DVDBeaver Newsletter - June 30th, 2006
Hello friends - another 13 reviews this week. 4 revealing comparisons and reviews with films directed by Fritz Lang, Edward Yang, John Ford, Powell and Pressburger, Joseph Losey, Michael Haneke, Carol Reed and more.... wow - what a lineup.
NEW ARTICLE - Sifting Hope... From Hype We strive to identify some of the better English-language films of the past decade. There are some surprises.
STRATEGIES: The best way to take full advantage of Amazon is to use PRE-ORDERs - lock in at the discount price by ORDERING - if perchance you decide against the purchase you have until the release date to cancel - at no charge.
FEATURE DVD OF JULY: Our Feature DVD of the Month has been chosen for July HERE.
DON'T FORGET: Craving the stuff you can't seem to get anywhere else? Beavers TOP YesAsia picks are listed HERE
Easiest way to catch up is simply read the new Newsletter Archive HERE.
New Criterions on the horizon (PRE-ORDER and SAVE):
BEAVER'S ALWAYS NEED HELP: If you will purchase more than 35 DVDs (or anything) in a 365 day period (and live in the Continental US) it makes excellent financial sense to subscribe to Amazon Prime! You will get Free 2-day shipping on your purchases!
New Additions to the Release Calendar (PRE-ORDER!) (Dardenne Bros.,2005) Sony Pictures (Gavin Hood , 2004) Miramax
Ronald Reagan - The Signature Collection
(Knute Rockne All American / Kings Row / The Hasty Heart / Storm Warning / The Winning Team) Warner Home VideoLaurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 2
- Disk 1: A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) Disk 2: The Dancing Masters (1943) Disk 3: Bullfighters (1945) - 20th Century Fox (Lloyd Bacon, 1940) Warner Home Video (Sam Wood, 1942) Warner Home Video (Henry King ,1939) 20th Century Fox (The Girl Can't Help It, Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?) 20th Century Fox (Devil Girl from Mars, The Astounding She Monster, Mesa of Lost Women) Image Entertainment (Tom Hooper, 2005) (TV) Hbo Home VideoClark Gable Collection, Vol. 1
(Disc 1: Call of the Wild (1935) Disc 2: Soldier of Fortune (1955) Disc 3: The Tall Men (1955) ) 20th Century Fox (Cristi Puiu, 2005) Wellspring (Steve Buscemi, 2005) Genius (Rian Johnson, 2005) Universal Studios (Neill Dela Llana, 2005) Magnolia (René Laloux, 1973) Eureka - Masters of Cinema (Theo Angelopoulos, 1998) New Yorker Video (Toshio Matsumoto, 1969) Eureka - Masters of Cinema
RECOMMENDATIONS: First and foremost - I don't know how a Powell and Pressburger gem on DVD slipped by me but One of Our Aircraft is Missing is another of their pure cinema joys. And as well as being a great film, with Fritz Lang's subversive underpinning, the Cinema Club DVD of You Only Live Once is an infinitely better transfer than its Region 1 counterpart and its a steal - a great film noir that is 50% off! I enjoyed The Rocking Horse Winner very much. New reviewer Kurtis leans towards the positive for The Syrian Bride - and that's good enough for me. The new Criterion Yi Yi really does the film justice in all areas. Our Man in Havana is fun, cheap and a great transfer.
PASS: MGM are really a joke when it comes to DVD transfers and their new Yellowbeard is not even progressive - awful 'combing' everywhere. The film is bad but it deserved better. The Libertine didn't do much for me - none of the usual you might expect from a Depp performance.
RUMORS - we've heard that Warner are working to replace the UE The Searchers - but I doubt enough people care about the color variance. I'll believe it when I see it. Otherwise this is an incredibly strong DVD package.
R2 wins these battles - Von Sternberg's The Scarlet Empress (France beats out Criterion) and the aforementioned You Only Live Once.
