On Feb. 20, 2005 the grandfather of Gonzo journalism, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, was walking around his snow covered compound in Woody Creek, Colorado when he decided to point the gun he was carrying to his head and pull the trigger. For a man who lived his life with a glass of Wild Turkey in one hand and a hand gun in the other it was a fitting end. Now doc filmmaker Alex Gibney recounts Thompson's roller-coaster life and how his intoxicating prose changed journalism forever with Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

Blessed with volumes of letters, photos, tape recordings and videos from the Thompson estate, Gibney holds nothing back as he pieces together Dr. Gonzo's life with the help of Johnny Depp's narration and colorful interviews from people who crossed Thompson's path like Jann Wenner, George McGovern, Jimmy Buffett and Tom Wolfe. Though some of the material covered is repetitive from earlier docs on Thompson's life, Gibney's attention to detail weaves a moving story that is as much enlightening as it is funny.

Some of the most entertaining and revealing footage is from a BBC doc that can be found in its entirety on the Criterion Collection's disc of Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Shot in the mid '70s at the height of Thompson's fame we find him tucked away at Woody Creek shooting and snorting. But at a moment of clarity Thompson reveals his disdain for what he's become: a journalist whose gone from covering the story to becoming it. A theme that Gibney weaves throughout the film.

With the success of Hell's Angeles, his expose on the world of the biker gang which ended with them jumping him, followed by his seminal book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas where the drawings of Ralph Steadman heighten the bizarre "trip," Thompson becomes a star journalist and Gibney shows Thompson can't handle it as he has to live up to his alter ego from Fear and Loathing, Raoul Duke, ending many relationships, including his first marriage.

When Rolling Stone puts him on the '72 campaign trail he disassembles political coverage and puts in his gonzo traits by starting rumors that get picked up on the wire and becomes a fixture for the candidates interested in getting the youth vote. But by the time he goes out to cover the Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire in '74 he's lost the fire and hits rock bottom. Floating in a pool with no sense of reality during the climax of one of the greatest fights in history, he returns home with no story.

The third act of the film is Thompson's revival of sorts in the mainstream as a new generation discovers his work, but without that drive he had in the '70s the ride isn't that strange and wonderful anymore and he takes his own life. Gibney lets the facts tell the story and never tries to romanticize or put a poetic twist on it, in many ways Thompson has done that for him.

The good doctor states it best in Hell's Angles:

"The Edge... the only people who know where it is are the ones who've gone over."

On sale now through Magnolia Home Entertainment.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/30/2008 03:05:00 PM Comments (1)

An intimate portrait of a pair of friends' struggle to get by in a post-9/11 New York, Ilya Chaiken's sophomore effort (her previous feature was Margarita Happy Hour) has an authentic feel of urban life and an impressive story arch that surpasses its low-budget expectations.

The film opens with Derrick (Al Thompson) and Tico (Kareem Saviñon) working on Liberty Island during the day and partying up at night. Though Derrick is more goal oriented than Tico, they both are stuck in the same rut when the Towers come down as they lose their jobs and struggle to find work. Though Derrick continues to stay optimistic about his goal to get out of Brooklyn and go to college, cash is running out and having to provide for his twins he teams with Tico to deal drugs.

The petty drug dealing angle soon runs out and when they get involved in other shady schemes for money the two part ways when Derrick goes to war and Tico goes to prison.

This is often where films in the urban drama genre end, with a message of the streets eating its youth, but Chaiken goes a step further with a surprising third act where the focus is put on Tico, who tries to reunite with Derrick, now back from Iraq with a thousand yard stare and stern outlook on life.

With top notch performances by its leads, especially Thompson who is a raw talent that deserves a break, Chaiken creates a deeply poignant film that leaves a lasting impression.

