Tag: William Friedkin

Weekend Shopping Guide 10/8/10: Everybody Comes To Rick’s

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

Warners has been dipping into their vaults for many high definition releases of their classic films, and the films starring Humphrey Bogart have been getting particularly nice attention, starting with their beautiful restoration of Casablanca and now continuing with a one-two punch of both The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP each), both getting restorations as nicely done as the one given to Casablanca. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, audio materials, the Warner Night At The Movies (newsreels, cartoons, musical shorts, and trailers), and bloopers & make-up tests on Falcon.

The best way to think about the Boogie Board LED ($39.99) is as a modern take on a chalkboard (with a little bit of a Magic Slate) thrown in, as writing on it with the stylus produces nifty LED writing that can be erased at the touch of a button. Perfect for leaving notes or doodles.

Just in time for Halloween comes the high definition release of one of the seminal horror flicks to ever be put to film – The Exorcist (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) – available in both its superior theatrical version and William Friedkin’s expanded director’s cut from a few years ago. Bonus materials include a newly-produced documentary, audio commentaries, interviews, the original ending, and the 1998 feature length making-of documentary.

I’ve become less and less enamored with it over the years as a film, though I still love the Ashman/Menken songs of Beauty And The Beast (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which arrives in high definition looking absolutely stunning. Thankfully, branching allows me to watch the theatrical version sans the pointless new sequence inserted into the special edition re-release a few years back, which didn’t even match the look of the film effectively. This new special edition includes an audio commentary, featurettes, an alternate opening, a deleted scene, and a bonus standard DVD.

One of the many abandoned series set aside by Columbia, the 7th season of All In The Family (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.93 SRP) finally gets a release from Shout Factory. Can Benson be far behind? And by that, I mean I hope Benson is not far behind.

For a history nut like me, there’s something eminently interesting about Bettany Hughes’ The Roman Invasion Of Britain (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), which looks at the isle’s very first empire. Fascinating stuff.

Sure, it’s lowest common denominator belly laugh humor, but there more than occasional flashes of inspired comedy to be found within the ridiculously comprehensive Benny Hill: The Complete Megaset (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$149.95 SRP), on whose 18 DVDs rests 20-years of shows featuring almost 600 sketches. Bonus materials include a documentary on Hill, an episode of Biography, and featurettes.

I’m a history buff, so a 14-disc set like Empires (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP), which examines the battles – and warriors – of the ancient world that shaped history, is a joy to explore. Granted, there’s a fair share of stories I’ve already heard, but there are many more I haven’t. Bonus materials include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a bonus episode of Modern Marvels on Barbarian Tech, and the A&E Biography of Genghis Kahn.

Out of most of the pap that populated Saturday mornings in the early 80’s, Thundarr The Barbarian (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.95) was an exception. Not exceptional, mind you, but its post-apocalyptic narrative and attempts at three dimensional characters certainly made it an exception to the shows that surrounded it. The Warner Archive has made the entire series available in one handy set, and while some of the prints are iffy and there’s no bonus features, it’s certainly better than nothing.

It’s disappointing to hear that sales on the last season were not good enough to justify continued retail releases, but at least the Warner Archive has stepped in so fans can pick up the complete fourth season of Night Court (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.95). Let’s hope they’re committed to releasing the rest of the show.

Leave it to Twomorrows to present a beautiful overview of the life and work of yet another comics legend via Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur (Twomorrows, $26.95 SRP). From his artwork to his influential role at DC Comics, this is a must-have volume.

Besides its engaging story steeped in Celtic mythology, The Secret of Kells (Flatiron, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP) is just a beautifully designed, beautifully executed animated feature, made all the more impressive when you find out it was independently produced. Definitely give it a spin. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, trailers, and more.

Following up on his landmark documentary about America’s pastime, Ken Burns goes back to the ballpark for Baseball: The Tenth Inning (PBS, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) and finds a sport in its twilight years, demonstrably less important to the American public even as the playing itself has become stronger, although even that is rocked by scandal. Bonus materials include additional scenes, outtakes, and an interview with Burns and Lynn Novick.

We’ve now moved beyond the classic Peanuts specials and are firmly into the release of the lesser animated lights of the canon with the likes of He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), but it’s still enjoyable stuff nonetheless. The DVD also includes the bonus special Life Is A Circus, Charlie Brown and a featurette on Schulz’s ice arena.

There are no milkshakes to be found, but Daniel Day-Lewis does turn in a memorable performance in Michael Mann’s adaptation of Last Of The Mohicans (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP), available in high definition in its “definitive” director’s cut form with an audio commentary and a making-of featurette.

Every time I’ve run across it, I’ve found it affable and watchable, but I’ve never actually cared to seek it out. Regardless of my apathy, it gets massive ratings, which means fans will want to pick up the complete seventh season of Two And A Half Men (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). The 3-disc set contains a featurette on Charlie’s exes and a gag reel.

