Not So Obscure Trailer, but still MIA on DVD: Mean Dog Blues (1978, Mel Stuart)

Mel Stuart's Mean Dog Blues is a well-paced, enjoyably pulpy prison picture that provides consummate character player Gregg Henry (already balding) with a rare starring role and surrounds him with an able cast of veterans including George Kennedy, Kay Lenz, Scatman Crothers, James Wainwright, Gregory Sierra, Felton Perry, William Windom, and Tina Louise.  It's something of a throwback to Warner Bros. prison films of the '30s and '40s updated with some '70s-appriopriate levels of sadism and language.  This might not sound like such a strong endorsement, but, indeed, I found the film to be constantly engaging--downright riveting at times--even as it explores well-trodden cinematic territory. 

Henry, so often seen in villainous roles, is refreshingly cast here in a sympathetic part as Paul Ramsey, an aspiring country singer-songwriter jailed for a crime (drunk driving) he didn't commit.  Hitching a ride, on his way to a meeting in Nashville, with the rich and politically connected Laceys (Windom & Louise), Henry takes the fall when a fall down drunk Windom runs down a little girl on a rural road. 

Lenz is Henry's dedicated wife; it's not dissimilar to her role in White Line Fever in which she played the loyal wife of frequently and unjustly victimized Jan-Michael Vincent.  Lenz and Henry had acted together a year earlier in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. 

No stranger to playing bullies, on either side of the law, Kennedy is in familiar territory as the prison warden with an unhealthy attachment to his attack dog, something you can see in the effective trailer linked above.  That said, Kennedy is in excellent form and he has two of the film's best moments, both involving his dog Rattler.  Wainwright, best known as the young Hoover in Larry Cohen's The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover, is quite good as Kennedy's second-in-command, a man even more cruel and sadistic than his boss.  Crothers makes a brief appearance as Kennedy's unfortunately dubbed "dog n***er," the prisoner entrusted with running from the guard dogs for training purposes.  It's a job Henry will inherit from Crothers and use to his advantage...

The film never really achieves any kind of verisimilitude in its depiction of a prison work camp and it often feels something like an R-rated television film, owing to its episodic structure, rudimentary cinematography and mise-en-scene, and its meager production design.  Even so, Henry's good guy proves to be a more unpredictable and interesting character than one initially assumes him to be, as the script imbues him with some chutzpah, toughness, and a smart-ass sense of humor, which neophyte actor Henry convincingly pulls off.  Henry and Lenz share the film's most tender and moving moment during a conjugal visit, in which they are happy just to hold each rather than do the obvious.  It might sound stale on paper, but it works onscreen, and it's scenes like this that make Mean Dog Blues a little bit of a hidden gem and one that really deserves to be more widely seen. 

Being a film score aficionado, I should also point out Fred Karlin's jangly original music, which reminds--in a good way--of David Shire's Straight Time...these are the kinds of memorable and hummable, small-scale scores that we never hear anymore in Hollywood product. 

D.P. Robert Hauser mostly shot for television, but he did sprinkle in a few interesting features onto his resume, in addition to this one, including: Le Mans and Willard.  Stuart is probably best known for Wattstax and Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Mean Dog Blues is an MGM property now, by way of their purchase of the Filmways / AIP library, and I'm guessing we may eventually see it as an MGM MOD disc unless one of the enterprising independent labels such as Shout Factory! is able to snag it.

Not So Obscure Trailer, but Still MIA on DVD: The Wild Life (1984, Art Linson) OR..."It's casual."

Most likely a victim of short-sighted music licensing agreements, The Wild Life remains m.i.a. on DVD shelves nearly 15 years into the format's lifespan.  "Even faster" than Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Wild Life was written by Fast Times scribe Cameron Crowe and directed by Art Linson, who produced the earlier film.  Something of a quasi-sequel to Fast Times, its primary protagonist is Bill Conrad (Fast Times alumnus Eric Stoltz), a recent Los Angeles-area high school grad whose main goal within the film's timeline is moving into and maintaining an apartment in a singles complex (managed, incidentally, by the late, great Robert Ridgely).  Problems arise when Bill can't make rent on his own and must enlist a roommate (a wild Christopher Penn) to share the burden.

