Blu-ray/DVD/Streaming Reviews & News
Entries from November 2014
BY DON STRADLEY
If there’s one overriding reason to view “The Lords of
Flatbushâ€, it is to watch a young Sylvester Stallone steal every scene he’s
in. This was two years before his star
making turn in “Rockyâ€, but there’s a sense that Stallone knew his career was
at a crossroads and he needed to turn in a command performance. The joy in watching him, though, is because
he doesn’t take focus by chewing the scenery. No, Stallone is downright subtle in this movie. To watch him here is to see a smart young
actor at work, not a bloated movie star.
Stallone, along with Henry Winkler, Perry King, and
Paul Mace, star as “The Lords,†(comically misspelled as “Lord’s†on the backs
of their leather jackets), a gang of shiftless teens in late 1950s
Brooklyn. High school is almost over,
though, and the boys are beginning to understand that the future looks awfully
big and empty.
King is “Chicoâ€, the inarticulate lover boy. Stallone is “Stanley,†the group’s muscle.
Winkler and Mace are “Butchey,†and “Wimp,†the wise guys of the group. The gang’s life consists of hanging out at
the pool hall, or the all night malt shop. At one point they steal a car, but they aren’t bright enough to be
competent criminals. They like to talk about “busting heads,†but in the
movie’s single fight scene they don’t seem to be particular handy with their
fists. These photogenic losers find their uneventful existence interrupted by
two things: Chico falls hard for a new girl in school (Susan Blakely), and
Stanley learns that his mouthy girlfriend is pregnant. Though Chico and the new girl provide the
traditional “nice girl/bad boy†love angle, it’s the plot about Stanley that
provides the film with its heart.
Stallone is a whirling dervish of activity in this
movie. He’s constantly cracking his knuckles, slapping his hands together, or
craning his neck, as if he’s simply too dynamic to be contained in a movie frame. Watch him in scenes where the group is
walking together. He’s continually in
motion, hitching his shoulders, munching a toothpick, reaching up to knock a
leaf from an overhead branch, doing
anything to take attention from his co-stars. And it works. He’s the guy we
watch. The scene where Frannie (Maria
Smith, looking like a pint sized Fran Drescher) enters the pool hall and
demands Stanley marry her is mesmerizing. Not believing she’s pregnant, he kneels by a table and grabs a cue ball.
He plays gently with it, listening to her describe their future together. There
is anxiety on Stanley’s face, but also resignation. He cracks a few jokes, but we can see him
sweating. Childhood’s end is near. He is
about to walk stoop shouldered into adulthood, complete with screaming babies
and talky wives.
Nostalgia pieces about the ‘50s were big business in
the ‘70s (think “American Graffitiâ€, “Greaseâ€, “The Wanderersâ€, etc). Audiences
paid good money to see flashy old cars, greased pompadours, and hear some
period music. As one critic noted in his
review of “Lordsâ€, “by conjuring up the
magic appearance of that era, a kind of off-beat joy fills the theater,†and
that the gang’s striving for coolness was “perversely thrilling.†“The Lords of Flatbush†rode the nostalgia
wave and was a surprise hit, but it had plenty working against it, not the
least of which was that the four male leads and Blakely were too old to be
playing high school kids. Also, the
ersatz rock and roll score by Joe Brooks and Paul Jabara pales next to the
soundtrack of “American Graffitiâ€. (In fairness, many people are fond of the
“Lords†soundtrack, and Brooks and Jabara did go on to become successful
songwriters.)
Still, there’s
an animal energy in the movie, particularly in scenes involving Stallone. I loved how a friendly punching game with
King escalates into sudden, explosive violence. The two also have a scene on a
rooftop where Stallone offers a bizarre monolog about pigeons. Stallone allegedly wrote some of his own dialog
for the movie, and his rooftop prattle sounds a bit like something Rocky Balboa
might say a few years later.
