Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF May 27th, 2013
  This Week's Highlights
Buorre beaivi fal! - We have quite the cornucopia of less-popular films this week from a niche-revenge classic to a raw Italian gangster flic - a harsh British reform-school exploration to a glorious epic flop that nearly dragged 20th Century Fox  On the Calendar new listings including more Olive films releases plus Otto Preminger, Terrence Malick, Stuart Rosenberg, Henry King, Anthony Minghella, Budd Boetticher, and others on Blu-ray! We've posted this week's CONTEST Enjoy!

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FEATURE Blu-ray and DVD of the MONTH selected for MAY!
 

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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:

From Up on Poppy Hill [Blu-ray] (Goro Miyazaki, 2011) Cinedigm

The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell [Blu-ray] (Otto Preminger, 1955) Olive Films

Angel and the Badman [Blu-ray] (James Edward Grant, 1947) Olive Films

Bullfighter and the Lady [Blu-ray] (Budd Boetticher, 1951) Olive Films

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - The New Generation: Alive On Stage [Blu-ray] [2012] RB UK Universal Pictures UK

That Touch of Mink [Blu-ray] (Delbert Mann, 1962) Olive Films

The Talented Mr. Ripley [Blu-ray] (Anthony Minghella, 1999) Paramount

Django, Prepare a Coffin [Blu-ray] (Ferdinando Baldi, 1968) RB UK Arrow

A Field in England [Blu-ray] (Ben Wheatley, 2013) RB UK Channel 4

Twelve O'Clock High [Blu-ray] (Henry King, 1949) RB UK 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Pit and the Pendulum [Blu-ray] (Stuart Gordon, 1991) RB UK 88 Films

To the Wonder [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2012) Magnolia Pictures

Lore [Blu-ray] (Cate Shortland, 2012) Music Box Films

Hands Of The Ripper [Blu-ray] (Peter Sasdy, 1971) Synapse Films

Broken [Blu-ray] (Rufus Norris, 2012) RB UK StudioCanal

Best Laid Plans [Blu-ray] (Mike Barker, 1999) Starz / Anchor Bay

Hanging For Django (Una lunga fila di croci) [Blu-ray] (Sergio Garrone, 1969) Raro Video USA

Summer and Smoke [Blu-ray] (Peter Glenville, 1961) Olive Films

Once Is Not Enough [Blu-ray] (Guy Green, 1975) Olive Films

Sleepwalker [Blu-ray] (Saxon Logan, 1985) RB UK BFI

Harlow [Blu-ray] (Gordon Douglas, 1965) Olive Films

WUSA [Blu-ray] (Stuart Rosenberg, 1970) Olive Films

Shoot First Die Later (Remastered) [Blu-ray] (Fernando Di Leo, 1974) Kino

Marathon Man [Blu-ray] (John Schlesinger, 1976) Paramount

And Then There Were None [Blu-ray] (René Clair, 1945) VCI

Seconds [Blu-ray] (John Frankenheimer, 1966) Criterion Collection

Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1966) Criterion Collection

The Big City [Blu-ray] (Satyajit Ray, 1963) Criterion Collection

The Big City (Satyajit Ray, 1963) Criterion Collection

Charulata [Blu-ray] (Satyajit Ray, 1964) Criterion Collection

Charulata (Satyajit Ray, 1964) Criterion Collection

Eclipse Series 39: Early Fassbinder (Love Is Colder Than Death, Katzelmacher, Gods of the Plague, The American Soldier, Beware of a Holy Whore) Criterion Collection

To Be or Not to Be [Blu-ray] (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942) Criterion Collection

To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942) Criterion Collection

The Earrings of Madame de... [Blu-ray] (Max Ophuls, 1953) Criterion Collection

Mahapurush: The Holy Man [Blu-ray] (Satyajit Ray, 1965) RB UK Artificial Eye

Kapurush: The Coward [Blu-ray] (Satyajit Ray, 1965) RB UK Artificial Eye

Cleopatra [Blu-ray] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1963) 20th Century Fox

