Nothing Succeeds Like Cine-Excess..? May 31, 2009
Posted by John Hodson in : DVD News & Info , trackbackWhile across The Pond initiatives on the home video front seem to have largely stalled (the jury is still out on Warner’s nascent Archive programme though Sony have suddenly - and thrillingly - woken from their coma), it’s good to see that there’s plenty for UK film enthusiasts to enjoy. Even if the major studios here appear to have retreated to their bunkers and slammed the doors firmly shut*.
Smaller labels like Odeon and Network continue with a steady stream of catalogue titles, Optimum’s output appears undiminished (indeed, they have embraced Blu-ray wholeheartedly and have a number of high definition catalogue titles planned for the coming months), and the BFI have defied the recession with their exciting Flipside line**.
Now we have the new Cine-Excess label to look forward to. The press release from Roobarb’s Forum:
In what is believed to be the UK’s first ever cross commercial-academic film venture, Brunel University’s School of Arts Cult Film Archive, via its Cine-Excess project, has been given the rights to the archive of some of the 300 movies owned by the legendary B-movie producer and film director, Roger Corman. The university’s intention to “take trash seriously” in an academic respect and to release the films from the Corman archive on DVD has led to the university’s lecturer in Film and TV Studies and director of Cine-Excess, Xavier Mendik, seeking out the services of the prestigious London-based art film outlet, Nouveaux Pictures, as a joint distributor of its forthcoming titles.
The aim of the Nouveaux Pictures/Cine-Excess label is to bring the very best examples of cult cinema to both the commercial consumer and to the cult film studies educational sector. Extra features on the label’s releases will include university academics discussing the films, many of which have been, or are being remade in Hollywood, but may also have a “retro” appeal to new audiences and are of interest to film studies students.
The first DVD release from Nouveaux Pictures/Cine-Excess will be VIVA, the debut full-length feature by LA-based artist and filmmaker Anna Biller (The Hypnotist; A Visit From The Incubus). Future releases will include the Corman-directed NOT OF THIS EARTH and ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS and Ron Howard’s directorial debut feature, GRAND THEFT AUTO, along with such well-known cult cinema titles as SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE, BIG BAD MAMA, DEATH SPORT, THE CRY BABY KILLER starring Jack Nicholson, plus Dick Maas’ AMSTERDAMNED and a Special Edition of Dario Argento’s classic, SUSPIRIA.
VIVA (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Nouveaux Pictures/Cine-Excess on 6th July 2009.
Sounds good!
*Yet another reissue of Audrey Hepburn’s most famous films doesn’t count, even if this is the 80th anniversary of her birth. And, yes, Paramount, I’m looking at you…
**Reviews of two of the first Flipside releases at DVD Times can be accessed by clicking the titles: Primitive London, London In The Raw.
Comments»
Those Flipside releases are pretty neat. I’m just finishing up a review for The Bed Sitting Room, and it seems almost beyond my comprehension that these titles would generally be treated so well by the BFI. The usual rivals in the home entertainment game are remaining cautious - and in the case of Criterion, frustratingly safe - as the BFI continues to deliver stellar work.
Look forward to your review; you’ve noticed no problems, with particular reference to lip-synch?
Actually, yes, those are there, but they are brief and last just a few minutes from what I could tell. I wondered whether the aspect ratio, 1.85:1 here, might should’ve really been 1.66:1 like the unreliable IMDb lists, but I can’t see anything in the framing that would support 1.66:1 so I’ll assume this is correct.
It’s turning into a pretty weird year - Sony look like running away with the “Studio of the Year” title, though to be fair they are about the only game in town in R1 now.
With the drought from the States, it’s good that Optimum, Network, Odeon et al have decided to crank up the output in R2. With so much released and coming in R2 (and the awful exchange rate) I can’t say I’m as bothered by the drop in R1 titles as I might have been.
Very excited to see Amsterdamned - Amsterdam is just one of those cities that screams to be filmed in.