Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF March 18th, 2019

  This Week's Highlights
 
 

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A modest week with but we are working on a new Silent Auction page for our generous Patreon contributors as well as new listing pages fro Chinese Cinema, British Noir and British Neo-Noir. Stay tuned! We have reviews of Blu-rays by Kino, Masters of Cinema, Umbrella, Artificial Eye, Severin Films, 88 Films, Mill Creek ... of films directed by Billy Wilder, Lars von Trier, Anthony Asquith, Peter Yates, Wes Craven, Peter Collinson , Tony Williams, John G. Avildsen and others. Our Calendar has NEW updates of films-to-Blu-ray, including films by Nicolas Roeg, Krzysztof Kieslowski, George Roy Hill, Clive Donner, Jack Gold, St. John Legh Clowes, Richard Loncraine, Phil Alden Robinson and more. We also have our Feature Blu-ray posted for MARCH Enjoy!!

LISTING PAGES:

Cinema of Japan, Discs of the Year for 2018, The TOP 100 DISCS, Ingmar Bergman's Cinema, HAGSPloitation, BLAXPloitation, OZPloitation, 'WOMEN IN PRISON' CINEMACREATURE-FEATURES (on Blu-ray!), PRE-CODE FILMs (on Blu-ray!), SILENT ERA FILMs (on Blu-ray!), HAMMER Studios (on Blu-ray!) The 100 BEST Neo-Noirs (on Blu-ray!), The GREATEST 100 Westerns (on Blu-ray!), Giallo on Blu-ray!, ESSENTIAL NOIR on Blu-ray!, Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.FR (France), Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.DE (Germany) and our LATEST ARTICLES: Movies From... the End of the World The Beauties of Star Trek (TOS)

Feature Blu-ray chosen for the Month of MARCH!

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LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

Track 29 [Blu-ray] (Nicolas Roeg, 1988) UK Indicator

The Sting [Blu-ray] (George Roy Hill, 1973) Universal

The Caretaker [Blu-ray] (Clive Donner, 1963) RB UK BFI

Who? [Blu-ray] (Jack Gold, 1974) UK Indicator

No Orchids for Miss Blandish [Blu-ray] (St. John Legh Clowes, 1948) UK Indicator

Bellman and True [Blu-ray] (Richard Loncraine, 1987) UK Indicator

Field of Dreams [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989) Universal

Bisbee '17 [Blu-ray] (Robert Greene, 2018) Grasshopper Film

Sauvage [Blu-ray] (Camille Vidal-Naquet, 2018) RB UK Saffron Hill

The Kindergarten Teacher [Blu-ray] (Sara Colangelo, 2018) RB UK Thunderbird Releasing

Dekalog [Blu-ray] (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1989) Arrow Academy (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Woman in the Window [Blu-ray] (Fritz Lang, 1944) RB UK Eureka

Bitter Moon [Blu-ray] (Roman Polanski, 1992) Kino Lorber

Madame X [Blu-ray] (David Lowell Rich, 1966) Kino Lorber

Portrait in Black [Blu-ray] (Michael Gordon, 1960) Kino Lorber

Burning [Blu-ray] (Chang-dong Lee, 2018) RB UK Thunderbird Releasing

Sliding Doors [Blu-ray] (Peter Howitt, 1998) RB UK Icon Film Distribution (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Beautiful Stranger [Blu-ray] (David Miller, 1954) RB UK Network

Undercover [Blu-ray] (Sergei Nolbandov, 1943) RB UK Network

Room at the Top [Blu-ray] (Jack Clayton, 1959) RB UK BFI

Robbery [Blu-ray] (Peter Yates, 1967) Kino Lorber

Romance [Blu-ray] (Catherine Breillat, 1999) RB UK Second Sight Films

Brick [Blu-ray] (Rian Johnson, 2005) Kino Lorber

The Man Who Haunted Himself [Blu-ray] (Basil Dearden, 1970) Kino Lorber

Conduct Unbecoming [Blu-ray] (Michael Anderson, 1975) Scorpion Releasing

Eyes of Laura Mars [Blu-ray] (Irvin Kershner, 1978) Mill Creek Entertainment (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

