Saturday, August 06, 2011

Produced and Abandoned #11

I have to say, the fun of doing these lists has only increased since being introduced to a couple different places that has my head swimming with hard to find, cult and severely obscure titles. Part of the challenge is now typing up this produced and abandoned list and then actually finding the movie. Anyways, ten more titles deserving a region 1 DVD release:

1. Serie Noir (1979)- Alain Corneau's described "nihilistic" thriller is available on a French DVD, but none other than that. Taken from a Jim Thompson novel, the film tracks the bloody path of a salesman caught up with the crime syndicate. Everything I've read about it sounds enthralling.
2. Endless Desire (1958)- Shohei Imamura's late 50's tale that sounds downright fascinating about a group of men and women in postwar Japan slowly eliminated after stealing army equipment. So much Imamura is not available on DVD.
3. Massacre At Central High (1976)- Supposedly violent tale about a bullied student who exacts revenge. Always mentioned when talking about influential grindhouse cinema, this film would be a great addition from Blue Underground?
4. The Tenant (1976)- Roman Polanski's aggressive update of his own "Repulsion", starring himself, I remember as an avant garde, psychological masterpiece when I watched it years ago. Now OOP on DVD, it's one of the few not available.
5. State of Siege (1972)- Like Francesco Rosi, Costa-Gavras is a filmmaker interested in the political subtext behind every story, and this early 70's film traces the tenuous relationship between a Uruguyan terrorist group and the various political organizations that funded them. Sounds highly promising.
6. Kamikaze 1989 (1982)- Not sure where I first heard about this German sci-fi film, but just check out the synopsis: "In a totalitarian society of the future, in which the government controls all facets of the media, a homicide detective investigates a string of bombings, and finds out more than he bargained for." from imdb.com.
7. The Sicilian Clan (1968)- There is so much worse Euro-crime out there, its a shame this well paced and thrilling film isn't available. Alain Delon stars as an escaped convict with detective Lino Ventura in pursuit. Delon hooks up with crime boss Jean Gabin and his family and they plan a heist to steal a planeload of jewels. At times Jean-Pierre Melville-lite, but it features a terrific opening escape and that moody blue and gray Paris skyline sets the tone perfectly. It does pop up on TV occasionally.
8. The Spy In Black (1939)- Michael Powell's war thriller about a German sub on a mission to sink British ships. Update: looks like it will air on TCM next month! Set the DVR.
9. The Sea Gull (1968)- One of only two Sidney Lumet films I've yet to see (the other being "Child's Play from 1972), but there are hopes of this getting a release since it recently played in New York on a new print during a Lumet retrospective.
10. Drum (1976)- Warren Oates. Sequel to "Mandingo". Enough said. Update: is now on Netflix Instant watch.

1 comment:

weepingsam said...

Endless Desire is more than worth finding - it's kind of when Imamura became Imamura...