Alain Resnais’ deceptively conventional drama is really about interpersonal dynamics: lives lived in the here and now are really anchored in events and concerns from the past, that bleed into the present. Delphine Seyrig’s antique dealer invites an old beau to visit, but instead of clarity and direction finds just more personal confusion. Muriel, ou…
Joseph Losey didn’t normally make trendy, lighthearted genre films, and in this SuperSpy epic we find out why — the impressive production and great music don’t compensate for a lack of pace and dynamism, not to mention a narrow sense of humor. Yet it’s a lounge classic, and a perverse favorite of spy movie fans….
This early John Wayne oater displays the natural star quality and winning personality that sustained him through the 1930s — it’s a naïve, charming western that features some of The Duke’s closest early associates. ‘Neath Arizona Skies Blu-ray Olive Films 1934 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 52 min. / Street Date July 19,…
Rita Hayworth in 3-D, in a hot story that was acceptable for 1925 and 1932, but too racy for repressed 1953. On a tropical island, a prostitute cabaret singer battles a fiery preacher missionary inspector for her freedom. Hayworth is dynamite, and it takes all of her talent to keep the show afloat, with so…
Flamboyant artist Ken Russell was eventually sidelined for what the industry calls ‘excess,’ but he was a genuine artist, as indicated by this, his last American film. Absolutely beyond the pale in terms of polite viewing, it’s by turns awkward and insightful, profane… and more profane. Crimes of Passion Blu-ray + DVD Arrow Video (UK)…
Mad doctors! Mortiferous maidens! Horrifying hallucinations! A key early Euro-horror and one of the very first in color, this French-Italian production is a medical horrorshow crossed with a folk tale — its centerpiece is a vintage carillon attraction in an old mill; creepy Scilla Gabel is the minatory seducer who bridges the gap between life…
This almost completely forgotten ’50s western couldn’t compete with the big productions, but it has a good cast — James Arness, Robert J. Wilke, Emile Meyer, Harry Carey Jr. Plus early work by writer Burt Kennedy, and the debuts of actress Angie Dickinson and director Andrew V. McLaglen. Gun the Man Down Blu-ray Olive Films…
It’s in glorious Technicolor Metrocolor, CinemaScope and StereoPhonic Sound! Fred Astaire’s final MGM musical gives him Cyd Charisse and a Cole Porter score, plus some nice Hermes Pan choreography. The script and Rouben Mamoulian’s direction aren’t the best, but the combined magic of the musical and dancing talent saves the day. Silk Stockings Blu-ray Warner…
What’s this? John Ford’s last silent western is as exciting and entertaining as his later classics. A trio of horse thieves turn noble when given the responsibility of a young woman lost on the prairie; Ford gives the show comedy, drama and spectacle. 3 Bad Men Blu-ray KL Studio Classics 1926 / B&W / 1:33…
The first and most powerful Holocaust reassessment extends the horror with the assertion that, in 1955, its reality is already fading from the world memory. Alain Resnais uses the form of the art movie and his own essay-film innovations to communicate the yawning wound in the human consciousness. Night and Fog Blu-ray The Criterion Collection…
There’s nothing more earnest than an English national epic. This one is about a valiant expedition that becomes a low-key disaster. Told straight and clean, it’s a primer on how to behave in the face of doom. Scott of the Antarctic Region B Blu-ray Studiocanal (UK) 1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 110 min. / Street Date…
Bogart finds Bacall and movie history is made; for once the make-believe romantic chemistry is abundantly real. Howard Hawks’ wartime Caribbean adventure plays in grand style, with his patented mix of precision and casual cool. It’s one of the most entertaining pictures of the ‘forties. To Have and Have Not Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1944…
Cinema Art from Lawrence, Kansas? Industrial filmmaker Herk Harvey comes through with a classic horror gem for the ages. A haunted church organist begins to suspect that her hallucinations are more than just nerves. And who is that ghoulish man who keeps appearing in reflections, or popping up out of nowhere? Carnival of Souls…
