Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Friday, December 11: JOBRIATH AD

Kieran Turner’s portrait of a would-be glam rock star made its debut at the BFI London LGBT fest in 2012. Other screenings included Florida, Don’t Knock the Rock, Provincetown, Frameline, Outfest, and a host of other LGBT fests, including Seattle, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Portland, and Toronto. While previously only available in a deluxe edition with an accompanying LP, the DVD is now being released in a stand-alone version.

In the early 1970s, Jobriath was touted as the “next Bowie,” an heir apparent who pushed the theatricality of glam rock to the next level and who eschewed suggestions of hip bisexuality for unequivocal proclamations of an effeminate gay male sexuality. Partnered with Carly Simon’s former manager, Jerry Brandt, in a pseudo-Elvis and the Colonel arrangement, the young singer-songwriter secured a two-album deal with Elektra Records, the first such contract for an openly gay performer, and was at the center of an extensive media campaign that included a gigantic Times Square billboard, bus-side advertisements, and talk of an extravagant upcoming Paris Opera show. The only problem? Though receiving some good reviews, his album tanked. His contractual follow-up fared no better, and his rock star dreams faded, to be replaced, years later, with a go as a cabaret piano player and frustrated playwright, under the names Cole Berlin and Bryce Campbell before becoming part of the first wave of NYC gay men to die from AIDS-related complications. This intriguing excavation of pop culture history benefits from the presence of Brandt, who unconvincingly explains away every bad decision he made in Jobriath’s career, recounted by the performers friends, fellow performers, and family members, and by some creative animated sequences. Turner is somewhat hampered by a lack of much archival footage of Jobriath himself, and what is on display frankly doesn’t immediately convince the viewer that he actually was an unparalleled musical genius or performer – perhaps a simpler explanation for his failure to live up to his hype machine than what is otherwise offered here.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, December 8: THE BARKLEY MARATHONS: THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG

Annika Iltis and Timothy Kane’s chronicle of one of the world’s hardest ultramarathons made its world premiere at Austin last Fall. Since then, the film has also screened at Hot Docs, Nashville, Kansas City, Sidewalk, DocUtah, and Rocky Mountain Women’s, among other fests. Gravitas Ventures now releases the doc on VOD platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, VHX, Google Play, Playstation, and Cable Video On Demand.

An annual event since 1985, the titular Tennessee race has proven to be one of the most elusive and demanding on the ultramarathon circuit, one created to mock the ill-fated escape of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassin, James Earl Ray, from the nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentary in 1977. Deliberately kept from becoming too widely known through a confounding application process and via the whims of its founders, the pseudonymously known Lazarus Lake and Raw Dog, the event still manages to attract takers who pay the $1.60 fee, complete a written exam, and provide the stipulated gifts, which range from out-of-state license plates to flannel shirts. Of these, forty runners are selected, including one who Lake knows has no chance of ever completing the punishing course, which consists of five loops of approximately 20-26 miles, making the total somewhere between 100-130 miles in length. With a variable course, no GPS allowed, and stark elevation shifts, the Barkley is so intentionally difficult that only ten people completed it in its first 25 years. While Iltis and Kane tend to rely a bit too much on the conventions of the competition doc to structure their film, the race is so uniquely peculiar – as is Lake – that they generally get away with it, making for an enjoyable look at an offbeat subcultural event.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, December 8: LUCKY

Laura Checkoway’s nuanced profile of a tattooed aspiring model had its world premiere at Hot Docs in 2013. It also screened at DOC NYC, BAFICI, Urbanworld, and Atlanta, among other fests. In addition to its DVD release, the doc will be available on VOD platforms including Vimeo on Demand, iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon.

I previously covered the film out of Hot Docs here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8: EMPTYING THE SKIES

Douglas and Roger Kass’ look at efforts to stop the poaching of songbirds premiered at Sheffield in 2013. Its fest circuit also included DOC NYC, Hamptons, Big Sky, Wild & Scenic, Washington DC’s Environmental, Atlantic, and the San Francisco Green fests, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8: BRAVE MISS WORLD

Cecilia Peck’s portrait of a beauty queen turned victims’ advocate premiered as a sneak preview at NYC’s Athena fest in 2013. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, AFI Docs, Sarasota, Dallas, Chicago, San Diego, Mumbai, Denver, Woodstock, SF Jewish, and Cleveland, among others. FilmBuff now releases the doc across various VOD platforms.

I previously included the film in my AFI Docs coverage here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8: ALTHEA

Rex Miller’s tribute to the tennis trailblazer debuted at DOC NYC last year. It went on to Full Frame, AFI Docs, Palm Beach, Athena, and the American Black Film Festival, among other events, and was broadcast on American Masters this past Fall.

I previously wrote about the doc here.