I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of watching The Human Centipede (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). None at all. I mean, really, life’s too short to spend retching in shock at the images. So, nope. Not gonna do it. For those who do watch, bonus materials include an audio commentary, a deleted scene, casting tapes, featurettes, and more. A Blu-Ray edition ($29.98 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.

Bringing together 18 capers across 12 DVDs featuring the sleuthing of Poirot, Marple, and Holmes, the Great Detectives Anthology (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$149.95 SRP) is a delightful romp through murder and mystery. Bonus materials include a Sherlock Holmes documentary and a Biography on Agatha Christie.

With Thunderdomes and autogyros still in his future, the original Mad Max (MGM/UA, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) had yet to become the crazy mix of road rage and doun under punks that it would eventually arrive at, but maybe that’s because the world that Mel Gibson’s title character operates in isn’t yet in its full post-apoacalyptic throes. Bonus features include audio commentaries, featurettes, galleries, TV Spots, trailers, and more.

It tried desperately to be a modern answer to the low-rent, affable fantasies Hercules and Xena, but Legend Of The Seeker (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) never really found a tone – or quality – that would sustain it… Which is probably why it lasted only 2 seasons. That final season is now available, containing featurettes and extended scenes.

The infamous abortion episode comes to one-off DVD on Family Guy: Partial Terms Of Endearment (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which pads out the disc with an audio commentary, animatic, a table read, Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show, and 9 downloadable songs.

What if you made a prequel to a beloved series and no one really seemed to care? That would be Caprica (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), set 58 years before the events which launched Battlestar Galactica. And it’s just boring. Truly, truly boring. The first season set contains both the unrated and rated versions of the pilot, deleted scenes, featurettes, commentaries, video blogs, and more.

Easily one of the most unwatchable films ever made, and made a cult classic due to its unwatchability, Troll 2 (MGM, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) has been given a high definition presentation that it really doesn’t deserve. Damn you, geeks. Damn you all to hell.

Yeah, I’m still not a fan of Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), but there are plenty out there, so this 4th season set is for them. That’s right – 10 episodes, featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers and more, all for them.

I’ve long been a fan of Medicom’s beautifully sculpted vinyl figures of classic Disney characters, and was equally delighted when I found out a few years back that the fine folks at Sideshow would be distributing them here in the US. Recently, they’ve released brand new sculpts of characters they’d done previously – Woody and Buzz Lightyear ($59.99 each) – and, as you can see below, both are exquisite.

So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

-Ken Plume

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October 8, 2010
Trailer Park: Nacho Vigalondo

By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

There is no question that Nacho Vigalondo is doing the kind of filmmaking that many of his peers wish they could do.

His film TIME CRIMES, which took home the gold at last year’s Fantastic Fest as “Best Feature,” is a mix of horror, comedy and drama. The blend sounds like a haphazard cohesion of elements but it works so well that you can’t believe the film is able to clock in at a swift 88 minutes. And why not? Nacho was nominated for an Oscar for the directorial work he did on the short 7:35 IN THE MORNING and he seems effortlessly able to know where to cut, trim and tighten; a Godsend in this age of bloated run times and critics who constantly crow that some directors could have cut 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there. Nacho has his eye comfortably on the whole picture and knows what seems like overkill. Never mind the fact that the subject matter in TIME CRIMES, a man travels back in time, accidentally, and sets into motion a series of events that seem to be pulled from the episodes of the Twilight Zone, is all but engrossing. The film is wide sweeping, as I mentioned, as it goes from genuine thrill to comedic moment without ever seeming false.

This was an interview I did not want to pass up and I am glad to have been able to talk to Nacho after seeing the film.

CHRISTOPHER STIPP: Nacho. How are you doing?

NACHO VIGALONDO: Great.

CS: I’ve just seen the film last night and loved it.

VIGALONDO: Oh, thank you. Great.

CS: I’m blown away that it is one of those films you don’t see a lot nowadays.

VIGALONDO: Yeah. When I found this opportunity of making my first feature film, I felt the need to make the very first feature film in terms of making this wild crazy films that maybe you can only make once in your life so I decided to make this kind of crazy film ““ first time.

CS: Of all the ideas that you’ve had, and I’ve read in other interviews that you’ve had oodles of ideas as you prepared to jump into feature films, why was this story the one to jump out at you?

VIGALONDO: I like science fiction and I love the complexity of these stories and at the same time I love how funny they are and I wanted to take that kind of stuff into the movies. Sometimes when science fiction goes into movies you feel that there’s a fear to challenge the audience to some level and I really wanted to make a story that really challenges the audience in the same way this kind of story, this kind of novelist challenges the reader.

CS: And you make a very good point. Karra Elejalde, you mentioned he’s a well known comedian in Spain.

VIGALONDO: Yes, he’s a well known comedian and at the same time he’s an actor who has made a whole lot of characters. I like that quality that one minute he can be a clown and two frames later he’s a psycho killer. I like the quality of his work. He can be an average man and at the same time he’s an extraterrestrial. I love when an actor can transform himself but without you noticing. Close to magic.

