THIS WEEK's RELEASES: Kieslowski (3 X 1 + 1) gold in 4K UHD from the UK, Bergman in 4K! Nicholas Ray in 4K!, Sidney Lumet in 4K UHD X 2 - with Hank Fonda and with Al Pacino, more Cronenberg in 4K UHD from Arrow UK, 4 X vintage horror package from Eureka, Fritz Lang, Antonio Margheriti, Rouben Mamoulian, Gregory La Cava, John Brahm, Erle C. Kenton, new Neil Jordan does Raymond Chandler with Neeson, Sonny Chiba! Barbara Loden Criterion comes to UK...
THIS WEEK's CALENDAR UPDATES (repeat): Charles Laughton direction in 4K UHD, Aldrich-Reynolds prison football, Italian Gothic box, Peter Greenaway reached 4K UHD, Noir 'Dark Side' box #14, George C. horror reached 4K UHD, 40's Catman of Paris...
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS: Bogdanovich illustrious debut from Criterion,, 21 Silent Avant-Garde art film experiments, a Pre-code, plus desolate mansions, pathological jealousies, psychotic revenge and mysterious phantoms in 4 package by Eureka. Mamoulian's stellar Jekyll-Hyde with fabulous March. The last Universal-style 'B' vintage horror mystery, Bill Nighy does Kurosawa, Fritz Lang crime-drama romance with Raft and Sidney, forgotten Widmark western by Indicator, and The Green Hornet 40's 13-part serial...
Enjoy,
Gary

RELEASES the WEEK of April 17th, 2023 (Recommended titles have "**")

