Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

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November 24, 2017

Slava Tsukerman’s Liquid Sky (1982) on limited edition blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, from a 4K restoration of the original camera negative



Invisible aliens in a tiny flying saucer come to Earth looking for heroin. They land on top of a New York apartment inhabited by a drug dealer and her female, androgynous, bisexual nymphomaniac lover, a fashion model. The aliens soon find the human pheromones created in the brain during orgasm preferable to heroin, and the model's casual sex partners begin to disappear. This increasingly bizarre scenario is observed by a lonely woman in the building across the street, a German scientist who is following the aliens, and an equally androgynous, drug-addicted male model. (Both models are played by Anne Carlisle, in a dual role.)

Available to pre-order for 24 hours on September 28th, starting at noon

December 12/11, 2017

Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960) from Arrow US & Arrow UK, from a new 4K restoration



Bud Baxter is a struggling clerk in a huge New York insurance company. He's discovered a quick way to climb the corporate ladder - by lending out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. He often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits and one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

The Apartment (1960) - Amazon

The Apartment (1960) - Amazon UK

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October 30, 2017

Otakar Vávra's Witchhammer (1970) on blu-ray from Second Run (UK)



Otakar Vávra's Witchhammer, co-written by Ester Krumbachová (Daisies, Fruit of Paradise) from Václav Kaplický s 1963 novel, chronicles the series of notorious 17th Century Czech witch trials, undertaken using the infamous Malleus Maleficarum (the Witchhammer of the title), the Catholic treatise on witchcraft which endorses the extermination of witches and developed a detailed legal and theological theory for this purpose. Using genuine court transcripts from the forced confessions of those accused of sorcery and collusion with the Devil, it is a powerful and often shocking allegory of life under totalitarian rule.

With echoes of Bergman and Franti ek Vlá il, and with literary antecedents in Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudon, it is a disturbing political fable; and like Ken Russell's controversial, expressionistic adaptation of Huxley s text, The Devils (1971) and other films of the period such as Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968) and Michael Armstrong's Mark of the Devil (1970), it serves as both grim genre film and compelling historical drama.

Witchhammer (1970) - Amazon UK

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December 5, 2017

Jack Clayton’s The Pumpkin Eater (1964) on limited edition blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



Anne Bancroft delivers a towering performance as a deeply troubled and tormented wife in this sharply observed portrait of a woman – and a marriage – in crisis. Directed by Jack Clayton (Room at the Top, The Innocents), with a screenplay by Harold Pinter (The Birthday Party) based on the acclaimed novel by Penelope Mortimer, this spellbinding film boasts sublime cinematography by the great Oswald Morris (Look Back in Anger, Fragment of Fear), a wonderful score by Georges Delerue (Le Mépris) and outstanding supporting performances from James Mason (The Deadly Affair), Maggie Smith (California Suite) and Yootha Joyce (Fanatic, Fragment of Fear)

The Pumpkin Eater (1964) - Amazon UK

February 23, 2018

Joe Sarno’s Deep Throat Part II / Pandora and the Magic Box / A Touch of Genie (1965-1974) on blu-ray from Film Media, restored in 2K from original 35mm film elements (Volume 3 in the Joseph W. Sarno Retrospect series)

Film Media has also confirmed that restoration is under way on the films that will make up Volumes 4-11 of the series:

Sarno 04 - Sin in the Suburbs / Confessions of a Young American Housewife

Sarno 05 - Moonlighting Wives / Naked Fog

Sarno 06 - Abigail Lesley is Back in Town / Laura's Toys

Sarno 07 - Daddy Darling / The Indelicate Balance

Sarno 08- Inga / Seduction of Inga

Sarno 09 - Odd Triangle / Desire Under the Palms

Sarno 10 - Swedish Wildcats / Siv and Anne and Sven

Sarno 11 - Butterflies / Bib

December 12, 2017

Stanley Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) on blu-ray from Kino. Previously available from Twilight Time.



In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood (Spencer Tracy) hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), but also from the widow of a Nazi general (Marlene Dietrich), an idealistic U.S. Army captain (William Shatner) and reluctant witness Irene Wallner (Judy Garland).



December 12, 2017

Stanley Kramer’s Inherit the Wind (1960) on blu-ray from Kino. Previously available from Twilight Time.



In the 1920s, Tennessee schoolteacher Bertram Cates (Dick York) is put on trial for violating the Butler Act, a state law that prohibits public school teachers from teaching evolution instead of creationism. Drawing intense national attention in the media with writer E. K. Hornbeck (Gene Kelly) reporting, two of the nation's leading lawyers go head to head: Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March) for the prosecution, and Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) for the defense.

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January 23, 2018

Woody Allen’s Husbands & Wives (1992) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



Gabe (Woody Allen) and his wife, Judy (Mia Farrow), are shocked to discover that their best friends, Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack), are splitting up. Not only did they not see the breakup coming, but it makes them start to question their own relationship. While Gabe flirts with the idea of dating one of his college students (Juliette Lewis), Sally and Jack discover that being single again isn't all its cracked up to be and contemplate getting back together.

