Salem’s Lot 10/07/23

Warner Brothers
Blu-ray

Halloween warm-up Special: Yes, it’s a review of a 7 year-old disc release, but we’re tired of waiting for new Halloween movies!  We seize the chance to finally absorb one of Tobe Hooper’s most notable efforts — how does it hold up after 44 years?  The answer is ‘not at all bad,’ even though the 3-hour TV version suffers big-time from padding bloat. On the other hand, any chance to see James Mason and Bonnie Bedelia in action cannot be passed up. On Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Entertainment.
10/07/23

Nevada Smith 10/07/23

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

Big budget westerns from the past are looking better than ever — the fine cinematography and big-star casts dazzle as contemporary films never do. Steve McQueen took a leap to stand-alone action stardom in Henry Hathaway’s prequel to The Carpetbaggers, telling a western backstory. The film’s violence is extremely rough for 1966, and an impressive roster of actors brings the drama to life: Brian Keith, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, Martin Landau, Suzanne Pleshette, Janet Margolin, Raf Vallone and many others. The new disc’s audio commentary is highly informative, too. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
10/07/23

CineSavant Column

Saturday October 7, 2023

 

Hello!

With Halloween coming up, a number of anticpated discs haven’t quite reached the hungry mailbox at CineSavant Central:

Don’t Look Now,  The Others,  Videodrome,  The Tod Browning Silents,  The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews,  The Devil-Doll,  It! The Terror from Beyond Space,  World of Giants, and  Beast from Haunted Cave / Ski Troop Attack.

It’s an unbearable injustice, but we at CineSavant won’t just sit here and take it — we ordered a notable older disc to review. Yes, yes, everyone in creation except this reviewer has seen Tobe Hooper’s 1979 TV miniseries Salem’s Lot. It was fun to catch up. We thank you for your indulgence.

 


 

Correspondent Nicholas Krisfalusy is enthusiastic about the new 4K releases of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space, which we’re sure look splendid; we’re still too caught up in our 3-D versions to jump at them. We totally understand what’s going on — since 2017 or so, who has been able to even buy a good passive 3-D monitor?  Honestly, the industry needs to think of the market and bring those back.

CineSavant’s 2018 3-D Creature from the Black Lagoon review; CineSavant’s 2016 3-D It Came from Outer Space review.

As noted above, Kino Lorber has two Blu-ray reissues on the way: a new disc of It! The Terror from Beyond Space lands on October 24, and the genre game-changer The Quatermass Xperiment will arrive later, on December 12.

There’s quite a bit of online buzz about the extras that have been announced. It! The Terror has a new transfer plus three new commentaries, including one by Tom Weaver. I’m told that the first It! disc had some funky encoding here and there, described by a friend as an ‘interference pattern.’ So a replacement sounds like a not-bad idea.

But a few people are complaining about the Quatermass Xperiment reissue, for reasons we don’t quite understand. The obvious one is that the transfer is the same, only the encoding will be beefed up a bit. Technically that’s a plus — but can we assume that high-end users with big screens will be able to tell the difference?

The most vocal fans are up at arms because Kino isn’t including a separate transfer of the slightly different American cut of Quatermass Xperiment, re-titled The Creeping Unknown. That’s the 1956 poster that makes the extraterrestrial threat look like ‘Beeg Dog from Basker Veele’ (apologies to Clive Revill).

Back in the laserdisc days, we were present at MGM/UA when VP George Feltenstein made hardcore Sci-fi fans happy by NOT simply throwing UA’s domestic cut of The Creeping Unknown onto disc. He instead tracked down Hammer Films’ original printing elements in England, and went through the slow process of obtaining a dupe negative through the BFI. That’s how we ended up with a brillant, accurate rendering of the authentic Val Guest movie, as opposed to an edited U.S. cut.

Back in 2003 or so, after I was long gone from MGM Home Video, I edited a pair of featurettes for the first Blu-ray release; I think they’ll be retained for this second Special Edition. They show the various U.S.edits inflicted on Xperiment, that shortened the ‘zoo’ sequence and removed several shots of the icky alien protoplasm. The variant main title cards are there as well, for The Creeping Unknown and Hammer’s export version, The Quatermass Experiment without the ‘X’ title gimmick. We lifted them from gray-market Sinister Cinema tapes.

