BY LEE PFEIFFER

Way back in the 1970s while in college, I took a course dedicated to classic films. The teacher was Herbert J. Leder, an affable, if eccentric, professor who also had the distinction of having directed some films for major studios. They were all "B" movies, but they did get wide release. One of them was titled "The Frozen Dead", a 1967 Hammer horror wanna be with Dana Andrews as a mad Nazi doctor who plans to use cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern day England. As a joke, Herb showed the film one day in his "Classics of the Cinema" class. It was mildly diverting fare, no better or worse than much of what Hammer itself was releasing during this time period. A couple of years later, Fox released "The Boys From Brazil", a major adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling thriller. The plot centered on a mad Nazi doctor who was using cloning to revive the Third Reich in modern society. I was rather shocked at the similarity of the story lines and discussed it with Herb Leder, who was dismissive of pursuing any possibility that Levin's novel might have been influenced by his "B" movie. Today, of course, the mindset would probably be different and a lawsuit, frivolous or not, would probably have been brought against all parties concerned with "The Boys From Brazil". The film version of Levin's novel was greeted with mixed reviews. I recall arguing the movie's merits (or lack thereof) with my mentor, Playboy film critic Bruce Williamson. I found the movie to be highly enjoyable and I was particularly impressed by Gregory Peck's refreshing change of pace, playing an outright villain, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Williamson said he felt that Peck reminded him of a drunk at a party who puts a lampshade on his head in an attempt to bring attention to himself. Nevertheless, upon seeing the film again through the Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory, my admiration for the movie remains undiminished.  

The film begins with a series of suspenseful sequences in which a determined young American, Barry Kohler, (Steve Guttenberg) in South America doggedly and surreptitiously tracks and photographs the activities of suspected former Nazis.He becomes increasingly audacious and manages to bug one of their meetings. He is shocked to learn that they have launched a plan to revive the Third Reich through the efforts of the world's most wanted man, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, who oversaw barbaric "medical experiments" at Auschwitz. Kohler makes contact with the legendary Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), who runs a drastically underfunded operation with his sister (Lili Palmer) that attempts to bring war criminals to justice. Lieberman is sarcastic to the young man and dismisses his information- until he suspects that he has been murdered. Lieberman then launches his own investigation, traveling internationally to interview parties who might shed light on the conspiracy. He finds that the ex-Nazis have ordered the murder of 94 civil servants around the globe who are all in their mid-60s. As the investigation continues, he suspects that Mengele has cloned DNA from Adolf Hitler and that there are now teenage boys coming of age as sons of the men who have been marked for murder. Mengele needs to replicate the exact occurrences in the life of Hitler, including the death of his father when he was a teenager. By doing so, he hopes that at least one of the 94 boys will become a leader for the revived Reich.

The premise of the plot is an unlikely one to involve the talents of Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason, who plays another ex-Nazi who pulls the plug on Mengele's plans, thus forcing the arch villain to act independently to see his scheme through to fruition.  Indeed, there are times the film seems like a dusted off vehicle for old time character actor George Zucco, who reveled in playing mad doctors. However, under the direction of Franklin J. Schaffner, the pace is brisk, the story involving and the performances are compelling. Add to all this a superb musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and it's hard to resist the movie, despite its abundance of guilty pleasures. The finale is a bizarre doozy in which  Mengele and Lieberman (who is obviously supposed to be real life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal) end up in a wrestling match in the presence of bloodthirsty hounds! Olivier overdoes the feeble old Jewish guy routine (a performance he would recreate practically verbatim as Neil Diamond's cantor father in "The Jazz Singer" a couple of years later). Nevertheless, he's fun to watch. An irony is that, although Gregory Peck gives the superior performance, it was Olivier who got a Best Actor nomination. Adding to the irony, Olivier had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor two years before for playing a thinly-veiled Mengele in "Marathon Man". There are plenty of fine supporting performances including Anne Meara in a rare dramatic role, Bond baddie Walter Gotell, John Dehner, Rosemary Harris, Uta Hagen, Denholm Elliott, Bruno Ganz and Linda Hayden. Young Jeremy Black is especially creepy as the teenage boy who doesn't realize he is carrying Hitler's DNA. 

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray does justice to this opulent production that is dripping in atmosphere. An original trailer is also included.

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BY JOHN M. WHALEN

In “My Gun Is Quick” (1957), Mickey Spillane’s famous private detective Mike Hammer (Robert Bray) meets a sad young hooker named “Red” (Patricia Donahue) in a greasy spoon and rescues her from a goon trying to put the muscle on her. Hammer slaps him around and kicks him out the door and gives her bus fare plus change to go back home and start over. He’s a hardnose but he’s got a tender spot somewhere under that tough exterior. He writes down his name and number on a slip of paper and tell her to call him to let him know she made it okay. Before they part he notices a very ornate ring on the third finger of her right hand. Hammer has been up for 52 hours and just wants to go home and get some sleep, but police detective Pat Chambers’ (Booth Colman) sends a patrolman to bring him downtown. The sad young hooker was found dead—broken neck from a hit and run “accident”—with Hammer’s name in her purse.

Hammer explodes in anger. “She was a nice kid,” he tells Chambers, who pours out the contents of the girl’s purse on his desk. “Where’s the ring?” Hammer asks. He describes it to Chambers, the silver letter “V” in a black antique setting. Chambers pulls a file out of a drawer and shows him pictures of some jewelry. “It’s the Venacci Collection,” Chambers says. The jewelry was stolen in Italy during the war by a Colonel Holloway, who was caught and served 10 years in prison. The jewels were never found, but Holloway was just released. Hammer says he doesn’t give a damn about the jewels, he just wants to find the girl’s killer. He goes back to the diner and slaps around the ex-con who works behind the counter until he coughs up a lead on the girl. He tells Mike to check out the Blue Bell Strip Club and ask for Maria (Gina Core), one of the dancers there. She and Red were pals.

What follows next is a very long stretch of film showing Hammer tailing a goon from LA to Long Beach. You might find such a sequence kind of dull, despite the jazzy music on the soundtrack. But I found it fascinating. Seeing the freeway as it was in 1957, with that Fairlane 500 cruising down the highway with the oil derricks on the left side of the road and the beach rolling in on the right. Seeing the cars moving so freely, with lots of space for everybody, the houses along the way with plenty of room between them, well, it was fascinating. It gave me a nostalgic feeling, a memory of a time when the air was still clean and there weren’t any killer viruses taking people out by the thousands. I almost hoped the ride wouldn’t end. But it does end- albeit, not before Hammer gets involved with another sensuous dame, Nancy Williams (Whitney Blake) and some exotic heavies. I won’t reveal any more of the plot. It doesn’t matter anyway. Plots are not what private eye stories are all about. They’re about the confrontations between one incorruptible man and a world of complicity.

