel sorry for him, as Lana Turner could seduce a newborn into her own private hell of lust. Lana will melt you. I like the remake, but there’s nothing quite like this original.
January 13th
Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)
I’m screening this film on the last Saturday of the month at the Saturday Morning Kid’s Club at the Alamo Drafthouse and it is one of those films I just love to death. Tim Curry is great in it, but Albert Finney’s Daddy Warbucks is classic! One of the best comic adaptations of all time.
Criterion Crime Wave 6-Pack - High & Low, Tokyo Drifter, The Honeymoon Killers, Branded to Kill, Alphaville, Man Bites Dog
Possibly one of the coolest box sets of all time. TOKYO DRIFTER and BRANDED TO KILL just ooze a sense of style that you would swear John Woo grew up on… he did, btw. ALPHAVILLE is equal doses of Detective Film Noir, with Existential Sci-Fi all put through the blender brain of Jean-Luc Godard. You must see it. THE HONEYMOON KILLERS is just a wild flick, one of John Waters’ faves, and if that isn’t an endorsement, I don’t know what is. MAN BITES DOG is just super cool. A crazy indie from 92 that just bristles with energy and humor. Lastly, there’s HIGH & LOW by Akira Kurosawa. Very under seen film, but great nevertheless. Reminds a bit of ROPE, but then not at all. Toshiro Mifune is outstanding in the film. This BOX SET is a great one. Only problem for me is that I bought 4 of these out side of the box set, so I’ve got to get two of the titles, but not the whole box. Sigh.
Freddy Vs. Jason
If you were at CAMP HACKNSLASH, you gotta get the DVD cuz you could be on the DVD, as there is a special feature shot at Camp Hacknslash on the DVD! You’ll get to see that prick that swung the prick, the wet t-shirt contest, Dodge Ball, me with a knife through my head, Tim League looking pissed off… and much more. OH… And you get FREDDY VS JASON, which kicked ass in all the proper schlocky ways it needed to!
Lost in Space - The Complete First Season
HOLY SHIT! I gotta get me this! I love LOST IN SPACE! That groovy music… YM-3 running around flailing his arms… Will Robinson! Zorro! This set has the unaired pilot on here and extras galore.
Superfly
I love SUPERFLY! The first film I ever saw at midnight at the Alamo Drafthouse! This was the film that started my long love affair with the Alamo, and what a film. That car is the bomb. Ron’s clothes rule, his badass attitude is awesome and the music is the best. Getting this on DVD at last is a real treat!
Swimming Pool (Unrated Version)
This was one of the best films of 2003, and getting it unrated means that it is even better, cuz hopefully that means there is more intense graphic nudity and playfulness with Ludivine Sagnier. In the normal theatrical version she was naked for just about the whole thing… for the unrated version, there is no telling what Ozon had her do. Of course, that could be all for violence, in which case… well… that could get rather disturbing. If you never saw this film, this is your chance. It’s a great little film.
January 20th
The Best of Soul Cinema DVD Collection (Coffy / Cooley High / Foxy Brown / Hell up in Harlem / I'm Gonna Get You Sucka)
How could you not get this film? Hell, COFFY is hands down one of the finest works of cinema ever made. Pam Grier is just GREAT (all caps) in that and FOXY BROWN. HELL UP IN HARLEM is Fred The Hammer just great. I’ll never forget watching that with him and like 6 others at the Dobie Theater during a film festival and Fred talking with the micro-audience for like an hour and a half. What class. I’M GONNA GET YOU SUCKA is hilarious. Personally, I’ve never seen COOLEY HIGH, so I have got to check it out if it’s a part of this collection.
Blacula
While not a part of the above collection, it is also coming out under the label of “Soul Cinema” I love BLACULA and SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM. I’ve seen the film about 10 times and it actually works dramatically as well as comedically.
Cabin Fever - Special Edition
Not only do you get CABIN FEVER, but you also get to see the NAKED NEWS REVIEW of CABIN FEVER! That’s right, NAKED NEWS! That’s an extra worth checking out! Also, I think Eli has a personal plea to the Olsen Twins in the middle of his commentary, where he makes his case for using a monkey and them to create box office gold that could erase every record that Peter Jackson is setting.
Seijun Suzuki’s Kanto Wanderer
Seijun Suzuki’s Tattooed Life
I have never seen either of the two Seijun Suzuki titles, but having seen BRANDED TO KILL and TOKYO DRIFTER, I can say that I will buy every title by Seijun Suzuki unless he breaks my faith with a run of bad titles. HOWEVER, I’ve seen clips of both of these films and they seem to look as if they hold that same high style as the two that I’ve seen. These can’t get to my house soon enough!
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
This is a film that is a real LOVE / HATE type of flick from the reviews online and the talk backs I’ve seen. Personally, I was conflicted with the film, wishing that Robert had stretched the film out over another hour, allowed the characters and the story to breathe and be more fleshed out. I thought what was there was fun, but wished there had been much more there. That being said, the EXTRAS make this worth picking up. One, we get an additional chapter in his on-going 10 Minute Flick School, that Robert has been including in all his DVDs. He also has a 10 Minute Cooking School. Now, you might scoff at this feature, but I tell you this, right now. Robert Rodriguez is a great 10 minute cook. The stuff he whips up and serves in 10 minutes is great. The DVD has his Commentary. A feature called FILM IS DEAD, where Robert will show you side by side comparisons and tell you exactly why film is dying. Plus he has a low budget Special Effects seminar type of thing.
Open Range
Costner really made a wonderful western with OPEN RANGE, and unfortunately it made not nearly enough at the box office, because… well, the audience went to see crap instead. Dag nabbit. The sad thing is, I believe some of the use of sound in this film will go unadmired at home in substandard sound systems, whereas in the theater, the sound on this flick was just awesome. Really great sound design.
Repo Man
If seeing this title here, available for purchase on DVD doesn’t get you excited and ready to click with glee… you just may be on the wrong site. REPO MAN is more than just your run of the mill cult film. It is absolutely required geek cinemalanguage… ok? You Must Own This Film! It is required. No ifs ands or buts. GET IT!
The Sidney Poitier DVD Collection (For Love of Ivy / In the Heat of the Night / Lilies of the Field / The Organization / They Call Me Mister Tibbs!)
While I wish they included THE DEFIANT ONES in this Box Set, I can say this is an absolutely fantastic collection of film. Personally, I can’t wait to sit down and watch my triple feature of Virgil Tibbs in action flicks. (In The Heat Of The Night, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! And The Organization)
January 27th
Mark Hamill’s Comic Book - The Movie
This is a crazy, fun little movie from Mark Hamill. I believe Moriarty was intending to write something up on it, but he’s so lazy ya know… Sits around his “Lab” with Ferrets and Lube doing God knows what, but he certainly didn’t get a report out about this flick.
The Critic - The Complete Series
While I wasn’t crazy about this series, I did enjoy it. I just wished that Jay Sherman was talking about real films instead of made up ones. The reality of film is actually much more fun to tear apart than spoofs. Here you get 2 seasons plus tons of extras.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah - Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT!
Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence
Hands down one of the greatest westerns ever made. I bought the German DVD for this about 2 years ago and I’ve played it over and over for a number of friends. This flick takes apart the entire genre of the Spaghetti Western, flips it on its ear and fries it. I can not say enough great things about this flick. If you’ve ever fallen in love with an obscure film at my recommendation… BUY THIS!
