Saturday, December 31, 2005
DVD debacle
By the way, I'm definitely going to have to get a new DVD rack before too long: my shelves are almost full once again. Then, of course, there's the slight issue of where I'm going to put it.
Oh yeah, and in preparation for tomorrow, I've opened the newest page of my DVD Collection section: titles bought in the 1st half of 2006.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Toy Story 2: Special Edition
A review copy of the recently released 2-disc Special Edition of Toy Story 2 (R1 USA) arrived from DVD Pacific this morning. Like the 10th Anniversary Edition of the original Toy Story, released back in September, it features a new transfer and audio mixes, which provide an incremental improvement on the image and sound on the version released as part of the Ultimate Toy Box, but certainly nothing worth getting carried away about. Also, this time, the new bonus features are virtually non-existent: little more than some kids' games, a trailer for Cars and an 8-minute "making of" featurette that cobbles together a whole bunch of material that had already been released anyway. If you've already got the Ultimate Toy Box, my advice is to steer clear. If, though, you don't already own a copy of Toy Story 2 (or have one of the bare-bones releases), this might constitute a worthwhile purchase.Expect a full review some time early in the New Year.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Kill Bill: The Whole Body Affair
Source: 10K Bullets ForumAfter a lengthy period of inactivity, it seems that the much-anticipated re-cut version of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, which will combine the two volumes into a single film, is to see a release after all. According to Tarantino.info:
Quentin Tarantino finally reveals some info on the planned re-release of Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2, which he plans to get out to selected theaters next year. He sais "I want to cut the whole movie together like one big epic with an intermission in the middle like a 60s film. It'll be coming out in theatres. I've been holding off because I've been working on it for so long that I just wanted a year off from Kill Bill and then I'll do the big supplementary DVD package."
I'll probably buy the eventual DVD release, provided there were some changes made beyond just tacking Part 2 on to the end of Part 1, as well as some decent extras. I know a lot of people felt that both films, and especially the second one, were far too long with a lot of filler material that could easily be removed, but personally I loved every minute of both of them, to the extent that Kill Bill is probably my favourite Tarantino movie after Pulp Fiction. Takes all sorts, I guess.
An evening with Aldo Lado
Source: 10K Bullets ForumAldo Lado will be at La Cinémathèque in Paris on February 3, 2006, to discuss his work and screen two of his excellent films, Night Train Murders and Short Night of Glass Dolls. Lado is a filmmaker who gets far too little attention, and whenever he is interviewed he always comes across as a very approachable and intelligent man. I wish I could make it to this, but I don't think I can justify the expense of a trip to Paris.
More information here.
Death Carries a Cane - a bit better, ya think?
The new 2-disc special edition of Death Carries a Cane (R2 Austria) arrived this morning. Although it comes in one of those stupid great clamshell cases, and although the first disc is exactly the same as the previous German release of the film, this is in fact not an X-Rated Kult DVD release but instead the product of an Austrian company called Copernicus Film Distribution, who licensed X-Rated's grotty version and threw it in alongside their own new remastered edition. The remastered version is, unsurprisingly, superior in every way, although you don't need me to tell you that: just look at the two pictures below (saucy pictures to warm the cockles of your heart on this cold winter day). Click the images for larger versions.
I'll say it again, though: I've got no idea why they bothered licensing the earlier version and including it in this package, when the new version is superior in every way. What a waste of time and money!
PS. German subtitles are forced on the new release when English or Italian audio is selected. Because it's a single-layer disc, viewers with access to a DVD burner can simply reauthor the disc with the subtitles removed and no need for re-encoding, but those who are not in that fortunate position should probably make sure they have a player that can work around forced subtitles before purchasing this. This thread at DVD Maniacs lists a possible workaround, but your mileage may vary.
eBay clear-out
It's that time of the year once again: time for me to get rid of all my unwanted DVDs via eBay. I have five titles for your consideration this year:- Astérix: La Trilogie Gaumont (Region 2 France, 4 discs, sealed)
- What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (Region 2 UK, used but in excellent condition)
- Prozac Nation (Region 1 USA, used but in excellent condition)
- The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (Region 2 Germany, used but in excellent condition)
- Death Carries a Cane (Region 2 Germany, used but in excellent condition)
Hopefully you'll do me a favour by taking some of these off of my hands and filling my coffers with loot. Happy bidding!
