Video Americain Newsletter - February 2012
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Video Americain
Feb 6, 2012, 5:35:10 PM2/6/12
to Video Americain Newsletter
*~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Video Americain Newsletter February 2012
Baltimore's Independent Video Store since 1989!
*~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
In celebration of Valentine's Day, we're devoting this issue to our
love of Screwball Comedy, Hollywood's best attempt yet at turning
romance into a formula. We've got a very special director for you to
fall for as well as a guide through the Screwball and Neo-Screwball
genres. Inside, you'll also find a FREE RENTAL coupon and our list of
new releases.
If you like the Newsletter, let us know by email @
VideoAmeric...@gmail.com -- (and if you don't want to receive it,
please let us know ASAP!) Please pass this on to a friend, and
subscribe by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/video-americain-
newsletter or by emailing video-americain-
newsl...@googlegroups.com.
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Contents
* Director of the Month * Screwball Recommendations * This Week's
New Releases
* Coming Attractions * Free Rental Offer / Survey * Friendly
Internerd Information
* Where in the world is Video Americain?
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Director of the Month: Frank Capra
Around the time Frank Capra's It Happened One Night premiered in 1934,
Hollywood began enlisting writers and directors, who could quickly put
out similar films to distract the public from the pain and stress of
the Great Depression. The genre they mass produced was Screwball,
which depicts an increasingly irrational and comedic world, in which
romantic love heals all wounds. The male characters are generally out
of sync with the rhythm of this crazy world and are in need of a Zany
Dame, who can educate them in the harmonious ways of childlike
disobedience and carefree love. While the formula, which can get very
specific, inherently has limitations to artistic expression,
filmmakers like Frank Capra proved to be expert mechanics in utilizing
conventions to communicate social responsibility, self-reflexivity,
and some really clever jokes. Capra was pretty consistent in working
his egalitarian economic philosophy into mainstream movies, and his
Screwballs are great examples of this. If you haven't seen It Happened
One Night, which cleaned up at the Academy Awards when they actually
meant something, I highly recommend it. If you've already seen that
one, check out You Can't Take it With You (1938).
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Screwball Recommendations
- Ernst Lubitsche's Trouble in Paradise (1932)
- Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934)
- Gregory La Cava's My Man Godfrey (1936)
- Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth (1937)
- Howard Hawks's Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- Howard Hawks's Ball of Fire (1941)
- Preston Sturges's Palm Beach Story (1942)
- Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1971)
- Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985)
- Frank Oz's What About Bob? (1991)
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
New This Week on DVD
February 7th
- Project Nim (2011 Documentary)
- Anonymous (2011 British Thriller)
- 3 (2012 Germany)
- The Rebound (2011 Romance)
- Downton Abbey Season 2 (2011)
- Elephant in the Living Room (2011 Documentary)
- Karen Cries on the Bus (2011 Columbian Drama)
- Far from the Madding Crowd (1998)
- Song of Lunch (2011 BBC)
- What Happens Next (2011 Comedy)
- Last Man Standing (2012 Thriller)
- All's Faire in Love (2011 Comedy)
- Steve Coogan Live (2012 BBC)
- The Sunset Limited (2011 HBO Drama)
- Jean Luc Goddard's Histoire(s) du Cinema (1988-1998)
- Camelot (2011 Starz TV Drama)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Coming Attractions on DVD
February 11th
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 (2011 Supernatural Romance)
February 14th
- The Rum Diary (2011 Hunter S. Thompson Story)
- All Things Fall Apart (2011 Football Drama)
- Human Centipede 2 (2011 Horror)
- Take Shelter (2011 Drama)
- Tiny Furniture (2010 Indie Hit)
- Outlaw Samurai (1964 Japanese Samurai)
- My Kingdom (2011 China)
- The Dead (2010 Zombie)
- Mozart's Sister (2010 Drama)
- Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
- How to Diet in Oregon (2011 Documentary)
- The Debt (2007 Israeli Thriller)
- Danger UXB (1979 British TV)
- Tales from the Golden Age (2009 Romanian Omnibus Film)
February 21st
- J Edgar (2011 Biopic)
- Tower Heist (2011 Action Comedy)
- Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011 Thriller)
- The Way (2010 Comedy)
- London Boulevard (2010 Drama)
- Weeds Season 7
- World on a Wire (1973 R.W. Fassbinder SciFi)
- Nurse Jackie Season 3
- Adventures of Tin Tin Season 2
- Woman with the 5 Elephants (2011 Documentary)
- Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Release of Otto Preminger's 1959
film)
- Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens (1979 Cult)
February 28th
- Puss n Boots (2011 Animated)
- The Little Death : Unrated Director's Cut (2010)
- Johnny English Reborn (2011 Comedy)
- Catechism Cataclysim (2011 Indie)
- Nijinsky (1980 Biopic)
- Spiders (1919 Fritz Lang Film)
- Vanya on 42nd St (Louis Malle's 1994 film finally available on DVD!)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Free Rental for those who care about their relationship with Video
Americain!
