Hey folks, Harry here – sorry about the lateness of this, but you know the saying, better late than never? Anyway – there’s some great stuff here, but it pales next to October, jesus that’s a great month of releases! Well here ya go…
September 13, 2005
BEN-HUR 4 Disc Collector’s Edition
There are few films that warrant this sort of spectacular treatment, but BEN-HUR is certainly one of them. This is a film, that I watch about 3-4 times every year. Usually once in theaters, the other 3 times just because I want to watch it. For some, this is their Easter film, for me – it’s more about loving this particular story to death. The film is simply one of the most beautiful movies ever filmed. The costuming and set design, they look less historical and more other-worldly. The Technicolor widescreen was never used better. Heston has never been better. Stephen Boyd is a great son of a bitch! And… though the technical craftsmanship of film may be further advanced in terms of what one can do digitally – nothing that I have seen has blown me away quite the way that damn chariot race scene does – time after time. It’s amazing. I’ve just watched this edition – the print is breathtaking. I can’t wait to watch the 1925 silent version – but folks – the new documentary on here – BEN-HUR: THE EPIC THAT CHANGED CINEMA is fantastic! Ridley Scott and George Lucas are so humbled by this film, it’s amazing. Leslie Nielsen’s screen test is surreal. Absolutely fantastic treatment of a brilliant film. Bravo!
CARLITO’S WAY – Ultimate Edition
I love how the fanbase for this film has grown, maybe not to quite the mania as SCARFACE, but damn if it isn’t catching on! I’ve been a CARLITO’S WAY fan from day one, and while I may not be picking up this slapped together sequel that’s coming out later this month, this DVD is totally my thing. Just getting to see DePalma talking about filmmaking is a delight. The deleted scenes are very telling – and the transfer is very very nice. Gotta get this!
Director’s Label Series Boxed Set Vol.2 (Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, Stepane Sednaoui)
Loved the first Director’s Label Series – this one is no different. You get more of Mark Romanek – including his brutal Johnny Cash “HURT” and just delves further into his music video career which is stunning. Keeps you warm waiting for his next feature! Then there’s Jonathan Glazer – director of SEXY BEAST and BIRTH with his further work. Great stuff. I don’t watch much of MTV these days, simply because I can’t seem to find when they actually play music videos anymore. So this set really helps me to see what’s going on in the music video world and I love what I see of each of these. Haven’t gotten to Anton Corbijn or Stephane Sednaoui’s sets yet, but they’re next. They loook very cool! This is a great seriesl. I’d love to see Fincher to put one of these out.
Harold Lloyd Collection II
I love silent comedy shorts – and Harold Lloyd was one of the best. Kino’s done another first rate job – bringing us: Two Gun Gussie, The City Slicker, The Non-Stop Kid, Ring Up the Curtain, Captain Kidd's Kids, From Hand to Mouth, High and Dizzy, Never Weaken, Among Those Present, Now or Never spread out on this 2 Disc Set. My fave out of this group is TWO GUN GUSSIE, absolutely hilarious.
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
I loved this film earlier this year, and watching it two days ago on this DVD was just bliss. I think it actually gets funnier each time I see it. The making of is a little weak, but you know – I bet at some future date we’ll get a DVD that really is made for all of us Douglas Adams geeks. I want docs that seriously go into not just the adaptation process and the decades long development history of this project. The starts and the stops. With a project with this sort of history and this sort of development – they really ought to go all out with just how the film took shape. Tis a shame they kinda cheaped out. The disc is totally worth it, I just wish this was a much fatter dvd.
Oliver Hardy Collection
This is a fascinating DVD – you get to see raw Oliver Hardy before he had been teamed up with Stan Laurel – and the results are amazing. Watch Hardy play a villain! See Theda Bara! With the earliest shorts – he’s nowhere near “Ollie” yet, but as you get to the later shorts – you really get to see something of Ollie appearing, specially when he gets teamed up with Bobby Ray as the Pre-Laurel, that just wasn’t Stan quality. Here’s the shorts: The Show, Stick Around, Along Came Auntie, 45 Minutes from Hollywood, Crazy to Act, The Sawmill, Should Sailors Marry?, Hop to It! Another great KINO edition!
PSYCHO 2
Universal completely doesn’t know anything about this film. It’s so much better than any of the folks there expect it to be. Anthony Perkins is absolutely delicious in this sequel. And while it may not be the “significant” film that the original was, this is far more entertaining. And Meg Tilly’s shower scene alone is worth the disc. It’s just a widescreen transfer with a trailer. However, it’s a delicious film for this Scare season.
RUMBLE FISH
I absolutely love RUMBLE FISH, It’s Coppola’s second film based on a Hinton novel, the first being the outstanding THE OUTSIDERS. Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper, Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane are all so damn good in this film. And the direction is absolutely wild. Then it was such a spawning ground for early talent – just check out Fishburne and Nicolas Cage. The film plays like a half lucid dream and I love it. The extras are awesome on this dvd. 6 Deleted scenes – really cool behind the scenes look and a great Coppola commentary. Good stuff!
SIGMUND & THE SEA MONSTERS – First Season
So trippy. This one is for my nephew, yeah… that’s it, my nephew. Honestly, I do not suggest any sort of mind-altering excess to accompany this DVD. Absolutely not. Do not do it. It’s just for the young of heart and kids. Yeah. That’s it. Here’s the episodes: Monster Who Came To Dinner, Puppy Love, Frankenstein Drops In, Is there A Doctor in the House?, Happy Birthday, Nasty Nephew, Monster Rock Festival, Ghoul School Daze, Curfew, Shall Ring Tonight, Sweet Mama Redecorates, Make Room For Big Daddy, It's Your Move, Trigger Treat, Uncle Siggy Swings, Dinosour, Show, Wild Weekend, Boy For a Day.
