THIS WEEK's RELEASES include Michael Curtiz Criterion, hidden-camera Psychiatrist, Criterion frowns and longlegs, monochrome Mnemonic, team of mercenaries for hire, monstrous Charlize, Joachim Trier triple feature, Motorcycle cop, Milius / Arnold 4K, 60's peplum, Wilder war, De Sica Criterion lands in the UK......
THIS WEEK's CALENDAR UPDATES (NEW!): De Palma 4K UHD, Film Noir Dark Side X 2, silent Hunchback, McCrea / Wray hunted, Cronenberg 4K UHD, Canuck 69 drama, Buzz in 4K UHD, Jesús Franco double feature, 70's Bruno Ganz crime, 30's James Whale, musical murder from Mitchell Leisen, new Laura Mars, another Karloff trifecta, Sean Baker Criterion to the UK, Count Yorga double bill, Psychotic Women, Peter Greenaway weirdness, Bergman package #4, Just Jaeckin reissue, Ghost Stories for Christmas, Gary Oldman directs....
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS: King Bresson, lotsa Criterion; Poitier western, Safdie and Bronstein DIY New York Indie cinema. Downey Sr.'s poke at Madison Avenue. Kirk as a good-natured drifter with a mysterious past and Noirish injustices of urban African-American life...
Enjoy,
Gary

RELEASES the WEEK of August 15th, 2022 (Recommended titles have "**")

