When November and December roll around, we rush to catch up on all the weird stuff you may have missed in 2011. To that end, we’ll be looking at another quartet of new releases this upcoming week, starting off with this sick ‘n weird patricide pic Father’s Day (2011). Next we’ll check out what happens when Nazi action figures led by Hitler in an evening gown invade London in the animated alternate history comedy Jackboots on Whitehall (2010), then ogle Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010), an exploitation doc/clip show in the American Grindhouse vein, but focused on WTF Filipino flicks of the 1970s. And just to remind you that “new release” doesn’t always mean something made in the last year or two, Alfred Eaker will give you the skinny on Warner Archive’s long-awaited DVD-R of Erich von Stroheim’s classic silent melodrama The Merry Widow (1925).
We are distressed at the deadening normality of the search terms that passed through our server logs this week. We are contractually obligated to pick a Weirdest Search Term of the Week, however, so we will do our best with what we have. A search for “hitler magic porno video” might look weird if you’re running a website devoted to pictures of cute kitties in baseball caps, but for us it’s just par for the course: if there actually were Hitler magic porno videos, we like to think we would be the ones covering them. A little bit weirder is “hollywood old movies black and white village saxy shat”: again, if such films only existed, we would be the ones bringing you the old Hollywood movies with the saxiest shat. We’ll go in a different direction and give this week’s Weirdest award to “seeex aanal poooorn.” The suggestion that more vowels = hotter pr0n search results is bizarre enough to squeak by in a weak field.
We’re neglecting covering titles in the vast reader-suggested review queue, but you guys haven’t slowed down making your suggestions, meaning the list is growing to truly embarrassing proportions. Check it out and see what we’re talking about: Kairo [AKA Pulse];The American Astronaut; Blood Tea and Red Strings; The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. II (for Lucifer Rising, Continue reading WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE→
“Snowballs” is evidently the more bizarre of Harmony Korine’s two shorts sponsored by the designer brand Proenza Schouler. (The previous Korine short in the series, “Act da Fool,” is also available on YouTube.) “Snowballs” features two characters in Native American inspired clothing, and, not surprisingly, white trash.
CONTENT WARNING: This short contains some profanity.
A 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 THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Melancholia (2011): Lars von Trier‘s latest is a metaphorical, apocalyptic sci-fi drama; a planet (called Melancholia) is set to collide with Earth on a woman’s wedding day. Kirsten Dunst walked away from the Cannes with Best Actress honors; Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt round out the fine cast. Melancholia official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Dueling Snow White’s: It looks like the story of 2012 will be the Snow White sweepstakes, as it has just come to our notice (why are we always the last ones to hear?) that there are two reimaginings of the fairy tale scheduled to battle it out next year. Relativity Media/Studio Canal’s “Untitled Snow White Project,” which we reported on a few weeks ago, now has a title (Mirror, Mirror), and it will reach theaters in March 2012. The higher profile offering is Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman (from the producers of Alice in Wonderland), starring Kristen Stewart as White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. Huntsman has an effects-heavy trailer and looks to be another revisionist/feminist/video game styled action/fantasy; it’s slated for a summertime opening. Our cynical guess is that both fairy-flicks will be underwhelming, but if we have to pick one as more promising than the other, we’ll stick with Mirror, Mirror. We find an aging Julia Roberts a more intriguing Queen than an aging Charlize Theron. Director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) is a proven commodity vs. first time helmer Rupert Sanders (who comes from the world of television commercials). But the most important factor in Mirror, Mirror‘s favor is that it is not from the producers of Alice in Wonderland. Mirror, Mirror on Facebook / Snow White and the Huntsman official page.
NEW ON DVD:
1 in the Gun (2010): Direct-to-DVD erotic neo-noir sees a homeless artist hired to paint a trophy wife’s home, followed by lots of twists and (per the promo material) “David Lynch-style surrealism.” The director has been quietly busy directing a series of softcore movies reviving the old Emmanuelle franchise, including Emmanuelle vs. Dracula and the upcoming Emmanuelle in Wonderland! Buy 1 in the Gun.
In a Glass Cage [Tras el Cristal] (1987): A former Nazi pedophile now confined to an iron lung finds himself at the mercy of a young caretaker. Shocking stuff when it was released, and definitely not for anyone who can’t stand to see children in jeopardy. The bonus disc includes interviews with director Agusti Villaronga and three of his early experimental short films. Buy In a Glass Cage (2 Disc Special Edition).
