Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

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

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jenkins


jenkins



November 13

it's actually the only Mary Pickford film i've seen. Mary Pickford is a huge fucking deal in movie land. the academy has a building named after her. this movie really has everything. no i mean it. The Docks of New York has more cinematic flare, but Little Annie Rooney is a lighter, more nimble depiction of city life, with what are still the most vital elements of a city movie: a diverse cast who leverage their strength and laughs against the weight of life. it's all right here.

wilder

Fall 2018 TBD

Robert Atlman's Brewster McCloud (1970) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



Brewster McCloud (Bud Cort) lives deep within the cavernous underground of the Houston Astrodome, but his dreams rise much higher. He aims to fly. Not in a plane. But with strapped-on wings he's designing – encouraged by a mysterious woman (Sally Kellerman) who may be his guardian angel.

But Brewster McCloud, Robert Altman's wild, anarchic cult fave, isn't about dreams as much as it is about the highs and lows of humanity. It's a serial-killer mystery. A frenetic car-chase flick. A crazy circus-finale comedy. Shelley Duvall debuts as the tour guide whose seduction of Brewster may lead to his undoing. Ah, love. The thing that at once shapes and unravels us. The thing that may or may not give us wings.







November 13, 2018

Howard Avedis' The Fifth Floor (1978) on blu-ray from Code Red, from a new 4K restoration



A young woman collapses on the disco dance floor of what's revealed to be strychnine poisoning. Assuming that this is an attempt at suicide, her boyfriend and doctor have her committed to the Fifth Floor, an asylum with obviously crazy inmates and a predatory orderly. The problem is, she's still sane!

The Fifth Floor (1978) - Amazon






December 3, 2018

Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg (1977) on blu-ray from Arrow US & Arrow UK

The licensing situation here is unclear. This is also going to be available in Criterion's Bergman box set, so will the standalone release be exclusive to Arrow? Criterion edition exclusive to the box set? Who knows!



Ingmar Bergman's THE SERPENT'S EGG follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World War I. When his brother commits suicide, Abel seeks refuge in the apartment of an old acquaintance Professor Veregus. Desperate to make ends meet in the war-ravaged city, Abel takes a job in Veregus' clinic, where he discovers the horrific truth behind the work of the strangely beneficent professor and unlocks the chilling mystery that drove his brother to kill himself...

The Serpent's Egg (1977) - Amazon

The Serpent's Egg (1977) - Amazon UK






December 10, 2018

Paul Mazursky's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) on blu-ray from Arrow UK



Bob and Carl are a sophisticated California couple who, after attending a free-thinking group retreat, decide to push the boundaries of their marriage by experimenting with outside affairs.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) - Amazon UK






November 19, 2018

Michael Powell's Age of Consent (1969) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



An elderly artist thinks he has become too stale and is past his prime. His friend (and agent) persuades him to go to an offshore island to try once more. On the island he re-discovers his muse in the form of a young girl.

Age of Consent (1969) - Amazon UK



Q1 2019 TBD

Lawrence Roman's Naked Alibi (1954) on blu-ray from Kino



Though drunken baker Al Willis (Gene Barry) insists he's innocent of all charges, police chief Joe Conroy (Sterling Hayden) is determined to throw the book at Willis for murdering a fellow cop. Though the evidence is thin, Conroy is so certain of the baker's guilt that he continues to pursue his suspect even after being fired from the police force. Enlisting the aid of Willis' abused girlfriend, Marianna (Gloria Grahame), Conroy trails his man to Mexico in a heated chase.

*Fun facts: In to a screening of the film in 2012, Eddie Muller mentions that its star Gloria Grahame (of In A Lonely Place fame) was carrying on an affair with Nicholas Ray's 13-year-old son while married to Nicholas Ray. She eventually divorced Nic Ray and married his son, instead.



November 20, 2018

Clouzot: Early Works (1931-1933) on blu-ray from Kino



Before directing his first feature, Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Diabolique) spent ten years learning the ropes. During this prolific period as a screenwriter he learned cinematic grammar and began to forge his style. To better know and understand Henri-Georges Clouzot, you have to discover these rare films, of which he was one of the principal architects. Kino Classics is proud to present CLOUZOT: THE EARLY WORKS, which collects six varied features he worked on from 1931-1933: frothy comedies, boxing dramas, musicals and melodramas. The set includes his directorial debut – the short film The Terror of Batignolles (1931), which anticipates his canonical thrillers to come.

Clouzot: Early Works (1931-1933) - Amazon

Contains

-The Terror Of Batignolles (La Terreur Des Batignolles) (1931) (15 Minutes) (Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
-My Cousin From Warsaw (Ma Cousine De Varsovie) (1931) (86 Minutes) (Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot) -
-Dragnet Night (Un Soir De Rafle) (1931) (103 Minutes) (Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
-The Unknown Singer (Le Chanteur Inconnu) (1931) (81 Minutes) (Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
-I'll Be Alone After Midnight (Je Serai Seule Après Minuit) (1931) (56 Minutes)(Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
-Tell Me Tonight (La Chanson D'une Nuit) (1932) (84 Minutes) (Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
-Dream Castle (Château De Rêve) (1933) (86 Minutes) (Writer: Henri-Georges Clouzot)



October 16, 2018

Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) on blu-ray from Olive Signature



Mistaken for insane, a man arrives in San Francisco to inform the world that strange aliens have arrived on earth to overtake human life.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - Amazon



November 20, 2018

"The Outer Limits"- Season Two (1964-1965) on blu-ray from Kino



Misused inventions, interplanetary communication, and warped time peculiarities permeate this 1960s science fiction anthology program.

