Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
It’s Tuesday morning, which means there are a whole assload of new titles sitting on shelves right now, ready for me to go to the store and covet them real, real hard. There were a few titles I forgot to mention last week, so I want to backtrack and point them out first.
ALIEN PLANET was shown on cable about two months ago, but this nature special/SF movie is worth picking up on DVD. Wayne Barlowe is an incredible artist who has done design work for films like BLADE 2 and HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, but he’s best known for his books, including the incredible EXPEDITION: BEING AN ACCOUNT IN WORDS AND PICTURES OF THE 2358 A.D. VOYAGE TO DARWIN IV, which is exactly what it sounds like. Written as if Barlowe was an actual passenger onboard a trip to this newly discovered planet, the book is pretty amazing. This special, based largely on that book, should appeal to fans of things like WALKING WITH DINOSAURS. Using CGI based on Barlowe’s work, the special imagines a trip to another planet and a tour through the ecosystem. It’s engaging and informative, but more than anything, it’s a visual showcase for some pretty wild ideas.
Disney released two collections of short subjects last week with little or no fanfare, making them fairly easy to overlook. WALT DISNEY’S TIMELESS TALES VOL. I & II may be packaged in a very kid-centric way, but there are some real gems here for animation buffs. VOL II’s got a gorgeous transfer of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS as its centerpiece, and you’ll also get shorts like THE COUNTRY COUSIN, FERDINAND THE BULL, THREE LITTLE PIGS, and more. If you don’t want to spring for the entire DISNEY TREASURES library, this is a nice sampler of some of the studio’s best classic shorts.
Okay... so... now that we’re caught up, let’s take a look at this week’s titles of note. Once again, these are the things that I’m personally interested in, not a comprehensive list. If you want to read someone raving about THE O.C. or ONCE & AGAIN, then I’m sure Herc can take care of you. ‘80s kids may dig the two volumes of THE BEST OF HE-MAN & THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE released today, but they’ll do nothing for me. Me? I’m interested in this list. Anything with an asterisk by it is here in the house and will be reviewed soon:
AFTERMATH/GENESIS
Nacho Cerda isn’t interested in making you feel good. He doesn’t want to make you laugh, or to teach you important moral lessons, and he doesn’t seem remotely interested in what does well at the box-office. I’m not sure I would call these horror films, although they’re certainly horrifying. AFTERMATH has been banned from many major retail chains, which is a real shame for fans of extreme cinema. Basically, AFTERMATH deals with a distressingly realistic autopsy, which may be why Cerda was rumored to be the guy who pseudonymously shot that infamous Alien Autopsy in the ‘90s. This is not going to be easy to find, and it’s not going to appeal to everyone, but if you love to challenge yourself, then track it down.
BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING (Criterion)
I’ve never seen this film, but I’m aware of it as the inspiration for Paul Mazursky’s DOWN & OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS. Knowing that Criterion is behind this release, I’m curious, and I’m sure I’ll pick it up.
*DARIO ARGENTO’S THE CARD PLAYER
Anchor Bay continues to define themselves as the premier archival horror label by releasing two more of Dario Argento’s films this week. This one is more of a police procedural, strictly speaking, but Argento’s jet-black sense of humor is firmly on display, and he’s still torturing women like a champ. A police detective (Stefania Rocca) is drawn into a cat-and-mouse game with a lunatic who demands that the police play online poker with him for the lives of women he kidnaps. Don’t expect anything like the brilliance of Argento’s best early work, but for giallo fans, this is a decent thriller with a couple of pretty cool set pieces.
*DARIO ARGENTO’S TRAUMA
I haven’t had a chance to see this one yet, but I guess I can get rid of my R2 DVD now. I’m glad to see Anchor Bay filling in the gaps in their Argento catalogue. These two titles are just warm-ups for their collector’s edition of THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, but that doesn’t mean these aren’t worth picking up. With a cast that includes Piper Laurie, Frederic Forrest, Brad Dourif, and Dario’s favorite torture subject, his daughter Asia, this sounds like two tons of serial killer fun.
GLADIATOR: THE SUPER ULTRA MAXIMUS EDITION
Okay, I know it’s not really called that. Looking at the specs, though, it should be. I know it’s fashionable to beat this film up these days, but I still unabashedly love Ridley Scott’s story of ancient Roman revenge. There’s a reason this film finally made Russell Crowe an international movie star. I’m really curious to see what the new cut looks like and to dig into the extras. I know this has been in the works for a while, so I expect something really special, and not just another double-dip.
THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS (Criterion)
It happens to me fairly frequently. I’ll be at a party, let’s say, talking film with someone, and I’ll mention a title that is completely familiar to me, something I’ve seen a dozen times, and I’ll just get a blank stare in return from the person who’s never even heard of it. Well, Criterion makes me feel like that, but in reverse. Like I’m the one at the party talking film with a guy and saying, “What’s that? THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS? Nope. I’ve never even heard of it. It’s good, huh?” At this point, after being a fan of this company’s choices since 1991, I take their recommendation seriously.