Though many reviewers appreciated the film as a sort of
pop artifact, not everyone was impressed. Jay Cocks of Time magazine pronounced
it “pretty flimsy stuff.†Others, like
John Simon of the National Review, described it as “a film awful enough to
strangle talent in the cradle.†William
Sarmento , the curmudgeonly critic of the Lowell Sun, was so annoyed by the
film’s grainy look that he derided “Lords†as “an amateurish home movie,†and
“exasperatingly inept.†Meanwhile, Roger
Ebert wrote that the film “did a good job of seeing past its black leather
jackets and into the hearts of the essentially immature and unsure people who
wore them.†Oakland critic Robert
Taylor may have given the film its most accurate notice by writing that it was
like “a quick flip through a fat ‘50s wallet crammed with snapshots.â€
Co-director and producer Stephen Verona spent three
years putting "The Lords of Flatbush" together. Inspired by the foreign films he’d seen
during the 1960s, Verona set about making his own statement about the life he’d
known. He had the idea to revisit the
1950s long before it was fashionable, but it took so long to fund his production
that the 1950s craze began without him. Raising money by putting the squeeze on “friends, family, and crazy
people,†Verona gathered $50,000, and shot the film in five weeks in 1972. Verona and co-director Martin Davidson shot
some more scenes and fiddled with the ending before selling their feature to
Columbia. When it became one of the sleeper hits of the season, Verona claimed that the simpler codes of
the 1950s were a key to the movie’s success.
"You knew the good guys from the bad guys by the
way they cut their hair, and the clothes they wore,†Verona said in a 1974
interview. “But what we tried to get across in this picture was that we all had
the same problems. We all wanted the girl, and the car."
Verona certainly had an eye for new talent. Along with
Stallone and Winkler, Verona also chose a very young Richard Gere to be part of
the original cast as Chico. According to ‘The Making of The Lords of Flatbush’,
Verona’s 2008 memoir, there was “a glitch in the chemistry†between Stallone
and Gere. Much of the script was written
through improvisations involving Gere and Stallone, but Verona knew that Gere
had to go. “Here they were supposed to be best friends†Verona wrote, “and in
real life they didn’t like each other.†Pointing to Stallone’s “immense imagination and focus,†it wasn’t a hard
decision to keep Sly and give Gere the boot. With a bit of amateur psychology, it’s easy to see why the two young
actors didn’t get along. Like Stallone, the young Gere was another twitchy
scene stealer. One can imagine Stallone
seeing Gere and thinking, Here’s a guy I might not be able to upstage. Hence,
friction. That’s my hunch, anyway. Perry King, destined for a long TV career
but not movie stardom, had a less showy acting style, so Stallone was probably
less threatened by him.
Continue reading "REVIEW: “THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH†STARRING SYLVESTER STALLONE, PERRY KING, and HENRY WINKLER From Sony Pictures Choice Collection"
BY GIACOMO SELLONI
We all think we know what goes into staging a major
theatrical production. There is a writer and a script. There are actors, a
director, scenery and props. We realize that there are people behind the scenery
and props and probably a few other people whose responsibilities we can’t be
certain of. "Theatreland", from the people at the educational DVD
company, Athena,fills us in on all the things between the lines, between the
words and between productions at the same theatre, thus affording us an inside
look at the staging a major theatrical event..
Filmed over the course of six months at the Theatre Royal Haymarket Theatre in
London's West End "Theatreland" follows Sean Mathias as he begins his
term as Artistic Director of the esteemed venue. He has two high profile
productions he is preparing: Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and
a new play based on Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". There isn't anywhere the camera doesn't take us. From rehearsal space to stage,
from designing a set to dismantling it, from the dressing rooms to the lobby
bar, we get a look at everything and everyone that makes a theatre production
run. We follow the actors through rehearsals. We follow the carpenters and
painters who build the sets. We follow the theatre manager and staff, from
backstage to front of house and learn just how much goes into putting a
production together. We are treated to all this in one of London's theatre
jewels, first built in 1720, moved to the south side of the street 100 years
later and said to be haunted by the
ghost of one of its former managers. Renovated over 100 years ago, the Theatre Royal Haymarket is in constant
need of maintenance. We watch repairmen work. We watch ushers work. We watch,
well, you get the idea. The delight of it all is we also get to observe such
talented actors as Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in "Waiting for
Godot" and Anna Friel and Joseph Cross in "Breakfast in
Tiffany's" as they prepare and perform.