Asterix: again
The damned thing turned up yesterday. I tried to reject it when it was delivered, but the delivery man spun a curious yarn about it not being his responsibility because it didn't require a signature, so he wasn't allowed to take it back. In retrospect this was clearly a load of bunkum, but it's difficult to argue with someone who makes out that he knows what he's talking about.Obviously, because I now have the item, the credit card company can't do anything about it because it's not their responsibility: they can only investigate claims where goods that have been paid for have not been supplied. Rather than attempt to haggle with Gaumont, who have proven to be impossible to contact (coupled with my less than perfect grasp of French, and the fact that I would undoubtedly have to pay the shipping costs of sending it back), I'm going to cut my losses and put it up on eBay. Hopefully a sealed copy of an item in short supply will attract a few bidders. Still, a big FU to Gaumont and their supplier, Ciné-Solutions - this is one company I shan't be ordering from again.
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave
Long the domain of cut, cropped, distorted and washed out bootlegs, now that the film has finally been released uncut and in its original aspect ratio, fans who have followed it through every cack-handed grey market release will hopefully be able to experience it like never before, while newcomers can enjoy it to its fullest on their first viewing. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave may not be entirely deserving of the impressive status it has acquired, but it is an interesting curiosity piece nonetheless and one that giallo connoisseurs should not hesitate in adding to their collections.
Long condemned to grimy bootleg releases, Emilio P. Miraglia's cult giallo The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave has finally been granted a legitimate release, uncut and in its original aspect ratio. I've reviewed NoShame's R2 Italian DVD, which is bare-bones but boasts a solid transfer.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The Devil Rides Out
Over the last two weeks I've been voraciously devouring my battered copy of The Devil Rides Out, Dennis Wheatley's infamous tale of devil worshippers and do-gooders. I finally finished it last night, and overall I very much enjoyed it. It strikes me as being much meatier than the Hammer horror movie of the same name, and now that I've read the book I can see why Christopher Lee is so eager to remake it: he definitely seems to be closer to the right age now to play the central character of the Duke De Richleau than he was back in 1968 when the original film was made.Of course, Wheatley and his novels have attracted their fair share of criticism over the years, not only for their (at times) jaw-dropping racial prejudice but also for the fact that his accounts of satanic practices have little to do with reality (despite his claims) and everything to do with the sensationalist fantasies invented by frothy-mouthed Christians in order to persecute pagan religions. However, I do think that anyone expecting a book written in 1934 to conform to the morality of today is being a little unrealistic. Yes, Wheatley was clearly a jingoistic nutcase, but he was a talented jingoistic nutcase who could spin a quality yarn. I suppose you might argue that you need to be a Christian and believe in the fantasies he's writing about in order to get the most out of the book, but I disagree: I don't think you need to believe in a god or a devil to enjoy The Devil Rides Out any more than you need to believe in hobbits and elves to enjoy The Lord of the Rings. I'll grant you, though, that the ending, which is deus ex machina in the most literal sense of the phrase, was a little hard to swallow and something of an anticlimax after the rollicking good fun that preceded it.
Criticisms aside, I'll definitely consider seeking out some of Wheatley's other satanic-themed novels. It's too bad they're out of print nowadays (due to rights issues, or so I'm told).
Danny the Dog
The R2 French Ultimate Edition of Danny the Dog (known as Unleashed in English-speaking territories, probably so people wouldn't think it was a movie about a family pet) arrived from Amazon.fr this morning in the first flurry of post-Christmas mail. It's a very attractive little package, housing the two discs in a nicely designed tin case, even if the cover art owes a little too much to that of Reservoir Dogs.On to the actual content, though. I haven't had a chance to watch the entire movie yet, so I haven't had the opportunity to pick out the material that is exclusive to the mainland European cut (the version released in the UK and USA is bowdlerised), but I did take the chance to compare the transfer with that of the UK version I rented (a full comparison will probably materialise reasonably soon). You can click the two images below to see larger versions (top: UK; bottom: French). I've been in that ice cream bar, by the way.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The Movies: fun, fun fun
I spent most of yesterday playing The Movies, and have come to the conclusion that it's a very good game, albeit with some major flaws. The biggest problem, which Gamespot identified in their review, is that the gap between the "tycoon game" and the movie-making tools is very noticeable. Essentially, you have a great sim game along the same lines as Peter Molyneux's previous hits, such as Theme Park and Theme Hospital, and a fun but ultimately limited movie tool, but the two never hook up in any meaningful way. Yes, you can go in and personally edit, stage and shoot the movies your studio produces, but as far as I can tell, nothing you actually do will have any effect on the success of the end product, which is really the whole point of playing the game.
