Border Radio (The Criterion Collection)
by Dean Lent, Kurt Voss, Allison Anders
List Price:
Our Price: $21.00
You Save: $18.95 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.94 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chris D., Chris Shearer, Chuck Shepard, Dave Alvin, Eddie FlowersDirector: Allison Anders, Dean Lent, Kurt Voss
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-01-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Border Radio (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: a time capsule of los angeles - and more.
Summary: 5 Stars
Originally scripted as a grim film noir homage, a series of financial dry spells stretched out the film's production schedule to three years, whereupon the screen story underwent as many dramatic changes as any of the hard-living bands from the music scene the film adopts as its backdrop.
Star Chris D. insists in the supplemental features that the original script's noir aspects are what attracted him to the project, but it was only once he became involved that the thing took shape as a "rock movie," with the added participation of D.'s friends (and sometime bandmates) like John Doe and Dave Alvin. Alvin went on to create an eclectic and memorable score for the film (now out of print, sadly), with players culled from friends and colleagues from X, Los Lobos, The Blasters and other local heroes.
Not every film could survive three filmmakers AND active contributions by everyone in the cast, but then it's a rare project that manages to pack this much simpatico talent onto one movie poster.
Additional DVD extras include deleted scenes, a potent "trailer" (including several moments not in the finished film) set to a driving musical score, and a pair of loose, enjoyable commentary tracks. Another welcome addition is Chris D. and The Flesh Eaters' vintage ain't-no-WAY-this-is-running-on-MTV music video for their classic "The Wedding Dice" (comically mangled by Chris Shearer in the film itself).
Had it followed its intended "straight noir" course, BORDER RADIO may well have survived as an interesting curio; but as it turned out, the film stands as a fitting elegy to an era, both in its depiction of a musical phenomenon's sunset and for its unique collaborative approach to filmmaking. That both still feel like breaths of fresh air twenty years on only stands as a testament to their legitimacy.
Like so many of the "lost" bands of the music scene it salutes with unabashed affection, BORDER RADIO is ripe for rediscovery.
Summary of Border Radio (The Criterion Collection)
Before carving out a niche as one of nineties? American cinema?s most distinct voices, Allison Anders made her debut, alongside co-directors and fellow UCLA film-school students, Kurt Voss and Dean Lent, with 1987?s Border Radio. A low-key, semi-improvised post-punk diary that took four years to complete, Border Radio features legendary rocker Chris D., of the Flesh Eaters, as a singer/songwriter who has stolen loot from a club and gone missing, leaving his wife (Luanna Anders), a no-nonsense rock journalist, to track him down with the help of his friends (John Doe of the band X; Chris Shearer).Similar DVD Movies
The Lovers (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $18.07
Price in other shops:
Belle de Jour (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2012-01-17; DVD
Best price: $19.59
Price in other shops:
RushmoreBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
3 Women (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2004-04-20; DVD
Best price: $19.48
Price in other shops:
SmithereensWEA DES Moines Video; Release date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $4.53
Price in other shops:
Fighting Elegy (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-01-11; DVD
Best price: $16.21
Price in other shops:
Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous StainsRYKODISC; Release date: 2008-09-16; DVD
Best price: $10.33
Price in other shops:
Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-10-25; DVD
Best price: $16.09
Price in other shops:
Jubilee (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2003-05-27; DVD
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
Blow Out (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-04-26; DVD
Best price: $18.72
Price in other shops: