Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF May 1st, 2017

Halau! Another strong week with Blu-ray reviews of packages by Criterion, Warner Archive, Kino Lorber, Signal One Entertainment, Koch Media, Arrow, Shock, Endless Classics, Dark Sky Video, Distribution Select of films by Joseph von Sternberg, Lino Brocka, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Mário Peixoto, Edward Yang, Mario Bava, William A. Wellman, Michael Curtiz, Delmer Daves, Byron Haskin a new ARTICLE and more. Our Calendar has a updates, including films by Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Mike Figgis, Joseph H. Lewis, Kinji Fukasaku, Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Our Feature Blu-ray and DVD is posted for MAY. We have a new article posted and a CONTEST with another BRAND NEW KINO Blu-ray prize. Enjoy!!

NEW ARTICLE: The Beauties of Star Trek (TOS)

DVDBeaver has their own store at Movie Zyng - check it out! Many have $1 shipping - even overseas!

Feature Blu-ray and DVD chosen for the Month of MAY!

FOLLOW US on TWITTER! (where we post important reviews, contests - prizes, polls, calendar updates - plus much more...)

(Week of) May 1st CONTEST  identify the clip HERE to win a prize of a BRAND NEW KINO Blu-ray of Anatahan Best of luck!

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

Gary at 2ze dot com

Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2 BD - Established in 2007, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has maintained a passionate commitment to preserving and presenting masterpieces from around the globe, with more than two dozen restorations that have introduced international moviegoers to often-overlooked areas of cinema history. This collector’s set gathers six works, from the Philippines (Insiang), Thailand (Mysterious Object at Noon), Soviet Kazakhstan (Revenge), Brazil (Limite), Turkey (Law of the Border), and Taiwan (Taipei Story). Each title is an essential contribution to the art form and a window onto a distinct filmmaking tradition unfamiliar to many. Blu-ray Release date: May 30th, 2017

Caltiki The Immortal Monster BD - Though Riccardo Freda received sole directing credit, a significant portion of the film was in fact the work of Mario Bava, who also served as its cinematographer and was responsible its striking special effects. Drawing on a diverse array of influences, from The Quatermass Experiment to the works of HP Lovecraft, Caltiki the Immortal Monster is a unique and unforgettable sci-fi chiller which showcases these two legendary filmmakers at their most inventive. Blu-ray Release date: April 25th, 2017

Crimson BD - Eurocult icon Paul Naschy (Frankenstein's Bloody Terror) stars as a criminal gang leader who undergoes a radical surgery in Juan Fortuny s 1973 thriller CRIMSON. When a jewel heist goes awry, Jack Surnett (Naschy) and his fellow thieves take shelter at the home of a scientist experimenting in brain replacement. Through the surgical finesse of the doctor s wife (Silvia Solar), Surnett is restored to health, but suffers irresistible pangs of bloodlust and conventional lust as well after the brain of a criminal known as The Sadist (Roberto Mauri) is grafted onto his own. Blu-ray Release Date: June 14th, 2016

The Magus BD - An English teacher arrives on a sleepy Greek island to take up a vacant teaching post. The last man to hold the post committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. Slowly but surely, he is drawn into a bizarre game engineered by a reclusive local magician. The deeper into the game he is drawn, the more he senses danger... yet cannot seem to untangle himself from the fascinating and compelling influence that the game is having on his mind. Blu-ray Release Date: April 24th, 2017

The Iron Curtain BD - By the late '40s, anti-communist fervour in Hollywood and throughout the US had reached fever pitch. This brisk, documentary-style thriller, based on the experiences of a code clerk in the Russian embassy in Washington, captures the mood of the times. Andrews is the turncoat who wants asylum in the West so his son can grow up in 'freedom'. Given that he's prepared to share all the latest dope about Soviet espionage techniques, it is not surprising his old colleagues are so keen to assassinate him. Blu-ray Release date: April 24th, 2017

The Hangman BD - A Federal Marshall (Robert Taylor) nicknamed "The Hangman" traces a robbery suspect (Jack Lord) to a small town, but the convict has turned his life around, he's now married and he and his wife are expecting a child. Not only is he supported by his friends and neighbors, but also by the town's sheriff (Fess Parker). The Marshall offers the convict's ex-lover (Tina Louise) a new lease on life; all she has to do is to finger the man she still loves and walk away with the reward. For the first time in his career, the lawman is faced with a serious challenge to his method of justice as the citizens band together to stop their friend's capture. White Pearl Blu-ray Release date: January 27th, 2017

