Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Has it really been a week already?
Giving myself a weekly publication date no matter what gives me a structure that I don’t otherwise have right now. There’s no set night for films to screen and, short of missing a release date, there’s no particular time that something’s got to be up on the site. I spend most of my days churning out pages on a first draft for something, so every day seems pretty much the same. Except for Tuesdays, when there’s brand new crack... er, DVDs... for me to go and pick up.
By bringing this column back, I’ve given myself an excuse to use Monday night to organize my thoughts on the week’s new titles. This week, though, Universal threw an event designed to guarantee there would be one release I’d be thinking about more than any other...
”WE’RE ON A MISSION FROM GOD”
As Quint mentioned yesterday in his John Landis interview, there was an event that took place in Hollywood at the Chinese 6 that was broadcast by satellite all over the country to other theaters simultaneously. To celebrate the 25th anniversary BLUES BROTHERS SPECIAL EDITION DVD, there was a Q&A featuring John Landis, James Brown, Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Henry Gibson, Thom Mount, and, patched in from Toronto, Dan Aykroyd. None of what was said was particularly newsworthy (except, perhaps, the announcement that Judy Belushi’s got a new biography of John Belushi hitting bookstores in October), but it was still a pleasure to sit and listen to all of these guys reminisce about the making of what I consider one of the ten best musicals of all time. Click here and then Click here for a couple clips from the event.
If you’re not familiar with the origin of the Blues Brothers, it might be easy to lump them in with the more cynical SNL spinoffs... but you’d be wrong.
Instead, this was an act that developed organically, with no thought of a film deal at first. This was a way for Belushi and Aykroyd to not just pay tribute to the great R&B and soul acts that they grew up on, but to actually interact with them, play with them, somehow be part of that tradition themselves. There was no joke when the Blues Brothers were onstage. They didn’t do novelty records or silly parody songs. The very first gig they ever played, Willie Nelson was one of the musicians who sat in. They worked with several different combinations of players, but everything really started to come into focus when Steve Martin asked them to open for him during a multi-evening engagement at the Universal Amphitheater. That’s when they approached Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn, both legendary Memphis R&B session players. They formed the backbone of the band, and the Amphitheater gigs went so well that they released a live album, the now-classic BRIEFCASE FULL OF BLUES.
It’s really no surprise that Universal stepped up to try and develop a Blues Brothers film. After all, Landis and Belushi had made them a ton of money with ANIMAL HOUSE, Aykroyd and Belushi were the undisputed stars of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (still considered a cutting-edge comedy showcase at the time), and the album just kept selling and selling and selling. What is surprising, especially when you look at the film now, is just how original it is. This is no cookie-cutter piece of crap pumped out to make a quick book. Aykroyd’s now-legendary first draft was over 300 pages long, and it was Landis who helped him really whittle that down to the still-epic film that we know and love now. It remains one of the most infectiously joyous road movies ever made, and the very best showcase for the particular talents of Aykroyd and Belushi. It’s also proof that few modern directors have a better sense of how to stage a great musical number than Landis.
Overall, the Q&A yielded a few good John stories (including Danny’s nickname for him – “America’s Guest”) and made a nice precursor to the screening of the film. I’m looking forward to having this disc in the house later this week, but seeing it in a theater with a bunch of fans is always an experience that can’t be beat.
Now let’s get to the rest of this week’s releases. Anything with an asterisk is already here in the house, and everything else, I’ll be picking up...
THE COMPLETE RIPPING YARNS
Herc’s already waxed rhapsodic a few times about this, one of the first post-MONTY PYTHON projects, and I’m looking forward to watching all nine episodes with commentary. Fun stuff.
CORVETTE SUMMER
Mark Hamill post-STAR WARS/pre-Fuller vintage ‘70s cheese. I haven’t seen this since it played theatrically, and I can’t wait.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON
I gave my review copy away as a birthday gift a few weeks back to a good friend, but I don’t care. I’m happy to pony up to own this show. Larry David really does qualify as one of the geniuses of the sitcom form. He’s not a genre deconstructionist... he’s more like a demolitionist. He plays one of the most deranged lead characters in any sitcom ever, even more insecure and passively monstrous than Shandling’s Larry Sanders. This entire season is PRODUCERS-obsessed, and Mel Brooks makes a number of great appearances. This is one of the great ongoing series right now, and these are worth keeping.
