REVENGE OF THE TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER

This is old news by now, but one of the most famous movies lost to the Miramax vaults is Wisit Sasanatieng's first flick, the eye-searing, brain-shearing TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER.

Buried in the Miramax vaults back in 2000 it's been a restless corpse and, recently reanimated by Magnolia money, it's clawed its way back into the light for a theatrical release on January 12 at NYC's Film Forum courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

A shout-out to the entire history of Thai cinema, a rousing Western, and a tear-duct-scalding romance, TEARS is a movie whose reputation is entirely earned - it's smarter, funnier, and better-looking than anything you might expect. The only way to see it for the past 6 years has been on imported DVD or a lousy VCD and that just ain't doing justice to its wicked visuals.

Its absence has been so notorious that someone informed me that Film Forum has a sign below its poster in their lobby reading, "Saved from the Miramax vaults!" Now there's some brand identity for you.

I strongly urge anyone who wants to send a message to folks who buy Asian movies and never release them to head on over to Film Forum and see this movie on January 12th. Money talks, internet BS walks, and a big fat gross will let everyone know that these are movies that are meant to be seen, not stored. Also, you can buy Film Forum tickets 7 days in advance online, so the week before TEARS opens why not do your part and buy a ticket, just for the hell of it?