Fun City Editions

[Calvin]

A new label, distributed by Vinegar Syndrome, which is "focused on reissues of maverick repertory cinema and music that can best be described as works that exist "outside of their time." Spanning an array of genres, artists and countries, but with a unifying focus on forgotten and overlooked treasures, each Fun City release, be it a Blu-ray or vinyl LP, will present new restorations and comprehensive extras which contextualize and illuminate the artistic and historic value of the piece."

Their first couple of releases:

Johnny (Vincent Spano, Baby It's You and Over the Edge) controls the drug trade in New York's rough Alphabet City neighborhood - as long as his mob bosses let him. But, when he refuses to follow orders to torch the tenement building he grew up in, Johnny puts himself and his loved ones in their unforgiving crosshairs. No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe's (The Blank Generation and Subway Riders) neo-noir cult favorite oozes '80s neon-lit, punk-tinged style.

The innovative and vividly colorful visuals spring from the lens of cinematographer Oliver Wood (TV's Miami Vice, The Honeymoon Killers and Face/Off). Chic co-founder and dance music legend Nile Rodgers' supremely catchy synth-pop score propels the action. The cast of rising and veteran talents includes Kate Vernon (Pretty in Pink), Jami Gertz (Less Than Zero and The Lost Boys), Michael Winslow (the Police Academy series), Kenny Marino (Prince of the City and Death Wish 3) and Zohra Lampert (Let's Scare Jessica to Death and Splendor in the Grass).

Restored and available on Blu-ray for the first time, Alphabet City is an evocative cinematic snapshot of a New York City that has long since vanished.

Bonus Features:
1. Region A Blu-ray
2. Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm interpositive
3. Newly recorded audio commentary by director Amos Poe and writer Luc Sante
4. Newly filmed interview with actor Vincent Spano
5. Theatrical trailer
6. Image gallery
7. New video essay by filmmaker Chris O'Neill
8. Reversible cover
9. English SDH subtitles

As young Wynne (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout and An American Werewolf in London) comes of age, a psychotic killer of teen schoolgirls stalks her hometown, which is rapidly transforming from an antiquated village to a forward-looking "new town." Is the murderer Wynne's much older foster brother George (Bryan Marshall, The Spy Who Loved Me and The Long Good Friday)? The conflicted Wynne is deeply in love with George, but also fears that he is guilty of the horrific crimes. Director David Greene (Godspell, The Shuttered Room and TV's Roots) imbues Audrey Erskine Lindop's unsettling story with sensitivity, social commentary, and a haunting ambience.

An impressive roster of behind-the-scenes talent contributes to the look and feel of this cult favorite: writer Richard Harris (TV's The Avengers and Man in a Suitcase), cinematographer Alex Thomson (Excalibur, The Keep and Labyrinth), and production designer Brian Eatwell (Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth and White Dog). The innovative music score is by pioneering electronic and experimental composer Basil Kirchin (The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Mutations).

This long sought-after thriller is a gem of late-'60s British filmmaking, now restored and ready to be rediscovered!

Special Features and Technical Specs:
BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM 35MM INTEPOSITIVE
A Kickstart: Jenny Agutter Remembers I START COUNTING (video interview)
Video introduction by Jenny Agutter
Loss of Innocence: A Video Essay on I START COUNTING by Chris O'Neill
Audio Commentary with film historian Samm Deighan
I Start Directing: David Greene's Complicated Family Stories by Amanda Reyes
Remembrances of Basil Kirchin
David Green and I START COUNTING! by Matt Stephenson
Trailer
Image gallery
English SDH subtitles
REGION-A "LOCKED"

[domino harvey]

As young Wynne (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout and An American Werewolf in London) comes of age, a psychotic killer of teen schoolgirls stalks her hometown

Is this what they mean by a “Fun City”?

[domino harvey]

Frank Perry's Rancho Deluxe also coming at some point

[kneelzod]

Hi, I'm a member and very infrequent poster here, as well as the person behind FCE. I can tell you that our name is an homage to the nickname for the NYC of the John Lindsay years and beyond. Late '60s - '70s.

[beamish14]

Frank Perry's Rancho Deluxe also coming at some point

The dam has finally burst on Frank Perry!