CS: The film speaks to the idea of what would happen if this happened to normal people. It’s that normalcy.

VIGALONDO: Yes. I like to work with those roles instead of trying to work with specific heroes or specific villains. Love to work with this outrageous stuff.

CS: I was actually reading up on some of my own favorite short stories ““ the thriller, Richard Mattheson’s Button came to mind, the idea of that short story. These little snapshots. TWILIGHT ZONE as a film did very, very well. When you were making this, this is obviously your first feature length film, did you have any reservations that you wanted to hit 88 minutes? Or did you say to yourself as you were writing it, “Do I have 88 minutes of material here?”

VIGALONDO: Something very personal, I love short feature films. I love when a feature film instead of going two hours fits into the 80 minutes. I love that kind of energy. That’s what I love about that mini franchise. Those films are pretty short. I wanted to make a short story but at the same time I wanted to make a story that felt not like a short story but like a feature film. We had characters, we had locations, we had a few situations, it was pretty hard to make a movie contain in time but at the same time felt like a real feature. Did I answer the question?

CS: Yes, you did. Absolutely. You’ve also mentioned that horror can be high art while it can also make money. What do you think about the idea of marrying both high art and money when it comes to making a film like this? A feature film like this is very commercial but it can bridge the gap. People can either turn their nose up if something makes them think too hard. Our horror here in America is largely been brain dead, blondes going out and slipping”¦..

VIGALONDO: I understand. My first concern as a filmmaker is ““ I don’t believe in the frontier between the arts and the commercial stuff. My favorite directors of all time destroyed that frontier which is the art and the funny thing. Those are the directors I really like. For example now, if you check the films of Alfred Hitchcock ““ today we don’t separate both dimensions of the same picture. For us Hitchcock is art and at the same time is general. The same with Don Siegel or early works of William Friedkin or in the modern days, Valentino was the one that destroyed that too, he makes art films but pretends to reach a large audience. From my point of view all the time I wanted to make an interesting and clever film but I never forget that the most important thing is to make a funny thing. I hope to manage to do this my whole career.

CS: You made the film completely without having a distributor in Spain. How did this whole process come from making it without a distributor in Spain whereas now you have a guy here in Arizona who has seen your film…

(Laughs)

VIGALONDO: Laughs. Yes, it’s like jumping off a plane. Once you jump off the plane you have to discover if you have a parachute. That is what happened with the film. We put the money in the film and from that point it was worry. Are we going to find a distributor? And at last, we found it. It took a years. 2007 was the worst year of my life because nobody wanted to get involved with the film but finally we went to Austin and went to the Fantastic Fest at the Alamo Drafthouse and we won, we sold the rights so things went much better from this point. I spent a horrible time trying to find a distributor.

CS: How did you get through that? How did you get through the period where you made the film, you did something you really wanted to do and then once you had it you said, “Now I have a finished film. How am I going to share this with everyone else?” What is that process like?

VIGALONDO: Oh, it is something left up to the production company. I just made the film and crossed my fingers and I joined my producer at film festivals. The worst part was trying to sell the film. It wasn’t complete. As you can imagine Time Crimes is a movie that if you put the music out and no special effects it is a really naked film. I had to sell the film with that naked copy. Without the music, without the sound and it was really horrible. It is not easy for me to remember those times.

CS: And if I can speak a little bit about, you mentioned different directors who are primarily American, Hitchcock, Tarantino, and I’ve seen interviews where you dropped the names of very famous Italian directors. What is it that you think about film in general that has such international crossover appeal? I mean you look at books, books can be hit or miss because they don’t often translate well but movies seem to transcend that.

VIGALONDO: For me, when I was a teenager, the situation I live in now was impossible. If we wanted to make a film like this in Spain, you are lucky if one American festival shows your film in one country. But now all of the reels are falling down and in that case with our film we first have this little hype in United States, Italy and then we went to Spain. It’s a Spanish film in Spanish language so that’s our situation. Now that barriers are broken and thanks to internet it’s easier to know films from foreign countries. We, the filmmakers we are more free than in the past. We have more opportunities to work with different languages, different cultures and not so fixed in one place. Stephen Soderberg shows us that you don’t need to be so fixed in one place or one film. You can jump from one kind of feature to another ““ even different countries.

CS: I guess if I had one more question for you, Nacho, it would be what is it about Spain, Spanish language pockets around the world and even Mexican directors who gravitate so well to the horror genre, to ghost stories and the like?

VIGALONDO: We are pretty much the same age and we are a bunch of filmmakers who can make this genre of films. It’s like a response to the lack of this stuff in our country. It is so complicated to make. What I like about this is we make such different films. If you check films like The Orphanage, TimeCrimes, films like this, you can say we are pretty different from each other so we are trying to make different films but each one in a different way.

December 18, 2008