We learn how a set goes from an artist's model
through its off-site construction and rebuilding at the theatre. It's a
wondrous process to see. Especially when the Theatre Royal Haymarket stage
switches out from the sparse, barren set of "Godot" to the
three-story, colorful and rotating set of "Tiffany's." If this
documentary had been written by Dr. David Reuben in the 1960s it may have been
titled "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Theatre: But Were
Afraid to Ask." Don't be afraid of this DVD, though; it is both highly
educational and entertaining. Hopefully you won't need the subtitles; some of
the Cockney accents can be difficult!
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BY FRED BLOSSER
Stories
about domineering fathers and neglected offspring are at least as old as the
Bible and Shakespeare. Gilles Legrand’s
“You Will Be My Son†(2012) is a worthy addition to the genre.
Paul
de Marseul (Niels Arestrup) is distressed to learn that his friend Francois
Amelot (Patrick Chesnais) has been diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer. Paul is the wealthy owner of a
French vineyard, and Francois has served for more than 30 years as his estate
manager: “a fancy name for winemaker,†Francois comments. When Francois announces that he’s too weak
from his illness to begin the new production season, Paul’s son Martin (Lorant Deutsch) steps up,
eager to take on the responsibility. He
handles sales for the company, and he knows Francois’ routine through years of
observation. But Paul has no faith in
Martin’s abilities as a vintner, and the two men moreover have a strained
personal relationship. Paul instead
gravitates to Francois’ son Philippe (Nicolas Bridet), who has returned from
America after hearing of his father’s illness. To Paul, Philippe is everything that his own son isn’t -- charming,
self-confident, and by instinct and experience, a promising winemaker. As Paul begins to displace Martin with
Philippe, symbolically at first and then with the idea of making Philippe his
son through legal action, resentments seethe and eventually explode.
In an American version 50 or 60 years ago, Paul would have been
played by a powerhouse like Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, or Spencer
Tracy. Niels Arestrup (who may be
familiar to U.S. audiences from roles in “War Horse†and “The Diving Bell and
the Butterflyâ€) invests the role with comparable ferocity. Deutsch and Bridet (who would have been
Anthony Perkins and Ben Gazzara opposite Steiger or Cobb back in the day) offer
solid support. The scenes between
Arestrup and Deutsch are so raw and real that the confrontations are almost as
painful for the viewer as for the emotionally starved Martin. Equally fine performances are provided by
Chesnais as the ailing Francois and Valérie Mairesse as his outspoken spouse
Madeleine, who watch the situation with growing dismay, and Anne Marivin as
Martin’s supportive wife Alice.
As Paul confronts Martin, Martin confronts Philippe, and Alice
confronts Paul, you’re initially inclined to regard Paul and Philippe as the
villains and Martin as the victim with whom you should sympathize. However, as the story progresses, Legrand
begins to paint the characters in more ambiguous shades. A development late in the movie seems like a
macabre twist out of a Guy de Maupassant tale, setting up what would appear to
be a happy ending for some of the characters. But is it a happy ending?
Cohen Media Group’s classy Blu-ray includes a sharp transfer in
French with English subtitles, deleted scenes, interviews with Deutsch and
Legrand, the theatrical trailer, and a handsome inset booklet with credits and
stills from the movie.
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BY LEE PFEIFFER
Timeless Media has reissued it's massive set "M Squad: The Complete TV Series Special Edition" containing all 117 episodes of the gritty show that ran for three seasons on American TV commencing in 1957. The series was known for its hard-hitting and realistic look at crime in and around Chicago. Lee Marvin starred as Lt. Frank Ballinger, a no-nonsense cop assigned to crack down on organized crime in the vicinity. Like "The Naked City", "East Side, West Side" and "The Untouchables", the show was credited for having intelligent, believable scripts and fine performances from the cast and guest stars. The program's success helped to pave the way for Lee Marvin to be a major presence on the big screen.
