Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF July 5th, 2010
  This Week's Highlights
Dydh da! Slowing a shade for the summer we still have Powell and Pressburger on 2 monumental Blu-rays, plus Angelopoulos, Charlie Chan, Noir, solid films from the UK, Denmark, Germany and more........ We offer plenty of new calendar updates, FEATURE DVD and Blu-ray chosen for July!, a new contest with 3 fabulous brand new DVD prizes... Enjoy the weather!

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July 5th CONTEST - identify the clip on the CONTEST PAGE to win a Sealed DVDs of Criterion's Bergman Island, You the Living and Huston's The Dead Best of luck!

FEATURE DVD and Blu-ray chosen for July! SEE HERE
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  September Criterions Announced:
The Thin Red Line [Blu-ray + DVD] (Terrence Malick, 1998)
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence [Blu-ray + DVD] (Nagisa Oshima, 1983)
Breathless [Blu-ray] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
Charade [Blu-ray] (Stanley Donen, 1963)
Eclipse Series 24: The Actuality Dramas of Allan King

 

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LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

The Exorcist (Extended Director's Cut & Original Theatrical Edition) [Blu-ray] (William Friedkin, 1973) Warner

The Maltese Falcon [Blu-ray] (John Huston, 1941) Warner Home Video

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre [Blu-ray] (John Huston, 1948) Warner Home Video

Back to the Future: the Complete Trilogy [Blu-ray] - Universal

The Law (La Loi) (Jules Dassin, 1959) Oscilloscope Laboratories

Back to the Future Trilogy [Blu-ray] - RB UK Universal

Cat O Nine Tails [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1971) RB UK Arrow Video

City of Life & Death [Blu-ray] (Lu Chuan, 2009) RB UK High Fliers

Children of Invention (Tze Chun , 2009) Indieblitz Releasing

Y tu mamá también [Blu-ray] (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001) RB UK ICON Entertainment

After.Life [Blu-ray] (Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, 2009) Starz / Anchor Bay

Ivul (Andrew Kotting, 2009) R2 UK Artificial Eye

The Andrei Tarkovsky Collection - Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Mirror, Solaris, Stalker, Nostalgia and The Sacrifice - R2 UK

The Professional (Georges Lautner, 1981) Lions Gate

I Spit On Your Grave [Blu-ray] (Meir Zarchi, 1978) RB UK 101 Films

The Paolo Sorrentino Collection (Il Divo / The Consequences of Love / The Family Friend / One Man Up) R2 UK Artificial Eye

In Cold Blood [Blu-ray] (Richard Brooks, 1967) Sony

The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) Lions Gate

Collapse [Blu-ray] (Chris Smith, 2009) Nat'l Geographic

Blood Into Wine [Blu-ray] (Ryan Page + Christopher Pomerenke, 2010) Channel Resources

I Think We're Alone Now (Sean Donnelly, 2008) A+M

Vincere [Blu-ray] (2009, Marco Bellocchio) RB UK Artificial Eye

Monamour (Tinto Brass, 2005) Cult Epics

Playing for Time (Daniel Mann, 1980) Olive Films

Tommy [Blu-ray] (Ken Russell, 1975) Sony Pictures

24 City (Jian Zheng Ke, 2008) R2 UK Drakes Avenue

Dick Barton Special Agent (British TV Series) - VCI

Songs from the Southern Seas (Marat Sarulu, 2008) Kino

Point of Terror (Alex Nicol, 1971) Scorpion

The Girl in Blue (George Kaczender, 1973) Scorpion

Forbidden Dreams (Emanuele Di Cola, 1973) Mya Communication

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ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): It would seem obvious that Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray's of the timeless classics Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes - by Powell and Pressburger - released in consecutive years - are the most substantial and important packages that we are covering this week. I re-watched Black Narcissus again last night - after having seen it only a few days ago - and predictably, found new aspects to appreciate. Just incredible. Beyond that I  enjoyed In Bruges as an amusing diversion. The Danish thriller Terribly Happy - released on DVD by Oscilloscope Laboratories is definitely worth the spin - as is Second Run's The Unpolished by Pia Marais. They deserves equal enthusiasm. New York Confidential is quintessential Noir - a modest transfer from VCI but we appreciate the included commentary and that the film is finally available. Angelopoulos is a unique filmmaker and it's great to see The Beekeeper released in an English friendly format. You don't need to swing for the fences and buy the out-of-print The Charlie Chan Chantology when they are available individually - see Gregory's coverage. Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine may seem like an odd pairing but it works in Warner Archive's The Badlanders. The Shop at Sly Corner is on our list as pseudo-noir but only fans of vintage British mystery may find the price gives enough value. Let's not forget Bette Davis in Payment on Demand - another impacting role in her storied career. A must-own for fans of the iconic actress.