Analog Love [Blu-ray] (Robert V. Galluzzo, 2020) Passion River
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COMMENTS: Do you remember sharing your feelings with someone through a “mix tape?” Analog Love is a joyful look at why this ritual of communication through music still continues to be so meaningful. With the insights of Henry Rollins, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Kim Shattuck (The Muffs), Jennifer Finch (L7), Jimmy Urine (Mindless Self Indulgence), Chantal Claret, Jude “Rude Jude” Angelini, Zernell Gillie (Grimy!), Mona Lisa Murray, Christian James Hand (The Session) and many more, we’ll get to the bottom of the long-lost art of the mix tape.
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The Brain [Blu-ray] (Ed Hunt, 1988) RB UK 101 Films
UK PURCHASE LINK
COMMENTS: Imagine a pulsating mass of grey matter, expanding in size and strength as it takes control of human minds and devours human bodies. It could never happen, right? Just watch Independent Thinking, starring Dr. Anthony Blakely (David Gale, Re-Animator), a hot TV programme. But as the show’s ratings continue to soar, so does the suicide and murder rate among its viewers. What they don’t know is that Dr. Blakely has teamed with an alien brain and plans to gain control of all humanity.
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**The Breaking Point** [Blu-ray] (Michael Curtiz, 1950) RB UK Criterion
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BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: Michael Curtiz brings a master skipper’s hand to the helm of this thriller, Hollywood’s second crack at Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not. John Garfield stars as Harry Morgan, an honest charter-boat captain who, facing hard times, takes on dangerous cargo to save his boat, support his family, and preserve his dignity. Left in the lurch by a freeloading passenger, Harry starts to enter­tain the criminal propositions of a sleazy lawyer (Wallace Ford), as well as the playful come-ons of a cheeky blonde (Patricia Neal), making a series of compromises that stretch his morality—and his marriage—further than he’ll admit. Hewing closer to Hemingway’s novel than Howard Hawks’s Bogart-Bacall vehicle does, The Breaking Point charts a course through daylight noir and working-class tragedy, guided by Curtiz’s effortless visual fluency and a stoic, career-capping performance from Garfield.
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Child's Play [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Tom Holland, 1988) Shout! Factory
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COMMENTS: The "chills come thick and fast" (Los Angeles Times) in this riveting, jolt-a-minute thriller about an innocent-looking doll inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who refuses to die. From the director of Fright Night, Child's Play comes complete with "excellent special effects" (Leonard Maltin) and a slew of special features that make this 3-disc set your "friend to the end!
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**Coming Apart** [Blu-ray] (Milton Moses Ginsberg, 1969) Kino
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COMMENTS: Rip Torn (Men in Black) gives one of the great screen performances as a psychiatrist secretly filming his own mental breakdown in Milton Moses Ginsberg’s classic exploration of dark eroticism and self-referential cinematic form. Anticipating the cell phone diaries of today, the entire film is shot through a mirror from a single hidden camera in a one-room apartment. Over the course of several personal encounters, Joe becomes a voyeur of his own reflection, documenting his own emotional disintegration. Although entirely scripted, this fierce, frank, and explicit film seems improvised. The acting is so explosive it seems uncontrolled and the sex scenes have been described as real and pornographic. In dramatic opposition to Hollywood’s narrative filmmaking aesthetic, Ginsberg calls attention to the presence of the camera, abandoning cinema’s “omniscent eye” for a deliberately conscious “camera eye.” Truly ahead of its time, Coming Apart remains a visionary and transformative piece of American cinema.
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**Benny + Josh Safdie's "Daddy Longlegs"** Blu-ray - Ronald Bronstein @Criterion
US PURCHASE LINK
CANADIAN PURCHASE
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: The Safdie brother's Daddy Longlegs has humor and emotional impact drawing upon the Safdie's own experiences with their divorced father. It tells the story of a divorced projectionist and his two boys (played by Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo's sons) and what transpires when he gets custody for two weeks. It has such raw realism that it won the John Cassavetes Award at the 26th Independent Spirit competition. One can see the Cassavetes appeal. It heavily expresses guerilla-filmmaking and I very much enjoyed the expose on the father character. Kudos to Criterion's stacked Blu-ray for getting this probing grassroots cinema to a new audience. I'm certain I would never have seen it without this physical media exposure. Certainly recommended to those keen. 
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**Electra Glide in Blue** [Blu-ray] (James William Guercio, 1973) Kino
