Blu-ray/DVD/Streaming Reviews & News
Entries from August 2012
By Doug Gerbino
DAVID
COPPERFIELD (1911) Produced by THANHOUSER COMPANY
What
a terrific little gem of cinema history this is. I just viewed this wonderfully
restored DVD of a 1911 3-reel version of Charles Dickens’ DAVID COPPERFIELD.
Now, before you chuckle at the thought that a Dickens story as long as David
Copperfield can be condensed into three 10-minute reels, I am reviewing this as
a treasure from the early days of the art of cinema. This is like a “Cliff Notesâ€
version (or more like Classic Comics version) of DAVID COPPERFIELD.
The
visual quality of this transfer is very good. Films of this vintage are often
many generations away from the original elements. Aside from being a fun little
condensation of the Dickens original, it is a wonderful, charming look at how
movies were presented in the early part of the 20th century. This ambitious adaptation was filmed
in three installments. Each 10 minute reel was released over three successive
weeks, much like a chapter serial.
The
DVD is a joint venture of The Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc. and
Museo Nazionale Del Cinema of Turino, Italy. It comes with a booklet informing
you of the history of the film and of the techniques utilized in the
preservation process. Optional English subtitles are offered, as is a commentary
track by Dickens scholar Joss Marsh. There is also a Dickens biography, image gallery
and, most impressively, Thanhouser’s 1912 2-reel version of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY.
All of this is lovingly presented by Ned Thanhouser, heir to the original
film company’s founder. This charming DVD presentation is a true work of love.
To order go to:
http://www.thanhouser.org
By Doug Gerbino
The Warner Archive has released two more volumes in their “FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD†series. Marijuana, Lesbians -AND-William Powell speaks Yiddish!
Forbidden Hollywood-Volumes 4 & 5 have been released by Warner Archive Collection. I have been a big fan of this series since The VHS/laser disc days. These pre-code films are a hell-of-a-lot-of-fun to watch, and no one did them better than Warner Brothers. As my cinema guru , Tom Dillon ["The Sage of Grammercy Park"] once said: “You wanna take a shower after watching a good pre-Cceighte Warner Bros. film!†These 8 films are great examples of that genre.
Volume 4-all 1932 JEWELL ROBBERY-William Powell and Kay Francis star in this story of a high society jewel thief who uses marijuana, amongst other things, to get what he wants. Directed by William Dieterle
LAWYER MAN- William Powell and Joan Blondell. Powell stars as a lawyer who workds his way up from the lower east side to Park Ave. with Joan Blondell as his secretary. Powell speaks some lines of Yiddish in this one. The Thin Mensch! Oy! Directed by William Dieterle.
MAN WANTED-Kay Francis and David Manners. Kay is the editor of a society magazine who is in a boring marriage “with arrangements.†Young David Manners needs a job...need we say more? Directed by William Dieterle
THEY CALL IT SIN-Loretta Young and George Brent. Loretta Young is an innocent, small town church organist(!) who is lured to the big city by a soon-to-be-married cad. Directed by Thorton Freeland
Volume 5-1932-33
HARD TO HANDLE-James Cagney and Mary Brian. Jimmy is at his best as a small time promoter who has a number of smart-aleck schemes blow up in his face. It’s how Cagney gets out of these jams that makes for all the fun. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT-Barbara Stanwyck. What a dame! Stanwyck goes to prison. Not so veiled allusions to lesbians (caged heat). Butch-looking female prisoner walks by puffing on a cigar. Another prisoner teaching “new fishâ€. Stanwyck the ropes says: “Watch out for that one...she likes to wrestle!†Directed by Howard Bretherton and William Keighley.
MIND READER-Warren William andConstance Cummings. William plays a travelling snake oil salesman who goes from tank town to tank town conning folks out of their dough with all different rackets until he hits on a mind reading scheme. All is working fine till one day one of his fake prediction iturns out to be true-with sobering results. Directed by Roy Del Ruth.
MISS PINKERTON-Joan Blondell and George Brent. Based on a series of popular mystery novels written by Mary Roberts Rinehart, Joan Blondell plays a nurse who helps solve a dark, old house-type mystery while falling for cop, George Brent. Directed by Lloyd Bacon.
After watching these eight fun films, you will find yourself using archaic words and phrases like, SWELL and DAMES and HEY, YOU MUGS!...WHY I OUGHTA...SCRAM!...Do your self a favor and beat it over to the Warner Home Video site and order these two volumes. Then finds yourself someone to to shower with afterwards...you’lls have a SWELL time!
