Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

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

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wilder

April 11, 2017

Eddy Matalon's Cathy's Curse (1977) on blu-ray from Severin



After a terrible car accident twenty years ago killed his father and sister, a man returns to his family home with his wife and daughter. The daughter takes up residence in her deceased aunt's room and, after finding some of her possessions, becomes possessed by her spirit. Soon strange happenings and mysterious deaths begin to occur in the household as the possessed girl lashes out at those around her.

Cathy's Curse (1977) - Amazon



wilder

Summer 2017 TBD

Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase (1946) on blu-ray from Kino



A young mute woman who is working in a New England mansion as a domestic is terrorized by a maniac who is killing off people with disabilities. After being warned of the danger to her personal safety she makes plans to leave the dark old house, but it is too late. The maniac is in the house, and she is his prey. Cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca ( Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past, Cat People)



wilder

Thought this was a notable (though possibly temporary) problem with 4K UHD blu-ray at the moment, taken from blu-ray.com's review of the Goodfellas UHD blu-ray.

Short story - regular 1080p blu-rays from 4K masters of catalog titles shot and finished photochemically (everything prior to what...1998?) are currently visually superior to 4K UHD blu-rays of those same titles, until this calibration problem gets fixed:

QuoteThe UHD disc of Goodfellas is based on the same 4K scan of the original camera negative that was used to generate the 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray. This new version is something of a landmark for Warner Brothers, because Goodfellas is its first "deep catalog" release in what remains a fledgling format. All of Warner's previous 4K discs to date are 21st Century films completed on digital intermediates, but Goodfellas is entirely a product of the analog era, which constitutes the bulk of cinema history. This makes it an informative preview (along with such Sony titles as Ghostbusters  and Ghostbusters II) of how older titles originated on film and completed photochemically may fare in the brave new world of 4K and High Dynamic Range.

Before turning to the UHD of Goodfellas, let me take a short detour to discuss calibration. The gold standard of calibration has been set by the Imaging Science Foundation (or "ISF"), which was created in 1994 to establish standardization in electronic imaging. Calibrators trained and certified by the ISF are routinely retained to adjust and confirm the accuracy of the displays used in post houses and DI suites, and they are also hired by home theater installers and enthusiasts to provide the same services for consumer equipment. ISF calibration requires several key components. These include a colorimeter for measuring a display's light output, color values and wavelengths; and a signal generator to feed the display standardized test patterns that can be measured by the colorimeter. Top quality colorimeters are expensive devices that cost more than the average home theater, and their proper use depends on an intimate understanding of the underlying technology—which is why accurate calibration requires the hiring of a properly trained and equipped professional.

The challenge of 4K and HDR at the moment is that no signal generator currently on the market is capable of supplying the requisite test patterns. Most importantly for present purposes, these test signals would include an HDR-graded PLUGE pattern, which is an essential tool for setting black levels. In the absence of any standardization, calibration for 4K and HDR has remained a moving target, and this limitation affects the entire UHD chain, from creation to playback.

A small group of technicians has coordinated with industry representatives to develop a 4K/HDR test disc that can be used for ISF calibration. Although the disc is not yet widely available, I am fortunate enough to work with one of its creators, Kevin Miller, who is both a charter member of the ISF and its officially designated Technical Consultant. Recently, Mr. Miller used this disc to re-calibrate my system for HDR color and black levels. All of my UHD reviews written since that procedure bear the paragraph in italics below, specifying the calibration equipment and methodology.

Even before the latest calibration, it was obvious that the 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD of Goodfellas suffered from black-level issues. Since the procedure, I have rewatched the disc several times. In comparison to the Blu-ray, the UHD reveals a slight (a very slight) increase in visible detail and grain, but the improvement continues to be overshadowed (literally) by improper black levels that cast a haze of overbrightening across the entire frame. The effect is most pronounced in scenes set in darkened interiors such as clubs and bars—and there are many such scenes in Goodfellas. A good example is the bar scene (chapter 33) in which Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) narrates the planning for the Lufthansa heist, while the camera picks up each member of the crew being assembled by Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). The last to enter is "Stacks" Edwards (Samuel L. Jackson), and as he walks away from the camera into the back of the bar, the outline of his figure softens and the details fade. The same phenomenon can be observed after the heist, when Jimmy is celebrating at the same bar, but his jubilation turns to fury when he discovers that members of the crew have disobeyed his orders not to attract attention with luxury purchases. In scenes such as these, the UHD's image is routinely less distinct and detailed than the Blu-ray's, because the blacks are too bright. The UHD's colors appear to have been slightly intensified compare to the Blu-ray, with reds and blues the chief beneficiary, but here again the overbrightening tends to undercut any improvements by dampening color intensity.

Is the UHD unwatchable? Not at all. As with many video phenomena, the eye quickly adjusts to the presentation, and the elevated black levels become routine. But having watched Goodfellas repeatedly on both UHD and the 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, I find the Blu-ray to be a better viewing experience. (And yes, my setup is also ISF-calibrated for 1080p.)

Like other studios, Warner touts HDR as a major enhancement, but the UHD presentation of Goodfellas demonstrates that the HDR sticker prominently affixed to every 4K title does not necessarily guarantee a superior image. While the 4K image could no doubt be re-graded with accurate black levels, it is uncertain whether and how much the corrected image would offer any meaningful improvement over the Blu-ray. Regardless, Goodfellas stands as a demonstration of why HDR is not automatically a benefit. As UHD progresses, it may turn out that some—possibly many—older films should be left in SDR, without any attempt to "enhance" their blacks, contrast or colors.

[Viewed on a system calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectracCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]


Edit - just found a thread about movies that have been finished photochemically since 2004, and then this:

Quote

Link to that post

wilder

#648
May 16, 2017

Karel Reisz's Who'll Stop the Rain (1978) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



John Converse (Moriarty), a disillusioned war correspondent, approaches Ray Hicks (Nolte), a merchant marine sailor and acquaintance of Converse's from the US, for help in smuggling a large quantity of heroin from Vietnam to San Francisco, where he will exchange the drugs for payment with Converse's wife Marge (Weld), who has become addicted to Dilaudid.

When Hicks discovers he is being followed by thugs connected either to Converse or his suppliers, he goes on the run with Marge and the heroin, and is eventually pursued by the corrupt DEA agent (Zerbe), who initially set the deal in motion. As Marge is separated from her supply of prescription drugs, she experiences withdrawal, and Hicks decides to help her wean off her dilaudid addiction by using the heroin. Hicks also attempts to find another buyer for the heroin before his pursuers can catch up to him.




wilder

2017 TBD

Anthony Mann's T-Men (1947) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Dennis O'Brien is a treasury agent determined to bring a counterfeiting ring to justice. O'Brien and his partner Tony Genaro go undercover to gain the confidence of the ruthless Detroit mob responsible for the phony money.


Anthony Mann's Raw Deal (1948) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



In this film noir classic a revenge-seeking gangster (Dennis O'Keefe) is sent to prison after being framed for a crime he didn't commit. After seducing a beautiful young woman he uses her to help him carry out his plot for vengeance leading him to the crazy pyromaniac (Raymond Burr) who set him up. Cinematography by John Alton


Fritz Lang's You Only Live Once (1937) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Convicted felon Eddie Taylor ( Academy Award-winner Henry Fonda) decides to lead the straight life with his devoted girlfriend, Joan (Sylvia Sydney), who arranges for his early parole. Ignoring her relatives' advice, Joan decides to marry Eddie, who she believes is an essentially decent guy who had a few tough breaks in life. However, a bank robbery gone bad points accusing fingers at the innocent Eddie, who finds his life crumbling around him. Swearing his innocence, Eddie takes Joan on the lam in a cat-and-mouse chase with the law closing in just a few steps behind them!

