The brand new ‘The Queer Film Guide: 100 Great Movies That Tell LGBTQ+ Stories’ (Smith Street Books, $19.95) is ultimately a salute by Kyle Turner to the diversity, popularity and, yes, courage of filmmakers who, despite cultural and often legal challenges, followed their muse and just went ahead and made their movies.
What’s striking at first with this guide is there are NO FILM STILLS! Turner’s format is simple: 2 pages for every entry. On the left with an informative illustration by Andy Warren, the title, year, director, stars, genre classification and country. On the right is Turner’s dissection of what made each film stand-out and why it still matters, along with an extra look under ‘Queerview Mirror’ and a pointer – ‘More To See’ – to similar movies. What’s very clear is the amazing span of subjects, artistry, ambition. Just the titles are a stroll down memory lane, from hits – ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,’ ‘’Torch Song Trilogy,’ ‘The Boys in the Band,’ ‘Boys in the Sand,’ ‘Orlando’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain” – to the historical (‘The Queen,’ ‘Morocco,’ ‘Bringing Up Baby,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’) and the obscure (‘Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,’ ‘Tropical Malady,’ ‘Looking for Langston’). The films are listed in chronological order beginning with the 1919 German film ‘Different from the Others’ (it survived Nazi extermination with exactly one print left, now at the UCLA Film Archive) and ending with ‘Fire Island’ in 2022. While there is a Bibliography of quoted texts, there is no index. So you can selectively search or go for broke, page by page.
NEW DVDs:
SCARY BEAR Elizabeth Banks brought a bear onstage at this year’s Oscars as she presented an award. That’s a sign how her low-budget surprise hit ‘Cocaine Bear’ (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Code, Universal, R) had mainstream appeal, putting seats in cinemas – and in all probability founding a franchise. Gory, funny, absurd, “Cocaine Bear” is set in Tennessee’s woods where a bear is running amuck, completely crazed after swallowing packs of cocaine strewn thru the forest before its drug-smuggling plane crashed. Although this ‘Bear’ was filmed far from TN in Ireland and features an obviously animatronic bear, there’s enough complications and eligible dismembered victims to propel 4 different storylines. Keri Russell is a nurse whose daughter’s gone missing. Scene-stealing Margo Martindale is a hapless Ranger – and a very bad shot– who will never be promoted to Yellowstone. There’s Isaiah Whitlock, Jr.’s sharp detective on the case. Gangster Ray Liotta (among his final performances) follows his son on the corpse-ridden trail of their missing coke. Finally and perhaps the comedic highlight: A trio of really stupid would-be muggers who have no clue about what kind of dust-up they’ve entered. Bonus: Alternate ending! Deleted/extended scenes! Gag reel. Behind the Scenes.
HAPPY HOOPSTERS Woody Harrelson may be the star of ‘Champions’ (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Code, Focus Universal, PG-13) but he’s hardly the whole show. Bobby Farrelly’s basketball redemption drama is a remake of a Spanish blockbuster that charts a basketball coach’s transformation when he must work with a Special Olympics team. Casting is crucial with a squad who are more than their intellectual disabilities – with some surprising basketball skills as well. Harrelson, as expected, is wonderful but so is the vibe and a splendid cast that includes Cheech Marin, Ernie Hudson and Kaitlin Olson. Bonus: Farrelly’s audio commentary, casting reel and not 10, not 11 but 12 deleted scenes!
CLASSIC SWEDISH NOIR ‘The Hunters: Complete Seasons 1& 2’ (DVD, 4 discs, MHz, Not Rated) is a popular Swedish TV series inspired by the blockbuster 1996 film of the same name. Every iteration has starred Rolf Lassgård, one of nation’s most popular stars (Ove in ‘A Man Called Ove’). Set in Sweden’s icy Far North, ‘Hunters’ works as classic thriller and intense character study as a gold-mining operation, with millions in South African financial support, stands to transform this rural area into an industrial city. Not everyone is happy and as protests rage, a key local in the project is brutally murdered. ‘Hunters’ easily ascends with a Shakespearean density as it considers the evil men will do in pursuit of million. In Swedish with English subtitles.
