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The Relaunch Of Moriarty’s DVD Blog! Review of 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOL. 2, One Of The Year’s Best Discs!!
Okay. We’ve been working behind the scenes on the basic software that runs the AICN machine for the past however-many-months, and in that time, I’ve been trying to get used to it. I’m technotarded. I write on the internet because it’s a convenient mode of publication and distribution, not because I’m remotely computer-literate. I still write all my first drafts for pretty much everything in longhand in little black notebooks. While we’ve been updating the site and getting familiar with the way it works (and making sure it actually works the way it’s supposed to work), I discontinued the publication of my DVD blog, which I was publishing on the side over at Typepad.
I promised that I would be continuing the sort of coverage I was doing on that DVD blog over here at AICN, and so far, that has not been the case. Now I think we’re finally ready to start, so I’m going to give it a test run this week. For those of you who weren’t reading the blog, it was just a way of me to document my general DVD intake, creating more reviews than weekly “what’s being released” lists. Long reviews, short reviews, or even just random free-form conversations like my VIRGINS FROM HELL “review”. It was a much more loose and fun format than the weekly release charts I’ve been doing here on the main page.
That’s changing today. We’re going to start with just daily articles. At least once a day (and often more than once a day), you’ll be getting my DVD blog. Old titles, new titles, stuff you guys send me... whatever crosses the desk is what gets discussed. That’s the way I watch my films, and it feels to much like I’m shilling for goods when I’m just talking about new releases on the day of. There’s amazing stuff I watch every day, and not all of it is brand-spanking-new.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy the new format. I want your feedback, though, and I take it seriously. I think you’ll see a wider range of material covered, but if there’s something more you want to see, you’ll have to tell me. I’ll still be doing the weekly release list, but it’ll be much simpler in format, and not the end-all be-all of our coverage.
I’ll be honest. This is what I enjoy doing the most. I published the DVD blog on a fairly relentless schedule for close to a year, just to test the format, and I think it’s the best way for me to express just how drunk on movies I remain, even after ten years of doing this online. This is the least political form of writing about films, and I personally hate the second-guessing and hyper-scrutiny that exists around just trying to have a conversation about film. DVD pushes all that bullshit to the side. It’s the great equalizer. A film is just a film. Every DVD in the player has the same opportunity to entertain you. It doesn’t matter how much money was spent making that disc. It just comes down to whether or not you feel like it’s time well-spent.
This week, I didn’t post a new release list, but if I had, I would have picked 42ND STREET FOREVER, VOL. 2 as the best title of the week:
This is the second time Synapse Films poobah Don May has put out one of these exploitation trailer mix tapes, and just like the first volume, this is a home run. This is one of the most purely entertaining sits I’ve had all year, and I’ve played the entire disc through at least three or four times now.
I admit it. I’m a shameless bitch for movie trailers, particularly from the era when I was a kid going to theaters in Florida. There was one great shitbox theater that my friends and I went to that had kids matinees during the day and crazy programming for adults at night, and the thing that made the theater so beloved among my peer group was the way they showed the same trailer reels at both sets of programming, and the trailer reels would be 15 minutes long, packed with previews for cartoons and horror movies and car chase redneck pictures and mainstream crap, all randomly tossed in. Some of the trailers we saw were better than any movie our parents would take us to at the time.
And in recent years, I rediscovered my love for these trailers at the Alamo Drafthouse, where I feel like a junkie getting my hit every time I go.
Tim League is like a great DJ at a club, and he's also willing to invite in other "guest DJs" like the incomparable Anthony Timpson, and when the Drafthouse really goes all out, you end up with trailer rings like no where else. And I think the best efforts ever are traditionally during the Quentin Tarantino Film Festivals and BNAT, when they use the trailers to not only set the mood for what’s about to be shown, but also to respond to what was just shown. Anyone who ever enjoyed the way that STUNT ROCK trailer ripped the back wall off the place every time it showed understands just what the right trailer can do at the right time.
42nd STREET FOREVER, VOL 2: THE DEUCE is beautifully programmed. Just the cover of the disc gives you a hint of what you’re in for. I see Billy Jack lurking there, and Ms. 45 and a one-sheet for THE POM POM GIRLS. Looks good to me. Sure enough, Abel Ferrara’s MS 45 and BORN LOSERS, the biker flick that introduced Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack character, are the first two previews on the disc. As you watch, you notice that May has grouped similar films together, and as a result, it’s almost like you’re watching a feature that starts as a biker film and then turns into a cruising movie about the car culture, and then suddenly becomes a blacksploitation film that gives way to a sexploitation film that’s also a giant monster movie, a spy movie, a gladiator movie, and a roller-disco film about a samurai. I’d pay to see that film, and watching this film, it’s like it exists. This would be great at a film nerd party to just have playing in the background, but it’s also just as much fun to sit and watch and enjoy as a whole.
I think Don found the best possible prints for each of these trailers. They’re not all in good shape, but then again, that’s part of the thing I love when I see these trailers in a theater. They’ve been around. They’ve been shown. They’re somewhat worn out. That sense of having been well-used carries a pretty hefty nostalgic charge for me.
