Rare Micky Dolenz film "Keep Off My Grass" getting dvd-r release

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by jupiter8, Oct 3, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NJ, USA
  2. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Oh dear.....
     
  3. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    projected print>VHS>dvd-r

    I think heads will explode here
     
  4. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Directed by Shelley Berman?! Apparently, his only directing credit.
     
  5. drasil

    drasil Former Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I like the way they managed to work multiple cannabis references into the tagline.

    also, I see Dolenz plays a character named 'You Know'.
     
    jamesmaya and MikaelaArsenault like this.
  6. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    I want to see it.
     
    Scope J likes this.
  7. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Waiting for the "no BluRay, no deal" post.
     
  8. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    So what's the story here. Who shot the VHS copy, when and where?
     
    halfjapanese likes this.
  9. JohnO

    JohnO Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    They should have gotten the 70mm camera negs and mags from the Shelley Berman Archives.
     
  10. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    Oy vey
     
  11. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    Keep Off My Grass!

    Directed by comedian Shelley Berman and starring former Monkee Micky Dolenz, Keep Off My Grass is a stoner comedy that had a limited run on it's initial release. In fact, it's fair to say that hardly anyone saw the movie when it first came out in the mid 70's and almost no one has seen it since. Never released on video or DVD, this is the first time this movie has been publically available.

    Sourced from a VHS copy owned by the producers Albert J Salzer & Allan D. Yasnyi, this DVD is presented in this low-fi version as a matter of historical interest. Lovingly restored by film archivist Garrett Gilchrist, please don't expect HD quality! It is taken from a low quality VHS of a screening of the film, while everything has been done to make the image as sharp as possible, it is of a lot lower quality than we have come to expect. This really is for hardcore fans. Thank you for your understanding on this matter!

    Monkees expert Iain Lee has spent years searching for this film and has included some great extras to make this a very special package for fans of Dolenz, kitsch and lost 70's classics.


    Extras

    Full commentary by the Zilch! Podcast team.
    Original cinema trailer (also featuring a Zilch! Commentary)
    Interview with co-star Marcus J. Grapes
    Interview with Monkees expert and broadcaster Iain Lee


    Credits

    Starring - Micky Dolenz, Marcus J. Grapes
    Directed by - Shelley Berman
    Produced by - Albert J. Salzer & Allan D. Yasnyi
    Written by - Austin & Irma Kalish
    Restoration - Garrett Gilchrist
    Project Co-ordinator - Iain Lee

    Keep Off My Grass (tm)(c) New Millennium - all rights reserved



    Cast:
    Micky Dolenz

    Title #417559
    Format: DVD-R
     
    MikaelaArsenault and cwitt1980 like this.
  12. balzac

    balzac Senior Member

    I find it odd they haven't yet offered a video clip (as far as I can tell) of this thing to at least let people get a general idea of the quality.

    Was this in any way a professional conversion to VHS? Or did someone literally point a camcorder at a projection screen in their living room or something? Does it have in-line audio?
     
  13. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NJ, USA

    Judging by all of the explaining about the quality (a "low quality VHS"! and it's all downhill after that) they might be afraid to actually show how crappy it looks.

    I'm guessing someone made a copy of a print a long time ago in precisely the way you've described - probably back when a proper film-to-tape transfer was prohibitively expensive for a film like this. Purely speculating, but I'm gonna guess it was done in the mid-80s, and the potential for dropouts from an old VHS tape add another layer of wonkiness. I used to rent weird and obscure movies from a video store in NYC and many were done this way.
     
    drasil and longdist01 like this.
  14. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Will that be Iain Lee who wrote the piece on Mike Love for Record Collector?
     
  15. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    I'd say yes, he also wrote a RC article on the Monkees.
     
    smilin ed likes this.
  16. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident

    I'd definitely be curious to see it, but at that quality, I really hope it's gonna be ultra-cheap to purchase.

    Shame they didn't have access to the print that was used to create the VHS.
     
  17. wingsoveramerica

    wingsoveramerica The Dude

    Location:
    Chambersburg, PA
    Has anyone bought this yet? If so, how good is the quality?
     
  18. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    Just got it to review. Took a quick scan before giving it a good viewing. The picture quality is a bit wonky, what you might expect from a low budget DVD, but it's not unwatchable. In the extras there's a picture comparison which shows what Iain had to work with and there is considerable improvement. The movie itself is a typical 70's low budget comedy and with the exception of Micky and a couple of other actors the acting is pretty amateurish. I'll post a full review soon. By the way, check for a cool little Easter egg on the DVD menu. :winkgrin:
     
  19. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    19 dollars is a bit much for a "low budget" dvd.
     
  20. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    Meant the quality is budget DVD level. The movie itself was filmed on a low budget and it shows.
     
  21. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    Oh I know and I always appreciate your reviews and all around Monkee-ness. I just wish it was a bit cheaper since it's not in very good quality.
     
  22. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    I understand, but Iain did do a good job with what he had to work with in making the movie as viewable as possible. Just watched the full film and it has some good moments in it and the sound quality is very decent so the dialogue isn't buried in the mix and is quite clear. Because of the rarity of the film and the work put into its restoration the price pretty much covers the production costs. If you're a Monkees/Micky Dolenz fan the film is worth having in your collection.[​IMG]
    This screen cap from the film gives you an idea of the picture quality.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2016
    jupiter8 and Shak Cohen like this.
  23. drasil

    drasil Former Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    Kim's?
     
    jupiter8 likes this.
  24. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Kims!!! St Marks place and 8th street.
     
  25. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    Remember that place, had lots of rare films to rent and buy.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine