THIS WEEK's RELEASES include Michael Mann's best in 4K UHD, new Apichatpong Weerasethakul, masterful Bresson X 2, Nicolas Roeg masterpiece reissue, Beach reunion, 60's Italian sci-fi with Claude Rains, Flying Guillotine sequel, Giallo Essentials...
THIS WEEK's CALENDAR UPDATES (NEW!): Ashyby/Jack in 4K, Massey Lincoln, Italian horrors, Living Dead come back in 4K, Dieterle gem, Hooper Poltergeist in 4K...
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS: Indicator best the competition X 3 with Frank Perry / Carrie Snodgress - Budd Boetticher - and early 40's Deborah Kerr. Terence Fisher Hammer with bandaged monster, prostitutes abound with grassroots Theresa Russell, upmarket Emmanuelle Béart and a serial killer Charlize Theron. Margheriti sci-fi to Fishburne/ Neill sci-fi horror in abysmal 4K...
Enjoy,
Gary

RELEASES the WEEK of August 8th, 2022, 2022 (Recommended titles have "**")

Back to the Beach [Blu-ray] (Lyndall Hobbs, 1987) Paramount
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COMMENTS: For the first time on Blu-ray, BACK TO THE BEACH joins Paramount Presents, remastered from a new scan of original film elements. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, teen idols of a wave of Beach movies, returned to the big screen in this hip, hilarious 80s update of their surf-and-sand adventures. The Jamaican Ska may have replaced The Twist in the intervening years, but Frankie and Annette still know how to bring the party—as well as teach their own children a thing or two in the process. Along for the fun in the warm California sun are a host of familiar faces–Connie Stevens, Dick Dale, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dona Adams, Bob Denver, Jerry Mathers, Barbara Billingsley, Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, and Pee-Wee Herman.
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Antonio Margheriti's "Battle of the Worlds" Blu-ray - Claude Rains @FilmDetective
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: In Phil Hardy's Science Fiction: Complete Film Source Book he describes Antonio Margheriti's "Battle of the Worlds" as one of the director's "most humorous, inventive, stylish, films, effortlessly transcending the crudities of the script, acting and special effects." Yes, it does have some charismatic inventive-ness and fulfils many of the desirable attributes of the pulpy sci-fi film genre of this 60's time period. Although the inclusion of Claude Rains (as Professor Benson) raises the film's gravitas - it still seems a sad come-down for him as the actor who had worked with Hitchcock as well as memorable as Captain Renault in Casablanca and as the titular character in James Whale's The Invisible Man almost 30-year before this. Battle of the Worlds is cheap, fun and imaginative. The Film Detective Blu-ray with the shorter US cut and less-than-optimal video will still have strong appeal to Margheriti fans and this who can't get enough of this genre.
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The Connection [Blu-ray] (Cédric Jimenez,. 2014) Giant Pictures
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COMMENTS: A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, THE CONNECTION tells the story of real-life Marseille magistrate Pierre Michel (Academy Award® Winner Jean Dujardin, The Artist, The Wolf of Wall Street) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection.
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Doom [4K UHD Blu-ray] (Unrated Extended Edition) (Andrzej Bartkowiak, 2005) Universal
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COMMENTS: A frantic call for help from a remote research station on Mars sends a team of mercenary Marines into action. Led by The Rock and Karl Urban, they descend into the Olduvai Research Station, where they find a legion of nightmarish creatures, lurking in the darkness, killing at will. Once there, the Marines must use an arsenal of firepower to carry out their mission: nothing gets out alive. Based on the hugely popular video game, Doom is an explosive action-packed thrill ride!
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Dr. Lamb [Blu-ray] (Danny Lee, Billy Hin-Shing Tang, 1992) Unearthed Records
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COMMENTS: A mentally disturbed taxi driver lusts for blood every rainy night, and several young women are brutally murdered. He likes to take photos of the victims' dismembered bodies as his special mementos after sex with their corpses and stores their severed breasts in pickle jars. Inspector Lee and his team are called onto the case in this bizarre, nasty, and notorious Cat III film.
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Paul W.S. Anderson's "Event Horizon" 4K UHD - Laurence Fishburne / Sam Neill
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BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Paramount's release of Paul W.S. Anderson's "Event Horizon" to a Steelbook-cased 4K UHD has some issues, I'm afraid. Let's talk about the film; firstly, What is an "Event Horizon"? In astrophysics, the term was coined by Wolfgang Rindler in the 1950s. It's a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Anderson's film starts as a fairly intelligent science-fiction horror stacked with effects - gore and deep space technos in darkness with beams of filtered light. "Event Horizon was a commercial and critical failure but has developed a cult following in recent years. It states on Wikipedia HERE, that "He (Anderson) incorporated significant influences of moderately successful horror films such as Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) and Kubrick's The Shining (1980), because they created suspense from the unknown—the evil presence was hidden from the viewer—and their endings induced ambiguities of perception in the audience." Many scenes in "Event Horizon" are well realized and it has some striking horror imagery with intense sound effects but we can neither endorse the film (although I have gained minor appreciation) nor these Paramount digital versions - except to the less-discerning home theater owner - who is a devout fan of Anderson's film. To each his own.
