DVDBeaver Newsletter
for the Week of December 6th, 2021
THIS WEEK RELEASES;
Michael Curtiz, Jesús Franco, Jean-Luc Godard in 4K UHD, Kirk boxes, Clint
Eastwood in 4K UHD, John Woo, Hal Ashby, Lynch, Hitchcock, Fassbinder,
Melville, Freddie Francis,Andy Griffith...
THIS WEEK's CALENDAR
UPDATES - (new!): Alfred Hitchcock X 2, David
Lynch in 4K UHD, Dario Argento in 4K UHD, Claude Chabrol Box!, Atom Egoyan
Box, Douglas Sirk, Federico Fellini, John Milius, Luchino Visconti,, Nagisa
Ôshima, Denis Villeneuve, John Sturges, Buster Keaton, Mario Bava, the sixth
and final film Thin Man, Richard Linklater, Jan Nemec, Joel Coen / Ethan
Coen, Sidney Lumet, Freddie Francis, Leo McCarey, Joe May, Joe Dante,
Michael Apted...
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS:
Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Munich massacre, Joan Collins has a 'Devil baby', 'The
Duke' fighte oil well fires, Umberto Lenzi's Poliziotteschi...
Enjoy,
Gary
RELEASES the WEEK of
December 6th, 2021 (Recommended titles have "**")
13 Minutes
[Blu-ray] (Lindsay Gossling, 2021) Quiver Films
COMMENTS: Four families in a
Heartland town are tested in a single day when a tornado hits, forcing paths
to cross and redefining the meaning of survival.
__________________________________
**"21
Hours at Munich"** Blu-ray - Franco Nero / William
Holden @KinoLorber
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: William A.
Graham's 21 Hours at Munich seems like a good historical representation and
has quite a cast with favorite Franco Nero, William Holden, Shirley Knight,
Anthony Quayle and, briefly Richard Basehart. It has opening narration by
ABC's Wide World of Sports' Jim McKay adding to its authentic feel as he
reported at the 72 Summer Olympics. It's an important recreation from a
historical standpoint. I was keen to see it and the Kino Blu-ray has the
option of the dual-ratios and revealing commentary. Certainly worth a spin
to revisit this tragedy, and its political overtones, with five of the eight
'Black September' members killed during a failed attempt to rescue the
hostages, all of whom were killed. Worth seeing!
__________________________________
**The Andy Griffith
Show: The Complete Series** [Blu-ray] - CBS
COMMENTS: Travel back to a
simpler time, when the biggest problems for Mayberry sheriff Andy Taylor
(Andy Griffith) came from the hijinks of his excitable-but-goodhearted
deputy, Barney Fife (the inimitable Don Knotts), and the trials of raising
his young son, Opie (Ron Howard). Named by TV Guide as one of the best shows
of all time, and immensely popular throughout its entire 1960-68 run, The
Andy Griffith Show was stepped in nostalgia even in its own time, set in a
world where there was little that couldn’t be solved with home cooking by
Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). Forget your troubles and join Gomer, Goober,
Floyd and many more beloved characters for all eight seasons and 249
episodes of hilarious small-town adventures. Welcome home to Mayberry!
__________________________________
**Angels with Dirty
Faces** [Blu-ray] (Michael Curtiz, 1938)
Warner Archive
COMMENTS: Angels With Dirty
Faces (1938) is a classic example of a Warner Bros. gangster/crime melodrama
of the 1930s - a slick, action-packed, hard-hitting studio film layered with
a touch of social conscience. Director Michael Curtiz blended the
irresistible story with a great, tough cast of marvelous characters,
especially James Cagney and Pat O'Brien as its two stars, along with gritty
locales and the street-wise "Dead End" Kids (from their appearance in the
1935 play and the film Dead End (1937)).
The saga is the story of two
childhood buddies from New York City slums on the Lower East Side in the
1920s: "Rocky" Sullivan (Frankie Burke as youth, James Cagney as adult), and
Jerry Connolly (William Tracy as youth, Pat O'Brien as adult). The story of
two kids on the opposite side of the law was a popular theme in other 30s
films, such as Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Dead End (1937).
__________________________________
Behind Bayonets and
Barbed Wire [Blu-ray] (Richard L. Anderson,
2015) Leomark Studios
US: https://amzn.to/3ne8xBs
COMMENTS: U.S. POWs in WWII
sent to Northern China by the Japanese, condemned to spend the rest of their
lives working as slaves in factories. The men fight to survive brutal
winters, disease, and even more brutal guards, while secretly resisting.
