Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
September was a loooooooong month of Tuesdays, and there were a lot of great releases, many of them smaller titles that might have fallen between the cracks if I didn’t spent time trying to round them all up. Today’s not the busiest of release dates, but there’s still plenty of variety out there, and a number of discs well worth picking up. If they’ve got an asterisk (*) by the title, it’s something that’s already here in the house and recommended, but otherwise, it’s something I’ll be looking for myself during my Amoeba run later today. Let’s dig right in, eh?
*ANYTHING GOES
It may star Bing Crosby and Donald O’Connor, but the reason to see this film is simple: Cole Porter. It’s a silly trifle of a film about two guys looking for a leading lady for a Broadway play, and they each end up finding “the perfect woman.” What makes it memorable is the music, and some of Porter’s best songs are featured here. It’s not one of the great Hollywood musicals, but it’s charming and light and fun, and the Paramount disc looks really nice.
*THE BLIND DEAD COLLECTION
Blue Underground, will you marry me? Or at the very least, will you promise to keep turning out bad-ass box sets like this one for as long as we both shall live? I always come back from QT Fest with my tastebuds set for the obscure, and it takes me a while to re-acclimate to the mainstream fare we normally review here. When I walked in the door from Austin, the first DVD I saw waiting for me was this awesome collection of titles from writer/director Amando de Ossorio, four films that deal with the Blind Dead, heretic Knights Templar whose eyes were burned out to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Nice plan, but as these four films establish, it didn’t quite work. Not only do you get all four films (TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD, THE GHOST GALLEON, and NIGHT OF THE SEAGULLS), you also get a bonus disc all about the writer/director, a collectible book about the film series, and the typical loving care that makes Blue Underground a cult film lover’s best friend. These are the full uncut films, so even if you think you already own the titles, you don’t. Previous releases have never done the films full justice. And check out that groovy coffin-shaped box they come in! I’m still working my way through this one, but I can already tell it will get a replay during my annual October Horrorthon for my unsuspecting friends. Exceptional stuff.
CARLITO’S WAY: RISE TO POWER
I’ll admit it. I’m curious. I love Carlito Brigante, and part of that is because of Al Pacino’s portrayal of him in CARLITO’S WAY, but it’s also the character in the novels that inspired the film. Yeah, I know this is a direct-to-video prequel, so the odds are stacked against it being good, but I’m curious enough that I’m going to watch it with an open mind and hope for the best. Besides, the commercials show a ton of Luis Guzman, so how bad can it be?
THE COMPLETE MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS 16-TON MEGASET
Yes, I am well aware that A&E released the complete MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS as a box set before. I even bought it for a friend of mine for Christmas a few years ago. But this space-saving re-release not only collects every episode of the series and a boatload of extra features (many of which are very silly indeed), but also includes two discs of live material, and it’s all jammed into those new thin-packs so it won’t take up an entire shelf all by itself. I’ve been a Python fan since I was eleven years old, and this was always one of those things I knew I was going to pick up. Now’s the perfect excuse, and I can’t wait to dig into this and rediscover exactly why Python remains my favorite comedy group of all time.
CREATURE COMFORTS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Huh? I’m very fond of “Creature Comforts,” but I thought it was just one short film by Nick Park and Aardman. Now there’s a disc of 13 episodes, and I’m going to have to see it just because I had no idea it even existed. I’ve been watching last week’s WALLACE & GROMIT re-release and loving every second of it, so learning there’s even more Aardman lunacy on the shelf makes me a happy, happy man.
EVIL DEAD 2: BOOK OF THE DEAD
I know this has been issued more times than possibly any other title on DVD ever, but this one’s got a really groovy plastic cover that looks like the Necronomicon! It’s sad, really, but as geeks, we will buy this simply so we can add it to our shelves as Nerd Furniture. You know it’s true. So do I. I’ll race you to see who gets it first.
FACE
By now, I’m fairly burned out on Asian horror. I remember when it was new, and you had to really work overtime to find the titles we were hearing about, and it seemed like the freshest thing to hit the genre in decades. But now, certain imagery and certain archetypes have become so ingrained that you can almost predict these films just by looking at the covers. I haven’t watched this one yet, but the thing that gives me some hope is that it’s written by Hie-jae Kim, who also wrote SILMIDO, one of the very best Korean films in recent memory. Here’s hoping this one surprises me, since I could use a reminder of why we fell for these films in the first place.
*FAMILY GUY PRESENTS STEWIE GRIFFIN THE UNTOLD STORY
Here’s an odd situation. I’m going to recommend a film that I really didn’t enjoy, and I’ll explain why. It seems that FAMILY GUY speaks to a lot of comedy fans right now. It’s obvious from the sales of the DVD box sets and the ratings of the Adult Swim reruns and the return of the show to Fox after being cancelled. There is a cult that loves what Seth McFarlane does. Personally, I think the hit-to-miss ratio of his jokes is painful, and his pop culture references overwhelm any actual comedy writing that exists on the show. Knowing full well that I am mystified by the entire phenomenon, I’m prepared to say to fans of the show that you will probably have a great time with what is essentially a 90 minute episode of the show. This is not SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT, so don’t expect something that will shatter all the boundaries of what you see on TV. As far as I could tell, there’s not a single joke in the entire thing that they couldn’t show on Fox right now. There’s a lot of meta-humor about how it’s all just a show, and what the characters did during the cancellation, and the focus of much of the film is on Stewie, which is always a good thing. The screener copy I was sent by Fox did not have the audio commentary, which is one of the things I enjoyed the most on the FAMILY GUY discs, so I can’t say how it is. Still, if you’re already onboard the FAMILY GUY train, I’m sure you’ll be more than happy with this one.
