The Trial 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Criterion 1962 / 118 Min. / 1.66.1 Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Orson Welles Directed by Orson Welles The funereal music warns us to turn back but the camera moves on, gliding toward the castle and up to a chamber where a solitary figure waits in…
Spinout Blu-ray Warner Archive 1966 / 2.35.1 Starring Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Deborah Walley Directed by Norman Taurog Elvis Presley contained multitudes but he was most recognizable as the hillbilly genius of the recording booth and the walking-talking mannequin on a Hollywood assembly line. He starred in 31 movies between 1956 and 1969, making three…
After Hours Blu-ray Criterion 1985 / 1.85 : 1 Starring Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Fiorentino Directed by Martin Scorsese “After hours” usually means a late night at the office, but it also portends the Witching Hour, a time of day when spells are cast and ordinary objects—like a set of house keys or a…
The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3 Blu-ray – Region Free Puppetoon™ Productions 1936-70 / 1.37:1 Starring Duke Ellington, Woody Herman Directed by George Pal Though separated by 73 years, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and George Pal’s Puppetoons were each created with stop-motion animation—an arcane process developed in the 19th century and requiring the obsessive dedication of…
Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Kino Lorber 1940-46 / 1.33:1 Starring Dorothy Dandridge, Hoagy Carmichael Directed by Josef Berne, William Forest Crouch, Reginald Le Borg In 1940, The Mills Novelty Company introduced their newest brainchild—a vending machine that served up Duke Ellington instead of Coca-Cola. It was called the Panoram and resembled a jukebox the…
The Pied Piper Blu-ray Deaf Crocodile 1989 / 53 Min. / 1.37:1 Starring Oldrich Kaiser, Jirí Lábus Written by Kamil Pixa Directed by Jiří Barta In 1897’s Dracula, Bram Stoker warned of a plague in human form, and it was Renfield who sounded the alarm: “Rats, rats, rats! Hundreds, thousands, millions of them, and every…
King Solomon’s Mines Blu-ray Warner Archive 1950 / 1.37:1 Starring Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson Written by Helen Deutsch Directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton Thanks to an extravagant imagination (described by some as “lurid”) and his own experience in the African outback, H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines could be enjoyed as…
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…
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…