Written by:
Diane Anderson-Minshall
The summer blockbuster season may be drawing to a close, but that just means it’s time to get ready to snuggle up with a great DVD and your honey on a cool autumn night. Take a look at our handy list of the best in newly released DVDs—perfect for getting your Netflix list in order for the fall.
FEATURES
Clueless “Whatever!” Edition (Paramount): Finally, this way existential teen comedy starring the oh-so-Bettie Alicia Silverstone (as Cher) and her tomboy makeover buddy (played by Brittany Murphy back when she was a brunette who still had eyebrows) makes it to DVD in a special edition that offers screenplay notes, cast stories and a look at the trend setting fashions of this ’90s classic. http://www.paramount.com/homeentertainment
Lackawanna Blues (HBO): Beautiful African-American coming-of-age film with a lesbian character and plum roles for S. Epatha Merkerson and Macy Gray. http://www.hbo.com
Crutch (Ardustry): A 16-year-old in a disintegrating family finds a mentor (and lover) in a has-been actor turned theater coach in writer/director/star Rob Moretti’s based-on-my-own-story film. A powerful and intimate look at drug addiction, exploitation and hopelessness that transcends sexual orientation. http://www.ardustry.com
Warm Springs (HBO): Sure, it’s technically about FDR’s struggle with polio but all you need to know is that it stars Cynthia Nixon as Eleanor Roosevelt. http://www.hbo.com
Beauty Shop (MGM: Queen Latifah and Alicia Silverstone prove you can’t keep a good woman down. http://www.mgm.com/dvd
D.E.B.S. (Sony): It bombed at the box office but we say you should still see it on DVD, if for no other reason than to drool over the sexy and sardonic Lucy Diamond (played pitch-perfect by Jordana Brewster). http://www.sonypictures.com
Constantine (WB): Butchy badass Rachel Weisz is an intrepid cop who teams up with demon hunter Keanu Reeves to fight the otherworldly characters from the Hellblazer series of graphic novels. Bonus: the two do not fall into bed together, helping viewers maintain their lesbian fantasy through the entire film. http://constantinemovie.warnerbros.com
P.D. James: The Essential Collection (Koch): Koch has released an unprecedented 13-disc boxed set of eight films — including Death of an Expert Witness, Original Sin, A Mind to Murder, Shroud for a Nightingale — from P.D. James, Britain’s “queen of crime.” One of the most celebrated mystery writers of all time, James’ work isn’t specifically gay but it’s still compelling and complex with a feminist take on human nature. http://www.kochvision.com
Totally F***ed Up (Strand): Finally, director Gregg Araki’s landmark film about queer teens in the disengaged ‘90s comes to DVD. Witness guerilla filmmaking and sexual transcience like never before seen on screen. http://www.strandreleasing.com
Be Cool (MGM): Umm, Uma Thurman is in it. http://www.mgm.com/dvd
The Ice Queen (MTI): A plane carrying the archaeological find of the century (a female humanoid from the ice age that had been sealed in a tomb of amber deep in the Amazon) crashes in Vermont and causes an avalanche that traps a resort full of people. When the Ice Queen, a gruesome she-devil, is awakened by the cold, all hell breaks loose. No, we did not make this up. http://www.mtivideo.com
Crimson Rivers: Angels of the Apocalypse (Sony): As a serial killer mimics the death of the 12 apostles, Jean Reno pairs up with a sexy female religious expert to find the killer. http://sonypictures.com
Girl Play (Wolfe): Lee Friedlander’s rousing lesbian love story is finally on DVD. http://www.wolfevideo.com
Star Trek: Insurrection (Paramount): The peaceful residents of Ba’ku must be relocated so the world can benefit from their fountain of youth world. Shades of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but so much easier on the eyes (what with women in spandex jumpsuits and all). http://www.paramount.com/homeentertainment
In the City (Wolfe): In Barcelona, a group of thirtysomethings shares many secrets. For one, married Irene finds herself falling for her friend Silvia. Urban, angsty and lovelorn. http://www.wolfevideo.com
Dark Water (ADV): From renowned Japanese novelist Koji Suzuki (The Ring) comes a film about water (yes, water) that’s genuinely scary. Yoshimi moves into a dump with her kid and soon the roof begins to leak. Then strange things appear, the water spot on her roof grows wider and Yoshimi’s sanity gets a bit less stable. Then things really get fun. http://www.advfilms.com
COMEDY
The Naughty Show (Eagle Rock): This all-girl comedy CD (directed by Skye Blue, CEO of the woman-run adult film company Platinum Blue) is raunchy, ribald and riotous, with stand-up from Shayma Tash (Hype), Robin Montague (The Chris Rock Show) and, our fave, queer comic (and Family Guy regular) Kate Rigg. http://www.eaglerockent.com
DOCUMENTARIES
Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World (First Run): Narrated by Janeane Garofalo, this heartwarming doc is the first of its kind to explore the lives of lesbian and gay people in Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, Thailand and elsewhere and features outrageous footage of the Cairo 52 trial. It opens with Ashraf Zanati, one of the Cairo prisoners who were tortured for 13 months, exclaiming, “My sexuality is my own sexuality. It doesn’t belong to anybody.” Indeed. http://www.firstrunfeatures.com
Suicide Girls: The First Tour (Epitaph): In 2004, the Suicide Girls traveled 9,000 miles around the country to perform 60 sold-out burlesque shows in 45 cities, and this DVD documents it all. Giving a goth attitude to the tradition peek-a-book, the Suicide Girls is sexy, seductive and charming as well as chaotic and candid, with scenes from the live performances interspersed with intimate looks at the individual models. Founder Missy Suicide offers up an alternative grassroots approach to female sexuality that is beyond lesbo-friendly (though, frankly, would it kill them to have a couple of fat girls or more chicks of color?) http://www.epitaph.com
Sextrospective (Sexy Stuff): This sexy and silent compilation DVD is billed as “a decade with San Francisco’s sexiest lesbians,” but by documenting legendary lesbian photographer Phyllis Christopher’s vast talent, the 280-image disc offers so much more. Bonus points for essays from Christopher and gadfly Shar Rednour (author of The Femme’s Guide to the Universe). http://www.thesexystuff.com
The Spicy Sisters Slumber Party (Happy Cloud): Director Amy Lynn Best’s doc bills itself as T&A for the mind because some of the hottest indie horror actresses (Jasi Cotton Lanier, Robyn Griggs and more) are discussing women’s roles in horror and exploitation films as well as their own hopes and dreams. All while donning their PJs. The special edition DVD has trailers for Best’s other films (Were-Grrl) and a sexy featurette of deleted naughty scenes from the doc (yes, there are pillow fights and Sapphic squeezes). http://www.happycloudpictures.com |
