DVDBeaver Newsletter - April 2nd, 2012

Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF April 2nd, 2012

	This Week's Highlights
	Nhangka! - Lean week with Server issues occupying much of the allocated review time. We should be back on schedule for next week. This newsletter we have Ozu, Terence Davies, a less-seen but masterful Lubitsch and some Warner Archive tidbits. and added to our upcoming calendar include films to Blu-ray by Stanley Donen, John Ford, Bela Tarr, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Boorman, Guy Maddin, Barbet Schroeder and others. We also have our CONTEST clip with another brand new Criterion Blu-ray prize! FOLLOW US on TWITTER! (where we post important reviews, contests - prizes, calendar updates - plus much more...)
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NOTE:_	If there are DVD titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend! Gary at 2ze dot com

Today's DVD & Blu-rays (Amazon)

Blu-rays Under $10 (Amazon)

Blu-rays Under £6 (Amazon UK)

Blu-rays Under £10 (Amazon UK)

Movies & TVs (Amazon Canada)

LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

Singin' in the Rain [Blu-ray] (Stanley Donen, 1952) Region FREE UK Warner Home Video

The Grapes of Wrath [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1940) Fox Home Entertainment

The Turin Horse [Blu-ray] (Bela Tarr, 2011) Cinema Guild

New York Stories [Blu-ray] (Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, 1989) Mill Creek Entertainment

Oranges and Sunshine [Blu-ray] (Jim Loach, 2010) New Video Group

The Grey [Blu-ray] (Joe Carnahan, 2012) Open Road Films

Zorba the Greek [Blu-ray] (Mihalis Kakogiannis, 1964) Fox Home Entertainment

Spaghetti Western Double Feature [Blu-ray] - Grand Duel & Keoma (1976) - Mill Creek Entertainment

Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray] - Sony

Deliverance [Blu-ray] (John Boorman, 1972) Warner

Ransom [Blu-ray] (Ron Howard, 1996) Touchstone / Disney

The Colossus of New York [Blu-ray] (Eugène Lourié, 1958) Olive Films

Keyhole [Blu-ray] (Guy Maddin, 2011) Monterey Video

Coma [Blu-ray] (Michael Crichton, 1978) Image Entertainment

Outland [Blu-ray] (Peter Hyams , 1981) Image Entertainment

Before and After [Blu-ray] (Barbet Schroeder, 1996) Mill Creek Entertainment

Murder In The First [Blu-ray] (Marc Rocco, 1995) Warner

Cellular [Blu-ray] (David R. Ellis, 2004) New Line

Just Cause [Blu-ray] (Arne Glimcher, 1995) Warner

A Perfect Murder [Blu-ray] (Andrew Davis, 1998) Warner

Night of the Living Dead Re-animation [Blu-ray] (Jeff Broadstreet, 2012) 101 Films

D.O.A. [Blu-ray] (Annabel Jankel, 1988) Mill Creek Entertainment

Chronicle [Blu-ray] (Josh Trank, 2012) 20th Century Fox

The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake [Blu-ray] (Herman Yau, 2012) Funimation

Perfect Sense [Blu-ray] (David Mackenzie, 2011) Ifc Independent Film

Beyond [Blu-ray] (Josef Rusnak, 2011) Anchor Bay

Man on a Ledge [Blu-ray] (Asger Leth, 2012) Summit Entertainment

Gone [Blu-ray] (Heitor Dhalia, 2012) Summit Entertainment

Act of Vengeance [Blu-ray] (Mashun Kirmizigul, 2010) Millennium Entertainment

Cocktail [Blu-ray] (Roger Donaldson, 1988) Touchstone / Disney

Seven Days in Utopia [Blu-ray] (Matt Russell, 2011) Arc Entertainment

Hoosiers [Blu-ray] (David Anspaugh, 1986) MGM

The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925) Criterion Collection
The Gold Rush [Blu-ray] (Charles Chaplin, 1925) Criterion Collection

Shallow Grave (Danny Boyle, 1994) Criterion Collection
Shallow Grave [Blu-ray] (Danny Boyle, 1994) Criterion Collection

And Everything Is Going Fine (Steven Soderbergh, 2010) Criterion Collection
And Everything Is Going Fine [Blu-ray] (Steven Soderbergh, 2010) Criterion Collection

Gray's Anatomy (Steven Soderbergh, 1996) Criterion Collection
Gray's Anatomy [Blu-ray] (Steven Soderbergh, 1996) Criterion Collection

The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935) Criterion Collection
The 39 Steps [Blu-ray] (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935) Criterion Collection

The Samurai Trilogy (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Duel at Ganryu Island) Criterion Collection
The Samurai Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Duel at Ganryu Island) Criterion Collection