__________________________________
Black Boots, Leather
Whip [Blu-ray] (Jesús Franco) Severin
COMMENTS: During one of the
most insanely productive periods of his career, writer/director Jess Franco
resurrected the character of seedy private eye Al Pereira -- portrayed here
by key collaborator Antonio Mayans -- for this 1983 Golden Films
International hard-boiled erotic thriller: When down-on-his-luck Pereira is
hired by a sultry client (blonde wigged Lina Romay under her pseudonym
'Candy Coster') for a fast-buck job, he'll find himself caught in a web of
seduction, murder, blackmail, polyamorous mayhem that is jaw-droppingly
extreme even by Uncle Jess standards. Asunción Calero (HOUSE OF LOST WOMEN)
and Rocío Freixas (THE SINISTER DR. ORLOFF) co-star in this postmodern
neo-noir Franco-style, now scanned uncut from the original negative for the
first time ever.
__________________________________
**Breathless [4K UHD
Blu-ray]** (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Studio
Canal UK
COMMENTS: In celebration of
the film's 60th anniversary, BREATHLESS has been stunningly restored in 4K.
Based on a story by François Truffaut and photographed by New Wave legend
Raoul Coutard, Jean-Luc Godard's jazzy riff on Film Noir features iconic
performances from Jean-Paul Belmondo as an on-the-run criminal modelling
himself on Bogart, and Jean Seberg as his NY Herald Tribune-hawking American
student girlfriend, who ultimately betrays him. With a pace that's non-stop,
BREATHLESS reinvented the grammar of movies and almost instantly changed the
course of international filmmaking. Celebrate where it all began with
Belmondo and Seberg - young, effortlessly stylish and in love in Paris - in
one of the coolest films ever made.
__________________________________
**Champion**
[Blu-ray] (Mark Robson, 1949) RB UK Masters of
Cinema
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Michael "Midge"
Kelly (Douglas) is a boxer whose fight to the top is unhampered by ethics or
gratitude. A hero to his fans, his friends know him to be a selfish
egomaniac who allows nothing to stand in his way. After winning a fight he
was supposed to throw, Mike's life is threatened by the mob, and he is only
saved through the intervention of a woman who becomes yet another pawn in
his climb up the ladder. Ultimately, he is forced to re-enter the ring and
confront his biggest opponent... himself.
__________________________________
Copshop
[Blu-ray] (Joe Carnahan, 2021) Studio Distribution Services
COMMENTS: Screaming through
the Nevada desert in a bullet-ridden Crown Vic, wily con artist Teddy
Murretto (Frank Grillo) hatches a desperate plan to hide out from lethal
hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler): He sucker-punches rookie officer Valerie
Young (Alexis Louder) to get himself arrested and locked up in a small-town
police station. But jail can't protect Murretto for long. Viddick schemes
his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can
complete his mission. When the arrival of a competing assassin (Toby Huss)
ignites all-out mayhem, mounting threats force Viddick to get creative if he
wants to finish the job and escape the explosive situation.
__________________________________
Creepshow: The
Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] - Image
Entertainment
COMMENTS: It’s still the
most fun you’ll ever have being scared! From showrunner Greg Nicotero (“The
Walking Dead”) comes the second season of CREEPSHOW, the anthology series
based on the 1982 horror comedy classic. A comic book comes to life in nine
chilling tales told across five episodes. Explore terrors ranging from
murder, creatures, monsters and delusions to the supernatural and
unexplainable. You never know what will be on the next page….
__________________________________
**Cry Macho [4K UHD
Blu-ray]** (Clint Eastwood, 2021) Warner
COMMENTS: A one-time rodeo
star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job to bring a man's young son home
and away from his alcoholic mom. On their journey, the horseman finds
redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man.
__________________________________
Dark Blood
[Blu-ray] (Harold Trompetero, 2021) Filmrise
COMMENTS: Misael (John
Leguizamo, John Wick) is imprisoned, waiting to be sentenced for a revenge
crime against the man who killed his child. During his confinement, he must
adapt to a new life of abuse. His former life starts to become a distant
memory as he is forgotten by his loved ones. Misael, lonely and abandoned,
finds affection and tenderness in Sarna, the dog of the prison.
