Walldorf Rock 'n' Roll Weekender (2008); DVD
Hotrod/Rockabilly/Lowbrow/Kustom DVD, New
A fabulous DVD of live performances from the 2008 Walldorf Rock 'n' Roll weekender, with plenty of bonus footage and interviews included too. Featured Bands : Danny and The Wonderbras - The Dirty Robbers - Domestic Bumblebees - Wes Pudsey - The Booze Bombs - Rebels Revenge - Cherry Casino & The Gamblers - Texabilly Rockets - Hank Cash - Marshall Scott Warner - Blue Rockin' - The Crystalairs - The Good Fellas - Black Raven - Bloodshot Bill - Sunny Bottom Boys - Blue Flames - Johnny Bach and The Moonshine Boozers.
Charles Bukowski - The Last Straw (2008); DVD
Art/Transgressive/Realism/Bukowski/Poetry DVD, New
Only a few people were able to witness Charles Bukowski's last poetry reading in 1980, but this documentary captures that fleeting moment for all his fans. THE LAST STRAW features Bukowski reading his own work in Redondo Beach, California, and there is little overlap with his reading in THERE'S GONNA BE A DAMN RIOT IN HERE!
SID AND NANCY (1986); DVD
Cult/Music/Punk DVD, Used
Some films tend to glorify rock and roll by showing off its glamorous side full of adventure and wonder. Sid and Nancy does no such thing. Instead it exposes the dirty, grimy, seedy underbelly of punk rock which is full of violence and drugs. Gary Oldman plays Sid Vicious, the bassist for British punk rock group the Sex Pistols. The film chronicles his life from when he meets his junky girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to the tragic demise of that relationship. It is a loud, mean, ugly, and crass film that perfectly captures all that the Sex Pistols stood for... anarchy. Filled with all sorts of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Sid and Nancy is a seriously wild ride. From director Alex Cox (Repo Man)
BARON BLOOD (1972) Mario Bava; DVD
Horror/Supernatural/Italian/Cult DVD, Used
A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of an ancestor, a sadistic Baron who was cursed to a violent death by a witch whom the Baron had burned at the stake. Peter reads aloud the incantation that causes Baron Blood to return and continue his murderous tortures. As usual, Bava seems dismissive of things like story, character and acting, and concentrates on creating a memorable mise-en-scene, which makes a lot of the juxtaposition of the old and the contemporary: an ancient castle with a Coke machine, Elke Sommer in a miniskirt running through old fog-shrouded streets, etc. Mario Bava is one of the best Italian horror directors, his name is synonymous with terror! He influenced the "Friday the 13th" series, "Halloween", and countless other films, inside and outside of the genre.
SEVEN SAMURAI Akira Kurosawa (1954); DVD
Classic/Cult/Asian DVD, Used
Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece... The Japanese equivalent to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Not only Kurosawa's most well known film, but the most widely recognized Japanese film ever made. This movie will forever be known as a milestone in motion picture history. In 1954, Kurosawa made foreign film history with Seven Samurai. Everything about this film is absolutely terrific. The film lasts around 3 1/2 hours, and every minute of it is unbelievable filmmaking. Kurosawa's blend of stellar craft, captivating cinematography, ravishing art direction, and unforgettable characters makes this one of the most intelligent films ever made.A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.
THE NAKED BUNYIP (1970); DVD
Australian/Sleaze/Comedy/Cult DVD, New
A shy young man is hired by an ad agency to conduct a survey on sex in Australia. The somewhat clueless young man investigates homosexuality, transvestites, prostitution, and strip clubs along with every other variant on the "norm". While doing his interviews he meets celebrities, self proclaimed sex experts, prostitutes, female impersonators, pop stars, actors, and legislators as well as self appointed morals guardians. The first serious study of sex in Australia (in a funny sort of way).
SUSPIRIA (Dario Argento) 1977; DVD
Giallo/Cult/Slasher/Horror DVD, New
"Suspiria" has been acclaimed as director Dario Argento's masterpiece. Suzy Bannion travels to Germany to perfect her ballet skills. She arrives at the Tanz dance academy in the pouring rain and is refused admission after another woman is seen fleeing the school. She returns the next morning and this time is let in. She learns that the young woman she saw fleeing the previous evening, Pat Hingle, has been found dead. Strange things soon begin to occur. Suzy becomes ill and is put on a special diet; the school becomes infested with maggots; odd sounds abound; and Daniel, the pianist, is killed by his own dog. A bit of research indicates that the ballet school was once a witches' coven - and as Suzy learns, still is. Filmed in bright, lurid Technicolor, and accompanied by a thundering soundtrack by Goblin, Suspiria is a nightmare-come-to-life, and ranks as one of the best Italian-made horror films of all time.