And if you buy a copy, I may well get to see a third volume in the future, and that would be a very good thing, so do you and me both the favor. Pick it up, enjoy the shit out of it, and let’s cross our fingers that Don May does some more.
On that note, we’re off and running. Welcome back to the DVD Blog, here on AICN for the very first time. We're going to start with a once a day schedule, and let's see how that goes. I'm sure we'll be running just as soon as we prove we can walk.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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Your dvd blog is always a good read. Glad to see it back.
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Now get back to work!
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Thanks for the review, Drew. You've made my day already and I've only been up for about 10 minutes. Our next volume is out in February and will consist of vintage XXX porno trailers. 42ND STREET FOREVER: XXX-TREME SPECIAL EDITION... it'll be announced soon.
For those looking for volume one or two right now, head on over to AMAZON.COM.
VOLUME ONE: http://tinyurl.com/ycjjfe
VOLUME TWO:
http://tinyurl.com/yjx4bd
Thanks,
Don May, Jr.
President, Synapse Films
www.synapse-films.com -
I'm your sister AND your daughter!
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...they always give away the happy endings.
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I'm the Real Moriarty
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Yo Mutha!
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thanks Moriarty, hope you can keep it up.
www.obsessedwithfilm.com -
Explains why I keep having those sexual feelings for you.
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Although I'm excited about the second volume of Grindhouse trailers hitting this week, I have to say that the title of the week for me is the James Coburn/FLINT e disc set. You get both films, with commentary (finally!) plus the TV movie/pilot from the 70s and a crap load of featurettes. All for under 20 bucks.
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I'm touching mine - how about you?!
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That made fucking coffee come out of my nose.
Nice work, Drew BarryMori. -
...they'll put stuff up when they can. I have yet to see any promised daily/weekly/whatever column manifest itself on any site with the promised regularity.
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While I enjoy your writing, I miss the weekly/monthly listing of the good stuff coming out. One of the biggest reasons I started coming here was to discover the DVDs I had not read about elsewhere. Your weekly submissions, Harry's monthly ones... while there were many disagreements about the opinions, I think we all appreciated the sheer depth of the listings -- the ability to go "Hey, THAT's coming out this week? Cool! Gotta get it." every week, every month. Can someone simply put up an annotated list coving all the DVDs (much like the weekly box-set post we still get)?
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Just like when I wake to find my Mothers "friends" gone from the night before and I dont have to pretend that they are just another uncle.
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http://www.dugpa.com/
Check out what may be the boxart for the US set (as it's similar in tone to Season 1's art) -
...daily dvd reviews are the way forward!
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I'd love for you to review the Films of Stan Brakhage DVD, hoss. Or the short films of David Lynch mail order DVD. Short films in general don't get seen or reviewed nearly often enough, and I'd love to see you take a stab at it.
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...but you should also check out the Extra Weird Sampler from Something Weird Video. It's just as cool. By the way, what are the chances of Amazon carrying the XXX-Treme Edition? I don't live in the U.S., so Amazon has been a great source of weird stuff, but I'm afraid they might balk at carrying the dreaded triple X. Anyways, great job, will buy "The Deuce" for sure.
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... they're working on TWIN PEAKS Season Two now. It's a labor of love for the same guys behind the ALIEN QUADRILOGY box, so expect something special. They're also redoing Season One. Yay! Should be next year that it comes out.
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... here's a review of THE SHORT FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH I wrote for the old DVD blog as part of Lynch week: http://tinyurl.com/yyrzlc
I'll keep in mind, though... more short films when I can. -
We were happy to supply most of the trailers on this disc, as well as the first one. Let's hope it does really well. We have our own XXX themed DVD coming out next week, check out our website at www.ban1productions.com for info over the weekend.
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if you want to see compilations of hilariously bad television, check out the latest TV Carnage compilation.
http://tvcarnage.com/ -
What do you mean, "They're also redoing Season One. Yay!"? You mean to tell me that they are going to attempt a double dip on the first season BEFORE releasing the second season of the show? If you don't mind, could you speak to this point and offer some clarification? Any idea of what would be different in the second version or is this still speculation. I have been waiting patiently for the rest of Twin Peaks, but this news irks me a little. I know that as consumers we have the option of not buying more than one edition of something, but it is expecially annoying to wait quite some time for something, purchase it, then find out that you only purchased a portion of what was to be offered. Thanks again for posting your comments on this site, Drew. From one dad to another, I know that it's tough to work in the industry and find ample time for the wife & kids. Your work is appreciated and makes this site worth spending time on.
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I seem to remember a very similar post before promising two dvd reviews a day, every day... That lasted like 3 days I think... Not knocking anyone, I'll take what I can get. Just not setting my expectations very high...
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... the original Season One box, released by Lionsgate, was okay, I guess, but hardly a great box set. The new box (and Season Two) are being put together by raving PEAKS fans who also happen to be some of the best DVD producers in the business. Trust me... I don't get excited about double-dips unless I think I'm going to get something worthwhile out of the upgrade.
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