__________________________________
**The Evil of
Frankenstein** [Blu-ray] (Freddie Francis,
1964) RB UK Final Cut
BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Once hounded from
his castle for creating a monstrous living creature, Baron Frankenstein
returns to his ancestral home in Karlstaad, determined to continue his
experiments into the creation of life. High in the mountains, Frankenstein
and his faithful assistant, Hans, stumble on the body of the creature,
perfectly preserved in ice. He is brought back to life, but Frankenstein is
forced to employ a hypnotist, Zoltan, to complete the process. Unbeknown to
Frankenstein, Zoltan now controls the creature and has plans to use him to
rob and pillage the local villages. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic
spell, or will Zoltan induce the creature.
__________________________________
Hard Target
[Blu-ray] (John Woo, 1993) Kino
COMMENTS: The legendary
“Muscles from Brussels” Jean-Claude Van Damme (No Retreat, No Surrender,
Kickboxer) teams up with world-famous action director John Woo (The Killer,
Hard Boiled, Face/Off) and executive producer Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead,
Spider-Man) for this electrifying thriller. Chance Boudreaux (Van Damme) is
the target of an evil mercenary (Lance Henriksen, Aliens) who recruits
combat veterans for the “amusement” of his clients—bored tycoons who will
pay a half a million dollars to stalk and kill the most challenging prey of
them all: Man. So when beautiful Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler, TV’s
Witchblade) hires Chance in search of her missing father, she gets more than
she bargained for. Screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer (Darkman) takes “The Most
Dangerous Game” and laces it with dark humor and slam-bang action for the
hard-hitting Hard Target, featuring Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), Kasi Lemmons
(The Silence of the Lambs) and Wilford Brimley (The Thing).
__________________________________
**Harold and Maude**
[Blu-ray] (Hal Ashby, 1971) Paramount
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Director Hal
Ashby’s coming-of-age comedy, based on a screenplay by Colin Higgins,
celebrates 50 years in this beautifully restored and remastered Blu-ray from
Paramount Presents. In this essential cult-classic, Howard is a
death-obsessed teen (Bud Cort) who falls for Maude (Oscar winner Ruth
Gordon), a happy-go-lucky, eccentric 79-year-old. To a lilting Yusuf/Cat
Stevens soundtrack, Maude teaches Harold a valuable lesson about making the
most of his time on earth.
__________________________________
The House Of Lost
Women [Blu-ray] (Jesús Franco, 1983) Severin
COMMENTS: In 1982 - a year
in which he reportedly shot 13 films - writer/director Jess Franco created
this blithely twisted drama that is equal parts Buñuelian black comedy and
over-the-top very sexy soap opera: Lina Romay - here in her blonde 'Candy
Coster' guise - stars as a pensive young nymph whose life on a remote island
with her father, stepmother and mentally-challenged sister seethes with
violence and degeneracy. Antonio Mayans (NIGHT OF OPEN SEX), Carmen Carrión
(THE INCONFESSABLE ORGIES OF EMMANUELLE), Asunción Calero (BLACK BOOTS,
LEATHER WHIP) and Antonio Rebollo (BAHÍA BLANCA) co-star in "the best of
Franco's '80s Spanish soft-core period" (Bizarre Cinema), now scanned uncut
from the original negative for the first time ever in America.
__________________________________
The Howling [4K UHD
Blu-ray] (Joe Dante, 1981) UK Studiocanal
COMMENTS: Imagine your worst
fear a reality with this brand new 4K 40th anniversary restoration of The
Howling, approved by Director Joe Dante (Gremlins). With groundbreaking
special effects by Rob Bottin (The Thing, The Fog, Total Recall), The
Howling has been stunningly restored for a new generation of horror fans.
Graphically violent, sexually explicit and nightmarishly intense, it remains
one of the most original werewolf movies of the eighties. After an intense
confrontation with a serial killer, news anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace) is
left traumatised and suffering from amnesia. In need of recovery, Karen
takes refuge within "The Colony", a country retreat organised by her
psychiatrist Dr Waggner (Patrick Macnee). But things at "The Colony" aren't
as idyllic as they originally seemed and as blood curdling screams break the
midnight silence, Karen's memories slowly begin to come into focus.
__________________________________
Krampus: The Naughty
Cut [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Collector's Edition)
(Michael Dougherty, 2015) Shout! Factory
COMMENTS: For the first
time, the naughty (not nice) cut of Legendary Entertainment and Universal
Pictures’ Krampus is on its way just in time to ruin your holidays! When his
dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned
and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive
spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil
intent on punishing non-believers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday
icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured
family's home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to
survive. KRAMPUS: THE NAUGHTY CUT restores key dialogue and scenes that had
to be trimmed from the original theatrical release in order to appease the
MPAA. Supervised by filmmaker Michael Dougherty, this is the definitive
version of the holiday cult classic for the entire family to enjoy.
