■ “Penny Dreadful: Season One”
Penny dreadfuls were the pulp fiction of Victorian Britain—cheap paperback novels, usually lurid and often gothic in theme. The name was well chosen for the Showtime series except for one thing: Producers John Logan and Sam Mendes aren’t cheap. Moments of cinematic interest enliven the blood-soaked gruesomeness of sharp-toothed monsters lurking in the gaslight of cobblestoned London. Josh Hartnett stars as an American adventurer helping Timothy Dalton and Eva Green hunt for vampires.
■ Bound by Flesh
Twins ran in the family, but the mother of Daisy and Violet never expected Siamese twins. The attending physician pronounced short lives, but they defied statistics for conjoined twins and became stars. Bound by Flesh documents their exploitation; the multi-talented girls became an emotionally and physically abused circus act, and were only freed from servitude through court intervention in 1931. Milwaukee’s Dean Jensen wrote a book on the twins and is one of the interviewees.
■ Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders was consumed by music as a teenager. After joining the New York Dolls, he also became consumed by heroin. Rock ’n’ roll and smack were his twin addictions. As related in this documentary, Thunders’ efforts to go clean always ran aground in the subculture where he was a star. His life was a slow death, but he had prolific energy, leaving behind some great songs and a bad lesson in checking out before hitting 40.
■ Deep Purple with Orchestra, Live in Verona
Deep Purple always had prog tendencies. Witness their 2011 concert with the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt in a Roman amphitheater built for lions and gladiators. The conductor waves his baton with madman fury and the bows race to keep up, but the orchestra’s efforts are largely inaudible under the band’s amplification. Vocalist Ian Gillan looks like Bryan Ferry gone casual as he leads the group in a career-spanning hits package, starting with their first, “Hush” (1968).
