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The Bootleg Files: Woody Allen

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BOOTLEG FILES 853: “Woody Allen” (1965 British television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Not yet.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A performance rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

On February 10, 1965, British television audiences who tuned into ITV had their first look at Woody Allen, who starred in an eponymous one-off television special. Most viewers that night probably thought “Woody Who?” – he was unknown in Britain and his fame in his own country was mostly limited to occasional appearances on television talk shows and in clubs that featured up-and-coming stand-up comics.
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Turning Red (2022)

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Will be in Limited Re-Release on February 9th; will be preceded by the Sparkshort Kitbull. Check Local Listings.

You gotta give it to Pixar, when they decide to do something new, they approach it head on and go all the way. Although subtlety was never their strong suit, here “Turning Red’s” one big noticeable element is that it’s about as subtle as a brick on the head. With Domee Shi directing, “Turning Red” is a decidedly very Asian flavored coming of age film that’s drawn in the style of anime and Manga.

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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Gorilla My Dreams (1948)

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Gorilla My Dreams (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Charles McKimson

It’s interesting to review “Gorilla My Dreams” as it’s a fun introduction of the ape villain Gruesome. While Warren Foster does a good job of bringing us new Bugs Bunny foil, Gruesome and this whole premise was applied so much better in the 1959 remake “Apes of Wrath.” I could swear I had seen this short before, but for a long time it was always the aforementioned. It goes without saying that set up for “Apes…” is so much cleverer than the one we get in “Gorilla My Dreams.” That’s not to say that this short doesn’t bring with it its own merits. It’s not a terrible short at all, all things considered.

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The Conan Chronicles [Limited Edition Arrow Video Box Set]

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Out on Blu Ray and 4K January 30th, 2024 

By now, most film fans are at the very least aware of the Conan films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger from the 1980s. Here, Arrow Video gives both films, Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, the luxury release treatment. So, how does it look and is it worth picking up? 

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Departing Seniors (2024)

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In Select Theaters & VOD/Digital on February 2nd.

Director Clare Cooney’s “Departing Seniors” is an ode to the classic giallo pictures of the seventies where someone is having psychic visions of a lurking masked killer. This masked killer though is lurking inside and around a high school, while the protagonist is a young man who is grappling with his own trauma involving his sexuality. While I give big respect to Joe Nateras for writing a movie that evokes the giallo pictures of the seventies, “Departing Seniors” misses on every other front. It’s a horror comedy that completely fails to keep its eye on the ball, centering so much more around teen drama and forgetting that it’s also supposed to be a horror movie.

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Seven Great Boutique Physical Media Labels

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Most recently big chains like Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart have decided to stop distributing physical media like DVD and Blu-Rays both in store and online. This is all a part of the fallacious propaganda that Hollywood has been pushing that Digital media is so much more superior while Physical Media is a defunct media format. It’s been proven that digital titles don’t really belong to those that garner digital film libraries due to a plethora of legal and licensing issues.

But it’s a part of the movement Hollywood has had since the eighties to phase out physical media and ultimately take control of all of their content. Nevertheless while the big chains have fallen in to this mind set, there are still a wide array of various outlets online that specialize in physical media, from mainstream, cult, underground, horror, box sets and the like.

As an ardent proponent of physical media and its inherent value, I’m recommending seven great boutique movie labels that still sell physical media, while a few practice both digital and physical releases. These are only a few of the great labels you can seek out. 

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