Exotica [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 1994) RB UK Artificial Eye

Calendar [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 1993) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Awful Dr. Orlof [Blu-ray] (Jesús Franco, 1962) Redemption

Assault on Wall Street [Blu-ray] (Uwe Boll, 2013) Peace Arch Trinity

Perry Mason: The Ninth and Final Season, Vol. 2 - Paramount

The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes - Shout! Factory

Life After Death Project (Paul Davids, 2013) Indieblitz
Jennifer Eight [Blu-ray] (Bruce Robinson, 1992) Paramount

Snake Eyes [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1998) Paramount

A Virgin Among The Living Dead [Blu-ray] (Jess Franco, 1973) Redemption

Nightmares Come at Night [Blu-ray] (Jess Franco, 1970) Redemption

Calendar [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 1993) RB UK Artificial Eye

Journey to Italy [Blu-ray] (Roberto Rossellini, 1954) - RB UK BFI

Niagara [Blu-ray] (Henry Hathaway, 1953) Fox Home Entertainment
 

 

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): An odd, and unique, series of films on Blu-ray this week. I was most taken with Cate Shortland's intense and personal Lore with its beautiful, rich, visuals. 1963's Cleopatra can be a difficult film to get through but it's impossible to deny the film's transfixing brilliance of lavish sets and costumes. A stunning example of Hollywood opulence run amok. Rolling Thunder (reported to be one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite films - hence his "Rolling Thunder Pictures" Production company) is notable a 70's revenge flic that will appeal to many. Alan Clarke's Scum shows the harrowing dark side to reform school existence in the UK and the Blu-ray is a great package. Bullhead is a fascinating, and original, combination of thriller and character study that makes for excellent viewing in 1080P. Fernando Di Leo's Shoot First, Die Later is another Italian machismo genre crime action classics notable as constituting important part of he director's Poliziotteschi films group. The Star Chamber had a super premise - unfortunately faltering its conclusion - the Blu-ray is nothing special. No DVDs this week but see you in 7 days!

  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

Shoot First, Die Later BD - Luc Merenda gives the performance of his career as a highly regarded police detective who is taking syndicate money in exchange for departmental favors. His father, a simple man, also works for the department but at a lower level; he isn't jealous of his son, but rather proud of him, little knowing that he's a crooked cop. A series of events leads the young detective to ask his father for a favor (he wants a certain police report that is desired by the syndicate) and it doesn't take long for the detective's father to realize his son is on the take, which leads to numerous complications. Blu-ray Release date: May 28th, 2013

Bullhead BD - Bullhead is a harrowing tale of revenge, redemption and fate. Domineering cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Rust & Bone's Matthias Schoenaerts in a ferocious breakout performance), constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, Jacky must confront his demons and face the far-reaching consequences of his decisions. Blu-ray Release date: May 20th, 2013

Scum BD - Scum refers to the label slapped upon reform-school inmate Ray Winstone. Such reformatories are called "borstals" by the British. When he isn't being beaten up by the other boys, Ray is being beaten down by The System. He rebels against this treatment and "wins" by becoming more vicious than any of his oppressors. Scum was originally filmed for British television, but rejected because of the bleakness of its outlook. In America, it went straight into theatres, where audiences had to strain to comprehend the "punk" jargon and thick provincial accents. Blu-ray Release date: June 4th, 2013

Lore BD - Left to fend for themselves after their SS officer father and mother, staunch Nazi believers, are interred by the victorious Allies at the end of World War II, five German children undertake a harrowing journey that exposes them to the reality and consequences of their parents' actions. Led by the eldest sibling, 14-year old Lore (striking newcomer Saskia Rosendahl), they set out on a journey across a devastated country to reach their grandmother in the north. After meeting the charismatic Thomas, a mysterious young refugee, Lore soon finds her world shattered by feelings of both hatred and desire as she must learn to trust the one person she has always been taught to hate in order to survive. Lush cinematography and an evocative, haunting mood infuse this unconventional take on the Holocaust legacy with unforgettable impact. Blu-ray Release date: May 28th, 2013

