Thanks to everyone who participated in our kickoff discussion for Movie of the Month. Even though a new month is upon us, the great discussion of "Good Night, and Good Luck" doesn't have to end. If you haven't already, check out the flick and then pop over here to add your few cents. We certainly haven't plumbed the depths of discussion for this movie yet, so everyone's contributions are welcome. Even if you don't think the film's all that great (as long as you can explain why).
Of course, because it is a new month, we've got a new film to spotlight. This month's pick comes from jo-El Guapo (or Joel, as he's known in dark corners), and it's the 2005 documentary "New York Doll."
Here's a brief synopsis of the film:
This documentary film details the history of both The New York Dolls and one of its members, Arthur "Killer" Kane. The film narrates the history of the band from its formation in 1972, though its drug problems and the deaths of several of its members. The central focus of the film, however, is Arthur's life after conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after struggles with alcohol, drug abuse, and an attempt at suicide. As he struggles with both loneliness and poverty, Kane discovers that he will once again have a chance to perform with the Dolls in London.
And that's about all I feel should be shared without spoiling the movie's many surprises.
The movie is rated PG-13 "for drug content," which essentially amounts to a 1-2 second shot of a needle being inserted into an arm. Because of the small-scale distribution of this film, there is no Kids-In-Mind or Screen-It scorecard to report.
The marketing of this film when it hit DVD was nothing short of a tragedy. There are in fact two versions of the movie in circulation, each with a different yet equally horrendous cover.
The differences between the two versions in terms of content are that one "mutes" the 2-3 instances of mild bad language, and the other does not. Guess which one was marketed toward the LDS community?
Yup, that one. What gave it away? Was it that photograph of the Los Angeles Temple poorly imposed in the background? And what's with the choice of the Arthur Kane photo? Are the cover designers implying that he's "gettin' holy" in front of the temple?
Well, the cover of the unedited version isn't that much better.
The content of the discs is otherwise the same, right down to the extras. The "sacred" version is available for sale at Deseret Book and other LDS-themed bookstores, while the "profane" version is available in all the other telestial marketplaces. Pardon me while I gag.
I bought the former version with some Deseret Book Rewards Points I had saved up (so it only cost me a few dollars), then printed out the original theatrical poster art and slapped in on top of the existing DVD cover so that I'd never have to look at that sixth-grade Photoshop chop job again.
But I digress.
The limited distribution of this movie in rental stores and libraries across the U.S. poses a bit of a unique challenge for us. Joel believes, and I agree, that this movie should be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible, particularly LDS audiences who have grown weary of so-called "Mormon cinema" offerings like "The Singles Ward," "The Home Teachers," and "Church Ball." But seeing as this movie didn't exactly set the box office on fire, many markets don't offer it for sale or rent. We want everyone to see it, but we also want to stay on the right side of the copyright issue.
So here's what we're going to do.
If you would like to participate in this month's discussion (and you don't have a Netflix or Blockbuster Online subscription), please go to this site at Blockbuster.com, click "Check in-store availability," enter your Zip code, and see if any of your local Blockbuster stores have the title in stock. If none do, please comment on this post indicating your desire to watch the movie but a lack of rental availability in your area. We'll be setting up a mail distribution system to get you a (perfectly legal) copy of the disc, and you'll receive an e-mail message with all the details. You'll only pay the cost of mailing the disc to the next person, as well as the cost of an envelope, the combined total of which should be less than the cost of renting the film at Blockbuster anyway. The discs will eventually make their way back to the owner(s), who are "loaning" you their one legally allowable copy of the disc as a favor to you, their friends. :)
(Of course, you could always blind-buy a used copy of the movie from Amazon, starting at $4.59 plus shipping. You wouldn't be throwing your money away.)
This is our first time doing this, so consider it a beta trial for now. However, if we can make this work, it should open up a whole new realm of possibilities for Movie of the Month.
Okay, folks, that's it. Joel will be chiming in with a post on "NYD" in the future, and hopefully we'll have another great MOTM discussion on this overlooked gem.
Cheers!
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