NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (March 2021): Kino have transferred the Collected Films of Morris Engel & Ruth Orkin to three Blu-ray discs.

The first disc has, the much celebrated, Little Fugitive and is the exact same as Kino's Blu-ray released in 2013 - reviewed HERE. Revisiting: "The black and white image quality shows some grit and a sharp uptick in detail from the previous DVD. Contrast is the story of the improvement. This is dual-layered and a pleasure to see this particular film benefit so substantially from the move to HD. There are but a scant few inconsistencies (subtle banding) that never hindered the pleasing presentation. Many scenes even exhibited depth. This Blu-ray has exported wonderful film-like visuals retaining some grain texture. Overall, I was extremely pleased with my viewing.

Unfortunately, the linear PCM 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps doesn't benefit the frequently awkward post-dubbing. This was the same issue as the original DVD and I don't doubt the print source utilized. It seems quite probable to be inherent in the film presentation. Looking on the positive - it seems to add to the vérité aura of Coney island. Its is flat and unremarkable. There are no subtitles offered on this region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

I'm only going by memory but I believe there are the same supplements on the older Kino DVD with the feature-length commentary by director Morris Engel and the 2008 video pieces 'Morris Engel: The Independent' narrated by his widow Mary Engel running almost 1/2 hour (this looks new to me and may not have been on the DVD) and a 1996 documentary entitled Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life lasting about 20-minutes and directed by Mary Engel. It is a chronology of the life and work of Ruth Orkin (1921-1985) with Julie Harris narrating. There is also a theatrical trailer and an image gallery."

On their other two Blu-rays of this package, Kino transfer all the shorts, three more features, and commercials in 1080P and offer linear PCM audio - however at 16-bit. The longer features; 1956's Lovers and Lollipops, 1958's Weddings and Babies and 1968's I Need a Ride to California do offer optional English subtitles.

Blu-ray 2 has Lovers and Lollipops which is about an attractive widowed model named Ann who lives in a New York city apartment with her daughter Peggy - whom she attempts to seek out a father figure in the guise of engineer Larry. Weddings and Babies has similar romantic overtones and is about a photographer who struggles to make enough money to marry his fiancée, who is starting to believe he's delaying their marriage deliberately. It has Viveca Lindfors (Cauldron of Blood, Puzzle of a Downfall Child, Run For Cover, These are the Damned.) Rounding out the second Blu-ray disc are the short, Still Life and 10-minutes of the Engel's Home Movies. I'd say the image quality is a small notch below Little Fugitive but highly watchable with acceptable warts and marks here and there.

Blu-ray 3 has 1968's I Need a Ride to California. It follows a group of hippies in Greenwich Village during the 60's revolution, centering on the story of a girl in the East Village neighborhood, exploring her various relationships with men, and her search for values of the time. Some may recognize Rod Perry (The Black Gestapo). It is described as the "home video premiere of the 1960s counter-culture film newly restored by the Museum of Modern Art." This is in color and has a few more persistent vertical scratches or hairs stuck in the gate, but their is a pleasing richness to the colors and it is very watchable. There is music credited to Mark Barkan, Rolf Barnes, Jimmy Lyons and Don Oriolo - Kathrin King Segal singing Watch the Pictures Of Your Life and How Can A Flower Grow. Rounding out the package are three shorts; 1962's The Dog Lover (comedy about bringing home a stray dog), and documentaries 1951's The Farm They Won (a biographical look at the Powers family - reminiscent of the Joad family in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath) and 1961's One Chase Manhattan Plaza celebrating the architectural achievement of this impressive New York City skyscraper. There are three commercials from the 60's for Oreo Cookies, Ivory Soap and FAB Detergent.

"Engel was a pioneer in the use of hand-held cameras and nonprofessional actors in his films, using cameras that he helped design, and his naturalistic films influenced future prominent independent and French New Wave filmmakers" (h/t Wikipedia). His features could be summed up by "...a beautiful blending of realism, humor, conflict and hope that generates its own excitement... tender and amusing love stories filmed entirely in New York!". It's fabulous package. The Kino Blu-rays offer the wonderful work of Engel and his wife Ruth Orkin - soak up the nostalgia of a better time than today. Very strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze