Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF August 5th, 2013

  This Week's Highlights
Adiu! - Great week with Criterion - Satyajit Ray (2), MoC - Douglas Sirk, Terrence Malick, René Clément, Wes Craven on Blu-ray. We have new Calendar Listings on Blu-ray including films by Brian De Palma, Charles Laughton, George A. Romero, Fred Zinnemann, Joseph H. Lewis, Atom Egoyan, William Castle, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Irwin Allen, Michael Haneke, Rupert Julian and more! We've posted a new CONTEST and our FEATURE Blu-ray and DVD of the MONTH selected for AUGUST Enjoy!

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

 

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(Week of) August 5th CONTEST  identify the clip on the CONTEST PAGE to win a Brand New Olive Blu-ray of The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

 

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LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

My Name Is Nobody [Blu-ray] (Tonino Valerii, 1973) Image Entertainment

Shack Out on 101 [Blu-ray] (Edward Dein, 1955) Olive Films

Ambush at Cimarron Pass [Blu-ray] (Jodie Copelan, 1958) Olive Films

The Fury [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1978) RB UK Arrow Video

The Medusa Touch [Blu-ray] (Jack Gold, 1978) Henstooth Video

The Night of the Hunter [Blu-ray] (Charles Laughton, 1955) RB UK Arrow Academy

Creepshow [Blu-ray] (George A. Romero, 1982) RB UK Second Sight

From Here to Eternity [Blu-ray] (Fred Zinnemann 1953) Sony

This Is The End [Blu-ray] (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, 2013) Sony

The Frozen Ground [Blu-ray] (Scott Walker, 2013) Lions Gate

Bob and the Monster [Blu-ray] (Keirda Bahruth, 2011) R1

Schalcken the Painter [Blu-ray] (Leslie Megahey, 1979) RB UK BFI

Dead in Tombstone [Blu-ray] (Roel Reine, 2013) MCA

The Last House on the Left [Blu-ray] (Dennis Iliadis, 2009) Universal Studios

The Big Combo [Blu-ray] (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955) Olive Films

James Dean - Ultimate Collector's Edition [Blu-ray] (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden) Region FREE UK Warner Home Video

Eric Rohmer Blu-ray Collection Boxset [Blu-ray] - RB FR Filmedia

The Sweet Hereafter [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 1997) RB UK Artificial Eye

Americano [Blu-ray] (William Castle, 1955) Olive Films

Querelle [Blu-ray] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Fighting Kentuckian [Blu-ray] (George Waggner, 1949) Olive Films

Hannibal [Blu-ray] (Bryan Fuller, 2013) Lions Gate

Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Vol. 2 [Blu-ray] Olive Films

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea [Blu-ray] (Irwin Allen, 1961) Fox UK

Funny Games [Blu-ray] (Michael Haneke, 2007) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Phantom of the Opera [Blu-ray] (Rupert Julian, 1925) RB UK BFI

Guest Wife [Blu-ray] (Sam Wood, 1945) Olive Films

Gaslight [Blu-ray] (Thorold Dickinson, 1940) RB UK BFI

Dexter: The Complete Final Season [Blu-ray] - Showtime

Slap Shot [Blu-ray] (George Roy Hill, 1977) Universal Studios

In the House [Blu-ray] (François Ozon, 2012) Cohen Media

Fantastic Voyage [Blu-ray] (Richard Fleischer, 1966) Fox Home Entertainment

Corruption [Blu-ray] (Robert Hartford-Davis, 1968) Grindhouse Releasing

Sean Connery 007 Ultimate Edition Volume 1 [Blu-ray] Bond Collection (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger) 3 Disc Set - MGM

Sean Connery 007 Ultimate Edition Volume 2 [Blu-ray] Bond Collection (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever) 3 Disc Set - MGM

Plunder Road [Blu-ray] (Hubert Cornfield, 1957) Olive Films

Tam Lin [Blu-ray] (Roddy McDowall, 1970) Olive Films

The Iceman [Blu-ray] (Ariel Vromen, 2012) First Look Pictures

Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray] - HBO

Fletch [Blu-ray] (Michael Ritchie, 1985) Universal Studios

Fantastic Voyage [Blu-ray] (Richard Fleischer, 1966) Fox UK

The Great Beauty [Blu-ray] (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) RB UK Artificial Eye