Cleopatra BD - In 1963, this colossal and opulent $60 million spectacular was epic in every sense of the word -- an epic investment, an epic in the annals of Hollywood gossip, and, ultimately, an epic flop that nearly dragged 20th Century Fox down the Nile along with Cleopatra's barge. Handsomely mounted by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who replaced Rouben Mamoulian as director after six days of shooting), the drama follows the eighteen tumultuous years that led to the founding of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor) meets up with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and plans to lure Caesar to her boudoir in order to forge an alliance with Rome so that she may hold on to her Egyptian empire. When Caesar is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate, Cleopatra is left without an ally, and Egypt is up for grabs. When Roman general Mark Antony (Richard Burton) comes along, she seduces him in order to make him over into her new protector. But, under the charms of Cleopatra, Mark Antony is reduced from a an awesome and dominating general to a sniveling, drunken wimp. At the Battle of Actium, Mark Antony is defeated and Cleopatra withdraws her troops, dooming Mark Antony and his army. With Egypt in peril, Antony and Cleopatra, the doomed lovers, meet each other for the last time, as the enemy forces close in. Blu-ray Release date: May 28th, 2013

The Star Chamber BD - Fed up with watching vicious criminals walk on technicalities and loopholes, judge Michael Douglas accepts his older colleague Hal Holbrook's invitation to join "The Star Chamber." This sub-rosa organization consists of nine like-minded judges who endeavor to take the law into their own hands. Essentially, these are robed vigilantes, but Douglas joins them, determining that the end justifies the means. Before long, however, Douglas finds himself balking at sanctioning the murder of freed criminals -- and as a result becomes the target of the Star Chamber himself. Worth noting in the supporting cast of The Star Chamber are Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas' real-life mother, and Frances Bergen, widow of Edgar Bergen and mother of Candice Bergen. Blu-ray Release date: May 28th, 2013

Rolling Thunder BD - Rolling Thunder's ex-Vietnam War POW Major Charles Rane (William Devane) returns to a hero's welcome in San Antonio in the early '70s. He's bestowed with a red Cadillac convertible, $2,500 in silver dollars, and accolades from all sides. Soon, however, he discovers that all is not as it seems; his wife strayed with a close friend during his years of confinement. He also finds that he has his own personal POW groupie, Linda; her fascination with him is met with the same shoulder-shrugging blandness that he shows toward everything else in what's left of his life. One day Rane comes home to find a houseful of assorted Texas white trash demanding his small fortune in silver dollars. Their efforts to beat him into revealing the location of the money are for naught, so they jam his right hand down a garbage disposal instead. When his wife and kid come home, the two gladly give up the money but the robbers cold-bloodedly gun them down anyway. Flash-forward: Rane has himself fitted with a hook prosthesis (which he sharpens on a grinder), cuts down a couple of shotguns, and points the scarlet Caddy land yacht south towards Nuevo Laredo, bent on revenge. Blu-ray Release date: May 28th, 2013
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

May 27th, 2013

 

Best Laid Plans [Blu-ray] (Mike Barker, 1999) Starz / Anchor Bay

Blow Out [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1981) RB UK Arrow Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Blow Out [Blu-ray] Steelbook (Brian De Palma, 1981) RB UK Arrow Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Blowing Wild [Blu-ray] (Hugo Fregonese, 1953) Olive Films

Cleopatra [Blu-ray] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1963) 20th Century Fox (BEAVER REVIEW)

Cleopatra (Digibook) [Blu-ray] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1963) 20th Century Fox (BEAVER REVIEW)

