DVDBeaver Newsletter - August 4th, 2006

Hello! - Only 9 reviews this week but two are multi-film boxsets... good ones too!. Rohmer, Wenders, Lang - we truly must be the very centre of the universe... indeed we are. Plus some new upcoming listings (Ophuls!) and BIG sales... enjoy!

SIGH - From Gaumont CTHV:
'Unfortunately, Désert Rouge will only be the non-subtitled French Version.'

FEATURE DVD of the Month has been changed from initial choice and is listed HERE

Criterion's October lineup
Sólo con tu pareja (Alfonso Cuarón, 1991), Clean, Shaven (Lodge H. Kerrigan, 1994), Hands Over the City (Francesco Rosi, 1963), Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)

Easiest way to catch up is simply read the new Newsletter Archive HERE.

SALE: Many Classic, Noir and more at 47% off! HERE - great deals - we have reviewed most of the titles and the discounted price is a steal!
Including: The Black Swan (1942), Laura (1944), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). An Affair to Remember (1957). The Grapes of Wrath (1940), I Wake Up Screaming (1941), Somewhere in the Night (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Fallen Angel (1945), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The House on Telegraph Hill (1951), House of Strangers (1949), Nightmare Alley (1947), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), The House on 92nd Street (1945), No Way Out (1950), People Will Talk (1951), The Street with No Name (1948), Desk Set (1957), Whirlpool (1949), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Song of Bernadette (1943), My Darling Clementine (1946), The Dark Corner (1946), Two for the Road (1967), The River's Edge (1957), Call Northside 777 (1948), Panic in the Streets (1950), Niagara (1953), House of Bamboo (1955), Week-End in Havana (1941), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Lady in Cement (1968), The Rains Came (1939), Laurel and Hardy Giftset (Great Guns / Jitterbugs / The Big Noise) (1944) and more...

NEW Additions to the Release Calendar (PRE-ORDER!)

STRATEGIES: The best way to take full advantage of Amazon is to use PRE-ORDERs - lock in at the discount price by ORDERING - if perchance you decide against the purchase you have until the release date to cancel - at no charge.

AND  if you will purchase more than 35 DVDs (or anything) in a 365 day period (and live in the Continental US) it makes excellent financial sense to subscribe to Amazon Prime! You will get Free 2-day shipping on your purchases!

RECOMMENDATIONS: Our obvious frontrunner recommendation this week is Criterion's Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales - existing for years on the dreadful Fox/Lorber travesties - seeing these films again, with an image quality exceeding anyones expectation, is like discovering the director all over again. If you purchase nothing else this year - this should be your imperative duty. New Beaver reviewer Kurtis Beard did a stand-up job on Will Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 -and I, for one am sold. Some may wish to 2nd guess the Kino Dr. Mabuse The Gambler - but you have options - the film is too powerful and important not to have in your collection. Our Patton comparison created some controversy, but take it from the horses mouth - the new 2-disc edition is the way to go. Wenders fans, and films fans in general, should check out Don't Come Knocking - it is about as visually beautiful a film as I have seen this year. It appears as though Wellspring came through with Don't Move - stunning looking with amazing performances.

STAND PAT - still waiting for region 1 to get off its a** with Five Fingers - both PAL releases are weak... for a film that deserves much more. 

New Reviews:

Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales - The multifaceted, deeply personal dramatic universe of Eric Rohmer has had an effect on cinema unlike any other. One of the founding critics of the history-making Cahiers du cinéma, Rohmer began translating his written manifestos to film in the sixties, standing apart from his new-wave contemporaries. The Six Moral Tales (The Monceau Bakery Girl, Suzanne's Career, My Night at Maud's, La Collectionneuse, Claire's Knee and Love in the Afternoon) is a succession of jousts between fragile men and the women who tempt them. Criterion at their best - DVD of the Year to date....  DVD Release Date: August 15th, 2006

Don't Move - Say what you will about Penelope Cruz’s less challenging roles in American films, but her work in foreign cinema has rarely failed to impress me. If there’s a single person to thank, the talented actress is obviously indebted to writer/director Pedro Almodovar for providing her with colorful and spirited characters since her brief role in “Live Flesh” (1997). The Wellspring DVD came out on July 18, 2006

Don't Come Knocking - a beautiful film - not greeted well by critics, but Wenders recent output seems to be met with this consistent level of indifference. Like Paris, Texas the reunification of Shepard/Wenders is an intentionally paced film of personal inventory and familial redemption. One wonders if there is not a lot of Shepard's personal life in the role - certainly it offers that speculation. DVD Release Date: August 8th, 2006

Man on the Roof - The best Swedish police movie ever does also have one of the best Swedish DVD releases ever. The image is simply fantastic. Anamorphic, progressive, HD-Sourced in original aspect ratio, no signs of digital manipulation. The sound is the original Swedish mono-track and it sounds excellent.