January 23, 2018

Paul Mazursky’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



After returning to Los Angeles from a group therapy session, documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders (Robert Culp) and his wife, Carol (Natalie Wood), find themselves becoming vigilante couples counselors, offering unsolicited advice to their best friends, Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice Henderson (Dyan Cannon). Not wanting to be rude, the Hendersons play along, but some latent sexual tension among the four soon comes bubbling to the surface, and long-buried desires don't stay buried for long.

January 23, 2018

Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Dragonwyck (1946) on blu-ray from Twilight Time



For Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney), moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas (Vincent Price), seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter (Connie Marshall), to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.



November 27, 2017

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) on blu-ray from Second Sight (UK) in the original 25fps broadcast format. Also includes the new feature-length documentary Fassbinder: To Love Without Demands (2015)



In late-1920s Berlin, Franz Biberkopf is released from prison and vows to go straight; however he soon finds himself embroiled in the city's criminal underworld.

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) - Amazon UK

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January 12, 2018

Robert Sigl's Laurin (1989) on blu-ray from Bildstoerung (Germany), restored in 2K from the original 35mm negative



Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. In a small coastal village a boy kills. In agonizing visions, little Laurin (Dora Szinetar) sees the criminal and his gruesome deeds. But how can she put him? Her mother is dead and the father at sea...

Laurin (1989) - Amazon Germany

[wilder]

November 7, 2017

Robert Mulligan’s Summer of ’42 (1971) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



The sensual, heartwarming and sentimental story of three 15-year-old boys who spend a pleasant but sometimes painful summer vacation in New England. While his friends fumble with girls their own age, one boy finds first love in the arms of Jennifer O'Neill ("Bare Essence"), a young war bride.

As well as being a commercial success, Summer of '42 also received rave critical reviews. It went on to be nominated for over a dozen awards, including Golden Globe Awards for "Best Motion Picture – Drama" and "Best Director", and five Academy Award nominations for Best Original Music Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing-Story and Best Screenplay. It counted among its fans Stanley Kubrick, who had the film play on a television in a scene in The Shining.

Summer of '42 (1971) - Amazon

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January 2018 TBD

Martin Scorsese's Kundun (1997) on blu-ray from Kino



The incredible true story of one of the world's most fascinating leaders - Tibet's Dalai Lama - and his daring struggle to rule a nation at one of the most challenging times in its history.

December 12, 2017

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



An escaped convict (Dennis O'Keefe) flees with his moll (Claire Trevor) and a social worker (Marsha Hunt) he loves.

Raw Deal (1948) - Amazon

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January 9, 2018 TBD

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's Gone to Earth aka The Wild Heart (1950) on blu-ray from Kino. Anna Biller has mentioned liking this movie.



Hazel Woodus (Jennifer Jones) is a child of nature in the Shropshire countryside in 1897. She loves and understands all the wild animals more than the people around her. Whenever she has problems, she turns to the book of spells and charms left to her by her gypsy mother.

Local squire Jack Reddin (David Farrar) sees Hazel and wants her, but she has already promised herself to the Baptist minister, Edward Marston (Cyril Cusack). A struggle for her body and soul ensues.   

Full movie on youtube here

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2017 TBD

Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977) on blu-ray from Synapse, from a new 4K restoration





Currently up for pre-order at Synapse Films

[wilder]

Q1 2018 TBD

Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence (1968) on blu-ray from Film Movement, from a new 2K restoration



On an unforgiving, snow-swept frontier, a group of bloodthirsty bounty hunters, led by the vicious Loco (Klaus Kinski, Nosferatu) prey on a band of persecuted outlaws who have taken to the hills. As the price on each head is collected one-by-one, only a mute gunslinger named Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant, The Conformist) stands between the innocent refugees and the greed and corruption that the bounty hunters represent. But, in this harsh, brutal world, the lines between right and wrong aren't always clear and good doesn't always triumph.

Featuring superb photography and a haunting score from maestro Ennio Morricone, director Sergio Corbucci's (Django, Companeros) bleak, brilliant and violent vision of an immoral, honorless west is widely considered to be among the very best and most influential Euro-Westerns ever made.   

December 12, 2017

David Greene's Hard Country (1981) on blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing



Kyle Richardson has a boring job in a chain-link fence factory, and cuts loose on the weekends with his friends at the local bar. Eventually, his girlfriend Jodie gets tired of Kyle's carousing and give him an ultimatum, either they get married or she leaves to pursue her dream of becoming a country western singer.

Hard Country (1981) - Diabolik DVD

October 31, 2017

José Ramón Larraz's Estigma (1980) / Emma Puertas Oscuras (1974) on blu-ray from Dorado Films



Estgima is about the possession of a young boy, Sabastian, who acquires the power to make his thoughts come true. A mind dictated by evil, a reincarnation of a past life destined to repeat itself all over again. Life after life?

Emma Puertas Oscuras - After a tragic accident which has mind altering consequences, Emma now becomes psychotic, endangering everyone close to her and anyone she meets.

