Roger Donaldson’s smartly scripted and produced 1984 remake of history’s most famous high-seas mutiny gets a lavish treatment on this two-disc Blu-ray set, with hours of extras about its filming and the shifting historical consensus about what took place down Tahiti-way in 1789. You just can’t keep the swabbies below decks eating hardtack, when they’re…

Are doors finally opening for the remaining hold-outs in classic Eurohorror?  All-Region fans can rejoice at the availability of Mario Bava’s La frusta e il corpo in a Blu-ray encoding that finally reflects il maestro’s fine color lighting design. Christopher Lee puts in a stellar appearance and the sleek & expressive Daliah Lavi brings a…

Gaumont has done right by this orphaned opus from France’s silent film genius Abel Gance — his follow-up to Napoléon is a supremely hubristic science fiction epic that’s half social hysteria and half mystical insanity. Gance casts himself as a Christ figure who reunites the world in the face of an impending astral collision; his…

When does ‘tough and brassy’ become ‘camp and kitsch’?  No longer a Gorgeous Young Thing, Joan Crawford walked a narrow line when reinventing her screen image. Her best noir after Mildred Pierce is this underworld pastiche that turns the notorious Virginia Hill into Gangland USA’s most glamorous, high-toned mobster girl. The extreme histrionics never stop,…

Finally, a chance to review this deserving suspense thriller. Incredibly realistic scenes on the high seas are a highlight of Richard Lester’s docudrama-styled tale of a mad extortion plot against an ocean liner with 1200 passengers. Forget Disaster Movie clichés and dumb dramatics — it’s a fast-paced struggle to save lives by bomb specialists Richard…

When does a comedy of manners stop flattering the audience, and begin criticizing it?  Jean Renoir’s acknowledged masterpiece was rejected on its premiere in 1939, when France society was too nervous to find humor in its satirical needling. It remains one of the most genuinely sophisticated movies of its kind. Everyone shares in the same…

There’s a new name for ‘Murder’: Diane Tremayne. Few noirs put the blame on Mame more firmly than Otto Preminger’s All-in-the-Family tale of cold-blooded killing. RKO’s star Robert Mitchum is excellent as a mellow guy blinded by romance, but Jean Simmons’ warm / icy performance brings it all to life. The behind-the-scenes production story surely…

Mr. Wong Collection Blu-ray Kino Lorber 1938-1940 / 1.37:1 Starring Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds Written by Scott Darling, Houston Branch Directed by William Nigh Judge Dee may not be a household name in America, but in his homeland the Chinese magistrate was revered as a formidable sleuth as well as statesman, a major…

This one is reviewed ‘just for the record’ — we have a soft spot for train-wreck science fiction losers. ‘What went wrong?’  ‘Did anybody even care?’  Accomplished director Pietro Francisi has the two classic Hercules movies to his credit, but this artless exercise would demolish anybody’s reputation . . . it must have been a…

Warners’ prestigious adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer-winning novella gives Spencer Tracy an actor’s showcase. His Cuban fisherman Santiago engages in an existential ordeal, a one-man battle with a giant marlin. Credited director John Sturges made sense out of a confused production, retaining much footage shot by uncredited Fred Zinnemann. The result is a little messy,…

Orion’s smart, sharp action thriller compresses ‘Manchurian Candidate’ and ‘Day of the Jackal’ into a 24-hour race to prevent a political assassination. Director Andrew Davis gets a chance to lead big stars through a convincing paranoid nightmare: Gene Hackman is still action-ready at 59, while Tommy Lee Jones impresses as a formidable bruiser; Joanna Cassidy…

From Hollywood to Heaven: The Lost and Saved Films of the Ormond Family Blu-ray – Region Free Powerhouse Indicator 1959-1974 / 1.33:1, 1.37:1, 1.66:1 Starring Viki Caron, Ferlin Huskey, Sleepy LaBeef, Ron Ormond Written by Ron Ormond Directed by Ron Ormond In 2003, the Chicago Review Press published Jimmy McDonough’s great biography of one of…

Pop feminism proved a potent box office draw with this stylish, star-studded outlaw road trip from Ridley Scott; a big convertible has never looked better on the beautiful highways of the West. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are escapees from male oppression that find themselves a latter-day Bonnie & ‘Claudine.’ The resolution of their dilemma…

