CULTURE: Notable DVD Releases: 1/11/05

[shivvy]

In stores on Tuesday, January 11th:
*"After School Specials: '78-'79" [4 classic ABC specials]
*"After School Specials: '79-'80"[4 classic ABC specials]
*"Anatomy Of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer)" [yet another controversial and graphic tale from Catherine Breillat] -- releases JAN 25th!!!
*"David Lynch presents: I Don't Know Jack" [documentary about the life and death of actor Jack Nance]
*"The Fifth Element: Ultimate Edition" [long-awaited 2-disc SE of Luc Besson's sci-fi flick]
*"Fighting Elegy" [Criterion release of classic 1966 Japanese film by Seijun Suzuki]
*"Silver City" [latest effort from indie cinema maverick John Sayles]
*"A Touch of Pink" [gay-themed indie flick features Kyle McLachlan as Cary Grant]
*"The Village" [love-it-or-hate-it release from M. Night Shyamalan -- available in separate widescreen or full screen editions]
*"Youth Of The Beast" [Criterion release of 1963 yakuza classic, also from director Seijun Suzuki]

[awsnyde]

Even Roger Ebert didn't like that Catherine Breillat film, and he usually likes her stuff. Interestingly, this is not the first of her films to feature Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi, although I take it he plays a more prominent role in this film than in the earlier one ("Romance").
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Ms. Breillat's films, even though I do like foreign films. The lone exception is "The Housekeeper", which was pretty good.

[shivvy]

I've really enjoyed most of her recent films like "Romance" and "Fat Girl", although I found "Sex Is Comedy" rather tedious. It's true that there were very few positive reviews of "Anatomy Of Hell", but I'll still probably end up picking it up out of curiosity.

I loved the quote from Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman:
"No one takes the fun out of sex like Catherine Breillat."

I fear that the New York Times review sums it up best:

"At her best, Ms. Breillat comes to each of her films as naked as any of her female characters; she strips herself bare for her art and beliefs, and it is this passionate commitment that has helped gloss over her occasional missteps. But "Anatomy of Hell" is more than a lapse; it is a brutal self-parody of a filmmaker who, having stripped down to the nitty-gritty once too often, may finally have nothing left to show."

[awsnyde]

Yes, I'll probably check out "Anatomy..." as well, if only to see just how bad it is. With Netflix, the cost of checking out a bad movie is relatively small, since I don't have to watch it if I don't like it and can send it back immediately.
And while I wasn't a big fan of "Romance" and "Fat Girl", I didn't hate them either. I rated them three out of five stars at Netflix, basically meaning I liked them but didn't love them. On the other hand, I wasn't terribly enamored with the ending of "Fat Girl". I'm not saying it's not possible, but I don't always watch movies for reality.
"The Housekeeper", meanwhile, I rated four stars.

[shivvy]

FYI -- "Anatomy Of Hell" is now being released on January 25th.

[postfeminist]

hmmm...i'd be into checking out that jack nance documentary...

[jneale]

FYI -- "Anatomy Of Hell" is now being released on January 25th.
Cincinnati Film Society was going to show it – but the Cincinnati Art Museum decided it was pornographic and wouldn’t allow the showing….haven’t read anything but negative press – but guess I’m falling for the old Mapplethorpe hype & want to see it just because the art museum refused to let it be shown.

[rocketman70]

Cincinnati Film Society was going to show it – but the Cincinnati Art Museum decided it was pornographic and wouldn’t allow the showing….haven’t read anything but negative press – but guess I’m falling for the old Mapplethorpe hype & want to see it just because the art museum refused to let it be shown.


Don't they realize that just makes people want to check it out then? Yeah, the reviews for this were terrible, I'll still check it out for curiosity sake.

[rocketman70]

In stores on Tuesday, January 11th:
*"After School Specials: '78-'79" [4 classic ABC specials]
*"After School Specials: '79-'80"[4 classic ABC specials]
*"Fighting Elegy" [Criterion release of classic 1966 Japanese film by Seijun Suzuki]
*"Youth Of The Beast" [Criterion release of 1963 yakuza classic, also from director Seijun Suzuki]

VERY COOL :cool:

[shivvy]

Also out this week which TOTALLY slipped my radar is "Silver City", the political satire from one of my favorite filmmakers Mr. John Sayles! Newmarket never did much with the theatrical release and you know Columbia/Tristar didn't do ANYTHING to promote the video release. I follow these things obsessively and I never saw any mention of it coming out!