Cria Cuervos [Blu-ray] (Carlos Saura, 1976) RB UK BFI

Dark Command [Blu-ray] (Raoul Walsh, 1940) Olive Films

Father Goose [Blu-ray] (Ralph Nelson, 1964) Olive Films

The File on Thelma Jordon [Blu-ray] (Robert Siodmak, 1950) Olive Films

First Position (Bess Kargman, 2011) R2 UK Artificial Eye

The Girl Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray] (Francis D. Lyon , 1969) Olive Films

The Grass Is Greener [Blu-ray] (Stanley Donen, 1960) Olive Films

I Wish [Blu-ray] (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2011) RB UK Arrow

In Old California [Blu-ray] (William C. McGann, 1942) Olive Films

Lady from Louisiana [Blu-ray] (Bernard Vorhaus, 1941) Olive Films

Life Is Sweet [Blu-ray] (Mike Leigh, 1990) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Life Is Sweet (Mike Leigh, 1990) Criterion Collection

Lore [Blu-ray] (Cate Shortland, 2012) Music Box Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Lore [Blu-ray] (Cate Shortland, 2012) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Magic Christian [Blu-ray] (Joseph McGrath, 1969) Olive Films

My Brothers [Blu-ray] (Paul Fraser, 2010) Olive Films

My Dog Tulip [Blu-ray] (Paul & Sandra Fierlinger, 2009) New Yorker

My Left Foot [Blu-ray] (Jim Sheridan, 1989) RB UK ITV Studios

Reuben, Reuben [Blu-ray] (Robert Ellis Miller, 1983) Olive Films

Rolling Thunder [Blu-ray] (John Flynn, 1977) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

Shanks [Blu-ray] (William Castle, 1974) Olive Films

Shoot First Die Later (Remastered) [Blu-ray] (Fernando Di Leo, 1974) Raro (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Star Chamber [Blu-ray] (Peter Hyams, 1983) Starz / Anchor Bay (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Unbelievable Truth [Blu-ray] (Hal Hartley, 1989) RB UK Artificial Eye

 

 

June 3rd, 2013

 

Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection [Blu-ray] (Psycho, Rear Window, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Birds) Universal

Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season [Blu-ray] Sony

Clint Eastwood: 20 Film Collection [Blu-ray] - Warner

Creature From the Black Lagoon [Blu-ray] (Jack Arnold, 1954) Universal Studios (BEAVER REVIEW)

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry / Race With The Devil [Blu-ray] - Shout Factory

Django, Prepare a Coffin [Blu-ray] (Ferdinando Baldi, 1968) RB UK Arrow

Earthquake [Blu-ray] (Mark Robson, 1974) Universal Studios

Electra Glide in Blue [Blu-ray] (James William Guercio, 1973) Shout! Factory

In The Name Of The Father [Blu-ray] (Jim Sheridan, 1993) [Region Free] UK Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

In Old Arizona [Blu-ray] (Irving Cummings, 1928) 20th Century Fox

The Invisible Man [Blu-ray] (James Whale, 1933) Universal Studios (BEAVER REVIEW)

Joe Kidd [Blu-ray] (John Sturges, 1972) Region FREE UK Universal

The Long Riders [Blu-ray] (Walter Hill, 1980) RB UK Second Sight (BEAVER REVIEW)

Mad Max: Complete Trilogy [Blu-ray] - Warner Home Video

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1962) [Region Free] UK Paramount (BEAVER REVIEW)

Marathon Man [Blu-ray] (John Schlesinger, 1976) UK Region Free Paramount

Midway [Blu-ray] (Jack Smight, 1976) Universal Studios

The Mummy [Blu-ray] (Karl Freund, 1932) Universal Studios (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Odd Couple [Blu-ray] (Gene Saks, 1968) Warner Home Video