The actors do a fairly good job in their roles. Bray fills up the scenery adequately with his size and broad shoulders, although there isn’t much fire in his performance. Mike Hammer in the novels is a primal force. He galvanizes the books with his anger and hatred for punks, rats, and commies. Bray and Whitney Blake (best remembered for playing the Mom on the “Hazel” TV series), just seem to coast through the film on roller skates. Still there’s enough tension in the plot to hold your interest and co-directors Victor Saville as Phil Victor) and George White make good use of the LA locales. Harry Newman’s noir photography makes the movie visually interesting, especially the climax filmed at night on the docks at Long Beach.

Kino Lorber has done a nice job transferring “My Gun Is Quick” to Blu-ray in a brand new 2K transfer with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Picture and mono sound are excellent. One of the surprising treats is checking out the jazz background score provided by Marlin Skiles, which features a combo of unnamed west coast players. They do a little tune called “The Blue Bells,” which is played during Gina Core’s strip number and reprised in several other scenes. It’s a dumb little tune, but once you hear it, you can’t get it out of your head. Kino has included the trailer for “My Gun Is Quick” on the disc. It shows a six-foot model of the paperback version of the book that opens, then has Whitney, Gina, and a couple of the other good-looking babes from the movie come crashing out through the pages. There are a half-dozen trailers for other crime films in KL’s vaults as well.

To sum it up “My Gun Is Quick” is not the best Mike Hammer film ever made (that would obviously be Robert Aldrich’s “Kiss Me Deadly”) but it’s cool watching Hammer driving that Fairlane on the mean streets of LA. Recommended.

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John M. Whalen is the author of "Tragon of Ramura". Click here to order from Amazon.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Virgil Films concerning the outstanding documentary 40 YEARS OF ROCKY: THE BIRTH OF A CLASSIC

From Virgil Films & Entertainment comes Director Derek Wayne Johnson’s new documentary film 40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic. The film – narrated by ‘Rocky’ star and creator Sylvester Stallone, who shares insights from his battle to get the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer greenlit and onto the big screen – will premiere on digital HD June 9^th.

In 1976, a low budget movie written by an unknown actor was released, inspiring audiences around the world to go the distance. Rocky became the ultimate underdog film. Over forty years later, Sylvester Stallone recounts the making of the beloved classic through rare home movies provided by Director John G. Avildsen and Production Manager Lloyd Kaufman.

Sylvester Stallone pitched the idea of this film to director Derek Wayne Johnson and producer Chris May after a private screening of their documentary ‘John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs,’ in which Stallone is also featured. This new documentary features behind-the-scenes footage that Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen shot as well as footage never-before-seen found in ‘Rocky’ Production Manager and Troma Entertainment President Lloyd Kaufman’s basement nearly forty years after it was filmed.

(The film is now available for streaming. Click here to access streaming options.)

About Virgil Films – Virgil Films & Entertainment is an independent distribution company that was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute feature films and episodic television programming into the digital, TV and DVD/Blu-ray market on a worldwide basis. Over the years the company has enjoyed relationships with Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, Pure Flix Entertainment, Sight & Sound Theatres, Network Entertainment, PCH Films, Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment companies. Releases from Virgil Films include the Oscar-nominated documentary Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me and the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives. They have also released the award-winning documentary Miss Representation; the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives; and the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo,its sequel Korengal, I Am Chris Farley and the recent We Are Columbine. Follow them on twitter: @virgilfilms www.VirgilFilms.com

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

A masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy, AIRPLANE! celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020 with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, as well as a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook.  Originally released in July of 1980, AIRPLANE! was a major hit and become a pop culture touchstone.  Voted “one of the 10 funniest movies ever made” by the American Film Institute, the film continues to be widely referenced and quoted 40 years after its theatrical debut.

The Paramount Presents Blu-ray and limited edition Steelbook each includes the newly remastered film from a 4K transfer supervised by writers/directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, a new Filmmaker Focus on the directors, a new Q&A with the directors recorded at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood in January 2020, and an isolated music score by Elmer Bernstein.  The discs also include previously released audio commentary with the directors and producer Jon Davison.

Robert Hays stars as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.  The all-star cast also includes Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  The outrageous comedy spoof skewers airplane disaster flicks, religious zealots, television commercials…and everything else in its path.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

 Universal Horror Collection Vol. 5 will scream to life on Blu-ray on June 16 from Scream Factory.

The collection includes four tales of terror from the archives of Universal Pictures, the true home of classic horror. A mobster's brain is transplanted into an ape who carries out his revenge in The Monster And The Girl. A mad scientist turns an ape into a beautiful, but deadly woman in Captive Wild Woman. Jungle Woman, the sequel to Captive Wild Woman, is an eerie thriller with all the danger of wild animals on the loose and a sexy killer on the prowl! And in The Jungle Captive, a scientist has experimented on re-animating animals ... but now he has decided to go one step further and re-animate a human!

Universal Horror Collection Vol. 5 Includes:

THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL

Special Features:

• NEW 2K scan of a fine grain film element
• NEW Audio Commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and Steve Kronenberg

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN

Special Features:

• NEW Audio Commentary with film historian/author Tom Weaver
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery

JUNGLE WOMAN

Special Features:

• NEW 2K scan of a fine grain film element
• NEW Audio Commentary with film historian Gregory William Mank
• Still Gallery

THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE

Special Features:

• NEW 2K scan of a fine grain film element
• NEW Audio Commentary by film historian Scott Gallinghouse
• Theatrical Trailer

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BY HANK REINEKE

Without question, this brand new Blu-ray edition of director Michael Curtiz’s The Mystery of the Wax Museum will be heralded as one of the Crown Jewels of Warner Bros. Archive Collection series. This creaky but historically significant 1933 classic – once believed to be a “lost film” – has been painstakingly restored to its original two-color Technicolor glory. Such restoration was made possible through the financial resources of the George Lucas Family Foundation and the combined technical and artistic interventions of the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Warner Bros. entertainment.

The Mystery of the Wax Museum was not the studio’s first foray into what is now revered as the Golden Age of horror films. One year earlier, Warner Bros. had released Dr. X (1932), another atmospheric horror vehicle co-starring the villainous Lionel Atwill and 1930’s Scream Queen Fay Wray. Like its predecessor, The Mystery of the Wax Museum was green-lit by studio brass to syphon off at least some of the box-office energy of several contemporary blockbusters: Universal’s Dracula and Frankenstein and Paramount’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (all three having been released in 1931). Indeed, Glenda Farrell’s character in Wax Museum makes a no-so-oblique comparative reference to the competition when she describes the mysterious caped and scarred figure in Wax Museum as a fiend that makes “Frankenstein look like a lily.” It was, perhaps, the first popular culture reference to confuse the monster with the monster’s maker.

