Pop Watch

Ah, to heck with films. Time for some foot-stomppingly (or, alternatively, heart-tuggingly) good pop music, starting with...

No Good Advice - Girls Aloud

For being the most snarlingly self-righteous statement of wilful indolence by a girl group, like, ever. And for appropriating My Sherona's guitar riffs so shamelessly and to such riotously fun effect.

DVD Viewing Experience #4: 'Mute Witness' (Waller,1995)

A B-movie to die for, Mute Witness is teriffic fun in spite of its dubious plot devices and implausible scenarios. It has an easy, dark humour (and yes, I even laughed when the killer - besmeared with blood and entrails - pleads 'I can explain everything') and Marina Zudina gives a capable perf as the titular mute, making a charismatic character without the assistance of dialogue. Although given the hackneyed bilge that issues forth from the supporting actors perhaps the silence is less of a handicap than one might imagine...

Anyway despite the subject matter (snuff tapes) and the grisly murder itself, this is surprisingly jovial entertainment - lots of running around and exaggerated facial expressions (courtesy of Fay Ripley, making a less than auspicious debut). And the estimable Alec Guiness even turns up for an ultra-brief cameo as the ominously named 'The Reaper' - although, as this screencap hopefully will attest to, he looks far too innocent to be involved in Moscow's criminal underbelly.
The UK DVD is barebones but otherwise passable.

DVD Viewing Experience #3: 'The Damned' (Vischonti, 1969)

Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it: I hoped for a trashy spectacle but, oh dear, I got an almost unwatchable surfeit of melodrama and perversion (not that I have the slightest problem with films that deal in either; the quantity is the issue). By the end I felt nauseatingly overindulged; it's as if the film, knowing it can't match the joyously camp histrionics of the opening act (drag performance, screaming over the dinner table, illicit sex, murder, escape from the Gestapo etc.) , simply heaps on the grotesqueries until you simply want to beg for mercy. Hellish photography and over-ripe acting (exc. the lovely Charlotte Rampling) make this feel like 'Dynasty' on acid... only without the comic relief and the shoulder pads. And it lasts for an interminable two and a half hours!

Warner's UK DVD has a good(ish) transfer: nice colours but problems with damage and a slightly unstable print. The mono audio track is dire, I had to keep my TV's volume on full and flick on the subtitles from time to time simply to figure out what was being said (unwise: the dialogue is sublimely pompous).

DVD Viewing Experience #2: 'Deliverance' (Boorman, 1971)

Again... tricky. As a parable on man's fundamental inhumanity and as a demonstration of his survival instinct the film certainly packs a punch (or two). I'm eager to re-view it in the near future but for the moment it left me somewhat cold: it's lean filmmaking at its finest, but at times I yearned for a little excess. Still, kudos to Burt Reynolds for his self-critical performance as the gruff survivalist who's ultimately no match for the tumult of the rapids, and I was pleased to finally see Jon Voight deliver a perf that didn't irritate the heck out of me.

Warner's UK DVD is fine (albeit vanilla - dropping the extras from the R1 equivalent): the video transfer looks pretty impressive and the sound broods masterfully.

DVD Viewing Experience #1: 'My Own Private Idaho' (Van Sant, 1991)

Hmm... not sure what to make of this one: evocative cinematography and delicately observed performances but the grafting of Shakespearian verse onto the characters’ dialogue hurts the film (but then again I’ve always hated Henry IV parts I and II). A little meandering, perhaps? And without that show-stopping campfire scene (is it humanly possible not to want to leap into the screen to console a crestfallen River Phoenix?) would the film’s sense of emotion be severely impeded?

The UK DVD (released by the always dubious EIV) appears to be a port of the Criterion edition, although it lacks the superior cover artwork and the booklet. Not sure about the transfer: seems slightly softer than the Criterion - on the evidence of screencaps from DVD Beaver - and there might be some digital artefacting too. The extras are comprehensive but a little dull: everyone seems so bereft and careworn it’s downright depressing to watch them.

Must-See TV

Dark Season (1991) - for Kate Winslet's first acting job.
Maid Marian and Her Merry Men (1989-1994) - nostalgia, of course.
The Demon Headmaster (1996-1998) - "
This Life (1996-1998) - because I yearn to see these creeps in all their warty glory.

The Double Life of Veronique

The French DVD arrives on February 22nd, and...

...it includes English subtitles on both discs.

Choices, Choices

Although none of my current order has been despatched yet (fingers crossed for tomorrow) I'm still debating as to which of these two I should procure as a last minute addition to aforesaid selection.







Death in a French Garden or My Summer of Love?

See what DVDs do to you? Feeling more and more like a magpie.

Processing

C'mon Play, I made the orders at about 12:00 AM today; how can you still be processing them?

Exorbitant DVD expenditure - read all about it!

Well, having saved my hard earned pennies for quite long enough, I've decided it's time to indulge myself. I don't know why but I've always found DVD purchasing to be a rather stressful enterprise. Firstly there's the fretting over what titles to select: do you abrogate all pretence of being 'high-brow' and purchase something that's flimsy but fun, or feebly attempt to broaden your cinematic horizons by buying some indigestibly nonsensical art-house extravaganza? Then there's the interminable hours spent waiting for the discs to cascade through my letterbox (ok, it's not quite that agonising) and the ultimate suspense as to whether I'll even enjoy the wretched film.

In any case the always cost-effective Play.com offered some rather delectable choices...

On a scale of snobbery, from the High(ish) qualilty...

Because... River Phoenix (plus I need to be more au fait with New Queer Cinema)

...to the medium (how pseudy a cinephile am I?)...

Because I'm having cravings for the '70s.

...to the pretty low

Because decadence can... well, I dunno actually, but the film looks deliriously trashy and I need to see some Visconti.

Because everyone needs a thrill now and again.

Testing (part deux)

Now am I truly the only person in the room looking who's forward to this?

Testing

(Just to be on the safe side, of course)