Madman Entertainment are proud to announce the acquisition of collected works of the 20th Century greatest cinematic mavericks. Germany's Wim Wenders and the late US director Russ Meyer. The collected works of both directors will be released through Madman's Directors' Suite imprint, which is a recently established label that showcases specially curated collections of influential cinema from around the globe. It is dedicated to those films and those auteurs past and present who dare to break boundaries and set standards, as well as rarely-exhibited classic, art-house and world cinema. Since its inception in early 2005, Directors Suite has released specially curated collections by directors Jim Jarmusch and Buster Keaton.
Wim Wenders, the German director known for his films invoking a strong sense of cultural clash between Europe and The United States, a love of rock n roll and an evolving sense of internationalism has an extraordinary body of works in his canon, many unseen in Australia. Well known for the Palm D or winning classic Paris, Texas -his collaboration with noted US playwright Sam Shepard, starring Harry Dean Stanton - and his worldwide smash 'The Buena Vista Social Club' , Wenders? output through the 70s was highly prolific. Through films such as The American Friend and Kings of the Road, Wenders both displayed his reverence to the German national cinema and directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, but also established an entirely new individual celluloid voice in the divided Germany of pre-1989. His 1988 film Wings of Desire won him the Best Director award at Cannes in 1988, cementing his reputation as one of the major modern directors of the 20th Century. Madman will also be using Wenders 1985 documentary Tokyo Ga as an extra on the December release of the Yasujiro Ozu film Tokyo Story.
The late Russ Meyer, the infamous director of b-grade classics Faster Pussycat Kill Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, who died in 2004, cut his teeth on 'nudie' films before defining a genre of camp, 'smutty' pictures that whilst always chauvinistic and cavalier, were never demeaning to their cast members. Often namechecked as The Fellini of the Sex Industry, Meyers iconic works of high camp have become part of the cultural tapestry of modern pop art; his influence can be still be felt across the modern fashion, music and advertising industries . A former combat photographer, he channeled his personal obsession (large breasted women) via the medium of filmmaking, turning a hobby into box-office receipts. Meyer was a director, writer, and producer, and was often described as a commando moviemaking force.
Directors Suite Label Manager Alexander Strang says the acquisition of the respective catalogues represents a major step forward for Directors Suite
The label is all about presenting the collected works of selected directors with top of the line transfers and presenting them in a fashion that faithfully illustrates their contribution to the world of film. In the case of Wenders and Meyer, you have two vastly different directors, with completely different methods ; yet they both fit into the Directors Suite ideal. Fans of both these directors will not be disappointed!
THE WIM WENDERS COLLECTION on Directors Suite DVD Commencing Second Quarter 2006