__________________________________
The Last Matinee
[Blu-ray] (Maximiliano Contenti, 2020) RB UK Arrow
COMMENTS: A trip to the
movies takes a deadly turn in this stylish neo-giallo love letter to classic
slashers that will send your popcorn flying and have you diving behind your
seat! A cold, wet day. A declining cinema. All you want is to get out of the
rain and watch a good film. But who else is in there, hiding in the dark?
When Ana takes over projection duties from her ailing father, she doesn’t
expect anything worse than a broken reel or a burned-out bulb. But there’s a
sadistic killer in the auditorium, and soon blood is running in the aisles
as he starts picking off the audience members one by one. Can Ana and the
few remaining survivors escape the murderous madman, or will they be victims
of his matinee massacre? Uruguayan director Maxi Contenti marks himself out
as a talent to watch with a film that Rue Morgue calls “Visually stunning…
indulgently violent!” Arrow Video is proud to present The Last Matinee. It’s
a killer time at the movies!
__________________________________
Last Shoot Out
[Blu-ray] (Michael Feifer, 2021) Grindstone
COMMENTS: After newlywed
Jocelyn learns that her husband Jody (Michael Welch, Twilight franchise) had
her father shot down, she flees from the Callahan ranch in fear. She's
rescued by gunman Billy Tyson, who safeguards her at a remote outpost as he
staves off Jody's attempts to reclaim his bride.
__________________________________
**Georg
Wilhelm Pabst's "The Love of Jeanne Ney"**
Blu-ray @mastersofcinema
OUR COMPARISON:
COMMENTS: G.W. Pabst's The
Love of Jeanne Ney is important expressionist filmmaking. I loved the style
with extensive tracking shots and an artistic level of editing. It was
released as Lusts of the Flesh in the United Kingdom. As J. Hoberman states
"the culminating works of silent cinema" as "an ambitious attempt to
synthesize Soviet montage, Hollywood action-melodrama, and German
mise-en-scène." Nice to see Brigitte Helm directly after Metropolis. Silent
Era fans now have the option of two restored-image Blu-ray packages with
both versions and valuable supplements. It should be considered a must-own
by serious cinephiles.
__________________________________
The Masturbating
Gunman aka Masked Avenger Versus Ultra-Villain in the Lair of the Naked
Bikini [Blu-ray] (Mark Savage, 2000) Severin
COMMENTS: With SENSITIVE NEW
AGE KILLER, STRESSED TO KILL and PURGATORY ROAD, he emerged as one of the
most transgressive indie filmmakers today. And in this early-career feature,
writer/director Mark Savage created one of the most over-the-top underground
films of our time. Featuring a cast of family, friends and livestock that
includes Robin Brennan (BULLET IN THE ARSE), Colin Savage (MARAUDERS), Limpy
the Goat and a local thug known as C*nty McF*ck, Savage tells an epic tale -
'based on a true story' - of extreme violence, compulsive wanking, avenging
nuns and olfactory genius. Also known as MASKED AVENGER VERSUS ULTRA-VILLAIN
IN THE LAIR OF THE NAKED BIKINI, this unclassifiable nugget of cult fodder
(Film Threat) is now remastered to HD and released under its original title
for the first time ever.
__________________________________
**Menace II
Society** [Blu-ray] (Albert Hughes, Allen
Hughes, 1993) Criterion UK
COMMENTS: Directors Albert
and Allen Hughes and screenwriter Tyger Williams were barely into their
twenties when they sent shock waves through American cinema and hip-hop
culture with this fatalistic, unflinching vision of life and death on the
streets of Watts, Los Angeles, in the 1990s. There, in the shadow of the
riots of 1965 and 1992, young Caine (Tyrin Turner) is growing up under the
influence of his ruthless, drug-dealing father (Samuel L. Jackson, in a
chilling cameo) and his loose-cannon best friend, O-Dog (Larenz Tate),
leading him into a spiral of violent crime from which he is not sure he
wants to escape, despite the best efforts of his grandparents and the
steadfast Ronnie (Jada Pinkett).
