Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: November 2020

The Irishman 11/28/20

Martin Scorsese’s best feature in years is a lengthy but fully rewarding underworld version of the life and untimely demise of Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. As part of the new media alignment with streaming companies, Netflix backed the ambitious, not-conventionally-bankable premise. Special digital manipulation was used to partly rejuvenate the three leads — Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci (Pesci makes a stunning comeback). “I Heard You Paint Houses” was the title of Charles Brandt’s book; screenwriter Steve Zalian’s adaptation embraces the longform format afforded by Netflix — 3.5 hours. Out on parole, recidivist reviewer Charlie Largent puts the 2019 epic under the crime lab microscope… it isn’t multi-generational in the Edna Ferber sense, but it feels as if it captures an entire lifetime. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
11/28/20

The Day of the Locust 11/28/20

John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Nathanael West’s novel is one of the best ‘Hollywood on Hollywood’ pictures ever, even if it soaks everything about The Golden Age of Tinseltown in an acid bath of cynicism. The perverse dystopia of dreams and vice is beautifully rendered in every respect, and culminates in a finale that caught ordinary audiences by surprise. Is this an indictment of the shallow aims of America’s Fantasyland, or one misanthrope’s vision of self-loathing and apocalyptic wish fulfillment?   Don’t look for anyone to root for, as even the benign characters are moral freaks. Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, Donald Sutherland and William Atherton give utterly original performances. [Imprint] has a secured a great new interview extra with Atherton. With Geraldine Page, Richard Dysart, Bo Hopkins, Pepe Serna, Lelia Goldoni, Billy Barty and Jackie Earle Haley. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
11/28/20

King Kong (1976) 11/28/20

Dino De Laurentiis took a lot of flack for his underwhelming remake of the incomparable 1933 horror classic, which he promoted into a monster-sized hit. Nothing could eclipse the original but the good casting still appeals. An honest ad campaign would have leaned on two points:  SEE Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin carry an insultingly ugly production like real stars!  SEE ‘newcomer’ Jessica Lange play a sexualized ditz so well that she retains her dignity! …and most importantly,  SEE the biggest special effects fraud ever perpetrated on movie screens!  Umbrella Entertainment of Australia puts this one back in print, on Blu-ray. With Rick Baker, Rene Auberjonois, Julius Harris, John Randolph, Jack O’Halloran and Ed Lauter. On Region B Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.
11/28/20

The Pirate 11/24/20

Now for a real treat for musical fans, a core MGM dazzler with top stars, fully restored and looking incredibly good. Vincente Minnelli’s snappy, funny 1948 show isn’t ranked among producer Arthur Freed’s best but it ought to be. Silly farce gets a high-toned, technically amazing workout as Judy Garland’s demure señorita secretly lusts after the ruthless corsair of the title, Mack the Black!  Gene Kelly’s slippery carny womanizer impersonates her piratical fantasy sex object, and it all ends in clowning and killer musical numbers. Cole Porter’s smart songs attest to the great orchestrators and arrangers in MGM’s world-class music department; the new full digital restoration makes the movie look and sound better than I’ve certainly ever seen it. Co-starring Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, George Zucco and The Nicholas Brothers. The John Fricke commentary is excellent. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
11/24/20

Silent Running 11/24/20

Bruce Dern is on a life-saving mission! After killing John Wayne in The Cowboys but before trying to massacre the Super Bowl in Black Sunday, his forest ranger Freeman Lowell committed space piracy to save the trees, man!  The only one back on Earth who seems to care is Joan Baez. Douglas Trumbull’s technically-accomplished first feature film does 2001 on a tiny budget, and creates something original, if a bit mushy. The screenplay by Derek Washburn, Michael Cimino and Steven Bochco reaches a wistful ending — but is it uplifting or depressing?  With new input by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
11/24/20

The Gunfighter 11/21/20

When Hollywood from time to time reinvented the western the results were sometimes sensationally good, as attested to by this superior neglected classic. We’d call it the first psychological western if the term weren’t so limiting. Gregory Peck once again proves how good he can be when well cast and he’s surrounded by fine characterizations, not typical oater walk-ons. The screenplay and direction are so pleasing that the downbeat finale isn’t a drawback — it doesn’t strain to enforce an irony, or to sell a deep-dish ‘author’s message.’ This one’s just a winner in all categories. Co-starring Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Skip Homeier, Jean Parker, Karl Malden & Anthony Ross. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
11/21/20

Ulysses (1954) 11/21/20

No, it’s not the story of the 18th President of the United States. Kirk Douglas must have been a big hit in Rome, starring in one of the first and best of the Italo epic ‘classics,’ before the musclemen cornered the market. Homer’s tale of the husband who took ten years to come back from Troy is given real star power, a splendid production and best of all, an intelligent script. This disc looks a lot better than the ragged earlier DVD, plus it offers a superior Italian language soundtrack. Co-starring Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, and Rossana Podestà. And don’t forget Gary Teetzel’s recommendation: as an adaptation of The Odyssey, it’s right up there with O Brother Where Art Thou!   On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/21/20

The Wonders of Aladdin 11/17/20

Wow, what a combination – Donald O’Connor goes Full Arabian Nights kiddie fantasy in this perfect example of the kind of movie our parents took us to see, instead of Mister Sardonicus. The ‘family fun’ feature has the regulation number of pliant harem girls, frequently in bondage (You know – for Kids!) plus the requisite number of special effects. Vittorio De Sica is a genie, but don’t get your hopes up for a Cyclops or a dragon. With Michèle Mercier. It’s also co-directed by Mario Bava, which means there’s an automatic umbilical to commentary input by the authoritative Tim Lucas. Reviewed by Charlie Largent, who asks, ‘So where’s The Brass Bottle?  On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/17/20