The initial Timeless Media release of this set was released in 2008 and contained a special bonus soundtrack CD (Count Basie and young John Williams were among the legends who performed on the score and title theme.) That disc has been dropped in favor of a bonus DVD that presents Lee Marvin in early TV appearances on "Wagon Train", "Checkmate", The Virginian" and "Lee Marvin Presents Lawbreaker", an obscure 1963 telecast. They are manna from Heaven for Lee Marvin fans (and who isn't?)
One minor gripe: the photo on the box cover is not Marvin in "M Squad": it's actually a well known publicity still from John Boorman's 1967 big screen crime classic "Point Blank". Also, the quality of the "M Squad" episodes varies quite a bit, as they were taken from the best elements available. Purists may be critical of the transfers but the bottom line is that this is a highly impressive boxed set that presents an American acting legend at his very best. Now all you'll need is 117 hours of free time to enjoy the entire experience.
Here is the official press release:
One
of the most memorable of the early television police dramas, M Squad debuted in 1957 and ran for
three seasons on NBC. Lee Marvin, a decorated WWII Marine veteran of the South
Pacific, where he received the Purple Heart in the Battle of Saipan, stars as
Lt. Frank Ballinger, a no-nonsense Chicago plainclothes cop in the elite M
Squad Division. On November 4th, 2014, Timeless Media Group, a
division of Shout! Factory LCC, will release M
Squad: The Complete TV Series-Special Edition on DVD. All 117 episodes of the
television series as originally aired, as well as a brand new bonus disc
featuring Lee Marvin guest star appearances in Wagon Train, Checkmate, The
Virginian and as the host of Lawbreaker)
The
Squad's (M-for Murder) task is to root out organized crime and corruption in
America's Second City. Marvin's portrayal of a tough undercover officer, whose
perseverance and potential for violence, but with utter cool, permeates each
gritty episode, gave Marvin name recognition with the public, and did much to
make him a star.
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BY LEE PFEIFFER
If you're pondering what to get your significant other for a holiday gift, look no further than "Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Granada Television Series", which has been released in a boxed set by MPI Home Entertainment. For many, series star Jeremy Brett was- and remains- the definitive interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. There have been countless actors who have provided wide-ranging performances as Holmes and most of them are commendable in their own way. However, Brett's debut as Holmes in this classic British TV series met with instant international acclaim even among the notoriously fussy Holmes scholars who never seem to be pleased with screen presentation of their literary hero.
The MPI set contains:
- Every episode of the series (41 episodes on 12 DVDs)
- Includes the five feature film-length adventures
- Profusely illustrated collector's guide booklet with extensive essays by film historian Richard Valley
- Interview with director John Madden and screenwriter Jeremy Paul
- Interview with series co-star Edward Hardwicke
- "Daytime Live" show with guest stars Brett and Hardwicke
- Sherlock Holmes Museum short
- Vintage Sherlock Holmes series promo
In all, a superb and irresistible release that will allow you many hours of matching wits with the world's greatest sleuth. What do you get for that special person for the holidays? The answer should be elementary.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER DVD SET FROM AMAZON AND TO VIEW PROMOTIONAL CLIPS FOR MANY EPISODES.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE SET FROM AMAZON ON BLU-RAY
BY ROD BARNETT
There
have been entire books dedicated to the cinema of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven
and with good reason. Known for pushing the envelope of what is acceptable
onscreen in both sexuality and violence, his movies have been celebrated and
condemned - often by the same critic at different times! To one degree or another
I have enjoyed every Verhoeven film I've seen all the way back to the brilliant
Soldier of Orange (1977) but it was RoboCop (1987) that stomped across the
world and made it possible for the madman to make nearly anything he wanted. I
wonder what would have happened if this film - his first English language
effort- had not been a huge financial success. Would we have had a series of
progressively worse sequels with Rutger Hauer ravishing maidens and slaying
nobles for gold? Maybe in a better world.....
