Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: October 2022

I, the Jury (1953) 4K + 3-D 10/29/22

Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer hit the big screen early in the 3-D craze, in a much tamed-down adaptation. The camera legend John Alton handled the lighting and likely called the shots on the camera setups as well. As a detective noir it’s definitely flat-footed, with a bum script, weak direction and a miscast Biff Elliot as the vengeful tough-guy hero. But compensating are the seductive Dran Hamilton, Margaret Sheridan and especially Peggie Castle — the key ‘dame’ in the pulp fiction finale. The United Artists release has been mostly MIA for decades, and this release presents it three ways: flat in both 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, plus a beautiful restored 3-D Blu-ray encoding. From ClassicFlix.
10/29/22

Lonelyhearts 10/29/22

Dore Schary’s post-MGM personal production is a class act in every respect — Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy are well cast in a story of intimate emotional cruelty. It’s from a play derived from Nathanael West’s soul-crushing novella, and despite the talent involved, it can’t shake the feeling of an overheated TV drama. The acting and characterizations are riveting. Young Dolores Hart is a beacon of light amid the gloom and misery, and in her first movie, Maureen Stapleton’s’ fireball of anxiety and malice all but steals the show. The fine cinematography is again by the great John Alton. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/29/22

Die Nackte und der Satan (The Head) 10/25/22

Another classic-era Eurohorror title has surfaced on Blu-ray. This crisp remastering of an elusive mad surgery opus is straight from the exploitation trenches of postwar Germany, and jangles plenty of nerves with its tale of crazy transplants. Partly a girlie show — most every scene involves some form of disrobing — it’s nevertheless an intriguing horror cocktail with top production values. The capable cast is really into the melodramatic shocks — it may not be Georges Franju but it’s several cuts above other ‘severed head’ epics — an insane carnival of flesh confusion that’s technically tame but truly adults-only by 1959 standards. On Blu-ray from Anolis Entertainment.
10/25/22

Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror 10/25/22

Arrow’s latest horror collection is a classy foursome of Italo chillers, in a beautifully designed gift box . . . presented with the company’s full line of extras and commentaries, we get new remasters of Lady Morgan’s Vengeance, The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye, and The Witch, six hours of supernatural thrillers with an adult viewpoint. The stars include Gordon Mitchell, Erika Blanc, Gélrard Tichy, Franco Nero, Richard Johnson and Rosanna Schiaffino; one of the films is an adaptation of a story by Carlos Fuentes. Charlie Largent reviews; Arrow’s copy describes the films as containing madness, obsession and messed-up families! On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
10/25/22

La Llorona (2019) 10/22/22

With human justice absent in the awful political bloodshed in Central America, Guatemalan director Jayro Bustamente finds payback in cinematic fantasy. A crooked government exonerates a genocidal general, but his estate is besieged around the clock by Mayan-Ixil Indio protesters. Into the house comes a new maid — a tiny young woman who may nevertheless wield supernatural powers. The moody art-horror show is as delicate as The Innocents or a Val Lewton chiller — horror once again becomes an excellent means to address political evil. Slow and deliberate, it reverberates with horror history without copying the classics. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/22/22

The Bat (1959) 10/22/22

This old-fashioned haunted house thriller was a moderate 1959 hit in writer-director Crane Wilbur’s creepy re-imagining. Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead headline a time-honored tale of buried treasure and the bloodthirsty fiend who’ll stop at nothing to get his claws on it. “Predictable but light-hearted entertainment that remains ghoulish fun for the whole family.” And who can go wrong with Vinnie?  His doctor has a delicious scene with a shotgun. Charlie Largent’s review is of a new release, with new extras. On Blu-ray from The Film Detective.
10/22/22

Zerograd 10/18/22

A truly fascinating rarity from the U.S.S.R., Karen Shahknazarov’s wickedly droll satire proves that the country Reagan called an ‘Evil Empire’ was radically changing in the late 1980s. Half Kafka paranoia and partly a Valentine to American freedoms, it takes the psychological temperature of a society that just plain no longer functions. Leonid Filatov’s unflappable engineer arrives in a rural Russian town and might as well be a Soviet Alice dropped down a rabbit hole — things get crazier and crazier, and nobody wants to let him in on the cosmic joke. The weird tale’s strength is its impressive visual creativity, but it also generates an unexpected affection for its characters, nice people caught in a frustrating system. On Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile.
10/18/22

Cutter’s Way 10/18/22

Ivan Passer’s superb coda to the ’60s counterculture generation now enjoys a formidable reputation; this new Fun City Editions release packs it with terrific extras. It may have the best performances by top stars John Heard, Jeff Bridges and Lisa Eichhorn. Disaffected 30-somethings in Santa Barbara investigate a murder and then try to blackmail a corporate CEO.  Heard is the maimed, one-eyed veteran already judged unstable, Bridges the yacht bum who gets by on his good looks, and Eichhorn the most forlorn woman of the early ’80s, looking for a reason to give a damn about something. Jordan Cronenweth’s cinematography and Jack Nitzsche’s music track couldn’t be bettered; the movie deserves the place of honor granted to Easy Rider. On Blu-ray from Fun Cities Editions.

