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Audio only link (Soundcloud download)
Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
Angel’s Egg New York City screening: Discussion begins. Read Simon Hyslop’s review of Angel’s Egg. Mamoru Oshii‘s surreal, almost wordless anime fantasia gets a rare screening on September 10, with two sessions, lead artist Yoshitaka Amano in attendance (as part of a Amano retrospective) at both. Normally, we would speculate that a rare revival like this might herald an upcoming re-release of this fondly-remembered OVA, but the Japan Society also screened this in 2022, and there is no mention of a new remastered source or anything of the kind to suggest a new edition upcoming. At least they are keeping the legend alive, which may suggest to someone somewhere that the demand is there. Unfortunately, these two screenings will be sold out by the time you read this, but chances are you’re not reading this from New York City anyway. Angel’s Egg at Japan Society, Sep. 10.
Hello Dankness (2022): Discussion begins. The first film from the Tik Tok generation? Hello Dankness re-imagines America’s 2016 presidential election with a collection of re-edited (and unauthorized) pop culture clips. Writing for “The Beast,” Nick Schager called it “as bizarre as it is brilliant” (point of reference: he thought it was brilliant.) Hello Dankness official site.
Reflections of Evil screening: Damon Packard interview begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! A rare screening of Damon Packard‘s underground classic in Los Angeles Saturday evening, September 16. Reflections of Evil screening at Los Feliz Theater (Los Angeles).
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest scheduled for Pod 366 next week—we’ll just chat about new releases. In written reviews, Giles Edwards and Shane Wilson investigate Cosmic Disco Detective Rene (2023) and Little Murders (1971), respectively, while Gregory J. Smalley listens to The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (2022). Onward and weirdward!
Great interview with Packard; I hope you will have him back at some point to discuss his other films. I’ve seen Foxfur, and can’t remember if it was ever reviewed here but I found it to be as strange as it is incomprehensible and would be interested in learning more about it.
Fatal Pulse remains my favorite of all Packard’s films, for what I consider to be the most genuinely nightmarish nightmare sequence I’ve ever seen in a movie. I think it’s so highly effective because it isn’t constructed through the usual cliched conventions of the typical movie dream sequence. It’s a rare instance of an outsider director hitting on something that works really well, yet you just won’t see in a Hollywood or bigger budget production. Another good reminder of why it can be rewarding to check out obscure, low budget efforts.