Random DVD and Blu-ray announcements

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

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jenkins


WorldForgot

LOL

Immediate send to multiple chats

wilder

#947
July 6, 2021

Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Sony



After a psychotic Air Force general unleashes an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable schemesending bombers to attack the Soviet Union, the U.S. President phones the Soviet premier in a desperate effort to save the world.



Late 2021

Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1998) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Kino



A career bank robber breaks out of jail and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a US Marshall he has kidnapped.



October 5, 2021

Bill Webb's Dirty Laundry (1987) on blu-ray from MVD Visual



A young man and his girlfriend unwittingly come into possession of a bag containing one million dollars belonging to a drug-smuggling ring. The mobsters try to catch the couple and retrieve their money.





August 31, 2021

Jacques Deray's The Gang (1977) & Three Men to Kill (1980) on blu-ray from Cohen Media Group



QuoteThe Gang

In 1945, as World War Two comes to a close, five small time crooks unite to form a gang lead by the charismatic Alain Delon. After several bold robberies they become notorious as "the front-wheel drive gang." The police attempt to stop their crime spree with little success, but how long will their luck last?


Three Men to Kill

In this gritty, violent and suspenseful thriller, Delon plays Gerfaut, who comes to the aid of a man laying wounded in the road, not knowing the man has taken two bullets to the belly. Soon he becomes the target for the killers, who see him as a dangerous witness. But Gerfaut has been around the block a couple of times and he won't be so easily eliminated.






2021 TBD

Jacques Rivette's Gang of Four (1989) on blu-ray from Kino, restored in 4K by Cohen Media Group



Intimations of conspiracy hover over a group of actors in Rivette's playful revisiting of his debut, Paris Belongs to Us. Four women share a house and study acting with a legendary performer (Bulle Ogier). Outside class, each is questioned by a mysterious investigator on the trail of a former roommate who may be involved in a criminal enterprise.





July 20, 2021

Lesley Selander's Flight to Mars (1951) on bu-ray from Film Detective, from a 4K restoration from original 35mm Cinecolor Separation Negatives



Five astronauts successfully fly to Mars where they encounter seemingly friendly and advanced inhabitants who harbor covert plans to use their ship to invade Earth.





Late 2021

Archie Mayo's Angel on My Shoulder (1946) on blu-ray from VCI



Prominent gangster Eddie Kagle (Paul Muni) lands in Hell after he is murdered by his childhood friend and business partner Smiley Williams (Hardie Albright). There he meets Nick (Claude Rains), who tries to get him to return to the living to take over the body of Judge Frederick Parker (also Muni). Kagle agrees, enticed by the prospect of seeking revenge on Smiley. But Kagel's attempts to tarnish Parker's reputation backfire, and when he finally confronts Smiley, his frustration becomes impossible to contain.





June 15, 2021

Ziegfeld Follies (1945) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



Heaven's harps and wings are nice, but what showman extraordinaire Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. wants most now that he's no longer on Earth is to put on another extravaganza. It would have the brightest stars and creative talents. The most in glamour, gams and optimism. In short, it would be like Ziegfeld Follies. With a who's who of credited and uncredited Hollywood talents, this all-star revue is heaven to fans of musicals. Fred Astaire dazzles once, twice...four numbers in all. Red Skelton reprises his funny Guzzler's Gin skit. Esther Williams swims, Lena Horne sings, and Judy Garland spoofs snobbery. There's Verdi opera and Fanny Brice vaudeville. Patter and pantomime. And The Babbitt and the Bromide, with Gene Kelly joining Astaire in their first-ever screen pairing. What a show! The man called Flo must be proud.



July 13, 2021

Erich von Stroheim & James Cruze's The Great Gabbo (1929) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 2K restoration



One of Hollywood's earliest -- and most peculiar -- musicals, The Great Gabbo stars Erich von Stroheim as an egotistical ventriloquist who casts a Svengali-like spell upon an ingenue (Betty Compson), against a backdrop of singularly strange numbers (including "Icky" and the spider-and-fly-themed "Caught in a Web"). Director James Cruze (The Covered Wagon) allowed von Stroheim to endow the character with his signature flourishes, resulting in a wicked cocktail of garish stage shows and Austro-Hungarian villainy that is a diabolical delight.