**12 Angry Men [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Sidney Lumet, 1957) Kino
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COMMENTS: Following the closing arguments in a murder trial, the twelve members of the jury must deliberate, with a guilty verdict meaning death for the accused, an inner-city teen. As the dozen men try to reach a unanimous decision while sequestered in a solitary, sweltering room, one juror (Henry Fonda, The Ox-Bow Incident) casts considerable doubt on elements of the case. Personal issues soon rise to the surface, and conflict threatens to derail the delicate process that will decide one boy’s fate. In addition to Fonda (who also co-produced with writer Reginald Rose), the cast includes Lee J. Cobb as his main opposition; Ed Begley as a hateful bigot; E.G. Marshall as a cold, logical stockbroker; Jack Warden as a baseball fanatic and Jack Klugman as the disturbed blood-brother to the defendant. The feature directing debut of Sidney Lumet (Serpico, The Verdict), 12 Angry Men remains “one of the best pictures ever made” (The Hollywood Reporter), a searing examination of race, justice, family and morality.
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The Ark of the Sun God [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Antonio Margheriti, 1984) 88 Films UK
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COMMENTS: Who needs Indiana Jones when you've got Rick Spear? Rick's a master cracksman – the best damn thief in the business – and he's been hired to find the fabled burial chamber of King Gilgamesh and retrieve the valuables within. But he's not the only one on the treasure hunt: others have their eyes on the loot and they'll stop at nothing to get it... A late-career highlight from Italian genre favourite Antonio Margheriti (The Long Hair of Death; Seven Deaths in the Cats Eye), with a characteristically charming performance from David Warbeck (The Beyond) as the dashing Rick, Ark of the Sun God tips its fedora at Raiders of the Lost Ark but adds its own wild invention into the mix. The tomb-raiders at 88 Films are proud to present the 4k UHD premiere of this fabulous slice of 80s adventure.
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Arrebato [Blu-ray] (Iván Zulueta, 1979) RB UK ‎Altered Innocence
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COMMENTS: Horror movie director José is adrift in a sea of doubt and drugs. As his belated second feature nears completion, his reclusive bubble is popped by two events: a sudden reappearance from an ex-girlfriend and a package from past acquaintance Pedro: a reel of Super-8 film, an audiotape, and a door key. From there, the boundaries of time, space, and sexuality are erased as José is once more sucked into Pedro’s vampiric orbit. Together, they attempt the ultimate hallucinogenic catharsis through a moebius strip of filming and being filmed.
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*"Creeping Horror"** Blu-ray - Rondo Hatton / Bela Lugosi @Eurekavideo
Murders in the Zoo (1933), Night Monster (1942), Horror Island (1941) and House of Horrors (1946)
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COMMENTS: Eureka Classics "Creeping Horror' Blu-ray boxset of vintage horrors has the very appealing Pre-code Murders in the Zoo and we can never get enough Rondo Hatton - here in House of Horrors as 'The Creeper' with Virginia Grey, regal Alan Napier and sexy Joan Shawlee. I continue to warm to Horror Island and its sassy banter and see brief Bela and plenty of fireside shadows in Night Monster. The films looks great and we get new delightful commentaries and the LE booklet. You can throw these short-ish vintage-era horrors on any late night for an economical double feature with desolate mansions, pathological jealousies, psychotic revenge and mysterious phantoms. Absolutely recommended!
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**The Double Life of Véronique [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991) RB UK Curzon Film
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COMMENTS: This new 4K Ultra HD of Kieślowski's celebrated Sixties-set drama follows two young women, both called Veronica, who seem to have a single existence, albeit in different countries. They are identical, sharing mannerisms, predilections and musical talent. They nurture ambition, hopes and loves, and suffer from the same rare heart disease. Kieślowski's oblique, luminously photographed and hauntingly scored film is an enigmatic tale of double identity.
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**High, Wide and Handsome** [Blu-ray] (Rouben Mamoulian, 1937) Kino
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COMMENTS: Hollywood legends Irene Dunne (When Tomorrow Comes), Randolph Scott (Western Union) and Dorothy Lamour (My Favorite Brunette) star in High, Wide and Handsome, a rousing musical adventure about a small town that strikes it rich. When their traveling show breaks down in a Pennsylvania village, Doc Watterson (Raymond Walburn, Christmas in July) and his lovely daughter, Sally (Dunne), find a place to stay with aspiring oilman Peter Cortlandt (Scott). All of Peter’s hard work pays off as he and Sally fall in love and he discovers a vein of oil that will make him and all his neighbors wealthy. When a railroad mogul schemes to get the land for himself, the community pulls together to build a pipeline to their dreams. Directed by the great Rouben Mamoulian (Love Me Tonight, The Mark of Zorro) and featuring songs by famed composers Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II (Show Boat), this unforgettable classic is a heartfelt story of finding success against all odds.