January 9, 2018 TBD

Gregory Ratoff's Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939) on blu-ray from Kino



Renowned violinist Holger Brandt is delighted to be back with his family after a long tour. But when he meets his daughter's piano teacher, Anite, and hears her play, he is captivated. Despite the devastating toll on his family, Holger and Anita begin a musical partnership that quickly becomes a passionate romance. But are they meant to live in harmony forever...or is this merely an intermezzo?

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November 7, 2017

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.

Visually stunning, cinematographer John Alton's brilliant use of light and shadows shine in this groundbreaking police procedural that paved the way for the TV series Dragnet -- which itself spawned an entire sub-genre of television crime-dramas that are still popular to this day.

He Walked By Night (1948) - Amazon

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First post updated with some useful blu-ray guides

[wilder]

December 5, 2017

Jean Delannoy’s Maigret Sets a Trap (1958) on blu-ray from Kino



Inspector Maigret tries to trap a killer and discovers why a happily married, wealthy, and talented man should want to bump off women at night. Jean Gabin is perfect as Georges Simenon's secure and steady sleuth, and old-hand Jean Delannoy expertly keeps up the pace and suspense in this enjoyable whodunnit. Based on the novel by Georges Simenon.

Maigret Sets a Trap (1958) - Amazon

December 5, 2017

Jean Delannoy’s Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)



Inspector Maigret is summoned by the Countess to the Château de Saint-Fiacre, where she shows him a letter she has received predicting the day on which she will die. Based on the novel by Georges Simenon.

Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959) - Amazon

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January 9, 2018

The Witches aka La Streghe (1967) on blu-ray from Arrow US, from a 2K restoration of the original film elements



In the mid-sixties, famed producer Dino De Laurentiis brought together the talents of five celebrated Italian directors for an anthology film. Their brief was simple: to direct an episode in which Silvana Mangano (Bitter Rice, Ludwig) plays a witch. Luchino Visconti (Ossessione, Death in Venice) and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini (Bicycle Thieves) open the film with The Witch Burned Alive, about a famous actress and a drunken evening that leads to unpleasant revelations. Civic Sense is a lightly comic interlude from Mauro Bolognini (The Lady of the Camelias) with a dark conclusion, and The Earth as Seen from the Moon sees Italian comedy legend Totò team up with Pier Paolo Pasolini (Theorem) for the first time for a tale of matrimony and a red-headed father and son. Franco Rosso (The Woman in the Painting) concocts a story of revenge in The Sicilian's Wife, while Vittorio De Sica (Shoeshine) casts Clint Eastwood as Mangano's estranged husband in An Evening Like the Others, concluding The Witches with a stunning homage to Italian comic books.

The Witches (1967) - Amazon

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February 27, 2018 TBD

Howard Hughes’ The Outlaw (1943) on blu-ray from Kino, from a new 2K restoration



The life of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, including his partnership with Doc Holliday and his clashes with lawman Pat Garrett. The film was notorious in its day because of producer/director Howard Hughes' concentration on newcomer Jane Russell's cleavage, and national release in America was delayed by some years.

The Outlaw (1943) - Amazon

February 13, 2018

Curtis Harrington’s Games (1967) on blu-ray from Scream Factory



A wealthy socialite couple find themselves in over their heads in the psychological thriller GAMES. After inviting a mysterious woman into their home, the couple discovers her psychic abilities and asks her to arrange some "mind games" for their amusement. The fun soon turns dangerous when one of the games goes horribly wrong in this edge-of-your-seat mystery that will leave you guessing until the very end.

February 20, 2018

William Castle’s The Night Walker (1964) on blu-ray from Scream Factory



Another frightening film from the mind of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor, reteaming for their first film following their divorce, star in this intense thriller about a wealthy widow who is haunted by her husband and seduced by a handsome stranger – all in her dreams.

Following the death of her millionaire husband, Howard (Hayden Rorke), Irene Trent (Stanwyck) endures dreams so real and terrifying, that she finds herself trapped in an eerie world existing between fact and fantasy. Isolated from the world by her husband's possessive nature, Irene feels there is no one she can turn to except for his personal attorney (Taylor), the only visitor Howard ever allowed to the house. But even as her dreams begin to take vivid shape, Irene begins to walk into a very real nightmare of deception, murder and betrayal.

January 22, 2018

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Mystery of Picasso (1956) on blu-ray from Arrow UK



Henri-Georges Clouzot, best known for his classic French thriller Les Diaboliques, took on a different mystery in 1956: the creative process and the essence of an artist, namely Pablo Picasso.

Utilising transparent canvases so the camera of Claude Renoir could directly capture an artwork's creation, Picasso created 20 artworks for the film. At first, these are simple sketches in marker, but each grows in complexity until the final reel, when The Mystery of Picasso switches to a CinemaScope ratio and bursts into color.

One of the greatest documentary portraits of an artist of work, this release is accompanied by two other films of Picasso: Paul Haesaerts' BAFTA-winning A Visit to Picasso from 1949 and a charming 'home movie' by fellow artist Man Ray.