Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

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

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wilder

June 18, 2018

Samuel Fuller at Columbia, 1937-1961 on limited edition blu-ray from Indicator (UK)




Contains:

-It Happened in Hollywood
-Adventure in Sahara
-Power of the Press
-Shockproof
(Sam Fuller's collaboration with Douglas Sirk)
-Scandal Sheet
-The Crimson Kimono
-Underworld U.S.A.


Samuel Fuller at Columbia - Amazon UK







December 11, 2018

William A. Wellman's You Never Know Women (1926) on blu-ray from Kino



A wealthy broker and a magician vie for a beautiful Russian vaudeville performer.



June 19, 2018

Lewis Milestone's The Garden of Eden (1928) on MOD blu-ray from Flicker Alley



The Garden of Eden is a thoroughly entertaining romantic comedy from 1928 and was an important film for both its beguiling star, Corrine Griffith, and talented director, Lewis Milestone. The film was scripted by Hans Kraley, a scenarist of four 1920s Ernst Lubitsch comedies and contains gorgeous production design by William Cameron Menzies. This upcoming release of the film is mastered from what is considered to be the best surviving elements with a new musical score arranged and performed by Robert Israel.

Stylish and sophisticated, the film follows vocalist Toni LeBrun (Corinne Griffith), who leaves her family's bakery for Budapest to become an "opera singer," unaware that she has contracted to perform as a chorus dancer at the Palais de Paris, a cabaret run by the decadent and delightfully menacing Madame Bauer (Maude George). Toni soon escapes to Monte Carlo with the cabaret's seamstress, Rosa (Louise Dresser), after warding off the wily cabaret patron, Baron Henri D'Avril (Lowell Sherman). At the deluxe Hotel Eden, Toni attracts the attention of potential suitor Richard Dupont (Charles Ray), but she's in danger of being exposed before he asks for her hand. Dueling attention from Richard's uncle, Colonel Dupont (Edward Martindel), and a surprise guest create further romantic adventures for the couple.


The Garden of Eden (1928) - Amazon



July 10, 2018

Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960) on blu-ray from Milestone, from a new 4K restoration



Having recently been uprooted to Milan, Rocco and his four brothers each look for a new way in life when a prostitute comes between Rocco and his brother Simone.

Rocco and His Brothers (1960) - Amazon




James Gray loved this movie so much he made it into The Yards.



July 10, 2018

Hirkazu Koreeda's Mabarosi (1995) on blu-ray from Milestone. The region-free, English-subtitled Japanese blu-ray available from YesAsia has a superior transfer (see DVDBeaver's comparison)





A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant. Yumiko remarries and moves from Osaka to a small fishing village, yet continues to search for meaning in a lonely world.

Mabarosi (1995) - Amazon

Maborosi (1995) - Japanese release - YesAsia






May 29, 2108

Norman Lear's Cold Turkey (1971) on blu-ray from Olive Films



Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amidst a media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge while the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.

Cold Turkey (1971) - Amazon



wilder

May 29, 2018

Harold French's The Paris Express aka The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Mild-mannered bookkeeper Kees Popinga lives a mundane life and dreams about the places he can go on the trains that travel through his hometown of Groningen, Holland. But when a French police detective shows up at his firm to inspect the books, Popinga's unremarkable existence is instantly altered, and he soon finds himself on the way to Paris with a suitcase of cash, on the run from the law and entranced by a strange and beautiful woman.

Based on the 1938 novel by Georges Simenon—the author who created fictional sleuth Jules Maigret, and whose books like The Man on the Eiffel Tower and The Brothers Rico were also adapted for the big screen—The Man Who Watched Trains Go By casts beloved Warner Bros. character actor Claude Rains (Mr. Skeffington) as the meek Popinga. The supporting cast includes Herbert Lom, Marta Toren and Anouk Aimee... with appearances by such solid British veterans as Felix Aylmer, Marius Goring, Lucie Mannheim and Ferdy Mayne.


The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952) - Amazon



wilder

Available Now

Peter Solan's The Boxer and Death (1963) on blu-ray from Bildstoerung (Germany)



The Boxer and Death (1963) - Amazon Germany

Concentration camp commander Kraft finds out that prisoner Kominek is a former professional boxer. Overnight, the prisoner is made Kraft's exercise partner and unwillingly rises to a privileged position at the camp. His anger over the death of his friend and co-prisoner leads to open revolt. The film brings a new view of human degradation during fascism by a tragic story of one man whose only chance for survival is to accept the rules of an unequal game.



wilder

August 28, 2018

Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1987) on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 2K remaster



Four hapless bank robbers bury their loot and attempt to hide out in a deserted desert town, but very soon find out that the town is not really deserted. Norwood (Sy Richardson), Simms (Joe Strummer) and Willy (Dick Rude) are three black-suited killers-for-hire. After missing their intended target and trying to escape the wrath of their employer (Jim Jarmusch), they head for the desert and rob a bank en-route. As their car dies in a ravine, the trio bury their money and head for a lonely town to hide out till the heat blows over. The insane cast includes Courtney Love, The Pogues, Grace Jones, Dennis Hopper, Elvis Costello, Kathy Burke and Xander Berkeley.






