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Z Channel Documentary: Anyone Watch It? http://www.worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8073	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Anonymous [ Mon May 16, 2005 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Z Channel Documentary: Anyone Watch It?
I Tivo'd it over the weekend and finally got to watch Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004). I had no idea what the Z channel was or who Jerry Harvey was (that man behind Z channel) before watching the documentary. It was a very interesting film, sometimes funny, and pretty sad considering what became of Jerry Harvey. I'm sure the documentary would appeal to several posters here (talking about you Dolce). The Z channel was a pay cable channel in LA during the 1970's and 1980's that not only influenced the current pay cable systems today like HBO, but helped to get European and smaller films on the American radar. Many famous actors and filmmakers are interviewed including Quentin Tarantino, Alexander Payne, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, James Woods, Jim Jarmush, and Penelope Spheeris. The Z channel was a cinephile's wet dream. Some of the films showcased on the documentary: Dog Day Afternoon Mahogany Black Bird Marathon Man Chinatown Big Bad Mama Carrie Lipstick Attila 74 In a Lonely Place Empire Strikes Back Dr. Strangelove A Safe Place Images Welcome to LA 400 Blows Madchen in Uniform Peau d'ane Dance of the Vampires Overlord Poltergeist Eye of the Needle Flashdance Aliens Life of Brian Silver Streak Fingers Andrei Rublev Heaven's Gate The Decline of Western Civilization Bad Timing The Important Thing is to Love Dead Pigeon Fixed Bayonets McCabe and Mrs. Miller The Delinquents Shoot the Piano Player 3 Women Journey Among Women The Ploughman's Lunch Rules of the Game Throne of Blood St Ives Le Magnifique The Deep Fritz the Cat Naked Kiss Vampyr Boccaccio 70 Rocco and his Brothers Iceman This Island Earth Los Olvidados Greasers Palace Putney Swope El Norte The Harder They Come Out of the Past The Home and the World The Passenger L'Avventura The Moon's Our Home 400 Blows 1900 (5:20 hour version) Berlin Alexanderplatz Scarface Seduction of Mimi All Screwed Up Femme La Infidele This Man Must Die Das Boot (6 hour version) Once Upon a Time in America Ride the High Country The Leopard The French Woman La Cicala The Boarding School Daughters of Darkness Emmanuelle Lady on the Bus Wifemistress Turkish Delight Flesh and Blood Spetters Keetje Tippel Salvador Something of Value My Darling Clementine Fitzcarraldo The Wild Bunch Sicilian

Author:	dolcevita [ Mon May 16, 2005 6:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Z Channel Documentary: Anyone Watch It?
loyalfromlondon wrote: Chinatown Carrie Empire Strikes Back Madchen in Uniform Flashdance L'Avventura Seduction of Mimi Emmanuelle Turkish Delight I am definately going to try to see this doc. I will check rental places for it. Was the movie itself any good, or was the content so inherently interesting that even with the doc doing a poor job it was passable. Anyone who brought Madchen and L'Avventure to this country deserves some loving.

Author:	Anonymous [ Mon May 16, 2005 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Z Channel Documentary: Anyone Watch It?
dolcevita wrote: loyalfromlondon wrote: Chinatown Carrie Empire Strikes Back Madchen in Uniform Flashdance L'Avventura Seduction of Mimi Emmanuelle Turkish Delight I am definately going to try to see this doc. I will check rental places for it. Was the movie itself any good, or was the content so inherently interesting that even with the doc doing a poor job it was passable. Anyone who brought Madchen and L'Avventure to this country deserves some loving. The doc was good. My only issue was the "talking head" syndrome. It really hampered the films ability to keep the subject interesting. Half of the heads weren't very engaging. Also, the film had problems sorting out its subject. It's either really about the Z channel and what it meant for film or its about Harvey and what ulimately happened to him. You can't really do justice to both if you're switching back and forth. That said, I would still give it a solid B.

Author:	dolcevita [ Sat May 21, 2005 3:50 pm ]
Post subject:
We were just talking about the fact that New Hope, Empire Strikes back, were not guaranteed massive popcorn blockbusters, last night. Insteresting to see how Empire actually got their television release through the same channels the imports and indies did. Kind of interesting to reflect back on it now. The most financially successful franchise was getting attention from small start-up television channel pay=per-view. I wonder how well they did afterwards, as alot of these movies went on to be huge in the domestic market?

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