For several decades the original Curtiz cut of The Mystery of the Wax Museum, the first horror film to feature the revolutionary, but only briefly in vogue, two-color Technicolor treatment, was believed lost. In his authoritative tome “Classics of the Horror Film” (Citadel Press, 1974), cinema historian William K. Everson suggested that a damaged and deteriorating print of Wax Museum was still making the rounds of cinemas in war-torn London of the 1940s. In any event, with the exception of a few surviving dupey and tattered black and white television prints, the original film as envisioned by Curtiz was considered lost.

The situation may have remained that way had it not been for the success of the studio’s celebrated 3D remake of the original, House of Wax. This more familiar version, directed by Andre DeToth and famously featuring Vincent Price as the mad and scarred wax-figure artisan, would prove to be one of the biggest blockbuster scores of 1953. The film’s popularity would summarily – at least among horror aficionados and film historians – reignite interest in the 1933 version. Indeed, as in the case of many “lost” films, the reputation of the original – stoked by the hazy memories of those who had actually had the opportunity to see the film two decades earlier – was, perhaps, slightly over-praised and over-cherished.

It hardly mattered as the original Curtiz version would remain a stubbornly elusive treasure. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that a serviceable, though far from perfect, copy of a nitrate original – apparently cobbled together from several different prints – was found in the collection of studio boss Jack Warner’s personal library. It’s from this print that the reconstruction team could use as their primary source in the film’s restoration. A secondary source was an inferior and later surfacing French work print that helped fill-in the gaps where frames or lines of dialogue from the Warner print were determined to be missing or damaged beyond repair.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

Relive all the incredible drama, passion and music of the hugely influential hit URBAN COWBOY, arriving on Blu-ray for the first time ever June 2, 2020 from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Originally released on June 6, 1980, URBAN COWBOY celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, the movie chronicles the rocky love story of Bud and Sissy, set against the backdrop of Houston’s famous honky-tonk bar, Gilley’s. Based on a 1979 Esquire Magazine story and brought to the big screen by writer/director James Bridges, URBAN COWBOY kicked off a Western fashion and country music craze. The hit soundtrack spawned multiple Top 10 hits, including “Looking for Love” by Johnny Lee, “Stand by Me” by Mickey Gilley, and “Look What You’ve Done to Me” by Boz Skaggs, and the album was ultimately certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

The URBAN COWBOY Blu-ray features new bonus content, including a retrospective piece called “Good Times with Gilley: Looking Back at Urban Cowboy” featuring a new interview with Mickey Gilley, and multiple deleted scenes. The Blu-ray also includes outtakes and rehearsal footage previously released on DVD, as well as access to a digital copy of the film.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The western "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" wasn't released, it escaped, as the old Hollywood joke goes. The film was unceremoniously dumped at a smattering of theaters by Universal in 1981 and then largely faded into obscurity. The general implication of such treatment is that the movie was a dog. In fact, it's a charming, well-made (if traditional) lighthearted adventure with much to recommend about it. Universal's disdain for the title is rather inexplicable especially since the movie represented Burt Lancaster's first starring role since his triumphant, Oscar-nominated performance in Louis Malle's "Atlantic City" (although he made the movie before shooting the Malle production). Lancaster, in a marvelously wry peformance, stars as legendary outlaw Bill Doolin in a tale that is loosely based on actual people and events. Doolin ran the infamous Doolin-Dalton gang with his late partner Bill Dalton but when we first see the notorious outlaw band, they are a mere shadow of their former selves. Most of the gang has either been arrested or killed (including Dalton himself) and the remnants are desperately trying to survive by outwitting Sheriff Tilghman (Rod Steiger), the lawman who relentlessly pursues them. The focus of the script, however, is the journey of two plucky runaway teenage girls, Annie (Amanda Plummer) and her younger friend Jenny (Diane Lane). The two free spirits have been drawn to Oklahoma from the east, having been weened on largely exaggerated tales by Ned Buntline about the exploits of famed outlaws. The girls are determined to meet these legendary figures in the flesh and join a gang. A chance meeting with Doolin and his dwindling fellow misfits allows them to do just that. Doolin admires their courage, especially when they help the gang escape a bloody ambush by Tilghman. They earn the nicknames Cattle Annie and Little Britches. The script follows their adventures as their ingratiate themselves into the gang. Both girls are virgins but the feisty and fearless tomboy Annie is determined to fix that and manages to do so when she catches the eye of Bittercreek (John Savage), a hunky gang member who is part Indian and whose indulgence in mysticism and love of nature appeals to her. (The family-friendly nature of the movie ensures that all sex occurs off screen.) Ultimately, the impressionable Jenny develops a crush on Bill Doolin, but fortunately he recognizes she simply yearns for a father figure and gently finds a way to rebuff her advances while leaving her with her dignity intact.

The movie, ably directed by Lamont Johnson, is a leisurely-paced tale with a fine script by David Eyre and Robert Ward, based on the latter's novel. Apparently, the book was based on two real life young women who did travel with the gang. The performances are uniformly marvelous, with Lancaster giving a charming performance as the world-weary outlaw who finds new inspiration from his young female admirers. Rod Steiger, who was often guilty of chewing the scenery, gives an unusually understated performance, and it's all for the better. I loved the byplay between Lancaster and Steiger's characters. They are old warriors, determined to take each other down but they've also grown to admire each other in the process. Even when Tilghman finally captures his man and prepares him for his execution, he seems genuinely depressed by the prospect of losing an adversary who has become almost a friend. The most impressive performance is by Amanda Plummer, who made her screen debut with this film. She's pure dynamite as the fearless young female who refuses to be intimidated by any man. Had the film been more widely seen, she might have been a contender for an Oscar nomination. In a rave review for the film, New York Times critic Vincent Canby called Plummer's performance "smashing". Another hard-to-please critic, Pauline Kael of the New Yorker, was also charmed by the movie and Plummer's performance. Plummer may have emerged as the only winner from the film, though it has developed an appreciation among retro movie lovers who will be delighted by the fact that Kino Lorber has released the film on Blu-ray. The quality is very good indeed, although the bonus extras are confined to a trailer gallery and a short interview with producer Rupert Hitzig, who defends his movie and still bemoans the fact that Universal simply tossed it into the celluloid trash bin. We share his frustrations, as "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" is a highly enjoyable western that will hopefully find a wider audience through this Blu-ray release. Recommended.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Mill Creek Entertainment:

Exclusive Release For Ultraman Day Featuring Cover Art By Alex Ross!

Minneapolis, MN (June 17, 2020) Mill Creek Entertainment is pleased to announce, “The Birth of Ultraman Collection”, a Blu-ray set containing some of the best episodes of the original ULTRAMAN series with both the original Japanese language and the classic English dub audio tracks plus THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN – ULTRAMAN Pre-Premiere Special, the very first appearance of the hero that would become famous across the world as Ultraman. 

This exclusive Blu-ray release also features art created by Alex Ross which is also featured on THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN cover for Marvel Comics and Tsuburaya Production’s recent collaboration with the debut issue releasing September 2020.

