Kaylara
August 21st, 2001, 01:30 PM
DVD Notebook: Cult favorites have their day
Randy A. Salas
Star Tribune
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
Any movie -- good or bad, but usually with only moderate success, at best -- can become a "cult film" as long as it develops a faithful following that grows over the years. Today sees the DVD release of four such films, all highly anticipated by devoted fans.
Smart and scary: The 1973 film "The Wicker Man" (Anchor Bay, $19.98 to $39.98) -- an odd mix of sex, religion and sheer terror -- could be considered a horror film, but its brilliance transcends the genre. Edward Woodward stars as a God-fearing police officer whose search for a missing girl leads him to a strange Scottish isle where paganism still is practiced. The shocking ending retains its impact even with repeated viewings 18 years after the film was made.
A single-disc configuration includes the truncated theatrical cut plus a half-hour documentary with recent interviews of all the major players. To see the real film, the longer cut before a studio-mandated evisceration, you'll have to spring for the limited-edition two-disc set, which is housed in a beautiful wooden box. It restores 11 minutes' worth of footage that flesh out the story and make the ending that much more unsettling.
Found at:
http://www.startribune.com/viewers/qview/cgi/qview.cgi?story=84761347&template=free_article
Kaylara
Randy A. Salas
Star Tribune
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
Any movie -- good or bad, but usually with only moderate success, at best -- can become a "cult film" as long as it develops a faithful following that grows over the years. Today sees the DVD release of four such films, all highly anticipated by devoted fans.
Smart and scary: The 1973 film "The Wicker Man" (Anchor Bay, $19.98 to $39.98) -- an odd mix of sex, religion and sheer terror -- could be considered a horror film, but its brilliance transcends the genre. Edward Woodward stars as a God-fearing police officer whose search for a missing girl leads him to a strange Scottish isle where paganism still is practiced. The shocking ending retains its impact even with repeated viewings 18 years after the film was made.
A single-disc configuration includes the truncated theatrical cut plus a half-hour documentary with recent interviews of all the major players. To see the real film, the longer cut before a studio-mandated evisceration, you'll have to spring for the limited-edition two-disc set, which is housed in a beautiful wooden box. It restores 11 minutes' worth of footage that flesh out the story and make the ending that much more unsettling.
Found at:
http://www.startribune.com/viewers/qview/cgi/qview.cgi?story=84761347&template=free_article
Kaylara