Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK OF September 14th, 2009

This Week's Highlights

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Legend of the Drunken Master BR - "A Jackie Chan Film" the credits say over the title . . . . This often comic, sometimes touching, occasionally brutal movie is, at its heart, both a family drama and a gangster flic involving stolen Chinese cultural treasures. The bad guys, who are enmeshed with the British Consul, have made a deal to plunder and sell China's great treasures. Chan plays Wong Fei Hung, whose greatest prowess is a style of martial arts called drunken fighting and, like Popeye with his spinach, Fei Hung is only at his best when he drinks - a lot. Blu-ray Release date: September 15th, 2009

Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans - Made in the twilight of the silent era, it became both a swan song for a vanishing medium and one of the few films to instantly achieve legendary status. Winner of three Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for “Unique and Artistic Picture”, its influence and stature has only grown with each passing year. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present a new 2xDVD and Blu-ray special edition of the film, including an all-new alternate version recently discovered in a Czech archive of a higher visual quality than any other known source. DVD Release Date: September 21st, 2009

The Spectator - Solitary translator Valeria (Barbora Bobulova) becomes infatuated from afar with similarly solitary Massimo (Andrea Renzi) and spies on him from her apartment across the street. When Massimo leaves for Rome, Valeria impulsively follows him only to discover that he has a girlfriend, law professor Flavia (Brigitte Catillon, MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT) and insinuates herself into the older woman's life in order to get close to Massimo. DVD Release Date: December 27th, 2006

General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait - If this mind-boggling documentary about one of the twentieth century’s most reviled dictators were fiction it would be acclaimed as a comic masterpiece… but it is all true. With an ambition the size of Napoleon, Idi Amin considered himself a major leader and revolutionary on the world stage. In reality, his regime was amateurish, disorganised, and his maniacal command both hilarious and bizarre. DVD Release Date: May 14th, 2007

Withnail and I BR - Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical account of his early years as an actor has become a cult hit of massive proportions, inspiring countless numbers of young men and women to quote stars Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant and their booze-soaked dialogue. The story follows these two unemployed actors in 1969 London, as they take a holiday in the country. Trapped inside a dank, empty cabin with each other, an endless downpour of heavy rain battering their roof, the two men form a complicated bond fuelled by booze, disaster, and nihilism. Though not much happens in terms of plot, WITHNAIL AND I is one of the most subtly hilarious films to come out of 1980s. Blu-ray Release Date: August 31st, 2009

Le Jour Se Leve - The most celebrated example of the doom-laden, darkly shadowed "poetic realism" that flourished in France in the years leading up to World War II. Jean Gabin is the honest, timid workingman who, hiding from the police in an attic room, spends the night remembering the events that led him to murder. The screenplay is by Jacques Prevert, the most accomplished dialogist of the period, and the famous sets, with their overtones of German expressionism, are by Alexander Trauner. Only the direction, by Marcel Carne, seems less than it could be; there's a lack of imagination and suppleness in the images that pulls the film down. DVD Release Date: September 15th, 2009

Mayerling - The gorgeous duo of Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux first appeared on-screen together almost twenty years before The Earrings of Madame de . . . , in this sumptuous, tragic romance from Anatole Litvak (The Snake Pit, Anastasia). Mayerling is the profoundly emotional true story of the doomed adulterous affair between Archduke Rudolph, heir to the Austrian throne, and the young and innocent baron’s daughter Marie Vetsera. DVD Release Date: September 15th, 2009

Star Trek - The Original Series Season Two BR - Star Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through September 2, 1969. Though the title of the original program was simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series (sometimes shortened to ST:TOS or TOS), in order to distinguish the series from the sequels which followed (all of which comprise the Star Trek universe or franchise). Set in the 23rd century, Star Trek follows the adventures of the starship Enterprise and its crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), his First Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and his Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley). William Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose: "Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." Blu-ray Release Date: September 22nd, 2009

The Damned United BR Michael Sheen (THE QUEEN, FROST/NIXON), in another of his seamless performances, plays legendary football manager Brian Clough during his disastrous and brief tenure as manager of Leeds UTD in the 1970s. Talented but abrasive, Clough alienates some of those around him, including his rival, Don Revie, his predecessor on Leeds UTD’s bench. When Clough has the chance to coach Leeds, he takes on the difficult role of the manager of the country’s best soccer team. But outspoken Clough strongly disagrees with the aggressive soccer style the team has become famous for, while he has to struggle, quite unsuccessfully, to gain the trust and cooperation of his players. Also starring Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent, and Colm Meaney, the film is based on the critically acclaimed book by David Peace and adapted for the screen by Peter Morgan. Blu-ray Release date: August 31st, 2009

