Get yer terrific long-suppressed film history right here, folks — this is what it takes to get your movie banned in East Germany in 1965: Günter Stahnke makes a drama revealing forbidden capitalist-style competitiveness and dastardly backstabbing in a state-run industry. Think any of those Party censors would object? Spring Takes Time DVD DEFA Film…
Lock your doors! Hulking menace Victor Buono gets the full-on psycho treatment, based (very) roughly on early reports of The Boston Strangler. The ‘baby doll’ killer also prefigures the fiendish Richard Speck. Burt Topper’s film is routine but ex- Baby Jane star Victor Buono’s performance is decidedly not. The Strangler DVD-R The Warner Archive Collection…
An Encore Edition brings back Fritz Lang’s searing police corruption tale, with the great performances of Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin aided by several pots of fresh, hot coffee. As is usual, Fritz Lang leads the way in modernizing a genre — this one is a keeper. The Big Heat Blu-ray Encore Edition…
This forgotten Alistair MacLean action thriller packs a rare starring role for the young Anthony Hopkins — he’s really good as secret agent Philip Calvert, battling gold thieves in the Scottish Isles. He’s got a James Bond attitude in a more down-to-Earth adventure. When Eight Bells Toll Blu-ray KL Studio Classics 1971 / Color /…
Look out! Here come two A.I.P. horror pix from the soggy end of the Poe cycle: the first features Jason Robards, an impressive cast and a disorganized storyline. The second is an almost-good Lovecraft horror with interesting performances from Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee. Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Dunwich Horror…
This proto- juvenile delinquent epic launched celebrated WW2 warrior Audie Murphy on the road to Hollywood fame, fortune and more troubled times. Audie commits every crime short of shooting dogs and nuns, but those wacky liberal social workers still give him the benefit of the doubt. Director Kurt Neumann backs our hero with expert acting support from Lloyd…
The formidable Penelope Spheeris penetrates L.A.’s punk and glam rock scenes, connecting with surly malcontents that would greet a normal docu with flipped fingers and snarled four-letter words. The result is much more than a collection of rare music performances. Things are as loud, as profane and as twisted as ever. The Decline of Western Civilization…
Savant goes back five years to praise Steven Soderbergh’s superb pandemic thriller, the one that warns us to never, ever shake hands with a gourmet chef. Don’t worry, only between 25 and 40 million people die… in the first year. Now go wash your hands. Contagion Blu-ray Warner Home Video 2011 / Color / 1:85…
Blinded by science! And no, it’s not a sequel to Donovan’s Reef. Lew Ayres yanks the living brain out of a dying millionaire, plugs it into his mad lab gizmo, and is soon obeying the know-it-all noggin’s telepathic commands to scheme and murder. Gene Evans and Nancy Reagan assist in Curt Siodmak’s creative, compelling tale…
The sequel to the epic Julie Andrews road show picture wasn’t a hit, but it tells a good story of its own. Charlton Heston is okay but the central character is a Chinese immigrant played by Tina Chen. Against all odds, the peasant matriarch survives plagues and leprosy to found a family dynasty for the…
Let’s give a cheer for the lowly sword ‘n’ sandal epic. This persecution and torture spectacle also takes in the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. The impressively mounted Italian-Spanish production stars Rhonda Fleming, Fernando Rey, Wandisa Guida, and as the slimy villain, none other than Serge Gainsbourg. Revolt of the Slaves MGM Limited Edition Collection 1960…
Shout Factory opens the crypt once more, for the last remaining UA and AIP fright movies starring our favorite gentleman of horror. The label lays on the extras, with Steve Haberman commentaries and episodes of Science Fiction Theater. Now where are the Vincent Price cooking shows? The Vincent Price Collection III Master of the World,…
Delmer Daves’ easygoing cattle drive western can’t make an action hero out of Jack Lemmon, but with fine work from co-star Glenn Ford it presents a thoughtful anti-myth: no glorious rescues or noble gunfights, and the demure maiden doesn’t wait for the handsome cowboy hero. With Brian Donlevy (excellent) and Anna Kashf. Cowboy Blu-ray Twilight…