On Secret Service [Blu-ray] (Arthur B. Woods, 1933) RB UK Network

Hemisphere Box of Horrors [Blu-ray] (The Blood Drinkers, Curse of the Vampire, Brain of Blood, The Black Cat, Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) (Various, 1964-1971) Severin

No Kidding [Blu-ray] (Gerald Thomas, 1960) RB UK Network

The Night of the Generals [Blu-ray] (Anatole Litvak, 1967) RB UK Eureka (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

November [Blu-ray] (Rainer Sarnet, 2017) RB UK Eureka

Out 1 [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, Suzanne Schiffman, 1971) RB UK Arrow Academy (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Black Moon Rising [Blu-ray] (Harley Cokeliss, 1986) Kino Lorber

The Glass Bottom Boat [Blu-ray] (Frank Tashlin, 1966) Warner Archive

Arabian Adventure [Blu-ray] (Kevin Connor, 1979) Kino Lorber

Vice [Blu-ray] (Adam McKay, 2018) 20th Century Fox

Hannibal [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Ridley Scott, 2001) Kino Lorber
Hannibal [
Blu-ray] (Ridley Scott, 2001) Kino Lorber

The Nightcomers [Blu-ray] (Michael Winner, 1971) Kino Lorber

The Landlord [Blu-ray] (Hal Ashby, 1970) Kino Lorber

The Bedroom Window [Blu-ray] (Curtis Hanson, 1987) Kino Lorber

Nixon [Blu-ray] (Oliver Stone, 1995) Kino Lorber (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Earthquake [Blu-ray] (Mark Robson, 1974) Shout! Factory

The Seduction [Blu-ray] (David Schmoeller, 1982) Shout! Factory

Von Richthofen and Brown [Blu-ray] (Roger Corman, 1971) Kino Lorber

Agnes of God [Blu-ray] (Norman Jewison, 1985) RB UK Infinity Video

Blue Velvet [Blu-ray] (David Lynch, 1986) Criterion

The Heiress [Blu-ray] (William Wyler, 1949) Criterion

The Snake Pit [Blu-ray] (Anatole Litvak, 1948) RB UK Indicator

The Reckless Moment [Blu-ray] (Max Ophüls, 1949) RB UK Indicator

House of Games [Blu-ray] (David Mamet, 1987) Criterion

Ikarie XB 1 (aka Voyage to the End of the Universe) [Blu-ray] (Jindrich Polák, 1963) Region Free UK Second Run

The Big Clock [Blu-ray] (John Farrow, 1948) Arrow Academy

Funny Games [Blu-ray] (Michael Haneke, 1997) Criterion

One Sings, the Other Doesn't [Blu-ray] (Agnès Varda, 1977) Criterion

Dragonwyck [Blu-ray] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1946) RB UK Indicator

Badlands [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 1973) Criterion UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

Let the Sunshine In [Blu-ray] (Claire Denis, 2017) Criterion

Lilith [Blu-ray] (Robert Rossen, 1964) RB UK Indicator

Quatermass and the Pit [Blu-ray] (Roy Ward Baker, 1967) Shout! Factory

Quatermass 2 [Blu-ray] (Val Guest, 1957) Shout! Factory

Demonlover [Blu-ray] (Olivier Assayas, 2002) Arrow UK

RKO Classic Adventures (The Painted Desert, The Pay-Off, The Silver Horde) [Blu-ray] (Various, 1930-1931) Kino Lorber

