Tag: criterion collection

Don’t Look Now is the Pick of the Week

dont look now criterion

When I talk about horror movies I suspect a lot of people think of harsh violence and heavy gore. For sure some horror movies specialize in that type of thing, but many of them do not. To tell the truth, as I get older, and especially now that I have a young daughter, I find I have less tolerance for the ultra-violence on screen. Especially sexual violence.

But horror doesn’t have to include that. I love eerie haunted house movies and movies that terrorize you with the threat of something awful happening. I love a good psychological horror.

Don’t Look Now is a film that has very little on-screen violence. In fact, it has very little violence at all. But it does have horror, mostly coming from a sense of dread and grief. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play a young couple who recently lost their son due to a tragic accident. Sutherland’s character has taken a job in Venice and they are both using it as a way to escape. But you can’t escape that kind of grief. It is a beautiful, powerful, and yes horrific film. Criterion has just released it in a new 4K addition and it is my pick of the week.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Prey: Predator is a ridiculously dumb 1980s action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger who goes to the jungle to fight a killer alien. It is also kind of awesome. It somehow managed to launch an entire franchise. I haven’t seen all of them, but I’ve seen quite a few of them and they are definitely a mixed bag. Prey is really freaking good. It is basically the same premise as the first one except for this time the alien lands on Earth some 300 years ago and a Comanche Indian has to fight it with primitive tools.

Talk to Me: I’ve heard good things about this horror film about a group of friends who conjure spirits using an embalmed hand. They become hooked on it, go too far, and unleash the spirit world upon them.

Evil Dead Rise: The original Evil Dead is a low-budget horror masterpiece. The sequel, Evil Dead II, took the same premise (dumb teens go to a cabin in the woods and unleash evil) and turned it into a slapstick horror/comedy masterpiece. That spawned another sequel (Army of Darkness, not as good, but fun) and eventually a TV series (Ash Vs Evil Dead, I’ve only seen a few episodes, but I liked it). Then came a soft reboot which went back to its roots (dropped Bruce Campbell and the humor). And now it has a sequel. That’s a lot of words to say that I have no real desire to see this. I saw the reboot and didn’t much care for it. Like I said earlier, hard-core violence just doesn’t do it for me anymore.

It Came From Outerspace: Very silly-looking 1950s science fiction flick gets a nice release from Universal Studios.

Blood Money: Four Classic Westerns is the Pick of the Week

blood money bluray

Over the last few years, my movie-watching has increased by a large margin. I’ve gone from watching around 120 movies a year to over 300. One of the things I’ve tried to do with this increase in viewings is to increase my overall cinematic knowledge. I try to watch films from different eras and genres, films that I might otherwise not see. I don’t want to just watch the latest blockbusters but to allow my movie watching to increase my understanding of film history. I think that is obvious just from the movies I’ve reviewed on this site.

The Western is a genre that I mostly ignored for large swaths of my life. I didn’t dislike Westerns as much as I just wasn’t interested in them. It didn’t help that my formative years were a time when the genre had mostly gone out of style. But I’ve come to love the genre over the last few years.

I love the wide open spaces of the genre and the gunfights. I love how the films are about expanding and living in a new world, about starting a new country, about etching out a living in a harsh, brave world.

The Italians got into the Western business about the time they were dying out in America. These so-called Spaghetti westerns played with the standard tropes of the genres and made it their own.

Arrow Video is doing what they do best this week – releasing a boxed set of relatively obscure genre films and loading them with extras. Blood Money: Four Classic Westerns includes four Italian Westerns (Mátalo!, Find a Place to Die, Vengeance is Mine, $10,000 Blood Money) that were made from 1967-1970. I don’t know anything about them, and I don’t have to. I want to buy this box and learn about them as I watch.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Soundies: The Ultimate Collection: Around the time of WWII little jukebox type machines started showing up in bars, honkytonks, and night clubs. For the drop of a coin you could watch what amounted to an early music video (or burlesque shows, or any number of other things). Kino Classics has put together a big collection of the music videos which star folks like Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Doris Day and a ton of others. Sounds cool.