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Famous T&A 2 [Blu-ray] (Charles Band, 2022) Full Moon Pictures
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COMMENTS: Get ready for the most salacious sequel ever! FAMOUS T&A 2 is an all-new, all-hot follow up to the infamous '80s skin-soaked VHS classic, a carnal compilation of clips from a cavalcade of movies featuring today's most fetching female stars baring it all in films made BEFORE they were super famous! Hosted by the iconic Diana Prince, star of adult cinema and sidekick to horror host Joe Bob Briggs in Shudder's hit series THE LAST DRIVE-IN, and featuring sexy clips from classics like TARZAN AND HIS MATE, MERIDIAN, HEAD OF THE FAMILY, FAIRY TALES, BAD GIRLS AT PLAY and FEMALIEN: COSMIC CRUSH, this one is so hot your screen will singe!
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Flying Guillotine 2 [Blu-ray] (Kang ChengShan Hua, 1978) 88 Films
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COMMENTS: Follow up to Master of the Flying Guillotine, cited as one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite movies, FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 AKA PALACE CARNAGE continues in the same vein as the original with its visceral mix of martial arts expertise and weapons-grade violence. To fight against the evil emperor's reign of terror outlaw rebel Ma Teng joins a group of female freedom fighters, however, she soon finds herself embroiled not just in a battle with enemy forces but also in with group leader's torn family loyalties. Brutal, fast and furious FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 is an even more off-kilter Shaw Brothers entry than usual, containing familiar tropes as well as unique elements, it is arguably the best of the Flying Guillotine sequels, rolling along at an impressively enjoyable pace.
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The Flying Scot [Blu-ray] (Compton Bennett, 1957) RB UK Studiocanal
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COMMENTS: A new 4K restoration of the compact, claustrophobic British B-movie gem directed by Compton Bennett, as three thieves from various walks of life combine forces for a daring attempt to make themselves rich. Lee Patterson is the man with the audacious plan and Kay Callard his glamorous accomplice in this taut train heist thriller also starring Alan Gifford and Margaret Withers. Dissatisfied with the small profits gained by his petty crimes, Ronnie Cowan (Patterson) attempts to pull off the most sensational train robbery of all time. After learning that the Bank of Scotland periodically sends half a million pounds in notes from Glasgow to London for destruction aboard the famous passenger train "The Flying Scot", he assembles a trusted transatlantic team and a seemingly fool proof scheme is put into action.
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The Galloping Major [Blu-ray] (Henry Cornelius, 1951) RB UK Studiocanal
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COMMENTS: After a successful day at the races, Major Arthur Hill (Basil Radford) and Harold Temple (Hugh Griffith) decide to raise a £300 syndicate to buy a certain racehorse. With excited help from their friends (Janette Scott, Jimmy Hanley, Rene Ray, Joyce Grenfell, A. E. Matthews) they get the money, but things don't go so smoothly from here. First, they accidently buy the wrong horse which proves to have more of an affinity for jumping than racing. They then decide to train it themselves as a jumper under the new name "The Galloping Major". However, on the night before the Grand National, the horse mysteriously disappears...
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**Giallo Essentials** [Blu-ray] ('Smile Before Death', 'The Weapon, The Hour, The Motive' & 'The Killer Reserved Nine Seats') Arrow UK
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COMMENTS: While the release of Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage gave rise to a glut of imitators, there was more to the giallo than just shameless copycats setting out to ape a rigid formula. This volume of Giallo Essentials celebrates the range and breadth of the genre with three lesser-seen films from its early 1970s heyday. In Silvio Amadio’s Smile Before Death, familicide with a sprinkling of Oedipal love is the order of the day when teenager Nancy returns home to discover the apparent suicide of her mother, and quickly comes to suspect that her stepfather and his mistress are to blame. Next, Horny priests and self-flagellating nuns abound in Francesco Mazzei’s The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive, as police commissioner Franco Boito investigates the brutal murder of a young clergyman, only to enter into an affair with the dead man’s lover. Finally, in Giuseppe Bennati’s The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, an assortment of wealthy degenerates – including Italian cult mainstays Andrea Scotti and Howard Ross – answer the summons of an eccentric nobleman and assemble in the theatre attached to his ancestral home, only to find themselves trapped in the decaying building while a savage killer picks them off Agatha Christie-style With gory murders, wanton debauchery and left-field plot twists a-plenty, all three of these oft-overlooked gialli are restored in 2K from their original camera negatives – including brand-new, Arrow-exclusive restorations of Smile Before Death and The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive– alongside a range of in-depth bonus features.
