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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
Blue Velvet (1986): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! The Criterion Collection upgrades their 2019 Blu-ray to 4K UHD with a new restoration (Blu-ray included). Buy Blue Velvet.
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint (2023): Discussion begins. An Argentinian woman stages a fake miracle, but real miracles (or at least, inexplicable events) soon follow. A well-reviewed magical realist feature with comedy elements. Chronicles of a Wandering Saint official site.
Family Portrait (2023): Discussion begins. A daughter attempts to gather her large family for a family portrait, but the mother has disappeared. A minimalist tale told in a festival-ready experimental style, with an uncomfortable soundtrack full of anxious drones and whispers. Family Portrait official site.
“The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1”: Discussion begins. These seven discs from Severin thoroughly cover the 1970s “Brucesploitation” phenomenon: movies released with stars like Bruce Li and Bruce Lai, trying to trick people into thinking they were lost films from the recently deceased Bruce Lee. Notably, the set includes the wild The Dragon Lives Again (1977), where Bruce goes to hell and joins with Popeye the Sailor (!) to fight Dracula and others! Buy “The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1.”
L’Important C’est d’Aimer [The Important Thing Is to Love; That Most important Thing Love] (1975): Discussion begins. Read El Rob Hubbard’s review. This is, we believe, the first North American Blu-ray release of Andrzej Zulawski‘s intense melodrama, with an interview with director and an essay booklet as extras. Buy L’Important C’est d’Aimer.
“The Machine Girl Chronicles”: Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review of the original Machine Girl. This 2-disc Blu-ray brings together both absurd, gory, ass-kicking stories about the girl with the machine gun arm. Buy “The Machine Girl Chronicles.”
“Ozon’s Transgressive Triple”: Discussion begins. This François Ozon set includes the Teorema-variation Sitcom, “Handel & Gretel” takeoff Criminal Lovers, and Water Drops on Burning Rocks, a gay May-December romance. Buy “Ozon’s Transgressive Triple.”
Riddle of Fire (2023): Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The fun, child’s-eye fairy tale about three kids’ quest to a retrieve a speckled egg from a coven of witches arrives on Blu-ray with a director’s commentary and cast interviews among the extras. Buy Riddle of Fire.
Spider Baby (2024): Discussion begins. A fairly straightforward-looking low-budget remake of the Canonically Weird original, with Beverly Washburn along for the ride (and original director Jack Hill producing). The best news is that this Blu-ray includes the original as a bonus feature (the bonus and main features should probably be swapped, but nomenclature aside, it’s the best excuse to buy this disc). Buy Spider Baby.
The Vourdalak (2023): Discussion begins. A 19th-century French emissary finds stranded in a cabin in the woods, unknowingly awaiting the return of a vourdalak (an Eastern European vampire variant). Adapted from a Tolstoy novel, a couple of early reviews used the word “bizarre,” as well as hinting at the welcome presence of… puppets. No official site, though.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
There will be no Pod 366 next week (despite Greg incorrectly announcing one in this week’s episode) due to Independence Day celebrations. In written reviews, Shane Wilson tells you about India’s housefly revenge story Eega (2012); Giles Edwards braves The Vourdalak (see above); and Gregory J. Smalley hopes to venture out into theaters to catch Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Kinds of Kindness. Onward and weirdward!