Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: March 2023

Chilly Scenes of Winter 03/28/23

We never miss an opportunity to see John Heard perform. A ‘difficult’ movie that nonetheless made its mark, Joan Micklin Silver’s adaptation of Ann Beattie’s novel looks at modern romance through a realistic lens, relatable to young adults in the late 1970s: people are problematic constructs with built-in barriers to Happily Ever After outcomes. John Heard and Mary Beth Hurt lead an excellent cast that includes Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, Gloria Grahame, Nora Heflin and Jerry Hardin. An initial release went nowhere, but United Artists Classics’ revised reissue three years later proved a success. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
03/28/23

State of the Union 03/28/23

Frank Capra’s big push to reestablish his exalted pre-war reputation saw him applying ‘Capracorn’ to a Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway comedy-drama about modern politics. Airplane industrialist Spencer Tracy is groomed to run for the White House by newspaper czar Angela Lansbury and political kingmaker Adolphe Menjou. Tracy’s wife Katharine Hepburn frets to see her husband become a political puppet. Columnist turned publicist Van Johnson cracks jokes from the sidelines. Powerhouse Indicator’s remastered disc carries an excellent commentary by Claire Kenny, Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
03/28/23

The Prince and the Showgirl 03/25/23

What a difference a digital remaster makes!  Marilyn Monroe’s self-produced English comedy leaps back to life with a new restoration of Jack Cardiff’s stunning color cinematography. Monroe’s a delight co-starring with Laurence Olivier, amid the stuffy formal-dress diplomacy and giddy midnight seductions. Adapted from a formal stage play, the farce of manners is far more enjoyable than I remembered. Olivier delivers an exacting high-toned performance, but Monroe takes full control with her first smile. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
03/25/23

Dragonslayer 4K 03/25/23

Hal Barwood & Matthew Robbins put everything they had into a medieval sword ‘n’ sorcery epic, filmed in England and finished in California by the best artists at ILM and VCE. It’s basic gee-whiz sorcerer- George vs. The Dragon material, but more brutal than expected. Word of mouth about some unnecessarily gory scenes tipped off parents that it wasn’t safe for small fry. Fantasy fans applauded its formidable dragon Vermithrax Pejorative, brought to life via second-generation stop-motion animation, and it’s still admired by stop-motion professionals. The 4K resolution delivers every slimy, fiery detail. On 4K Ultra HD + Digital Code from Paramount Home Video.
03/25/23

Party Girl ’95 03/21/23

Here’s the eager New York independent production that snagged Parker Posey for her first starring role — as a Manhattan party animal who eventually finds stable footing as a (gasp) librarian. Life is tough when you can’t make the rent. This latter-day Holly Golightly has problems with flaky instability, but the guy selling falafel downstairs is a cute distraction. The bid to revive the screwball comedy illuminates Ms. Posey’s appeal, aided by a number of capable supporting actors. Despite a budget that doesn’t allow for big scenes or production frills, director & co-screenwriter Daisy von Scherler Mayer keeps the fun going. FCE’s extras give us the main players in new interviews. On Blu-ray from Fun City Editions.
03/21/23

Black Sunday ’77 03/21/23

John Frankenheimer’s big-scale terrorism conspiracy tale benefits from the director’s no-nonsense attitude to action. Thomas Harris’ first novel spins on a ‘high concept’ gimmick that surely launched a studio bidding war: what if somebody blew up the entire Super Bowl, in mid-game? Robert Shaw, Steven Keats and Marthe Keller play well with the tense effort to detect and stop the attack, but favorite Bruce Dern steals the show with his career-best deranged villain — who is also the most sympathetic character. This domestic release has all-new extras. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
03/21/23

Babylon – 4K 03/18/23

Is it a train wreck or an unrecognized masterpiece?  Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt topline this enormous, enormously profane epic of silent-era Hollywood — that immediately earned the scorn of critics decrying it as a gross distortion of historical reality. Word Of Mouth focused on the film’s blizzard of gross bodily functions, which surely inspired walkouts in the very first scene. You’ll never again approach your local zoo’s elephant enclosure with confidence. Director Chazelle pitches almost everything over the top, and the actors certainly get in the spirit of orgiastic decadence: Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart and Tobey Maguire. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital from Paramount Home Entertainment.
03/18/23

Mildred Pierce 4K 03/18/23

‘Washed up’ at MGM, Joan Crawford bounced back with one of the smartest, best-judged career rethinks in Hollywood history. As James M. Cain’s independent housewife-careerist she soars to heights of California success, only to be brought down by runaway maternal blindness. Michael Curtiz guides a pack of indelibly selfish characters — Jack Carson’s slimy business associate, weasley upscale lounge lizard Zachary Scott, and Daughter from Hell Ann Blyth. Plus one authentic wonder woman, Eve Arden. Criterion’s two-disc set sports on-camera interviews with Joan Crawford and James M. Cain. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
03/18/23

