Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession

Very much enjoyed this! I enjoy documentaries, but I had not heard of this one. I am not sure if I even heard of Z Channel before this film! This was when pay cable was new. HBO was in its infancy. The Z Channel existed in Los Angeles CA. It is a fascinating look at how one man's love of movies led to great success and in the end, tragedy!

This is almost certainly the best movie I've seen this year, and it's definitely my favorite.It's a documentary that serves many different functions. First and foremost it tells the little-known tragedy of Jerry Harvey, a guy who did some great and wonderful things during his life, but also, near his end, committed two horrible acts.Harvey was the programming director for Z-Channel which, during the late 70s and 80s, broadcast films so ecclectic, it's hard to believe they were actually aired anywhere: Sam Fuller films, the complete "1900," the complete "Das Boot," the complete "Heaven's Gate," both versions of "Once Upon a Time in America," Altman movies, obscure foreign films, mainstream fare, soft core porn, etc, etc, etc....Even in an era when most people have hundreds of television viewing options, Z Channel remains impressive. That it existed during the early days of pay cable is mindboggling, and the movie also does a great job of explaining those early days, and what it took to keep a channel running and how that channel eventually failed, which is another fascinating branch of the film's narrative.But the main function of the movie is to run through a thick cross-section of the films that were shown on the channel, and why these films were important to the people behind the scenes (including Z Critic F.X. Feeney, former Fox head Bill Mechanic and Harvey himself), to the people who made the movies that were shown (Paul Verhoeven, James Woods and Robert Altman, who gets the movie's best, most poingnant line, "I like him!") and to the channel's old audience itself (we see great, bubbly interviews with guys like Alexander Payne, Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino, who gets a fine line too: "And then they didn't go in the bedroom.... And I was pissed!").It all coagulates into a dizzying, complex story that's both awe-inspiring and heartbreaking. If you have any interest at all in film, this is a documentary that's right in the league with "Visions of Light," "The Battle Over Citizen Kane" and Martin Scorsese's "Journey" and "Voyage" films -- which is to say, "essential."DVD Notes:The commentary, with all the key production figures, including director Xan Cassavetes is excellent: A big, talky, messy swirl of details that somehow explains how everything was done, from the licensing of the clips shown to the dreamy interludes of scenes from around L.A.Deleted scenes include solid asides about "3 Women," "Touch of Evil" and other films, portions that didn't make the final cut.There's also some expendable footage from an AFI tribute.Particularly good is the complete "Castaway's Choice" interview with Jerry Harvey, though listening to it somewhat diminishes the otherworldly effect Cassavettes sought (and got) when she used snippets of it in the finished film.Some reviewers have complained that there should be more material from Z Channel itself -- complete pages from the program guide, cover galleries, old commercials. And they're 100% right, and the scrolling supplement that shows a few, old, terribly copy-edited reviews is just enough to whet one's appetite for more. But the movie is such a huge buffet, that's almost like gorging yourself on a gourmet meal and then being disappointed with the dessert.

I really enjoyed this documentary, just wish things had panned out a bit differently in the end.

A truly engaging and brilliant story about film lovers and their quest to bring art house, genre and foreign cinema to the L.A. masses via their now defunct subscription service Z Channel. That story alone is incredible but the tragic ending is the real showstopper and makes this wildly compelling story unforgettable in ways we never expected. Do yourself a favor, buy a copy and check it out now!

Cassavetes's evocative, unsettling portrait sheds as much light on the maverick early days of cable programming as it does on the passionate, deeply troubled Harvey, a man fondly recalled by directors like Robert Altman and Michael Cimino for airing their least-known and riskiest movies. Others, like Quentin Tarantino, Alexander Payne, and Jim Jarmusch, simply enthuse about how eye-opening it was to see exotic fare by Peckinpah and Verhoeven at a time when video rentals were scarce. But Harvey, who murdered his wife before taking his own life, is the dark star at the center of all the reminiscing. If you love film, tune in to "Z Channel."

A great documentary about an interesting man and his tv movie network.

A great trip down memory lane in the early days of movie channels on cable. We were fortunate to enjoy Z channel for several years and miss it today, even with the vast assortment of viewing choices available. Z was in a niche of its own and worthy of this excellent exploration.

I grew up watching the "Z" and it was ground-breaking in many ways...even more so than this "documentary" lets on. There is a lot that is NOT in this film. But honestly, this documentary can't be a finished product, can it? There is no real cohesive thread throughout. It seems more like a film student's first attempt, than a finished work. It's nothing more than some scrounged interviews (albeit at times, interesting ones...all except for the LONGEST and most torturous interview with Jerry himself on KCRW at the very end of the documentary), film clips and stills with very little narrative as to what we are seeing exactly, or why? Nothing is really tied together in a way that tells anything resembling a story.And it ends as abruptly as it began, with no explanation of what happened to Jerry and why...which in itself, I'm sure, is a fascinating if not terrible story. The man committed suicide after murdering his wife. Suicide ran in his family. Two sisters had also previously killed themselves...how can anyone miss telling such a story as part of this documentary!?Alas, this DVD was a pretty big disappointment. Taken on the whole, it leaves you asking more questions than it answers. :-/

A rare, beautiful documentary to celebrate and remember a great Cinema experience on TV. We all need more heroes like that to make TV something better and more than mere entertainment

Es Region 1, podían indicarlo ya que no puedo reproducirlo. En casos como este debería ser obligatorio en las especificaciones técnicas.