Flickchart Daily: Matchup of The Day and the Week’s DVD/Blu-ray Releases
Matchup of the Day
William Hurt and Holly Hunter were born today. They both starred in Broadcast News if you want to seem them work together (here’s a Flickchart review of the film). Or, you can try this Hurt vs. Hunter double feature:
Altered States vs. Raising Arizona
William Hurt made his motion picture debut with Altered States. It comes from the mind of Ken Russell, who is known for his outlandish style. If you haven’t seen the movie, this montage set to the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” should give you an idea of what it’s all about:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACZkInYz9V8[/youtube]
Also, you can listen to director Katt Shea offer her interpretation (sort of):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjbafozsGY0[/youtube]
So, yeah, Altered States is about getting in touch with one’s “primordial self”, which apparently involves a lot of bizarre hallucinations. Speaking of my primordial self (cinematically speaking)… I totally missed that Raising Arizona celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this month. Holly Hunter’s birthday gave me the opportunity to set things right. If I trace the origins of my movie tastes, Raising Arizona casts a long shadow. Having grown up indiscriminately consuming cable television programming, I was exposed to all kinds of flicks that were potential game-changers. Very few climbed to the top of the heap and became a beacon of inspiration.
“That was beautiful.” Yes, Holly, and so are you. (And Nicolas Cage, too.)
I can honestly say that I have never felt so pumped up by a pre-credits sequence before or since Raising Arizona. I still get chills to this day when I hear Cage say “With the benefit of hindsight, maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea. But, at the time, Ed’s little plan seemed like the solution to all our problems and the answer to all our prayers.” That’s when the theme music kicks in and the funniest movie of all time is in full swing. Before I saw that, the “Raiders March” was my all-purpose movie theme of choice (for getting ready for school, as a general pick me up, ect.). After, it was banjos and yodeling:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8xsYKrx5eE[/youtube]
New Blu-ray and DVD Releases
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KBPru-Pu5Q[/youtube]
The Muppets
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YhbpuGdwQ[/youtube]
Carnage
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPX6-4Bo7XU[/youtube]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPKhWXhiMSw[/youtube]
A Lonely Place to Die
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhfbdaQ_ub0[/youtube]
The Legend of Awesomest Maximus
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNUlHjyUVaM[/youtube]
Jess + Moss
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTvEQ02ati8[/youtube]
Jitters
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLrSuXXiXsQ[/youtube]
Sidewalls
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CZWirASa9U[/youtube]
Roadie
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcR5Tw8WHAo[/youtube]
Tuck Bushman and the Legend of Piddledown Dale
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkX0bDbfJ60[/youtube]
Treasure Chest of Horrors
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRcnlWgKwC0[/youtube]
Creature
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wFLRbkzWxo[/youtube]
The Hills Have Eyes Part 2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wFbl6ovXVw[/youtube]
Splintered
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvTnzjbMGwc[/youtube]
Hop
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7M3ofz3TvA[/youtube]
Crime After Crime
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H-2hVGpVPY[/youtube]
!Women Art Revolution
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjikMGTeyjc[/youtube]
One Lucky Elephant
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prAkIYOTiLA[/youtube]
Louder Than a Bomb
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81hXGdFF6TQ[/youtube]
Red Persimmons
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29xD_EsKFIg[/youtube]
First Run Features is releasing a number of films this week:
In the Garden of Sounds (2009)
Secret Pleasures: Four Asian Films about Love, Longing and Fishhooks
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsu3u3uA7Pg[/youtube]
Even more Warner Archive releases coming your way:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwlVQkjKiCw[/youtube]
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY RECOGNITION
I did a birthday matchup for Rob Reiner a short time time ago, and now it’s time to celebrate his father’s 90th year on this Earth. Carl Reiner played just as big a part in my young movie watching days as Rob did. Here he is answering some questions on a talk show:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laE8LSrRmiI[/youtube]
This is the trailer for Summer School, one of the great staples of my teenage years:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiqWPa368q0[/youtube]