The Right Stuff [Blu-ray] (Philip Kaufman , 1983) Warner Home Video

The Wicker Man [Blu-ray] (Robin Hardy, 1973) RB UK StudioCanal

Il Generale della Rovere [Blu-ray] (Roberto Rossellini, 1959) Raro Video

The Hitch-Hiker [Blu-ray] (Ida Lupino, 1953) Kino

Ishtar [Blu-ray] (Elaine May, 1987) Sony

Night Tide [Blu-ray] (Curtis Harrington, 1961) Kino Lorber

The Act of Killing [Blu-ray] (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) RB UK Dogwoof

The Stranger [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1946) Kino Lorber

 

 

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): My number one pick this week is probably Criterion's Blu-ray release of Satyajit's Ray's mesmerizing Charulata. What a fabulous package and demonstrative upgrade from SD. MoC have created a wonderful Blu-ray in Douglas Sirk's The Tarnished Angels with his trademark melodrama and exquisite composition of scenes - it's a 'must-own'. Satyajit Ray’s first portrayal of contemporary life, The Big City, also gets the Criterion Blu-ray treatment and the film is, simply put, a masterpiece - one that you should give strong consideration to owning in 1080P. Exceptional value. Terrence Malick's poetic and scattered To the Wonder has a divided audience and while I appreciate the film found the Blu-ray image less satisfying. I enjoyed the Brit nostalgia of the 70's horror Tower of Evil - it's imperfections only added to the charm and the Blu-ray a/v is surprisingly strong. While I got a lot out of René Clément's The Damned, perhaps my expectations of the image were too high - still an important and impacting film. Leonard returned for a full review of Prime Suspect (Complete Collection) on Blu-ray. I must admit I am keen now and it is on my Wish List. Like many, I adore Adrienne Barbeau, but Wes Craven's Swamp Thing suffers from inordinate budget constraints and the film can only be regarded as 'underachieving'. On DVD Eric covered Jo Season One - a TV detective series with Jean Reno - sounds intriguing.. Live, Relax, Enjoy...

  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

Prime Suspect (Complete Collection) BD - The series focuses on no-nonsense female British Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Jane Tennison (played by Helen Mirren), who is attached to the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard). It is set mostly in London and the outer areas, with Series 5 in Manchester. In later series, Tennison is promoted to Detective Superintendent. The series shows how she survives and thrives in a male-dominated profession. Blu-ray Release date: August 27th, 2013

The Damned BD - Set during the closing days of WWII this gritty, claustrophobic mix of Film Noir and psychological suspense follows the doomed escape of a group of Nazi's as they flee for South America aboard a submarine hoping to evade their fate in Europe. Cannnes winner for Best Adventure Film and Crime Film. This classic film is being fully restored and re-mastered and will be offered on Blu-ray for the first time. Includes a bonus documentary and feature length audio commentary/conversation between French and German film scholars. Blu-ray Release date: August 13th, 2013

To the Wonder BD - To the Wonder, Terrence Malick's poetic examination of man's relationships, stars Ben Affleck as an American who falls in love with a woman (Olga Kurylenko) in Paris. He marries her and she moves with him and her daughter to the U.S. When their union falters, he considers becoming involved with an old girlfriend Rachel McAdams. Meanwhile, a priest Javier Bardem contemplates the relationship between God and love. To the Wonder screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Blu-ray Release date: August 6th, 2013

Jo Season One - Joachim Jo Saint-Clair, Jean Reno (Leon Ronin) is a veteran detective in Paris elite Criminal Brigade tackling the city s most challenging murder cases. Jo takes the audience behind the scenes of Paris' most iconic locations the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Catacombs, Place Vendome as we follow St-Clair in his relentless pursuit of justice. Brilliant and brutal, St-Clair matches wits with pathological killers to solve a series of shocking murders. DVD Release Date August 5th, 2013

Swamp Thing BD - Deep in the Florida everglades, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise), and a sexy government agent, Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau, The Fog), have developed a secret formula that could end world hunger. Little do they know, however, that their arch nemesis, Arcane (Louis Jourdan, Octopussy), is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish schemes. Looting the lab and kidnapping Cable, Arcane douses Holland with the chemicals and leaves him for dead. Mutated by his own formula, Holland becomes Swamp Thing - a half-human/half-plant superhero who will stop at nothing to rescue Cable and defeat Arcane...even if it costs him his life! Blu-ray Release date: August 6th, 2013