Paint: I would have bet you a lot of money that this comedy starring Owen Wilson was a weird biopic of Bob Ross, and I would have lost. Apparently Wilson’s character just looks like that painter of happy little clouds (and paints for a public television station), but that’s were the similarities end. Or something. The reviews have been terrible so I’ve not bothered to dig into it more.

The Broadway Melody: The first sound film to win an Oscar is also generally regarded as the first proper movie musical.

The War of the Worlds: This sci-fi classic from 1953 is getting a big 4K release for its 70th anniversary.

One False Move: Criterion is releasing this neo-noir classic about a police chief awaiting the arrival of some killers in a 4K set.

Chucky 4-7: Shout Factory presents this collection of Chucky films (Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and Cult of Chucky) in a new 4K boxed set. I’ve never seen any of the Chucky films so this probably isn’t the place to start, but for fans it looks pretty cool.

Criterion’s Release of After Hours Is the Pick of the Week

after hours criterion

I first started writing these picks of the week a little over ten years ago. A lot has changed in the home video market in those years. Streaming did exist but it was still early days. Blu-rays had been out for a few years, but DVDs were the most popular option. 4K wasn’t even on the map. Choosing the week’s pick was fairly easy. I mostly voted for the best film. If the release had lots of extras or some cool packaging then all the better, but I mostly picked movies that I liked and were finally getting a release on home video.

These days, things are complicated. Whereas ten years ago almost every film that made it to theaters got a home video release (usually a few months after it left theaters) now many major movies don’t even make it to the theater. Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and other streamers regularly release movies straight to their services, bypassing movie theaters altogether. And since the major streaming services want you to subscribe to them there is no reason for them to release their movies on any other format. Why spend the money on a Blu-ray release when what you really want is for people to subscribe to your service for another month?

At the same time, lots of companies have sprung up over the last decade that specialize in releasing movies on physical media. Criterion, Arrow Video, Synapse, and Kino Lorber to name but just a few, all specialize in physical media. Most of the movies are for what you might call niche markets. Criterion deals with arthouse and classic movies, Arrow and Synapse specialize in the low-budget genre movie market. Etc. They often release their films with cleaned-up audio and video, loads of extras including audio commentaries and behind-the-scenes features, and even include cool booklets with essays on the film, posters, lobby cards, and other collectibles.

Beyond these Boutique Blu-rays labels, everybody is getting into 4K, the super high definition format, not to mention all sorts of special editions and exclusive releases to places like Target and Best Buy.

What I’m saying is that the decision on what to pick each week has gotten complicated. It can no longer be just based on the film itself, but you have to factor in the bit rates, special features, and how many other releases that particular film has received. I will admit that I don’t own a 4K player and my interest in that format is pretty small. Put me in a showroom and I will do the appropriate “oohs” and “ahs” over how incredible a 4K film looks, but at home, I just don’t care that much. I still watch terrible-looking prints of old and obscure movies and I just don’t care that much about super high-quality images. Especially if that means I have to not only buy a new, expensive player, but I have to rebuy many of the films I already own. I’ll mention a 4K release if I think it merits it, but I am not going to do so just because a film receives a 4K release.

Personally, I also tend to not pick the biggest movies coming out on any given week. Anybody who cares already knows that Avatar or the latest Marvel movie is coming out. I’ll give those movies a mention in my articles, but I’m going to rarely pick them. I like to pick something a little more obscure, something that deserves a little attention. But I also try to avoid picking the same type of releases each week. It would be easy just to pick whatever Criterion is putting out each week because I pretty much love everything they do. But that seems boring. Speaking of which I’m nearly a thousand words in so I must be boring everybody by now.

After Hours is a marvelous movie by Martin Scorsese. It came out in 1985 which is smack dab in the middle of what many people consider to be a low period for the famed director. I love pretty much everything he’s ever done and this one is no different. It stars Griffin Dunne as a man with a boring life who ventures to downtown Manhattan to hook up with a beautiful woman and has one crazy adventure after another. Criterion has given it a 4K upgrade and their usual treatment in terms of excellent extras.

