September 15, 2005

{ Directors Label Series Boxed Set (Vol. 4-7) }

The original trio of dvd volumes released under the Directors Label Series featured videos from Chris Cunningham (the genius behind those mindbending Apex Twin videos), Spike Jones (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich), and Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). This time around the collections (Volumes 4-7) feature the works of Anton Corbijn (Nirvana, Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, U2, Nick Cave, Henry Rollins, Joy Division), Jonathan Glazer (Jamiroquai, Radiohead, Blur, Massive Attack, Richard Ashcroft), Mark Romanek (Fiona Apple, Eels, Johnny Cash, Sonic Youth, Beck), and Stephane Sednaoui (Tricky, Bjork, R.E.M., Mirwais, Garbage). These discs are also sold seperatly, but there's no denying that all four of these discs are must haves. My favorite director of the first collection was hands down Chris Cunningham, with this collection it's a toss up between the works of Jonathan Glazer or Anton Corbijn. Who wil your favorite be? Pick 'em up and find out. - Written by Jay, read more of his reviews at Caffeine-Headache.net.

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By Alan Smithee in Film & TV | Comments:

Comments

I thought the Chris Cunningham DVD from the first wave of Director's Series DVDs was pretty weak.
The "Flex" piece wasn't even presented in it's entirety (wasn't "Come to Daddy" cut as well?), several of his other video works were missing, and the release lacked any signifigant extras (while the Gondry and Jonze pieces were jam-packed with extra goodness.)

It just seemed like an opportunity wasted.

That's not to discredit Cunningham, or to knock you for saying he was your fave from that first batch of directors. Hell, it probably wasn't even PALM Pictures fault, I'm sure there was way too much red-tape and royalties involved to make it the comprehensive piece I was hoping for, but my initial disappointment has continued to linger, and it's made me a bit wary of approaching this newest bunch of releases.

I was also curious if this box set included any exclusive material (the box set of the first Director's Label Series had a bonus fourth disc) and I've wondered just how well-represented each director seemed to be.

This second wave is a bit more ambitious, as it's not relying completely on directors who've already established themselves with big-timey movie releases (though two of the four seem to have some in the works), and aren't quite the bankable names that Jonze, Gondry and Cunningham have become.

hmmmmmm......

Posted by: Adam at September 16, 2005 8:57 PM