THIS WEEK RELEASES: Summer doldrums don't deter - we still have plenty to offer with Criterion Hirokazu Koreeda, Sirk-esque Ross Hunter with Susan Hayward, Frank Borzage with Dietrich and Cooper, 30's German sci-fi, Kelly Reichardt, Paul Naschy, Ralph Nelson-Poitier, Robert Altman, Henry Hathaway, George Stevens, Lucio Fulci, and more.
THIS WEEK's CALENDAR UPDATES (repeated from last week): another Stanley Kubrick in new 4K UHD, another Thin Man to Blu-ray, more Forgotten Gialli, Hitchcock's greatest in individual 4K UHD, John Carpenter fav in 4K UHD, fabulous Frank Darabont in 4K UHD, Audrey Hepburn 7-Film set, Branagh Neo-Noir, Criterion UK's for Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Gina Prince-Bythewood...
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS: Noir-esque spying Ladd, Japanese cinema exploring the darker edges of sexuality, fetishism plus obsessions with the female form and art, Mitchell Leisen-Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, Cecil B. with Stanwyck, John Sturges with Bronson, and 70's Japanese Space Wars!
Enjoy,
Gary
P.S. Criterion 50% OFF SALE is still going:
https://amzn.to/3dHXUl7

RELEASES the WEEK of August 9th, 2021 (Recommended titles have "**")

**Hirokazu Kore-eda's "After Life"** Blu-ray - Arata Iura @Criterion
US: https://amzn.to/375eVSB
CAN: https://amzn.to/3i281ng
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/hirokazu-kore-54134007
OUR COMPARISON:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/afterlife.htm
COMMENTS: Hirokazu Kore-eda's "After Life" prosaically explores the relationship between memory and persona through his meditative use of gentle cinema. What is remarkable is how impressively fluid the film is expressing the perceptions of the past with personal values. It's brilliant cinema - often, appropriately, considered a masterpiece. The premise itself is enough to cause one to reflect for hours. The Criterion Blu-ray, its relevant interviews and commentary are a must-own for cinephiles everywhere. Our strongest recommendation!
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Angel of Death [Blu-ray] (Andrea Bianchi, 1987) Full Moon Features
US: https://amzn.to/3xo5v0a
CAN: https://amzn.to/3AtqBej
COMMENTS: From the fevered mind of the notorious Jess Franco (BARBED WIRE DOLLS) comes 1987's ANGEL OF DEATH (aka COMMANDO MENGELE), a deranged free-fall into Nazisploitaion that takes its cues from the blockbuster 1978 shocker THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and delivers the sort of delirium that fans of French genre film studio Eurocine hunger for! When an attractive pair of young Nazi hunters exploring Uruguay accidentally stumble upon the lair of the maniacal war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele, they immediately live to regret it. There, deep in the sweltering jungles, Mengele has continued his hideous human experiments, torturing, murdering and mutilating nubile virgins in the name of creating some sort of master race. Soon, mercenaries, monstrosities, femme fatales and vengeful concentration camp survivors face off, with bullets and bodies flying everywhere and Mengele holding cretinous court.
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**David Miller's "Back Street"** Blu-ray - Susan Hayward @kinolorber
US: https://amzn.to/3jAaXr4
CAN: https://amzn.to/3lBkOiG
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/david-millers-54595249
OUR REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_142/back_street_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: David Miller's Back Street is another Ross Hunter 'weepie' with a sweeping score, gorgeous costumes and a stormy romance of the rich and the beautiful. It's hard not to compare as a lesser-nuanced Douglas Sirk masterpiece like All That Heaven Allows. (also with brief support from Hayden Rorke - aka Dr, Bellows.) The leads, Hayward, John Gavin, however, don't have a lot of shared screen time as the love-birds have limited opportunities to be together - as Del Valle states "probably accentuating their desires". They don't make films like Back Street anymore. The Kino Blu-ray is quite appealing with the jaw-dropping color palette exported impressively in 1080P, the dramatic score in lossless and a superior example of this delightful tear-jerker genre. Plus we get the essential double-David commentary. This is strongly recommended!
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**Brief Encounter** [Blu-ray] (Alan Bridges, 1974) RB UK Network
UK: https://amzn.to/3hU19Hh
COMMENTS: Film legends Sophia Loren and Richard Burton star in this moody adaptation of Noel Coward's emotional tale about a chance meeting that progresses from friendship into an unexpected but impossible love. Directed by BAFTA-winning Alan Bridges and scripted by John Bowen (both of whom had worked to great acclaim on TV's Play for Today), Brief Encounter is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original widescreen theatrical aspect ratio as well as a legacy transfer of the as-filmed full-frame version.
