DVDBeaver Newsletter - July 23rd, 2007
Nei Ho! - We have 13 new reviews this week. Eclipse, Iwai, Dassin, Woo, Cacoyannis, Ichikawa, Zhang... 65 new calendar updates and more...
October Criterion/Eclipse available for pre-order: Mala Noche (Gus Van Sant,1985) Criterion, Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El amor brujo) - Criterion, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Criterion, Under the Volcano (John Huston, 1984) Criterion, Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978) Criterion
CONTEST - STILL LESS THAN 10 CORRECT ANSWERS!: Our contest is still running with some great prizes - new DVDs of Criterion's Teshingahara set (first place) and the Marker pairing (La Jetee and Sans Soleil) for second and if you come in third - a nice starter for any HD library - Rio Bravo. We have a short Windows Media Video on our homepage that contains 5 clips from films. You identify them (email to contest@DVDBeaver.com) - and qualify.
ANOTHER CLUE: The 5 clips are book-ended by Italian masterpieces (both on Criterion DVD).
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Easiest way to catch up is simply read the new Newsletter Archive HERE.
LATEST Additions to the Release Calendar (PRE-ORDER!)
NOTEWORTHY... or how to make a cineophile broke (more broke?):
WOW: It seems every week we have reason to celebrate being any type of film fan - and this newsletter's calendar updates are vast enough to make most cineophiles swoon. Aside from the obvious Criterion's; Mala Noche, Breathless, Under the Volcano and Days of Heaven... there are some other auteurist leaning choices: Bunuels' Susana, Dumont's Flandres, Kaurismäki's Lights in the Dusk, von Trier's comedy The Boss of It All, Haneke's The Castle and John Cassavetes daughter's Broken English. Plus some undefined multi-film collections; Stanley Kramer Box Set ,Fox Horror Classics Collection (this will be good!), Catherine Deneuve Set, Best of MGM Musicals Collection and the encompassing Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934. But this week's updates are steeped with many choices of the horror-exploitation-trashy genre - including, from known directors, Oliver Stone's The Hand, De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, Friedkin's Bug, and Schrader's Cat People in HD and from the undisputed king - The Roger Corman Collection. Spicy viewing would include; Vintage Erotica Collection 1920-1960, Green Chair, Emmanuelle, Franco's Women Behind Bars, and a triumvirate of choices for Tinto Brass's infamous Caligula. On top of some of that I'm personally keen on Loren and Mastroianni's Special Day, and J. Rosenbaum lauded Mix-Up ou Meli-melo. Plus Hallström's The Hoax, Away From Her and Gröning's Into Great Silence. Ohhh... and many know of my love for vintage TV so I know I'll enjoy Alfred Hitchcock Presents-Season 3 (as I did the first 2 seasons).
The Castle (Michael Haneke, 1997) Kino Video
Broken English (Zoe Cassavetes, 2007) Magnolia
The Boss of It All (Lars von Trier, 2006) Ifc
From Beyond (Unrated Director's Cut) (Stuart Gordon, 1986) MGM
Mix-Up ou Meli-melo (Françoise Romand, 1985) Microcinema DVD
Twisted Terror Collection [Deadly Friend (Wes Craven), Dr. Giggles, Eyes of a Stranger, From Beyond the Grave, The Hand (Oliver Stone), Someone's Watching Me (John Carpenter)] Warner Home Video
The Hand (Oliver Stone, 1981) Warner Home Video
Green Chair (Cheol-su Park, 2005) Imaginasian
Memoirs of a Geisha [Blu-ray] (Rob Marshall, 2005) Sony Pictures
Vintage Erotica Collection 1920-1960 (5-disc with book) - Cult Epics
Galapagos [HD DVD] BBC Warner
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Complete Series (1987) Paramount Home Video
Alfred Hitchcock Presents-Season 3 - Universal
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 40th Anniversary (Stanley Kramer, 1967) Columbia/Tri-Star
Emmanuelle (Just Jaeckin, 1974) Lions Gate Home Ent.