__________________________________
**Mulholland Dr. [4K
UHD Blu-ray]** (David Lynch, 2001) UK
Studiocanal
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: David Lynch's
acclaimed tale of murder and amnesia in Los Angeles. Having narrowly
survived a murder attempt and a car crash, a shocked and wounded woman
(Laura Elena Harring) takes refuge in a nearby apartment. When she is
discovered the next morning by the apartment's official resident, aspiring
actress Betty Elms (Naomi Watts), she confesses that she neither knows who
she is nor what happened to her. The two women then begin to investigate,
and it gradually becomes clear that they have known each other in the past.
Meanwhile, a young film director (Justin Theroux) finds that the mob are
taking an unusual interest in the casting of his latest film.
__________________________________
**Alfred
Hitchcock's "Number Seventeen"** Blu-ray -
Leon M. Lion @KinoLorber
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Alfred Hitchcock's
Number Seventeen is certainly no where near the director's best work that
would come later in his career. On the positive, it is certainly atmospheric
in a rudimentary way with some keen quick edits. I think it is possible that
the parody aspects were not fulfilled to its greatest intent, appearing like
ineffectual humor, but can still work as a scattered mystery with the
adventurous chase-scenes in the final half. There are things I do like about
Number Seventeen; the spooky house, the murder mystery and the under-exposed
character Rose Ackroyd played by Ann Casson. I wish that first section was
more fleshed-out and longer. Still the Kino Blu-ray has a Hitchcock film
looking marvelous and the supplements - notably the Tonguette commentary and
long documentary - have immense value. I think this package's range should
extend beyond completists of the director's work and include fans of vintage
era mysterious as well.
__________________________________
**One Night in
Miami...** [Blu-ray] (Regina King, 2020)
Criterion
COMMENTS: Adapted by Kemp
Powers from his acclaimed play, the feature directorial debut of Academy
Award–winning actor Regina King puts viewers in a room with four icons at
the forefront of Black American culture as they carouse, clash, bare their
souls, and grapple with their places within the sweeping change of the civil
rights movement. February 25, 1964, has gone down in history as the day that
the brash young boxer Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) defeated
Sonny Liston, but what happened after the fight was perhaps even more
incredible: Ali, civil rights leader Malcolm X, NFL great Jim Brown, and
“King of Soul” Sam Cooke all came together at a Miami motel. Electric with
big ideas and activist spirit, One Night in Miami . . . plunges us into the
midst of an intimate, ongoing conversation—and a defining moment in American
history.
__________________________________
**Pittsburgh**
[Blu-ray] (Lewis Seiler, 1942) RB UK BFI
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Marlene Dietrich,
Randolph Scott and John Wayne star in this rags-to-riches tale of
friendship, love and power. Beautiful Josie Winters (Dietrich) inspires
coalmining buddies Cash (Scott) and Pittsburgh (Wayne) to better themselves,
and the men climb to the top of the business as they compete for her
affections. But when Josie falls for the ruthless Pittsburgh, he spurns her
to marry for power and she settles down with Cash instead. Can a world war
reunite the feuding friends or will patriotism come second to their bitter
rift?.
__________________________________
Radio On
[Blu-ray] (Christopher Petit, 1979) Fun City Editions
COMMENTS: hristopher Petit's
debut feature Radio On is the rare road movie from England. Since its 1979
release, it's become a cult classic and been recognized as one of one of the
"100 Greatest British Films" (Little White Lies). Robert (David Beames), the
film's enigmatic protagonist, embarks on a road trip from London to Bristol
to investigate the recent death of his brother. A remarkable collection of
art rock, punk, and new wave―David Bowie, Devo, Kraftwerk, Robert Fripp, Ian
Dury, and more―soundtracks Robert's journey. The austere urban and rural
landscapes he drives through are beautifully and strikingly rendered in
black and white by cinematographer Martin Shäfer (who had been Wim Wenders'
camera operator). As Robert drives westward, the radio newscasts he hears
and the strangers he meets address the dire sociopolitical and economic
state of "Winter of Discontent"-era Britain. Petit deftly melds these
stylistic, narrative, and documentary elements, resulting in an undeniably
eerie and reflective mood that casts a hypnotic spell on the viewer.