“All Hu-mans there is no escape!”  Ro-man is now on the loose in Blu-ray 3-D, anaglyphic 3-D and plain old 2-D if so desired. A years-long effort culminates in an extras-rich disc release of one of the most entertaining ‘bad movies’ ever, a tale of intergalactic warfare and sacrificial heroism … all played in Bronson…

The Catman of Paris Blu-ray – Region Free Viavision (Imprint) 1946 / 1.37:1 Starring Carl Esmond, Douglass Dumbrille, Lenore Aubert Written by Sherman Lowe Directed by Lesley Selander Charles Regnier should have the world on a string—he’s a bestselling author with Paris as his playground and the town’s most desirable women at his feet. But…

“Hello Old Sport!”  A show once seemingly missing forever has surfaced on a Blu-ray from Australia. The elusive Alan Ladd version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literary masterpiece is watered-down high art strained through a film noir filter. Ladd embodies the spirit and attitude of Jay Gatsby despite the imposition of  ‘clarifying’ explanations and laughable moral…

William Wellman’s weirdly morbid thriller from the pre-Code years has been newly remastered, after the discovery of a quality print. The legendary Dorothy Mackaill’s luck goes from bad to worse as she finds herself trapped in a Caribbean hell-hole, to be victimized by lecherous outcasts and corrupt officials. The sordid story takes prostitution, perversion and…

Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941–1943 Blu-ray Warner Bros. Discovery 1941-1943 / 1.37:1 Starring Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander Written by Seymour Kneitel, Isadore Sparber Directed by Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel, Isadore Sparber More than a few comic book enthusiasts got their first glimpse of Max Fleischer’s Superman thanks to the Fantastic Animation Festival, a compilation of animated…

We like to defend pre-Code movies at CineSavant, but this one is almost pure Smut — or at least what passed for smut in 1934. It concerns a sleazy Health magazine with a sleazy ‘perfect body’ contest promotion . . . and Paramount’s publicity people used a similar contest to promote the movie. Robert Armstrong…

Mexico Macabre Blu-ray Indicator Series 1958-1963 / 1.37:1, 1:85:1 Starring Abel Salazar, Rosita Arena, Rita Macedo, Rafael Bertrand Written by Ramón Obón, Alfredo Ruanova Directed by Fernando Méndez, Chano Urueta, Rafael Baledón Mexico Macabre shines a light on four unconventional shockers produced in Mexico City between 1958 and 1963. Each film is distinguished by its energetic…

Joseph Losey’s first feature is an anomaly — a million-dollar Technicolor semi-fantasy about tolerance, anti-conformism and pacifist activism, made just as Hollywood was commencing a purge of liberal writers and directors. Young Dean Stockwell is excellent as the serious, puzzled boy whose hair turns bright green overnight, making him socially suspect. The odd ‘Franz Kafka-lite’…

A stunning movie that conveys the pure spirit of a vintage fairy tale, Aleksandr Ptushko’s story of royal intrigue is charming to the Nth degree, with pure-hearted characters and as many ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ moments as a classic Disney picture. It’s suffused in magic, not the show-off kind, but the deep-spirit visual wonder found in…

Gangsters, murder, sex and intrigue on the French Riviera!  René Clément’s overheated thriller touches all the bases, dropping Alain Delon’s fugitive playboy into a chateau henhouse with the seductive Lola Albright and Jane Fonda. It’s a twisted tale directed in high style, with Delon caught in a very Tight Spot but thinking he can outsmart…

Ethereal creatures walk among us!  Wim Wenders’ contemplative utopia proposes other-dimensional Angels that comfort and watch over the insecure and fearful. Angel First Class Bruno Ganz envies living humans and falls in love with the aerial ballerina Solveig Dommartin. To experience life and love firsthand he opts to cast off his exalted status and become…

With a fine script, decent co-stars and sensitive direction, this fancy-dress production of the sad story of The Lady of the Camélias can boast Greta Garbo’s most accomplished romantic performance. The relative inexperience of young co-star Robert Taylor is actually a plus — it makes sense for Marguerite Gautier to be carried off in rapture…

It hasn’t much of a reputation, but James Frawley’s kooky Disaster Movie spoof may fill the need for silly comedy — it has a crazy premise, a truly ridiculous ‘star’ in its enormous atom-powered bus, and a jolly all-star crew of comedic performers: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Rene Auberjonois, Ned Beatty, José Ferrer,…