What can you say to such success? Mike Nichols and Buck Henry’s sex satire defined ‘the generation gap’ for the sixties. Dustin Hoffman sprang forward from obscurity and Katharine Ross was the object of California desire. Anne Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson freed the image of the ‘complicated woman’ from the clutches of the Production Code Stone…
Bogie and Bacall are back, but with Edward G. Robinson’s oily gangster breathing down their necks — “Nyah!” Excellent direction (John Huston) and great performances (Claire Trevor) have made this one an eternal classic. We want subtitles for whatever Eddie whispered in Betty’s ear… A most-requested, or demanded, HD release from Warners. Key Largo Blu-ray…
After 63 years somebody has taken a crack at Arthur C. Clarke’s monumental sci-fi novel. This interpretation throws the emphasis way out of whack but succeeds too frequently to ignore. Charles Dance is the alarming Overlord Karellen, who comes from the stars to escort humanity through its next stage of development… and to announce the…
It’s an All Star monster rally — Lon Chaney Jr.! John Carradine! Bela Lugosi! Basil Rathbone! Tor Johnson! — with Akim Tamiroff in there pitching as well. It’s considered a must-see picture and this HD presentation is nothing to sniff at. Added bonus: a Tom Weaver commentary. The Black Sleep Blu-ray…
A “lesser” Mario Bava is still a fountain of great filmmaking; and this annihilating melodrama sees a score of greedy folk wiped out at an island retreat, for fun and profit. Shot (and stabbed) through with Bava’s visual imagination, it’s a sexy, memorable murder thriller. With an authoritative Tim Lucas commentary. 5 Dolls for an…
A pure-gold Savant favorite, Sir Richard Attenborough’s first feature as director is a stylized pacifist epic of the insane tragedy of WW1, told through contemporary songs, with alternate, irreverent lyrics given them by the soldiers themselves. And one will not want to miss a young Maggie Smith’s music hall performance — luring young conscripts to…
One of the best pictures of 2015 is an accurate and relevant movie about a truly difficult subject. Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci lead an impressive ensemble; I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a complicated story told with such clarity, and so entertainingly….
Otto Preminger looks at police corruption and comes up with a classy noir starring Dana Andrews as a rogue cop and Gene Tierney as the woman whose father he accidentally frames for murder. With Karl Malden, Gary Merrill and velvety-slick B&W cinematography by Joseph LaShelle. Where the Sidewalk Ends Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1950…
Two 1980’s science fiction efforts from the ‘eighties: Millennium is an expensive book adaptation with Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd navigating a time travel story about body snatchers from the future. R.O.T.O.R is direct to video and strictly from hunger. Oh, the agony… However, both films surely have lessons to teach the budding filmmaker who…
Remember Tower Records? The saga of the massive brick & mortar music retailer is a great story with marvelous characters. When you meet founder Russ Solomon it becomes obvious why the store clicked — the guy knew how to turn music-brained hippies into motivated collaborators. With good extras… this docu generates genuine Good Vibes. All…
Joel and Ethan Coen drop most of the sarcasm for their deeply felt character study. Everything’s a big problem for Llewyn: a girl (Carey Mulligan), various agents, fellow performers, and a cat. I find Oscar Isaac’s Llewyn to be wholly sympathetic, and that cat business is deeper than it looks. The terrific extras include a…
Richard Fleischer’s Viking saga is a great star showcase for the grinning one-eyed Kirk Douglas, sullen one-handed Tony Curtis and the heavy-breathing, two-breasted Janet Leigh. Jack Cardiff gives us the fjords of Norway, lean and mean Viking ships, and a brain-bashing acrobatic castle assault designed to out-do Burt Lancaster. With Ernest Borgnine (“OHHH-DINNNN!!”), James Donald…
We’ve waited long enough: Bogart’s take on Raymond Chandler’s tough guy Philip Marlowe is finally on Blu-ray, with Lauren Bacall hyped as his provocative leading lady. The fascinating 1945 pre-release version is also present, with an uncut copy of Bob Gitt’s versions comparison docu. Somebody tell Elisha Cook Jr. not to drink that stuff. The…