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COMMENTS: With its mesmerizing visuals, Easy Rider-style social commentary and electrifying rock soundtrack, Electra Glide in Blue is the quintessential ’70s cult classic. Robert Blake (Busting, TV’s Baretta) creates a vivid character of almost mythic proportions as a small motorcycle cop in Arizona who’s promoted for exposing a murder. Eventually his basic virility runs him afoul of the sheriff and he’s busted back down to his bike, the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide. With classic irony, he finally comes into deadly conflict with a group of hippies…the very people who most nearly reflect his own values. The brilliant cinematography of Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and an uncompromising screenplay by Robert Boris (Steele Justice) highlight this stunning film debut for producer/director/composer James William Guercio. Featuring fine supporting turns by Billy “Green” Bush (The Organization), Mitchell Ryan (High Plains Drifter), Elisha Cook Jr. (I Wake Up Screaming) and Royal Dano (Spaced Invaders).
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**Ronald Bronstein's "Frownland"** Blu-ray - Dore Mann @Criterion
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Ronald Bronstein's Frownland has a black-comedic aura with the character's desperate darkness unrelentingly invading him and the screen. We can both feel sympathy for Keith without wanting to 'get involved' in his self-inflicted nightmare. I felt evocations of Lynch's Eraserhead. The spirit of Independent cinema haunts the film experience. In the opening scene a small TV is showing the 1974 Hammer horror Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell. Frownland was written, directed and edited by Ronald Bronstein. The crew consisted of the trifecta of one cameraman, Sean Price Williams, one soundman and one grip. It's revelatory to see Frownland - a remarkable effort with the lead character, played by Dore Mann, exporting a curious blend of pity-inducing insecurities, tortuous self-loathing and constant meaningful apologies. Ohh, it's unique and adventurous Indie film fans will revel in Keith's honest awkwardness and compounding despair. The Criterion Blu-ray gives Frownland a new audience with good supplements. To each his own.
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Johnny Mnemonic In Black and White [Blu-ray] (Robert Longo, 1995) Allied Vaughn
US PURCHASE LINK 
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: Keanu Reeves is a space-age courier who's plugged in, turned on and buffed up to deliver the most important data of the 21st century, wet-wired directly into his brain! A rapid-fire roller coaster ofaction and high-impact imagery! Also starring Dolph Lundgren, Takeshi, Ice-T, Dina Meyer and Henry Rollins.
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Kill a Dragon [Blu-ray] (Michael D. Moore, 1967) Kino
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COMMENTS: Soldier of fortune Jack Palance (Attack) squares off against warlord Fernando Lamas (100 Rifles) in the explosive action-adventure, Kill a Dragon. When a dangerous load of nitroglycerin lands on a beach near Hong Kong, the islanders claim it as their own. But the powerful Nico Patrai (Lamas) threatens to destroy the island and its inhabitants if the cargo is not given to him in three days. The villagers turn to swaggering mercenary Rick Masters (Palance) and his team of karate experts to help smuggle the nitroglycerin off their island and rid them of the ruthless Patrai and his henchmen once and for all. Helmed by veteran television and Hollywood filmmaker Michael D. Moore (The Fastest Guitar Alive) and co-starring Aldo Ray (And Hope to Die) and Aliza Gur (From Russia with Love), Kill a Dragon mixes rousing action with all the wonder and excitement of beautiful Hong Kong!
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**Patty Jenkins' "Monster"** Blu-ray - Charlize Theron @SecondSightFilm
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR COMPARISON
COMMENTS: 2003's Monster is a biographical crime-drama film, based on serial killer Aileen Wuornos (executed by lethal injection in 2002), written and directed by Patty Jenkins in her feature directorial debut. It is always referenced by many for Charlize Theron's (who also produced Monster) award-winning performance advanced extensively by her remarkable make-up, clothing, body language and her eye control. She is a stunningly attractive women who made an incredible big-screen metamorphosis to become Wuornos. She walked away with many 'Best Actress' awards including a Silver Bear, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Roger Ebert cited Theron's role as "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema." The Wuornos character, history and circumstances are so ugly with such a strong vérité expression (there are moments of, post-criticized, sympathy) - that it is a hard film for some to watch. There is a voyeuristic quality to the viewing of Monster. I really enjoyed watching it again on this superior Second Sight a/v Blu-ray, revisiting the commentary and indulging in the new, 1 3/4 hours, supplements that revealed much of the impressive filmmaking process. Monster is a very unique and memorable film experience. This justifiable extensive package is strongly recommended! Second Sight are really advancing their UK-based label with these fabulous Blu-rays.
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**The Oslo Trilogy: Three Films By Joachim Trier** [Blu-ray] - Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011) and The Worst Person in the World (2021) - RB UK MUBI
UK PURCHASE LINK

