Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK

OF September 30th, 2019

  This Week's Highlights
 
 

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Namaskārām! This is the last day for our SILENT AUCTION for patrons (ends midnight EST Monday Sept 30th) running HERE. This has been a decent week of Blu-ray reviews in this newsletter of packages from Kino, BFI, Warner Archive, Eureka, Twilight Time, Funimation of films directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Claude Sautet, Basil Dearden, Raoul Walsh, Umberto Lenzi, Robert Fuest, John Irvin, Joseph Barbera and William Hanna etc. .Our Calendar has NEW updates of Blu-rays including by directors Blake Edwards, Roman Polanski, Karel Zeman, Jacques Demy, Irving Rapper, Chris Marker, Peter Collinson, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Apted and more. We also have our Feature Blu-ray and 4K UHD posted for OCTOBER Enjoy!!

LISTING PAGES:

Cinema of Japan, Discs of the Year for 2018, The TOP 100 DISCS, Ingmar Bergman's Cinema, HAGSPloitation, BLAXPloitation, OZPloitation, 'WOMEN IN PRISON' CINEMACREATURE-FEATURES (on Blu-ray!), PRE-CODE FILMs (on Blu-ray!), SILENT ERA FILMs (on Blu-ray!), HAMMER Studios (on Blu-ray!) The 100 BEST Neo-Noirs (on Blu-ray!), The GREATEST 100 Westerns (on Blu-ray!), Giallo on Blu-ray!, ESSENTIAL NOIR on Blu-ray!, Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.FR (France), Shopping Guide for Blu-rays at Amazon.DE (Germany) and our LATEST ARTICLES: Movies From... the End of the World The Beauties of Star Trek (TOS)

Feature Blu-ray and 4K UHD chosen for the Month of OCTOBER!

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LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE RELEASE CALENDAR:

Days of Wine and Roses [Blu-ray] (Blake Edwards, 1962) Warner Archive

The Fearless Vampire Killers [Blu-ray] (Roman Polanski, 1967) Warner Archive  (ALT-DVDBeaver REVIEW)

A Journey to the Beginning of Time [Blu-ray] (Karel Zeman, 1955) UK Second Run

Model Shop [Blu-ray] (Jacques Demy, 1969) RB UK Arrow (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Now, Voyager [Blu-ray] (Irving Rapper, 1942) Criterion UK

La Jetee (1962) & Sans Soleil (1983) [Blu-ray] Criterion UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Italian Job 50th Anniversary - Deluxe Edition [Blu-ray] (Peter Collinson, 1969) Region FREE Paramount UK

The Limits of Control [Blu-ray] (Jim Jarmusch, 2009) Arrow Academy

The Limits of Control [Blu-ray] (Jim Jarmusch, 2009) Arrow UK

Tamango [Blu-ray] (John Berry, 1958) Kino

Stardust [Blu-ray] (Michael Apted, 1974) RB UK Studiocanal

Arctic (Steelbook) [Blu-ray] (Joe Penna, 2018) RB UK Signature Entertainment

Neverwhere [Blu-ray] (Dewi Humphreys, 1996) RB UK BBC

QT8: The First Eight [Blu-ray] (Tara Wood, 2019) RB UK Signature Entertainment

Lust in the Dust [Blu-ray] (Paul Bartel, 1984) Vinegar Syndrome

From Beyond the Grave [Blu-ray] (Kevin Connor, 1974) Warner Archive

Fawlty Towers - The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] - RB UK BBC

Until the End of the World [Blu-ray] (Wim Wenders, 1991) Criterion

The Story of Temple Drake [Blu-ray] (Stephen Roberts, 1933) Criterion

Old Joy [Blu-ray] (Kelly Reichardt, 2006) Criterion (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Tunes of Glory [Blu-ray] (Ronald Neame, 1960) Criterion

