Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

Started by wilder, November 01, 2011, 01:54:56 AM

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wilder

Summer 2017 TBD

The Louis Malle Collection from Artificial Eye (UK) - 10 discs



Lift to the Scaffold a.k.a. Elevator to the Gallows

French black comedy in which a crime of passion goes horribly wrong when the killer gets trapped in a lift. As Julien (Maurice Ronet)'s lover, Florence Carala (Jeanne Moreau) - who also happens to be the victim's wife - is out searching for him in Paris, a young hood and his girl steal the killer's car, complicating matters further. This was Louis Malle's first film as director and it partly set the tone for the 'new wave' to come. It is also notable for its famous jazz score, improvised in one night by Miles Davis while the film was being projected.


Les Amants a.k.a. The Lovers

An early classic from Louis Malle with Jeanne Moreau as a woman desperate to free herself from a provincial marriage. So she heads for the excitement of Paris with her friends. A chance encounter gives her the excitement she has been craving for.


Zazie dans le Métro

This merry farce depicts a satirical view of the French society: Ten-year-old Zazie has to stay two days with her relatives in Paris, so that her mother can spend some time with her lover. However Zazie escapes her uncle's custody and sets out to explore Paris on her own.


The Fire Within a.k.a. Le Feu Follet

Estranged from his wife in the United States, alcoholic and self-destructive French writer Alain Leroy resolves to commit suicide and spends the next twenty-four hours visiting old friends in Paris.


Murmur of the Heart a.k.a. Le Souffle au Coeur

Louis Malle's critically acclaimed Murmur of the Heart (Le soffle au coeur) gracefully combines elements of comedy, drama, and autobiography in a candid portrait of a precocious adolescent boy's sexual maturation. Both shocking and deeply poignant, this is one of the finest coming-of-age films ever made.


Lacombe, Lucien

One of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German Occupation, Louis Malle's brave and controversial Lacombe, Lucien traces a young peasant's journey from potential Resistance member to Gestapo recruit. At once the story of a nation and one troubled boy's horrific coming of age, the film is a disquieting portrait of lost innocence and guilt.


Black Moon

Louis Malle meets Lewis Carroll in this bizarre and bewitching trip down the rabbit hole. After skirting the horrors of an unidentified war being waged in an anonymous countryside, beautiful young Lily (Cathryn Harrison) takes refuge in a remote farmhouse, where she becomes embroiled in the surreal domestic life of an extremely unconventional family. Evocatively shot by cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Black Moon is a Freudian tale of adolescent sexuality set in a postapocalyptic world of shifting identities and talking animals. It is one of Malle's most experimental films and a cinematic daydream like no other.


My Dinner with Andre

A whimsical comedy about two old friends who meet in a chic New York restaurant, where Andre recounts his mystical adventures of the past two years. The focus then turns to the relationship between the two men, their innermost feelings and loves, and their different ideas concerning the purpose of life. When the check eventually comes, one of them will have profoundly changed.


Au Revoir Les Enfants

Au Revoir Les Enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie...until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle's own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.


Milou en Mai a.k.a. May Fools

This comic excursion from Louis Malle is set in May 1968, concurrent with a series of Parisian student uprisings. After the death of family matriarch Mme. Vieuzac (Paulette Dubost), the survivors converge on the French countryside for her funeral; they include her two sons, Milou (Michel Piccoli) and Georges (Michel Duchaussoy); Camille (Miou-Miou), Milou's daughter; Camille's husband and children; and granddaughter Claire (Dominique Blanc), a lesbian. With the latest news of rebellion from Paris as their soundtrack, the family members argue over property, revive long-simmering arguments, and watch in dismay as an unlikely love affair begins. When the student uprising threatens to spill over into their community, the family heads for the hills, where the great outdoors only intensifies their reunion.

wilder

February 14, 2017

Woody Allen's Interiors (1978) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



When Eve (Geraldine Page), an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur (E.G. Marshall), the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment, Renata (Diane Keaton), a successful writer; Flyn (Kristin Griffith), a woman crippled by indecision; and Joey (Marybeth Hurt), a budding actress; struggle to communicate for the sake of their shattered mother. But when their father unexpectedly falls for another woman (Maureen Stapleton), his decision to remarry sets in motion a terrible twist of fate...

Regarded as a startling departure at the time (although it now clearly anticipates later work), Interiors was Woody Allen's first entirely serious drama, an intimate family chamber-piece strongly influenced by his beloved Ingmar Bergman and performed by a pitch-perfect ensemble cast.







Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



Offered parole from Sing Sing in exchange for information about one of his old partners in crime, jewel thief Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) reluctantly cooperates with district attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), who's trying to take down violent murderer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). But when Udo goes free despite the district attorney's best efforts, Bianco and his wife, Nettie (Coleen Gray), are in the killer's sights, and he'll stop at nothing to settle the score.