July 20, 2021

Jean Renoir's La Fille de l'eau aka The Girl of the Water (1925) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K restoration



Whirlpool of Fate (1925) is Jean Renoir's debut feature, a lyrical tale of the tragic life of an orphan girl. An independent feature shot on family friend Paul Cézanne's property, La Nicotiere, it is a dreamy episodic melodrama that follows the poor girl as she endures the loss of her father, the abuse of her alcoholic uncle, and a perilous fall down a well that erases her memory and triggers surreal dreams.



July 20, 2021

Jean Renoir's Nana (1926) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 4K restoration



It is an elaborately mounted adaptation of Emile Zola's novel that tracks the doomed romances of its title character—an actress who would go on to be the most notorious courtesan of her era. When her father dies, a young girl is sent to live with her uncle. Mistreated, she runs away to lead a vagabond's life in the forest. When she is found, she becomes Nana, a fashionable actress of loose morals, becoming first the mistress of a count, and then of the Emperor's chamberlain. Nana's love affairs are set against gorgeously mounted sets designed by Claude Autant-Lara.



August 24, 2021

Bertrand Tavernier's L'horloger de Saint-Paul aka The Clockmaker of St. Paul Blu-ray (1974) on blu-ray from Kino



A Watchmaker finds out one day that his son has become a murderer. He tries to understand for whom and why.



2021 TBD

Max Ophüls' Liebelei (1933) on blu-ray from Kino



A Viennese opera house, early in the century. In attendance are lieutenants Kaiser and Lobheimer. Two young ladies on the balcony, Mizzi and Christine, drop their opera glasses, hitting one of the officers. The Baron von Eggersdorff arrives in his box. Lobheimer leaves early for his tryst with the Baron's wife. The Baron soon arrives home, in a suspicious mood. Lobheimer rejoins Kaiser in a café with the two girls. Lobheimer soon falls for Christine... The Baroness wonders why her lover has been absent for so long; the two now part for good. But the Baron learns the secret and discovers that a key still in his wife's possession opens the lieutenant's door. He challenges Lobheimer to a duel...



September 2021

Claude Chabrol's Bluebeard (1963) on blu-ray from Kino



Legendary French New Wave director Claude Chabrol (Les Bonnes Femmes, The Champagne Murders) brings the shocking true story of serial killer Henri Désiré Landru to the screen with Bluebeard. Landru, played with dastardly charm by Charles Denner (The Bride Wore Black), is a seemingly respectable Parisian who devises a sick and ingenious scheme to supplement his dwindling income during the First World War. First, he lures wealthy dowagers to his villa. Then, he cons them into forking over their fortunes. Finally, he kills them, chops them up and immolates the pieces. This jet-black comedy was written by acclaimed author Françoise Sagan (Bonjour Tristesse) and features a host of superb actresses including Michèle Morgan (Port of Shadows), Danielle Darrieux (The Earrings of Madame de...), Hildegard Knef (Fedora), Juliette Mayniel (Les Cousins), Stéphane Audran (The Third Lover), Catherine Rouvel (Borsalino), Françoise Lugagne (Diary of a Chambermaid) and Mary Marquet (Fellini's Casanova).



