Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The DVD Box Set of the Year

...will be released May 1. I don't think Criterion could top this if they put out a Magnificent Ambersons box with the original ending and free Orson Welles capes and hats.



From The Digital Bits:

Boy have we got some great DVD news for you film geeks today! ABKCO Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment have just announced a pair of titles that we've been waiting for on DVD since Day One of this format... El Topo and The Holy Mountain! No kidding! Anchor Bay will release a special limited edition collector's box set, The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky, on DVD on 5/1 (SRP $49.98). The set will contain El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Fando Y Lis on DVD, fully restored and remastered from new HD transfers in anamorphic widescreen video, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 audio. The box set will also include 2 music CDs containing the soundtracks for El Topo and The Holy Mountain, as well as a DVD of Jodorowsky's never-before-released first film, La Cravate. El Topo and The Holy Mountain will also be available separately (SRP $24.98 each). The El Topo DVD will contain audio commentary by the director, the original theatrical trailer (with English voice-over), a 2006 on-camera interview with the director as well as an exclusive new interview, a photo gallery and original script excerpts. The Holy Mountain DVD will include audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes with commentary, the original theatrical trailer (with English voice-over), the Tarot short with commentary, a restoration process short, restoration credits, a photo gallery and original script excerpts. Fando Y Lis will include audio commentary with the director and the La Constellation Jodorowsky documentary. Subtitles on the discs will be available in English, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Awesome news indeed!


Soundtrack cds! Commentaries! And more! All for under $50! I'm going to put on a loincloth, paint my genitalia and run around the desert in honor of Jodorowsky... AGAIN!

2 comments:

BayonneMike said...

Have you seen these movies, Chris? I saw El Topo ages ago, but I don't remember being impressed. I seem to remember even back then thinking that the movie felt dated due to its fuzzy, hippieish ideas.

Chris said...

I've seen bootlegs of both El Topo and Holy Mountain. I liked El Topo - it was ok, I'll be interested to revisit it again - but Holy Mountain to me was on another level, full of amazing, vivid symbolism. I would put it in a class by itself. Interestingly (or not), it's my understanding Jodorowsky was never interested in drugs before or during the making of El Topo but was dropping lots of acid by the time of HM.

I certainly don't subscribe to any of the films' whacked-out hippie ideas but I believe Jodorowsky just so happens to be a brilliant, visionary filmmaker regardless. You can certainly argue the films are dated but I also believe they're uncompromising, creative and free-spirited enough that open-minded viewers should at least check them out and see what they think.