Coincoin and the Extra-Humans [Blu-ray] (Bruno Dumont, 2018) Kino

Waking the Dead [Blu-ray] (Keith Gordon, 2000) Universal

Skeleton of Mrs. Morales [Blu-ray] (Rogelio A. González, 1960) VCI

Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray] (The Ring, The Farmer’s Wife, Champagne, The Manxman and The Skin Game) Kino

Buffet Froid [Blu-ray] (Bertrand Blier, 1979) Kino

Green for Danger [Blu-ray] (Sidney Gilliat, 1946) RB UK Network

Christmas in July [Blu-ray] (Preston Sturges, 1940) Kino

The Holly and the Ivy [Blu-ray] (George More O'Ferrall, 1952) Kino

Suspiria [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1977) Synapse Films

The Letter [Blu-ray] (William Wyler, 1940) Warner Archive

The Set-Up [Blu-ray] (Robert Wise, 1949) Warner Archive

Universal Horror Collection: Volume 3 [Blu-ray] (Tower of London, Man-Made Monster, The Black Cat, Horror Island) Shout! Factory

Our Hospitality [Blu-ray] (John G. Blystone, 1923) Kino

La Marseillaise [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1938) Kino

Hercules in the Haunted World [Blu-ray] (Mario Bava, 1961) Kino (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Murders in the Rue Morgue [Blu-ray] (Robert Florey, 1932) Shout! Factory (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

The Fly Collection [Blu-ray] (1958's The Fly, 1959's The Return of the Fly, 1986's The Fly, 1989's The Fly II) Shout! Factory

Seven Days to Noon [Blu-ray] (John Boulting, Roy Boulting, 1950) Kino

It Always Rains on Sunday [Blu-ray] (Robert Hamer, 1947) Kino

The Anne Bancroft Collection [Blu-ray] (Don't Bother to Knock (1952), The Miracle Worker (1962), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Graduate (1967), Fatso (1980), To Be or Not to Be (1983), Agnes of God (1985) and 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) Shout! Factory

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): Released today is BFI's new 2 Blu-ray package of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom. It includes a Kat Ellinger commentary (which alone would be worth the upgrade) but also offers the most robust video transfer of all digital visions, the addition of the optional lossless English DUB, and couple of new extras beyond the previous BFI Blu-ray, plus the limited edition booklet - make this essential for cinephiles. This is the one to own... Our number 2 selection this week is Claude Sautet's Un Coeur en Hiver and it also has an Ellinger commentary. It's a brilliant, sensitive romance to the music of Ravel - on Blu-ray thanks to Kino. 1970 British thriller triple feature? - let's include Robert Fuest's exciting And Soon the Darkness (with 2 commentaries,) John Hough's Sudden Terror (also with 2 commentaries) and throw in a second Susan George damsel-in-distress suspens'er Fright - all new to Blu-ray - and all made within 1.5 years of each other in the early 70s. Basil Dearden's highly interesting The Mind Benders with Dirk Bogarde is another effective thriller out of the UK - this one made in the early 60s - also brought to Blu-ray by Kino - and also with an audio commentary. What a time to be a film fan! John Irvin's The Dogs of War offered a perfect role for Christopher Walken - a sullen, impenetrable mercenary... on a mission that includes a subtext of personal revenge. On a new Blu-ray from Eureka in the UK. Raoul Walsh's The Tall Men starring Clark Gable, Jane Russell and Robert Ryan is an entertaining '50s western epic, shot in 2.55:1 CinemaScope. Next up - two animation Blu-rays; there is a Martian ton of nostalgia for the original 1960's The Jetsons. Warner Archive have brought the first 24-epiodes on three Blu-rays. The futuristic jokes and plots are always amusing. On a more adult tone - we have reviewed another 'fanservice' anime out of Japan; Rosario + Vampire has a shifting story leaning to the fantasy-horror realm... but is still for adults only. Lastly, Umberto Lenzi's Nightmare Beach has been called the last of the Giallos - made in 1989 - some would label it a 'slasher' film with some of the style of the yellow genre. It's uneven and lacks imagination but the Kino Blu-ray offers a commentary.