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Lady in a Jam [Blu-ray] (Gregory La Cava, 1942) Kino
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COMMENTS: Lady in a Jam is a classic screwball comedy starring the splendid Irene Dunne (Stingaree, The Awful Truth) as Jane, a young lady who is suspected of insanity after she squanders her entire inheritance yet refuses to accept her poor financial state. Dr. Enright (Patric Knowles, The Bride Wore Boots, Monsieur Beaucaire) is the handsome doctor assigned to her case, unbeknownst to Jane. Posing as her chauffeur, he drives her out west to her rich grandmother, from whom Jane hopes to recoup her fortune. Refusing to give Jane a dime, instead her grandmother allows her to work the family’s played-out gold mine. Jane’s ex-boyfriend (Ralph Bellamy, Hands Across the Table, His Girl Friday) comes into the picture only to discover Jane is smitten with the doctor. A love triangle ensues and finally the gold mine and Jane’s love life start to yield some promise. Deliciously directed by Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey, Stage Door.)
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**Man on the Roof** [Blu-ray] (Bo Widerberg, 1976) RB UK Radiance Films
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COMMENTS: Police officer Stig Nyman is murdered by an unseen assailant brandishing a bayonet. His colleagues Beck, Rönn and Kollberg pick up the case quickly, keen to solve the crime on one of their own. Investigating Nyman and drawing up a list of potential suspects leads the team to discover he was a lousy cop who abused his power with a history of brutality. As their search draws closer they are caught unaware by a rooftop assassin with a sniper rifle, picking off every cop he can. The Man on the Roof was adapted from the novel by celebrated writers Sjöwall and Wahlöö, whose Martin Beck character has been realised in multiple films and recent TV series Beck. Influenced by The French Connection's gritty vérité style, celebrated director Bo Widerberg created an incredible spectacle here that would become legendary in Sweden and remains the greatest crime film from the heart of Scandi noir.
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Marlowe [Blu-ray] (Neil Jordan, 2022) Studio Distribution Services
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COMMENTS: Marlowe, a gripping thriller set in 1939 LA. Hard-boiled private eye, Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson), is hired to find the lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger). Unexpectedly, Marlowe finds himself embroiled in a deadly mystery that he's determined to either solve or die trying.
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**Naked Lunch [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (David Cronenberg, 1991) Arrow UK
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COMMENTS: In a career dedicated to seeing the unseeable and filming the unfilmable, perhaps only David Cronenberg could really do justice to William S. Burroughs’ controversial novel, Naked Lunch. Weaving together elements of Burroughs’ own remarkable biography with the content of the book, Cronenberg’s film steps inside the body and mind of an author to depict the dangerous act of imagination itself from the inside out. Former junkie William Lee (Peter Weller, Robocop) makes ends meet as an exterminator. But when he and his wife Joan (Judy Davis, Barton Fink) discover the hallucinatory properties of the powder he uses to kill bugs, they become hooked, and their world is changed forever. Insects speak, typewriters mutate and talk, interdimensional beings reveal themselves, identities fracture and blur; nothing and no one is quite what it seems. When Bill, under the influence of drugs, or the bugs that have begun talking to him, shoots his wife, he flees to Interzone, at once a place and a state of mind, where things only get stranger.
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Oh, Doctor! and Poker Faces: Two Comedies Directed by Harry A. Pollard [Blu-ray] - Kino
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COMMENTS: Kino Lorber is proud to present two uproarious silent comedies from Universal Pictures and director Harry A. Pollard. Oh, Doctor! (1925) stars Reginald Denny (Rebecca) as Rufus, a frail hypochondriac deeply in debt. He promises to repay it with the fortune he is due to inherit in three years. To ensure his health, the loan sharks hire a nurse, Dolores Hicks (Mary Astor, The Maltese Falcon), to take care of him. But when Rufus learns that the fetching Dolores prefers courageous men, he throws himself into a series of dangerous stunts that give his creditors a coronary. Poker Faces (1926) is a madcap farce in which henpecked husband Edward Everett Horton is desperately trying to close a contract to please his boss. When his wife (Laura La Plante) is unable to attend an all-important business dinner he hires a woman to play her. But she turns out to be married to an insanely jealous boxer!
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**Rebel Without a Cause [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Nicholas Ray, 1955) Warner
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COMMENTS: James Dean became a national symbol for '50s teen angst in director Nicholas Ray's powerful character study of alienated youth. Dean stars as new kid in town Jim Stark, who faces problems at school, deals with his parents' constant arguing, participates in knife fights and chicken races, and finds friendship with fellow outcast Plato (Sal Mineo) and the beautiful Judy (Natalie Wood). With Jim Backus, Dennis Hopper.
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**Rio** [Blu-ray] (John Brahm, 1939) Kino