Flesh
+ Blood (1985) takes place in Western Europe in 1501 and begins during an
attack on a small Italian city by a group of mercenaries employed by the city's
rightful ruler Arnolfini (Fernardo Hilbeck). These soldiers have been promised a
full day of consequence free looting if they succeed in retaking the city
but once the job is done Arnolfini soon reneges on this offer when he sees them
destroying the place. The commander of the troops, Hawkwood (Jack
Thompson), is heartsick over a nun that he mistakenly harmed during the attack
and Arnolfini promises to get medical attention for her if the commander will
use the cavalry to eject the mercenaries from the city without their loot. This
betrayal is not taken well, especially by Hawkwood's former lieutenant Martin
(Rutger Hauer). Soon after the group is run off, Martin is burying his
stillborn child when he unearths a wooden statue of Saint Martin of Tours. This
saint with a sword is seen by the mercenaries' cleric as a sign from God
to follow Martin as their new leader.
Back
in the retaken city Arnolfini's son Steven (Tom Burlinson) has been betrothed
to Lady Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh). They meet for the first time when Steven greets
her caravan on the way to their wedding and love seems to blossom between the
two. But then the entourage is attacked and robbed by Martin's group. Arnolfini
is seriously injured during the raid while Agnes is carried away concealed
among her valuable dowry. That night Martin discovers Agnes and, although the other
men desire to gang rape her, Martin claims her for himself. He first rapes her
but then Agnes starts flirting with him, hoping to gain his protection. She
becomes his concubine after a fashion and is dragged along on the mercenaries'
travels. She easily convinces Martin that he is in love with her and works carefully
on the other members of the band to get them to accept her. She appears to have
completely given up on her former life and forgotten her betrothal.
Soon
enough the mercenaries come upon a castle where, unknown to them, the
inhabitants are infected with the Black Death. The group captures the
castle with the help of Agnes, who proves herself very resourceful in many ways.
But Steven is determined to reclaim his bride to be and turns to Hawkwood for
help. Hawkwood only wants to live a quiet life caring for the former nun he had
injured but Steven uses force and threats against the nun to coerce the old
soldier to help in his pursuit of Martin. Once they locate the mercenaries they
realize that they don't have sufficient force to take the castle and lay siege to
it. Inside the castle Martin asks Agnes where her true loyalties lie but she is
ambiguous hinting that she will be happy with whoever wins. Outside the castle,
the dreaded Plague spreads among Steven's forces and even infects Hawkwood. After
an impressive battle with an incredible siege engine built by the well-educated
Steven, the mercenaries capture Steven and shackle him in the castle's courtyard.
Here Agnes feigns hatred of her ex-groom and even has sex with Martin in front
of him.
By
lancing his boils, Hawkwood is able to cure himself of the plague but he cannot
continue the siege alone. Instead, he catapults pieces of an infected dog over
the castle walls and when one chunk lands near the chained Steven, he flings it
into the place's water well. Agnes sees this happen and Steven tells her that
she can decide whether or not to tell the mercenaries.
With
fears of the Black Death creeping into the castle, the band of mercenaries want
to leave the place but Martin persuades them to stay. Agnes does not warn them
about the well and watches as they drink infected water. However, when Martin begins to drink, she slaps the cup
from his hand. As several of the group start to show signs of the sickness,
they hurl Martin into the tainted well and, as she did after Steven's capture,
Agnes joins in the abuse of Martin. At this point Hawkwood and Arnolfini return
to the castle with an army and attack. Inside the castle, Steven and Martin cooperate
to save each other, but with a fresh siege underway there is no way to know who
will live and who will die.
Anyone
looking for a sweet natured adventure film with noble knights and derring-do would
do well to back slowly away from this movie. Vicious, nasty, violent and cruel
are just a few of the words I would use to describe both the story and the
characters in this brutal medieval epic. All of the people in this story act in
selfish, ruthless ways at almost every turn and only seem driven by the most primitive
of emotions. Even the very few acts of kindness can be seen as self-serving in
a world where everyone is fighting just to survive. That's not to say the film
is not entertaining. Indeed, I would say Flesh + Blood is supreme fun for fans
of the harsher kinds of cinema. The film is one part exploitation, two parts
graphic violence, one part costume drama and one part historical romance - as
long as you don't need the romance to be the chaste kind!