Mean Streets [Blu-ray] (Martin Scorsese, 1973) Warner

Altered States [Blu-ray] (Ken Russell, 1980) TBA

Chariots of Fire (30th Anniversary Limited Edition) [Blu-ray] (Hugh Hudson, 1981) RB UK 20th Century Fox

Flame Over India [Blu-ray] aka: The North West Frontier (J. Lee Thompson, 1959) VCI

Brainstorm [Blu-ray] (Douglas Trumbull, 1983) TBA

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

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): Ozu's Late Spring only intensifies upon repeat viewing. Now Criterion have bested the BFI Blu-ray with a 1080P of their own. An easy 'favorite' of this lean week. Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea may not meet all tastes but it has the director's intoxicating visuals style - supported impressively by the Blu-ray format. I'm a sucker for the late 50's sci-fi and creature feature schlock. The Amazing Colossal Man is iconic in that respect and finally surfacing on DVD in a poor digital representation. Lubitsch's The Merry Widow has another weak SD tranfer - now out of Japan. Magnificent film that screams for a decent release. Better transfers for the Dumas adventure The Corsican Brothers - by the improving Henstooth. Lastly Warner Archive offers two Jim Brown vehicles for his brand of strong, heroic justice. The Slams has him navigating his way through a prison stretch and in Tick... Tick... Tick... he's on the other side of law as a newly appointed Sheriff finding himself at the centre of Southern tensions and conflicts! See you next week!

THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS

Late Spring BD - One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his only, beloved daughter. Loyal Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever—almost by itself justifying Ozu’s inclusion in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors. Criterion Blu-ray Release Date: April 17th, 2012

The Deep Blue Sea BD - Hester Collyer (Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz) leads a privileged life in 1950s London as the beautiful wife of high court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale). To the shock of those around her, she walks out on her marriage to move in with young ex-RAF pilot, Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), with whom she has fallen passionately in love. Set in post-war Britain this adaptation of Terence Rattigan s classic play, The Deep Blue Sea is a study of forbidden love, suppressed desire, and the fear of loneliness but is at heart a deeply moving love story. Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, what - or whom - should Hester choose? From acclaimed director Terence Davies. Blu-ray Release date: April 2nd, 2012

The Corsican Brothers - The Corsican Brothers is based on the Dumas novel about "psychic" twins--one feels the pain and experiences the thoughts... of the other. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays both Mario and Lucien, siblings separated at birth because of a long-standing feud between various factions of their family. One twin is raised to be evil, the other to be good. In adulthood, the brothers become bitter enemies, not only because of family and political pressures but also because they both fall in love with the beautiful Isabelle (Ruth Warrick). Eventually, however, one twin gives up his life for the sake of the other during a climactic battle with tyrannical Corsican ruler Colonna (Akim Tamiroff). Produced on a virtual shoestring by Edward Small, The Corsican Brothers cannot rely on clever optical effects to convey the idea that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is two people (some of the process work is embarrassing); instead, Fairbanks carries the story on the strength of his acting, subtly differentiating the two characters so that the audience is seldom confused as to which is which. Incidentally, the actor doubling for Fairbanks in the two-shots, his face averted from the camera, is Peter Cushing. DVD Release Date: April 3rd, 2012

The Amazing Colossal Man - While overseeing the atomic tests in the Nevada desert, Army colonel Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) is exposed to extensive... amounts of radiation. As a result, Manning grows, and grows, and grows, at the rate of ten feet per day. This sudden height gain adversely affects the poor man's mind, and soon he's as mad as a hatter. Looking for all the world like Mr. Clean in a diaper, the Colossal Man goes on a murderous rampage, laying waste to numerous landmarks. DVD Release Date: January 25th, 2012

The Merry Widow - One of the greatest of the screen operattas. After a smashing debut in Austria, Franz Lehar's operetta "The Merry Widow" was brought to the US in 1907, became a silent two-reeler in 1912, then, in 1925, Erich von Stroheim directed Mae Murray and John Gilbert in an opulent, controversial version in which Clark Gable appeared as an extra. This version, however, is by far the best of the lot. Jeanette MacDonald, at the peak of her career, is Sonia, an immensely wealthy widow whose spending keeps the small country of Marshovia afloat economically. When she decides to move to Paris to find a suitable husband, the king (George Barbier) dispatches Danilo (Maurice Chevalier), whom he has caught dallying with Queen Dolores (Una Merkel), to the City of Light to woo the widow and bring her home. DVD Release Date: January 27th, 2012

