a few words about

  1. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Beat the Devil - in Blu-ray

    Robert Harris submitted a new blog post A few words about...™ Beat the Devil - in Blu-ray Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
  2. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ In the Heat of the Night re-dux (Criterion) - in Blu-ray

    Robert Harris submitted a new blog post A few words about...™ In the Heat of the Night re-dux (Criterion) - in Blu-ray Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
  3. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Hunter Killer -- in Blu-ray

    For those seeking a high-end art film, please move on. Hunter Killer isn't it. What it is, however, with suspension of disbelief firmly in place, is a terrifically entertaining political / military thriller that arrives running on twelve cylinders, and never lets up. Gerard Butler, Gary...
  4. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Man Who Cheated Himself -- in Blu-ray

    Felix Feist may not be name that rolls off the tip of the tongue. He spent the 1930s directing shorts of M-G-M, along with the occasional feature film - Deluge (1933). At the end of is career, he produced (and directed) various television programming from The Californians, Adventures in...
  5. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Obsession - in Blu-ray

    Obsession is what one gets, when two superb filmmakers (Brian De Palma & Paul Schrader) have an obsession. A slightly different take on Hitchcock's Vertigo. And a fun ride. Based upon a new master, provided by Columbia, one should presume going in, that the quality will be superb. And it is...
  6. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about…™ Notorious – in Blu-ray

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  7. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Peppermint -- in Blu-ray

    45 is the new 60. It seems that when an actor hit his 60s, he was immediately placed in bad-ass, retribution roles. Think Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington. Now it seems to be the women's turn, with Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, et al. And Jennifer Garner. Shortly, I'm certain that we'll...
  8. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Last Command (1955) — in Blu-ray

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  9. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Predator -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray

    I feared that the new take on The Predator might not work out for me, but it did. Under the directorial hand of former wonderkind, Shane Black, it's an alternatively humorous, exciting ride. Fox's new 4k, derived from 2k files works beautifully on all levels. Imagery is superb, while the...
  10. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Westworld - Season Two: The Door -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray

    The HBO Westworld series is probably one of those love it or hate it things. I'm very much on the love side, waiting for each turn of events to reveal a bit more of the tale. The second season arrives full force, reminding me of Lost in some ways. The new 4k release via WB, is a meticulously...
  11. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s Volume 1 -- in Blu-ray

    I was never a fan of the Popeye animated shorts. More WB fare. But I do recall seeing them on TV. Initially, in glorious black & white, and later in color, presumably from 16mm Eastman syndication prints. And there was never anything special about them. It's taken half a century, but we...
  12. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Equalizer2 -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray

    Denzel Washington returns, as Robert McCall, a gent that you don't want to piss off, in Antoine Fuqua's The Equalizer2, a fun, violent, escapist entertainment of retribution. Photographed with different flavors of Arri Alexas, and completed as DI, the resultant 4k Blu-ray mit HDR is a high-end...
  13. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Venom -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray

    Sony has released Venom, part of the Marvel universe, with Tom Hardy as the afflicted dumb-ass reporter. While I look forward to virtually anything with Mr. Hardy, who imho, is one of our finest actors, this one was painful. At 112 minutes, it seems both over-long, and short at the same time...
  14. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Ingmar Bergman's Cinema -- in Blu-ray

    As full disclosure I'd seen enough of Mr. Bergman's work by 1968. My professor, Haig Manoogian, continued running them - again, and again, and again - Seventh Seal, The Magician, Wild Strawberries, along with the work of other Swedish filmmakers, the enchanting 8 1/2, and the ever confusing...
  15. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Thing from Another World -- in Blu-ray

    The 1951 version of The Thing was an interesting production for RKO. Produced by Howard Hawks, shot by Russell Harlan, and with a score by Dimitri Tiomkin, it was a big deal. James Arness, at 6'6", and not quite settling upon a screen name, played the alien creature. He would still...
  16. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Dracula aka Horror of Dracula -- in Blu-ray

    When [Horror of] Dracula was released, in 1958, its director Terence Fisher, was doing B pictures, and a spate of horror films / thrillers, for Hammer. Although Horror of Dracula, as it was released here in the Colonies is generally consider to be the creme de la creme of the series, it's...
  17. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Sea Hawk -- in Blu-ray

