Ten Great Independent Films That Should Be Issued
On Blu-ray Immediately!
Note: This is an update of an essay we
posted when the format war was still raging and was designed to get unique
releases considered. New developments
since then are noted below.
The
development of boutique divisions of the major studios is a very recent
development and years ago, independent productions were either picked up by the
majors and put under their name or the films found distribution through smaller
companies and occasionally by the producer themselves. There are always independent productions
because it is hard to turn away from big money from a low budget hit. Films like Night Of The Living Dead, Texas
Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween
don’t happen much anymore (the slasher genre being played out notwithstanding)
because the studios are good as buying and distributing or shelving a potential
breakout hit.
At the
same time, there are independent productions that occasionally have large
budgets and like their usually lower (to no) budget counterparts, can become
orphan films in need of serious preservation and restoration. The deterioration of film stock, optical
tracks and magnetic tape defines socio-economic class.
If it is
not bad enough that the studios cannot ever spend enough time and money saving
their own films, imagine what is happening to important independent voices and
important cinema history worldwide?
Fortunately, high definition and the competing formats give a new
economic incentive to fix up old indie favorites and inspire less known works
to be fixed up and reissued. What flows
are ten great examples of important and even landmark work that does not come
from major studios that prove important filmmaking is not exclusively owned by
big money or toy tie-ins:
Black Christmas (1974) – The film that inspired
John Carpenter’s Halloween has been
unequalled and rarely rivaled, even after one of the worst remakes of all
time. The late Bob Clark (who died too
soon in a terrible car accident that did not have to happen) likely had no idea
at the time he had created a Horror classic and one of the most important films
Canada has ever produced. Even less
recognized is the fact that he had equaled Romero’s original Night Of The Living Dead and the rest
is history as a psychotic killer escapes an insane asylum and stalks sorority
girls in one of the most imitated films ever made and an independent production
at that. Read more about it at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4621/Black+Christmas+–+Special+Edition
A Boy & His Dog (1975) – The great character
actor L.Q. Jones (Scorsese’s Casino)
did great justice to Harlan Ellison’s story of a post-apocalyptic world where a
young teen named Vic (Don Johnson in one of his few inarguably good
performances) roams the wastelands with his dog Blood, who is ultra-intelligent
and thanks to radiation, can communicate with Vic telepathically. Their adventures are as bizarre and
disturbing as they are hard to turn away from.
The ending remains highly controversial and the film was five years
ahead of Mad Max. Shot in Techniscope, it was issued originally
in three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor and in 2007/8 has been painstakingly
restored. That makes it a prime
candidate to be one of the first of these films to see Blu-ray. Read more about it from our DVD coverage at: http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/524/A+Boy+&+His+Dog+(First+Run
Fillmore (1972) – Originally issued by Fox
as their answer to Woodstock, this
documentary of the final days of the late, great Bill Graham’s Fillmore West and
Fillmore East is one of the best looks inside the music industry ever filmed
and much has not changed since, getting much worse in the 35 years since. Originally issued in three-strip,
dye-transfer Technicolor prints, multi-channel stereo and featuring no less
than The Grateful Dead, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Quicksilver
Messenger Service, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Boz Scaggs, Lamb, It’s A
Beautiful Day, Elvin Bishop Group (when they had Steve Miller) and The Rowan
Brothers, where is this film at? Unless
Graham’s estate does not want it issued, there is no reason or excuse for it to
be missing.
Flesh For Frankenstein/Blood For Dracula (1973/1974) – Though they bared Andy Warhol’s
name, these are Paul Morrissey’s groundbreaking and ever X-rated (for sex,
thematics, violence) Horror classics that tore down Hammer Horror for good and
remain more than cult favorites. Joe
Dallesandro was the hero/anti-hero of both and Udo Kier appears in both as
well. Great use of color, Frankenstein was made in 3-D and
scope. In 3-D or not, it and its
companion would be very impressive in high definition and would surprise more
than a few film fans. 3-D is already
being tried out on Blu-ray, so we’ll see.
Ganja & Hess (1973) – One of the best Vampire
films ever made, Bill Gunn’s independent classic co-starred Night Of The Living Dead’s Duane Jones
in the male lead as this profound, stark, bloody, intense film slowly unwinds
as one vampire creates another and infiltrates both black mobsters and a gospel
church in this amazing thriller. Marlene
Clark is Ganja and the film is non-stop amazing from beginning to end. When they give out money to save independent
films, this masterwork should be at the top of the list. Read more about it at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4351/Ganja+&+Hess+–+The+Complete+Ed
The Gladiators (1969) – Peter Watkins made some
incredible films (Culloden, The War Game, Punishment Park and Privilege,
still being restored) that have been influential, innovative and remain
incredible, but The Gladiators
influenced George Lucas as much as Kubrick’s work from THX-1138 (1971 and even after over-changing it) and what it says
about world politics and government is as powerful as ever. From his earlier period showing him as one of
the most important directors the U.K. ever produced (along with Hitchcock,
Powell and The Scotts) would be amazing in High Definition and it has already
been saved. Read more about it at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3572/The+Gladiators+(1969/Peter+Watkins
The Harder They Come (1973) – Though thought of as a
famous “midnight movie” and a beneficiary of the Blaxploitation trend, Perry
Henzell’s third-world-country Revenge Western exceeded its low-budget by also
putting singer Jimmy Cliff on the map as its anti-hero lead and launched Reggae
music worldwide with a classic soundtrack including the title songs and You Can Get It If You Really Want It
among others. Several different prints
have surfaced on DVD, but none have done justice to the film. It deserves a full restoration, preservation,
4K HD master and if the music masters can be found, a serious 5.1 upgrade. The results would be amazing.
Negatives (1968) – Long before helming gems
like The Krays (1990) and The Ruling Class (1972) up to howlers
like Species 2 (1998) and endless
hours of solid TV, Peter Medak made this creepy, indie, ahead of its time sex
drama about two lovers (Glenda Jackson, Peter McEnery) who dress up like an
infamous doctor and his lover to make sex more interesting. A German photographer (Diane Cliento) enters
the picture and things become more bizarre.
Like so many fine independent films, the rights on this film have been
kicking around all over the place and announced DVD releases have already been
nixed. Maybe an HD version restored and
upgraded could finally get this risk-taker issued, once issued in three-strip
dye-transfer Technicolor, released.
The Trials Of Oscar Wilde (1960) – The soon-to-be-James
Bond producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and the gentleman director Ken Hughes
made this daring 70mm epic drama about the controversial writer (played here by
Network’s Peter Finch) as the writer
takes on The Marquis of Queensbury in court, with ramifications far beyond its
walls. Not a hit in its time, it has not
been seen much in recent years and Broccoli was highly disappointed that it was
not a huge critical and commercial success, only emboldening his stance as he
brought Bond to life. Lionel Jeffreys
and James Mason also star in this ambitious production long overdue for reissue
and with cinematography by the great Ted Moore, a guaranteed High Definition
winner.
Windjammer: The Voyage Of The
Christian Radich
(1958) - The only feature made in the large-frame/three-projector
Cinemiracle process, the format was Cinerama without the lines showing in
between the three projectors, but Cinerama bought out the system and after a
1962 reissue (and only in 35mm?,) it disappeared. It too is a long overdue large frame film
that deserves to be unearthed for even historical reasons, including its value
as a documentary. Hopefully, it still
exists. Produced by Louis De Rochemont
III, who later produced the underrated The
Noah (1975) and whose father was a major producer, knew how to get a good
film made, even if he made few. You can
read more about The Noah this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6331
- Nicholas Sheffo
