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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 06/24/08

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Crimson Kimono (1959 USA): Before World War II, interracial love affairs could only end one way in the movies: tragically. By the middle of the 20th century, however, things were slowly beginning to change, as exemplified by this intelligent Sam Fuller-helmed drama. Set in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, the film stars Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta as Charlie and Joe, police detectives investigating the murder of exotic dancer Sugar Torch (Gloria Pall). After the case leads them to witness Christine (Victoria Shaw), both macho Charlie and gentle Joe promptly fall for her, raising the question: can an Asian-American man and an Anglo woman have a serious, long-term relationship that doesn't end with the Asian-American falling on his sword or jumping off a cliff? The answer supplied by The Crimson Kimono probably shocked audiences upon its initial release, but today its message of racial inclusion seems positively quaint. When considered in context, however, Fuller's film - which was originally marketed as an exploitation flick - must have been a harsh bromide for those lucky enough to catch it in 1959.

6:35 PM Sundance
The Great Warming (2006 CAN): Green documentaries have been a Sundance Channel staple for quite some time now, and frankly, I think I've had my fill. This latest feature confirms my suspicion that the series has finally jumped the endangered species. Culled from a three part Canadian television series, The Great Warming approaches the issue from an eco-spiritual direction and is primarily aimed at Evangelical viewers who may be reluctant to buck the otherwise conservative bent of their churches. With narration by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, this one's strictly for environmental neophytes or your snake-handling relatives.

Wednesday 06/25/08

12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Kill a Dragon (1967 USA): An American effort to cash in on the then-nascent kung fu craze, Kill a Dragon features Jack Palance as Rick, an American adventurer hired by Hong Kong villagers to protect a salvaged junk full of deadly nitro-glycerin. Seems the junk originally belonged to villainous Patrai (Fernando Lamas), who is now threatening to destroy the village if his property isn't returned to him intact and unexploded. Tempted by gold and attractive local girl Tisa (Alizia Gur), Rick takes up the cause with some assistance from tourist guide Vigo (Aldo Ray). A ridiculous but enjoyable action flick shot on location in Hong Kong, Kill a Dragon is making its American widescreen television debut this morning.


5:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Anna Karenina (1948 GB): I must admit to being less than enthusiastic about the works of Leo Tolstoy, and after trying and failing to complete either War and Peace or Anna Karenina have long since thrown in the Tolstoy towel in favor of less challenging fare (e.g., my current reading material, Laurence Sterne's Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy). Call me a philistine, but I've never been able to appreciate his characters, which strike me as being humorless, hidebound representatives of a decaying social order. Unreasonable and no doubt poorly informed prejudices aside, this adaptation of Anna Karenina is at least worth a look thanks to the talent attached to it, including screen-writer Jean Anouilh, cinematographer Henri Alekan, director Julian Duvivier, producer Alexander Korda, and actors Vivian Leigh, Ralph Richardson, Niall McGinniss, and Michael Gough. The film itself is standard frock flick stuff, but oozes quality production values - including, naturally, magnificent costumes by Cecil Beaton.

Friday 06/27/08

1:30 AM More Max
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987 USA): A broad hit and miss satire of the sort of late night television programming those of us of a certain age grew up watching, Amazon Women on the Moon may not work all the time, but works often enough to make it required viewing for TiVoPlex regulars. Filled with creaky old movies (like the ones I recommend all the time in this column!), proto-infomercials, station sign-offs, and public affairs shows, the wee hours of the morning were frequently just as surreal as this film imagines them to have been. Directed with deep love and affection by Joe Dante, John Landis, and others, it's an erratic but hugely enjoyable parade of silly jokes that will, at times, have you in stitches. At the very least you'll be reaching for your phone to place an order for the latest album by Don ‘No Soul' Simmons - and so you don't forget, call before midnight tonight!

6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Hate for Hate (1967 ITA): An evening of Euro-westerns is highlighted by this rarely seen effort from director Domenico Paolella (Diary of a Cloistered Nun). The film stars John Ireland as Cooper, a bandit who tries to turn over a new leaf by returning some stolen money to rancher Miguel (Antonio Sabato). Alas, his goodwill gesture goes awry, and he's arrested on suspicion of being the malefactor who took the money in the first place. Wrongfully imprisoned, Cooper asks Miguel to inform his wife of his dire straits - but after breaking out of jail and finding both family and life savings gone, suspects his would-be savior of the crime and saddles up for revenge. Co-written by Bruno Corbucci and Fernando dl Leo and unavailable on home video, Hate for Hate appears in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio this morning.

10:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Stranger in Town (1967 ITA): Clint Eastwood's ‘Man With no Name' was one of the most influential characters of sixties Euro-cinema, and the stoic loner rapidly became one of the overused archetypes of the period. ‘The Stranger' was depicted over the course of four films by West Virginia-born Tony Anthony, whose primary claim to fame was his appearance in 1981's Comin' at Ya, a film designed to kick start a comeback for 3-D features. (This just in - it didn't.) In the series' first entry, The Stranger arrives in a dusty village just after bandito Aguilar (the great Frank Wolff) has waylaid a gold shipment intended for the U.S. Army. Aguilar and his men have massacred the escorting Mexican cavalry detachment and now intend to do the same to the Americans coming to claim their property - but in order for the ploy to work, they need the Stranger's assistance. Unsurprisingly, there are double and triple crosses galore and some fun gimmicks, including a parade of musical monks. It's followed at 11:30 AM by The Stranger Returns (1967), in which our hero finds himself involved with a very, very special stagecoach. Both films air in widescreen format.