Guest writer Bill Shaffer takes us back to Lawrence Kansas in 1989, for a cast and crew re-premiere of Carnival of Souls. By Bill Shaffer Note from Glenn Erickson: I think I first crossed emails with Bill Shaffer around 1998, when I was still the editor for MGM Home Video and just beginning to…
The director-centric 1970s were a time for pushing the boundaries of ‘acceptable’ film content, but John Byrum’s witty and profane period piece about a Hollywood porn director was a step too far. Richard Dreyfuss leads a cast of utterly fearless actors in a witty and intelligent dissection of movieland decadence. Inserts Region A Blu-ray Twilight Time…
“Earth Given 24 Hours to Surrender!” Invisible murderous moon maniacs invade, with invisible troops and invisible flying saucers! John Agar, Jean Byron and John Carradine do their best to keep this underfed sci-fi turnip on its feet — and we diehard monster fans love it. It’s invisible entertainment! Invisible Invaders Blu-ray KL Studio Classics 1959 / B&W…
Filmed in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma, this silent tale of Native American life has an all-Kiowa and Comanche cast, and is credited as accurately recreating cultural details and costumes. Thought lost for the better part of a century, it was rediscovered just a few years ago. The Daughter of Dawn Blu-ray The Milestone Cinematheque…
Mario Bava turns from spooky gothic tales to a relentlessly violent murder spree in the glossy world of high fashion. The large cast gives us a fistful of prime suspects, while the main draw is Bava’s powerful direction and razor-keen images — and in this excellent transfer, the colors can only be described as hallucinatory….
A special edition of this confirmed ’70s crowd pleaser? I’m there. Robert Shaw has big plans to hijack a New York subway car, and subway cop Walter Matthau is determined to stop him. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 42nd Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray KL Studio Classics 1974 / Color / 2:35 widescreen /…
Do you like your noir heroes bitter and bruised, and your noir dames daring and resourceful? Phil Karlson’s gem of a thriller pits two-fisted John Payne against murderous hood Brad Dexter, with Peggie Castle the unfaithful, unlucky wife who decides to run off with the wrong guy. And star Evelyn Keyes is a pulp noir…
This Alan Arkin-Peter Falk show is finally being recognized as a comedy mini-masterpiece. Afraid of offending his daughter’s future father-in-law, a dentist is sucked into a nightmare of crime and jeopardy, as a jolly Chinese airline whisks him away to a rendezvous with danger in a Latin American dictatorship. It’s a gem of sustained mirth….
Release the Kraken! They’re only now releasing this Blu-ray in the U.S.. The patron saint of every special effect fan gets the royal treatment in this career overview capped with industry testimonials and rare film items from a cache of 35mm outtakes found packed away in RH’s storeroom. Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Region B…
Drug addicts! Who in 1970 really knew what life was like for them? Jerry Schatzberg, Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne’s story of hell on the streets of NYC provided a stunning debut for Al Pacino — and should have done the same for Kitty Winn. It sounds too tough to watch, but it’s riveting….
Woo hoo! The pre-Code marvels return for one last go-round — tales of sin and moral turpitude but also serious pictures about social issues that the Production Code effectively swept from Hollywood screens — financial crimes and ethnic bigotry. Forbidden Hollywood Volume 10 Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King,…
Most British crime films of the ’40s and ’50s have been slow crossing the pond, but Olive Films has a winner here, a gloss on Yank gangster pix from an earlier era. Just clear of prison, a tough criminal vows to punish the gang that abandoned him, and carries it out a ruthless revenge. But…
The Holocaust needs to be retold forever, but it’s a tough topic to address without distortion or trivialization. André Singer’s docu is about the Allied film record of the liberation of the camps — horrific footage that was used in the war crimes trials and cut into documentaries — that were then suppressed and locked…