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**Heat [4K UHD Blu-ray]** (Michael Mann, 1995) 20th Century Fox
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COMMENTS: Academy Award-winners Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino head a stellar cast in this taut psychological drama about an obsessive detective and a brilliant thief whose fates are linked in the aftermath of a high-stakes securities heist. As the criminal plans his final heist, their personal lives begin to unravel as they engage in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, leading the adversaries to come to hate and respect one another.
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**L'argent** [Blu-ray] (Robert Bresson, 1983) RB UK BFI
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ALT-BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: This energetic, enigmatic indictment of capitalism is a late masterpiece by Bresson, imbued with a fierce cinematic power and tautly positioned amid the coldly structured complexities of human behaviour. Adapted from a novella by Leo Tolstoy, Bresson’s portrait of an ordinary man driven to evermore extreme crimes by social and financial forces beyond his control probes uncomfortably beneath the surface of ‘civilised’ society. The compact, rigorously stylised film and the awkward questions it poses about the nature of forgiveness and the possibility of redemption, is a rich testament to one of cinema’s greatest auteurs.
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**Little Man, What Now?** [Blu-ray] (Frank Borzage, 1934) Kino
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COMMENTS: Margaret Sullavan (Next Time We Love) stars in this deeply moving romantic drama by the great Frank Borzage (Bad Girl, A Farewell to Arms, Desire, Disputed Passage). Fired for marrying his sweetheart Emma (Sullavan) instead of his boss’s daughter, Hans (Douglass Montgomery, The Mystery of Edwin Drood) moves his pregnant wife to Berlin where he gets a job as a salesman. Dismissed for insulting a customer, Hans has only Emma’s love to sustain him as he seeks opportunity in a country where work is scarce and the Nazis are rising to power. Blending themes of politics and social crisis with love and compassion, this Pre-Code classic showcases one of cinema’s most impactful auteurs, Borzage, and a wonderful cast.
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**Memoria** [Blu-ray] (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2021) RB UK Sovereign Films
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COMMENTS: From the extraordinary mind of Palme d’Or winning director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, ‘Memoria’ stars Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton as Jessica Holland, who, after hearing a loud ‘bang’ at daybreak, begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome while traversing the jungles of Colombia. She experiences auditory hallucinations and tries to find the sources of the sounds causing her insomnia. Soon, she begins to confront the unsettling sights and sounds that call her identity into question. Winner of the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for the Palme d’Or, Memoria offers a unique meditative exploration of memory and the human condi
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Men [Blu-ray] (Alex Garland, 2022) Lionsgate
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COMMENTS: In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper (Jessie Buckley) retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears in visionary filmmaker Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina, Annihilation) feverish, shape-shifting new horror film.
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The Midwich Cuckoos (TV Series, 2022) RB UK Dazzler Media
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COMMENTS: The Midwich Cuckoos is set in Midwich, a sleepy commuter belt town outside London, rather than the rural village of the novel. One September evening everyone in one part of the town suddenly falls unconscious without warning and for 12 hours no phones work and nobody can get into the blackout zone. When everything returns to normal, it’s discovered that every woman of childbearing age has become pregnant. They later give birth to a group of chillingly unusual children, known as ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’. Soon it's apparent these odd children have strange abilities. They end up dividing loyalties and threatening lives both within the town and beyond — and it needs a terrifying sacrifice in order to prevent them causing global catastrophe…
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**Neptune Frost** [Blu-ray] (Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams, 2021) Kino
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COMMENTS: Multidisciplinary artists Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman bring their unique dynamism to the Afrofuturist vision of Neptune Frost. It is a sci-fi-punk-musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that they have been exploring in their work, including on Williams’ 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Neptune Frost takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
