Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (3 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

I watched the Warner Archive release of "Two Weeks in Another Town" on Blu-ray. I always thought this film was rather strange with unlikable characters. With that said, it does have some attractive actresses in it. My favorite being Daliah Lavi. Anyhow, most of the women and men for that matter aren't good people except for Lavi's character. Kirk Douglas was one tortured soul in this film. A good looking Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Today at the movie theater I caught a matinee showing of "Tag". It was actually pretty funny as I laughed out loud throughout the film. Nothing like seeing Brian Dennehy taking a hit off a bong. I loved Renner and Fisher in this film with the latter cracking me up with her stream of profanity.



Before "Tag" I caught the trailer for "The Happytime Murders". Man, I'm looking forward to seeing this one, especially, at the movie theater when I see parents bringing in their little ones expecting to see their typical family movie due to the puppets. I hope movie theaters warn their customers about the content in this "R" rated film. Speaking of warnings, don't watch this trailer if you're easily offended, you've been warned.

 

[DavidJ]

I find myself buying more and more movies from iTunes and Vudu instead of buying the more expensive discs. Not all 4K/UHD releases, but some select ones. Case in point, the Mission: Impossible films with Cruise. Each 4K title is on sale for $24.99-25.79 on Amazon while iTunes was selling all 5-movie bundle in 4K/Dolby Vision for $29.99. The same for the movie Annihilation on 4K/HDR disc which is a Best Buy Exclusive until late October and it's selling for $26.99 while iTunes and Vudu are selling it for $9.99 in 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision.

Anybody else doing the same on certain titles?

I have done it for some titles, but they tend to be the ones I’m not as big a fan of. Though I was tempted by the Mission Impossible bundle, I passed because those are movies I’d rather have on disc.

I am looking into it more though because my wife and I have a running “battle” over my disc buying habits. It’s not about the money for her, but the lack of storage space for the discs. She’s all for digital over disc.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have done it for some titles, but they tend to be the ones I’m not as big a fan of. Though I was tempted by the Mission Impossible bundle, I passed because those are movies I’d rather have on disc.

I am looking into it more though because my wife and I have a running “battle” over my disc buying habits. It’s not about the money for her, but the lack of storage space for the discs. She’s all for digital over disc.

Well, that's my issue now. It's somewhat about the money because I'm retired now, but more so it's about me running out of room. I got rid of most of my DVDs, but I still have thousands of discs spread across four different formats including about 7-8 HD DVD titles that are not on Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The Barnes and Noble 50% Off Criterion Sale is active. I purchased the following Blu-rays:

Midnight Cowboy
The Awful Truth
Moonrise
A Matter of Life and Death
Dietrich and von Sternberg in Hollywood
Bull Durham
Ghost World
Tom Jones

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I picked up Annihilation on iTunes

Well, that's my issue now. It's somewhat about the money because I'm retired now, but more so it's about me running out of room. I got rid of most of my DVDs, but I still have thousands of discs spread across four different formats including about 7-8 HD DVD titles that are not on Blu-ray.

It's also about storage, as well as price, for me as well. I don't have as many titles as you, Robert, but my collection does fill five shelving units with overflow to a couple of shelves on a bookcase in my den. I will purge old discs from my collection every so often - - usually titles that have been upgraded - - but buying some films via streaming services helps with space, too.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I picked up Annihilation on iTunes

It's also about storage, as well as price, for me as well. I don't have as many titles as you, Robert, but my collection does fill five shelving units with overflow to a couple of shelves on a bookcase in my den. I will purge old discs from my collection every so often - - usually titles that have been upgraded - - but buying some films via streaming services helps with space, too.

Another thing Scott, it's getting harder for me to distinguish between watching a disc and streaming from iTunes of the same movie. Am I the only one seeing that change? It was only a few years ago that I could easily distinguish between the two. It's the same for me with 4K/UHD discs and 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision streams.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Another thing Scott, it's getting harder for me to distinguish between watching a disc and streaming from iTunes of the same movie. Am I the only one seeing that change? It was only a few years ago that I could easily distinguish between the two.

The UHD streaming versions on iTunes and Vudu are very high quality, and are definitely pretty close to UHD disc quality -- and certainly better than BD quality. The audio is a little weaker, but for some films (such as The Post) that's not really a big deal. I have also converted some of my DVD titles to HDX streaming versions via Vudu's disc to digital program to help free up storage space, and those HDX streams usually look better than the DVD. The only danger with the older films is that sometimes the online transfers end up not being in the original aspect ratio, and it's impossible to find this out before purchasing the title. Fortunately, Movies Anywhere helps with this, as many of the titles now transfer to all the services and usually at least one of them will have a streaming version in OAR. I had this happen with The Hustler -- I converted the DVD on Vudu only to find out it was in 1.33:1 there, but after MA hit the scene the title transferred to Amazon where it was OAR.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The UHD streaming versions on iTunes and Vudu are very high quality, and are definitely pretty close to UHD disc quality -- and certainly better than BD quality. The audio is a little weaker, but for some films (such as The Post) that's not really a big deal. I have also converted some of my DVD titles to HDX streaming versions via Vudu's disc to digital program to help free up storage space, and those HDX streams usually look better than the DVD. The only danger with the older films is that sometimes the online transfers end up not being in the original aspect ratio, and it's impossible to find this out before purchasing the title. Fortunately, Movies Anywhere helps with this, as many of the titles now transfer to all the services and usually at least one of them will have a streaming version in OAR. I had this happen with The Hustler -- I converted the DVD on Vudu only to find out it was in 1.33:1 there, but after MA hit the scene the title transferred to Amazon where it was OAR.