Why anybody would need the bowdlerized U.S. cut is beyond me, the same way the mangled finale to Kiss Me Deadly is now a back-shelf curiosity. A U.K. company put out a fancy disc of Jacques Tourneur’s Night/Curse of the Demon with four separate cuts that were really just two cuts with different title cards. MGM and Kino have nailed Quatermass Xperiment; rather than see them spin their wheels, we’d rather they go forward with rescues of other United Artists’ pictures at risk.

Hey, hope to have more spooky reviews up soon, before Halloween — Thanks for reading. — Glenn Erickson

Tuesday October 3, 2023

Colossal moneymaker, fancy cutting-edge digital filmmaking … so why were we not thrilled?

Haunted Samurai 10/03/23

Diabolik DVD / Surviving Elements
Blu-ray

Let’s pop back once again to take in an old-fashioned Lone Samurai saga — this one’s worth it. Preceding the Lone Wolf and Cub series but sharing a creator and some of the same violent stylistics, it’s a hero-on-the-road tale with creative, original touches, including a spy-ninja angle that enlists what looks like magic at work. The fact that we actually care about the characters puts it way ahead of the competition. It got a mini-release back in the day, and then disappeared completely from U.S. movie radar. On Blu-ray from Surviving Elements/ Diabolik DVD.
10/03/23

Carlito’s Way 4K 10/03/23

Arrow Video USA
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Stylish and energetic, this gangster saga from Brian De Palma and David Koepp is solid both in characters and genre action. It’s a crime tragedy set in Spanish Harlem, with a fine perf from Al Pacino as a former kingpin trying to go straight. He’s sprung from a long prison term by Sean Penn’s mob mouthpiece, whose cocaine-fueled greed and hubris sends everything off the rails. Penelope Ann Miller is Carlito’s romantic dream and John Leguizamo the punk upstart blocking his path; we also get good input from Luis Guzmán and a young Viggo Mortenson. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Arrow Video USA.
10/03/23

CineSavant Column

Tuesday October 3, 2023

 

Hello!

Deep into his retirement years, the marvelous Ray Harryhausen got to take a well-deserved victory lap or two, soaking up the adulation of his fans. That makes it doubly good that everyone’s favorite independent filmmaking legend Roger Corman is getting the same kind of recognition, earning well-deserved accolades.

Reporting on the producer-director’s appearance at a Beyond Fest special screening, Variety reporter J. Kim Murphy describes an overwhelming fan response. Roger Corman spoke before a sell-out crowd, in a post-screening talk with six of his most accomplished acolyte directors and producers:

Roger Corman Gets a Hero’s Welcome
At 97 years of age, the man looks almost unreasonably healthy and hearty . . . more power to him, we say.

 


 

And here’s another happy announcement for fans of mystery films noted for ‘falling between the cracks’ …

Milestone Film and Video’s new newsletter announces that they’ve located and 4K-restored Nancy Savoca’s long-missing mini-masterpiece Household Saints.

After re-premiere theatrical bookings it’s slated for disc release by Kino Lorber. As Milestone says,

“Nancy Savoca’s magical and mysterious 1993 feature film has been unavailable for many years — it has never been released on videodisc. So we were thrilled to be able to help create this glowing new 4K restoration, which debuts October 7 and 11 at the 61st New York Film Festival.”

The fascinating little drama stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Tracey Ullman and ‘the luminous’ Lili Taylor as Teresa. We saw it just once on a not-so-hot cablecast, were enchanted, and can’t wait to see it ‘for real.’  As we’re fond of saying, Milestone Film and Video comes through once again.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Saturday September 30, 2023

Talk talk talk — yet most of it works extremely well. Don’t tell the animal rights people, though.