__________________________________
**The Rainer Werner
Fassbinder Collection Vol. 2** [Blu-ray]
(Fear Eats The Soul, Effi Briest, Fox And His Friends & Chinese Roulette,
The Marriage Of Maria Braun) RB UK Arrow
COMMENTS: Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, the enfant terrible of the New German Cinema, wrote, directed,
produced and starred in over 40 films in his short but prolific life, before
passing away of a drugs overdose in 1982 aged just 37. Rainer Werner
Fassbinder vol. 2 brings together a collection of his key works from the
mid-section of his career in high definition digital restorations prepared
by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation. Among Fassbinder’s best-loved
works, Fear Eats the Soul sees the director paying homage to the classic
melodramas of Douglas Sirk in its poignant portrayal of a relationship
between a widowed cleaning lady in her sixties and a Moroccan immigrant in
his thirties that causes an outrage with her family, friends and neighbours.
__________________________________
**Le Samourai**
[Blu-ray] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967)
Criterion UK
BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: In a
career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract
killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit,
Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a
ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can
protect him. An elegantly stylized masterpiece of cool by maverick director
Jean‑Pierre Melville, Le samouraï is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s
American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of
Japanese lone-warrior mythology.
__________________________________
**The Spoilers**
[Blu-ray] (Ray Enright, 1942) RB UK BFI
ALT-BEAVER REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Marlene Dietrich,
Randolph Scott and John Wayne wrestle with love and greed in this all-star
gold rush adventure set in a turn-of-the-century Alaskan boomtown. Dietrich
is savvy saloon owner Cherry Malotte, whose honest former beau (Wayne) looks
like being swindled out of his claim by no-good town kingpin McNamara
(Scott). It's a tale as wild as the frozen north itself, featuring an
all-out fight to the finish between western icons Wayne and Scott, which is
still considered one of the most spectacular action sequences ever filmed.
__________________________________
Street Fighter
[Blu-ray] (Steven E. de Souza, 1994) Mill Creek
COMMENTS: Gen. Bison (Raul
Julia), the evil dictator of Shadaloo, captures a busload of relief workers
and holds them for ransom. Col. Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme) leads an
international strike force to invade Shadaloo and rescue the hostages.
__________________________________
**Terminator 2:
Judgment Day [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (James
Cameron, 1991) Studiocanal UK
COMMENTS: Limited edition
set includes 4K UHD, Blu-ray & 3D Blu-ray packed with loads of extras &
special features - plus the 2LP soundtrack on silver colored vinyl with 12"
lenticular poster. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in a big way in this
pulse-pounding sequel. This time he's a reprogrammed T-800 who not only
defends Sarah Connor's (Linda Hamilton) young son John (Edward Furlong) from
a highly advanced Terminator (Robert Patrick) with the ability to change
it's shape, but must also fight to prevent a cataclysmic event that will
destroy human civilization. Oscar-winning special effects and non-stop
action highlight this smash hit from director James Cameron. Extended
version; 152 min.
__________________________________
**Trog**
[Blu-ray] (Freddie Francis, 1970) Shout! Factory
COMMENTS: The Abominable
Snowman of the Himalayas. Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest. Few claim to
have seen these links to our primitive past. But when a wild
half-man/half-ape emerges from his countryside cave, TV cameras are there to
observe the event – and the ensuing terror! People call him Trog, short for
a prehistoric cave dweller known as the troglodyte. To a determined
anthropologist (Joan Crawford in her final film role), he's the scientific
discovery of the age. To others, he's walking death. A grocer is impaled on
a meat hook, a car is tossed aside like a twig, a child is kidnapped – all
after local resident Sam Murdock (Michael Gough) prods the brute into a
blind rampage. In true horror tradition, the world's Murdocks leave no doubt
who the real savages are ... but what will become of he who is part-man,
part-monster, all Trog!
__________________________________
Warriors Of The Year
2072 [Blu-ray] (Lucio Fulci, 1984) Severin
COMMENTS: Lucio Fulci
entered the '80s Italian Sci-Fi arena armed with full-throttle visuals, hard
chrome nihilism and mad blasts of il maestro's signature grisly mayhem: In a
future dominated by ultra-violent TV entertainment, the top-rated global
sport Kill-Bike drafts two condemned gladiators - Jared Martin of DALLAS and
Fred Williamson of THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS - for a 'Battle Of The Damned' in
the Roman Coliseum. Howard Ross (NEW YORK RIPPER), Al Cliver (ENDGAME) and
Donald O'Brien (DR. BUTCHER M.D.) co-star in this "wheelie-poppin' good
time" (Comeuppance Reviews) from a script co-written by Fulci, Dardano
Sacchetti (THE BEYOND) & Elisa Briganti (ZOMBIE) and featuring a pounding
synth score by two-time Oscar® nominee Riz Ortolani, now scanned in 4K from
an IP print for the first time in America.