September 2021

Claude Chabrol's Blue Panther (1965) on blu-ray from Kino



French New Wave legend Claude Chabrol, the director of Le Boucher, The Third Lover, Line of Demarcation and L'Enfer, took a turn into the Eurospy genre with this '60s-chic romp. On a train bound for Switzerland, a secret agent (Roger Hanin, Breathless, Code Name: Tiger) entrusts Marie-Chantal (Marie Laforêt, Purple Noon, The Girl with the Golden Eyes) with a jewel in the shape of a panther with ruby eyes. Unbeknownst to her, this jewel contains a virus powerful enough to destroy all humankind. The fiendish Doctor Kha (Akim Tamiroff, Touch of Evil, Alphaville) is just one among many spies from different nations trying to get their hands on the panther. But the cool-as-ice Marie-Chantal will evade all attacks by sheer female cunning, and shows panther-like qualities in dealing with her male—and female—foes. Francisco Rabal (L'Eclisse), Serge Reggiani (Le Doulos), Charles Denner (Bluebeard) and Stéphane Audran (Les Biches) lead the star-studded supporting cast in this colorful spoof of international espionage capers.



August 10, 2021

George Stevens' A Place in the Sun (1951) on blu-ray from Paramount, from a new 4K restoration



George Eastman is a poor young man determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of a beautiful socialite. But a factory girl with a dark secret threatens Eastman's professional and romantic prospects. Consumed with fear and desire, Eastman is ultimately driven to a desperate act of passion that unravels his world forever.



August 10, 2021

Robert Altman's Nashville (1975) on blu-ray from Paramount, from a new 4K restoration



The lives of 24 major characters interweave during five days in the country music capital of the world.



August 31, 2021

Alan Parker's Bugsy Malone (1976) on blu-ray from Paramount, from a new 4K restoration



Set in 1929 New York City, BUGSY MALONE captures a flashy world of would-be hoodlums, showgirls, and dreamers—all portrayed by child actors. As Tallulah, the sassy girlfriend of the owner of Fat Sam's Grand Slam Speakeasy, future superstar Jodie Foster leads a talented cast. Parker's sharp script, combined with the music and lyrics of Paul Williams (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) makes for an irresistible satire that's truly one-of-a-kind.



August 16, 2021

David Greene's The People Next Door (1970) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK), also coming in July from Scorpion Releasing



Comfortable New York suburbanites Arthur and Gerrie Mason discover one night that their seemingly perfect 16-year old daughter, Maxie has been tripping on LSD.



September 20, 2021

Columbia Noir #4 (1948-1947) on blu-ray from Indicator (UK)



QuoteWalk a Crooked Mile (1948)

After evidence surfaces of an information leak at a major nuclear lab, FBI Agent Dan O'Hara (Dennis O'Keefe) pairs up with Scotland Yard Detective Philip Grayson (Louis Hayward) to track down those responsible. An investigation of the scientists, including the enigmatic beauty Dr. Toni Neva (Louise Allbritton), leads the agents to a Communist Party spy operation in San Francisco, which they must shut down before sensitive state secrets are handed over to the wrong people. Directed by Gordon Douglas.


Walk East on Beacon! (1952)

FBI agent James Belden (George Murphy) is tasked with finding and bringing down a communist spy ring operating in Boston. After an anonymous tip, Belden and his agents tail a man who leads them to various suspects, as they try to determine how far the espionage reaches. Meanwhile, the spies force a scientist (Finlay Currie) to divulge secret information by holding his son hostage. As the investigation continues, it seems the Russian agent Alexi Laschenkov (Karel Stepanek) might be behind it all. Directed by Alfred L. Werker.


Pushover (1954)

In the wake of a bank heist, Paul Sheridan (Fred MacMurray) is part of a team of cops assigned to recover the stolen $200,000. They stake out the apartment of Lona McLane (Kim Novak), the girlfriend of the one of the robbers, and before long Paul and Lona begin a steamy affair. Lona persuades Paul to kill her boyfriend so that the two of them can escape with the money, but, in order to pull it off, Paul first has to trick his boss and fellow detectives. Directed by Richard Quine.


A Bullet Is Waiting (1954)

Storms trap a Utah sheriff (Stephen McNally) and his prisoner (Rory Calhoun) in a coastal cabin with a professor's daughter (Jean Simmons). Directed by John Farrow.


Chicago Syndicate (1955)

An ex-military accountant is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the mob in Chicago in an attempt to break open the rackets. To complicate his job, two women stand in his way, each with their own agenda. Directed by Fred F. Sears.


