Fast, Cheap and Out of Control - Errol Morris' latest documentary is still being overshadowed by his filmic portrait of Stephen Hawking. However, the four disparate men profiled here are just as quirky, and have just as much to say about our precarious standing in the world and our pretense of control over nature. The sections on MIT robotics point towards the future of The Hive Mind... (now just $22.99, color, 82 mins.)
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: $ 22.99

Forevermore - Eric Saks' "Biography of a Leach Lord" made one of Chicago Reader's 10 Best lists, and follows in the illustrious footsteps of Britain's Peter Watkins. "While the concept of a fake documentary about toxic waste dumping that aspires to dark, gripping poetry seems absurdly impossible," wrote Barbara Scharres of the Chicago Film Center, "Forevermore is such a film." As promised in his promotional handouts, Saks continues to muddy the waters of American cultural production as that oxymoron - the earnest prankster. Hone your perceptual skills on this... (specs n/a)
Forevermore: $ 29.95

Ghost in the Shell - If you're still holding out on Japanimation, or if you were waiting for this breakthrough cyberfantasy to get the proper treatment due a great foreign film, this is it: a moody, unexploitative, animated action-adventure; an audiovisual fugue on identity, evolution, and the human/machine interface. (special edition, widescreen, subtitled in English, unrated - parental discretion advised, original ca. 1995)
Ghost in the Shell: $ 34.99

Image of an Assassination - The red herring of this list: the ultimate frame-by-frame of the Zapruder film - down to the sprocket holes and, for the first time, their immediate vicinity. America's ultimate exploitation flick; a must on DVD, so you can access anything you're arguing about at the moment. Only for those who host the most tasteless theme parties. (specs n/a)
Image of an Assassination: $ 24.99

In the Grip of Evil - So many docs that act as tie-in quickies, always on drugstore shelves in time for that big theatrical (re)release, are utter trash. Amazingly, this particular "true story", which we saw in rough cut (you can see the time-code info on the screen capture on the article page), is not. The inspiration for The Exorcist was actually a boy, whose troubled life and family were caught between two religions. He was brought to priests in order to escape the fate of anyone committed to an asylum at that time. The comments, some from those involved, are thoughtful and politically astute. The re-enactments are theatrical without being coarse or unbelievable. (color, appx. 50 mins., 1997)
In the Grip of Evil: $ 19.99

Photographing Fairies - What can one say about Nick Willing's poisonous, relentlessly morbid, repulsively sexy gothic romance, except that The Fortean Times hailed it as a cult classic in the making? Perhaps that it was inspired by Conan Doyle's famed pixie pics? Well, loosely, much more so than that candy-coated Hollywood product Fairy Tale: A True Story. Ben Kingsley, as the sober-unto-death minister, makes a stronger anti-drug statement than any number of PSAs. (now just $19.99, ca. 1998, color, 107 mins., British)
Photographing Fairies: $ 19.99

The Return of the King? - Elvis Lives - and He's BIGGER Than Ever! You must see this mock-umentary to NOT believe it! Director Joseph Sikorski was granted a rare permission, by Frank Zappa himself, to use "Elvis Has Just Left The Building" for this 16mm indie. Things got weirder from there as Sikorski was bombarded with death threats, impersonators, and midnight phone calls about the "power of threes"...
The Return of the King?: $ 14.95

Saint-Ex: The Story of the Storyteller - Bruno Ganz, the fallen angel in those two Wenders films, plays Antoine de Saint-Exupery in this freely derived bio-romance about the germination of the author's well-known children's book, The Little Prince. The "we're just making this all up" disclaimer that opens the movie must be read with your own two eyes. A new... high? low? something! in magic-realist confabulation. (90 mins., color, stereo, 1995 BBC production)
Saint-Ex: $ 19.99

Season of the Witch AKA Jack's Wife AKA Hungry Wives - (Blame the current title on trying to capitalize on the Donovan song in the soundtrack...) During the most troubling days of modern feminism, George Romero filmed a different, clever, zombie-free kind of horror film about the dangers of self-deception. Folks who whine that skeptics are never portrayed in a positive light in films should get a load of the studley-do-right in this one, who tries to snap the heroine out of her stupor. Best scene: Jack's wife casts a spell to bring her a paramour to do her bidding. Once she runs out of patience she picks up the phone and calls him over. So later when she claims she "made it happen" she's exactly right! (rated R, color, digitally remastered, ca. 1970, 89 mins., 1.33:1 full-frame, w/ trailers)
Season of the Witch AKA Jack's Wife: $ 14.99

The Story of Magic - A&E says of this generically-boxed set of 2 videos, "From Ancient Egyptians to Vegas headliners, explore the world of conjurers and illusionists through rare photos, footage, artifacts and interviews." This time they're not exaggerating! Far from a slapped-together Vegas travelogue, these two docs (Mystery in America and Centuries of Deception) make up a refreshingly detailed history; not just with less filler, but with stuff you won't see anywhere else. Does Lance Burton's big purple box routine not look familiar? It will once you're done with these two tapes! Introduced by the ubiquitous Ricky Jay, who narrates, with help from his 52 assistants and some other mechanical novelties, who don't. (200 minutes, CC, color and b/w)
The Story of Magic: $ 39.95

Three Short Films - Mark Rappaport is a grand old man of the American avant-garde, with more than twenty years of self-produced films under his belt. The most varied volume in his collection is this tape, which can act as an introduction to his style and standards. Is Ray Carney of Boston U. right when he says "Mark Rappaport: The TV Spinoff" counts as a cinematic equivalent of Penn and Teller? Do "Postcards" prove that what matters is not events, but the view? Never mind. It's the third entry, a knowing neo-noir called "Exterior Night," filmed as an international experiment in HDTV, that catapults the viewer into a philosophical no-man's land. All the old movies we ever grew up on can't help us deal with our relationships - with each other, with technology, with our own hopes and fears. (unrated, color and b/w, ca. 1980, 1990, 1993, other info n/a)
Three Short Films: $ 29.99

X-FILES Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose - The one. The only. The Emmy-winner. Peter Boyle is heartbreaking as the insurance salesman who can see the future but is powerless to change it.
X-FILES Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose: $ 14.99

X-FILES Humbug - Thrill to the collection of character actors! Chill to the sight of Jim Rose circus performers! Gag at the realization that Dana/Gillian's actually chowing down that hmmmmmmmm - bug!
X-FILES Humbug: $ 14.99

Whispers From Space - The Chicago Underground Film Festival called this "Errol Morris meets David Lynch"; the box cover calls it "a documentary noir about flying saucers, West Virginia and a man caught in the middle." You'll feel pretty squeezed out yourself! Quite disturbing in a lovely way... (black and white, 105 mins., ca. 1995, unrated)
Whispers From Space: $ 19.95

Waco: The Rules of Engagement - This feature-length doc is now part of New Yorker's American Independents series. Those of you who don't believe mass media can examine itself critically need to see this indictment of media manipulation. That's on top of its stellar construction as a piece of unsensationalizing investigative reportage. (It even includes material commissioned by CBS but never aired.) The film's Emmy-nominated airing on HBO is one of the recent events that have renewed investigations into the now six year old Branch Davidian disaster in Texas. ($29.99, color, 136 mins., 1997)
Waco: The Rules of Engagement: $ 29.99

When The Clouds Roll By - Who says the turn of the century was rife with gullibility and runaway imaginations? Douglas Fairbanks leaves off swashbuckling to volunteer for the bunko squad. A grand comedy feature from 1919 in great condition - what more could you want for $14.99?
When The Clouds Roll By: $ 14.99