New Reviews:
The Scarlet Empress - Filmmaker-svengali
Josef von Sternberg escalates his obsession with screen legend Marlene Dietrich
in this lavish depiction of sex and deceit in the 18th-century Russian court. A
self-proclaimed “relentless excursion into style,” the pair’s sixth
collaboration follows the exploits of Princess Sophia (Dietrich) as she evolves
from trembling innocent to cunning sexual libertine Catherine the Great. The
French Universal DVD improves greatly upon the Criterion. The Universal PAL
DVD came out December 6th, 2005
Yi Yi - With the runaway international
acclaim of this film, Taiwanese director Edward Yang could no longer be called
Asian cinema’s best-kept secret. Yi Yi swiftly follows a middle-class family in
Taipei over the course of one year, beginning with a wedding and ending with a
funeral. Check out the new Criterion DVD. The Criterion DVD has a release
date of July 11th, 2006
The Searchers - It’s not what is said and
done in John Ford’s The Searchers that makes it such an effective film. It is
what is not said and done—the actions that are implied but never seen, and the
dialogue that is thought but never spoken. It is about two men’s five-year
search for a girl kidnapped by Comanche Indians, but it is more interested in
why they are searching than who they are searching for. Check out the new
Ultimate Edition compared to the old release. The Ultimate Collector's
Edition came out June 6th, 2006
One of Our Aircraft is Missing - As
49th
Parallel would be the Canadian influenced propaganda effort by Powell &
Pressburger -
One of Our Aircraft is Missing is the Dutch equivalent. Supporting
the war effort - Michael Powell was commissioned by the British government and
the film he and Emeric Pressburger made focuses on six Royal Air force men who
find themselves stranded in Holland after their bomber, "B for Bertie", is shot
down by anti-aircraft fire after a raid on Stuttgart. DVD Release Date: May
15th, 2006
Secret Ceremony - Losey's disparate style
has some appeal upon reflection but during initial viewing can be tedious. It
seems to be a film trying too hard to be misunderstood - and succeeding in that
vein. Losey and Taylor completists may get the most benefit. Others may find it
too weird. DVD Release Date: May 15th, 2006
Our Man in Havana - Having found so much
success with his adaptations of Graham Greene novels
The Fallen Idol (1948) and
The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed revisited the author's oeuvre with this
fabulous satirical spy story. Ex-pat vacuum salesman Jim Wormold (Guinness) is
roped into Britain's Cuban espionage division. Paid per item of intelligence,
and desperate to send daughter Milly (Morrow) to an expensive European school,
Wormold embellishes his reports with daring falsification. DVD came out
December 25th, 2005
Hidden (Caché) - A master of the icy yet
visceral shock, Austrian-born Michael Haneke often turns his formidably
unpleasant imagination to the movie equivalent of a cruel prank. But in
Caché
("Hidden"), the subject matter is worthy of his nastiness: What first appears to
be a subtly sadistic campaign of terror against one annoyingly smug, bourgeois
French intellectual proves rooted in global discontents, national character and
personal responsibility. DVD Release Date: June 19th, 2006
The Libertine - In this period piece Johnny
Depp plays artistic wit and literary graphic poet/philosopher John Wilmot,
second Earl of Rochester circa 1650. I like Depp and his more daring and
eclectic selections of roles - he found some time between Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory and Pirates of the Caribbean to portray this raunchy,
excessive wunderkind. Director Laurence Dunmore exposes Wilmot as a typically
tragic figure - destroying every aspect of his life - friends, family and
potential talent are left by the wayside for a life of decadence. DVD Release
Date: July 4th, 2006
The Rocking Horse Winner - Based on one of
D.H. Lawrence’s most enduring short works, this is a haunting tale of a boy
driven to the limits of his own life by his mother’s wanton materialism. Plagued
by his mother’s (Valerie Hobson) extravagant shopping and spending - the young,
introverted son discovers that by riding his toy rocking horse he can predict
the outcome of future horse races. DVD Release Date: September 24th, 2002
Sundown - Kind of an Kipling-esque desert
adventure tale during WW2 with Tierney's glow taking camera precedence. Barré
Lyndon adapted his own Saturday Evening Post short story of Nazi's in Africa and
their conflicting counterparts aided by mysterious and beautiful Zia (Gene
Tierney). DVD Release Date: January 24th, 2003
Yellowbeard - For twelve years, Yellowbeard
(Graham Chapman) has looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and
swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted -- for tax evasion -- he's sentenced
to 20 years in St. Victim's Prison for the Extremely Naughty. In a scheme to
confiscate his fabulous treasure, the Royal Navy allows him to escape and
follows him to the Spanish Main, where saucy tarts, lisping demigods and some
awful puns and punishments await. DVD Release Date: June 27th, 2006
The Syrian Bride - is the latest release from Israeli writer/director Eran Riklis and yet
another addition to his continuing series of films that examine the heavy
influence that culture has on lives in the Middle East. DVD Release Date:
June 6, 2006
You Only Live Once - Fritz Lang's second
American film (often regarded as his best from that period) is a bold paradox -
diverging from the normal fare of the times. Characters are introduced - they
are put to a test - we question - and quickly it is two star-crossed lover's vs.