June 29, 2018

Albert Brooks' Modern Romance (1981) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



A successful film editor with far too many issues that affects the relationship between him and his remarkably patient girlfriend.

Modern Romance (1981) - Amazon UK






August 20, 2018

David Mamet's Oleanna (1994) on blu-ray Indicator (UK)



Flustered college student Carol (Debra Eisenstadt) visits John (William H. Macy), one of her professors, and asks how she can pass his class. The narcissistic instructor barely seems to notice her presence, and goes off on tangents relating to his own personal philosophies and problems while failing to answer the pupil. Later, a more assured Carol returns and accuses John of sexual harassment. The professor is baffled, but Carol remains steadfast in her claim, and their feud escalates nastily.

Oleanna (1994) - Amazon UK






August 20, 2018

Costa-Gavras' Missing (1982) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



In 1973, U.S. businessman Ed Horman (Jack Lemmon) arrives in Chile to look for his son, Charles (John Shea), a politically left-leaning journalist who disappeared during a military coup. Charles' wife, Beth (Sissy Spacek), has been looking for some time, but her requests for help from the U.S. consulate have thus far produced few results. As Ed and Beth try to figure out what really happened to Charles, Ed realizes that the American officials may know more than they're telling.

Missing (1982) - Amazon UK






August 7, 2018

Nicholas Meyers' The Day After (1983) on blu-ray from Kino, starring Jason Robards



The countdown has begun! Against the real-life backdrop of the US deployment of WMDs in Europe during the escalating cold war,this dramatically involving and agonizingly graphic film about nuclear holocaust detonated a direct hit into the heartland of America. Starring Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum and John Lithgow, this controversial, potent drama remains one of the most talked-about programs in television history. When cold-war tensions reach the ultimate boiling point, the inhabitants of a small town in Kansas learn — along with the rest of America — that they have less than 30 minutes before 300 Soviet warheads begin to appear overhead! Can anyone survive this ultimate nightmare...or the nuclear winter that is sure to follow?






Available Now

Abdellatif Kechiche's Black Venus (2010) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK



The story of Saartjes Baartman, a Black domestic who, in 1808, left Southern Africa, then ruled by Dutch settlers, for Europe, following her boss Hendrick Caesar , hoping to find fame and fortune there. Once in London her master turned manager does nothing but exhibit her as a freak in a phony and humiliating carnival show. After a series of troubles caused by their act, Caesar, Saartje and their new friend, bear-tamer Réaux, head for Paris where once again, and against her will, she has to mimic savagery and expose her body, first in carnivals, then in the aristocratic salons of Paris, later on among the libertines and finally in brothels where she ends up being a prostitute. In the meantime, French anatomists will have taken an interest in her unusual anatomy (enormous buttocks and labia) only to declare her the missing link from ape to man. In 1815, aged only 27, she dies alone, of a combination of pneumonia and venereal disease.

Black Venus (2010) - Amazon

Black Venus (2010) - Amazon UK






August 21, 2018

John Cassavetes' Gloria (1980) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.








August 14, 2018

Terry Gilliam's Tideland (2005) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK



Pre-teen Jeliza-Rose's parents are hopeless drug addicts. Left alone on a decrepit country estate, the girl survives as she mentally transfers into a bizzare, hallucinatory world, created by her own mind.

Tideland (2005) - Amazon

Tideland (2005) - Amazon UK






August 13, 2018

Percy Adlon's  Bagdad Cafe (1987) on blu-ray from StudioCanal UK, from a new 4K restoration



A lonely German woman ends up in the most desolate motel on Earth and decides to make it brighter.

Bagdad Cafe (1987) - Amazon UK



wilder

August 20, 2018

Jackie Chan's Police Story (1985) and Police Story 2 (1988) on limited edition blu-ray from Eureka (UK), from new 4K restorations



Police Story (1985) – Considered by Jackie Chan himself to be his best film in terms of pure action, Police Story stars Chan as "super cop" Chan Ka-Kui, who goes up against a notorious crime lord in a series of escalating set-pieces that resulted in many of Jackie's stunt team being hospitalised.

Police Story 2 (1988) – Demoted to traffic cop after the events of the first film, Chan Ka-Kui is reinstated to the detective unit when a deadly gang of explosive experts blow up a building and threaten to blow up more if their demands are not met. Featuring yet more bravura stunt work, and even more injuries to its cast and crew, Police Story 2 is to this day considered one of the best action films ever made.


Police Story 1 & 2 (1985-88) - Amazon UK






October 23, 2018

Terence Davies' Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) on blu-ray from Arrow, from a new 4K restoration



Loosely based on the director's own family and upbringing, Distant Voices, Still Lives presents an evocative account of working-class life in Liverpool, England during the 1940s and 50s. Births, marriages and deaths – and an expressive use of music – provide the underpinning for a film that is beautiful, heartbreaking, resonant but never sentimental.

