Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF June 27th, 2011

Üvvää tervüüttä!  - More eclectic mix this week with new disc covered of films by the likes of Nicholas Ray, Fritz Lang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Charles Vidor, Dario Argento, Radley Metzger and plenty more including another group of gals in prison, Michael Bay, adolescent space adventures. The Blue Underground sale (see HERE) is hanging on by its teeth. Our calendar updates have Blu-rays of films by Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, the Coens, Jerzy Skolimowski, Ken Annakin, Milos Forman, and Jean Renoir - a great Criterion Blu-ray prize for this week's contest clip! Au Ag!

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Feature DVD and Blu-ray chosen for June 2011 HERE

Leonard has reviewed the new Oppo BDP-95 Universal audiophile Blu-ray player HERE!

TOOLBAR THE 'DVDBeaver Toolbar'! Give it a test drive! I've created a very simple toolbar for Film-Fans/DVD-o-philes/cinephiles. It embeds effortlessly within Internet Explorer 5.0+ (Windows Vista/XP/2000) and Firefox 1.0.1+ (Windows, Mac, Linux). It offers quick links to Searching both the Net (via Google) and DVDBeaver directly, Amazons, Asian etailors, Forums (Criterion, Home Theater, AVS, Rotten Tomatoes, Film Noir), IMDb, DVDBasen, Beaver links, Blu-ray information, Cinephile Blogs/Journals (Rosenbaum, Kehr, Acquarello etc.). What do you think? FOR MORE INFORMATION / AVAILABLE HERE *** (We can adjust this to suit popular opinion - on-the-fly - no re-install required!)

June 27th CONTEST - identify the clip on the CONTEST PAGE to win a Criterion Blu-ray of Black Moon!

If there are DVD titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend!

Gary at 2ze dot com

Knock on Any Door - This marked the first outing for Bogart's own Production Company Santana and features a powerful performance from rising young star Derek. Attorney Andrew Morton (Bogart) is persuaded to represent underprivileged teen Nick Romano (Derek) who's up on a murder charge. Set within the confines of the courtroom director Ray breaks out to location by the use of flashbacks telling the story of Romano's no-hope upbringing. The excitement and tension is built up nicely, and although it touches on the melodramatic at times, remains crisp and sharp throughout.. DVD release date: April 21st, 2011

M BD - Of all Fritz Lang’s creations, none have been more innovative or influential than M, the film that launched German cinema into the sound era with stunning sophistication and mesmerising artistry. A spate of child killings has stricken a terrified Berlin. Peter Lorre gives a legendary performance as the murderer Hans Beckert, who soon finds himself chased by all levels of society. From cinema’s first serial killer hunt, Lang pulls back to encompass social tapestry, police procedural, and underworld conspiracies in an astonishingly multi-faceted and level-headed look at a deeply incendiary topic. One of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time, M remains as fresh and startling almost 80 years on. Further Restored Universum Blu-ray release date: May 20th, 2011

The Sacrifice BD - Sixtyish philosopher Alexander (Erland Josephson) lives in a beautiful house on an island off Sweden’s Baltic coast, with English wife Adelaide (Susan Fleetwood), teenage daughter Julia (Valerie Maitesse) and young son, known only as Gossen, or “Little Man” (Tommy Kjellvqist). It’s Alexander’s birthday, and he’s visited by eccentric bicycling postman Otto (Allan Erdawll) and smug doctor Viktor (Sven Wollter), who is “carrying on” with Adelaide. Out of the blue, a nuclear war is announced on TV - the telephones and electricity are cut off, and the air is filled with the deafening roar of passing jets. All looks bleak - but then Alexander fervently prays, asking God to avert the impending apocalypse, in return offering to turn his back on his home and family, and take a vow of silence. Next morning, he wakes to find that, somehow, the threat of annihilation has been lifted - and now it’s up to him to keep his side of the bargain... Blu-ray Release Date: July 5th, 2011

The Pack - Traveling along a lonely stretch of French backwoods to nowhere in particular, Charlotte (Émilie Dequenne, FISSURES/ECOUTE LE TEMPS) picks up hitcher Max (musician Benjamin Biolay). While it's undoubtedly dangerous to pick up hitchhikers, brooding Max seems like a safe bet next to the trio of bikers (Georges Lini, Philippe Résimont, and Brice Fournier) that have threatened both of them with rape. Charlotte is less pleased about Max's decision to pull into the delapidated roadside cafe of La Spack (Yolande Moreau, MICMACS) until she pulls a shotgun on the bikers. DVD Release Date: July 4th, 2011

Whiplash - Michael Gordon never intended to be a boxer. But after he decks a burly brawler at a nightclub, a ring promoter encourages him to give the fight game a shot. Gordon, whose career as an artist is going nowhere, agrees. Besides, it will bring him closer to the woman who has KO’d his heart – the promoter’s wife. The corrupt world of boxing was a staple of postwar Hollywood in well-known works like Body and Soul, The Set-Up and Champion and in lesser yet admirable works like Whiplash. Romantic melodrama and noirish atmospherics combine in this tale starring Dane Clark, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden and other reliables. Future The Mickey Mouse Club host Jimmie Dodd has an uncredited role as a piano man. DVD Release Date: March 1st, 2011

The Big Bluff - Valerie Bancroft's untold millions cannot buy what she needs most - time! Her doctor estimates that her heart condition might allow her to live for 12 more months. Beautiful Valerie cannot resist the advances of lothario Rick DeVilla. The smooth operator wines and dines the heiress and after a whirlwind courtship, they are wed. These events, however, have not slowed down Rick's torrid affair with a sexy nightclub dancer. Meanwhile, Valerie is thrilled with her new husband and her health improves dramatically. Impatient to gain control of his wife's fortune, Rick decides to speed things up a bit, even if a little murder is required to finish the job. DVD Release Date: May 26th, 2009