Click here to order from the Warner Archive
By Lee Pfeiffer
If you're a Sean Connery and haven't yet seen what is possibly his greatest on screen achievement - The Hill- then you've been depriving yourself of a great cinematic experience. While we're disappointed WB didn't get the charismatic director to provide an audio commentary for their DVD, just having this film avaiable in a pristine transfer is enough to satisfy any classic movie lover. It's hard to overstate the importance this film had in the career of Sean Connery. Although the movie was not a box-office hit, it did prove to skeptical critics that there was more to the brooding Scottish actor than just the antics of Agent 007. I've always felt that if The Hill's financial performance had been as impressive as its critical reception, Connery may have been less frustrated by his Bondian image. As it stands, for my money this is the best film of his career.
Continue reading "DVD REVIEW: SIDNEY LUMET'S "THE HILL" (1965) STARRING SEAN CONNERY, HARRY ANDREWS AND OSSIE DAVIS"
By Lee Pfeiffer
With a tidal wave of DVD releases hitting the market every year, it may well be that you are unaware that some of your favorite films are available on home video. In Cinema Retro's never-ending quest to serve our loyal readers, we occasionally shine the spotlight on DVD releases that don't get much fanfare and are often overlooked. In this case, we focus on Play Dirty, a 1968 WWII film that boasts a sterling cast of great British actors: Michael Caine, the two Nigels (Davenport and Green in a rare pairing in the same film) and Harry Andrews. The movie was directed by Andre De Toth, another of those rather eccentric, larger-than-life characters sadly lacking in today's film industry. The plot finds Caine as a British officer supervising loading docks in WWII Africa. He's reluctantly sent on a top secret mission 400 miles behind enemy lines to blow up a fuel depot. Unbeknownst to Caine, his team is being used as sacrificial lambs to divert attention from the real commando team that is following in their footsteps. From minute one, the uppercrust Caine finds himself in charge of a motley crew that makes the Dirty Dozen look like a boy's choir. He locks horns with Nigel Davenport, a mercenary-like cynic who makes it clear he is the de facto leader of the team. After suffering embarrassing lapses in strategy, Caine has to prove his worth in order to re-establish respect for his command. Along the way there are other challenges, aside from the obviously suicidal nature of the mission. The pure hell of the desert has rarely been so convincingly captured in any film and the widescreen cinematography by Edward Scaife is a wonder to behold. You can practically feel the heat and the sand every throughout the film, and you are made aware of how difficult the shooting of this film must have been for the actors. (The movie was shot in Almeria, Spain where Sergio Leone filmed his Dollar film trilogy with Clint Eastwood).
The plot takes some surprising twists, with double-crosses, unexpected plot devices and the simmering tensions between Caine and Davenport that provide an unpredictable quality to the film that separates it from most WWII films. The movie's cynical outlook on war and the people who find themselves fighting them was largely a reflection with public weariness over the Vietnam conflict, which was then at its peak, along with the resulting protest movement. Performances are first-rate and the violence would have made Sam Peckinpah proud. This is not a film that stints on realism and the graphic nature of some scenes would have been impossible to bring to the screen only a year or two before Play Dirty was released. The real treat is watching the array of first-rate actors at their peak (even if Green and Andrews are relegated to extended cameo sequences). Ironically, Caine had appeared almost simultaneously in another major anti-war film that was reknowned for its violent content, Robert Aldrich's Too Late the Hero. Play Dirty was the fourth collaboration between Michael Caine and James Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman, with whom he made the three Harry Palmer big screen spy thrillers. It ranks as a top-notch adventure, but keep an ice cold brew handy when viewing it - the sun drenched landscapes will make you thirsty from the first frame.
MGM's DVD provides a superb looking picture, but the one frustrating drawback is that the disc has no extras whatsoever.
