About Movies: DVD Wishlist

A few years ago, around the time I was first considering getting a DVD player (I was a very late adopter of this technology, unlike most things) I commented to some friends that there were 7 movies that really would want to get DVDs of that I suspected would never be released on DVD. These weren’t my absolute favourite movies or anything, just movies that I like enough to want to own them which I suspected would remain too obscure for a release. (I have lots of “cult” faves, but some of them already had Criterion releases, so I was talking about the real corner stuff.)

Well, I just realised that I have 4 of those movies in my DVD collection now. I wonder if I’ll ever see the other three released on DVD?

The ones from the list that I have managed to get are:

The Last Seduction – Linda Fiorentino as the ultimate femme fatale. For a while it seemed like there were ever only going to be releases of this with region coding that would render it useless to me. At one point I nearly bought a region-free player just so I could get a DVD of this. Eventually an R1 (or maybe R0–it works anyway) copy became available, which made me happy.

Whale Music – Despite what Mr. Gibbs thinks, I think this is a really well done adaptation of Paul Quarrington’s excellent book. Both Chaykin and Preston shine. It’s great to see a Canadian movie, based on a Canadian book, that is so good. Of course, is commonly the case with good Canadian movies, it made about 50 cents, so a DVD seemed impossible. However, it did eventually happen, and I was able to retire my treasured VHS copy. (Speaking of Canadian films, I wonder how much of Bruce McDonald’s oeuvre is available on DVD? I know Hard Core Logo, since I have the super collectors edition, but what about RoadKill, Highway 61, or the one he did based on Kinsella’s Res stories? And, didn’t he have one in last year’s Atlantic Film Festival that I wanted to see, but somehow missed?)

Nothing Personal – A great UK/Ireland (well, Channel 4, I think) film about Belfast in 1975: gangs, friends, and The Troubles. I remember being so saddened after seeing this at the Princess with Roach that I decided not to go to a party with waitress I was chasing at the time. I don’t think there has been a domestic DVD release of this one, but I have an Asian region-free release in my collection, and that counts.

Bearskin – Tom Waits as a Punch and Judy professor, gangsters, fantasy. Do you really need to hear more? (I hope not, because the movie actually kind of never really pulls it together, despite Waits’ best attempt to work with the script.) This is also one that I have an Asian DVD of, this one of dubious legality, but hey, it means I don’t need that VHS anymore.

The ones I haven’t managed to find yet are these:

Closet Land – Alan Rickman and Madeleine Stowe in a brilliant two-hander dealing with questions of freedom and torture. Stowe does pretty well, but Rickman is stunning. Alberto Gonzales should be forced to watch this ten times a day for a few weeks. I hear rumours that there is a Spanish R2 DVD of this with the original english soundtrack still on, so I might still have to get that region-free player.

I Went Down – Irish gangster comedy. Saw this one in Elora at their rep cinema and loved it. Brendan Gleeson shows great comic timing, and is working with a pretty damn funny script. (Gleason’s in a movie based on that Patrick McCabe novel at AFF this year. I wonder if Carsten’s going to see it and tell me if it was good?) I have a VHS, but have never been able to find a DVD.

The Search for Signs of Inteligent Life in the Universe – (Yes, that’s really the title. Yes, spelled like that.) Screen adaptation of Lily Tomlin’s one-woman show, based on Jane Wagner’s play/script. This is Tom Stoppard-quality intellectual comedy. This makes me forgive Tomlin for the rest of her career–hell, this gives her enough credit that she could do movies with Jennifer Love Hewitt and I’d still respect her. Why no DVD?