It's that time of year when I get pummeled with product, in the hopes that I'll write something about said items to get y'all in the mood to spend. Who am I to staunch the flow of Capitalism?
Here are two decidedly "sacred" offerings; DVD releases of Johnny Cash's Christmas Specials from 1976 and 1977. The 1976 one has a more stilted feel, especially when guest Tony Orlando tries to do "Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair"... not a good fit, pal. It's better when the Cash clan gathers in the living room for a sing-off; the Carter Family turns in an exceedingly white bread version of "In The Pines," and Barbara Mandrell shines in her slide guitar spot (who knew? Not me). The 1977 show fares much better, thanks to its larger quotient of Christmas songs, and the presence of bonafide '50s legends Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The grand finale of "Children Go Where I Send Thee" sure made me a true believer... at least momentarily.
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The Ramones: It's Alive 1974-1996 set is subtitled The Ultimate Double Live DVD, and that's no mere hyperbole. No droning talking heads, no revisionist interviews, just four solid hours of musical performances. Imagine that!
Granted, the footage of the early years is a bit rough, but it's still nice to have. The bulk of the material is from the peak years of 1977-1980, taken from live gigs and TV appearances, with old-school style editing, where they actually let the camera stay on the subject for more than two seconds, so you're able to able to watch the band play without interruption). Ramones fans will rightly eat this up.
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I used my position at this stellar rag to acquire a copy of the "Imperial Edition" of Caligula, the infamous film produced by Penthouse magazine that tried mixing high art and porn with mixed (and frequently unappetizing) results. The film began life with a script by Gore Vidal and Warhol associate Paul Morrissey slated to direct. To make a long story short, after going through various directors, editors, and writers it ended up something less than originally envisioned. Liner notes by Thomas A. Ryerson and RJ Buffalo try to make the case that the film is actually better than it appears due to poor editing, but I wonder. In her commentary, Helen Mirren notes how after arriving on-set to the sight of extras writhing in an orgy, then hanging out with a stoned Peter O'Toole in his trailer, she was so overwhelmed with dread that she went outside and vomited. (She does add that the money she received enabled her to buy her first house).
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Some of the big stars get naked (Mirren and Malcolm McDowell as Caligula do; O'Toole and John Gielgud don't), but they don't do the porn. In a scene where Mirren, McDowell and another woman make out there's plenty of groping, but the hardcore stuff comes from footage of a lesbian couple engaging in cunnilingus that's intercut throughout. We alternate between scene of drama, scene of sex, scene of drama, scene of sex, to the point it all becomes numbing (I admit to fast-forwarding through the fisting scene). This three DVD set has two versions of the film, "Making Of" featurettes, Vidal's original script, and the requisite commentaries. If you haven't had sex in a while, Caligula will make you feel infinitely glad about that. It's the kind of film that makes Showgirls look tasteful.
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And it was a thrill to receive Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition. Too bad if you bought Season Two of the series earlier this year, for this is the set to get. It includes the pilot (U.S. and European editions) and all the series episodes, plus assorted extras (unsurprisingly, there's no commentary from series creator/director/writer David Lynch, who shies away from such things). And a packet of "collectable" postcards.
Twin Peaks was as much a part of the Seattle scene as "grunge"; in fact, club owners told me attendance would always drop the nights the program aired. You remember Twin Peaks, don't you? "Wrapped in plastic." Cherry pie. "Damn good coffee." Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer in the show) told me on the night the pilot aired, friends across the country phoned her in waves as the show began airing in each time zone, amazed at what they were seeing. On watching it again I have to conclude that it's probably the most surreal program to ever air on network TV. Sure it was flawed, particularly in its second season after the mystery of Laura's death was solved. The show should've ended then; instead it lumbered on, increasingly smothered by its own self-conscious quirkiness. It's nonetheless one of the most intriguing shows of all time, an indication of where the medium could've gone, instead of pandering to the lowest common denominator and becoming the repository of dreck it is today. Pity.