Asterix: the latest
The latest news regarding the Asterix "two copies" scandal is that Gaumont have now shipped the copy that I expressly told them to cancel and refund. I suspect it'll arrive within the next couple of days, at which point I'm going to have to refuse delivery, since I've been on to the credit card company and got them to mark the charge as disputed (I've got some forms to fill out and they're going to harangue them until they cough up).I suppose this just goes to show how stupid I was to order from a company without first checking that I would be able to cancel it if the need arose. Still, it's hardly an unacceptable thing to expect, and their non-existent customer service (they have repeatedly ignored my emails and charged my credit card immediately despite not shipping what I ordered for over two weeks) means that, as far as I'm concerned, they are most definitely the ones who are in the wrong.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Christmas: a retrospective
Happy Winterfest 2005, gentle viewers! Hopefully everyone enjoyed this year's celebration of capitalism and consumerism, and got everything they wanted. I certainly did!
I kicked off the celebrations by cracking open Veronica Mars (R1 Canada) and watching the pilot episode. It was pretty good, and I can sort of see why so many people have referred to it as a successor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it does have that overly saturated, annoyingly peppy vibe to it that mars (swish!) so many recent American TV shows. Still, I was suitably engaged by the premise and looks like I could get into watching the plot developing as the season progresses.
I haven't had a chance to watch any of the actual cartoons in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 (R1 Canada) yet, but I did pop in one of the discs and subject myself to a patronising but less annoying than I had expected Whoopi Goldberg intro (explaining to us that blackface gags are naughty, natch). I then checked out the "restoration" featurette, where various beetle-browed geeks (and poor old Jerry Beck, who always gets wheeled out for these things) explain why they insist on goosing the colours beyond their original values. A big deal is made of the use of manual DRS restoration techniques rather than automatic DVNR software, which makes the fact that some hideous DVNR artefacts appear in the clips they use to demonstrate this practice rather amusing, and also a little sad. It remains to be seen to what extent the cartoons are affected.
I then proceeded to spend most of the day (10 AM to 7 PM, to be precise, with toilet breaks, meals and exchanges with elderly relatives providing some variety along the way) building my Lego Enzo Ferrari. This is definitely the longest I've ever spent building a Lego set, and the end result is well worth the time, even if a mistake during the earlier stages of construction meant the doors on the blasted thing don't actually work properly. Ah well - I can sort that whenever I take it to bits and rebuild it.Finally, I spent a couple of hours playing around with The Movies, which is highly reminiscent of Theme Park - the difference being, of course, that rather than running a theme park you run a movie studio. It's good fun, and I predict that it will while away many hours, although it suffers from the same irritations that seem to plague all simulation games, namely keeping track of all your employees, buildings and services. Like The Settlers, it also has a tendency to let one vital part of the production pipeline break down, bringing everything to a grinding halt, without making clear exactly what's gone wrong. The movie-making suite seems to be surprisingly powerful too, although it's not quite as freeform as I would have hoped.Well, that more or less concludes my round-up. I also got a pair of snazzy Bang & Olufsen in-ear headphones, a tub of Jelly Bellies and some pounds.
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
Friday, December 23, 2005
More Blue Underground gialli in March
Source: 10K Bullets ForumBlue Underground will be releasing four more giallo titles on March 28th 2006: The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Fifth Cord, Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion and The Pyjama Girl Case.
Given that I already have the very good Italian release of The Black Belly of the Tarantula from RHV, I don't think I'll bother with the Blue Underground release of it (especially given that the RHV DVD is of a far higher standard than Blue Underground's average output), but I haven't seen any of the other three titles, so I'll be picking them up post-haste.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Giallo à la Miraglia
Gothic decay and insanity are the two key themes of Emilio P. Miraglia's two films, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times, both of which might loosely be considered gialli (the latter moreso than the former). While they don't compete with Dario Argento or Lucio Fulci's output, they strike me as being a notch or two above anything from the likes of Sergio Martino or Umberto Lenzi.
The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times is the most like a traditional giallo, and probably has the more rational plot of the two, but owing to the fact that I had to watch it in Italian without any English subtitles it made little sense to me. The backdrop seems to be an ancient castle in a German village, and the protagonists seem to be two sisters, Kitty (Barbara Bouchet) and Franziska (Marina Malfatti) Wildenbrück. There seems to have been another sister too, Evelyn, who Kitty may or may not have drowned when they were younger. Anyway, at the start of the film we are told of a curse involving the mythical figure of the Red Queen, who returns from the dead every hundred years to claim seven victims. Naturally, she chooses to return during the time at which the film takes place, and she begins to off people close to Kitty and Franziska. The only thing is (and here I'm afraid my lousy Italian lets me down), it seems that she bears a striking resemblance to Evelyn.
Less a giallo and more of a gothic mindfuck, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave again centres on the notion of the dead coming back to life and again uses the crumbling ruins of aristocracy as a backdrop. Basically, Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen) may or may not be mad, but apparently his wife, Evelyn, died during childbirth, and ever since then he has had a penchant for hiring prostitutes who look like her (red hair, long legs) and being rather nasty to them (he may be killing them or that may be the work of someone else - it's never adequately explained). Anyway, at a party he falls for the slinky and non-red-haired Gladys (Marina Malfatti), whom he bones and then promptly marries. Gladys, however, doesn't feel quite at home in the ancestral Cunningham home, and comes to believe that Evelyn has risen from the grave and returned to haunt the place...