Continue reading "REVIEW: PAUL VERHOEVEN'S "FLESH+BLOOD" ON BLU-RAY FROM KINO LORBER VIDEO "
Giant monster
enthusiasts (Godzilla fans in particular) can join Cinema Retro’s Rod Barnett
along with Troy Guinn as they start a new series of podcasts entitled “Controversial
Kaijuâ€. The first episode focuses on “All Monsters Attack†(1969) (aka “Godzilla’s Revengeâ€). The broadcast can
be downloaded through this link.
Shout! Factory will re-issue the entire series of "Secret Agent" (aka "Danger Man") starring Patrick McGoohan as a 17 DVD set. This edition will feature new extra features. See press release below:
“Every government has its secret service branch. America, CIA; France, Deuxième Bureau; England, MI5. NATO also
has its own. A messy job? Well that's when they usually call on me or someone
like me. Oh yes, my name is Drake, John Drake.†So begins the dramatic 1960s
British spy series Secret
Agent. On December 9th, 2014 bring home the adventures of John
Drake with the complete series set of this classic spy show. The 17-DVD box set
also contains a number of bonus features, including audio commentaries and a
brand new interview with Catherine McGoohan.
Patrick
McGoohan (The Prisoner) stars as John Drake in Secret Agent, the popular
television series from the Golden Age of Spy Thrillers, the 1960s. Travelling
the world to capture international criminals, John Drake rarely solved problems
with a gun, preferring to use charm and wit over violence to bring in the bad
guys.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON
By Don Stradley
There is a frightening scene in “Prince of The Night†when
Klaus Kinski chases a woman through the streets of Venice. She runs into
an empty building, but like a jungle cat bringing down an impala, Kinski catches
her and smashes her to the stone floor. Actresses Barbara De Rossi and Elvire Audray
complained that Kinski was too rough on them during the making of this 1988
Italian production, but when Kinski is hired to play Nosferatu, a creature
“belched forth by the Devil,†one can’t expect the off-screen neck nibbles of
Bela Lugosi. As he did throughout his hellacious career, Kinski played the role
with an utter lack of restraint. De Rossi and Audray were lucky he
didn’t actually tear open their jugulars.
It turns out that Kinski’s untamed acting had a payoff.
As we can see in the recently released DVD from One 7 Movies, Kinski outshines
the rest of the cast, including such gallant journeymen as Christopher Plummer
and Donald Pleasence. If a few
actresses got scuffed up along the way, so be it.
The cast should have known what to expect when, on his
first day of shooting, Kinski and director Mario Caiano got into a violent
argument. Part of the beef was that Kinski was reprising his character
from Werner Herzog’s 1979 picture “Nosferatu the Vampyre†and was supposed to
wear the same bald head, and corpse-white makeup. However, the petulant
Kinski arrived on the set wearing long hair and asserting that he had no intention
of enduring another painful make-up sessions. This is why Nosferatu of
the 1988 film looks like Aguirre and nothing like the original character
from the Herzog movie (or for that matter, the F.W. Murnau silent
film). Kinski’s only nod to tradition was that he wore the same rodent teeth
he’d worn for Herzog.
Waylaid by Kinski’s bellicose attitude, Caiano left the
production after being paid his full salary. Caiano’s departure wasn’t a
surprise, since the film had already been through several personnel changes.
Producer Augusto Caminito had already hired and fired directors Maurizio Lucidi
and Pasquale Squitieri before hiring Caiano. When Kinski forced Caiano off the
set, Caminito decided to direct the film himself. Since Caminito had little directing
experience, he enlisted the help of Luigi Cozzi, a veteran of many Italian
horror films (as well as the Lou Ferrigno “Hercules†of 1983). Not
surprisingly, even Kinski is alleged to have directed a few scenes.
Somehow, this debacle of a production yielded a highly
watchable movie (originally titled “Vampire In Veniceâ€). I imagine some
of the credit must go to cinematographer Tonino Nardi, who lovingly feeds us
one eye-popping scene after another. It’s as if Nardi knew, while
chaos swirled all around him, that all one needed to make this vampire movie
was Kinski, a few beautiful women, and the gorgeous scenery of Venice.