The film famously--or, in the minds of most critics in 1984, infamously--co-stars Christopher Penn as wrestling star, party animal, and all around goofball Tom Drake.  At the time, most observers couldn't get past the fact that Penn's role was a rather transparent attempt to create another Jeff Spicoli, the character made legendary by older brother Sean in Fast Times.  No, Drake is no Spicoli or Blutarsky, and his "It's casual" catchphrase did not enter the lexicon as "Hey bud, let's party" did, but Chris Penn brings a great energy to the part and gets laughs from me whenever I revisit the film.

With this film, veteran producer Linson makes one of only two trips behind the camera (earlier helming Where the Buffalo Roam) and I can't help but think that he came into to replace another director...Crowe, perhaps?  Since the film is rarely mentioned by Crowe or any of the principals, which also include Lea Thompson, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Jenny Wright, production back-stories are scant.  By no means a classic, The Wild Life, like its predecessor, does boast a fine acting ensemble (more great work from Fast Times casting director Don Phillips) with Hart Bochner, Rick Moranis, Randy Quaid, the aforementioned Ridgely, Sherilyn Fenn, Michael Bowen, Ben Stein, Jack Kehoe, Fear frontman and '80s stalwart Lee Ving, Predator Kevin Peter Hall, and Tony Montana "yes man" Angel Salazar ("Tony, open the door!!!") filling out the cast.  They're thrust into many stock situations, culminating with the type of house party blowout that featured in so many teen comedies of the time.  Much of what seemed very fresh just two years earlier with Fast Times, is decidedly less revelatory here, with an air of been there done that.

That's not to say there aren't some very original creations in Crowe's script with Mitchell-Smith's Vietnam-obsessed teen taking top prize in this category.  In a plot development that would probably have current studio execs nervous, Mitchell-Smith and his sidekick (Brin Berliner) visit the decrepit pad of a Vietnam vet (Randy Quaid) more than likely suffering from PTSD.  In what may be the film's most affecting and effective moment, Quaid tells the kid in no uncertain terms that he's lucky to have missed Vietnam and to appreciate the preservation of his average suburban existence.  I have to believe that Mitchell-Smith's Jim Conrad is inspired by the late Chris Penn's own teenage years, a time in which he soaked up any and all Vietnam minutia he could while making a Vietnam-set Super 8 film (said film featured boyhood pals Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez in its cast).  Sadly, the world lost the youngest Penn way too soon...based on the bulk of his performances and his youthful forays into filmmaking, it's clear he had a lot more to offer, more than he was usually given credit for anyway.

The soundtrack that is most likely keeping The Wild Life from DVD and Blu-ray includes an entirely original instrumental score by Eddie Van Halen (with music that foreshadows some future tunes such as "Right Now") and pop songs by Madonna, Buffalo Springfield, Billy Idol, Human League, Bananarama, Steppenwolf, Huey Lewis and the News, Peter Case, The Three O'Clock, Little Richard, and others.  Earlier home video versions omitted some of these songs, as many MCA / Universal releases of the era were wont to do, and had a "Home Video Version" tag printed on the back cover.  The original theatrical version has aired on Encore in recent years, however.

 Chris Penn with then girlfriend Sherilyn Fenn in May '84.

It's no Fast Times and, in fact, it ain't faster, clocking in a full six minutes longer, but for those '80s nostalgists, like me, who prefer to see the decade through a non-Hughes prism, The Wild Life remains essential viewing...if you can get a hold of it.

Not So Obscure Trailer AND Coming Soon to DVD: Dark of the Sun (1968, Jack Cardiff)

There's no cover image up yet, but Jack Cardiff's surprisingly violent and intense 1968 action opus, aka The Mercenaries, starring Rod Taylor, Jim Brown, and Yvette Mimieux is coming to DVD via the Warner Archive! Just as it has two titles, the film has two distinct and quite gorgeous poster designs...I wonder which Warner will utilize for the MOD disc.

EDIT: Disc artwork added...

Not So Obscure Trailer, but Still MIA on DVD: The Keep (1983, Michael Mann)

This looks like it came straight from a film source rather than an old VHS. Listen for the great v.o. proclaiming 70mm and 6-track Dolby Stereo in selected theaters. :

Not So Obscure Trailer, but still MIA on DVD: 92 in the Shade (1975, Thomas McGuane)

"As the temperature rises, the tension mounts and someone just might get killed."