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Giallo gala
Earlier this year, I bought and reviewed Death Carries a Cane, a decidedly average giallo on a decidedly poor R2 German disc from X-Rated Kult DVD. Recently, however, a new 2-disc version, limited to 666 copies, was released. The first disc is exactly the same as the previous release, but the second contains a brand new anamorphic transfer which, judging by this post at the Latarnia Forums, is a massive improvement.It may not be the best giallo ever made, but the improvement in the image quality (and, I confess, the limited nature of the package), prompted me to order a copy from our friends at Xploited Cinema.
I also watched The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times today. Thoughts to follow, once I've managed to work out what the hell was going on: the film was confusing enough as it was, without having to watch it in Italian. I'm giving it a tentative 7/10 - it had some really nice moments, including one of the creepier killers I've seen in a giallo.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Delivery deluge
Airplane, unfortunately, is going to have to be returned. Despite the case being sealed with cellophane and the usual security stickers, the disc is very badly scratched and at two separate points it blocks up, freezes, and generally becomes unplayable.
Good (and unexpected) news regarding The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, though. Not only is it uncut and in its correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio for apparently the first time ever, it also has (unlisted on the cover) English audio. I was expecting to have to watch it in Italian and muddle through what was going on, so this is a most pleasant surprise.
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings also came today. I've listened to the first (of three) CDs and am right now taking a break - three hours' worth of music is heavy going. It's a very nice release, though, with great packaging and a booklet full of liner notes. It's also great to finally hear all the music cues that were left out of the heavily abridged release from 2001.Astérix: La Trilogie Gaumont
Asterix's translation from paper to the screen has never been an entirely satisfactory process, and the three films included in this release are no exception. That said, despite some problems with the transfers and a lack of English-friendly audio options, fans of these titles will definitely want to pick up a copy of this box set.
The wily yellow-whiskered Frenchman arrives on DVD! I've reviewed the long-delayed R2 French Astérix: La Trilogie Gaumont (Asterix: The Gaumont Trilogy), presenting three of the series' better movie adaptations in a decent 4-disc box set.
Monday, December 19, 2005
New DVD image comparison
I've updated my DVD image comparison of Asterix vs. Caesar to include the new R2 French release from Gaumont Vidéo. I don't suppose I need to tell you that the French release looks about a million times better than the two previous releases, the R0 Australian and R2 German versions. Sure, there's room for improvement, but it undeniably puts the earlier releases to shame.I might do comparisons of Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Big Fight too, but frankly I don't think there's much point. It's the same story all around.
Asterix - finally!
After a year's worth of delays, the Asterix box set, featuring Asterix vs. Caesar, Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Big Fight, finally arrived. After waiting so long, the end result could never live up to my expectations, and I'm sorry to report that there are problems with this release. That said, there are a lot of good things about it, and I'll start on a positive note by praising what Gaumont Video have got right.
That's the good. Now the bad. The problems with these discs can be summed up with one simple phrase: DVNR.
Expect a full review at DVD Times in time for Christmas.
Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked
The Melon Farmers web site has an interesting article debunking eight popular myths about video games and the supposed "harm" they cause.New Amber Benson interview
SuicideGirls.com has posted an interview with Amber Benson about her past, present and future projects.Sunday, December 18, 2005
Martial arts in Glasgow
Jet Li, Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman getting it down in fair olde Glasgow towne? Whatever next? When I heard the premise for Unleashed, the latest film from Luc Besson (Léon, The Fifth Element, etc.), I was suitably incredulous, but seeing a trailer at the cinema got me interested in it, so eventually I got round to tracking it down on DVD, via Blockbuster. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a very good film, with somewhat more depth than your average action movie and probably the only time to date that Jet Li can actually be praised for his acting ability. The unusual (for an action movie) location also kept things interesting, and it was odd seeing these Hollywood A-listers wandering about in locations I recognised. For a film set in Glasgow, though, it seemed a little strange that there was not a single Scottish accent. In the world of Unleashed, Glasgow seems to be inhabited entirely by Cockneys. Perhaps the filmmakers thought that would be more palatable than the twang of the Glaswegian ned?After watching the film, I discovered that the version released in the UK and US is in fact cut, and that the French DVD (it is a French film, after all) contains a longer version. After enjoying the film so much, I ordered the French 2-disc Ultimate Edition from Amazon.fr, under its original title of Danny the Dog.