THE ULTIMATE BILLY JACK COLLECTION (THE BORN LOSERS, BILLY JACK, THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK and BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON)
I’m not a huge BILLY JACK fan – mainly because I’m not a big fan of Tom Laughlin. I actually like the “idea” of the character more than I do the film. Having said that – the BORN LOSERS is cool. But I love the mystique of the series and it’s amazing success. Word is Keanu is looking to remake this – personally if they cut the overt political work and just make it badass. The politics at the time were vital, but wear a little thin today.
September 20, 2005
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL IN 3-D
This was one of the worst reviewed films of the year. And yes, I acknowledge that I’m friends with Robert Rodriguez. I don’t recommend this to you adults out there without kids, but if you do have kids… I know that my nephew digs the hell out of the movie, and all the logic flaws that we adults have with it, well they don’t phase him a bit. When I’ve seen the film, I’m watching from a stand point of watching a Dad interpret the imagination of his son, and there’s something kinda beautiful and pure about that. On a technical level, some of the effects really show their rushed nature, while others are just lovely. I love the plugdogs, but the sharks at the end of the film, aren’t nearly as cool as those at the beginning of the film, which I love! The film is crazed, but very very fun in a nonsensical way.
DOLLS
Finally Stuart Gordon’s DOLLS is being released. This was a great creepy flick that has been hidden for far too long. There’s a part of me that feels this is Stuart’s best overall horror film. I love RE-ANIMATOR, but that’s more funny than scary. DOLLS has a creep level that just, ok let’s face it – Killer Dolls get me… everytime. DEAD OF NIGHT, POLTERGEIST, MAGIC… Fucking creepy ass dolls need to go away!
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON – Signature Edition
Finally widescreen with a DTS track! I loved this series on HBO, also – finally most of the ROM-features from the previous edition are playable on just a regular DVD. However, more than anything – it’s the widescreen treatment that’s why I’m picking this one up. This was something special!
INSIDE DEEP THROAT – Theatrical NC-17 Edition
The NC-17 documentary into DEEP THROAT and all that it caused in this country isn’t quite the phenomenon that I think Brian Grazer was hoping it would be, but that’s because most people today don’t want to think about the early days of porn, they just want to download free porn and not think about anything other than whatever fantasy they’re having. Not really caring about how the world evolved to the point of granting him or her free porn for life. Well, if you do want to see how it all kinda got started – here you are. It’s a damn fine look at how it all went down. Relax, it’s the only way it’ll work.
LADY IN WHITE
This is one of the great little ghost stories – right there with DEVIL’S BACKBONE – in fact that’s a great double feature – and this film has been too long in coming. The film is nuanced and atmospheric and stars that precocious Lucas Haas that ruled in WITNESS – only this time, he sees dead people, long before Haley did. The film is beautifully shot and is everybit as haunting as you’d hope it’d be. Frank has done a great job of providing commentary and behind the scenes and more. This is one of those forgotten under seen films. Hopefully this DVD release will help change that, it deserves to be rediscovered.
MASCULIN FEMININ – Criterion Collection
One of the most bizarre and affecting films that Godard ever made. Tells the story of a would-be pop singer’s romance with a fairly pathetic journalist. The film is absolutely hypnotic and powerful – Godard’s hand is so steady on this film, staring straight into the amazing faces of this film. Fantastic film.
THE OUTSIDERS – The Complete Novel (2 Disc Special Edition)
I’m dying to see this 2-disc set. One this newly restored version that’s 22 minutes longer – I saw this theatrically and it made the film just so much more powerful. But I’m dying to see all the cast and crew talking about the film, so many faces, so young. This, to me, is the only film that comes close to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. It just doesn’t quite have the iconography to push it over the top. Warner did a great job letting Coppola put this together the right way.
September 27th, 2005
THE BLIND DEAD COLLECTION (TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, THE GHOST GALLEON, RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD, NIGHT OF THE SEAGULLS, AMANDO DE OSSORIO disc)
I’d never seen any of these, but folks… This series is just creepy as hell. The Blind Dead are amongst the creepiest damn things I’ve ever seen. The films are lurid and creepy as hell. The color on these discs are so vibrant – and I love each of them. They’re not just skeletal, they’re like mummified eyeless corpses that ride these creepy as hell horses. You see – these Blind Dead are the Knights Templar that have had their eyes removed so that they couldn’t find their way back from hell. Absolutely creepy as hell. Brilliant look that works completely. If, like me, you’ve never heard of this series – Discover it now. This is the real find of the month. Amazing horror! Blue Underground has restored and found and put out a real jewel of the genre!
THE FREAKMAKER aka THE MUTATIONS
This film played at last year’s BUTT-NUMB-A-THON with writer/producer Robert Weinbach thrilling us with stories about making the film. This is the jacked up version of FREAKS made in the 70’s with Tom Baker and Donald Pleasance and directed by the great cinematographer – Jack Cardiff. A scientist trying to create a strange hybrid mutation of man and venus fly trap – why? I don’t know, but he does and it’s pretty creepy – but not nearly as creepy as the way the “freaks” in the Freak Show are portrayed. Very disturbing. So much better than SHE-FREAK it isn’t even funny, but still in the shadow of FREAKS. But a must have for any fan of Sideshow exploitation!
HENRY – PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (20th Anniversary)
This brilliantly disturbed and scary as hell classic is finally getting the full on treatment – commentary, deleted scenes and outtakes, an hour long doc on the making of the film and a 30 minute doc on the monster that inspired the film. This is the scariest of all serial killer films and the most brilliant. Great film… just not one that I can imagine anyone watching over and over again.
