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Audio only link (Soundcloud download)
Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
Dances with Films Festival Homepage. Discussion begins.
Robot Monster Conquers New York. Discussion begins.
The Falls (1980)/A Zed and Two Noughts (1985): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entries for The Falls and A Zed and Two Noughts! An exceedingly rare event: a double feature Blu-ray release of two canonically weird movies (both from the estimable Peter Greenaway) in a single package! Falls is an experimental mockumentary about survivors of a Violent Unexplained Event, while Zed explores the death-obsession of twin zoologists. Buy The Falls/A Zed and Two Noughts.
“I’m a Virgo” (2023): Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Boots Riley‘s absurdist series about a 13-foot tall black man, a real life superhero, and much more debuts on Amazon Prime today, and is sure to be the weird hit of this Tall Man Summer. Watch “I’m a Virgo” (Amazon Prime subscription required).
The Servant (1963): Discussion begins. Joseph Losey directs a sinister Dirk Bogarde in this ambiguous Harold Pinter-penned mystery/drama about a servant who gradually switches places with his master. A servant-masterpiece, and a new (and highly on-brand) addition to the Criterion Collection. Buy The Servant.
Skinarmarink (2022): Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s capsule review. Shudder’s minimalist haunted house movie shoes up on Blu-ray (and non-subscription VOD) this week. Buy Skinarmarink.
Tales from the Gimli Hospital (1988): Discussion begins. Read Alfred Eaker’s List Candidate review. Guy Maddin‘s debut, set in a remote Canadian fishing village, established his nostalgic aesthetics and absurdist humor. Now finally restored on Blu-ray. Buy Tales from the Gimli Hospital.
Vanilla Sky (2001): Discussion begins. Read ‘s review. The Tom Cruise-led remake of Open Your Eyes [Abre los ojos] is the rare successful Hollywood remake of an overseas work of speculative fiction, now on 4K UHD (standard Blu-ray also included). Buy Vanilla Sky.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
Gregory J. Smalley and Giles Edwards will be back next week with another Pod 366: no guest to announce, but there could always be a last minute addition.
In written reviews, El Rob Hubbard binges Season 1 of Alex de la Iglesia‘s apocalyptic “30 Coins” (ahead of fall 2023’s Season 2), Shane Wilson considers the short animated Canadian films of Paul Dreissen (with an emphasis on “The End of the World in Four Seasons”), Rafael Moreira recommends Jean Epstein’s Fall of the House of Usher (1922), and Gregory J. Smalley observes Unidentified Objects (2022). Onward and weirdward!
The “Tales from the Gimli Hospital REDUX” is, in fact, a re-edit of the theatrical release – if only a slight one. At approximately 14:30 in, a scene that featured a quarantined minstrel (Kyle McCulloch in blackface) along with Gunnar and Einar was edited out, and replaced with a Maddin short called “Hospital Fragment”, not previously included in the film. A handful of other shots of the Minstrel character were also cut for this release, resulting in a slightly shorter runtime than the original theatrical cut.
Thanks for that info Thomas!