Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF September 16th, 2013
  This Week's Highlights
Alofa atu! - A decent week with Criterion Roberto Rossellini X 3, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, George Romero, Carlos Reygadas, Giuseppe Tornatore and more on Blu-ray. On the Calendar Listings Ken Russell, Brian De Palma, Walter Hill, Terence Fisher and others. We've posted a new CONTEST Enjoy!

FOLLOW US on TWITTER! (where we post important reviews, contests - prizes, calendar updates - plus much more...)

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

TOOLBAR THE 'DVDBeaver Toolbar'! Give it a test drive! I've created a very simple toolbar for Film-Fans/DVD-o-philes/cinephiles. It embeds effortlessly within Internet Explorer 5.0+ (Windows Vista/XP/2000) and Firefox 1.0.1+ (Windows, Mac, Linux). It offers quick links to Searching both the Net (via Google) and DVDBeaver directly, Amazons, Asian etailors, Forums (Criterion, Home Theater, AVS, Rotten Tomatoes, Film Noir), IMDb, DVDBasen, Beaver links, Blu-ray information, Cinephile Blogs/Journals (Rosenbaum, Kehr, Acquarello etc.). What do you think? FOR MORE INFORMATION / AVAILABLE HERE *** (We can adjust this to suit popular opinion - on-the-fly - no re-install required!)

 

(Week of) September 16th CONTEST  identify the clip on the CONTEST PAGE to win a Brand New Criterion Blu-ray of La Cage aux Folles  

 
BIG THANKS!: DVDBeaver would not exist without the support of many patrons - those who generously donate, and especially those who use our Amazon(s), CD Japan, HKFlix and YesAsia links. That's it. When you go to Amazon - PLEASE use one of our links to get there (they are on every page - top and bottom - and we have 5000 webpages). It costs you absolutely nothing and we get a small commission on items you purchase. This helps pay our bills - in fact it's the only thing that pays our bills.
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
NOTE:_

If there are DVD titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend!

Gary at 2ze dot com

 

Today's DVD & Blu-rays (Amazon)

Blu-rays Under $10 (Amazon)

Blu-rays Under £6 (Amazon UK)

Blu-rays Under £10 (Amazon UK)

Movies & TVs (Amazon Canada)

LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

The Three Faces of Eve [Blu-ray] (Nunnally Johnson, 1957) 20th Century Fox

And While We Were Here [Blu-ray] (Kat Coiro, 2012) Well Go USA

Tommy [Blu-ray] (Ken Russell, 1975) RB UK Odeon Entertainment

Carrie [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1976) RB UK MGM

Monsters University [Blu-ray] (Dan Scanlon, 2013) Disney

Man of Steel [Blu-ray] (Zack Snyder, 2013) Warner Home Video

The Mummy [Blu-rayy] (Terence Fisher, 1959) RB UK ICON Entertainment

The Message [Blu-ray] (Moustapha Akkad, 1977) Starz / Anchor Bay

The Killing Fields [Blu-ray] (Roland Joffé, 1984) Warner Home Video

Streets of Fire [Blu-ray] (Walter Hill, 1984) RB UK Second Sight

Gold [Blu-ray] (Peter R. Hunt, 1974) RB UK Odeon Entertainment

Hannah Arendt [Blu-ray] (Margarethe von Trotta, 2013) Zeitgeist Films

Hell Baby [Blu-ray] (Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, 2013) Millennium

The Beach Girls [Blu-ray] (Pat Townsend, 1982) 101 Distribution ADA

Two Men in Manhattan [Blu-ray] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1959) Cohen Media

Late Mizoguchi Limited Edition Box [Blu-ray] - Oyu-sama (1951) Ugetsu monogatari (1953), Gion bayashi (1953) Sansho dayu (1954), Uwasa no onna (1954), Chikamatsu monogatari (1954), Yokihi (1955), Akasen chitai (1956) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler Ltd Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray] (Fritz Lang, 1922) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