[Calvin]

Another upcoming title is Jeremy with Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor

[Cash Flagg]

Also Smile!

[Cash Flagg]

As teased on their Instagram, Walking the Edge is coming 'springtime'.

[kneelzod]

We'll also have RADIO ON coming later this year.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Very excited about this new label. Smile was a film that I always wanted to land with Criterion after the release of Downhill Racer, but it seems like less of the sort of thing they’re interested in releasing these days. It’s both hilarious and with a sort of underlying darkness about small town Americana. I also can’t recommend Walking the Edge enough. I caught it initially during the New Beverly’s month dedicated to Nancy Kwan as I was sort of curious about the pairing of her and Robert Forster. After the messy first feature, Wonder Women, I sort of anticipated this to be mediocre, but was taken aback by just how fun it is. A great thriller with pockmarked legend Joe Spinell wearing the tightest pants with one of the most pronounced moose knuckles in cinema history. Few things I enjoy more than seeing Forster and Kwan share McDonald’s in his small Fairfax District apartment. I liked it so much, I went to see it again when it was screened again for Forster’s memorial month there.

I just ordered Jeremy, a film I had never heard of before its release, as it seems exactly like the sort of film I would enjoy. Looking forward to see what else they have for the future.

[DesertDweller]

I just received my copy of Alphabet City, with the slipcase and I'm so happy with the quality of the film, extras and packaging.
I'm now definitely looking forward to picking up all future releases, as best I can, particularly Jeremy and I Start Counting (how can anyone pass on Jenny Agutter?).

[Cash Flagg]

Smile pre-order (Vinegar Syndrome exclusive slipcover edition)

Region A Blu-ray
• New 2K restoration from its 35mm interpositive
• “Dernsie’s Credo,” a newly filmed interview with actor Bruce Dern
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Booklet with a new essay by film historian Mike McPadden
• Newly recorded audio commentary by actor-filmmaker Pat Healy and film curator Jim Healy
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

[jazzo]

kneelzod, I just wanted to send a big thanks for your efforts behind Fun City, which is quickly becoming a favorite label of mine. If I may offer a couple of suggestions for possible FCE future releases:

Ronald Maxwell and Kimi Peck's shockingly honest and touching coming of age picture, Little Darlings, which meant almost as much as The Bad News Bears did to me back in 1980. That's, of course, a Paramount holding, so probably unobtainable, but it never hurts to ask.

The other may be more doable: Paul Morrissey's bananas NY street/mafia comedy, Spike of Bensonhurst. It and Morrissey's earlier picture, Mixed Blood, seem right up the label's alley.

Again, thanks for the fine work.

[beamish14]

Ronald Maxwell and Kimi Peck's shockingly honest and touching coming of age picture, Little Darlings, which meant almost as much as The Bad News Bears did to me back in 1980. That's, of course, a Paramount holding, so probably unobtainable, but it never hurts to ask.

I'm sure this title is near the top on many film buffs' wish lists, but it has simply insurmountable music clearance problems. The UCLA Film & Television Archive showed an absolutely flawless print several years ago, and the archivist confirmed as much, too.

[domino harvey]

I’ve actually seen one of those Primetime Panic titles, here’s my write up from elsewhere on the forum

Death Ride to Osaka (Jonathan Kaplan 1983) Amateur chanteuse Jennifer Jason Leigh answers a sketch trade paper ad and winds up forced into sexual slavery in Japan thanks to a shady contract and some shadier Yakuza bosses. As tawdry as that sounds, this mild exploitation flick is probably the most genteel film ever made about forced prostitution. Were it not for the nudity you could watch it in the family room with Grandma! Of some interest to fans of Ms. Leigh, particularly her role in Georgia, as she gets quite a few numbers here that were clearly not overdubbed. Also features a great score that would sound right at home on some future Valerie Records comp.

[Boosmahn]

Primetime Panic sounds and looks amazing. A great companion piece to the Televised Terror series.

However, I'm not sure why they're including 1.85:1 versions. Weren't these shot with only 4:3 television sets in mind?

[EddieLarkin]

It wasn't uncommon to shoot TV movies the same way theatrical films were: compose for 1.85:1 and protect 1.33:1. See Duel, The Killers, The Last Seduction. The idea presumably being that if the film was a hit it could still safely have a later theatrical release. Whereas if one were to actually compose shots strictly for 1.33:1, then a later 1.85:1 crop would be awful and possibly unreleasable.