DEVIL IN THE FLESH
This is the infamous 1986 version of the film, made way before THE BROWN BUNNY or NINE SONGS decided to break barriers regarding onscreen mainstream sexuality. This is ostensibly a remake of the 1946 film, but it’s really not very faithful. It was given an X rating when it came out because of some real fellatio between Maruschka Detmers and Federico Pitzalis, the stars of the film. Really, though, this is a melodramatic noir film that tries for depth by giving everything a political context, spiced up with frequent and impressive nudity. The film is far more slick than substantial, but it’s undeniably well-made. I haven’t seen the disc from No Shame, but it sounds like a really well-produced package that explores the political backdrop of the film. I may hunt down a used copy of this one.
DEVO – LIVE 1980
Slowly but surely, I am replacing all of my vinyl with CDs and all of my videotapes with DVDs. I should finish just about the time we switch over to the next format. In the meantime, I’ll be able to enjoy this slice of lunacy with pristine sound and picture. Yay!
*FIRE AND ICE
Blue Underground’s coolest title this year, this is a beautiful 2-disc release of Ralph Bakshi’s animated fantasy film based on the designs of master illustrator Frank Frazetta. I don’t think Bakshi’s as good a filmmaker as Frazetta is a painter, but it’s a good movie, the best of Bakshi’s rotoscoped epics. What’s even cooler is PAINTING WITH FIRE, director Lance Laspina’s riveting documentary about Frazetta, included here on Disc Two. Frazetta’s an original, and the doc does a great job of paying tribute to his art and exploring his tumultuous life. The film’s been remastered and restored, and the 5.1 Dolby Digital EX surround track is pretty amazing, all things considered. Definitely check this one out.
GO TELL THE SPARTANS
An amazing Vietnam film, maybe the best ever made. An iconic performance by Burt Lancaster. One of this week’s most important releases. I’ve wanted to own this one on DVD for a long time, and I’m thrilled it’s finally out.
HERO AT LARGE
Why do I have the feeling this won’t hold up to the fond memories I have of it from childhood? I like John Ritter, and I remember this as being a gentle, occasionally silly little character comedy. Basically, a guy in a superhero costume, which he’s wearing for a job, rescues someone and becomes an inspirational figure, then begins believing his own hype. Sometimes it’s dangerous to revisit stuff from when you were young because you risk ruining your nostalgia for it, but I’ll be tracking this one down anyway.
HOUSE M.D.: SEASON ONE
I’m a huge fan of Hugh Laurie, and this series gave him the best opportunity to really stretch as an actor that I can imagine. He rose to the occasion, too, turning a fairly routine medical drama into something else, something worth tuning in for just to watch how House verbally and mentally fences with everyone around him. I thought Chi McBride sort of derailed the first season for a while, but overall, it’s a really solid series, and I’m eager to see the new season soon.
KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Impregnanting Courteney Love aside, Steve Coogan seems to be one hell of a smart and funny guy, and this series is a phenomenal showcase for his comic sensibilities. He’s a brilliant creep, and part of the fun of watching this show is watching how Alan Partridge slowly but surely destroys his own career right before your eyes. It’s a pretty wonderful parody of the talk show world, and it’s filled with memorable guests and dialogue. For comedy fans, this has got to be one of the month’s biggest releases.
KONTROLL
Haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard enough about it to know that it seems to have really hit a lot of viewers hard, and I’m curious to see what they all got so excited about. It’s described as a thriller, but it sounds like a particularly dense and smart one, a multi-character piece set in and around the Budapest subways. This will likely be one of the first of this week’s titles that I watch.
*LILO & STITCH 2: STITCH HAS A GLITCH
Disney’s done their best to get the word out that this is the “real” sequel to LILO & STITCH, unlike the truly awful STITCH: THE MOVIE, which they rushed out a couple of years ago. I’ll give them this... they’ve managed to recapture much of the charm of the original film, but what made the first one so nice was that it was totally unexpected. It sort of came out of left field. This is a good film for kids, the animation’s better than you’d expect for direct-to-video, and it’s got a good soundtrack. Overall, not bad.
*MIND OF THE MARRIED MAN: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
This isn’t Mike Binder’s best work (that would be the recent THE UPSIDE OF ANGER), but it’s solid and funny and well-observed. I like Binder as a performer and as a writer/director, and I think there were many moments during the run of this show that hit really close to home for any married guy. It’s smart stuff, even if it got totally overshadowed by some of HBO’s bigger titles.
*MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS: ERIC IDLE’S PERSONAL BEST
MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS: MICHAEL PALIN’S PERSONAL BEST
If you’re going to continually repackage and repromote the original MONTY PYTHON series, this seems like a smart way to handle it. Each of these discs contains sketches hand-picked by a particular Python, and it gives you a sense of where each of these guys contributed to the overall sense of humor of the series. If you’ve already got the giant super-set that A&E put out with every single episode, this is redundant, but if you’ve been holding off, this is a nice cheap alternative.