The Outer Limits - Season Two - Amazon



October 3, 2019

Paul Schrader's Light Sleeper (1992) on blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment (Australia). Shot by Ed Lachman.



John LeTour (Willem Dafoe) is a good man in a bad business working for Ann (Susan Sarandon) on the wrong side of the law. When Ann decides to close up shop, LeTour has to go straight and come up with a future. But time is running out on him as he must dodge the cops, confront a killer and find his heart before he can leave his past behind.

Light Sleeper (1992) - DiabolikDVD






October - November 2018

John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), They Live (1988), The Fog (1980), and Prince of Darkness (1987) are being released on 4K blu-ray from StudioCanal UK

Details





Available Now

Sefan Uher's The Miraculous Virgin (1966) on blu-ray from Second Run (UK), from a 2K restoration



The Miraculous Virgin is one of Slovak's cinema's most admired and controversial works. Adapted by The Sun in a Net director Štefan Uher from the renowned 1944 novella by Dominik Tatarka, the film is an exquisite, surreal odyssey through the Slovak art scene of the 1960s. The mysterious Anabella (Knife in the Water's Jolanta Umecka) casts a spell over a group of young artists to become their muse, awakening desires and providing inspiration.

The Miraculous Virgin (1966) - Amazon UK



















wilder

Quote from: wilder on July 18, 2018, 07:20:49 PMOctober 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


Restoration trailer:


wilder

Available Now

Rashid Nugmanov's The Needle aka L'Aigulle (1988) on blu-ray from French label 1Kult. Includes English subtitles.



The Needle by Rashid Nugmanov, released on video for the first time in France, is the spearhead of the Kazakh New Wave, born in the end of the 1980s. It was also a tremendous success in theaters in the USSR, with more than 30 million spectators during the year of its release. Today, films such as Leto by Kirill Serebrennikov, highly acclaimed at the 2018 Cannes Films Festival, openly quote The Needle.

The star of the film, Viktor Tsoi, already an icon at the time, became a legend of the punk new wave scene after his untimely death shortly after the release of the film on screen. The film is still incredibly modern and makes us think both of Jean-Luc Godard and of Jim Jarmush. The Needle is a cult film in Russia and in Korea, but for decades has been largely ignored in the West.

The combo includes a DVD and, for the first time, a Blu-ray, for the ultimate edition of the film, restored by the director himself and subtitled in several languages (English, French, German, Korean). The combo also contains Igla Remix, made by Rashid Nugmanov in 2010; his first short film, Yahha, that depicts the underground rock scene of the late Soviet Union epoch; as well as a documentary on the Kazakh New Wave. The edition and the documentary are supervised by Eugenie Zvonkine, Soviet and post-Soviet cinema specialist.


The Needle (1988) - La Petite Boutique Du Chat Qui Fume


Trailer - Vimeo










December 3, 2018

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) on blu-ay from Arrow UK



Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she's set to inherit part of her great-aunt Morgana's estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals - amongst them, her sinister uncle Vinny, who unbeknownst to Elvira, is an evil warlock who secretly schemes to lay his hands on the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends...

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) - Amazon UK



wilder

October 30, 2018

The Blood Island Collection on limited edition blu-ray from Severin



They've been called "defiantly lurid" (1000MisspentHours.com), "delightfully depraved" (FlickAttack.com) and "blood-soaked & naked broad-filled" (MrSkin.com). Their cult of fans is worldwide. And for more than fifty years, these four monster shockers from Filipino directors Gerry de Leon and Eddie Romero have stunned drive-in, grindhouse and VHS audiences, became the foundation of infamous exploitation distributors Hemisphere Pictures and Independent-International, and remain among the most insane/esteemed classics in horror history. Severin Films is now proud to present The BLOOD ISLAND Trilogy and its celebrated prequel, all featuring uncut scans from recently discovered film elements and oozing with all-new Special Features!

The Blood Island Collection - Severin

Terror is a Man (1959) - Severin

Brides of Blood (1968) - Severin

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) - Severin






January 15, 2019

Brian De Palma's Obsession (1976) on blu-ray from Scream Factory



A rich businessman's wife and daughter are killed. Years later he meets a woman with an uncanny resemblance to his late wife.



wilder

#831
Available Now

Joseph Cates' Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965) on blu-ray from Network (UK), region-free



A busboy at a disco has sexual problems related to events in his childhood. He becomes obsessed with a disc jockey at the club, leading to obscene phone calls, voyeurism, trips to the porn shop and adult movie palace, and more! A police detective is similarly obsessed with sexual materials, leading him to become personally involved in the case.

Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965) - Amazon UK













December 3, 2018

John Schlesinger's Yanks (1979) on blu-ray from Eureka (UK)



Set in England at the end of WWII, the story concerns three American GIs and their affairs with British women of varying social status. The central romance concerns Sgt. Matt Dyson and Jean Moreton, who is the daughter of shopkeepers. He falls in love with her but she is still infatuated with her boyfriend Ken. Higher up on the class scale, the officer John has a brief extramarital affair with socialite Helen. The third pairing involves Sgt. Danny Ruffelo in a fling with Mollie. Eventually, the Americans and the Britains find themselves surrounded by racism at a New Year's Eve dance.

Yanks (1979) - Amazon UK






January 29, 2019

Penelope Spheeris' Suburbia (1983) on blu-ray from Shout Factory



Suburbia is director Penelope Spheeris's study of the Los Angeles punk rock scene in the early 1980s. Evan and his younger brother leave their broken home in an attempt to escape their alcoholic mother. They fall in with "The Rejected" (aka T.R.), a group of punks who live as squatters in an abandoned shack by the side of the highway. With the T.R.s, the boys find a new family. But their new family will be tested when they become the target of "Citizens Against Crime," a group of unhappy suburbanites.






January 15, 2019

Stuart Heisler's The Glass Key (1942) on blu-ray from Shout Select



This engrossing and intricate murder mystery, based on Dashiell Hammett's best-selling novel, stars Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Ed Beaumont (Ladd) is the loyal right-hand man of Paul Madvig (Donlevy), a corrupt politician who is accused of murder. Hunting down the real killer, Beaumont must endure a brutal beating from gangsters, the annoying hindrance of the police and the beguiling advances of his boss's fiancée, socialite Janet Henry (Lake).



December 10, 2018

William Castle at Columbia, Volume Two (1962-1964) on limited edition blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Renowned for his imaginative and eccentric marketing ploys, William Castle became synonymous with delivering lurid horror films backed-up by his trademark publicity gimmicks ('Illusion-O'; 'Percepto'; the 'Punishment Poll'; 'Fright Breaks', etc.). WILLIAM CASTLE AT COLUMBIA VOLUME TWO features four more weird and wonderful films from the outrageous showman's illustrious career with Columbia Pictures, all presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras this stunning Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set from Indicator is strictly limited to 6,000 units.

Includes

-Zotz (1962)
-13 Frightened Girls (1963)
-The Old Dark House (1963)
-Strait-Jacket (1964)



December 10, 2018

Jim O'Connolly's Berserk! (1967) on limited edition blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



After the huge success of Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?(1962), Hollywood legend Joan Crawford found herself taking the lead in a series of lurid and sensational horror pictures in her later years – and Berserk was one of the best and most successful.

Crawford stars as a ruthless circus owner who exploits a series of gruesome murders for her own ends... until the killer targets her. Directed by Jim O'Connolly (Valley of Gwangi, Tower of Evil) and co-starring Diana Dors (Yield to the Night, Deep End), Michael Gough (Horror Hospital, Batman) and Judy Geeson (10 Rillington Place, Inseminoid), Berserk is a deranged slice of Great British Grand(Dame) Guignol – a bloody exploitation classic!




March 11, 2019

Tony Williams' Ozploitation classic Next of Kin (1982) on blu-ray from Second Sight (UK), from a 4K restoration



A young woman (Jackie Kerin) and her boyfriend (John Jarratt) witness strangeness in an Australian old-folks home.



wilder

2019 TBD

William Friedkin's Cruising (1980) on blu-ray from Arrow



A psychopath is scouring New York City gay clubs and viciously slaying homosexuals. Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, Steve behaves distantly around his girlfriend, Nancy (Karen Allen), the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large.






2018 TBD

Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 2K restoration. Shot by Gordon Willis.



As his 30th birthday nears, the aristocratic Elger Winthrop Enders (Beau Bridges) finally decides to leave his parents' home, and he purchases an apartment complex in the slums of New York. The coldhearted Elger plans to boot out the current residents and refashion the crumbling dwelling into a luxurious bachelor pad. But after the spoiled young man befriends locals Francine (Diana Sands) and Margie (Pearl Bailey), he abandons his plans and instead focuses on charming his lovely neighbors.






October 26, 2018

Dimi Dadiras' The Wild Pussycat (1968) on limited edition blu-ray from Mondo Macabro / standard edition coming later in the year. Includes bonus feature The Deserter (1970).



The Wild Pussycat (1968)

The Wild Pussycat is an unsung classic of exploitation cinema. Produced in Greece in 1968, it was not officially released there until 1972 and then only in a cut and compromised version. The simple plot concerns a women whose sister was exploited and driven to suicide by a sleazy pimp. In order to get revenge on him the woman seduces the man, drugs him and imprisons him in a sound proofed room, tormenting him through a large one way mirror (he can see out, no-one can see in ) by performing sultry strip tease dances and having sex with men and women while he can only look on, helpless to stop it or join in. Her final vengeance on him is so shocking it raises eyebrows even today.

In spite of its lurid subject matter and explicit visuals, The Wild Pussycat was not a low budget quickie with a cast of unknowns and a first time film maker. It was directed by Dimi Dadiras, one of the most successful director/producers of the period, and it features one of the big stars of Greek cinema, Gisela Dali, known in her day as "the Greek Bardot". So far as we are aware, this film has never before been released on home video anywhere in the world.


