Customer Reviews

Disinformation: The Complete Series

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Richard Metzger forever walks the borderline between "finder of interesting fringe stuff" and "clove-smoking, all-black-bewardrobed, college freshman majoring -- one might say almost achingly so -- in media studies." Metzger's pretentiousness can reach comic-bookian proportions, as when he iconically gels little devil horns into his hair, raises a smoking cigarette, and cocks an eyebrow like media studies frosh from the previous analogy doing a Spock imitation. Likewise, Metzger's stated modus operandi almost borders on self-parody (mainstream people are greedy - for instance they buy themselves needlessly expensive cars; therefore I am morally superior to them as a member of the counter-culture; and the best way to defeat them is to take their money; therefore i take their money and buy myself needlessly expensive cars).

On the other hand, Metzger has a good nose for finding people at the fringes and counter-culture who can spin a good yarn in explaining their radical philosophies. The people interviewed range from apparent schizophrenics to conspiracy theorists, attention-seekers, delightful crackpots, college professors, and avid hobbyists. The entertainment level is consistently high.

Disinformation was a TV show that lasted 2 seasons in the UK - 16 episodes of 30 minutes each. The Scifi channel ordered a recut version boiling those 480 minutes down to 4 episodes of 60 minutes each. This disc is those 4 recut one-hour episodes, plus one of the original UK episodes (on author Howard Bloom), and a short piece on copyright issues related to MacDonald's. The first disc is exactly the same disc you get if you order DisinfoTV on DVD, plus the 'Complete Series' adds a 2nd disc with about 2 hours of highlights from the Disinformation live conference.

I am generally happy with this product, but slightly grumpy that the box says "complete series" yet I'm only getting about half of the content from the actual complete 16-episode British series.

I really wanted to like this series, I really did, but found a lot of it about as revolutionary or paradigm-shattering as a Berkeley potluck.

There's a few good bits--Robert Anton Wilson, Kenneth Anger, Orridge--but CIA-programmed sex slaves, spotty teenage satanists, LA fetish balls...sigh. The kids in LA must really be bored, is all I can say.

I'm not underestimating the effort it takes to create a TV series, but the potential for this series was huge. All they had to do was re-create their books, which are pretty good.

I've seen more revolutionary stuff on SBS in Australia!

I bought this expecting news stories on par with the books--with the occasional interview (as in the books).

It's not. It is a farce, sensationalism over fact.

I don't recommend this for serious disinfo fans.

However, I do agree with Stealth Kitten. There are few interesting stories (She highlights most of them).

...either the AMOK catalogs or any of the Apocalypse Culture books, this would be the visual equivalent--I do not consider myself a part of the "fringe" or the "counter-culture"--I am middle-aged and have a white-collar job but I have always been interested in the unusual and sometimes downright weird, call me a cultural voyeur, if you want...although my reading encompasses the aforementioned works as well as books on serial killers, goth culture, New Orleans voodoo, etc., I cannot afford to be as liberal in my tastes when it comes to the unusual in music, movies and TV--I can usually get the gist of what I will be reading from the cover, title, back comments, etc. but with music, movies and TV the information contained therein is not so straight-forwardly apparent (unless I see a trailer, read a review, hear a sample, etc.)...

That said, I bought this DVD set as it seemed to me a kind of "60 Minutes" of the unusual for the beginner (thanks to that previous reviewer for the analogy, altho I don't think Christopher Guest would even think about most of this stuff, let alone film it), and as that goes, I was not disappointed, but if you bought a DVD set of the best of 60 Minutes episodes, would you really keep it and rewatch it? For instance, I've seen more of artist Joe Coleman's work and lifestyle from a IFC documentary, I didn't really need video footage of Mr. Terrific or Fantastic or whatever after reading about him one of the aforementioned books, and as for the "Uncle Goddamn" and "Brother Theodore" excerpts throughout the show, I only have to see a flaming, drunken, inbred redneck or a rambling, mentally-ill, pretentious New Yawk "artist" ONCE to get the picture, OK?

For the price, you might want to stick to the books--even with the 2nd "bonus" DVD you get with this set which is speaker-only segments of a live convention in which only the Adam Parfrey and Marilyn Manson speeches are interesting (you can get the Parfrey stuff from the, yes, "aforementioned" books, and probably the Manson stuff from his website)...

Aside: From the wonderful comics he writes, you wouldn't think Grant Morrison would be such a self-amused, drug-addled, bloody boring git, but...he IS!

Disinformation is work of art.

Ignore the comments from those who dismiss the show and categorize it into simple reductionist ways. This show is smarter and more complicated than that. It creates its own language.

Disinfo combines the serious with the ludicrous and plays believe it or not with an audience who probably is not in on the joke; which is too bad, as the joke will leave you reeling to the effect of "Oh God I can't believe I'm watching something like this. How in the world did it get through the censors?"

Rednecks setting fire to their uncle. Suburban Satanists frustrated that their leader married a Christian. "Outsider" musicians allowed to perform their so-awful-its-great music in its entirety. Alchemical conversations with Grant Morrison, Paul Laffoley, Howard Bloom.

The editing mixes grunge electronic sounds and holds on odd moments longer than you would expect. The effect heightens your attention and leaves you wanting to see more.

It is a seriously treated collection of metaphysical pioneers and dedicated losers. To recycle a quote from David Byrne to a new context: It's like 60 Minutes on Acid.

This show is a national treasure.

The show itself is a decidely uneven offering. The real treat here is the footage taken from the DisInfo convention. Rushkoff, Robert Anton Wilson, and especially Grant Morrison make great, thought provoking speeches. I've watched Morrison's several times over the last few years and I always get something new out of it. These speeches are the chief reason to get this dvd.

I was very disapointed with this DVD set. I'd never seen the show, but I'd bought the companion book of interviews over a year ago and really enjoyed it. Sadly, I found most of the episodes of the TV series to be silly and boring - a deadly combination. I do have to say that the Robot Sex sculpture/animation segment was brilliant though, and almost worth renting the whole set. If not for the second disk with videotape from the Disinfocon speakers, this whole set would be a waste. Even these are a mixed bag, but there are some cool pieces in there. Especially Grant Morrison's speach on Chaos Magic. My advice would be to rent it if you must see it or, I'll sell you my copy...

After reading the Disinformation book series, I was anticipating this release and purchased it immediately. Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing purchases I've made in some time. Perhaps my perceptions are skewed from the books, but I expected informative and original content on par with those releases. Instead, this DVD is half Jackass-esque comedy, half congratulatory "you're not part of the mainstream" speeches, and a whole host of is-it-or-isn't-it satire/documentaries. This is a DVD you'll want to skip, or at least rent before purchasing.

At 6 hours, I still found myself wanting MORE and I watched the entire thing in one sitting. There has never been a TV show like this and it's easy to see why the SCI FI Channel yanked it off their schedule! I shake my head in wonderment at some of these reviews here, though. One reviewer says it's worse than the Weekly World News, but how closely did this person actually watch the DVD before reviewing it? It would be like thinking "Waiting for Guffman" or "This is Spinal Tap" were documentaries and not comedies. They are making fun of these "conspiracy theorists", not taking them seriously! Buy this or rent it today, it's an amazingly weird experience! Very similar to "American Movie" if you liked that kind of humor.

A fascinating series of mini-documentaries on major and minor characters in underground culture and thought. The best "Reality" TV series I've seen. Hilarious, pathetic, and adsurd, but always thought-provoking. I wish there were several more DVDs to watch - I don't want it to end!