Links to films of questionable taste: just what every Sunday demands.
*Er, just presume that all the links here are NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Not that all of them actually are, but I'd hate to clutter everything up with warnings.
*Not In My Country! Dept: A pretty sweet new trailer for Terry Gilliam’s critically-loathed Tideland is up, in promotion of the film’s Japanese release (under the title Rose in Tideland) next month. This is not to be confused with Gilliam’s other critically-loathed films, which is to say everything he’s completed since 12 Monkeys in 1995 (ok, yes, that’s only two pictures). Hey, don’t listen to me - I liked The Brothers Grimm! And let's not get too excited, United States: I don’t believe Tideland even has a US distributor yet, though the UK will get to see it in August.
*But how about some comics movies, eh? June 27 will see a most curious specimen released to dvd, the Just Jaeckin-directed 1984 epic Gwendoline, loosely based on comics by John Willie, noted bondage illustrator and editor of the 1946-59 fetish magazine Bizarre. The film received a US theatrical run in edited form under the title The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak; neophyte sexploitation outfit Severin Films will be releasing both versions on separate discs.
Jaeckin is probably still best known today for his debut feature, 1974’s Emmanuelle, a massive hit that demonstrated how the ‘softcore’ sex film could still thrive in a post-Deep Throat world. Gwendoline was Jaeckin’s final outing as a director, a strange melding of S&M appeal, camp humor, and Raiders of the Lost Ark inspired adventure. It also featured art direction and costume designs by bande dessinée notables Claude Renard & François Schuiten (the latter had just started Les Cités Obscures with Benoît Peeters two years prior), and a starring performance by acclaimed Whitesnake associate Tawny Kitaen. I’ve not seen the film, but it certainly looks odd enough to be of interest - here’s a review, bedecked with images of tantalizing Schuitenesque designs. Extras on the uncut dvd include an audio commentary by Jaeckin, a period French photospread with Kitaen, and an audio interview with Willie conducted by no less than the Kinsey Institute. If only all comics creators could be so probed!
*And just to steer things straight out into pure cult cinema - Masters of Italian Horror! Yes, first there was the Showtime Masters of Horror series (which featured work by Italian favorite Dario Argento), and now the world shall soon pleasure to digitally-shot shockers from lowdown genre icons like Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City), Lamberto Bava (Demons, A Blade in the Dark), Sergio Martino (Mountain of the Cannibal God, one billion gialli that I’ve not seen but have brilliant titles like Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), and newcomer Nicola Rondolino, who's only directed one film prior to this, which I don't believe is of the genre.
In true spaghetti horror style, the series has no actual connection with the Masters of Horror program, despite an extremely similar title. It does have plot descriptions like "Story about a 15-year-old paraplegic girl who becomes a serial killer after seeing people having sex from her window" though! Pure charm is on its way! Get ready to remember how the late ‘70s and early ‘80s are gone and never coming back! It’s like the Anchor Bay Entertainment release line-up circa 2002 all over again! Man, if only Lucio Fulci and Joe D’Amato were around to see this…
*Not In My Country! Dept: A pretty sweet new trailer for Terry Gilliam’s critically-loathed Tideland is up, in promotion of the film’s Japanese release (under the title Rose in Tideland) next month. This is not to be confused with Gilliam’s other critically-loathed films, which is to say everything he’s completed since 12 Monkeys in 1995 (ok, yes, that’s only two pictures). Hey, don’t listen to me - I liked The Brothers Grimm! And let's not get too excited, United States: I don’t believe Tideland even has a US distributor yet, though the UK will get to see it in August.
*But how about some comics movies, eh? June 27 will see a most curious specimen released to dvd, the Just Jaeckin-directed 1984 epic Gwendoline, loosely based on comics by John Willie, noted bondage illustrator and editor of the 1946-59 fetish magazine Bizarre. The film received a US theatrical run in edited form under the title The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak; neophyte sexploitation outfit Severin Films will be releasing both versions on separate discs.
Jaeckin is probably still best known today for his debut feature, 1974’s Emmanuelle, a massive hit that demonstrated how the ‘softcore’ sex film could still thrive in a post-Deep Throat world. Gwendoline was Jaeckin’s final outing as a director, a strange melding of S&M appeal, camp humor, and Raiders of the Lost Ark inspired adventure. It also featured art direction and costume designs by bande dessinée notables Claude Renard & François Schuiten (the latter had just started Les Cités Obscures with Benoît Peeters two years prior), and a starring performance by acclaimed Whitesnake associate Tawny Kitaen. I’ve not seen the film, but it certainly looks odd enough to be of interest - here’s a review, bedecked with images of tantalizing Schuitenesque designs. Extras on the uncut dvd include an audio commentary by Jaeckin, a period French photospread with Kitaen, and an audio interview with Willie conducted by no less than the Kinsey Institute. If only all comics creators could be so probed!
*And just to steer things straight out into pure cult cinema - Masters of Italian Horror! Yes, first there was the Showtime Masters of Horror series (which featured work by Italian favorite Dario Argento), and now the world shall soon pleasure to digitally-shot shockers from lowdown genre icons like Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City), Lamberto Bava (Demons, A Blade in the Dark), Sergio Martino (Mountain of the Cannibal God, one billion gialli that I’ve not seen but have brilliant titles like Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), and newcomer Nicola Rondolino, who's only directed one film prior to this, which I don't believe is of the genre.
In true spaghetti horror style, the series has no actual connection with the Masters of Horror program, despite an extremely similar title. It does have plot descriptions like "Story about a 15-year-old paraplegic girl who becomes a serial killer after seeing people having sex from her window" though! Pure charm is on its way! Get ready to remember how the late ‘70s and early ‘80s are gone and never coming back! It’s like the Anchor Bay Entertainment release line-up circa 2002 all over again! Man, if only Lucio Fulci and Joe D’Amato were around to see this…
posted by Jog at 10:56 PM
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