Unexpected Blu-Ray releases You've Been Delighted to See (1 Viewer)

[pinknik]

I'm delighted any time a new 3-D blu-ray comes out. Especially of the 50s - 80s vintage.

 

[LouA]

There are many older movies I would love to have on Blu-ray such as

"At Play in the Fields of the Lord" shot in the Amazon with Tom Berenger, John Lithgow, Daryl Hanna, Adrian Quinn and Kathy bates.
"Raintree Count" with Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Cliff and Eva Marie Saint.
"The Alamo" the extended version now only available on DVD.
"Cheyenne Autumn" with Richard Widmark and Patrick Wayne.

Was the extended version of the Alamo ever released on DVD? I think it was only on Laser Disc and VHS

 

[Kent K H]

You can see the official thread for the arguments, but personally, I am delighted that one of my favorite absurd 80s comedies will be coming to blu ray with Back to the Beach. Especially since it was only released on DVD as a bare-bones (and not particularly good) MOD.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I was surprised the other day to finally see Grease 2 in a collectible Blu-ray SteelBook. It's not a very good movie. In fact, it bombed hard when it came out.

I've always loved graphic design, so in 1982 I drew the Grease and Grease 2 logos in my school notebook (a car, and a motorcycle with a flag with a "2" in it, respectively). Because I knew the sequel was really awful, I drew a third logo for Grease 3: A garbage truck with a garbage can next to it with a "3" in it.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I was surprised the other day to finally see Grease 2 in a collectible Blu-ray SteelBook. It's not a very good movie. In fact, it bombed hard when it came out.

I've always loved graphic design, so in 1982 I drew the Grease and Grease 2 logos in my school notebook (a car, and a motorcycle with a flag with a "2" in it, respectively). Because I knew the sequel was really awful, I drew a third logo for Grease 3: A garbage truck with a garbage can next to it with a "3" in it.

That must have been "Peachy"!!!

 

[uncledougie]

I was absolutely delighted when Kino released Murder, He Says with a stellar print; I discovered it quite by accident in the late 70s, and transferred a recorded VHS to a DVD-R because I feared it was a forgotten gem that nobody’d ever heard of. Released the year after Double Indemnity, the contrast between the two performances shows how underappreciated Fred MacMurray was even back in his busy heyday. Plus it’s a chance to see the lovely Helen Walker in a good second lead role. Very highly recommended for fans of noir farce, a category with too few examples (Arsenic and Old Lace soon to be released by Criterion would be another welcome example).
Speaking of Criterion, I was equally pleased and surprised to see the release of The Uninvited with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and the fragile, beautiful Gail Russell. It’s my favorite ghost story, had the beautiful Victor Young score (with Stella by Starlight), and the transfer is immaculate.

 

[Robin9]

I was absolutely delighted when Kino released Murder, He Says with a stellar print . . . . Released the year after Double Indemnity, the contrast between the two performances shows how underappreciated Fred MacMurray was even back in his busy heyday.

Thank you for that. I've been saying for some time that Fred MacMurray is a vastly underrated talent, mainly because you can never see him doing any acting! He's always pretty well perfect in whatever role he's playing but every time he seems to be just going through the motions instead of working at it!

 

[Bartman]

The cult Brit horror hit from 2002, Dog Soldiers, was recently released on 4K UHD and regular Blu-ray. There have been several previous releases but this release is the first time from the newly found 16mm OCN. The improvement in picture quality over previous releases is drammatic. The regular Blu-ray also includes all previous extras plus a couple of new. The US Shout Factory & UK Second Sight releases both use this new transfer.

 

[roxy1927]

Come September.
Starring the 3 of the most beautiful things in the world; Rock, Gina and the Italian Riviera. In wide screen. You haven't lived until you race around Italy on a vespa. I think they still don't wear helmets. I didn't but who cared?
Strangely for this wonderful sundae of a film there have been no reviews.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I was absolutely delighted when Kino released Murder, He Says with a stellar print; I discovered it quite by accident in the late 70s, and transferred a recorded VHS to a DVD-R because I feared it was a forgotten gem that nobody’d ever heard of. Released the year after Double Indemnity, the contrast between the two performances shows how underappreciated Fred MacMurray was even back in his busy heyday. Plus it’s a chance to see the lovely Helen Walker in a good second lead role. Very highly recommended for fans of noir farce, a category with too few examples (Arsenic and Old Lace soon to be released by Criterion would be another welcome example).
Speaking of Criterion, I was equally pleased and surprised to see the release of The Uninvited with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and the fragile, beautiful Gail Russell. It’s my favorite ghost story, had the beautiful Victor Young score (with Stella by Starlight), and the transfer is immaculate.

Thanks Doug, I just popped on Murder He says, I can see the similarities to Arsenic & Old Lace...and agree, Fred McMurray IS very underrated in his abilities.