  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

Payment on Demand - As a rich and self-satisfied matron who is suddenly confronted by her man with the rather surprising declaration that he would like a divorce, Miss Davis runs through the standard stages of confusion, resentment and revenge with the ease and the confident assurance of an experienced rider on a steeplechase course. She faces his declaration with elegant horror and shock. She sits down and reviews her life in flashback with stubborn pride and furrowed brow. She then goes after her humble husband (and his innocent girl friend) with vindictive wrath, knocking him down with legal blackmail and bleeding him financially white. And when she has dismally discovered the lonesomeness of an old divorcée, she breaks down in the most heart-rending fashion and asks her ex if he doesn't think they might try again. DVD Release Date: March 23rd, 2009

New York Confidential - Crawford and Conte do fine work in this seedy noir (which later inspired a TV series) about a crime lord who promotes one of his finest employees to the top of the syndicate, only for the move to backfire when the latter is called to rub out his boss. One of those movies that feels unashamedly grimy and boasts no redeeming characters, it's enjoyably nasty fun, though it's impossible to feel for anyone. DVD Release Date: June 29th, 2010

The Beekeeper - Distinguished Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos directs the great Marcello Mastroianni in this extraordinary and beautifully photographed tale of self-discovery. Mastroianni plays Spyros, a schoolmaster of late middle-age who, like his father before him, is also a beekeeper. Disenchanted and unfulfilled by his life, Spyros takes leave of his wife and grown children to embark on a solitary journey in search of the emerging springtime flowers for his cherished beehives. Moving from village to village, he encounters a young girl hitchhiker who awakens in him feelings that start to become an obsession. Charged with quiet emotional intensity, The Beekeeper is a moving and powerful film about a man's struggle to find release from the spectre of the past. DVD Release Date: June 7th, 2010

The Badlanders - Romance and betrayal follow two gold robbers who seek revenge against their double-crossing partner in this acclaimed western remake of the crime thriller classic, "The Asphalt Jungle." Alan Ladd ("Shane," "This Gun for Hire") and Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine ("McHale's Navy," "Marty") star as the vengeful duo. With Oscar-nominee Katy Jurado ("High Noon"). DVD Release Date: October 20th, 2009

The Shop at Sly Corner - Desius Heiss is the French-born owner of an antique shop on Sly Corner who bears a grudge against society. His imprisonment and torture on Devil's Island has left the scars of repeated whippings down his back. With little care for the authorities, Heiss has allowed his shop to become a centre of criminal activity and has a secret career as a receiver of stolen goods. His beloved daughter, Margaret, knows nothing of her father s criminal activities. But when the antique shop s assistant, Archie Fellowes (Kenneth Griffith), discovers the trade in stolen goods, he blackmails Heiss. Desperate to keep his criminal activities a secret from his daughter, Heiss decides to silence his blackmailer. DVD Release Date: March 24th, 2008

The Unpolished - Pia Marais' award-wining film is one of the most startling and assured feature debuts of recent years. Stevie, a wild but fiercely-intelligent 14-year old girl at the emotional heart of the film, must cope with the instabilities of her hippy parents. When they move to a small town in Germany, Stevie attempts to slip into a normal life. Whilst her parents escape their responsibilities, spending their days high, hooking up deals and filling the house with hangers-on, Stevie tries to make an impression on her new schoolmates, spreading stories of an imaginary and ideally-conventional homelife. An unblinking study of a girl caught up in a complicated adult world, THE UNPOLISHED also presents an ambivalent image of the fall-out from a counter-culture gone bad. DVD Release Date: July 12th, 2010

The Red Shoes BD - The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, now dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist. Blu-ray Release Date: July 20th, 2010

Black Narcissus BD - Master cinematographer Jack Cardiff's extravagant visual Technicolor style helps expose the breathtaking landscape into a corollary for the transcendent seduction overtaking the pious strangers to this new world. Settling into this sparse and haunting atmosphere, steeped in firmly entrenched traditions and cultural roots, proves to be an unanswerable challenge. The nuns are from a bleak, simple world of black and whites and are now thrust into the color-infused landscape filled with mysterious native idiosyncrasies. Blu-ray Release Date: July 20th, 2010

In Bruges BD - Brendan Gleeson, with that noble shambles of a face and the heft of a boxer gone to seed, has the key role as Ken, one of two killers for hire. His traveling companion and unwilling roommate is Ray (Colin Farrell), who successfully whacked a priest in a Dublin confessional but tragically killed a little boy in the process. Before shooting the priest, he confessed to the sin he was about to commit. After accidentally killing the boy, he reads the notes the lad made for his own confession. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. Blu-ray Release date: July 13th, 2010

The Charlie Chan Chantology - The six films collected here (the first six Chans for Monogram, and all but five directed by Phil Rosen) are largely indistinguishable from one another save for the murder victims and their demises. In The Secret Service, Chan investigates the death of a wartime inventor; a San Francisco socialite expires in The Chinese Cat; daughter Frances is involved in the murder of a psychic in Meeting at Midnight (a.k.a. Black Magic); another government scientist is killed in The Jade Mask, and death by remote control is the focus of The Scarlet Clue. Director Phil Karlson (Kansas City Confidential) adds some noirish atmosphere to The Shanghai Cobra, which has bank employees dying from apparent snakebites. Dated and controversial as they may be, the Chan films are engaging diversions for vintage mystery fans.

