Yasuzo Masumura’s searing outrage didn’t abate in the 1960s; this unflinching view of the WW2 Japanese counterpart of a ‘M.A.S.H.’ unit cuts straight to the ugly truth of war, as the unending destruction of human bodies and minds. The horrors of ad hoc amputations match the behaviors of the demoralized patients. Masumura’s top muse Ayako…
The Brass Bottle Blu ray Kino Lorber 1964/ Color / 1.85:1 / 89 Minutes Starring Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden Directed by Harry Keller Possessed of a commanding baritone and an even more elegant delivery, Tony Randall was a natural for radio, cutting his teeth as program announcer for WTAG in Worcester before landing…
‘Teach your children well’ they say, but Sondra Locke’s young girl in this show is the victim of parenting so bad it verges on criminal … John Lewis Carlino’s adult murder mystery has excellent imagery courtesy of director William A. Fraker and cameraman László Kovács. But the studio ‘made changes,’ removing explicit adult content and…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, we salute the recently departed director and actor Peter Bogdanovich. 1968’s Targets gave Bogdanovich his start as a director. Boris Karloff plays a retiring horror actor while Tim O’Kelly serves as…
Another key ’50s sci-fi makes it to Blu-ray in an admirable encoding. Roger Corman’s end-of-the-world survivalist struggle against radioactive mist and three-eyed mutants shines in the glory of Superscope: Richard Denning and cute Lori Nelson must contend with a human monster in Touch Connors’ gangster. Adele Jergens spices things up while Paul Birch delivers downer…
Lewis Milestone directed this poetic, optimistic ode to the American infantryman, a ‘lone patrol’ saga that emphasizes its soldiers’ hopes and fears. The lineup of fresh, eager acting talent is remarkable: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges, Sterling Holloway, Norman Lloyd, Herbert Rudley, Richard Benedict, Huntz Hall, James Cardwell, Steve Brodie….
Maverick director Robert Aldrich’s one foray into grand-scale epic filmmaking is returned to crystal clarity in this fine import disc, a restoration from original Italian film elements. Stewart Granger’s Lot allies his Hebrew tribe with the notorious cities of evil, and almost loses his soul to Anouk Aimée’s wicked Queen Bera. Pier Angeli is the…
It’s a Cold War thriller in the steamy tropics! The Reds are making their move in Malaya and four vibrant people are caught in the crosshairs: rich rubber planter William Holden, revolutionary strategist Tetsuro Tanba, peaceful teacher and activist Capucine, and adventurous Governor’s daughter Susannah York. Director Lewis Gilbert keeps a rickety script on its…
Well, loyal readers, it’s that time again. December 31st, and you know what that means… it’s Val Kilmer’s birthday! We here at Trailers From Hell would like to commemorate the moment with a look back at perhaps Kilmer’s signature role, the hard-partying sharpshooter Doc Holliday in the classic modern Western Tombstone (1993). The story of…
To ring in the new year, select members of the Trailers From Hell team celebrated by watching the holiday’s signature slasher picture, the rock ‘n’ roll serial killer thriller New Year’s Evil (1980). New Year’s Evil is a nasty little slice of fiction. The set-up: Hollywood TV punk rock host with the most Diane “Blaze”…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, we are letting the turmoil of the holidays get to us, with another hodgepodge of movies that probably escaped your attention. Let us inform you, hopefully while entertaining you. The Steagle…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, let’s get crazy to usher in 2022. And while we are at it, let’s start demanding that each new year has to be better than the one it is replacing. The…
I must have at least 7 home video releases of John Sturges’ classic starting from VHS, but they’ve come up with a good reason for me to return: a 4K transfer with color and contrast grading that to me better represents the movie. The thrilling, not-too-violent escapades of Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, David…
You can’t beat pre-Code Barbara Stanwyck, who glows as a knockout thieves’ accomplice, tough prison convict and deceitful lover of an incorruptible revivalist preacher-politician. She’s matched by the sassy, naughty Lillian Roth. In this Warner crime-tale-duel between piety and sin, darned if Stanwyck and Roth don’t make the crooked path seem cozy. There’s a girl-girl…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, we examine a trio of Christmas movies, or at least movies which have the Christmas season as part of the scenery. We are entering the fray here, about whether or not…
The triple-threat talent Gordon Parks gets carte blanche to film his own autobiographical novel back in his old home town — and the result is one of the better depictions of growing up black in the Midwest. Parks’ memories don’t wield a fiery political agenda, nor does he say that ‘there were good people on…
Sorry, this is not for a new disc. From 23 years ago, this was the first article that convinced me that there might be a real audience for my review page, then called DVD Savant. It’s about time that the illustrated essay was brought up to date and moved to CineSavant. It probes the ‘primitive…
The only sales pitch needed is “The Red Shoes has been encoded in 4K.” Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger’s 1947 masterpiece conquered America as had no previous English film. This is one artsy dance show that captivates nearly everybody: audiences can be counted on to ooh and ahh the film’s dazzling hues, striking dance artistry…
ClassicFlix comes forward with an entire 26 original episodes of the comic duo’s 1952 TV show, all fully remastered by the 3-D Archive people. That’s 13 + hours of Abbott and Costello comedy, looking better than new — even the original opening logos have been restored. The repeating leads are fully attuned to A&C’s style…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, Hit Men take center stage – guys who kill for money and say “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” You know the phrase if you’ve ever been fired from a job….
The Mystery of Picasso Blu ray Milestone/Kino Lorber 1956/ B&W, Color / 1.33:1, 2.35:1/ 78 Minutes Starring Pablo Picasso Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot Attending a performance in the artist’s studio is one thing—to be there at the precise moment that inspiration strikes is quite another. Peter Jackson gives us the next best thing in Get…
The Mean Street for this Martin Scorsese picture is Wall Street. His show pushes the hard- R rating to depict the wild life and times of a stock-selling pirate who bilks investors for millions that fuel a ten-year spree of obscene consumption, Bad Boy decadence and absurd levels of sex and drug abuse. Leonardo DiCaprio…
Is this show a hatchet job on Raymond Chandler’s confidential agent, or do Robert Altman and Leigh Brackett honestly find a place for Philip Marlowe in the laid-back 1970s? Vilmos Zsigmond’s even more laid-back ‘pushed and pre-flashed’ cinematography made industry news by shooting in places that normally needed three times more artificial light. The…
The original Universal Pictures iteration of The Wolf Man terrified audiences for the first time on this date 80 years ago, December 12th, 1941. Featuring one of the most iconic creature makeup designs in history (courtesy of the great Jack Pierce) and spooky performances by stars Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya…
Warren Beatty’s show is a beautiful, one of a kind epic. Never mind that it is sharply critical of John Reed, an American who was buried in the Kremlin — Hollywood never approached the title subject directly: (whisper) Commies. Beatty’s production idiosyncrasies raised eyebrows but his picture is quite an achievement in filmic storytelling, cleverly…