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Chariots of the Gods [Blu-ray] (Harald Reinl, 1970) VCI
US: https://amzn.to/3vhcLsY
CAN: https://amzn.to/3jzTr6g
COMMENTS: VCI is pleased to present this iconic documentary in a new 2K restoration from the original 35mm negative! Based on Erich Von Daniken's book purporting to prove that throughout history aliens have visited earth. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has included Chariots of the Gods in their list of the Top 100 Documentary Films of All Time. Fifty million stars in our galaxy have the potential of supporting life forms capable of traveling to other planets, says world-renowned authority Erich von Daniken, whose film version of his best- selling book, CHARIOTS OF THE GODS, gives stunning visual proof that some form of life from outer space landed on Earth centuries ago.
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**Frank Borzage's "Desire"** Blu-ray - Marlene Dietrich / Gary Cooper @KinoLorber
US: https://amzn.to/3rXEj68
CAN: https://amzn.to/3jk6A36
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/frank-borzages-54560968
OUR REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_142/desire_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: The Dietrich/Cooper film Desire is such a wonderful genre mix with a confidence-game, romance, comedy, crime - all expertly realized by director Borzage. It's been out of the conversation and far less-known than it rightfully deserves... plus it is produced by Ernst Lubitsch! It's full of wit, sophistication, Euro-fabricated locales, Dietrich's beautiful gowns, hats and gloves (Travis Banton) - Cooper's Americana persona and a fun storyline of a con-woman falling for one of her marks. As Dietrich stated "The only film I need not be ashamed of is Desire". There is a lot of joy here. The Kino Blu-ray has the film in 1080P and two expert commentaries! Our highest recommendation!
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Dinner in America [Blu-ray] (Adam Rehmeier, 2020) Arrow UK
UK: https://amzn.to/3yMvrUb
COMMENTS: Welcome to the Dollhouse collides with Napoleon Dynamite - with an added dose of the endlessly quotable dialogue of Heathers - in Dinner in America - a DIY love letter to being authentically yourself, finding your voice, and being punk AF. In a dreary Midwestern suburb, aggro punk rocker Simon (Kyle Gallner, Jennifers Body, The Cleansing Hour) finds himself on the run again after a bout of arson and a close call with the police. A chance encounter with the spirited and socially awkward Patty (Emily Skeggs, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Mile 22) provides him a place to lay low. As the two embark on a series of misadventures, they begin to realise they have a lot more in common than they first expected Skilfully directed by Adam Rehmeier (Jonas, The Bunny Game), produced by Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder) and Ross Putman (Plus One, The Violent Heart) and set to the beat of brilliant original songs, Dinner in America is an empowering and wild ride through the places and people of suburbia in all their peculiar and chaotic forms.
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Evil In The Deep [Blu-ray] (aka Treasure Of The Jamaica Reef) (Virginia L. Stone, 1974) Dark Force Ent
US: https://amzn.to/3vbfKUp
CAN: https://amzn.to/3CFFpc3
COMMENTS: A suspense filled adventure-drama about the search for a treasure-laden Spanish Galleon that sank over 200 years ago! This movie was filmed entirely on location in the Caribbean, thirty-fathoms deep in shark infested dangerous seas! Excitement plus an all star cast that includes Cheryl Ladd (Charlie's Angels), Rosey Grier (The Thing With Two Heads), Chuck Woolery (Love Connection, Wheel of Fortune), David Ladd (The Serpent and the Rainbow) and Stephen Boyd (Ben-Hur).
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**Karl Hartl's "F.P.1 Doesn't Answer"** Blu-ray - Hans Albers @KinoLorber
US: https://amzn.to/3lJRerC
CAN: https://amzn.to/3ClwaNM
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/karl-hartls-f-p-54696182
OUR REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_142/FP1_doesnt_answer_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: The science-fiction element of Karl Hartl's big-budget techno-thriller F.P.1 Doesn't Answer is, essentially, the large aircraft carrier utilized as a gas-station for airplanes in the Atlantic Ocean. It's from the imagination of Curt Siodmak's novel (spelled 'Kurt' back in 1932) with help on the screenplay by Walter Reisch (Gaslight, Journey to the Center of the Earth etc.) The production escaped the silent-era and is clever and melodramatic. Peter Lorre fans may be disappointed at the briefness of his screen time. I had never seen F.P.1 Doesn't Answer and really enjoyed the adventurous aspects that harken to early Fritz Lang. I liked this in the same way I could appreciate Hartl's Gold (1934.) The Kino Blu-ray has a lot going for it with this rare gem of a large-scale production, the commentary and English-language version with different cast - as supplements. Strongly recommended!
