This week @ Diabolik DVD…

This is the first of a new weekly column where I’ll spotlight the more eclectic offerings in the world of home entertainment. This is courtesy of the fine folks over at DiabolikDVD.com and if you have the time then you should stop by their site;Â  it’s owned and run by film buffs and collectors. They specialize in hard-to-find releases; horror; Asian cinema; Art House; Adult; and Cult Classics you haven’t even heard of.

This week I’m spotlighting three DVD’s. Click the box art for more detailed information:

Subversive Cinema released their 5-disc set of ‘Dust Devil’ in 2006 and it is truly the definitive version of this remarkable film. The story centers on a lonely wife’s trek across the African desert and the shape-shifting killer that pursues her. It’s a dreamlike horror film, described by Steve Beard of The Face as “Tarkovsky on acid.” Included in this set are three documentaries by the director: ‘Voice of the Moon,’ ‘The Secret Glory’ and ‘The White Darkness.’Â  

‘Dust Devil’ is the brainchild of Richard Stanley, a South African-born filmmaker and all around cinema badass whose output isn’t as limited as you’re led to believe: He’s directed ten movies and has at least two in various stages of production. Visit his “unofficial” website to learn more about the man and his projects.  

So, if you consider yourself a film geek, then do yourself a favor and BUY THIS MOVIE.

If you liked ‘Funny Games,’ but were put off by Haneke’s fascination with breaking the fourth wall, then it is in your best interest to pick up ‘Benny’s Video,’ a film about a young man whose favorite video is of a pig being slaughtered with a butcher’s gun. Post-modern cinema is chock-a-block with hip and self-aware characters, so it’s a chilling change of pace when a film can be so detached. There is nothing sensational or sentimental about the violence in this movie, and that makes it all the more horrific.

This release comes from the good folks over at Kino Video.

And since I name-dropped Tarkovsky earlier…Â  

Wait… what, you haven’t seen this? Shame on you! Adventurous cineastes take note, if you are looking for something the likes of which you’ve never seen… here you go. Ruminating on philosophies and faiths, this is enduring sci-fi devoid of the typical fantasy trappings that plague more mainstream fare.

Here, allow me to quote Diabolik’s synopsis:

“One of Andrei Tarkovsky’s (Solaris, The Sacrifice) most acclaimed films, Stalker is an unforgettable film experience that evokes the spiritual lucidity of Carl Dreyer and the unbridled imagination of Phillip K. Dick. Since its release in 1979, Stalker has inspired filmmakers as diverse as David Lynch and Steven Spielberg and ensnared audiences in a labyrinth of striking imagery revealing the familiar in the strange, the poetic in the disturbing and the mythic in the mordant.”

Yeah, that about sums it up.

So make sure to stop by Diabolik and show ’em a little love.

Until next time…