The Attack [Blu-ray] (Ziad Doueiri, 2012) Koch Entertainment

Blackfish [Blu-ray] (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013) RB UK Dogwoof

The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray] (Dark Journey, Fire Over England, Sidewalks of London and Storm In a Tea Cup) Cohen Media

Invasion of the Body Snatchers [Blu-ray] (Philip Kaufman, 1978) RB UK Arrow Video

Intolerance [Blu-ray] (D.W. Griffith, 1916) Koch Entertainment

Rabid Dogs/Kidnapped [Blu-ray] (Mario Bava, 1974) RB UK Arrow Video

Cinema Paradiso [Blu-ray] (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988) RB UK Arrow Video

Passion [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 2012) Koch Entertainment

Tous les Matins du Monde [Blu-ray] (Alain Corneau, 1991) Koch Entertainment

The People Under the Stairs [Blu-ray] (Wes Craven, 1991) RB UK Arrow Video

Harlequin [Blu-ray] (Simon Wincer, 1980) Scorpion Entertainment

Red River [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson, 1948) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

Nosferatu [Blu-ray] (F.W. Murnau, 1922) - RB UK Masters of Cinema
Nosferatu Ltd. Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray] (F.W. Murnau, 1922) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler [Blu-ray] (Fritz Lang, 1922) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

Nosferatu [Blu-ray] (F.W. Murnau, 1922) Kino Lorber

Before Midnight [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 2013) Sony

Russian Ark [Blu-ray] (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002) Kino Lorber

Martin Scorsese Presents: World Cinema Foundation: Volume One [Blu-ray] (6 discs) - RB UK Masters of Cinema

Epic of Everest [Blu-ray] (J.B.L. Noel, 1924) RB UK BFI

Cinerama: South Seas Adventure [Blu-ray] (Carl Dudley, 1958) Emphasis Entertainment Group

Cinerama Holiday [Blu-ray] (John Marsh, 1955) Emphasis Entertainment Group

Shoot the Sun Down [Blu-ray] (David Leeds, 1978) Kino Lorber

The Beast Within [Blu-ray] (Philippe Mora, 1982) Shout! Factory

Crawlspace [Blu-ray] (David Schmoeller, 1986) Shout! Factory

City Lights [Blu-ray] (Charles Chaplin, 1931) Criterion Collection

Tokyo Story [Blu-ray] (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) Criterion Collection

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman [Blu-ray] (Entire Collection - 27 discs) Criterion Collection

Frances Ha [Blu-ray] (Noah Baumbach, 2013) Criterion Collection
 

 

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): It's probably very evident that Criterion's 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Blu-ray  is the top selection this week... and maybe the entire year. It's essential. I also thoroughly enjoyed Post Tenebras Lux - a very visual and poetic experience that won't be to all tastes. I admit I got a kick out of World War Z - a super, over-produced Zombie popcorner. Speaking of Zombie flics, Romero's iconic Day of the Dead gets a US Blu-ray release to compare to the 1080P UK Arrow. Quite the differences. Mankiewicz' A Letter to Three Wives is a brilliant Hollywood drama. romance from the late 40`s. In regards to Tornadoe's Malèna, I've ordered the Japanese Blu-ray release to compare to the reviewed Korean one. Eric was working overtime covering The Simon Rumley Trilogy, the grindy Amazonia, the mystery-thriller Aleksandr's Price and love story, Beyond the Walls.   Stay real!