Out this week on DVD by Kino, features include audio commentary by Chaiken, Thompson and Saviñon, deleted scenes and conversations with Iraq War vets.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/10/2008 07:49:00 PM Comments (0)

The director known as blackANDwhite gives a rare and revealing glimpse into the mind and working habits of David Lynch. Sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre but always entertaining, the film is as experimental and abstract as the filmmaker it covers.

For those who are disappointed never to really get a sense of how Lynch works from the limited extras in his DVD releases, Lynch goes beyond the trademark chain smoking and weird hairdo to show an outgoing, pleasant human being with an insatiable creative drive and a love for Bastille Day. (It will make sense when you see it.)

Shot in black & white and color in different formats over two years, the main thread of the film is Lynch's preparation and filming of Inland Empire. blackANDwhite is there when Lynch announces the project to his devoted davidlynch.com members, through filming as he guides Laura Dern, whose look of excitement and attentiveness while listening to Lynch makes you think she'd go to the ends of the earth for her director.

Some of the best scenes are Lynch just siting at his desk telling stories. There's a series of tales about his time living in Philadelphia, the day as a kid when he came across a dead, bloated cow and tried to puncture it with his pick ax and his dreams (I'll let you imagine what David Lynch dreams about). There's also a great sequence where he oohs and ahs over the photos he's taken in dingy Polish factories.

But like Lynch's films it's the weird details that stick out for me in the doc. The most memorable is when blackANDwhite films Lynch recording the sound of an old record player. With a cigarette dangling out of the side of his mouth, the ash as long as what he has left of the cigarette, Lynch demands silence, and when he gets it begins turning the hand crank on the side of the player. A grinding sound comes out and after 15-20 seconds blackANDwhite cuts to a shot inside a moving train, a recurring image in the film, but when we've seen the shot previously there wasn't any sound, now he uses the grinding sound to substitute that of a moving train.

A beautiful transition that would make the film's subject proud.

Lynch is currently on sale through Absurda (a.k.a. davidlynch.com for $15.91).

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 9/09/2008 12:57:00 PM Comments (0)

Named one of 2007's 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Memphis writer-director Kentucker Audley's debut feature continues the mumblecore tradition of twentysomethings exploring life and love, but set out in the country where things are a little more laid back than the usual metropolitian mumblecore setting, Audley's (who's real name is Andrew Nenninger) tender tale of a young man on the cusp of adulthood is a loose, comedic look at a simple life that grows more complicated by the day.

Also starring as the lead, Audley plays a young musician who spends his days writing songs while lounging in his kiddie pool with his roommate (played hilariously by the film's d.p. Tim Morton) until he runs into Sarah and goes on a road trip with her to Chicago where he falls for her. But will this puppy love last when they get back home?

Our own Nick Dawson writes an essay for the DVD booklet in the Benten Films release. He writes:

Team Picture feels incredibly real and intimate, and much of this stems from Nenninger's ability to be uninhibited yet unpretentious in front of the camera. In the awkward interactions with his family, in the slowly burgeoning romance with the girl he meets next door, Sarah (Amanda Harris), or in the moments he sits silently and sadly alone, the camera is capturing -- but not altering -- his reality. One of Team Picture's great strengths is that it gives the illusion that we're watching people just being themselves. Nenninger's dialouge is scarily familiar, eschewing overly crafted Hollywood patter for the often comical idiosyncrasies of everyday speech. Tentatively signalling to Sarah that he wants to hang out with her, David tells her he has a kiddie pool. "Do you like enjoyment?" he asks, bumblingly. "There's actually room for more than one enjoyer."

Currently on sale, disc also includes director commentary, a new epilogue to the film, a short by Audley and deleted scenes. Cost: $21.95.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 9/07/2008 10:36:00 PM Comments (0)

“The Robert Frank Project” is an ambitious long term publishing program from Steidl which encompasses every bit of images the great Robert Frank created. Known for his photography, primarily with his book “The Americans” (first published in 1958 in Paris and then in 1959 with a text by Jack Kerouac), Frank also made many films, wanting to capture narratives further than he could with stills. Rare and legendary, some of these films reached VHS and the internet trading craze of the 90s. Finally all of his films are being released on DVD.