This exciting, special-edition comes off the back of Mill Creek Entertainment’s license of the entire available Ultraman back-catalog via international distribution company Indigo Entertainment, from the revolutionary team at Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. 

Mill Creek Entertainment now brings a selection of ULTRAMAN episodes in high definition video with DTS-HD Master Audio of the original Japanese soundtrack plus the uncut United Artists English dubs. Each episode will also come with two English subtitle options; one for the Japanese audio and a second matching the English audio track. “The Birth of Ultraman Collection" will include the following episodes...

Episode 1 – ULTRA OPERATION NO. 1 – The story begins as the heroic alien Ultraman pursues the space monster Bemular to Earth, leading to a fateful encounter with Shin Hayata, an agent of the SSSP.

Episode 2 – SHOOT THE INVADER – Ultraman’s iconic foe, Alien Baltan, makes its first appearance in a tale narrated by Ide, the SSSP's genius inventor.

Episode 19 – DEMONS RISE AGAIN – An ancient time capsule unleashes the red-skinned monster Banila and its blue-skinned rival Aboras, who wage a titanic battle in the National Stadium.

Episodes 26 & 27 – THE MONSTER HIGHNESS Parts 1 & 2 – The only 2-part ULTRAMAN story features the Ancient Monster Gomora, who escapes captivity and overwhelms Ultraman as it rampages towards Osaka.

Episode 33 – THE FORBIDDEN WORDS – When Alien Mefilas tries to convince a boy to give him the Earth, even Ultraman may not be able to stop him.

Episode 37 – A LITTLE HERO – Ide suffers a crisis of faith as the Friendly Monster Pigmon warns that the evil creature Geronimon is reviving an army of monsters to destroy Ultraman and the SSSP!

Also included is THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN – ULTRAMAN Pre-Premiere Special. Airing in Japan on July 10, 1966, one week before the series premiere, this stage show was filmed before a live studio audience and introduced viewers to the story, cast and characters of ULTRAMAN. This July 10 debut of ULTRAMAN on television is now celebrated annually and known throughout the world as “Ultraman Day.” Never before released in America, this special is presented in black & white (as originally broadcast) in standard definition with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

ULTRAMAN premiered on Japanese television on July 17, 1966 and was an immediate ratings smash. While the series was still in production, the North American rights were licensed to United Artists, who in-turn commissioned voice director Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer) to supervise the English dubbing of the show. The English language version was syndicated to American television in 1967 and went on to air in various markets across the country into the early 1980s.

"The Birth of Ultraman Collection" Blu-ray will be exclusively sold on DeepDiscount as part of the launch of a dedicated Ultraman storefront that will offer up all of Mill Creek Entertainment's current Blu-ray/SteelBook® releases in addition to other Ultraman related merchandise and product.  Available July 10, 2020, the set retails for $25.99.   Pre-order today: https://bit.ly/DDUltraman

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

Originally released in 2000, director Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR celebrates its 20th anniversary.   Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, the film is an unparalleled combination of vivid action and extraordinary storytelling.  Russell Crowe won the Oscar® for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a Roman general who is betrayed by a corrupt prince (Joaquin Phoenix) and comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. 

The 4K Steelbook includes access to a digital copy of the film and both theatrical and extended versions of the feature on 4K Ultra HD, along with two separate commentaries.  The two Blu-ray Discs included in the set boast over four hours of previously released bonus content, including commentaries on both versions of the film, a comprehensive documentary about the making of the movie, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.

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BY DOUG OSWALD

John Wayne is Joe January, an American living in late 19th century Timbuktu, in “Legend of the Lost,” released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. We first meet Dita (Sophia Loren) when she attempts to steal a watch from Paul Bonnard (Rosano Brazzi) who is speaking with the local magistrate, Prefect Dukas (Kurt Kaznar). She is chased and soon surrenders to Dukas’s men. Paul drops all charges and pays her fine which pleases the greedy Dukas. He also gives Dita the watch. How can one resist? This is Sophia Loren after all. Meanwhile, we meet Joe making himself at home in an open jail cell in order to pay off a fine, presumably for public drunkenness. Paul Bonnard agrees to pay his debt as well, but in return for Joe agreeing to guide him through the Sahara Desert to an as yet unknown destination. Dita asks to join them, but is turned away by Joe and he departs with Paul with six supply laden mules.

Shortly after setting off, Joe and Paul encounter a group of nomads who depart as quickly as they arrived. Except they leave someone behind. It’s Dita, who has followed them to join Paul. The three of them survive a desert sand storm followed by thirst as their water runs low. Along their journey, Joe begins to fall for Dita, who spurns him, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to offer her a drink. As their water runs even lower, Joe is ready to return to Timbuktu, but Dita empties their canteens and Paul reveals he is looking for the Holy City of Opher, which his father discovered when Paul was a boy. His father told Paul stories of riches, but his father never returned. Paul has been obsessed with finding the lost city and solving the mystery of his father’s disappearance. They find an oasis with help from one of their remaining mules and they can rest and refresh themselves.

Paul comes to them saying he found the city. It turns out to be the ruins of an ancient Roman city, but it’s actually much more than that. They make another discovery which has devastating results for Joe, Dita and Paul. Rosano Brazzi gives a credible performance as Paul, the man both obsessed with and haunted by the answer to the secret of his long lost father. Sophia Loren is beautiful and gives a stoic performance as a former prostitute and lost soul in search of a way out of her existence in Timbuktu. The Duke rounds out this trio as Joe, another lost soul, presumably a former member of the French Foreign Legion. Three lost souls in search of a lost city.

According to IMDb, director of photography Jack Cardiff states in his autobiography he thought the Duke was playing a former Foreign Legionnaire, but the Duke arrived on set wearing western gear and a cowboy hat. Cardiff asked director Henry Hathaway, who responded to Cardiff with the obvious response, “He always wears the cowboy outfit!" Cowboy or French Legionnaire? It matters very little either way. Maybe he’s a cowboy who joined the Foreign Legion.

Directed by Henry Hathaway, who directed the Duke in six movies starting with “The Shepherd of the Hils” (1941), “North to Alaska” (1960), “Circus World” (1964), “The Suns of Katie Elder” (1965) and finally “True Grit” (1969), for which the Duke won his Best Actor Oscar. He also directed three of the five segments in “How the West Was Won” (1962), but the Duke appears as General Sherman in the Civil War segment which was directed by John Ford. Hathaway is a greatly under-appreciated director, but his collaborations with the Duke alone are worthy of repeat viewing and are very entertaining. “Legend of the Lost” is no exception. The screenplay is by Robert Presnell, Jr. and Hollywood legend Ben Hecht. Hecht collaborated with Hathaway on three movies featuring the Duke.

Jack Cardff filmed on location in Libya at the Roman city Leptis Magna, Zliten (Timbuktu) and in the Libyan Desert. The scenes filmed in the Roman ruins of Leptis Magna have a dream like quality and the desert locations are beautifully photographed which up the ante on the production value.

