Frank Zappa - Roxy: The Movie
“We’re making a movie here tonight,” Frank Zappa announced in his distinctively bemused voice. It was 1973 and Zappa was directing himself and his band, The Mothers of Invention, in a concert documentary. The band was a mini-orchestra complete with sax, trombone, keyboards, vibes and two drummers playing complex music with fury and zaniness—somewhere between Spike Jones, Sun Ra and rock ’n’ roll. Roxy: The Movie is the first time this footage has been released on Blu-ray or DVD.
My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition
The era of classic Hollywood musicals was coming to an end, but you’d never suspect that by watching My Fair Lady. The Oscar winner, based on George Bernard Shaw’s satire, had it all: music by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe, choreography by Hermes Pan, George Cukor in the director’s chair and an old-meets-new cast headed by Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. The Blu-ray/DVD combo includes a third disc of bonus material.
The Benoit Jacquot Collection
Gregoire responds to the TV interviewers’ questions with silence and a shy, childlike smile. He’s a captain of industry, just released from a short prison sentence for an unstated impropriety, and seems oddly changed into a sort of holy fool in the face of social hypocrisy. The finely nuanced Keep it Quiet (1999) is out on Blu-ray along with two other films by French director Benoit Jacquot, The Disenchanted (1990) and A Single Girl (1995).
“The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour: Christmas Specials”
Glen Campbell found renewed respect in recent years for his role in The Wrecking Crew, the crack band of L.A. session musicians heard on many great recordings from the ’60s. His solo hits led to a career hosting a TV variety show (1969-1972). The eager-to-please country pop star showcased everything from comedy (an amusing skit with Andy Griffith) to music (Cher in a drop-dead rendition of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”).
