11 February 2009

An MIA Wish-List

[Written as part of Jeremy Richey of Moon in the Gutter's "M.I.A. on Region 1 DVD" for the month of February] I don't know if it's more criminal that some of my favorite films aren't available on DVD yet, or if so many films I've been dying to see (and haven't had the chance to do so) is the real sham. My biggest worry about the new high def format is that the studios will now focus on making better transfers for their shitty films instead of focusing on the titles they haven't even given a proper DVD transfer. I had hoped the formats would war it out longer, but I guess that's no longer the case. So, in following 28 films I love that have yet to make it to DVD in the US, here are 28 films I wish I had the chance to see (I'm aware that some are coming, but the wait is killer). Like the other list, I've chosen only one film per director, as all of Jacques Rivette's films deserve to be out there. [Also, I've stopped apologizing for my French obsession(s)]

1. The Last Woman [La dernière femme] - dir. Marco Ferreri - 1976 - France/Italy - with Gérard Depardieu, Ornella Muti, Michel Piccoli, Zouzou, Nathalie Baye

2. Cold Water [L'eau froide] - dir. Olivier Assayas - 1994 - France - with Virginie Ledoyen, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Darroussin

3. L'amour fou - dir. Jacques Rivette - 1969 - France - with Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Kalfon

4. La cicatrice intérieure [The Inner Scar] - dir. Philippe Garrel - 1972 - France - with Nico, Philippe Garrel, Pierre Clémenti, Jean-Pierre Kalfon

5. The Best Intentions [Den Goda viljan] - dir. Bille August - 1992 - Sweden/Germany/UK/Italy/France/Denmark/Finland/Norway/Iceland - with Max von Sydow, Pernilla August, Lena Endre

6. Time of the Gypsies [Dom za vesanje] - dir. Emir Kusturica - 1988 - Yugoslavia/UK/Italy

7. The Blue Dahlia - dir. George Marshall - 1946 - USA - with Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake

8. Colossal Youth [Juventude Em Marcha] - dir. Pedro Costa - 2006 - Portugal/France/Switzerland

9. Les créatures - dir. Agnès Varda - 1966 - France/Sweden - with Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Eva Dahlbeck

10. Cruel Story of Youth - dir. Nagisa Oshima - 1960 - Japan

11. Jail Bait [Wildwechsel] - dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder - 1973 - West Germany - with Harry Baer, Ruth Drexel, Irm Hermann, Eva Mattes, Kurt Raab, Hanna Schygulla

12. The Devil Probably [Le diable probablement] - dir. Robert Bresson - 1977 - France

13. Diary of a Mad Housewife - dir. Frank Perry - 1970 - USA - with Frank Langella, Carrie Snodgress, Richard Benjamin

14. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - dir. Chantal Akerman - 1975 - France/Belgium - with Delphine Seyrig

15. India Song - dir. Marguerite Duras - 1975 - France - with Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Carrière

16. No Fear, No Die [S'en fout la mort] - dir. Claire Denis - 1990 - France/West Germany - with Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Solveig Dommartin, Christopher Buchholz, Jean-Claude Brialy

17. Nocturnal Uproar [Tapage nocturne] - dir. Catherine Breillat - 1979 - France - with Joe Dallesandro

18. The Spider's Stratagem [Strategia del ragno] - dir. Bernardo Bertolucci - 1970 - Italy - with Alida Valli

19. Face to Face [Ansikte mot ansikte] - dir. Ingmar Bergman - 1976 - Sweden - with Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Gunnar Björnstrand

20. Innocence Unprotected [Nevinost bez zastite] - dir. Dusan Makavejev - 1968 - Yugoslavia

21. Le beau Serge - dir. Claude Chabrol - 1958 - France - with Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont

22. Secret Ceremony - dir. Joseph Losey - 1968 - UK - with Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Peggy Ashcroft

23. L'important c'est d'aimer [The Main Thing Is to Love] - dir. Andrzej Żuławski - 1975 - France/Italy/West Germany - with Romy Schneider, Jacques Dutronc, Klaus Kinski

24. The Beaver Trilogy - dir. Trent Harris - 2000 - USA - with Sean Penn, Crispin Glover, Elizabeth Daily

25. Je t'aime, je t'aime - dir. Alain Resnais - 1968 - France - with Claude Rich

26. Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón - dir. Pedro Almodóvar - 1980 - Spain - with Carmen Maura, Cecilia Roth, Julieta Serrano, Assumpta Serna

27. Luna Park - dir. Pavel Lungin - 1992 - Russia/France

28. The Moon in the Gutter [La lune dans le caniveau] - dir. Jean-Jacques Beineix - 1983 - France/Italy - with Gérard Depardieu, Nastassja Kinski, Victoria Abril, Dominique Pinon, Vittorio Mezzogiorno

1 comment:

Blake Williams said...

Jeanne Dielman is coming from Criterion this summer.

Also from Criterion, I emailed Jon Mulvaney a couple of days ago about Pedro Costa, and this was his reply:

"Hi Blake,

I believe we do hope to be working with Pedro Costa, however I don't have any information about specific titles or street dates at this time. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your e-mail!

Best,

Jon Mulvaney"