Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
All My Heart’s Desires, A Feminine Film Concerning Phantoms and Beasts (est. 2014): Savage Witches‘ Clara Pais and Daniel Fawcett have announced their next project. All they’re saying is that the “story is based on dreams and draws heavily upon mythology and folk tales and could be described as a mystical melodrama,” and that it’s being shot in Portugal. They’re also recruiting cast and crew, so if you’re in the Porto area and have acting or filmmaking experience drop them a line. All My Heart’s Desires announcement.
NEW ON DVD:
7E (2013): A man takes a job as caretaker for a traumatized woman convalescing an apartment with the same number as the one in Rosemary’s Baby; weird stuff happens. The only review we found of this one was from a user on IMDB who said “it’s as if they asked the crazy fellow who talks to himself on the park bench to write a story, then they made a film.” Buy 7E
Berberian Sound Studio (2012): A neurotic British sound engineer used to working on quiet nature documentaries goes mad when he takes an assignment designing the audio for a 1970s Italian horror film. It seems like we’ve been waiting forever for this reader-suggested festival hit to release on DVD in the U.S. Buy Berberian Sound Studio
“Bleach, DVD Set 19, Episodes 268-279”: This long-running cult anime series involves a teenage boy who can see ghosts and a complicated mythology about the afterlife. We might have passed on mentioning this one, but it gets extra points from us because the show, which finished in 2012, runs for exactly 366 episodes. Buy “Bleach, Set 19”
“Cult Movie Marathon, Vol. 2” (Savage Island, Chatterbox, The Naked Cage & Angels from Hell): This set boasts two women-in-prison movies and one biker flick, but the real curiosity here is 1977’s Chatterbox, a softcore porn comedy about a woman with a talking vagina. Chatterbox is a remake of a French hardcore sex film from 1975 called Pussy Talk, which itself claimed to be an adaptation of Denis Diderot’s 1748 political satire “The Indiscreet Jewels.” Buy “Cult Movie Marathon, Vol. 2”
“Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project”: See description in DVD below.
The Rooftop (2013): It looks like just your average ultra-stylized Taiwanese kung-fu romantic comedy musical, but the Los Angeles Times‘ Robert Adele warns “its tonal eccentricities [are] sure to wear out even the most dedicated connoisseur of silly cinema.” He’s never encountered dedication to eccentricity like we have here. Buy The Rooftop
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet (2012): At a viewing of a video will of an experimental theater director, the assembled actors spontaneously begin re-enacting an old play. Made when he was ninety years old, director Alain (Last Year at Marienbad) Resnais isn’t slowing down, or losing his will to try new things. Buy You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Grey Gardens (1975): Cult documentary about two eccentric female relations of Jackie Onassis who became recluses and lost touch with the outside world (and with reality) at the decaying titular estate. This Criterion Collection Blu-ray upgrade also includes The Beales of Grey Gardens, a followup feature made out of footage left over from the first film. Buy Grey Gardens [Criterion Collection Blu-ray]
“Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project”: A six film collection (Touki Bouki, Redes, A River Called Titas, Dry Summer, Trances, The Housemaid) with no obvious connection between them except that they are made outside of the U.S. or Western Europe and Martin Scorsese thinks they are underseen. The title we’re interested in is Touki Bouki, a 1973 Senegalese road movie described as “Africa’s first avant garde film,” but we don’t really see why we should have to buy five random movies we don’t care about to see it. This is a Blu-ray/DVD dual format release. Buy “Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project” [DVD/Blu-ray]
Post Tenebras Lux (2012): From Mexico comes this kaleidoscopic, non-linear portrait of a family in crisis that looks a bit like a Mexican Tree of Life. Shoot, we’ve been meaning to review this since the DVD came out back in August. Buy Post Tenebras Lux [Blu-ray]
The Rooftop (2013): See description in DVD below. Buy The Rooftop [Blu-ray]
RECONSTRUCTION:
The Dark Crystal (1982): Read our review of the original cut of Dark Crystal. This one doesn’t fit into any of our usual categories. It’s an unauthorized fan-made reconstruction of Jim Henson‘s original cut of The Dark Crystal, with deleted scenes spliced in from DVD extras and from a black and white work print someone discovered on an old VHS tape. The original cut had no narration or voiceover monologues and tested poorly with audiences; according to one commentator this version was “darker, weirder, and trippier” than what eventually made it on screen. The studio sent this cut back to the editing bay to add narration and commentary to clear things up for easily bewildered suburban audiences who were looking for a Muppets-style adventure instead of an experimental puppet fantasy. Thanks to L. Rob Hubbard for the find. Mental Floss has the story, video and an interview with Christopher Orgeron, the fan responsible for the reconstruction.
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.