Product Details

• Actors: Robert Altman, Vera Carlisle Anderson, C.L. Batten, Jacqueline Bisset, Charles Champlin
• Directors: Alexandra 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
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Arts Alliance Amer
• DVD Release Date: October 11, 2005
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000AQKV0I
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,292 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Director Xan (daughter of actor John) Cassavetes' Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession harkens back to a time when a single pay cable TV outlet could offer more quality and variety than all the HBOs and Showtimes of the world combined. Beginning in 1974, Los Angeles' Z Channel, driven by chief programmer Jerry Harvey, presented an astonishingly eclectic array of fare to its subscribers, from mega-hits like Star Wars to obscure classics by directors like Kurosawa, Fellini, Antonioni, Peckinpah, and others. In championing movies like Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, and Oliver Stone's Salvador, especially the uncut versions, Harvey earned the respect of countless filmmakers, a good many of whom (like Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch, Alexander Payne, and Robert Altman) are on hand to sing his praises. There are also lots of clips, as well as recollections about the making of those films; in fact, Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession is more about movies than it is about Harvey and his channel. That's good, because despite his lurid denouement (he killed his wife, then himself, in 1988), Harvey was not an especially interesting man, but rather a single-minded film freak, a guy who used movie dialogue for his own wedding vows. Cassavetes' film is likely to appeal mostly to those who share his passion, if not his mental problems; if nothing else, it will certainly pique your interest in some of the wonderful movies celebrated here. --Sam Graham

Product Description
In 1974 los angeles z channel was launched as one of the countrys 1st pay cable channels. When jerry harvey took over as as head of programming in 1980 their prominence was solidified. This chronicles harveys emotional & psychological descent which resulted in a shocking murder/suicide & the demise of channel z. Studio: Arts Alliance America Release Date: 08/14/2007 Run time: 120 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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 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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "The uncommon denominator, that is what we want. ", November 14, 2005

By	Dymon Enlow (Cedar Park, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Z Channel (a pay channel in 70's/80's L.A. which played an eclectic array of the world's finest cinema) sounds like a paradise for film lovers. Unfortunately this overly talkative documentary isn't so much about Z Channel itself as it is Jerry Harvey, the main guy behind the channel. I appreciate the fact that he put so much effort into the channel and had such a true love for cinema, but honestly he came off as an annoying, abusive type of guy who ended up murdering his wife before killing himself.

The film clips are the best part (especially THE MOON'S OUR HOME and LE MAGNIFIQUE) and the interviews are fun, even Quentin Tarantino who flails around like he's having a seizure, but there's never any actual footage from Z Channel itself. Why not? Personally they could have cut the time about Jerry Harvey down to 5 minutes and had the rest about the films.

4 of 4 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

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.