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**First Cow** [Blu-ray] (Kelly Reichardt, 2019) RB UK MUBI
UK: https://amzn.to/3r1WoQ9
COMMENTS: Award-winning director Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff, Wendy and Lucy) returns with the eagerly awaited First Cow, a gripping and glorious story of friendship, petty crime and the pursuit of the American dream on the harsh frontier of the Pacific Northwest. In 1820s Oregon, two loners team up to seek their fortune through a scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner's prized Jersey cow - the first, and only, in the territory. A true masterpiece from one of the great modern American filmmakers.
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The Frenchman's Garden [Blu-ray] (Paul Naschy, 1978) Mondo Macabro
US: https://amzn.to/3jh9OG2
COMMENTS: Deciding that there were easier and quicker ways to exploit his customers, The Frenchman started slaughtering them, stealing their money and burying their corpses in the garden at the back of his inn. As his greed increased, so did the savagery of his murderous acts. It was not long before people started asking questions. This gruesome story of one of Spain's most notorious serial killers was a very personal project for Paul Naschy, who wrote, directed and acts in the film alongside two of the hottest female stars of the time. This macabre tale of a "black legend" from Spain's rural past was impossible to see for many years but is now available, fully uncut and restored, for the first time on US home video.
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Havoc [Blu-ray] (Barbara Kopple, 2005) Shout! Factory
US: https://amzn.to/3pOkCgf
CAN: https://amzn.to/2VDL4hJ
COMMENTS: When L.A. teens Allison (Academy Award-winner Anne Hathaway) and Emily (Bijou Phillips, Almost Famous) leave their affluent suburb for a joyride, they glimpse a frightening landscape of drugs, violence, and brutality. But as their fear turns into fascination, the two find themselves seduced by this dark and dangerous world — where a pretty girl can get anything she wants ... except a second chance.
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The House Next Door [Blu-ray] (Deon Taylor, 2021) Lionsgate Home Entertainment
US: https://amzn.to/3e1X3f8
COMMENTS: When best selling author Carl Black moves his family back to his childhood home, he must team up with oddball neighbors to do battle with a pimp, who may or may not be an actual vampire.
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**Ralph Nelson's "Lilies of the Field"** Blu-ray - Sidney Poitier @KinoLorber
US: https://amzn.to/3fI27pU
CAN: https://amzn.to/3AlEnzH
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/ralph-nelsons-of-54697847
OUR REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_142/lilies_of_the_field_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: Ralph Nelson's Lilies of the Field was a real gamble for the director/producer with a modest $250,000 studio budget (down from 1/2 a million) - getting Poitier to accept profit-sharing and the director putting up his house as collateral. Nelson was quite taken with the William Barrett story envisioning it as an important family film with subtext. It's fairly simple - shot in only 14-days and doesn't venture to strongly addressing racial issues. The theme of multiculturalism is expressed with German nuns, Mexican Catholics, Irish priest and black southern Baptist (ex G.I.) working together to complete the Chapel project. It' remains a heart-warming effort nominated for many Academy Awards with 1963's Best Actor Oscar going to Poitier. A beautiful film. Nelson deserves more discussion as the director of Soldier Blue, Charly, The Wilby Conspiracy, Duel at Diablo (another teaming with Poitier), Fate is the Hunter, Father Goose, Soldier in the Rain and Tick, Tick, Tick. The Kino Blu-ray has upper-tier a/v and a commentary as a valued supplement. Strongly recommended!
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**Nashville** [Blu-ray] (Robert Altman, 1975) Paramount
US: https://amzn.to/2TpIIBG
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews33/nashville.htm
COMMENTS: Following 24 unique characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's Oscar winning epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of America’s obsession with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon and his fragile star protégée, a self-absorbed rock star who woos a lonely married gospel singer, a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig, a runaway wife with dreams of stardom, and a campaign guru who is trying to organize a concert rally for an unseen presidential candidate. An essential of 70s cinema, this newly remastered Blu-ray, from a 4K film scan of the original elements, looks better than ever.
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**Irving Pichel's "O.S.S."** Blu-ray - Alan Ladd @KinoLorber
US: https://amzn.to/37pnGam
CAN: https://amzn.to/2TXOD1J
BONUS CAPTURES:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/irving-pichels-o-54565685
OUR REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_142/OSS_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: Irving Pichel's O.S.S. is, actually, a very well-made film. Another, more forgotten, effort that deserves rediscovery. Although it has Alan Ladd, it couldn't be considered Film Noir despite having some similar crime-related conventions. It's really about the evolution of the C.I.A. - civilians trained for clandestine work - in this case in Europe - helping thwart the Nazis. Very patriotic in the conclusion. It's a film I am glad to have seen via the Kino Blu-ray - I'll watch Alan Ladd in most anything from the 40s - and the package has the highly informative Deighan commentary as a valued supplement. Certainly recommended!
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One Crazy Summer [Blu-ray] (Savage Steve Holland, 1986) Warner Archive
US: https://amzn.to/3yM4PSa
COMMENTS: An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.