MAGNIFICENTLY IMAGINATIVE ‘Gendy Tartakovsky’s Primal: The Complete Second Season’ (Blu-ray, WB, Not Rated) follows its Season 1 Emmy win as Outstanding Animated Program. Initially, Spear our caveman – ‘at the dawn of evolution’ – has befriended Fang, a dinosaur facing extinction. Now in S2 they journey to rescue captive Mira in a land that is savagely brutal. Warning with these 10 new episodes: Uncensored! Parental discretion strongly suggested. Bonus: Inside the Evolution.
DEFINITELY PRE-CODE The 1934 comedy ‘Search for Beauty’ (Blu-ray, KL Studio Classics, Not Rated) stars Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe — who will forever reign as the 1930s serials’ greatest hero Flash Gordon — and Ida Lupino, just 15 but playing an adult Olympian partnered with Crabbe’s Olympian to promote strength, health and beauty via a magazine. Only they are being conned by crooks who have recruited these gorgeous physical specimens from around the world to exploit them for their looks. As gender-differentiated teams do Busby Berkeley-style marching and exercise formations, we enter the locker room where Crabbe strips to take a shower and a few backsides are included in a long shot. None of this bare-chested bonanza would have been allowed just months later when the Production Code went into effect. This brand-new HD Blu-ray master offers a bonus commentary.
IP IP HURRAY! This is where the Chinese legendary hero begins. When our hero ‘Young Ip Man’ (Blu-ray, Well Go USA, Not Rated) chillingly discovers an escaped convict has entered his school, holding all the students for ransom, he has no choice but to confront the intruder head on. However, nothing here is as it seems, he soon discovers. There’s a dangerous conspiracy that enmeshes him. Local authorities are key and who can he with this horrible plot trust? In Mandarin with English subtitles.
ONE REALLY MEAN DEMON The big name behind the nasty demon drama ‘Rawhead Rex’ (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, KL Studio Classics, Unrated) is screenwriter Clive Barker who when this taut terror tale was released in 1986 was riding a wave of popularity with the ‘Candyman’ and ‘Hellraiser’ series and notable characters like Pinhead. ‘Rex’ is adapted from a story in Barker’s classic ‘Books of Blood.’ When a farmer (sadly but stupidly) plows his field near Rathmore, Ireland, unleashing the centuries-long-held demon, it is up to visiting Yankee historian Howard Hallenbeck (David Dukes, ‘Dawson’s Creek’) to figure out how to stop monstrous Rawhead. Special Features galore: Director George Pavlou’s audio commentary, interviews with actors Heinrich von Bunau (he IS Rawhead Rex), Hugh O’Connor, Ronan Wilmot, composer Colin Towns.
GERMAN SILENT BEFORE THE FALL The 1929 Joe May-directed German silent ‘Asphalt’ (Blu-ray, Kino Classics, Not Rated) illustrates how a visionary filmmaker can transform a routine melodrama into a memorable artistic accomplishment. That’s due to a visual style (credit ‘The Blue Angel’ cinematographer Gunther Rittau) that reflects a psychological complexity. Restored in 1994, this German Silent has German Intertitles and optional English subtitles. Film historian Anthony Slide offers a commentary.
SHUDDER WITH SHUDDER Shudder’s ‘Unwelcome’ (Blu-ray, Well Go USA, R) follows a couple to their new domicile in rural England, an escape from ‘their urban nightmare.’ Only neighbors quickly warn them: Don’t go into the woods!! Irish lore decrees that Redcaps will come when called by desperate souls – but there’s always a price to be paid. Douglas Booth and Colm Meaney lead the cast. BONUS: Behind the Scenes, Making the Redcaps.