NIP/TUCK: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
Good god, I am addicted to this show. It’s shamelessly soapy, frequently over-the-top, and it’s sooooooo much fun. Dylan Baker and Julian McMahon are a great team as Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy, partners in a Miami-based plastic surgery practice. This second season was invigorated by a recurrent guest starring role for The Dutch Treat, Famke Janssen, and by the running subplot of a maniac whose work the doctors keep trying to fix, only to end up drawing his attention themselves. This second season has one of the best cliffhanger endings I’ve ever seen for a series, and I’m dying for Season Three to start soon. In the meantime, it’ll be nice to dip back into these episodes to get ready for the Sept. 21st premiere. I’m excited to see what Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt and the rest of the great creative team have in store for us this year, and if you’re not already onboard, then hurry up... you’ll be glad you did.
*ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR
I would imagine most action fans are already well aware of this film, but if you’ve somehow missed the hype for Tony Jaa, check this one out and see for yourself why he’s being called the next big thing in the world of martial arts movies. This is a great bone-crunching ride, thin on story but long on stunts that make you say “GODDAMN!” What more could you want?
*ROSEANNE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
I’ve gotta stand with Quint on this one. ROSEANNE was important because it dared to show an American family that was closer to the way people are than the way they want to be, something TV gets nervous about. At its best, the show was honest and caustic and unlike anything else being done in the family sitcom genre. Yeah, it overstayed its welcome. Yeah, it got really bad in that last year. But Anchor Bay’s first season collection should be a reminder of just how good the show was when it started.
*SAHARA
Oh my god, this is a goofy movie. It’s fun in places, there’s an easy silly chemistry between Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn, and some of the action is well-done, but this is a really, really goofy movie. Clive Cussler’s no genius, and his Dirk Pitt books have always been sort of a low-rent James Bond thing, but this pushes the tongue clean through the cheek and out the other side. If you’re in the mood for something you can’t take seriously no matter how hard you try, this is a piece of candy. No calories, but fun while it lasts.
*SCHULTZE GETS THE BLUES
Very funny and very strange, Michael Schorr’s movie plays like a Jim Jarmusch documentary, the story of a recently retired miner who falls head over heels in love with Zydeco music. He ultimately finds himself compelled to leave Germany and travel to Louisiana so he can experience the culture that created this amazing music. Paramount Classics barely released this in the U.S., and I didn’t see it until last night. It’s worth it if you like quirky foreign comedy or if you love Zydeco music.
THE STAIRCASE
IFC aired this entire documentary earlier this year, and it’s grim, fascinating stuff about a murder trial. It dares you to make up your own mind about the case, and everyone involved, including the John McGinley lookalike who is accused of murdering his wife, seems to give the filmmakers total access to their lives. The result goes far deeper than any episode of LAW & ORDER ever could, and it’s a must-see for anyone interested in the way the legal system in America works. Or doesn’t.
STREET TRASH
What?! They released STREET TRASH on DVD and today wasn’t declared a national holiday? Kids should be out in the streets playing penis football right now! This is a totally filthy gore film that deserves its reputation, and I can’t defend it on any rational level. Having said that, I plan to buy it immediately and laugh and laugh and laugh as it plays.
*SUICIDE GIRLS: THE FIRST TOUR
I don’t think I would have bought this, but it was undeniably interesting. I have nothing but respect for the empire these girls are building, and the fact that they’re doing it by subverting conventional notions of beauty and femininity. This film basically offers a showcase for each of the main girls who participated in the burlesque tour sponsored by the website, and we see live performance excerpts as well as a new nude photo shoot with each girl. Oddly, my wife didn’t quite buy the whole “I’m watching it for the column” argument. If you like the website, you’ll love the film because you get a personal introduction to each of the girls, which only makes them more interesting. Nicely done overall.
*TOMMY BOY: HOLY SCHNIKE EDITION
This one just makes me sad. I loved Chris Farley. I wanted desperately to work with Chris. He struck me as a comedy E.T., loveable and completely out-of-this-world. There are no great Chris Farley movies, but this one seems to be the one that people are most fond of. It’s a pretty standard comedy vehicle, but there’s a genuine affection between Chris and co-star David Spade that may account for why the film’s so well thought of. The commentary on the disc by director Peter Segal is filled with stories about Chris, and that alone made me glad to have the disc. I haven’t watched all the outtakes yet, but I’m sure there are plenty of gems there. We lost this guy way too early, and this disc will have to do as a reminder of what might have been.
So it’s a little late, but I still made it on New Release Tuesday. Now I’m off to see LORD OF WAR, and when I get back tonight, I’ve got a few more reviews to prepare for you, including the one for the best film I’ve seen so far in 2005. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