Released by United Artists in December 1957, the Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks and sounds terrific and clocks in at 109 minutes. The only extras on the disc are the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases. The movie is a leisurely adventure outing for the Duke, unique in his canon of films, and he’s teamed with two titans of Italian cinema, Brazzi and Loren. The Duke is as stoic as ever and gives a fine performance.

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertaiment:

Originally released in 1980, FRIDAY THE 13TH captured audiences’ imaginations and permeated our collective psyche.  The film spawned one of the longest-running and most successful horror franchises in film history with 11 subsequent movies and, 40 years later, the iconic machete-wielding killer continues to haunt, fascinate and terrify new generations. 

FRIDAY THE 13TH follows a group of young counselors preparing for the reopening of Camp Crystal Lake, where a boy drowned years earlier.  One by one, the counselors are stalked by a mysterious and violent killer.  The film stars Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, and Kevin Bacon. 

The FRIDAY THE 13TH Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook features artwork from the original movie poster and includes the uncut, unrated version of the film, as well as access to a digital copy of the original theatrical version.  Plus, plunge deeper into the film with previously released bonus content including commentary, interviews with cast and crew, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

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“ADULT WITH SIDEKICK”

By Raymond Benson

Perhaps what might have been an unexpected Oscar nominee for Best Picture of 1965 was A Thousand Clowns, an adaptation of the Broadway play written by Herb Gardner (who also penned the screenplay and was nominated for his work). Fred Coe had directed the stage production, which garnered Tony nominations for Best Play, Best Featured Actor (Barry Gordon, who was around 14 at the time), and awarded Sandy Dennis a trophy for Featured Actress. Just about everyone involved in the Broadway production went on to make the film, also directed by Coe, except, oddly enough, Dennis (who was replaced by Barbara Harris, who is quite wonderful in the part). Martin Balsam is also new to the film, replacing Larry Haines, and Balsam walked away with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jason Robards’ savvy brother and manager.

While Jason Robards (Jr.) as Murray Burns is the tale’s protagonist, it is indeed young Barry Gordon as Murray’s nephew, Nick, who steals the movie. Gordon went on to star in a few other films, several television series episodes and programs, and eventually served the longest as a president of the Screen Actors Guild.

The year is 1965. Murray is a comedy writer who used to work for a Soupy Sales-type children’s comic, Leo “Chuckles the Chipmunk” Herman (Gene Saks), but he quit in frustration and is enjoying life as an unemployed bum. His nephew Nick lives with him in a cluttered studio apartment in the city (Murray’s sister left Nick with Murray six years earlier and disappeared). The pair have lived together comfortably and have become a sort of adult-with-sidekick team. One day, the State Child Welfare board becomes concerned by Nick’s unusual intellectualism at school, so they send two social workers, Sandra Markowitz and Albert Amundsen (Barbara Harris and William Daniels) to investigate Nick’s living situation and interview his guardian. It does not go well. While stuffy and self-righteous Albert wants to take Nick away from Murray, Sandra sympathizes with what she views as a healthy relationship between the uncle and nephew—and she also begins a relationship with Murray. The expected crisis does come, though—and either Murray must get a job or Nick will indeed be removed.

While A Thousand Clowns is 75% comedy, there is a serious through-line about responsibility, conformity, and what it means to be “family” that elevates the picture to more meaningful fare. Coe directs the picture in the style of the French New Wave (e.g., radical editing and jump cuts), which was hot at the time but had not yet been fully embraced by Hollywood as a way to make mainstream pictures. This could be one reason why the movie was honored by the Academy at Oscar time.

Another plus with the film is the “opening up” of the play’s one-room setting by taking the characters onto the streets of mid-sixties Manhattan. This is a joy, especially for anyone who knows the city. At one point, Murray and Nick are strolling past Lincoln Center—and it’s under construction! The Metropolitan Opera building can be seen in the background covered by scaffolding and machinery. Amazing.

Kino Lorber’s new high definition restoration looks remarkably good and clear in its widescreen black and white glory. Of note is the supplemental video interview with today’s Barry Gordon, who is still recognizable as Nick, 55 years later. He provides some wonderful insights into his career as a child actor and the making of the film. The disk also includes the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases.

A Thousand Clowns is a slice of life, a piece of history, and a good time for anyone interested in excellent stage-to-film adaptations, fine acting, and a New York City milieu.

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BY GIACOMO SELLONI

There are so many clichés in the film world. So many of today's films are formulaic. Heck, before there even was a film world there was theater. That Shakespeare guy, even he reworked older stories. For example, Romeo and Juliet. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Othello comes from the Hecatommithi, a collection of tales published in 1565 by Giraldi Cinthio. Cinthio in turn had been influenced by the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Shakespeare's source for Macbeth is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles from 1587, a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland. And so on and so on.

Angelfish, writer and director Peter Lee's first full-length feature suffers from a few cliches. Star-crossed lovers from two different worlds. First love. Time-consuming siblings. MOTHERS. The Irish-American Brendan's (Jimi Stanton) mom, Mary (a terrific Erin Davie) is the cliché: selfish, alcoholic, good-time seeker who doesn't take care of her children's needs. La Boricua Eva's (Destiny Frasqueri aka rapper Princess Nokia) mom is the pushy kind. She wants her daughter to go to college, become an accountant and marry her ersatz boyfriend Rafael who "comes from a good family, and the mother... (insert kissing noise here.) However, Rafael is partying in Puerto Rico and isn’t calling Eva. Brendan has a younger brother who is running with the wrong crowd. Eva has a disabled brother who can barely walk, cannot vocalize and needs constant supervision. This could be a match made in heaven…or, somewhere else. The two meet in the deli section of the small supermarket where he works. He's enthralled. She, not so much. They meet coincidentally at the movie theater he walks her home. Eventually, they start seeing each other and begin to shirk their familial responsibilities. Ah, young love. They're both just barely out of high school.

Set in the Bronx in 1993, Lee claims the film is "inspired by a true story." If I tell you the details here, it may give away the ending. He makes a few mistakes in regard to his directing. How many dialogue-free, musical montages can you stand? Not unlike that 500 word essay we all wrote back in high school stating the same thing in as many different ways to reach the magic number, Lee turns what could have been an 84-minute film into a 96- minute one. That being said, it's a good movie and it marks an admirable feature film debut for him. He certainly has excelled in his casting choices. Destiny Frasqueri, a.k.a. the rapper Princess Nokia, is transcendent. Luminescent. She plays the emotionally torn Eva with sympathy that's palpable, having to make life-altering choices regarding career, a lover and her family. I hope we'll get to see more of her on the silver screen. Jimi Stanton plays the responsible Brendan, a young man, wise and controlled beyond his years, who feels the weight of the world crashing down upon his shoulders. His only peaceful moments come with Eva. The chemistry between Stanton and Frasqueri is something to see.

