THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS/THE PLUMBER Peter Weir Double Feature; DVD
Art/Australian/Cult DVD
Here on one disc are two apprentice-era offerings by Australia's most consistently successful international director, Peter Weir. On this disc are Weir's first offering as director, 1974's The Cars That Ate Paris, clocking in at a neat 84 minutes, and The Plumber from 1978, running at an even neater 74 minutes.
Cars is an exercise in surrealistic black comedy, about a small New South Wales country town which survives on carnage. The townsfolk arrange smashes of innocent folk driving by in their Holdens, Falcons or even Jaguars. If the drivers are dead, they're buried and forgotten. If they survive, they're quickly given power-drill lobotomies and treated quite fondly as the town's vegetables.
The Plumber is a very well structured thriller with elements of black comedy - it's very Pinteresque in that the suspense and drama come through its words and atmosphere, not through explicit action. Plumbing maintenance turns into psychological and class warfare. White-collar confronting blue-collar across a chasm of sinks and sewerage. The ending is both surprising but somehow inevitable in this little bathroom-sink drama. Excellent!
SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964); DVD
SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964); DVD
DVD, Used
Martians, upset that their children have become obsessed with TV shows from Earth which extol the virtues of Santa Claus, start an expedition to Earth to kidnap the one and only Santa. While on Earth, they kidnap two lively children that lead the group of Martians to the North Pole and Santa. The Martians then take Santa and the two children back to Mars with them. Voldar, a particularly grumpy Martian, attempts to do away with the children and Santa before they get to Mars, but their leader Lomas stops him. When they arrive on Mars, Santa, with the help of the two Earth children and a rather simple-minded Martian lackey, overcomes the Martians by bringing fun, happiness and Christmas cheer to the children of Mars.....Pack me another cone will ya?
PORNO HOLOCAUST Joe D'amato (1981); DVD
Horror/Porn DVD
A group of castaways wash ashore on a deserted island in this Italian sex/gore movie. They are unaware that a sex-crazed radioactive monster is also on the island. He attacks and rapes several of the women, who die horrible deaths because of course his sperm is radioactive. The survivors must find a way to either escape the island or kill the monster. Another Joe D'amato classic roughie....
DISINFORMATION: THE COMPLETE SERIES; DVD
Documentary/Underground Culture, 2 X DVD
Really underground TV from the Sci Fi channel, hosted by Disinformation co-founder Richard Metzger. Satanism, Extreme Pornography, weird conspiracy theories, mind-controlled sex slaves, time travel, outsider music, Painter Joe Coleman, comics genius Grant Morrison, Genesis P-Orridge, Kembra Pfahler, lots more.
"Incredibly well produced and presented in a straightforward manner... The results are bust-a-gut funny" -- Los Angeles Times, July 2003
Special features
The complete series intended for the Sci-Fi Channel
PIGSTY (PORCILE) Pier Paolo Passolini (1969); DVD
Arthouse DVD
Two stories form the whole: 1) one young man (Pierre Clementi) who has killed his parents and ate their flesh walks around from village to village after being sentenced to perish in the vast desert. The only thing he'll be able to do is to kill whoever show up on his way and then eat them too. That's the story of the young cannibal, marvelously presented without words (he only has one spoken line repeated towards the ending). Beautiful cinematography, scary and thrilling sequences in it. 2) this story, very talky and quite messy brings Jean-Pierre Léaud (who was also in "Week End") as the son of an German industrialist who can't connect with people, preferring the company of the pigs ("Porcile" translates to "Pigsty"). He tries some involvement with a girl (Anne Wiazemsky) but with no luck. And there's his father (Alberto Lionello) business deals with a former Nazi of name Herdhitze (Ugo Tognazzi) also businessman but a rival of his, who hasn't aged through the war years after successful plastic surgeries. Foggy speeches about life, politics, mankind are dissolved into this other story and it's very hard to form a whole idea.
