Secret of the Incas 09/27/22

Viavision [Imprint]
Blu-ray

Behold — it’s Indiana Jones in embryonic form. Paramount’s South American adventure exploits Peruvian scenery and the ’50s exotica phenomenon that was the unique songstress Yma Sumac. The production receives hearty input from Charlton Heston, Nicole Maurey and Thomas Mitchell, but it’s mostly a relic today. Not because the Raiders films have stolen its thunder . . . because it’s plenty hokey, even for 1954. The filmmakers did send a camera crew to the remote Andes, to film in the ‘lost city’ of Machu Picchu. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
09/27/22

Married to the Mob 09/27/22

Fun City Editions
Blu-ray

Jonathan Demme’s mix of high spirits and murder is the best gangland satire ever. The comic tale of Mafia spouse Angela de Marco comes with an edge of economic reality: how does one newly-impoverished New Yawk widow make a living for her orphaned son, while avoiding the ‘interest’ of the slimy Big Boss who had her husband iced?  Michelle Pfeiffer came into her own, Dean Stockwell has his best adult role and Matthew Modine is uniquely charming as a clean-cut FBI agent. The supporting performances go every which way: Mercedes Ruehl, Alec Baldwin, Oliver Platt and a slew of Demme regulars. Plus a music score by David Byrne. The disc features three new video interviews. On Blu-ray from Fun City Editions.
09/27/22

George Pal Sci-fi Double Feature 09/24/22

Paramount Presents
4K Ultra HD + Blu Ray + Digital

It’s one of the year’s most awaited discs: the recent restored and remastered The War of the Worlds ’53 in a glorious 4K Ultra HD edition. A second Blu-ray disc of When Worlds Collide ’51 is too good to be called a bonus extra: this edition looks better than anything seen since original Technicolor prints. In one show we endure scurvy invaders from The Red Planet; in the other a rogue Astral Body threatens Earth with obliteration, necessitating escape on a space ship. Don’t bother checking online for tickets, the flight is sold out. CineSavant has the lowdown for collectors: how good does the new release look?  On 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray + Digital from Paramount Presents.
09/24/22

Twice-Told Tales 09/24/22

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

United Artists substitutes Nathaniel Hawthorne for Edgar Allan Poe, but even with Vincent Price on board Sidney Salkow is no Roger Corman. Three famous tales play out: Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, The House of the Seven Gables and the best, Rappaccini’s Daughter. Reviewer Charlie Largent sorts it all out: we like the cast, some of whom are survivors of earlier exploitation pix: Mari Blanchard, Sebastian Cabot, Richard Denning, Jacqueline deWit, Beverly Garland, Brett Halsey, Abraham Sofaer, Joyce Taylor. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
09/24/22

The Scarlet Hour 09/20/22

Viavision [Imprint]
Region Free Blu-ray

Producer-director Michael Curtiz’s femme fatale noir has a lot going for it — high production values, VistaVision, and new film talent in Tom Tryon, Carol Ohmart, Elaine Stritch & Jody Lawrance. Excellent location shooting and a Nat King Cole song provide authentic Los Angeles atmosphere. But the storyline is ten years out of date. The advertising promoted Ms. Ohmart as a new ’50s sex symbol. She may have caught fire, but the show didn’t. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
09/20/22

Rain (1932) 09/20/22

Mary Pickford / VCI
Blu-ray

The effort to restore neglected films doesn’t get more rewarding than this 4K rebirth of Lewis Milestone’s version of the acclaimed Somerset Maugham story. Loaned from MGM, Joan Crawford tries on the role of Sadie Thompson and holds her own opposite Walter Huston’s fire & brimstone preacher. It’s still a major achievement of the pre-Code era, an adult story that doesn’t water down its ‘dangerous’ themes: it’s exactly the kind of show that the censors didn’t want made. On Blu-ray from Mary Pickford Foundation / VCI.
09/20/22

Elvis 4K 09/17/22

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
4K Ultra HD + Blu Ray + Digital

CineSavant reviewer Charlie Largent is back in action, swingin’ and a shakin’ & rockin’ and a rollin’. The subject is Baz Luhrmann’s gaudy, circus-like Elvis Presley biopic, which stars Austin Butler as the pelvic title idol but gives equal emphasis to Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Tom Parker, the Machiavellian manager who spelled ‘Elvis’ as A-T-M. The deluxe 4K presentation reveals a carefully orchestrated riot of moods and colors — Lurid Luhrmann may be creatively scattered but this is a good-looking show. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
09/17/22

Orders to Kill 09/17/22

Powerhouse Indicator
Region Free Blu-ray

Anthony Asquith’s unusual look at wartime espionage garnered good notices in 1958, perhaps from reviewers rebelling against the trend toward ruthless screen violence. Star Paul Massie is fine as an emotionally-stricken Allied assassin who balks at carrying out his mission; the acting support from Irene Worth and Leslie French is superb. Screenwriter Paul Dehn was an ace at sharp, no-nonsense thrillers, but this story is soft around the edges — it seems to be explaining non-chivalric warfare to your sweet old grandmother. Which reminds us, Lillian Gish has a small role, too. On Region-Free Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
09/17/22

