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....
THE CRAMPS – Live At Napa State Mental Hospital (1978); DVD
Live Music DVD, New
"A free concert at the Napa State Hospital" In June of 1978, The Cramps played to a room full of enthusiastic patients at the Napa State Mental Institute and instantly established a benchmark in public rock. Includes a performance by ZEV at a "Target After Hours" event in 1980.
JOHANNA WENT The Club Years (2006); DVD + CD
Music/Performance Art DVD + CD, Used
This disc features performance artist Johanna Went in her legendary club show (1977-1987). Seminal, wild, and raw, these perormances were accompanied by live improvized music from some of L.A.’s most adventurous players including z’ev, Mark & Brock Wheaton, Greg Burk, Kerry McBride and many others. Included is a bonus audio CD of studio recordings, including the entire Poshboy Record 1982 LP “Hyena” (remixed and remastered) and the songs from the first 1981 45 rpm single “Slave Beoynd the Grave” originally released on Boyd Rice’s Graybeat label. With audio commentary Johanna Went and Mark Wheaton.
FAUST Jan Svankmajer; DVD
Surrealist DVD (1994), New
"Faust" is a wonderful blend of real-time and stop-motion storytelling by a master of the surreal. An apparently ordinary everyman is led by curiosity into a dilapidated building which turns out to be a strange blend of alchemical laboratory, theater, and puppeteer's workshop. Suddenly, the man finds himself becoming the legendary Dr. Faust, selling his soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers. Jan Svankmajer is the true sorcerer here. He blends stage sets with real locations and seven-foot puppets with live actors, making magic of it all. Powerful, surreal, and more intelligent than any animation anywhere.
THE SAVAGE PLANET (1973); DVD
DVD Surreal Animation, New
This is a surrealist French animation from the 70s, and that's pretty much the sum-up of its description: Surreal, 70s, and French. Animations like this are quite rare, not only is it completely psychedelic, the intent was political in nature, though by these days the movie has toned down a bit. It is in fact a really pretty animation because of its use of colors and design, which for me is a lot more interesting than its historical value. For fans of animation of different types, it's a must see, but also for those who crave the underground psychedelic aspects of the 70s era.
MEET THE FEEBLES (1989) Peter Jackson; DVD
DVD; New
Cool puppetry and a whacked out plot make this New Zealand effort on par with some of the best cult films today. There are animals of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ethnicities; some are into money, others are into dancing, and then there are others who are into porn, coke, and feces. This film is rude, gross, demented, and hilarious. Peter Jackson's pre Hollywood glory days....ordinary people just don't make films this warped. Unfortunately, we will never see films of this quality from Peter Jackson again.
HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES; DVD
DVD (1922) - (1968 re-release)
Directed by Scandinavian filmmaker Benjamin Christensen, 'Haxan -Witchcraft Through the Ages' (1922) is a strange silent film depicting black magic, witchcraft, and demonology from the middle ages to the 20th century. Shot and presented in documentary form, the film is more akin to a pseudo-scholarly lecture with moving visual aids. Not as intense or as shocking today as upon its initial release, the film is filled with nightmarish images that are certainly profane and explicit, but also humorous. Yes, sex goes hand-in-hand with Satan, and Christensen's flamboyant portrayal of the aforementioned character, complete with flicking, wanton tongue, drives home the point (well, that and a peppering of nudity). Unique to say the least, 'Haxan' is a rather weird curio of a film with some incredibly atmospheric, somewhat graphic images, esp. for that era.
The 1968 re-release with an electric jazz-fusion score by Jean Luc Ponty and narration by William S. Burroughs is a treat in itself.
ALICE; (Jan Svankmajer) DVD
DVD, New
Alice is a 1988 surrealist dark fantasy film written and directed by Jan Svankmajer Its original Czech title is Něco z Alenky, which means "Something from Alice". It is a loose adaptation of Louis Carrol's first Alice book, Alice's adventures in Wonderland(1865), about a girl who follows a white rabbit into a bizarre fantasy land. The film combines live action with stop motion animation, and is distinguished by its dark and uncompromising production design.
For Švankmajer, a prolific surrealsit director of short films for more than two decades, Alice became his first feature length film. The director had been disappointed by other adaptations of Carroll's book, which interpret it as a fairy tale. His aim was instead to make the story play out like a darkly disturbing amoral dream. The film has been widely praised and is certainly an astonishing film.