The Slams - $1.5 million cached in a secret stash. And only Curtis Hook (Jim Brown) knows where it’s at. The hitch? He’s tied up doing time in the stir, and his hidden kitty’s spot is scheduled for demolition. Looks like Curtis is going over the wall. Too bad for him there’s a legion of mooks and mugs anxious to know what Curtis did with the stolen mob moolah. And if he can survive his fellow cons, he still needs to get past the corrupt screws “guarding” the slam’s inmates. What good is a trunk full of bucks when your life ain’t worth a dime? The Slams was an early effort by prolific indie turned journeyman pro Jonathan Kaplan, whose many credits include the cult favorites White Line Fever and Over the Edge (featuring Kaplan’s discovery, Matt Dillon). His more mainstream accomplishments include directing Jodie Foster’s Oscar® winning performance in The Accused. The Slams also features a rare movie score from legendary Broadway arranger Luther Henderson. DVD Release Date: April 5th, 2012

Tick... Tick... Tick... - Ralph Nelson, director of Lilies of the Field, returns to the subject of race relations in America for a thoroughly different take in Tick…Tick...Tick…. Tensions are taken off the back-burner slow simmer and are placed on full boil in Tick…Tick…Tick…’s tale of a black Southern sheriff trapped between the rock and a hard place of two communities separated by skin color and decades of bigotry. Newly elected, Sheriff Jimmy Price (Jim Brown) offers no favors or privileges to either community, and quickly earns the ire of both. Warned by the mayor against consulting outsiders (the great Fredric March in his penultimate film performance), Price navigates the tensions until one arrest places him directly in the eye of a hurricane of hate. With only the former sheriff to support him (George Kennedy) Price must try to defuse the tensions before the town explodes. DVD Release Date: April 5th, 2012

Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

April 2nd, 2011

Benda Bilili (Renaud Barret, 2010) National Geographic

Chinatown [Blu-ray] (Roman Polanski, 1974) Paramount (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Corsican Brothers (Gregory Ratoff, 1941) Henstooth (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Deep Blue Sea [Blu-ray] (Terence Davies, 2011) RB UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

Fearless Fagan (Stanley Donen, 1952) Warner Archive

Hugo - 3D [Blu-ray] (Martin Scorsese, 2011) RB UK Entertainment in Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Kenner (Steve Sekely, 1969) Warner Archive

London River [Blu-ray] (Rachid Bouchareb, 2009) Cinema Libre Distribution

Miracle of Marcelino [Blu-ray] (Ladislao Vajda, 1955) VCI Entertainment

The Portuguese Nun (Eugène Green, 2009) R2 UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Slams (Jonathan Kaplan, 1973) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (David DeCoteau, 1988) R2 UK 88 Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Split (Gordon Flemyng, 1968) Warner Archive

This Must Be the Place [Blu-ray] (Paolo Sorrentino, 2011) RB DE Euro Video

...tick... tick... tick... (Ralph Nelson, 1970) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

Titanic [Blu-ray] (Jean Negulesco, 1953) R2 UK 20th Century Fox

War Horse 2-disc [Blu-ray] (Steven Spielberg, 2011) Touchstone / Disney (BEAVER REVIEW)

War Horse 4-disc [Blu-ray] (Steven Spielberg, 2011) Touchstone / Disney (BEAVER REVIEW)

April 9th, 2010

Las Acacias [Blu-ray] (Pablo Giorgelli, 2011) RB UK Verve Pictures

Bounce [Blu-ray] (Don Roos, 2000) Miramax

Conversation Piece / Gruppo Di Famiglia in Un [Blu-ray] (Luchino Visconti, 1974) Raro Video USA Ltd

Cook County [Blu-ray] (David Pomes, 2009) Hanover House

Demons 2 [Blu-ray] (Lamberto Bava, 1986) Arrow

From the Other Side (Chantal Akerman, 2002) Icarus Films

A Hollis Frampton Odyssey (1966-79) Criterion
A Hollis Frampton Odyssey [Blu-ray] (1966-79) Criterion

Into the Abyss [Blu-ray] (Werner Herzog, 2011) MPI

The Iron Lady [Blu-ray] (Phyllida Lloyd, 2011) The Weinstein Company

King of Devil's Island (Marius Holst, 2010) Film Movement (BEAVER REVIEW)

Littlerock [Blu-ray] (Mike Ott, 2010) Lorber Films

The Look [Blu-ray] (Angelina Maccarone, 2011) Lorber Films

Lust for Love (Edgar Reitz, 1967) R2 UK Bluebell Films

Murder Obsession [Blu-ray] (Follia omicida) (Riccardo Freda, 1981) Raro Video

A Streetcar Named Desire [Blu-ray] (Elia Kazan, 1951) Warner (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Tailor from Ulm (Edgar Reitz, 1979) R2 UK Bluebell Films

The Terrorists [Blu-ray] (Caspar Wrede, 1974) Anchor Bay

Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except [Blu-ray] (Josh Becker, 1985) Synapse Films