  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

Amazonia - After graduating from boarding school, eighteen-year-old Catherine visits her parents at their Amazon plantation. While enjoying a boat ride with her folks, a cannibal tribe viciously murders and decapitates her parents and takes her prisoner. Now enslaved and subjected to torture and humiliation, Catherine exacts brutal revenge on the tribe with blood-spattered precision. DVD Release Date: September 16th, 2013

Beyond the Walls - When Paulo, a young pianist, meets Ilir, a lone bass player, it s love at first sight. Confronted by his girlfriend, Paulo finds himself out on the streets and soon living with Ilir. After Paulo promises Ilir that he will love him forever, Ilir leaves town for a concert and never comes back. BEYOND THE WALLS is a heartbreaking examination of the thrills, sacrifices and disappointments of falling in love. DVD Release Date: September 3rd, 2013

Aleksandr's Price - Aleksandr is an illegal Russian immigrant living alone in New York. Traumatized by the death of his mother, Aleksandr struggles to make ends meet and ultimately turns to escorting. As he descends into the dark world of the New York sex trade, he must also come to terms with who he is. But will his search for himself and a stable home come at a price? Pau Masó presents and stars in this raw and darkly sensual portrait of a young man who's pushed to the edge of society and his own sanity. DVD Release Date: September 24th, 2013

Malèna BD - Picture Sicily, 1941: a beautiful spring day in the sleepy village of Castelcuto. In the wider world, Mussolini has declared war on France and Britain, but for narrator Renato Amoroso (Sulfaro), this was the day he got his first bicycle, caught sight of the irresistible Malèna (Bellucci) and fell in love. He was 13. Deposited in the village by her new husband (away fighting for the Fascists), the sultry siren becomes an object of desire for the local men - and scorn for the women - as she takes her daily strolls across the square in outfits designed to highlight every curve. Renato's lust and youthful imagination allow his cinematic fantasies to take over, and he secretly nominates himself as her protector, who will wreak vengeance on detractors. Tornatore's film resorts to shameless sentimentality even as it paints an unsympathetic portrait of small town cruelty and hypocrisy. But the voyeuristic fetishisation of Malèna - who hardly speaks, whether to defend herself or to offer a glimmer of personality - makes for uncomfortable viewing. On the plus side, the cinematography is beautifully executed. Blu-ray Release Date: August 29th, 2013

Post Tenebras Lux BD - Juan (Adolfo Jiménez Castro) is a wealthy industrialist who has chosen to live with his wife and two children away from the trappings of wealth and the city. Yet isolation in this superficially idyllic rural landscape seems to have brought little peace to his world. Juan's marriage to Natalia (Nathalia Acevedo) is suffering under the strain of sexual ennui, the banal rigours of bringing up young children and living in a community where he is clearly an outsider. The morality of family life is further complicated by Juan's post-colonial Mexican ethnicity and position as an employer and elite landowner in a country with an increasingly divergent wealth divide. Carlos Reygadas' (Battle in Heaven, Silent Light) latest won Best Director in Cannes 2012. It's a gorgeous allusive masterpiece examining marriage, poverty, class, gender, our place in nature and how evil lives with us in the most intimate and ordinary of places. It's a wonder. Blu-ray Release Date: July 22nd, 2013

Day of the Dead BD - The final installment in Romero's Living Dead trilogy somehow failed to replicate the impact of Night of the Living Dead (1968) or Dawn of the Dead (1978), although not through any fault of its own. Some months after their emergence, the zombies are everywhere in the ascendant. A depleting scientific research team conducts experiments on captured zombies in a cavernous Florida bunker under increasingly despotic military protection. There's no radio contact with the outside world, and the pressure is taking its toll: the soldiers are impatient for results that Dr Logan's social conditioning tests just aren't going to meet. Tense rather than terrifying, and with a strong black comic undercurrent, it rests on the mordant observation that zombies or no zombies, chances are the living will tear each other apart. A fitting conclusion to a remarkably astute series, a landmark in the horror genre. Blu-ray Release Date: September 17th, 2013

3 Films by Roberto Rossellini BD - In the late 1940s, the incandescent Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman found herself so stirred by the revolutionary neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini that she sent the director a letter, introducing herself and offering her talents. The resulting collaboration produced a series of films that are works of both sociopolitical concern and metaphysical melodrama, each starring Bergman as a woman experiencing physical dislocation and psychic torment in postwar Italy. It also famously led to a scandalous affair and eventual marriage between filmmaker and star, and the focus on their personal lives in the press unfortunately overshadowed the extraordinary films they made together. Stromboli, Europe ’51, and Journey to Italy are intensely moving portraits that reveal the director at his most emotional and the glamorous actress at her most anguished, and that capture them and the world around them in transition. Blu-ray Release date: September 24th, 2013

