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Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

by Mark Keizer

posted August 1, 2008 10:00 AM

In the twinkling of an eye upon a time, say 1974, the world had yet
to slit a movie, play a videogame or use a
VCR. Strand television was still a curiosity and
24-hour movie channels were years away.
Ironically, in Los Angeles, the film savings of
Clay, classic Hollywood films and obscure
European manage were bowl-offs on late-night TV
or the domain of pass-down, sparsely attended
rebirth theaters. But solitary man with an
obsessive rapture and encyclopedic knowledge
of film slogan a chance to introduce a contemporaries
of Angelinos, childish and preceding, to the masters of
cinema. He was Jerry Harvey and his creation,
a pay cable network called Z Neck, helped
transform Hollywood and influence a
generation of future filmmakers who
otherwise would never arrange been exposed to
Sam Peckinpah or Luis Bunuel.

Harvey's handiwork and its impact is the
subject of Xan Cassavetes' excellent new
documentary "Z Channel: A Magnificent
Obsession," which impressed audiences at
the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Those outside
Los Angeles who have never heard of Z
Channel will not only come to thank the man
who created it, but also learn of his tragic fate.
Those who remember slipping the cable guy
$20 to "hook me up" with an illegal Z Channel
signal will be treated to a wonderful trip down
Cable Theft Lane.

Harvey, the son of a judge, was an intense
Bakersfield, California, native whose two
sisters committed suicide. Immersing himself
in film seemed a natural diversion. In 1980, he
put his love of movies to its ultimate use,
joining Z Channel as director of programming.
His ability to pick fascinating and little-seen
foreign fare made Z Channel essential
viewing and its monthly guide essential
reading. Z was the only place on TV (if not
anywhere) to see back-to-back Francois
Truffaut movies or the complete 15-hour
"Berlin Alexanderplatz."

Harvey's story is told by an impressive
collection of intimates, including articulate Z
Channel cohort FX Feeney and directors
Robert Altman and Henry Jaglom. Quentin
Tarantino (who was in attendance at the
Cannes screening) gesticulates wildly about
his love for Z, while director Alexander Payne
("Election") talks of the complaint letter he
wrote to the channel. In response, Z sent him
a T-shirt, which he wears in the interview.

Harvey's first major coup was finding and
airing the only known copy of Michael Cimino's
cut of "Heaven's Gate." In 1982, it was
unheard of to air director's cuts, especially of
such a hated film. The coups would pile up for
Harvey, but so would his emotional problems,
which are honestly and sympathetically
recounted by Feeney. Harvey and the channel
he created died almost simultaneously: On
April 1, 1988, the network added sports
telecasts, which hastened Z's demise. On
April 8, 1988, Harvey shot his second wife to
death, then killed himself.

"A Magnificent Obsession" is two hours, which
is long for any documentary consisting of so
many talking heads. Cassevetes could have
easily lost 10 minutes, as every permutation of
Harvey's mental state and Z's influence need
not have been covered. However, the film
always fascinates. There is enough star
power to convince the audience that Z
Channel was an important creation and
Harvey's rise and fall is a genuinely interesting
story. And of course, there are clips. Over 50
wonderful films are represented,
demonstrating the extent of Harvey's movie
knowledge. Titles range from Andrzej
Zulawski's "The Important Thing is To Love" to
"The Empire Strikes Back." "Z Channel: A
Magnificent Obsession" is not only a terrific
film to watch for video rental
recommendations, it's simply a terrific film.
Featuring Robert Altman, FX Feeney, Quentin
Tarantino and James Woods. Directed by Xan
Cassavetes. Produced by Rick Ross and
Marshall Persinger. No distributor set.
Documentary. Not yet rated. Running time:
120 min.

Where to download full new Terminator 4 movie

Fiance As a matter of fact (R)

Christmas comes early this year with this completely captivating, wholly successful, unabashedly romantic (in every sense of the word) first-time directorial effort from writer Richard Curtis.

Curtis' name may initially mean little or nothing to you (writers, you know, rarely get the respect they deserve), but a quick scan of his credits tells all: from TV's

Blackadder

and

Mr. Bean

to the rich films

Four Weddings and a Funeral

,

Notting Hill

and

Bridget Jones's Diary

. In other words, we're talking about a major romantic with a deliciously wicked sense of humor whose keyboard has turned out some of the funniest, best-crafted and beautifully balanced comedies and romantic comedies of the past 20 years.

With

Love Actually

– easily the most ambitious of all Curtis' screenplays — he's taken a huge gamble, stepping behind the camera himself. After

Love Actually

, Curtis will be — if there's any justice in this world — a household name … at least in homes where films and filmmakers are discussed.

