Second Fiddle To A Steel Guitar
Movies that have not yet been released onto DVD that I would give my left tit for:
The Devils (1971)
I think I have seen just about every Ken Russell movie out there with the exception of this one, and if this is the one Ken Russell movie that's never been on DVD then it truly must be tasteless in every possible way. I've heard that it had a limited release on VHS ages ago, and stars Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave were threatened with three years of jail time for even setting foot in Italy after it was banned, which sounds almost real enough to believe if I wasn't skeptical of it being part of the film's promotion. Either way, it worked for me. I wanna see it now! And the clips I've seen already look utterly Russ-tastic!
Young Playthings (1972)
A little-seen Swedish soft core sex romp written and directed by American underground filmmaker Joe Sarno and starring the apparently game-for-anything Christina Lindberg, whom I know mostly as the one-eyed butt-kickin' revenge-seeker in Thriller: A Cruel Picture. But I first heard about her in this film, the stills of which look so trippy and outta-this-world they have haunted my dreams for 15 years before even seeing one second of this picture. Somebody rectify this immediately!
Urgh! A Music War (1981)
Even though the Naro video store had the VHS of this for rental for all the years I lived in Ghent, I still never got around to checking out this famed concert picture, even though I owned the cassette to this soundtrack in the 80's and my store actually sold a used copy of the CD for $120.00 (too rich for my blood). Featuring live performances by The Police, Steel Pulse, The Dead Kennedys, OMD, XTC, The Go-Go's, Gang Of Four, and even Klaus Nomi, just to name a few. Alas, like any movie or television program featuring popular music, the likelihood of getting the rights to all of those tunes is undoubtedly what will keep this cult classic in eternal limbo.
Get Crazy! (1983)
More proof that movies with exclamation points rule the school -- an old favorite from back when I owned it on VHS and used to show the scene of Lee Ving singing "Hoochie Choochie Man" to everybody I knew, as well as Lou Reed writing a song in the back of a taxi while hell-riding through the city. I even got to see it on the big screen at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin back in February with some of those very same friends. Probably suffering from the same affliction as Urgh! A Music War for hashing out DVD royalties for song rights. And the fact that this movie didn't even do well in the theaters when it was released.
The Legend Of Billie Jean (1985)
This ran more times on HBO in the summer of '86 than all the Michael Jackson videos on television in the last two weeks (and not the same "Billie Jean") -- and yet you can't find it anywhere on any format in this day and age. I heard someone tried to sell back a VHS copy to our store last week, and although we don't take VHS I would have raced down there to buy it off of them if I had known. Strange behavior from me, who once though the movie was soooo hella cheesy. But for some reason every time it was on TV, I couldn't change the channel. It's compelling in a way that I can't describe. Even years later S. and I still imitate Yeardley Smith's southern Lisa-Simpsonesque drawl when we blurt out "When am ah gonna git a diaphragm?"
The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
I think the first Decline of Western Civilization already had a limited DVD release, but although I love the first one for its 80's hardcore punk dynamic, it's The Metal Years that came after which brings back the funniest memories. More so than the punk documentary, the then-rising hair-metal scene in L.A. is unabashedly about the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, and there's plenty of each to spare in this vid. The best moment is still W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes drunk and lounging in his pool and downing two bottles of vodka at once while his obviously long-suffering mother looks on. (actually I do own this and the first Decline on bootleg DVD-R burns, so it's a tad lower on my priority list -- no left tit for this one, sorry. :) )
She-Wolf Of London/Love And Curses (1990) TV
Not the movie, but the British/American joint production team that was the X-Files of its time, if the X-Files were done strictly as a comedy (or an intentional comedy, I suppose). The program started out in London as She-Wolf Of London, where slightly daffy professor of mythology Prof. Ian Matteson (Neil Dickson) takes on a young female American grad student named Randi (Kate Hodge) who is also cursed as a werewolf. But another season later the show made a move to Los Angeles where Prof. Matteson hosts his own television talk show about the occult, renaming the series Love And Curses, which sadly cursed the series from there on out and the program perished an ignominious death. I used to watch it on the Sci-Fi Channel back in the 90's and quite enjoyed it, not to mention cursing me with a crush on Neil Dickson as well (hubba hubba). Funny dialogue, and fed my love for camp at the same time. I really miss this one.