To order the DVD from Amazon.com, click here
By Lee Pfeiffer
It was a long road for John Steinbeck's 1947 bestseller The Wayward Bus to make it on to the silver screen. The steamy novel about sexually frustrated people who find themselves on an arduous bus ride over dangerous terrain was considered too steamy to adapt to film. At various stages George Stevens and Howard Hawks were involved in film adaptations that never saw fruition. By the time censorship had been relaxed, it was the late 1950s and Fox finally decided to push the envelope by financing the film at the urging of Darryl F. Zanuck, now an independent producer. What emerged was a pale shadow of once-prestigious product. Gone were Stevens, Hawks and Marlon Brando, who was once attached to the film. Instead, an unknown director, Victor Vicas, convinced Zanuck and Fox to allow him to helm the movie. The cast is still impressive, with two of the screen's emerging sex sirens- Joan Collins and Jayne Mansfield- seen in anything but exploitation roles. The story resembles a modern version of John Ford's Stagecoach, with an eclectic group of strangers tossed together on ramshackle bus owned and driven by Johnny Chicoy (Rick Jason), an Irish-Mexican who runs a small rest stop cafe with his pouting wife Alice (Collins). Johnny opts to attempt a dangerous drive over mountain terrain despite horrendous weather conditions, as some of his passengers have urgent business at the final destination. The marriage between Johnny and Alice is a contentious one, alternating between passion and turmoil. Alice is non-too happy to discover that one of Johnny's passengers is Camille Oakes (Mansfield), a busty single blonde who, it is revealed later, makes her living as a stripper and nude model. Also on the small bus: Ernest Horton (Dan Daily), a perpetually cheery salesman of cheap novelty items who immediately is smitten by Camille, though he doesn't suspect her real profession. Then there is Mildred Pritchard (Dolores Michaels), a sexually assertive young woman who is accompanied by her ultra conservative parents, both of whom want to ensure she doesn't have any dalliances along the way. Norma (Betty Lou Keim) is a star struck teenager determined to make her way to Hollywood to become an actress and "Pimples" (Dee Pollack) is a young boy trying to woo her. Then there is Van Brunt (Will Wright), a cantankerous elderly man hell bent on getting to the final destination for reasons unknown.
The journey is filled with sexual tensions throughout and the passengers and Johnny have to navigate around landslides, collapsing bridges and raging rivers. The Stagecoach connection becomes pretentiously obvious in the relationship between Camille and her naive would-be lover Ernest which greatly resembles the relationship between John Wayne's Ringo Kid and Claire Trevor's prostitute Dallas in the Western classic. Circumstances find Johnny and Mildred conveniently alone in a barn where they give in to passion- only to find a suspicious Alice now waiting for them back at the bus, having been dropped there by a helicopter used for rescue missions. Director Vicas and some of the cast members were out of their depth with heavy material that might have played much better in more experienced hands. Jason looks uncomfortable carrying the burden of leading man and Vicas's direction is competent, but relatively uninspired. The film is never boring, however, and does boast impressive performances by Collins and Mansfield (whose career would sadly be largely relegated to B sexploitation films.) The pat happy endings for the individual characters seem contrived and unconvincing but this flawed film should be regarded as a noble effort to bring a sexually driven adult storyline to the screen in an era when it was quite a challenge to do so.
Twilight Time has issued The Wayward Bus as a limited edition (3,000) units Blu-ray that boasts a terrific transfer, isolated track for Leigh Harline's impressive score and an audio commentary track with film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini. As usual, there is a most welcome illustrated booklet with incisive liner notes by Julie Kirgo. An original trailer is also included. The packaging features a photo of Joan Collins that strangely looks like an image from a silent film.
Click here to order
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Beatles: Their Golden Age is a "new" documentary about the Fab Four just released by MVDvisual. There really isn't anything new about it, as the writing only provides padding for various vintage film clips. The actual story of the Beatles is glossed over (Stu Sutcliffe isn't mentioned at all, Pete Best is mentioned just once before vanishing as mysteriously as a Liverpool version of Amelia Earhart, Ringo pops up out of nowhere without any context given.) The documentary is produced by Les Krantz, who specializes in low-budget documentaries often derived from public domain sources. That's not meant as a knock, since I did the same thing many years ago. It's better to have a low budget product that still enables the public to enjoy rare footage rather than keep this material suppressed in hopes that someday a financier with deep pockets will come to your rescue. Their Golden Age is still appealing, despite the seemingly insurmountable task of presenting a one hour documentary about the Beatles without a single note of Beatles music. (Krantz eschews even cover versions in favor of Beatles-like melodies.) Indeed, Krantz is so (understandably) concerned about a lawsuit that he doesn't use the original soundtracks to trailers, even though they are in the public domain. The real value of the DVD is the presentation of rare early footage of the Fab Four. There is an abundance of great material comprising of teenage and tween girls fainting (or pretending to) at the sight of their idols. There is rare color footage, glimpses of the Magical Mystery Tour TV special and some glimpses behind the scenes of A Hard Day's Night (though, inexplicably, Help! isn't even mentioned.) There is also news footage of the Beatles during the period that led to their breakup, with John and Yoko's "bed-in" and Paul and Linda's wedding. It's lightweight the entire way, but there is no pretentiousness about the product, which is designed to use some accessible footage sans royalty or licensing fees. The Beatles: The Golden Age will shed no new light on any aspect of the legendary group, but it is fun to indulge in this rare footage of a more innocent era in rock 'n roll history.