The Brothers Rico (1957)

Former Mafia bookkeeper Eddie Rico (Richard Conte) has decided to go straight and lives with his wife in Florida, where they plan to adopt a child. However, his brothers, Johnny (James Darren) and Gino (Paul Picerni), still work for his ex-boss, Sid Kubik (Larry Gates) -- and, when Eddie finds out their lives are in danger, he tries to re-establish his connection to the world he thought he had left behind. But when one of his brothers is killed, Eddie realizes that he may be next. Directed by Phil Karlson.



July 19, 2021

Michael Powell's Honeymoon (1959) on blu-ray from Network (UK)



Kit and Anna, a rich and happy couple, are touring sunny Spain in an open-top Bentley on their fabulous honeymoon. But Anna is a prima ballerina who has forgone her career for marriage – a situation that the fiery Spanish dancer Antonio finds intolerable!



July 12, 2021

Márta Mészáros' Örökbefogadás aka Adoption (1975) on blu-ray from Second Run (UK)



Single factory worker Kata, 43, wants to have a child with her long-time secret lover, a married man called Joska. He doesn't like the idea. Kata befriends teenage schoolgirl Anna, abandoned by her parents at the age of six. Anna runs away from the local children's home and moves in with Kata so that she can keep on seeing her boyfriend Sanyi. Kata goes to see Anna's parents and persuades them to give the young lovers their permission to marry. Through Anna, Kata becomes interested in neglected children and decides to adopt a baby from the children's home.





August 25, 2021

Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy (1989) on blu-ray from Imprint (Australia)



A realistic road movie about a drug addict, his 'family', and their inevitable decline into crime.

jenkins

ummm necessary sounding

Quote from: wilder on June 11, 2021, 06:32:50 PM
July 13, 2021

Erich von Stroheim & James Cruze's The Great Gabbo (1929) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 2K restoration



One of Hollywood's earliest -- and most peculiar -- musicals, The Great Gabbo stars Erich von Stroheim as an egotistical ventriloquist who casts a Svengali-like spell upon an ingenue (Betty Compson), against a backdrop of singularly strange numbers (including "Icky" and the spider-and-fly-themed "Caught in a Web"). Director James Cruze (The Covered Wagon) allowed von Stroheim to endow the character with his signature flourishes, resulting in a wicked cocktail of garish stage shows and Austro-Hungarian villainy that is a diabolical delight.

jenkins

my biggest get as a collector (and I'm not a collector I'm a hoarder) was that Wild Boys slip. that slip is so fire the regular edition has sold out at vs, amazon, diabolik. i never even heard of a slip so fire the movie benefits. i got 1 of 600 on that, although the lowest count for a slip is the Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets at 500. But it ain't as pretty

I got LA Wars which I know you did, too, wilder. we both slept on Action USA but whatever. did you Martial Law? I didn't Martial Law and I led the countdown to its sell out. did you Vice Academy? I slept on that and he's maybe like one of those true bad directors they support but it does have a sexual cover so I woulda bought it

this is fun to me

jenkins

I'm not into box opening videos but I adore sale photos. looking at what everyone else bought lets you learn about them and also validates your own decisions. this is my internet-friend jeff's photo and I think it's a cutie photo. he is not a hoarder, he is a collector. this is a photo from a seasoned collector receiving his newest goods. special appreciation for the fanned-out legacy slips


jenkins

now keep in mind we're people purchasing movies instead of stocks or real estate and we're all basically failing at life together, some more than others, all people who post on a fb vs group. honestly, one guy the other day called us daily visitors losers and, I did, I felt a little hurt. so don't go thinking this is showing off a better life. this, really, is an absurd life. and I have a crush on it

this is an example of a pre-sale purchase arriving, and the person is excited because they have movies to watch while waiting for their sale order to arrive



some people, shall we say, know a little more about having some fun. these pjs are famous in vs land, I own them too, they're from the movie Don't Panic



some people somehow amass a large order that's a million miles away from what my large order would be



and I think, wow lame, and then of course, somehow of course, a lame joke happens right under that picture too