Perfect Understanding [Blu-ray] (Cyril Gardner, 1933) Cohen Media

Phantom of the Opera [Blu-ray] (Arthur Lubin, 1943) Universal Studios (BEAVER REVIEW)

Rooster Cogburn [Blu-ray] (Stuart Millar, 1975) Region FREE UK Universal

Rope [Blu-ray] (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Sand Pebbles [Blu-ray] (Robert Wise, 1966) RB UK 20th Century Fox

Scum [Blu-ray] (Alan Clarke, 1979) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Shadow [Blu-ray] (Russell Mulcahy, 1994) Universal Studios (BEAVER REVIEW)

True Grit / The Searchers [Blu-ray] - Warner (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)

Two Mules for Sister Sara [Blu-ray] (Don Siegel, 1969) Region FREE UK Universal

The War Wagon [Blu-ray] (Burt Kennedy, 1967) Region FREE UK Universal

Warm Bodies [Blu-ray] (Jonathan Levine, 2013) Summit Entertainment

 

 

June 10th, 2013

 

Beyond the Hills [Blu-ray] (Cristian Mungiu, 2012) RB UK Artificial Eye

Enter the Dragon: 40th Anniversary [Blu-ray] (Robert Clouse, 1973) Warner Home Video

Fear Not [Blu-ray] (Nicolo Dominick Gullo, Jameel Saleem, 2011) Kino Lorber

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters [Blu-ray] - Rated and Unrated Versions (Tommy Wirkola, 2013) Paramount

The House of Seven Corpses [Blu-ray] (Paul Harrison, 1974) Severin Films

House On Straw Hill [Blu-ray] (James Kenelm Clarke. 1976) Severin Films

Michael H - Profession: Director (Yves Montmayeur, 2013) R2 UK Artificial Eye

Next of Kin [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 1984) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Philadelphia Experiment [Blu-ray] (Paul Ziller, 2012) Starz / Anchor Bay

Simple Men [Blu-ray] (Hal Hartley, 1992) RB UK Artificial Eye

Wild Strawberries [Blu-ray] (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) Criterion Collection

 

June 17th, 2013

 

Flame of Barbary Coast [Blu-ray] (Joseph Kane, 1945) Olive Films

Hangar 18 [Blu-ray] (James L. Conway, 1980) Olive Films

Hell's House [Blu-ray] (Howard Higgin, 1932) Kino Lorber

The Howling [Blu-ray] (Joe Dante, 1981) Shout! Factory

Lifeforce [Blu-ray] (Tobe Hooper, 1985) - Shout! Factory

The Naked Island [Blu-ray] (Kaneto Shindô, 1960) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Marketa Lazarová [Blu-ray] (František Vlácil, 1967) Criterion Collection

Marketa Lazarová (František Vlácil, 1967) Criterion Collection

Of Human Bondage [Blu-ray] (John Cromwell, 1934) Kino Lorber

One Touch of Venus [Blu-ray] (William A. Seiter, 1948) Olive Films

Perfect Friday (Peter Hall, 1970) R2 UK Network

Retreat, Hell! [Blu-ray] (Joseph H. Lewis, 1952) Olive Films

Safety Last! [Blu-ray] (Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923) Criterion Collection

Safety Last! (Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923) Criterion Collection

Showdown at Boot Hill [Blu-ray] (Gene Fowler Jr., 1958) Olive Films

Stoker [Blu-ray] (Chan-wook Park, 2013) 20th Century Fox

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas [Blu-ray] (F.W. Murnau, 1931) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (F.W. Murnau, 1931) R2 UK Masters of Cinema

Things to Come [Blu-ray] (William Cameron Menzies, 1936) Criterion Collection

Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936) Criterion Collection

Underground [Blu-ray] (Anthony Asquith, 1929) RB UK BFI

Upside Down [Blu-ray] (Juan Solanas, 2012) Millennium

The Brass Teapot [Blu-ray] (Ramaa Mosley, 2012) Magnolia
     
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