 “If you know that I am an unbeliever, then you know me better than I do myself. I may be an unbeliever, but I am an unbeliever who has a nostalgia for a belief. The mark which has dominated all my work is this longing for life, this sense of exclusion, which doesn't lessen but augments this love of life..” ― Pier Paolo Pasolini

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  THIS WEEK's REVIEWS / COMPARISONS
 

Nightmare Beach BD - Now this is more like it -- a slasher flick featuring a leather-clad biker whose modified chopper comes complete with an electric chair accessory to fry those pesky, over-sexed Spring Break teenagers! This little-seen Umberto Lenzi-lensed effort (under the pseudonym Harry Kirkpatrick) plays most of the action by the book, with cardboard characters routinely partying, then dying, all for the sake of exploitation-style killing. So are the deaths any good? Oh yeah! Italian directors barely ever skimp out on the effects, and this sucker is no different. Sure, the fried heads that burst into flames look plenty goofy, but that's part of the fun. Of course, this also being a Spring Break flick, there's plenty of outrageous and drunken hijinks littering the background of most of the shots and, hey, a little bit of John Saxon in the cast goes a long way. Blu-ray Release Date: October 1st, 2019

Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom BD - Pier Paolo Pasolini’s notorious final film, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, has been called nauseating, shocking, depraved, pornographic . . . it’s also a masterpiece. The controversial poet, novelist, and filmmaker’s transposition of the Marquis de Sade’s 18th-century opus of torture and degradation to 1944 Fascist Italy remains one of the most passionately debated films of all time, a thought-provoking inquiry into the political, social, and sexual dynamics that define the world we live in. Blu-ray Release Date: September 30th, 2019

The Tall Men BD - A Western epic of a tall order results when iconic stars Clark Gable, Jane Russell and Robert Ryan loom large amid the lustrously lensed landscapes of The Tall Men (1955), directed by the masterful Raoul Walsh and flavorfully adapted by top-flight screenwriters Sydney Boehm and Frank Nugent. Ex-Confederate brothers (Gable and Cameron Mitchell) form an alliance with a shady businessman (Ryan) on a perilous cattle drive across 1,500 miles of hostile territory from Texas to Montana, and an even more treacherous rivalry for the romantic affections of a lovely frontier woman (Russell). Filmed in Cinemascope by Leo Tover and scored by Victor Young. Blu-ray Release Date: September, 2019

The Dogs of War BD - Jamie Shannon (Walken) is a cynical warrior-for-hire who only ever feels truly alive in the heat of battle, and now he s about to take on the most challenging assignment of his career: to invade a corrupt African dictatorship and shift control to the "puppet" of a powerful British corporation. To prepare, Shannon masterfully trains and equips a squad of deadly mercenaries with the latest and most destructive tactics and military hardware. But as their explosive assault begins, Shannon finds himself embroiled in an internal conflict of his own. Will this be his greatest triumph, or has he sold his soul along with his battle expertise? Blu-ray Release Date: October 14th, 2019

The Mind Benders BD - A government scientist commits suicide while clutching a briefcase full of cash, and the police accuse him of being a Communist spy. But when his friend Dr. Henry Longman (Dirk Bogarde) suspects that the death may have been the result of brainwashing, he decides to prove his theory by subjecting himself to sensory deprivation. Can the doctor resist the experiment’s sadistic side effects or will he fall under the control of The Mind Benders? Mary Urea and Wendy Craig co-star this classic 1963 sci-fi thriller directed by Basil Deaden that went on to influence Ken Russell’s mind-bending Altered States. Blu-ray Release Date: October 15th, 2019

