May 31, 2006

Dispatch #135

Say so long to May and hello to June (no swooning!), in the latest issue of the GreenCine Dispatch, which has a few children's-themed titles to recommend (though one of them is decidedly not for children). Enjoy!

#135 | May 30, 2006
"You know, for kids." -- The Hudsucker Proxy.

If you're thinking of trying GreenCine's new DVD sales service (and you know you are), this is a high time to read through GreenCine's "Buy FAQ" - a handy list of answers to all the basic questions you may have about the service. Give it a try, and then give it a buy. (Reminder: Free priority shipping on all orders over $50.)

The children's television satire Wonder Showzen is decidedly not for the toddler set (though the show's opening "warning" to this effect is quite funny), but adults looking for something both different, demented and often hilarious should give this one a try. The "Beat Kids" segments, in which child reporters ask people on the street cynical questions, are particularly funny. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be glad you're not a puppet.

Two discs for $22.95.

Dumbo, even more so than the more famously child traumatizing Bambi, was the movie that really got me as a kid. Not only is there that typical Disney child abandonment theme, but the ugly duckling plot and the circus animal abuse backdrop makes it even more emotionally engaging. It's also one of the studio's best animated features, with... read the rest here.

Buy the new "Big Top" edition out next Tuesday, for $25.45.

Now playing via GreenCine's Video-on-Demand: Independent Exposure: Animation collection, which includes Edie Faig's amusing Side Show, depicted on the cover, the lovely Berio, based on the last interview the composer Berio had given, Steve Whitehouse's Kunstbar, and fifteen other excellent short works of animation.

Watch for only $3.99 a pop.

 

More like this: The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog | Mr. Show: First and Second Seasons More like this: Bambi | Alice in Wonderland More like this: Avoid Eye Contact - The Best of NYC Independent Animation Vol. 1 | Mr. Klek's Triumph

Aye, it's an eclectic bunch, this week's new releases are:

Winter Soldier (1972; $19.45). A stunning record of the testimony of returned vets in 1971 known as the "Winter Soldier Investigation" and documented by a then-anonymous filmmaking collective (including such luminaries as Barbara Kopple). "The afterlife of the Vietnam home front experience indicates that we saw it all in our living rooms, or in Hearts and Minds - but, no, we didn't. A Winter Soldier screening should be a voter registration requirement," writes Michael Atkinson in the Village Voice.

"Freedomland (2005; $25.45) is a sober, unsettling drama that uses the framework of a police procedural to explore matters of individual madness and the collective madness of racism," writes Sheri Linden in the Hollywood Reporter. "Adapting his 1998 novel, Richard Price has fashioned a stripped-down, elegantly written tale that's topical without being heavy-handed. The film is, above all, a moving portrait of hurting souls, brought to life in compelling performances." With Samuel L Jackson, Julianne Moore and Edie Falco.

Clara et moi (2004; $19.95). Ah, to be in love... in France. "[Julien] Boisselier captivates throughout," writes Kim Linekin for Eye Weekly. "Looking like a cross between Peter Sarsgaard and Jeremy Piven, he embodies the complicated man-child qualities of Antoine with such grace and ease that you'd swear he's been playing this role on Broadway for years."

Also out this week: The Uninvited (2003; $19.45); Touch the Sound (2004; $20.95); The Bette Davis Collection (set: $50.45; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Special Edition, $23.95; other individual titles - The Man Who Came to Dinner, Jezebel, Marked Woman, Old Acquaintance - $15.95); The Flats (2002; $16.95); Kids in the Hall Season 4 ($41.95).

New anime: Ah! My Goddess Volume 5: In Your Eyes (2005; $23.45). Writes Theron "Key" Martin for the Anime News Network: "Long-time fans of Kosuke Fujishima's work will love this series for how faithful it remains to the manga, while newcomers will find a light-hearted and enchanting take on anime romantic comedies."

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

 He's gone through war and therapy. He's partied with James Dean over at Gene Kelly's place. He's auditioned in front of Boris Karloff. Most famously, though, he's written plays and movies, among them, Rebel Without a Cause. Stewart Stern's got stories to tell, and he tells more than a few to Sean Axmaker.

To paraphrase from an ad parody on Ren and Stimpy, "Blog, blog, everyone loves a blog." And people seem to be enjoying our blog, GreenCine Daily, as it wraps up the Cannes International Film Festival and all the award winners.

On a sadder note, the fantastic Japanese director and two time Cannes Palme d'Or winner Shohei Imamura passed away yesterday. We highly recommend his films - all of them.

Our genre of the week is Screwball Comedy, and if you haven't yet stopped by to give Gregg Rickman's primer on the subject a read, now's a good time. A bunch of these classic comedies have recently made their way to DVD at last, so we've updated the primer to include more links. In their heyday, these Hollywood romantic comedies spanned from the 1934's The Thin Man, Twentieth Century and It Happened One Night through to Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story in the 40s, but, as Rickman notes, "it is still very much with us, as a beacon of the giddy achievement possible within popular entertainment."

 

And thus, our member list of the week is Dunnyman's Screwball Comedies of the Ages list, for a few of their own favorites.

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. In one of his final roles, Robert Ryan stars as an aging criminal trying to collect on a kidnapping plot in Montreal. Jean-Louis Trintignant, Aldo Ray and an uncredited Emmanuelle Béart (in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role) round out a remarkable cast, photographed by Edmond Richard (Welles' The Trial; Bunuel's Le Fantôme de la liberté). Legendary French auteur René Clément crafts David Goodis' "Black Friday" into a gritty, witty, unjustly little-seen neo-noir. The program includes the exceptionally rare short film The Reason Why, also starring Ryan as a conflicted man with a gun in his hand.

Wednesday, June 7, 7:30pm. YBCA, 701 Mission Street, San Francisco. $7/$5 GreenCine and YBCA Members, Students, Seniors.

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 May 31, 2006 5:55 PM