One can almost turn the sound off, ignore the rickety plot, and simply
enjoy the movie for its visual delights.
The movie is supposed to take place in 1780s
Venice, a time of plagues and death. The
streets are a weird mix of the morbid and the frivolous. You’re as likely to
step over a corpse as to be pestered by a dancing harlequin. Yet, one of my
favorite moments is when an extra steering a gondola is not in period costume,
but is instead wearing a denim jacket and tight fitting jeans, as if a member
of The Doobie Brothers had been somehow teleported into the 18th century.
Caminito was probably so sick of reshoots that he hoped no one would notice the
gaffe.
Continue reading "REVIEW: "PRINCE OF THE NIGHT" (1988) STARRING KLAUS KINSKI, FROM One 7 Movies"
UPDATED
THIS SET SHIPS ON NOVEMBER 11! REMEMBER, THE BLU-RAY SET IS A LIMITED EDITION. ORDER NOW!
"Batman", the classic 1960s TV series, is finally coming to home video after years of legal complications. Warner Home Video will release on Blu-ray and DVD on November 11.
The set will contain all 120 remastered episodes of the the three seasons the show ran and will contain a Batcave full of extras. Among them: a Hotwheels replica of the Batmobile, a letter from Adam West and photos derived from his personal scrapbook and replicas of vintage trading cards.
For more, including a promotional preview, click here.
Click here to order Blu-ray limited edition.
Click here to order standard DVD set.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Twilight Time has released a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray of John Wayne's late-career detective flick "Brannigan". The 1975 film takes Wayne out of the saddle and deposits him squarely in central London ("The Duke's in London. God Save the Queen!" read the tag line on the film poster.). The "fish-out--of-water" crime thriller concept began with Don Siegel's outstanding "Coogan's Bluff" (1968), which inspired Dennis Weaver's hit rip-off TV series "McCloud". Still, the premise works well with Wayne's tough Chicago Irish cop Jim Brannigan sent to London to extradite a top crime figure, much as Clint Eastwood's Coogan was shipped to New York to bring a criminal back to Arizona. Wayne had gone the detective route the year before in "McQ". He had originally been offered the role of Dirty Harry but correctly assumed his fans would not stand for him playing such an anti-Establishment character. Still, the phenomenal success of that movie made him realize that the Western genre was in decline and that he'd better switch gears occasionally to keep his loyal fans on board. Wayne was said to loathe "McQ". It was a downbeat, cynical look at corruption in the police force. Ironically, for many of his fans, it is regarded as one of the best films from the latter part of his career. Teaming Wayne with an ace director, John Sturges, the film provided the Duke with an intelligent script, surprising plot turns and a less-than-larger-than-life character to portray. The movie did fairly well despite Wayne's reservations so perhaps that is why he immediately returned to the crime film genre with "Brannigan". In reality, Wayne had planned to do a detective film with this title for at least a decade. A 1964 trade industry story announced he would begin filming it in "the near East". The project never happened. When it was dusted off a decade later, it was temporarily titled "Joe Battle" before mercifully assuming its original title.