I fucking just die of laughter from people like this person, who is like "I am sorry my order wasn't bigger, next time I'll have a bigger order" lmao it's a tough life, lots of competition, out there in the world of movie collecting




WorldForgot

All of y'all lucky as heck. My one VS remains Tammy and the T-Rex, and Knife + Heart on Altered Innocence. lol

jenkins

this guy's daughter told him it looks like a waste of money (he's holding the pj movie)


jenkins

for near the whole month people will be receiving their sale orders. some people are upset about not yet receiving their shipping confirmation, understandably

what we have here is a large order



and it's so much, so many movies, a wife arrives to give her blessing



and because yesterday I gave an example of a bad joke (the merits of a movie are somehow related to one's sexual orientation), here is an example of a good joke (it's funny)



and, I'm a fan of this (for some reason), some people will simply post a photo of the box that arrived



some people demonstrate their personality their own way, for example this person says, please notice my foot tattoo



the pjs represent personality, they're fashion emblems and simply, every photo is better with pjs




wilder

Baby Rosemary begins with this:




Quote from: jenkins on June 15, 2021, 02:36:30 AMI got LA Wars which I know you did, too, wilder. we both slept on Action USA but whatever. did you Martial Law? I didn't Martial Law and I led the countdown to its sell out. did you Vice Academy? I slept on that and he's maybe like one of those true bad directors they support but it does have a sexual cover so I woulda bought it

Action USA I picked up MVD Visual's release of, and the Vice Academy set I snatched off eBay late last year. I don't know what to say about most of these VS titles because their taste is tastelessness and we all know what we like when we see it. I'm pro-Vice Academy.

jenkins



jenkins

very nice blu-ray presentations of King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Five Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Temple, Mighty Peking Man, Challenge of the Masters, Executioners from Shaolin, Chinatown Kid, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers, Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho. damn that's sweet. The Boxer from Shantung was the first martial arts movie I saw in a theater, during the LA Film Fest of 2007 (?) at the Billy Wilder Theater

https://twitter.com/ArrowFilmsVideo/status/1413498711376867329

wilder

#959
September 20, 2021

Joseph Losey's The Servant (1963) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Studiocanal (UK)



The Servant depicts the story of Barrett, a seductive and subtle manservant hired by foppish aristocrat Tony to manage his new townhouse. Barrett's awe-inspiring efficiency gives way to a suspicious and insidious control, where the roles of master and servant are subtly reversed.



November 2, 2021

Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy (1993-1994) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Potemkine (France). Will include English subtitles. Update: doesn't have them.







October 19, 2021

Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, & Videotape (1989) on 4K UHD blu-ray from L'atelier d'images (France)



Ann is trapped in a sexually and emotionally unfulfilled relationship with her husband, John, a successful but unpleasant lawyer who is sleeping with her sister, Cynthia. The underlying tensions in the couple's marriage rise to the surface when Graham, a friend of John's from college who's been drifting for nine years, returns to town and videotapes Cynthia and Ann as they talk about their sexual desires.



September 7, 2021

John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Universal



A twelve-man research team stationed in Antarctica finds an alien being that has fallen from the sky and has been buried for over 100,000 years.



October 19, 2021

Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Kino



An FBI trainee enlists the help of an infamous Serial killer, to gain insight into the mind of another killer.



2021 TBD

Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Kino



When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, California, where they replicate the residents into emotionless automatons one body at a time.



October 12, 2021

Rob Reiner's Misery (1990) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Kino



A successful romance novelist, after being disabled in a car crash, is held captive by a psychotic fan.



October 9, 2021

Wes Craven's Scream (1996) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Paramount



A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game.



September 14, 2021

Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption (1994) on 4K UHD blu-ray from Warner Bros.