This haunting and beautifully stylish gem from master director Fritz Lang (M, Metropolis) was the first of his remarkable film noir classics, including The Big Heat, Scarlet Street, The Woman In the Window and Clash By Night. Hard-hitting and unforgettable, this exciting tale of crime and revenge inspired numerous "criminal lovers on the run" films like Bonnie and Clyde and The Getaway and remains a searing, tragic and romantic exercise in suspense!

wilder

June 27, 2017

John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific (1968) on blu-ray from Kino



An adventure about two wartime enemies trapped alone on a desert island. Academy Award winner Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) and Toshiro Mifune (The Seven Samurai) deliver "striking and well-etched performances" in this searing psychological drama.

From the instant they meet, a marooned American soldier (Marvin) and his Japanese counterpart (Mifune) have the same objective: killing each other. But it soon becomes apparent that the only way they will survive is by forging an uneasy truce and cooperating with each other. Can they rise above the hatred that divides them long enough to stay alive?   


Hell in the Pacific (1968) - Amazon







March 28, 2017

Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack (1979) on blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing, from an HD master of the original camera negative, limited to 1,500 copies. To be sold exclusively through Screen Archives, Diabolik DVD, and Ronin Flix.



Jack Flowers (Ben Gazzara) is a street savvy American living in Singapore. And like all Americans, Jack has a dream... to open the best whorehouse in Singapore. Of course a whorehouse doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of moves and a lot of hustle. But as Jack always says "People make love for so many crazy reasons... why shouldn't money be one of them"? Cinematography by Robby Müller

wilder

#651
2017 TBD

Anthony Mann's He Walked by Night (1948) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) is a burglar who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops. After Morgan kills a police officer, Sergeants Brennan (Scott Brady) and Jones (James Cardwell) have little success in putting the clues of the case together. But when Jones is wounded in a shoot-out with Morgan, Brennan employs all facets of detective work, including forensics and informants, to find the elusive and clever criminal.



Budd Boetticher's The Killer is Loose (1956) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Humble bank teller Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) participates in a heist that doesn't go as planned. When police surround his apartment, there's a shoot-out, during which Detective Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) unwittingly kills Poole's wife. Poole is subsequently captured and jailed, but three years later he's back out on the street and hell-bent on revenge. Wanting the punishment to fit the crime, he vows that he won't kill Wagner -- just his wife (Rhonda Fleming).



Henry S. Kesler's Five Steps to Danger (1957) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Hitchhiking on a deserted New Mexico road after his car breaks down, John Emmett (Sterling Hayden) gets picked up by Ann Nicholson (Ruth Roman), who is in a rush to reach Santa Fe, N.M. The distraught Ann is being pursued by psychiatrist Frederick Simmons (Werner Klemperer), who has been treating her in Los Angeles since she had a nervous breakdown, but she tells John that she is in possession of nuclear secrets that she must deliver to Dr. Reinhart Kissel (Karl Lindt) at a Santa Fe university.



Gerd Oswald's Crime of Passion (1957) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



When newspaper columnist Kathy Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) meets cop Bill Doyle (Sterling Hayden), the two quickly hit it off and get married. Kathy gives up her career and heads to Los Angeles with Bill to settle down. The homemaker lifestyle doesn't suit Kathy, however, and she becomes bored with her life and resentful toward Bill because he doesn't share her drive for success. She then secretly decides to make major moves to further Bill's career -- even if it means murdering his rivals.



Maxwell Shane's Nightmare (1956) on blu-ray from ClassicFlix



Stan Grayson (Kevin McCarthy) dreams that he stabs an unknown man to death, but when he awakens, he is disturbed to find that he has bruises that he doesn't remember getting and a key in his room that doesn't belong to him. Confused, Stan explains his situation to his police officer brother-in-law, Rene (Edward G. Robinson), who initially believes that Stan is simply suffering from anxiety. As the evidence continues to mount, however, it seems to point to something more sinister.

wilder

April 25, 2017

Walerian Borowczyk's Blanche (1972) from Olive Films



Set in medieval France, an elderly noble baron (Michel Simon, L'Atalante) and his much younger bride, the beautiful Blanche (Ligia Branice, Goto, Isle of Love) welcome a visiting King (George Wilson, Les destinées) and his handsome page, Bartolomeo (Jacques Perrin, Cinema Paradiso) to their castle, and sets in motion accusations of disloyalty and marital infidelity, turning what should be a fairytale into a nightmare.