Like "McQ", "Brannigan" is a crime thriller but the two films are far apart in terms of style. "Brannigan" is directed by the underrated Douglas Hickox ("Theatre of Blood", "Zulu Dawn") with emphasis on humor, as we see Wayne immediately learn that the crime kingpin he is to escort home (John Vernon) has been allowed to escape. His counterpart is Scotland Yard Inspector Swan, played by Richard Attenborough. This "Odd Couple"-like teaming of two radically different acting styles is one of the true delights of the film. Both Wayne and Attenborough are clearly enjoying each other's company and their good natured "one-upmanship" provides plenty of genuine laughs. As the two detectives relentlessly track down their man, there are plenty of memorable action highlights including a well-staged car chase that includes a jump over the rising Tower Bridge. There's also a major, well-staged pub brawl that's right out of the John Ford playbook. Director Hickox makes the most of London's fabulous sites, which adds immeasurably to the film's pleasures. (This is only one of two movies to be shot in London's ultra-exclusive private Garrick Club and Hickox makes the most of it, showing off the elegant facility for a sequence in which Brannigan and Swan debate police tactics over lunch.) There is also a spirited, lively performance by Judy Geeson as a young Scotland Yard detective who enjoys a playful but platonic relationship with Brannigan. The supporting cast is a strong one with John Vernon and Mel Ferrer providing the villainy. Ralph Meeker gets relatively prominent billing but his on-screen appearance lasts little more than a minute, indicating some of his footage may have been left on the cutting room floor. The film climaxes with an assassin trying to gun down Brannigan from a speeding car at the old Beckton Gasworks, a ghastly-looking industrial facility that was memorably used for the pre-credits sequence of the 1981 James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". All of this is set to a zippy jazz score by Dominic Frontiere that is off-beat for a film in this genre. "Brannigan" is not a late-career Wayne classic in the way that "The Cowboys" and "The Shootist" can be regarded. But it is a hell of a lot of fun and provides Wayne with a role that fit him like a glove. Nearing seventy years old, he could still at this point carry off the action sequences credibly.
Thankfully, Twilight Time has put some of its considerable artistic resources into this Blu-ray edition, which typically features a superb transfer. The bonus extras include an audio commentary between Judy Geeson and Twilight Time's Nick Redman that is breezy, fun and informative. (Geeson clearly adored Wayne, even though she overheard him refer to her as "an old bag of bones" after she auditioned for her role!) Geeson also provides some silent on set footage taken during the filming of the climax at Beckton Gasworks, which will delight Wayne purists who are anxious to see any previously unreleased footage of the Hollywood icon. There is also an original trailer that amusingly plays up Wayne being out of place in London. Julie Kirgo provides excellent analysis in the accompanying collector's booklet. Highly recommended (even for liberals!).
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BY LEE PFEIFFER
The 8mm stag movie "loops" that defined the pornography industry until the advent of home video were generally considered to be the Rodney Dangerfields of the cinematic medium in that they didn't get no respect. Of late, however, a number of niche DVD labels have turned to exploiting this sexploitation. The latest is Cult Epics which has released "Vintage Erotica anno 1970", a somewhat unusual collection of 8mm porn shorts that that were defined by the fact that they had longer running times than the loops shown in "private viewing booths" in porn palaces located in red light districts in major cities around the world. The films included on this DVD have some degree of production values and make at least a feeble attempt to present a narrative. These short films have running times between 15 and 30 minutes. All were titles and scripted and some had recorded sound while others were shot as silent movies with a musical soundtrack added later. The shorts presented here are all from Europe and were filmed in the early 1970s. The initial offering features a couple of dozen hippies converging on an isolated wilderness area. They are carrying signs indicating that they are engaging in a "Love-in". They don't waste any time, either, getting down to having an orgy in between strumming folk music on guitars. This was a silent film and a perky, upbeat light rock score has been added. Other segments presented vary from serious attempts to present erotic situations to the age-old tradition of including slapstick comedy in the various scenarios.
Cult Epics has presented these films via a new transfer but there is still varying color quality, blotches and other imperfections. Somehow such deficiencies only add to the enjoyment of watching such fare. As lighthearted as some of the films are, keep in mind these are hardcore productions that leave nothing to the imagination. The clothing may be from the garish 1970s but there are certain consistencies with today's erotic movies, given the fact that no matter how imaginative the participants are, there is still only a finite number of acts that can be performed by men and women (and, given the genre, women and women.) There is a certain innocence to this type of erotica, however. Unlike much of today's porn, which is often defined by acts of violence or outright perversions, these films recall a more -shall we say "wholesome"?- era for the genre. The participants are all happy-go-lucky, the sex is innocent and guilt-free and the scenarios recall an era in which Jerry Lewis-like comedy could actually be combined into hardcore films. Quite obviously, such films are not everyone's cup of tea. However, if you have fond memories of sneaking a peak at such "forbidden fare" when you were young, the Cult Epics release merits "must see" viewing status.
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