Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF August 1st, 2011
  This Week's Highlights
Namastei!  - Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Tran Anh Hung, Nicolas Roeg, Gillo Pontecorvo and more with 3 Criterion Blu-rays this week, plus calendar updates with Antonioni, Pasolini, Shindo, Korda, Kaurismaki, Losey, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Theo Angelopoulos, Michael Haneke, Sergei Bondarchuk, Tim Burton, John Carpenter and others. Feature DVD and Blu-ray chosen for August, and a new Clips contest with Criterion Blu-ray prize - and more! Au Ag! Drink deep of the 1080P... or not at al!

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Feature DVD and Blu-ray chosen for August 2011 HERE

Leonard has reviewed the new Oppo BDP-95 Universal audiophile Blu-ray player HERE!

 

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LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom [Blu-ray] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) Criterion

Identification of a Woman (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1982) Criterion

Identification of a Woman [Blu-ray] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1982) Criterion

Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1932) Criterion

Island of Lost Souls [Blu-ray] (Erle C. Kenton, 1932) Criterion

Eclipse Series 29: Aki Kaurismäki’s Leningrad Cowboys - (Leningrad Cowboys Go America, 1989 - Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses, 1994 - Totalal Balalaika Show, 1994) Criterion

Kuroneko (Kaneto Shindo, 1968) Criterion

Kuroneko [Blu-ray] (Kaneto Shindo, 1968) Criterion

The Four Feathers (Zoltán Korda, 1939) Criterion

The Four Feathers [Blu-ray] (Zoltán Korda, 1939) Criterion

Harakiri [Blu-ray] (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962) Criterion

The Prowler (Joseph Losey, 1951) R2 FR Wild Side Video

The Three Colours Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Blue, White, Red, Krzysztof Kieslowski) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Theo Angelopoulos Collection Vol 1 - 5 Discs - Days of '36 (1972) The Travelling Players (1975) and The Hunters (1977) R2 UK Artificial Eye

Nostalgia for the Light [Blu-ray] (Patricio Guzman, 2010) Icarus Films

The Dust of Time (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 2008) R2 UK Artificial Eye

The Weird World of Blowfly [Blu-ray] (Jonathan Furmanski, 2010) E1 Entertainment

The Perfect Host [Blu-ray] (Nick Tomnay, 2010) Magnolia

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

Dazed and Confused [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 1993) Criterion

The Films of Michael Haneke (10 discs) R2 UK Artificial Eye

War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1967) R2 UK Artificial Eye

The English Patient [Blu-ray] (Anthony Minghella, 1996) RB UK Optimum

City of God [Blu-ray] (Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, 2002) RB UK Optimum

Pee-wee's Big Adventure [Blu-ray] (Tim Burton, 1985) Warner

8 Million Ways to Die (Hal Ashby, 1986) R2 UK Second Sight Films

Good Neighbours [Blu-ray] (Jacob Tierney, 2010) Magnolia

Roger Corman's Cult Classic's Lethal Ladies Collection (Firecracker, TNT Jackson, Too Hot To Handle) Shout! Factory

The Kennedys [Blu-ray] (Jon Cassar, 2011) New Video Group

Halloween II [Blu-ray] (Rick Rosenthal, 1981) Universal Studios

The Ward [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 2010) Region FREE UK Warner Home Video

Bridesmaids [Blu-ray] (Paul Feig, 2011) Universal Studios

Criminal Minds: The Sixth Season - Paramount

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (Dmitry Vasyukov, 2010) R2 UK Second Sight Films

Touch of Evil [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1958) RB UK Masters of Cinema

A Man Vanishes (Shohei Imamura, 1967) R2 UK Masters of Cinema

Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1932) R2 UK Masters of Cinema

Silent Running [Blu-ray] (Douglas Trumbull, 1971) RB UK Masters of Cinema

The Ballad of Narayama [Blu-ray] (Shohei Imamura, 1983) RB UK Masters of Cinema

 