The Long Wait 4K 03/14/23

This Mickey Spillane noir tale is a pleasant surprise: star Anthony Quinn gives a solid ‘tough guy’ performance, sizing up a quartet of thrill-crazy Spillane dames that promise no end of trouble. The surprisingly clever script dares to exploit the gimmicks of both amnesia and plastic surgery — without insulting our intelligence. Peggie Castle is our new favorite in the glamour sweepstakes, and Gene Evans, Charles Coburn, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Barry Kelley, Jay Adler and Bruno VeSota co-star. And remember: ‘Evil to Him who Evil Thinks.’ On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from ClassicFlix.
03/14/23

Something to Live For 03/14/23

Hollywood’s postwar shift to social consciousness addressed familiar issues like bigotry and discrimination. On his way to making his gargantuan, serious epics, famed director George Stevens paused for this almost entirely forgotten contemplation of American anxiety in the business rat race, with a side order of alcoholism and potential adultery. Ray Milland is the troubled ad man who tries to help the drink-impaired actress, Joan Fontaine. Wife Teresa Wright waits patiently back home, but for how long?  Is Stevens just dabbling in neorealistic doldrums, or did he feel the wave of dull existential despair as well?  It’s one of his least-known films. On Region Free Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
03/14/23

Mississippi Mermaid 03/11/23

François Truffaut is back with another Hitchcock-influenced adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich murder thriller. Stars Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo are lovers – criminals – fugitives. Partly filmed in a remote French island in the Indian Ocean, it’s a tale of a mail-order bride, larcenous deception, and irrational amor fou run amuck. The things we do for love sometimes obey no logic. Also starring Michel Bouquet. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
03/11/23

Third Man on the Mountain 03/11/23

An old DVD of this Disney favorite exists, but it’s pretty bad; Charlie Largent reviews a nice new remaster not yet available on disc. James MacArthur dodges dirty dishes and saccharine dish Janet Munro, and dares to follow in his family footsteps as a mountain climber. Michael Rennie encourages his quest with both help and obstruction from a gallery of English actors we know from fantasy films: Herbert Lom, James Donald, Laurence Naismith, Lee Patterson, Ferdy Mayne, Roger Delgado. Don’t jump on Amazon or contact the Disney Video Club, because it’s Not on Home Video.
03/11/23

Death of a Gunfighter 03/07/23

Richard Widmark reportedly used his clout to amp up this revisionist western, but the result seems forced at best, and hampered by Universal’s TV-grade production values. The sober screenplay brings in good ideas but the execution can’t quite hold its own with the more progressive westerns of the genre-changing years 1968-’69. A cast of familiar faces makes much of it look fresh: Carroll O’Connor’s venal saloon keeper steals the show, while interesting casting gives us Lena Horne as Widmark’s romantic partner. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
03/07/23

Obsessed (1951) 03/07/23

This very traditional chamber murder mystery starring David Farrar and Geraldine Fitzgerald has been beautifully restored by Studiocanal and bears the original U.K. title The Late Edwina Black. When the sickly wife Edwina dies in bed the bitter housekeeper accuses the husband and another very attractive servant; all the Scotland Yard Inspector need do is stir the pot, and paranoid suspicions take over. Is Edwina’s spirit still present in the house?  The housekeeper thinks she communicates through a wind chime by the window . . . On Blu-ray from ClassicFlix.
03/07/23

The Lady is My Wife 03/04/23

Wow, a ‘new’ Sam Peckinpah western!  While we await the rumored Blu-ray of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid to surface (or was Alex Cox misinformed?), correspondent Darren Gross has come across a watchable web encoding of a Peckinpah TV drama that seems to be more or less ‘lost.’ Good star performances (Jean Simmons, Bradford Dillman, Alex Cord) and intense characterizations prove once again that Peckinpah could deliver superior dramatics. The home video companies should do some investigating — there’s a market out there for this one. Not on Home Video.
03/04/23

Thrillers from the Vault: 8 Films (part 2) 03/04/23

Charlie Largent finishes off his two-part review of the classic horror set — his second installment gives us a strange Karloff, an odd Lugosi (with a werewolf), a Karloff + Peter Lorre party, and a Sci-fi classic that doesn’t fit yet is welcome anyway. Take your pick of electric shocks, stakes through the heart and atomic radiation!  The final four titles are The Devil Commands, The Return of the Vampire, The Boogie Man Will Get You and Arch Oboler’s FIVE. On Blu-ray from Mill Creek.
03/04/23