The MirrorARCHIVES: Apr 10 - Apr 16.2008 Vol. 23 No. 42  
Vidiot's Box

 


How’s this for a double bill: Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and the George Clooney-starring Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Why don’t we add Heathers to the program as well? And the psychedelic David Bowie sci-fi flick The Man Who Fell to Earth? Hey, while we’re at it, has anyone seen cult ’80s horror flick C.H.U.D. lately? I mean, that sounds like a dream night at the movies: a perfect line-up of films that totally complement each other.

Those movies—and seven more equally random selections—comprise what is without a doubt the weirdest DVD box set ever, Anchor Bay’s new “Cult Fiction” collection. (Yes, cult… fiction. Whatever that means. Not pulp fiction. Cult fiction.) It would be hard to imagine a stranger choice of movies.

Also included are the cool last-man-on-earth New Zealand flick The Quiet Earth, the Bob Hoskins London gangster saga The Long Good Friday, Mario Bava’s Kidnapped, Night of the Living Dorks, and the Toronto-made Class of 1984. I mean, one thing you can definitely say about this set is there’s something in it for everyone. But I can’t imagine the effect sitting down in front of it for a prolonged movie marathon would have on your psyche.

If you missed Rob Stewart’s documentary Sharkwater when it played in theatres last year, now’s your chance to peep it on DVD and Blu-Ray. This beautifully filmed doc is an untraditional take on the fish most everybody loves to hate: Stewart is an unabashed admirer of sharks and after watching the film, you might be too.

The photographer and filmmaker, who escaped death a couple of times during the shoot—though the dangers came from flesh-eating disease and his fellow humans—shows off the great beasts’ power and majesty, as well as the fact that they’re least-favourite-fish status has led them to be hunted nearly to extinction. They may not seem to need it, but somebody’s gotta stick up for the sharks.

MARK SLUTSKY
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