Walerian Borowczyk's Goto, Isle of Love (1969) from Olive Films



Goto, Isle of Love is a tale of infidelity, revenge, and repressed love, both chaste and illicit, starring Pierre Brasseur (Port of Shadows) as Goto III, an unstable and jealous dictator married to the beautiful Glossia (Ligia Branice, Blanche). Unbeknownst to Goto III, Glossia is carrying on an affair with one of his guards, the handsome Lieutenant Gono (Jean-Pierre Andreani, The Story of O). Also lusting after the dictator's wife is Grozo (Guy Saint-Jean, The Killing Game), a petty thief who, by winning the confidence of Goto III, plans to win Glossia for himself. Simmering passions will boil over on the isle, leading to a surprising denouement.



Walerian Borowczyk's Theatre of Mr. & Mrs. Kabal (1967) from Olive Films



A glimpse inside the weird and wonderful world of the theatrical Kabals. The henpecked Mr. Kabal, prone to ogling young females through his binoculars, is never quite beyond the reach of the statuesque and domineering Mrs. Kabal who flutters about (quite literally when butterflies appear inside of her stomach) in a connubial reign of terror. Although it may not always be le beau mariage, Mr. and Mrs. Kabal are nonetheless made for each other. The years-in-the-making feature length animated film from the controversial director of Goto, Isle of Love and Immoral Tales, featuring the voice talents of Pierre Collet (Greed in the Sun) and Louisette Rousseau (War of the Buttons), is akin to other Borowczyk animated works such as The Astronauts, Renaissance and The Games of Angels.


Walerian Borowczyk - Short Films Collection (1959-1984) from Olive Films



-The Concert (1962) aka Le Concert de M. et Mme. Kabal
-The Astronauts (1959) aka Les Astronautes
-Angels' Games (1964) aka Les Jeux des Anges
-Renaissance (1963)
-Joachim's Dictionary (1965) aka Le Dictionnaire de Joachim
-The Greatest Love of All Time (1978) aka L'Amour Monstre de tous les temps
-Diptyque (1967)
-Grandma's Encyclopedia (1963) aka L'encyclopedie de Grand-Maman
-Venus on the Half-Shell (1975) aka Escargot de Venus
-Gavotte (1967)
-The Phonograph (1969) aka Le Phonograph
-Rosalie (1966)
-Scherzo Infernal (1984)
-A Private Collection Uncensored aka Une Collection Particulière – Uncensored (1973)
-A Private Collection Short Version aka Une Collection Particulière – Short Version (1973)


Claude Chabrol's Ophelia (1962) from Olive Films



Claude Chabrol directs the inspired-by-Shakespeare cinematic gem Ophélia, starring Alida Valli. Ivan, a high-strung and intense young man of means, suspecting that his mother, Claudia, and Uncle Adrian are responsible for the death of his father, sets out to reveal their foul deed. Imagining himself a modern day Hamlet, Ivan goes about wooing Lucy, the beautiful daughter of his parents' groundskeeper, convincing her to become the de facto Ophelia of the piece. Concocting a clever ruse to unmask the accused, Ivan's fever dream of revenge takes an unexpected turn in Ophélia, Claude Chabrol's witty and darkly comic reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, Hamlet.