Patton - Franklin J. Schaffner's direction is majestic particularly in his masterful handling of complex battle scenes; shot in 70-millimeter, Dimension 150, these broad, impersonal spectacles have a macabre beauty that gives the viewer a serene God's-eye-view of modern warfare. The 2-disc Cinema Classics edition has a DVD Release Date of May 23rd, 2006

Five Fingers - In Mankiewicz's hands, characteristically elaborated into a teasing rondo of political and sexual intrigue where each new doublecrossing move is mated by a totally unexpected irony of fate, the tale becomes an irresistibly dry, cynical comedy of manners in which the crafty gentleman's gentleman (a marvelous performance from Mason), scheming to secure the means to promote himself as a member of the leisured classes, falls victim to his own pretensions when a beautiful but unprincipled refugee Countess (the equally marvelous Darrieux) trails a heady promise of romance across his path.

Dr. Mabuse The Gambler - The two-part film Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler) is one of the most sensational crime thrillers ever filmed. It is also, together with Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, and M, one of Fritz Lang’s most accomplished films. It mirrors German society of the 1920s in all its criminal-ridden decadence. Its sinister theme is domination by terror. The power-crazed Mabuse masterminds the world’s most dangerous gang of counterfeiters, thieves, and murderers, wielding hypnotic powers with an iron fist to obtain total obedience to his will. DVD Release Date: July 18, 2006

Station West - Sometime prior to his musical endowments took over Dick Powell did some fine Film Noir work, but the western "Station West" stands out as an unusual blend of the 'black cinema' style and the cowboy genre. Powell never easily succumbs to the spurred tough guy role - it takes a healthy fist fight for us to eventually buy-in. Noir notable Jane Greer as the femme fatale gives another sterling performance and Frank Fenton's snappy dialogue really adds to this fast-paced and complex story. Harry J. Wild's cinematography is another desirable plus.

Will Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 - (In Old Kentucky, Steamboat Round the Bend, Doubting Thomas and Life Begins at Forty)  - Will Rogers was many things to many people: a gifted humorist, newspaper columnist, radio personality, and most notably (from his perspective), a cowboy at heart. It took some time for Rogers to discover his knack for comedy, but once he did, his humble personality and grounded philosophies won him a legion of fans. Fox (before merging with Twentieth Century) promptly signed Rogers to one of the most illustrious contracts of his time--one offering the actor $15,000 a week. Neither money nor fame changed the actor’s lifestyle (he would still travel consistently while working his film schedule around his trips) or values. DVD Release Date: July 25, 2005

SALES: A few Criterions on sale at Amazon - Dazed and Confused (42% off), Viridiana (27% off), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (27% off), The Sword of Doom (27% off), Le Samourai (27% off), Harakiri (30% off), Hopscotch (27% off), Fat Girl (33% off)

P.S. - Although the percentages keep juggling around you can still pick up some great deals at Amazon.UK!:

Laurel-Hardy 21-disc collection (42% off),  The Gospel According To St. Matthew (40% off), Jamon Jamon (60% off), Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf (65% off), Girl on the Bridge (70% off), Baise-Moi (56% off), The Seventh Seal (65% off), Central Station (68% off), Kes (62% off), The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (2-disc) (70% off), Amelie (Two Disc Special Edition) [DTS] (72% 0ff), Pedro Almodovar Collection: Bad Education / Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down / Live Flesh / All About My Mother / Talk To Her (58% off), Visconti's Conversation Piece (61% off), The Fallen Idol (43% off), Sherlock Holmes - The Definitive Collection (54% off), Katherine Hepburn - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Rita Hayworth - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Barbara Stanwyck - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off), Sophia Loren - 6-disc Screen Goddess Collection (52% off), Marilyn Monroe - 6-disc Screen Goddess Boxset (52% off)