The Deserter (1970)

This rarely seen Greek production from 1970 is a fascinating and powerful film about a young soldier who escapes from a seemingly endless war only to find himself trapped in an emotional and sexual battle between two desperate women. One of them, Ermina (played by Italian star Franca Parisi), is stuck in a loveless marriage with a boorish farmer who plans to make his fortune by selling cheap hootch to soldiers. The other - much younger - woman, seems to live in a bizarre and dangerous fantasy world. She is played by famous Greek singing star Alexandra Kyriakaki. The great Gisela Dali "the Greek Brigitte Bardot" also stars in this production, in a small but unforgettable role as a witch who casts a love spell on the soldier.

The film was edited by Italian genre specialist Bruno Mattei. He also claimed to have directed much of it and a few years later released a version of it in Italy, with himself credited as director, under the title of Armida, il Dramma di Una Sposa (Armida, a Wife's Story). As with The Wild Pussycat we can find no evidence of this film having been released anywhere on home video before.



The Wild Pussycat (1968) / The Deserter (1970) - Mondo Macabro


NSFW



The Wild Pussycat (1968) - Trailer - Vimeo

The Deserter (1970) - Trailer - Vimeo



November 6, 2018

Carlos Saura's The 7th Day (2004) on blu-ray from Olive Films



From master filmmaker Carlos Saura (Cría Cuervos) comes a story of love, betrayal and revenge. Set in the Spanish village of Extremadura, and based on a true account, The 7th Day (El 7º Día) is a tale of warring families and bloodshed that would stain the region. The festering hatred between the Jiménez and Fuentes households, born out of a broken marriage vow, will unleash a vengeful wrath that engulfs an entire village, leaving no one unscathed.



wilder

#833
April 16, 2019

Alex Cox's Highway Patrolman (1991) on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 4K restoration



An episodic look at a young man's life in Mexico's national highway patrol. We follow Pedro Rojas from cadet training and his rookie assignment in a northern border area, to his quick courtship, his taking of bribes ("la mordida"), and his slow exposure to drug smuggling. Rojas re-forms his idealism as youthful naivete gives way to an adult's complicated choices. From the creator of Repo Man and Sid & Nancy.






January 8, 2019

Nicos Mastarakis' Blind Date aka Deadly Seduction (1984) on blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing, from a 4K scan of the original camera negative



A blind adman (Joseph Bottoms) with a computerized eye implant sees enough to identify a surgical slasher.

Blind Date (1984) - Amazon






November 23, 2018

Robert Hartford-Davis' Beware, My Brethren (1972) on blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, from a 2K restoration



Kenny has been raised within the The Brethren, an Evangelical sect who preach purity, morality, and unwavering allegiance to the word of God. A security officer by day, he spends his nights stalking and strangling 'immoral' women thus, he believes, cleansing them of their ungodly transgressions. But when a new nurse is assigned to help care for his ailing mother, she soon becomes suspicious of the activities of the church, unwittingly bringing her closer to unleashing Kenny's unholy wrath against her.

Blending social commentary on the corrupting forces of Evangelical Christianity with a proto-slasher structure, Robert Hartford-Davis' (CORRUPTION) BEWARE MY BRETHREN (aka THE FIEND) is a sobering and suspenseful British thriller, which co-stars Patrick Magee (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) and Ann Todd (THE PARADINE CASE). Featuring an electrifying original gospel/folk soundtrack alongside mean-spirited kills, Vinegar Syndrome is proud to bring BEWARE MY BRETHREN to Blu-ray, in its fully uncut international version.







January 14, 2019

Otto Preminger's Laura (1944) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema (UK)



The only question about LAURA is whether it's simply one of the greatest film noir releases ever made, or if it's indeed the quintessential film noir. Decide for yourself. This 1944 murder mystery classic from director Otto Preminger (replacing a fired Rouben Mamoulian) has only grown in stature over the years, with its hypnotic mixture of doomed romantic obsession, dizzying intrigue, and fatalistic cynicism marking it as essential noir.

Police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is drawn into Manhattan high society as he investigates the death of stunning ad exec Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), apparently shotgunned in her own apartment. The slithery suspects are numerous, led by effete, snobbish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), and Laura's philandering fiancé Shelby (Vincent Price), who's also been cavorting with Laura's wealthy aunt (Judith Anderson). McPherson begins to fall in love with Laura through a portrait in her home and the memories relayed by those who knew her...just as it becomes apparent that even the basic facts of the case might not be what they seemed.


Laura (1944) - Amazon UK






January 21, 2019

Robert Aldrich's Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema (UK)



Originally conceived as an informal follow-up to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Robert Aldrich's Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte was yet another hit for the legendary director, receiving seven Academy Award nominations.

Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) has been closeted in her mansion since the grisly murder of her married lover many years earlier. When the county wants to tear down the house to build a highway, the spinster's relatives and friends appear to rally behind her, but each slowly preys on her mind until the gruesome rumours of the last 40 years appear to be coming true.


Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) - Amazon UK






November 27, 2018

Gus Trikonis' The Swinging Barmaids (1975) on blu-ray from Code Red



A cop begins tracking down a psychotic serial killer targeting sexy cocktail waitresses.