ALT-BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: Fifteen years after their first feature-length collaboration, REPRISE, and 10 years after its follow-up, OSLO, AUGUST 31ST, director Joachim Trier and his longtime co-writer Eskil Vogt turned their gaze back on the Norwegian capital city with THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD. Playful yet melancholy, intricately observed yet bracingly deft, and centering on three exhilarating performances from actor Anders Danielsen Lie, the films that comprise the newly christened OSLO TRILOGY deliver lyrical, unflinching meditations on memory, self-knowledge, and the mutability of identity in today's Europe.

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Red Dawn [4K UHD Blu-ray] (John Milius , 1984) Shout! Factory

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COMMENTS: From legendary writer-director John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian) comes the tale of what-could-have-been, had the Cold War gone another way. When Communist paratroopers descend on a Colorado high school football field, a group of the school's students wages an all-out guerilla war to save their townand their country. Featuring an all-star cast, including Patrick Swayze (Road House), Charlie Sheen (Platoon), Lea Thompson (Back to the Future), C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing), Powers Boothe (Tombstone) and Harry Dean Stanton (Alien), Red Dawn ""comes up like thunder"" (New York Post)!
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Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World [Blu-ray] (Riccardo Freda, 1961) Kino

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COMMENTS: Featuring chariot-charging action, fearless tiger-wrestling stunts and an earthshaking climax, Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World is a sword-and-sandal spectacular from the maestro Riccardo Freda (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, Murder Obsession). Hordes of sadistic Mongol warriors descend upon China, enslaving its people and plotting to assassinate the beautiful young princess (Yôko Tani, The Savage Innocents)—until a musclebound hero (Gordon Scott, Tarzan the Magnificent) rises up and rouses the people to drive the Mongols from their nation’s majestic mountainscapes. A legendary warrior fulfills his destiny and becomes a miracle of a man in this classic peplum adventure film, also known as Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan. This special edition includes both the original cut and the American International Pictures US cut.

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

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ALT-BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: Academy Award winners William Holden and Billy Wilder reunited for this gripping World War II comedy/drama set in a notorious German prison camp. Holden portrays the jaded, scheming Sergeant J. J. Sefton—a prisoner at the who spends his days dreaming up rackets and trading with the Germans for special privileges. When two captives are killed in an escape attempt, it becomes obvious that there may be a spy amongst the soldiers.

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**Umberto D.** [Blu-ray] (Vittorio De Sica, 1952) RB UK Criterion

UK PURCHASE LINK

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BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: This neorealist masterpiece by Vittorio De Sica follows an elderly pensioner as he strives to make ends meet during Italy’s postwar economic recovery. Alone except for his dog, Flike, Umberto struggles to maintain his dignity in a city where human kindness seems to have been swallowed up by the forces of modernization. His simple quest to satisfy his basic needs—food, shelter, companionship—makes for one of the most heartbreaking stories ever filmed, and an essential classic of world cinema.
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LATEST CALENDAR UPDATES (CLICK TITLES FOR MORE INFORMATION):

August 29th, 2022

Don't Let the Angels Fall (George Kaczender, 1969) Canadian Int'L Pics

Lightyear 4K UHD (Angus MacLane, 2022) Walt Disney UK

Two Undercover Angels / Kiss Me Monster (Jesús Franco, 1969) - Vinegar Syndrome
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September 26th, 2022

**In Bruges 4K UHD** (Martin McDonagh, 2008) Kino

**Knife in the Head** (Reinhard Hauff, 1978) Cohen
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October 10th, 2022

The Blue Iguana (John Lafia, 1988) Kino

**By Candlelight** (James Whale, 1933) Kino

**Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IX** Lady on a Train / Tangier / Take One False Step - Kino

**Murder at the Vanities** (Mitchell Leisen, 1934) Kino
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October 17th, 2022

**Eyes of Laura Mars** (Irvin Kershner, 1978) Kino
ALT-DVDBEAVER REVIEW

**Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema X** Flesh and Fury / The Square Jungle / World in My Corner - Kino

**The Hunchback of Notre Dame** (Wallace Worsley, 1923) RB UK Masters of Cinema

**Manical Mayhem (Three films starring Boris Karloff)** The Invisible Ray, 1936 - Black Friday, 1940 - The Strange Door, 1951) RB UK Eureka Entertainment

**Take Out** [Blu-ray] (Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou, 2004) Criterion UK

Two Witches (Pierre Tsigaridis, 2021) Arrow US
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October 24th, 2022

**The Count Yorga Collection Count** Yorga, Vampire, & The Return of Count Yorga - Arrow

US PURCHASE LINK

UK PURCHASE LINK

**Dressed to Kill 4K UHD** (Brian De Palma, 1980) Kino

House Of Psychotic Women: Rarities Collection Collector's Set (Identikit, I Like Bats, Footprints, The Other Side of Underneath) - Severin

**The Most Dangerous Game** (Irving Pichel / Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1932) RB UK Masters of Cinema
ALT-DVDBEAVER REVIEW

**Videodrome 4K UHD** (David Cronenberg, 1983) Arrow UK
DVDBEAVER Blu-ray REVIEW
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October 31st, 2022