The Cop (Un condé) 09/13/22

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

The tough guys in Yves Boisset’s crime drama answer revenge with revenge, with Michel Bouquet’s rogue cop committing outrageous acts of lawlessness to nail his partner’s killer. The French censors were up at arms over Boisset’s slight to police honor, yet the subject isn’t corruption — everything is ‘honor and decency.’ A fine gallery of Gallic thugs fills out the cast; both they and the attitude toward law and order are a step beyond Jean-Pierre Melville, but not an improvement. With standout work from Michel Constantin, Théo Sarapo, Henri Garcin and Bernard Fresson. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
09/13/22

Le Corbeau 09/13/22

The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

As an artist Henri-Georges Clouzot was fearless: in the darkness of the German occupation he made a movie about the social crime of informing. Poison Pen accusations destroy trust, bringing out the worst in the people of a small French town. Who is The Crow and how many will suffer before the letters stop?  It’s a study in vitriolic misanthropy — the kind of cold observation that Clouzot does so well. At the war’s finish director Clouzot was accused of collaboration, and for a time was censured. Later on, some English critics classified the show as a horror film. It’s certainly creepy enough. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
09/13/22

So Proudly We Hail 09/10/22

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

If a single WW2 Hollywood war epic can sum up the complexity of homefront morale-building, this one is it. Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake enlist as Army nurses and are plunged into the disastrous opening onslaught in the Philippines. Adroit screenwriting and direction use the clichés of Hollywood glamour to give mom & dad back home a dramatic idea of what it might be like for a company of nurses in a failing war zone. Great studio effects show the rough retreats and casualties, while George Reeves and Sonny Tufts serve as reassuring sentimental diversions. And a squad of ‘unglamorous’ actresses get to play strong, patriotic roles. It’s an entertaining winner. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
09/10/22

Essential Film Noir Collection 3 09/10/22

Viavision [Imprint]
Region Free Blu-ray

The third ‘Essential’ noir collection is easily [Imprint]’s best, with two genuine classics of the style plus two excellent and equally entertaining thrillers. The directors are first-rank: Lewis Milestone, Mitchell Leisen, William Dieterle and William Wyler. Top stars are present too: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lisabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March. The high-quality suspense and jeopardy are uniquely noir: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, No Man Of Her Own, The Turning Point and The Desperate Hours. [Imprint] taps bona fide experts for the xtras. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
09/10/22

A Fugitive from the Past 09/06/22

Arrow Video
Blu-ray

Arrow Video floors us with yet another well-curated Japanese masterpiece. For practical purposes, this disc might represent the Western premiere of Tomu Uchida’s three-hour ‘crime and punishment’ saga. Unfolding like a novel and filmed with an unusually gritty visual scheme called ‘the Toei W106 method,’ the story’s timeline is split between 1947 and 1957. It has a strong postwar social statement to make, but the overriding theme is one of spiritual Karma, and the function of guilt in imperfect humans. Several of the actors are just unforgettable, especially Rentarô Mikuni, Junzaburô Ban, and Ken Takakura. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
09/06/22

On the Beach 09/06/22

Viavision [Imprint]
Blu-ray

End-of-the-world Sci-fi went mainstream with a heavy message about human extinction in John Paxton’s all-star adaptation of Nevil Shute’s best seller. Always controversial and often derided as ‘glamorous obliteration chic,’ Stanley Kramer’s film plays better than ever. The possibility of Nuke Doom could be ignored back then, but we’ve since gained a more apocalyptic outlook (gee, wonder why?) It’s got fine work from Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire, and only real Australians wince at the iffy accents. It’s also Kramer’s best-judged, best-directed movie overall. [Imprint’s] special edition includes an entire separate documentary feature, Fallout. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
09/06/22

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? 09/03/22

Severin Films
Blu-ray

Talk about a Back-to-School disc promotion!  CineSavant digs into Severin’s The Incredibly Strange films of Ray Dennis Steckler MegaBox — 10 discs, 20 films — just enough to sample this demented offering that some have nominated for the honor of worst film ever. It’s a glorified home movie by a guy with the movie-making bug — and a friend with some cash who wanted to be a producer. Steckler’s movie found real screenings in real theaters, and the Auteur from Lemon Grove Street embarked on one of the oddest careers ever. On Blu-ray from Severin Films.
09/03/22

Abe Lincoln in Illinois 09/03/22

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

Plenty of actors have played Abraham Lincoln well, but the actor still most associated with the role is Raymond Massey, who starred in Robert E. Sherwood’s Pulitzer Prizewinning play. The film version was not a hit, as Sherwood’s aim is to capture the melancholy, even the foreboding, of a man who was a natural for politics. In this reading Lincoln tries to resist his ‘call to greatness’ knowing he’s letting himself in for an unhappy life. The Warner Archive’s restoration retrieves the film from old 16mm prints, restoring James Wong Howe’s handsome cinematography. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
09/03/22