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): If forced to choose one package this week I'd probably opt for the Criterion Blu-ray disc of Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing as it also contains his Killer's Kiss in 1080P. The iconic director's noir cycle work in the new format is essential, IMO. But there is much to extol this week Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers in a stacked 2-Blu-ray disc set looking impressively film-like. Also in HD, from Criterion and in black and white is Roman Polanski's paranoid Cul-de-sac in its best digital transfer to-date. Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now also gets released on Blu-ray and its creepy impact is significant. Tran Anh Hung has made another gorgeous film in Norwegian Wood - his deliberately paced take on the famous book - available in high-definition. Speaking of books I grew up reading Robert E. Howard's tales of sword and sorcery with his Conan the Barbarian protagonist - played in the film by Arnold in his most suitable role (discounting monosyllabic robots from the future). It is surprisingly strong looking and sounding via Blu-ray. I enjoyed Copycat with Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter sidestepping a devious serial-killer. The transfer is modest but the film is an edge-of-seat thriller (to use a tired cliché.) Sleepers has an all star cast in its disturbing theme of child abuses. A very well-made film. Far less lauded but I found myself in an accepting mood while viewing was The Shelter with Julianne Moore as a doctor uncovering a multiple-personality murderer. It's a solid transfer of a weakly-received film. Only a couple of DVD entries this past 7 days with Eric covering the Giallo Suspected Death of a Minor and I thought The Atomic City was suspenseful and worthwhile. .

  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

The Battle of Algiers BD - One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria’s struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range; women plant bombs in cafés. The French win the battle, but ultimately lose the war as the Algerian people demonstrate that they will no longer be suppressed. Blu-ray Release Date: October 12th, 2004

Cul-de-sac BD - Roman Polanski orchestrates a mental ménage à trois in this slyly absurd tale of paranoia from the director’s golden 1960s period. Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorléac star as a withdrawn couple whose isolated house is invaded by a rude, burly American gangster on the run, played by Lionel Stander. The three engage in role-playing games of sexual and emotional humiliation. Cul-de-sac is an evocative, claustrophobic, and morbidly funny tale of the modern world in chaos. Blu-ray Release Date: August 16th, 2011

Copycat BD - Anyone who has helped make "Seven" the most popular film of recent weeks should be interested to know there is also a good serial-killer movie around. And a very good thriller it is, too. Tautly directed by Jon Amiel ("Sommersby," "The Singing Detective"), written and acted with unusual care, "Copycat" grippingly describes the hunt for a peculiarly modern monster, a murder groupie who has studied the techniques of past greats and replicates them to torment a star criminologist. Not only is he deadly, this fiend is also derivative, poisoned by the celebrity-worshiping mentality that's almost as sinister as the crimes themselves. Blu-ray Release date: August 2nd, 2011

Don't Look Now BD - A truly original work that blends psychological thriller with a disturbing sense of the macabre, Don’t Look Now also offers a profound and poignant mediation on love and loss. Making evocative use of its disquieting, out-of-season setting, an emerging generation of directors (not least Steven Soderbergh) have cited the film as an influence, ensuring that its reputation as a modern classic continues to grow. Blu-ray Release Date: July 4th, 2011

The Killing BD - Stanley Kubrick’s account of an ambitious racetrack robbery is one of Hollywood’s tautest, twistiest noirs. Aided by a radically time-shuffling narrative, razor-sharp dialogue from pulp novelist Jim Thompson, and a phenomenal cast of character actors, including Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Timothy Carey, Elisha Cook Jr., and Marie Windsor, The Killing is both a jaunty thriller and a cold-blooded punch to the gut. And with its precise tracking shots and gratifying sense of irony, it’s Kubrick to the core. Blu-ray Release Date: August 16th, 2011

The Atomic City - Nuclear physicist Frank Addison (Gene Barry, The War of the Worlds) and his wife are living every parent’s worst nightmare: their son Tommy (Lee Aaker, TV’s The Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin) has been kidnapped. The kidnapper’s ransom demands are the secrets behind the H-bomb! The desperate scramble to rescue Tommy unfolds at a rapid pace in The Atomic City… from the streets of Los Angeles to cliff dwelling of Santa Fe; the real-life locations provide the vivid backdrops for this taut and suspenseful thriller. Director Jerry Hopper (Pony Express) makes his feature film debut. DVD Release Date: August 30th, 2011

The Shelter BD - Dr. Cara Jessup (Julianne Moore) has made a career from debunking the notion of multiple personality disorders and has testified in court to that effect, resulting in many murderers being executed for crimes their supposed alter-egos perpetrated. That is until her father introduces her to his new patient Adam (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, using a full repertoire of clichéd American accents) who will test her rational mind to the limit as he appears to embody the persona’s of people who have died mysteriously. Blu-ray Release date: August 2nd, 2011

Norwegian Wood BD - Published in 1987 and since translated into 33 languages, Norwegian Wood is a story of loss and heartbreak in a time of global instability. Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel is brought to the screen by Tran Anh Hung (Golden Lion winner for Cyclo and Academy Award nominee for The Scent of Green Papaya) and features Japanese rising star Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City) and Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) alongside newcomer Kiko Mizuhara. Blu-ray Release date: July 4th, 2011