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**Peter Ibbetson** [Blu-ray] (Henry Hathaway, 1935) Kino
US: https://amzn.to/3ggiTgw
CAN: https://amzn.to/3lLFHrF
COMMENTS: From Henry Hathaway, the masterful director of The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Spawn of the North, The Shepherd of the Hills, 23 Paces to Baker Street and True Grit, comes this unique romantic drama based on the George du Maurier novel. Screen legend Gary Cooper (The General Died at Dawn, Beau Geste) stars as Peter Ibbetson, a successful bachelor who feels no interest in a charming woman named Agnes (Ida Lupino, Woman in Hiding, Road House), but longs for his childhood neighbor, Mary (Ann Harding, Holiday, The Animal Kingdom). When he is commissioned by British royalty to rebuild some stables, he is delighted to find that the spirited Duchess is actually his long-lost beloved. Her quick-tempered husband (John Halliday, Desire, Intermezzo) becomes violent when he discovers their past, but his jealousy is no match for their will to be together… even if it is only in a dream world of their creation.
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Pirate Treasure [Blu-ray] (Ray Taylor, 1934) VCI
US: https://amzn.to/3awIf6D
CAN: https://amzn.to/3xvu8XL
COMMENTS: Pirate Treasure is a Universal film-serial released in1934. In search of his pirate ancestor's buried treasure, aviator Dick Moreland sets out on an expedition to the Caribbean to recover the booty. When Moreland's map is stolen by Stanley Brasset, a member of his club, he enlists the aid of Dorothy Craig to help get back the map. Unfortunately, Dorothy is kidnapped by Brasset's henchmen, so Moreland must now come to her rescue. With the map and Dorothy both recovered, they set off on Dorothy's father's yacht in route to the Island. Unbeknownst to them, under a hidden identity, Brasset joins the expedition, with his henchmen in tow as stowaways on the yacht. An attempt to take over the yacht by Brasset and his henchmen is foiled.
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**A Place in the Sun** [Blu-ray] (George Stevens, 1951) Paramount
US: https://amzn.to/35epfGR
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-ray_review_128/a_place_in_the_sun_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: Widely considered one of the finest works of America cinema, Paramount Presents is proud to bring Producer/Director George Steven’s masterwork to Blu-ray—remastered from a 4K film transfer in celebration of its 70th Anniversary. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of a beautiful socialite (Elizabeth Taylor). Shelley Winters is the factory girl whose dark secret threatens Eastman’s professional and romantic prospects. This second Paramount Pictures adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, which was itself based on a notorious true crime tale, was the first film to win the Golden Globe in the category of Best Picture—Drama, before winning six Academy Awards, including Best Director.
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**The Psychic** [Blu-ray] (Lucio Fulci, 1977) RB UK Shameless
UK: https://amzn.to/36tkTMQ
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_77/the_psychic_blu-ray.htm
COMMENTS: Director Lucio Fulci is widely regarded as the ‘Godfather of Gore’. But being famous for his gore-artistry is, somewhat unfairly, to the detriment of the magistral filmmaker that he was. Fulci is revered by Tarantino (who borrowed the tune of The Psychic in his Kill Bill) and other Hollywood mavericks as their avowed influence. This new edition of THE PSYCHIC is exclusive as it has been extensively further restored from new 2K scanned materials to show Fulci’s gem like never before; for the 1st time truly doing justice to the Maestro’s original vision, making this the definitive world-exclusive version of the film deservedly described by Stephen Thrower in his reference-work on the director: ‘THE PSYCHIC deserves careful consideration as one of Fulci's best films’.
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Running Against the Wind [Blu-ray] (Jan Philipp Weyl, 2019) RB UK Eureka Entertainment
UK: https://amzn.to/3wwcKSj
COMMENTS: Two twelve-year-old boys grow up together in a remote village – until a single photo changes their lives forever: Solomon heads for Addis Ababa to become a photographer. Abdi remains at home and trains to fulfil his dream of matching the sport successes of Haile Gebrselassie. Ten years later, Abdi is nominated for the Ethiopian National Running Team and moves to Addis Ababa. He feels Solomon must be dead by now, but an inner voice tells him to look for his old friend. And in fact, Solomon is still alive, but in a completely different world to Abdi's.
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Silip: Daughters of Eve [Blu-ray] (Elwood Perez, 1985) Mondo Macabro
US: https://amzn.to/3dBWVmD
COMMENTS: In the tradition of Japanese "Pink" cinema comes this shocking, violent and sex-filled movie that caused a sensation when it was screened at the Chicago Film Festival. The film stars former Miss Philippines, the stunning Maria Isabel Lopez, in her most revealing role ever. It's an eye-opening example of raw and savage film making from one of its country's most innovative directors. The film contains images of sex and violence that may disturb some viewers.
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