January 21, 2019

Pinter at the BBC on DVD from BFI (UK)



PINTER AT THE BBC is a new 4-DVD set featuring 10 BBC adaptations of the great British playwright's work, spanning the period 1965-1988. Many of these have not previously been available in any home entertainment format. Highlights include 1987's The Birthday Party starring Julie Walters and Joan Plowright.

• Old Times (Christopher Morahan, 1975)
• The Hothouse (Harold Pinter, 1982)
• Mountain Language (Harold Pinter, 1988)
• The Basement (Charles Jarrott, 1967)
• A Slight Ache (Christopher Morahan, 1967)
• A Night Out (Christopher Morahan, 1967)
• Monologue (Christopher Morahan, 1973)
• The Tea Party (Charles Jarrott, 1965)
• The Birthday Party (Kenneth Ives, 1987)



December 24, 2018

Wayne Kramer's The Cooler (2003) on limited edition blu-ray from 101 Films (UK)



Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is an unlucky guy. Everything he touches turns bad. However, his ill fortune is actually the one thing he depends upon to do his job to the best of his abilities; Bernie Lootz is the best 'cooler' in town.

Working in one of Las Vegas' few remaining golden-era casinos, Bernie is employed by the ruthless Shelly (Alec Baldwin in an Oscar® nominated role) to end the winning streak of anyone whose luck is on the up. But life in the bad luck lane has taken its toll and, after working for Shelly for years, Bernie has decided to move on. He then meets the hard-bitten Natalie (Maria Bello) and life takes a turn for the better. But as his fortunes change, so does his ability to 'cool' a winning streak, and soon an unhappy Shelly decides to make sure that Bernie never feels happiness again.




February 18/19, 2019

Joseph H. Lewis' My Name Is Julia Ross (1945) on blu-ray from Arrow UK and Arrow US



After a promising start on Poverty Row quickies, Joseph H. Lewis (The Big Combo) made his first film at Columbia and established himself as a director to watch with this Gothic-tinged Hitchcockian breakout hit, which later proved so popular that Columbia promoted it to A-feature status.

The morning after Julia Ross (Nina Foch, Executive Suite) takes a job in London as secretary to wealthy widow Mrs Williamson Hughes (Dame May Whitty, The Lady Vanishes), she wakes up in a windswept Cornish mansion, having been drugged. Mrs Hughes and her volatile son, Ralph (George Macready, Gilda), attempt to gaslight Julia into believing she is Ralph's wife, Marion. Her belongings have been destroyed, the windows barred and the locals believe that she is mad. Will Julia be able to escape before she falls prey to the Hughes' sinister charade? And what happened to the real Marion Hughes?

A briskly paced and brilliantly stylised mystery that grabs its audience from the start, My Name Is Julia Ross immediately cemented Lewis' place in the noir pantheon, and anticipated the elaborate identity-based deceptions found in future classic thrillers like Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Brian De Palma's Obsession.


My Name Is Julia Ross (1945) - Amazon UK



February 18/19, 2019

Joseph H. Lewis' So Dark the Night (1946) on blu-ray from Arrow UK and Arrow US



Like his contemporaries Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy) dabbled in many genres, but excelled in the film noir tradition. A Hitchcockian tale of mystery and intrigue, So Dark the Night was one of his finest pictures.

Inspector Cassin, a renowned Paris detective, departs to the country for a much-needed break. There he falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, Nanette, who is already betrothed to a local farmer. On the evening of their engagement party, Nanette and the farmer both disappear. Cassin takes up the case immediately to discover what happened to them and who is responsible. As with his celebrated noir masterpieces My Name Is Julia Ross and The Big Combo, Lewis elevates the twisty, pulpy material with some of the finest noir touches the genre has to offer, beautifully shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer (Bonnie and Clyde)


So Dark the Night (1946) - Amazon UK



January 21, 2019

Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie (1971) on limited edition blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



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...

The Last Movie (1971) - Powerhouse Films



January 21, 2019

Francis Ford Coppola's Gardens of Stone (1987) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Set in 1968, the film reunites Coppola with Godfather star James Caan, who plays a disillusioned army sergeant stationed at Fort Meyers' Arlington Cemetery and views the war in Vietnam as unwinnable, despairing at the dead arriving daily for burial from the front lines.

Gardens of Stone (1987 - Powerhouse Films



April 9, 2019

René Clément's Rider on the Rain (1970) on blu-ray from Kino



Melancolie Mau (Marlène Jobert) is a lonely woman on the French seaside who becomes the victim of a horrific rape, but then manages to turn the tables and shoot her attacker dead. She chooses not to tell anyone about the event and dumps the body, but this decision comes back to haunt her when a U.S. colonel (Charles Bronson) shows up and mysteriously knows everything about her ordeal. However, he seems to have his own agenda, and it may concern Melancolie's absent husband.



July 9, 2019

Claude Chabrol's The Champagne Murders (1967) on blu-ray from Kino



A champagne tycoon's (Furneaux) partner (Ronet) suspects his partner's gigolo husband (Perkins) of murders he's been framed for.