Anatahan BD - Anatahan (aka Ana-Ta-Han) represented the apotheosis of filmmaker Josef von Sternberg's lifelong fascination with the Orient. Over a year in the making, the film was the most expensive ever made in Japan up to 1953. Based on fact, the story concerns a group of Japanese marines who refused to believe that their country had been defeated in 1945, and thus spent the next seven years stubbornly manning their posts on a remote Pacific Island. The central character is a woman known as the "Queen Bee," who is marooned on the island along with the marines. As the only female in the vicinity, our heroine is aggressively pursued by every male in sight (von Sternberg capriciously refers to her most ardent suitors as her "drones"). Former Nichiegki Theatre chorus performer Akemi Negishi plays the Queen Bee. Blu-ray Release date: April 25th, 2017

Broken Arrow BD - Retired army captain Tom Jeffords (James Stewart) aids a deadly wounded Apache boy back to life and thus comes face to face with the more human side of the Apaches. As the war between the white man and the Apaches now is running on its tenth year, Jeffords believes that he can make peace by creating a dialogue between the two sides, thus learns the speak Apache and goes to meet their leader, Cochise (Jeff Chandler). Kino Blu-ray Release Date: April 18th, 2017

From Hell It Came BD - Beware Tabonga! On a remote South Seas island, no one is safe from this hideous…and unique…monster. Tabonga is part man, part tree, all doom. Formerly an island prince, he was unjustly put to death by a witch doctor. Now he’s returned to life with roots, branches and a vengeance. Against natives. Against visiting American scientists who investigate the tree’s radioactive green sap. Against anyone unwise enough to expect a tree to stay put. A macabre medley of creature feature, Polynesian kitsch and Atomic Age cautionary tale, From Hell It Came is the killer-tree movie you woodn’t want to miss! Blu-ray Release Date: April 25th, 2017

The Autopsy of Jane Doe BD - It's just another night at the morgue for a father (Brian Cox) and son (Emile Hirsch) team of coroners, until an unidentified, highly unusual corpse comes in. Discovered buried in the basement of the home of a brutally murdered family, the young Jane Doe-eerily well preserved and with no visible signs of trauma-is shrouded in mystery. As they work into the night to piece together the cause of her death, the two men begin to uncover the disturbing secrets of her life. Soon, a series of terrifying events make it clear: this Jane Doe may not be dead. Blu-ray Release date: March 21st, 2017

Breakout (Bronson) BD - This Charles Bronson vehicle isn't one of the star's more demanding roles, but it's fairly entertaining nonetheless. Breakout is basically a B-movie with A-movie resources: the plot is old fashioned adventure stuff tarted up with a nice budget and some name acting talent like Robert Duvall and John Huston. The script is a bit wobbly -- the finale leaves some loose ends dangling and the film's caricatured treatment of its Mexican villains isn't likely to endear itself to the politically correct -- but it makes up for these flaws with plenty of action and some amusing characters. Blu-ray Release date: January 17th, 2017

Conquest of Space (1955) BD - Totally bizarre sci-fi epic, mounting a 'realistic' attempt at an expedition to Mars, which has some animated segments as pretty as 2001. This George Pal project tries elaborately (and presumably expensively) for authenticity, and naturally gets it all wrong. But there's something pleasantly loony about the whole thing, from the chicken-pie capsules down to the anti-gravity zip-up boots. At one point the script even has its chief astronaut denouncing the entire mission as a 'cursed abomination' when he gets a touch of religion. A fascinating relic. Blu-ray Release date: December 23rd, 2016

Catfight (Arrow added!) BD - Veronica (Sandra Oh) and Ashley (Anne Heche) were good friends in college, but now find themselves in very different walks of life. Veronica has become the entitled, wine-loving wife of a rich businessman, while Ashley, along with her lover Lisa (Alicia Silverstone), struggles to make ends meet as an artist. When they bump into each other at a fancy cocktail party, what starts as a friendly conversation quickly turns caustic before erupting into a vicious, bloody fight that will change both of their lives forever. Arrow Blu-ray Release date: April 24th, 2017