Susana (Luis Buñuel, 1951) Facets
Stanley Kramer Box Set (6-disc) - films to be announced - Columbia/Tri-Star
Demetrius and the Gladiators (Delmer Daves, 1954) Fox Home Entertainment
Lights in the Dusk (Aki Kaurismäki, 2006) Strand Home Video
28 Weeks Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007) 20th Century Fox
Autumn Moon (Clara Law, 1992) Image Entertainment
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Ultimate Edition) (Wallace Worsley,1923) Image Entertainment
Mala Noche (Gus Van Sant,1985) Criterion
Eclipse Series 6 - Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El amor brujo) - Criterion
The Hoax (Lasse Hallström, 2006) Miramax
Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Criterion
Into Great Silence (2-disc) (Philip Gröning, 2005) Zeitgeist Films
Under the Volcano (John Huston, 1984) Criterion
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978) Criterion
Fantastic Planet (René Laloux,1973) Facets
Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, 2006) Sony Pictures
Black Book [Blu-ray] (Paul Verhoeven, 2006) Sony Pictures
Flandres (Bruno Dumont, 2006) R2 UK - Soda Pictures
"The Restless Gun" (TV - 1957) Timeless Media Group
Special Day (Ettore Scola, 1977) Televista
Sid & Nancy (Aniv) (Alex Cox, 1986) MGM
Civic Duty (Jeff Renfroe, 2006) 20th Century Fox
Wings of Honneamise (2-disc) (Hiroyuki Yamaga, 1987) [Blu-ray] GENEON
Best of MGM Musicals Collection (6-disc) MGM
Troy (2-disc Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] (Wolfgang Petersen, 2004) Warner Home Video
Citizen Dog (Wisit Sasanatieng, 2004) Tai Seng
The Wrong Box (Bryan Forbes,1966) R2 UK Dd Home Entertainment
3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold, 2007) Sony Pictures
Curse of the Golden Flower (Yimou Zhang, 2006) R2 UK Universal Pictures Video
The Jazz Singer (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition) (Alan Crosland, 1927) Warner Home Video
Women Behind Bars (Jesús Franco, 1975) Blue Underground
Ping Pong (Fumihiko Sori, 2002) Viz Video
Next (Lee Tamahori, 2007) Paramount Home Video
Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974) 20th Century Fox
Catherine Deneuve Set (4pc) Wellspring Media
Caligula (Unrated) (Tinto Brass, 1970) Image Entertainment
Caligula (R-Rated) (Tinto Brass, 1970) Image Entertainment
Caligula (Four-Disc Imperial Edition) (Tinto Brass, 1970) Image Entertainment
Weiss-O-Rama - VCI Entertainment
Punish Me (Angelina Maccarone, 2006) Picture This
Inuyasha Complete Deluxe Movies Box Set (Limited Edition) (2007) Viz Video
Triad Election (Johnny To, 2006) Tartan Video
Spider Baby (Special Edition) (Jack Hill, 1964) Dark Sky Films
Roger Corman Collection - (A Bucket of Blood, Bloody Mama, The Trip, X- the Man With the X-Ray Eyes, The Premature Burial, The Wild Angels, The Young Racers, Gas-s-s-s) MGM
Gorilla at Large/Mystery at Monster Island - 20th Century Fox
Even Money (Mark Rydell, 2006) 20th Century Fox
Cat People [HD DVD] (Paul Schrader,1982) Universal
The Gymnast (Ned Farr, 2006) Wolfe Video
Devils Of Darkness / Witchcraft (2-disc) - Fox Home Entertainment
Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 - Image Entertainment
Bug (Special Edition) (William Friedkin, 2006) Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Fox Horror Classics Collection (Hangover Square, The Lodger, The Undying Monster) Tcfhe
Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006) Lions Gate Home Entertainment
and we understand Fox will be releasing these later this year:
With a Song in My Heart (dir. Walter Lang, USA 1952)
Bloodhounds of Broadway (dir. Harmon Jones, USA 1952)
The Girl Next Door (dir. Richard Sale, USA 1953)
The Day the Earth Stood Still Special Edition (dir. Robert Wise, USA 1951)
An Affair to Remember 50th Anniversary Edition (dir. Leo McCary, USA 1957)
The Robe Special Edition (dir. Henry Koster, USA 1952)
The Lodger (dir. John Brahm, USA 1944)
The Undying Monster (dir. John Brahm, USA 1942)
Hangover Square (dir. John Brahm, USA 1945)
Fox Horror Classics Collection (Hangover Square, The Lodger, The Undying Monster)
Daisy Kenyon (dir. Otto Preminger, USA 1947)
Dangerous Crossing (dir. Joseph Newman, USA 1953)
Black Widow (dir. Nunnally Johnson, USA 1954)
Boomerang! (dir. Elia Kazan, USA 1947)
RECOMMENDATIONS: Just me:
I SAY: Number one for me this week was Raymond Bernard - Eclipse Series 4. It's very reasonably priced as well.