Perhaps they've found these films show evidence of this practice.

[Boosmahn]

Thanks, that's interesting. The 1.85:1 screenshots look well-cropped to me, but I'll have some time to decide.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

There’s also the fairly common phenomenon of TV movies being theatrical releases in other parts of the world.

[therewillbeblus]

Also Fun City, but Walking the Edge is a little talked about personal favorite of mine.

This movie was pretty awesome, though it's Robert Forster's dog-tired yet vigilant performance that transforms the typically-thin genre protagonist into a fully-formed character. I had a blast just hanging out with him for 90 minutes.

[therewillbeblus]

It's been over a decade since I saw Born to Win, but recall it being the best of Ivan Passer's American films.

I liked this a fair amount, even if it was an uneven film (which I understand resulted from conflicts in post, but also fits the vibe of the delusional, meandering lifestyle that is equal parts sobering realist grit and darkly humorous surreal experience). Segal turns in an outstanding performance, and Black complements him well. In a sense this is a “romantic” shaggy dog addict tale to counter California Split’s platonic one, though this never reaches the exciting narrative possibilities, dynamic characterization, or existential depths that the Altman achieves. Still, infusing some light coating into this dark lifestyle works at reflexively matching the real delusions of enjoyment addicts convince themselves of during these episodes, and I always appreciate that approach in measuring the “good” with the bad over a sneering and condescending method a la Requiem for a Dream

[beamish14]

New partner label releases announced, including:

The Coca Cola Kid [Fun City Editions]
Ilya Muromets [Deaf Crocodile]
Buster Keaton Rides Again / Helicopter Canada [Canadian International Pictures]
The Films of Doris Wishman: The Twilight Years [AGFA]
Passing Strangers & Forbidden Letters: Two Films By Arthur J. Bressan Jr. [Altered Innocence]

As the forum’s resident Dusan Makavejev fanatic, I’m beyond excited about The Coca-Cola Kid. Eric Roberts is brilliant in it

[domino harvey]

As the forum’s resident Dusan Makavejev fanatic, I’m beyond excited about The Coca-Cola Kid. Eric Roberts is brilliant in it

I recently watched a very positive Siskel and Ebert review of the film. They both were effusive in their praise

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

A 35mm print of The Coca-Cola Kid screened here earlier this year, programmed by a very enthusiastic Andrew Bujalski. The post-screening discussion got a little awkward when one of the audience members turned out to have written his thesis on Makavajev and corrected Bujalski's claim that the film was a mainstream success. TBH I don't see how it could've been—Roberts' performance is spectacularly odd in a way that probably would've bewildered a lot of mainstream viewers, and if it's more narratively straightforward than Makavejev's usual it still has plenty of weird flourishes, like a pseudo-espionage subplot that barely intersects with anything else and a gut-busting postscript.

(The aforementioned Makavajev scholar also had a few anecdotes about the production that didn't put Eric Roberts in a very flattering light, notably his insistence on going completely nude for a sex scene even though it wouldn't have shown on camera and his co-star was openly uncomfortable with it.)

[spectre]

A 35mm print of The Coca-Cola Kid screened here earlier this year, programmed by a very enthusiastic Andrew Bujalski. The post-screening discussion got a little awkward when one of the audience members turned out to have written his thesis on Makavajev and corrected Bujalski's claim that the film was a mainstream success. TBH I don't see how it could've been—Roberts' performance is spectacularly odd in a way that probably would've bewildered a lot of mainstream viewers, and if it's more narratively straightforward than Makavejev's usual it still has plenty of weird flourishes, like a pseudo-espionage subplot that barely intersects with anything else and a gut-busting postscript.

(The aforementioned Makavajev scholar also had a few anecdotes about the production that didn't put Eric Roberts in a very flattering light, notably his insistence on going completely nude for a sex scene even though it wouldn't have shown on camera and his co-star was openly uncomfortable with it.)