Please take a couple minutes to fill out this survey and let us know
how we're doing. We really want to know what you like about us, and
also how we can better serve you. Let's take our relationship to the
next level! When you complete the survey, you'll receive a free rental
coupon. Print it out and bring it in to one our stores.
Survey: http://videoamericain.tumblr.com/survey
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Friendly Internerd Information
Buddy up with our borg clerk Vee Dee and check her status for
SPECIALS!:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video.americain.baltimore
Check out our blog for reviews, recommendations, and more deals:
http://videoamericain.tumblr.com
Get tweets here:
http://twitter.com/#!/VideoAmericain
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Where in the world is Video Americain?
Roland Park (410) 243-2231
700 W. Cold Spring Lane
Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
Charles Village (410) 889-5266
3100 St. Paul St
Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12midnite
Takoma Park (301) 270-4464
6937 Laurel Ave, Takoma Park MD 20912
To purchase DVDS from us online: www.videoamericain.com
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Video Americain Newsletter February 2012
Baltimore's Independent Video Store since 1989!
*~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
In celebration of Valentine's Day, we're devoting this issue to our
love of Screwball Comedy, Hollywood's best attempt yet at turning
romance into a formula. We've got a very special director for you to
fall for as well as a guide through the Screwball and Neo-Screwball
genres. Inside, you'll also find a FREE RENTAL coupon and our list of
new releases.
If you like the Newsletter, let us know by email @
VideoAmeric...@gmail.com -- (and if you don't want to receive it,
please let us know ASAP!) Please pass this on to a friend, and
subscribe by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/video-americain-
newsletter or by emailing video-americain-
newsl...@googlegroups.com.
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Contents
* Director of the Month * Screwball Recommendations * This Week's
New Releases
* Coming Attractions * Free Rental Offer / Survey * Friendly
Internerd Information
* Where in the world is Video Americain?
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Director of the Month: Frank Capra
Around the time Frank Capra's It Happened One Night premiered in 1934,
Hollywood began enlisting writers and directors, who could quickly put
out similar films to distract the public from the pain and stress of
the Great Depression. The genre they mass produced was Screwball,
which depicts an increasingly irrational and comedic world, in which
romantic love heals all wounds. The male characters are generally out
of sync with the rhythm of this crazy world and are in need of a Zany
Dame, who can educate them in the harmonious ways of childlike
disobedience and carefree love. While the formula, which can get very
specific, inherently has limitations to artistic expression,
filmmakers like Frank Capra proved to be expert mechanics in utilizing
conventions to communicate social responsibility, self-reflexivity,
and some really clever jokes. Capra was pretty consistent in working
his egalitarian economic philosophy into mainstream movies, and his
Screwballs are great examples of this. If you haven't seen It Happened
One Night, which cleaned up at the Academy Awards when they actually
meant something, I highly recommend it. If you've already seen that
one, check out You Can't Take it With You (1938).