Howl's Moving Castle
After languishing on my shelf for a little under a month, I finally cracked open and watched Howl's Moving Castle today. After being a little concerned by the overly slow and directionless first act, I came to the conclusion that this is a very good film, but one that doesn't make a great deal of sense and doesn't exactly stretch Hayao Miyazaki's talents. The plot deals with a young woman named Sophie who is turned into an old woman by a gluttonous witch with an improbably large neck. She wanders around the countryside and ends up inside a large castle with mechanical legs and is inhabited by a sissy-boy called Howl, a flame with a mouth out of which Billy Crystal's voice comes, and an obnoxious little boy who needs a good thrashing. There's a war going on too, and a heck of a lot of angst, and Sophie gets older and younger and older and younger, and... well, I really can't figure out what's going on, but I'm not convinced that this matters.
8/10
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Jenifer coming to DVD in 2006
Source: Dark DiscussionNext year, Anchor Bay will begin releasing the various episodes of the Masters of Horror TV series on stand-alone DVDs, beginning with John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns and Stuart Gordon's Dreams in the Witch House on March 28th 2006. I have to say that this decision to release the episodes separately rather than in one box set (as would normally be the case for a TV show) seems a bit bizarre and is probably a cynical money-grabbing ploy, but on the other hand this means I can cut out the chaff and get the one I'm actually interested in: Argento's Jenifer. Not that I thought it was very good - on the contrary, I thought it was the least interesting thing Argento has ever done and his second worst film ever (after The Phantom of the Opera) - but, completist that I am, I'm destined to pick up a copy. Who knows? Maybe, when I've had a chance to watch a proper DVD rather than a blocky, blurry DivX file, I'll be able to re-evaluate it. I'm not exactly hopeful, though.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Audio Atrocities
For many gamers, the terrible voice acting that has a habit of creeping into even the highest profile productions has become something of a running joke, with many titles becoming firm favourites thanks to, rather than in spite of, their moronic line delivery. Some are just so bad, though, that all the rose-tinted spectacles in the world can't save them. This is where Audio Atrocities some in: a site set up to catalogue and provide examples of the absolute worst voice acting in the video gaming world. There's something for everyone here, but Resident Evil and the English Xbox dub of Shenmue II have to be heard to be believed.Katie Rice interview
ReadersVoice.com has posted an interview with Katie Rice, a former Spumco artist who is currently working with John K on a music video for Weird Al Yankovich.Alias Season 4 - say what?
Over the last couple of weeks I've been steadily making my way through Season 4 of Alias. I finished the final episode this morning and came away with decidedly mixed feelings. While I enjoyed Season 3 despite the criticisms levelled against it, I'm afraid I can't defend Season 4 to any great extent. The first half to two-thirds are a complete mess, disposing of anything resembling a seasonal arc in favour of standalone episodes that lack the intensity and inventiveness of their counterparts in earlier seasons. Once a story arc final begins to emergy towards the end of the season, it becomes so completely ludicrous that it ends up being impossible to take seriously. Alias has never been a particularly believable show - if you want (comparatively) realistic spy action, go for something like Spooks instead - but here the plot twists are completely idiotic, involving brain cloning, killer helicopters, people who seemed to be dead but weren't actually, villains who become good guys then become bad guys then become good guys again, dangerous terrorists who are given full pardons and put in charge of covert CIA divisions, and - no joke - the danger of dying of happiness. Then, in the final episode, it suddenly turns into House of the Dead, as a giant red ball floats over a Russian city and its inhabitants turn into zombies... Sheesh! What is this shit?
This is by far Alias' weakest season yet. So far I've only seen the first episode of the fifth and final season, but if Season 5 is of the same standard as Season 4, perhaps cancelling it was a wise move.
5/10
Channel 4: a license to offend
Source: Melon FarmersChannel 4 look set to challenge the status quo once again this Christmas with a handful of programmes that are sure to have the Christian Nutters of the land slobbering with righteous fury. The fun will be kicked off by gobshite chef Jamie Oliver will deliver an alternative to the queen's annual Christmas Day speech. Later, two documentaries will seek to investigate the silliness of religion. In The Magic of Jesus, eight supposed New Testament miracles will be attempted to see if they are actually possible, while the title of Tsunami: Where was God? tells you everything you need to know about that particular show.
MediaWatch-UK chief John "Concentration Camp" Beyer has unsurprisingly leapt to condemn Channel 4 in his usual frothy-mouthed manner, but let's be serious now. Would anyone in their right mind really listen to someone who supports jailing people who look at porn for three years?