Terribly Happy - Robert Hanson (Jakob Cedergren) is a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated Marshall position and subsequently gets mixed up with a married femme fatale. Robert’s big city temperament makes it impossible for him to fit in, or understand the uncivilized, bizarre behavior displayed by the townspeople. Quickly spiraling downward into an intense fable reminiscent of the Coen Brothers’ BLOOD SIMPLE and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, TERRIBLY HAPPY displays a unique, often macabre vision of the darkest depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging. DVD Release Date: July 13th, 2010
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

 

July 5th, 2010

 

A Single Man (Tom Ford, 2009) - Sony Pictures

A Single Man [Blu-ray] (Tom Ford, 2009) - Sony Pictures (BEAVER REVIEW)

Battle League Horumo (Motoki Katsuhide, 2009) Viz Video

Brooklyn's Finest [Blu-ray] (Antoine Fuqua, 2009) Anchor Bay

Chicago - The Original 1927 Film Restored (Frank Urson, 1927) Flicker Alley

Dr. Giggles/Otis (Horror Double Feature) [Blu-ray] - Warner Home Video

Eyeborgs [Blu-ray] (Richard Clabaugh, 2009) Image Entertainment

The Film Noir Collection: Volume 2 - Pushover (1954), Nightfall (1957), The Brothers Rico (1957), City of Fear (1959) + Human Desire (1954) - Sony (BEAVER REVIEW)

Gamera Vs. Barugon (Shigeo Tanaka, 1966) Shout! Factory

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo [Blu-ray] (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) Music Box Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Jason and the Argonauts [Blu-ray] (Don Chaffey, 1963) Sony (BEAVER REVIEW)

Last Man Standing / The Last Boy Scout [Blu-ray] (Action Double Feature) - Warner

Lost Keaton: Sixteen Comedy Shorts 1934-1937 - Kino

Steamboat Bill, Jr. [Blu-ray] (Charles Reisner, 1928) Kino

The Wind Journeys (Ciro Guerra, 2009) Film Movement

 

July 12th, 2010

 

Assault on Precinct 13 [Blu-ray] (Jean-François Richet, 2005) Universal Studios
 Baseline [Blu-ray] (Brendon O'Loughlin, 2010) R'B' UK - Optimum
 Chloe [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 2009) Sony (BEAVER REVIEW)

Eric Rohmer - Moral Tales - R2 - UK Artificial Eye

Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Desperate, Phenix City Story, Deadline at Dawn, Armored Car Robbery, Crime in the Streets, Dial 1119 + Backfire) - Warner

Formosa Betrayed (Adam Kane, 2009) - Screen Media

The Girl By the Lake (Andrea Molaioli, 2007) MPI

The Greatest [Blu-ray] (Shana Feste, 2009) - National Entertainment Media

Greenberg [Blu-ray] (Noah Baumbach, 2010) Focus Features

The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) R2 UK Drakes Avenue

Hotel (Jessica Hausner, 2004) R2 UK Artificial Eye

In Bruges [Blu-ray] (Martin McDonagh, 2008) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

Insomnia [Blu-ray] (Christopher Nolan, 2002) Warner

Jet Li 8 Film Set - Asia Vision

Landfall (Ken Annakin, 1949) R2 UK Optimum Home Entertainment

Leap Year [Blu-ray] (Anand Tucker, 2010) R'B' UK - Optimum Home Entertainment

Lourdes [Blu-ray] (Jessica Hausner, 2009) RB UK Artificial Eye

Lovely Rita (Jessica Hausner, 2001) R2 UK Artificial Eye

Middle of Nowhere [Blu-ray] (John Stockwell, 2008) Image Entertainment

Terribly Happy (Henrik Ruben Genz , 2010) - Oscilloscope Laboratories (BEAVER REVIEW)

Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu (The Only Son/There Was a Father) - Criterion

The Unpolished (Pia Marais, 2007) R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

Zift (Javor Gardev, 2008) MPI

 

July 19th, 2010

 

Bitter Springs (Ralph Smart, 1950) R2 UK Elevation Sales

Black Narcissus (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion Collection