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) - Amazon






September 10, 2018

Michael Lehmann's Heathers (1988) on blu-ray from Arrow (UK), from an Arrow-exclusive 4K restoration from the original camera negative



At Westburg High, you're either a Heather or a nobody. And while Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) might not be named Heather, she's a hands-down Heather in spirit, waging battles in the school's full-scale popularity war ... but it's all getting to be a bit too much. Enter mysterious newcomer Jason (Christian Slater), who offers her the perfect -- albeit deadly -- solution to end the Heathers's social tyranny.

Heathers (1988) - Amazon UK






July 27, 2018

Marijan Vajda's Bloodlust (1977) on limited edition blu-ray from Mondo Macabro. Non-limited edition coming in the fall of 2018.



A deaf and dumb accountant suffers from a psychic trauma in his childhood. He is collecting puppets and mutilates female bodies in the mortuary. After his secret love died by an accident he starts to kill.






October 22, 2018

James Justice & Umberto Lenzi's Nightmare Beach (1989) on blu-ray from 88 Films (UK)



Diablo is a biker gang leader executed for the murder of a young woman. A year after his death, it's time for Spring Break. Football players Skip and Ronnie head to the beach, where Skip meets Gail, the sister of the woman who was murdered a year ago. All the fun and glory of Spring Break, however, is about to turn into a living nightmare when a mysterious person in a biker outfit begins to kill people by electrocution. Could it be that Diablo has returned from the dead?

Nightmare Beach (1989) - Amazon UK






July 17, 2018

John Huston's The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



A no account outlaw establishes his own particular brand of law and order and builds a town on the edges of civilization in this farcical western. With the aid of an old law text and unpredictable notions Roy Bean distinguishes between lawbreakers and lawgivers by way of his pistols.

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) - Amazon






September 25, 2018

Felix E. Feist's The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley, from a new 4K restoration



A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.

In the hard-boiled film noir tradition, reminiscent of the work of James L. Cain, greed, unstoppable sexual attraction, and betrayal set off a doomed course in which a femme fatale leads a once upstanding citizen down a dark path. The first independent production of Phoenix Films, the company run by Jack M. Warner, son of Warner Bros. Studios mogul Jack L., and a highlight in the lengthy career of director Felix E. Feist (Deluge), The Man Who Cheated Himself does not cheat on thrills.


The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) - Amazon



November 13, 2018

James Bridges' Bright Lights, Big City (1988) on blu-ray from MVD Visual. Shot by Gordon Willis.



A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.

Bright Lights, Big City (1988) - Amazon



2018 TBD

Jean Cocteau's Les Parents Terribles aka The Storm Within (1948) on blu-ray from Cohen Media Group, from a new 2K restoration



In this heartbreaking drama based on Cocteau's highly successful stage play, a mother (Josette Day) smothers her grown son with boyish love. When the son (played by Cocteau regular Jean Marais) meets a girl and leaves the family circle, the mother flies into a rage. But when the boy tells his father, it sets off another drama - she is none other than the girl the father has been secretly seeing. Tragedy strikes in this time-honored tale of fledglings leaving the family nest.






2018 TBD

Kevin Rafferty's The Atomic Cafe on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 4K restoration



Armageddon has never been so darkly funny as in The Atomic Cafe. This 1982 cult classic juxtaposes Cold War history, propaganda, music and culture, seamlessly crafted from government-produced educational and training films, newsreels and advertisements. Taken together, these sources cheerily instruct the public on how to live in the Atomic Age, how to survive a nuclear attack (!) ... and how to fight and win a nuclear war. As a U.S. Army training film advises, "Viewed from a safe distance, the atomic bomb is one of the most beautiful sights ever seen by man.

On its 20-year anniversary, and not a moment too soon, THE ATOMIC CAFE is back to provide us with a much-needed release of comic energy. A dark comedy in the truest sense, this timeless classic took the nation by storm when it first debuted in 1982. Atomic Cafe is a brilliant compilation of archival film clips beginning with the first atomic bomb detonation in the New Mexico desert. The footage, much of it produced as government propaganda, follows the story of the bomb through the two atomic attacks on Japan that ended World War II to the bomb's central role in the cold war. Shown along with the famous "duck and cover" Civil Defense films are lesser-known clips, many of which possess a bizarre black humor when seen today, and it's easy to see why this film, which was produced in the early 1980s, became a cult classic.







September 18, 2018

Graham Baker's Impulse (1984) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K remaster



When Jennifer (Tilly) and her boyfriend Stuart (Matheson) return to her idyllic hometown, they discover that all boundaries of civility seem to have eroded. Mystified by the actions of normally kind townspeople who are suddenly driven to extremes of irrational-and violent-behavior, Jennifer and Stuart attempt to get to the bottom of the increasingly life-threatening chaos...before it destroys them!



wilder

September 17, 2018

Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad (1961) on blu-ray from StudioCanal (UK), from a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative



In a baroque spa hotel, an unnamed sophisticate (Giorgio Albertazzi) attempts to persuade a similarly unnamed married woman (Delphine Seyrig) that they have not only previously met, but that they were also romantically involved and had planned to elope together. The woman recalls no such encounter and so begins a sensual and philosophical examination of the uncertainty of truth.

