MAD TIGER: The Peelander-Z Film!

Final NYC Press Screening/Interviews: MAD TIGER  (Opening in NY at IFC Center May 6) MAD TIGER A film by: Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein OFFICIAL SELECTION / WORLD PREMIERE: DOC NYC 2015 FEATURING: Peelander-Yellow: Kengo Hioki , Peelander-Red: Kotaro Tsukada, Peelander-Pink: Yumiko Hioki, Peelander-Purple: Akiteru Ito, Peelander-Green: Akihiko Naruse OPENING THEATRICALLY: New York on May 6 (IFC Center) with a national release to follow New York Press Screening: (RSVP to: emma@eg-pr.com) Tuesday, April 26 at 10:30am at IFC CENTER (323 Avenue Of The Americas) **Filmmakers Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein are available for interviews in New York timed to release and by request.** MAD TIGER follows the relationship of two Japanese men, Yellow and Red, who have been best friends and band mates touring the United States in a performance-art punk band called PEELANDER-Z for the last fifteen years. When Red decides to quit, their relationship is tested by life beyond the band. MAD TIGER is a winking, heartfelt portrait of a band that not only captures the energy of their live show but also the guarded introspection and rigid method behind the day-glo stage performance madness. When the band begins to confront forces beyond their control, and members must decide to prioritize their own lives over the band’s future, MAD TIGER builds to an unexpectedly moving crescendo that forces all involved to change and grow. PEELANDER-Z will be touring across the US in Spring 2016 timed to the film’s release. For tour dates please go to: http://peelander-z.com/tour-datez/ Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdfPNRqqHUI

MoosterBlog LOVES Olive Films

We here at MoosterBlog love Olive Films and are looking forward to continuing to support the company with upcoming reviews. If you haven't seen my posts in the past here is a little background info: Olive Films is a boutique theatrical and home entertainment distribution label dedicated to bringing independent, foreign, and classic films to DVD and Blu-ray. Along with MoosterBlog they are excited to announce that May 24th will be the Blu-ray debut of 10 films, including Albert Lewin’s ahead-of-its time classic The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1946) and French Postcards (1979) with its long-awaited theatrical soundtrack restored. “Albert Lewin was a phenomenal intellectual director, and The Private Affairs of Bel Ami reflects that.,” said Alex Kopecky of Olive Films. “We’re proud to bring such a revered and complex film to Blu-ray, so that cinephiles everywhere can continue to enjoy it.”

THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI

Director Albert Lewin is often cited as one of the earliest intellectual directors in Hollywood, spending most of his young adulthood as an English academic. As one might expect, his films were often grossly misunderstood and underappreciated in their time.  Perhaps the best example of this is his 1946 dramaThe Private Affairs of Bel Ami, adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s novel and starring George Sanders and Angela Lansbury. It received near-unanimous negative reviews at its release, most notably from Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, but it is now widely praised by cinephiles. The film echoes many of the recurring themes in the director's work: artists at war with themselves, harmful obsessions, and a fusion of baroque and surreal styles. Lewin’s fascination with aesthetics famously manifests itself in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami with a single Technicolor shot juxtaposed against the rest of the film’s black and white. The Technicolor shot in question is of Max Ernst’s grotesque and disturbing The Temptation of St. Anthony. To find this painting, producers held a contest called the Bel Ami International Art Competition in which 11 artists including Salvador Dalí, Leonara Carrington, Eugene Berman, and Dorothea Tanning participated. They each submitted their version of the often-painted story of St. Anthony, which itself reflects the film’s themes. A jury selected Max Ernst’s, and its presence in the film has gone down in film history as incredibly jarring and powerful.