Skeleton Key 3: The Organ Trail (2011): It’s hard to say exactly what caught our interest about this third microbudget horror-comedy sequel to a movie we’d never heard of before, but it probably had something to do with this odd promotional copy: “Can you handle naked bodies bouncing through every scene? Can YOU! HANDLE! A French puppet?” Plus, it has a cameo from Lloyd Kaufman, and he’s never loaned his presence to any flick that wasn’t of the absolute highest quality—has he? Buy Skeleton Key 3: The Organ Trail.
The Sleeping Beauty (2010): Catherine Breillat takes her second stab at adapting a classic fairy tale with modern feminist sensibilities (after the strangely muted, very slightly weird Bluebeard). Much of the narrative here takes place in Beauty’s dreams as she slumbers and encounters dream ogres and dwarfs, giving rise to hopes of more surrealistic imagery this time out. This French offering is not to be confused with Australian Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty (2011), starring Emily Browning. Buy The Sleeping Beauty.
ThanksKilling (2009): Read our capsule review. We have no idea what happened to the previous DVD version of ThanksKilling, or how this disc differs, but here’s a new release of this heartwarming gore classic, just in time for Turkey Day. Buy ThanksKilling.
Blue Velvet (1986): When young Jefferey discovers a severed ear in the grass, the search for its owner leads him on a voyage where he will discover the dark side of small town America, and of himself, in this nightmarish mystery that ranks as one of David Lynch‘s best. Blue Velvet on Blu-ray, now there’s a match made in weird heaven. Buy Blue Velvet [Blu-ray].
Fanny and Alexander (1982): Semi-autobiographical drama from sometimes weird director Ingmar Bergman about a boy who grows unhappy when his widowed mother re-marries a stern bishop. Though it’s perhaps not the Swedish director’s weirdest, there are fantasy elements, a nephew who is a woman, and blurred realities. The Criterion Collection fits the five hour television cut, the three hour theatrical cut, and a host of extras on 3 Blu-rays (which are currently cheaper to purchase than the 5 disc DVD set). Buy Fanny and Alexander [The Criterion Collection Blu-ray].
The Fisher King (1991): Terry Gilliam pic about a homeless man (Robin Williams) who believes he’s a medieval knight errant searching for the Holy Grail doesn’t reach the bizarrist heights of the director’s Imagination Trilogy, but there are some inspired flights of fantasy mixed in with the drama (the waltz in Grand Central Station is magical). Somehow bargain bin releaser Image Entertainment obtained the rights to this, which means no special features (as a trade-off, the price is rock bottom). Buy The Fisher King [Blu-ray].
Frankenhooker (1990): Frank Henenlotter‘s tale about a man who rebuilds his decapitated fiancée using body parts from Times Square hookers, inventing supercrack in the process, is a bad taste comedy classic. A very elaborate release from Synapse featuring a restored print; all that’s missing is a button on the cover that says “wanna date?” when you press it. Buy Frankenhooker [Blu-ray].
1932’s The Island of Lost Souls is the first of three cinematic adaptations of H.G. Wells “The Island of Dr.Moreau.” It is easily the best, although the 1997 attempt with Marlon Brando was not the disaster some critics claimed, and in fact was considerably better than the static, unimaginative 1977 version with Burt Lancaster.
The 1932 Island, directed by Erle C. Kenton, is rightly considered a classic, enough so that it has received the Criterion treatment for a 2011 release. This is Kenton’s sole classic. Although he was a prolific director, he was essentially a journeyman, taking whatever was handed to him and usually injecting little style. His other horror films for Universal were The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942), The House Of Frankenstein (1944), and The House Of Dracula (1945), and they are all second rate, at best.
Island of Lost Souls deviates from the original story (which, predictably, prompted H.G. Wells to voice his disapproval), but the film is simply told. Like 1932’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Island is a pre-Hayes code film, and it shows. Of course, both films were taken from literary sources, and that too is apparent. Lost Souls‘ literacy is due to screenwriter Philip Wylie, who also adapted Wells for James Whale‘s The Invisible Man (1933). The inimitable Charles Laughton, one of the great classic screen actors, plays Dr. Moreua with a classicist’s relish. Laughton is one of the major reasons for this film’s success, and as director Kenton shows atypical subtlety. These factors, combined with well-crafted sets and make-up, add up to a striking milieu.