Last Year in Marienbad (1961) - Amazon UK






October 30, 2018

Sergio Martino's Torso (1973) on blu-ray from Arrow US, from a 2K restoration of the original camera negative



A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) has lent his talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but it is undoubtedly his giallo thrillers from the early 70s for which he is best known. Among the most highly acclaimed of these, 1973's Torso revels in the genre's time-honored traditions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie.

A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting picturesque university town's female students. Alarmed at plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa – only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they've brought it with them!

Also known as Carnal Violence, Torso was released in Italy towards the end of the giallo boom before enjoying a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Co-starring Tina Aumont (Salon Kitty) and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), the film finds its director at the top of his game, delivering copious levels of violence, sleaze and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!




October 15/16, 2018

John Landis' Shlock (1972) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK, from a 4K restoration of the original camera negative



Carnage! Terror! Banana skins! The mighty prehistoric ape Schlocktropus has emerged from hiding to embark on a full-scale rampage across a quiet Southern Californian suburb. The police are baffled. The army is powerless. The body count is rising. But when Schlocktropus encounters a kindly blind woman (Eliza Garrett, National Lampoon's Animal House) who sees beyond his grotesque visage, the homicidal simian is presented with a chance at redemption...

Shot over twelve days on a micro-budget, Schlock launched the careers of both Landis and legendary effects makeup artist Rick Baker (Videodrome). An uproarious pastiche of monster movies, packed to the gills with irreverent humour and biting satire, Schlock serves as the outrageous missing link between the creature features of yesteryear and its creators' subsequent varied and celebrated careers. 



Trailer for the German release, from the same restoration:




October 15/16, 2018

Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys (1998) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK, from a 4K restoration of the original camera negative



Following the commercial and critical success of The Fisher King, Terry Gilliam next feature would turn to science fiction and a screenplay by Janet and David Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiven) inspired by Chris Marker's classic short film La Jetée.

In 1996, a deadly virus is unleashed by a group calling themselves the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, destroying much of the world's population and forcing survivors underground. In 2035, prisoner James Cole (Bruce Willis, Die Hard) is chosen to go back in time and help scientists in their search for a cure.


wilder

#816
February 12, 2019

Lewis Allen's technicolor noir Desert Fury (1947) on blu-ray from Kino



The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

Caps from an older DVD transfer:














September 18, 2018

Michael Powell's The Age of Consent (1969) on blu-ray from Mill Creek



Bradley Morahan, a successful Australian artist living in New York, decides to return to his home country to seek new inspiration for his work. On a small island off the east coast he meets Cora, a young woman who becomes his muse and rekindles his love of art.






September 25, 2018

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's The Wild Heart aka Gone to Earth (1950) on blu-ray from Kino



A beautiful, superstitious, animal-loving Gypsy is hotly desired by a fox-hunting squire...even after she marries a clergyman.

The Wild Heart (1950) - Amazon



October 9, 2018

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

October 22, 2018

Jacques Tourneur's Night of the Demon (1957) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshiper Julian Karswell.

Based on M R James' chilling short story 'Casting the Runes', this acknowledged and hugely influential classic of horror cinema is presented in a deluxe 2-Disc Blu-ray Limited Edition, with four alternative presentations of the film, a staggering array of new and archival extra features and an exclusive 80-page book containing new writing and archival re-prints.


Night of the Demon (1957) - Powerhouse Films






October 22, 2018

William Castle at Columbia, Volume One on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



The first of two Limited Edition Blu-ray box sets dedicated to one of American cinema's most iconic filmmakers. WILLIAM CASTLE AT COLUMBIA, VOLUME ONE features four fright films from the outrageous showman's illustrious career with Columbia Pictures – the shocking THE TINGLER (1959), starring the great Vincent Price, the intense 13 GHOSTS (1960), the controversial Psycho-inspired HOMICIDAL (1961), and the lurid MR SARDONICUS (1961). All four films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, and are complemented by a wealth of essential extra features and comprehensive booklets containing new essays and archival material.

William Castle at Columbia, Volume One - Powerhouse Films

wilder

#818
October 2, 2018

Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase (1945) on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 4K restoration. Includes a commentary by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith.



One of the all-time great Hollywood chillers! A murderer is targeting disabled young women in a New England town, and Helen (Dorothy McGuire, Gentleman's Agreement), a mute servant in a Gothic mansion, is terrified she's next. Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore, Deadline – U.S.A.), the invalid, bullying mistress of the house, warns Helen to leave at once, rather than rely on her weak son and stepson for protection. But even as Helen is packing her things, she suspects she may be too late and the murderer is closer than she ever imagined. This terrifying and suspenseful thriller was produced by David O. Selznick (Duel in the Sun), directed by Robert Siodmak (Cry of the City), shot by Nicholas Musuraca (Out of the Past) and written by Mel Dinelli (The Reckless Moment), based on a novel by Ethel Lina White (The Lady Vanishes).