THE FREAKMAKER
This one played BNAT last year, and it’s a groovy, nasty little English horror film directed by Jack Cardiff, one of the great cinematographers of British cinema. Donald Pleasance and Tom Baker topline the film which owes just as much of a debt to EYES WITHOUT A FACE as it does to FREAKS. It’s a cool, often forgotten little gem, and it’s a treat for horror fans who have never had a chance to see it.
HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
Aw, hell, yeah. Most of what we call horror films are more fun than anything else, but every now and then, someone makes a film that is genuinely evil, so unrelentingly grim and difficult to watch that it pushes the definition of the genre. John McNaughton’s film based loosely on the real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas is a masterpiece of dread and misery. Michael Rooker’s done a lot of great character work in film, but I think this remains his finest hour. I can’t watch this film often, but every now and then, I love to revisit it and see what real horror looks like.
*LORDS OF DOGTOWN: UNRATED
I was fond of this film when I reviewed it earlier this year, and now Sony’s put out both the theatrical edition and this longer, more unruly unrated cut. Yes, I’d obviously recommend that you pick up Stacy Peralta’s original DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS documentary first, but this is a really nice film by Catherine Hardwicke, and the best part of the disc is the commentary track by the original Z-Boys, including Peralta and Tony Alva. It has to be strange watching a film about your life, and these guys do a great job of letting you know how it feels. There’s also a great feature on all the injuries suffered while filming. If for no other reason, pick this up so you can see the best work Heath Ledger’s done so far as he channels Val Kilmer on his very weirdest day.
OLIVER!
Hmmmmm... I wonder why Columbia might be releasing this Oscar-winning musical right now. I mean, it’s not like there’s a brand-new version of OLIVER TWIST playing theaters or anyth... what? There is? Oh, that’s right. And it’s actually pretty damn good, too. I kid Columbia, and I have to say... this looks like a nice disc for a heck of a low price, especially since you get the CD soundtrack with it. If you’ve never seen the movie that the Academy gave Best Picture to instead of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, prepare to have your ass blown out by singing orphans, a vaguely gay Fagin, and Oliver Reed threatening the lives of children. Fun for the whole family!
THE RIGHT SPECTACLE – THE VERY BEST OF ELVIS COSTELLO
I love Elvis Costello, pure and simple. I think SPIKE was the album that first made me fall for his work, and I spent my freshman year at college catching up on his incredible catalog of material. Since then, he’s changed a lot as an artist, and this collection of 27 videos and a buttload of live material covers everything all the way up to BRUTAL YOUTH. I’m definitely going to check this out as soon as I can. Now if only someone could tell me where to get his cover version of “Beautiful” that was featured on last week’s episode of HOUSE...
*ROBOTS
Blue Sky is no Pixar. That much is obvious. But for anyone who’s got even the slightest robot fetish, it’s pretty hard to resist some of the eye-popping spectacle of this film, beautifully designed by William Joyce, one of the most distinctive illustrators working in kid lit today. The film’s overly-busy, noisy at times, it features the 18 millionth “wacky” Robin Williams animated character, and it falls into a formula that made me tune out the story at times, but I still found the whole thing to be sort of groovy to watch, and I’d revisit this before ICE AGE, so maybe Blue Sky’s picking up steam as they go.
WE’RE NO ANGELS
Humphrey Bogart. Aldo Ray. Peter Ustinov. Three great reasons to see this classic comedy about convicts on the run who disguise themselves as priests. Paramount’s done right by the film with this sweet new transfer, and it’s always a treat to see director Michael Curtiz work with Basil Rathbone. Although I’m fond of the remake, this is the superior telling of the tale, and if you’ve never seen it, you’re in for a treat.
A WHISPER IN THE DARK
20th Century Fox just released THE INNOCENTS on DVD a few weeks ago, and now there’s another film on shelves inspired by the Henry James classic THE TURN OF THE SCREW. This time, it’s an Italian take on the material, and it sounds like a pretty good one. I’ve never seen it, but I’m in an Italian mood these last few weeks, so I’ll give it a spin as soon as I can.
THE WILD GEESE: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Ummmm… guys? The film came out in 1978. Still, we can overlook that and pretend it’s the 30th anniversary if it means we get to own the film now. This is a classic men-on-a-mission film with Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, and Stewart Granger (among others) as mercenaries who are hired to rescue an African leader who has been captured by a ruthless dictator. The film’s got a good sense of humor, and it’s a surprisingly gritty R-rated action film. The cast is very good, and Roger Moore evidently contributes an audio commentary here, one of the many extras on the disc.
YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HOLD THE KEY
Another one of the side-effects of QT Fest is that I inevitably go on a giallo kick, thanks to the trailers that Tim League shows before the films. I’ve never seen this one, but with a title like that, how can I go wrong? No Shame is a fairly small DVD label, but they’ve been putting out some good stuff in recent weeks, and this sounds like a really wild ride. It also sounds like they put together a beautiful widescreen transfer, uncut, so even if you already own this, it may be time to trade up.
And that’s it for this week. Like I said... short but sweet. There’s a lot of stuff here that I’ll be enjoying for the first time, which is exactly the way I like it. Now I’ve got to finish some screenplay pages and clear my plate so I can come back later this week with my David Cronenberg interview, my reviews of SERENITY and ELIZABETHTOWN, and the conclusion of my QT Fest coverage. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