Volume One may be the most known titles. The experimental short Pull My Daisy (1959), made with Alfred Leslie, is a beat poet freakout, written and narrated by Kerouac, taken from the third act of a stage play he never finished (called Beat Generation). Starring Allen Ginsberg and other notables from the scene, poets question everything as they stay with their railroad worker friend. It results in both frustration and elation, somehow, and succeeds in appearing real and improvised when it was supposed very controlled.

Also on volume one is the undefinable Me and My Brother (1968). Innovative, the cult film holds up to its own myths. Co-written by Sam Shepard, Brother combines films within films, questioning reality and documentary as we follow Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, and Peter's brother Julius within a fictional framework. Julius is catatonic schizophrenic, portraying himself in some scenes and by actor Joseph Chaikin in others, who worries that people on the street may think he is Julius. The interaction between real and unreal is pumped up by color and black and white sequences, filming cameras that are filming, and trips to a screening room to discuss the film you are basically watching. It is strange and remarkable, foreseeing today’s hyper-reality world in TV and the net, adding as much mystery as it explores.

The other volumes are great as well, highlights being OK End Here (1963) on volume two, a thoughtfully crafted short about a relationship ending starring Martino La Salle from Bresson’s Pickpocket. The fabled Keep Busy (1975) is on volume three, a short written (with actor improvisation) by Rudy Wurlitzer set in the unpredictable weather and psychosis of a remote island. Also on volume three is eight minutes of silent super-8 footage of the Rolling Stones in 1971, displaying great moments of them and street car washers.

As you would expect from Frank’s photography, the cinematography is strong and beautiful in all the films. Black-and-white, probably 16mm, with evocative lighting and framing. The fiction films are well crafted but keep their sense of realism. The documentaries are flowing, at times haphazard, catching the action with notable lyrical moments.

Also as you would expect from Frank's stills, the subjects are varied characters making up our complex society. Wounded souls of hip youth and a stuffy older generation, neither as strong inside as they are on the outside. There are alienations of individuals (OK End Here, About Me: A Musical) and large movements of motivated groups (Liferaft Earth).

The packaging makes me feel nostalgic for working in a vault, and guilty for renting DVDs instead of buying. The boxes replicate film archive cardboard with a metal can for each DVD. It is that physical experience and bookshelf beauty that all DVD companies should learn from if they are looking for sales – especially with art films and movies once thought lost. These are more expensive than usual for discs, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Only jabs: the metal tins left a little mark on the PAL side of the disc, though they all played just fine. In all, the transfers of the films are beautiful and fresh. But a few titles had some video artifact lines, looking like a transfer glitch from PAL to NTSC. The PAL versions did not have this when I checked both sides, so I’m doing the math. Did not ruin my watching experience. Heck, I’ve waited years for these.

Future volumes will number up to 10, featuring every film Frank has made, including the cult classics Cocksucker Blues (1971, about a Rolling Stones tour) and Candy Mountain (1987), and shorts from the last few years.

Published by Steidl and distributed by DAP/Distributed Art Publishers (www.artbook.com) for $125.00 a volume.

# posted by Mike Plante @ 8/07/2008 01:16:00 AM Comments (0)

The vastly different worlds of Mardi Gras and Chinese factories meet head-on in Mardi Gras: Made in China. Asking the question where do those beads come from, director David Redmon captures the insane atmosphere of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where thousands and thousands of strings of beads are bought and given away to revelers. More common than just handing out beads is the ritual that started in the 70s of women flashing their boobs in exchange for a single string of beads.