The Nanny (Bette Davis) BD - A spirited pot-boiler from the almost forgotten ex-editor Seth Holt (his Station Six Sahara is a stunner that deserves revival), with Davis as Nanny to a houseful of neurotics. In particular, there is a 10-year-old boy (Dix), just released from a psychiatric hospital, who believes Davis wants to murder him. Made for Hammer Films (with whom Davis subsequently starred in The Anniversary), it capitalises on the star's performance in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; and while no one will have any trouble figuring out what's going on, Holt's atmospheric direction and Davis' performance keep one thoroughly hooked. Blu-ray Release Date: January, 2017

Counting For Thunder - Counting for Thunder is inspired by the three years when Phillip Irwin Cooper, unlucky in work, money and love, went home to the Gulf Coast of Alabama when his relationship with Caroline, a UCLA college professor, hit the skids and at the same time his mother received a dire medical diagnosis. Working through his past with his complicated family, some old high school chums, and the desperate and hilarious southern characters who grace his hometown, Phillip learns more about his mother than he ever bargained for, and more about himself than he ever guessed possible. DVD Release Date: May 2nd, 2017

The Resident - Alone with a baby and feeling isolated, Joanna feels a growing sense of unease in her new apartment. Are the sinister noises, banging on the walls and whispering voices real, or is she losing her mind? Gradually uncovering the chilling history of her new home, she desperately clings to her sanity, while fearing the horrific events of the past have left a very real and malevolent presence. DVD Release Date: May 22nd, 2017

All of Me - Mexico and the United States share the greatest border between the first and third world. Thousands of migrants expose themselves to every danger as they travel north on a train called The Beast. That's where they meet the Patronas, a group of Mexican women who, every day since 1995, make food and toss it to the helpless as the train rushes by. In the midst of a country at war in a world where all hope seems lost, the Patronas breathe life into a human value that seems fading with each day: love for one another. DVD Release Date: April 11th, 2017

BWOY - bwoy follows Brad O'Connor, who, after the death of his son, becomes entangled in a chaotic and passionate online love affair with Tenny, a young Jamaican man (newcomer Jimmy Brooks). With both Brad and his wife Marcia seeking solace in destructive ways, their lives and relationships are pushed to the brink, culminating in tragic confrontations no one can avoid. DVD Release Date: April 4th, 2017

Decline and Fall - Paul Pennyfeather, a dedicated divinity student set upon a quiet life of contemplation as a priest, is unceremoniously expelled from Oxford University through no fault of his own. This kickstarts a series of disastrous events that no-one, least of all Paul, could have anticipated. Without a private fortune to fall back on, Paul is forced to take a position as a teacher at a substandard boarding school in rural Wales. All too quickly it becomes apparent that Paul is not a natural disciplinarian. He finds scant comfort in drinking to excess with the other teachers. Things start to look up, however, when Paul meets Margot Beste-Chetwynde, a wealthy widow and a mother to one of the boys at the school. Could it be that the attraction Paul feels for Margot is returned? Could his fortunes be changing? DVD Release Date: April 17th, 2017

Day of the Triffids - Adapted from the novel by John Wyndham, this intelligent British monster movie begins with a meteor shower so intensely bright that it blinds the majority of the world's population, rendering them vulnerable to attack from hordes of carnivorous plants known as "Triffidus Celestus" grown from meteor-borne spores. As the plant-monsters continue to multiply and seek human prey, the remaining sighted people join forces to combat the veggie invaders. One such survivor, an American seaman (Howard Keel) whose eyes were bandaged during the meteorite impact, battles his way through the Triffid ranks. Meanwhile, a couple (Kieron Moore and Janette Scott are trapped in a lighthouse. Good production values make this low-budget effort look more expensive than it probably was; the uncredited assistance of Freddie Francis -- who directed several scenes with a second unit -- also helps. Screenbound DVD Release Date: April 10th, 2017

Disputed Passage - Young medical student John Wesley Beaven is torn between the detached, cold pragmatism of Dr. Forster (Akim Tamiroff) and the humanistic attitudes of kindly Dr. Cunningham (William Collier Sr.). Matters are brought to a head when Beaven must choose between his career and impending marriage to fellow student Audrey Hilton (Dorothy Lamour). Dr. Forster convinces Audrey to return to her native China and let Howard pursue his studies undistracted. She takes Forster's advice, but Howard follows her. Once in the Orient he is injured in a bomb blast, and in a makeshift hospital, Dr. Forster is called on to perform a risky operation to save his life. DVD Release Date: September 6th, 2016

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