Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

[wilder]

November 17, 2015

Jacques Becker's One Deadly Summer (1983) on blu-ray from Tanelorn Films



Isabelle Adjani stars in this tale of misunderstanding, obsession, and madness. Elaine, a beautiful young women settles into a small town in the south of France with her introverted mother and physically handicapped father.

Traumatized by her knowledge that her mother was raped by three Italian immigrants before she was born, Elaine thinks she's on a trail of vengeance when she's courted by a young garage mechanic (Alain Souchon), whose father, now dead, was an Italian immigrant who owned a mechanical piano, the only clue to the identity of her mother's aggressors. But as the story unfolds in Rashomon-like flashbacks and narrations, the tale becomes increasingly complex and leads inexorably to a stunning conclusion.

One Deadly Summer (1983) - Amazon

[wilder]

October 27, 2015

Abel Ferrara's Dangerous Game (1993) from Shout Factory



From the director of Bad Lieutenant comes this absorbing look at the dark side of Hollywood. Vividly raw and shocking, Dangerous Game stars two of today's most passionate and controversial performers: Harvey Keitel and Madonna. Although he's an experienced director, nothing can prepare Eddie Israel (Keitel) for what occurs on the set of his new project. Helming a film about an abusive marriage, Eddie gets incredibly real performances from his actors. But more horrifying than the scripted violence is the fact that the brutality begins to seep off the set and into real life. As Eddie becomes more involved with his production and, specifically, his leading lady (Madonna), he too becomes entangled in this terrifying trap — one where the fantasy world of his film becomes his haunting reality.

Dangerous Game (1993) - Amazon

[wilder]

Vinegar Syndrome's streaming service Exploitation.TV is live

[wilder]

November 24, 2015

Jacques Rivette's Out 1 (1971) on blu-ray from Carlotta US



Out 1 (1971) - Amazon

[wilder]

December 7, 2015

Andre De Toth's Day of the Outlaw (1959) from Masters of Cinema



Day of the Outlaw (1959) - Amazon UK

This film is a favorite of Martin Scorsese's...

It's [...] something like Antonioni making a Western—there's something in the landscapes, the staging, and the long takes that puts me in mind of Story of a Love Affair or L'Avventura.

[wilder]

December 7, 2015

Elaine May's A New Leaf (1971) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema



The great Walter Matthau stars as Henry, a once-rich playboy who has obliviously spent his entire inheritance. Desperate to marry into further financial support, he meets Henrietta (Elaine May), a shy, awkward, though independently wealthy botany professor. What follows is a giddy tale of dubious legal advice, ruthless skullduggery and ferns.   

A New Leaf (1971) - Amazon UK

[wilder]

April 5, 2016

John S. Rad's Dangerous Men (2005) on blu-ray from Drafthouse



Dangerous Men (2005) - Amazon

The fanatical brainchild of Iranian polymath John Rad, Dangerous Men is a passion project that remained in obsessive production for nearly two decades before finally debuted in Californian theaters in 2005. An unflappably prodigious creative force, Rad handled much of the technical duties of the film, appearing multiple times in the film's credits as the director, writer, location scout, producer, executive producer, and more.

Despite initially languishing at the box office during its limited theatrical release, and never finding a likeminded audience before Rad's untimely death in 2007, Dangerous Men developed a devoted following before vanishing as mysteriously as it appeared. Chief among them was Hadrian Belove, of the independent Los Angeles theater The Cinefamily, who saw the film multiple times during its brief theatrical run, and alerted Drafthouse Films and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema programming teams to the existence of the film. Working with the late artist's family, the team worked tirelessly alongside the American Genre Film Institute to locate and restore the original film.

"It took us almost three and a half years of continuous begging, pleading and debasement before John Rad's family agreed to license us the film," said Drafthouse COO James Emanuel Shapiro. "It was well worth it! We are immensely proud that we've carved out our own niche of mind-shredding repertory releases and beyond thrilled to unleash what should very much be considered the Holy Grail of Holy F*cking Sh#t on audiences worldwide!"

[wilder]

December 8, 2015

Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935) on blu-ray from Synapse



The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.

Triumph of the Will (1935) - Amazon

[wilder]

January 19, 2015

Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory (1976) on blu-ray from Twilight Time

Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973) on blu-ray from Twilight Time

[wilder]

October 19, 2015

Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) on blu-ray from Russ Meyer Films



Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) - Russ Meyer Films

[jenkins]

so it must be that it's somehow advantageous that he distributes his own movies, i think it's because he gets all the money back to him absolutely, but i think him and Frederick Wiseman should let out their riches and any artist decision that impedes the audience isn't worth it, ultimately, i don't think, but also we just need someone to buy them like what happened with Disney and Star Wars hey listen, my question here is does it come out on October 19, 2015 and there isn't a listed price? omg how many dollars is it? is at $30? if it's more than $30 what. ever.

i might not be looking at this page right, i'm wondering about the price. talking with people who remember how expensive laserdiscs were is always fun. good chat and thanks.

[wilder]

Blog update on the 4K restoration of Jeff Lieberman's Blue Sunshine (1978) for blu-ray

It has been screened in Brooklyn at Nitehawk Cinema, and upstate NY at Proctor’s Theater and is headed out west in November for its LA premiere at Cinefamily.

[wilder]

December 2015 TBD

Roman Polanski's Che? (1972) on blu-ray from Koch Media (Germany)




NSFW

[wilder]

February 23, 2016

Eric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach (1983) from Kino

[wilder]

November 3, 2015

Ulli Lommel's Tenderness of the Wolves (1973) on blu-ray from Arrow USA



This dark horror film from director Ulli Lommel was based on the real-life crimes of Fritz Haarman (Kurt Raab), the so-called "Vampire of Dusseldorf" who murdered over 25 young boys, drank their blood, and sold their flesh as black-market meat. Several German films had depicted Haarman's murderous exploits, most notably Fritz Lang's classic M (1931), but Lommel's version is far more graphic and horrifying. Produced by filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who also appears, the film revels in pseudo-Expressionistic imagery which sears itself into the viewer's mind. Raab's performance is reminiscent of both Peter Lorre in M and Max Schreck in the vampire classic Nosferatu (1922), but is unforgettable in its own right. A deeply disturbing cinematic poem about the face of true evil.

Tenderness of the Wolves (1973) - Amazon


According to this thread, it sounds like the on-set relationship between Lommel and Fassbinder was similar to Hooper/Spielberg on Poltergeist