movies

[tuomas]

Hayseed’s TV thread gave me an idea…

In my current state of unemployment, I spend a lot of time now at my local public library. (I still haven’t bought a computer for home use yet, but I’m about to pull the trigger on an iBook.) I’ve discovered that whoever chooses the selections for DVDs here has good taste, and there’s also a good selection of documentaries. So, as I’m tired of looking for a job online today, and these have caught my attention recently, may I recommend…

The Man Who Fell To Earth (2005 Criterion Collection re-release)
You already know this one, with David Bowie in the starring role. I have only seen this once before, on VHS from an American print, in the late 80s. But it’s been reformatted, remastered, and left uncut (unlike its 1976 American release), and is a visually engaging film. Very beautiful direction. I bet this re-release would look awesome on a HDTV. Some cheesy special effects, but give it a break, it was 1976 and this was meant to be an art film, not Star Wars. In case you forgot, Buck Henry, Rip Torn, and Candy Clark co-star.

Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003)
A documentary on the life and times of Rodney Bingenheimer, AKA “Rodney on the ROQ”. Amazing how much this guy got around LA in the 60s and 70s, and just how much he gave a leg up on LA radio to unknown rock bands in the 80s and 90s. Drives a sweet 1967 GTO. Sometimes very touching (Rodney flies to London to spread the ashes of his estranged mother), other times really funny (Courtney Love’s response when asked how she first met Rodney: “I stalked him.”), and overall a neat look at someone who was a central tastemaker to the LA music/celebrity scene for 3 decades, and might/might not have received the attention he deserved.

So Wrong They’re Right (1995 production/2003 release)
I flipped out when I found this here. A no-budget 16mm documentary produced by Russ Forster, who was frontman Beau in the disco cover band Beau Dashus and the Booty Machine I drummed for in 1989/1990. In 1994 or so, Russ and a partner took around $20K in what was to be Russ’ film school money, and set off cross-country for a year to record others who were equally enamored with the life and death of the 8-track tape format central to the theme. Russ captures more, though – the refusal of somewhat quirky people to be told what to consume. “One persons’ landfill fodder is another’s obsession”. 92 minutes of fun. This might be hard to track down – try 8trackheaven.com or othercinemadvd.com.

Let’s hear from some others out there – I have lots of time to kill…

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