RKO Classic Romances (Millie, Kept Husbands, The Lady Refuses, The Woman

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): Some good, bad and ugliness in regards to Blu-ray transfers this week. Colin reviewed Lars von Trier's The House That Jack Built with Matt Dillon as a serial killer navigating around social criticism eventually combating Lars von Trier's own inner demons. On Blu-ray from Artificial Eye. There are two notable British Silent Era films directed by Anthony Asquith and restored. They were released previously by BFI on Blu-ray, now by Kino; Underground (1928) - an expressionistic romance through a lens of the daily existence of the average Londoner. Brilliant. Shooting Stars shows a dynamic cinematographic style and professional approach to the design and lighting showing location scenes, comic stunts and an on-set jazz band which demonstrate just what life was like in the early days of cinema. I'm a big fan of the underrated Tom Selleck and enjoyed him starring in Peter Yates satisfying crime/prison/revenge drama An Innocent Man - Kino vaults over the previous, and sloppy, Blu-ray with superior video and a commentary. Kino bring both US and International version of The Earthling to their new Blu-ray package of this highly rated adventure showcasing one of William Holden's best performances. Billy Wilder's Parisian-based comedy-romance Irma La Duce gets a Region 'B' Blu-ray release, also from a 4K-restoration, by The Masters of Cinema. Delightful 60's fun. Although I agree that John G. Avildsen's Neighbors, with the comedic genius teaming of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd - failed in some respects - I still see something in it. In it's second, bare-bones, Blu-ray release, this time from Mill Creek, it is still a dud of a transfer - this film that I continue to investigate - gets no true 1080P love. Woah is me. Ozploitation horror Next of Kin get a new 4K-restored transfer that is making the rounds with plenty of extras including commentaries. Colin has done some comparing. Wes Craven's Swamp Thing comes to 88 Films Blu-ray with the international cut (Adrienne Barbeau topless swamp bathing). This only marginally helps the viewing. Still a great film concept - although poorly realized. Perhaps I'd have appreciated a newer version with... hmm.. Salma Hayek?

"“Every word removed from the language is another brick removed from the wall of democracy." Lars Von Trier

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  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

An Innocent Man BD - A powerful action-thriller starring international superstar Tom Selleck (Magnum PI). Selleck turns in a riveting performance as Jimmie Rainwood, an average citizen whose life becomes a living nightmare when he is framed by a pair of crooked cops and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. With his life torn apart, Rainwood swears revenge, vowing to fight back and deliver justice to the dishonest cops who set him up - no matter what the price! Ultimately, Rainwood risks everything - even his freedom - to prove, once and for all, that he is An Innocent Man. Kino Blu-ray Release Date: April 2nd, 2019

Underground (1928) BD - Introduced as a “story of ordinary workaday people,” Anthony Asquith’s Underground (1928) masterfully balances the light and dark sides of city life to evoke the daily existence of the average Londoner better than any other film from Britain’s silent canon. It tells the story of an electrician (Cyril McLaglen) and an underground porter (Brian Aherne) who both fall in love with the same shop girl (Elissa Landi). Asquith (A Cottage on Dartmoor, Shooting Stars) is one of the supreme stylists of the British silent cinema, and Underground is a grand display of his expressionistic talents. Blu-ray Release Date: April 23rd, 2019

Shooting Stars BD - Despite the directing credit going to veteran filmmaker A.V. Bramble, Shooting Stars is universally acknowledged to be the directorial debut of rising talent Anthony Asquith. Asquith wrote the original story, deliberately choosing the subject of movie-making itself as his theme, and the dynamic cinematographic style and professional approach to the design and lighting was introduced by Asquith himself, based on his experiences at Chaplin's studio. The script is sophisticated, incorporating iconic counterpoint and containing very few inter-titles, a trope of Asquith's work. Kino Blu-ray Release date: April 23rd, 2019

Neighbors BD - Thomas Berger's darkly funny novel ''Neighbors'' certainly wasn't tailor-made for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, but casting them in the film version was a good idea. Mr. Belushi makes a stolid and suspicious Earl Keese, a man whose life becomes a shambles when the wrong people move next door. And Mr. Aykroyd is a suitably menacing choice for Vic (called Harry in the novel), the brassy new neighbor who, for no reason that is ever explained, does everything in his power to drive Earl wild. Mill Creek Blu-ray Release date: March 11th, 2019

The Earthling BD - Screen icon William Holden delivers the performance of a lifetime in this poignant action-adventure with stunning scenery from Australia’s New South Wales. Patrick Foley (Holden) is a hard-hearted, no-nonsense loner who spent his life exploring the world and avoiding his feelings. When he returns to his remote Australian birthplace, he is met with more than the average outback wildlife… fate throws him together with young Shawn Daley (Ricky Schroder), a recently orphaned, city-bred boy with little hope and even less self-reliance. Blu-ray Release Date: March 11th, 2019