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COMMENTS: From director John Brahm, the master of suspense behind The Undying Monster, The Lodger, Hangover Square and Singapore, comes a journey into the dark and dangerous corners of Rio, starring screen greats Basil Rathbone (If I Were King) and Victor McLaglen (Murder at the Vanities). Crooked Parisian financier Paul Reynard (Rathbone) is arrested for bank fraud and sentenced to a penal colony off the coast of South America. His wife Irene (Sigrid Gurie, Algiers) and faithful servant Dirk (McLaglen) travel to Rio de Janeiro to arrange for Paul’s escape. But once they’ve landed in the Brazilian capital, Irene falls in love with an American engineer (Robert Cummings, The Last Train from Madrid). After his escape, Paul realizes that he’s lost his wife forever to a better man, and seeks revenge. From a story by Jean Negulesco (Road House), the noir-drenched adventure Rio also stars Leo Carrillo (Four Frightened People).
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Search for Beauty [Blu-ray] (Erle C. Kenton, 1934) Kino
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COMMENTS: Serial star Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Tarzan the Fearless) and the great Ida Lupino (Road House, Woman in Hiding) star in Search for Beauty, a romantic Pre-Code comedy about two amorous Olympic athletes (he a swimmer; she a diver) brought in to run a health-and-beauty magazine. Don (Crabbe) and Barbara (Lupino) are really excited about their new venture, but they are completely unaware that the owners of the magazine are con artists who have different plans for the publication’s future as a salacious “skin” rag. In the process of finding a way to resist the conspirators’ schemes, Don and Barbara must fight to keep their relationship together. Get ready for laughs, romance and extraordinary dance sequences worthy of a golden medal! Delightfully directed by Erle C. Kenton (Island of Lost Souls, You’re Telling Me) and co-starring Robert Armstrong (King Kong) and James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan).
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**Serpico [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Sidney Lumet, 1973) Kino
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COMMENTS: Serpico is based on the true story of a New York policeman who discovers that honesty is not expected to be part of his job. He endures scorn and mistreatment from his fellow cops while attempting to perform his duties with integrity. The character of Frank Serpico, combining the best elements of the Establishment and counterculture, is a tour-de-force role for Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scarface). The film is a breathtaking suspense story and a fascinating character study as well as a memorable statement about government’s inherent flaws. Rendered with unflinching realism by director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon), Serpico earned 1973 Oscar nominations for its screenplay by Waldo Salt (Midnight Cowboy) and Norman Wexler (Saturday Night Fever) from the acclaimed biography by Peter Maas (The Valachi Papers), and for Best Actor, cementing Pacino as one of the cinema’s most versatile and iconic talents. Featuring Cornelia Sharpe (Busting, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud) as Leslie, Serpico’s girlfriend.
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**The Seventh Seal [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) Criterion
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COMMENTS: Returning exhausted from the Crusades to find medieval Sweden gripped by the Plague, a knight (Max von Sydow) suddenly comes face-to-face with the hooded figure of Death, and challenges him to a game of chess. As the fateful game progresses, and the knight and his squire encounter a gallery of outcasts from a society in despair, Ingmar Bergman mounts a profound inquiry into the nature of faith and the torment of mortality. One of the most influential films of its time, The Seventh Seal is a stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning and a work of stark visual poetry.
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**The Street Fighter Trilogy** [Blu-ray] (The Street Fighter, Return of the Street Fighter and The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge) RB UK Arrow
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COMMENTS: The first film to receive an X rating in the U.S. purely on account of its violence, The Street Fighter sees Tsurugi embroiled in a game of double and triple crosses involving both local and foreign mafia gangs when he is hired to kidnap Sarai (Yutaka Nakajima, The Executioner 1 & 2), the beautiful heiress daughter of a recently deceased oil tycoon. In Return of the Street Fighter, Tsurugi uncovers an extortion racket behind the construction of a new karate dojo and a shadowy cabal whose reach stretches across the whole of Asia. In The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge, Chiba is joined by Toei star Reiko Ike (Girl Boss Guerrilla, Sex and Fury) as Tsurugi goes hand-to-hand against an ambitious public prosecutor (Koji Wada) with his own fists of fury over evidence of a corporate coverup involving a chemical spillage.
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**The Sunday Womanv [Blu-ray] (Luigi Comencini, 1975) RB UK Radiance Films
