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 on the official site links.
SCREENINGS (BFI Southbank, London, U.K., Mar 1-17):
“Defiance and Compassion: The Films of Věra Chytilová” – Rare screenings of Chytilová’s avant-garde Czech movies, which aside from the Certified Weird Daisies [Sedmikrásky] are seldom seen by anyone. Highlights of the weeks-long retrospective include “The World Cafeteria” segment from Pearls of the Deep on March 1 and 5, Daisies on the 9th and 10th, Fruit of Paradise, a retelling of the Adam and Eve story BFI calls her “most experimental work,” on March 11 and 15, and documentaries, talks and reflections by critics and Chytilová collaborators throughout the month. Londoners can get details at the following link: Věra Chytilová retrospective at BFI Southbank.
NEW ON DVD:
Fellini Satyricon (1969): Read the Certified Weird entry! We did this one way before the Criterion Collection got hip to it, naturally, but we hope to bring you coverage of their edition, too. Buy Fellini Satyricon (Criterion Collection)
House of Last Things (2013): A mind-bending horror about a classical music critic, his depressed wife, and a trio of troubled youngsters who house-sit for them while they vacation in Italy. Sounds interesting and possibly quite weird, but beware; it has the kind of glowing reviews on Amazon and IMDB that usually come from those intimately connected with the production. Buy House of Last Things
Watership Down (1978): Read Scott Sentinella’s capsule review. Martin Rosen’s animated tale of apocalypse among the talking rabbits is an unexpected, but welcome, addition to the Criterion Collection. Buy Watership Down (Criterion Collection)
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Black Sunday (1960): Read Alfred Eaker’s review. Please note: this is the AIP “American Release” version of the film with Les Baxter’s score, which many (including Alfred) consider inferior to the uncut version—which, confusingly enough, was also released by Kino Lorber with the same cover art three years ago, and is now listed as “out of stock” on Amazon. Buy Black Sunday [AIP Version Blu-ray]
Fellini Satyricon (1969): See description in DVD above. This fits the same material onto one Blu-ray, as opposed to two DVDs. Buy Fellini Satyricon [Criterion Collection Blu-ray]
God Told Me To (1975): Read Pamela De Graff’s review. Larry Cohen’s strange genre mashup starts with the premise of a plague of serial killers striking with the excuse “God told me to,” and then gets weirder. Buy God Told Me To [Blu-ray]
Watership Down (1978): See description in DVD above. Buy Watership Down [Criterion Collection Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON SHOUT FACTORY TV:
Corman’s World (2011): Our weekly selection from Shout TV’s new free streaming catalog is this documentary on the dime-movie mogul Roger Corman, focusing (of course) not on the Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman movies he distributed in the USA but on his goofy, deranged B-movie productions like Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) and Death Race 2000 (1975). This one has no commercial breaks. Watch Corman’s World on Shout Factory TV.
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.