Tower of Evil BD - From horror producer Richard Gordon (Inseminoid, First Man into Space, Fiend Without a Face, Horror Hospital) comes one of the most brutal and mysterious stories ever to be released on Blu-ray. Tower of Evil is a haunting tale set in & around a deserted lighthouse on fog-shrouded Snape Island. The terror begins when a nude, crazed woman slaughters a sailor who visits the island. When she is taken back to civilization and an ancient relic is discovered, an expedition is mounted to solve the mystery of the island which leads to a series of psycho-sexual murders. Starring Jill Haworth (It!), Bryant Haliday (Devil Doll), Dennis Price (Theater of Blood), George Coulouris (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb) and Candice Glendenning (Satan's Slave) now witness the horror... Blu-ray Release date: August 6th, 2013

The Big City BD - The Big City, the great Satyajit Ray’s first portrayal of contemporary life in his native Kolkata, follows the personal triumphs and frustrations of Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), who decides, despite the initial protests of her bank-clerk husband, to take a job to help support their family. With remarkable sensitivity and attention to the details of everyday working-class life, Ray builds a powerful human drama that is at once a hopeful morality tale and a commentary on the identity of the modern Indian woman. Blu-ray Release date: August 20th, 2012

The Tarnished Angels BD - One of legendary director Douglas Sirk's most cherished passion projects, this spectacular adaptation of William Faulkner's Pylon has risen in stature to become one of his most acclaimed films. Reuniting with his core creative team from oil tycoon saga Written on the Wind, Sirk this time examined the marginal lives and lost souls living one rung from the bottom with surpassing delicacy and artistry. Rock Hudson stars as journalist Burke Devlin, fascinated by the sordid lives of a trio eking out a living in carnival circuit daredevil airshows - Roger Shumann (Robert Stack), former WWI fighter pilot, forced into races and parachute routines with the help of his wife LaVerne (Dorothy Malone), and faithful mechanic Jiggs (Jack Carson). Evoking Depression-era New Orleans with glorious black-and-white CinemaScope photography, Sirk's spellbinding chronicle of personal obsession, romantic longing and irreconcilable desires now appears as one of the most extraordinary films to come out of 1950s Hollywood. Blu-ray Release Date: August 19th, 2013

Charulata BD - Satyajit Ray’s exquisite story of a woman’s artistic and romantic yearning takes place in late nineteenth-century, pre-independence India, in the gracious home of a liberal-minded, workaholic newspaper editor and his lonely wife, Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee). When her husband’s poet cousin (Soumitra Chatterjee) comes to stay with them, Charulata finds herself both creatively inspired and dangerously drawn to him. Based on a novella by the great Rabindranath Tagore, Charulata is a work of subtle textures, a delicate tale of a marriage in jeopardy and a woman taking the first steps toward establishing her own voice. Blu-ray Release Date: August 20th, 2013
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

August 5th, 2013

 

Battlestar Galactica 35th Anniversary [Blu-ray] (Richard A. Colla, 1978) Universal

Cavalcade [Blu-ray] (Frank Lloyd, 1933) 20th Century Fox

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

Ishtar [Blu-ray] (Elaine May, 1987) Sony

The Jungle Book [Blu-ray] (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1967) RB UK Walt Disney Studios

The Man Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray] (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

Mud [Blu-ray] (Jeff Nichols, 2012) Lions Gate

Oblivion [Blu-ray] (Joseph Kosinski, 2013) Universal Studios

Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl, 2012) Strand Releasing

Quicksilver [Blu-ray] (Thomas Michael Donnelly, 1986) Image Entertainment

Quest for Fire [Blu-ray] (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1981) RB UK Second Sight (BEAVER REVIEW)

Smiley's People [Blu-ray] (1982–TV Mini-Series) Acorn Media

Swamp Thing [Blu-ray] (Wes Craven, 1982) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

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

Tower of Evil [Blu-ray] (Jim O'Connolly, 1972) Scorpion (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

August 12th, 2013

 

The Damned [Blu-ray] (Rene Clement , 1947) Cohen Media (BEAVER REVIEW)

