DVD releases for October 28

Nothing too super-duper exciting, but there are some possibilities here:


Body of War - The True Story of an Anti-hero (2007) directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro
Phil Donahue, the original talk show host, was no patsy when it came to speaking out against the war in Iraq. Donahue and co-director Ellen Spiro focus on a more personal view of the war from Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine. This documentary received good words from people who have seen it. The number of stories in this war is nearly match by the number of worthy documentaries.

Yesterday Girl (1966) directed by Alexander Kluge
This looks awesome, but I admit to knowing nothing about the film or Alexander Kluge except the information I just scanned from a google search. Like this convincing preamble: "...an acerbic, deliriously fractured, incisive, and darkly comic satire on a young German woman (and archetypal embodiment of the postwar generation), Anita G.'s (Alexandra Kluge) search for happiness, liberation, and independence in the illusive wake of a transformative national recovery (a parallel history of postwar reformation not unlike Japan's recovery)." (From Strictly Film School.)

Tuya's Marriage (2006) directed by Wang Quan'an
This film is much better and much less predictable than it looks (like half of the other Mainland films of this ilk.) This played at MSPIFF. Here's more recycling on my part (a capsule review that I guess I will stand by): "Wang Quan’an’s epic tragedy harks back to the “fifth-generation” filmmakers that brought Mainland Chinese film to world attention twenty years ago. Tuya is the sole provider for her paralyzed husband and two young children until health concerns of her own threaten to take away their livelihood. Tuya’s pragmatic and resilient character is not only the heart and soul of the film, but also adds refreshing life to a familiar story. Cleverly paced with little adornment, the beautiful vistas are as prevalent as the unrelenting circumstances. Shot in Inner Mongolia, Tuya’s Marriage captures the simple herding life that is fast disappearing as economic development engulfs China.



I Love Beijing (2001) directed by Ning Ying
I'm embarrassed that I haven't seen any of Ning Ying's films. She is a well-respected Mainland director who even had a mini retrospective of her film at the Harvard Film Archive a few years back.

A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory (2007) directed by Esther Robinson
I bragged about this coming out on July 1...? Sometimes I have no idea what is happening. Why does the world vex me so? Anyway. This played at the Walker earlier this year. Honestly, the story about Williams is much more interesting than his films, or at least the ones that seem to be his. Whether or not he shot more of the Factory films is all part of the mystery. Absolutely required viewing for people interesting in Warhol with its interviews with people who were there.

Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976) directed by Yasuharu Hasede
Japanese sexploitation, if you please. Hasede did the well known and widely available Black Tight Killers. Don't expect any more subtleties than what is implied in the cover. Viewer discretion is advised on the above link to the trailer.