A Trip To The Moon [Blu-ray] (George Melies, 1902) Flicker Alley

Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show [Blu-ray] (Gabriele Albanesi, 2010) Raro Video USA Ltd

April 16th, 2012

Alambrista! (Robert M. Young, 1977) Criterion
Alambrista! [Blu-ray] (Robert M. Young, 1977) Criterion

American Dad!: Volume Seven - 20th Century Fox

The Asphyx [Blu-ray] (Peter Newbrook, 1973) Redemption Films

Buck Privates [Blu-ray] (Arthur Lubin, 1941) Universal

The Divide [Blu-ray] (Xavier Gens, 2012) Anchor Bay

Ernie Kovacs: The ABC Specials - Shout! Factory

The Getting of Wisdom (Bruce Beresford, 1978) Lorber Films

High Road to China [Blu-ray] (Brian G. Hutton, 1983) Henstooth Video

Late Spring [Blu-ray] (Yasujirô Ozu, 1949) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Long, Hot Summer [Blu-ray] (Martin Ritt, 1958) RB FR General Video

A Midnight Clear [Blu-ray] (Keith Gordon, 1992) RB UK Second Sight

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol [Blu-ray] (Brad Bird, 2011) Paramount Pictures

Naqoyqatsi [Blu-ray] (Godfrey Reggio, 2002) RB UK Studiocanal

Rob Roy [Blu-ray] (Michael Caton-Jones, 1995) RB UK 20th Century Fox

Roger Corman's Cult Classics: The Nurses Collection (Candy Stripe Nurses, Private Duty Nurses, Night Call Nurses, Young Nurses) Shout! Factory

Sacco & Vanzetti (Giuliano Montaldo, 1971) R2 IT Ripley's Home Video

The Survivor (David Hemmings, 1981) Scorpion Releasing (BEAVER REVIEW)

April 23rd, 2012

1900 [Blu-ray] (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976) Olive Films

The Artist [Blu-ray] (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011) Columbia/Tri-Star

Badge 373 [Blu-ray] (Howard W. Koch, 1973) Olive Films

Charade (Stanley Donen, 1963) R2 UK Park Circus

Cinema Verite [Blu-ray] (Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, 2011) HBO Studios

Classic Bergman - 5 Disc Set [Blu-ray] - It Rains on Our Love (1946) - A Ship Bound For India (1947) - Sawdust and Tinsel (1953) - Frams (1955) - So Close to Life (1958) - RB UK Artificial Eye

Crime After Crime (Yoav Potash, 2011) Virgil Films

Despair [Blu-ray] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1978) RB UK Park Circus

Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave (Pearls of the Deep, Daisies, A Report on the Party and Guests, Return of the Prodigal Son, Capricious Summer, The Joke) - Criterion

Faces [Blu-ray] (John Cassavetes, 1968) RB UK BFI

Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 1965) R2 UK Mr. Bongo

The Girl on a Motorcycle [Blu-ray] (Jack Cardiff, 1968) Redemption Films

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Blu-ray] (David Fincher, 2011) R2 UK Sony Pictures

La Grande Illusion [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1937) RB UK Studiocanal

Hit! [Blu-ray] (Sidney J. Furie, 1973) Olive Films

I Only Want You to Love Me (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1976) R2 UK Park Circus

The Jayhawkers! [Blu-ray] (Melvin Frank, 1959) Olive Films

Killer Nun [Blu-ray] (Giulio Berruti, 1978) Blue Underground

Lifeboat [Blu-ray] (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944) Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
Lifeboat [Blu-ray] Steelbook (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944) Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

Marquis de Sade: Justine [Blu-ray] (Chris Boger, 1977) Redemption Films

The Nine Muses (John Akomfrah, 2010) R2 UK New Wave Films

The Organizer (Mario Monicelli, 1963) Criterion
The Organizer [Blu-ray] (Mario Monicelli, 1963) Criterion

Pony Express (Jerry Hopper, 1953) Olive Films

The Red House [Blu-ray] (Delmer Davis, 1947) Film Chest

Sansho Dayu [Blu-ray] (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954) RB UK Masters of Cinema

The Scalphunters [Blu-ray] (Sydney Pollack, 1968) RB DE Koch Media

The Scarlet Worm [Blu-ray] (Michael Fredianelli, 2011) Unearthed Films

Shadows [Blu-ray] (John Cassavetes, 1959) RB UK BFI

Shogun Assassin Collectors Set [Blu-ray] - E1

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (Mark Cousins, 2011) R2 UK Network

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy [Blu-ray] (John Irvin, 1979) Acorn Media Publishing Inc

Tuesday, After Christmas (Radu Muntean, 2010) R2 UK Second Run DVD

Ugetsu monogatari [Blu-ray] (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Yatterman [Blu-ray] (Takashi Miike, 2009) RB UK Eureka Entertainment

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