DVD debauchery
Sin City: Recut, Extended (R1 Canada) arrived today. Fairly quickly, I discovered two things about this release: first, on the Canadian version, the English DTS track has been removed to make way for a French Dolby Digital track. Secondly, although the listed running time for the extended version of the film is 23 minutes longer than that of the theatrical cut, in actual fact there is only around four minutes of actual new footage. The rest of it is actually the end credits running four times - once for each of the four separate "stories". Gypped!On the plus side, the extras are pretty decent. Those hoping for a nice, long, in-depth documentary about the making of the film will be sorely disappointed. The extras are fairly "bitty", being comprised of a series of short but intensive featurettes, covering stuff like the use of green-screen technology, costumes, hauling in Quentin Tarantino, and so on. I'm listening to the commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller right now, and it's pretty solid stuff. I can take or leave the graphic novel, though: it has that self-conscious, laconic style to it that winds me up no end, and flicking through it now I can understand why some people hated the film. For me, this sort of thing works in the context of a movie, but when viewed in the context of a print-based comic, it just seems annoyingly trite.
Ultimately, I'll probably hang on to my R2 UK release as well, since it has DTS audio and also, to my eyes, slightly better image quality (the R1 has more edge enhancement and seems to be a bit softer).
In the meantime, (yet another) brief update on the Asterix DVD box set fiasco. Gaumont, the distributors of the DVD, have now updated their site to claim that the fucking thing won't be available until December 19th. Fed up with their uselessness, I fired off an angry email in faltering French, asking them to cancel it, and ordered re-ordered it from Amazon.fr using the fastest and most expensive method of shipping. True to their word, Amazon shipped it very quickly and it arrived in Glasgow yesterday just after 9 AM. It then sat in a sorting office a few miles from here all day, and a phone call to the goons at Parceline has now revealed that they don't deliver on weekends, so it will stay there until Monday. So why the hell didn't you send me it on Friday, then, you cretins? When I pay for 1-2 day delivery, I expect 1-2 delivery, not 5 day delivery.Adding insult to injury, my credit card bill came in today, and I discovered that Gaumont have already charged me for the copy I ordered from them, despite them not being able to actually supply it in anything approaching an acceptable timeframe. (Whatever happened to not charging for an order until the time of dispatch? Brigands.)
Friday, December 16, 2005
Disappointing box office for King Kong
Source: BBC NewsPeter Jackson's version of King Kong took $18m (£10.1m) worldwide in its first day on release but looks unlikely to set a US record haul.
I wonder if the fact that Peter Jackson released extended editions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy has worked against King Kong at the box office. After all, why would people want to go to the cinema to see what is essentially a work in progress that will probably be superceded by the eventual extended DVD release? Personally I think that The Lord of the Rings has set a really bad precedent where the version released in cinema is essentially nothing more than an over-long trailer for a superior version.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Rated and Willing: Where Game Rating Boards Differ
Gamasutra has posted a very interesting article on the differing age systems used to rate video games, paying particular attention to the ESRB (America), PEGI (Europe), OFLC (Australia) and USK (Germany). Of particular note are the differing attitudes towards various "contentious" issues in different parts of the world:While the PEGI members agreed on how they would rate games, there will probably never be agreement on what is objectionable and what isn't in the various member countries. For instance, the U.K. seems particularly concerned about bad language, more so than on the continent, but sexual content gets just a middling reaction, which is still more than in the Scandinavian countries which are extremely liberal in that regard. But when it comes to violence, the U.K. and other southern European countries are fairly accepting of it in their games, whereas Scandinavia is much more restrictive. The solution has been the use of “descriptors” on packaging. If a game gets an age 16 rating because of language, a mother in the U.K. who sees the “language descriptor” might prevent her child from buying it, but a mother in France, who isn't particularly bothered by such language, may have no hesitations about buying it for her 12-year-old.
“The same sort of cultural differences popped up with the so-called Hot Coffee issue with GTA,” recalls Hall. “I know the scene depicting a sex act caused a great stir in America. Even Hillary Clinton got involved. But we looked at it and it seemed relatively trivial. Did we change the rating? No, because it was already rated 18 for violence, which is the highest it can go. Would we have raised it if we could? I think not; as I said, that sort of thing is considered mild over here.”
Give it a read. Go on, I dare you.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings
This was unofficially announced for the first time almost exactly two years ago (see this post at the DVD Forums), and I'd more or less completely forgotten about it, but today, quite by chance, I discovered that The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings had recently been released. This CD, as its title suggests, contains every single piece of music used in the extended edition of the first instalment of Peter Jackson's bloated epic. Whatever misgivings I might have about the film itself, I can't deny that the score is one of the best of all time, and this will be a welcome replacement for the unbearably truncated version that was initially released back in 2001. The score is spread across three CDs, with a DVD-Audio disc containing all three hours' worth of material in Surround sound.I've ordered my copy from Amazon UK. In the meantime, read this review at SoundtrackNet.