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COMMENTS: An odious architect is beaten to death and a high society wife (Jacqueline Bisset, Day for Night) and her gay friend (Jean-Louis Trintignant, The Conformist) are the key suspects with a discarded letter implicating them in the crime. Commissioner Santamaria (Marcello Mastroianni, Fellini’s 8 ½) is assigned to the case and tries to uncover the murder suspect in upper-class Turin. With a murder mystery narrative worthy of Agatha Christie, The Sunday Woman is also a sharp critique of Turin’s upper crust. The screenplay, by the celebrated duo Age & Scarpelli, famed for their masterpieces in the Commedia all’Italiana boom including Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Organizer, is a whip-smart adaptation of the best-selling novels by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini with the lead character of Santamaria inspired by the real-life head of the Flying Squad. The much-heralded director Luigi Comencini (Misunderstood) often worked in a combination of comedy and drama, finding humour in tragedy, and is only waiting to be rediscovered as a master of post-war Italian cinema.
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**Tár** [Blu-ray] (Todd Field, 2022) Universal Pictures UK
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COMMENTS: From writer-producer-director Todd Field comes TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, the groundbreaking conductor of a major German Orchestra. We meet Tár at the height of her career, as she’s preparing both a book launch and much-anticipated live performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Over the ensuing weeks her life begins to unravel in a singularly modern way. The result is a searing examination of power, and its impact and durability in today’s society. Winner of the BAFTA award for Lead Actress (Cate Blanchett) and nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actress, Best Picture and Best Director.
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**Three Colors: Blue, White, Red [4K UHD Blu-ray]** UK Curzon
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COMMENTS: Available for the first time in the UK in 4K Ultra HD, this crisp restoration of Krzysztof Kieślowski's award-winning trilogy explores the French Revolutionary ideals of freedom, equality and brotherhood, and their relevance to the contemporary world. It is a snapshot of European life at a time of reconstruction after the Cold War, reflected through the filmmaker's moralist view of human nature and illuminated by each title's palette colour.
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Transfusion [Blu-ray] (Matt Nable, 2023) Lionsgate
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COMMENTS: Ex-special forces operative Ryan Logan (Sam Worthington) has a sharply honed set of survival skills that have allowed him to walk the line between courage and fear. But after a personal tragedy shatters his family and sends his teenaged son, Billy, into a world of drugs and delinquency, he is pushed to the edge. Desperate to make a new life for Billy, Ryan plunges into the criminal underground for one final mission in this muscular, emotionally charged thriller.
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**The Trap** [Blu-ray] (Robert Thornby, 1922) Kino
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COMMENTS: The Trap is a grand story of romance and betrayal that includes the first starring role of the legendary “Man of a Thousand Faces” Lon Chaney. Chaney plays Gaspard, a French-Canadian trapper whose beloved Thalie (Dagmar Godowsky) throws him over for Benson (Alan Hale), the scoundrel who tricked Gaspard out of a mine claim. Gaspard nurses his resentments over a decade and traps a half-starved wolf as his agent of vengeance. Shot against the awe-inspiring backdrop of Yosemite National Park, The Trap is a wildly entertaining melodrama.
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**Wanda** [Blu-ray] (Barbara Loden, 1970) Criterion UK
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COMMENTS: With her first and only film—a hard-luck drama she wrote, directed, and starred in—BARBARA LODEN turned in a groundbreaking work of American independent cinema, bringing to life a kind of character seldom seen on-screen. Set amid a sootchoked Pennsylvania landscape, and shot in an intensely intimate vérité style, the film takes up with distant and soft-spoken Wanda (Loden), who has left her husband, lost custody of her children, and now finds herself alone, drifting between dingy bars and motels, where she falls prey to a series of callous men—including a bank robber who ropes her into his next criminal scheme. A difficult-to-see masterpiece that has nonetheless exerted an outsize influence on generations of artists and filmmakers, Wanda is a compassionate and wrenching portrait of a woman stranded on society’s margins.
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**Fritz Lang's "You and Me"** Blu-ray - Sylvia Sidney / George Raft @Kinolorber
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COMMENTS: Fritz Lang's You and Me is not prominent in the noir cycle despite the proliferation of ex-cons, Lang directing and Raft-Sidney starring. There are stronger elements of romance and comedy floating over a half-baked crime caper. Fritz Lang had just made Fury and You Only Live Once with Sylvia Sidney. You and Me lacks desirable style (however, loved the Art Deco opening credits) but it is fun and I enjoyed the leads very much - ex-cons (she know he is, but he doesn't know she is) breaking the terms of their parole by secretly marrying. It's not one of Fritz Lang's masterpieces but is a better film than some critique it. The Kino Blu-ray has the best a/v and I learned quite a lot from the commentary and it bolstered my opinion of You and Me. Raft, Sidney and Lang fans should definitely indulge.
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LATEST CALENDAR UPDATES (CLICK TITLES FOR MORE INFORMATION):

