Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is a 2004 documentary film about Los Angeles pay cable channel Z Channel which was directed by Xan Cassavetes, daughter of Hollywood director and actor John Cassavetes. It was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.[1][2]

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Directed byXan Cassavetes
Produced byMarshall Persinger
Rick Ross
StarringJerry Harvey
Robert Altman
Jacqueline Bisset
Theresa Russell
Quentin Tarantino
F. X. Feeney
CinematographyJohn Pirozzi
Edited byIain Kennedy
Music bySteven Hufsteter
Distributed byIFC Films
Release date
  • 2004 (2004)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The documentary is about Z Channel, which was one of the early pay cable TV stations in the United States. Z Channel became famous for showing an eclectic variety of films, including foreign language, silent, documentary, director's cut, forgotten, overlooked, under-appreciated, erotic as well as mainstream films, without commercials and uncut and letterboxed when possible.[3][4]

The film also tells the story of Z Channel's programming director Jerry Harvey who was a film lover, programming genius, and a man almost single-handedly responsible for getting many great films shown to the public. It gives insights into Harvey's constant battle with personal demons, which resulted in his ending his life and the life of his wife in a murder-suicide.[5][6]

Throughout the film a variety of footage featuring some of the films shown on the Z Channel is used. This serves to underline the diversity offered on the channel in particular its attempts to expose its American viewers to undubbed foreign language films.[7]

The films ends with a montage of scenes of such films with Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do?" theme being played over the top of them as performed by the actor William Atherton from the film The Great Gatsby (1974).[8]

People interviewed for the film

Reception

Z Channel has an overall approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.[14]

On Metacritic, the film scored 85/100, based on 4 critics.[15]

Home media

The film was released to DVD in 2004 as a 2-disc special edition, which included numerous bonus features. A standard 1-disc edition followed in 2005.[16]

It was made available on Shout! Cult June 2022.[17]

See also

References
  1. "Festival de Cannes: Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  2. MUBI
  3. Summer Rental: 'Z Channel'|Commonweal Magazine
  4. New Beverly Cinema
  5. Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession on AV/Film
  6. UNCUT
  7. Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) - Trailer on YouTube
  8. Film Montage from "Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession" (2004) on YouTube
  9. 'Z Channel' on the Air - Washington Post
  10. Jacqueline Bisset - Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession on YouTube
  11. Z Channel: Overlord on YouTube
  12. Z Channel: The Important Thing is to Love on YouTube
  13. The Death of Z Channel--What Now? : The History : Beset by troubles, quirky station will switch to all-sports
  14. "Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  15. "Movie Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  16. Amazon.com: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession
  17. New in June on Shout! Cult - Shout Factory on YouTube
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