Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: December 2023

The Man in Half Moon Street 12/30/23

Charlie Largent rings out the old year with one of the least-seen vintage chillers. This murderous ‘love out of time’ fantasy features a sort-of Haunted Painting, yet is arrayed in the form of a gothic horror. Paramount mostly stayed away from the genre after the pre-Code era; this effort avoids shock effects in favor of a strange tale of fate. Nils Asther and Helen Walker star; the Barré Lyndon screenplay was later remade by Hammer Films, as ‘The Man Who Could Cheat Death.’ On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
12/30/23

Essential Film Noir Collection 5 12/30/23

An eclectic stack of B&W thrillers — Island of Doomed Men, The Red Menace, The Burglar, and 13 West Street — is given [Imprint]’s deluxe packaging treatment. The organizing factor for their fifth noir box is a star associated with noir classics: Pete Lorre, Dan Duryea, Alan Ladd, Rod Steiger and . . . Commies?  The contents include one odd prison camp thriller, an anti-Red exposé, a genuine noir written by a celebrated hardboiled crime novelist, and a juvenile delinquency revenge drama. The leading ladies ‘in peril’ include Rochhelle Hudson, Hanne Axman, Betty Lou Gerson, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers and Dolores Dorn. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
12/30/23

The Warriors 4K 12/23/23

This is a Christmas movie?  The 1980s began early with this high-concept, edgy-but-silly urban fantasy dreamed up by Walter Hill when an original realistic concept was rejected: ads about ‘Armies of the Night’ glamorizing street gangs worried the old folk, while the exhibition rollout was disturbed by violence in theaters. Essentially one long foot chase across New York City, it boosted visibility for some fresh faces — Michael Beck, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Lynne Thigpen, Dorsey Wright — even Mercedes Ruehl. The remastered edition includes the original cut and a 2005 alternate version, that’s a bit different. On 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.
12/23/23

Blast of Silence 12/23/23

This once-obscure item has accumulated a solid cult following. Allen Baron writes, directs and stars in a gritty on-the-streets tale of a hit man having difficulties lining up his latest score. The over-achieving tiny independent feature bursts with arresting storytelling and eye-opening visuals. It’s holiday time in the Big Apple, and the camera records the Manhattan streets in full yuletide regalia. Good on ya, Criterion — in this new remastered edition, the sordid story of Frank Bono is finally formatted in its original 1:85 theatrical screen shape. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
12/23/23

The Life of Emile Zola 12/19/23

Does it Creak?  Not at all. Paul Muni brings this revered biographical drama to life, even if it’s less about Zola and more about the notorious Dreyfus Affair, the kind of subject normally too touchy for Hollywood. Warners’ prestige offering nabbed a well earned Best Picture Oscar — everything connected to the crucial trial is riveting, with Muni contributing an oratory tour-de-force. Plus winning performances from Gale Sondergaard, Gloria Holden, Joseph Schildkraut, Donald Crisp and Vladimir Sokoloff — and some interesting disc extras. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
12/19/23

Diamond Head 12/19/23

Take a full-blown soap opera and add scenery to die for . . . statehood brings changes to the islands, and a major problem for the hereditary Howland empire, all of which involve (gasp) multiracialism. Fear not, the conflicts find a traditional, Production Code- approved resolution. Charlton Heston strains to humanize a role that plays like Big Boss Bigot, and everybody else just tries to stay afloat: Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, James Darren. The big thrill is finally being able to see the show in its full Panavision proportions. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
12/19/23

The Last Picture Show 4K 12/16/23

Peter Bogdanovich’s crowning achievement gets the 4K nod from Criterion, with additional Blu-ray extras plus the entire belated sequel Texasville — in its color theatrical version or a B&W director’s revision. The oil boom has passed, and Anarene, Texas is dying out. Its isolated, bored teenagers are eager to test the rules. Bogdanovich faithfully transfers Larry McMurtry’s small-town drama to the screen with a score of terrific characterizations. Newcomers Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ellen Burstyn and Randy Quaid shine, while deserving favorites Eileen Brennan, Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson get the best roles of their careers. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
12/16/23

The Quatermass Xperiment 12/16/23

It’s the one and only original Hammer Sci-fi thriller that changed the genre, inspiring good filmmakers and copycats alike. Val Guest adapts Nigel Kneale’s teleplay with Yankee Brian Donlevy as a belligerent Professor Quatermass, the rocket project director and red-tape bulldozer. The movie is prime sci-fi gold, and genuinely disturbing: Richard Wordsworth is the courageous first man into space who comes back infected by a gruesome, horrifying parasite. Thora Hird writes his epitaph: “Walking? It was kind of … crawling!” The enhanced reissue carries a new commentary. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
12/16/23