Eve's Bayou [Blu-ray] (Kasi Lemmons, 1997) Criterion UK

**Lost Highway** [Blu-ray] (David Lynch, 1997) Criterion UK
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November 14th, 2022

**The Draughtsman's Contract** (Peter Greenaway, 1982) RB UK BFI
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November 21st, 2022

**Contraband** (Lucio Fulci, 1980) Cauldron Films

The Dead Girl in Apartment 03 (Kurtis Spieler, 2022) Wild Eye

**Ingmar Bergman: Volume 4 (1972-1984)** - Cries and Whispers (1972) | Scenes from a Marriage (1973) | Autumn Sonata (1978) | Faro Document (1979) | From the Life of the Marrionettes (1980) | Fanny and Alexander (1982) | Fanny and Alexander (TV series) (1983) | After the Rehearsal (1984) - RB UK BFI

Madame Claude (Just Jaeckin, 1977) Cult Epics
OUR REVIEW
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December 5th, 2022

**Ghost Stories for Christmas Volume 1** - Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) | The Stalls of Barchester(1971) | A Warning to the Curious (1972) | Lost Hearts (1973) - RB UK BFI

**Nil by Mouth** (Gary Oldman, 1997) RB UK BFI
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REVIEWS / COMPARISONS:

**Robert Downey Sr.'s "Putney Swope"** Blu-ray - Arnold Johnson @indicatorseries
UK PURCHASE LINK
INDICATOR PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Robert Downey Sr.'s Putney Swope is a satirical comedy on absurdities and corporate corruption in the advertising world, while also providing satire on Hollywood 's portrayal of race. It's the director's most notable film. Yes, he is the father of, the more famous, actor Robert Downey Jr. Sr. allowed Jr. to use marijuana at age six which initiated the child to an extensive battle with addictions that he eventually overcame after stints in prison. Robert Downey Sr. passed a little over a year ago of complications from Parkinson's disease. Putney Swope has been inspirational for filmmakers (Paul Thomas Anderson, Jim Jarmusch etc.) and the Indicator Blu-ray package is stacked with the two commentaries, interview etc., and booklet. Certainly recommended!
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**Ronald Bronstein's "Frownland"** Blu-ray - Dore Mann @Criterion
US PURCHASE LINK
CANADIAN PURCHASE
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Ronald Bronstein's Frownland has a black-comedic aura with the character's desperate darkness unrelentingly invading him and the screen. We can both feel sympathy for Keith without wanting to 'get involved' in his self-inflicted nightmare. I felt evocations of Lynch's Eraserhead. The spirit of Independent cinema haunts the film experience. In the opening scene a small TV is showing the 1974 Hammer horror Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell. Frownland was written, directed and edited by Ronald Bronstein. The crew consisted of the trifecta of one cameraman, Sean Price Williams, one soundman and one grip. It's revelatory to see Frownland - a remarkable effort with the lead character, played by Dore Mann, exporting a curious blend of pity-inducing insecurities, tortuous self-loathing and constant meaningful apologies. Ohh, it's unique and adventurous Indie film fans will revel in Keith's honest awkwardness and compounding despair. The Criterion Blu-ray gives Frownland a new audience with good supplements. To each his own.
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**Benny + Josh Safdie's "Daddy Longlegs"** Blu-ray - Ronald Bronstein @Criterion
US PURCHASE LINK
CANADIAN PURCHASE
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: The Safdie brother's Daddy Longlegs has humor and emotional impact drawing upon the Safdie's own experiences with their divorced father. It tells the story of a divorced projectionist and his two boys (played by Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo's sons) and what transpires when he gets custody for two weeks. It has such raw realism that it won the John Cassavetes Award at the 26th Independent Spirit competition. One can see the Cassavetes appeal. It heavily expresses guerilla-filmmaking and I very much enjoyed the expose on the father character. Kudos to Criterion's stacked Blu-ray for getting this probing grassroots cinema to a new audience. I'm certain I would never have seen it without this physical media exposure. Certainly recommended to those keen.
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**Sidney Poitier's "Buck and the Preacher"** Blu-ray - Sidney Poitier / Harry Belafonte @Criterion