October 2, 2018

Joe Sarno's Sin in the Suburbs (1964), Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974), and Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures (1964) on blu-ray from Film Movement, from new 2K restorations



Confessions of a Young American Housewife / Sin in the Suburbs - Amazon


Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974) - New York sophisticates Carole and Eddie spice up their sex life by swapping partners with their close friends, Anna and Pete. An unexpected visit from Carole's young, attractive and recently widowed mother Jennifer throws a temporary wrench into their plans, but the quartet are soon back in action after Pete tries and fails to seduce Jennifer in the kitchen. Intoxicated by life and lust, Jennifer begins a May-December romance. Stars Rebecca Brooke and Jennifer Wells.





Sin in the Suburbs (1964) - Audrey Campbell (Olga) stars as Geraldine Lewis, a lonely housewife and mother who distracts herself with racy friends and a secret affair. Discovered in the arms of another man, Geraldine immerses herself in a secret sex club, only to find a shocking secret revealed!




Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures (1964) - Never Before Released on any Home Video Format. In 1964's Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures, Joe Sarno tells the tale of three ambitious college girls who head to New York City, eager to make their mark on Broadway. Short on funds, the girls rent a room from a men's magazine model and are soon immersed in a lurid world of wild parties, risque men's clubs and sleazy casting couches. Lessons are learned and hearts are broken as each one decides just how far she will go for stardom. Featuring Bettie Page-style bondage and female wrestling, Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures is a sultry snapshot of Manhattan of the early 1960s. Stars Marla Ellis and Joe Santos.





November 13, 2018

George Marshall's The Blue Dahlia (1946) on blu-ray from Shout Factory



"A honey of a rough-'em-up romance" (The New York Times) and a film fan favorite, The Blue Dahlia stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, who generate sizzling screen chemistry in their final movie together. A WWII veteran (Ladd) is accused of killing his unfaithful wife and races against time to find the real murderer with the help of a sympathetic stranger (Lake). Written for the screen by acclaimed detective writer Raymond Chandler, this stylized film features moody black and white cinematography and earned a 1946 Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Original Screenplay.



October 16, 2018

Nunnally Johnson's Black Widow (1954) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



A married Broadway producer is taken with an innocent young woman who wants to be a writer and make it on Broadway. He decides to take her under his wing, but it's not long before the young lady is found dead in his apartment.




wilder

September 25, 2018

Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) on MOD blu-ray from Sony - but pressed, apparently (everyone thought this was coming from Criterion so what happened?)



An unattractive seventh grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish classmates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister, and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) - Amazon






Fall 2018 TBD

Lucio Fulci's Murder Rock (1984) on blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing



The owner of a prestigious New York ballet school teams up with a male model to solve a series of bizarre murders of a few of the students.






November 26/27, 2018

Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK, from a new 2K restoration from a 4K scan



In 2001, Robert Altman (MASH, The Long Goodbye) took the unexpected step into Agatha Christie territory with Gosford Park, a murder-mystery whodunit set in an English country house starring a host of British acting greats and with an Oscar-winning screenplay by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Set in 1932, the action unfolds during a weekend shooting party hosted by Sir William McArdle (Alan Bates), and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) at his estate, Gosford Park. Among the guests are friends, relatives, the actor and composer Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), and an American film producer (Bob Balaban). When Sir William is found murdered in the library, everyone – and their servants – becomes a suspect.




November 5, 2018

Alfonso Cauron's Children of Men (2006) on blu-ray from Arrow UK



In 2027, following eighteen years of global human infertility, the world is a bleak and hostile place. Former activist Theo (Clive Owen, Gosford Park, Shadow Dancer) drifts through the violence-riven streets of London without hope or purpose. However, when he reluctantly agrees to help former lover Julian (Julianne Moore, The Fugitive) smuggle a miraculously pregnant woman out of the country, he is unwittingly thrust into the role of all that stands between the human race and its extinction. As the country descends into anarchy and the authorities close in, Theo must race against time to secure safe passage for the humanity's only hope of salvation.



November 13/12, 2018

Allison Anders' Gas Food Lodging (1992) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK



Adapted from the novel Don't Look and It Won't Hurt by Richard Peck, Allison Anders (Grace of My Heart) whipped up a storm at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival with her masterfully crafted tale of a young woman trying to find love while struggling to bring up her two daughters.

Abandoned by her husband, Nora (Brooke Adams, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Stuff) waitresses to keep her head above water while raising two teenagers in a small New Mexico town trailer park. Beautiful and rebellious, Trudi (Ione Skye, Wayne's World, Zodiac) quits school to work alongside her mother, while her sister Shade (Fairuza Balk, The Craft, American History X) whittles away her time watching old movie matinees. Their life is turned on its head when Trudi finds that she has fallen pregnant after a string of promiscuous relationships and the girls' absent father returns with hopes of mending the relationships he broke when he left.