Our Town (1940) 12/12/23

A new video remaster makes us want to ring bells — ClassicFlix’s improvement over earlier eyesore discs is like night and day. We can finally see the discretion and artistry with which Thornton Wilder’s stage classic was adapted for the screen. Sam Wood elicits a score of great performances, led by the Oscar-nominated Martha Scott. William Cameron Menzies’ visual direction concludes with an unforgettable fantasy sequence set in an afterlife-limbo. With William Holden, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell and Guy Kibbee. The disc extras include Ray Faiola’s excellent audio commentary. On Blu-ray from ClassicFlix.
12/12/23

The Conformist 12/12/23

Bernardo Bertolucci re-introduced high style and intense period stylistics to the political thriller, in Alberto Moravia’s autopsy of the perversion that was Italian fascism. Jean-Louis Trintignant is the ambitious lickspittle who seizes the job of assassinating an inconvenient academic — all the while wooing his girlfriend Stefania Sandrelli. More complications come with the target professor’s beautiful young wife, Dominique Sanda. The icy cold masterpiece has one of the better thriller endings ever. Charlie Largent reviews. On Blu-ray from Raro Video / Kino Lorber.
12/12/23

The Exiles 12/09/23

Take a trip to Los Angeles in the late 1950s . . . but to the low-rent district of Bunker Hill, where a transient Native American population pursues an aimless lifestyle on the nighttime streets. It’s a time machine to Angels Flight, the Grand Central Market and a ‘Bukowski-land’ of skid row bars. USC grad Kent McKenzie’s 35mm independent feature was never picked up for distribution. He died before it was rediscovered, restored and premiered to critical acclaim. The special edition contains more Mackenzie films and docus about Native American heritage. On Blu-ray from The Milestone Cinematheque.
12/09/23

The Last Tycoon 12/09/23

Elia Kazan and Harold Pinter’s classy adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished novel looks and plays better than ever, with a fine script that refuses to ‘fix’ what Fitzgerald wrote. Robert De Niro’s excellent Monroe Stahr is surrounded by a powerhouse cast: Jack Nicholson, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Jeanne Moreau, Theresa Russell, Ingrid Boulting, Donald Pleasance, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, Peter Strauss, John Carradine, Jeff Corey, Seymour Cassel and Anjelica Huston. It’s quality filmmaking, with some original surprises we don’t expect in a ‘Hollywood exposé.’ Kino offers a new commentary by Joseph McBride. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
12/09/23

Messiah of Evil 12/05/23

How did two hot film students pass the time while waiting to become immortal as the writers of American Graffiti?  Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck wrote, produced and directed this minor horror classic, that along with its zombies and ghouls delivers intelligent art-movie cinematics. Marianna Hill, Royal Dano, Michael Greer, Joy Bang, Anitra Ford and Elisha Cook Jr. bring it all to life — and even its post-production woes couldn’t destroy its uniquely dreamlike charms. Have you ever bled from the eyes?  Been pursued by cannibals in a midnight supermarket?  You’ll be able to relate to the terror of the ill-defined ‘Blood Moon.’ On Blu-ray from Radiance.
12/05/23

Halloween at Aunt Ethel’s 12/05/23

This is the first DVD we’ve reviewed since — I’m not sure.  UK correspondent Lee Broughton returns with coverage of a low budget comedy-horror flick from Florida about a seemingly harmless old lady who displays psychopathic tendencies every Halloween. The humour is crude at times but the show’s knowing horror elements, spirited performances and decent production values result in a curiously engaging little film. Of course, with this cover, someone might confuse it with John Carpenter’s Halloween. On DVD from High Fliers Films.
12/05/23

Horrors of the Black Museum 12/02/23

Hey Gail!  Let me look through your new binoculars!”  The third entry in the ‘Anglo-Amalgamated’ horror trilogy is a truly sleazy Herman Cohen concoction with Michael Gough’s nastiest performance. A.I.P. imported it, slapped on a ‘Hypno-Vista’ prologue and let it loose to traumatize audiences. They showed it at matinees, Mandrake, children’s matinees! VCI gives us a handsome new Studiocanal remaster — Charlie Largent reports on its quality and completeness — will it be A.I.P.’s cut, the uncut original, or the censored version originally shown in the UK?  On Blu-ray from VCI.
12/02/23

The Terror + The Little Shop of Horrors 12/02/23

“Feed Me!”  Female ghosts and man-eating plants!  It’s another good disc of Roger Corman favorites, especially for collectors hungry for an improved presentation of Corman’s comedy classic The Little Shop of Horrors, the hilarious off-the-wall original. Also looking good is his semi-pirated ‘add-on’ entry to the Poe cycle THE TERROR, starring Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson and Shirley Knight. As usual, our concentration is on producer-director Corman’s amazing ability to evade the industry’s Guild rules to produce under-the-radar fantasies of remarkable quality. It’s a double-disc presentation, on Blu-ray from Film Masters.
12/02/23