November 20, 2018

Raúl Ruiz's Time Regained (1999) on blu-ray from Kimstim



A lush, elegant epic taking us on a time-swirling trip down the infinitely complex labyrinth that is Marcel Proust's memory lane.

Time Regained (1999) - Amazon



July 9, 2019

Dead of Night (1945) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K restoration



Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) goes to Pilgrim's Farm to see a potential client. When he arrives at the house, he gets the feeling that he has been there before. Once inside, he meets a group of people who seem oddly familiar. He tells them that he has dreamt about each one of them and begins to list events that occurred in the dream. Walter's revelations begin a conversation amongst the group, and each person admits to having experienced a strange, unexplainable event.






November 6, 2019

Ray Milland's A Man Alone (1955) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K remaster



A gunfighter's main hope lies in the trust of a beautiful woman who hides him out when he is wrongly suspected of a stagecoach massacre.

A Man Alone (1955) - Amazon










wilder

February 12, 2019

Sidney Lumet's The Group (1966) on blu-ray from Kino



It's 1933, and eight young women are friends and members of the upper- class group at a private girl's school, about to graduate and start their own lives. The film documents the years between their graduation and the beginning of the World War in Europe, and shows, in a serialized style, their romances and marriages, their searches for careers or meaning in their lives, their highs and their lows.





January 8, 2019

Peter Hyams' Stay Tuned (1992) on blu-ray from Sony MOD



A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish TV and have to survive a gauntlet of twisted versions of TV shows they find themselves in.






February 5, 2019

George Englund's Zachariah (1971) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K remaster struck from the original camera negative



Firepower meets flower power in this "outrageous western" (Motion Picture Herald) about two thrill-seeking cowboys who rock the range! Starring John Rubinstein, Don Johnson and Dick Van Patten, and featuring legendary musicians Country Joe and the Fish and White Lightnin', this psychedelic trip through the Wild West is an utterly "unique film experience" (Variety)! 

Two cowboys (Rubinstein and Johnson) set out for adventure and join up with a band of rock 'n' roll outlaws. But as the two friends are seduced by their own quick-draw ambitions, a deadly rivalry grows between them, and they must struggle to find a path to peace - before they lose more than their reputations...and kill more than their friendship!




wilder

Q1 2019 TBD

Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos (1963) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K restoration



A burglar betraying other criminals, prepares for a big heist with a trusted friend that might be as untrustworthy as he.


2019 TBD

Fernando Ayala's Argentinian noir Los Tallos Amargos aka The Bitter Stems (1956) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley, restored by the Film Noir Foundation



A deep-seated inferiority complex leads a Buenos Aires newspaper reporter (Carlos Cores) into a seemingly innocent correspondence-school scheme with a clever Hungarian ex-pat (Vassili Lambrinos). But as the money flows in, so do suspicions—driving one man to commit the perfect crime.

This brilliant noir won Argentina's Silver Condor Award as the best film of 1956—yet it remains unknown in the rest of the world. Which is a crime, because Los Tallos Amargos is one of the best noir-drenched crime films of the 1950s—maybe ever. A Buenos Aires newspaper reporter (Carlos Cores) partners in a correspondence-school scam with a clever Hungarian (Vassili Lambrinos). But as suspicions rise about the Hungarian's true motives, one man is driven to commit the perfect crime—with stunning and tragic results. Featuring an inventive score by Astor Piazzolla, the greatest Argentine musician of the twentieth century.












2019 TBD

Alfred L. Werker's Repeat Performance (1947) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley. Eddie Muller calls this the "film noir version of It's A Wonderful Life".



On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.



Saw this at The Egyptian a few years ago. Like Dead of Night (posted about, above), it's another "Twilight Zone" precursor.





2019 TBD

Richard Fleischer's Trapped (1949) on blu-ray from Flicker Alley



U.S. Treasury Department agents go after a ring of counterfeiters.

wilder

#836
February 4/5, 2019

Luigi Bazzoni's The Fifth Cord (1971) on blu-ray from Arrow US and Arrow UK, from a 2K restoration from original film elements. Shot by Vittorio Storaro.

This movie has gorgeous Conformist-level lighting and compositions. One of the most visually-striking movies ever.



The success of Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ushered in a host of imitators, seeking to capitalise on this new, modern take on the giallo thriller. Many were highly derivative, but a number nonetheless rose above the crowd thanks to skilful execution and a willingness to experiment stylistically. Once such example is The Fifth Cord ¬– which, in the hands of director Luigi Bazzoni (The Possessed, Footprints on the Moon), turns a conventional premise into a visually stunning exploration of alienation and isolation.

When a man barely survives a brutal assault en route home from a New Year's party, washed-up, whisky-swilling journalist Andrea Bild (Franco Nero, Django) is assigned to report on the case. Before long, the maniac strikes again, this time with fatal results. As the body count rises, Andrea falls under suspicion himself, making it even more imperative that he crack the case. His only clue lies in a series of black gloves found at the location of every attack, each with a finger cut off...

Adapted from a novel by David McDonald Devine, The Fifth Cord boasts a complex, Agatha Christie-esque plot, outstanding cinematography courtesy of future Oscar-winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and supporting appearances by a raft of genre stalwarts, including Silvia Monti (A Lizard in a Woman's Skin), Edmund Purdom (Nightmare City) and Rossella Falk (Sleepless). Debuting here in high definition, arguably the most visually stunning giallo ever made now shines like never before.