Click here to order from Amazon
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Warner Archive has released the 1978 military thriller Brass Target as a burn-to-order title. The film's primary asset is its impressive cast: Sophia Loren, John Cassavettes, Robert Vaughn, Patrick McGoohan, George Kennedy, Max Von Sydow, Edward Herrmann and Bruce Davison. The quasi-factual plot centers on the premise that General George S. Patton's death in a car crash in Germany in 1945 was not an accident but a murder plot designed from stopping the legendary general from finding out that a group of corrupt American military officers hijacked a train carrying $250 million in German gold reserves in the immediate aftermath of the end of the war. The movie opens with a cleverly staged sequence in which the train is disabled inside a mountain tunnel and deadly gas is used to kill the guards. Patton personally conducts the investigation into the murderous act, making those responsible more than a bit nervous. The main culprits are a macho colonel with a penchant for young men (Robert Vaughn), his nervous, jittery lover (Edward Herrmann) and a quirky and eccentric Irish American officer (Patrick McGoohan). When military intelligence assigns one of their best men (John Cassavettes) to solve the case, the corrupt officers engage the services of a professional assassin (Max Von Sydow) to not only kill off Patton himself, but each other. Sophia Loren is tossed into the mix in a completely superfluous role as femme fatale who alternately romances several of the men involved.
The central premise is intriguing in an Executive Action sort of way (i.e you get the feeling the filmmakers don't necessarily believe in the conspiracy but know that many people in the audience will). The main problem with Brass Target is its relentlessly grim atmosphere. It is completely devoid of any humor and the plot line becomes very confusing and entangled so that by the half-way mark through the movie, you're likely not be sure who is who and who is doing what to whom. The performances are mostly fine, even though McGoohan seems to be intentionally campy in an attempt to bring at least a modicum of levity to the proceedings. (His brief sequence with Robert Vaughn does afford spy fans the pleasure of seeing two iconic 60s cinematic secret agents share the screen together). The weak link in the group is George Kennedy, who delivers a cartoon-like impersonation of General Patton that reminds us why George C. Scott will own the role forever. Kennedy storms about like a bull in a china shop, cursing and swearing like Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden on steroids. Director John Hough keeps the action flowing and thereby avoids boring the viewer (always a danger when dealing with an overly-complex plot) He also makes fine use of the gorgeous German/Swiss locations which are further enhanced by a lush Laurence Rosenthal musical score. Still, the film is more satisfying in parts than as a whole but is worth a look if only for the exceptional cast.
The DVD includes the original theatrical trailer.
Click here to view clip and to order from Warner Archive.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Twilight Time has released the 1975 gut-busting Western Bite the Bullet as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray edition. The film, directed by Richard Brooks (one of the most truly macho filmmakers of his day) centers on a disparate group of cowboys who are competing in a 700 miles endurance horse race in hopes of winning the $2,000 prize. I saw the film when it was first released but it made no impression on me whatsoever. Thus, watching it on Blu-ray afforded me the opportunity to re-evaluate a movie that I remembered literally nothing about. Maybe it's just the wisdom that comes with age or the fact that we can't take for granted films boasting this type of cast, but this time around I really enjoyed Bite the Bullet. This is the type of Western that was produced by studios on a routine basis. Nowadays, however, good Westerns are hard to find and the pleasures of watching Brooks' film are much greater today than they were at the time of the movie's initial release. There are many admirable qualities to the movie, but most of the credit must go to Brooks himself, not only for his top-notch direction but also for his remarkably mature screenplay. The cowboys he presents are not glamorized in any way. They each have human frailties and attributes. These are men who will risk their lives for one another without even knowing each other's name. Gene Hackman is a weary, middle-aged drifter who half-heartedly enters the race largely out of boredom. James Coburn is a gambler and grifter who hopes to multiply the prize money many times through side bets. Candice Bergen is the only woman in the race, a beautiful sometimes prostitute who provides a surprising plot twist toward the end of the film. Ian Bannen is a rich dude from England who nonetheless has all the grit of his American competitors. Jan Michael Vincent is the brash, hot-tempered young rider who learns humility during the course of the race. All of these actors give very fine performances but the most moving is Ben Johnson as an aging cowpoke valiantly battling a myriad of health problems as he forces his way toward the finish line. His campfire soliloquies are quite moving. I was very impressed by the abilities of the major cast members to perform most of the rough riding themselves. It adds immeasurably to the realism and Hackman, in particular, takes a number of falls from his horse that must have made the insurance agents age a few years. The film also makes poignant pleas against the practice of animal abuse. Brooks, aided by Harry Stradling Jr.'s magnificent cinematography and Alex North's rousing score, makes the most of the gorgeous locations in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. The sequences in the desert convey the blazing heat so convincingly that you should keep a cold beer next to your remote. The film eschews brutal violence for character studies, though there is plenty of action as the competitors battle nature, wild animals and each other.