March 14, 2017

Mark Robson's Peyton Place (1957) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



An exposé of the residents of a small fictional New England mill town in the years surrounding World War II, where scandal, homicide, suicide, incest, and moral hypocrisy hide behind a tranquil façade.





wilder

Summer 2017 TBD

Milos Forman's Valmont (1989) on blu-ray from Kino



In 18th-century France, a cruel and calculating playboy, Valmont, makes a malicious wager with the equally wicked Madame de Merteuil: Valmont must dishonor the married Madame de Tourvel bying with her. If Valmont succeeds, he gets the privilege of Merteuil's bed as well. But when Valmont sets out on his task, the unexpected happens - he falls in love with Tourvel! And now Merteuil will stop at nothing to destroy Valmont's newfound passion. Starring Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk, and Siân Phillips.   



wilder

March 20, 2017

Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953) on blu-ray from Powerhouse Films / Indicator (UK)



Fritz Lang's iconic film noir masterpiece is an uncompromising exploration of corruption and violence at the dark heart of small-town America. Glenn Ford is the good cop in a bad town, who single-handedly takes on local mobsters headed by Alexander Scourby and his psychotic right-hand man Lee Marvin.

Dave Bannion is an upright cop on the trail of a vicious gang he suspects holds power over the police force. Bannion is tipped off after a colleague's suicide and his fellow officers' suspicious silence lead him to believe that they are on the gangsters' payroll. When a bomb meant for him kills his wife instead, Bannion becomes a furious force of vengeance and justice, aided along the way by the gangster's spurned girlfriend Debbie. As Bannion and Debbie fall further and further into the Gangland's insidious and brutal trap, they must use any means necessary (including murder) to get to the truth.


The Big Heat (1953) - Amazon UK



John Huston's Fat City (1972) on blu-ray from Powerhouse Films / Indicator (UK)



John Huston's sombre but compassionate boxing drama is a criminally-underseen late-career masterpiece from the great director. Peppered with outstanding performances this gritty yet affectionate look at the world of small-time boxing highlights a down-and-out fighter and a young up-and-comer, both moving through a world of seedy gyms and flop houses.

Fat City (1972) - Amazon UK



The Front (1976) on blu-ray from Powerhouse Films / Indicator (UK)



In 1953, a cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.

The Front (1976) - Amazon UK



May 9, 2017

John Waters' Serial Mom (1994) from Scream Factory



Beverly (Turner) is the perfect happy homemaker. Along with her doting husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) and two children, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard), she lives a life straight out of Good Housekeeping. But this nuclear family just might explode when Beverly's fascination with serial killers collides with her ever-so-proper code of ethics – transforming her from middle class mom to mass murderer! Soon, the bodies begin to pile up... and suburbia faces a horror even worse than wearing white after Labor Day.

wilder

2017 TBD

Luis Puenzo's The Official Story (1985) on blu-ray from Cohen Media Group



The Official Story is about an upper middle class couple who lives in Buenos Aires with an illegally adopted child. The mother, Alicia (Norma Aleandro), comes to realize that her daughter may be the child of a desaparecido, a victim of the forced disappearances that occurred during Argentina's last military dictatorship.



wilder

March 17, 2017

Electra Glide in Blue (1973) on blu-ray from Odyssey Video (UK)



Ambitious motorcycle cop John Wintergreen patrols the Arizona highways, yearning for promotion to the homicide division. Thanks to his revelation that a supposed suicide is actually a murder, his wish it granted. But 'good cop' Wintergreen is about to discover that street-smarts and integrity can have lethal consequences as he finds himself sinking into a mire of corruption – not to mention a very tricky love-triangle. Troubled star Robert Blake (Baretta) plays the lead in this crime cult classic.

Electra Glide in Blue (1973) - Amazon UK






July 17, 2017

Fritz Lang's Destiny (1921) from Masters of Cinema (UK)



As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers. In each story, a woman, trying to save her lover from his ultimate tragic fate, fails. The young lady realizes the meaning of the tales and takes the only step she can to reunite herself with her lover...

Destiny (1921) - Amazon UK



wilder

March 31, 2017

Steven Soderbergh's Solaris (2002) on blu-ray from Rough Trade (Germany)



A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.

Solaris (2002) - Amazon.de

wilder

April 18, 2017

Paul Wendkos' The Mephisto Waltz (1971) from Kino



Alan Alda plays a classical piano player on the rise who befriends a famous player himself who's at death's door. Unknown to Alda, the guy is a satanist, who arranges to have their souls switch places at his death, so that he can be young again and continue to play piano (thus needing a skilled piano player like Alda to switch bodies with).



wilder

April 18, 2017

Steve Sekely's The Scar aka Hollow Triumph (1948) from Kino, with a new audio commentary by Imogen Sara Smith



A film noir drama in which a sophisticated con man, who has just stolen from the mob, is forced to impersonate a psychiatrist who looks just like him, going so far as to cut himself on the cheek to duplicate a similar scar on the doctor. When he takes matters even further, karma arrives, forcing him to pay the debts of his double.

wilder

2017 TBD

Blake Edwards' S.O.B. (1981) from Warner Archive



Felix Farmer's (Richard Mulligan) latest movie flops – and lots of Hollywood types spring into action. Agents are called. Lawyers are retained. Statements are issued. It's what master comedy director Blake Edwards calls "Standard Operating Bull," the subject of his gleefully satiric S.O.B.

