QM File: THE FBI (ABC/1965-1974)
THE FBI • SEASON 6 (1970-1971) (26 episodes • 50 mins • color)
This is the first Seventies era season and the most popular one featuring many new or one-shot guests and the second assignment for the second producer team led by Philip Saltzman. Anyway, it’s still...
I may be the only one to notice this, but Tim Burton's film tend to be a bit weird.
Beetlejuice fits right in with much of his other work.
And that's a good thing, as it's a terrific piece of entertainment.
As to how it looks and sounds in 4k, I'll apologize in advance to those who might like...
Not may people know this, but Anne Ramsey (who plays Mama Fratelli) was originally cast as the mother on The Partridge Family, but was released from her contract after the the initial episode (which never aired), and replaced with another actress. Purportedly, she came off as "too sweet."...
It seems that many new 4k releases, at least those derived from film to 2k or 2k digital masters, don't offer a great deal of uptick in 4k.
I was fully expecting this with the two WB Sherlock Holmes Downey / Law films, but came away pleasantly surprised.
Especially when running the films from...
The name Dorothy Arzner may not be at the fore of many younger cinephile's minds, but it should be.
A career going back to the silent era, as an editor on Too Much Johnson (1919). The film was re-made in 1938 any another filmmaker. The first woman director in the DGA, and then there's that...
Warner's latest addition to their 4k home theater library is just for fun.
I make no claims to understanding the permutations and combinations of the DC Universe, any more than I do that Marvel. It's a full time job. But this is Ms Quinn's backstory.
Over at rogerebert.com Christy Lemire...
One of the great American musicals, the 1936 Show Boat, with massive talent in the leads, including one of the finest voices ever recorded, Paul Robeson, and original cast member, Helen Morgan.
Derived from a safety fgm, Criterion's new Blu, is the best I've ever seen this film look.
Gorgeous...
Decided to kill two birds here with this thread (don't tell PETA)
This year marks the anniversaries for both the original 70's Disaster film, Airport and the 90's cult classic Empire Records.
Do you think that Shout could/will do a big 50th Anniversary release for Airport and it's sequels...
I greatly respect Todd Phillips' Joker, and feel that Joaquin Phoenix's performance is both extraordinary, as well as award-quality, but while I love dark films, Joker was a bit on the nihilistic side for my taste.
Beautifully shot by Lawrence Sher, with blacks that are occasionally darker than...
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...
We have started a petition to have Warner Brothers work with the brilliant team at 3D Film Archive to restore and release their dozen-or-so 3D titles in their Library. Please sign the petition below. We are almost at two hundred signatures in just the first two days. If we can reach 1000...
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'...
I had heard negative comments about the newest Godzilla incarnation, but came away pleasantly surprised, to find a reasonably cohesive, entertaining film, with nice effects, and terrific audio.
It's a bit convoluted, but pay attention, and it all comes together.
But viewing the film, I came...
I’ve always considered William Wyler’s 1938 Jezebel, one of those “miracle” films.
It just works.
Great cast. Superb direction. Wonderful score by Max Steiner (he also did the score for that other Old South production, the following year) Beautifully photographed, in black & white, by the...
Mention the name of Val Lewton to any fan of the cinema, and you'll generally receive a knowing smile or nod, as he was one of the unsung B picture heroes of the 1940s at RKO.
Between 1942 and 1946, he was the man behind a series of horror/thrillers that are little gems of his field.
Nine of...
I've become so tired of superhero films, that I was going to pass on this one, but am please that I didn't. My son suggested that it was a fun film.
He was correct, as it reminded me more of the lighthearted, or at least lighter-hearted fare, akin to Kick-Ass or Deadpool. The Marvel films...
Back in 1933, after appearing in Dancing Lady for M-G-M, Fred Astaire, who received 6th billing, just beneath Winnie Lightner, made a move to RKO, and so began a series of classic musicals that fans have been waiting to appear on Blu-ray.
There were ten films in the series, and the first to...
For those who loved the 2018 re-make of A Star is Born, and can't get enough, the Special Encore Edition adds 12 minutes of additional material, padding out some music performances, and misc bits, and proving that more may or may not be better.
But it is longer.
The new Blu-ray, which is not...
One cannot say that WB is not being totally transparent with their distribution plans for the 4k 1989-97 Batman series.
They arrive shortly as four separate films, and then, on 17 Sept, as a boxed set.
The difference is in the pricing. Currently a $42 price tag for each title, streeting at...
Why is Warner Bros. treatment of cartoon series in general so poor? there has been inconsistent releases (Peanuts specials), major cropping (2000s series), and incomplete releases (Duck dodgers, Tazmania) in the past, but they still continue to get worse.
The complete series of Teen Titans was...
I am hoping that criticism of your Blu-ray of HORROR OF DRACULA isn't discouraging you from tackling CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. This was the inaugural color (aka colour :)) horror film, and introduced the Cushing/Lee pairing that lasted through many years and films. But it hasn't been presented well...
Robert Harris submitted a new blog post
A few words about...™ Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019) - in Blu-ray
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
WB's new 4k UHD Blu-ray of Aquaman is a magnificent affair, with brilliant colors, and a superb, all-encompassing Dolby Atmos track.
Very loud, with superb channel separation.
Did I mention really pretty colors?
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
RAH
I'm a huge Val Lewton fan.
There's never been anyone quite like him for intelligent, atmospheric horror.
Scream Factory's new Blu-ray of Robert Wise's (his second film in the series, after The Curse of the Cat People) 1945 The Body Snatcher, has everything going for it.
Boris Karloff
Bela...
If MGM needs to celebrate not only their 95th anniversary but also their own legacy, can they collaborate with Warner Bros. on a publicity campaign (featuring a combination of movies and cartoons from pre-1986 MGM and a large batch of library titles currently owned by MGM) like they did in late...
SEE The baddest Russian boxer in the fight of his life against the man he hates because Brigitte Nielsen moved out when he was a child to take up with someone with proper funding!
SEE Michael B. Jordan get the crap beat out of him by aforementioned Russian boxer, because he doesn't have Rocky...
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...
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...
One of the all-time fan favorites in the superhero genre, coming from an earlier, far more innocent era, arrives on 4k, and it's a winner.
While I'd have loved to be able to compare the new 4k to a modern Blu-ray of recent parentage, that can't be done, as the previous Blu, which is also...
Now, having spent a bit more time with the new 2001, and examining it from a totally technical perspective, there are several more questions than answers.
I cannot, and will not speak to color, but at least to my eye, everything looks within rational parameters of what is probably either...