The movie is very funny, effortlessly moving, stylishly made, impeccably acted by a mind-bogglingly great cast — and, yes, wholly satisfying. While it's very much in the mould of Curtis' previous scripting efforts, there is a notable difference here in terms of size and scope. Putting it strictly within the realm of Curtis' other works,

Love Actually

probably mostly resembles

Four Weddings and a Funeral

– but multiplied by four. But thinking outside of the Curtis oeuvre, this is a film that more resembles a Robert Altman multi-character study — rethought as a romantic comedy. Yet even that doesn't entirely cover it, since Curtis has managed to work in a story — and something of a structure — that owes more than a little to the Weitz brothers'

About a Boy

(one of the few good British comedies of recent years

not

written by Curtis). And having part of the plot hinge on a novelty Christmas song also links these two films — which may make

Love Actually

sound like it has no identity of its own. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Rather, this is a movie firmly grounded in — and conscious of — the popular culture of its day, and it doesn't pretend to exist in a vacuum. It's also a remarkably complex work that's done something of a disservice in bearing the label "romantic comedy," because while that certainly implies something that

Love Actually

is, it also suggests something that it is not. This isn't just a movie about traditional romance, but about love in all its many and sometimes unlikely incarnations — including various forms of familial love and friendships. It is, in fact, this broadening of the concept — along with Curtis' incredible ability to interconnect all his stories and keep them from becoming confusing — that edges

Love Actually

into the realm of greatness.

The movie is almost impossible to synopsize, boasting as it does such a large number of characters and stories, all connected on some level, but all also complete in themselves. Opening on the assertion that the world isn't a horrible place, but rather one where "love actually is all around,"

Love Actually

makes an improbable move to its seemingly most tangential and unlikely character — burned-out, 50-odd-year-old rocker Billy Mack (Bill Nighy). Desperate for a comeback via a hit Christmas song (a concept more relevant in Britain than the States), Billy is struggling to get through a novelty reworking of "Love Is All Around," awkwardly turned into "Christmas Is Everywhere" — an indigestibly gooey confection that Billy know is total crap, and he can't keep from blurting out that fact. Though Billy seems to exist only to bedevil his long-suffering manager (Gregor Fisher), and he never directly interacts with the rest of the cast, his character — and his constantly self-sabotaged attempts at reaching no one ("Don't buy drugs, kids. Become a pop star and they'll give them to you for free!") — is the brilliant and brilliantly funny link that holds the film together.

The stories proper — Hugh Grant as a newly elected prime minister with a yen for a servant with a penchant for familiarity and bad language at inappropriate moments (Martine McCutcheon); Colin Firth as a writer of doubtful talent trying to get over a cheating girlfriend by authoring a novel abroad; Liam Neeson as a widower dealing with the first love of his stepson (Thomas Sangster); Alan Rickman as a businessman tempted to cheat on his wife (Emma Thompson); Andrew Lincoln as a young man hopelessly in love with the new wife (Keira Knightley) of his best friend (Chiwetel Ejiofor); Laura Linney as a love-struck employee of Rickman whose chances of romance are thwarted by her devotion to a mentally ill brother; and even more — serve to wittily and movingly support the movie's theme.

Most amazing is the way in which Curtis keeps all these stories moving in an uncluttered and completely coherent manner. By the time

Love Actually

reaches several climaxes being intercut at once, you know you're in the presence of a true auteur. No simple review can even begin to catalogue all the events in this film, much less celebrate them effectively. And the acting … well, the acting is exactly the caliber you expect.

Hugh Grant just gets better with each passing year — and he wears those years well (even when he complains that, in aging, he looks more and more like his Aunt Mildred) — going considerably beyond his well-worn, but still-engaging standard screen character. There's much here that is pure Grant (as there should be), but other things that are fresh — as when his character stands up to the bullying American president (Billy Bob Thornton) in an apparent deliberate slap at Britain's current real-life prime minister. Emma Thompson ought to get a Supporting Actress nod for her role as Alan Rickman's much put-upon wife (and almost equally neglected sister of the Grant character). Liam Neeson has rarely been this good, or this likable. And on and on and on.

If you must register a complaint, gripe that Chiwetel Ejiofor is underused — but, honestly, who knew he was this good prior to

Dirty Pretty Things

? It's all here and it's all splendid — and with one of those wonderful pop-music soundtracks that only the British put together this well, and this aptly.

I can't think of a better movie for Christmas — or maybe even for the whole year.

Redesigned

Dark Knight

,

Transformers 2

,

Green Sector

Photos To all appearances
Unnerving Ledger, sweaty Damon, and suitable cars.

What do

Well, not much, really…but they all had new images reach the Web this week, and we're rounding up the related links here!

SuperheroHype!

has been keeping an alert eye out for new

Transformers 2

developments, and in the form week, they've picked up (via

Internet Duty Daily

) shots of "three Saleens with the Barricade decals being towed around in Culver City," followed by photos of "Optimus Prime on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles." Yes, they're just pictures of cars being towed, but — as

SuperheroHype!

notes — "something is definitely affluent on."

Interval, over at

TheBadandUgly


Unsophisticated Domain

Conclusively, last but certainly not least,

IESB

is featuring a quartet of unknown

Dark Knight


IESB

notes, "Ledger's engagement positively does look like the a hog of oneself clog nightmares are made of."
To go for a look at all the images, practise the links below-stairs!

Verdant Zone

pictures)

The Dark Knight

pictures)

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