Framed for the double murder of his wife and her lover, banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his tenure in prison, Dufresne becomes admired by the other inmates, ultimately befriending another prisoner named Red during the process.



July 8, 2021

Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (2003) on blu-ray from Koch Media (Germany). Includes English subtitles.



A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.



August 24, 2021

Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City (1981) on blu-ray from Warner Archive



New York police officer Daniel Ciello (Treat Williams) is not a perfect cop. When Rick Cappalino (Norman Parker) from the U.S. Justice Department approaches him with a personal request to investigate police corruption, Ciello agrees -- provided he is not forced to turn in his fellow crooked cops. But as he delves deeper into the underbelly of drug crime, he realizes that it may be impossible to keep his promises. He will have to bring his friends down, or he'll end up going down himself.



October 26, 2021

Robert Aldrich's The Last Sunset (1961) on blu-ray from Kino, from a 2K restoration



Western justice takes a dark turn in The Last Sunset, as American lawman Dana Stribling (Hudson) enters Mexico with one mission: to hunt down the infamous Brendan O'Malley (Douglas), who killed his brother-in-law. He finds his culprit working for a wealthy cattleman (Cotten) and arranging a herd to cross the border. Unable to serve his warrant, Stribling signs on as a trail boss, warning O'Malley of his intentions once they reach Texas. The two slo




Late 2021

Josef Von Sternberg's Jet Pilot (1957) on blu-ray from Kino



Air Force Colonel is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot who is scheming to lure him to the USSR.



November 9, 2021

Stuart Gordon and David Mamet's Edmond (2005) on blu-ray from MVD Visual



Seemingly mild-mannered businessman Edmond Burke (William H. Macy) visits a fortuneteller and hears a remark that spurs him to leave his wife abruptly and seek what is missing from his life. Encounters with strangers and unsavory people weaken the barriers encompassing his long-suppressed rage, until Edmond explodes in violence.



September 28, 2021

Ridley Scott's Legend (1985) on blu-ray from Arrow



A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.


The reasoning behind the lack of a 4K UHD release:

QuoteSo, the big controversy from today's @ArrowFilmsVideo announcement: no 4K UHD for Legend. As I hinted a few weeks ago, there are sound reasons for this, and I'm going to try and explain why in this thread.

Obviously we wanted to, and it's not Universal stopping us (they have no plans either AFAIK). It's a visually stunning film and I understand people's dismay when Alien and Blade Runner are both on UHD and they want Legend to sit alongside those. Believe me, I get it. But...

It's important to understand Legend's post-production and release history and the materials issues relating to it, which is much more complex and fraught than Alien or even Blade Runner, both of which have enjoyed multi-million dollar restoration projects by Fox and Warner.

Reputation is an important factor too. Alien and Blade Runner are undisputed classics, one an instant franchise-spawning hit and the other a hard-earned unlikely triumph. Legend has still never quite enjoyed that level of respect, as much as we may love it.

There are three versions of the film (not counting TV edits): the 113-min Director's Cut, restored by Universal in 2002 (SD) and 2011 (HD); the 93-min International cut, released outside the US by Fox; and the 90-min cut with Tangerine Dream score released in the US by Universal.

The Director's Cut was restored from one of only two surviving 35mm answer prints, with additional post-production by Universal. There is no better quality source for this version, certainly not a negative. So why not scan the answer print in 4K? I mean, go big or go home right?

These are Scott's notes from the 2011 Blu-ray explaining the inherent quality issues on the Director's Cut master. He sums it up well; even though an answer print is often struck direct from the negative, there is significant generational quality loss that cannot be reversed.



In addition, the answer prints do not wholly represent what is in the Director's Cut HD master; they contain unfinished effects and other issues that would need to be corrected all over again in 4K.

Universal spent a lot of money in 2011 getting the Director's Cut to look as good as it does in HD, but make no mistake: its imperfections would be utterly naked in 4K, and the diminished dynamic range would make HDR a moot point.