The Devils (1971)
I think I have seen just about every Ken Russell movie out there with the exception of this one, and if this is the one Ken Russell movie that's never been on DVD then it truly must be tasteless in every possible way. I've heard that it had a limited release on VHS ages ago, and stars Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave were threatened with three years of jail time for even setting foot in Italy after it was banned, which sounds almost real enough to believe if I wasn't skeptical of it being part of the film's promotion. Either way, it worked for me. I wanna see it now! And the clips I've seen already look utterly Russ-tastic!
Young Playthings (1972)
A little-seen Swedish soft core sex romp written and directed by American underground filmmaker Joe Sarno and starring the apparently game-for-anything Christina Lindberg, whom I know mostly as the one-eyed butt-kickin' revenge-seeker in Thriller: A Cruel Picture. But I first heard about her in this film, the stills of which look so trippy and outta-this-world they have haunted my dreams for 15 years before even seeing one second of this picture. Somebody rectify this immediately!
Urgh! A Music War (1981)
Even though the Naro video store had the VHS of this for rental for all the years I lived in Ghent, I still never got around to checking out this famed concert picture, even though I owned the cassette to this soundtrack in the 80's and my store actually sold a used copy of the CD for $120.00 (too rich for my blood). Featuring live performances by The Police, Steel Pulse, The Dead Kennedys, OMD, XTC, The Go-Go's, Gang Of Four, and even Klaus Nomi, just to name a few. Alas, like any movie or television program featuring popular music, the likelihood of getting the rights to all of those tunes is undoubtedly what will keep this cult classic in eternal limbo.
Get Crazy! (1983)
More proof that movies with exclamation points rule the school -- an old favorite from back when I owned it on VHS and used to show the scene of Lee Ving singing "Hoochie Choochie Man" to everybody I knew, as well as Lou Reed writing a song in the back of a taxi while hell-riding through the city. I even got to see it on the big screen at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin back in February with some of those very same friends. Probably suffering from the same affliction as Urgh! A Music War for hashing out DVD royalties for song rights. And the fact that this movie didn't even do well in the theaters when it was released.
The Legend Of Billie Jean (1985)
This ran more times on HBO in the summer of '86 than all the Michael Jackson videos on television in the last two weeks (and not the same "Billie Jean") -- and yet you can't find it anywhere on any format in this day and age. I heard someone tried to sell back a VHS copy to our store last week, and although we don't take VHS I would have raced down there to buy it off of them if I had known. Strange behavior from me, who once though the movie was soooo hella cheesy. But for some reason every time it was on TV, I couldn't change the channel. It's compelling in a way that I can't describe. Even years later S. and I still imitate Yeardley Smith's southern Lisa-Simpsonesque drawl when we blurt out "When am ah gonna git a diaphragm?"
The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
I think the first Decline of Western Civilization already had a limited DVD release, but although I love the first one for its 80's hardcore punk dynamic, it's The Metal Years that came after which brings back the funniest memories. More so than the punk documentary, the then-rising hair-metal scene in L.A. is unabashedly about the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, and there's plenty of each to spare in this vid. The best moment is still W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes drunk and lounging in his pool and downing two bottles of vodka at once while his obviously long-suffering mother looks on. (actually I do own this and the first Decline on bootleg DVD-R burns, so it's a tad lower on my priority list -- no left tit for this one, sorry. :) )
She-Wolf Of London/Love And Curses (1990) TV
Not the movie, but the British/American joint production team that was the X-Files of its time, if the X-Files were done strictly as a comedy (or an intentional comedy, I suppose). The program started out in London as She-Wolf Of London, where slightly daffy professor of mythology Prof. Ian Matteson (Neil Dickson) takes on a young female American grad student named Randi (Kate Hodge) who is also cursed as a werewolf. But another season later the show made a move to Los Angeles where Prof. Matteson hosts his own television talk show about the occult, renaming the series Love And Curses, which sadly cursed the series from there on out and the program perished an ignominious death. I used to watch it on the Sci-Fi Channel back in the 90's and quite enjoyed it, not to mention cursing me with a crush on Neil Dickson as well (hubba hubba). Funny dialogue, and fed my love for camp at the same time. I really miss this one.
posted by Melissa at 12:52 PM
3 Comments:
Ya Urgh is tangled in a mess as far as releasing it on DVD but Warner Home Video did make the comment that they may use it for part of another project... havent heard anything since. You are more then welcome to join us on my yahoo discussion group to meet other fans of the film..
I would love to visit your yahoo group, Matt. What's the name of yours?
Oops! Nevermind... I just clicked on your name. :)
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