10/18/22

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) 10/15/22

Still by far the best adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story, Paramount’s glossy pre-Code is also one of the most prestigious horror shows on record. Fredric March won an acting Oscar and it’s one of Miriam Hopkins’ best performances. The film is sexually daring and technically astute — with the help of cameraman Karl Struss director Rouben Mamoulian makes use of every cinematic trick he can conjure. The horrible Mr. Hyde is conceived as a near-simian primitive man, equating unrestrained lust and desire as something ‘society’ must repress. The disc packaging says it’s two minutes longer than the 2004 Warner DVD . . . but it’s not. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/15/22

Night of the Living Dead 4K 10/15/22

Anticipating new interest in one of the most influential horror films of all time, Criterion gives George Romero’s zombie classic the boost to 4K. The most famous movie to be produced in Pittsburgh returns American horror to its down-home roots, with excellent docu-drama direction and enthusiastic performances. It’s like a Disney film: every seven years a new generation will arrive to debate whether the beseiged victims should have fought upstairs, or all retreated to the basement. It’s a 3-disc set, one 4K UHD and two Blu-rays. Where’s the Bill ‘Chilly Billy’ Cardille theme song? On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/15/22

Mark of the Vampire 10/11/22

MGM’s remake of a Lon Chaney horror silent is a ‘class’ MGM production apparently designed to neutralize everything horrible in horror. You’ll understand when you see it: Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland are genuinely chilling, and the show abounds in fantastic gothic imagery, much of it eerie and unexplainable . . . until they explain it. The actual star is the pompous Mr. Potter Lionel Barrymore. We do admit that — talky sections aside — there are as many classic vampire images here as in Lugosi’s original Dracula. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/11/22

House of Psychotic Women 10/11/22

Severin’s October offerings include this investigation of Euro-weirdness curated with academic purpose and clarity by Kier-La Janisse, evoking the name of her book from 2012. The thesis is the representation of women in filmic horror — except that in these strange experiences, hysteria transforms into a liberating form of empowerment: Identikit, I Like Bats, Footsteps and The Other Side of the Underneath. Elizabeth Tayor and Florinda Bolkan are the top stars in the collection, two of which bear the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro. The final film is a totally different, experimental experience. Ms. Janisse’s introductions connect the dots for these filmworks that envigorate and disturb. On Blu-ray from Severin Films.
10/11/22

The Raid (1954) 10/08/22

This Civil War thriller has so much truth to say about War, Patriotism and combatant-vs.-civilian terror that we can hardly believe it was released in 1954. It’s based on a true event from 1864, a daring undercover mission that hit the Union far away from the conventional fighting. Van Heflin is the vengeance-seeking advance agent, Anne Bancroft a war widow, Richard Boone a maimed Union veteran and Lee Marvin a loose cannon with a hair trigger. The anti-war message is stronger than anything from the Vietnam years!  The 20th-Fox release is not on home video, and is in great need of restoration. On Not on Home Video.
10/08/22

Creatures the World Forgot 10/08/22

Yes, it’s Hammer’s grimy rags ‘n’ rock prehistoric saga, the notorious third caveman vs. dinosaurs spectacle that has no dinosaurs, leaving the ‘creatures’ of the title as a no-show. Director Don Chaffey does his best with a screenplay that Michael Carreras must have sketched on the back of a cocktail napkin. If you like rugged terrain and dusty dirty cavemen exposed to the elements — or you’re a Hammer completist — you’ve come to the right place. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
10/08/22

Blow Out 4K 10/04/22

CineSavant’s Charlie Largent takes on Brian De Palma’s paranoid conspiracy re-think of an Antonioni picture with an almost identical title, adding creepy touches from similar Alan Pakula and Francis Coppola chillers. Hipster sound recordist and editor John Travolta gets into the middle of a nefarious scheme mixing elements of both JFK and Teddy Kennedy; Nancy Allen is the woman who tries to help him save both their lives. Plenty of visual pyrotechnics; in 4K some of Vilmos Zsigmond’s ultra-sharp Panavision images almost look like 3-D. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/04/22

Barabbas 10/04/22

Richard Fleischer’s Biblical epic is a class act all the way, one of producer Dino De Laurentiis’s greatest accomplishments. Anthony Quinn’s guilty, perplexed bandit survives and subsists but never understands the import of the man crucified in his place; the view of early Christianity is respectful but free of pious clichés. It’s an excellent image of the ancient world, with gladiator scenes that are possibly the best ever. Fleisher does exceedingly well with the enormous sets and a well-chosen international cast: Ernest Borgnine, Valentina Cortese, Vittorio Gassman, Katy Jurado, Arthur Kennedy, Silvana Mangano, Jack Palance. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
10/04/22

In Bruges 4K 10/01/22

Martin McDonagh’s cult hit man feature comes to 4K looking extremely good: fans of low-key black humor and droll sentimentality, kinda-like-the-Coens, kinda-like-Tarantino, love this picture. Cute characterizations from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson & Ralph Fiennes bring light to a ‘killers with a heart’ story. It keeps us watching to see what happens next, that’s for sure. And when’s the last time that 13th century European art and architecture figured so heavily in a mob saga?

Murder at the Vanities 10/01/22

Saucy pre-Code entertainment routinely served up risqué dialogue and edgy content like promiscuity and drug use, but Mitchell Leisen’s murder mystery goes straight for a supposed family-industry no-no: Broadway-revue near-nudity featuring Earl Carroll’s ‘Most Beautiful Girls In The World’. Victor McLaglen is an inept detective and Jack Oakie a wise-cracking impresario. Gertrude Michael and Kitty Carlisle carry the musical numbers, the most famous being an ode to the still-legal Sweet Marijuana. Showgirls like Lucille Ball possess the daring to don the skimpy costumes, even if they hadn’t yet learned what Marijuana was. Duke Ellington and his orchestra sit in for Ebony Rhapsody, a mixed-race musical number with room for ‘guest dancers from Harlem.’ On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/01/22