Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger 10/29/24

Cohen Media Group
Blu-ray

David Hinton’s documentary celebration of the ‘Archers’ team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a feature-length rumination filtered through Martin Scorsese’s narration, emphasizing his first awakening to the Power of Film. The collaboration was so rich and the films so impressive that it takes over two hours just for a cursory pass through the Archers’ career: The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death. The curatorship is excellent and the film clips good; the main focus is not biography or thematic analysis but the sheer Love of Movies by a supremely talented filmmaking team. On Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.
10/29/24 On Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.
10/29/24

I Remember Mama 10/29/24

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

George Stevens’ back-from-the war masterpiece honors family vaues and stability with the near-reverent story of a Norwegian immigrant family subsisting in San Francisco of 1910. The filmmaking is fastidious and the performances exemplary — Irene Dunne is the Hanson matriarch, young Barbara Bel Geddes the teenager who wants to write, and Oscar Homolka the overbearing Uncle who ‘lives in sin.’ The family situation is humble, yet idyllic when we factor in the plight of immigrants and refugees today: a reasonably secure place to live, a reasonable level of peace. The new remaster gives the film an added luster. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/29/24

The Tenant — 4K 10/26/24

Vinegar Syndrome
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Roman Polanski’s twisted ‘apartment horror’ creepshow melds supernatural and psychological possession — a meek clerk finds himself being possessed by the previous occupant of his apartment: a woman who committed suicide. It might be all in his mind, but the spook-show trimmings are compelling too: the new tenant plays his cross-dressing new role to the bitter end. Polanski’s razor-sharp direction piles on the unpleasantness and paranoia, abetted by Sven Nykvist’s cinematography and a battery of stellar performances by Melvyn Douglas, Shelly Winters, Isabelle Adjani, Jo Van Fleet and Lila Kedrova. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
10/26/24

The Bat — (1926) 10/26/24

Undercrank Productions
Blu-ray

From the dedicated label Undercrank Productions comes a restored Blu-ray of Roland West’s original haunted house horror farce, the first silent adaptation of the stage classic by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Welcome to the realm of creaky doors, secret passageways and clutching claws!  Reviewer Charlie Largent will settle the big question — is it really a Dark and Stormy night?  Louise Fazenda, Jack Pickford, Jewel Carmen and Arthur Housman star, and the film boasts art direction by William Cameron Menzies. On Blu-ray from Undercrank Productions.
10/26/24

Columbia Horror 10/22/24

Powerhouse Indicator
Blu-ray

This collector’s box of Columbia odds ‘n’ ends has a couple of movies that are only marginal horror, but all have at least one or two horror elements. A gangster picture with Boris Karloff dips into mad doctor territory, and the mad scientist in an aviation thriller has cooked up an anti-aircraft death ray. Peter Lorre runs a slave labor camp that features torture. A werewolf movie dabbles in feminist lycanthropy, while a ‘back from the dead’ thriller is stylish but vague. The hot discovery is a beautiful remaster, complete with original tints, of the obscure Voodoo epic Black Moon starring Fay Wray. On Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
10/22/24

Pandora’s Box 10/22/24

The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

Director G.W. Pabst imported the notorious Hollywood showgirl Louise Brooks to Germany, to star in one of the greatest of Weimar-Era films. Brooks’ Lulu is the equivalent of catching lightning in a bottle, a revelatory performance in a play adaptation that upends Victorian conventions: female sexuality is for once not demonized for ‘loosing evils on the world.’ Among silent masterpieces, this is one of the most mysterious. An impressive digital restoration finally makes it to Blu-ray. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/22/24

Repo Man — 4K 10/19/24

The Criterion Collection
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

“Let’s go do some crimes!”  Reviewer Charlie Largent turns his critical eye on this 4K upgrade of Alex Cox’s debut feature, a punk slam on the Reagan years. A legendary cast lives the edgy life in sunny Los Angeles — Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Vonetta McGee. The abuse of alcohol and other controlled substances fits right in with a Sci-fi vibe lifted from apocalyptic films noir:  “It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes.” Kudos to camera genius Robby Müller and exec producer Michael Nesmith.  “It’s what I call the Repo Code, kid!” On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/19/24

Black Gravel 10/19/24

Radiance
Region B Blu-ray

Keeping relations good with the U.S. and NATO may have doomed Helmut Käutner’s grim tale of trouble on an American air base in West Germany. The story is a sordid swirl of romantic, political and criminal complications — all of them down & dirty. A tiny burg that serves as a brothel for U.S. airmen brews trouble for displaced women and dispirited men trying to survive in the new ‘economic miracle.’ We’ve seen nothing quite like this angry, honest exposé. Its enemies used charges of anti-semitic defamation to ruin its release. This new Region B Blu-ray disc includes an excellent visual essay by Margaret Deriaz on Cold War politics and postward German cinema. From Radiance.
10/19/24

Journey into Fear 10/15/24

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

It’s the WW2 spy thriller that everyone once said Orson Welles directed without credit. Director Norman Foster does very will with Eric Ambler’s tale of an American trying to evade Nazi killers; Joseph Cotten co-wrote as well as starred and Dolores Del Río and Orson provide fine supporting performances. Welles’ problems at RKO surely contributed to recuts and re-shoots. This excellent remaster doesn’t acknowledge a longer version reportedly screened overseas, which may or may not be an improvement. The disc extra is a trio of Mercury Theater radio plays. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/15/24

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari — 4K 10/15/24

Kino Classics
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

How can a silent film be as ‘modern’ as this?  Kino reissues the 2014 restoration of Robert Weine’s horror landmark in 4K Ultra HD, with a choice of music soundtracks. The sleepwalking Cesare’s hypnotic abduction of Lil Dagover is still a grabber, and the nightmarish images don’t diminish in impact. It’s an incredible kickoff to a decade of mind-blowing expressionist German cinema — and still plays like a champ, 104 years later.  Conrad Veidt rules!  On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Kino Classics.
10/15/24