Emperor [Blu-ray] (Peter Webber, 2012) Lions Gate

Flashdance [Blu-ray] (Adrian Lyne, 1983) Paramount

Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff [Blu-ray] (Marvin J. Chomsky, 1979) Vinegar Syndrome

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

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

The Odd Angry Shot [Blu-ray] (Tom Jeffrey, 1979) Synapse Films

Olympus Has Fallen [Blu-ray] (Antoine Fuqua, 2013) Sony Pictures Entertainment

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

The Presidio [Blu-ray] (Peter Hyams, 1988) Paramount

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

Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1966) Criterion Collection

The Sun in a Net (Slnko v sieti) (Stefan Uher, 1962) R2 UK Second Run

Shane [Blu-ray] (George Stevens, 1953) Paramount (BEAVER REVIEW)

What Maisie Knew [Blu-ray] (Scott McGehee, David Siegel, 2012) Millennium

 

August 19th, 2013

 

The Adventures of Prince Achmed [Blu-ray] (Lotte Reiniger, 1926) RB UK BFI

Amour [Blu-ray] (Michael Haneke, 2012) Sony

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

Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 1 [Blu-ray] - Olive

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

The Big City (Satyajit Ray, 1963) Criterion Collection

Castle Freak [Blu-ray] (Stuart Gordon, 1995) Full Moon Pictures

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

Charulata (Satyajit Ray, 1964) Criterion Collection

Deranged [Blu-ray] (Jeff Gillen, 1974) RB UK Arrow

Emil and the Detectives (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1931) R2 UK BFI

Killing Season [Blu-ray] (Steven Johnson, 2013) Millennium

Knock on Wood [Blu-ray] (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1954) Olive Films

My Favorite Spy [Blu-ray] (Norman Z. McLeod, 1951) Olive Films

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

No Place on Earth [Blu-ray] (Janet Tobias, 2012) Magnolia

Off Limits [Blu-ray] (George Marshall, 1953) Olive Films

On the Double [Blu-ray] (Melville Shavelson, 1961) Olive Films

The Tarnished Angels [Blu-ray] (Douglas Sirk, 1958) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

Time Bandits [Blu-ray] (Terry Gilliam, 1981) RB UK Arrow

Time Bandits Steelbook [Blu-ray] (Terry Gilliam, 1981) RB UK Arrow

The Unseen [Blu-ray] (Danny Steinmann, 1980) Scorpion Releasing

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

 

 

August 26th, 2013

 

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

Au hasard Balthazar [Blu-ray] (Robert Bresson, 1966) R2 UK Artificial Eye

The Brides of Dracula [Blu-ray] (Terence Fisher, 1960) RB UK Final Cut Entertainment

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

Charulata [Blu-ray] (Satyajit Ray, 1964) RB UK Artificial Eye

Convoy [Blu-ray] (Sam Peckinpah, 1978) RB UK Studiocanal

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

Death Hunt [Blu-ray] (Peter R. Hunt, 1981) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

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

The Evil of Frankenstein [Blu-ray] (Freddie Francis, 1964) RB UK Final Cut Entertainment

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

The Fall of the House of Usher [Blu-ray] SteelBook (Roger Corman, 1960) RB UK Arrow

Flat Top [Blu-ray] (Lesley Selander, 1952) Olive Films

The Great Gatsby [Blu-ray] (Baz Luhrmann, 2013) Warner Home Video

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

A Hijacking [Blu-ray] (Tobias Lindholm, 2012) RB UK Arrow

The Idolmaker [Blu-ray] (Taylor Hackford, 1980) Shout! Factory

In the Fog [Blu-ray] (Sergei Loznitsa, 2012) RB UK New Wave Films

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye [Blu-ray] (Gordon Douglas, 1950) Olive Films

The Land of Hope [Blu-ray] (Shion Song, 2012) RB UK Third Window Films

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

Mouchette [Blu-ray] (Robert Bresson, 1967) RB UK Artificial Eye

La notte [Blu-ray] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Only the Valiant [Blu-ray] (Gordon Douglas, 1951) Olive Films

Prime Suspect [Blu-ray] (Christopher Menaul, John Strickland etc. 1991-2006) (BEAVER REVIEW)

Simon Killer [Blu-ray] (Antonio Campos, 2012) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Something in the Air [Blu-ray] (Olivier Assayas, 2012) RB UK Artificial Eye

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

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

   
     
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