The doc gives a down-to-earth view of a Chinese factory that makes the beads, showing the ins and outs of the workers’ daily lives, struggling at work. The factory owner is interviewed quite extensively as well, proudly stating how happy the workers are and that they don’t mind doing overtime or being penalized for failing to meet superhuman quotas or talking. Yes, talking. The film also shows he is full of shit.

Director Redmon does a great job dispelling that annoying myth that “oh its okay, ten cents an hour over there is a lot.” The factory is making millions as the workers (ironically, all female) plan strikes to be treated better and have the more apt saying, “its very hard to make a living.”

What I didn’t expect was a humanizing of the revelers – Redmon pulls a great move as he shows footage of the Chinese factory to the people partying on the street. While many partiers “don’t know, don’t care” where the beads come from, many realize the disparity of the two worlds. When the Chinese workers see photos of the New Orleans streets, they have a great reaction you should see for yourself. The doc is modest and straight forward, and all the more powerful for it.

The DVD also contains a 48-minute educational version of the film that is appropriate for PG audiences. A booklet contains a short diary from one of the factory workers. Deleted scenes add even more poignancy to the workers, as well as footage of the revelers you love to hate.

DVD is available from the filmmaker through carnivalesquefilms.com at $24.00 for individuals and $305.00 for educational institutions – the latter version contains many more extras, including commentary by David Redmon and Assistant Producer Ashley Sabin and additional interviews with Noam Chomsky, Michael Hardt, Saskia Sassen, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Mike Presdee; and more....

# posted by Mike Plante @ 7/29/2008 04:53:00 PM Comments (1)

With word that Quentin Tarantino has FINALLY begun work on a remake of Italian director Enzo G. Castellari's EuroCult classic The Inglorious Bastards, Severin Films has put together a remastered three-disc release of the original, the first time it's been available in the States (though there have been numerous incarnations -- you may recall Deadly Mission and G.I. Bro).

An homage to war films before it like The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes and Peckinpah's Cross of Iron but with a little more edge and a Spagheti Western feel (not to mention one of the best film titles ever created), Bo Svenson and Blaxploitation icon Fred "The Hammer" Williamson star as part of a rag-tag group of U.S. military convicts who are sent off to prison until an air raid gives them the opportunity to escape. But in their trek to freedom in Switzerland they find themselves thrust back into the war when they agree to take on a mission to hijack a train.

All the testosterone-filled '70s war film touchstones are there -- outcasts and loose canons who turn out to be the best solders America has, a no-way-out finale and violence in slo-mo.

I mean, the tagline says it all: "Whatever the Dirty Dozen did, THEY DO IT DIRTIER!"

Features include Tarantino interviewing Castellari, which has a fun back-and-forth on Taratino's hopes for the remake and Castellari explains how he had to get creative in some of the scenes after the Italian government confiscated all the guns in the production in fear that they would get into the hands of the Red Brigades (what they would do with prop guns is anyone's guess). There's also a featurette on the making of the film that includes all the principles and another where Castellari goes back to some of the memorable locations from the film (like the waterfall where the men come across a group of naked, gun-toting, female Nazis). The third disc only has the film's soundtrack.

In stores this week, the 3-disc goes for $29.95, and the single disc is available for $19.95.

This is an essential for your Grindhouse library.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 7/26/2008 03:51:00 PM Comments (0)

I gotta admit, I had no clue who Daft Punk was when I got a DVD of their first film, Electroma, in the mail. Now, I did vaguely recall the title because people were telling me that it was a bore (it premiered at Cannes in 2006). But after watching it I strongly disagree.

A beautifully shot, intimate story with no dialogue, Daft Punk (Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) creates a touching commentary on life and the loneliness of being an outcast. In Electroma, we follow two robots -- decked out in matching jumpsuits with "Daft Punk" spelled out in rhinestones on their backs -- as they roar down the endless desert highway in a '87 Ferrari (almost a twisted homage to the video for "I Can't Drive 55") in search of being human...