US PURCHASE LINK
CANADIAN PURCHASE
UK PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Sidney Poitier's Buck and the Preacher has welcome moments of humor (Belafonte’s performance) along with some gravely serious topics. "This film broke Hollywood Western traditions by casting black actors as central characters and portraying both tension and solidarity between African Americans and Native Americans in the late 19th century." (h/t Wikipedia) Buck and the Preacher was shot in only 45-days and Poitier edited the film during the shooting of The Organization, the actor's third (and final) appearance as Lt Virgil Tibbs. Civil rights themes can be seen throughout Buck and the Preacher with frequent allegorical parallels drawn between the film's storyline and the important doctrine of the 60's Civil Rights Movement - as well as sharing portrayals in Blaxploitation films in regards to its depiction of white people - although Buck is a significantly different protagonist hero as found in, ex. Shaft or Coffy. The Criterion Blu-ray has impressive a/v and some important extras. Buck and the Preacher also has a lot of western genre appeal. Absolutely recommended.
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**Robert Bresson's "L'Argent"** Blu-ray - Christian Patey @BFI
UK PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR COMPARISON
COMMENTS: This is an excellent Blu-ray release. Robert Bresson's "L'Argent" is loosely inspired by the first part of Leo Tolstoy's posthumously published The Forged Coupon - a 1911 novella. In it, Mitya, a schoolboy, changes a 2.50 rouble bond coupon to read 12.50 roubles in his desperate need for money. It should be noted that Bresson's film is unrelated to Marcel L'Herbier's silent 1928 film L'Argent (reviewed HERE) adapted from the Émile Zola's novel. Bresson describes his film as the one "with which I am most satisfied - or at least it is the one where I found the most surprises when it was complete - things I had not expected." Bresson won the Director's Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. It was actually tied with Andrei Tarkovsky (an strong admirer of Bresson's film) for Nostalghia. It remains a masterpiece and this new BFI Blu-ray - stacked with new supplements - is very strongly recommended!
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**King Vidor's "Man Without a Star"** Blu-ray - Kirk Douglas @mastersofcinema
UK PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR COMPARISON
COMMENTS: King Vidor's Man Without a Star remains a very enjoyable western - pretty much all Kirk - the noble hero with a past and a temper - with the Chase and Beauchamp dialogue accentuating the moods. Jeanne Crain's Reed Bowman is highly desirable, aggressive and corrupt - a kind of western femme-fatale. Dempsey Rae (Douglas) finds that there is no clear moral side to the conflict that Bowman as selfishly promoted. Even Jeff Jimson (William Campbell) who Douglas has taken under his wing, as his protégé, has turned on him. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray of Man Without a Star is easily the best for the film and is strongly recommended to western fans.
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**Pierre Chenal's "Native Son"** Blu-ray - Richard Wright @KinoLorber
KINO PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Pierre Chenal's Native Son is the first of three adaptations of the book to film. The celebrated novel's author, Richard Wright, aged 42, played the protagonist in the Argentine-produced film - despite being twice the age of the 20-year-old Bigger Thomas character. There isn't much overt character development of the protagonist. Bigger is the perpetrator of unapologetic crimes, with minor hints of the systemic causation behind them. Bigger's lawyer, Max (played by Don Dean), makes the case that there is no escaping his client's doomed fate because of his skin color and how society has marginalized him - since birth. The novel was intended to educate its audience about the black experience in the ghetto. It comes across with some ambiguity in the film - and that makes it such a fascinating and appealing oddity. It's cited a "Film Noir" and certainly a case could be made with misfortune turning against an anti-hero protagonist. I loved it. The Kino Blu-ray deserved a commentary but the restoration should be celebrated regardless. Recommended!
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DVDBeaver Newsletter for the Week of August 15th, 2022