A wonderfully engaging story of the woes of teenagers reaching adulthood, Gas Food Lodging is a distinctly American portrayal of a mother trying to raise two wayward teens with growing pains, who are learning about love, life and each other.




wilder

Fall 2018 TBD

John Milius' Big Wednesday (1978) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



Big Wednesday celebrates surfing as much as the most dedicated kid who ever waxed a board. It's also a fascinating 1962-1974 chronicle of friendships and lifestyles in transition. John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Red Dawn) directs and coscripts with a passion for the ultimate ride and a truthful feel for those turbulent times.






Fall 2018 TBD

Michael Crichton's Looker (1981) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



Plastic surgeon Larry Roberts performs a series of minor alterations on a group of models who are seeking perfection. The operations are a resounding success. But when someone starts killing his beautiful patients, Dr. Roberts becomes suspicious and starts investigating. What he uncovers are the mysterious - and perhaps murderous - activities of a high-tech computer company called Digital Matrix.






Fall 2018 TBD

Franklin J. Schafnner's Papillon (1973) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



They called him Papillon, meaning butterfly. If only he had wings to go with the name. Unable to fly, Henri Charriere virtually willed himself free. He persisted until he did the impossible: escape Devil's Island. Based on Charriere's bestseller and shot in Spain and Jamaica, Franklin J. Schaffner's film of Papillon united two stars at key career junctures.






Fall 2018 TBD

Joseph Pivney's Female on the Beach (1955) on blu-ray from Kino, previously available on DVD in TCM's Women in Danger: 1950s Thrillers box set



Lynn Markham (Joan Crawford), a recent widow, moves into a beach house where the former owner fell to her death from the balcony. What seemed like an accident turns to suspicion of murder as Lynn finds herself drawn into a torrid affair with a handsome beachcomber (Jeff Chandler) who may be harboring a sinister secret.






Fall 2018 TBD

Joseph Pivney's Foxfire (1955) on blu-ray from Kino



In Arizona, during the 1950s, privileged white girl Amanda Lawrence marries half-Apache mining engineer Jonathan Dartland who dreams of finding gold in an old abandoned Apache mine.



October 8, 2018

Fred Dekker's Night of the Creeps (1986) on blu-ray from Eureka (UK)



When an alien experiment goes awry, it crashes to Earth in 1959 and infects a young college student. 27 years later, his cryogenically-frozen body is thawed out by fraternity pledges, and the campus is quickly overrun by alien creatures - whose victims come back as zombies! Fred Dekker's supremely enjoyable throwback chiller deftly combines classic horror and sci-fi elements with delicious humour and loving in-jokes.

Night of the Creeps (1986) - Amazon






2018 TBD

Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man (1998) on blu-ray from Kino



Step into the courtly world of Savannah's top-tier law firms. Meet one of the brightest young stars of the bar, Rick Magruder. And witness how his obsession with a beautiful, mysterious client, stalked by her deranged father, plunges him into a world of terrifying intrigue and deadly deceit. As a hurricane bears down on the city, Magruder finds himself locked in a battle without a judge or jury - only an executioner.



November 13, 2018

Carl Reiner's The Jerk (1978) on blu-ray from Shout Factory



Navin Johnson is the adopted son of a poor black sharecropper family, whose crazy inventions lead him from rags to riches and right back to rags. Along the way, he's smitten with a lady motorcycle racer, survives a series of screwball attacks by a deranged killer, becomes a millionaire by inventing the "Opti-grab" handle for eyeglasses - and shows why he's one of the hottest comic performers in the world.

The Jerk (1978) - Amazon

wilder

August 28, 2018

Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30 Film Collection on blu-ray from Universal



From the era of silent movies through present day, Universal Pictures has been regarded as the home of the monsters. The Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection showcases all the original films featuring the most iconic monsters in motion picture history including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Starring some of the most legendary actors including Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains and Elsa Lanchester in the roles that they made famous, these films set the standard for a new horror genre and showcase why these landmark movies that defined the horror genre are regarded as some of the most unforgettable ever to be filmed.

Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection includes a 48-page collectible book filled with behind-the-scenes stories and rare production photographs and is accompanied by an array of bonus features including behind-the-scenes documentaries, the 1931 Spanish version of Dracula, Featurettes on Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., and Jack Pierce, 13 expert feature commentaries, archival footage, production photographs, theatrical trailers and more. The perfect gift for any scary movie fan, the collection offers an opportunity to experience some of the most memorable horror films of our time.


Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30 Film Collection - Amazon


Includes

Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Werewolf of London (1935)
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
The Invisible Woman(1940)
The Mummy's Hand (1940)
The Wolf Man (1941)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
The Mummy's Ghost (1942)
The Mummy's Tomb (1942)
Invisible Agent(1942)
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
Son of Dracula (1943)
House of Frankenstein (1944)
The Mummy's Curse (1944)
The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)
House of Dracula (1945)
She-Wolf of London(1946)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, and includes a 3D version)
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Revenge of the Creature(1955 and includes a 3D version)
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)




November 27, 2018

Robert Aldrich's The Grissom Gang (1971) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K remaster from the original camera negative



Barbara Blandish, a young Kansas City heiress, gets kidnapped by some inept local hoodlums for the diamond necklace she is wearing, and then gets kidnapped a second time by the Grissom gang demanding a million dollar ransom. The Grissoms are led by Ma Grissom, a fury whose mustache and house dress clash, whose belief is that kidnapping plots go awry because the victim is allowed to live. Her bulletproof plan, however, does go haywire when her son Slim, a psychopathic, knife-wielder, falls in love with Barbara. Her billionaire father then hires Dave Fenner, a cynical private detective, to find her. A remake of the 1948 British film No Orchids for Miss Blandish. Starring starring Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Tony Musante, Robert Lansing, and Connie Stevens.