April 24th, 2023

**Cheers: The Complete Series** - CBS

The Four Musketeers 4K UHD (Richard Lester, 1974) Studio Canal UK

The Pete Walker Sexploitation Collection - For Men Only (1967), School for Sex (1968), Cool It Carol! (1970) and Home Before Midnight (1978) - RB UK 88 Films

The Shiver of the Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1971) Indicator US
Blu-ray
4K UHD

Three Between The Sheets (Ecstasy, Black Venus, Melody of Passion) Severin

The Three Musketeers 4K UHD (Richard Lester, 1973) Studio Canal UK

Two Orphan Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1997) Indicator US
Blu-ray
4K UHD
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May 1st, 2023

**Anna May Wong Collection** - Dangerous to Know, 1938 - King of Chinatown, 1939 – Island of Lost Men, 1939 - Kino

Deep Impact 4K UHD (Mimi Leder, 1998) Paramount

**Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII** Spy Hunt / The Night Runner / Step Down to Terror - Kino
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May 8th, 2023

**The Hand of Death** (John Woo, 1976) Arrow US

**The Sorrow and the Pity** (Marcel Ophüls, 1969) Milestone Films
OUR ALTERNATIVE REVIEW

**There's No Tomorrow** (Max Ophüls, 1939) Kino
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May 15th, 2023

**Conquest of Space / I Married a Monster from Outer Space** - Shout! Factory
OUR ALTERNATIVE REVIEW
OUR ALTERNATIVE REVIEW

**Everything Went Fine** (François Ozon, 2021) Cohen Media Group

Honey (Gianfranco Angelucci, 1981) Raro Video US

**The Longest Yard 4K UHD** (Robert Aldrich, 1974) Kino
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May 22nd, 2023

**Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4K UHD** (Terry Gilliam, 1998) Arrow UK

**The Running Man [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Paul Michael Glaser, 1987) Paramount US

Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece / Tintin and the Blue Oranges (Jean-Jacques Vierne, 1961) Kino
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May 29th, 2023

Badge 373 (Howard W. Koch, 1973) RB UK Indicator
OUR REVIEW

**Blackhat 4K UHD** (Michael Mann, 2015) Arrow UK
UK 4K UHD
UK Blu-ray
US Blu-ray
OUR ALTERNATIVE REVIEW

Burial Ground 4K UHD (Andrea Bianchi, 1981) 88 Films UK

**Danza Macabra - Volume 1: The Italian Gothic Collection** (The Monster of the Opera, The Seventh Grave, Scream of the Demon Lover, and Lady Frankenstein) Severin Films

**Drowning by Numbers 4K UHD** (Peter Greenaway, 1988) Severin Films

**Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIV** (Undercover Girl, One Way Street, Appointment With a Shadow) Kino

**From Hollywood to Heaven: The Lost and Saved Films of the Ormond Family 1951-1997** - Indicator UK

Golgo 13 (Jun'ya Satô, 1973) Discotek Media

**Mexico Macabre: Four Sinister Tales from the Alameda Films Vault, 1959–1963** (Black Pit for Dr. M, The Witch's Mirror, The Brainiac, and The Curse of the Crying Woman) Indicator UK

The Morning After (Sidney Lumet, 1986) Shout! Factory

**The Night of the Hunter 4K UHD** (Charles Laughton, 1955) Kino

**The Pillow Book** (Peter Greenaway, 1996) Indicator
OUR REVIEW

**The Rules of the Game 4K UHD** (Jean Renoir, 1939) Criterion

**Someone to Watch Over Me** (Ridley Scott, 1987) RB UK Indicator
OUR REVIEW

Soundies: The Ultimate Collection ( four-disc collection sampling of 200 shorts—jazz, country-western, folk, and the boogie woogie roots of rock ’n’ roll) Kino

The Sunday Woman [Blu-ray] (Luigi Comencini, 1975) Radiance Films US

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June 5th, 2023

The Changeling 4K UHD (Peter Medak, 1980) Second Sight Films UK
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June 12th, 2023

The Catman of Paris (Sherman L. Lowe, 1946) Imprint

**Time Bandits 4K UHD** (Terry Gilliam, 1981) Criterion
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June 19th, 2023

**The Hot Spot** (Dennis Hopper, 1990) RB UK Radiance Films

Medicine for Melancholy (Barry Jenkins, 2008) Criterion

Red Sun (Rudolf Thome, 1970) Radiance Films

Red Sun (Rudolf Thome, 1970) Radiance Films UK

**The Servant** (Joseph Losey, 1963) Criterion
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June 26th, 2023

**Pasolini 101** (Accattone 1961, Mamma Roma 1962, Love Meetings 1964, The Gospel According to Matthew 1964, The Hawks and the Sparrows 1966, Oedipus Rex 1967, Teorema 1968, Porcile 1969, Medea 1969) Criterion
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REVIEWS / COMPARISONS:

