Due to the extraordinary amount of cool DVDs coming out in May - I've been forced to divide the column into two pieces. To Return To Part 1 CLICK HERE!!!!

May 18, 2004

ANGEL HEART (Special Edition)

Known at the time for Lisa Bonet’s hot as hell fuck scene, but the film is actually far better than that. Alan Parker created a film that sweats off your screen and the 20lbs of sweat soaked extras on this disc have me lining up to replace my threadbare edition from years ago.

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (Special Edition)

From everything I hear, you should stay far away from the remake in cinemas this summer, but the super-widescreen edition being restored and brought to life here is a must own. Everybody makes so much about the cameos, but frankly Cantinflas is who makes this film worth owning. Mexico’s greatest comedian, and one of the world’s great unheralded comedians. I dream of the day where all his films are subtitled and out on DVD – but the much maligned world of black & white Mexican cinema… Not just Cantinflas, but the brilliant muralist work of Emilio ‘Indio’ Fernandez too! One of the great epics.

DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN’S DIARY

Heralded by many critics, but barely seen due to its arthouse distribution, here’s a chance for many of you to discover Guy Maddin’s brilliance for the first time. A beautiful ballet of Dracula done very old-fashioned, but boiling with sensuality and sexuality. If you’re tired of techno vampires and goth gone wild and cg hell, this is the cure…

ENTER THE DRAGON (2-DVD Special Edition)

I know nothing about this edition except that there are 2 discs. I love the film and can pretty much quote every scene and sing every note of Lalo’s brilliant score. There’s 2 DVDs and I’m hoping for a Theatrical Version as I loathe the Special Edition with that lame Obi-Wan ghost crap. Anxious to check this set out!

JOAN OF ARC

I love the Joan of Arc movies. The best being LA PASSION DE JEANNE D’ARC by Carl Theodor Dreyer, then there was MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC that Luc Besson did, which I love… and then the worst of the three was the first I fell in love with, which is Ingrid Bergman’s JOAN OF ARC. After she left Rick in the fog to love that fucking Frenchman in CASABLANCA, I wanted her to burn, and here I get my wish! More melodrama than spectacle… and she does no aerobics either… but she does have the advantage of being the most timelessly beautiful Joan of Arc in film history. This dvd is fully restored to the original theatrical length of 145 minutes - and that is glorious.

OLYMPIA

Speaking of Women that folks wanted to burn at the stake, I believe that this OLYMPIA dvd is the combined OLYMPIA 1 & 2 as filmed by Leni Riefenstahl at the 1938 Olympics in Berlin. Almost nothing is known about this disc – and I’m holding off purchasing it until I hold it in my hands and am convinced it is Leni’s OLYMPIA – but on Amazon, they claim it has Jesse Owens… and that it is 186 minutes long, which is just about right. SO… I’m hopeful, as this desperately NEEDS to be out on Dvd as it is definitely the most beautiful sports documentary to focus on the Olympic Games in history. And one of the most beautiful films ever made – politics aside. I’m really hoping this is the right film.

SAMURAI TRILOGY BOX SET – Criterion Collection

Ok – On THE LAST SAMURAI description in Part 1, I said if you were going to get only one Samurai dvd set this month, look below… well this is it. Hiroshi Inagaki’s stunningly brilliant trilogy known as THE SAMURAI TRILOGY and starring Toshiro Mifune as the utterly badass Musashi Miyamoto… well trilogies rarely if ever get better than this. Fantastic is a tame word, but a nice beginning in describing these films.

THE TIN DRUM – Criterion Collection

Banned in Oklahoma as Child Pornography – which is documented on this fantastic disc as a documentary called BANNED IN OKLAHOMA – this utterly haunting and brilliant film and disc is complemented by a full to the brim set of extras including commentary, isolated score, deleted scenes and more. Films don’t document the horrors of life as realistically or as bizarre as this film shows, but this is a true cineaste’s treasure. As are nearly all Criterion releases btw.

WALT DISNEY TREASURES – MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR Part 2

While not nearly the treasure that the previous two Mickey Mouse collections were, it is still quite something. In an odd way, perhaps my fave cartoon on this set is RUNAWAY BRAIN – if only because it is absolutely insane. When the psychotic deranged rape-fantasy-fueled Mickey goes after Minnie as the sexually limp Mickey is stuck in a giant’s monster-sized body… well the cartoon is UTTERLY DERANGED. But there’s tons of magic vintage thrills on this set. I love TUGBOAT MICKEY and THE NIFTY NINETIES… plus the Pluto toons on here rule. I love it when Pluto was on his more solo tail tales – as the story telling was pure animation minus the crutch of dialogue, and Pluto was a god!

