Night On Earth

Long available overseas, it’s about time we got Night On Earth in Region 1; though not considered one of Jim Jarmusch’s landmark works, it was a significant title upon its release in 1991 and predates the similar anthology format that the director used in Coffee and Cigarettes by over a decade. Nevertheless, the loosely-linked quintet of tales in Jarmusch’s earlier work has aged quite well over the years and is given the special edition treatment by Criterion this week.
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Heroes: Season 1

Probably every other DVD pick you’re going to read this week is for the first season of NBC’s runaway hit, Heroes. And it’s usually my MO to try and bring you a taste of titles that might otherwise be overlooked, or of a more cultish credibility. Well, one thing’s for certain, though – the cult following that Tim Kring’s superhero origin epic has obtained in just one season is pretty staggering. And I have one message that most of the other recommendations you’re going to read are probably going to overlook – don’t believe the backlash.
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The Dark Backward: Special Edition: Okay, deep breath – Judd Nelson portrays Marty Malt, a squirrely nebbish who lives with his mother and toils as a garbage man whilst dreaming of making it as standup comic; too bad he barely speaks above a whisper and isn’t at all funny. With the obnoxious encouragement of his cadaver-licking, dogshit-eating best friend Gus (Bill Paxton), he chases a slimy shyster of a talent agent (Wayne Newton) who has no interest in him… until a third arm mysteriously begins growing out of Marty’s back. Dude, I couldn’t make this up if I tried… and I don’t know if I want to. But for sheer jaw-dropping strangeness, it’s impossible to beat Adam Rifkin’s 1991 oddity, finally out on DVD with bonus freaky, no less. Must be seen to be believed.
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Labyrinth: The Anniversary Edition

I can’t stress enough how much David Bowie made the needle on my burgeoning sexuality spin haywire when I was 12. Resplendent in his jewel-encrusted long coats, the eye shadow he’d been saving from his Diamond Dogs tour makeup kit for a rainy day, the towering fringe he’d borrowed from Tina Turner and the kind of package that might have earned the film a PG-13 if it’d landed on camera for a few seconds longer, Bowie’s Jareth the Goblin King did more for androgynous sex appeal in my youth than Adam Ant and the whole of Duran Duran combined. Which is just as well seeing as how Bowie had already done exactly the same for the generation before me; bless Jim Henson and his team for using it to expert fantasy-romp effect in Labyrinth, which has finally gotten a proper special edition DVD release for its 20th anniversary.
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Flash Gordon: Savior of the Universe Edition

So this week’s DVD pick was a real crisis of conscience for me, faithful readers. I have been desperately anticipating the release of the most magnificent of early-80’s sci-fi cheese fests, Mike Hodges’ Flash Gordon, ever since the Brits received a sterling Region 2 edition back in 2005. Patiently, I waited… subsequently, I was crushed to discover that our US version would include barely half of the special features that the UK received, and in my bitterness decided to review the collector’s edition of Kaufman’s 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers instead. But I just couldn’t – every spangle-loving, laser-beam-craving, “Flash!…Ahh-aaaahhh!” wailing bone in my body demands that I go through with my original plan. Oh, alrighty then…

You know the drill, or if you don’t then listen up, spacenuts: Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones), star quarterback for the New York Jets, is unstoppable out on the field. But can he handle the offense on Planet Mongo? Shanghai’ed by the diabolical Ming the Merciless (Max Von Sydow, reaching unparalleled scenery-gnashing heights…or at least second to his Brewmeister Smith in Strange Brew), it’s up to Flash and his mates to stop the bald baddie’s plans for the destruction of planet Eaaarrrrth. As a newcomer embodying a comics icon, Jones may not have gone on to Chris Reeve-like acclaim – to be honest, he is out-prettied by Melody Anderson’s Dale Arden, out-hunked by Timothy Dalton’s Prince Barin, and out-acted by pretty much everyone – but damned if there isn’t something appealing about all that flaxen brawn. And despite the clunky dialogue and campy tone of the proceedings, it’s virtually impossible not to love the colorful, lo-fi homage to the original Flash serials.

If you own a multi-region DVD player, then by all means get the Region 2 disc instead – it really does include much better extras, including commentaries with Hodges and the mighty Vultan himself, Brian Blessed. But without the technology, this will do ya fine; the anamorphic widescreen presentation looks fantastic. One more for the road… “Ahh-aaaahhh!”

Also recommended this week: Bubba Ho-tep: Special Edition; Crime Story: Collector’s Edition; Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Collector’s Editon; Jailhouse Rock: Deluxe Edition; Luis Buñuel Box Set; The Muppet Show: Season 2; The Simpsons: Season 10; Viva Las Vegas: Deluxe Edition

— Nicole Campos