The Simon Rumley Trilogy - In the premiere documentary, Rumley describes the film as being about the disconnect people have between their perceptions at twenty-one of how they will be at thirty and how they end up (successful, settled, cultured, and current); and at least four of the six people at this dinner party are play-acting at being adults. Lily is keeping up appearances, but her husband is an unemployed writer who doesn’t want to sell out but deals cocaine on the side (which Lily takes pains to overlook even when he’s supplying Dan in between courses). Their playing house in an “under renovation” home of a friend who is currently abroad. Charlotte and Dan are thoroughly disgusted with one another (he has murderous fantasies about her and she is already seeing someone else), and even the sweetest of the couples Alex and Alan can only talk around their devastating secret for so long. DVD Release Date: August 20th, 2013

A Letter to Three Wives BD - Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed and wrote the screenplay (based on John Klempner’s novel) for the 1949 feature A Letter To Three Wives and would receive Academy Awards® for both efforts. The film was also nominated for Best Picture. As three women head off on a boating trip with a group of children, they receive a letter written by a woman claiming to have stolen one of their husbands. Which one? The letter doesn’t say. Faced with the prospect of a shattered life, each woman soul searches throughout the day: Deborah Bishop (Jeanne Crain) feels inadequate amidst her husband’s (Jeffrey Lynn) country club set. Everyone sees Lora Mae Hollingsway (Linda Darnell) as a gold digger, including her husband (Paul Douglas.) And Rita Phipps (Ann Sothern) has a career that makes her husband (Kirk Douglas) feel neglected to the point of infidelity. All three endure the anguish of uncertainty until the boat trip ends—and the truth is revealed. Blu-ray Release Date: September 17th, 2013

World War Z BD - Is this the ultimate zombie movie?? No. But it’s a terrifying nail biter that’ll have you gripping your seat about 5 minutes in and for the rest of the ride. Though Brad Pitt is the only major star (with Matthew Fox making a brief appearance), this one has summer blockbuster written all over it. Brad Pitt is retired U.N. field hotshot (in this film the U.N. actually DOES some good) who’s now happy as a lark being a stay-at-home dad to his two adorable daughters, doting on his equally stunning wife. Their charmed life comes to a crashing (literally) end when the whole world is upended by a stunningly fast moving zombie virus. People turn seconds after being bitten. Unlike the George Romero zombies of old school days, these CGI’ers are more of the Danny Boyle “28 Days Later” school- horrifyingly fast and fierce. Blu-ray Release date: September 17th, 2013
 

 Next 4 weeks on the Calendar

September 16th, 2013

 

The Atomic City [Blu-ray] (Jerry Hopper, 1952) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Autumn Sonata [Blu-ray] (Ingmar Bergman, 1978) - Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, 1978) - Criterion Collection

Behind the Candelabra [Blu-ray] (Steven Soderbergh, 2013) HBO (BEAVER REVIEW)

Day of the Dead [Blu-ray] (George A. Romero, 1985) Scream! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Devil Bat [Blu-ray] (Jean Yarborough, 1940) Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)

Dracula [Blu-ray] (Tod Browning, 1931) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

Dracula: Prince of Darkness [Blu-ray] (Terence Fisher, 1966) First Look Pictures (BEAVER REVIEW)

Escape From Zahrain [Blu-ray] (Ronald Neame, 1962) Olive Films

The Fly [Blu-ray] (Kurt Neumann, 1958) RB UK 20th Century Fox (BEAVER REVIEW)

Frankenstein [Blu-ray] (James Whale, 1931) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

A Letter to Three Wives - 65th Anniversary [Blu-ray] (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1949) 20th Century Fox (BEAVER REVIEW)

