Antoine Doinel wrote:A DVD of the older, partial version was released by Image in 2002. Perhaps Criterion will scoop up the rights for the new, restored cut?
The original DVD was actually released by Milestone (and merely distributed by Image), so I think it's doubtful that anyone else will pick up the rights to this. Most of the Milestone DVDs that go OOP usually get re-released by the same company (
I Am Cuba,
Grass, etc.) -- though since Dennis posts on this forum he can certainly speak more directly to this issue. Their other Native American "documentary" (
The Silent Enemy) is also OOP, so perhaps they could be re-released at the same time...?
As for the film, its influence on Flaherty will be immediately apparent to anyone who's seen
Nanook, but Curtis' film has a far more tenuous claim to the title "documentary." Unlike Flaherty's work, which usually attempts to describe a way of life that still existed or at least was within living memory,
Head Hunters focuses almost exclusively on myth. (Think "Song of Hiawatha" or something like that.) In fact, in terms of content, I've always felt that it has more in common with, say, silent-era Fritz Lang. It's still quite interesting, but Curtis was nowhere near as accomplished a filmmaker/artist as Flaherty would become. However, I expect that a beautifully restored print might make me change my mind. The print used for the OOP DVD was pretty rough.
Thanks for the link, by the way. That's very interesting.