Disc Reviews

Tinto Brass is a dirty old man, but I'll get to that later. Tinto Brass directed the film Black Angel in 2002 (when it was called Senso 45), and it is now getting a DVD release. It is an adaptation of the novella Senso, written by Camillo Boito, which was previously filmed by Luchino Visconti. This version takes place in Fascist Italy in 1945. Fascism had been growing in Italy under Benito Mussolini since the early part of the 20^th century. It influenced and eventually became intertwined with German Nazism until their mutual destruction in 1945 with the deaths of Hitler and Mussolini within days of each other at the end of April of 1945. Whatever their goals were at the start, they both devolved into depravity and insanity. The goal of Fascism was the subjugation of the individual for the good of the collective state. It was a reaction to Marxism but also merged with the philosophies of Capitalism. It is generally believed that the philosophies of Fascism were further perverted by the opportunistic desires of Mussolini. Domination of the individual was essential to the growth of the totalitarianism of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and that power over the individual corrupts the soul. This leads to the decadent domination of individuals for any purpose.

Tinto Brass is best known for the film Caligula, but he took his name off the film when Penthouse's Bob Guccione took over and inserted hardcore sex scenes and generally botched the editing. Brass's career began when he started working for Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini and made hist first solo film in 1963. Ironically, Brass turned to erotica after Caligula because of a subversive desire to undermine censorship of any kind. One of Brass's first major successes was Salon Kitty with Ingrid Thulin and Helmut Berger which has many thematic similarities to Black Angel. They both deal with an ambiguous and amoral Nazi officer. He is clearly influenced by his mentor Rossellini and especially his film Open City. Brass says as much in an interview included in the DVD extras. But Brass never reaches the sublime levels of complexity of his masters Fellini, Visconti or Rossellini. He has settled for pushing the limits of soft core into a higher level. Brass clearly is obsessed with the sexual aspects of what is a very good story. He is so obsessed that he has focused on many of his fetishes above all else. There is some pleasure to be had from this, and it clearly appeals to an audience of adult films, but it is also prurient and indulgent. Another famous film, The Night Porter, dealt with the bizarre sexual obsession between a Nazi officer and his lover with more compelling ambiguity than Black Angel.

Whit (Whitby) Hertford is short, around 5 foot 1. He is the writer and star of Dreamworld. I mention this because he is the little dynamo that drives dreams of greatness. He also plays the depressed and scared little mouse because it is a part he understands. Whitby Hertford was a child actor (Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child), and he has retained the giant puppy-dog eyes even though now he has five o'clock shadow and a puffy face. He has worked regularly through the years, because clearly he is bitten with the bug. He wants to be a star. If he is going to be a star, he will be an unlikely one. At least he hasn't  gone the way of many child actors. He's not a drug addict, prostitute or convicted felon. He has the look of someone who is dying, though. He has a sad and longing look. The film is all about him, and it seems to be very heavily drawn from real life. The DVD of Dreamworld also includes three short films under the headings of Human Hearts (Long Story Short, Elliot, Tomorrow). They are all unique and interesting in their own right but all driven by an unquenchable longing. The DVD extras also include a Nickelodeon/Adult Swim pitch for an animated series called “Life After Myth”. It is a Sponge Bob Square Pants type show about grouchy and retired creatures like the Easter Bunny, The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. That's how Dreamworld begins with Whit (Oliver Hayes) pitching the series to a bored executive. The pitch goes terribly, and Oliver shuffles off not knowing what to do with his life. He whines and complains to his strange friends at an art exhibit. His gay best girlfriend, Jules (Nora Kirkpatrick) gives him an epic pep talk, but Oliver is not gay and is not consoled. Jules is probably six feet tall, so it's funny having her stand next to short little Oliver. Jules is busy anyway making eyes at a girl at the party.

Oliver does meet a girl who is very interested in him. Her name is Lily Blush (Mary Kate Wiles), and she is so interested in him that she practically takes over his life. Lily enchants him and makes him fall in love with her instantly. She is a self-described pixie and is compared in the film to Kate Winslet in the The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Natalie Portman in Garden State. In other words, Lily is kind of a crazy muse and probably really believes it in her own mind. Lily convinces Oliver that she knows someone at Pixar and they should go on a journey together to pitch “Life as Myth”.

It started 300 million years ago... OK, it really started in August of 2008 when the British television series Primeval arrived on the scene. It was a combination Stargate and Jurassic Park. Professor Nick Carter (Henshall) became obsessed with a natural phenomenon he coined anomalies. These sparkling electro-magnetic disturbances were doorways to eras of the past, and later discovered, the future. His wife had disappeared into one several years earlier, and he ended up heading a government team called A.R.C. (Anomaly Research Center) to deal with the beasts that get through to our side. They needed to be returned in one piece. It turns out that killing even a prehistoric bug could generate time ripples that might change the present. Carter found out the hard way, and for five seasons Primeval dealt with the likes of errant dinosaurs and conspiracies from the future. The show ended in June of 2011... or did it?

Enter Primeval: New World. This one-season wonder picked up where the British series ended. This time it was set in Canada. The new Nick Carter was Alex Cross, played by Niall Matter. Cross is a rich industrialist. Like Carter, he had lost his wife years ago. His loss was much more permanent. A dinosaur ate her in front of him. A strange man in an ARC uniform just barely saved his life at the cost of his own. He keeps the body of his mysterious stranger in a cryogenic freeze. He dedicates his efforts and company resources to learning everything he can about the anomalies. He ends up using technology from the future to build the tech we already saw in the original series. Cross puts together a team to begin doing pretty much what Carter's team did in the original. They would track down the anomalies and attempt to deal with the various prehistoric nasties that made their way through them to our time.

Joel and Ethan Coen have been churning out hits for decades.  From Raising Arizona to Fargo and No Country For Old Men as well as many cult hits in between, the Coen brothers have a unique voice that has led to their long success in the Hollywood system.  With their new release, the Coens delve into the Greenwich Village Folk scene in the winter of 1961.  It’s a time that most audiences (myself included) may not be very knowledgeable about. The Coens take on this niche genre of music and present an engaging tale about a struggling musician and his journey to find success in an industry that at the time had a deaf ear to Folk.

Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a guitar playing folksinger, his act recently going solo after his partner dies.  When we first meet Llewyn he’s playing at The Gaslight, a club filled with musical acts on the rise.  After his set Llewyn is told by the club’s owner that there is friend waiting for him outside; as it would turn out the so-called “friend” has a grudge to settle with Llewyn.