Island is almost an old-dark-house genre film, except that the stranded visitor, Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) ends up in a sort of kinky, contemporary Eden. God is present in the symbolic persona of Dr. Moreau and although he is the antagonist, he is a three-dimensional one. He is intelligent, crafty, and that naughty twinkle in the divine eye is ever present. God is creating again, although this time he’s attempting to correct his previous mistake by making man from the image of Eden’s animals. Eve (a Wylie addition) appears in the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke, who notably showed up in the following year’s pre-Code Murders in the Zoo). Lota, AKA Panther Girl, alternately projects innocence and unbridled sexuality, and she is utilized by Moreau to usher forth a new Adamic age, with Parker as the new Adam. Of course, in every Eden there’s a rotten apple or two, and here it’s Parker’s abroad girlfriend (Leila Hyams, from Freaks) and the Beast Men, Moreau’s ungrateful children who hold a grudge against their creator for little things like torture, brutality, and vivisection. The Beast Men are led by the Sayer of the Law (Bela Lugosi, who is well-directed). The Sayer calls the creator out for hypocrisy and original sin. The Beast Men are well sketched here, which is a sharp contrast to the mere animalistic portraits drawn in subsequent versions. The finale is natural jolt, so much so that no other celluloid interpretation of the tale can match it. This lucidly told imaginative spin on Dr. Frankenstein’s Eden still holds up remarkably well.
As for the Criterion treatment, most welcome authoritative commentary is given by historians Gregory Mank and David J. Skall, along with filmmaker Richard Stanley (the original director of the 1997 version, who was replaced by John Frankenheimer). Stanley offers entertaining, honest insight. A little less welcome are reflections by John Landis and Devo. Production stills and the theatrical trailer are excellent supplements. This is a superb release that is essential for classic film lovers.
AKA Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège; Zero for Conduct
DIRECTED BY: Jean Vigo
FEATURING: Delphin, Jean Dasté, Louis Lefebvre, Gilbert Pruchon, Coco Golstein,Gérard de Bédarieux
PLOT: Schoolboys stage a revolt at a French boarding school.
WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE LIST: Zéro de conduite is an important historical film. It founded the boarding school subgenre, creating a template used by Francois Truffaut (The 400 Blows) and more weirdly by Lindsay Anderson (If…) With its dwarf headmaster, disappearing balls and drawings that come to life, the film is as playful and experimental as a mock rebellion staged by schoolboys before Sunday dinner. Its mildly surreal oddness nudges the needle on the weirdometer, but, despite its near-legendary status, it’s not thoroughly strange enough to make its way onto the List on the first ballot.
COMMENTS: Jean Vigo’s extraordinary backstory is almost as fascinating as his films. The son of an anarchist who died in prison, the auteur left a tiny (about three hours’ worth of film) but extremely impressive body of work before succumbing to tuberculosis, the age-old nemesis of romantic poets, at the age of 29. Adding to his mythological stature is the possibility that he may have contributed to his own demise by laboring on his final film up until his last moments, instead of getting much needed bed rest; he may have actually worked himself to death, literally giving his life for his art.
By banning Zéro de conduite, the director’s film about an imaginary rebellion in a boys’ boarding school, for thirteen years, the French censors only augmented Vigo’s legend. From the perspective of patrons who are used to seeing political leaders openly mocked and clitorises graphically snipped off in movie theaters as they munch on popcorn, the idea of a movie with only a single “merde!’ and no violence, fetal rape, human centipedes, or even an obvious political target would be banned for over a decade is almost unimaginable. The film contains hardly audible whispers of schoolboy homosexuality, but it was suppressed not for these but for its “anti-French spirit” and “praise of indiscipline.” Vigo’s anarchic, anti-authoritarian philosophy, which pervades the film’s 44 minute running time, was too hot and subversive for 1933 sensibilities.
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Island is almost an old-dark-house genre film, except that the stranded visitor, Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) ends up in a sort of kinky, contemporary Eden. God is present in the symbolic persona of Dr. Moreau and although he is the antagonist, he is a three-dimensional one. He is intelligent, crafty, and that naughty twinkle in the divine eye is ever present. God is creating again, although this time he’s attempting to correct his previous mistake by making man from the image of Eden’s animals. Eve (a Wylie addition) appears in the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke, who notably showed up in the following year’s pre-Code Murders in the Zoo). Lota, AKA Panther Girl, alternately projects innocence and unbridled sexuality, and she is utilized by Moreau to usher forth a new Adamic age, with Parker as the new Adam. Of course, in every Eden there’s a rotten apple or two, and here it’s Parker’s abroad girlfriend (