HARAKIRI (Criterion)
”What’s that? HARAKIRI? Is it as good as THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS? Oh. Okay. So... that’s two.”
*LAYER CAKE
Forget about the whole X3 squaredance. Watch Matthew Vaughn’s debut picture for itself, for the sheer pleasure of it. Watch it so you understand why Daniel Craig is closer to Ian Fleming’s Bond than Clive Owen or Julian McMahon ever could be. Watch it for the great supporting cast that includes Michael Gambon, Colm Meany, Jamie Foreman, and that dude who played Katanga in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, fer pissakes. Watch it for a wickedly well-chosen soundtrack, including the most unlikely but kick-ass use of a Duran Duran song that I’m ever likely to see. Mainly, though, watch it because I’d still wager we’re going to hear a lot from Vaughn in the future as a director, and it all starts here.
OLDBOY
I haven’t seen this edition, and I’ll be honest... I’m not likely to pick it up. But that’s because at last count there are four different DVD editions of OLDBOY here in my house, including the giant special edition that came in the metal box (a gift from Harry, who contributed an audio commentary to the Korean release). If you don’t already own the film, or if you haven’t seen it yet, then by all means... pick this up tomorrow. Chan-Wook Park’s furious, funny, heartbreaking blast of undistilled malice deserves its reputation as a genuine international masterpiece. This is easily the best disc being released today.
*THE RED TENT
I’m genuinely fascinated by this one, curious as hell. I love the cast, including Sean Connery, Peter Finch, and Claudia Cardinale, but I’ve never heard of the film. It’s evidently about a real-life dirigible accident at the North Pole involving a bunch of Italians. Whenever I get sent a title like this, I watch it with fingers crossed, hoping for a gem that I’m just not familiar with yet. If it turns out great, I’ll definitely review this one.
SWAMP THING
Indefensible. I can’t pretend I’m buying this because it’s a great film or even a good one. I’m buying it because it makes me nostalgic. It was part of my childhood, just like MEGAFORCE or COMIN’ AT YA or any of a hundred other shitty films I’d love to own on DVD. MGM issued this once before, then recalled it for some reason. I’m glad it’s finally back on shelves, and I can’t resist.
VINCENT & THEO
This is one of Robert Altman’s most underrated films, a study of the relationship between the Van Gogh brothers, a vivid film that might be the most cinematic thing Altman’s ever done. Tim Roth lays himself bare as Vincent, and any fan of his should see his work here. His relationship with his brother, played by Paul Rhys, manages to feel very real, not like some stuffy art history lesson. Great stuff.
*THE TRANSPORTER: SPECIAL DELIVERY EDITION
*THE TRUMAN SHOW: SPECIAL EDITION
*WITNESS: SPECIAL EDITION
A triple feature of double dips. All films that I enjoyed to one degree or another. I’ll try to review all three of these next week to see if they’ve done enough to the titles to justify these new releases. If you don’t already own them, I especially recommend the two Peter Weir films. Nobody pushes big-time movie stars in more interesting ways.
WEEKEND
Here’s one of Godard’s most strident movies, a bit of an artistic middle finger that’s just as challenging intellectually as Nacho Cerda’s AFTERMATH is viscerally. For any fan of French New Wave cinema, this is a must-own.
WITHOUT YOU I’M NOTHING
One of the single most amazing things I’ve ever seen in a movie theater was during a performance of this film. It’s a Sandra Bernhard one-woman show, part comedy, part music. The film’s a pretty outrageous parody and deflation of celebrity ego, but how do you even begin to explain that to an audience? When the film came out in 1990, I was managing a theater in Sherman Oaks. We opened it on a Wednesday in the smallest house we had. No one showed up for opening day. And I don’t mean that attendance was low. I mean that absolutely no one showed up at all for our first three shows. For the 7:30 show, we sold about 20 tickets, which I thought was impressive, all things considered. Now, here’s the great part...
Not a single one of those people was still in the theater by the time the film ended.
If you want to see what drove all 20 of them out of their seats, one at a time, pissed off and annoyed and absolutely pushed past the point of no return, then check this one out. It’s courageous and personal, and it’s also sort of totally fucking unwatchable. By the time Msssssss. Bernhard finally launches into the most insane version of “Little Red Corvette” you’ll ever hear while stripping herself bare, you’ll be marked for life. Even now, I can remember standing there in the theater at the end of that 7:30 show, laughing out loud at the fact that I was completely alone. The film was gone, replaced by something else, by Friday morning.
And that’s it for this week. I’ve got more DVD reviews for you later this week, and I’ll also be writing about three screenings I’ve been two, three of the best films I’ve seen in a while, one of which is the best of 2005 so far. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