society as they fight an unjust fate. STOP the PRESS and check out how the R2
PAL Cinema Club editions fare against the overly expensive Image Entertainment
disc. The Cinema Club came out August 9th, 2004
Next 3 weeks on the Calendar:
Week of July 3rd, 2006
The Libertine (Laurence Dunmore, 2006) Weinstein Company
Week of July 10th, 2006
Beyond the Rocks (Sam Wood , 1922) Milestone Films
The Black Swan (Henry King,1942) Fox Studio Classics
Femme Fatale Collection (Devil Girl from Mars, The Astounding She Monster, Mesa of Lost Women) Image Entertainment
Grand Prix (Two-Disc Special Edition) (John Frankenheimer, 1966) Warner Home Video
The Keys of the Kingdom (John M. Stahl , 1944) Fox Studio Classics
Koko - A Talking Gorilla (Barbet Schroeder , 1978) Criterion Collection
Perry Mason - Season 1, Vol. 1 (Raymond Burr, 1957)
The River's Edge (Allan Dwan, 1957) Fox Studio Classics
Yi yi (Edward Yang, 2000) Criterion Collection
Week of July 17th, 2006
Asphalt (Joe May, 1929) Kino Video
Bullets or Ballots (William Keighley, 1936) Warner Home Video
City for Conquest (Anatole Litvak, 1940) Warner Home Video
Clean (Assayas, Olivier / 2004) Palm Pictures
Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (Fritz Lang, 1921) Kino Video
Each Dawn I Die (William Keighley, 1939) Warner Home Video
Film Noir Classics Collection 3 (6pc) - Border Incident, Film Noir: Bringing Darkness Into Light, His Kind of Woman, Lady in the Lake, On Dangerous Ground. The Racket - Warner
G Men (William Keighley, 1935) Warner Home Video
Olivier's Shakespeare (Henry V / Hamlet / Richard III) - Criterion Collection
Passenger (Andrzej Munk , 1963) R2 UK SecondRun DVD
San Quentin (Lloyd Bacon, 1937) Warner Home Video
A Slight Case of Murder (Lloyd Bacon, 1938) Warner Home Video
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) MGM
Tsotsi (Gavin Hood , 2004) Miramax
Tough Guys Collection (6pc) - Bullets or Ballots, City for Conquest, Each Dawn I Die, G-Men, San Quentin, A Slight Case of Murder - Warner
Get out from behind your computer and spend time outside with family and friends - have a BBQ! (and invite me!),
Gary
P.S. - Although the percentages keep juggling around you can still pick up some great deals at Amazon.UK!
:Laurel-Hardy 21-disc collection
(42% off), The Gospel According To St. Matthew (40% off), Jamon Jamon (60% off), Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf (65% off), Girl on the Bridge (70% off), Baise-Moi (56% off), The Seventh Seal (65% off), Central Station (68% off), Kes (62% off), The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (2-disc) (70% off), Amelie (Two Disc Special Edition) [DTS] (72% 0ff), Pedro Almodovar Collection: Bad Education / Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down / Live Flesh / All About My Mother / Talk To Her (58% off), Visconti's Conversation Piece (61% off), The Fallen Idol (43% off), Sherlock Holmes - The Definitive Collection (54% off), Katherine Hepburn - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Rita Hayworth - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Barbara Stanwyck - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Sophia Loren - 6-disc Screen Goddess Collection (52% off), Marilyn Monroe - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off)