TENEBRAE (Dario Argento) 1982; DVD
Giallo/Slasher/Thriller/Cult DVD Uncut - Uncensored Widescreen edition, New
With Argento's trademark visual style, linked with one of his more coherent plots, Tenebrae follows a writer who arrives to Rome only to find somebody is using his novels as the inspiration (and, occasionally, the means) of committing murder. As the death toll mounts the police are ever baffled, and the writer becomes more closely linked to the case than is comfortable. Another classic giallo by the master himself.
BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA (1973); DVD
Cult/Exploitation/Sleaze/Grindhouse DVD, New
Dig it! You've got your black mama. You've got your white mama. You've got your lesbian prison guards. You've got your female prison shower scene. (That lasts about 5 minutes). You've got your tough Filipino gangsters. You've got your corrupt police man. You've got a Che Guevara like revolutionary leader. Put this together and what do you get? Pure cinematic goodness. This isn't a great movie. But hell, its a lot of fun. Pam Grier is great as usual as one of the mama's.(I'll let you guess which one.) Plenty of violence and nudity to spare. Don't go looking for this in the family section of your video store. When two troublemaking female prisoners (one a revolutionary, the other a former harem-girl) can't seem to get along, they are chained together and extradited for safekeeping. The women, still chained together, stumble, stab, and cat-fight their way across the wilderness, igniting a bloody shootout between gangsters and a group of revolutionaries.
BRIAN ENO 1971-77 The man who fell to earth; DVD
Documentary/Music/Art/Eno DVD, New
This documentary film - the first ever about Eno - explores his life, career and music between the years 1971 & 1977, the period that some view as his golden age. Featuring numerous exclusive interviews, contributions from a range of musicians, writers, collaborators and friends - plus performance and studio film and an abundance of the most exceptional music ever created.
Australian/Collected/Short films/Arthouse DVD, New
Collected together for the first time are the selected seminal short films of internationally acclaimed director Peter Weir ("Picnic at Hanging Rock", "Gallipoli", "Master and Commander").
This DVD provides a rare opportunity to witness Weir's formative work, displaying the themes and style that would ultimately propel him into the international spotlight and establish his reputation as one of the most thoughtful and talented directors currently working in Hollywood.
Personally selected by Weir, this compilation includes:
Three To Go: Michael
Weir's astonishingly stylish debut opens with Sydney under seige from young revolutionaries.
Can "Youth Quake", an uptight TV panel discussion, end this violent street battle by tackling some very perplexing problems concerning the youth of today? Resist-Revolt-Reform!
Homesdale
Welcome to Homesdale Hunting Lodge - "A New Experiment in Togetherness". The retreat is home to a mixed party of eccentric guests (including Kate Fitzpatrick and Grahame Bond) who are encouraged to act out their fantasies - watched on by men in white coats. Is Homesdale a guest house, a mental institution or a prison?
Three Directions In Pop Music
In this time capsule of the early 70s live music scene, Weir documents performances by legendary Aussie jug-band THE CAPTAIN MATCHBOX WHOOPEE BAND along with WENDY SADDINGTON & TEARDROP and Spectrum's alter ego, INDELIBLE MURTCEPS.
Incredible Floridas
Packed with stylish and atmospheric re-enactments, this short documentary chronicles Richard Meale's homage to acclaimed French poet, Arthur Rimbaud.
THE NIGHT PORTER (1974); DVD
Arthouse/Controvercial/Cult DVD, New
A controversial and shocking movie? Definitely, and the way some people today profess to be jaded about "The Night Porter" says more about our current culture than about the movie itself. Other persons who experienced the Holocaust first-hand have reacted negatively towards it for its portrayal of a destructive but loving relationship born amidst the Holocaust. Their objections are certainly understandable. There has also been, though, an awful lot of politically-correct garbage and pretentious nonsense written about "The Night Porter," much of which has missed or misinterpreted some of the strongest elements of the movie. The film is shocking because it describes an insane situation, led by two insane people. These are the disturbing elements of the film, because spectators don't feel well in seeing that. The atmosphere has something very icy and miserable. After 45 years "Night porter" remains a gem. An intelligent movie, full of provocation. Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde are extraordinary.