June 26, 2017

Ewald André Dupont's Moulin Rouge (1928) on blu-ray from Network (UK), from a new restoration



One of the most lavish British films of the silent era in both budget and scope, Moulin Rouge stars Jean Bradin, Eve Gray and Russian-German screen sensation Olga Tschechowa in the story of a young aristocrat driven to a suicide attempt after falling in love with a young dancer and her elegant, ravishingly beautiful mother. Set in and around the famous dance-halls of Paris, Moulin Rouge showcased British International Pictures' engagement of leading Continental film-makers during the late 1920s. The first British film directed by expressionist pioneer Ewald Andre Dupont, it also features Werner Brandes' stylish, distinctively European cinematography and art direction by Oscar winner Alfred Junge. Filmed at Elstree through the winter of 1927, the film was originally trade shown in March 1928 as a silent film with live musical accompaniment. It was re-released in 1929 with a recorded, synchronised score by John Reynders.

jenkins


wilder


wilder

2017 TBD

Floyd Mutrux's Aloha, Bobby And Rose (1975) from Scorpion Releasing. Mutrux also made the underrated Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)



Bobby has a new '68 Camaro and a dead-end job. Rose has a young son and a nowhere life. One night, they meet, fall in love and share a dream of leaving the seedy side of Hollywood for the easy life of Hawaii. But when an innocent prank goes tragically wrong, Bobby and Rose are on the run from the law and for their lives. As they take to the highway, they find that paradise is just out of reach...and that 'aloha' can also mean 'goodbye.'





wilder

2017 TBD

Vasili Mass' Spider (1991) on blu-ay from Mondo Macabro



A young model's life spins out of control after she visits the studio of an eccentric artist and poses for a painting of Virgin Mary.



wilder

March 20, 2017

Ildikó Enyedi's My 20th Century (1989) on blu-ray from Second Run (UK)



My 20th Century (1989) - Amazon UK

This magical film spins a tale of twin girls, Dóra and Lili, who are born in 1880 Budapest on the same moment Thomas Edison presents his electric lightbulb to the world. The sisters are soon orphaned and separated in childhood, and follow different paths: one grows up to a naïvely idealistic, bomb-toting anarchist, the other a pampered, hedonistic courtesan who paths cross once again on the Orient Express on New Year s Eve 1899...

Moving at a dizzy pace between Budapest, Hamburg, New York, Burma, Austria, Paris and Siberia, this is a film of dazzling beauty and acumen. It is a modernist fable, a fantasmagoria of scientific, political and sexual revolution and radicalism, the birth of cinema, and the joy of life.




wilder

Available Now

Josef von Sternberg's Blonde Venus (1932) on blu-ray from Elephant Films (France)



A nightclub singer (Marlene Dietrich) becomes a playboy's (Cary Grant) mistress to support her son and ailing husband (Herbert Marshall).

Blonde Venus (1932) - Amazon France













wilder

Summer 2017 TBD

Michael Anderson's Conduct Unbecoming (1975) on blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing, from a new HD master



Honor. Duty. Respect. The timeless moral and ethical code of our military - and the backbone of civilized Western society.

All are at risk for this British regiment stationed in colonial India at the end of the nineteenth century. The conduct unbecoming: a beautiful widow (Susannah York) is brutally attacked by one of the new officers. In a desperate bid to prevent a public scandal, the superior officers Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, Stacy Keach, and Christopher Plummer undertake a Court Martial. Can an idealistic young officer (Michael York) defend the accused attacker (James Faulkner), even if it means shattering the military's - and his own - code of honor? Based on a play by Barry England, the British Conduct Unbecoming revolves around a sexual violation--which may or may not have occurred.







June 12, 2017

Alexander Mackendrick's Mandy (1952) on blu-ray from StudioCanal (UK)



The film chronicles the life of a deaf girl, from the moment her parents realize that she has no hearing, through her struggle to express herself and learn how to lip-read. Her mother and father argue over the best way to deal with her condition, leading to a scandalous marriage breakdown.

Mandy (1952) - Amazon UK



May 30, 2017

Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961) from Kino



C.R. MacNamara (Cagney), a top-ranking executive stationed in West Berlin, is charged with the care of his boss' visiting daughter. But when he learns that she's gone and married a fierce young communist - and that his boss will be arriving in town in 24 hours - Mac must transform the unwilling beatnik into a suitable son-in-law or risk losing his chance for advancement! Before you can say "one, two, three," his plans have spun out of control and into an international incident that could infuriate the Russians, the Germans and, worst of all, his own suspicious wife!