I look forward to Peter Lee's next film. He shows the ability here to add the tiny touches that let you see interesting insights into a character's personality, as evidenced in a scene in which Eva purchases a phone card for her mom. The best line in the film is delivered by one of Eva's friends, Ricky (a twitchy and funny Sebastian Chacon) to the three girls he hangs with all the time: "It doesn't make sense, waiting to do something that's going to make you happy." If only the majority of us could live our lives following that advice.

"Angelfish" is now streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

Produced and written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch, the beloved teen classic PRETTY IN PINK is the latest addition to the Paramount Presents line.  Newly remastered from a 4K transfer supervised by Deutch, the film arrives on Blu-ray for the first time ever June 16, 2020.

Designed for collectors and fans, the Paramount Presents Blu-ray Discâ„¢ line showcases the studio’s renowned library, from film-lover favorites to celebrated classics. Presented in collectible packaging that includes a foldout image of the original theatrical poster, and an interior spread with key movie moments, the PRETTY IN PINK Blu-ray also includes a new Filmmaker Focus with director Howard Deutch and, for the first time, the film’s isolated score track from composer Michael Gore.  Also included is the previously released featurette “THE LOST DANCE: The Original Ending.”

Teen sensations Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) and Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire) drew rave reviews for their starring performances in this timeless love story. Andie (Ringwald) is a high school girl from the other side of town. Blane (McCarthy) is the wealthy heartthrob who asks her to the prom. But as fast as their romance builds, it’s threatened by the painful reality of peer pressure.  The film also stars Jon Cryer, James Spader, Harry Dean Stanton, and Annie Potts and features a phenomenal new wave soundtrack, including the title track by the Psychedelic Furs.

Additional titles available in the Paramount Presents collection on Blu-ray include: Fatal Attraction, King Creole, To Catch a Thief, Flashdance and Days of Thunder.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

One of the great strategic blunders of the Cold War was the Western powers' decision to not militarily challenge the building of the Berlin Wall. Under the post-WWII treaty, Berlin was divided into four sectors with each one governed by a different nation : the Soviet Union, America, England and France. The terms of the treaty called for the former Allies to have free and unfettered access to each other's section of the city. Although Berlin was located inside Communist East Germany, it remained a symbol of freedom and liberty. This was a poke in the eye to the Soviets, who were determined to resolve the situation by simply building an imposing wall that blocked off East Berlin from the other sectors controlled by Western democracies. The world was outraged but in the end, no action was taken beyond exchanging some heated telegrams and phone calls. Thus, in a matter of days, Khrushchev's gamble had paid off. He would later confess in his memoirs that even he was skeptical he would get away with it. Suddenly, the entire population of East Germany was sealed off from other parts of the city. In many cases, families were now divided and would not see relatives for decades until the Wall finally fell in 1989. The building of the Wall was a particular blow to the new American president, John F. Kennedy, who was widely seen as having mishandled the situation. With the additional bungling of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba that failed to topple Castro, JFK was increasingly being seen by the Soviets as a push-over, which is probably why Kennedy was willing to risk nuclear war to prevent a third Soviet triumph by not allowing their missiles to be based in Cuba.  The Berlin Wall did backfire in one sense, however. It came to symbolize the repressive nature of the Soviet regime that was being imposed even on their puppet states. No amount of propaganda could negate what people could see with their own eyes: valiant and desperate East Berliners risking their lives to find ways to get past the heavily fortified wall into the safety of West Berlin. Countless people lost their lives in the process but many others managed to escape. Occasionally, an East Berlin border guard would defect in plain sight. The Wall also provided a backdrop for countless Cold War novels and movies, most notably John Le Carre's classic "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold". Most famously, the Wall allowed another American President to win some propaganda points for the West when Ronald Reagan stood atop it and demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!". 

The first film to deal with the Berlin Wall crisis was "Escape From East Berlin" (aka "Tunnel 28"), an MGM production that was rushed into production to take advantage of a story that had made international headlines: the escape of 28 people who dug a tunnel directly underneath the Wall. The effort was led by a daring young man whose effort resulted in freedom for his family and friends. Although this clearly is  an exploitation movie in one sense, we should not diminish its considerable merits. The film is tightly scripted and, considering its limited budget, highly engaging and suspenseful, thanks in no small part to the admirable direction of Robert Siodmak, who had brought to the screen two suspense classics: the original versions of "The Killers" and "The Spiral Staircase". Shot in B&W in West Berlin, the only "big budget" aspect to the production was the construction of a section of the Wall that plays such a pivotal role in the story. 

Erika and Kurt pose as lovers to deceive border guards who are hunting for her.

The movie opens with a harrowing scene of a young man who tries to drive a truck through a barrier at the Wall in a desperate attempt to get to West Berlin. His effort almost succeeds but he dies in a hail of bullets. The next day, his concerned sister Erika (Christina Kaufmann) searches for him near the Wall. She assumes his quest has been successful and begins an attempt to cross over. She is stopped by Kurt (Don Murray), a young man who lives with his mother, younger brother and uncle in the shadow of the Wall itself. Kurt, who worked with Erika's brother, tries to inform her that he has been killed but he cannot bring himself to do so. She is deluded by the notion that he has escaped and is determined to join him. Meanwhile, border guards are relentlessly searching for Erika because of her attempt to get into West Berlin. She is now confined to hiding in Kurt's home indefinitely, with the family living in fear that the next house check might result in them all being arrested. Kurt's family is also routinely visited by a young mother with a baby who relentlessly tries to convince the family to attempt to escape. Her motive is understandable: when the Wall went up, she was isolated from her husband, who is in West Berlin. Reluctantly, Kurt agrees to begin an escape attempt by tunneling underneath the wall, which is only a few dozen yards from the family basement. In doing so, the family must cope with the logistical problem of finding supplies as well as storing the immense amount of dirt from the digging operation. Additionally, there is the constant presence of border guards outside their window, snooping neighbors who might inform and the unexpected arrival of another man, Brunner (Werner Klemperer) who claims to be a participant in the dig but who may have other motives. The film does manage to present how an authoritarian regime can affect even the most mundane of daily activities, as people must consider the consequences of everything they do and say. 

"Escape From East Berlin" is a consistently suspenseful tale that is extremely well-acted, with Murray particularly good in the kind of role that somehow eluded Horst Bucholz, who seemed to have a lock on every part that required a handsome young German back in the day. Murray even provides a convincing accent. Christine Kaufmann is largely wasted, however, in a part that is pure window dressing. Fortunately, the screenplay doesn't saddle her character with having the anticipated romance with Kurt, although they do pose as lovers to escape the scrutiny of border guards. Even the smallest roles are expertly filled with Werner Klemperer as impressive as always as the mystery man. The film builds to a nail-biting conclusion as the plot is revealed by an informer and there is a race against time to get across the border as authorities break into Kurt's family home.

The region-free Warner Archive release boasts a fine transfer and an original trailer that is played for pure sensationalism. Highly recommended.  