Un Coeur en Hiver BD - Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart and André Fusilier star in this sublimely sensual, provocative and critically-acclaimed film from director Claude Sautee. Camille (Béart), a concert violinist, becomes intrigued by her lover’s business partner Stephane (Auteuil), an aloof restorer of musical instruments. She interprets his distance as a kind of flirtation, but Stephane is more of a voyeur, preferring to watch than engage in romance. A bizarre love triangle forms in which each member slowly unveils their imperfections and insecurities. Un Coeur end Hiver (A Heart in Winter) is a sexy and enthralling film that unearths the origins of desire. Blu-ray Release Date: September 24th, 2019

And Soon the Darkness BD - Two British nurses -- Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) -- take a vacation in the French countryside. Jane actually wants to tour the countryside, while Cathy wants to spend the time enticing men. After an argument while in a small French village, Jane leaves. When she returns, Cathy is gone. And if that weren't worry enough, it appears that the handsome young man Cathy flirted with on their journey is apparently a sex-crazed serial killer. In a panic, Jane tries to get some help from the villagers, but the townspeople are curiously uncooperative. Blu-ray Release Date: October 15th, 2019

Sudden Terror BD - Ziggy (Mark Lester) is the young boy who witnesses the murder of a visiting black official by the police. Much like the boy who cried wolf, Ziggy has been known to stretch the truth and exaggerate. He is unable to convince the adults that he witnessed the killing. The murderous cops are soon on his trail as he hits the road with his sister (Susan George) and her new boyfriend (Tony Bonner). The real police soon follow, after convincing his parents that Ziggy has told the truth for once. The boys grandfather (Lionel Jeffries) is the retired Colonel, a lighthouse keeper and lovable curmudgeon. Jeremy Kemp is the police chief, and the main heavy is played by Peter Vaughan. The boyfriend's car is cornered on a treacherous cliff where the villains try to ram the vehicle to the jagged rocks below. Blu-ray Release Date: October 15th, 2019

Rosario + Vampire BD - Tsukune’s terrible grades stick him in a school where all his classmates are monsters— and if they figure out his human status, he’s fresh meat. Things perk up when his scent attracts the hungry lips of a gorgeous vampire named Moka. Soon Tsukune is seduced by a succubus, tormented by a frisky witch, and stalked by a snow fairy! He’s a slacker in the human world but scores an A+ with monsters. Blu-ray Release Date: October 2nd, 2018

The Jetsons BD - "Meet George Jetson...Jane, his wife... daughter Judy...his boy, Elroy..." The catchy theme tune for The Jetsons ideally captures the lighthearted essence of the show, a futuristic counterpoint to The Flintstones that reflected the space-age optimism of the times. The Jetsons were the very first family, animated or not, to have a big-screen home entertainment system decades before it became a reality. They also had flying cars, floating cities and androids, all commonplace scenery in today's most popular sci-fi blockbusters. Blu-ray Release Date: September 10th, 2019

Next 2 weeks on the Calendar

September 30th, 2019

 

 

Addams Family Values [Blu-ray] (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1993) Paramount

Ant-Man [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Edgar Wright, 2015) Marvel

Apocalypse Now - Final Cut [Blu-ray] (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) RB UK Studiocanal (BEAVER REVIEW)

Brick [Blu-ray] (Rian Johnson, 2005) Kino Lorber (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Brother Can You Spare a Dime [Blu-ray] (Philippe Mora, 1975) VCI

Chernobyl [Blu-ray] (Craig Mazin, 2019) HBO (BEAVER REVIEW)

DC 7 Film Collection [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Shazam!, Aquaman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition, and Man of Steel) Warner

Doctor Strange [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Scott Derrickson, 2016) Region Free Disney

Driven [Blu-ray] (Nick Hamm, 2018) Universal

ffolkes (aka North Sea Hijack) [Blu-ray] (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1980) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

Framing John DeLorean [Blu-ray] (Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce, 2019) Shout! Factory

The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil [Blu-ray] (Won-Tae Lee, 2019) Well Go USA

Guardians of the Galaxy [4K UHD Blu-ray] (James Gunn, 2014) Region Free Disney US

Gremlins [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Joe Dante, 1984) Region Free Warner Bros.

