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Discussed in this episode:
An Evening Song (for Three Voices) (2023): Read Giles Edwards’ review. Graham Swon’s dreamlike experimental drama about two writers and their scarred maid in the 1930s just finished a token theatrical run; we expect it on VOD soon, and will let you know when that happens. An Evening Song (for Three Voices) official site.
The Day the Clown Cried: Swedish TV channel SVT announced this week that an employee of the company that co-produced Jerry Lewis’ The Day the Clown Cried illegally copied reels from the workprint film onto VHS tape in the 1980s. You can view a clip from the interview (in Swedish) announcing the discovery (and including some very short background snippets as proof) at their site; scroll to the second video at the bottom of the page for the English captioned version. There’s also this article at “Icon” (in Swedish). On the off chance you don’t know what this is about or why it’s a big deal: in the early 1970s slapstick comedian Jerry Lewis made a sincerely intended drama movie about a clown who is sentenced to a concentration camp where he entertains children before they die. At first Lewis was enormously proud of this anti-Holocaust statement, but when he previewed the dailies to some friends the reaction was, shall we say, not encouraging (Harry Shearer was quoted as saying “This movie is so drastically wrong, its pathos and its comedy are so wildly misplaced, that you could not, in your fantasy of what it might be like, improve on what it really is.”). Lewis (and the screenwriter) shelved the movie and insisted that it would never be released; he relented late in life and donated some incomplete footage to the Library of Congress, with stipulations that it could not be shared until June 2024, and even then could only be publicly screened with permission from his estate. The difference here is that this is apparently a relatively complete workprint that could theoretically be restored and released, although only in an unofficial, unsanctioned underground version.
“House of Psychotic Women: Rarities Collection Vol. 2”: The four movies in this femme-forward set are thrillers Butterfly Kiss (1994) and The Glass Ceiling (1971), “dramatized documentary” The Savage Eye (1959), and, most excitingly to us, Juraj Herz‘ Gothic melodrama Morgiana (1972). The set includes hours of special features including 7 short films, one of which is a made-for-TV vampire musical by Herz! Buy “House of Psychotic Women: Rarities Collection Vol. 2”.
In My Skin (2002): Read Pamela de Graff’s review. This unexpectedly lavish UHD/Blu-ray edition of the auto-cannibalism shocker advertises 7 hours (!) of special features, including 4 short films from director Marina de Van. Buy In My Skin.
Queer (2024): Luca Guadagnino‘s adaptation of William S. Burroughs‘ 1985 novella of the same name. It’s our reader-suggested queue (and will soon be out of that closet). Buy Queer.
Rats! (2024): Read Giles Edwards’ festival mention. Soon-to-be cult comedy now on Blu-ray, with an orgasm-themed set of special features. Buy Rats!
“Something Weird” streaming: The independent streaming channel “Cultpix” struck a deal to acquire the (complete?) Something Weird catalog for streaming, meaning the works of pre-70s exploitation auteurs like Doris Wishman (among others) will migrate there. Be aware Cultpix includes (vintage) porn and is 18+ only. Visit Cultpix.