WALT DISNEY TREASURES – ON THE FRONT LINES

This has been my most anticipated disc for ages. I’ve had it ordered since October and the concept that I’m less than a month away from possibly getting to see VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER is almost too much to be believed. I have many of the toons on this set on 16mm, as that was the only way to possess them up until now, and there’s many here that this will be the first chance in my life that I’ll ever be able to see them. I’m so utterly giddy to see these War Time Propaganda toons being treated as the jewels of history that they are, instead of being hid away in a vault of company fear. These toons cease to be mere entertainment, and are in actuality timeless important documents of history which forever molded and motivated the minds of their era. The single best release in May and very well the best release of 2004. It can not get to my house soon enough!

WALT DISNEY TREASURES – THE CHRONOLOGICAL DONALD, Vol 1 (1934-1941)

Some people are Mickey men, others still may be Goofy dudes, but I’ve always favored Donald. There’s something sublimely perfect about the ducks, be they black or white, they are always more than foul fowl, they’re human. They’re more textured with frailties and human sins… I love Donald Duck! And the little featurette about Clarence “Ducky” Nash is something I can’t wait for. I still remember seeing him go on Johnny Carson as a kid and seeing Donald’s voice escape that amazing throat of his and just gawk in wonder. It was the first time in my childhood that I realized that Cartoons live in all of us, we only need give voice to them.

WALT DISNEY TREASURES – TOMORROWLAND: DISNEY IN SPACE & BEYOND

OH – I can’t wait for this one too. The Tomorrowland features rule. In THE ANIMATION SHOW, you get a trippy as hell clip from “MARS AND BEYOND” but here you get the full length deal, plus MAN IN SPACE and MAN AND THE MOON! These discs about the dream of Disneyland and Epcot… and awakening the dreams and imaginations of a nation of future astronomers and astronauts… scientist and futurists… If only Disney was this cool today.

May 25, 2004

BUBBA HO-TEP

This DVD rules. It has a feature length Elvis voiced commentary by Bruce Campbell that might very well be the single greatest extra in the history of DVDs. It will make you weep laughing. It is done completely straight. Bruce plays it as though Elvis was watching this BUBBA HO-TEP for the very first time and didn’t entirely approve of what this Don Costarooney and Bruce Camtail have done with his image. I loved BUBBA HO-TEP… let Quint do endless coverage of the film on the site, but the film with commentary by Elvis Campbell is one of the greatest comedic works I’ve had a pleasure to enjoy. Fantastic.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER – THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON

Herc threatened to kill me if I didn’t put this on here, and Moriarty claims it is his favorite season. Personally, I’m partial to Season 4… of course that’s the only season I’ve seen. But Herc swears he’ll remedy that.

CUSTER OF THE WEST

This was originally supposed to be directed by Akira Kurosawa – who left the project right before filming, but many of his plans were used. Instead it was directed by Robert Siodmak (Curt’s bro) and I caught this film by accident a while back and was blown away. I had never heard that Robert “Quint” Shaw had played General George Armstrong Custer – and he’s brilliant. This is a beautiful widescreen forgotten epic, and when you see the Log Escape… you’ll know it when you see it… You’ll be in AWE… the scene is amazing! While watching it, I was constantly wondering… is this Kurosawa storyboards or Siodmak invention. Ultimately, who cares… the movie is wonderful and now it can be played whenever I want.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY ( Extended Version Collector’s Set)

If you haven’t seen the extended edition of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY on the big screen… I weep for you. My god, I got to see this stunning new edition at the Paramount Theater here in Austin in Digital sound and WOW. However, that was nothing to getting this DVD and watching the film in its original Italian Mono soundtrack as Leone originally intended and the documentaries. WOW – this DVD is truly epic. And I highly recommend putting on the subtitles and watching it in Italian… something so pure about that.

THE GREAT ESCAPE ( 2-Disc Collector’s Set )

One helluva great movie. Here the film is gorgeously digitally restored, but again… the documentaries on this set are great. All the work that went into recreating the real stalag was daunting. Watching the guys that REALLY worked on the escape talking about what really happened was amazing. Everything about this disc is glorious, much like THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY set. Great films given the great release they both deserve!

LADY OF BURLESQUE

Based on THE G-STRING MURDERS by famed Gypsy Rose Lee, this flick is a tame telling of that incredibly racy bit of fiction, but it is a really darn good film from an era when you couldn’t get much more adult. There’s a part of me that wishes I could send Tarantino back in time to adapt THE G-STRING MURDERS to the screen using 3-strip Technicolor and Barbara Stanwyck – as her performance in this is really great… but then she always was great.