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BY HANK REINEKE

On the surface it appeared somewhat brave of Kino Lorber to greenlight a Blu-ray edition of Peter Hunt’s 1974 conspiracy-thriller Gold. It’s not that the film isn’tt deserving of such treatment, in this case an almost flawless restoration from original elements courtesy of Pinewood Studios. It’s only that this film has already been exhaustively exploited on peddled by every budget VHS and DVD label over the last several decades. So fans of the film would surely have this title – perhaps in multiple editions and action-film multi-packs – already sitting on their collection shelves. If so, I can promise your copy is a greatly inferior version to what we’ve been happily provided with here.

The back story of this film’s production, as so often the case, is nearly as interesting as the film itself. Michael Klinger, the British film producer who had given us the great Michael Caine spy thriller Get Carter in 1971, had previously optioned the film rights to such novels as Gold Mine (1970) and Shout at the Devil (1968). Both of these adventure-thrillers had been authored by the Rhodesian novelist Wilbur Smith. Smith would, alongside co-writers, later share screenwriting credit for both films. Klinger was able to raise funds for the film’s production through South African investments and a promise – soon to be controversial - to shoot both of his films in Johannesburg and neighboring communities.

Klinger brought on Peter Hunt to direct the film – whose working title of Gold Mine was soon shortened to Gold. In doing so, Klinger would not-so-coincidentally rescue Hunt’s career as a director of big-screen adventures. Following production of the Hunt helmed sixth James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), the former editor was sadly offered only two subsequent directorial assignments, both far more modest efforts for British television. In what everyone hoped would be his deserved return to big screen respectability, Hunt would bring on a number of veterans from the James Bond series to assist him on his return to big feature filmmaking: editor John Glen, sound recordist Gordon K. McCallum, camera operator Alec Mills, title artist Maurice Binder and production designer Syd Cain amongst them.

It was likely a Godsend to Cain that he wasn’t tasked to replicate an actual working mine in full scale. Klinger had been able to secure the full cooperation of South Africa’s General Mining Corporation for the film’s production. The British souvenir program for Gold, later sold at cinemas in the UK, boasted that the GMC was “one of the great mining and finance houses in the world,” adding the production team was given unfettered use of their mines at West Rand and Bufflesfontein. It was at the latter location that most of the surface photography was shot, with filming having commenced “beneath the 160-foot high shafthead and above the 500 miles of tunnels which twist 9,000 feet below and from which are torn 5,000 metric tons of rock every month.” Cain did impressively replicate portions of the gold mine to film interior action scenes at Pinewood Studios.

Tapped to portray Rod Slater, was another – if more recent – member of the James Bond film family: Roger Moore. Moore’s character in the film was recently promoted – or perhaps one should say “set up” – from “Underground Manger” to General Manager of Sonderditch GMC Ltd. It’s a South African mining company that will soon fall victim to a nefarious plot hatched in London by a board room of ruthless financial investors led by Sir John Gielgud. Their plan is to covertly flood the mine to manipulate prices on the gold market in an effort to increase their own fortunes… even if their windfall would come at the at the expense of the miner’s lives. I’m not giving away anything here, this film is by no means a mystery; the protagonists are identified nearly from the film’s very beginning. Gielgud has many accomplices in his plot including the mine’s very own Managing Director Manfred Steyner (Bradford Dillman).

There was little doubt that the producers of Gold hoped their film might ride the coattails of Moore’s surprising international success as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). The lobby cards for Gold, one guesses not unintentionally, would boast “Everything They Touch Turns to Excitement!” Which may have been a great line of ballyhoo, but one whose promotional zing would seem awfully familiar to the one found on the Goldfinger (1964) one sheet: “Everything He Touches Turns to Excitement!” I suppose it can also be argued that Gielgud’s intention to create a crisis to manipulate gold prices and increase his fortune by “five thousand million dollars” (whatever amount that is) is essentially an idea torn from Auric Goldfinger’s playbook. Interestingly, Gold would later be paired in the UK as a double-feature with Diamonds Are Forever (1971). The very collectible British Quad poster assembled for this odd cross-studio pairing would trumpet “At last! Moore and Connery Together in One Terrific All-Action Programme!”

Moore wasn’t the only actor on hand to bring a little star power to the marquee. Actress Susannah York was cast to play Terry Steyner, the Cessna piloting wife of conspirator Dillman, and Slater’s immediate boss. If Dillman’s Steyner is a complete tool, Moore’s Slater is, to be honest, a bit of an anti-hero himself: he’s a philandering rapscallion, who carries a checkered past of broken marriages, debt and high-living tastes that he can ill afford. Moore easily seduces York and their ill-advised affair begins... though, to be fair, she was desperately unhappy in her marriage to begin with. Ray Milland, who plays York’s father, is also on hand as the curmudgeonly but amiable CEO of Sonderditch. Also working on the film was famed composer Elmer Bernstein, whose emotive score would earn him (and lyricist Don Black) an Academy Award nomination in the Best Music, Original Song for “Wherever Love Takes Me”… but they would lose out to “We May Never Love Like This Again” from The Towering Inferno.

So the film certainly doesn’t lack for talent. The problem with Gold is that the story is a maddeningly meandering slow burn. Every stage of the nefarious plan and every criminal and marital double-cross is dutifully documented at length… at the expense of the film’s action which is relegated to the film’s final fifteen minutes. Hunt’s best and most dramatic moments are captured in scenes involving the dangers of the dank, claustrophobic mines, all groaning beams of lumber, dynamite fuses, trapped miners and unsettling cave-in catastrophes (one which includes a grim on-site medical amputation).

As already mentioned, there were a lot of film technicians associated with the James Bond franchise who would work on Gold. The most notable, perhaps, was this film’s Editor and Second Unit director John Glen. There’s little doubt that this film would later prove influential to Glen when chosen to direct the fourteenth Bond film A View to a Kill (1985). Much of the visual mayhem on display in Max Zorin’s soundstage mine was eerily similar to those in Hunt’s Gold. Glen would go on to direct Moore in three James Bond adventures from 1981-1985. Hunt, on the other hand, had previously worked with Moore on a single episode of The Persuaders (“Chain of Events,” 1971), but would work again with the actor on Gold and Shout at the Devil (1976). Despite their friendship, Hunt would confess in a fascinating interview with the short-lived sci-fi magazine Retro Vision, “I love Roger, he’s a lovely man and I’ve done three films with him. But he was never my idea of James Bond.”

The World Charity Premiere (“In Aid of the Star Organisation for Spastics”) of Gold was held on the evening of Thursday, September 5, 1974 at the Odeon Leicester Square. On Friday, September 6^th, the film was to set to enjoy a limited roll out to just short of two-dozen theaters across the UK. Hemdale, the corporation set to distribute the film in the UK afterwards took out a full-page ad in the trades trumpeting “Gold is proving to be 24 carat – 1^st Week Box-Office Total in 23 Cinemas: 81, 660 GBP. Every situation held over. Mr. Exhibitor Make Sure You Get Your Share of Gold.” The film would make less of a splash in the U.S. Though the US would not see a version of the colorful souvenir program brochure that British audiences were offered, Pyramid Books would publish a paperback movie tie-in with a promise their pulp edition would include “an 8-page photo insert from the film.”