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Next Time We Love [Blu-ray] (Edward H. Griffith, 1936) Kino
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COMMENTS: Margaret Sullavan (The Good Fairy) stars opposite James Stewart (Made for Each Other) in his first leading role in Next Time We Love, a captivating romantic drama co-starring Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend). When newlywed reporter Christopher Tyler (Stewart) is posted to Rome, his actress wife, Cicely (Sullavan), refuses to go with him, preferring to stay in New York. Devoting themselves to their thriving careers, they become increasingly estranged, seeing each other only in passing. When a longtime admirer (Milland) proposes she get a divorce and marry him instead, Cicely must decide what she loves most…her husband, friend or career. The heart-tugging story by Ursula Parrott (There’s Always Tomorrow) springs to life courtesy of director Edward H. Griffith (The Animal Kingdom) and writer Melville Baker (The Gilded Lily).
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Short Peace [Blu-ray] (Hiroaki Andô, Hajime Katoki, Shuhei Morita, 2013) Section 23
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COMMENTS: A traveler is confronted by spirits in an abandoned shrine; a story of honor and firefighting in ancient Japan; a white bear defends the royal family from a monstrous red demon; ragtag soldiers battle a robotic force in futuristic Japan.
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Tiger Cage Trilogy [Blu-ray] Tiger Cage (1988), Tiger Cage 2 (1990) and Tiger Cage 3 (1991) - RB UK ‎ 88 Films
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COMMENTS: Bought to you by legendary martial arts stalwart Woo-Ping Yeun, the original Tiger Cage (1988) was an explosive, fast-paced Hong Kong feature replete with criminal gangs and a dedicated law enforcement team in a battle for the city. Just as a crack drug unit celebrates a successful operation one of their numbers is killed. This leads them on a mission to expose the killer and the underground operation and more importantly to discover who the mole in the team might be. Fun, furious and rammed with glorious fight choreography, Tiger Cage is the perfect late 80s Kung Fu spectacular. It was quickly followed by two sequels Tiger Cage 2 (1990) and Tiger Cage 3 (1991) also directed by Woo-Ping Yeun. This brand-new set brings all three movies together in a beautifully presented delux pressing. A must for cult martial arts fans everywhere.
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**The Trial of Joan of Arc** [Blu-ray] (Robert Bresson, 1962) RB UK BFI
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COMMENTS: The legendary story of Joan of Arc’s trial and conviction is powerfully retold in Robert Bresson’s minimalist masterpiece. Working from the official transcript of the 15th century trial, Bresson shoots Joan’s ordeal with a serene simplicity that reveals her vulnerability and her resilient faith. A transcendent and moving evocation of human suffering and spiritual liberation, The Trial of Joan of Arc remains a powerful exploration of religious virtue with one of cinema’s most haunting and poignant finales.
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**The Trials of Oscar Wilde** [Blu-ray] (Ken Hughes, 1960) Kino
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COMMENTS: The Trials of Oscar Wilde chronicles the true story of the renowned playwright’s courtroom clashes with the Marquess of Queensberry and the tragic turn his life takes because of it. Peter Finch (Network) gives a fascinating, BAFTA-winning portrayal of the brilliant Irish writer, who brings a libel suit against the Marquess (Lionel Jeffries, The Quatermass Xperiment) after he accuses Wilde of seducing his son, Lord Alfred Douglas (John Fraser, Isadora). The hearing results in Wilde’s own scandalous trial and prosecution for gross indecency and sodomy. Directed by Ken Hughes (Cromwell, The Internecine Project) and co-starring Yvonne Mitchell (The Queen of Spades), James Mason (The Man Between) and Nigel Patrick (The Sound Barrier), The Trials of Oscar Wilde is a riveting, controversial look at the most notorious court battle of the late 19th century.
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**Walkabout** [Blu-ray] (Nicolas Roeg, 1971) RB UK Second Sight Films
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BEAVER REVIEW
COMMENTS: A young sister and brother are left stranded in the blistering heat of the vast Australian outback. Facing exhaustion and starvation, their salvation comes when they cross paths with an Aboriginal boy on ‘walkabout’, a ritual in which he must leave his home and learn to survive off the land. He teaches them how to survive in the wilderness, but a clash of cultures leads to terrible and tragic consequences.
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YellowBrickRoad [Blu-ray] (Jesse Holland, 2010) Lightyear Video
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COMMENTS: An entire town's population walks up a mountain trail and disappears. Years later, a group of intrepid explorers, intent on solving the mystery, take a mind-bending trip up the same road and find an ancient evil still lurking in the New England woods.
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LATEST CALENDAR UPDATES (CLICK TITLES FOR MORE INFORMATION):