The audio is getting better though and will make further improvements. I'm a Beta Tester so I can listen to Dolby Atmos on Vudu with my Roku or on Vudu with my AppleTV. By this Fall, Dolby Atmos should be fully operational on ATV4K units. I've been upgrading several of my DVD only titles to HD streams on Vudu and iTunes as the HD streams generally look better to me than the DVD video presentation.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The audio is getting better though and will make further improvements. I'm a Beta Tester so I can listen to Dolby Atmos on Vudu with my Roku or on Vudu with my AppleTV. By this Fall, Dolby Atmos should be fully operational on ATV4K units.

That is definitely another advantage with streaming versions -- as the technology improves, we benefit from a free upgrade on titles we own instead of needing to repurchase the titles.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The "Noir Alley" showing this week was "Armored Car Robbery". This is a film that I always liked very much, but one thing that bothered me over the years is Talman's character. A criminal that was smart, meticulous and a sociopath,

Spoiler

who would stick around the city waiting on a woman after he committed a major robbery. It just doesn't fit the character, when he had all of the money and could have blown town for parts unknown and got away with it.

It's just a nitpick for me, otherwise, a really good 67 minute film. Again, Eddie's before and after comments were excellent.

 

[Matt Hough]

I forgot to set the DVR for last night's presentation, so I have set it now for this morning's repeat. I'll still watch at lunchtime and report back here later today with thoughts.

 

[Mysto]

I forgot to set the DVR for last night's presentation, so I have set it now for this morning's repeat. I'll still watch at lunchtime and report back here later today with thoughts.

Ya know - memory is the second thing to go - the first is... uhh...

 

[Robert Crawford]

It took me a while, but I finally watched "Sicario" in it's entirety. For some reason, I could never get in the right mood to watch the entire film even though I've probably watched half of the film in bits and pieces over the last three years. The 4K/UHD disc is outstanding, particularly, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack. A really good film and I'm looking forward to watching the sequel as I've heard it's even more brutal than "Sicario".

 

[Matt Hough]

Armored Car Robbery was a very entertaining "B" movie. Loved all of the performances, and I wasn't quite sure who would make it out alive on both sides of the law.

Eddie's comments are like a mini-noir school every week, and his lectures could go on for fifteen or twenty minutes (or longer) if I had my way. When he was talking afterward about the things he could have talked about but didn't, I was just gnashing my teeth saying TALK ABOU THEM, TALK ABOUT THEM!! I was very happy with the information on Don McGuire, but all of the other topics were equally as interesting and would have easily held my attention. I know TCM knows what a gem they have with him. I wouldn't mind even more active participation from him on other genres.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Yeah, I loved Armored Car Robbery as well, and couldn't believe the onscreen menu guide or whatever only gave it two stars. It was fast-paced, had good twists and turns and was exceptionally well-directed (as per Muller's comments). Even the caper itself was a clever idea, as well as the getaway plans, that, of course, though well-considered, never go quite as planned.

Purvis sticking around for the dame as his big fatal flaw has to be a Noir trope standard. One way or other, the dame is always going to cost you big time.

I wanted to hear more about the polio-stricken screenwriter Felton as a CIA agent? And McGuire sure blazed a productive path through Hollywood after starting out as a "B" actor sidekick. Co-credit for Tootsie (on the play he wrote that it was based upon)? What an unlikely path finale in that career.

I also enjoyed seeing all the oil derricks that were long gone by the time I traveled those roads, though a few pumping stations exist along Jefferson Blvd. and one even beside Beverly Hills high school.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I just got done with "The Whole Town's Talking" on Filmstruck. Edward G. playing dual roles in this 1935 film directed by John Ford and co-starring Jean Arthur. Really good performances out of both, Robinson and Arthur. I always got a kick out of seeing Edward G. playing his typical gangster impersonation along with a meek accountant in the same film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I spent this afternoon watching the 4K/UHD release of "Forrest Gump". One of my favorite films from the 1990s.

 

[Robert Crawford]

A reminder that Noir Alley with Eddie Muller is showing "Party Girl" starring Robert Taylor, Lee J. Cobb and Cyd Charisse.

 

[John Dirk]

It took me a while, but I finally watched "Sicario" in it's entirety. For some reason, I could never get in the right mood to watch the entire film even though I've probably watched half of the film in bits and pieces over the last three years. The 4K/UHD disc is outstanding, particularly, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack. A really good film and I'm looking forward to watching the sequel as I've heard it's even more brutal than "Sicario".

Same here. It didn't originally resonate but I feel I need to give it another spin based on recent recommendations.