Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Director:

Alexandra Cassavetes

Release Date:

16 August 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief...

Plot Keywords:

Movie Fan | Eccentric | Retrospective | Cinema | Film Discussion

Cast

Robert Altman	...	Himself
Vera Anderson	...	Herself
C.L. Batten	...	Himself
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Herself
Charles Champlin	...	Himself
David Chasman	...	Himself
F.X. Feeney	...	Himself
James B. Harris	...	Himself
Jerry Harvey	...	Himself
Don Hyde	...	Himself
Henry Jaglom	...	Himself
Jim Jarmusch	...	Himself
Charles H. Joffe	...	Himself
Kris Kristofferson	...	Himself
John McNally	...	Himself (Interviewer) (voice)
Bill Mechanic	...	Himself
Ned Nalle	...	Himself
Alexander Payne	...	Himself
Doreen Ringer Ross	...	Herself
Chuck Ross	...	Himself
Andrei Rublev	...	Himself
Alan Rudolph	...	Himself
Theresa Russell	...	Herself
Timothy Ryerson	...	Himself
Jeff Schwager	...	Himself
Penelope Spheeris	...	Herself
Bob Strock	...	Himself
Quentin Tarantino	...	Himself
Kevin Thomas	...	Himself
Jonathan Turell	...	Himself
Douglas Venturelli	...	Himself
Paul Verhoeven	...	Himself
James Woods	...	Himself
Vilmos Zsigmond	...	Himself

Directed by
Alexandra Cassavetes		(as Xan Cassavetes)

Produced by
Alison Palmer Bourke	....	executive producer
Ed Carroll	....	executive producer
F.X. Feeney	....	co-producer
Susan Heimbeinder	....	supervising producer
Leslie Lowell	....	associate producer
Jonathan Montepare	....	associate producer
Marshall Persinger	....	producer
Rick Ross	....	producer

Original Music by
Steven Hufsteter

Cinematography by
John Pirozzi

Film Editing by
Iain Kennedy

Art Department
Gabriel Reed	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Mark Burton	....	sound mixer
Frank Gaeta	....	supervising sound editor
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark Maloof	....	sound recordist
Dennis Twitty	....	sound assistant

Visual Effects by
Otto Arsenault	....	graphics
Ian Vertovec	....	graphics
Tony Wise	....	graphics

Editorial Department
Michael Cioni	....	post-production technical advisor
Gabriel Reed	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Greg Ginn	....	composer: song "White Minority"

Other crew
Sophie Evans	....	publicist
Natalie Ghariani	....	intern
Barbara Gregson	....	film/photo research and clearances

Thanks
Michael Ruggiero	....	special thanks
Heather Smith	....	special thanks
Anne Tabor	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Fresh Produce Films
• Independent Film Channel (IFC)
• Maja Films

Distributors

• 111 Pictures (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Hart Sharp Video
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Cinetic Media  sales
• Falco Ink.  publicity

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, violent images and language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fresh Produce Films

Trivia:

This film was made only after the financing for another film project, a fiction film, partially collapsed.

Quotes:

Penelope Spheeris: The "Decline of Western Civilization" was financed by two businessmen from the Valley who wanted to finance a porn movie. They had no idea I was going in to pitch a punk rock movie.

Movie Connections:

References Iceman (1984)

For the love of cinema

For any of us who grew up with cable being a basic amenity and movies at our disposal with the dozens of premium movie channels, Blockbusters on every corner and now DVDs on our doorstep with the click of a mouse button, it is hard to imagine that there was a time when movie lovers were limited to seeing edited versions of commercial films on network television, blank VHS tapes cost $20 apiece (true story – my Dad used to have to choose the films he taped very wisely) and the only easy way to see a film was when it came to the local movie theater. In 1974, however, the first pay-channel appeared on West Coast cable boxes, with a programming director who had a genuine love of films and filmmakers; this channel was called the Z Channel, and very fittingly, Alexandra Cassevetes (daughter of John and Gena Rowlands) created an incredibly fascinating film documenting its rise and fall.

Jerry Harvey was a college dropout who intensely loved film and film studies, making him the ideal choice for deciding what films would appear on Z Channel. Various former co-workers, critics, directors and actors, mostly independents, offer their fond memories of a channel that had the power to make or break a film or filmmaker. (Cassavetes includes a story about how one of Hollywood's most infamous film debacles, "Heaven's Gate" ended up being ridiculed because of terrible editing; when Z Channel ran the director's cut it was heralded by the public and critics alike.) The vision that Harvey had for the channel and the output it had is envious even by today's standards. They would have Bergman film festivals, uncut versions of films that had only been seen in their edited format, cult and avant garde films; and directors like Alexander Payne (sporting an old Z Channel t-shirt) and Quentin Tarantino share their memories of having tapes of old Z channel broadcasts.

Unfortunately, personal demons and a family history of psychological issues ended Jerry Harvey's life and the life of his wife when he first killed her then killed himself. This was shortly after the eventual demise of the Z channel itself, which first sold out and shared programming with ESPN, and then was dissolved altogether. Despite its unceremonious demise, Z channel is remembered fondly by those that experienced its programming and were involved in its broadcasting, and is looked upon with reverence by anyone who considers themselves, like Jerry Harvey, a life-long student of film. This is an excellent documentary and really is a must-see for film buffs. 8/10 --Shelly