**Silent Avant-Garde** Blu-ray - Sergei Eisenstein @KinoLorber
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COMMENTS: "Silent Avant-Garde desires to focus on the creative possibilities of image, sound and silence used in American-made experimental films of the 20th century. The final experience represents an artful expressionism unique to the motion picture medium.
Over a century ago - between the late 19th and early 20th century - all cinema was technically silent. Films were experimental in nature for no one had recorded moving images prior to the mid- 1870s. In order to express themselves in silence, filmmakers had to grapple with inventing a new visual language to communicate complex ideas. Music was added afterwards. Hence most films expressed musical ideas in total silence. Within these limited means, a truly silent cinema explored the progression of time through ever-shifting moving images. Outstanding examples abound and are presented here."
One excellent facet of this Kino Blu-ray is the ability of the presentation to run the films consecutively - over 3-hours worth. I suggest it's a great thing to have on in the background when friends are over - some of the visuals are fascinating. It is sure to initiate conversations. Unique, rich, poetic images that draw you into an exceptional world of creative beauty and historic splendor. The textured, deep black level imagery of Vorkapich Montage sequences, as one example, are a hypnotic treat. Certainly recommended to the right cinephile crowd.
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**Peter Bogdanovich's "Targets"** Blu-ray - Boris Karloff @Criterion
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COMMENTS: Peter Bogdanovich's powerful film Targets is an amazing debut especially as it was a 'thrown together' concept which helped established a new, adept, director on the film scene. Roger Corman proposed the idea to a young enthusiastic Peter Bogdanovich with the only stipulation that he had the use of Boris Karloff for only 2 days as well as some older footage of a film he had made with the aged actor ('The Terror'.) Bogdanovich, with his wife Polly Platt, fleshed out an idea for the film utilizing a recent news item of a sniper in Texas who randomly shot people from a tower (see Kurt Russell in The Deadly Tower.) Bogdanovich brought it to a friend and in the space of a couple of hours Samuel Fuller was able to pinpoint the areas of strength and weakness while essentially rewriting the entire script. He urged Bogdanovich not to mention him in the credits for fear it would detract from his friend, who also starred in and directed the feature. Bogdanovich's character's name "Sam Michaels" is his recognition for his friend 'Samuel Michael Fuller' and his important part in the development of "Targets". The film itself is highly regarded by film buffs, which when completed was bought, almost reluctantly, by Paramount (Robert Evans) for $150,000. "Targets", with cinematography by László Kovács (Bogdanovich's Paper Moon,) has relatively unexploited violence but is probably more impactful with its cold, sterile, vérité. It can be seen as allegorical for American society at the time, I would say this is a significant, and highly unnerving, entry in the history of American cinema. "Targets" is a film that cinema fans have patiently waited for to reach 1080P. The Criterion Blu-ray has an important film with revealing extras. Fascinating and essential.
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**Erle C. Kenton's "The Cat Creeps"** Blu-ray - Lois Collier @VinegarSyndrome
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Erle C. Kenton's The Cat Creeps is certainly a 'B' picture but for those who can't get enough of the Universal-style vintage horrors - this has appeal although it is more an economical crime-drama infused with supernatural implications. Both supplements mention "Scooby Doo" mysteries where the villain is 'unmasked' in the conclusion - and there are similarities in The Cat Creeps. The systematic murders in a secluded location may also evoke Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (10 Little Indians.) There are plenty of desirable mystery/horror tropes in rapid succession and some humor. I liked The Cat Creeps and I think it would make a great start to a vintage double feature night. Vinegar Syndrome Labs are impressing me with their Blu-rays and for the right crowd this is delightful fodder.
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**Rouben Mamoulian's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"** Blu-ray - Fredric March @WarnerArchive
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COMMENTS: Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has the racy, pre-code-ness, pioneering make-up and effects and the inventive theory that man is composed of two intertwined halves - civilized and primitive. This is often considered the definitive version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It remains a memorable and effective horror. The Warner Archive Blu-ray does the HD image proud, offers two commentaries, cartoon and radio adaptation. It's one of the must-owns for early horror films and I'm happy to say the transfer package does it justice. Absolutely recommended!
