Tag Archives: Jim Jarmusch

Saturday Matinee: Red Hot + Blue

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Source: RedHot.org

OVERVIEW

Red Hot + Blue is the first in the series of compilation albums from the Red Hot Organization. It features contemporary pop performers reinterpreting the music of Cole Porter, one of the great American songwriters of the early 20th century. It was one of the first successful tribute albums and a landmark multimedia project, with contributions from filmmakers, artists and designers in addition to musicians.
The money raised went to several groundbreaking AIDS organizations, notably ACT UP and Treatment Action Group (TAG), which were responsible for forcing the government and pharmaceutical companies to release the drugs that now allow people to live with HIV.

FACTS /
ORAL HISTORY

  • Filmmakers who made videos for the project included: Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Jonathan Demme, Alex Cox, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Percy Adlon and Neil Jordan
  • Artists and designers who contributed included: Jean Paul Gaultier, Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, Sue Coe, Barbara Kruger, Gran Fury and Jenny Holzer
  • The TV show was seen in over 30 countries around the world. ABC in the US demanded a different edit of the show with hosts who included Richard Gere, Whoopie Goldberg and several others. Gere’s introduction was one of the first mentions of the word ‘condom’ on network US television, outside of news programming
  • Pedro Almodovar wrote a treatment and was scheduled to make the video for “Don’t Fence Me In”, but couldn’t at the last minute and David Byrne directed a video himself
  • Most regrettable combination that didn’t, but almost happened: Lou Reed doing “I Get A Kick Out of You” directed by Martin Scorsese. The track was eventually done by The Jungle Brothers with a video by Mark Pellington
  • Neneh Cherry’s rap in “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” was one of the first times AIDS was described and talked about directly in popular culture

PRESS

Bella Online

The Red Hot + Blue movement was started in the early 90s’ by John Carlin. John had been working as an art critic and teacher and witnessed how AIDS was destroying his community. John got established music artists to come on board to record the songs of Cole Porter. Several Red, Hot & Blue compilation CD’s were released during the 90’s.

LONG ISLAND PRESS

One of the greatest CD compilations of all time, 1990’s RH + B was inspired, eclectic collection of songs by top artists of the time rendering Cole Porter songs– all to benefit AIDS research. As with the CD, the DVD collection of videos is sexy, provocative and most importantly, timeless. The music weathers the years well, and the videos add an extra intensity. 

arkansas gazette

This astounding collection of contemporary pop performers reinterpreting the songs of Cole Porter came out in 1990, first as an album and then as a television special consisting of music videos, many by famous directors and openly portraying the effects of AIDS on society. The album sold more than a million copies worldwide and was one of the music industry’s first major AIDS benefits. 

CREDITS

Produced and Directed By: Leigh Blake + John Carlin Created By: Leigh Blake, John Carlin + F. Richard Pappas Supervising Musical Producer: Steve Lillywhite

Saturday Matinee: Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

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By JPRoscoe

Source: Basement Rejects

Launching in 1974, the Z Channel became one of the first pay cable channels.  The channel eventually morphed into a movie channel highlighting directors, art films, and championing original visions portrayed on the screen.  One of the people behind this transformation and the decisions made on the channel was the program director Jerry Harvey.  Harvey (with his team) brought many films to the Z Channel that were never seen anywhere in America and created a world for film lovers…but Harvey had his own demons.

Directed by Xan Cassavetes, Z Channel:  A Magnificent Obsession is a documentary about the rise and fall of the California based Z Channel which broadcast from 1974 to 1989.  The documentary premiered at Cannes in 2004 and was released to positive reviews.

I grew up without cable so dreams of HBO were just dreams.  At the time, I wouldn’t have appreciated Z Channel and would have much rather stayed with something like HBO or Cinemax.  Watching the Z Channel:  A Magnificent Obsession, I dream about the Z Channel still being around.

There are a lot of viewing options now.  The difference between something like FilmStruck and the Z Channel is that idea of chance.  You don’t know what you are going to get and you don’t know when you’ll get to see it again.  That is something that current TV watchers (or streamers) forget…you had to wait to see the movies you wanted and a video store might not have them.  The idea of someone so diligently trying to seek out and collect these films for viewers is admirable.

The documentary of course takes a dark turn in that Jerry Harvey really was someone who seemed lost.  The documentary does struggle with the ideas of its three themes at points in trying to decide if it is about Z Channel, Jerry Harvey, or the films…and it is understandable because it is hard to separate the three because they were so bound together.  Like a lot of documentaries, I wish there was a better way to establish more of a timeline of events through the course of the movie.

The documentary features a lot of great performers and great film clips.  Robert Altman, Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch, James Wood, and Jacqueline Bisset are among some of the people interviewed, but it is the immense outpouring of these people for what Z Channel did for them that shows its importance on modern film.  Harvey’s personal acquaintances provide the most insight to him and what was going on at Z Channel and really help round out the documentary…plus, it becomes a film watcher’s guide for movies that should be sought out.

Z Channel:  A Magnificent Obsession is an interesting documentary, but it also is a documentary that feels like it needed a little tweaking to become a great documentary.  It is a film for film lovers and a specific kind of film lover.  The movies highlighted appeal to a certain viewer and the true crime aspect of the story probably isn’t intense enough for people interested in the true crime genre.  Still, Z Channel:  A Magnificent Obsession is a worthy documentary that should be sought out.

Watch Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession on Hoopla here: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14980839