I watched it earlier this year, and can't quite say I enjoyed it – it's a determinedly eccentric film that could be so-bad-it's-good but sadly runs out of its own offbeat steam well before the conclusion. As an Australian, I must say that there is something undeniably fascinating (in a through-the-looking-glass way) about seeing a stereotypical version of your own culture represented by an outsider. Ultimately a footnote in Makavejev's filmography, but still worth a look for curiosity's sake if nothing else.

The anecdote about Roberts is one that's recounted firsthand by Scacchi herself in a special feature on the 2009 Australian DVD release (which seems to have been brought over for this edition); you can read the relevant quotes on OzMovies:

https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/about ... -kid#about

A dislike of Makavejev's working methods was mild compared to the hostility Scacchi developed for Roberts:

Scacchi: He was considered to be a really very strong, intense actor. I was very much looking forward to working with him because he'd just played the psychopath in a film called Star '80, a true story about someone who gets so twisted up with jealousy becomes a killer and I thought it was brilliant acting, but when I met him in Sydney, he was still playing this character … Paul Snider, he was still Paul Snider (Scacchi pronounces it Scheider), so maybe he hadn't got over that …

David Roe: We had seen Heat and Dust and we thought she was good in it, she was a talented actress and she looked terrific and we thought we needed to find someone who was playful, impish, naughty, game, to play the role of Terri, in Coca-Cola Kid, because she is a hobgoblin … a spirit, who brings the American executive undone… so we needed someone who was playful and who looked playful and she was and is.

Working with Greta Scacchi was a pleasure. She's a very nice woman and a lot of fun. Likes people and people like her. Works hard, carries her weight, carries her bit, and everybody liked her and this film is now twenty odd years old, and we're still friends.

I think it was actually a rather awkward relationship. She's a pretty good sport and pretty tolerant and flexible and good fun and he's just a bit too serious… so I don't think the chemistry was quite right between them.

Greta Scacchi: Me and Eric? We didn't have a relationship at all. All I want to say about Eric Roberts in the context of this is that it seemed that he was not an actor comfortable with improvisation amongst this group of people, you know, whether it was that he already felt that the Australian crew didn't understand …

I love working with Australian crews, I feel very Australian when I'm in Australia and I am so grateful for the way that you can, with Australians, be relaxed and democratic and everybody feels they've got a role … there's no hierarchy at all, and people share the adventure of making a film together, whether they're the actors, or the crew, there's no sort of minions, everybody is allowed to be a fully fledged individual, and personality and it's a happy adventure.

Eric was coming straight from a system that is polar opposite of that … and so with Eric he didn't feel like, I mean it wasn't just off the set that we had no relationship, in front of the camera together he wouldn't be looking at me, if he was looking at me he'd be looking behind me, he didn't want to look me in the eye.

This might have been a character choice of his, I don't know, 'cause he never discussed it with me but we always have this thing, a camaraderie between actors, that when an actor is doing his close-up, that the other actor is standing by the camera to do off-lines and be the spot for the actor to look at and to engage with … but Eric preferred me not to be there.

I've had no fun working with him and I had just tolerated it and I had taken all this shit from him for a long time … then we get to do this scene which is one of Dusan's moments of spontaneous genius that in the fight, in this love-hate fight that's gunna end in very good sex we burst a pillow and there's a snow storm of feathers gently floating down and this is where we're going to do this scene that he'd decided that it'd be a close-up of my profile, in order to do something that was suggestive, that was kind of explicit without showing very much.

I'm in profile and I was pleased at that because I've got a photogenic profile and I was kissing Eric from his feet up his legs, all the way up his body, to the skinny little jock strap that was covering his privates and they were covered in falling feathers as well, and then up his torso to his mouth, and the camera was following all of that, and I agreed to do it, but I wanted it to get over and done with quickly, so I was going to make sure that the first take worked, and people still say about that love scene that it looks like I was obviously really enjoying it, and that was a sign of how determined I was not to have to do it twice …

And one of the greatest feats of my career, I think, is that as I came kissing up his leg with all these feathers, you know, fmph, trying to get them out of my mouth, but wanting to make absolutely sure that this was going to be the good take, I was to nestle my face in his nicely G-string protected privates, but when I got there, I realised that he had chosen to remove the protection …and somehow or other I managed to stomach it so that nobody saw me flinch and I just carried on, I finished the shot and never had to do it again (laughs).