Also out this week that looks interesting

Beau is Afraid: With Hereditary and Midsommer director Ari Aster has cemented himself as one of our modern masters of horror. His latest stars Joaquin Phoenix as a mild-mannered man confronting his darkest fear as he embarks on a Kafkaesque adventure home.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: Based upon the beloved book by Judy Blume this film adaptation got a lot of surprisingly great reviews and more or less bombed at the box office. I never did read the book (it is about a young, teenage girl dealing with young, teenage girl problems so I wasn’t really the target demographic) but I have a lot of friends who loved it when they were growing up. My own daughter is the perfect age for both the book and the movie so I suspect we’ll be watching it soon.

Scream VI: I recently watched all of the Scream films in order so that I could come to this new one pumped and primed. It was both a blessing and a curse to watch them all so close together. It helped me to see all the connections the films make with each other and helped smooth out some of the rougher spots. But it also let me see just how far this series has fallen. The original Scream was so good because it made fun of the slew of generic slasher films that were being churned out through the last 1980s while also being a great example of what the best of those films could be. Scream VI isn’t at all bad, but it feels very much like those generic films the original was making fun of.

The Watermelon Woman: Criterion is releasing this romantic comedy about a black lesbian woman who is trying to make a film about a Black actress known for playing the stereotypical “Mammy” roles in the 1930s. Criterion says it is a pioneering film in queer cinema and I always take their word for it.

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season Three: As I’ve stated many times I’m a big fan of Doctor Who. Over the last few years, they’ve been releasing these really wonderful full seasons of the classic series on Blu-ray chock full of extras and special features. Pertwee is one of my favorite Doctors and while I believe I’ve seen all the stories from this season (Day of the Daleks, The Curse of Peladon, The Sea Devils, The Mutants, and The Time Monster) I couldn’t tell you a thing about them. But I’m already excited to watch them again.

The Burning: Shout Factory is releasing this “classic” 1980s horror film about a camp prank that goes horribly wrong leaving a man disfigured who returns years later to enact his vengeance, with a new 4K scan and lots of extras.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XV: (Man Afraid / The Girl in the Kremlin / The Tattered Dress): I love these Kino Lorber releases of obscure film noirs. Sadly, they did not send me a review copy of this set, but I’ll likely buy it sometime anyway.

Johanna Enlists: One of the amazing things about this new resurgence of boutique Blu-ray labels is how they are finding some really old films, cleaning them up, and giving them a proper release. This drama starring Mary Pickford was originally released in 1918. I’m guessing it has been released on home video before, but likely from a terrible print with absolutely no care given to it.

Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams Is The Pick Of The Week

bluray

I was supposed to have written this article for Cinema Sentries and I totally forgot about it. Luckily, my buddy Gordon picked up my slack and you can read all about his picks here. But I thought I’d go ahead and talk about my picks anyway. If nothing else this keeps me in shape for writing about it next week.

But I shall be brief.

Empire Pictures was one of those low-budget studios that seemed to pop up pretty regularly in the 1980s, but this one had the good taste to put out some pretty good films (sort-of). Films like Ghoulies, Re-Animator, Dolls, and my beloved Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity.

The always-great Arrow Video is releasing a terrific-looking boxed set of five films from Empire Pictures which include The Dungeonmaster, Dolls, Cellar Dweller, Arena, and Robot Jox. It is loaded with extras and comes with some spectacular packaging. Consider me there. Call this my pick of the week.

Also coming out this week that looks interesting:

Pasolini 101: The Criterion Collection is releasing this collection of seven films from the controversial Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. I’m not overly familiar with his work, but I trust Criterion to deliver the goods.

Creepshow: Shout Factory brings us this absolutely brilliant-looking release of a not-all-that-great film. Creepshow is one of those horror anthology films that was so popular back in the day. They are all written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero which is pretty cool. I know I’ve seen this, but I don’t remember much other than I was disappointed by it. But the sweet is really cool. It’s got a 4K transfer, and lots of extras including posters, lobby cards, and pins.

