Here’s your Martha Stewart-esque craft tip for the month, physical media lovers: Did you know that a scratched DVD can be polished with just a dab of toothpaste? Stay away from extra-whitening product (you don’t want to bleach your Criterions!), but when mixed with water and wiped clean with a microfiber cloth, a smudge of Colgate will make your discs sparkle and Sandra Bullock will stop freezing before she’s torn apart by space wolves at the end of “Gravity.” Sorry, was that a spoiler? We’ll be more careful in the February podcast below…
Podcast Intro Music: Mogwai, “Hungry Face”
SPECIAL GUEST #1: Chuck Klosterman on “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology” and “Crimes and Misdemeanors“
Intro Music: Los Straitjackets, “My Heart Will Go On”
Chuck Klosterman is a bestselling author and culture critic who currently serves as “The Ethicist” for the New York Times Magazine. His latest book is a sharply observed and very funny work of non-fiction called “I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined),” currently available in hardcover and coming to paperback in July. On the podcast, we begin with Sophie Fiennes‘ “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology” (Zeitgeist, DVD, available now), a manically droll doc in which philosopher Slavoj Žižek illustrates heady political ideas through landmarks of cinema. Then, we dig into Woody Allen‘s 1989 existential dramedy “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Twilight Time, BD, currently limited to 3000 copies).
SPECIAL GUEST #2: Alex Ross Perry on “Jules and Jim“
Intro Music: Georges Delerue, “Jules et Jim”
Alex Ross Perry is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker whose second feature “The Color Wheel” was praised by the New York Times’ A.O. Scott as “sly, daring, genuinely original and at times perversely brilliant.” His new film, “Listen Up Philip,” starring Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss and Jonathan Pryce, world premiered with much praise at last month’s Sundance Film Festival. On the podcast, the former Kim’s Video clerk discusses his DVD viewing habits and François Truffaut‘s 1962 seminal French New Wave treasure “Jules and Jim” (Criterion, BD/DVD combo, available now).
SPECIAL GUEST #3: J.T. Petty on “Hellbenders“ and “The Counselor (Unrated Extended Cut)“
Intro Music: El-P, “Tasmanian Pain Coaster”
J.T. Petty is a NYC-based filmmaker whose eclectic oeuvre includes such festival and cult favorites as “S&Man,” “The Burrowers” and “Soft for Digging.” His new horror-comedy “Hellbenders” (Lionsgate, BD/3D, DVD, available now) is an irreverently entertaining tale of Brooklyn exorcists who sin excessively in order to battle demons, starring Clifton Collins Jr., Clancy Brown, and Dan Fogler. Besides his new film and the struggles of filming in 3D on an indie budget, Petty and I also discuss the unrated Blu-ray extended cut of “The Counselor” (Fox, BD, DVD, available now), the brilliant and grossly misunderstood thriller from director Ridley Scott and author/first-time screenwriter Cormac McCarthy.
Podcast Outro Music: Daniel Pemberton, “The Counselor (Titles)”
“10 WORTH A SPIN” (January 2014, as mentioned on the podcast):
“Afternoon Delight” (Cinedigm, BD/DVD, DVD)
“Blue is the Warmest Color” (Criterion, BD/DVD)
“Come Back, Africa” (Milestone, BD, DVD)
“Darkman” (Shout! Factory, BD only)
“Free and Easy” (Warner Archive, DVD)
“Mother of George” (Oscilloscope, DVD)
“Pit Stop” (Wolfe, DVD)
“The Returned: Season 1” (Music Box Films, DVD)
“Trans-Europ-Express” (Kino/Redemption, BD, DVD)
“You Will Be My Son” (Cohen Media Group, BD, DVD)
“DVD Is the New Vinyl” is co-presented by Video Free Brooklyn, three-time “Best Video Store in NYC.” For more info, please visit the VFB website.