Ye olde essay
I finally finished the first draft of my essay "Giallo and Gender" today. At 3,787 words, I'm almost 800 over the limit, but hopefully some judicious editing and rewriting will get that down a bit before the submission date of January 11.If anyone is interested in reading it, feel free to email me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Lights, camera... devil worship!
I ordered a used copy of Dennis Wheatley's novel The Devil Rides Out from Amazon UK's marketplace. Some editions are selling for as much as £250, but I managed to find a "well-used" paperback for £9.99.Oh yeah, and my final Christmas prezzie, The Movies (PC DVD-ROM), arrived today.
Asterix a go-go
The Asterix box set is finally shipping! Today, Amazon.fr's "usually dispatched" estimation changed to "24 hours", and my order on the Gaumont web site changed to "Expédition prévue: Immédiate" ("Expected dispatch: Immediate"). I've now cancelled the Amazon order and am crossing my fingers that Gaumont get off their duffers and have my order with them shipped out to me in time for Christmas.By the way, screenshots for Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Big Fight have now materialised on their respective pages. The transfers look good. All three films (including Asterix vs. Caesar) also have trailers available on their pages.
Bonzer DVD bonanza
My three DVDs from DVD Pacific - Blue Velvet, The Devil Rides Out/Rasputin the Mad Monk and To the Devil... a Daughter - arrived this morning.
To the Devil a Daughter (the three dots are Anchor Bay's creation and were not part of the original title) was Hammer's last horror production, and it's far from the studio's finest hour, but in spite of its flaws it turns out to be an enjoyable enough affair. This was one of three Dennis Wheatley novels optioned by Hammer (the most celebrated, of course, being the very good The Devil Rides Out), and by all accounts it diverges a great deal from the original text. Indeed, the making-of documentary on the DVD reveals that the script was being hastily rewritten even as it was being shot and that the end result bore no ressemblance to anything Wheatley had ever written. Needless to say, he hated it, but despite its chaotic production there are a number of good elements. Christopher Lee is excellent, as usual, in the role of the mad priest, and the constant shifting between different time periods and between dreams and reality, while confusing, help to create a strong sense of unease. For the most part, the film is competently helmed by Peter Sykes, even if his direction is largely unremarkable.
6/10
Monday, December 12, 2005
Auteur theory
The original question: The Auteur Theory - Bollocks or not?Human beings, I would argue, crave organisation, and as such I think that auteur theory is useful primarily as a means of categorising films and organising them in a more efficient manner. Clearly the theory has validity in the case of certain films, but to apply it religiously to the medium as a whole would be insane. I think that a lot of people like auteur theory because of the romanticised image it presents of a single great visionary, and because it is easier to understand film production as analogous to, say, writing a novel, than to see it as an industry in which even the smallest, most independent feature is the result of the work of several different people. It also makes collecting a lot easier. Being able to say "I liked such and such a film directed by this Argento guy - I think I'll look into the rest of the stuff he's done" gives the act of collecting a sense of purpose and creates the notion that it is possible to own or at least experience an entire "collection" of films.
An interesting question, though, is why we romanticise the director rather than any other member of the production. If we're going to talk about films having a singular "author", surely assuming that author to be the screenwriter constitutes a far more direct line of thought than the man with the movie camera. And hell, if we're going to talk about modern Hollywood blockbusters, surely "a Jerry Bruckheimer film" would be a lot closer to the mark than "a Michael Bay film" or "a Simon West film". I just can't fathom why it became the norm to assume the director to be the author rather than anyone else. I'm not saying that saying the writer (or producer) is the author would be any more valid, of course.
One of the funniest things I ever read on this subject was an interview with Brett Ratner where, clearly fancying himself as something of an auteur, he claimed that his films had a very distinctive style and that you could always identify something he had directed without actually watching the credits.
As many of you probably know, I'm currently writing an essay on representations of gender in the giallo and found myself running into the downside of auteur theory. My plan was always to structure the essay by director, covering the work of Argento (progressive) and Fulci (fairly reactionary, but not consistently), but the more gialli I've watched, the clearer it has become to me that these two writer/directors were decidedly unusual in terms of the amount of depth and subtext they injected into their best work. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that I needed to find some way of representing the "average" giallo: the films that are reactionary in terms of their attitudes towards gender and sexuality, but out of habit rather than because they actually wanted to engage with politics or sociology (unlike Argento and Fulci, who in my opinion, at least in their 1970s work, definitely had something specific to say in this area).