COMBAT SHOCK (1984): DVD
'TROMA' DVD Rated R, Used
Combat Shock (1986) was a low budget film about a battle scarred veteran who just cannot erase the memories of his horrific experinces in Viet-Nam. He's also having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. The economy is in the dumps and unemployment is at an all time high in his area. With a family to support and no hope, the surrounding environment and his family's fianancial problems begin to take a toll upon his sanity and well being. Buddy Giovinazzo has created a grim and gritty look about life in the inner city and for those veterans who were one of the few to escape from the bloody jungles of Viet-Nam seemingly unscathed. But he has wounds that are not visible to the naked eye. Abandoned by society and the government that he served, he represents a lot of people who were ignored when they returned back to the "world". This is very strong stuff. It has no budget but that somehow suits the story - it's totally gritty and real, no gloss whatsoever. Very bleak and depressing cult film.
SKINNED ALIVE (Skate Documentary 2006); DVD
Skate/Tattoo/Documentary (DVD); Used
The expressive and creative underworlds of skateboarding and tattoos collide in this cult classic documentary! Take an inside look at the history and interrelationships of the two lifestyles, professionally as they’ve grown and become intertwined over the last few decades of respect. Find out how many of these top names have made the cross-over from one way of life, to the other. Back in the 80’s, you could not buy the skater look in the mall, and punk-rock bands with trendy tattoos weren’t plastered all over Mtv. Like it or not, this is a 1st and definitive film.
IN A GLASS CAGE (1986); DVD
DVD (1986), Used (Rare)
Talk about a movie that lives up to its reputation -- In a Glass Cage is relentlessly intense from start to finish. The story of a Nazi doctor /pedophile in hiding and the strange young man who comes to work as his "nurse," this film explores taboos with relish. Toward the end, the film devolves into a more horror movie, not to take away from the very real horrors it develops. In a Glass Cage packs a wallop earning its reputation as one of the more disturbing movies ever made. It 's very much a European movie, and, given its horrifying subject matter -- pedophilia, the torture and murder of children, the relationship between monsters and their victims -- it could never have been made in the U.S. Strongly recommended for viewers who have strong stomachs and are not otherwise easily offended.
HORI SMOKU SAILOR JERRY: The life of Norman K Collins (2008); DVD
Art/Tattoo/Documentary DVD; Used
This is a brilliant documentary about the history of tattooing in America. The narratives of Sailor Jerry's personally typed and VERY frank outlooks on life and people are hilarious. Appearances of notable figures of the industry offering their personal recollections are priceless (Don Ed Hardy, Eddie Funk, Mike Malone, Zeke Owens, Lyle Tuttle...all very famous and innovative artists). A fascinating look into the fascinating history of the most fascinating art form! Superb!
THE MARK OF CAIN Alix Lambert (2001); DVD
Rare as shit 'Russian Prison Tattoos Documentary' DVD
Sailing ships, stars, angels and executioners, The Mark of Cain chronicles the vanishing practice and language of Russian Criminal Tattoos. Captured in some of Russia's most notorious prisons, including the fabled White Swan, the film traces the animus of the flowers of this carnal art by way of the brutality of it's origins: the penitentiary and the criminal environment. Incisive interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists reveal the secret language of The Zone and The Code of Thieves of the vory v zakone.
EX DRUMMER (2007); DVD
Cult/Punk/Arthouse DVD
Every village has its band of fools, trying to get to the top, following their idols in drug habits, but staying losers till the end of their pathetic days. They all do this in the name of rock & roll. Three disabled rock musicians are looking for a drummer. Dries, a well known writer, seems the right guy for the job, were it not for the fact that his only handicap is that he can't play the drums. He joins the group as a perfect, but evil god walking down his mountain to play with the populace. They only play one song...a cover of the DEVO classic 'Mongoloid'. Surreal, violent, darkly hilarious, EX-Drummer transitions from guilty laughs to gut-wrenching, sickening imagery. An intelligent drama which superficially looks and sounds unintelligent..... Fucking brilliant!
ROSE TATTOO - LIVE AT BOGGO ROAD JAIL 1993; DVD
Music DVD (OOP), Used
Rose Tattoo live at Boggo Road Jail.....I don't need to tell you anything more, this shit sells itself.
Tracks include: 'Out Of This Place', 'Bad Boy For Love', 'Assault & Battery', 'Tramp', 'The Butcher & Fast Eddy', 'Rock 'N' Roll Is King', 'Street Fighting Man', 'Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw', 'One Of The Boys', 'Nice Boys', 'Going Down'.