Riot [Blu-ray] (Buzz Kulik, 1969) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Slacker [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 1991) - Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Twelve O'Clock High [Blu-ray] (Henry King, 1949) RB UK 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (BEAVER REVIEW)

Two Men in Manhattan [Blu-ray] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1959) Cohen Media (BEAVER REVIEW)

World War Z [Blu-ray] (Marc Forster, 2013) Paramount (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

September 23rd, 2013

 

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

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

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

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

Blockade, Landscape, Revue: 3 films by Sergei Loznitsa - R2 UK New Wave Films

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

From Up on Poppy Hill [Blu-ray] (Goro Miyazaki, 2011) RB UK Studio Canal

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

Halloween  - 35th Anniversary [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1978) Fox/Anchor Bay

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

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

Ikarie XB-1 aka Voyage to the End of the Universe (Jindrich Polák, 1963) R2 UK Second Run

Iron Man 3 [Blu-ray] (Shane Black, 2013) Walt Disney

Lost and Found: American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive - Image Entertainment

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

Playing for Time [Blu-ray] (Daniel Mann, 1980) Olive Films

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

Prince of Darkness [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1987) Shout! Factory

Riddles of the Sphinx (Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen, 1979) R2 UK BFI

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

Sleepwalker [Blu-ray] (Saxon Logan, 1985) RB UK BFI

Squirm [Blu-ray] (Jeff Lieberman, 1976) RB UK Arrow

3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman (Stromboli, Europe ’51, Journey to Italy) [Blu-ray] - Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman (Stromboli, Europe ’51, Journey to Italy) - Criterion Collection

Stories We Tell [Blu-ray] (Sarah Polley, 2012) RB UK Curzon Film World

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

A Time To Love And A Time To Die [Blu-ray] (Douglas Sirk, 1958) RB UK Masters of Cinema

Voyage of the Damned [Blu-ray] (Stuart Rosenberg, 1976) Shout! Factory

 

September 30th, 2013

 

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

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

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

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

House of Wax [Blu-ray] (André De Toth, 1953) Warner Home Video

Lifeforce [Blu-ray] (Tobe Hooper,1985) RB UK Arrow Video

Lifeforce [Blu-ray] [Limited Edition Steelbook] (Tobe Hooper,1985) RB UK Arrow Video

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

Paradise: Love/Paradise: Faith/Paradise: Hope Trilogy - R2 UK Soda Pictures

Philadelphia [Blu-ray] (Jonathan Demme, 1993) RB UK Sony

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

Van Gogh [Blu-ray] (Maurice Pialat, 1991) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

October 7th, 2013

 

Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm [Blu-ray] (Jacob Hatley, 2010) Kino Lorber

Carrie [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1976) RB UK MGM (BEAVER REVIEW)

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

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

From Here to Eternity [Blu-ray] (Fred Zinnemann 1953) RB UK Sony
 I Married a Witch [Blu-ray] (René Clair, 1942) Criterion Collection

I Married a Witch (René Clair, 1942) Criterion Collection

Internal Affairs [Blu-ray] (Mike Figgis, 1990) Paramount

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

Leviathan [Blu-ray] (Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel, 2012) The Cinema Guild

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life 30th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] (Terry Jones, 1983) Universal Studios

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

Night Train To Terror [Blu-ray] (Jay Schlossberg-Cohen, 1985) Vinegar Syndrome

The Remains of the Day [Blu-ray] (James Ivory, 1993) RB UK Sony

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

Shout at the Devil [Blu-ray] (Peter R. Hunt, 1976) Shout! Factory

Stalag 17 [Blu-ray] (Billy Wilder, 1953) Paramount

Stuck in Love [Blu-ray] (Josh Boone, 2012) Millennium

Zombie Hunter [Blu-ray] (K. King, 2013) Well Go USA
   
     
Contact Us   Weekly Newsletter Archive
To unsubscribe send a message to DVDBeaver-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com