TiVoPlex
By John Seal
July 1, 2013
9:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Bed and Board (1970 FRA): It’s Francois Truffaut month on TCM, and it looks like we’ll have the opportunity to scope out almost all of the great director’s features. I’ve written about many of these in the past, so over the next few weeks I’ll be focusing on those Truffauts that haven’t been seen on American television in the last decade or so. First out of the gate is Bed and Board, the fourth of the director’s Antoine Doinel features. Jean-Pierre Leaud returns, of course, as Antoine, by now a newly married adult verging on early middle age trying to come to terms with his less than satisfying career as a flower dyer (does anyone still earn a living doing this?). Claude Jade also reprises her role as Antoine’s lover-now-wife Christine, an expectant mother and talented music teacher. How does this rank in the pantheon of Doinel films? I’m inclined to vote middle-of-the-pack, but it’s well worth watching regardless – especially as its preceded by screenings of both The 400 Blows and Stolen Kisses.
Saturday 7/6/13
1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Vanishing Fiancee (1978 FRA): Oh, dear...embarrassment time! Here’s a Truffaut even yours truly has never seen. Reviews indicate the film has a reputation for darkness – not a style we generally associate with Truffaut – which may explain its relative obscurity. I will, of course, be delighted to make The Vanishing Fiancee’s acquaintance.
8:00 PM The Movie Channel
VHS (2012 USA): Ah, the horror anthology. Ever since 1945’s Dead of Night, its been a reliable genre standby, delivering us the great (Dead of Night, natch), the good (1972’s Asylum), and the meh (pretty much anything produced after 1982’s Creepshow). Which brings us to VHS, which has a brilliant concept: require that each of its stories be shot on good ol’ videotape. So how’s the execution? Wellll...could be better, I’m sad to say. Though I do love the idea of shooting six shorts on low-def tape and then mashing them up into an anthology feature, the stories themselves are simply not that interesting or well-written. Designed as a showcase for young filmmaking talent, VHS doesn’t really deliver the goods, though Ti West’s segment (Second Honeymoon) is far superior to what surrounds it. Also airs at 11:45 PM.
Monday 7/8/13
3:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Catalina Caper (1967 USA): Chances are, if you’ve ever seen Catalina Caper, you probably saw it on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Now we get an opportunity to scope it out sans both commercial interruptions and silly robot commentary! Tommy Kirk, fresh off his twin triumphs in Mother Goose-A-Go-Go and It’s a Bikini World, stars as Don Pringle, a clean cut teen who stumbles across an art theft on Southern California’s Catalina Island. Also involved are Lyle "Carol Burnett Show" Waggoner and Little Richard, who gets to croon the decidedly out of character tune "Scuba Party". Catalina Caper was shot by Ted Mikels (The Corpse Grinders and Astro Zombies guy) and directed by Lee Sholem, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this indie feature’s questionable qualities.
6:00 PM HBO
Gasland Part II (2013 USA): Can’t wait to see this sequel to director Josh Fox’s magnificent 2010 doc Gasland, the film that introduced me to the dangers of fracking. In the years since, of course, we’ve seen fracking explode (sometimes literally!), with the White House giving its stamp of approval as recently as last week. Obviously, no one in Washington has seen Gasland or read the recent Duke University study, because if they had they’d be a lot less enthusiastic about this pollution-increasing, earthquake-inducing, illness-generating industry. But there’s money to be made – and it’s surely no coincidence that the industry has churned out a cinematic riposte, Fracknation, which also happens to be debuting this month, albeit on the less widely available HD Movies Network. Sorry, I’m not going to tell you when it’s screening – you’ll have to do that research yourself! Gasland II airs again at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.
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