Cold Eyes of Fear: I just watched this Italian Giallo last Friday night. It’s a pretty average little flick about a home invasion by two guys – one who is after money, another who needs some private papers locked away in a safe. It starts out strong, but then pulls the rug out and becomes much safer and less interesting.

The Old Man and the Sea: Warner Archive is releasing this adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway story with Spencer Tracy in the lead.

Angel Face: Another Warner Archive release. Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons star in this film noir about a simple man who falls for a complicated femme fatale. Otto Preminger directs.

Waterworld: Arrow Video gives us a 4K special edition (complete with three different cuts) of this Kevin Costner vehicle that at one time was the most expensive film ever made. I just watched it today and I’ll have a full review soon. Probably.

Evil Dead Rise: I love the original Evil Dead Trilogy. Evil Dead 2 is one of my all-time favorites. I liked what I saw in the Ash Vs Evil Dead TV show. But I wasn’t much for the more recent Evil Dead movie. It was straight-up horror and gore with none of the fun. I hear this one is the same.

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

eyes without a face

I think I’ve mentioned before that my wife is a Francophile. That means we watch a lot of French movies together. I watch a lot of French movies without her too. I watch a lot of movies. Some of them are French. Some of them are with my wife. I think we watched this one together. It is a classic. It is also a freaky horror movie.

You can read my review here.

Autumn Sonata (1978)

autumn sonata criterion bluray

I have not yet watched an Ingmar Bergman film for this year’s Foreign Film February. I really should remedy that. I bought a big boxed set of his films from the Criterion Collection a couple of years ago and haven’t begun to really scratch the surface of it. Bergman films tend to be very weighty, which sometimes makes them difficult to watch. They are often rewarding, but the effort it takes to watch them often makes me put them off. Foreign Film February is always a good excuse to make me make that effort, but I haven’t yet.

Goals!

I did watch this one several years ago and reviewed it here. It is definitely a rewarding watch.

Babette’s Feast (1987)

babettes feast

In my review of this film over at Cinema Sentries I talk about how we (used) to have a monthly film night in which we invited some friends over and watched a non-English language film. Not long after writing that review my family and I moved to another state and those foreign film nights dried up. I really miss them. We tried briefly to have a regular movie night (our new set of friends in this place most likely wouldn’t take to films, not in English, sigh) but it didn’t go so well. Then COVID hit and we pretty much never have anyone over anymore.

I think I’d like to try again sometime. Maybe we should have a Midnight Cafe movie night 🙂

Until then, you can read my review here. Babette’s Feast really is a lovely film.

Wild Strawberries (1957)

wild strawberries criterion

I often think that Ingmar Bergman is the reason most Americans don’t like foreign films. Bergman often made emotionally heavy, deeply symbolic, and frankly not all that easy to watch movies. He is the epitome of the intellectual, art-house type of filmmaker that I think a lot of Americans think of when they think of foreign language films. The fact that there are all kinds of films – silly comedies, dumb action films, etc. – being made in countries that aren’t American doesn’t matter. Foreign films = inexplicable movies that only smarty-pants film critics like.

Or something. I generalize. But it is true that when I talk to my friends who don’t like foreign films they seem to think that all foreign films are European art-house films of the kind that Bergman specialized in.

Which, is perhaps, a weird way of saying I actually love Bergman. I find most of his films to be utterly fascinating. Wild Strawberries is one of his best. Criterion released a Blu-ray of it a few years back, and I’ve got a review.

Band of Outsiders (1964)

band of outsiders criterion

Jean Luc Godard was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave. His films have been hailed as some of the greatest movies of all time, but he also has a reputation for being difficult, for making challenging, even obtuse films. So, I’m always surprised when I watch one of his movies and find them to be utterly delightful. Band of Outsiders is one of my favorites of his films (at least from what I’ve seen) and Criterion released an excellent Blu-ray of it awhile back. I wrote a review and you can read it here.