LANCELOT OF THE LAKE

My favorite version of the Arthur legend is EXCALIBUR, but Bresson’s film is amazing in the way it strips the legend and myth away from allegory and fanciful nature of the Arthur tales. The result while interesting is a complete bore. Telling the “True” story about Arthur is incredibly stupid, it is MYTHOLOGY, FICTION, LEGEND. It is meant to soar above and beyond, to be about the dreams of heroes rather than the shallow reality that most are rapist and murders when the eyes turn away. Give me Boorman’s film or Richard Thorpe’s KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE any day of the week, rather than the “Truth” that this or any other “TRUE” version will attempt.

THE LEOPARD – Criterion Collection

Visconti gets his directing mitts on Burt Lancaster and won a Golden Palm at Cannes in 1963 for it. Not for all, but for those that love Visconti’s visions, this film is great. Lancaster gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as a Prince in a world that ceases to recognize such titles. Alan Delon is great as always and Claudia Cardinale is just always yummy and wonderful. I could watch static on screen and be fascinated if it had this Nina Rota score, and having Criterion restore this sucker is a treat!

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

One step closer to getting the Expanded Edition! I absolutely love this film. There really isn’t much more I can add to this, but I was talking to Tom Savini the other day and apparently he’s every bit as addicted to these films as the biggest geek out there. He claims he watches the films whilst clutching his reproduction of Aragorn’s Anduril and I’m just giddy at the thought of that. As I’m not quite man enough to wield Anduril, I watch whilst waving about STING! Hehehehe! God, I love being a geek!

ORGY OF THE DEAD

There’s something wickedly wonderful about sandwiching Ed Wood’s worst film (albeit he's just the screenwriter) between Peter Jackson’s masterpiece and Ingmar Bergman’s. The film was banned in Finland, and you have to wonder if that was for sexuality or a nation-wide critical protection to the eyes and ears of the Finnish people from having to endure this film. This is the sleazy flipside to Burton’s ED WOOD… the drug addled sex fetishist gone wild. This is ORGY OF THE DEAD, and you’ll be a different person after you survive it.

SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT – Criterion Collection

For everyone that thinks of Bergman as the guy that put Ming The Merciless in a chess game with The Grim Reaper… well, here’s the film to give you a completely different and wondrous side of a brilliant artist and filmmaker. This film is a joy. It is like the scent of a flowered hill in the morning or that feeling of the most comfy bed on that morning you just want to stretch and giggle with the one you love. This film is magic. DVD has an intro by Ingmar Bergman, commentary by the producer and more!

STRAY DOG – Criterion Collection

You think that all Kurosawa & Mifuni can do are Samurai Films? Here he does a great modern day thriller about a young Detective that lost his gun and is deeply ashamed and unhinged about it. Kinda like a certain character in MAGNOLIA… ahem. Here Kurosawa does Film Noir and my god does he know how to do it. A really great hot sweaty humid film to go with ANGEL HEART earlier in this list… in many ways a perfect double feature!

TO HELL AND BACK

Most people know Audie Murphy as the B-Movie Western Hero, but in real life… well he’s the sort of hero that gives todays modest heroes a bad name. The most decorated soldier of World War II, this movie is the story of his autobiography, where he plays himself some 13 years older. Like THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY from last month, this film uses the real life person reenacting the moments that made him a hero for the big screen. There’s something magic about that, something that makes you believe because you know that that’s Audie Murphy up there doing the things that Audie Murphy did against them dirty Nazis from Africa to Berlin! It’s not a great film, but a really good one.

WIZARDS

Everybody knows William Stout’s classic poster image for Ralph Bakshi’s Vaughn Bode inspired WIZARDS. This parody of Lord of the Rings is great… I remember seeing this a good 10 times at the Drive-In as a kid, and along with FRITZ THE CAT, AMERICAN POP and FIRE & ICE it’s my fave Bakshi film. Getting this on DVD is really great and the final treat to a great month of DVDs.

Holy shit that’s a lot of movies! If I could only recommend 3 titles from this month, they would be the Walt Disney Treasures: ON THE FRONT LINES, LADY SNOWBLOOD and PRINCE VALIANT – the best comic strip film ever made! Ahem. As always, feel free to drop me a note reminding me to do this each month, as we enter the Summer Movie season, and work on GHOST TOWN and PRINCESS OF MARS continues – I’ll need all the encouragement I can get – as time gets shorter and shorter for me.

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