The Fifth Cord (1971) - Amazon UK



February 4/5, 2019

Luigi Bazzoni's The Possessed (1965) on blu-ray from Arrow US and Arrow UK, from a 2K restoration from the original camera negative



The Possessed is a wonderfully atmospheric proto-giallo based on one of Italy's most notorious crimes, The Alleghe killings, and adapted from the book on that case by acclaimed literary figure Giovanni Comisso.

Peter Baldwin (The Ghost, The Weekend Murders) stars as Bernard, a depressed novelist who sets off in search of his old flame Tilde (Virna Lisi, La Reine Margot), a beautiful maid who works at a remote lakeside hotel. Bernard is warmly greeted by the hotel owner Enrico (Salvo Randone, Fellini's Satyricon) and his daughter Irma (Valentina Cortese, Thieves Highway, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire), but Tilde has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Bernard undertakes an investigation and is soon plunged into a disturbing drama of familial secrets, perversion, madness and murder...

Co-written by Giulio Questi (Death Laid an Egg, Arcana) and co-directed by Luigi Bazzoni (The Fifth Cord, Footprints on the Moon), The Possessed masterfully combines film noir, mystery and giallo tropes, whilst also drawing on the formal innovations of 1960s art cinema (particularly the films of Michelangelo Antonioni). A uniquely dreamlike take on true crime, The Possessed is presented here in a stunning new restoration.


The Possessed (1965) - Amazon UK



Q1 2019 TBD

Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper (1982) on blu-ray from Blue Underground, from a 4K restoration



A blade-wielding psychopath is on the loose, turning The Big Apple bright red with the blood of beautiful young women. As NYPD detectives follow the trail of butchery from the decks of the Staten Island Ferry to the sex shows of Times Square, each brutal murder becomes a sadistic taunt. In the city that never sleeps, he's the killer that can't be stopped!



Q1 2019 TBD

George Romero and Dario Argento's Two Evil Eyes (1990) on blu-ray from Blue Underground, from a 4K restoration



The masters of modern horror – George Romero and Dario Argento – bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

In Romero's The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar, a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau of The Fog) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's The Black Cat, a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel of Reservoir Dogs) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own? Also starring Adrienne Barbeau, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley, Jeff Howell, and E.G. Marshall.




Q1 2019 TBD

Alexander Mackendrick's The Man in the White Suit (1951) on blu-ray from Kino



An altruistic chemist invents a fabric that resists wear and stain as boon to humanity but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.



February 11, 2019

Fritz Lang's Human Desire (1954) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema (UK)



A startlingly dark, late film noir masterwork by director Fritz Lang, HUMAN DESIRE reunites Lang with his hero Glenn Ford and femme fatale Gloria Grahame from the previous year's THE BIG HEAT and the screenwriter of Lang's 1952 noir CLASH BY NIGHT, ALFRED HAYES. Like those two classics, HUMAN DESIRE finds Lang casting a pitiless eye on all of the human weaknesses that define film noir: deception, infidelity, passion, and murder. Adapted from the same Émile Zola novel previously filmed by Jean Renoir in LA BÊTE HUMAINE (1938), Lang's gripping thriller has Ford as train engineer Jeff, just home from the Korean War. He's instantly attracted to passenger Vicki (Grahame), not yet realizing that she's the abused wife of Jeff's alcoholic railroad yard superior Carl (Broderick Crawford) -- or that Vicki was just entangled in a jealousy-fuelled murder committed by Carl. As Jeff and Vicki embark on a steamy affair, she tells him about the crime, and Carl's blackmail hold on her. If only Carl could be taken out of the picture...

The only thing that's not pitch black in this noir are the ethical shades of grey inhabited by all its characters. Yet its placid small town setting also offers a unique perspective on the genre, with Lang uncovering sinister secrets on these quiet streets that could rival any big city immorality.


Human Desire (1954) - Amazon UK



Q1 2019 TBD

John Huston's Phobia (1980) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 2K remaster



A psychiatrist (Glaser) involved in a radical new therapy comes under suspicion when his patients are murdered, each according to their individual phobias



February 19, 2019

Oliver Stone's Talk Radio (1988) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



On-air radio personality Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) likes to push buttons -- and the envelope. The talk show host has gained popularity by being controversial, and now his show is going national. But as Barry enjoys his professional success, his personal life is unraveling. He is still battling with his ex-wife (Ellen Greene), and also receiving sizable amounts of hate mail. When Barry hits the airwaves for a lengthy session, he gets a deranged caller who just may prove to be his match.

Something Spanish

i just want to thank wilder for consistently updating this page. you are appreciated.

wilder

December 4, 2018

Hlynur Palmason's Vinterbrødre aka Winter Brothers (2017) on DVD from KimStim



A brother odyssey set in a worker environment during a cold winter. We follow two brothers, their routines, habits, rituals and a violent feud that erupts between them and another family.