After Dark, My Sweet 09/30/23

KL Studio Classics
Blu-ray

The legendary Jim Thompson strikes again: director James Foley’s spin on this intense, character-driven crime piece may be the movies’ truest expression of Thompson’s jaundiced world view. It’s a top title for its players Jason Patric and Rachel Ward, with Bruce Dern sealing the deal. The low-rent margins of Palm Springs are the setting for a sleazy kidnap scheme. We identify with the miserable hero … even as we know he’s his own worst enemy. The extras with the director and star are really good on this true-hearted gem of neo noir. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
09/30/23

La Bamba 09/30/23

The Criterion Collection
Blu-ray

Out of the legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘fifties comes another story that ends on The Day the Music Died. Luis Valdez’s account of the rise and sudden silencing of the great Richie Valens avoids exaggeration to instead celebrate the young man’s positive potential. This is the show that put Lou Diamond Phillips on the map, and gave a solid boost as well to Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto and the much-missed Elizabeth Peña. The extras illuminate the enthusiasm with which the picture was made; it’s a cinematic high point for the theatrical talent Valdez. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection .
09/30/23

CineSavant Column

Saturday September 30, 2023

 

Hello!

First Off — the big talk this week is the Theatrical IMAX reissue of Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense — all I’m hearing are rave reviews from friends & others who found it sensational fun.  Oh, to go to a movie and really get rattled again by a transformative experience, wouldn’t that be something. . .

Right — the first Column Item:  Correspondent Michael McQuarrie comes through with an old TV docu of interest, the BBC’s hour-long 1977 piece profiling actor-director Clint Eastwood. It covers the man and his career with plenty of star interviews. Special input comes from all people, Pauline Kael.

The film clips stress Eastwood shooting down one villain after another, with plenty of spokes-folk offering opinions on screen violence, and the actor’s responses. It’s from 16mm and the audio track feels pitched a bit high. For a title theme, they use Clint singing from Paint Your Wagon.

It’s The Man with No Name and it’s no cheap round-up of a career . . . they sent a film crew to Clint’s home in the California town of Carmel, where nine years later he’d run for mayor.

The hosting page is Rarefilmm: the cave of forgotten films.  The color is pretty sad but the show is well constructed.

 


 

And correspondent Michael Ryan turned us on to this music video by The Damned, from a release called Darkadelic, apparently released last April.

The video portion tells a somewhat familiar story, with interesting imagery . . . they’ve even parodied the old Universal globe logo. We realize that this qualifies as Old News . . . don’t worry, we’ll always be here with the latest news, four or five months after the fact.

The Damned The Invisible Man official music video.

 

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Tuesday September 26, 2023

Straight-arrow cop Robert Ryan sizes up underage bait in a noir study of violent alienation – and atonement.

The Trial 4K 09/26/23

The Criterion Collection
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Meet Josef K.  He’s under arrest but cannot find out what the charge is against him, or why everyone presumes him guilty., This masterful adaptation of Franz Kafka was properly finished and received a real release, a happy exception in the directing career of Orson Welles. Anthony Perkins is Josef, a citizen under suspicion in a dystopian police state. His manner is so abrasive, we almost stop seeing him as a victim of persecution. Welles’ visual choices reinforce a bleak, frightening nightmare. In claustrophobic support are Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli, Akim Tamiroff and Welles himself. Reviewed by Charlie Largent, on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
09/26/23

Westward the Women 09/26/23

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

Perhaps the strong women characters got this William Wellman movie chosen for Blu-ray, but it indeed ranks up there with the best of wagon train epics. Robert Taylor plays opposite a large cast of actresses that we see doing hard work on rugged distant locations. Realism isn’t compromised. The unusually violent story is made positive and upbeat through the committed ensemble performances. It’s Denise Darcel’s stab at Hollywood stardom and a top title for the terrific Hope Emerson. We want to know more about the fine supporting players: Julie Bishop, Lenore Lonergan, Marily Erksine. Producer Dore Schary overturns sexist expectations, even when dealing with Hollywood stereotypes. It’s highly recommended, a genuine lump-in-your-throat picture. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
09/26/23

CineSavant Column

Tuesday September 26, 2023

 

Hello!

In concert with our review today of Westward the Women, Dick Dinman of DVD Classics Corner on the Air has up a new radio show, in which Dick discusses the Warner Archive’s new disc with William Wellman Jr.:

The Restoration of Westward the Women

Dick Dinman is a major fan of the work of Robert Taylor, and with a bit of arm twisting made me a believer as well. And Westward is one of Taylor’s best pictures.


