John Fante - A Sad Flower in the Sand (1 Viewer)

This particular someone in Oregon hasn't, unfortunately. I've had the same problem for the past couple years... Its been either unavailable, or I've been too poor to afford it (or at least justify it).

Try here: http://www.viewpointdocs.com/Shop/

I dunno if its still available, but if it were... that's where you'd find it.

Also, there's a video (actual VHS) of another documentary (mostly Italian, with subtitles) by Giovanna Di Lello. I think his e-mail is still [email protected] but... I'm not 100%.
 
Viewpointdocs replied that they have the DVD in stock, so I have ordered it. Cost: 19 euros shipped.

Their webshop has a strange quirk. When I filled out my name and address details, I had to RIGHT click to advance through the fields. Bizarre. Must be a Dutch thing?
 
That web site is so cutting edge it doesn't even work. A classic example of hostile site design.
 
I was going to buy it from the dutch site, but it seemed a little dodgy. I'll try soon, but with Fante I need to allow myself to spread out what little there is of him and his work since what I've had so far has blown my mind.

Just finished '1933 was a Bad Year' yesterday. I rate it up with everything I have read of his so far (4 Bandini books, Brotherhood of Grape, Wine of Youth, West of Rome) I just with it was longer, but despite it's length it packed an emotional punch and made me laugh as much as ever, and the ending was perhaps one of the most emotional ones in the books I've read of his so far.

I have ordered the bio called 'Full of Life'....after that I will save what little there is left of his work for a while.
 
I read all those books you mention far too quickly myself. I read the Bandini Quartet, was blown away and had read Brotherhood of the Grape, West of Rome, 1933 Was a Bad Year and Wine of Youth within a number of weeks. I agree 1933... is excellent. It just breezes by and leaves you wanting more though, doesn't it?
I suppose the good thing is that I've only read them once so will be able to re-visit those books and they'll still be fairly fresh. I haven't read the biography you mention though.
 
Yeah...I might just read it again tomorrow it was so damn short. The whole chapter when Dom goes home with his friends sister is hilarious. Especially when he get's a hard-on and runs to get his baseball jockstrap :p hahaha it had me in tears.
 
Keep an eye on eBay and old magazine stores too... there's still some things that weren't collected from them (at least, by title there are). Good Housekeeping (October?) 1941 has one, I believe...

But it sucks that they're so few and far between.
 
Would appreciate a review once you watch it Socratease as I might invest in a copy myself.

It finally arrived from the Netherlands today.

This is a very enjoyable 63 minute documentary on the life and writing of John Fante written and directed by Dutch filmmaker Jan Louter and released in 2001.

Interspersed with readings from Ask the Dust and some of Fante's letters to his sister, are contemporary scenes of the Bunker Hill area and interviews with screenwriter Robert Towne, Fante biographer Stephen Cooper, Fante's wife Joyce and two of his sons, Dan and Jim, as well as publisher John Martin.

There is also some beautiful B&W footage of LA in the late 30's or 40's including cable cars.

Joe Weston's readings of Ask the Dust (and as the voice of Fante) at times reminded me of Kerouac reading his own work, with a similar rhythm and cadence. I liked that very much.

There is the familiar quote by Buk about his joy at the discovery of Fante's writing, and a scathing inscription by Fante in an old copy of Dago Red making it quite clear to somebody what he thought of Hollywood and the screenwriting process.

I think that any admirer of Fante's work will enjoy this documentary.

Unfortunately, my copy has a flaw at 55:30 when there are some frames of white and lip sync is lost thereafter. I'll be writing to the supplier tonight about obtaining a replacement disc.
 
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Is the Dago Red inscription that one about being a "cunt lapping sell-out" or some similar thing? I remember reading about it in Full of Life (the bio, not the novel) and laughing my ass off.

I may have to finally put the money down for this puppy...
 
Is the Dago Red inscription that one about being a "cunt lapping sell-out" or some similar thing?

Yes, that's it. I didn't record the exact words -- it's a pretty long rant.

I may have to finally put the money down for this puppy...

I'm still awaiting a response from the supplier (Viewpoint Productions) to my complaint about the dubbing flaw. I'd suggest folks wait until I report how that goes before ordering.
 
I have just heard back from Viewpoint Productions, as follows:

"we are really sorry you had to discover this. I've checked other dvd's and they have the same problem, so now I've sent the master to the post production department. They have to look if the copy is the problem or something else. I hope we can resolve it, and then I will sent you a new copy (you can keep this one, no need to sent it back). I will let you know asap."

More news as it happens ...
 
Thanks for keeping us posted. I can wait a little while for this... I've already waited a bit, so a little longer probably won't kill me.
 
Is the Dago Red inscription that one about being a "cunt lapping sell-out" or some similar thing? I remember reading about it in Full of Life (the bio, not the novel) and laughing my ass off.

I may have to finally put the money down for this puppy...

I just read that today in the bio. Haha - cracked me up.
 
A further update from Viewpoint Productions:

"Finally we fixed the async problem. We will receive the correct version on dvd coming Monday, so I will sent you a new copy right away then. Thank you for your patience."

I'll advise if they have really fixed the sync problem when I get my replacement disc.
 
I received my replacement disc today and it's flawless.

I watched the documentary again and it really is well made. I was transported back to the time and place. Again, I love the narration by Joe Weston. He reads passages of Fante beautifully.

Definitely recommended.
 
I'd love to see this documentary. Anyone know where I can get it in Europe?


Viewpointdocs replied that they have the DVD in stock, so I have ordered it. Cost: 19 euros shipped.

Their webshop has a strange quirk. When I filled out my name and address details, I had to RIGHT click to advance through the fields. Bizarre. Must be a Dutch thing?

Try that :)
 
Great, gonna order it tonight!



By the way I came across this early last month but have only just got round to listening to it now - i'm so glad I remembered to bookmark this.

http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/archives.php?event_id=244

It is a 70min discussion about Fante - his work & life, downtown LA/Bunker Hill etc. held the day before Fante's 100th anniversary. Some of the guests include his biographer Stephen Cooper, Fante's daughter Victoria and his youngest son Jim and who share some great personal stories.

Really worth the time for any Fante fans.
 
So--for anyone who has a copy: despite the Dutch company, the DVD is in English and can be played on my DVD player? I don't need some goddamned techno-fix to see it? Because I couldn't find this thread with the search function, so you can imagine what would happen if I had to try to resolve that kind of techno issue...
 
I couldn't find this thread with the search function...
Ouch.

I improved (quite a bit) the default search yesterday morning, by the way, by changing the way the threads are indexed. Search did suck in the past, which is why I added the Google search. But it is a lot better now.
 
To be clear--it likely has nothing to do with the search function itself...rather the buffoon (me) working the keys. If memory serves I'd clicked "User CP", and then tried putting "a sad flower in the sand" in the search...but, hell, I could've misspelled the title or something... I've used the serach function before, and it worked well...not sure why I couldn't make it go this time.
 
So--for anyone who has a copy: despite the Dutch company, the DVD is in English and can be played on my DVD player? I don't need some goddamned techno-fix to see it? Because I couldn't find this thread with the search function, so you can imagine what would happen if I had to try to resolve that kind of techno issue...

Kinda iffy on that. It plays fine on my Mac, but not at all on my PS3 (and don't know why), but I haven't had an actual DVD player in close to two years so I can't vouch for how it works on one. I figured it would be NTSC, but since the PS3 has some issues, I can't say for sure.
 
Thanks for the info. It gives me some pause--but, hell, I'll probably get a copy as soon as the taxes come back!
 

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