September 12th, 2022

**Abe Lincoln in Illinois** (John Cromwell, 1940) Warner Archive
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September 19th, 2022

**Poltergeist 4K UHD** (Tobe Hooper, 1982) Warner

**Poltergeist 4K UHD** (Tobe Hooper, 1982) Warner UK

**The Turning Point** (William Dieterle, 1952) Kino
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October 17th, 2022

**Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror** (Lady Morgan's Vengeance, The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye. The Witch) - Arrow US

**Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror** (Lady Morgan's Vengeance, The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye. The Witch) - Arrow UK

**The Return of the Living Dead 4K UHD** (Dan O'Bannon, 1985) Shout! Factory
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October 24th, 2022

**The Last Detail 4K UHD** (Hal Ashby, 1973) Shout! Factory
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REVIEWS / COMPARISONS:

Paul W.S. Anderson's "Event Horizon" 4K UHD - Laurence Fishburne / Sam Neill
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UK PURCHASE LINK
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR REVIEW
COMMENTS: Paramount's release of Paul W.S. Anderson's "Event Horizon" to a Steelbook-cased 4K UHD has some issues, I'm afraid. Let's talk about the film; firstly, What is an "Event Horizon"? In astrophysics, the term was coined by Wolfgang Rindler in the 1950s. It's a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Anderson's film starts as a fairly intelligent science-fiction horror stacked with effects - gore and deep space technos in darkness with beams of filtered light. "Event Horizon was a commercial and critical failure but has developed a cult following in recent years. It states on Wikipedia HERE, that "He (Anderson) incorporated significant influences of moderately successful horror films such as Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) and Kubrick's The Shining (1980), because they created suspense from the unknown—the evil presence was hidden from the viewer—and their endings induced ambiguities of perception in the audience." Many scenes in "Event Horizon" are well realized and it has some striking horror imagery with intense sound effects but we can neither endorse the film (although I have gained minor appreciation) nor these Paramount digital versions - except to the less-discerning home theater owner - who is a devout fan of Anderson's film. To each his own.
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**John Baxter's "Love on the Dole"** Blu-ray - Deborah Kerr @indicatorseries
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COMMENTS: John Baxter's Love On The Dole is a touching, and at times, brilliant slice-of-life drama about working class poverty in 1930s Northern England. The book (1933) and the play (1934) were quite successful, but the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) disallowed a film to be made during the 1930s as it was "regarded as 'dangerous' ". "Love on the Dole" has the distinction of being the first English-made feature film to show British police wielding truncheons against a crowd. The author, Walter Greenwood, stated that he "...tried to show what life means to a young man living under the shadow of the dole...". It's an enjoyable melodrama showcasing Kerr as a stand-out with themes of morality, corruption, survival etc.. It poignantly focuses on social problems in Britain - similar to Tony Richardson's Look Back in Anger and Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home. The Indicator Blu-ray of Love On The Dole - their first solely released in the US - is the best available and another magnificently compete package from them. Absolutely recommended!
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Anne Fontaine's "Nathalie... Blu-ray - Emmanuelle Béart @CohenMediaGroup @KinoLorber
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COMMENTS: Anne Fontaine's Nathalie... was the basis for Atom Egoyan's 2009 Chloe. Another film I really enjoyed - I recognized many cafes and landmarks of city of Toronto. It had Julianne Moore in the Fanny Ardant role of Catherine, Amanda Seyfried in the 'up-market prostitute' Emmanuelle Béart role and a terrific Liam Neeson playing the part of the husband - by Gérard Depardieu in Nathalie... It's an erotic French drama with Egoyan's film adding a layer of suspense. Director / co-writer Fontaine has stated that she enjoyed Egoyan's take but was also not happy with Nathalie... because the two lead actresses of the film objected to her original intention for a lesbian relationship to evolve between their characters. It has the bonus of the pre-plastic surgery Emmanuelle Béart - one of the hottest women on the planet at the time (imo) and excellent acting from all three. I preferred the ending of Chloe and would recommend that Blu-ray for its films and supplements, ahead of this bare-bones Cohen Blu-ray but did I say this has Emmanuelle Béart?
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**Ken Russell's "Whore"** Blu-ray - Theresa Russell @imprint_films