Some wise aleck might be piping up with one of the rare examples to prove me wrong. "What about the Cannes cut of Dawn of the Dead, restored in 4K HDR from a CRI!" True, but the Cannes cut is a curio, not Romero's preferred cut that most people would reach for before any other.

The negative of Legend is conformed to the 93-min International Cut... and here's where things get tricky. The negative is owned by Universal, there's even a Universal copyright at the end... but Fox/Disney own distribution rights to that particular version of the film.

We went ahead and did a 4K scan of the negative anyway, knowing we could still put it to some use and hoping that we might be able to pull off a miracle and clear a US/UK edition with all three cuts, which might make UHD a little more feasible logistically and financially.

We tried very, very hard to make headway with Fox on clearance to include the International Cut as an extra, but no dice. Ever notice that the International Cut's never been released in the US, nor the US cut in the UK? You need both to sign it off and we couldn't make it happen.

You may ask, "Why not use the negative to make the Director's Cut look even better? It's only 20 mins shorter, right?" In fact, there are so many tiny cuts and minute differences throughout that less than an hour of negative material could be used in a Director's Cut restoration.

So even if we used our 4K negative scans to upgrade portions of the Director's and US cuts, what does that leave us on UHD? Two compromised, Frankenstein masters that would inevitably fall short of people's high expectations, no matter what we did.

Make no mistake, if Arrow does a new 4K master, whether it's Tremors or King of New York or Donnie Darko, and spend as much as we do on restoration, UHD authoring etc, we want it to be a massive improvement. Legend in this form would not qualify.

So here's the deal: the Arrow Blu-Ray, in addition to awesome new extras, has both Director's and US cuts in the best quality they've ever been seen in. It's still a stonking upgrade, thanks in no small part to those neg scans of the one cut that's unfortunately missing.



September 6, 2021

Edward Dmytryk's Walk on the Wild Side (1962) on blu-ray from Arrow (UK)



Jane Fonda, Laurence Harvey, Barbara Stanwyck and Capucine give exceptional performances in this lurid drama of love and lust set in New Orleans during the thirties. The story centers around Dove Linkhorn (Harvey), a down-to-earth, good-natured man who trainhops from Texas to Louisiana with runaway Kitty Twist (Fonda) in search of his love Hallie (Capucine). Once in New Orleans, Dove makes a monumental effort to find Hallie, a sophisticated, soft-spoken artist, but is devastated to learn that she has been reduced to working the "Doll House," a high-society brothel run by ruthless madam Jo Courtney (Stanwyck). When Dove tries to take Hallie away from the "Doll House," he finds himself fighting for his life against brothel thugs and the jealous Jo, who wants Hallie for herself.

Quote from: jenkins on December 29, 2020, 11:49:58 AMJan 10  Walk on the Wild Side is coming to the channel. that's the most successful screenplay accomplishment of John Fante and it's southern melodrama (which i like)



September 20, 2021

Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar (1954) on blu-ray from Masters of Cinema (UK)



Vienna has built a saloon outside of town, and she hopes to build her own town once the railroad is put through, but the townsfolk want her gone.





September 27, 2021

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)  on blu-ray from BFI (UK)



Shot down over occupied Holland, the crew of a Wellington bomber must navigate their way to safety through enemy territory.



September 13, 2021

Joseph Losey's Mr. Klein (1976) on blu-ray from Studiocanal (UK). Eventually coming from Criterion.



In Nazi-occupied Paris, the immoral art dealer, Robert Klein, leads a life of luxury, until a copy of a Jewish newspaper brings him to the attention of the police, linking him with a mysterious doppelgänger. Will Mr Klein clear his name?



August 4, 2021

Edward Dmytryk's The Sniper (1952) on blu-ray from Imprint (Australia). Also available in Indicator's box set. For now this is the only standalone release.



A sniper kills young brunettes as the police attempt to grapple with the psychology of the unknown assailant.





September 9, 2021

Andrew Dominik's Chopper (2000) on blu-ray from Madman (Australia)



Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.