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<b>Kings Go Forth Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Delmer Daves’ <em class='bbc'>Kings Go Forth</em> sets up a wartime love triangle plopped right into the heart of the French Riviera during the final year of World War II. Unfortunately, neither the romantic melodrama nor the wartime action sequences...

<p>Valentino may seem strange to those unacquainted with the stylized bio-pics from the mind of Ken Russell.</p> <p>Part bio, and part dreamscape of 1920s Hollywood. &nbsp;Never real, always on edge.</p> <p>The film is beautifully shot by Peter Suschitzky, with a color palette that seems...

<p>I'm a Tony Richardson fan. &nbsp;Always have been.</p> <p>His 1984 filming of John Irving's The Hotel New Hampshire remains, at least for me, an oddball, most probably as it follows the tenor of the novel. &nbsp;This isn't a bad thing, but merely is.</p> <p>I grew up on his UK black & white...

<p>Three of Richard Lester's films are being released on Blu-ray concurrently by Kino, and it's always nice to have more of his work available. &nbsp;Beyond The Knack..., we're being treated to How I Won the War, as well as The Bed Sitting Room.</p> <p>Headlining Rita Tushingham and Michael...

<p>Robert Wise's Two for the See Saw, based upon the play of the same name.</p> <p>Photographed in beautiful black & white by Ted McCord (Treasure of the Sierra Madre, East of Eden), an otherwise nice looking film element loses points because of typical MGM dirt, which is liberally sprinkled...

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<p>Kino Lorber has released Alan Rudolph's 1976 Welcome to L.A., and in brief, it's a winner in the tech department.</p> <p>Fans of the great Robert Altman, will probably be the majority picking up this release. &nbsp;While I can't say that it stands the test of time, it remains a very...

<b>Twice Told Tales Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Nathaniel Hawthorne may have written classic novels some folks felt forced to read in high school (was I alone in liking <em class='bbc'>The Scarlet Letter</em>?), but he also was a great purveyor of eerie and unusual short tales (some of which were...

<b>Undercover Blues Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>"My name is Muerte, my name is Death!" threatens Stanley Tucci's unfortunate hoodlum in <em class='bbc'>Undercover Blues</em>, an underrated comedy gem from 1993. Dennis Quaid may have never been so winning in any other role than that of Jefferson...

<b>Number One (1969) DVD Review</b><p><p>Charlton Heston played so many larger-than-life characters in his career than when it came time to play regular guys (even those imbued with special gifts), it seemed sometimes difficult as an audience to adjust to his status as an ordinary man. His role...

<b>The Crooked Way Blu-ray Review</b><p><p><em class='bbc'> </em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p> <em class='bbc'>The Crooked Way</em> is an intriguing 1949 film noir from United Artists which features an attractive cast and exceptional black &amp; white cinematography by the great John Alton...

<b>Mr. Saturday Night Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Film audiences in 1992 probably did not know what to make of Billy Crystal's semi-autobiographical film <em class='bbc'>Mr. Saturday Night</em>. People expecting something along the line of <em class='bbc'>City Slickers </em>(1991) may not have been...

<b>Shadows and Fog Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Having paid homage to celebrated cinematic icons like Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini in such films as <em class='bbc'>Interiors, Stardust Memories</em>, and <em class='bbc'>A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy</em>, Woody Allen turned his attention...

<b>Scorpio Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Michael Winner’s <em class='bbc'>Scorpio</em> was but one of a multitude of espionage thrillers produced during the late 1960s and 1970s with plots and atmosphere that emphasized the nihilistic and dead-end nature of the spy game, a direct contrast to the more...

<b>Eight Men Out Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Scandals, whether they be in sports, politics, or the arts, can make for compelling viewing provided one has the proper writer for the script and the correct director for the project. With <em class='bbc'>Eight Men Out</em>, the proper person for both the...

Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" (AKA "il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo) marks its golden anniversary next year. Although I actually appreciate the extended version - I'll grant I may be a man of discriminating taste, but not impossible to please - any chance MGM/ Fox might finally...

<b>Pitfall Blu-ray Review</b><p><p><em class='bbc'> </em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p> <em class='bbc'>Pitfall</em> is a long-neglected film noir which was rescued by the UCLA Film &amp; Television Archive and has been brought to Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The transfer is not perfect, but...

<b>Dance Macabre DVD Review</b><p><p>There is a serial killer on the loose at the Ballet Russe in Greydon Clark’s <em class='bbc'>Dance Macabre</em>. What might have been a decent thriller along the lines of <em class='bbc'>Dressed to Kill</em> with a better script, more deceptive direction, and...

<b>A Child Is Waiting Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>A socially conscious movie with a message that seems more in its producer Stanley Kramer’s wheelhouse than its director’s John Cassavetes, <em class='bbc'>A Child Is Waiting</em> is nevertheless an interesting look at educating the mentally disabled...

<b>Count Yorga, Vampire Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Modern day vampire stories weren’t unique to the genre when American International Pictures presented Bob Kelljan’s <em class='bbc'>Count Yorga, Vampire</em> in 1970, but this simple, straightforwardly told vampire tale proved quite popular at the...

<b>Scream and Scream Again Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>Three iconic horror superstars in the same film: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing? It sounds like a fanboy’s dream come true, doesn’t it, and yet it didn’t really come true for fans when Gordon Hessler’s <em class='bbc'>Scream...

<b>Strange Invaders Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>An affectionate nod to the alien invasion sci-fi yarns of the 1950s, Michael Laughlin’s <em class='bbc'>Strange Invaders</em> doesn’t always quite know when to wink and when to wince, but with a sterling cast of actors (names of the 1980s mixed with...

<p>With Stanley Kramer producing, and John Cassavetes directing a production concerning the institutionalization of mentally challenged children, you know it's not going to pull punches.</p> <p>And it doesn't.</p> <p>A screenplay by Abby Mann, and with Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland (in her...

<p>Ask 100 cinephiles to name their top 50 M-G-M musicals of all time, and the great Stanley Donen's 1954 Deep in My Heart, will probably not appear.</p> <p>A purported bio-pic of Sigmund Romberg (1887 - 1951), whose most popular operettas were the basis of several films. &nbsp;The Desert Song...

<p>It's almost as if Scream Factory is attempting to single-handedly make every B horror / sci-fi film from their licensors available, in a continuous torrent of usually quality, Blu-ray releases.</p> <p>Howling II is no exception.</p> <p>Put together the inimitable Sybil Danning and...

<b>Impromptu Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>The story of composer Frederic Chopin and his affair with author George Sand has been seen in several films, two of them directed by Charles Vidor – specifically <em class='bbc'>A Song to Remember </em>and the couple also appears in his last film <em...

<p>I always celebrate the arrival of another John Ford film on Blu-ray, and his 1937 tropical blockbuster, The Hurricane is no exception.</p> <p>While I would have to visit Joseph McBride's fine bio to get the details (and I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in film history), Mr...

<b>Skyfall Steelbook Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>With the James Bond franchise celebrating its golden anniversary in 2012, hopes were high that 007’s homecoming to the big screen after a four year absence would return to the series’ high standards somewhat tarnished by the something-of-a-misfire...

<b>Quantum of Solace Steelbook Blu-ray Review</b><p><p>James Bond’s vendetta against those who killed his lady love comes to fruition in Marc Forster’s <em class='bbc'>Quantum of Solace</em>, the second of the 007 films to star Daniel Craig with events occurring directly after the multitude of...

<p>Woody Allen began directing in the late 1960s, and through the '70s and '80s, seemed to average about a film a year. &nbsp;As of 2015, that hasn't slowed for a moment, and we are the beneficiaries.</p> <p>To place things in context, Sex Comedy (1982), falls within one of the richest periods...