Winter Brothers (2017) - Amazon





Available Now

Henry King's The Bravados (1958) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



When four men who Jim Douglas believes raped and killed his wife escape from their death sentences, Jim sets out to track the men down and enact his own vengeance. An honest man, Jim sees his actions as just and brave, but as he crisscrosses Mexico to exact an eye for an eye, he comes to realize that he has lost something of himself in his self-absorbed quest for revenge.











February 18, 2019

Jonathan Miller's Take a Girl Like You (1970) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Jonathan Miller's film of Kingsley Amis' comic novel (adapted for the screen by George Melly), casts Hayley Mills (Whistle Down the Wind, Twisted Nerve) as a naïve young girl who moves from the North of England to teach in a London school and finds herself fending off the advances of a number of lusty suitors, including Oliver Reed, John Bird and Noel Harrison. As much a document of its time as a satire on the sexual mores (and confusions) of the period, Miller's still remarkably fresh debut feature is buoyed by its terrific cast and a typically excellent Stanley Myers score






February 18, 2019

Alexander Singer's Psyche 59 (1964) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Patricia Neal (fresh from her 1963 award-winning role in Martin Ritt's Hud) stars as a woman suffering from hysterical blindness, and a blank in her memory which may hide the cause of her affliction. When she and her sex-addict husband (Curt Jurgens – The Enemy Below, The Spy Who Loved Me) move in with her younger sister (Samantha Eggar – The Collector, The Brood), she begins to piece together the events leading to her psychological trauma. Ahead of its time in its discussion and depiction of all manner of taboo subjects (rape, child abuse, nymphomania, psycho-sexual disorder, masochism), Psyche 59 is one of British cinema's most daring and provocative adult dramas.






February 18, 2019

Charles Crichton's The Third Secret (1964) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



The apparent suicide of an eminent psychologist prompts his teenage daughter (Pamela Franklin – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Legend of Hell House) and one of his patients (Stephen Boyd – Ben-Hur, Fantastic Voyage) to investigate. Convinced he was murdered, the two begin a journey into the lives and twisted psychoses of the doctor's disturbed patients.






February 18, 2019

Dick Clement's A Severed Head (1971) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Dick Clement followed the success of his first feature Otley with this wry adaptation of Iris Murdoch's celebrated 1961 satirical novel, a harbinger of the sexual liberation that was to blossom in the mid-60s. A Severed Head chronicles the sexual and amoral escapades of a group of middle-class, middle-aged London couples, portrayed by a wonderful cast which includes Ian Holm (Alien, The Lord of the Rings), Lee Remick (Days of Wine and Roses, The Omen), Claire Bloom (The Haunting, The King's Speech) and Richard Attenborough (10 Rillington Place, Young Winston). Absurdist and delightfully funny, A Severed Head is a dark satire staged with wit and intelligence.



February 12, 2019

Diane Kury's Peppermint Soda (1977) on blu-ray from Cohen Media Group, from a 2K remaster



In the vein of such classic coming of age films as Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows, Diane Kurys's Peppermint Soda captures a particular moment in the tumultuous life and development of young people. Anne (Eléonore Klarwein) and Frederique (Odile Michel) are sisters entering their teen years in 1963 France, torn between divorced parents and struggling with the confines of their strict school. Along the way, they undergo an awakening both political and romantic. Kurys's celebrated film revels in the comedy and tragedy of the seemingly mundane, weaving a complex tapestry of everyday existence that also touches on the universal.

Peppermint Soda (1971) - Amazon






April 15, 2019

Jack Clayton's Room at the Top (1959) on blu-ray from BFI (UK)



An ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.



September 16, 2019

Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth (1997) on blu-ray from BFI (UK)



A rough, short-tempered patriarch of a working class family has his life and the relationships around him slowly unravel.



March 19 , 2019

Cyril Franke's The Witches (1966) on blu-ray from Shout Factory



Haunted by the terrors of her experience with African witch doctors, school teacher Gwen Mayfield (Fontaine) accepts an appointment as headmistress at the Haddaby School run by Alan Bax (Alec McCowen, Frenzy) and his sister Stephanie (Kay Walsh, Stage Fright). Gwen initially revels in the peacefulness she has found in the quiet English countryside but soon begins to sense "undercurrents." Before long, a local boy falls into a coma and Gwen discovers a voodoo doll impaled by pins. The danger that follows brings her face to face with witchcraft as a series of disasters unfold and lead her to the horrible truth.



January 22, 2019

George P. Cosmatos' Cobra (1986) on blu-ray from Shout Factory, from a new remaster from the original elements



Lt. Cobretti (Sylvester Stallone) is a one-man assault team whose laser-mount submachine gun and pearl-handled Colt .45 spit pure crime-stopping venom! Director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Tombstone) teams up again with Stallone for this thriller pitting Cobretti against a merciless serial killer. The trail leads to not one murderer but also an army of psychos bent on slashing their way to a "New Order" – and killing a witness (Brigitte Nielsen) along the way. Fortunately, her protector is Cobra, a man who delivers vigilante justice like no other!

Cobra (1986) - Amazon

From the old blu-ray transfer:


jenkins

Rupert Pupkin is the King of Comedy name and the pen name of an la cinephile. he shared his favorite releases of 2018 and i've sampled from it