a few words about

Now, Voyager, is quintessential Davis, at the peak of her Warner Bros. years. Rightfully, famous for the work of the leads - Ms Davis, along with Paul Henried and Claude Rains and Gladys Cooper, the film has never before been available on Blu-ray, although it has been around for years on other...

When one's name becomes synonymous with a computer software function, you've risen to a certain level of public awareness and admiration. So it is with Florentine Films, a documentary production entity working out of Vermont, that has become the go-to for bespoke films on a myriad of subjects...

My initial thought regarding Shout Factory's new Anne Bancroft Collection was "why?" Over the decades Ms Bancroft appeared in over fifty films. This is a pleasant, but incomplete survey of her career, and there's very little new. Here's the breakdown. Eight films. Don't Bother to Knock -...

John Badham's 1979 production of Bram Stoker's original 1898 masterpiece of horror literature is a very interesting, if imperfect take on the subject. Especially with Frank Langella in the lead, and Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing. Kate Nelligan makes an interesting Lucy. Shout Factory has...

Robert Harris submitted a new blog post A few words about...™ Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection - in Blu-ray Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

I recall seeing Joseph Pevney's Man of a Thousand Faces late in the summer of 1957 in its original run in Manhattan. As a huge fan of all things horror (the Universal films were a TV staple), and just getting into film history, this was an important screening for me, as it put a number of...

It's a strange time to release The Daniel Craig Collection, as it was soon be an incomplete collection. But regardless, the four films included, Casino Royale - 2k DI, Quantum of Solace - 2k DI, Skyfall - 4k DI, and Spectre - 4k DI, all surpass their Blu-ray counterparts visually. Sonically...

Clearing the underlying rights to Hobbs & Shaw must have been a Herculean task. With Warner Bros controlling the DC Universe, Disney with Marvel, and Sony with a bit of Spider-Man, I can only surmise that it came down to Disney's recent purchase of Fox to free the Hobbs character, possible with...

Robert Harris submitted a new blog post A few words about...™ The Bad and the Beautiful - in Blu-ray Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

As "buddy pictures" go, Red Heat is a decent film. When did "buddy pictures" begin, exactly? It's never great. Always, well, generally okay. I question why it's hit 4k, as the imagery is never needle sharp, or in any way necessitating the process. Possibly with the exception of the titles...

Continue reading...

Our Hospitality, produced in 1923, was Buster Keaton's first true feature film, and in viewing, one can see that old gags used in shorts have been toned down for feature length product, but the continual growth of Mr. Keaton as an artist toward future features. As a now almost hundred year-old...

With no negativity toward Midsommar, that viewing needed an antidote, and Yesterday did the trick. I'm a Richard Curtis fan, and Yesterday nicely joins his oeuvre. A fantasy, about an odd natural world event that changes certain attributes of history -- inclusive of virtually anyone recalling...

Together agin, for the first time! Preminger, and Tierney. And they'd rejoin the future. But for this 1949 enterprise, things never jelled for me. It's a long way from Laura. Regardless, the talents brought together here are worth a look, as added to the mix are Jose Ferrer, Charles...

Possibly, because of it's extremely leisurely (even in the 147 minute version) story progression, I was able to make connections with films of the past, as I viewed Ari Aster's meticulously made, spectacular horror film, Midsommar. First, and most obvious, was Black Narcissus, with its nuns up...

Raoul Walsh, for those who may be unaware, was one of the great American filmmakers, going back to 1912. For those who may care, yes, he worked on The Klansman. His 1955 Fox production, The Tall Men, is one of the quintessential Clark Gable films. Victor Young is responsible for the score...

After screening Downton Abbey in the afternoon, I switched over to streaming yesterday, after reading an extremely positive notice about Netflix's Unbelievable, a new 8-part 4k series. I was immediately struck by the young lead actress in the first episode, who was doing superb work, and...

My technical background enables me to wax on about grain structure in old films, color fade, black levels, shadow detail, stability of the image, et al. All of which makes my words regarding virtually all Warner Archive titles, to be quite honest, boring. Take The Letter, one of Bette Davis'...

With a release aimed squarely at promoting Zombieland 2, Columbia's new 4k of the 2009 original, provides a decidedly entertaining 88 minutes of mayhem. What I've realized in viewing Ruben Fleischer's original film, which I'd not seen since it's original release, is that the gun rights issue...

Booksmart is a sweet little indie by a freshman director named Olivia Wilde. In some ways, it seems to be the antithesis of some of John Hughes work, most notably, The Breakfast Club. It involves two high school senior girls about to graduate and make their way in the world, who discover, at...

The Great Roger Corman's 1959 A Bucket of Blood, is being released by Olive, and it's nice to see them bringing out product, as they always do a great job with extras. Their special editions are special. Mr. Corman, who should be known to most of you, either produced, directed, wrote, or acted...

Continue reading...

Alfred Sole's low-budget, 1976 whodunit, may not be to my taste, but it has a following, and it's a good little film. Featuring the initial appearance of Brooke Shields, and one of the last for Lillian Roth (look her up), it has been released by Arrow, and it's a magnificent Blu-ray. Nothing...

As many of you know, when you're on a project, certain things go by the wayside. In my case, it was any recognition of Anna, starring dancer/model-turned-actress Sasha Luss. As I was viewing, it became apparent that it had been made by a master craftsman, but I didn't know by whom. It's the...

Try as I might to find Carnival Row, a new Amazon series, in a non-streamable 4k format, I failed. And as it sounded to be just up my row, an extremely dark, fabricated world - I discovered a methodology that worked. It's called "streaming." Somehow, Amazon, along with a couple of other...

It was with great trepidation, that I popped Alain Resnais' extraordinary Last Year at Marienbad into my Blu-ray player. Not because I don't like, or respect the film. I do. But rather, because I had been forced to view it ad nauseam in film classes, along with L'Avventura, and the Best of...

Avengers Endgame is one of those Marvel Universe films, that seemed to do rather well theatrically. A bit complex, especially if one doesn't know the Marvel players and everything they've ever done, but entertaining nonetheless. As a 4k Blu-ray, it's a quality affair, even as up-rezzed from...

Another beautiful 4k release from the Lionsgate library, of a film that I somehow missed totally. As Rambo films go, it's good, but seems to get caught up in the totally nihilistic concept of the plot, ie unrestrained violence, as directed by Mr. Stallone. Superb actions sequences, tremendous...

As I viewed Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman for the second time - the first was via a 2k DCP, up-rezzed to 4k on a 37 foot screen - I realized how good Paramount's 4k Blu-ray was, in comparison. It holds up perfectly in all regards. But the thing that got me thinking was a question. How many film...

These few words are way in advance of the release, but I've asked, and am permitted to share them. I've just viewed the new Suspiria 4k via a Samsung 128gb thumb drive, which is slightly smaller than a flea. But it's all on there. Inclusive of HDR 10 and Dolby Atmos. Compared to the Synapse...