What's the deal with the robots? Here's some backstory for those, like me, are Daft Punk novices: Legend has it that Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were in their studio on 9/9/99 when an explosion occurred at exactly 9:09 a.m. and when they gained consciousness they were robots. Now, back to the film...

Though most of it is just straight up bizarre, the imagery is gorgeous and at times plays with your mind. In one of the most meorable scenes, the robots walk down a long dark corridor and when they appear in a white room, everyone else inside has the identical white tone and the only time we can see them is when they walk in front of the dark clothed robots.

This is where the robots are turned into "humans," which doesn't work out well as once they get outside they're chased back into the desert. Then there's the conclusion, a disturbing yet touching finale of the robots fate that was all the more haunting by the piece of music they use to close with: the Jackson C. Frank song "Dialogue," one of the few times words are spoken in the film.

Electroma certainly has the makings of a Midnight Movie classic, and in no way is this a self-serving venture to build the Daft Punk brand. In fact, none of their music appears in the film and they aren't even the ones in the robot suits.

I'm excited to see what Bangalter (who also shot the film) and de Homem-Christo come up with for their next film. But in the mean time there's a lot to digest with Electroma. And I don't mean just the film. Currently on shelves through Vice Films (which brought us Heavy Metal in Baghdad) for $17 (on Amazon), there's a 40 page booklet of film stills. Talk about going all out on your first project.

You can read more about the film in our interview with Daft Punk.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 7/23/2008 08:19:00 PM Comments (0)

A town waits for two exiles to come home. The two (con-)men were leaders of a sort in the old days, then a social experiment of a farming community. Now abandoned, the townsfolk are almost ghosts, wandering through their daily lives. A bar offers some insanity to them. Even the children are harshly treated by the world. Upon their return the men have lofty ideas.

In the world of film, there are those titles that carry sixteen tons of weight when spoken about out loud. Sometimes it’s about the visuals. Sometimes an extreme run time. Or an even more extreme story or intense scenes. Bela Tarr's Satantango is legend for all these attributes.

Get past the geek factors of long single takes and a 7-hour running time – Satantango is a stunning film, in its visuals, in its story, and with its actors, all taking the audience on a unique ride. A shot of the men walking down a windy alley is breathtaking. An interrogation scene of the two con-men is deadpan funny. A bar dance is taken so far that you start to feel drunk. A teenage girl dealing with the world is gut-wrenching, but you cant look away.

Of course, if you really want to experience the film, you will need to watch the first 2 hours, then take a 15-minute break, then the middle 2 hours, then eat a quick meal, then the last 3 hours. In a recent screening in Los Angeles, hundreds of folks braved the day with the film. I’m used to seeing a bunch of films in a row at a film festival – but the effect of seeing a single film over a day is incredible. The scenes are longer than average, so in essence you are not barraged with a longer story or more events in a film than “normal.” Rather, you spend more time with the characters.

Tarr is a master - establishing characters within the strict style of long takes. You laugh by some scenes as much as you are completely shocked by others. The atmosphere is thick but realistic, that kind of poetic feeling you get walking through new cities and landscapes. Although whatever city this is, their tourism board is closed. Fans of Bresson, Cassavetes and Tarkovsky should definitely come knocking. Sociology/political majors and anyone in the mood for a new film experience will be thrilled as well.

Satantango is the rare film that stands up to its big expectations.

The booklet for the DVD unfortunately does not have an interview with Tarr. But it does have a great discussion about Tarr from three of the best writers around, David Bordwell, Scott Foundas and Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Three discs for the film with an extra disc, which contains an hourlong television version of MacBeth that Tarr directed – consisting of only two shots; Journey on the Plain, a nice video of main actor and composer Mihaly Vig returning to the film’s locations (in color), and the short film Prologue, a beautiful piece Tarr made for the film Visions of Europe.

Available from Facets Video for $79.95.

# posted by Mike Plante @ 7/21/2008 06:14:00 PM Comments (0)