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The Bootleg Files: Hot Dogs for Gauguin

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BOOTLEG FILES 864: “Hot Dogs for Gauguin” (1972 student film short by Martin Brest starring Danny DeVito).

LAST SEEN: On the OK.ru website.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: An obscure film that fell through the cinematic cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

At the risk of being cruel, it needs to be acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of student films represent a victory of enthusiasm over talent. But that’s not to say the genre lacks gems – Denis Sanders’ “A Time Out of War” (1954) won the Academy Award, while George Lucas’ career has its roots in his 1967 “Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB.” Martin Brest is also credited with hatching one of the best student films of all time, the 1972 “Hot Dogs for Gauguin,” which he made while at New York University – that film wound up on the National Film Registry, one of the very few student films to earn such an honor.
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Pandemonium (2023) [ARROW VIDEO LIMITED EDITION] 

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Out on Blu-ray on May 28, 2024, from Arrow Video   

Following an accident, a man wakes up on the road out of his car with a second man standing there. Soon, doors appear. A bit later, the man finds himself in hell, where he gets to experience the suffering of others until he has satisfied the needs of his sentence.  

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It’s a Zabriskie, Zabriskie, Zabriskie, Zabriskie Point (2023)

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Two films that might seem to have absolutely nothing in common are Stanely Kramer’s 1963 zany epic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 counterculture offering “Zabriskie Point.” After all, what can a massive all-star comedy chase film have with a moody, erotically charged drama of youth rebellion?

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Ocean’s Trilogy [4K Ultra HD/Digital]

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Since it’s been about a year since we’ve seen the “Ocean’s Trilogy” released on physical format, Warner unleashes the trilogy of crime thrillers once again for physical media collectors. Yes, this time the individual movies from the “Ocean’s series was released in individual Steelbooks and a pair of specially packaged movies for the hardcore base of these trilogy of crime drama comedies. Oddly missing from the whole shebang is the original Frank Sinatra “Ocean’s Eleven,” as well as the abysmal female led “Ocean’s 8.” Maybe someday the fans will get a complete, ultimate edition with the whole series for their library, but for now this covers the basic trio of movies that gave us back the ensemble vanity project.

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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: High Diving Hare (1949)

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High Diving Hare (1949)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Gerry Chiniqiuy
Music by Peter Burness

You wouldn’t think you could do much with a short that centered on almost nothing but gags of Yosemite Sam falling off a high dive, but you’d be wrong. While short on variety, “High Diving Hare” is a blast because it feels like a return to form. Like previous shorts, there’s a three act structure, a perfectly funny set up, and a lot of really funny gags between Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny. I remember watching this short a lot during the “Bugs Bunny and Tweey Show” back on Saturday mornings but with a lot of the opening set up cut out to fit commercials. While the opening set up to the ensuing mayhem isn’t detrimental to enjoying the entire short, it does give the whole concept a lot of context,

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Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) [ARROW VIDEO LIMITED EDITION] 

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Out on Blu-ray on May 7, 2024, from Arrow Video   

Manhattan, mid-1990s, a young district attorney suddenly finds himself in the middle of a case that could make or break his career. This case will affect those around him just as much as himself, adding to the pressure. 

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