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Choose Me. Courtesy of Everett Collection via the Quad.Alan Rudolph makes a compelling case in defense of sentimentality, in defense of the love-sick and amorous. He believes in the beauty and rejuvenating power of art, and of love. Rarely sanguine or saccharine, but unapologetically emotional, his films understand that love is a painful, often arduous affair, that it is messy and confusing and ultimately ineffable, best captured in glances rather than words. Though there is a certain look, a certain feeling, that defines an Alan Rudolph film, his formal dexterity is varied, his repertoire of visual tricks assured. His swooning camera traces the boundaries of scenes like an outsider gazing longingly in, drifting dreamily, lingering like a voyeur. Choose Me (1984) begins with a voluptuous three-minute long take, starting with a closeup of the luminescent “E” of a neon sign that reads “Eve’s Lounge,” swooping down to show an...

Above: Us one sheet for Trouble in Mind (1985). Art direction by Mike Kaplan, illustration by Ignacio Gomez.Alan Rudolph may not be one of the best known names in American independent film and that is a shame because his 22-feature filmography comprises a unique body of work of literate, off-kilter, romantic, humanistic cinema. New Yorkers have a chance to devour that work over the next few weeks at the Quad Cinema in their essential retrospective, "Alan Rudolph’s Everyday Lovers."Rudolph’s poster-ography is as erratic and full of gems as his filmic career. It starts out with a couple of genre horror films—with gaudy posters to match—before launching into the early masterpieces Welcome to L.A. and Remember My Name, both film which were released by Mike Kaplan’s Lagoon. Kaplan, who had previously worked with Stanley Kubrick, is a keen connoisseur and collector of posters himself,...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the month of December 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

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Follow-Up Black Friday / Holiday Disc Purchases Mystery Science Theater Kickstarter Star Wars: The Force Awakens DVD Beaver Blu-ray and DVD of the Year: 2015 News CES: Ultra HD Blu-ray News Disney: Snow White Signature Collection Warner Archive Blu-ray releases January 2016: The Ice Pirates, The Wrong Man, A Mighty Wind, Flicker Alley: L’inhumaine Thunderbean: Yuletide Flickers Arrow Video: Waking Life, Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion Twilight Time: March/April titles. January pre-orders Olive Films: March Titles Disney Movie Club: Blackbeard’s Ghost Milestone: Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, Volume 1 Episode Links & Notes

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Downhill Racer Fear the Walking Dead: Season 1 Fort Massacre...

Writer/director Alan Rudolph is still inextricably linked to Robert Altman, his mentor and eventual producer for several of Rudolph’s own features. Having served as assistant director on Altman’s The Long Goodbye and Nashville, Rudolph would eventually steer his own considerable, idiosyncratic filmography. But without any significant mainstream efforts to explode him into the fabric of the cultural zeitgeist, many of his works faded quickly into obscurity, particularly if they weren’t well-received by critics. Often featuring delectable roles for offbeat female leads (including some unforgettable roles for Genevieve Bujold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Geraldine Chaplin), a late 90s Oscar nod for Julie Christie in Afterfglow (1997) resuscitated interest in the auteur. But the decade started out on a disappointing note for Rudolph with 1990’s Love at Large, the follow-up to critically acclaimed The Moderns (1980). Featuring a cascading array of notable actors, it’s an offbeat endeavor, to say the least,...

Alan Rudolph goes all mushy on us, but in a good way. This loose, somewhat cartoonish comedy pits detectives Tom Berenger and Elizabeth Perkins on opposite sides of a hot case. All they uncover is one illicit love affair after another... while getting personally involved too. A quirky romantic favorite. Love at Large Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1990 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date December 1, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins, Anne Archer, Kate Capshaw, Annette O'Toole, Ted Levine, Ann Magnuson, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ruby Dee, Barry Miller, Neil Young Cinematography Elliot Davis Production Designer Steven Legler Art Direction Steve Karatzas Film Editor Lisa Zeno Churgin Original Music Mark Isham, Warren Zevon Produced by Stuart M. Besser, David Blocker, Dana Mayer Written and Directed by Alan Rudolph

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This charming little movie went nowhere in 1990, but it still pleases this reviewer, from its odd...