Product Details

• Actors: Robert Altman, Vera Carlisle Anderson, C.L. Batten, Jacqueline Bisset, Charles Champlin
• Directors: Xan Cassavetes
• Producers: F.X. Feeney, Alison Palmer Bourke, Ed Carroll, Jonathan Montepare, Leslie Lowell
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Arts Alliance Amer
• DVD Release Date: October 11, 2005
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000AQKV0I
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,082 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

From 1974 to 1989, Z Channel graced the Los Angeles airwaves as one of the country's first pay-television stations. Though its subscription rate barely reached into the hundred thousands, the cable station presaged later channels such as Sundance and IFC with an eclectic slate of movie programming that included art-house, foreign, independent, classic, and otherwise rare and/or out-of-the-mainstream films--this at at time when VCRs and cable were still in their infancy and cinephiles had to frequent repertory theaters to quench their cinematic thirsts. Z Channel's visionary approach was the brainchild of its main programmer, Jerry Harvey, who shaped the station's offerings with his encyclopedic knowledge and impeccable taste as well as innovations like director's cuts and theme nights. Unfortunately, the very qualities that made Harvey such a cinematic obsessive also lent themselves to emotional instability, and both he and Z Channel came to an abrupt end when he killed his wife and then himself one tragic night in 1988. Director Xan Cassavetes (daughter of indie icons John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands) fashions a movie-lover's tribute to Harvey's pioneering station with her documentary Z CHANNEL: A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, which tells its story through talking-head interviews with such notable Z fans as Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman, Jim Jarmusch, and Alexander Payne, as well as a wealth of film clips sure to make cinephiles drool

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and informative!, February 19, 2006

By 

E. Karasik (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession (DVD)

This documentary about Jerry Harvey, the innovative and obsessive program director of Z Channel, was just fascinating. The film maker did a very thorough job of piecing together the unique phenomenon that was Z Channel once Jerry Harvey infused it with his incredibly eclectic and knowledgeable zest for offbeat, under-appreciated films. The lengths he would go to to retrieve uncut versions of many films that had been butchered by inept studio-mandated editing were extreme; he became a true hero to a number of directors whose uncut work would never have reached an audience but for his efforts. The documentary is punctuated by clips from many of the films shown on Z channel, which are big fun to see. I found myself rewinding, pen and paper in hand, to make notes about all the films I wanted to see in full. The film maker also does a good job of piecing together the context of events that led to Harvey's tragic end. Media types and film students will be enthralled by this superb documentary, but I think it would be of great interest to anyone even remotely interested in film.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must see" for film buffs, September 27, 2005

By 

Mark (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession (DVD)

I couldn't resist writing a review for this fabulous documentary that was featured on IFC a few months ago. This is a "must see" for film buffs.

The Z Channel was the first movie channel to play independent, little seen, and foreign films (basically it was the first IFC or Sundance channel). Featuring interviews with directors Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman, and Alexander Pane, "Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession" focuses on the effect the channel had on the film industry. For example James Woods credits his Oscar nomination to the Z Channel's constant playing of Salvador to the right people!

As a film geek I also enjoyed the generous amount of film clips by director Alexandra Cassavetes (John Cassavetes daughter). The film is packed with film clips from the various movies Z Channel played over the years. I was turned on to movies like Bad Timing and F is for Fake.

Clips featured include Andrei Rublev, Attilas '74, La Notte, Black Orpheus, The Leopard, Turkish Delight, Fingers, Berlin Alexanderplatz, and the list goes on!

If you consider yourself to be a "film geek" like me, "Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession" is a must own.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I wanna see More Z Channel, October 8, 2005

By 

joseph Corey "party favors columnist" (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession (DVD)

I enjoyed the film, but it is truthfully lacking in that it has nothing from Z Channel. Where are the promos? Where are the intros to their festivals? What was it like to watch this special channel during its heyday? I would have enjoyed film clips if they were like the "coming attractions" run on the channel.

This documentary can be made into a magazine article. But I do recommend it for viewing. I just wish it was more than talking heads and film clips.