November 27, 2018

Robert Aldrich's The Killing of Sister George (1968) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K remaster from the original camera negative



June is an actress who portrays the popular Sister George in a British soap opera. The actress spends her time drinking and engaging in lesbian sex with her much younger lover Alice. A television executive decides she likes Alice and wants to write Sister George off the show. June watches as her behavior and insecurity drives Alice away. Starring Beryl Reid, Susannah York, Coral Browne, Ronald Fraser, and Patricia Medina.



November 12/13, 2018

De Niro & De Palma: The Early Films (The Wedding Party, Greetings, Hi, Mom) on limited edition blu-ray from Arrow US and Arrow UK, from 2K restorations



In 1963, Robert De Niro stepped in front of a movie camera for the first time. The resulting film, a low-budget black and white comedy called The Wedding Party, would take three years to complete, and another three years to be released, but it would also establish a hugely important working relationship for the aspiring actor. One of the filmmakers, long before he became synonymous with suspense thanks to Carrie, Dressed to Kill and other classics, was Brian De Palma. He and De Niro would team up again in the next few years for two more comedies, both with a countercultural bent.

Greetings, the first film to receive an X certificate in the United States, is a freewheeling satire focusing on a trio of twentysomething friends – a conspiracy theorist, a filmmaker, and a voyeur played by De Niro – as they try to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Hi, Mom!, originally named Son of Greetings, returns to De Niro's voyeur, now an aspiring maker of adult films, for another humorous glimpse at late-sixties society, this time turning its attentions to experimental theatre, cinéma vérité, the African American experience, and the white middle classes.

Brought together for the first time – and each newly restored by Arrow Films especially for this release – these three films offer a fascinating insight into the early careers of two American cinema's major talents.




November 13, 2018

William A. Wellman's Nothing Sacred (1937) on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 2K remaster



He's an unscrupulous newspaperman eager to exploit the story of a young woman's death by radium poisoning. She knows she's not really dying but can't pass up a free trip to New York with all the trimmings. Carole Lombard (Made for Each Other) and Fredric March (Inherit the Wind) co-star in this classic black comedy by the great William Wellman (Beau Geste). Legendary screenwriter Ben Hecht's sharply satirical screenplay, depicting the morbid nature of the scandal-hungry public, is more relevant than ever—with such wonderfully comic lines as "Doctor, I want to know the worst... we go to press in fifteen minutes!"






Fall 2018 TBD

Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Mystery of Picasso (1956) on blu-ray from Milestone, from a 4K restoration



Like a matador confronting a bull, the artist approaches his easel, his eyes blazing. As he wields his brush, we see through the canvas as the artwork unfolds, erupts, dances into being before our eyes. Pablo Picasso, the most influential artist of the twentieth century, is making a painting, and Henri-Georges Clouzot, the famous French director (The Wages of Fear and Diabolique), is making a movie. And what a movie! The Mystery of Picasso stands alone as the greatest film about art and the creator.

In 1955, Clouzot joined forces with his friend Picasso to make an entirely new kind of art film "a film that could capture the moment and the mystery of creativity." Together, they devised an innovative technique the filmmaker placed his camera behind a semi-transparent surface on which the artist drew with special inks that bled through.

Clouzot thus captured a perfect reverse image of Picasso's brushstrokes and the motion picture screen itself becomes the artist's canvas. Here, the master creates and sometimes obliterates, 20 works (most of them, in fact, destroyed after the shoot), ranging from playful black-and-white sketches to Cinemascope color murals "artworks which evolve in minutes through the magic of stop-motion animation. Unavailable for more than a decade, The Mystery of Picasso is exhilarating, mesmerizing, enchanting and unforgettable. It is simply one of the greatest documentaries on art ever made.







November 20, 2018

The Mamie Van Doren Film Noir Collection on blu-ray from Kino, from 2K restorations



The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)

Synopsis: A party girl is murdered, and everyone in a Utah motel is a suspect. Directed by Howard W. Koch (Big House, U.S.A.) and co-starring Anne Bancroft (The Graduate), Lex Barker (Tarzan's Peril) and Marie Windsor (The Killing). B&W 75M 1.75:1 NR.

Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)

Synopsis: In Las Vegas, a group of criminals plan to rob an armored truck hauling casino loot to the bank. Directed by Edward L. Cahn (Invisible Invaders) and co-starring Lee Van Cleef (Sabata), Gerald Mohr (The Angry Red Planet) and Paul Fix (El Dorado). B&W 70M 1.85:1 NR.