If you haven't already read The Onion interview with Margot Kidder, it's a dandy.  This one's right up there with the one they did last year with Teri Garr.  Margot pulls no punches when it comes to her time in Tinseltown and no one, including Christopher Reeve, Peter Fonda, ex-hubbies Tom McGuane and John Heard, Dick Lester, Olivia Hussey, and Burt Lancaster, is spared.




As for ex-husband McGuane's lone directorial effort, 92 in the Shade, Margot is pretty rough. This was the film on which she fell in love with McGuane and had their child so her vision was clouded and she "didn't notice that it was being incompetently directed and didn't make a lot of sense."  The film is based on McGuane's own National Book Award-nominated novel, Ninety-two in the Shade.

I have to confess that I still have not seen the film, and the early '90s Vintage paperback edition has sat unread on my shelf since the time of its publication.  Still, since I will drop everything for most anything involving Warren Oates and/or Harry Dean Stanton, I would really like to see 92 in the Shade hit DVD.  Add Peter Fonda, Burgess Meredith, Elizabeth Ashley, Sylvia Miles, Kidder, Joe Spinell, William Hickey, and Louise Latham to the mix and you have the makings of another lost '70s classic.  This one is about charter fishing guides in Key West and the dangerous competition that develops between Fonda's rich kid Tom Skelton and hardened veteran angler Nichol Dance (Oates).  

McGuane, Tennessee Williams, and A Chorus Line playwright James Kirkwood at the wrap party for 92 in the Shade

I'm not sure how novelist McGuane was able to get the directing gig here, but I guess he'd developed enough cache from the success of his books (The Sporting Club, The Bushwhacked Piano, and Ninety-two in the Shade) and screenplays (Rancho Deluxe and The Missouri Breaks) to broker the deal.  

Things changed for "Captain Berserko" (as he was known at the time) after he divorced his first wife (who would marry Fonda), had an affair with Elizabeth Ashley (who appeared in both 92 in the Shade and the McGuane-scripted Rancho Deluxe), married and divorced Kidder, and crashed his Porsche on a Texas highway.  He never matched the critical acclaim of his early works ("a talent of Faulknerian potential"), but he did settle down long term with the sister of Jimmy Buffett (this seems very fitting) and settled and invested in Montana's Paradise Valley long before it became a haven for Hollywood royalty.

Originally distributed by United Artists, there was a VHS tape put out by Key Video (CBS/Fox subsidiary).  The below trailer is actually a video trailer for the Key Video release. 

Not So Obscure Trailer, but still MIA on DVD in Widescreen: Sorcerer (1977, William Friedkin)

This one was rated PG?!  Amazing, and something that could only happen in the '70s...

Much ink has already been spilled about the merits of William Friedkin's mammoth vanity project Sorcerer.  In 1977, the nature of that verbiage was not so good.  But, in the more than thirty years since its initial release, it's regarded less as a bloated, unnecessary remake, and more as one man's skillfully-crafted ode to one of his cinematic heroes, Henri-Georges Clouzot and his masterpiece The Wages of Fear.  I like the idea of the mysterious title ('Sorcerer' is painted on one of the trucks in the film), but in hindsight a more literal title probably would have helped the film's business.  

One couldn't blame the trailer, however, which is a superb example of movie marketing. The voiceover explains that Friedkin hasn't made a film since 1973's The Exorcist (the trailer says '74) because he's "spent over two years, in five countries, on three continents creating his latest film, an unusual adventure into the realm of suspense." The phenomenal music is a track from the film's original score, "Betrayal (Sorcerer Theme)" by legendary Krautrock band, Tangerine Dream (here, working on their score for a Hollywood production).  The folks cutting the trailer for 1979's The Warriors liked the music so much they used the same track.  

So why no widescreen DVD?  The story is that when the film was prepared for laserdisc in the early '90s, Friedkin objected to widescreen presentations on home video and so the film went out full-frame.  In the early days of DVD, Universal simply ported over the old laserdisc transfer for their budget line DVD.  Friedkin has promised a special edition DVD with all the trimmings, but it is as of yet only a rumor...

One last bit of marginalia for the Friedkin followers out there: Friedkin claims, on the French Connection audio commentary track, to have wanted Francisco Rabal for the part of Charnier ("Frog 1") in French Connection, after seeing him in Bunuel's Viridiana. Due to some bizarre mix-up, Friedkin ended up with Rabal's co-star in that film, Fernando Rey.  The irony, of course, is that neither man is a Frenchman.  Rey proved an able villain in French Connection and its underrated sequel.  Meanwhile, Friedkin finally got his man, Rabal, for the role of Nilo in Sorcerer.