FRENCH POSTCARDS

Fans of the film French Postcards have long been waiting for a DVD or Blu-ray of the film that includes the theatrical version’s beloved soundtrack. Rather than the replacement songs dubbed in for previous releases, Olive Films’ edition features the French language versions of pop songs such as “Do You Believe in Magic” that are integral to the film’s nostalgic atmosphere. French Postcards was directed by Willard Huyck (Howard the Duck) from a screenplay by Huyck and Gloria Katz (American Graffiti) and stars an ensemble of Miles Chapin, Debra Winger, Valerie Quennessen, Blanche Baker, David Marshall Grant, Marie-France Pisier, and Jean Rochefort.

Other Olive Films April Titles ART + FACTS (link)

Blu-ray and DVD debut of Rich Kids (1979), directed by Robert M. Young, starring Trini Alvarado, Jeremy Levy, John Lithgow, Olympia Dukakis, Paul Dooley, David Selby, and Terry Kiser.

Blu-ray debut of Zapped! (1982), directed by Robert J. Rosenthal and starring Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Scatman Crothers, Robert Mandan, Heather Thomas, and Felice Schachter.

Legend of the Lost (1957), directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne, Sophia Loren, and Rossano Brazzi. Blu-ray debut of The King and Four Queens (1956), directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Clark Gable, Jo Van Fleet, Eleanor Parker, Jean Willes, Barbara Nichols, and Sara Shane.

Blu-ray debut of Iphigenia (1977), directed by Michael Cacoyannis and starring Irene Pappas, Costa Kazakos, and Tatiana Papamoskou.

Blu-ray debut of The Sum of Us (1994), directed by Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling and starring Russell Crowe, Jack Thompson, Deborah Kennedy, and John Polson.

Blu-ray debut of The Whoopee Boys (1986), directed by John Byrum and starring Michael O'Keefe, Paul Rodriguez, Denholm Elliott, Carole Shelley, Dan O'Herlihy, Eddie Deezen, and Marsha Warfield.

Blu-ray debut of Agent Cody Banks (2003), directed by Harald Zwart and starring Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff, Angie Harmon, and Ian McShane. Blu-ray debut of Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), directed by Kevin Allen and starring Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, Hannah Spearritt, Keith David, and Cynthia Stevenson.

In theaters and On Demand on May 6, 2016

ELSTREE 1976 explores the lives of the actors and extras behind one of the most celebrated franchises in cinematic history, which spans from George Lucas’ original A NEW HOPE to J.J. Abrams’ recent record-breaking blockbuster THE FORCE AWAKENS. From the man behind film’s most iconic villain, to the actor whose character was completely cut from the final film, the documentary delves into the eccentric community these individuals have formed and how the Star Wars franchise continues to impact their lives decades later

FORCED PERSPECTIVE: the story of artist Derek Hess

"Few in the art world have the hand of Derek Hess.” -Juxtapoz 

His work has been featured everywhere from the world’s most iconic concert posters and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to the Louvre in Paris.  

TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/154887225

SYNOPSIS

“Forced Perspective” is an intimate portrait of iconic artist Derek Hess by filmmaker Nick Cavalier. Since he was a young boy, Clevelander Derek Hess has had a “knack” for drawing. As the son of a WWII veteran and professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Hess also has had a deep appreciation for the discipline and training necessary for creative growth. Nick Cavalier’s FORCED PERSPECTIVE – evokes Hess’s favored artistic technique of manipulating an object’s size in order to create the illusion of distance. It also traces how these values transformed Hess from an unknown concert poster illustrator at Euclid Tavern into an internationally renowned t-shirt designer, post-hardcore concert organizer, and fine artist. In extensive interviews, Hess opens up about his artistic process as well as his ongoing trials with alcoholism and bipolar disorder. Through his intensely expressive mixed media art, Hess not only works through his demons, but also inspires his fans from around the world to do the same. An impressive tribute to Hess’s oeuvre, Cavalier’s documentary highlights the unique perspective this artist brings to the art world.

AVAILABLE NOW: http://apple.co/1SixyY8 

MORE: http://www.forcedperspectivefilm.com/

Happy 4/20!