Vice Raid (1959)

Synopsis: A prostitution syndicate sends one of their callgirls (Van Doren) to New York City to frame a police officer. Once again directed by Cahn and co-starring Brad Dexter (99 River Street), Richard Coogan (Three Hours to Kill) and Barry Atwater (TV's The Outer Limits). B&W 71M 1.85:1 NR.




wilder

#822
November 13, 2018

Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie (1971) on blu-ray from Arbelos, from a new 4K restoration



A film shoot in Peru goes badly wrong when an actor is killed in a stunt, and the unit wrangler, Kansas, decides to give up film-making and stay on in the village, shacking up with local prostitute Maria. But his dreams of an unspoiled existence are interrupted when the local priest asks him to help stop the villagers killing each other by re-enacting scenes from the film for real because they don't understand movie fakery...








March 26, 2019

Douglas Sirk's The Tarnished Angels (1957) on blu-ray from Kino. Will contain an audio commentary by film historian Imogen Sara Smith.



Disillusioned World War I flying ace Roger Shumann (Robert Stack) spends his days during the Great Depression making appearances as a barnstorming pilot at rural airshows with his parachutist wife LaVerne (Dorothy Malone) and worshipful son Jack (Christopher Olsen) and mechanic Jiggs (Jack Carson) in tow.



December 11, 2018

Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz (1978) on limited edition blu-ray from Masters of Cinema (UK)



Perhaps the greatest rock documentary ever made, Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz captures what was advertised as legendary rock group The Band's final farewell concert appearance. Joined on stage by more than a dozen special guests, including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Joni Mitchell, The Last Waltz started as a concert, but it became a celebration.

The Last Waltz (1971) - Amazon UK

jenkins

wilder what have been your favorite region a released movies you've discovered in the past year or two please thanks

wilder

Answering this bums me out a bit, because I'm definitely not making as many new discoveries as I used to.


The first thing that came to mind was Richard Compton's Macon County Line (1974). The clip below is great.



In 1954 Georgia, a lawman wrongly assumes that two travellers and their friend are behind the murder of his wife.







Leslie Stevens' Private Property (1960) for sure, which Cinelicious put out.



A hoodlum (Corey Allen) plots to seduce a lonely housewife (Kate Manx) and turn her over to his virginal friend (Warren Oates).





I was blown away by the picture quality of Arrow's remastered release of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), which is a movie I used to watch over and over as a kid. The disc is also steeped in more extras than you ever knew you wanted. It's almost more than the movie deserves.



When teenagers Mike (Grant Cramer) and Debbie (Suzanne Snyder) see a comet crash outside their sleepy small town, they investigate and discover a pack of murderous aliens who look very much like circus clowns. They try to warn the local authorities, but everyone assumes their story is a prank. Meanwhile, the clowns set about harvesting and eating as many people as they can. It's not until they kidnap Debbie that Mike decides it's up to him to stop the clowns' bloody rampage.





The dream imagery in J. Lee Thompson's The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) was very up my alley, even if the script was a little thin. Was into the tone of the whole thing, though. Also learned that Fincher had a remake of this in the works for a while. Now that I think about it, can see a bit of a stylistic connection to the opening flashback sequences in The Game.



Professor Peter Proud (Michael Sarrazin) keeps having a nightmare in which he watches a mysterious woman in a rowboat commit murder. He tries his college's dream lab for help, but the real breakthrough comes when he recognizes locations from his dream in a documentary about Massachusetts.

I also can't get over how much the score in this trailer sounds like one of the tracks in Interstellar.






Robert Mulligan's Summer of '42 (1971). Again, for the tone.



Daydreaming teen Hermie and his offbeat pals Oscy and Benjie they spend their summer vacation in a sleepy resort town. After befriending 22-year-old Dorothy, Hermie becomes determined to romance the beauty when her husband is sent to fight in World War II. Quickly, the young man leaves childhood behind as he experiences love for the first time.





I think you'll enjoy Lech Kowalski's D.O.A. A Rite of Passage (1980) if you haven't seen it already.



Documentary chronicling the rise and fall of the punk movement with rare interview footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Also concert and news footage.





Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969)



Free-spirited sculptress Gudrun and her sister, schoolteacher Ursula, become acquainted with lifelong friends Gerald and Rupert in 1920s England. Gerald falls in love with Gudrun, and Rupert with Ursula, but their respective relationships are soon put to the test, particularly during an eventful and tense holiday in Switzerland. Adapted from the novel by D. H. Lawrence.





James Landis' Rat Fink (1965), which I didn't know existed before this disc came out. A real rescue. Shot by Vilmos Zsigmond (screenshots).








And I haven't seen this yet but have a hunch it will be interesting:

Star Time (1991), which was released a few months ago by Vinegar Syndrome.



Henry Pinkle (Michael St. Gerard) lives for television. This world of make-believe consumes his every waking moment. But when his favorite show is canceled, Henry is driven over the edge and decides to commit suicide. Then he meets Sam Bones, a mysterious agent who promises Henry happiness and stardom - if he follows his instructions, engulfing Henry in an increasingly downward spiral of brutality and murder...