18 December 2006

Bloated, Unstructured Wish List for DVD 2007

What this intends to be is exactly what the title suggests. A horrible flu + cold medicine + not being able to sleep = a lot of time wasted on the Internet and plenty of blog postings that don't require much eloquence or thought on my part. So, I've compiled a list of 40 (er, 41) DVDs that would make me smile if their respective studios decided to release them in this upcoming 2007. They are in no particular order, whatsoever.

Antonioni Adoration:
1. Red Desert (Il deserto rosso) - dir. Michelangelo Antonioni - 1964 - Italy/France
[NOTE: Available Region 1 from Image Entertainment, though highly out-of-print (and of mediocre quality). The disc usually goes for well over $100 on amazon.com; also available in France, Italy, and Russia without English subtitles]

2. Zabriskie Point - dir. Michelangelo Antonioni - 1970 - USA

3. Beyond the Clouds (Al di là delle nuvole) - dir. Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders - 1995 - Italy/France/Germany
[NOTE: Previously released and discontinued by Image. Available in France.]

Give Me Ken Russell:
4. The Devils - dir. Ken Russell - 1971 - UK

5. The Boyfriend - dir. Ken Russell - 1971 - UK/USA

6. Whore - dir. Ken Russell - 1991 - USA/UK

Oh, Derek Jarman:
7. The Garden - dir. Derek Jarman - 1990 - UK
[NOTE: Available in the U.K. and Japan, Region 2.]

8. Wittgenstein - dir. Derek Jarman - 1993 - UK
[NOTE: Available in Japan, Region 2.]

And, Oh, Peter Greenaway:
9. Drowning by Numbers - dir. Peter Greenaway - 1988 - UK/Netherlands
[NOTE: Available in Australia (Region 4) and Japan (Region 2), panned and scanned.]

10. Prospero's Books - dir. Peter Greenaway - 1991 - UK/Netherlands/France/Italy/Japan

Pre-Romance Breillat:
11. Sale comme un ange (Dirty Like an Angel) - dir. Catherine Breillat - 1991 - France

12. Tapage nocturne (Nocturnal Uproar) - dir. Catherine Breillat - 1979 - France

Y Buñuel:
13. The Exterminating Angel (El ángel exterminador) - dir. Luis Buñuel - 1962 - Mexico
[NOTE: Available in most countries. The U.K. version is region free.]

14. Tristana - dir. Luis Buñuel - 1970 - France/Italy/Spain
[NOTE: Available in many regions.]

¡Pedro!:
15. Labyrinth of Passion (El laberinto de pasiones) - dir. Pedro Almodóvar - 1982 - Spain

16. Pepi, Luci, Bom (Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón) - dir. Pedro Almodóvar - 1980 - Spain
[NOTE: Available Region 2 from the U.K. and Spain.]

Jodorowsky:
17. El topo - dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky - 1970 - Mexico
[NOTE: No existing media release of the film has ever been fully uncensored.]

18. The Holy Mountain - dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky - 1973 - Mexico/USA
[NOTE: Available in edited versions from Italy and Japan.]

And the Rest:
19. The Addiction - dir. Abel Ferrara - 1995 - USA
[NOTE: Available region 1 from Mexico, and in various European countries.]

20. À la folie (Six Days, Six Nights) - dir. Diane Kurys - 1994 - France
[NOTE: Only available in Australia.]

21. Before the Revolution (Prima della rivoluzione) - dir. Bernardo Bertolucci - 1964 - Italy
[NOTE: Available in Italy and Japan.]

22. The Castle (Das Schloß) - dir. Michael Haneke - 1997 - Austria/Germany
[NOTE: Available in Germany.]

23. Flaming Creatures - dir. Jack Smith - 1963 - USA

24. A Hole in My Heart (Ett Hål i mitt hjärta) - dir. Lukas Moodysson - 2004 - Sweden/Denmark
[NOTE: Available for rent exclusively from Netflix.]

25. Johnny Guitar - dir. Nicholas Ray - 1954 - USA

26. Last Year at Marienbad (L'année dernière à Marienbad) - dir. Alain Resnais - 1961 - France/Italy
[NOTE: Formerly available from Fox Lorber, currently available in the U.K.]

27. Love & Human Remains - dir. Denys Arcand - 1993 - Canada
[NOTE: Available in the U.K.]

28. Made in U.S.A. - dir. Jean-Luc Godard - 1966 - France
[NOTE: Available in France, Japan, and Italy.]

29. The Magician (Ansiktet) - dir. Ingmar Bergman - 1958 - Sweden
[NOTE: Available throughout Europe and Japan.]

30. Mala noche - dir. Gus Van Sant - 1985 - USA

31. Mon homme (My Man) - dir. Bertrand Blier - 1996 - France

32. Multiple Maniacs - dir. John Waters - 1970 - USA

33. Napoleon - dir. Abel Gance - 1927 - France
[NOTE: Available in many countries.]

34. No Skin Off My Ass - dir. Bruce LaBruce - 1991 - Canada
[NOTE: Available in the U.K. as a double-bill with Super 8 1/2, both edited for content.]

35. Nowhere - dir. Gregg Araki - 1997 - France/USA
[NOTE: Available in France.]


36. The Passion of Darkly Noon - dir. Philip Ridley - 1995 - UK/Germany/Belgium
[NOTE: Available Region 1 in Canada.]

37. The Reflecting Skin - dir. Philip Ridley - 1990 - UK/Canada
[NOTE: Available in Japan.]

38. Rosetta - dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne - 1999 - Belgium/France
[NOTE: Available in France and U.K.]

39. Shy People - dir. Andrei Konchalovsky - 1987 - USA

40. Trouble Every Day - dir. Claire Denis - 2001 - France/Germany/Japan
[NOTE: Available for rent on Netflix with a Hong Kong NTSC disc, available most everywhere else too.]

And one to grow on...

41. A Portrait of Jason - dir. Shirley Clarke - 1967 - USA
[NOTE: Available in the U.K. from Second Run.]

2 comments:

Xena said...

excellent taste in films,
and some suggestions too (:
films of Andrei Tarkovsky, Akira Kurosawa, Yasajiro Ozu , Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood for Love.
(:

reassurance said...

Thanks! I've seen most of Kurosawa's films and, of course, In the Mood for Love... but I need to get crackin' on the Ozu and Tarkovsky. I've seen a few (Tokyo Story, Good Morning!, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Stalker) but not enough.