__________________________________
Werewolves Within
[Blu-ray] (Josh Ruben, 2021) IFC Films
COMMENTS: New forest ranger,
Finn (Sam Richardson) arrives in the snowy hamlet of Beaverfield to find the
town folk divided by a proposed gas pipeline. He befriends mail carrier
Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) who gives him a tour and introduces him to the
quirky cast of neighbors. When a snowstorm cuts the power and traps the
residents inside the local inn, it falls on Finn and Cecily to try to keep
the peace and uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature that has begun
terrorizing the community.
__________________________________
LATEST CALENDAR
UPDATES:
December 6th, 2021
**The Andy Griffith
Show: The Complete Series** - CBS
The Howling 4K UHD
(Joe Dante, 1981) UK Studiocanal
**Mulholland Dr. 4K
UHD** (David Lynch, 2001) UK Studiocanal
**Radio On**
(Christopher Petit, 1979) Fun City Editions
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December 13th, 2021
**Ludwig**
(Luchino Visconti, 1973) Arrow US
_____________________________________
December 20th, 2021
**The Amazing Mr.
Blunden** (Lionel Jeffries, 1972) RB UK
Second Sight Films
**The Atom Egoyan
Collection** - NEXT OF KIN (1984), FAMILY
VIEWING (1988), SPEAKING PARTS (1989), THE ADJUSTER (1991), CALENDAR (1993),
EXOTICA (1994), and THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997) RB UK Artificial Eye
No Time to Die 4K
UHD (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021) Universal
Virgin Witch
(Ray Austin, 1972) RB UK Black House Films
_____________________________________
December 27th, 2021
Blood-A-Rama Triple
Frightmare (HELP ME . . . I’M POSSESSED,
NIGHT OF THE STRANGLER, CARNIVAL OF BLOOD) American Genre Film
_____________________________________
January 3rd, 2022
**Dillinger**
(John Milius, 1973) Arrow UK
**In the Realm of
the Senses** (Nagisa Ôshima, 1976) Criterion
UK
**Rich and Strange**
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1931) Kino
_____________________________________
January 10th, 2022
**Dune: Part One 4K
UHD** (Denis Villeneuve, 2021) Warner Bros
**The Great Escape
4K UHD** (John Sturges, 1963) Kino
_____________________________________
January 17th, 2022
**Buster Keaton: The
Complete Short Films 1917-1923** - RB UK
Masters of Cinema
Schock
[Blu-ray] (Mario Bava, 1977) Arrow UK
**Song of the Thin
Man** (Edward Buzzell, 1947) Warner Archive
_____________________________________
January 24th, 2022
Bad News Bears
(Richard Linklater, 2005) Paramount
**Stage Fright**
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1950) Warner Archive
_____________________________________
January 31st, 2022
**Almost Famous 4K
UHD** (Cameron Crowe, 2000) Paramount
The Batman: The
Complete Series 2004–2008 - Warner
**The Party and the
Guests** (Jan Nemec, 1966) R0 UK Second Run
**Written on the
Wind** (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Criterion
_____________________________________
February 7th, 2022
**La dolce vita**
(Federico Fellini, 1960) Paramount
**Miller's
Crossing** (Joel Coen / Ethan Coen, 1990)
Criterion
**Murder on the
Orient Express** (Sidney Lumet, 1974)
Paramount
**Paranoiac**
(Freddie Francis, 1963) Shout! Factory
_____________________________________
February 14th, 2022
The Howling 4K UHD
(Joe Dante, 1981) Shout! Factory
**Lipstick**
(Lamont Johnson, 1976) Shout! Factory
**Love Affair**
(Leo McCarey, 1939) Criterion
_____________________________________
February 21st, 2022
**An Unsuitable Job
for a Woman** (Christopher Petit, 1982)
Indicator UK
**Bartleby**
(Anthony Friedman, 1970) Indicator UK
**Boat People**
(Ann Hui, 1982) Criterion
**The Devil's Men**
(Kostas Karagiannis, 1976) Indicator UK
**The India Tomb**
(Joe May, 1921) RB UK Masters of Cinema
**Lies and Deceit:
Five Films by Claude Chabrol** (Cop Au Vin (Poulet
au vinaigre), Inspector Lavardin, Madame Bovary, Betty and Torment (L’enfer)
- Arrow UK
Love Affair
(Leo McCarey, 1939) Criterion UK
**The Triple Echo**
(Michael Apted, 1972) Indicator UK
**Voices**
(Kevin Billington, 1973) Indicator UK
**Written on the
Wind** (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Criterion UK
_____________________________________
February 28th, 2022
**Phenomena 4K UHD**
(Dario Argento, 1985) Arrow UK
**Phenomena 4K UHD**
Arte Originale (Dario Argento, 1985) Arrow UK
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REVIEWS /
COMPARISONS:
**Georg
Wilhelm Pabst's "The Love of Jeanne Ney"**
Blu-ray @mastersofcinema
OUR COMPARISON:
COMMENTS: G.W. Pabst's The
Love of Jeanne Ney is important expressionist filmmaking. I loved the style
with extensive tracking shots and an artistic level of editing. It was
released as Lusts of the Flesh in the United Kingdom. As J. Hoberman states
"the culminating works of silent cinema" as "an ambitious attempt to
synthesize Soviet montage, Hollywood action-melodrama, and German
mise-en-scène." Nice to see Brigitte Helm directly after Metropolis. Silent
Era fans now have the option of two restored-image Blu-ray packages with
both versions and valuable supplements. It should be considered a must-own
by serious cinephiles.