    Initially meant as a form of follow-up to his 1935 Captain Blood, which gave Errol Flynn his first major role, The Sea Hawk, had to wait half a decade, and come from another source entirely to make it to the screen. But when it did, with Mr. Flynn one of Hollywood's consummate stars, it arrived...
  18. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Urban Legend & Sleepwalkers -- in Blu-ray

    Scream Factory has given us two Columbia releases - both genre films - and they're both glorious on Blu-ray, typical of Columbia product. Urban Legend is a 1998 college age kids in jeopardy production, with all of the normal accoutrements. Sleepwalkers arrived 6 years earlier, directed by Mick...
  19. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Killing of Sister George -- in Blu-ray

    I've always thought of Robert Aldrich's The Killing of Sister George (1968) as the love child of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Mr. Aldrich's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. It's definitely an odd one, but has always found a place in my library. Kino Lorber's release, while welcome, is...
  20. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Zombie -- in Blu-ray

    When Blue Underground's Bill Lustig decides to do a special edition, nothing stands in his way, and Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie, is the perfect example. A new 4k scan of the OCN, which is beautiful, a disc and a half of extras, some from the older edition and some new, and a CD of the score...
  21. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Gosford Park -- in Blu-ray

    I've always been a sucker for virtually anything with Robert Altman's name attached, and his 2001 Gosford Park is right at the top of the list, among the very best examples of his work. I do have a problem with this otherwise magnificent release from Arrow, and best to get it out right off the...
  22. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Critters Collection -- in Blu-ray

    While I've never been a fan, people seem to have gotten hooked on the Critters series. WB has licensed the four films to Scream Factory, and the resultant boxed set will be snatched up as fast as they hit the shelves. Quality is wonderful. The first two films have been recently re-scanned...
  23. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Cabin Boy -- in Blu-ray

    Adam Resnick's Cabin Boy is one of those over-the-top comedies that's a fan favorite, and is finally available on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber, as part of their deal with Disney (Touchstone). Quality is superb, and extras will please those fans. Color, grain structure, shadow detail, overall...
  24. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers -- in Blu-ray

    Kino Lorber is releasing one of the most important disc sets of 2018, and it's the perfect gift for the serious cinephile. Having handled, nitrate silent films, I can attest to the sheer bravura love and passion that has gone into the production of this set. Those who read my words are aware...
  25. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Candyman -- in Blu-ray

    Scream Factory's new Blu-ray of Bernard Rose's Candyman will thrill fans, as the harrowing horror thriller finally makes it way to domestic Blu-ray, here in the Colonies. And a beautiful Blu-ray it is, apparently from new(ish) work by Universal, previously released internationally. The disc...
  26. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Made for Each Other -- in Blu-ray

    It's a rarity when a studio makes a public domain production available, whether directly or via a license to a sub, but Disney has done just that - twice in a short period of time - and both to a savvy Kino Lorber. John Cromwell's First Made for Each Other, a delightfully heartwarming (don't...
  27. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ 12 Monkeys (Arrow) -- in Blu-ray

    What kind of title is 12 Monkeys? What expectations does it lead a potential viewer to imagine? I can understand 12 Monkeys: A Star Wars Story, or The Conguring: 12 Monkeys... To the point, this is a film that has never looked terribly good on Blu-ray. Arrow Films new release is the charm...
  28. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Mame -- in Blu-ray

    I'm a huge fan of the original Broadway production of Mame, which I saw was with Angela Lansbury - she was on stage, I was in a seat. It was a extraordinary and vibrant entertainment. In 1974, WB which owned the rights to the original Auntie Mame (available on Blu-ray from WB, in all its...
  29. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Nothing Sacred -- in Blu-ray

    William Wellman's wonderful, 1937 Selznick production, Nothing Sacred, has been problematic for decades - ever since it hit the public domain in 1965. Original nitrate prints had a very specific monochromatic look, favored by Mr. Selznick at the time, and noting yet seen on home video...
  30. Robert Harris

    A Few Words About A few words about...™ Robin and Marian -- in Blu-ray

    New discoverers of Richard Lester's Robin and Marian, a paean to aging in the middle ages, will find more than a bit of resemblance to Tony Harvey's wonderful The Lion in Winter, which came eight years previous. Listen to the score of Robin, and you'll find the textures of John Barry's work in...
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