Black Narcissus [Blu-ray] (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Bong Joon-Ho Collection (4-disc) Magnolia

Chloe [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 2009) RB UK Optimum Releasing

Early Summer [Blu-ray] (Yasujiro Ozu, 1951) R'B' UK BFI

Entre nos (Gloria La Morte + Paola Mendoza, 2009) IndiePix Films

Forbidden World (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) (Allan Holzman, 1982) Shout! Factory

Forbidden World [Blu-ray] (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) (Allan Holzman, 1982) Shout! Factory

Galaxy Of Terror (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) (Bruce D. Clark, 1981) Shout! Factory

Galaxy Of Terror [Blu-ray] (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) (Bruce D. Clark, 1981) Shout! Factory

Jack Cardiff - Cameraman (Craig McCall, 2009) R2 UK Elevation Sales

Leaves of Grass [Blu-ray] (Tim Blake Nelson, 2009) First Look Pictures

Late Spring [Blu-ray] (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949) R'B' UK BFI

Mother (Joon-Ho Bong, 2009) Magnolia

Mother [Blu-ray] (Joon-Ho Bong, 2009) - Magnolia

The Olympiad (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938) R2 UK Alba Home Vision

The Red Shoes (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Criterion Collection

The Red Shoes [Blu-ray] (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Repo Men [Blu-ray] (Miguel Sapochnik, 2010) Universal Pictures

The Runaways [Blu-ray] (Floria Sigismondi, 2010) - Sony

"Tin Man" [Blu-ray] (2007) - Rhi Entertainment

Tokyo Story [Blu-ray] (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) R'B' UK BFI

The Wronged Man (Tom McLoughlin, 2010) Sony Pictures

 

July 26th, 2010

 

Appointment With Danger (Lewis Allen, 1951) - Olive Films

The Art of the Steal (Don Argott, 2009) MPI

The Burnt House [Blu-ray] (Adam Ahlbrandt, 2009) - Invincible Pictures

Clash of the Titans [Blu-ray] (Louis Leterrier, 2010) Warner

Crack in the World (Andrew Marton, 1965) Olive Films

Dark City (William Dieterle, 1950) - Olive Films

Death Kappa - [Blu-ray] (Tomoo Haraguchi, 2010) - Tokyo Shock

Don't Look Up [Blu-ray] (Fruit Chan, 2009) - Koch Entertainment

Eclipse Series 22: Presenting Sacha Guitry (The story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire, Quadrille) - Criterion

Fantastic Planet [Blu-ray] (René Laloux, 1973) RB UK Masters of Cinema

The Girl in Blue (George Kaczender, 1973) Scorpion

Hannie Caulder (Burt Kennedy, 1971) - Olive Films

Home (Ursula Meier, 2008) Kino

Home [Blu-ray] (Ursula Meier, 2008) Kino

Ip Man [Blu-ray] (Wilson Yip, 2008) Well Go USA

Johnny Handsome [Blu-ray] (Walter Hill, 1989) Lions Gate

The Lacemaker (Claude Goretta, 1977) R2 UK Axiom

Lock Up [Blu-ray] (John Flynn, 1989) Lions Gate

No One Knows about Persian Cats (Bahman Ghobadi, 2009) R2 UK Network

No One Knows About Persian Cats [Blu-ray] (Bahman Ghobadi, 2009) RB UK - Network

Paranoiac [Blu-ray] (Freddie Francis, 1963) RB UK Eureka

Picnic At Hanging Rock - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray] (Peter Weir, 1975) RB UK Second Sight Films

Poirot: Classic Collection Set 5 (3pc) [Blu-ray] - Acorn Media

The Prowler [Blu-ray] (Joseph Zito, 1981) - Blue Underground

Secret of the Grain (Abdel Kechiche, 2007) - Criterion

Secret of the Grain [Blu-ray] (Abdel Kechiche, 2007) - Criterion

Silver Cinema Series Collection - Target Of An Assassin, Lion Of The Desert, The Children Of Sanchez, Ruby's Dream and The Death Collector - Koch

Songs from the Southern Seas (Marat Sarulu, 2008) Kino

Storm (Hans-Christian Schmid, 2009) R2 UK Soda Pictures

Tenebrae [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1982) RB UK Arrow Video

Time (Ki-duk Kim, 2006) R2 UK Palisades Tartan

Union Station (Rudolph Mate, 1950) - Olive Films

Vengeance Is Mine [Blu-ray] (Shohei Imamura, 1979) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Vincere (Marco Bellocchio, 2009) IFC Independent Film

Victor Victoria [Blu-ray] (Blake Edwards, 1995) - Image Entertainment

While the City Sleeps (Fritz Lang, 1956) R2 UK Exposure

Y tu mamá también [Blu-ray] (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001) RB UK ICON Entertainment

     
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