The Blu-ray release is from a remastered print and is top notch in every aspect. Julie Kirgo provides the always informative liner notes in the collector's booklet (a wonderful staple of Twilight Time releases) and there is an original theatrical trailer.
One puzzling aspect of the film is that there are no final credits. The film just ends with an abrupt cut to black, which is certainly unsatisfying. Nevertheless, Bite the Bullet is a wonderful adventure well worth adding to your Blu-ray collection.
Click here to order from Screen Archives.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Twilight Time has released the 1985 cult hit Fright Night as a limited edition (3,000 unit) Blu-ray. The film, written and directed by Tom Holland, has gained a devoted following over the years, and for good reason. The film is primarily played for laughs, but Holland refrains from going over the top into outright spoof by providing at least a few scenes that have a genuinely chilling element to them. Charley Brewster (well played by William Ragsdale) is a well-adjusted high school student. His suburban lifestyle with his single mother is comfortable and relatively carefree, with his main problem being his unsuccessful attempts to relieve his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) of her virginity. Life as he knows it ends when he notices a coffin being brought into the empty house next door in the dead of night. Turns out the new neighbor is Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon), a handsome, charismatic young man who has brought along his equally charming "roommate" Billy (Jonathan Stark). Although there are decidedly gay overtones to his relationship with Billy, Jerry is very much a lady's man. Charley witnesses a sexy young woman entering Jerry's house, only to see her listed as a murder victim on the evening news. Other murders of young women begin occurring regularly. Through eye witnessing Jerry's behavior through an open bedroom window, Charley becomes convinced that his neighbor is a vampire. Predictably, he is mocked by his girlfriend and best friend Evil Ed (a very deft comedic turn by Stephen Geoffreys), an eccentric rocker with a sarcastic sense of humor. Ultimately, events become eerier and more sinister in scope and when Charley's naive mom invites Jerry into their house, Charley is convinced he will be next on the kill list. With Amy and Evil Ed finally convinced there is something sinister going on next door, the trio approach Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall, playing a character named in honor of Peter Cushing and Vincent Price), a once-legendary horror film star who has fallen on hard times and who has been relegated to introducing B monster movies on late night TV. Charley believes that Vincent's on-screen abilities to slay vampires might be of use in his efforts to kill Jerry before he can make him his next victim. Vincent is understandably skeptical but ultimately becomes convinced that Jerry is a real life vampire. The three teens and their aging screen hero make it their cause to do away with the vampire even at the risk of their own lives.
Fright Night remains notches above most horror film spoofs thanks to the "spirited" performances of the likable cast members. McDowall is especially delightful in one of his best late career performances. As the cowardly reel-life vampire slayer who finds himself facing the real thing, McDowell steals every scene he appears in, though Stephen Geoffrey's wry interpretation of goofy Evil Ed is also a delight. Likewise, Chris Sarandon was far ahead of his time in his portrayal of the fanged fiend. Young, sexy vampires may be all the rage in the Twilight era, but his Sarandon's charismatic turn was quite innovative in its day.
Fright Night is well written and directed with zest by Tom Holland, but the film still has some absurdities even in the context of a comedic horror film. The fact that the action takes place in houses on a typical suburban street (i.e surrounded by neighbors) makes it fairly implausible that the hellish battles between good and evil are never noticed by anyone else. There are no passersby and the folks a few doors down must be tone deaf to not hear the thundering action taking place in the dead of night. Holland also makes a bit of a mistake by having the vampire unveil himself to terrified partygoers in a crowded disco. Exactly why a real life vampire would not elicit an investigation from the authorities is never quite explained. But it's foolish to take seriously a movie that presents such tongue-in-cheek humor. Fright Night has an enduring legacy for good reason: it's withstood the test of time in a way most horror spoofs rarely do. (It was remade in 2011).
The Blu-ray release includes two theatrical trailers and the usually informative collector's booklet with a great essay by Julie Kirgo.
(Note: We've just learned from Twilight Time that this title proved to be so popular that the limited edition run sold out very quickly. It is available on the collector's circuit via eBay and Amazon, but is already commanding high prices.)
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