Irma La Duce BD - The stars and director of The Apartment reunite in the bawdy, charming and romantic farce about a French policeman (Jack Lemmon) who falls in love with a prostitute (Shirley MacLaine). Meet Nestor (Lemmon), a young man with a very complicated love life. To keep his beloved, the proud and profitable lady of the streets Irma la Douce (MacLaine), off the streets, he disguises himself as Lord X, who immediately becomes Irma’s sole client and means of support. But what’s a jealous boyfriend to do when the illustrious Irma claims that the man she’s really in love with is not the smitten Nestor, but the dotty old Lord himself? Masters of Cinema Blu-ray Release Date: March 18th, 2019

The House That Jack Built BD - Lars von Trier's upcoming drama follows the highly intelligent Jack (Matt Dillon) over a span of 12 years and introduces the murders that define Jack's development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack s point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork. Blu-ray Release Date: March 4th, 2019

Next of Kin BD - Linda Stevens 24 has just inherited a big old house. An evil house. All night she hears a voice that whispers slowly from somewhere deep in the back of her mind. Taps turn themselves on and off. Candles light without a flame being put to them And just last night she found the corpse of an old man in her bath. The house is called Montclare and something evil lives there. The Severin Blu-ray Release Date: February 26th, 2019

Swamp Thing BD - A research scientist (Wise), contaminated while working on a government project in Louisiana bayou country, mutates into the peaceable and amorous 'swamp thing' (played by Durock). Craven tries to do this 'veggie-man' horror in a suitable DC Comics style; and with Louis Jourdan as arch-villain 'Arcane', not to mention Adrienne Barbeau (Mrs. John Carpenter) as the Thing's object of desire, he's definitely on the right track. At other times, the picture is right off its trolley. The budget limitations are pretty obvious, though the money did stretch to oodles of gunk and goo. 88 Films Blu-ray Release date: March 25th, 2019
 

Next 2 weeks on the Calendar

March 18th, 2019

 

 

The Basketball Diaries [Blu-ray] (Scott Kalvert, 1995) RB UK 4Digital Media

The Deadly Mantis [Blu-ray] (Nathan Juran, 1957) Shout! Factory

Death in Venice [Blu-ray] (Luchino Visconti, 1971) UK Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Detour [Blu-ray] (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Eagle's Wing [Blu-ray] (Anthony Harvey, 1979) Scorpion Releasing

Escape from New York [4K UHD Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1981) Region Free UK Studiocanal

Far from Heaven [Blu-ray] (Todd Haynes, 2002) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Fog [4K UHD Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1980) Region Free UK Studiocanal

Irma la Douce [Blu-ray] (Billy Wilder, 1963) RB UK Eureka Entertainment (BEAVER REVIEW)

Losin' It [Blu-ray] (Curtis Hanson, 1983) Kino Lorber

Lovers and Other Strangers [Blu-ray] (Cy Howard, 1970) Kino Lorber

Ned Kelly [Blu-ray] (Gregor Jordan, 2003) Shout! Factory

Prince of Darkness [4K UHD Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1987) Region Free UK Studiocanal

Ring - Steelbook [Blu-ray] (Hideo Nakata, 1998) RB UK Arrow Video
Ring [Blu-ray] (Hideo Nakata, 1998) RB UK Arrow Video

Sebastiane [Blu-ray] (Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman, 1976) RB UK BFI

Strip Nude for Your Killer [Blu-ray] (Andrea Bianchi, 1975) Arrow Video

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? [Blu-ray] (Hy Averback, 1970) Kino Lorber

Take Me High [Blu-ray] (David Askey, 1973) UK Network

They Live [4K UHD Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1988) Region Free UK Studiocanal

Wanda [Blu-ray] (Barbara Loden, 1970) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Wheels on Meals [Blu-ray] (Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, 1984) RB UK Eureka

Wildlife [Blu-ray] (Paul Dano, 2018) RB UK Icon

Widows [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Steve McQueen, 2018) Region Free 20th Century Fox
Widows [Blu-ray] (Steve McQueen, 2018) RB UK 20th Century Fox

The Witches [Blu-ray] (Cyril Frankel, 1966) Shout! Factory

 

March 25th, 2019

 

 

Aquaman [4K UHD Blu-ray] (James Wan, 2018) Region Free Warner Bros.
Aquaman [Blu-ray] (James Wan, 2018) Warner Bros.
Aquaman [Blu-ray 3D] (James Wan, 2018) Warner Bros.

