The DVD community will grow a little in the coming months with newcomer distributor Plexifilm who will launch their DVD product with two titles this winter, the 1972 independent film Ciao! Manhattan and the 8mm skateboarding documentary Fruit of the Vine.

For some a primary source document of the 1960s, for others a transcendental viewing experience, Ciao! Manhattan chronicles the tragically short life of Susan, a fictional New York jet set “golden girl” who serves as a thinly veiled disguise for the real-life Edie. The experimental plot parallels Edie’s glory days, her inevitable downfall and the addictions that would take her life only months after filming ended. Heiress, fashion icon and muse, Sedgwick, many say, inspired Bob Dylan’s song “Just Like A Woman” and Lou Reed’s “Femme Fatale.”

An anamorphic widescreen transfer will mark the return of the thirty year old film to video and will include thirty minutes of never-before-seen outtakes of Edie and the Factory crew. Other features include new video interviews with costume designer Betsey Johnson, Edie biographer George Plimpton, co-director David Weisman and actor Wesley Hayes, a directors commentary and a still gallery.

ocumenting the incredible and often dangerous lengths that skateboarders go to in order to ride deserted, empty swimming pools, Fruit of the Vine is a collection of stories shot in 1999 while directors Coan Nichols and Rick Charnoski traveled from southern California to Seattle and around the east coast in search of pools to ride, some legendary sites having been skated for over 20 years. Not a historical documentary but a lively portrait of everything that comes with skating pools, from quiet obsession to bruised and bloodied knees, Fruit of the Vine profiles the people who search for, find, break into, and ultimately glean some use out of these haunting pieces of the American suburban wasteland. The film includes interviews with many important skateboarders such as Tony Alva, Lance Mountain, Steve Baily, Steve Alba and Shaggy.

The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. It also includes over 20 minutes of extra skating footage and bonus interviews with Tony Alva, Steve Alba and Pat Quirk.

Coming on November 12th both discs will be priced at $24.95.