Hello!

So, the big question was, what did Turner Classic Movies cablecast last Saturday night for the Hammer / Robert Day / Ursula Andress  She,  from 1965?

The answer is, ‘we wuz robbed.’  Not really, it’s just that Turner’s ace promo editors really gave that close-up of Ursula Andress the works, making me think that a new remaster might have been done. We checked out the Saturday night showing, and it was the same old laserdisc – quality image we’re used to seeing, where the vertical lines are jagged and the browns and golds and other colors kind of blend together. The movie was still very entertaining — but no revelation.

→  And we had a celebratory ‘Kane Wins’ picture all ready to go. Instead, we had to print ‘Fraud at Polls.’

Unlike some other Hammer films of this time that were formatted for ‘scope, this one was filmed in full 35mm Hammerscope, and released by MGM in Metrocolor. Maybe someday it’ll get in line for a remaster … thanks for being patient with this interruption of proper journalistic policy.

And CineSavant correspondent Steve Guariento sends in a note about a new restoration of Andrej Tarkovsky’s Solaris, on a German Blu-ray. Steve writes:

“Hi Glenn, thought you might like to know that Tarkovsky’s Solaris has finally been reissued (in Germany) with a brand-new HD transfer, derived from a recent Mosfilm restoration. I watched the disc last night, and am delighted to report that it’s a beauty; the image is robust, colourful and pleasingly film-like.”

“The Alive/DEFA disc (All-region) offers Russian mono audio with optional English subtitles, alongside the expected German dubs and subs. It’s inexpensive, too”

That will be good news for fans of the film. I’ll not want to part with the excellent extras on the Criterion disc . I found the listing for the disc easily at amazon.de.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson