Indie Film Guide August-November 2008

The Book of John follows Frank, Will and Caryn and their different reactions to losing love. Street Sept. 23, prebook Aug. 12; DVD $29.95

A young bride is haunted by visions of a mysterious woman and gets drawn into an unholy communion of murder and sexual desire in The Blood Spattered Bride; in Daughters of Darkness, an ageless countess and her beautiful companion seduce a newlywed couple, unleashing a frenzy of violence and desires. Both street Sept. 30, prebook Sept. 5; DVD $14.95 each

When an unexpected guest drops into a party with a group of gay male friends, the conversation turns into a dissection of their lives and relationships in William Friedkin’s ’70s film The Boys In the Band. Street Nov. 11, prebook Sept. 30; DVD $26.99

Queens of Heart is a psychological study of drag performance, set in Portland, Ore.’s Darcelle XV Showplace, the oldest surviving female impersonation club in the U.S. Street Sept. 30, prebook Aug. 19; DVD $19.95

In the twisted love story Puppy, Liz, a pathological liar, is kidnapped by a delusional tow truck driver who’s convinced she’s his wife. Street Aug. 26, prebook now; DVD $19.98

A dinner guest turns a family’s Easter weekend upside-down in the Chilean comedy The Sacred Family; in Spanish with English subtitles. Street Aug. 19, prebook now; DVD $24.95

Gus Van Sant’s 1989 award-winning drama about a group of drug addicts whose lives spin out of control is digitally remastered in Drugstore Cowboy: The Meridian Collection. Street Oct. 21, prebook Sept. 24; DVD $26.98

The Sensation of Sight, starring David Strathairn, is an offbeat drama about a man’s search for meaning amid the ache of despair. Street Sept. 2, prebook July 29; DVD $24.95

Based on the novel by Sarah Waters, Affinity is the tale of a socialite in the 19th century who brings hope and comfort to the female inmates of Millbank prison. Street Aug. 19, prebook now; DVD $29.99

The Forsaken Land captures the disorienting quality of daily life in Sri Lanka during a never-ending civil war. Street Aug. 26, prebook July 30; DVD $29.95

Father Christopher Hartley, a Spanish priest, works to organize and educate some of the poorest sugar cane workers in the Dominican Republic to fight for their basic human rights in The Price of Sugar. Street Sept. 23, prebook Aug. 27; DVD $29.95

Boys Briefs 5: Schoolboys is the fifth installment in the gay short-film compilation series. Street Nov. 11, prebook Sept. 30; DVD $26.95

God speaks to a man who is dying at the hands of a murderer in The Valley of Tears. Street Sept. 16, prebook Aug. 19; DVD $24.98

The Ray Harryhausen Collectible DVD Gift Set contains six discs ($80.95) on DVD and four discs on Blu-ray ($107.95), including two-disc special editions of It Came From Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and 20 Million Miles to Earth: 50th Anniversary Edition, plus on Blu-ray The 7th Voyage of Sinbad: 50th Anniversary Edition. Street Oct. 7, prebook Sept. 4

Set in 1992, Getting Off is about three friends who examine their lives and compulsive behaviors after a former male friend is revealed to have AIDS. Street Aug. 26, prebook Aug. 1; DVD $24.95

A man’s search for love leads him into the dark underbelly of the Parisian night in I Dreamt Under the Water, in French with English subtitles. Street Sept. 30, prebook Sept. 2; DVD $19.99

In Boystown, a funky neighborhood is invaded by hot men, mysterious murders and loads of attitude in this Spanish film with English subtitles. Street Oct. 28, prebook Sept. 30; DVD $19.99

A pensive Marine explores his same-sex desires with an extroverted young man in Dog Tags. Street Nov. 18, prebook Oct. 21; DVD $19.99

In the 1976 French classic Johan, a young man tries to recreate the passion he had with his imprisoned lover, who is awaiting sentencing, through sex with a series of other beautiful young men, in French with English subtitles. Street Sept. 9, prebook Aug. 19; DVD $29.95

An aged piano teacher, who has taught prisoners for years, sees the potential in an abused and self-destructive music prodigy in Four Minutes, in German with English subtitles. When a lesbian couple return from a holiday abroad, they realize a young Moroccan immigrant has stowed away in their car trunk in Shelter Me. Both street Oct. 7, prebook Aug. 19; DVD $24.95 each