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COMMENTS: Ken Russell's Whore has a strong voyeuristic quality without being titillating or sexploitive. Theresa Russell is fabulous. Whore was based on the play Bondage written by David Hines who penned prize-winning monologue focused on a night in the life of a prostitute who he drove in his London taxi cab. It has an documentary feel, somewhat detached from vérité, interspersed with graphic, even vulgar, but honest dialogue but remains fascinating entertainment. Many have been waiting for this Imprint Blu-ray which is 40% off on Amazon at the writing of this review.
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**Patty Jenkins' "Monster"** Blu-ray - Charlize Theron @SecondSightFilm
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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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**Terence Fisher's "The Mummy"** Blu-ray - Peter Cushing @SecondSightFilm
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COMMENTS: Terence Fisher's The Mummy gets its Jimmy Sangster-penned plot (and many characters) from two 1940s Universal films; The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb, and liberally uses the finale from The Mummy's Ghost. It's a gorgeous film - sets and lighting - and the bandaged zombie is effectively scary marching toward you. It's glorious Hammer in their prime with Terence Fisher at the helm, written by Sangster and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Sold. The Second Sight Films Blu-ray is easily the best - looking and sounding top-shelf while containing two strong commentaries (one new) and a host of other supplements, a gorgeous cover and including a book plus accoutrements. A must-own for fans of the studio.
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Antonio Margheriti's "Battle of the Worlds" Blu-ray - Claude Rains @FilmDetective
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COMMENTS: In Phil Hardy's Science Fiction: Complete Film Source Book he describes Antonio Margheriti's "Battle of the Worlds" as one of the director's "most humorous, inventive, stylish, films, effortlessly transcending the crudities of the script, acting and special effects." Yes, it does have some charismatic inventive-ness and fulfils many of the desirable attributes of the pulpy sci-fi film genre of this 60's time period. Although the inclusion of Claude Rains (as Professor Benson) raises the film's gravitas - it still seems a sad come-down for him as the actor who had worked with Hitchcock as well as memorable as Captain Renault in Casablanca and as the titular character in James Whale's The Invisible Man almost 30-year before this. Battle of the Worlds is cheap, fun and imaginative. The Film Detective Blu-ray with the shorter US cut and less-than-optimal video will still have strong appeal to Margheriti fans and this who can't get enough of this genre.
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**Budd Boetticher's "Bullfighter and the Lady"** Blu-ray - Robert Stack @indicatorseries
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COMMENTS: Budd Boetticher's Bullfighter and the Lady uses a semi-documentary approach in examining the sport of bullfighting and the lives of matadors. It focuses on the realities of the dangers involved with some machismo courting of a young lady. It was reported that during production, one stunt man, actually, died. One could see some homo-eroticism between Johnny Regan (Stack) and his bromance with Manolo Estrada (Roland.) Boetticher had stated that the film got made because John Wayne liked the story. But he also says that Wayne and John Ford cut 42 minutes out of Bullfighter and the Lady so that it would be less than 90 minutes, making it essentially a "B" picture. He says "It took me forty years to get it back the way I wanted it.. It was a helluva blow, I tell you." The Indicator Blu-ray offers both cuts, a wonderful commentary, the valuable extra; My Kingdom For… , the revealing Budd Boetticher: One on One, a limited edition booklet and and more. This Indicator package is strongly recommended!
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**Frank Perry's "Diary of a Mad Housewife"** Blu-ray - Carrie Snodgress @indicatorseries
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INDICATOR
BONUS CAPTURES
OUR COMPARISON
COMMENTS: Frank Perry's Diary of a Mad Housewife is a very good film that has been hard to access for many years. I enjoyed it as a partial comedy, partial romance and marriage-drama. Themes involve social-climbing, isolation, boredom, marital malaise, and disenchantment. I continue to appreciate Frank Perry as a director and gained new appreciation for Carrie Snodgress in a career-defining role. The Indicator Blu-ray advances on all fronts over its US counterpart; better a/v, extras including the TV version, commentaries, a stellar appreciation etc. and extensive booklet. Certainly this Indicator 1080P edition is recommended - especially to Perry fans and those who appreciate 70's cinema.
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DVDBeaver Newsletter for the Week of August 8th, 2022