 

[uncledougie]

Another obscurity I recently discovered had been released 3 or 4 years ago by Vinegar Syndrome on Blu-ray (and which I received from Amazon about 30 minutes ago) is The Killing Kind from 1973. It’s much higher quality in concept and execution than the typical psycho slasher thriller. The performances by John Savage, Ruth Roman and Cindy Williams are definitely a cut (pardon the pun) above, but the main revelation is the stunning turn by Ann Sothern playing Savage’s caring but oblivious mother. There were all sorts of problems director Curtis Harrington had that led to the film having almost no theatrical run whatsoever. I by chance caught it on cable 40+ years ago, and if it weren’t for the automatic prejudice against this genre of film (and the fact hardly anyone had the opportunity to see it in 1973), in my opinion Sothern’s performance would’ve been Oscar worthy. (She got a belated Supporting Actress nom for The Whales of August, 1987, and good for her - she was always a delight in the 30s and 40s mainly B pictures, and terrific on her two television starring roles, Private Secretary and her eponymous follow up series.) But she really gives depth and poignancy to her character here and raises it way above the expected schlock level usually found in this type film. The violence level is overall fairly tame here (relatively speaking), with primary emphasis on Savage’s character’s PTSD mental breakdown motivating his behavior. But even if this type film isn’t your cup of tea, the acting is laudably subtle and Sothern was never better.

 

[roxy1927]

I remember somebody who I worked with saying when Ann Southern was nominated for Whales that if you saw Southern's name on a list of nominees you just vote for her no matter if you've seen the film or not.

 

[uncledougie]

That was the year Olympia Dukakis won for Moonstruck, and Sothern’s nomination may have been a nod to her long career as much as for that specific role. But that has happened many times for various male and female actors over the years. (Why is actress a demeaning term anymore? Beats me )

 

[roxy1927]

Well actress refers to a female and as we know a female is ipso facto lesser than a male.
It's pretty ironic.

 

[uncledougie]

Very. For being one of the late great Ms Sothern’s generation, I think she would proudly wear the distaff noun with pride. By the way, the DVD version of The Killing Kind was no cheap release, as it had many interesting supplements included, which look like they reappear on the Blu-ray. I’m anxious to watch it. (Also available I see on something called Fandor included with Prime Channels if anyone has that service.)

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday I watched on Blu-ray disc a film I hadn't expected to come out in high definition: Murphy's War. I'm very pleased to have this film on disc.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I would love to see a decent BD of the 1965 classic Lord Jim -

Lord Jim (1965) -- (Movie Clip) Gunpowder

Peter O'Toole (title character) shows signs of overcoming his demons, dealing with a small crisis in the harbor, merchant Stein (Paul Lukas) showing interest ashore, in Richard Brooks' Lord Jim, 1965, from the Joseph Conrad novel.

www.tcm.com

 

[Ross Gowland]

A bit obscure this one…

As a kid I loved the book The Otterbury Incident, about kids raising money to pay for a broken window. I read my Puffin paperback so often I had to get a new one as the spine went and I still have its replacement (one of only a handful of books from my youth).

It was written by the poet Cecil Day Lewis and in the credits at the front he acknowledged that it was a free adaptation of the French film Us Kids/Nous les gosses.

I’ve wanted to see that film for 40 years, but had long given up hope. And then Pathé in France restored it and put it out on Blu-ray with English subtitles.

And yes, it’s a charming and delightful film that was worth the wait.

 

[Capt D McMars]

A bit obscure this one…

As a kid I loved the book The Otterbury Incident, about kids raising money to pay for a broken window. I read my Puffin paperback so often I had to get a new one as the spine went and I still have its replacement (one of only a handful of books from my youth).

It was written by the poet Cecil Day Lewis and in the credits at the front he acknowledged that it was a free adaptation of the French film Us Kids/Nous les gosses.

I’ve wanted to see that film for 40 years, but had long given up hope. And then Pathé in France restored it and put it out on Blu-ray with English subtitles.

And yes, it’s a charming and delightful film that was worth the wait.

wonderful, and that's why we collect movies...good on ya!!

 

[uncledougie]

One release among my very most wanted and which I obtained purely by luck and timing was The Wrong Box (1966), a supremely deft, charming and highly amusing Bryan Forbes comedy with Michael Caine, Nanette Newman, Ralph Richardson, John Mills, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, with a sublime extended cameo by Peter Sellers. It’s been a favorite since catching it at a specialty cinema that offered foreign and offbeat titles back in the day, but which I had only found available on DVD. By chance I was visiting my eldest nephew who was doing a college semester in London in the fall of 2018, when I wandered into the Fopp video and music store, and found the newly released Indicator all region Blu-ray which had just been released. It’s an excellent print and has a newly done interview with Newman (widow of director Forbes) reminiscing about the production. I never saw this for sale in any retail store stateside, which is a shame. But it’s one of my most treasured favorites, with a brilliant cast. Wilfrid Lawson as Peacock the butler is absolutely priceless! Great John Barry score to boot.