Van Helsing BR - Before there was James Bond, there was Van Helsing. If you haven't seen this movie, you might not have been aware of that. And instead of working as a licensed killer for Her Majesty's Secret Service, Van Helsing was in the employ of His Holyness' Secret Service. You probably didn't know that either. What the Hell – I don't really mind that Van Helsing isn't the Victorian-principled scientist that we know by way of Bram Stoker or countless Dracula movies. I don't even mind that, as writer/director Stephen Sommers envisions him, Van Helsing is a virile, if ageless man, adept with all manner of weapons and modes of transport. After all, if he's going to be working for the Vatican, he needs his own version of Q-Branch. And contrary to all but one 007 movie, if memory serves, the present Q – a timid soul here named "Carl" (David Wenham) comes along to help explain what Van Helsing may not understand. Blu-ray Release date: September 15th, 2009

London in the Raw BR - Less focused even than its companion piece Primitive London from 1965, what Miller's film does offer is an intriguing little window onto the tensions between that mythical city Swinging London, and the prosaic reality for the dancers, drinkers, workers, and punters all hankering after a little late night action....Like Primitive London, David Gell's narration warns that there's nothing quite as expensive as a cheap thrill. That attitude may be a little rich, given that the film trades shamelessly on the thing it purports to expose, but 40 years on and even the hypocrisy looks rather quaint. London In The Raw's roots lie in the 'mondo'-style documentary - a cheerfully cynical hybrid of eye-popping revelation and awkward theatricality. Ironically, it's the implausibly staged sequences which now provide some of the kitsch appeal, but even without them Miller's film is a fascinating historical document. Blu-ray Release date: May 25th, 2009

Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! BR - Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding arrived in California virtually unknown. Returning stateside from London, where he had moved to launch his musical career, Hendrix exploded at Monterey, flooring an unsuspecting audience with his maniacal six-string pyrotechnics. Redding, venerable star of Memphis’ Stax record label, seduced the “love crowd” in one of his best—and last—performances. Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake! Otis at Monterey feature the entire Monterey sets of these legendary musicians, performances that have entered rock and roll mythology. Blu-ray Release Date: September 22nd, 2009

Misery BR - Based on the chilling bestseller by Stephen King, Misery was brought to the screen by director Rob Reiner as one of the most effective thrillers of the 1990s. From a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter William Goldman, Reiner turned King's cautionary tale of fame and idolatry into a mainstream masterpiece of escalating suspense, translating King's own experience with obsessive fans into a frightening tale of entrapment and psychotic behavior. Kathy Bates deservedly won an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes, an unbalanced devotee of romance novels written by Paul Sheldon (James Caan), whose books provide Annie with a much-needed escape from her pathetic life and her secret, violent past. Blu-ray Release date: September 15th, 2009

Hot Fuzz BR - In Hot Fuzz, the story and characterization charms and repels us by turns. The film displays that subtle sense of English sense of humour we know so well, but it also contains a few frightfully grisly moments. It's a little like Lindsay Anderson's "if…." on crystal meth. Much is made in the press about this being a parody of the buddy cop genre, but the film is so dense with distractions that you could be excused for ignoring that particular line of thought. The casual moviegoer might find the proceedings exceedingly off-putting; but the seasoned veteran, especially those who appreciate off-the-wall black humour, will likely find much to amuse and titillate. Blu-ray Release date: September 22nd, 2009

The Name of a River - Anup Singh's debut feature, The Name of a River, is an ambitious, evocative docu-fictional essay exploring the life and work of the great Indian film-maker, Ritwik Ghatak (1925-1976). Ghatak's reputation as India's most important film-maker has been steadily growing since the first major retrospective of his films was organised internationally in the 1980s. Satyajit Ray has described him as 'one of the few truly original talents in the cinema this country has produced'. Although largely ignored in his lifetime and usually overshadowed by the illustrious Ray, Ghatak was a legend to a whole generation of Indian arthouse directors and was seen by many as the father of the Indian New Wave.

Species BR - In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armor-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye. Government agent Xavier Fitch assembles a team of scientists and mercenaries to locate and destroy Sil before she manages to find a mate and breed. Blu-ray Release Date: October 2nd, 2007

Shaun of the Dead BR - I was reminded of two very different movies, but quite similar relationships: Fred Asatire and Victor Moore in Swing Time and Jeff Bridges and John Goodman in The Big Lebowski. Exasperation-under-siege doesn't quite describe the breadth of it. But it was not until Nick and Simon, especially Nick, put their unique handle on their characters that I was able to respond sympathetically as well as with understanding. A remarkable achievement for any film, let alone a zombie movie. Blu-ray Release date: September 22, 2009

The Convent - Scripted by director Manoel de Oliveira from a novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís (who has collaborated with him on seven other films), O CONVENTO met with mixed reviews upon its release stateside and is better approached as a moody meditation on good and evil or even a suggestive horror film than as even a mainstream art film. Although Baltar certainly is demonic - when Padovic remarks that he talks "like the devil" Baltar replies that he is "merely a humble servant" - the potential for a certain amount of deviltry is revealed in more than one character and there is a potential Faustian pact in each conversation in which one character persuades another to voice her/his thoughts or desires. DVD Release Date: April 3rd, 2007
 

Tulpan (Sergey Dvortsevoy, 2008) Zeitgeist Films