Rock Doc, We Are X Arrives on DVD/BD

On Tuesday, April 25, WE ARE X, the transcendent and captivating rock ‘n’ roll documentary about one of the most successful bands in history, X JAPAN, arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD from Magnolia Home Entertainment under the Magnet Label. From director and acclaimed documentarian Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man), and produced by the Oscar-winning production team  behind  Searching for Sugar Man, WE ARE X profiles the blockbuster Japanese rock band X JAPAN and its enigmatic frontman YOSHIKI–composer, classically trained pianist, drummer and the creative force behind the band’s wild success.

 

Featuring interviews with Gene Simmons, Marilyn Manson, Stan Lee and more, WE ARE X dives into YOSHIKI’s life and X JAPAN‘s attempt to break into the American music industry. Supported by concert footage, band interviews and fan photos, the compelling film takes a look at X JAPAN‘s hardships and conflicts including suicide and cultism. Also spotlighting the band’s triumphs, WE ARE X explores the group’s phenomenal success, boasting more than 30 million albums and singles sold, countless sold-out concerts around the world, and fans in North America, Europe, Latin America and South East Asia.

Magnolia Acquires Home Entertainment Rights for WE ARE X

Magnolia Home Entertainment announced today that they have acquired home entertainment rights to Stephen Kijak’s WE ARE X. From the production team behind the Academy Award winning Searching for Sugar Man, WE ARE X is a transcendent and beautifully shot rock ‘n’ roll story about the Japanese band  X JAPAN, one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Celebrated as “a fascinating and assured documentary” (The New York Times) that “tells the greatest rock ‘n’ roll story America has never heard” (Pitchfork), WE ARE X is directed by acclaimed documentarian Stephen Kijak (Stones In Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man). The critically acclaimed music documentary premiered theatrically starting October 21 via Drafthouse Films and is continuing to expand in theaters in over 40 markets nationwide.
 

Under the enigmatic direction of YOSHIKI, composer, classically-trained pianist, drummer/percussionist, and the creative force behind the group, X Japan has sold over 30 million singles and albums combined, captivating such a wide range of admirers such as Sir George Martin, Gene Simmons, Marilyn Manson, Stan Lee, and the Japanese Emperor, while pioneering a spectacle-driven style of visual rock called Visual Kei, a one-of-a-kind cultural phenomenon. WE ARE X is an astonishingly intimate portrait of a deeply haunted–but truly unstoppable–virtuoso and the music that has enthralled legions of the world’s most devoted fans.

"Danny Says" Rocks in January with its DVD / BD Release

Danny Says, the documentary film about the life and times of Danny Fields is set for a January 31, 2017 DVD & Blu ray release from Magnolia Home Entertainment.   Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. Danny Says follows Fields from Phi Beta Kappa whiz-kid, to Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. Danny Says is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation.

Danny Says is largely crafted from over 250 hours of present-day interviews and items from Danny Fields’ immense archive (thousands of photographs, audio cassettes, ephemera).

St Vincent to Direct Segment of Magnolia's XX

Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today that celebrated musician and songwriter Annie Clark (St. Vincent) will make her directorial debut on the firm’s upcoming all-female-helmed horror anthology film XX. Not only will each segment be directed by a woman, each will star female leads. Clark’s segment, scheduled to film this spring, has been co-written and will be produced by genre maven Roxanne Benjamin (SOUTHBOUND, V/H/S, V/H/S/2, FAULTS).

XX is a female-driven horror anthology with each director given full creative license to tell any story they choose revolving around a female protagonist. While the directors have been given free creative rein within budget and time constraints, all of the segments themselves will involve the horror genre. In addition to Clark, other directors attached include Karyn Kusama (THE INVITATION, GIRLFIGHT), Jennifer Lynch (SURVEILLANCE, CHAINED), and Jovanka Vuckovic (THE CAPTURED BIRD, former editor of Rue Morgue Magazine).

As St. Vincent, Clark is one of the most distinct voices and original guitarists of her generation. Her recent album, the self-titled St. Vincent (Loma Vista Recordings), won her "album of the year" designations from the NME, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly and the Best Alternative Album GRAMMY. An incredible live performer, Clark has been heralded as "the first truly 21st century guitar hero” by Guitar World magazine, and is constantly pushing the boundaries of today’s musical landscape.

Ballet 422 Dances It's Way On To DVD & Blu-ray on May 26

From first rehearsal to world premiere, BALLET 422 takes us backstage at New York City Ballet as

Justin Peck, a young up-and-coming choreographer, crafts a new work. BALLET 422 illuminates the process behind the creation of a single ballet within the ongoing cycle of work at one of the world’s great ballet companies.  

 

New York City Ballet, under the artistic direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, boasts a roster of more than 90 dancers and a repertory of works by many of the greatest choreographers in the history of the art form. When 25-year-old NYCB dancer Justin Peck begins to emerge as a promising young choreographer, he is commissioned to create a new ballet for the Company’s 2013 Winter Season.