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. July 31-Tues, Aug 4):
The Films of Roy Andersson: It’s a Certified Weird weekend with this double feature of the first two-thirds of Roy Andersson‘s unofficial absurdist trilogy. Horrifying modernist vignettes haunt Songs from the Second Floor (2000), which is set at the dawn of the millennium in a nameless city undergoing an apocalyptic panic, while You, the Living [Du Levande] (2007) continues the deadpan despair, beginning with a dream that the bombers are coming. Cinefamily completes the set with Andersson’s latest, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Contemplating Existence, screening on Monday and Tuesday. The Films of Roy Andersson at Cinefamily.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Seances (post-production, 2015 release): Guy Maddin comes out with a new one, which has actually been filmed in bits and pieces over the past three years. It’s a collection of shorts based on (you guessed it) lost, forgotten and fragmentary early films. Although the details have changed over the course of the production, it was originally planned as an art installation and an Internet installation (where an originally planned 100 short films would be shown in random order to create an always-unique experience). Talent includes Charlotte Rampling, Udo Kier, Mathieu Amalric, and Maria de Medeiros; co-written with The Forbidden Room co-director Evan Johnson (who seems to have taken George Toles’ place as Maddin’s main collaborator). More information in this 2013 National Film Board of Canada press release.
NEW ON DVD:
Jauja (2014): A Danish soldier (Viggo Mortensen) hunts for his eloped daughter in the wilds of Patagonia in this minimalist experimental feature. Reviews were generally good, but this is one of those arthouse features that comes with a “slow” warning. Buy Jauja
White God (2014): A young Hungarian girl is forced to give up her beloved pet because of a citywide tax on half-breeds, and the castaway mutts rise up against their human masters. We sniff a political allegory. Buy White God
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
White God (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy White God [Blu-ray]
FREE MOVIES ON SHOUT TV:
Sleepaway Camp (1983): Read Ben Sunde’s review. Aside from the famous ending, per Ben it makes for a “a uniquely schizophrenic experience of a horror film” by “incorporating a wistful portrayal of summer camp into the sleazy slasher mold.” Viewers should be over 17 years old, please. Watch Sleepaway Camp free on Shout 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.
Weird film fans, it’s finally happening! Mulholland Drive is getting the Criterion Collection treatment. Set for a October 27 release.
Thanks for the big news Brad!
I’ve long been curious about their process for induction. I know that a major factor is whether or not they can get distribution rights, but a number of the entries to their canon seem be on shaky foundations.
I’ve always wondered myself. Yes, distribution definitely plays a big part. They take submissions, although I’m not sure how much they take those into consideration considering the amount they get.
Cronenberg’s The Brood is being release through Criterion in October as well, if anyone is interested.
(Forgot to mention in first post due to excitement over MD)