The Warriors trailer with Sorcerer score:

Not So Obscure Trailer, but still MIA on DVD: Carny (1980, Robert Kaylor)

When you're young and going nowhere...the Carny looks like a good way out.

This one showed up in one of those Warner Home Video/Amazon DVD voting promotions, but, alas, it was not selected by the public.  Even though Warner vowed that all titles on the ballot would be released on DVD, Carny still has not appeared on this format. It's an oddball film, to be sure, and seems to have been left over from the '70s.  In another year or so, small films like this were summarily swept out by the likes of Simpson and Bruckheimer.  It's about carnival workers Frankie (Gary Busey, in one of his pre-wack job performances) and Patch (Robbie Robertson, ex-Band member and friend of Scorsese), and the young runaway (Jodie Foster) who comes between them.  

The sublime supporting cast includes the aforementioned Kenneth McMillan, Elisha Cook Jr. (what self-respecting carny movie would not utilize Cook if he were living), Meg Foster (one-time Cagney & Lacey co-star and possessor of the most hauntingly blue eyes), Tim Thomerson (of Trancers fame),  Fred Ward (what else needs to be said?), the much-maligned Craig Wasson, Bill McKinney (the scariest Mountain Man you'll find), and Bert Remsen (who also appeared in Brewster McCloud).

I've always had a fascination with carnival life and carnies (along with truckers) and maybe that's why this film appeals so much to me. Plus, I love films that are set in a milieu we don't often see depicted in the movies.  Director Robert Kaylor previously made a well-received documentary on the roller derby craze titled, appropriately, Derby.  His only subsequent credit is the 1989 Chad Lowe comedy Nobody's Perfect (of course, this one is on DVD).  I haven't seen the latter, but it does not look very promising.  I would hope that the presence of Foster would be enough to release Carny on DVD.  Maybe it'll happen if Busey does something crazier than, say, molesting Jennifer Garner on the red carpet...

Carny Theatrical Trailer:

Busey Goes Crazy at the Oscars:

Not So Obscure Trailer, but Still MIA on DVD:Brewster McCloud (1970, Robert Altman)

"Something else" from the director of M*A*S*H

This was one of my late father's favorite films and I must say, in the words of Irwin Fletcher, that "I commend him on his choice."  It was directed by Robert Altman, and it sure was a bewildering follow-up, at least to most critics and audiences, to the superstar filmmaker's hugely successful  M*A*S*H.  I had a great time revisiting it several years ago (in a new 35mm print) at the Film Forum's Altman retrospective.

At this point, I do not know why Warner Home Video is dragging its feet on the DVD of Brewster McCloud.  There have been indications in previous chat sessions at the Home Theater Forum, with Warner reps, that the film was coming to DVD, but there has been no official announcement.

For now here's the trailer via TCM:

Trailer Not on the DVD: Reckless (1984, James Foley)

"His name is Johnny Rourke."  Aidan Quinn on location of his debut film, James Foley's Reckless.

I always love trailers that begin with "His name is...." and this is one of them.  The v.o. artist is, of course, the late Don LaFontaine, the man who helped make such copy as "His name is..." archetypal.  The trailer prominently includes several of the pop songs that appear in the film so it's easy to see how this film was aggressively marketed on the fledgling MTV.  The film is available via the Warner Archive, but the trailer is, unfortunately, not on that disc.

Not So Obscure Trailer, but Still MIA on DVD: Rolling Thunder (1977, John Flynn)

"There's a storming brewing in this man." The distinctive voice on the trailer belongs to the late Percy Rodrigues, a Canadian actor best known for his work on numerous trailers, including Jaws, and as the voice of the Locnar in Heavy Metal. Tommy Lee Jones has gone on to do much more acclaimed work in front of, and behind, the camera, but it doesn't get much better than his final line in the trailer--"Let's go clean 'em up." MGM, where's the DVD already?

Not So Obscure Trailer, but still MIA on Home Video: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973, Peter Yates)

"THIS is Eddie Coyle. And, THESE are his friends." I sure wish I could talk like the guy doing the v.o., and where, by Jove, is the love for Dave Grusin!