Here auteur theory fails, because the vast majority of these films were not created out of a burning desire to make an important point about politics or society, or to impart a deeply personal story, but simply to make money. If I were to choose a director whose films sum up exactly what the giallo was about, I would probably select Sergio Martino. Martino can hardly be considered an auteur, though, can he? (Hell, calling Fulci an auteur is stretching things, but calling Martino an auteur is tantamount to insanity.) Martino's films all fall into what I would call the "reactionary by default" category, but I don't feel comfortable referring to "the films of Argento, Fulci and Martino". They're not exactly on the same level.
As a result, I've fallen back on the writer as author and grand architect. It's a bit of an over-simplification, but in order to represent the "reactionary by default" subcategory of the genre, I've decided to look at films written by Ernesto Gastaldi, bar far the most prolific (and most socially reactionary) scribe in the giallo movement. Of course, the fact that virtually all of his films reveal the same views on gender and sexuality probably has as much to do with the fact that he was simply banging out a vast number of scripts conforming to an identical formula as anything else, but I feel a lot more comfortable talking about "a Gastaldi script" than I do talking about "a Martino (or Margheriti, or Lenzi) film".
I'm not sure whether all this really adds anything to the debate. I guess what I'm trying to say is that auteur theory is an attractive means of categorising films, but not always a practical one, especially when we enter into the realms of (gasp!) popular cinema.
The essay, the essay
Hopefully I'll have the first draft of my essay, "Giallo and Gender", finished by the end of tomorrow. So far I've written the introduction, conclusion, and my material on Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci (I still need to delve into the fetid swamps of Ernesto Gastaldi's screenplays), but I've already gone over the 3,000 word limit. Hopefully some judicious editing will bring it into line.I'm actually quite impressed with myself: the essay isn't due to be handled in until a month yesterday (January 11). I don't think I've ever had a project due in this early in advance.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
DVD delays, chapter the second
I noticed today that DVDLand.it had got copies of The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times in stock a little ahead of their projected date of December 20th. Provided it gets dispatched reasonably soon (hopefully tomorrow), I should have it, and its stable-mate, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, in time for Christmas after all.As for the Asterix box set, Amazon.fr are now listing a release date of December 20th. Hmm. I'll believe it when I see it.
Update, 13:47 on Monday, December 12, 2005: My order from DVDLand.it has now been dispatched.
More on Sony
(Thanks Richard)BBC News has an update on Sony's CD copy protection scandal (reported on here and here). Apparently, Sony are "rethinking" their anti-piracy policy and are offering replacement non-faulty CDs, but have stopped short of offering an actual apology to those whose computers have been damaged by their incompetence. Ppersonally, if I had been affected, I would be expecting compensation, but Sony seem to think that a statement amounting to "we won't do it again" cuts the mustard. This does make me somewhat wary of buying CDs from these brigands in the future.
Friday, December 09, 2005
New John K interview
There is a new short interview with John K at Exclaim. His story about meeting Michael Jackson is killer.Sainsbury's and Woolworths: in the hands of nutters
Source: Melon FarmersThe controversial Jerry Springer: The Opera was recently released on DVD in the UK, but if you're planning on buying a copy, don't bother looking for a copy at either Sainsbury's or Woolworths. After a record 10-20 complaints from Christian nutters, Sainsbury's pulled it from their shelves, with Woolworths following suit after receiving an undisclosed number of complaints. A campaign has begun to persuade customers who disagree with these actions to show how they feel by boycotting the stores in question. Personally, I haven't shopped at Sainsbury's in years, and Woolworths' goods are normally so shoddy that I would consider it unwise to buy anything more than a few pens or can of Sprite, so none of this really affects me. However, if you think freedom of expression has any merit, I would urge you to express your freedom of choice by shopping elsewhere.
In any event, if I wanted to buy a copy of Jerry Springer: The Opera, do you seriously think I'd want to get it from Woolworths? Let's be serious, for god's sake.
See Chick Yoghurt for a more extensive blog post on the issue, including correspondence with the thought police at Woolies.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
DVD Soon up shit creek with no paddle
You may remember that, back in August, I reported that DVD Soon, who were once one of the best Region 1 DVD suppliers in the business, had flown south faster than a flock of wild geese at the onset of winter, effectively screwing over their customers, robbing many people of hundreds of dollars' worth of orders. Well, today I received an email from them, stating that:It is with a lot of regret and sadness that we must announce the closure of the company 9086 - 8316 Québec Inc who managed the operations of DVDSoon.com.
The assets of DVDSoon.com have been taken by Canadian Distribution Services which means the site will remain open and all activities will be maintained. Therefore all pending orders will be honored.
Unfortunately all operations that were suspended and were the responsibility of 9086 - 8316 Québec Inc will not be honored. These operations include credits, refunds, replacement requests, and Fidelity iPoints.
Isn't