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**Oliver Hermanus' "Living"** Blu-ray - Bill Nighy
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COMMENTS: Oliver Hermanus' Living has a screenplay by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted from the 1952 Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru - which in turn was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. I REALLY enjoyed Living. It would be easy to look down your nose at a re-interpretation - but those familiar with Kurosawa's masterpiece will see, often subtle, homage and echoes throughout. It resonates the same universal themes. The bureaucratic office with heaps of papers on every desk evokes Gilliam's Brazil. I was very impressed with Living. Sony's Blu-ray offers the film in stellar a/v, and bare-bones extras. A commentary would have been ideal. We strongly recommend seeing Living.
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**Fritz Lang's "You and Me"** Blu-ray - Sylvia Sidney / George Raft @Kinolorber
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COMMENTS: Fritz Lang's You and Me is not prominent in the noir cycle despite the proliferation of ex-cons, Lang directing and Raft-Sidney starring. There are stronger elements of romance and comedy floating over a half-baked crime caper. Fritz Lang had just made Fury and You Only Live Once with Sylvia Sidney. You and Me lacks desirable style (however, loved the Art Deco opening credits) but it is fun and I enjoyed the leads very much - ex-cons (she know he is, but he doesn't know she is) breaking the terms of their parole by secretly marrying. It's not one of Fritz Lang's masterpieces but is a better film than some critique it. The Kino Blu-ray has the best a/v and I learned quite a lot from the commentary and it bolstered my opinion of You and Me. Raft, Sidney and Lang fans should definitely indulge.
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**Don Siegel + Robert Totten's "Death of a Gunfighter"** Blu-ray - Richard Widmark @indicatorseries
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COMMENTS: Don Siegel and Robert Totten’s Death of a Gunfighter is a far better western than has been given credit - mostly due to the 'Allen Smithee' pseudonym evolution. It's wonderfully character-driven with an impressive cast including Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O'Connor, Kent Smith, Jacqueline Scott, Dub Taylor, John Saxon, Royal Dano, Harry Carey Jr. etc. It's another fine western showing more traditional characters clashing with the modernization of the west. Subtleties show electricity present in the town. The local politicians seek to retire the Marshal (Widmark) as his effective aggression - that cleaned up the town - is no longer required. The Indicator Blu-ray is at their impeccable high standard - superb a/v, new, edifying commentary - pus new supplements and a 40-page booklet! We strongly recommend this package for western genre fans and beyond.
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"The Green Hornet" Serial Blu-ray - Gordon Jones / Keye Luke @vciclassicfilms
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COMMENTS: Ford Beebe + Ray Taylor's The Green Hornet Serial was based on the radio series. It offers a non super-powered hero, akin to Batman, with a speedy, futuristic, car, a few gadgets (mostly invented by Kato) and a barely disclosed secret identity as a young wealthy man. It's pretty fun with the typical 'cliff-hanger' chapter conclusions. It's so great to drift back in time to such innocent entertainment. There's over 4 hours of it here. The VCI Blu-ray has no new supplements, but the old ones have value, and it will appeal to those who like vintage adventures with a vigilante crime fighter and his sidekick. Recommended to fans of serials.
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**"Creeping Horror"** Blu-ray - Rondo Hatton / Bela Lugosi @Eurekavideo
Murders in the Zoo (1933), Night Monster (1942), Horror Island (1941) and House of Horrors (1946)
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COMMENTS: Eureka Classics "Creeping Horror' Blu-ray boxset of vintage horrors has the very appealing Pre-code Murders in the Zoo and we can never get enough Rondo Hatton - here in House of Horrors as 'The Creeper' with Virginia Grey, regal Alan Napier and sexy Joan Shawlee. I continue to warm to Horror Island and its sassy banter and see brief Bela and plenty of fireside shadows in Night Monster. The films looks great and we get new delightful commentaries and the LE booklet. You can throw these short-ish vintage-era horrors on any late night for an economical double feature with desolate mansions, pathological jealousies, psychotic revenge and mysterious phantoms. Absolutely recommended!
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DVDBeaver Newsletter for the Week of April 17th, 2023