Julie Andrews is a wholesome superstar about to alter her image...radically. Aiding and abetting the madness are William Holden, Robert Preston, Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters, Loretta Swit and more. Dialogue crackles like fat in a fire, gags range from dead-on deadpan to comedic broadsides, insights bristle and sting. Nothing standard here: S.O.B. is extraordinary.







Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow (1968) from Warner Archive



He wears a ratty old cardigan instead of tails, a battered felt hat in place of a topper — but one glimpse of those agile feet and you know he's Fred Astaire. The great entertainer sang and danced his last musical lead in FINIAN'S RAINBOW, director Francis Ford Coppola's exuberant movie of the 1947 Broadway hit. Astaire plays an Irish rogue who plants a stolen crock of leprechaun gold in the soil near Fort Knox to reap what he thinks will be a rich harvest. In tow are his spirited daughter (Petula Clark), a lovestruck leprechaun (Tommy Steele) and a bigoted Southern senator (Keenan Wynn) transformed by misbegotten magic.






Summer 2017 TBD

John Huston's Prizzi's Honor (1985) from Kino



The Prizzi family's principal hit man, Charley (Nicholson) is about to discover that he and his new bride (Turner) share more than just body heat: They're both cold-blooded assassins and their next job is to ice each other! Now Charley must choose which contract to honor-the one to his wife or the one on his wife-in this "wickedly amoral black comedy" (Screen International)!



wilder

April 4, 2017

Behind the Door (1919) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley



Legendary producer Thomas H. Ince and director Irvin V. Willat made this---"the most outspoken of all the vengeance films" according to film historian Kevin Brownlow---during the period of World War I-inspired American patriotism.

Hobart Bosworth stars as Oscar Krug, a working-class American, who is persecuted for his German ancestry after war is declared. Driven by patriotism, Krug enlists and goes to sea. However, tragedy strikes when his wife (Jane Novak) sneaks aboard his ship and is captured following a German U-boat attack. Krug's single-minded quest for vengeance against the sadistic German submarine commander (played with villainous fervor by Wallace Beery) leads to the film's shocking and brutal climax.

This newly restored edition represents the most complete version of the film available since 1919, thanks to the collaboration of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the Library of Congress, and Gosfilmofond of Russia.

Sourced from the only two known remaining prints and referencing a copy of Willat's original continuity script, this edition recreates the original color tinting scheme and features a new score composed and performed by Stephen Horne. Flicker Alley is honored to present Behind the Door on Blu-ray (and DVD) for the first time ever.




wilder

Spring 2017 TBD

Juan Luis Buñuel's Leonor a.k.a. Mistress of the Devil (1975) from Scorpion Releasing



A female vampire rises from her crypt every night in search of children as her victims. Cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria). Score by Ennio Morricone

wilder

March 14, 2017

Carol Reed's Our Man in Havana (1959) from Twilight Time



In pre-revolutionary Cuba, James Wormold (Alec Guinness), a vacuum cleaner salesman, is recruited by Hawthorne (Noël Coward) of the British Secret Intelligence Service to be their Havana operative. Instead of recruiting his own agents, Wormold invents agents from men he knows only by sight and sketches "plans" for a rocket-launching pad based on vacuum parts to increase his value to the service and to procure more money for himself and his expensive daughter Milly.



wilder

Classicflix to Begin Releasing on Blu-ray
via blu-ray.com

Classicflix officially announced today that it will begin releasing on Blu-ray in the United States. The label's first two releases will be Irving Rapper's Another Man's Poison (1951) and Edwin L. Marin's Miss Annie Rooney (1941).

The label has confirmed that its upcoming releases will be sold at all major online retailers, including Amazon.

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March 28, 2017

Irving Rapper's Another Man's Poison (1951) from ClassicFlix



In her first role since starring as Margo Channing in the Academy Award-winning All About Eve (Best Picture, 1950), Bette Davis plays mystery writer Janet Frobisher, a cold and conniving woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants -- and what she wants at the moment is her secretary's fiancé Larry (Anthony Steel).

But Janet's plan hits a snag when her estranged husband shows up unannounced after attempting to rob a bank. Her husband's partner in crime, George (played by real-life husband Gary Merrill), further complicates matters for Janet when he pays her a visit later the same day. Getting rid of one of them proved easy. The other, not so much.

Filmed in England and co-produced by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Another Man's Poison presents the dynamic Bette Davis at her devious and beguiling best.


Another Man's Poison (1951) - Amazon



wilder

April 24, 2017

Walter Hill's Hard Times (1975) from Masters of Cinema (UK), from a 4K restoration



During the Great Depression, a down-on-his-luck loner, hops a freight train to New Orleans where, on the seedier side of town, he tries to make some quick money the only way he knows how-with his fists.

Hard Times (1975) - Amazon UK