Suspected Death of a Minor - When a minor with a fake ID named Marisa (Patrizia Castaldi) is found viciously murdered in a sleazy boarding house, mysterious Paolo Germi (Claudio Cassinelli, MURDER ROCK) sets about tracking down the leader of a teenage prostitution racket he suspects Marisa was involved in. But what is Paolo's game? Is he an undercover cop or another pimp? He's not above roughing up the boarding house's concierge and various prostitutes to get information. He employs small-time thief Giannino (Adolfo Caruso, INHIBITIONS) to snatch prostitutes' purses for cash and contact information. His investigation leads him to a Milanese domestic agency which he suspects of being a front for a prostitution ring. DVD Release Date: September 10th, 2006

Sleepers BD - Barry Levinson directed this crime drama based on a controversial bestseller. Jason Patrick stars as Lorenzo, a New... York reporter more commonly called Shakes, a nickname courtesy of his three childhood pals from Hell's Kitchen -- Michael (Brad Pitt), John (Ron Eldard), and Tommy (Billy Crudup). As kids, all four were sent to reform school after accidentally killing someone during a cruel prank. There, the boys were raped and beaten by several guards, including Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), a fact that they've kept secret into adulthood. Michael is now a rising star in the district attorney's office, while John and Tommy are founders of the Irish gang the Westies. Blu-ray Release date: August 2nd, 2011

Conan the Barbarian BD - Unlike squeaky clean characters of Superman, Flash Gordon or even Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian actually didn't belong to G-rated world of simple morality virtues of late 1930s and early 1940s. His character was indeed invented in 1930s, but the dark imagination of tragically deceased author Robert E. Howard (1906- 1936) kept Conan outside pulp fiction mainstream. It was only in 1960s when, thanks to L. Sprague de Camp and other authors, Conan was rediscovered and later served as some kind of adult alternative to Tolkien-inspired stereotypes in fantasy genre. However, Conan reached the peak of its popularity in the media of comic books, using the new standards of depictions of sex and violence in order to make his character popular among male teenagers. Blu-ray Release date: August 2nd, 2011
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

August 1st, 2011

 

Better Off Dead... [Blu-ray] (Savage Steve Holland, 1985) Paramount

Copycat [Blu-ray] (Jon Amiel, 1995) Warner Home Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Conan the Barbarian [Blu-ray] (John Milius, 1982) Universal Home Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Conan the Destroyer [Blu-ray] (Richard Fleischer, 1984) Universal Home Video

The Lavender Hill Mob (60th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] (Charles Crichton, 1951) RB UK Optimum

Limitless [Blu-ray] (Neil Burger, 2011) RB UK Momentum Pictures (BEAVER REVIEW)

Marvel Knights: Iron Man & Spider Woman [Blu-ray] - Shout! Factory

The Name of the Rose [Blu-ray] (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986) Warner (BEAVER REVIEW)

Outside the Law [Blu-ray] (Rachid Bouchareb, 2010) Palisades Tartan

Sands of the Kalahari (Cy Endfield, 1965) Olive Films

Sands of the Kalahari [Blu-ray] (Cy Endfield, 1965) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

A Screaming Man (Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, 2010) Film Movement

The Silent House [Blu-ray] (Gustavo Hernández, 2010) RB UK Optimum

Sleepers [Blu-ray] (Barry Levinson, 1996) Warner Home Video (BEAVER REVIEW)

Submarine [Blu-ray] (Richard Ayoade, 2010) RB UK Optimum

 

August 8th, 2011

 

The Battle of Algiers [Blu-ray] (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) - Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Big Sky (Howard Hawks, 1952) R2 UK Odeon Entertainment

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff [Blu-ray] (Craig McCall, 2010) Strand Releasing

Dazed and Confused [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 1993) Universal Studios

Dead Man [Blu-ray] (Jim Jarmusch, 1995) Miramax Echo Bridge

Evil Things (Dominic Perez, 2009) Inception Media Group (BEAVER REVIEW)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High [Blu-ray] (Amy Heckerling, 1982) Universal Studios

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Vittorio De Sica, 1970) R2 UK Arrow

The Lookout [Blu-ray] (Scott Frank, 2007) Miramax

Mars Needs Moms [Blu-ray] (Simon Wells, 2011) Walt Disney Studios

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972) R2 UK Artificial Eye

Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) R2 UK Artificial Eye

 

