Our weekly 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 at the official site links.
SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Fri., Jan 27):
Belladonna of Sadness (1973): Read the Certified Weird entry! Seeing as how the ‘Family had a big role in rediscovering this psychedelic rape revenge musical anime, screenings have become a semi-regular thing there. Belladonna of Sadness at Cinefamily.
SCREENINGS – (Planeta, New York City, Sun., Jan 29):
Gutboy: A Badtime Story (2015): A flayed puppet fights the Man. All-marionette. This film proudly advertises itself as “the weirdest movie in the world,” which has obviously scared away distributors thus far. Check out this rare screening if you’re in the New York area. Gutboy at Planeta Facebook event page and Gutboy official site.
NEW ON DVD:
“Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”: The title character investigates the murder of a millionaire and meets lots of strange characters in this comedy mystery series. The BBC America television show is based (far too loosely, according to fans) on the Douglas (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) Adams books. Buy “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976): Read Alice Stoehr’s List Candidate review! This welcome, newly restored re-release contains a Blu-ray, DVD, and a disc of special features, including new interviews with the surviving crew, and may give us an excuse to revisit this old David Bowie/Nicolas Roeg favorite. Buy The Man Who Fell to Earth [40th Anniversary Limited Edition DVD/Blu-ray combo]
The Vessel (2016): On a remote island, a man survives a drowning that should have killed him and creates a monument to the schoolchildren who lost their lives in a tsunami. This enigmatic parable, the writing/directing debut of Julio Quintana, was executive produced by Terrence Malick and has been described as “dreamlike” more than once. Buy The Vessel
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
“Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”: See description in DVD above. Buy “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” [Blu-ray]
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976): See description in DVD above. Buy The Man Who Fell to Earth [40th Anniversary Limited Edition DVD/Blu-ray combo]
The Vessel (2016): See description in DVD above. Buy The Vessel [Blu-ray]
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.