I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton — 4K 10/12/24

The Criterion Collection
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Two of legendary Val Lewton’s greatest achievements make it to 4K Ultra HD. In Jacques Tourneur’s film the Gothic romance goes Voodoo on a West Indies plantation, with a side tragedy of slave misery. Scandal can’t hide, especially when the cheating wife falls into a catatonic ‘zombie’ state. It’s guilt, duty, and ‘shame and sorrow for the family.’ Then Lewton’s most personal film sees a teenaged Kim Hunter search Manhattan for her lost sister, who may be the captive of a Devil Cult — or a fugitive murderess. Tight scripting, poetic imagery and just plain macabre weirdness rules, whether under jungle drums or in a Greenwich Village coffee klatsch. With an excellent extended video essay by Imogen Sara Smith. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
10/12/24

I Vampiri 10/12/24

Radiance
Region Free Blu-ray

Halloween ’24 is looking good … chalk another genre landmark onto the list of excellent special edition discs: Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava’s grisly thriller is the initial foray into Italo horror, a meeting of Gothic notions and modern medical horror. Gianna Maria Canale is the ravishing Duchess whose beauty is preserved through sordid science; Wanda Guida is the latest victim to contribute sangue fresco to support the aristocracy. Production-wise the movie was a stumble that cinematographer Bava rescued with re-shoots, his first major directing effort. Horror researchers have been studying it ever since. This terrific release contains the Italian original plus two versions mangled by distributors for exploitation ‘adult’ release. On Blu-ray from Radiance.
10/12/24

Babylon Berlin — Season 4 10/08/24

Kino Lorber
Blu-ray

It’s a dive into an intoxicating, anarchic slice of the 20th-century, the brief era that was Weimar Germany. The society still reels from crushing defeat and dark political forces are gearing up for a malign future. Berlin’s nightlife churns with experimental art, debauched revelry and untempered vice. Henk Handloegten, Tom Tykwer and Achim von Borries’ massive series has been called the best thing on TV; the complex web of characters, intrigues, passions and derangement is presented with fantastic period art direction and directed and performed to raise a drug-fueled sweat — the action, music, color and historical comment are fascinating. It’s the most exciting show since the heyday of Nordic Noir. On Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
10/08/24

The West Wing — The Complete Series 10/08/24

Warner Home Entertainment
Blu-ray

Sure, it’s a TV landmark. To liberals it is a dream vision of how responsible government, run by practical idealists, ought to work. The show’s seven years of rational ups and downs were aired mostly during the Bush administration, and still managed to hold out hope for America. It’s a crowning achievement for creator Aaron Sorkin — imagine, a popular TV show that presents a presidential administration as a positive thing. Inspiration is where you find it; the quality upgrade makes this massive Blu-ray set an attractive item for an election year. On Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment.
10/08/24

The Ladykillers — 4K 10/05/24

KL Studio Classics
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Alexander Mackendrick’s ‘annihilating comedy’ is one of the best of the Ealing classics. Four hardened criminals are intent on pulling off the heist of the century, when they come up against an enemy for whom they’re totally unprepared – a little old lady who totters around, talks in a high voice, and has to be humored by everyone. William Rose’s story conjures a fistful of dastards — Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers and Danny Green follow the master plan of Alec Guinness’s gangleader, a characterization that makes use of a set of false teeth that are hilarious on their own — a creepy Chas. Addams effect. The sweet grandma and those polite cops barely need to lift a finger — Guinness’s mob is its own worst enemy. It’s a real gem. On 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/05/24

Words and Music 10/05/24

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

The Warner Archive’s latest MGM Technicolor bon-bon is this strained musical bio — Mickey Rooney as Lorenz Hart? — that nevertheless can boast an impressive revue lineup of performances: Judy Garland, Betty Garrett, Mickey Rooney, Lena Horne, Mel Tormé et al. The showstopper is one of Gene Kelly’s earliest ‘music ballet’ extravaganzas — he dances Apachewith Vera-Ellen in the dynamic Hart-Rodgers composition Slaughter on 10th Avenue. It’s pretty exciting — ballet art masks some pretty erotic moves. With an excellent audio commentary by Richard Barrios. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
10/05/24

Clockwatchers 10/01/24

Shout! Studios
Blu-ray

Corporate culture had been around for years when the ‘Office Hell’ genre arrived, and this sleek fable from cubicle-land is both one of the best and one of the least seen. The much abused office temps Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow and Alanna Ubach don’t even have the luxury of cubicles, or desks of their own. The comic tones develop into a deeper statement about workplace alienation, that stifles relationships and shatters one’s sense of free will. Even when it’s funny, Jill and Karen Sprecher’s perfectly-arranged look at office reality hits home hard. Everybody shines, and the remarkable Parker Posey runs away with top honors. On Blu-ray from Shout! Studios.
10/01/24

Burn, Witch, Burn 10/01/24

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

No sooner do we dig up an old review for this horror masterpiece, than StudioCanal remasters it with a 4K scan and Kino adds some quality extras — just in time to start off the CineSavant Halloween season. College professor Peter Wyngarde refuses to believe that his missus Janet Blair has secured his high academic roost through witchcraft, but the lesson comes home with a vengeance when he throws away her amulets, potions and herbs — others on the faculty see an opening to throw malicious hexes his way. If you don’t like supernatural stories, it’s a dandy substitute for college politics, which as we all know can be vicious!  We’re even surprised by some startling special effects — this has to be director Sidney Hayers’ crowning achievement (next to Circus of Horrors, of course). On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/01/24