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**"21
Hours at Munich"** Blu-ray - Franco Nero / William
Holden @KinoLorber
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: William A.
Graham's 21 Hours at Munich seems like a good historical representation and
has quite a cast with favorite Franco Nero, William Holden, Shirley Knight,
Anthony Quayle and, briefly Richard Basehart. It has opening narration by
ABC's Wide World of Sports' Jim McKay adding to its authentic feel as he
reported at the 72 Summer Olympics. It's an important recreation from a
historical standpoint. I was keen to see it and the Kino Blu-ray has the
option of the dual-ratios and revealing commentary. Certainly worth a spin
to revisit this tragedy, and its political overtones, with five of the eight
'Black September' members killed during a failed attempt to rescue the
hostages, all of whom were killed. Worth seeing!
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"The Devil Within
Her" aka "The Monster" Blu-ray - Joan Collins @networktweets @theroninflix
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Peter Sasdy's The
Monster doesn't live up to its premis or salacious alternate-titles. It also
is a letdown considering it has such a strong cast with Joan Collins,
(always slinky but remembered as wholesome Edith Keeler,) Eileen Atkins
(Cold Mountain), Ralph Bates, Donald Pleasence (The Great Escape to
Fantastic Voyage to You Only Live Twice), Caroline Munro (At the Earth's
Core,) Hilary Mason (who can forget her in Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now)
etc. But it just ends up stealing conceptually from Rosemary's Baby and The
Exorcist. A shame about the film not achieving its potential but the new
Network Blu-ray package has the light commentary, booklet and four new
interviews. The Scorpion Releasing has decent extras as well with two
interviews and the reversible sleeve (see below). It's a film I am always
seem to throw on every once in a while - despite it lacking in many areas
and generally underachieving. I'd endorse the Network (UK) Blu-ray over the
Scorpion but region-locking and price may make that decision for you.
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Andrew V. McLaglen's "Hellfighters"
Blu-ray - John Wayne @indicatorseries
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: While the
Indicator Blu-ray is, easily, the most supplement-stacked digital edition of
Andrew V. McLaglen's "Hellfighters" (and has the desirable 6-track sound
mix) the film doesn't offer much of an appealing edge, relying on 'The
Duke's standard no-nonsense persona, decent, attractive support from
Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton and Vera Miles plus Wayne / McLaglen regulars. It
ends up being less engaging, in my opinion, but does have the anticipated
appeal for those seeking escape with another John Wayne brisk, heroic,
actioner. This is, really, not such a bad thing at all. For those keen, the
Indicator Blu-ray is certainly the definitive edition to own. To those fans,
this is recommended!
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Umberto Lenzi's "Free
Hand for a Tough Cop" Blu-ray - Tomas Milian @FracVis
BONUS CAPTURES:
OUR REVIEW:
COMMENTS: Umberto Lenzi's
Free Hand for a Tough Cop is quite a ride. Tomas Milian is always fun and
the serious side of the film is also well realized with great interplay
between the cop and criminal. It's a nice genre mix. Fractured Visions have
filled their Blu-ray with a solid HD presentation, they include the English
DUB as well as original Italian, two revealing commentaries, booklet, and a
plethora of interviews etc. Fans of Milian, and the genre, should definitely
indulge. Great package - plenty of value here.
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