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Screwball Recommendations
- Ernst Lubitsche's Trouble in Paradise (1932)
- Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934)
- Gregory La Cava's My Man Godfrey (1936)
- Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth (1937)
- Howard Hawks's Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- Howard Hawks's Ball of Fire (1941)
- Preston Sturges's Palm Beach Story (1942)
- Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1971)
- Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985)
- Frank Oz's What About Bob? (1991)
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
New This Week on DVD
February 7th
- Project Nim (2011 Documentary)
- Anonymous (2011 British Thriller)
- 3 (2012 Germany)
- The Rebound (2011 Romance)
- Downton Abbey Season 2 (2011)
- Elephant in the Living Room (2011 Documentary)
- Karen Cries on the Bus (2011 Columbian Drama)
- Far from the Madding Crowd (1998)
- Song of Lunch (2011 BBC)
- What Happens Next (2011 Comedy)
- Last Man Standing (2012 Thriller)
- All's Faire in Love (2011 Comedy)
- Steve Coogan Live (2012 BBC)
- The Sunset Limited (2011 HBO Drama)
- Jean Luc Goddard's Histoire(s) du Cinema (1988-1998)
- Camelot (2011 Starz TV Drama)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Coming Attractions on DVD
February 11th
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 (2011 Supernatural Romance)
February 14th
- The Rum Diary (2011 Hunter S. Thompson Story)
- All Things Fall Apart (2011 Football Drama)
- Human Centipede 2 (2011 Horror)
- Take Shelter (2011 Drama)
- Tiny Furniture (2010 Indie Hit)
- Outlaw Samurai (1964 Japanese Samurai)
- My Kingdom (2011 China)
- The Dead (2010 Zombie)
- Mozart's Sister (2010 Drama)
- Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
- How to Diet in Oregon (2011 Documentary)
- The Debt (2007 Israeli Thriller)
- Danger UXB (1979 British TV)
- Tales from the Golden Age (2009 Romanian Omnibus Film)
February 21st
- J Edgar (2011 Biopic)
- Tower Heist (2011 Action Comedy)
- Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011 Thriller)
- The Way (2010 Comedy)
- London Boulevard (2010 Drama)
- Weeds Season 7
- World on a Wire (1973 R.W. Fassbinder SciFi)
- Nurse Jackie Season 3
- Adventures of Tin Tin Season 2
- Woman with the 5 Elephants (2011 Documentary)
- Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Release of Otto Preminger's 1959
film)
- Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens (1979 Cult)
February 28th
- Puss n Boots (2011 Animated)
- The Little Death : Unrated Director's Cut (2010)
- Johnny English Reborn (2011 Comedy)
- Catechism Cataclysim (2011 Indie)
- Nijinsky (1980 Biopic)
- Spiders (1919 Fritz Lang Film)
- Vanya on 42nd St (Louis Malle's 1994 film finally available on DVD!)
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Free Rental for those who care about their relationship with Video
Americain!
Please take a couple minutes to fill out this survey and let us know
how we're doing. We really want to know what you like about us, and
also how we can better serve you. Let's take our relationship to the
next level! When you complete the survey, you'll receive a free rental
coupon. Print it out and bring it in to one our stores.
Survey: http://videoamericain.tumblr.com/survey
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Friendly Internerd Information
Buddy up with our borg clerk Vee Dee and check her status for
SPECIALS!:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video.americain.baltimore
Check out our blog for reviews, recommendations, and more deals:
http://videoamericain.tumblr.com
Get tweets here:
http://twitter.com/#!/VideoAmericain
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
Where in the world is Video Americain?
Roland Park (410) 243-2231
700 W. Cold Spring Lane
Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
Charles Village (410) 889-5266
3100 St. Paul St
Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12midnite
Takoma Park (301) 270-4464
6937 Laurel Ave, Takoma Park MD 20912
To purchase DVDS from us online: www.videoamericain.com
~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
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