The Mortal Storm 11/14/20

It’s pretty scary to think that as late as 1940, after Poland had been overrun and with France about to fall that both Washington and the American public were sharply divided over Nazi Germany. MGM waited until 1940 to produce this softened adaptation of a novel written in 1937 as a warning to the world. Handsomely produced with MGM’s high-gloss production values, it’s remembered as a valiant and courageous anti-Nazi film… with an all-star cast that reunited the romantic team of James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan for sentimental fireworks. With Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Robert Stack, Bonita Granville, Maria Ouspenskaya, and Ward Bond… and Dan Dailey as maniacal Nazi!  On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
11/14/20

Mad Max (1979) 11/14/20

The true breakdown of society appears to have begun in Australia around 1979, when George Miller made this berserk extrapolation of every toxic futurist prediction on the books. Out on the open road the only thing saving society from horrifying motorized gang violence is a corps of equally crazed patrolmen in their interceptor vehicles. With this picture Mel Gibson went from zero to ninety on the star-meters, even though U.S. distribution fell to the failing American International Pictures. Kino gathers up the best existing extras, and includes audio mixes in two separate languages — incomprehensible Australian and marginally understandable Australian. With the non-stop action on screen, who cares?  On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/14/20

Amazon Women on the Moon 11/10/20

Insane skit comedy by a quintet of directors — Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis and Robert K. Weiss — throws fifty oddball skits at us, from all directions. It’s a fractured stack of uneven but often brilliant concepts that include some timeless winners: ‘Son of the Invisible Man,’ ‘Blacks Without Soul,’ ‘Video Pirates,’ ‘Roast Your Loved One,’ ‘Video Date’ and the title skit, a recreation of a cheesy sci-fi picture squeezed between TV commercials. See Lou Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Forrest, Sybil Danning, David Alan Grier, Steve Guttenberg, Henry (‘Bullshit or Not’) Silva, Belinda Belaski, Ed Begley Jr., Angel Tompkins, Ralph Bellamy, Marc McClure, Carrie Fisher, Paul Bartel and Rosanna Arquette — their contributions all explained in generous extras that include several entire outtake segments that didn’t make the final cut. Reviewed by Charlie Largent. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/10/20

976-Evil 11/10/20

Guest reviewer Lee Broughton returns with an assessment of Robert Englund’s offbeat video rental store favourite 976-EVIL. Satanic panic ensues when two teenage cousins foolishly start using an automated telephone “horrorscope” service. Dialling 666 just might be granting the pair a direct line to the Devil himself and there’s bound to be a hefty price to pay for that. Sandy Dennis and Stephen Geoffreys bring a touch of class to this low budget but unpredictable and compelling 1980s horror show. On Region B Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment.
11/10/20

Dragnet 11/07/20

Join Joe Friday and Frank Smith as they make a case against the rotten gangland crooks that moiderized Dub Taylor with a shotgun, point blank! See detectives loiter about while smart remarks and BIG music stings provide the excitement! The big-screen version of the hit TV show has a surfeit of guest crooks, unhappy women, and a script that wants to grant cops the right to harass and wiretap whoever they wish without restraint. Jack Webb’s ‘interesting’ ideas of script, performance and direction are really… interesting. The Joe Friday-fest comes with an informative commentary by Toby Roan, laying down plenty of Dragnet and Jack Webb history I didn’t know, not ‘just the facts.’ With Richard Boone, Ann Robinson, Stacy Harris, and Virginia Gregg, on Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
11/07/20

Columbia Noir #1 11/07/20

Region B- Blu-ray capable noir fans have a formidable six-pack of noir crime pictures on tap: a WW2 espionage thriller, two caper pix and the show that launched the notion of a hit man who’s both charismatic and psychopathic. The list of leading actors is stellar as well: Glenn Ford, Kim Novak, Eli Wallach, Brian Keith, James Whitmore and Nina Foch. Do you like extras?  Like to read about the movies you see?   No video extra has been left behind, and PI’s big yellow box contains a 120-page book. Plus — several newly remastered Three Stooges shorts. Don’t forget, Noir and Stooges go together like sanity and American politics. Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man, Drive a Crooked Road,
5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle, The Lineup. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
11/07/20

Daughters of Darkness 11/03/20

Finally, a horror shocker that needs to make no excuses! Harry Kümel’s interpretation of the Elizabeth Báthory legend excels in all departments and succeeds in each of its aims. Erotic Eurohorror meets Sternbergian visual decadence, making a vivid (and bloody) statement about classic screen exoticism. Given the full glamour treatment, silky Delphine Seyrig is striking as the deceptively congenial vampire queen. It’s a rare throwback to the beginnings of erotic Eurohorror — sex and death, together again! Blue Underground stacks the extras and throws in a soundtrack CD for a leap to 4K Ultra HD, with a Blu-raydisc for good measure.
11/03/20

Dementia 11/03/20

This bizarre, creepy and maudit masterpiece of silent expressionist horror is an independent 1950s production that never had a chance commercially. Butchered by a second distributor, its ignominious fate was to wind up as a movie-within-a-movie footnote for Steve McQueen. Cohen/BFI’s ‘rescue’ remastering of John Parker’s picture does some things great — we never thought we’d see it look this good. But the overall package packs a big disappointment, as I’ll explain. On Region B Blu-ray + PAL DVD from The Cohen Collection / BFI.
11/03/20