The House of Hitchcock Collection [Blu-ray] (Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, Family Plot, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Episodes) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1942-1976) Universal

Nightmare Beach [Blu-ray] (Umberto Lenzi, 1989) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

Pan's Labyrinth [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Guillermo del Toro, 2006) Warner Brothers

The Proposal [Blu-ray] (Jill Magid, 2018) Oscilloscope

Rocketman [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Dexter Fletcher, 2019) Region Free Paramount UK

Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom [Blu-ray] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Shining [4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray] (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) Region Free Warner Bros.

The Shining - Extended Cut [4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray] (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) Region Free UK Warner Bros

A Star Is Born - Encore [Blu-ray] (Bradley Cooper, 2018) RB UK Warner Bros.

Wanted: Dead or Alive [Blu-ray] (Gary Sherman, 1986) Kino Lorber

Zombieland [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Ruben Fleischer, 2009) Region Free Sony

 

October 7th, 2019

 

 

 

3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg [Blu-ray] (Underworld 1927, The Last Command 1928, The Docks of New York 1928) Criterion

Baby Blood [Blu-ray] (Alain Robak, 1990) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

The Bells of St. Mary's [Blu-ray] (Leo McCarey, 1945) RB UK Arrow Academy

A Bread Factory [Blu-ray] (Patrick Wang, 2018) Grasshopper

Crime Story [Blu-ray] (Kirk Wong, Jackie Chan, 1993) RB UK 88 Films

Father Hood [Blu-ray] (Darrell Roodt, 1993) Kino Lorber

From Beyond the Grave [Blu-ray] (Kevin Connor, 1974) Warner Archive

Godzilla: King of the Monsters [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Michael Dougherty, 2019) Region Free UK Warner Bros.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters [3D Blu-ray] (Michael Dougherty, 2019) RB UK Warner Bros.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters [Blu-ray] (Michael Dougherty, 2019) RB UK Warner Bros.

Gwen [Blu-ray] (William McGregor, 2018) Image Entertainment

Hercules in the Haunted World [Blu-ray] (Mario Bava, 1961) Kino (ALT-BEAVER REVIEW)

Howling III [Blu-ray] (Philippe Mora, 1987) RB UK Screenbound

A Journey to the Beginning of Time [Blu-ray] (Karel Zeman, 1955) UK Second Run

Karate Warrior [Blu-ray] (Fabrizio De Angelis, 1987) RB UK 88 Film

Killing of the Dolls [Blu-ray] (Miguel Madrid, Michael Skaife, 1975) Mondo Macabro

Maleficent [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Robert Stromberg, 2014) Region Free Disney UK

The Mary Millington Movie Collection [Blu-ray] (Various, 1977-1979) RB UK Screenbound Pictures

My Boyfriend's Back [Blu-ray] (Bob Balaban, 1993) Kino Lorber

Primary Colors [Blu-ray] (Mike Nichols, 1998) Universal

Rabid [Blu-ray] (Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska) RB UK 101 Films

Scorpio Films: The Dutch Sex Wave Collection [Blu-ray] (Obsessions, Frank & Eva, Blue Movie, My Nights With Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie) (Various, 1969-1975) Cult Epics

Sgt. Bilko [Blu-ray] (Jonathan Lynn, 1996) Universal

Spider-Man: Far from Home [Blu-ray] (Jon Watts, 2019) Sony Pictures

Suspiria [Blu-ray] (Luca Guadagnino, 2018) RB UK MUBI

Toy Story 4 [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Josh Cooley, 2019) Region Free Disney

Toys Are Not for Children [Blu-ray] (Stanley H. Brassloff, 1972) Arrow Video US

Toys Are Not for Children [Blu-ray] (Stanley H. Brassloff, 1972) Arrow Video UK

The Wedding Guest [Blu-ray] (Michael Winterbottom, 2018) IFC Independent Film

Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death [Blu-ray] (Ki-young Kim, 1978) Mondo Macabro