Unfortunately for the producers, critical reaction to the film in the U.S. was less enthusiastic, with many newspapers writing off Gold as one more run-of-the-mill “disaster films.” There was some morsel of truth in that. The success of The Poseidon Adventure (1972) had kicked-off in its wake a rash of box-office and pop-culture disaster-film successes as The Towering Inferno (1974) and Earthquake! (1974). One critic would, incorrectly, but understandably, describe Hunt’s adaptation of Gold “as one of the cataclysm of disaster movies that have lately been making cinemas look like Red Cross centers.”

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Most urban crime thrillers made today are indistinguishable blood baths that consist of mindless car chases and pretentiously tough characters. Every now and then, however, a real unsuspected gem surfaces. Such is the case with the 2015 film "Criminal Activities". Despite its generic, computer-generated title that sounds like it was created to emulate one of the endless CBS crime series, the film is expertly made and superbly acted. It also has some very clever plot twists and turns that play out logically and very surprisingly. Most impressive is that this marks the directorial debut of character actor Jackie Earl Haley, who has been kicking around the industry for decades mostly in minor roles. Now in his fifties, he's made a dynamic impression both on-screen and behind the camera with "Criminal Activities".  One must proceed gingerly in reviewing a film like this, 'lest some of the spoilers be divulged.

The film opens with the death of a seemingly troubled young man who is killed by a bus in front of horrified on-lookers. It's presumed to have been a suicide. After his funeral, some of his friends gather to discuss the tragic event. They are Warren (Christopher Abbott), Bryce (Rob Brown) and Zach (Michael Pitt). They are unexpectedly joined by Noah (Dan Stevens) , a nerdy financial investment analyst who was the butt of jokes in high school among some of his friends. He's still very much a nerd but is reluctantly accepted into the group's social orbit partly out of compassion for the way he was treated by them so many years ago. Over drinks the group analyzes why their friend might have ended his life. It's revealed that the dearly departed had been complaining about being followed by some unknown person or persons in recent days...something that unnerved him. Is it possible this stalker might have actually been responsible for his death? The conversation soon turns to money...and the common goal of everyone in the group to attain a successful life style. Bryce says he has a sure-fire investment scheme based on insider trading. There is a stock that is about to skyrocket but they would need to come up with $200,000 to get in on the deal. Collectively they don't have anywhere near that amount. However, Noah advises that he can definitely front the money, as long as they all share the risk as well as the profit. Assuming Noah is putting up his own savings, the young men readily agree. Weeks later, the "sure-fire"  investment goes to hell when the company involved is raided by the feds and its CEO is arrested, causing the stock value to plunge to virtually zero. The panicked group gets together and learns more bad news: Noah didn't put up his own money. Instead, he borrowed it from a local crime kingpin, Eddie (John Travolta) who now expects to be repaid. He meets with the terrified men and they find him to be a smooth operator. He's quiet, calm and witty- but alerts them that the "interest" on the loan is another $200,000. The men advise him that they can't possibly come up with $400,000. He then makes them an offer they literally can't refuse - or they will pay with their lives. Eddie explains that a local rival crime boss has kidnapped his young niece and he's desperate to get her back. He advises them that he will forgive their entire debt if they successfully kidnap his rival's nephew. Eddie will then ensure the release of his niece by arranging a trade of hostages. The four men are understandably frightened by the proposition. After all, they are every day guys with no experience in criminal activities. Nevertheless, Eddie leaves them no choice. He makes it abundantly clear that failure is not an option-at least if they value their lives. The men concoct a scenario to kidnap the nephew, Marques (Edi Gathegi) from a local sleazy nightclub he hangs out in. The men bungle key aspects of the plan but, against all odds, succeed in capturing Marques and bringing him to a vacant apartment they have access to. They advise Eddie that the plan was a success and he tells them everything is looking good- just keep Marques on ice until he gets his niece back. Marques proves to be a handful. He speaks in street jive that is a far cry from the vernacular used by his Gen X white captors. Although tied to a chair, he exudes significant enough charisma to possibly talk his kidnappers into releasing him on the basis that they can still get away with no criminal charges. From this point on, it would be a disservice to detail more of the plot except to say that things wrap up in a startling manner that this viewer didn't see coming.

Director Jackie Earl Haley, who wrote the screenplay based on a script by the late Robert Lowell that had been gathering dust since 1977,  provides himself with a plum supporting role as the most memorable of a two-man team of hit men who are in Eddie's employ. The concept of two eccentric hit men had moss on it even before Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson played such roles so memorably in "Pulp Fiction". In fact, Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager were terrific in similar parts way back in Don Siegel's 1964 remake of "The Killers"- and Robert Webber and Gig Young were also quite good in Peckinpah's "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". However, Haley is superb in his brief scenes on screen as a chatty, seemingly friendly street guy who can jump from making quips to blowing someone's head off in a nanosecond. The entire cast is superb, with Dan Stevens particularly memorable as the hapless Noah and Edi Gathegi almost stealing the entire show with an extremely good performance. Travolta, who also served as Executive Producer, seems to be having a blast as the villain. His screen time is limited but he makes the most of it, appearing at key points in the plot. In essence, he's playing a low-end version of a Bond villain. He lives in comparative wealth, has adoring women around him and sucks down dreadful kale-based milk shakes as part of a bizarre diet. He never loses his temper and becomes even scarier the more friendly he acts. As director, Haley keeps the action flowing at a swift pace and credible reactions by the "kidnappers" that evoke the way most of us would feel if we found ourselves caught up in such extraordinary circumstances. However, Haley-who is too obsessed with Tarantino-izing his film- puts style over substance during the movie's surprising final sequence. It proves to be a near fatal error. When the surprises are revealed, Haley does so in a lightning-fast sequence that is almost impossible to comprehend. Worse, he jumps back and forth in time and introduces a key character we haven't seen before. I had to revisit the ending several times in order to comprehend exactly what was being unveiled. Once I understood the plot development, I found it highly satisfying- but no viewer should have to rely on taking such measures just to figure out what is going on. "Criminal Activities" was denied a theatrical release and went straight to home video. Perhaps the incomprehensible nature of the ending was a factor in this. Nevertheless, if you are willing to stick with it (and possibly re-review scenes on the Blu-ray), you might well agree that this is a highly entertaining film and that Haley shows considerable promise as a director.

The Blu-ray from RLJ Entertainment features some deleted scenes and an all-too-brief joint interview with Haley and Travolta. The film should have included a commentary track, as Haley's late break into directing and his nurturing of an almost ancient un-filmed screenplay  would have made some interesting points for discussion.

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