DVD Review: Mostly Martha, Night of the Creeps, 8½

Jesus Basuel
Writer and filmmaker

My first pick is Mostly Martha, a German flick about life, food, and love. And it covers all kinds of love: parental, romantic, friendship. The film boasts solid acting from leads Martina Gedeck and Sergio Castellitto as well as supporting cast. Then add in beautiful photography (specific to time and place) and it’s just generally a great all-around flick.

My second pick is The Ride, a local Hawaiian film with time-travel and wonderfully understated local cultural undertones that make the film enjoyable on political, philosophical, and moral levels.

• Mostly Martha (Germany) 2002, Paramount
• List price: $19.95

• The Ride (USA) 2003, Mackinac Media
• List price: $39.95

Miguel Rodriguez
Organizer, Horrible Imaginings Film Festival

Two films that fit the two-sides-of-horror theme of my Horrible Imaginings Film Festival on November 6: first is Georges Franju’s French thriller Eyes Without a Face, which received the Criterion treatment in 2004. The film is visual poetry with scenes both gorgeous and shocking, especially for its 1959 release. Franju’s slaughterhouse documentary Blood of the Beasts is included as a special feature.

One of the best horror-comedies of the 1980s finally got the respect it deserved when Night of the Creeps was released on Blu-ray last year. Director Fred Dekker threw in all the ingredients he loved — ’50s sci-fi horror, teen comedy, zombies — and made a delicious casserole of manic monster fun.

• Eyes Without a Face (France) 1959, Criterion Collection
• List price: $29.95

• Night of the Creeps (USA) 1986, Sony Pictures
• List price: $19.94

Celeste Innocenti
Artistic Director, Chronos Theatre Group, chronostheatre.com

8½ (Otto e mezzo) is an entertaining descent into the subconscious mind of Federico Fellini, whose artistic quest unfolds like a dream. Fellini’s characteristic blend of humor and pathos, along with his unique visual style, entice me into experiencing this feast of a film over and over. The DVD bonus features are a lot of fun and help illuminate his work.

Walkabout, by Nicolas Roeg, is a film that impacts me emotionally as well as visually. Set in the Australian Outback, it’s a deeply engrossing story about the relationship between two stranded English children and the young Aborigine who saves them. Roeg’s stunning cinematography and improvisational style blend reality with mystery.

• 8½ (Italy) 1963, Criterion Collection
• List price: $39.95

• Walkabout (Australia) 1971, Criterion Collection
• List price: $39.95