April 26, 2006

Dispatch #130

We bid April, and the rain that came with it, adieu in this week's edition of the GreenCine Dispatch newsletter.

#130 | April 25, 2006


"Somehow I've become very cautious. When I put on a raincoat, I put on sunglasses too. Who knows when it will rain, or when it will turn out sunny?" -- Chungking Express.

We've got some tips on how to buy (and why to buy) DVDs on GreenCine. Just some helpful ways to get you started. Click here to read more.

Elevator to the Gallows (1957; two discs, $31.87). Notes Melissa Anderson in the Village Voice: "It's precisely Louis Malle's omnivorous appetite that makes his first feature, adapted from a policier, so delectable, one stuffed with many sumptuous sights and sounds: gorgeous nighttime shots of Paris lensed by Henri Decaë, Miles Davis's [fantastic - ed.] largely improvised score, the nail-biting breakout from the titular lift, and Jeanne Moreau, in the role that would make her a star."

From the mesmerizing opening shots to the haunting finale, Julio Medem's Lovers of the Artic Circle (1998; $14.75) will have you in its thrall. Crossing back and forth in time seamlessly, the film traces the love story of two step-siblings who are seemingly pre-destined for each other. The love story is beautiful... read the rest here.

Now available via Video-on-Demand: 24 Hours on Craigslist, Michael Ferris Gibson's documentary capturing "the ultimate people zoo" (Film Threat), the online community that's spread like wildfire over the last few years. "It’s an absolute blast to watch as all walks of life are represented here and all interests, no matter how off-center, are shared" (Film Threat again). And now you can watch 24 Hours on Craiglist any hour of the day you please, via GreenCine VOD ($3.99-$4.99).

 

More like this: A Man Escaped | Touchez Pas au Grisbi More like this: Sex and Lucia | Aberdeen More like this: Modern Tribalism | Through the Lens

A lot of good stuff highlighting this week's new releases, including two restored classics:

Match Point (2005; $21.76). "My head is still spinning," wrote A.O. Scott from Cannes '05, in one of the early experiments with blogging at the New York Times. "A truly shocking thing happened this morning. I saw a really good Woody Allen movie." Though there would be dissenters, for the most part, the plaudits would continue to pour in throughout the sleak thriller's slow roll-out on through the year.

When he caught Steve Martin's Shopgirl (2005; $21.76) at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October, Jonathan Marlow called it "one of the best American films of the year, mining the same territory as Lost in Translation to much better effect... It is imperative... that you see this movie." With Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman.

"Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975; $19.95), that cinematic Rip Van Winkle, is stirring from its rest." So begins a wonderful piece by Robert Koehler in Cinema Scope. "Only such a mysterious film deserves such mysterious treatment: out of nowhere, sometime in the middle of the 80s, it was gone; now, out of nowhere, it's back." With, of course, Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider.

Also out this week: Aeon Flux (2005); Heath Ledger's "other" movie from 2005, Casanova ($25.45) is "wholly enjoyable" (Salon's Stephanie Zacharek); The Intruder (2004; $17.95), Claire Denis's "most poetic and primal film to date, as thrilling as it is initially baffling" (Village Voice); Fists in the Pocket (Criterion Collection) (1965; $23.89); Kiyoshi Kurosawa's The Guard From Underground (1992; $17.95); The Paul Morrissey Collection (1968 - 1972; $40.95).

New Anime:
Karas: The Prophecy (2005; $15.45). "The nonlinear storytelling, deeply mysterious plot and imagery that's chock full of beautiful water and light effects make each scene so fascinating it's almost impossible to tear yourself away," writes Newtype USA.

A complete list of this week's New Releases | Coming Soon | New Releases Archive | Your Queue

 "It's too early to start coining the term 'T-Horror,' but Taiwanese scarefest The Heirloom could kick-start a whole new subdivision of Asian psychodramas along with its established Japanese and South Korean cousins," wrote Derek Elley in Variety last fall. Jonathan Marlow talks with young director Leste Chen about his groundbreaking feature and his admiration for Kim Ji-woon and Iwai Shunji.

Also: "Crossing Borders with Eran Riklis," an interview with the director of the film The Syrian Bride [out on DVD June 6]. And coming soon: an engaging interview with the screenwriters of Aeon Flux.

This week on our award-winning and ever-voluminous film blog, GreenCine Daily: reports from the San Francisco International Film Festival, Tribeca and Udine, as well as the first summer previews and much more.

After signing a groundbreaking licensing agreement with Zealot Pictures and Heretic Films, we're proud that the aforementioned 24 Hours on Craigslist makes GreenCine the first vendor to simultaneously offer a film for purchase, Rent-by-Mail and On-Demand the same day the film is made available on DVD. Read the whole announcement here.

 

The GreenCine member list of the week is one of our own actually: a compilation of some of the best Tartan Video (Oldboy, A Tale of Two Sisters) has to offer.

Speaking of Tartan, drop by our home page for a brand new trivia contest in which we're giving away copies of three Tartan films: The Heirloom, Pray and Natural City. The deadline is Thursday, so hurry!
Our next screening at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will be on Wednesday, June 7 as we proudly present René Clément's And Hope to Die. More details to follow in forthcoming issues of the Dispatch.
We recommend viewing this newsletter in all of its HTML glory; check your e-mail program's settings to view HTML. This newsletter is sent to GreenCine members only. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future, log in to the GreenCine site, click "View Your Profile" then click Edit Profile. Choose "no" on the "Subscribe to the GreenCine newsletter" option and click "Update Profile." Archives of the Dispatch are now available online at GreenCine's Press and Marketing blog.
Posted by cphillips at April 26, 2006 3:23 PM