Camille 2000 BD - A child of the sixties sexual revolution, beautiful, sensuous Marguerite (Daniele Gaubert) is addicted to sex and money. She is kept by a wealthy man, has a string of young lovers and hosts wild orgies in her luxurious villa. When she falls in love with the handsome bachelor Armand (Nino Castelnuova), he insists on absolute fidelity. Known by her reputation, Armand s controlling father soon intervenes, triggering a tragic turn of events. From Radley Metzger, the essential director of elegant erotic art house, comes the dazzling new 2000 version of Alexandre Dumas The Lady of the Camellias. Blu-ray Release date: June 27th, 2011

Zathura BD - Two brothers discover an oblong box in the park, which they dismiss as "just some dumb old game." The boys turn their... attention away from the game's "jungle adventure" board to discover a second game board inside with an outer-space theme and a colored path leading to the purple planet, Zathura. Mayhem ensues each time one of the boys draws a game card or rolls the dice. Facing meteors and giant robots, the brothers begin to appreciate each other and their sibling rivalry dissolves. Blu-ray Release date: June 28th, 2011

Sleeping With the Enemy BD - Hot off her success in Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts starred in this thriller about a battered wife stalked by her abusive... husband. Roberts plays Laura Burney, the wife of a rich investment counselor, Martin (Patrick Bergin). Martin appreciates his wife as a trophy, but at home he abuses her for not keeping the house as clean as he would like it. The verbal abuse descends into physical violence --so much so that Laura decides to disappear rather than live a life under Martin as a brutalized slave. Laura fakes her own death by drowning, and relocates to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she changes her name to Sara Waters. She starts a relationship with her friendly Iowa neighbor Ben Woodward (Kevin Anderson), but her happiness is short-lived. Martin has discovered that Laura has staged her drowning and is coming to Iowa to reclaim his possession. Blu-ray Release date: June 28th, 2011

The Rock BD - A highly decorated, retired U.S. Marine general (Ed Harris) seizes a stockpile of chemical weapons and takes over Alcatraz, with 81 tourists as hostages on the San Francisco Bay isle. His demand: Restitution to families of soldiers who died in covert operations. The response: An elite Navy SEAL team, with support from an FBI chemical-warfare expert (Nicolas Cage) and a former Alcatraz escapee (Sean Connery), is assembled to penetrate the terrorists’ defenses on the island and neutralize the threat before time runs out. The result: A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller with a first-rate cast, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Blu-ray Release Date: January 8th, 2008

Tenebrae - A hybrid horror, both thriller and slasher, not to mention chopper and shocker, this confirms what Suspiria and Inferno led one to suspect. When it comes to plotting, Argento is one hell of a basket weaver: with holes in his story big enough to sink credibility, he cheats and double-crosses like mad to conceal the killer's identity. Successful crime writer (Franciosa) arrives in Rome to promote his new book 'Tenebrae', an event which triggers off a trail of bloody murders in the manner described in his book. By the end, the entire cast save one has undergone savage cutting, something which would have benefited the film itself, which is unpleasant even by contemporary horror standards. It does confirm Argento's dedication to the technicalities of constructing images - Grand Guignol for L'Uomo Vogue, perhaps - but you'll still end up feeling you've left some vital digestive organs back in the seat. DVD Release Date: June 27th, 2011

Women in Prison Triple Feature - Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment Present the Unholy Trinity of Women in Prison Films! CHAINED HEAT, widely regarded as the greatest women-in-prison film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of 'boobs behind bars' mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time. DVD Release Date: July 12th, 2011

Blind Alley - Best known for his role as "Boston Blackie," Chester Morris plays a cold-blooded killer in the original version of a story, later filmed as The Dark Past, which explores the psychological causes for psychopathic behavior in a fascinating and unusually complex crime/suspense film for its time. Ralph Bellamy plays the sympathetic psychologist Dr. Shelby, whose quiet weekend in the country is disrupted by a group of thugs, including an escaped convict (Morris) and his gun-moll gal (Ann Dvorak). The doctor senses that the brutal murderer is tormented by something buried deeply in his subconscious, and decides to probe the mind of the man to try to give him answers and protect the lives of his wife, young son and weekend guests. Using innovative photographic techniques and faith in science, the film dramatizes the interplay between childhood imagination and experience, and the adult subconscious mind, while making the suggestion that environment is a strong determiner of psychological stability. Director Charles Vidor (Gilda) brought this fascinating, ahead-of-its-time subject matter to the screen. DVD Release Date: February 1st, 2011

The Nesting BD - Agoraphobic mystery novelist Lauren Cochran decides to leave the city in an attempt to cure her recent writer's block. She rents an old Victorian house in the quiet countryside, unaware of its shocking history. As those around her suffer increasingly violent deaths, Lauren begins to unravel the truth: the house was once an infamous brothel now haunted by the victims of a bloody massacre. Will her terrifying phobia allow her to escape from THE NESTING? Blu-ray Release date: June 28th, 2011

The Hoodlum - One of the niftiest "B" gangster films of the "noir" era tells the story of ex-con Vincent Lubeck (a solid performance by Reservoir Dogs' Lawrence Tierney) on parole because of the pleadings of his mother, with orders to stay clean for five years. Working for his brother at a gas station, Lawrence looks for an easy way to make money. He calls in some of his old associates and they rob an armored car where several people are killed. Edward Tierney (real-life brother of Lawrence) makes his screen debut delivering a promising performance, and the rest of the cast offer excellent performances in this tough, fast-paced dramatic film from the director of Dillinger, based on actual news accounts of the plight of many ex-cons. DVD Release Date: January 3rd, 2006
 

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