Bergman: A Year in a Life [Blu-ray] (Jane Magnusson, 2018) RB UK BFI

Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz [Blu-ray] (Whirlpool, The Coming of Sin, Vampyres) (José Ramón Larraz, 1970-1978) RB UK Arrow Video

Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz [Blu-ray] (Whirlpool, The Coming of Sin, Vampyres) (José Ramón Larraz, 1970-1978) Arrow Video

Brighton Beach Memoirs [Blu-ray] (Gene Saks, 1986) Shout! Factory

The Body Snatcher [Blu-ray] (Robert Wise, 1945) Shout! Factory

The Children [Blu-ray] (Max Kalmanowicz, 1980) Vinegar Syndrome (BEAVER REVIEW)

A Dandy in Aspic [Blu-ray] (Anthony Mann, Laurence Harvey, 1968) RB UK Indicator (BEAVER REVIEW)

Dominique [Blu-ray] (Michael Anderson, 1979) Vinegar Syndrome

For a Few Dollars More [Blu-ray] (Sergio Leone, 1965) Kino

The Girl in the Spider's Web [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Fede Alvarez, 2018) Region Free UK Sony

The Girl in the Spider's Web [Blu-ray] (Fede Alvarez, 2018) Region Free UK Sony

The Glass Bottom Boat [Blu-ray] (Frank Tashlin, 1966) Warner Archive

I Wanna Hold Your Hand [Blu-ray] (Robert Zemeckis, 1978) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Iceman Cometh [Blu-ray] (John Frankenheimer, 1973) Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)

If Beale Street Could Talk [Blu-ray] (Barry Jenkins, 2018) 20th Century Fox

Ikarie XB 1 (aka Voyage to the End of the Universe) [Blu-ray] (Jindrich Polák, 1963) Region Free UK Second Run

Immaculate Conception [Blu-ray] (Jamil Dehlavi, 1992) RB UK Indicator (BEAVER REVIEW)

In the Cold of the Night [Blu-ray] (Nico Mastorakis, 1990) Vinegar Syndrome

Japón [Blu-ray] (Carlos Reygadas, 2002) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Jivaro 3D [Blu-ray 3D] (Edward Ludwig, 1954) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

Kingdom of the Spiders [Blu-ray] (John 'Bud' Cardos, 1977) Code Red

Midnight in Paris (aka Monsieur La Souris) [Blu-ray] (Georges Lacombe, 1942) Cinetrove International

The Miseducation of Cameron Post [Blu-ray] (Desiree Akhavan, 2018) Filmrise

Pet Sematary [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Mary Lambert, 1989) Region Free

Pet Sematary [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Mary Lambert, 1989) Region Free UK Universal
Pet Sematary [Blu-ray] (Mary Lambert, 1989) Region Free UK Universal

Road to Morocco [Blu-ray] (David Butler, 1942) Kino
Road to Singapore [Blu-ray] (Victor Schertzinger, 1940) Kino
Road to Utopia [Blu-ray] (Hal Walker, 1945) Kino
Road to Zanzibar [Blu-ray] (Victor Schertzinger, 1941) Kino

Shoplifters [Blu-ray] (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018) RB UK Thunderbird

Sixty Glorious Years (a.k.a. Queen of Destiny) [Blu-ray] (Herbert Wilcox, 1938) UK Network

The Squeeze [Blu-ray] (Roger Young, 1987) Sony

The Street Fighter Collection [Blu-ray] (Shigehiro Ozawa, 1974) Shout! Factory

Suspiria [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1977) RB UK Cult Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Swamp Thing [Blu-ray] (Wes Craven, 1982) RB UK 88 Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Tarnished Angels [Blu-ray] (Douglas Sirk, 1957) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

To Sleep with Anger [Blu-ray] (Charles Burnett, 1990) UK Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

A Trip to the Moon [Blu-ray] (Joaquín Cambre, 2017) RB UK Network

The Triple Echo [Blu-ray] (Michael Apted, 1972) RB UK Indicator (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Vault [Blu-ray] (Dan Bush, 2017) Filmrise

Victoria the Great [Blu-ray] (Herbert Wilcox, 1937) UK Network

The Virgin Soldiers [Blu-ray] (John Dexter, 1969) RB UK Indicator (BEAVER REVIEW)

Warning Sign [Blu-ray] (Hal Barwood, 1985) Shout! Factory