Did Anyone Else See This IFC Doc on the Z-channel?

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I watched it last night. Pretty interesting.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

Guess not. It's about a guy named Jerry Harvey who was the programmer at a cable station in LA called the Z-channel. He would program all kinds of amazing obscure stuff, domestic and foreign, alongside more mainstream fare, as well as getting tightfisted studio bosses to release hitherto gone-missing director's cuts to him. Apparently he save many films from obscurity- the doc makes it seem like he was the inventor the director's cut. But it all went bad when he succumbed to his demons and killed wife and self in a classic murder-suicide. Oh yeah, around the same time his channel got bought out and within the year the fliX0rs were no more.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

I saw a few minutes. Seemed like of somewhat greater interest to LA dwellers, but I imagine I'll see the whole thing later.

And despite the revisionism Harvey helped spawn, Heaven's Gate -- while not one of the worst films ever -- is NOT good.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

Seemed like of somewhat greater interest to LA dwellers
I'll say one thing- it's certainly a lot better than its New York companion piece, Cinemania.

Heaven's Gate -- while not one of the worst films ever -- is NOT good.
From what I've seen, I like the Vilmos Szigmond cinematography, but that doesn't mean I'll like the whole picture.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

heaven's gate is quite pretty, but it's really, really, really hard to stay interested. it's such a horribly plotted/paced film. things that are seemingly crucial to the story are barely touched on, but then you'll have something like forty minutes of an irrelevant college graduation to sit through. i don't think i could ever bear to watch it again. but there are little scenes here and there that are nicely crafted. they just don't hang to anything.

― a spectator bird (a spectator bird), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

I imagine HG is a lot better with the sound off.

>I'll say one thing- it's certainly a lot better than its New York companion piece, Cinemania.<

You may be right, but none of those nuts have killed anybody. I took my friend's 8-year-old to Thief of Bagdad (he loved it) on Saturday, and Roberta Cinemania was yakking loudly a few rows in front of us about some seating issue. "What's she going on about?" the kid asked me. I spared him a psychohistory.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 10 May 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/tv/zchannel/
Nerve story about this doc. Sounds interesting to me. I don't have cable, though.

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

The Z Channel doc was paced like most directors' cuts, actually. Bloated and overlong.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

And how many moody, "I'm a tortured soul" self-portrait photos did Jerry Harvey take of himself anyway? Narcissistic jackass got no sympathy from me.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

That all said, the doc had an impact on my Netflix queue.

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

I haven't seen the doc yet (no IFC - anyone have a torrent?), but I watched Z Channel a lot back in the day.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 12 May 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

haha i like Eric's take. i watched it while immersed in the news on my laptop, so i would look up every now and again, and there'd be a clip from "aguirre" or someone saying gravely "jerry...had his demons" and then i'd go back to my reading.

i think AMC's "100 scariest movies" was better, actually. robert englund is very serious.

― g e o f f (gcannon), Monday, 16 May 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

Is AMC's 100 scariest movies the same as the one that ran on Bravo last Halloween?

― Eric von H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 06:32 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

Can anyone tell me who sang the song What'll I do as the documentary was ending?

thanks

― EddieV, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 01:44 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

Random question not worth starting a new thread for:

Hey Americans, do you have to pay separately for IFC (a'la HBO), or does it come as part of your cable package?

Thanks!

― Shannon Whirry & the Bad Brains, Thursday, 21 May 2009 12:06 (sixteen years ago)

IFC is part of my cable package.

― Oym a cripe... Oym a weer-dew... (circa1916), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 09:42 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

Nah, this was far from boring -- and it inspired me to place HG in my queue for the first time. Can't believe none of Harvey's friends cared to admit how fucked up he was.

― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 7 August 2010 21:16 (fifteen years ago)

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