I also enjoyed Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures although the DVD is quite inferior. Don't let it stop you with this one IMHO.
Something about Cacoyannis Iphigenia that I can't forget. It's lingering very nicely.
If you were waiting for it in region 1 then MGM's Raise the Red Lantern is here although an anti-climax if you've owned the Asian re-mastered version for long.
It's comforting to know that Leonard (mostly) shares my views on new format editions of The Cowboys and The Searchers. I have the HD's and he just reviewed the Blu-ray but the encode is the exact same. By the way, The Searchers and Casablanca are two of the very best of the new format DVDs (both film and image are at the pinnacle).
New Reviews:
Unforgiven (BR) - Unforgiven is not in the same mold as the typical
Western before it. The protagonists are, or have been, bad man – killers or on
their way to becoming – and for money. The killing is slow and painful, but not
made Peckinpah beautiful. The conversation is mostly about the ethics of killing
and regret – and about that, not a great deal is resolved. There are no Indians
on the warpath, no banks to rob, no cattle to rustle – just killing and dying.
The Searchers (BR) - John Ford's gorgeously photographed classic
certainly has great locations, in color no less, going for it. And it has
perhaps the grimmest performance ever by John Wayne. His Ethan Edwards is
certainly a man difficult to like, though we can only sit in awe at his
determination. Issues of the white man's rape of the red man aside, we can
sympathize with Ethan's blatant racism that motivates his hatred of the Comanches who killed his family and kidnapped his nieces.
The Cowboys (BR) - You might think that movies about the passage from
childhood to adult, and more specifically from boys to men, is a basic cinematic
staple. But there really aren't all that many. Most seem to have to do with a
first sexual encounter, but if we discount that group, what's left? How does a
boy (or girl, for that matter) enter into the next phase of maturity if not
through sex? There are certainly other ways, but not so many as make for good
cinema. Stand By Me comes to mind, but that was back in 1986. (In its own way, I
suppose we could count the first television season of Buffy, the Vampire
Slayer.) Mark Rydell came across a novel by Wm Dale Jennings that cried out to
him, pitched it and eventually made a fairly compelling movie on the theme.
Blu-ray DVD Release Date: June 5th, 2007
Shooter
(HD) - 2007’s Shooter is a return to respectable pure action--there’s no
time-traveling, no espionage, no boosting, no joke-telling. Everyone plays it
for “real” without winking at the audience. Mark Wahlberg has come a long way as
an actor, and even though his role in this movie doesn’t challenge him much, he
is a believable presence. HD DVD Release Date: July 31st, 2007
Hana
and Alice - The beauty of Iwai's films are all the things that are not
said. We gather so much subtle information about the characters (especially
Alice) that, in a typical non-verbal, passive, Asian way - we are deeply drawn
to her life growth and struggle. The friendship aspect of the film is more in
regards to one friends outgoing nature persuading the other to pursue her
dreams. This is a beautiful film, filled with brilliant camera work of obtuse
angles and capturing emotionally clandestine moments. It is modestly paced, but
it seems this is the only way to express this films narrative. It has Iwai's
marketed female understanding signature written all over it. What a gorgeous
viewing experience.
Disturbia
- Alfred Hitchcock’s movies have been re-made several times--done straight (A
Perfect Murder from Dial M for Murder), as action (Mission: Impossible 2 from
Notorious), indirectly (much of Brian De Palma’s output), nearly shot-for-shot
(Gus Van Sant’s color Psycho), etc. Disturbia is Rear Window for teenyboppers,
and boy, lemme tell ya, this is as lame as “re-imaginings” can get. Mind you,
I’m not even a fan of Rear Window (much too long for my tastes), but Disturbia
has no genuine thrills. Rather, it substitutes a lot of loud noises for
psychological shocks, so you’re jolted artificially rather than subconsciously.
