Unfortunately in our time of mass consumerism and where everything is widely available, the feeling of getting to see something rare or hard to find is gone. There was a time when it existed and that time was the early 1970's in southern California. The only way to see rare and forgotten films was Z channel.Where I think this doc shines is the mentioning of so many rare films. You'll need a pen and piece of paper to write em all down cause there are so many worth seeing. You'll be searching the net to find the uncut version of "1900" or the uncut version of "Heavens Gate". There are so many foreign films mentioned you barely have time to take it all in.On the flip side of this fascinating story we get the Zen Master of films lovers in Jerry Harvey. The basic story of his life comes down to a guy who loves film to a degree that he makes it his life. The problem is that he has an underlying mental/psychological issue that pretty much makes him a little off kilter to everyone he met/knew. Most just threw it aside and said..that's just who he is. You get to get deeper into his past and find out that he and his family have had a troubled history. The end of his life shouldn't have been a surprise because his family history foresaw what his life was gonna end up like. He just happened to be a guy who loved rare/foreign art films like some of us do but without that...he was pretty much mental hospital bound if he didn't. Right up until the end, he held it together but when Z Channel started to change, it was too much to deal with.Only see this doc if you are a serious "film" lover. If you just like "movies', pass this one by...you just won't understand it.

Back in 1974 a pay TV station was started in Los Angeles. It was the Z channel--it showed movies uncut with no commercials. It was a pioneer--years before Showtime, HBO and Cinemax. But Z channel showed films no one else would air--foreign films, independent features. A lot of important film were discovered (or rediscovered) on this channel. It ran the uncut "Heaven's Gate" after the disastrous cut version was released; the same with "Once Upon A Time In America"; it introduced "Bad Timing" to an audience after it's minor theatrical release; "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" found its audience here; the complete 9 hour version of "1900" was shown here and on and on. Also, some of these films had X ratings--but Z didn't cut them. MANY clips of the various films are shown here.It's also about it's owner and programming director--Jerry Harvey. It explains what drove him and how he singlehandedly found these films and showed them. Unfortunately he was also suffering from personal demons which ended up killing him.I didn't know anything about this station--and I'm upset that I grew up on the East Coast and not the West Coast. The programming this station had was fascinating and is inter cut with people who worked there and directors it helped. This is an absolutely fascinating look at the kind of pay TV station we'll never see again and the men and women who ran it. Just great--a definite must-see! A 10 all the way.

I wanted to ask if anyone knew anything about another small channel.This channel was called "Showbiz" and we got it in rural San Diego county because cable did not reach us back then. Showbiz was available as a pay service but it was broadcast locally.It reminds me of Z channel because it showed odd little films and felt like there was a "DJ" picking out films to show me that I would never have thought to see.This channel's programing introduced me to Austrailian films, which in the late 70's and early 80's were very interesting.If someone can respond with a URL or other data I would be most appreciative.

It's doesn't take a genius to see why the Independent Film Channel would finance this documentary. Basically the Z Channel was the first movie channel to play independent, little seen, and foreign films. Featuring interviews with directors Quentin Tarantino, Robert Altman, and Alexander Pane, "Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession" focuses on the effect the channel had on the film industry. The station had among it's subscribers some of the biggest names in Hollywood. What I found fascinating about this film is the power a cable channel can have. For example James Woods credits his Oscar nomination to the Z Channel's constant playing of the little seen movie "Salvador" to the right people. As a film geek I also enjoyed the generous amount of film clips by director Cassavetes. The film turned me on to movies like "Bad Timing" and "F is for Fake".