August 15th, 2011

 

Agent 8 3/4 [Blu-ray] (Ralph Thomas, 1964) VCI Entertainment

The Bang Bang Club [Blu-ray] (Steven Silver, 2010) Ent. One Music

The Big Lebowski [Blu-ray] (Coen Bros.,1998) Universal

Breaking Glass [Blu-ray] (Brian Gibson, 1980) Olive Films

Campbell's Kingdom [Blu-ray] (Ralph Thomas, 1957) VCI Entertainment

The Colossus of New York (Eugene Lourie, 1958) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Conspirator [Blu-ray] (Robert Redford, 2011) Roadside Attractions

Cul-de-sac (Roman Polanski, 1966) - Criterion Collection
 Cul-de-sac [Blu-ray] (Roman Polanski, 1966) - Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

David Holzman's Diary: Special Edition [Blu-ray] (Jim McBride, 1967) - Lorber Films

Dexter: Season Five [Blu-ray]  - HBO

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec [Blu-ray] (Luc Besson, 2010) RB UK Optimum

The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956) - Criterion Collection
 The Killing [Blu-ray] (Stanley Kubrick, 1956) - Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Source Code [Blu-ray] (Duncan Jones, 2011) RB UK Optimum (BEAVER REVIEW)

To Be Twenty (Fernando Di Leo, 1978) - Raro Video USA

John Carpenter's the Ward [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 2001) Anderson Merchandise

 

 

August 22nd, 2011

 

Apa - The Father (István Szabó, 1966) R2 UK Second Run

Before the Revolution [Blu-ray] (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1964) RB UK BFI

The Best of Global Lens: Brazil - Almost Brothers (Quase Dois Irmãos), Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus), Mango Yellow (Amarelo Manga), Margarette's Feast (La Festa de Margarette) - First Run Features

Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda, 1964) R2 UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

Breakfast at Tiffany's [Blu-ray] (Blake Edwards, 1961) Paramount

Colossal Youth (Pedro Costa, 2006) R2 UK Masters of Cinema

Deep End [Blu-ray] (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1970) RB DE Koch Media

Eclipse Series 28: The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara (Intimidation, The Warped Ones, I Hate But Love, Black Sun, Thirst for Love) - Criterion Collection

Experiment Perilous (Jacques Tourneur, 1944) R2 UK Odeon Entertainment

Hostage [Blu-ray] (Florent Emilio Siri, 2005) Miramax Lionsgate

Schloss Vogelöd (aka The Haunted Castle - F.W. Murnau, 1921) Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

Ivan's Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962) R2 UK Artificial Eye

Liverpool (Lisandro Alonso, 2008) R2 UK Second Run DVD

Mammuth (Gustave de Kervern, Benoît Delépine, 2010) R2 UK Axiom Films

Miller's Crossing [Blu-ray] (Coen bros., 1990) RB FR Inconnu

Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975) R2 UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

Our Beloved Month of August (Miguel Gomes, 2008) R2 UK Second Run

The Ox-Bow Incident [Blu-ray] (William A. Wellman, 1943) RB DE Koch Media

Poetry [Blu-ray] (Lee Chang Dong, 2011) Kino

La Pointe Courte (Agnes Varda, 1954) R2 UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

Raising Arizona [Blu-ray] (Coen bros., 1987) RB FR Inconnu

Road to Nowhere [Blu-ray] (Monte Hellman, 2010) Monterey Video

Roger Corman's Cult Classics Sword And Sorcery Collection (Deathstalker, Deathstalker II, The Warrior And The Sorceress & Barbarian Queen) - Shout! Factory

Rounders [Blu-ray] (John Dahl, 1998) Lions Gate

Samurai Girls: Complete Collection [Blu-ray] - Section23 Films

Secret Sunshine (Chang-dong Lee, 2007) - Criterion Collection
 Secret Sunshine [Blu-ray] (Chang-dong Lee, 2007) - Criterion Collection

Strigoi (Faye Jackson, 2009) R2 UK Eureka (BEAVER REVIEW)

Summer Storm (Douglas Sirk, 1944) R2 UK Odeon Entertainment

Swingers [Blu-ray] (Doug Liman, 1996) Lions Gate

The Women In Cages Collection (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) [Blu-ray] [Big Doll House, Women In Cages, The Big Bird] - Shout! Factory

Yellow Sky [Blu-ray] (William A. Wellman, 1948) RB DE Koch Media

 

 
     
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