Just the other day I learned a buddy I work with had never seen it. During that same conversation I learned that my roommate had never seen it. So, tonight, we popped in my favorite Cannibals Eat You and Gain Your Power movie of all time. As if there were any alternative, of course I speak of 1999’s underplayed (unless you’re a friend of mine) RAVENOUS. It occurred to me while watching it that of everything on my shelves, I’ve loaned RAVENOUS out the most. I can think of over a dozen people who have borrowed it over the years, one or two of which have asked for it back on multiple occasions.
This struck me as odd. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Antonia Bird’s film and, most notably, Robert Carlyle plus the original music of Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman. It was my introduction to Carlyle, Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough. Ted Griffin’s script is a smooth one, going down with the ease of a fine whiskey and ending with the burn of a shot of moonshine. The final fight between Boyd and Ives leaves a vicious smile no matter how many times you see it.
I like most everything about RAVENOUS (it does dip a tad in the mid) and you’d need an abacus to add up how many times I’ve seen the bugger, but I’m still not sure why I’ve loaned it out so much. It is an easy recommendation, sure, but of everything on my shelf? I know I’ve pushed better films of all genres more often; the flick in question would not even penetrate a top 10 or 15 list if I wanted to get serious about it. The DVD for RAVENOUS is crap. And yet nothing else can seem to rack up anywhere close to the RAVENOUS tally, both of times I’ve seen and times other people have asked to see it. You’d think I’d loan out some sweet collector’s editions (only one pal has asked to check out the Out of Print Criterion Collection of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) or box sets, but nope. Just one of those things, I guess. Whose interested in watching something brilliant, like THE FOG OF WAR, when you can watch Wendigo craven superhumans chop the savage shit out of each other?
Shrug.
What say you? Any particular flick that always seems to be absent from your shelf?
I’ve never actually seen Ravenous.
I’ve loaned out Inside three times in the week and a half that I’ve had it. Most people like to borrow my halloween movies, same with Nightmare on Elm Street.
I have to fight with people usually to watch non-main stream (is that possible with horror before 2000s?) flicks, because they’re busy going “noo diz goan suck” when I’m trying to get them to see Dead Alive.
Quick, give me your address so I can mail it out and carve another notch in the bedpost.
EWWWwwww!!!! Don’t watch Peter’s Ravenous DVD! If you watch it then you’ve watched it with anyone who’s watch it before! Hussy! I thought you were better than that Peter. Now every time I see that cheap floozy of a movie sitting on your shelf I shall look at it in disgust, sir!
…..and then watch it when no one’s looking because it knows all the right moves.
*anyone who’s watched it before*
Hard to be funny when you fuck it up. =/
Getting ready to watch it raht nao. If its not amazing then I’ll be sure to cast the blame at you, Peter.
Wow, I really can’t think of a movie that fits that bill in my collection. Come to think of it, I haven’t lent out a film in a long time. I think I’ll blame Netflix.
OT: I too have that edition of SILENCE… used to be a moderately enthusiastic Criterion collector (i.e. I have HARD BOILED, but not THE KILLER) before they got far too many titles to keep up.
Go figure that the transfer on that thing isn’t even anamorphic widescreen, making it less impressive than the regular retail version. (Although I found the ghastly true-life serial killer feature on that disc terrifiying.)
That was actually really good. I loved the “That was very… sneaky”.