A 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.
The summer doldrums appear to have arrived early. There’s nothing of weird interest opening in theaters this week. Plan a picnic this weekend. Or better yet, catch up on some DVDs.
SCREENINGS (NEW YORK CITY, FILM FORUM)
Two in the Wave [Deux de la Vague] (2009): Those living in New York City with a specific interest in French New Wave cinema might want to check out this documentary about the rocky personal relationship between Francois Truffant and the occasionally weird Jean-Luc Goddard. Two in the Wave at the Film Forum.
NEW ON DVD:
Burning Inside (2009): Low budget, self-proclaimed surrealist black and white horror movie about an amnesiac driven to seek revenge for a wrong he doesn’t remember suffering. There is very little solid information available on this one, but it does seem to be offered in a weird, indie spirit. Buy Burning Inside
Eclipse 21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties: Criterion Collection’s Eclipse series focuses on underground/cult collections that wouldn’t have a large enough audience to justify single disc releases. This 5-disc set collects the 1960s movies of boundary-pushing director Nagisa Ôshima, who’s sexually provocative cinema—culminating in In the Realm of the Senses, his explicit, controversial exploration of a sadomasochistic love affair—helped cultivate the taste for some of the “extreme” stuff we see coming out of Japan today. The set spans his work from 1965-1968 and includes Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Japanese Summer: Double Suicide, Sing a Song of Sex, and Three Resurrected Drunkards. We have a duty to check out at least three or four of those movies as candidates to make the List of the 366 Best Weird Movies of All Time. Buy Eclipse 21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties
Walkabout (1971): The Criterion Collection releases this cult film from Nic Roeg (Performance, Don’t Look Now) about two young children stranded in the Australian outback who are rescued by an Aborigine on a quest for manhood (the “walkabout” ritual). This release is welcome news, as the movie is currently in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Walkabout (The Criterion Collection)
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Walkabout (1971): See entry in DVD above. Buy Walkabout (The Criterion Collection) [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.