 

Next up, just added to our ever-growing list of completely unneccessary movie tie-in songs, is this innocuous 45 found online by Gary Teetzel, who reminds us of the ‘Disco Star Wars’ tune that got a LOT of radio play back in 1976.

Alien theme by Nostromo isn’t much, but the jacket is nice. Gary finds it odd that this ‘Disco’ piece was adapted from a theme barely heard in the film — the two pieces of music that most prominently utilized this theme, Jerry Goldsmith’s original main and end title cues — were discarded.

 


 

And this article is getting a lot of circulation … from a site called The Reprobate: ‘difficult ideas for different times,’ it mainly shapes up as a review of the 1964 horror film starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I think the interest for horror fans is in the background of Amicus Films’ writer-producer Milton Subotsky.

The article is entitled And Your Card Is… Death!  The History of Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. The author is David Flint.

A frustrating experience with Hammer Films seems to have been Subotsky’s motivation for turning from pop musicals to omnibus horror pictures. Of course, the review of Dr. Terror’s you really want to read is Here — it’s a very early CineSavant post at Trailers from Hell.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Saturday September 23, 2023

Illogical atom scare hokum — but Roger Corman gives it the poetry of an Atomic fairy tale.

Walkabout 4K 09/23/23

The Criterion Collection
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

A filmmaker with a genuine vision: Nicolas Roeg’s first solo directing effort is a masterpiece of images and montage, excellent storytelling with intimations of natural forces at work. Abandoned with her brother, Jenny Agutter’s Sydney schoolgirl is helped in survival by David Gulpilil’s aboriginal youth on a wilderness rite of passage. It’s a credible loss-of-innocence story, told with a time-shifting editorial finesse that would become Roeg’s signature narrative grammar. It’s a visual odyssey, on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayfrom The Criterion Collection.
09/23/23

The Broadway Melody 09/23/23

The Warner Archive Collection
Blu-ray

A happy cult of disc collectors aches for titles from the dawn of sound; the Warner Archive gifts them with this much-improved remaster of what’s known as the actual first all-singing, all talking Hollywood musical. It looks so good, we can feel the footlights burning hard on the talent straight from the stage, while the Hollywood actors try out their talkie voices — loudly. You want open-faced emoting, pitched to the back row of the theater?  Many a cliché was born right here. Want to know where all those Singin’ in the Rain songs came from?  Right here as well. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
09/23/23

CineSavant Column

Saturday September 23, 2023

 

Hello!

Associate-researcher Gary Teetzel re-viewed the old Image DVD of the Riccardo Freda/Mario Bava I Vampiri and then went snooping around online for what can be found on the show today.

He came up with this extended trailer for the German release, Der Vampir von Notre Dame. In Gary’s words,

“It includes an excerpt from the deleted opening sequence in which a criminal is sent to the guillotine. The film’s mad doctor was later to sew the criminal’s head back on and bring him back to life. This explains a prominent neck scar seen much later in the film, when the criminal is confessing all to the police.”

The trailer also includes a big piece of Gianna Maria Canale’s on-screen transformation, accomplished with the old red filter trick. An encoding of the U.S. version The Devil’s Commandment is available online, for some reason mostly redubbed in German. Added scenes feature the American comic Al Lewis, doubling for the mad doctor’s assistant. The deleted footage starts at the 2:05 mark. You can’t miss it — the lighting changes dramatically.

 


 

Both Film Masters and ClassicFlix announced new vintage titles this week. I don’t think ‘new vintage’ is an oxymoron in this particular usage.

Film Masters has restored the 1934 version of The Scarlet Letter, starring Colleen Moore, Hardie Albright, Henry B. Walthall, Cora Sue Collins and Alan Hale. It’s an unusual independent production. The executive producer Larry Darmour also made The Vampire Bat and The Sin of Nora Moran, both with Phil Goldstone.

The ClassicFlix project is a Kickstarter item called Aesop’s Fables The 1920s Vol.1, silent animated films by Paul Terry. The planned disc of at least fifteen shorts will end with a synchronized sound cartoon that is claimed to have beaten Disney’s Steamboat Willie into theaters. The disc producer is Thad Komorowski, for a new disc label, Cartoon Logic.

 

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Tuesday September 19, 2023

Could this Family classic of survival, suffering and heartbreaking disillusion even be made today?