DVD Release Date: August 7th, 2007
Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures - Marcelo Gomes makes an impressive if
sober feature helming debut in "Cinema, Aspirin and Vultures," set in Brazil's
desert-like sertao in 1942 as the country prepares to enter war against the
Axis. The friendship that springs up between two young men, one German and the
other Brazilian, is etched with a quiet delicacy that deepens to touch their
souls. Film's pared-down look has a stylish simplicity that should make it a
contender for arthouse pickup, though auds will need to get into its minimalist
rhythm. DVD Release Date: July 24th, 2007
10:30
P.M. Summer - Nobody had a good word to say for this adaptation of
Marguerite Duras' novel which, though a potentially good script (by Duras and
Dassin), is treated so heavily that it becomes risible. Finch and Schneider play
a couple deciding whether to or not, while Finch's alcoholic wife (Mercouri)
goes bananas to the point of being obsessed by a local crime passionel. Much of
the blame can be attributed directly to Mercouri's barnstorming performance,
though the inappropriately tarted-up Spanish postcard settings don't help
either. Strange that a director like Dassin, who spearheaded the neo-realist
movement in Hollywood after World War II, should look so completely out of touch
with any level of reality in later years. DVD Release Date: July 24th, 2007
Hard
Boiled - Violence as poetry, rendered by a master—brilliant and
passionate, John Woo’s Hard Boiled tells the story of jaded detective “Tequila”
Yuen (played with controlled fury by Chow Yun-fat). Woo’s dizzying odyssey
through the world of Hong Kong Triads, undercover agents, and frenzied police
raids culminates unforgettably in the breathless hospital sequence. More than a
cops-and-bad-guys story, Hard Boiled continually startles with its originality
and dark humor. DVD Release Date: July 24th, 2007
Iphigenia
- Michael Cacoyannis, director of Electra (1962) and The Trojan Women (1971),
has perhaps for the first time successfully brought the feel of ancient Greek
theatre to the screen. Iphigenia (1977) is based on Euripedes's Iphigenia at
Aulis, a story of an incident just prior to the Trojan War. Helen has run off to
Troy with Paris. Agamemnon, brother to Menaleus, Helen's husband, will lead the
Greek armies to the shores of Troy. But at the Bay of Aulis the armies wait for
winds to carry their boats to Troy. This is where the film begins. DVD
Release Date: July 24th, 2007
Kon
Ichikawa's 47 Ronin - Being that this film bears the 47 moniker, and its
Japanese title, Shijushichinin no shikaku, features no mention of Chushingura,
one can discern that Kon Ichikawa was very much concerned with the real tale of
the 47 Ronin. Furthermore, with his version, Ichikawa, a noted pacifist and
iconoclast, sought to take the national myth down a notch or two. In his view,
these 47 men were valorous with respect to carrying out their assumed duty, but
were still very much flawed everyday men. It’s made no secret that Ichikawa
feels Oishi may have forced his group into service, and even relied on
insubstantial evidence as motive (the film shows the Edo offense only in
flashes, with no concrete description of what offense actually took place). In
one of the biggest departures from the regular canon, Oishi succumbs to the
temptation of an extramarital affair (with a ditzy cutie pie, no less). DVD
Release Date: July 17th, 2007
Raise the Red
Lantern - Traditionally, the master lights lanterns outside the compound
of the wife he wishes to spend the night with, and since Song Lian is the latest
addition to the fold, it seems natural that the master would desire to spend
most of his time with his beautiful new bride. However, during their first
evening as a couple, the master is forced to rush away to console his third wife
(He Caife), and from that moment onward, a wicked game of treachery and
manipulation ensues among the wives as each vies for the master's attentions, no
matter what the cost. Although Song Lian is not necessarily desirous of her
husband, she soon comes to understand that her worth as a woman is measured
directly against how well she is esteemed by the master!... DVD Release Date:
July 24th, 2007
Raymond Bernard - Eclipse Series 4 - One of the greatest and least-known
directors of all time, Raymond Bernard helped shape French cinema, at the dawn
of the sound era, into a truly formidable industry. Typical of films from this
period, Bernard's dazzling dramas painted intimate melodrama on epic-scale
canvases. These two masterpieces—the wrenching World War I tragedy Wooden
Crosses and a mammoth, nearly five-hour Les misérables, widely considered the
greatest film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel—exemplify the formal and
narrative brilliance of an unjustly overshadowed cinematic trailblazer. DVD
Release Date: July 17th, 2007
Next 2 weeks on the Calendar:
Week of July 23rd, 2007
10:30 P.M. Summer (Jules Dassin, 1966) MGM
A World Without Thieves (Xiaogang Feng, 2004) Genius Products
Avant-Garde 2: Experimental Cinema 1928-1954 (Films by Brakhage, Markopoulos, Mitry, Vogel, Broughton, Isou, Maas, Menken, Watson, Webber, Leni, Peterson, Kirsanof) Kino Video
The Big Bad Swim (Ishai Setton, 2006) Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Blue (Derek Jarman, 1993) R2 UK Artificial Eye
Cashback (Sean Ellis, 2006) Magnolia
Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (Marcelo Gomes, 2005) First Run Features
Classic Musicals From the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 - 5-disc (The Pirate/Words and Music/That's Dancing/The Belle of New York & Royal Wedding/That Midnight Kiss & The Toast of New Orleans (5pc) - Warner Home Video
Companeros (Sergio Corbucci, 1970) Blue Underground
The Contract (Bruce Beresford, 2006) First Look Pictures
Creature From the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954) Universal Studios
Les Enfants Terribles (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1950) Criterion Collection
The Family Friend (Paolo Sorrentino, 2006) R2 UK Artificial Eye
Five Dedicated to Ozu (Abbas Kiarostami, 2003) Kino Video
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1943) Universal Studios
Hard Boiled (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition) (John Woo, 1992) Dragon Dynasty
Hedda Gabler (Alex Segal, 1963) BBC Warner
Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989) MGM
The Host (Collector's Edition) (Bong Joon-ho, 2006) Magnolia Pictures
The Host [HD DVD] (Bong Joon-ho, 2006) Magnolia
The Host [Blu-ray] (Bong Joon-ho, 2006) Magnolia
Iphigenia (Mihalis Kakogiannis, 1977) MGM
Ivan's Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962) Criterion Collection
Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (Claude Berri ,1987) MGM
Land of the Giants - Full Series (The Giant Collection) - 20th Century Fox
Malpertuis (Harry Kümel, 1971) Barrel
The Monster Squad (Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition) (Fred Dekker, 1987) Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006) Paramount Home Video
The Pirate (Vincente Minnelli,1948) Warner Home Video
The Rainmaker - Special Edition (Francis Ford Coppola, 1997) Paramount Home Video
Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991) MGM
Renaissance (Christian Volckman, 2006) Miramax
Roads to Koktebel (Boris Khlebnikov, Aleksei Popogrebsky - 2003) Film Movement
Scent of a Woman [HD DVD] (Martin Brest, 1992) Universal Studios
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Complete Collection - Infinity Resources, Inc
Shadow Puppets (Michael Winnick, 2007) Anchor Bay
Streets of Fire [HD DVD] (Walter Hill, 1984) Universal Studios
Suspense: The Lost Episodes Collection, Vol. 1 (4-disc) Infinity Ent
That Midnight Kiss / The Toast of New Orleans (Norman Taurog, 1950) Warner Home Video
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach, 2006) Genius Products
Woody Woodpecker & Friends Classic Collection - Universal Studios
Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) Paramount Home Video
July 30th, 2007
20 Million Miles To Earth (2-disc 50th Anniversary Edition) (Nathan Juran, 1957) Sony Pictures
300 (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) (Zack Snyder, 2007) Warner
300 (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] (Zack Snyder, 2007) Warner
300 [Blu-ray]
(Zack Snyder, 2007) Warner
Blue Planet (IMAX) (Ben Burtt, 1990) [HD DVD] Imax
Blue Planet (IMAX) (Ben Burtt, 1990) [Blu-ray] Imax
Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988) R2 UK BFI
The Fallen (Ari Taub, 2004) R2 UK Scanbox Entertainment
The Film Noir Classics Collection: Vol 4 - Act of Violence (MGM, 1949), The Big Steal (1949), Crime Wave (WB, 1954), Decoy (Monogram, 1946), Illegal (WB, 1955), Mystery Street (MGM, 1950), Side Street (MGM, 1950), Tension (MGM, 1950), They Live By Night (RKO, 1949), Where Danger Lives (RKO, 1950) - Warner Home Video
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1 - Warner Home Video
Masters of Cinema DVD releases are still on sale at Amazon.UK!
HERE including...
Le Silence de la mer (25% OFF!), Scandal (45% OFF!), Assassination (45% OFF!), Pitfall (45% OFF!), Humanity & Paper Balloons (45% OFF!), Kuroneko (45% OFF!), Kwaidan (35% OFF!), Faust (54% OFF!), Asphalt (45% OFF!), The Idiot (45% OFF!), The Face of Another (45% OFF!), Shoeshine (45% OFF!), Twenty-four Eyes (45% OFF!), The Naked Island (45% OFF!), Prisoner of Shark Island (45% OFF!), Vengeance is Mine (45% OFF!), Metropolis (45% OFF!), Francesco Giullare di Dio (45% OFF!), The Holy Mountain (54% OFF!), Sunrise (45% OFF!), Funeral Parade of Roses (45% OFF!)
and 4500 UK DVDs UNDER £5 HERE - Up to 70% OFF!
Keep punch'in,
Gary