6:30 PM IFC
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006 USA): A sequel of sorts to the essential 1995 doc The Celluloid Closet, Fabulous! examines more recent (and out of the closet) developments in gay film. Covering everything from Kenneth Anger to Gus Van Sant and John Waters, this is an incomplete but enjoyable 90-minute celebration of queer cinema. You probably won't learn as much as you did from The Celluloid Closet, but you'll have a fabulous time nonetheless.

Saturday 06/28/08

12:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983 ITA): An attempt to make a fast buck in the wake of the Conan-inspired muscleman revival of the early ‘80s, Yor, the Hunter from the Future stars pro boxer Reb Brown as the titular slab of beef, a man mountain who wears a pendant of mysterious origins. After an introductory sequence in which Yor takes down a dinosaur (apparently screenwriter Robert Bailey subscribed to the theories of intelligent design), our hero meets Roa (Ayshe Gul), a fellow cave-person who owns a piece of jewelry not dissimilar to his own. Determined to learn the baubles' back-stories, and with fellow barbarians Kala (Corinne Clery) and Pag (Alan Collins) in tow, Yor departs on an epic journey to unearth his roots. There's lots of grunting, bad synthesizer music, and a ridiculous Star Wars-style sci-fi subplot shoehorned into the plot for good measure. Directed by Antonio Margheriti, who directed scores of genre films throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Yor, the Hunter from the Future also co-stars granite-jawed Eurotrash stalwart John Steiner as the villain of the piece, a Vader-esque baddie known as The Overlord.

1:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Ordeal (1973 USA): This made for television remake of the Ida Lupino vehicle Inferno (1953) stars Arthur Hill as Richard Damian, an everyman abandoned to the desert elements by his unfaithful wife (Diana Muldaur) and her scheming boyfriend (James Stacy). The film plays out as a note for note remake of the original, albeit one with some contemporary trappings, and though Hill and Muldaur are no Robert Ryan or Lupino, it's still one of the better ABC Movies of the Week.

7:00 PM Cinemax
Waitress (2007 USA): One of those quirky, independently financed character studies beloved of the film festival circuit, Waitress would no doubt have sunk into oblivion if not for the tragic death of director-writer-actress Adrienne Shelly, murdered last year by her gardener in the wake of a work-related argument. Her demise arguably gave the film the PR boost it needed, and Waitress became an art-house hit in the summer of 2007, collecting an impressive $19,000,000 at the box office. The story of working class pie chef Jenna (Keri Russell), whose failing marriage to Earl (Jeremy Sisto) has driven her into the arms of her gynecologist (Nathan Fillion), Waitress also received generous critical notices for Andy Griffith's out of left field appearance as café owner Old Joe. Griffith has always - Mayberry RFD notwithstanding - been a fine actor, and his performance here is the main reason to watch this perfectly pleasant but otherwise unremarkable comedy-drama. Also airs at 10:00 PM and 6/29 at 2:30 AM, 5:30 AM, 5:00 PM, and 8:00 PM.

Sunday 06/29/08

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Fifth Horseman is Fear (1965 CZE): Released to DVD by the estimable folks at Facets a few years back, this excellent Czechoslovakian feature makes its American television debut this evening. It's the story of Braun (Miroslav Machacek), a Jewish doctor forbidden by the Nazis to practice medicine but hired by them to catalogue items confiscated from his fellow Czech Jews. When a wounded resistance fighter stumbles into his warehouse in need of treatment, Braun's conscience gets the better of him, and he determines to find morphine to ease the man's suffering. What happens next is a phantasmagoric trip into a Kafkaesque Prague that culminates in a j'accuse-atory message regarding collaboration and compliance with the regime du jour. A huge critical success on its original American release in 1968, The Fifth Horseman is Fear immediately sank into obscurity, but is as relevant today as it ever was - if not more so.

Monday 06/30/08

10:10 PM HBO Signature
Marujas Asesinas (2003 ESP): This very dark Spanish comedy - whose title translates into English as "Killer Housewives" - stars Neus Asensi as Azucena, the unhappy spouse of smug businessman Felipe (Accion Mutante's Antonio Resines). Though Azu is getting some on the side from macho bonehead Pablo (Carlo Lozano) and hubby is a font of ready cash, she can't stomach the abuse she's taking from her man, and determines to dispose of him with the help of sister Isabel, cousin Quique, and sycophantic simpleton Lalo. Indeed, they commit the crime with such ease that Azu decides homicide could be a useful way of dealing with ALL the vaguely annoying creatures in her life, leading to a series of bloody set-pieces worthy of a Tarantino flick. If you've enjoyed other Iberian black comedies such as Ãlex de la Iglesia's Day of the Beast or Crimen Ferpecto - or even, God forbid, the all-American Kill Bill - you'll probably enjoy Marujas Asesinas.